Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

NEWS REPORT

2012-01-31T00:22:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 30, 2012

US soldier agrees to plea deal in Iraqi killings

1. A US soldier killed 24 Iraqi civilians, men, women, and children and was charged for manslaughter before a US military court.

2. US law allows for plea bargaining between the prosecutors and the accused person. Through this the soldier agreed that he would plead guilty if the charge is changed from manslaughter to dereliction of duty.

3. He was then sentenced by the court to reduction in rank to private, pay cut by two-thirds and three months jail.

4. We don’t have provision for plea bargaining in our laws. When Anwar’s Government takes over he will make our laws more modern, not so lapok(archaic) as they are now. Then those accused can bargain and the charge of whatever can be reduced so the accused can plead guilty to a lesser charge.

5. Just think, you kill 24 innocent Iraqis and get three months jail. That is justice.

KAITAN BANGSA DENGAN BISNES

2012-01-26T16:02:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 25, 2012

1. Seorang pengerusi badan Kerajaan berkata pembangunan negara ini akan tergendala selagi ada usaha mengaitkan bangsa dengan bisnes.

2. Kita akui yang pengerusi berkenaan mempunyai kebolehan tertentu yang menyebabkan ia dilantik oleh Kerajaan sebagai pengerusi, tetapi orang lain tidak mempunyai sifat tertentu dan masih perlu diberi pertimbangan dalam perniagaan dan lain-lain berasas kepada bangsa mereka.

3. Benarkah pengambilan kira bangsa dalam perniagaan di Malaysia melalui dasar DEB menghalang pertumbuhan ekonominya? Dunia mengakui bahawa Malaysia yang berbilang kaum ini lebih cepat dan tinggi tahap pembangunannya dari negara-negara membangun yang lain yang tidak mempunyai masalah bangsa untuk diambilkira.

4. Memang mungkin jika masalah kaum tidak menghantui Malaysia pertumbuhannya menjadi lebih pesat. Tetapi apabila agihan kekayaan begitu luas di antara kaum, besar kemungkinan permusuhan akan berlaku antara kaum yang miskin dengan kaum yang kaya.

5. Permusuhan ini sudah tentu akan menyebabkan ketegangan dalam masyarakat dan menjadikan negara tidak stabil dan terdedah kepada huru hara dan rusuhan.

6. Keadaan seperti ini akan menghalang pelaburan, dagangan dan perusahaan. Dalam iklim seperti ini ekonomi tidak mungkin tumbuh dengan baik. Pembangunan akan terjejas.

7. Yang jelas ialah mengenepikan masalah bangsa dalam negara berbilang kaum, tidak juga menjamin kepesatan pembangunan.

8. Kata pepatah Melayu, telan mati pak, luah mati emak.

9. Namun adalah lebih baik pembangunan terlewat sedikit daripada kehancuran akibat rusuhan.

EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA

2012-01-20T04:33:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 19, 2012

1. Ever since the Europeans and this includes the Americans, lost to the Eastern countries in the manufactured goods markets, they have switched to the financial market. Through the many products they created in this market they seem to be able to grow and maintain their wealth and prosperity as shown by such indices as the GDP and Per Capita income.

2. But the business is spurious. The financial market is basically about gambling. Ever since America decided that the market should regulate itself, that there should be less Government, all kinds of unacceptable practices have been allowed. Short selling expanded from shares to commodities to currencies, Banks lend more money than they have and allowed highly leveraged borrowings by hedge funds and currency traders. They indulge in sub-prime loans, securing these imprudent lending by mortgaging and insurance.

3. In real business the costs in the European countries are unduly high because of high salaries and wages for workers’ pensions, bonuses, short working hours, long paid holidays, unemployment and other social benefits. The standard of living may be high but European products cannot compete with the products of the East in world markets.

4. The currency trading today, for example is said to be worth four trillion dollars a day, equal to the total productivity of Germany in one year. Whereas producing goods and services by Germany spins off all kinds of supporting and other businesses as well as millions of jobs, currency trading spins off no businesses nor create any real jobs. All the dealing involves only the entry of figures in bank books. The earnings are real enough and can contribute to GDP and Per Capita growth. But the picture of economic growth indicated by these indices is false as the wealth belongs to a very small percentage of the population.

5. The sums involved are however huge, running into hundreds of billions and even trillions of dollars. When the bottom fell out, the losses are equally huge, sufficient to bankrupt even the biggest banks. Even countries can go bankrupt.

6. When you lose money, you become poor. Countries are the same. When they lose money or they borrow beyond their means and cannot pay, they become poor.

7. The problem is an unwillingness to admit that they, the Europeans, the Americans, the icons of the free market and economic prosperity are now poor. As a result all the manoeuvres so far are aimed at staying rich, at maintaining a lifestyle that is untenable.

8. The only real way out is to accept a lifestyle that is associated with lower incomes. But the people are demanding to live the rich life they were used to before. The austerity programs are rejected with demonstrations and strikes. And these simply aggravate the situation.

9. If wages and salaries as well as bonuses and other perks are lowered, then the production of goods and services by the workers would cost less. The goods will be able to compete again in the markets against those of the East. Real businesses would then be able to be resuscitated.

10. At the same time the financial market should be curbed. Operations out of tax havens should not be allowed and all accounts must be submitted to the authorities. Currencies should be pegged to a new independent trading currency based on a specific amount of gold or other precious metal. The fluctuation in value would be minimal, making doing business less uncertain.

11. With the lower cost of production there will be no necessity to outsource in Asia. The industries of Europe would be revived and contribute towards overcoming unemployment and early settlement of debts. Real wealth would be generated.

12. The Europeans also spend far too much on weapons. Research, development and upgrading swallow up huge amounts of money. As the weapons become more sophisticated the costs go up sky high. Where before a fighter plane would cost a million dollars, now they cost 50 to 100 million dollars.

13. Yet these weapons are quite useless in fighting the guerrilla wars they are likely to face. And they dare not have wars with countries with the same military capacities because it would be ruinous for everybody and would probably spell the end of the world.

14. Their military budget contributes to the wastage of funds as the likelihood is that the weapons would never be used for the purpose they are developed, certainly not on the scale they are being prepared for.

15. Everything points towards a new Bretton Woods. The world’s economy has become much more liked and integrated that a new set of monetary, financial and banking system needs to be negotiated and devised, taking into consideration the views and problems of the poor countries as well. There should be no thoughts about hegemony; military, political or economic.

HAK MERAYU

2012-01-18T17:34:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 17, 2012

1. Dalam sejarah kehakiman di Malaysia, Anwar menang pertandingan membuat “appeal” atau rayuan terhadap keputusan mahkamah yang dikenakan kepadanya.

2. Selama empat tahun kita tidak dengar lain selain daripada appeal Anwar terhadap keputusan mahkamah berkenaan dirinya dalam kes Saiful.

3. Awal-awal lagi dituntut supaya hakim ditukar kerana kononnya berat sebelah. Dengan itu perbicaraan ditangguh sementara tuntutannya ditimbang oleh mahkamah. Masa berbulan-bulan berlalu kerana mahkamah terpaksa menentukan tarikh untuk mendengar rayuannya.

4. Setelah diputus yang hakim berkenaan boleh dengar rayuannya, ada lagi rayuan yang dikemukakan.

5. Jika keputusan yang dibuat baru-baru ini mendapati Anwar bersalah, percayalah ia akan membuat appeal kepada Mahkamah Rayuan (Appeal Court).

6. Jika Appeal Court bersetuju dengan keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi, maka Anwar akan rayu kepada Federal Court.

7. Jika Federal Court mengesahkan keputusan oleh High Court dan Appeal Court, maka Anwar akan tuntut untuk kesnya dibawa kepada Special Court.

8. Tetapi apabila Anwar didapati tidak bersalah kerana tidak ada corroborating evidence, hak mangsanya untuk membuat rayuan dipertikaikan.

9. Apakah dalam negara ini pembesar pembangkang mempunyai hak istimewa bahawa keadilan hanya berlaku apabila ia didapati tidak bersalah?

10. Apakah dalam negara ini mangsa yang kerdil tidak berhak kepada keadilan sehingga dia tidak boleh merayu untuk didengar oleh mahkamah yang lebih tinggi?

11. Apakah di negara ini keengganan pembesar pembangkang mengangkat sumpah bukan sahaja di masjid dengan menjunjung Al Quran tetapi semasa dibicara dalam mahkamah biasa tidak mempunyai apa-apa makna terutama kepada orang Islam, dan sumpah laknat oleh si kerdil juga tidak boleh diambilkira?

12. Atau apakah menjadi satu daripada perjuangan Pakatan bahawa apa yang disarankan oleh Anwar dalam BBC bahawa undang-undang negara ini sudah lapok dan perlu ditukar kepada kebebasan untuk meliwat mengikut liberalisme Barat?

SUING IN COURT

2012-01-13T11:36:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 11, 2012

1. Malaysian politics of today is frequently punctuated with court actions. In particular there are now a lot of litigation cases. And the amounts sued for invariably run into millions of Ringgit.

2. Despite the efforts of the learned judges there are still huge backlogs of cases of all kinds, civil and criminal, which probably will never be heard, much less adjudged. This is because the hearings take such a long time that the parties to the cases would have forgotten the facts or they would have died.

3. And, as they say, “justice delayed is justice denied”.

4. The litigations by politicians may be justified. But politicians must accept that as politicians they would be bad-mouthed by their opponents. It is up to them to counter the allegations made. They should not always be suing in court.

5. For Muslims they should be willing to swear properly that there is no truth to the allegations.

6. Often the litigation is intended to shut the mouths of their opponents. In Malaysia when a case is being heard in a court, it becomes sub-judice and comments outside can constitute “contempt of court”. By suing the matter becomes sub-judice and the opponents’ mouths would be shut. Through repeated appeals the case can be prolonged and the defendants’ mouths would remain shut to the advantage of the litigant for years.

7. For the person sued, much money would have to be spent on lawyers. For years he would be assailed with anxiety that he might be found guilty and if he is unable to pay he may be bankrupted.

8. Yet when the defendant wins, the litigant may need to pay cost only, which the court will fix. Often the amount would be a minute fraction of the amount he is sued for.

9. Because the cost to the litigant is so very little, the tendency is to sue for millions. This is grossly unfair to the defendants. If the law is intended to promote justice then the litigant should also suffer from the same anxieties for the length of time of the hearing and if his allegation is baseless he should pay his victim the same amount he sued for.

10. Then there would be justice and frivolous cases would not be brought before the courts. The judges would then have time for their other cases.

11. Incidentally I was sued for 100 million Ringgit. When after almost five years I won, I was awarded cost at 70 thousand Ringgit, which of course go to my lawyers.

TUNNEL LINK

2012-01-09T03:45:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 07, 2012

1. It is heartening to see Malaysia and Singapore agreeing on a sub-sea tunnel to connect the two countries. The bridge that will not be built now is planned to have eight lanes. This is of course due to the expected heavy traffic.

2. The question is whether the tunnel can provide for this volume of traffic. An eight-lane tunnel would have to be very wide or it will need two tunnels. Even if it is a double-decker like the Smart Tunnel in Kuala Lumpur, it needs to be very tall especially as it must cater for the heavy vehicles with their containers etc.

3. Because it will be far below the sea-bed it will have to begin and end far inland as lorries and trucks need gentle gradients. It can be as far as four kilometres for both ends. This, together with the undersea part will stretch the tunnel to almost eight kilometres.

4. If the Singapore MRT is going to use it as well, there must be at least another tunnel. Trains need even more gentle slopes. So the length might be more than eight kilometres.

5. Can Malaysia afford the cost of half this project, assuming the other half will be borne by Singapore? The project will cost billions and will take very many years to complete.

6. When completed I hope the causeway and the railway line will be removed. We will not need them anymore. Then water will flow east west and vice-versa. And small boats will be able to use the Tebrau Straits without having to go around south of Singapore.

7. Both Singapore and Malaysia will benefit from the removal of the causeway.

MELAYU ISLAM

2012-01-06T03:14:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 05, 2012

1. Sepatutnya orang Melayu tidak bermasaalah berkenaan agama mereka. Semua orang Melayu beragama Islam. Sejak sebelum merdeka lagi, dimasa penjajahan oleh British pun mereka semua beragama Islam. Jika mereka tidak beragama Islam maka mereka tidak diiktiraf sebagai orang Melayu. Apabila Malaysia merdeka, Perlembagaan negara menentukan bahawa walaupun mereka berbahasa Melayu dan beradat-istiadat Melayu, tetapi jika tidak beragama Islam, mereka bukan Melayu.

2. Perjanjian dengan British oleh Raja-Raja Melayu mengandungi larangan terhadap pendakwah Kristian mengkristiankan orang Melayu. Justeru itu tidak ada orang Melayu yang beragama Kristian dan hilang identiti sebagai Melayu.

3. Mungkin dari segi pengetahuan dan amalan, ramai orang Melayu tidak mencerminkan peribadi Islam sepenuhnya tetapi mereka tetap mempertahankan keislaman mereka. Bahkan mereka akan marah jika mana-mana pihak berkata mereka tidak Islam.

4. Orang Melayu juga tidak menghadapi masaalah kelainan mazhab. Mereka semua adalah dari kumpulan Sunni atau Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah, berimam dengan Imam Shafie. Dengan itu tidak ada perbezaan fahaman agama yang boleh memecahbelahkan mereka. Perpecahan dan permusuhan seperti yang terdapat di antara Sunni dan Syiah tidak terdapat dikalangan orang Melayu. Sudah tentu tidak berlaku bunuh-membunuh kerana kelainan mazhab antara mereka seperti yang berlaku di Iraq, Pakistan dan beberapa negara Arab.

5. Sesungguhnya orang Melayu amatlah bahagia kerana menikmati Islam yang tidak berbeza-beza. Apabila seruan dibuat supaya orang Melayu bersatu untuk menentang Malayan Union, dengan mudahnya mereka menyahut seruan, mereka bersatu tanpa mengambilkira dari negeri mana mereka datang.

6. Tetapi sekarang orang Melayu Islam di Malaysia sudah berpecah dan bermusuh-musuhan dengan teruknya sesama mereka. Agama yang satu, mazhab yang sama tidak terdaya menangkis serangan oleh ahli politik yang menciptakan syarat-syarat baru bagi agama Islam demi politik duniawi yang dikejar oleh mereka ini.

7. Oleh kerana syarat dan tafsiran-tafsiran ini tidak terdapat dalam Al-Quran atau hadith-hadith yang sahih atau dalam mana-mana kitab tulisan ulama-ulama silam yang muktabar, maka majoriti daripada orang Melayu Islam menolak syarat-syarat ciptaan mereka yang berkepentingan ini. Dengan itu berpecahlah orang Melayu Islam kepada dua kumpulan yang saling bermusuh antara satu sama lain.

8. Hasil dari perpecahan ini maka berlakulah sembahyang dua imam, larangan perkahwinan antara ahli dan penyokong parti yang tidak terima syarat-syarat ciptaan pemimpin parti dan perkuburan berasingan antara yang tidak terima dengan yang terima.

9. Yang lebih buruk lagi ialah ketaksuban pengikut kepada pemimpin ini sudah sampai kepada tahap menghalalkan apa sahaja yang dilakukan atau diperkatakan oleh pimpimpin. Apabila pemimpin berkata orang Islam boleh mencarut, kerana Tuhan juga kononnya mencarut, tidak ada sesiapa daripada anak buah pemimpin yang membantah, atau menegur pemimpin berkenaan. Demikianlah apabila pengikut yang taksub dengan pemimpin mendakwa bahawa pemimpin mereka adalah sama dengan nabi, tidak ada pembetulan atau bantahan daripada pemimpin berkenaan dan penyokong-penyokongnya.

10. Agama Islam di Malaysia sudah banyak tercemar dan pegangan kepada ajarannya sudah menjadi luntur kerana Islam diperalatkan untuk kepentingan politik duniawi. Orang Melayu yang bahagia kerana bangsa mereka dikait secara langsung dengan agama Islam, sudah hilang nikmat yang datang dari ikatan ini. Hasilnya ialah perpecahan, kelemahan dan kehinaan. Hasilnya ialah mereka menjadi pengemis di negara sendiri, pengemis yang meminta-minta sokongan dari orang lain. Mereka yang mengemis tetap akan menjadi orang suruhan kepada yang membantu mereka.

BORNEO HEIGHTS

2012-01-05T01:01:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 04, 2012

1. Most Malaysians know Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands. Their principle attraction is the coolness of the climate. They also know of Mount Kinabalu not so much because of its coolness but being, at 13,000 feet, the highest mountain in Malaysia.

2. Not many know of Borneo Heights, one of the most beautiful hill resorts in Malaysia. Situated only one hour slow drive from Kuching International Airport, the heights have retained much of its original tropical rain forest.

3. It is literally at the border between Sarawak and Kalimantan, Indonesia; literally because the border is a cliff which plunges 600 meter (2000 feet) from the southern boundary of the resort, to Indonesia Kalimantan. You cannot miss the border. One step over the rope marker you would be in Indonesia sans visa. The drop would not be pleasant.

4. The view from the top of the cliff is breathtaking. From the foot of the cliff, the thick tropical forest of Kalimantan spread to the distant mountains some 20 – 30 miles away (my guess – could be much more).

5. There appears to be no human habitation. But I was told the Indonesian Dayak shifting cultivators live there, though their long houses cannot be seen. I know of no other place where one can view a huge green tropical forest seemingly untouched by human habitation. Kalimantan is bigger than Sabah and Sarawak put together but it is very sparsely populated.

6. The resort has an eighteen hole golf-course laid out beautifully between thick forest. But more interesting to me are the beautiful temperate climate flowers which grow well there. They come in all shapes and colours. But deep purple seem to be the dominant colour.

7. I have a house there but have not been using it much. Not knowing where to go for my year end holiday, I decided to go there. I spent three restful, quiet days without air-conditioners.

8. The heights are as cool as ever. I was driven up in a 4WD to the vantage point to look down the cliff at Kalimantan and as usual it took my breath away. Our vantage point is 3,600 feet above sea level.

9. Borneo Heights was developed by Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, a close friend of mine. Maybe this article will benefit a “crony” but if more tourists, domestic and foreign visit this beautiful part of Malaysia, tourism Malaysia will also benefit. And what we earn from tourism will benefit all Malaysians. It would be selfish of me to avoid writing this bit simply because I am afraid of being accused of cronyism.

MALAYSIA’S WORLD BANK LOANS

2011-12-22T02:19:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 20, 2011

1. The accusation that I wrote to the World Bank asking for loans is baseless. But Malaysia had been borrowing project loans from the World Bank since 1958.

2. The last negotiations for the loans were made in 1997. These were for projects in:

a) Education sector USD 244 million

b) Social sector USD 60million

c) Technical sector USD100million

3. The currency crisis also began in 1997. Naturally the loans were not approved until 1999 when the crisis was over. The usual sequence is for application for a loan to be made, followed by negotiations. Approval would be given by the bank later.

4. The World Bank wanted Malaysia to request for loans to tide over the crisis like the other countries affected by currency trading. The loans would be conditional upon Malaysia following IMF advice on economic management. It is well-known that Malaysia refused to seek IMF or World Bank help because the so-called help would worsen the financial situation. Instead, in 1998 Malaysia imposed currency control which helped it to recover.

5. In June 1998 (before currency control and while Anwar was still Minister of Finance) a loan for USD 300 million was signed with the World Bank for;

a) Fund for Food Programme

b) Higher Education Loan Fund

c) Microcredit Programme

6. By 31st March 1999 a loan of USD 100 million was signed for Technical Assistance and for overcoming Y2K problems. However, this loan was stopped after drawing down USD 11.94 million.

7. Of the USD 244 million Education Project which was approved in March 1999, payment was ordered to be stopped after USD 216.7 million was drawn down.

8. Of the Social Sector loan of USD 60 million, approved in March 1999, only USD 600,000 was drawn down before it was stopped.

9. As the whole world knows Anwar was reported in the press and foreign magazines for implementing the IMF policy without the IMF loans. He raised interest rates, reduced the period for declaring loans non-performing from 6 months to 3 months, reduced budget allocation to ministries so as to achieve a budget surplus etc.

10. Although he did not oppose currency controls, his appointees as Governor and Deputy Governor of Bank Negara refused to implement the policy and resigned. Tan Sri Zeti was then appointed as Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia.

11. As stated above, Malaysia stopped the draw down on loans negotiated with the World Bank in 1997 and June 1998. This did not stop Malaysia from recovering from the crisis.

12. At no time did I write a letter or verbally request for loans from the World Bank. If Anwar can show evidence that I did, he should. Failing that he should swear on the Quran in a mosque that he knows what he says is true. I am prepared to swear that I never asked for loans from the World Bank.

TAKUT

2011-12-14T03:10:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 13, 2011

1. Kita semua tahu takut. Kita takut sakit. Kita takut kehilangan mereka yang disayangi. Kita takut dicedera atau dibunuh orang. Kita takut iman digugat. Kita takut mati. Kita takut dan kita patut takut. Sedikit sebanyak ia menyelamat kita.

2. Tetapi kadang-kadang kita takut kepada yang kita tidak patut takut. Kita takut gelap. Kita takut makhluk yang sebenarnya tidak wujud melainkan dalam fikiran kita atau dari cerita-cerita yang kita dengar, terutama semasa kecil.

3. Ramai kita orang Melayu percaya ada manusia yang mempunyai kelebihan tertentu – mampu meresap, menghilangkan diri. Dan kita takut kepada mereka ini.

4. Semasa saya kecil saya dengar kononnya orang Siam mempunyai “ilmu” tertentu. Mereka bukan sahaja boleh meresap tetapi mereka kebal dan tidak boleh ditikam. Ada yang berkata tembak dengan peluru pun tak tembus. Mereka juga boleh membuat perempuan gila kepada mereka.

5. Di Kedah peperangan sering berlaku dengan Siam (Thai) di zaman dahulu. Tentera Sultan amat takut kepada askar Siam. Mereka yakin mereka tidak boleh kalahkan tentera Siam kerana mereka itu kebal, boleh meresap. Kononnya kadang-kadang mereka boleh terbang dan tiba-tiba berada di belakang.

6. Maka anggota pasukan Melayu pun baca doa macam-macam. Namun mereka tidak dapat mengatasi ketakutan mereka. Belum pun bertempur dengan pasukan perang Siam, mereka sudah yakin mereka akan kalah.

7. Dan mereka pun kalah kerana tidak percaya mereka boleh menang. Mereka tidak pun dapat mempertahankan diri mereka. Mereka kaku disebabkan ketakutan. Dan askar Siam boleh menyembelih mereka.

8. Yang lain melarikan diri, tidak berani mengadap orang kebal, boleh meresap, boleh tiba-tiba berdiri di atas pokok di belakang pasukan Melayu.

9. Demikian apabila kita takut dengan “bayang-bayang” kepercayaan kita sendiri. Adalah mustahil sesiapa boleh kebal, atau meresap (menghilangkan diri). Sedangkan Nabi tidak kebal dan luka dalam peperangan Jabal Uhud, apakah Tuhan memberi kelebihan kepada musuh orang Melayu dan orang Islam.

10. Mungkinkah ada makhluk yang berkuasa seperti Allah s.w.t. Sekarang ada orang kebal apabila memakai baju kalis peluru. Tetapi askar Siam di zaman dahulu tidak pakai baju kalis peluru. Jika mereka ditikam atau ditembak mereka akan cedera dan akan mati. Tetapi mereka kebal kerana dengan ketakutan kita, kita tidak terdaya menikam atau menembak mereka. Kalau tembak pun, kerana gigil dalam ketakutan, peluru tidak kena sasaran. Ini kononnya bukti mereka kebal.

11. Tetapi ini cerita lama. Apa guna saya bangkit perkara ini. Sebabnya saya masih dengar askar kita ada menghadapi orang yang berpakaian serba putih yang boleh terbang. Dan mereka jadi takut. Apabila askar diserang ketakutan, mereka tidak lagi dapat menjalankan tugas mereka.

12. Kita juga kerap mendengar cerita orang halus, toyol, hantu, pelesit dan berbagai lagi. Kes hilang akal (hysteria) kerap berlaku di kalangan murid perempuan Melayu di asrama.

13. Apa yang berlaku ialah pada malam hari mereka berkumpul dan mencerita berkenaan hantu atau sesuatu yang menakutkan. Mendengar cerita mereka berasa gerun dan ternampak bayang bergerak seolah ada makhluk di samping mereka. Apabila di pandang tidak ada apa-apa. Seorang dari mereka akan menjerit ketakutan. Dan yang lain akan turut sama. Dan jadilah fenomena hysteria beramai-ramai.

14. Sebenarnya kita biasa melihat gerakan di hujung mata (peripheral vision) dan apabila kita beralih untuk melihat, didapati tidak ada apa-apa. Ini adalah fenomena biasa.

15. Saya malu kenapa hysteria terjadi kepada anak Melayu yang semuanya beragama Islam. Agama kita menegah kepercayaan kepada makhluk yang mempunyai kuasa yang hampir dengan Allah s.w.t.

16. Diwaktu rusuhan kaum 13 Mei 1969, rami orang Melayu yang mencari ubat kebal. Di Alor Star terdapat seorang bomoh Indonesia yang kononnya boleh memberi kekebalan kepada sesiapa hanya dengan memasukan jarun “emas” ke dalam badan.

17. Saya pergi untuk melihat bagaimana bomoh ini dapat melakukan sesuatu yang ajaib. Seorang yang dikenali oleh saya telah “dirawat” dengan memasuk jarum “emas” kepada badannya.

18. Selepas ini dia diuji dengan ditetak oleh bomoh dengan pedang di belakangnya. Terlihat luka yang cetek yang berdarah sedikit sahaja walaupun ditetak dengan amat kuat.

19. Kemudian dia ditetak dibahagian perutnya. Luka yang sama di lihat. Dia kemudian memepak kaca lampu elektrik tanpa mulutnya berdarah.

20. Mereka yang lihat dan saya juga kagum dengan kekebalan beliau. Saya jemput supaya beliau datang ke klinik saya keesokan hari.

21. Apabila dia datang saya bertanya bolehkah saya cucuk jarum kedalam badannya. Dia mendakwa jarum tak mungkin masuk kerana dia tidak mengizinkannya.

22. Saya cucuk dan jarum masuk seperti biasa. Dia tidak kebal.

23. Tidak ada orang yang kebal. Mereka yang berjalan atas bara api dan dicucuk dengan besi tajam pun tidak kebal.

24. Dalam Islam ada jin dan iblis. Mereka merasuk fikiran kita supaya membuat apa yang dilarang. Dalam Islam tidak disebut tentang hantu, pelesit, toyol dan sebagainya. Semua ini berasas kepada kepercayaan di zaman pra-Islam.

25. Kita dapati ramai yang gemar mendengar cerita seram. Menyedari akan kegemaran ini banyaklah filem yang dibuat sekitar hantu, toyol dan makhluk luar biasa yang menakutkan. Filem seperti ini sering ditunjuk di TV dan pawagam.

26. Mungkin pengeluar filem seram ini mendapat keuntungan. Tetapi cerita-cerita seperti ini tidak menolong remaja menolak kepercayaan kepada yang karut yang tidak membina peribadi yang baik. Kes-kes hysteria ada kaitan dengan kepercayaan yang karut.

27. Menjadi penakut memalukan. Bangsa yang penakut tidak boleh dibanggakan. Janganlah kita sengaja menjadikan bangsa kita bangsa penakut. Sebaliknya cubalah supaya bangsa kita jadi lebih berani. Ahli-ahli politik pun tak usahlah cari bomoh kerana ingin menang. Bukan bomoh yang boleh beri kemenangan. Budi yang baik, tingkah laku yang sopan, keperihatinan akan masalah yang dihadapi rakyat yang boleh memberi kemenangan dan kejayaan.

28. Melayu mempunyai banyak sebab-sebab yang menghalang kejayaan mereka. Tidaklah perlu kita tambah halangan terhadap kejayaan mereka dengan kepercayaan kepada yang karut-karut.

MENGENANG MASA DULU

2011-12-08T02:09:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 7, 2011

Pulau Pinang negerinya baru

Kapten Light menjadi Raja

Bila terkenang zaman dahulu

Duduk mengalir air mata

1. Pantun ini dikarang oleh “tukang karut” pasukan boria di Pulau Pinang di zaman British.

2. Kita jarang mendengar pantun ini sekarang, Tetapi semasa saya masih budak belasan tahun, saya sering mendengarnya. Sedikit sebanyak saya rasa sedih juga. Air mata tidak mengalir tetapi ia menghantui fikiran saya.

3. Orang Melayu Pulau Pinang pada zaman itu sudah hilang kedudukan mereka dalam pulau yang membangun dengan pantas hasil daripada pengisytiharannya sebagai pulau bebas cukai oleh British. Sementara deretan kedai dan rumah batu seperti mahligai diduduki oleh orang lain, mereka, orang Melayu terpaksa pindah melarikan diri daripada pembangunan bandaraya Pulau Pinang kerana tawaran untuk menjual hartanah mereka begitu tinggi, dan mereka semua miskin dan tidak mampu membeli atau menyewa bangunan kedai atau rumah kediaman yang didirikan, selepas menjual tanah mereka.

4. Kemudian apabila pembangunan sampai ke kawasan di mana orang Melayu telah lari, mereka sekali lagi menjual tanah dan berpindah jauh daripada pembangunan.

5. Lama-kelamaan mereka tenggelam dalam masyarakat asing yang semakin bertambah dan mewah. Itulah nasib mereka, menjadi kumpulan orang yang terasing di negeri sendiri. Maka mengalirlah air mata mereka.

6. Sukar bagi mereka yang dilahir di zaman ini, zaman peluang bertimbun-timbun, zaman serba mudah, zaman tersohor bangsa Melayu, zaman kuasa di tangan Melayu, sukar bagi mereka menggambarkan kehidupan orang Pulau Pinang di zaman British.

7. Apa perlunya kita diperingati akan kedudukan orang Melayu Pulau Pinang di zaman itu? Sebenarnya tidak perlu. Setelah mencapai kejayaan, tidak mungkin kita ditimpa nasib orang Melayu Pulau Pinang.

8. Sekali berjaya tetap berjaya, sekali merdeka, tetap merdeka. Bukankah Hang Tuah telah berkata tak akan Melayu hilang di dunia. Ini jaminan yang diberi kepada bangsa Melayu. Kita akan terus Melayu walaupun hanya menjadi pemandu kereta, buruh kasar, budak pejabat. Kita Melayu juga. Tak perlu mengalir air mata.

THE KUALA LUMPUR TRIBUNAL ON WAR CRIMES

2011-11-29T13:32:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 29, 2011

1. Not many Malaysians are aware that from 19th November to 22nd November a trial on war crimes was held in Kuala Lumpur.

2. Many would say what is the use of a trial by a tribunal which is not recognised by any Government. And in addition the accused persons were not present although the summons were legally served on them.

3. But think again.

4. It is a legal and moral principle that everyone must be equal before the law. In Malaysia even the reigning Sultans are not above the law.

5. It follows that no one, no country should be above international law.

6. In the charter of the United Nations no country is accorded the privilege or status of being above the laws, rules and regulations of the UN.

7. We frequently read reports of tribunals being set up by the UN and also by the victors in war to try war criminals. In Nuremberg and Tokyo the “war criminals” were sentenced to death by the tribunals.

8. However, it has become obvious that the powerful countries and their leaders have never been tried for the crimes they have committed. They are clearly above the law.

9. Do we accept this? If we do then we would be accepting what is a travesty of justice.

10. The general assembly of the United Nations and the weak nations of the world have found no way for applying the laws, international or otherwise, against powerful leaders of powerful countries who are clearly involved in international crimes.

11. The UN and the international community have failed.

12. The world should not accept this failure. Somehow some punishment should be meted to countries and leaders guilty of international crimes. Their deeds must be put before a court of law and the verdict pronounced, After that the world body would be informed as will the different agencies concerned with the maintenance of world peace.

13. This is the age of the NGOs, the Non-Governmental Organisations. Like it or not the Government must recognise the NGOs seriously and consider their views.

14. The Tribunal set up by the people is an NGO. It behoves Government and international institutions like the UN to take srious note of the Tribunal as an international NGO.

15. The general public also should take note of the verdict of the Tribunal. Otherwise they will, in one way or another, be honouring criminals, international criminals.

DEMOCRACY AND OLIGARCHY

2011-11-26T03:05:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 24, 2011

1. America and Europe are the great proponents of Democracy. It is the greatest system of Government. It will make countries great. Democracy guarantees there will be no oppression of the citizens (oppressing and killing other people is okay of course).

2. But now they have demanded that Italy be governed by an unelected Government of technocrats headed by Mario Monti, an economist.

3. So democracy is not the panacea for all political and economic problems. So the will of the majority cannot always be permitted to wield power. In the end democracy has to depend on oligarchy to rescue it from the capitalist abuses.

4. But then we know democracy has failed when the European democrats are looking at oligarchic China to help them out in the present financial crisis.

5. Now that the West has realised that democracy is not the perfect system it is touted to be, please stop killing people so as to democratise them.

SEKSUALITI MERDEKA

2011-11-20T02:57:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 18, 2011

1. Masyarakat mana-mana pun tahu adanya orang yang dilahirkan dengan jantina tidak menentu. Ada yang memiliki tubuh badan lelaki tetapi bahagian-bahagian tertentu lebih mirip kepada perempuan. Mereka dikenali sebagai pondan atau ponen dan ada yang sebaliknya, iaitu tubuh badan perempuan tetapi mirip lelaki.

2. Mereka diterima oleh masyarakat sejak dahulukala lagi tanpa banyak masalah.

3. Tetapi di Barat, kerana gerakan bagi mendaulatkan kebebasan (freedom), mereka ini digesa untuk menuntut hak supaya diiktiraf sebagai sejenis yang berlainan. Mereka juga manusia dan manusia mesti diberi kebebasan untuk melakukan apa sahaja.

4. Yang menjadi masalah ialah mereka yang tidak ada apa-apa kecacatan tetapi menuntut supaya larangan agama dan undang-undang terhadap perbuatan seks di luar tabii seperti meliwat dihalalkan.

5. Dari sini tuntutan diteruskan untuk bukan sahaja dihalalkan seks songsang tetapi juga perkahwinan sejenis, lelaki dengan lelaki, perempuan dengan perempuan. Akhirnya perlakuan seks dibebaskan di Barat sehingga apa sahaja diterima oleh masyarakat sebagai hak seseorang manusia. Anak perempuan dan anak lelaki belasan tahun pun boleh tidur dengan siapa sahaja, melakukan apa jenis seks sesuka hati mereka. Tidak ada lagi anak dara atau teruna semasa berkahwin.

6. Kita banyak terpengaruh dan menerima pendapat dan nilai hidup serta adat resam Barat. Kita hidup dalam dunia yang berpusat kepada Eropah (Eurocentric). Kita terima sistem pemerintahan demokrasi umpamanya.

7. Tetapi perlukah kita turut dan terima segala-galanya yang dilakukan di Barat? Sebenarnya budaya dan nilai hidup Barat sudah runtuh, runtuh kerana terlangsung taksub dengan kebebasan (freedom). Apa sahaja yang hendak dilakukan oleh seseorang individu tidak boleh dilarang kerana larangan bermakna menidakkan hak asasi individu atau kumpulan.

8. Sesuatu yang dilarang oleh agama memang mempunyai sebabnya. Mungkin kita tidak kenal atau tahu sebabnya. Tetapi kita harus ingat penyakit HIV Aids dahulu tidak ada. Ia mula dikenali dikalangan mereka yang mengamalkan seks songsang di California, Amerika Syarikat, secara pilihan walaupun tidak ada kecacatan apa-apa. Sehingga kini tidak ada ubat yang boleh menyembuh penyakit HIV Aids. Mereka yang mengidap penyakit ini bukan sahaja akan musnahkan diri sendiri tetapi juga isteri, suami dan anak cucu. Mereka tidak akan hidup sempurna.

9. Manusia yang bertamadun tidak menurut nafsu semata-mata. Budaya Barat menggalakkan manusia mengikut nafsu. Kebebasan bagi mereka bermakna apa sahaja yang didorong oleh nafsu tidak boleh ditegah oleh agama atau undang-undang manusia.

10. Sifat ini adalah sifat haiwan. Manusia memiliki akal fikiran. Orang yang bertamadun menggunakan akal fikiran untuk menghalang diri dari terikut-ikut dengan nafsu. Sebabnya nafsu perlu dibendung ialah sesuatu yang tidak baik akan menimpa mereka yang mengikut nafsu. Tamadun yang utamakan nafsu akan runtuh akhirnya.

11. Kita sedang melihat keruntuhan akhlak dalam masyarakat Barat. Sementara agama mereka melarang seks songsang, paderi mereka secara terbuka mengamalkan seks songsang. Mereka ditugaskan untuk mengahwini sepasang lelaki dan perempuan. Apakah maknanya apabila mereka menasihati pasangan itu supaya setia kepada masing-masing. Sesungguhnya institusi perkahwinan dan kekeluargaan sudah luput dalam masyarakat Barat. Ramai daripada mereka tidak tahu siapa bapa mereka. Kemungkinan besar akan berlaku perkahwinan atau hubungan seks antara adik dengan abang, kakak dengan adik, bapa dengan anak, anak dengan ibu.

12. Mereka yang taksub dengan kebebasan akan berkata apa salahnya jika ini berlaku. Percayalah, masyarakat selepas ini akan dipenuhi dengan manusia yang cacat tubuh-badan, cacat akal fikiran dan besar kemungkinan aneka jenis penyakit baru akan menyerang msyarakat itu.

13. Sementara kita akui ada manusia yang jantina mereka tidak jelas, janganlah kerana ingin tidak memencilkan mereka, kita terima amalan Seksualiti Merdeka atau Free Seks dalam masyarakat kita. Amalan ini bukan sahaja berdosa tetapi akan runtuhkan masyarakat kita.

PELAJARAN SAINS DAN MATEMATIK

2011-11-16T04:12:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 15, 2011

1. Saya telah cuba menjelaskan berkali-kali bahawa penggunaan Bahasa Inggeris untuk mengajar sains dan matematik bukan untuk mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris atau memperbaiki penguasaan bahasa itu. Tujuannya ialah untuk menguasai ilmu sains dan matematik.

2. Sains dan matematik (hisab) bukan seperti mata pelajaran lain. Fakta sejarah, geografi, sastera tidak berubah dengan pengaliran masa. Fakta dalam sejarah, geografi dan sastera kekal dan tidak bertukar.

3. Sains sebagai ilmu berkembang melalui penyelidikan dan kajian sepanjang masa. Sains yang saya belajar di sekolah dan di universiti tidak sama dengan sains masa kini. Dahulu tidak ada sains elektronik, komputer sains, sains angkasa lepas, “nano” sains, sains pembedahan dada, sains perubatan stem cell dan berbagai-bagai lagi. Semua ini di kenali dan diperkenal dari masa ke semasa melalui penyelidikan oleh pakar-pakar sains.

4. Mereka merekod dan menulis hasil kajian dan kaji selidik, perkataan dan ciptaan mereka sepanjang masa. Hampir tiap hari dikeluarkan kertas baru yang ditulis oleh penyelidik yang memperkenalkan teori dan discovery baru yang perlu diteliti dan difahami oleh ahli-ahli sains untuk mengemaskini ilmu mereka. Tanpa mengetahui ilmu yang terkini maka pengetahuan dan penggunaan ilmu baru ini tidak boleh dimanfaatkan baik semasa mengajar atau untuk diguna dalam ciptaan dan rekaan produk yang baru.

5. Contohnya telefon. Dahulu dawai menyambung alat telefon dengan operator yang akan menyambung panggilan. Kemudian operator diganti dengan memutar dail yang menyambung panggilan secara otomatik, kemudian disambung melalui radio, kemudian diguna disk dan satelit yang mampu menyambung telefon bimbit terus kepada telefon bimbit di mana sahaja.

6. Kita hanya menjadi pengguna kerana tidak tahu teknologi untuk mencipta dan mengeluar telefon bimbit. Yang tahu hanyalah yang belajar dalam bahasa Inggeris. Sampai bilakah kita hanya akan menjadi pengguna semata-mata. Bolehkah kita jadi bangsa maju bertamadun tinggi selagi kita menjadi bangsa pengguna?

7. Kita akan berkata orang Jepun, Korea, Jerman tidak guna Bahasa Inggeris. Ini tidak benar. Mereka perlu ada ramai yang memahami Bahasa Inggeris untuk membaca kertas-kertas dari penyelidik walaupun untuk memahami perkataan-perkataan baru untuk bahagian-bahagian tertentu supaya dapat memahami fungsi dan mengguna perkataan itu sebelum ditulis dalam bahasa mereka.

8. Mustahil mereka boleh memahami makna sesuatu perkataan atau sesuatu proses atau fungsi jika mereka tidak faham secara menyeluruh ayat bahkan rencana berkenaan. Kita faham perkataan “nano” umpamanya kerana kita faham diskripsi dalam Bahasa Inggeris yang menyebut perkataan “nano”. Jika kita jumpa perkataan ini tanpa konteksnya kita tak mungkin faham apa dianya “nano” dan tak mungkin kita gunanya dalam bahasa kita. Demikian jugalah dengan perkataan-perkataan yang dipinjam dari bahasa-bahasa lain termasuk Bahasa Arab.

9. Orang Arab dahulu mempelajari Bahasa Yunani (Greek) untuk menguasai ilmu yang diterokai oleh orang Greek. Ilmu orang Greek tidak banyak dan akhirnya ilmu mereka diterjemah sepenuhnya kepada Bahasa Arab. Untuk mengalih bahasa mereka perlu faham bahasa Greek.

10. Lepas itu orang Arab menambah kepada ilmu ini melalui kajian mereka dalam bahasa mereka. Dalam jangkamasa seribu tahun, orang Arab berupaya dan dapat membuat kajian dan menambah kepada sains yang diperolehi dari orang Greek dan membukukannya.

11. Kemudian orang Eropah semasa Zaman Gelap (Dark Ages) mempelajari dan menguasai Bahasa Arab untuk mendapat ilmu yang dikumpul, diterokai dan dibukukan oleh Orang Arab. Dengan menguasai ilmu sains Arab maka sains dikembangkan pada mulanya dalam Bahasa Latin, dan kemudian bahasa-bahasa Eropah. Proses ini mengambil masa, walaupun jumlah ilmu yang diperolehi dari orang Arab tidaklah begitu banyak seperti sekarang.

12. Kita berada diperingkat mencari ilmu bangsa lain yang dibukukan dengan begitu banyaknya dalam bahasa mereka. Proses penyelidikan dan catitan atau pembukuan ilmu baru ini berlangsung sepanjang masa. Hampir tiap-tiap ilmu baru diperkenalkan dan kadang-kadang ilmu lama diganti dengan ilmu baru kerana yang lama tidak dapat dipertahankan lojiknya.

13. Hampir semu ilmu baru ini diperkenalkan dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Ia terlalu banyak untuk diterjemah kedalam Bahasa Melayu. Tidak mungkin kita adakan penterjemah yang mencukupi yang fasih dalam Bahasa Melayu, fasih dalam Bahasa Sains Inggeris dan pakar dalam bidang sains berkenaan. Jika ada seorang dua, tak mungkin mereka sanggup menghabiskan hayat mereka menterjemah sains yang datang dlam bahasa Inggeris.

14. Sebenarnya universiti-universiti di kebanyakkan negara mengguna buku teks Inggeris untuk pembelajaran perubatan. Sebabnya ialah oleh kerana sukar mendapat buku teks sains diperingkat tinggi dalam bahasa mereka sendiri.

15. Untuk melancar sebuah kapal angkasa dari daratan supaya bertemu dengan Stesen Angkasa Antarabangsa (ISS) memerlukan perkiraan dan perhitungan yang amat kompleks. Ini disebabkan dunia yang menjadi tempat melancar sedang berpusing mengikut axis (paksi) utara selatan dalam 24 jam. Tempat pelancaran ada kalanya siang dan ada kalanya malam. Dimasa yang sama axis itu juga bergerak mengikut musim. Juga dunia sedang bergerak mengeliling matahari.

16. Stesen angkasa juga bergerak dengan pantas supaya lokasinya tetap relatif dunia. Demikian juga kapal angkasa perlu dilancar naik mengikut satu trajectory yang serong dengan kelajuan tertentu supaya dapat bertemu dengan stesen angkasa pada jam, hari dan saat tertentu. Jika tidak bertemu kerana perkiraan tersilap, kapal dan anak kapal akan hilang di angkasa.

17. Semua perkiraan ini memerlukan kecekapan dalam bidang algorithm. Siapakah diantara kita yang menguasai ilmu ini tanpa menguasai bahasa Inggeris yang mampu membuat perkiraan ini?

18. Pelajaran bukan hanya bertujuan menjadi fasih dalam bahasa pengantar – baik Bahasa Melayu mahupun Bahasa Inggeris. Pelajaran adalah untuk memperoleh dan menguasai ilmu. Hanya bangsa yang berilmu sahaja yang akan mendiri tamaddun yang tinggi.

Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa

Ilmu Menegak Bangsa

THE FAILED COUNTRIES

2011-11-15T12:30:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 11, 2011

1. At the beginning of America’s war on terror, President Bush categorised several developing countries as failed countries.

2. I wonder whether Bush thinks a country like Greece, which is totally incapable of paying its debts after irresponsible financial management, is a successful country.

3. The debt of Greece has not only destroyed the country but it has dragged down all the European countries as well. Such is the disaster brought on by Greece’s impecunious ways that Europe is threatened with the possibility of financial collapse. So far the great economic and financial minds of Europe have not found any real solution. Instead there is the possibility that the failure would spread to Italy, Spain and Portugal.

4. Why has this happened to Europe? To find the answer one has to look into the European economic history, to look at how the European countries became so rich.

5. In the days of European imperialism, only Europe could make use of their engineering and technological skills to export manufactured goods to the rest of the world.

6. Feeling secure that they would be able to sustain this superiority in industry and trade and often benefitting from cheap raw material from their colonies and captive imperial markets, they allowed wages and profits to spiral up. Accordingly their GDP and per capita appeared to be high and they enjoyed ever higher standards of living. They classify their countries as developed.

7. Democracy and socialism forced the introduction of all kinds of social benefits. They acceded to demands for less work and more pay. They introduced pension schemes, paid leaves and holidays, double and quadruple pay for overtime, costly medical benefits and unemployment benefits. Very early workers were given the right to form unions and to strike. These were to prevent exploitation. But the rights were abused so that the remunerations and perks demanded had nothing to do with being exploited.

8. Soon the demand for higher remunerations and perks spread to the higher grades of workers and then to the executives. Bonuses for all were no longer related to profits made. They became actually delayed salaries, paid half-yearly or yearly.

9. The top executives were given stock options, bonuses exceeding their yearly pay, cars, houses and numerous allowances including golden handshakes even when they failed.

10. Naturally all these cause all their products and services to become very costly. With this comes an increasingly higher cost of living. Wages and perks were revised every now and again. With each round of wages and perks increase, there would be increased cost of living which in turn lead to demands for more increase in wages and perks.

11. All these would have gone on indefinitely but for the emergence of new industrial countries in the East. Japan, followed by Korea and then China industrialised and their low-cost high quality products pushed practically all the manufactured goods of the West off the shelf.

12. Threatened with the possibility of lower standard of living they created a financial market. Non-tangible products were invented for them to speculate and gamble. And they or at least the moneyed people and the game-theory experts made considerable amounts of money. With this no more capital was invested in the real business of producing goods and supplying services.

13. Then, they became very greedy. They started creating money to finance their gambling. To cut a long story short, the bubble burst. They lost all their money. Unable to go back to doing real business, to producing goods and supplying services, they began to fiddle with the monetary and banking systems.

14. They succeeded with Iceland and Ireland. But Greece proves intractable. This country enjoyed high life on borrowed money. Less work, more pay and more social benefits ate into Government revenue. Unwilling to face the wrath of the people the Government borrowed to finance the national budget. Unable to pay or service debts the lenders refused to give any more loans.

15. Actually the country became bankrupt. There is no way for the country to become solvent again. Its bankruptcy would in turn bankrupt European banks. This would be disastrous for Europe.

16. Basically the countries of Europe have failed. Their claim to be the showpiece of capitalism and democracy becomes hollow after they are forced to look at socialist undemocratic China for help.

17. But all efforts will fail unless they admit that they, like the developing countries, are poor. Poor people must live like poor people. Their bonuses, share options, perks, high pay and less work creed etc must be given up. The gambling in the financial market must also be stopped.

18. They have to go back to working, to producing goods and supplying service with lowered wages. They must sell off most of their assets (Greece is trying to do this now). But industrial discipline would be needed for foreign investors to buy the assets and run them.

19. Printing money and writing cheques will not help. They must cease to be in denial. They must admit they have failed, their creed and their systems have failed.

20. Many developing countries have failed. But many European countries including the United States of America have also failed.

ASEAN BUSINESSMEN

2011-10-31T18:56:00.003+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 31, 2011

*Saya dan isteri mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya Aidiladha kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, khususnya kepada jemaah Haji kita di Tanah Suci, semoga mendapat Haji yang Mabrur dan selamat kembali ke tanah air. Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha*

1. Asean businessmen wants to know about the European Union and the Eurozone and the financial crisis plaguing them.

2. For this they invited Tony Blair – the failed Prime Minister of Britain. Blair is the least educated about Europe and its management.

3. What he did as PM of the United Kingdom was to trot at the heels of President Bush. When Bush lied, he came up with an even more amazing lie. He claimed that Iraq could attack Britain with missiles etc within 45-minutes, using weapons of mass destruction which he declared Iraq had.

4. To prevent this attack Britain must, together with the United States, attack Iraq in a pre-emptive war.

5. Then after occupying Iraq and searching for weapons of mass destruction, none were discovered.

6. Unfazed Blair declared that the attack on Iraq was to remove “dictator” Saddam Hussein.

7. After he was removed as PM, the British set up a Commission to go into the misdeeds of Blair. The British regarded Blair as the worst PM of Britain. They made it clear he was a liar. His lies resulted in British soldiers being killed and wounded. (That a hundred thousand plus of innocent Iraqis were also killed is of course acceptable).

8. This liar is apparently looked upon by Asean businessmen as a sage, as a man whose words must be listened to in order to understand the problems faced by the EU.

9. The only thing they can learn from the liar Blair is how to lie. This man is guilty of war crimes, of mass murder. He should be tried and punished. And businessmen should not learn how to lie.

THE TRAGEDY OF LIBYA

2011-10-30T02:26:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 28, 2011

1. One is always shocked when someone one knows suffers a tragic end. Maybe for the enemies of Gaddafi, he deserves what he got. But that does not lessen my sadness over the manner of his demise.

2. As Prime Minister I met Gaddafi several times. He was always hospitable. Much of my time with him was spent in answering questions explaining about Malaysia. He seemed to want to learn about developing a country. I believe he wanted to do the same for Libya.

3. In his early years he had plans for improving the lives of the Libyans. He, it was, who initiated the irrigation of the fertile coastal areas through building the great artificial river. A Korean contractor undertook the job, building a huge pipeline to carry underground water from the distant interior to huge tank storage farms and then to irrigate the land.

4. I was much impressed by this project. Obviously he cared enough for his country and people to do this. But beyond that nothing much was done. Despite huge revenues from oil exports the country remained poorly developed. The people were relatively poor for a country with huge oil reserves.

5. The Western press reported about his alleged cruelty against his detractors and enemies. But I have always been leery of the Western press. According to them I am also a great dictator who imprisoned hundreds of my political enemies. I know this is not true. And so I discounted much of the western press reports about Gaddafi.

6. But he was certainly deficient in understanding the purpose of Government. He had no real plan for developing his country and prospering his people. He did not travel much to see how the other countries were developing. But his house where my wife and I had lunch with him and his wife was no palace. It was not even luxurious.

7. Most of the time he was reclusive and after the western attempt to kill him, he feared for his life. He met visitors in a tent in a walled compound.

8. I do not know about the cruelties perpetrated by him or his people. During his retreat recently I did not read about his prisoners being liberated or mass graves of the victims of his cruelty. Maybe these will be discovered later.

9. In war cruelty is to be expected. In fact war legitimises cruelty, including killings. Still to see the cruelty, the killing inflicted on someone you know, shocks and saddens you.

10. I am saddened by the killing of Gaddafi. He should be arrested and tried for his crime. But I know that is not the way today. Osama bin Laden was also executed by the United States’ soldiers. There are contracts made by “civilised democratic” Governments on several people as there were in the past I fear the fate of Gaddafi will befall others who fail to see the writing on the wall. The powerful, with vested interest in a regime change will ensure that this will happen. They have much to gain.

11. I hope and pray that Libya will get a good Government after this, headed by leaders who truly believe in good Government, who will be prepared to lose in clean elections which will not be manipulated.

BUSINESS ASEAN

2011-10-25T20:14:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 25, 2011

**Saya mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Hari Deepavali kepada semua pengunjung dan pembaca blog Chedet.cc**

1. One learns from the successful. One cannot learn much from the failures except to know what not to do, and to reject their creed and methods. Certainly one should not learn how to be successful from cheats, from liars, from people who are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands through their incompetence and willingness to lie.

2. It would seem however that there are people in the Asean countries who are willing to pay good money for the dubious privilege of getting advice from a person who is a known liar, responsible for leading his country into a futile war, and has openly been rejected by his own people.

3. Congratulations.

USE OF ELECTRICITY

2011-10-18T11:45:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 18, 2011

1. Today the consumption of electricity is increasing at a rapid rate. We are spending a lot of money on building new power plants. We need them of course. We need the light and the power which electricity provides us. We cannot do without electricity.

2. Many people are however complaining about their electricity bill. It makes a big hole in their pockets.

3. Because of this researchers have worked hard to lower the cost of electricity without sacrificing the brightness that we have come to think is indispensable.

4. Recently I was shown new lighting systems which can save more than half our electricity bill without sacrificing our partiality towards bright lights.

5. We are already familiar with the light emitting diode or LED in our cars and televisions. Now the LED can be used for household lighting, for lighting of buildings and stadiums and for street lighting.

6. LED consumes less than half the electricity needed for the same brightness from the conventional incandescent bulbs and fluorescent tubes. Unlike fluorescent tubes LED light need noballast and the light comes on instantly upon switching on.

7. Supposing all our streets and roads are lit up with these energy saving system we would be saving millions of Ringgits. Actually it has been installed in Langkawi and Karak highway. If all the streets in Malaysia are lit this way, and also all our houses and offices we can do away with some of our power plants. At the very least we need not build too many more.

8. That will be a plan for the nation. But for individual consumers the bill would be much smaller, maybe as low as half the present bill.

9. Besides lighting, there are now air-conditioners and refrigerators which consume less power. These too can reduce electricity bills for householders and restaurants.

10. However the cost of changing to this new system would be higher than the cost of the old system. This makes people reluctant to switch to the new system. On the other hand the savings from the reduced consumption of electricity would, in maybe three years time, cover the extra cost. Since the system can last much longer than three years the user would enjoy quite a lot of savings.

11. The power company may not feel happy at receiving less money for the sale of electricity.

12. For a time the installed capacity would not be fully utilised. But consumption would still grow and eventually the capacity would be fully utilised.

13. What this means is that the power company need not invest in new plants. This would constitute a savings for the power company.

14. The real gainers would be the suppliers of the new energy efficient system and the big users. The nation too would gain.

QE II

2011-10-07T18:44:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 07, 2011

1. No. QE II is not short for Queen Elizabeth II. Nor is it about the great cruise ship QE II.

2. It is about Quantitative Easing II, i.e. quantitative easing for the second time.

3. What is quantitative easing? It is about printing and issuing money to overcome a financial problem. Lately Britain has printed 75 billion pounds to help distressed banks and others.

4. It is very innovative. And very easy. When you lose money just print the replacement. If Malaysia had done a Q.E. during the Asian Currency Crisis, what would the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the financial and monetary experts say?

5. We would be condemned. We would be told that the Malaysian economy would collapse. They would make dark predictions about black markets in dollars as the Ringgit would be useless. It would be rejected. It is not money!! etc. etc.

6. But the United States of America did a Quantitative Easing with the printing and issuing of three trillion dollars to help distressed banks and insurance companies. Now Britain is following in the footsteps of elder brother.

7. How nice it would be if our pocket is picked, we are allowed to print some money to replace what is lost. But of course we cannot. Even our country cannot, although our central bank, unlike the Federal Reserve Bank of America, is Government owned.

8. We were told that the best way to handle a financial crisis was to let our banks and businesses go bankrupt. How that would help I do not know. What I could see were people being thrown out of jobs and any number of social problems. But that was the “conventional wisdom”. Why are the great institutions not advising Western Governments to let businesses go bankrupt?

9. Ah! But they did. Lehman Brothers was allowed to go bankrupt. Did it solve the financial crisis? No. As far as I can tell the crisis simply got worse and refused to go away.

10. They resorted to all the things they told us not to do when our financial situation was in a tailspin as the currency traders devalued the Ringgit. They bailed out failed companies and banks with huge sums of money, they stop short selling, they talk of controlling the currency traders, etc. etc.

11. We recovered by doing the forbidden. But they have not recovered. My feeling as an economic and financial ignoramus is that they are not going to recover any time soon. They will not recover because they are still in a state of denial. They still believe they are rich, as rich as before they plunged into the crisis. And believing that they can somehow continue to remain rich, they are unable to behave like poor people.

12. So they have not stopped spending. They are ever prepared to go to war, to produce costly weapons, to do research on more killing machines, to maintain military bases all over the world, operate huge fleets of war ships and military aircraft, updating them etc. etc. They must keep up the big power wealthy country image even if their people have no jobs, riot and protest.

13. The great financial crisis will be with us for a long time. Even when it is resolved the aftermath will see slow recovery for the giants of the west. They will find difficulties in returning to doing real business of producing goods, providing services and trading.

SUPPORTING MH/AK

2011-09-27T16:47:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 27, 2011

1. I have been asked why I support bringing MAS and Air Asia together. Don’t I know that it is a bad deal; that MAS has been cheated by Air Asia?

2. I support MAS/Air Asia cooperation because for years now I have been fed-up with the management of MAS. Government had supported MAS with funds and protection but MAS had never done well.

3. Air Asia is a newcomer but it has managed to sustain itself. Despite giving free seats and cheap fares it is still surviving. And it is apparently making some profits. By right it should close down by now. That it is still around must be because its management knows something that I don’t know.

4. I visited the head office of Air Asia and I flew Air Asia to London and I understand a little how Air Asia operates.

5. Let us take one example. Air Asia Airbus A340 flew into Stanstead, England, with a full load of passengers and I mean full load. The business class was full.

6. I will not mention the VIP treatment that I got. It is not standard and therefore it should not be cited as an example.

7. But what I noticed about the operation is that having flown for 13 hours non stop KL-London, the aircraft flew back to KL one-and-a-half hours later (with a different crew of course).

8. But MAS aircrafts stay on the ground in Heathrow for at least 12 hours. On some routes the air crew would stay in hotels for four days before flying back.

9. When airlines stay on the ground they will not help earn income for the company. Instead they have to pay ground parking charges. Commercial aircrafts should be flying most of the time. Then and then only will they earn money for airlines. And air crews should fly after the statutory rest requirement. Can it be that four days rest is required to certify that crews are fit to fly.

10. This is just one example of not so good management. MAS has a huge staff but Air Asia make-do with a very much smaller staff. They engage in multi-tasking. In fact Air Asia does everything possible to minimise overheads. It would be interesting to compare MAS’ overheads per aircraft against that of Air Asia.

11. Long ago I told a very senior man in MAS to learn from Air Asia its operations and how to cut cost. I don’t know whether he did.

12. When I was told by Azman Mokhtar that MAS was looking into ways of working together with Air Asia, I did not object. In fact I welcome the proposal.

13. How the co-operation is to be carried out was not told to me. That is up to the parties concerned. All I wanted to see is Air Asia’s management playing a role, indirectly or directly in the management of MAS. I believe Air Asia can contribute in this area i.e. unless MAS is not prepared to learn from a “cheap” airline. That would be a tragedy.

14. I hope I have made clear why I support MAS and Air Asia working together.

RADIATION

2011-09-22T12:48:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 21, 2011

1. When X-Ray was first discovered it was used extensively in medicine. X-Rays were taken of the human body to detect diseases. Medical assistants and doctors operate X-Ray machines quite oblivious to the dangers from radiation.

2. After many years it was found that X-Rays cause certain diseases and affect fertility. Now when an X-Ray is taken, the radiologists stay outside the X-Ray room.

3. But we still use the X-Ray on patients because the effect of radiation is only felt when exposure is continuous or very frequent as with the staff in the X-Ray room. I was X-rayed many times during treatment for my heart and lungs.

4. I am against nuclear power plants because nuclear material once activated cannot be reversed. The nuclear wastes keep on radiating harmful rays for a million years. There is no really safe way to dispose them.

5. During the time when I was PM, we had problems with activated tin mining waste or amang, used for colour TV. We had to bury the waste in thick concrete deep in the ground. Now colour TV use plasma or LED and they produce practically no radiation.

6. However, there is now no more radiation at the site where the activated amang was buried. It is now safe to live on the site.

7. Chernobyl is near the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

8. Although the Chernobyl nuclear plant is still dangerous, Kiev is quite safe from the radiation emanating from the damaged nuclear power plant. The level of radiation is very low.

9. There was fear of Tokyo being affected by the accident to the Fukushima nuclear plant. But the radiation level in Tokyo is reported to be quite insignificant. Tokyo is safe.

10. Clearly the danger from radiation is dependant on the intensity of the rays and the duration of exposure. We are all exposed to some radiation from the sun, but it is not harmful.

11. The question is whether the Lynas plant for processing rare earth is a dangerous source of radiation. There are such plants in many countries where rare earth is processed for use in batteries and magnets. There have been no reports of radiation affecting the health of the workers or the people living in close proximity.

12. The proposed Lynas plant has been inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world authority on nuclear material. They have not reported that Lynas is a dangerous project.

13. But protests are still going on. The only conclusion one can make is that the protests are political. No matter how many investigations and studies are made the protest will go on. It is not about danger to health. It is about defeating the Government in the coming election.

14. We should be careful with radioactive material. But we should not allow political activists and non-genuine environmentalists deprive us of the economic benefits rare-earth offer through unsubstantiated scare stories.

15. Although I am still not in favour of nuclear power plants, I have nothing against the Lynas project. The Government should not be afraid to let the project to go ahead.

ADVICE UNSOLICITED

2011-09-15T13:05:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 15, 2011

1. An online news portal recently reported the Mufti of Perak, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, said in a forum that he advised me not to take action against Anwar Ibrahim because I had no witness and I might lose the case.

2. I am sorry but I cannot recall him giving me such advise, not personally or even in public occasions when I met him.

3. I had been convinced by witnesses, but, if by witness the good Mufti meant four sinless people actually seeing the deed, as required in Shariah court, I admit I did not have.

4. The court case was initiated by the officers responsible, not by me. But supposing no court action was taken, how do I explain why Anwar had to be sacked because he was unsuitable to succeed me as Prime Minister?

5. If I drop him, and I had no choice but to drop him because of his immorality, how do I explain to people? The accusation against me would be that it was political.

6. If I said that he was immoral and therefore I had to drop him, people would want to know about the case. Anwar would certainly sue me if I said that be committed sodomy. He would hold rallies all over the country to claim that it was all a conspiracy, a plot to stop him from becoming Prime Minister. Even when the court decided that he was guilty he was still able to convince people that it was all a conspiracy.

7. Even if the Mufti did advise me, and I deny that he did, I would not be able to take that kind of advice. I would be covering up. Let the court decide. Even the special hearing for his appeal after he was found guilty by the courts concluded that he did indulge in sodomy, but not on the day and date alleged by the prosecution.

8. The third judge in that hearing validated the findings of the three courts which heard his case.

9. The learned Mufti may be prepared to accept an immoral person to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. I am sorry but I hold my responsibility as an amanah, a trust, and I never can be prepared to accept an immoral Prime Minister.

10. I would have ignored the claim by the Mufti that he advised me. But the report is in in the online news portal and that has political implications unfavourable towards me.

9/11 2001

2011-09-08T22:32:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 08, 2011

1. I had written in this blog that the attack against the New York World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on 9/11 2001 was not by Muslim terrorist. It could have been by other groups.

2. In the Star of Friday 2nd September, a report by AFP, date-lined New York has this to say:
“For some Americans, the deaths of nearly 3000 people was not the scariest thing about 9/11. It was realising who carried out the attack: yes, the American Government.”

3. I believe Arab Muslims are angry enough to sacrifice their lives and become suicide bombers. But they or their handlers do not strike me as capable of planning and strategising such attacks so as to maximise the damage to the enemy.

4. More often they would kill other Arabs who may be quite innocent. Frequent targets are mosques at prayer time.

5. But consider the attack on 9/11. The planning must have taken a considerable length of time. The candidates had to learn to fly in tiny aircrafts. Unless they were already airline pilots familiar with big passenger aircraft, their pupil pilot licenses would not be of much help to fly the four aircrafts to their targets which were not an the route of the planes.

6. Planning to hijack four aircrafts simultaneously would require great precision in timing and logistics. One aircraft maybe. But four simultaneously!! I don’t think Arab terrorists from Saudi Arabia can carry out this highly sophisticated operation with such success.

7. Then there was the collapse of the two towers hit by the aircrafts. They came down nicely upon themselves without toppling against the other buildings close by. It looks more like planned demolition of buildings than collapse consequent upon being hit by aircrafts.

8. But a third building also collapsed in the same fashion although it was not hit by any aircraft or by the collapsing twin towers. What is the explanation for this untouched building collapsing upon itself and not damaging other buildings nearby?

9. Then there is the total disappearance of the aircraft which hit the Pentagon building. There was no debris of any kind, no broken parts of the aircraft, no black box, and no human bodies flung into the surroundings. Is it possible for an aircraft to vaporise totally after a crash?

10. And the fourth aircraft which was supposed to have crashed in an open field. Again no sign of any debris. No big crater. Did it vaporise into nothingness also. Did the innocent passengers also vaporise?

11. The American press is great at reporting incidents. They will give full coverage, with great pictures sketches and detailed descriptions. For months they would publish stories with revealing photographs. They would interview the relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes. But the American press was strangely silent about 9/11.

12. It is now the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Bush lied about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. As a result hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, Afghans and a few thousand of young American soldiers died, thousands more are wounded, maimed for life, suffering mental breakdowns. Two countries have been devastated and fratricidal wars have become endemic. And still no democracy.

13. This is the legacy of George W. Bush. If they can lie so as to kill Iraqis, Afghans and American soldiers, it is not unthinkable for Bush & Co. to lie about who was responsible for 9/11. Human lives do not seem to mean much to Bush!!

KARPAL DAN MAT SABU

2011-09-05T14:45:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 03, 2011

1. Akhbar melaporkan sesuatu yang pelik.

2. Sementara Mat Sabu memuji pengganas komunis, Karpal Singh pula mencuit perasaan Mat Sabu dan mempertahankan peranan yang dimainkan oleh anggota polis dan pasukan keselamatan Malaysia yang lain dalam menyelamatkan negara daripada pengganas.

3. Sungguh aneh sikap Karpal. Tetapi sebenarnya Karpal sebagai ahli politik amat cekap dan sedar akan kemarahan anggota keselamatan terhadap kenyataan Mat Sabu yang boleh mengurangkan sokongan mereka kepada Pakatan.

4. Sebab itu ia dengan pantas membuat kenyataan untuk mengurangkan kemarahan terhadap Mat Sabu dan seterusnya menyelamat Pakatan sedikit sebanyak.

5. Sesungguhnya di masa lampau terdapat satu usaha dikalangan pemimpin Pas untuk mempertahankan pengganas komunis. Sebabnya ialah kerana ingin mengurangkan rasa terhutang budi kepada pemimpin Umno dahulu yang telah dapat membatal rancangan Malayan Union British, menewaskan pengganas komunis dan memerdekakan negara.

6. Terdapat dikalangan murid sekolah yang diajar oleh entah siapa supaya berkata Tunku Abdul Rahman adalah pemimpin negara yang terburuk sekali.

7. Anwar Ibrahim pula pernah berjanji apabila sahaja ia menjadi Perdana Menteri ia akan benarkan Chin Peng kembali semula ke Malaysia.

8. Pas sekarang sudah gugur matlamat perjuangannya untuk menjadikan Malaysia negara Islam. Juga digugur ialah hasrat Pas untuk melaksanakan hukum hudud. Bersama dengan pembersihan pengganas komunis, Pas berharap kepercayaan DAP kepadanya akan memberi kemenangan kepada Pas apabila melawan Umno dalam PRU 13.

9. Aliran ini tidak sihat bagi Pakatan. Sedikit sebanyak sokongan rakyat, terutama dikalangan anggota pasukan keselamatan dan keluarga mereka akan terhakis. Saya percaya pemimpin yang lebih berpengalaman diantara mereka seperti Karpal Singh akan cuba mengurangkan kelancaran ke arah pembersihan komunis Malaysia untuk tidak terlalu memburukkan persepsi rakyat, khususnya mereka yang telah berkorban untuk menyelamatkan negara ini.

10. Walau apapun pendirian pemimpin Pas tidak akan menjejas kesetiaan pengikut mereka kerana fanatisme mereka tetapi janganlah pula orang lain juga membutakan mata akan kesanggupan Pas dan sudah tentu PKR, untuk menidakkan apa sahaja sumbangan pemimpin UMNO dahulu demi mendapat sokongan DAP dan orang Cina khususnya.

11. Pas sekarang tidak lagi Pas Ustaz Zulkifli, Burhanuddin Al-Helmi, Asri Muda. Pas sekarang sanggup membelakangkan Islam pun kerana gila kuasa dan Putrajaya. Na’uzubillah.

SALAM KEMERDEKAAN

2011-09-01T16:27:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 30, 2011

Dikesempatan ini, saya ingin mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan yang ke 54 kepada semua rakyat Malaysia. Semoga kemerdekaan yang telah kita kecapi selama ini akan terus kekal.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

2011-09-01T16:24:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 29, 2011

Saya dan isteri saya ingin mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir Batin kepada semua rakyat Malaysia khususnya kepada muslimin dan muslimat. Kepada yang pulang beraya dikampung halaman, pandulah kenderaan dengan cermat dan kami berdoa agar sampai ke pangkuan keluarga tersayang dengan selamat.

POLITICS AND THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY

2011-08-25T23:52:00.003+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 25, 2011

1. The New Economic Policy has been denigrated by opposition politicians including Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim until it seems to be the worse policy ever conceived and implemented in Malaysia.

2. While Ramon Navaratnam blames the NEP as being the cause of foreign investors not coming to Malaysia, Anwar has condemned it for the abuses and corruption involved in its implementation.

3. Anwar loudly proclaims that the NEP benefits only the cronies of the Government and that the contracts, Approval Permits and licenses given out under the NEP involve corruption. He makes it sound as if the NEP did not benefit the Malays and other Bumiputera at all.

4. While it must be admitted that a few of the recipients of APs, contracts and licenses may know the leaders of Government or are members of UMNO, and that there may be corruption involved in some cases but the charge is not warranted because in most cases the benefits of the NEP has been enjoyed by almost every Malay and Bumiputera. In fact indirectly and in some cases directly it has benefited the non-Bumiputera as well.

5. For example every Malay child is helped in his education with free text books and often with free meals, Schools are built in the remotest areas where before there were no schools. Hostels are built for mostly Malay and other Bumiputera children so that they can live a better life and are able to study in better surroundings then in their homes in the villages.

6. For the qualified, tertiary education is readily accessible, with huge numbers of scholarships. As a result many of the children of poor families or of families unable to pay high fees, now hold university degrees, are highly qualified and many are professionals. As an example where before only 5% of the doctors in Malaysia were Malays and Bumiputera now 40% of them are Malays.

7. It is the same with the other professions. Just count the number of students in the public Universities in the country and those abroad on scholarships and one will appreciate how the NEP has benefitted the Malays and other Bumiputera in education.

8. It must be remembered that providing good educations, free book, food, hostels, scholarships benefit not just the recipients but also the parents. The NEP contributed most in the education of Bumiputera.

9. When under the NEP shares of companies were allocated to Malay applicants, they invariably sold the shares for capital gains almost immediately. This is because they did not have the money to purchase the shares and they had to repay the bank loans they had taken.

10. To avoid this the Government decided to create unit trusts so that the shares can only be sold back to the managers. Thus was the National Equity Corporation born.

11. Today more than ten and half million (10,500,000) Malays and other Bumiputera hold shares in these unit trusts with total holdings valued at one hundred and thirty-five billion (135,000,000,000) Ringgit. This is a direct benefit from the NEP. The unit trust make up a substantial percentage of corporate wealth held by the Bumiputera.

12. Felda, the Federal Land Development Authority was started before NEP. But under the NEP the role of the authority was greatly augmented. The settlers benefit from the spin-offs into the transport business, refining and marketing of the produce.

13. Felda has been nursed until it has become the biggest plantation company in the world. The settlers have much higher incomes while their children are much better educated. All these are due to the new economic policy.

14. Microcredit is extended to the smallest village enterprises and this has helped tens of thousands of Bumiputera villagers, especially the women in business.

15. There are now thousands of Bumiputera businessmen who benefitted from the importation of used and new cars, from becoming agents and vendors to the national car projects and also in the oil and gas business as a result of the NEP.

16. The best of them have grown big, some very big, becoming car dealers and assemblers, housing developers, steel fabricators, boat and ship builders, IT, transportation, ports and shipping, food and cosmetic manufacturers and many other businesses.

17. The privatisation scheme have also benefited Bumiputera business greatly, including the supply of materials and employment of engineers. Today they undertake multi-million dollar contracts in foreign countries.

18. Are they all cronies, these successful ones? There are far too many of them to be cronies. That some are known to Government leaders is to be expected because Government leaders in Malaysia are accessible to everyone as a matter of policy. They may be UMNO members. But then there are more than 3 million UMNO members. Is the Government expected to exclude them from the benefits of the NEP?

19. The fact is that almost all of those who have succeeded have benefited from the NEP. Those who show capability cannot be excluded from the support under the NEP. In fact it is safer to help those with good records then to give to untried people.

20. Why is it that the Government is doing all these under the NEP? The answer is simple. The Malay businessmen do not get opportunities from the private sector. They never get contracts or sub-contracts or contracts for supplies in the private sector. Even after they have proved their capabilities when carrying out Government contracts, they will not get contracts from the private sector.

21. On the other hand even when the NEP was being implemented, many of the Government contracts still go to non-Malays.

22. The accusation of cronyism is made without any real basis. There are far too many benefitting from the NEP at all levels and in all fields for the policy to be benefitting only the cronies.

23. There may be corruption but the NEP would not have succeeded to the extent shown if corruption prevails in every case. The focus on cronyism and corruption is political, not based on the real role and achievements of the NEP.

24. If there is no NEP, the economic position of the Bumiputera would be dismal. There would not be as many Bumiputera professionals as there are now. The disparities in all fields of economic activities would be very much greater as the national economy grows.

25. Some of the Malay beneficiaries of the NEP are supportive of the idea that the NEP should be scrapped. They dislike the benefits they had obtained from it to be mentioned as this would amount to, what the Malays called “ungkit”, i.e. to remind one of a debt of gratitude. Yet in Malay culture one should never forget the “budi” of another. As Muslims they should know that thankfulness for any benefit is enjoined by Islam.

26. Corruption and cronyism should be condemned, but most of the accusation is unjustified. They are motivated by personal and sectarian politics. The fair-minded must consider also the good achieved by the NEP.

27. It is sad that people who had benefitted from the NEP should want to deny it to others who are still in need of it.

28. Admittedly the NEP has not achieved the target to remove the disparities between races in Malaysia completely. But there can be no doubt that it has reduced the disparities enough to keep Malaysia stable even during the financial crisis. What is more, it did this without stifling the remarkable growth.

29. Have the non-Bumiputera benefitted from the NEP? They have. They have simply because invariably what is given to the Bumiputera must spin-off to the non-bumis. In some cases the Ali-Baba phenomena are exhibited, with the Bumiputera merely getting a small portion for just lending his name. But even if a Bumiputera contractor decides to implement the contract, he still has to procure building materials, skilled labour etc from the non-Bumiputera companies. Specialised work must also be given to non-Bumiputera as there are hardly any Bumiputera sub-contractor capable of doing this. In fact a substantial part of the projects during the NEP period went to non-Bumiputera. It cannot be that the non-Bumiputera earn no profits from these contracts, sub-contracts, supplies and skilled labour.

30. If there is no NEP and the contracts etc go directly to non-Bumiputera, then there would be no spin-off to the Bumiputera at all. The non-Bumiputera do not need Bumiputera for their contracts. The result must be increasing disparities in wealth between Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera as the economy grows. The dichotomy already seen in our Malaysian society will become worse when this happens.

31. Politicians must find issues to support their bids for power. But condemning the NEP can only be done by twisting or ignoring the contributions of that policy to political stability and the economic success of Malaysia.

The Arab Spring II

2011-08-17T12:34:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 17, 2011

1. The Western Press has decided to label the upheavals in the Arab countries as the Arab Spring. But it is no spring as the attempts to overthrow authoritarian Governments in these countries have resulted in bloodshed and serious damage to property and to the economy.

2. While in Tunisia and Egypt the uprising of the people has been successful, the fighting in the other countries is still going on. There is no doubt that one way or another there will be changes political, economic and social before the uprisings come to an end.

3. But overthrowing the Government is not the end of the struggle. A greater struggle lies ahead – that of setting up new Governments; the true purpose of the uprisings.

4. If the choice is to be through the democratic process, those with ambitions will have to seek for popular support. For this political parties would have to be formed.

5. Unfortunately the number of political parties cannot be limited as there would be at best a weak interim Government quite unable to do this. There can literally be hundreds of parties, with none being big enough to win a majority of seats in an election to form a Government.

6. A free for all would follow as the small parties jockey for positions. The likelihood is that no one would be able to form a majority Government and anarchy would set in. This might even lead to violence and break-down of law and order.

7. When the anarchy becomes serious, the only disciplined institution in the country would have to step in. This will usually be the military. A military Government would be set up usually with promises that it would be temporary.

8. To maintain law and order the military Government will have to crack down on disruptive dissensions. There will be arrests and detentions without trial. There will be varying degrees of suppression of opposition.

9. To ensure the loyalty of the junior officers and the rank and file of the military, privileges must be accorded to them. In a situation where the economy is disabled and there are shortages of food etc. the military Government would ensure that their men would not be without these essentials. Fairly rapidly the privileges will increase. There will be a black market for the food and goods supplied to the military men. Various degrees of power will be wielded by the military personnel. And power corrupts.

10. The division between the military and the people will widen. Complaints or adverse reaction by the people would meet with ever increasing suppression. Soon the military Government would be hated as much as the overthrown predecessor.

11. Having oppressed and suppressed the people, having thrown dissidents into detention and having executed some of them, the interim Government will find itself unable to keep the promise to hand back power. The interim Government has now become permanent, exercising power without being answerable to anyone but itself.

12. Egyptians should know this cycle. The military overthrew the king for various reasons. The people supported the military coup. But soon the military Government became authoritarian. As the leader aged, attempts would be made to create a dynasty. The leader wants to be succeeded by members of his family. The situation becomes intolerable again.

13. To ensure that this cycle would not repeat, democracy must be made to work. There cannot be too many political parties. The most successful democracies have very few parties, often only two. Somehow or other the leaders of the many parties must come together so as to form big parties with the capacity to gain a majority of the seats in Parliament.

14. The people too need to reject sectarian interests, be they racial, religious, ideological or territorial.

15. The most important mindset for everyone to accept is that no one would get everything that he or his sect considers as being their entitlement. Everyone has to make some sacrifice so that there would be room for the others to participate.

16. With this it would be possible for the many small parties to come together and form a unitary party or a coalition. The enlarged party would then have sufficient support to win a majority of the seats in order to form a credible Government.

17. The other need is for everyone to accept that in a democratic contest there will be winners and losers. It is important that everyone should accept losing. If not the winners would find themselves unable to govern the country as the losers would undermine the stability of the country which is required for a Government to function.

18. If the leaders and the people accept these two things, i.e. the willingness to downplay sectarian rights or entitlements at least partially and the willingness to accept defeat in elections, then democracy will work and elections will identify the party and the leaders who will form the Government.

19. If a unitary party is not possible than a coalition of parties should be formed.

20. This is a pre-election coalition. It is different from a coalition formed after elections when no party has won a majority to form the Government. A coalition of convenience such as this will always be held to ransom by the smaller party or parties which help to make up the necessary majority. A defection would result in the Government falling. The smaller party could then join the opposition to give it enough seats to form a Government. Clearly a post election coalition results in the tail wagging the dog.

21. A pre-election coalition would be more stable. The parties in the coalition could agree to the allocation of seats so that the coalition members would not contest against each other. Instead they should all support the coalition candidate no matter from which party he comes. This will ensure there will be no split in the votes of the coalition. By voting for a candidate from another coalition member, the party and its supporters can expect the other parties to vote for its candidates in the constituency allocated to it. Thus even if the number of supporters of a small party in the allocated constituency is not sufficient to ensure winning, the support of the supporters of the other coalition members can be sufficient to give its candidate a majority.

22. On the other hand if the individual parties put up candidates against each other in a constituency, the votes would be split. There will still be a winner but the split among voters would mean that the winner’s votes would often be less than a real majority of 50 per cent plus.

23. Assuming that there is understanding of the workings of democracy on the part of the people and the leaders, there would still be the minority extremists in all the groups who would object to any dilution of their beliefs or ideology. Extremists wield a far bigger influence in politics than is warranted by their numbers.

24. They frighten the moderates and the rationalists into undermining efforts at reconciling with others.

25. Usually no one among the moderates would want to take an open stand against the extremists. They fear being accused of betrayals and so losing support. In extreme cases the extremists may become violent to the point of assassinating the alleged betrayers of the cause.

26. A great deal of skill and diplomacy would be required to nullify the influence of the extremists. In countries where violence is a way of life; a creed, it will be very difficult. Such countries will be unstable when adopting democratic ways. There will be some degree of anarchy. And as has been pointed out earlier, anarchy is likely to result in military coups and authoritarian military Governments.

27. In the end it is up to the people whether they want a good Government or not. Democracy will give them a choice but democracy requires an understanding of its limitations. If this is understood and the rights are not abused, then democracy will give a good Government.

THE NEP

2011-08-14T17:37:00.003+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 12, 2011

1. Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam is vehement that the New Economic Policy is the cause of poor inflow of Foreign Direct Investments here.

2. One can fault the NEP for a lot of things but to blame it for the current slowdown in Foreign Direct Investments is not quite correct.

3. There are of course some investors who were and are put off by the NEP and the abuses involving it. But FDI actually contributed much to Malaysia’s industrialisation. And this happened when the NEP was in full swing, in fact picked up during the time when the NEP was being implemented.

4. Between 1986 to 1997, Malaysia attained the highest growth rates with FDI contributing much towards this achievement.

5. The FDI began to slow down only when China and Vietnam opened themselves to foreign investments. As the cost of labour in Malaysia rose, the countries with much lower cost of labour such as Indonesia and Thailand begun to attract more foreign investment. All these affected the flow of foreign investments into Malaysia.

6. Today foreign investments have decreased because of the financial problems faced by the developed countries.

7. Blaming the NEP is political. That is all there is to it.

8. That “the majority would argue that the (NEP) policy is the source of all problems facing the nation” as quoted by Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid here, does not mean that he agrees with the said majority.

9. Therefore he was correct in saying that Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam was “factually incorrect”.

10. Let us resurrect at the figures of FDI before NEP, and during the years the NEP was being implemented and compare them with those of neighbouring countries. We should also look at the economic growth figures of Malaysia since the NEP was implemented and compare with the period before NEP.

11. These figures would validate or disprove the claims of Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam and the majority that the NEP was at the root of all the problems in Malaysia.

12. Finally Malaysia was able to tackle the depression caused by the devaluation of its currency by currency traders without the social problems as witnessed in other countries affected by the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98 and thereafter. Indeed it was the partial success of the NEP in correcting the disparities between the races in Malaysia that the racial problems seen in neighbouring countries did not plague the nation.

ARAB SPRING I

2011-08-11T23:38:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 11, 2011

1. There is much gloating in the West over what is happening in the Arab countries. They, the West, have been peddling democracy to the world and at times they would assassinate leaders or invade countries so as to impose their democracy. Now the Arabs are doing this work for them. The Arabs themselves are overthrowing their authoritarian Governments so as to, presumably, install democratic Governments in their places.

2. Overthrowing Governments is serious business. It normally involves violence and killings. Fortunately the people in Tunisia and Egypt have achieved their objectives without too much bloodshed. But the Libyan Government is not ready to go. So are the Governments of Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.

3. The situation in these four countries is not to the liking of the western democrats. They want to make sure that the despotic rulers surrender and the forces of democracy take over. If the people cannot overthrow their Governments by themselves, than the West must take a hand in ensuring that the authoritarian rulers are deposed.

4. I don’t think it is right for the Western powers to interfere. We believe strongly in non-interference in the internal affairs of independent nations. That was what independence was about: the right to manage a nation’s affairs by its people. And the uprisings of people, be they simple demonstration, civil wars or rebellions are basically the internal affairs of the countries’ concerned. No one really has a right to interfere.

5. But then one remembers Cambodia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In Cambodia the Pol Pot regime decided to get rid of all intellectuals and others believed to be against the Government. The world knew something horrid was happening in that country but a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of nations stood in the way. As a result two million Cambodians were systematically bludgeoned to death.

6. In Bosnia-Herzegovina the Serbs openly announced that they intended to cleanse the country of European Muslims. With guns and bombs and missiles they set about doing this as the world watched live on TV. Even when NATO soldiers were sent in, they turned a blind eye when the Serbs systematically massacred 12,000 Bosnian men and boys while the women were raped. The Dutch soldiers tasked with protecting these people simply moved away.

7. Far from helping the Bosnians the West decreed that no weapons should be supplied to them. This is to “reduce” killings. Let the killings be done by the Serbs only. Allowing the Bosnians to defend themselves, would result in Serbs being killed also. And so the Bosnians were massacred by the Serbs, without Serb deaths adding to the numbers killed.

8. By the time the United Nations decided to send in a peace-keeping force, a hundred thousand Bosnians had been killed.

9. The price for non-interference is clearly very high. But is it better for other countries to send forces to help the rebels or the Government. The Americans went into Korea, Vietnam and Grenada to support the Governments of these countries. The result is a full-scale war in which a lot of people, not just soldiers were killed. The end of the wars saw Korea divided into two and the defeat of the United States in Vietnam. Only in Grenada was the mighty US successful.

10. Apparently interventions in the internal affairs of nations do not always yield good result. It is worse when force has to be used.

11. Interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq have resulted in increasing the numbers killed without the objectives being realised. Indeed the situation now is perhaps worse than before intervention.

12. Today we see NATO forces not just supporting the rebels in Libya but have actually carried out military assaults against Government forces. They have interpreted “no-fly zone” to mean outright aerial attacks against Gadaffi. In fact it is obvious that NATO is bent on assassinating the Libyan leader and his family. Is this the right way to reduce bloodshed?

13. Bloodshed is not something to be encouraged. But when attacks are made against the Government there is bound to be bloodshed.

14. We have all but forgotten that one of the most important reasons for setting up the United Nations is to end wars. What is happening in Libya and other Arab countries is war, civil war. It is the bounden duty of the United Nations to stop the wars. But the United Nations should not pass judgement and take sides. The United Nations should not help one side to defeat the other.

15. But then how should the United Nations go about stopping the killings? Is it by a “no-fly zone” resolution? We are seeing now that “no-fly zone” means aerial and ground attacks by NATO forces against Libyan Government forces. Basically the United Nations have declared war against Libya. It is hardly in keeping with an institution to end wars and promote peace.

16. What the United Nations should do is to engineer a peaceful solution. It should try to get the two sides to agree to negotiate, or to submit to United Nations arbitration, or to seek for judgement of the claims by a world court. If all these fail a referendum supervised by the UN should be held so as to ascertain the true wishes of the people.

17. If any side refuses to all these means of peaceful settlement, then the United Nations must act against the recalcitrant side. Force may need to be used to get the recalcitrant to accept United Nations’ efforts at peaceful settlement of the dispute.

18. It is important that the United Nations does not allow NATO or any other power to act on its behalf. The operation should be a United Nations operation commanded by United Nations – appointed commanders.

19. This action is not new because the United Nations has always been tasked to keep combatants apart. However the United Nations may have to use more force than usual in order to separate the warring factions and bring them to the negotiating table.

20. It is likely that if the operation is truly a United Nations operation for the purpose of giving both sides a hearing or for conducting a national referendum, the parties to the conflicts are more likely to show respect for the move.

MENGHANCURKAN UMNO

2011-08-07T16:45:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 06, 2011

1. Usaha sedang dibuat untuk melemahkan lagi UMNO supaya ia dapat dikalahkan dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13, bahkan jika boleh untuk menghancurkan UMNO sekarang ini juga.

2. Laporan dalam portal berita, oleh Muda Mohd Noor, mencerita berkenaan Penawar, sebuah badan bukan Kerajaan yang disertai oleh beberapa bekas ahli Parlimen UMNO yang kononnya tidak puas hati dengan Dato Seri Najib sebagai Perdana Menteri.

3. Kononnya saya dibelakang gerakan untuk menaikkan Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mengganti Najib.

4. Kesan dari laporan ini tentulah kecurigaan Najib terhadap timbalannya. Apabila Najib mempunyai sangkaan buruk terhadap Muhyiddin maka ahli-ahli UMNO pun akan berpecah dan memihak kepada Presiden atau Timbalan Presiden.

5. Pergolakan akan berlaku secara serius dalam UMNO dan ia akan menjadi lebih lemah untuk menghadapi Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

6. Terdahulu dari ini seorang pemberita semasa sidang akhbar telah bertanya kepada Najib samada dia lebih Melayu atau lebih Malaysian.

7. Soalan ini sengaja dibuat kerana Muhyiddin biasa mendakwa yang dianya lebih Melayu daripada Malaysian.

8. Sebenarnya soalan ini patut ditujukan kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, termasuk pemberita yang bertanya. Apakah rakyat Malaysia pelbagai keturunan lebih utama kaumnya atau lebih utamakan kerakyatan Malaysianya?

9. Ditujukan soalan ini kepada Najib ialah supaya dia menghadapi dilema. Jika dia menjawab dia lebih Melayu maka dia akan dituduh racist seperti tuduhan yang dilemparkan kepada Muhyiddin dan juga saya.

10. Sebaliknya kalau dia menjawab dia lebih Malaysian supaya tidak dituduh racist maka akan ternampak yang dia tidak secocok dengan timbalannya.

11. Jawapan Najib kepada soalan ini ialah dia tidak ingin dilihat tidak sependapat dengan timbalannya.

12. Secara tidak langsung ini bermakna dia lebih Malaysian, tidak seperti timbalannya yang menyatakan dia lebih Melayu. Sudah tentu ini akan menjadikan hubungan antara dua pemimpin UMNO lebih renggang.

13. Susulan daripada ini terdengar banyaklah berita angin berkenaan dengan renggangnya hubungan antara Najib dan Muhyiddin yang pasti akan memecahbelahkan UMNO lagi.

14. Hari ini terdapat banyak NGO Melayu ditubuh kerana ramai orang Melayu khuatir berkenaan dengan masa depan mereka. Pihak tertentu yang ingin mengurangkan sokongan Melayu kepada UMNO ingin menentukan NGO Melayu ini tidak berupaya mempengaruhi kepimpinan UMNO supaya terus mendapat sokongan orang Melayu.

15. Strategi pihak tertentu ini ialah dengan membuat tuduhan bahawa perjumpaan NGO ini sebenarnya bertujuan untuk menjatuhkan Najib, dan saya dan Muhyiddin adalah dalang yang bertanggungjawab, tentulah Najib akan mempunyai syak wasangka terhadap kami berdua dan NGO berkenaan.

16. Sekaligus laporan ini menakutkan Penawar dan NGO lain bahawa mesyuarat mereka akan disyaki oleh Najib bertujuan menjatuhkannya. Mereka juga akan terdedah kepada tuduhan yang mereka adalah orang Mahathir dan Mahathir ingin menjatuhkan Najib.

17. Dengan tuduhan-tuduhan dan laporan seperti ini maka orang Melayu akan takut berpolitik. Mereka akan terdedah kepada dakyah parti lawan yang memang pun ingin melihat mereka berpecah dan menjadi lebih lemah serta tidak dapat mempertahankan kepentingan orang Melayu sama sekali.

18. Saya ucap tahniah kepada mereka yang begitu cekap mengguna psikologi untuk menghancurkan UMNO dengan menimbulkan keraguan dan syak wasangka antara pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO dan ahli-ahlinya terhadap masing-masing dan terhadap kepimpinan UMNO sekarang.

19. Sebaliknya jika kita ingin tahu berkenaan siapa lebih Malaysian atau lebih utamakan kaumnya, kita patut tanya semua pemimpin-pemimpin semua parti politik dan NGO yag aktif dalam politik baik dari parti pemerintah ataupun parti lawan.

20. Mereka juga patut jelas apakah maknanya lebih Malaysian atau lebih utamakan kaum sendiri.

21. Saya sedar jawapan kepada soalan saya ialah saya racist (perkauman). Ini membuktikan ketandusan hujah yang boleh dikemukakan oleh mereka.

22. Saya pernah dilabel Malay ultra tetapi sepanjang saya menjadi Perdana Menteri apakah Melayu sahaja yang diberi layanan dan mendapat nikmat.

23. Apakah pembangunan Malaysia dihasilkan oleh orang Melayu semata-mata dan mereka sahaja yang meraih kekayaan.

24. Untuk tidak berat sebelah kita perlu mengumpul fakta yang benar berkenaan nikmat yang diperolehi rakyat Malaysia dan pembangunan Negara.

ONE TRILLION

2011-08-07T16:42:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 05, 2011

1. Obama, according to their own news reports, is trying to raise the ceiling for borrowing by the US Government.

2. The US Government is in debt to the tune of US$14 trillion. He wants to borrow more in order to repay the loans. If he cannot repay he will be in default. When a country fails to repay loans, it will be declared bankrupt just like anyone else.

3. What is one trillion dollars? We write it down as one billion with three additional zeros after it. Thus 1,000,000,000,000. It is not such a big figure. You add three zeros or three nothings and the figure increases by 1,000 times. But if we write down one billion as 1,000,000,000 one thousand times, we will have a better idea of what one trillion means. We would be horrified at the size of one trillion if we write the figure 1, one trillion times, which really is what one trillion means.

4. We now talk about these huge sums of money without really appreciating the real amount. Even in Malaysia we talk of billionaires now, not millionaires who are dime a dozen. We are losing our sense of proportion.

5. Just consider $14 trillion in Rupiahs or even in Yen. The figure would spill over the edge of a million sheets of A4-sized paper.

6. Malaysia is one of the countries which lent money to the US. When we buy US bonds we are in fact lending money to the US. Now the US dollar has depreciated from 3.8 Ringgit to one US Dollar to 3 Ringgit per US Dollar. We have lost 80 Malaysian sen for each dollar we lent to the US, if we redeem our bonds. Incidentally we will not be allowed to redeem all our bonds as the US has no money.

7. However, if we keep gold we would be rolling in wealth. Gold was fixed at US$35 per ounce by Bretton Woods in 1943. Now it is US$1,400 per ounce. Even at the depreciated US Dollar of 3 Ringgit we would have 4,200 Ringgit worth of gold for every ounce. Even if we had bought gold say 10 years ago we would have made a pile.

8. A US report says that the US war in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan has cost the US more than US$3 trillion. This is being financed by the loans given by other countries through buying US bonds.

9. The US shows no signs of cutting back on military expenditure. Billions of Dollars are spent on researching, developing and producing more efficient means of killing people. Some 60 military bases are maintained all over the world.

10. By all accounts the US is a debtor nation which will never be able to settle its US$14 trillion debt. In other words the US is a poor debtor country, unable to discharge its loans. And it will remain a poor debtor country unless it is willing to cut back massively on its expenditure, particularly its military budget. When one is poor one lives like a poor men.

11. I remember reciting Humpty Dumpty when I was a child. That is the US today. And not all the Nobel laureates in finance, economics and accounting can put it back together once it falls.

12. Far better to admit you are poor and behave like a poor man than to wear flashy suits and throw your weight around. People will soon learn what you really are.

THE TELEPHONE HACKING SCANDAL II

2011-08-02T21:29:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on August 02, 2011

1. We are used to the high moral ground taken by the Western Press. We almost cringe mentally when they criticise us for our poor record on human rights, our alleged failure to respect the rule of law, our corruption and the injustices that we perpetrate against others etc. etc.

2. We feel they are right, that they, unlike us, have and they obey high ethical codes, that they are honest and straightforward.

3. It is shocking to find that they are really no better than us, that given half a chance they would cheat and abuse their positions, that they would forget human rights.

4. We know now that their Members of Parliament as reported by their Press use public funds to furnish their homes with chandeliers etc., that they claim excessive traveling allowances. We know that their Governments sell titles.

5. Now we are witnessing their most powerful media mogul admitting that the paper he owns, “News of the World” has been hacking telephones to listen in on private conversations and to use what they hear when reporting in their paper. Now we hear of bribes given to soften reports by journalists about all kinds of shenanigans by powerful people. And their politicians are just as afraid of the Press as we are.

6. Their MPs now have an opportunity to get back at the media through their debates and through calling up not just the media people but the Chief of the Metropolitan Police to face Parliamentary Select Committees.

7. I agree that the media should play a role to stop immorality on the part of public figures. They should be the watchdog overseeing the possible impropriety of Government practices and policies. But this should not include abuses of the rights accorded to them.

8. Many of the things the Western media reports in Malaysia are far from the truth. But once one of them says something bad about this country and its Government (and other countries too) others will repeat it without any attempt to verify the truth of the reports.

9. I was reported to have practiced cronyism; that I manipulated the judiciary, that I threw into jail my deputy by Western journalists who for one reason of another had taken a dislike for me. After that every journalist when reporting about Malaysia must mention that I had practised cronyism, manipulated the judiciary and threw my deputy into jail. For that matter every book written about Malaysia must include these items. The words of the first journalist who reported this must be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. No amount of refuting the allegations by anyone would be accepted.

10. That Western journalists have accepted bribes has long been suspected. But the reporting on the hacking by the News of the World has confirmed that Western journalists are not the purveyors of truth that they are supposed to be. They will deny of course. They will write nastier reports on those who criticise them. But the fact remains that they are as unprincipled and corrupt as the people they allege to have these failings.

11. I write this piece not because I expect the Western journalist to repent or change. They will not change, especially in their opinion of native leaders who thumb noses at the West. I write simply to draw attention to the fact that western journalists, with very few exceptions, are not the impartial purveyor of truth that people assume them to be.

INTERPRETATION OF ISLAM

2011-07-25T13:25:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on July 19, 2011

1. Dr Syed Alwi bin Ahmad blames Islam for the failures of governance in Muslim countries.

2. It is true that Muslim countries are often poorly governed. There is not a single one of them which qualify to be a developed country.

3. But the fault does not lie with the religion of Islam. Over a period of 1,400 years the original teachings of Islam as was brought by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) have been interpreted and re-interpreted by genuine scholars and charlatans with vested interest so that it is no longer the Islam of the messages of Allah subhanawata’ala. Some of these interpretations are so different from the original that they are not Islamic at all.

4. In Malaysia we have Arqam and Ayah Pin and many others who have clearly deviated from the true teachings of Islam. Yet their followers are fanatical about their beliefs in the teachings of these people. In the Muslim world there are also many Ashaaris and Ayah Pins.

5. Their teachings are intended to validate their own deeds and purpose, many of which are political. Thus in the Turkish Sultanate of the distant past, when a Sultan was enthroned, he ordered the murder of all his brothers. This was to prevent them from mounting a challenge against him. And his religious advisers justify this act by pointing out that Islam abhors “fitnah” (bad mouthing as well as attempting to overthrow a ruler and take over a country – both of these happened between the small Muslim states of Al-Andalus or Spain, often with Spanish help).

6. Fratricide as happened in the Turkish Sultanate is not sanctioned by Islam. The verse in the Quran which declares that fitnah (bad mouthing) is worse than killing is not meant to permit fratricide. In fact killing a fellow Muslim is forbidden.

7. Differences in the interpretations also occur in the Christian religion. That is why there are many sects among the followers of Christianity. In the past the differences had led to wars, with the authorities burning the alleged heretics at the stakes. The war in Northern Ireland which has flared up recently is due to differences in the interpretation of the Christian religion.

8. Similarly the Muslim sects often fight each other. These are not due to Islam but are caused by interpretations by different imams and ulamas. It is wrong to blame Islam for the sad state of Muslim states. The blame should be put on the shoulders of the interpreters of Islam whose teachings divide the Muslims so deeply that they fail to be guided by the true teachings of Islam.

9. If Muslims follow the true teachings of Islam as found in the Quran and the verified hadiths, they should be able to govern their countries as effectively as the followers of other religions. I must say though that the followers of other religions too often fail.

10. Yes I was thinking of the situation in the country also when I say that Muslims are easily mislead. If their leader says that they will become “kafir” if they work with non-Muslims, they will fanatically uphold this and condemn people who work with non-Muslims. If tomorrow the same leader says working with the “kafir” is alright, they will say “Yes, yes,” and forget how in the past they had condemned others as kafir for doing what they are now doing.

PELUPUSAN SYARIKAT BERKAITAN KERAJAAN

2011-07-12T15:18:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on July 8, 2011

1. Saya membaca dalam akhbar bahawa sebanyak 30 syarikat yang sekarang dimiliki oleh agensi Kerajaan (Government Linked Company) akan dilupuskan.

2. Saya tak tahu syarikat mana yang hendak dilupuskan tetapi saya tahu saham syarikat-syarikat diamanahkan kepada Khazanah dan lain-lain institusi Kerajaan kerana orang Melayu tidak mampu membeli dan menyimpannya.

3. Dengan perkataan lain saham-saham ini adalah milik Melayu dan Bumiputra lain. Kerana institusi ini memegang saham syarikat inilah yang peratusan saham korporat meningkat sedikit.

4. Jika saham-saham ini dijual kepada yang menawar harga yang terbaik, mungkin ianya tidak akan dapat lagi menyumbang kepada peratusan yang sedikit pegangan saham korporat oleh orang Melayu.

5. Saya berdoa hak orang Melayu dan Bumiputra lain yang sedikit ini tidak turut merosot.

DEMONSTRASI

2011-07-04T08:07:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on July 2, 2011 12:12 PM

1. Kita tak dapat nafi bahawa berdemonstrasi mempunyai tempat dalam pengamalan demokrasi.

2. Saya baru kembali dari lawatan ke Mesir. Seperti kita semua maklum satu demonstrasi besar di Kaherah telah berjaya menjatuhkan Kerajaan Hosni Mubarak.

3. Tetapi kesan demonstrasi tidak terhad kepada kejatuhan Kerajaan. Ekonomi Mesir merosot dengan amat teruk. Mesir, yang banyak bergantung kepada pelancongan mengalami kemerosotan 80 peratus semasa demonstrasi berlaku. Hari ini pun pelancong belum kembali dan banyaklah hotel yang kosong.

4. Serangan terhadap polis adalah satu jenayah. Sudah tentu jika polis diserang, maka polis terpaksa menggunakan kekerasan. Jika polis guna kekerasan maka ini akan dijadikan isu oleh yang berdemonstrasi.

5. Mungkin kerana ingin mengelak daripada tindak balas maka polis diarah berundur dan tinggalkan tempat demonstrasi tidak dikawal. Keadaan ini merbahaya kerana orang awam tidak mendapat perlindungan polis lagi.

6. Sudah tentu pemulihan ekonomi terganggu. Pelancong tidak kembali dan jauh sekali pelaburan oleh pelabur tempatan dan asing. Pengangguran bertambah dan yang miskin menderita bertambah.

7. Walaupun demonstrasi diterima dalam demokrasi, ia tidak boleh diguna dengan sewenang-wenangnya. Jauh daripada memberi manfaat kepada rakyat, ia menambah masalah bagi rakyat.

8. Pihak tertentu merancang untuk mengadakan demonstrasi besar-besaran pada 9hb Julai ini. Apakah benar demonstrasi ini bertujuan untuk membersihkan proses pilihanraya?

9. Jika disemak tuntutan yang dibuat lebih merupakan tuduhan terhadap Kerajaan dan bukan tuntutan sebenar. Tujuannya ialah untuk memburukkan Kerajaan supaya meraih sokongan dalam pilihanraya akan datang.

10. Walaupun pengurusan pilihanraya di Malaysia mempunyai beberapa kelemahan tetapi hakikatnya di Negara ini parti lawan boleh menang. Demikianlah pentadbiran pilihanraya di Malaysia sehingga pada tahun 2008 parti lawan dapat menawan lima buah negeri, satu wilayah dan berjaya mengurangkan ahli Dewan Rakyat sehingga tidak tercapai matlamat dua pertiga seperti yang biasa dimenangi oleh parti Kerajaan.

11. Bandinglah dengan pilihanraya di Negara-negara lain termasuk jiran terdekat kita di mana parti bukan Kerajaan tidak dapat wakil dalam dewan sama sekali. Yang menang daripada parti lawan akan dituduh dengan pelbagai tuduhan dan dihadapkan ke mahkamah. Maka mahkamah pun menghukum mereka salah dan tidak dapat mengambil tempat mereka dalam dewan. Ada yang dibenar masuk tetapi tidak berani bercakap. Kalau bercakap tidak akan dilapor dalam media.

12. Ada pula diwujudkan kumpulan pembangkang dalam parti Kerajaan. Ini adalah satu sandiwara politik.

13. Dalam pilihanraya yang baru lepas pun banyak tekanan digunakan oleh Kerajaan berkenaan. Sebab itu jumlah calon pembangkang yang menang amat kecil.

14. Malangnya terdapat di Malaysia parti yang berasas dari parti negara jiran ini yang ingin supaya negara ini juga menerima contoh pentadbiran negara jiran. Seperti dengan parti di negara jiran, pada mulanya janji dibuat untuk mendirikan Kerajaan yang baik dan adil. Apabila sahaja rakyat memberi kepercayaan jenis pemerintahan yang didirikan jauh berbeza daripada yang dijanjikan.

15. Memang pun ada sekatan tertentu di negara ini terhadap kebebasan liberal yang didapati di negara barat. Sekatan ini diperlukan kerana mengelak daripada huru-hara berlaku.

16. Pada 1969 berkempen dibenar sepenuhnya iaitu enam minggu. Pada masa kempen, parti politik menggunakan perkauman untuk menarik sokongan. Parti-parti Kerajaan pun terpaksa menggunakan soal perkauman. Balas-membalas berkenaan isu ini dalam kempen menyebabkan ketegangan antara kaum-kaum. Dengan itu berlakulah 13 Mei yang berdarah.

17. Untuk mengurangkan kemungkinan kempen membakar hati, maka dikurangkan masa berkempen. Lagi pun parti pembangkang berkempen sepanjang masa. Perhimpunan dalam rapat parti pembangkang lebih kerap daripada parti Kerajaan. Demikianlah kebebasan di Malaysia.

18. Tidak ada sebab kenapa demonstrasi perlu diadakan di negara ini. Wakil Rakyat parti lawan begitu ramai. Jika kajian perlu dibuat berkenaan undang-undang dan pengurusan pilihanraya, peluang yang banyak terdapat dalam dewan-dewan untuk membangkit dan membahas perkara-perkara ini. Tetapi peluang-peluang ini tidak digunakan sepenuhnya. Sebaliknya demonstrasi hendak diadakan. Apa tujuannya? Membersihkan pilihanraya atau mencuba memburukkan imej parti Kerajaan.

19. Di Mesir saya ditanya kenapakah pentadbiran negara Islam tidak ada yang baik. Saya terpaksa mengaku yang orang Islam mudah diperalatkan.

THE CENTURY OF THE WORLD

2011-06-29T01:28:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on June 28, 2011 9:30 AM

** This article was written for a talk I was to give to a forum. I could not deliver it as I was sick. Maybe it would be of interest to some people.**

1. I do not know whether the 21st Century would be an Asian Century or not. But what is certain is that Asia would play a greater role in the political, economic and socio-cultural affairs of the world during the century.

2. The world has been Eurocentric almost as soon as the Europeans reached Asia via the Cape of Good Hope. This happened because of the aggressiveness of their culture, which ensured the supply of trade goods through force and conquest.

3. The conquered territories were ruled largely through the European system of Government. It became clear that their system was superior, so that the countries that remained free such as Japan, China, and Thailand adopted the system gradually.

4. The acceptance of the European system extended to the ideologies and culture so that Europeanisation became almost total.

5. Of the Asian countries that Westernised, Japan was the most extensive. It was able to industrialise and to build up its military forces.

6. However, it was only after World War II that the European-style industrialisation took hold and spread to Taiwan, Korea, China and the countries of Southeast Asia.

7. Japan demonstrated an ability to outshine the European and shortly after came Korea and Taiwan. Now India has followed suit.

8. It became clear that the Asian countries of the East are capable of outstripping Europe. Such is their ability to compete in the manufacture of goods that Western products were swept off the world market.

9. Basically the Western countries gave up on manufacturing, except for certain niches, and switched to the financial market. Inventing numerous intangible products, the West seems to continue to grow. But in reality there was no growth as the financial products did not give rise to real business.

10. While the GDP and Per Capita Income figure seems to indicate continued growth and wealth creation, actually the West was in decline. Much of the skills in management and in productions have disappeared.

11. What is clear is that not only is Asia, East Asia in particular growing but the West is actually declining. Eventually the bubble bursts and despite all the efforts put in, the West cannot regain its old capacity to compete with the East, with Asia.

12. It would be wrong however to assume that the world will become Asia centric. Despite the decline of the West, the Europeans are not about to lose all their influence. They would still have a role to play in the affairs of the world.

13. The Asian countries will not be exclusively Asian. It would be shared with the Europeans. But the European will not be as aggressive as they used to be. Recognising the economic power of Asia with its mastery of technology and production capacity, the West will gradually reject any form of military confrontation because this strategy will no longer work. Indeed it can pose great danger to the West.

14. For its part, Asia would do well to realise the futility of open confrontations and war. Asia will not try to emulate the US during its heyday when the threat of force figures much in its policies.

15. The result may be greater respect of the multilateral organisation like the United Nations. China as one of the permanent five will be less likely, to disregard the moral pressure of the United Nations. It is even likely that the United Nations would not be forced through the manipulations of the permanent five. Certainly the United States would not be able to continue dominating or ignoring the United Nations.

16. When the power of Asia balances the power of the west, there would be less tension affecting the world. There could be a period of calm and prosperity for the world.

17. The diplomats of the East and West will have to try to maintain this period of peace and prosperity for as long as possible.

18. This is what the 21st Century will be about. It will be neither an Asian century nor a European century. It is more likely to be the century of the world.

SELIDIKI BERITA DARI ORANG FASIK

2011-06-21T00:33:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on June 20, 2011 8:07 PM

1. Saya berterimakasih kepada Amin Tan yang memperingati saya bahawa saya bukan ulama. Justeru itu saya lebih baik tumpu kepada bidang yang saya miliki kebolehan, seperti bidang perubatan dan pentadbiran.

2. Tiap kali saya sentuh hal-hal yang bersangkutan dengan agama Islam saya menerima peringatan ini. Saya umarak dan bukan ulama. Jangan bercakap berkenaan agama Islam.

3. Apakah seorang Muslim tidak perlu faham akan ajaran Islam barang sedikit pun? Apakah seorang Muslim dikehendaki mengikut secara buta-tuli apa sahaja yang didakwa oleh orang yang berpelajaran agama walaupun dakwaannya jelas bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam seperti yang diketahui oleh semua orang Islam?

4. Jika hari ini ada ajaran sesat, sebabnya ialah kerana pengikut terima apa sahaja yang disampaikan kepada mereka oleh orang yang mereka anggap sebagai terpelajar dalam agama Islam.

5. Jika hari ini ada puak Assabiah, sebabnya ialah kerana puak ini menerima dakwaan oleh orang tertentu tanpa soal.

6. Apabila sesiapa menyoal, bukan hujah dibelakang soalan itu yang diberi perhatian. Yang ditumpukan ialah siapa dianya yang menyoal.

7. Bahawa hujah dan soalan tetap tepat dan sesungguhnya boleh disahkan melalui rujukan kepada Al-Quran dan Hadith yang sahih, tidak dipedulikan. Yang diutamakan ialah siapa yang berhujah dan menyoal. Jika ia bukan ulama maka ini bermakna ia tetap salah dan perlu ditolak tanpa usual periksa.

8. Sifat inilah yang ada pada puak fanatik kepada kumpulan mereka dan pemimpin mereka. Terdapatnya Assabiah ialah kerana ada orang yang seperti ini. Kerana taksub dengan fahaman puak mereka, akal fikiran yang dianugerah oleh Tuhan kepada manusia diketepikan.

9. Kerana tidak tahu mengguna akal fikiran kurniaan Tuhan, maka tak dapatlah mereka menghurai dan menjelas kenapa dakwaan dan soalan terhadap pegangan mereka salah. Selalunya jawapan terhad kepada "kamu tidak tahu, kerana kamu bukan layak berhujah". Kamu bukan ulama, kamu umarak.

10. Saya percaya petikan ayat dari Al-Quran yang saya perturunkan di bawah ini juga akan ditolak kerana saya umarak.

11. Lagipun ia dalam bahasa Melayu justeru ia akan dikatakan bukan dari Al-Quran.

12. Ayat ini berbunyi, "Wahai orang-orang yang beriman, jika datang kepada kamu seorang fasik membawa sesuatu berita, maka selidiki kebenarannya supaya kamu tidak menyampaikan sesuatu kaum dengan perkara yang tidak diingini dengan sebab kejahilan kamu, sehingga menjadikan kamu menyesali apa yang telah kamu lakukan." Al Hujarat ayat 6.

13. Ayat ini ditujukan kepada orang yang beriman, tidak khusus bagi orang yang terpelajar dalam agama Islam. Dengan perkataan lain ayat ini ditujukan kepada umarak bersama ulamak.

14. Yang ditekankan ialah mereka beriman. Tidak sesiapa boleh dakwa hanya ulama sahaja yang beriman.

15. Ayat ini jelas menyuruh orang yang beriman menyoal berita yang dibawa oleh orang yang fasik akan kebenaran berita itu. Umpamanya apabila orang itu mendakwa mengundi sebuah parti politik akan menjamin syurga bagi orang berkenaan dan lain-lain lagi.

16. Apabila saya membuat teguran terhadap dakwaan yang tidak berasas apakah ini bermakna saya menentang ajaran Al-Quran. Atau apakah saya patuhi kehendak agama Islam seperti yang ternyata jelas dalam Surah Al Hujarat ayat keenam?

KETAKSUBAN PUAK ASSABIAH

2011-06-17T20:07:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on June 15, 2011 3:35 PM

1. Kita sebagai orang Islam menerima semua ajaran Islam. Tetapi kita tidak dapat faham dengan mudah semua ajaran islam yang terdapat dalam Al-Quran dan Hadith yang sahih. Justeru kita terpaksa bergantung kepada orang yang faham untuk terjemaahan dan tafsiran.

2. Mereka ini memang arif kerana mereka mendalami dalam bidang agama, termasuk membaca kitab-kitab tafsir selain dari Al-Quran dan Hadith. Tetapi mereka bukan Nabi. Sebaliknya mereka adalah manusia biasa. Dan sebagai manusia biasa mereka lemah dan terdedah kepada kemungkinan membuat kesilapan dan kesalahan. Sebab itulah kita dapati perbezaan antara tafsiran-tafsiran yang dibuat oleh mereka berkenaan perkara yang sama. Kadang-kadang perbezaan tafsiran mereka begitu ketara sehingga mereka dan pengikut mereka sering bermusuh dengan yang lain sehingga membunuh dan berperang. Kita baca berkenaan pengebom Syiah menyerang dan membunuh puak Sunni dan sebaliknya. Demikian juga dengan pengikut-pengikut pentafsir lain, Ahmadiah umpamanya.

3. Agama Islam yang dibawa oleh Nabi Muhammad s.a.w hanyalah satu. Sekarang terdapat banyak puak-puak atau mazhab Islam kerana mengikut ajaran dan tafsiran imam dan ulama yang berlainan.

4. Dinegara kita terdapat Arqam, Ayah Pin umpamanya kerana mengikut ajaran pemimpin. Sekarang mereka menubuh Kelab Isteri Setia yang bertujuan bersaing dengan pelacur. Pengikut As-Shaari dan Ayah Pin amat fanatik kepada mereka iaitu taksub kepada ajaran sesat mereka. Apabila sudah taksub, umat sukar untuk memperbetulkan fahaman mereka. Sesungguhnya mereka adalah golongan Assabiah kerana ketaksuban mereka.

5. Dalam politik juga terdapat kumpulan Assabiah ini. Kerana taksub dengan ajaran pemimpin, mereka tidak lagi menyoal apa sahaja ajaran yang disampaikan. Mereka terima dan telan, bahkan mereka akan bermusuh dengan sesiapa yang tidak percaya dengan ajaran pemimpin mereka.

6. Setelah taksub sebarang penjelasan akan kesilapan dan kesalahan ajaran pemimpin mereka akan ditolak secara buta-tuli. Ini ajaran pemimpin mereka, maka inilah sahaja ajaran yang betul. Jika pemimpin kata yang hitam itu putih maka mereka akan angguk "Ya, itu memang putih". Demikian puak yang taksub ini, puak assabiah ini. Hidung sudah dicucuk dan di mana diheret mereka turut dan pergi.

7. Berpecahnya umat Islam adalah kerana taksub kepada ajaran pemimpin. Al-Quran secara jelas memang menegas orang Islam itu adalah bersaudara. Tetapi apabila pemimpin berkata Islam menyuruh orang Islam berpecah-belah, yang taksub kepadanya akan berkata "Ya, benar Islam menyuruh orang Islam berpecah belah", seperti kata pemimpin mereka.

8. Apabila pemimpin berkata mereka disuruh tolak perpaduan dalam Islam untuk mendapat sokongan bukan Islam, mereka yang taksub akan terima bulat-bulat dakwaan pemimpin mereka. Biarlah bagaimana terangnya ajaran Al-Quran berkenaan dengan persaudaraan dalam Islam, ajaran pemimpin mereka dianggap lebih Islam dari Al-Quran.

9. Dahulu pemimpin mereka berkata bekerjasama dengan bukan Islam menjadikan orang itu kafir dan mereka kata "Kafir! Kafir!". Hari ini pemimpin mereka yang sama berkata mereka mesti bekerjama dengan orang yang kafir. mereka bersetuju dan terus berkerjasama dengan orang kafir. Mereka tidak lagi ambilkira dakwaan dahulu bahawa mereka akan jadi kafir.

10. Demikianlah dengan puak Assabiah, puak yang fanatik setia kepada pemimpin dan kumpulan mereka. Yang utama bukan ajaran Islam walaupun amat jelas. Yang diutamakan ialah kata-kata pemimpin mereka.

11. Hari ini umat Islam berpecah-belah kerana fahaman yang berbeza-beza berkenaan ajaran Islam. Di negara tercinta ini juga orang Melayu Islam berpecah-belah. Mereka berpecah dan menolak sebarang usaha untuk menyatupadukan mereka mengikut ajaran Islam yang terdapat dalam Al-Quran. Pemimpin mereka dan cita-cita besar pemimpin mereka untuk ke Putrajaya lebih utama bagi mereka dari ajaran Islam. Oleh itu Islam dan ajarannya yang sebenar boleh diketepikan untuk tidak menakutkan orang bukan Islam kerana sokongan mereka ini lebih utama daripada negara Islam dan hukum-hukumnya.

KEJATUHAN NEGARA ISLAM PAS

2011-06-11T00:49:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on June 10, 2011 2:40 PM

1. Saya tertarik dengan penjelasan Nik Aziz kenapa selepas 30 tahun mengguna "perjuangan untuk Negara Islam ala PAS" untuk mendapat sokongan orang Melayu, sekarang PAS menggugurkan Negara Islam dan hukum Hudud. Kononnya Nik Aziz berpandukan Al-Quran dan Hadith.

2. Apakah Nik Aziz baru saja baca Surah Al-Baqarah dan sedar yang Negara Islam PAS menimbul salah faham dan menakutkan pihak tertentu? Jikalau kerana kesedaran ini akan menakutkan pihak tertentu (orang bukan Islam - Karpal Singh) maka PAS menggugur Negara Islam PAS, maka benarlah yang pengguguran ini bertujuan untuk menghapuskan ketakutan mereka ini, supaya mereka akan sokong PAS dalam pilihanraya, dan bukan kerana agama membenarkan atau tidak.

3. Kerana UMNO tidak menyokong Negara Islam PAS dan hukum Hudud PAS, Nik Aziz tidak terima UMNO.

4. Tetapi bila DAP dan Karpal Singh tidak bersetuju dengan pendirian PAS, Nik Aziz semak semula Surah Al-Baqarah dan tiba-tiba selepas 30 tahun, mendapati bahawa Negara Islam dan hukum Hudud boleh dibelakangkan dan diganti dengan Negara kebaijikan PAS.

5. Demikianlah Nik Aziz lebih bersedia akur kepada pendapat DAP dan Karpal kerana ingin mendapat undi bukan Islam. Penyokong PAS akan turut dimana sahaja pemimpin PAS bawa mereka. Gugur Islam pun mereka akan undi PAS.

6. Untuk perpaduan Melayu dan Islam Nik Aziz tidak sanggup berganjak walau sedikit pun. Biarlah orang Melayu Islam berpecah dan hancur kononnya kerana bagi Nik Aziz perjuangan PAS untuk Negara Islam dan hukum Hudud tidak boleh dibelakangkan atau digugur. Jika ada usaha untuk merapatkan hubungan dan kerjasama politik antara PAS dengan UMNO, Nik Aziz dengan tegas menolak kerana UMNO tidak Islam.

7. Tetapi kita sekarang dapat lihat bagaimana mudahnya PAS dan Nik Aziz menolak Negara Islam PAS dan hukum Hudud PAS kerana ingin bersekongkol dengan DAP untuk mendapat undi bukan Islam.

8. Wahai orang Melayu yang semuanya beragama Islam. Bukalah mata kamu dan lihatlah bagaimana PAS mempermainkan Islam. Bukan Surah Al-Baqarah yang mendorong PAS menggugurkan Negara Islamnya. Nik Aziz sendiri berkata yang mendorong PAS ialah ketakutan orang bukan Islam kepada Negara Islam. Untuk kemenangan pilihanraya ketakutan orang bukan Islam mesti dihilangkan dengan menggugurkan perjuangan Islam PAS.

SIAPA MENANG SIAPA KALAH

2011-06-07T14:47:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on June 7, 2011 8:41 AM

1. Dalam pertandingan tentu ada yang menang dan yang kalah. Pertandingan jarang menghasil keputusan "Menang Menang", dengan semua yang bertanding berjaya. Demikianlah juga Muktamar PAS yang baru lepas - terdapat yang menang dan yang kalah.

2. Katanya yang kalah ialah puak ulama. Yang menang ialah puak kopiah hitam, penyokong Anwar. Syabas.

3. Tetapi yang menang besar ialah tokoh yang tidak hadir dan bukan pun ahli PAS. Ianya ialah Karpal Singh. Perjuangannya supaya PAS gugurkan matlamat untuk mendiri negara Islam PAS yang akan kuatkuasakan hukum hudud sudah pun tercapai. Karpal tidak perlu mati untuk PAS langkah mayatnya. Belum pun ia mati PAS sekarang sudah menjadikan perjuangan untuk negara Islam dan hukum hudud tidak lagi perkara utama. Sekarang PAS akan berjuang untuk negara kebajikan.

4. Tidak ada banyak laporan berkenaan perbincangan atau perbahasan berkenaan dengan pengenepian asas penubuhan parti PAS - iaitu mendiri negara Islam. Dengan begitu mudah asas ini digugurkan.

5. Kenapa? Kerana ingin menghalalkan kerjasama DAP, khusus Karpal. Lebih tepat lagi ialah kerana PAS tidak sanggup berhujah dengan Karpal Singh.

6. Syabas dan tahniah kepada Karpal. Akhirnya perjuangan mu menentang negara Islam PAS sudah berjaya.

PLANTING TREES

2011-05-27T04:07:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on May 23, 2011 2:15 PM

1. Malaysia is blessed with a climate and soil that enables trees to take root and grow very fast. Our success in the plantation industry is due to this. The trees we grow, rubber, oil palm tree and cocoa are foreign to Malaysia yet they grow better here than in the countries of their origins.

2. However, the success of our plantation industry has totally affected out thinking. We know that by planting trees in perfect rows, with the trees separated from each other by a specific distance, we maximise the potential for growth and render the extraction of the latex or the fruits easier and more efficiently. We miss none of the trees when we tap rubber or bring down the fruits.

3. But forest trees do not grow in rows. They are scattered haphazardly. It is this which gives the forest their special appearance or character.

4. For various reasons we have to reaforest the forest we had raped. We also need to create new forests.

5. But because we are so addicted to planting trees in orderly rows, when we want to reaforest or to create a new forest, we plant the forest trees in the same way. Even when we plant teak and other trees on the road shoulders, they are planted in perfect rows. Our secondary man-made forests look nothing like forests at all. They look like tree estates.

6. But there are times when planting on the road sides, we want to create an avenue of trees. Then we should plant just one row of trees or palm trees perfectly aligned and separated. The tree should be the same all the way through. But when we want to recreate forests let the trees be scattered haphazardly like in the forest.

THE RINGGIT AND THE DOLLAR

2011-05-14T03:29:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on May 12, 2011 7:56 AM

1. The dollar i.e. the US dollar has been depreciating against the Ringgit. It is now hovering just below RM3.00 to 1 USD. Obviously this currency crisis is not over yet. Obviously the US is still in trouble. Europe is also in trouble and so is the rest of the world. This is the longest financial crisis in history. It is now in the fourth year.

2. This crisis started in the US in 2008 with the banks going bankrupt because the sub-prime loans defaulted and Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. Since then the US Government has been printing money by the trillions to bail out banks, insurance and automobile companies.

3. Currently Greece is still unable to repay loans caused by the switch to the Euro.

4. Malaysia appears to have escaped much of the crisis. Our currency is in fact getting stronger and our economy is growing at a good rate.

5. Why has a serious currency crisis affected the developed countries and not as much the developing countries? The answer is that we have not been trying to get rich quick through playing the money market.

6. I am not a financier of course and my knowledge about finance can be written on the back of a postage stamp. So no one should take what I say about finance seriously.

7. Still, I would like to hazard a theory.

8. The US was, after the Second World War, the richest nation. They have companies like General Motors, General Electric, Caterpillar Tractors, McDonnell Douglas & Boeing, great manufacturers of household appliances, radios and television, machine tools, precision instruments and of course a massive weapons industry.

9. They were so confident of the superiority of their industries that they did not mind teaching the Japanese the importance of quality and expertise in manufacturing.

10. To cut a long story short, the Japanese mastered manufacturing so well that their high quality but competitive products displaced those of the Americans and much of the Europeans in the world market.

11. After Japan came Taiwan, South Korea and then China. The products of these countries even displaced American and European products in their own countries. The last straw is the invasion of East-Asian cars into the American and European markets.

12. Instead of trying to compete, the Americans in particular, and the Europeans opted to surrender the markets to the Asian newcomers. But American and European economies continued to grow and they remain as prosperous as ever.

13. To remain ahead in wealth the Americans and Europeans invented a new market - the money market. They invented ways of making money from money. These they call products although they cannot be eaten or used.

14. The banking system they created was for the purpose of lending money to finance business enterprises. To do this the banks were allowed to lend more money than they have as capital, assets and deposits. In effect this means the banks could create money. In fact in the past banks issued banknotes to pay for goods and services. Later the banknotes were replaced by cheques. Everything can be paid with cheques. No cash is needed any more.

15. It was fine as long as the Government oversees the money created by the banks and limits it to ten times the banks assets. Then the American Government decided that it should not supervise the banks. The market would regulate itself.

16. Freed of Government oversight the banks began to lend far more than ten times their assets. They lent even to people with no income and no capacity to repay the loans, especially for houses.

17. The loans were then either mortgaged or insured. The belief was that they were safe. In any case if the borrower defaulted the property would be worth more than the loans as property prices seem to appreciate all the time.

18. Other ways of making money were invented. Hedge funds, carry trade, currency trade, mergers and acquisitions, investment in 'emerging markets' (formerly known as developing countries), junk bonds, securitised mortgage, commercial paper, short selling, index funds, sub-prime loans, private equity funds, repo market, structured investment vehicles, etc etc

19. Any of these things can give huge profits. For the astute players any of these things can make them millionaires or billionaires overnight, practically overnight.

20. The money market products yield nothing substantial. They create no jobs, no tangible products, no trade in goods or services, no spin-offs in terms of business, no transportation of goods by land, sea or air.

21. Yet the size of the transactions in monetary terms is mind-boggling. The trade in currencies is said to amount to four (4) trillion US dollars a day. It is the size of the total German productivity for a year. Yet no jobs are created, no goods or services are produced, no movement of anything is seen.

22. Of course the people involved in the trade make billions of dollars. Operating out of tax free havens, they report to no one and pay no tax.

23. The money market players and the billions they make contribute to the high GDP and the Per Capita incomes of America and Europe.

24. Then came the collapse. The bubble bursts. And there was nothing spilling from the burst bubbles.

25. The money market players know nothing about other business, about the production of goods and service, about real trade in these things. Actually all of them have become poor.

26. And so they resort to printing money, to remain rich. But the money they print is as valuable as toilet paper.

THE FOREST OF KUALA LUMPUR

2011-05-07T02:34:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on May 6, 2011 11:45 AM

1. It is great to watch Kuala Lumpur grow. We see everywhere the cranes marking the sites of new development. There are skyscrapers in every corner, great skyscrapers of fantastic shapes and heights. Kuala Lumpur now looks like other great cities of the world.

2. But if you look again you will see that it is still quite green, greener than most other cities. New landscaping with mature trees have contributed towards this greenness.

3. But there are here and there patches of forests, as dense as the well-known tropical forests of Malaysia. They are thick with undergrowth which make them as impenetrable. The trees are tall and so leafy that they cut off all the light of the sun in the day time. You cannot see through these miniature forests and I think you cannot walk through them either.

4. They make Kuala Lumpur truly green and at times you feel as if you are driving through a forest. How wonderful to be able to drive through forests right in the middle of the city. Then you emerge to see the towers of the skyscrapers, the shopping complexes and the manicured streets once again.

5. The experience is unique and it is characteristic of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

6. Sadly I have seen these forest patches disappearing one after another to be replaced with hard concrete and granite towers of development. I fear in time, in not too long a time, the forests will all disappear. Their green will no longer colour Kuala Lumpur. They will no longer give shade to passers-by. The sunlight will be hard and hot, bouncing off tarred streets and concrete pavements and heating up the air above.

7. We need to develop. But we need to care also for the environment. The patches of forests of Kuala Lumpur are unique. We should try to preserve them even if it will cost us a lot of money.

NO FLY ZONE

2011-05-01T20:59:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on April 29, 2011 10:45 AM

1. What does the ordinary man imagine a no-fly zone is about? I believe he would imagine a sky without any planes flying. At most he would expect to see only military aircrafts of the enforcing nations flying over the zone to ensure the aircrafts of the targeted country are not flying over the zone.

2. In the case of the Iraqi no-fly zone, the enforcing nations apparently believed that "no-fly zone" is about blockading the zone to deprive it from receiving supplies of all kinds including food and medicine. As a result an estimated 500,000 Iraqi children were born deformed or were still-born due to the affect of bombs and shells with depleted uranium used in the Gulf War against Iraq.

3. Now once again a "no-fly zone" has been declared over Libya, this time by the United Nations. The Arab countries have also supported this resolution.

4. News reports now tell of bombs being dropped and targets being shelled by the Americans and their allies against Libyan forces and civilians. There is no report on Libyan aircrafts being shot down or chased out of Libyan airspace. Some reports claim that weapons have been supplied to rebels.

5. Are all these things included in the term "no-fly zone"? If they are were they stated in the resolution by the United Nations? Were the representatives of the Arab countries aware that this is the meaning of "no-fly zone".

6. If they were not stated and the Arab nations were not told, then why did the Americans and their allies take all these warlike actions.

7. It would seem that the United Nations needs to state carefully the meanings of the resolutions passed by its "organs". Otherwise the innocent members may be conned.

VICTORY IN SARAWAK 2

2011-04-22T09:42:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on April 22, 2011 8:00 AM

1. Every time I mention DAP's racism, the hackneyed rebuttal is that UMNO is a racial party, more than DAP.

2. UMNO, MCA and MIC are racial parties but they contest elections not under their own party names but as the Alliance or BN coalition. As a member of a multi-racial coalition they cannot promote only Malay, Chinese or Indian interests. They have coalesced into one political entity and their struggle is for all the races in that entity. The race based parties working together in the interest of members of all races lose their racial character.

3. The DAP, like the PAP, claims to be multi-racial but everyone knows the overwhelming majority of their members, supporters and their leaders are Chinese. And their struggle is principally against anything Malay and for what they claim to be Chinese rights. Their disguise that they are for Malaysians is exactly that - it is a disguise. No one is taken in by their claim to be multiracial.

4. The slogan Malaysian Malaysia clearly reflects that in their minds Malaysia is presently not for all races, that it is for Malays only. That the Alliance and the BN have representation from all races is ignored. That the parties share power in the Government is also ignored. That for 50 years the coalition has brought prosperity to all races, with the Chinese getting the biggest share because of their skills and ability is deliberately disregarded.

5. Before independence, the races were deeply divided. They were antagonistic towards each other. Because of this they formed race-based parties. Multi-racial parties just could not get the support of all races. Invariably they would be dominated and supported by one race or another. In elections they all lost.

6. But Tunku Abdul Rahman, the President of UMNO, together with Tan Siew Sin and V. T. Sambanthan decided that the races could cooperate more effectively if they form a coalition of racial parties. In a coalition the identities of the races would be retained and they can ensure that their interest and concerns would be heard and given serious consideration by the other racial parties. They felt more secure even if they made up a minority. In fact they were given equal representation in the High Council of the Coalition.

7. Assured that none would be side-lined, the race-based parties were willing to work together. There can be no doubt that this formula has resulted in Malaysia avoiding the kind of racial violence that are seen in other multi-racial or multi-religious countries. With the ensuing stability, Malaysia was able to develop and prosper. Can anyone deny that?

8. Only the blind and the bigoted would fail to see the success of the coalition of racial parties and the power-sharing Governments that they form in Malaysia. In fact the opposition parties have realised this and are trying to form a coalition. But so far they can only co-operate during elections. They now don't contest against each other. But each party is still racist, concerned only with its own race once the election is over.

9. Maybe one day everyone will forget their racial origins and regard themselves only as Malaysians. But that day has not arrived yet. Until then only the BN coalition can represent all the races in Malaysia.

VICTORY IN SARAWAK

2011-04-18T16:59:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on April 18, 2011 12:44 PM

1. I would like to congratulate Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, the chairman of Barisan Nasional in Sarawak for the victory achieved by the party in the recent election.

2. Dato Seri Najib and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also deserves to be congratulated. The two were on the ground campaigning almost throughout the whole campaign period. They worked very hard and they had good supporting staff from the Peninsular as well as Sarawak.

3. I congratulate the DAP for bringing its racist politics to Sarawak. Before this all races co-operated well with each other for the good of Sarawak. Now we see clearly that the Chinese community in Sarawak has rejected multi-racialism.

4. Perhaps the SUPP are at fault but others in the BN also committed many wrong things. But the rejection is almost entirely by the Chinese community.

5. They have become infected by the virus of Chinese racism that is the guiding principle of the DAP. In the past DAP was almost totally rejected in Sarawak.

6. The DAP will talk about Malaysian Malaysia i.e. Malaysia for all Malaysians. But its appeal had always been to the racialist sentiments of the Chinese. Those Chinese who reject the DAP seem to be considered as non-Chinese by the DAP.

7. Malaysia faces a grave danger of being divided by two parties - one Malay dominated by default and the other Chinese by choice. This will not be good for Malaysia. But this is what the DAP is striving for. A two-party system based on race will not contribute to stability much less national unity.

8. The presence of a few Malays in the DAP is just window dressing. It is the same as in Singapore where the PAP Government side lined their Malay supporters completely. The Malays make up 15 per cent of the island's population but their share of political power and wealth of this very prosperous nation is about one per cent. Of course Singapore is ruled by Singaporeans. The same would happen in Malaysia should the DAP rule this country. It would be ostensibly Malaysian.

9. I will be called a racist for pointing this out. For more than half a century the races in Malaysia had worked together to build the nation. The world saw stable BN Governments with power and wealth being shared by all races quite fairly. None of the races got everything that they considered they were entitled to - not the Malays, nor the Chinese, nor Indians, nor Ibans, Kadazans etc. All had to give up something. That is the essence of sharing.

10. Now the DAP has destroyed this power and wealth-sharing formula by separating the Chinese from the rest.

11. Soon we will be holding the 13th General Election. I pray and hope that the Sarawak pattern is not repeated in this beloved country. Let us all think carefully whether we want to split up this country or we are prepared to sacrifice something of our own in order to maintain the stability and growth through the BN coalition.

POLITICAL LITIGATION

2011-04-12T02:29:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on April 11, 2011 2:06 PM

1. We hear a lot about litigation these days. Everyone is suing everyone else for hundreds of millions of Ringgit for alleged libel. Almost all the litigants are politicians. The courts' time is taken up with these cases. Some go on for years as the litigants appeal to higher and higher courts.

2. We hardly ever hear any of these litigations ending with the courts awarding the sum claimed by the complainants. In most cased the complainant would lose the case and ordered to pay cost.

3. The public usually do not have a high regard for these litigants. The disparaging utterances against them would not damage their reputation at all. Maybe justice demands that the whole legal process be gone through and a judgment be made by a court and the appeals be heard. But on the other hand, in some instances in order not to waste the time of the courts, the case may be curtly dismissed, and appeals disallowed. One wonders why there is this extreme disparity in the treatment of these cases.

4. Although the defendant may feel sure that he will not be ordered to cough up the hundred millions of Ringgit or failing that be made a bankrupt, nevertheless there is still the odd possibility that he may lose the case and be bankrupted. And so for the years of trials and appeals he would be mentally stressed. Of course he would be impoverished also as he has to pay lawyers to defend him. Additionally he loses his freedom of speech with regards to the matters before the courts.

5. For all his sufferings he would if found not guilty be awarded cost (minimal and not actual). By comparison to the hundreds of millions he was sued for, the cost awarded him would be a minute amount. And he has to part with it to pay his lawyers. For the defendant, he gains nothing but will certainly lose something. Yet in the eyes of the public the libel charges were obviously frivolous and a waste of the time of the courts.

6. There is something unfair in this even though it may be regarded as just. You are threatened with being made a bankrupt if you lose but when the complainant loses, he has to pay a minute fraction of the amount he was suing for.

7. With this prospect people can sue with impunity. There is nothing to lose and much to gain. And if you are a politician you get a bonus by effectively shutting up the mouth of your opponent for years and years.

GLOBALISATION

2011-04-08T00:12:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on April 6, 2011 2:10 PM

1. The concept of globalisation; of a world without borders; of unrestricted movements of capital, goods and investments across borders was promoted during the late 80's and early 90's when the world economy seemed set to grow forever.

2. The growth would be even greater if the poor but resource-rich countries would abolish the restriction on the movement of foreign capital to exploit opportunities presented by them. In addition to the opportunities there was cheap labour to help reduce cost.

3. The poor countries would also gain from globalisation as foreign capital invested in the extraction of raw material and simple components manufacturing would create jobs and increase the income of the people and the revenues collected by Government. Globalisation would seem to benefit everyone, the rich foreign investors and traders and people in poor countries.

4. Despite the seemingly win-win promise of globalisation, negotiation in Doha, Qatar and other places have not yielded agreements. The poor countries seem to be suspicious or unconvinced of the benefit of globalisation to them.

5. Unable to make progress the rich countries proposed bilateral free trade agreements between selected countries. The first agreement on bilateral free trade was between a highly developed country and a country which had already been practicing free trade. This agreement was lauded as a successful example of the benefits of free trade for both countries. Every country should therefore adopt free trade through bilateral agreements.

6. On closer examination it was discovered that the junior partner was not going to lose anything since it has always been a free-port and was not going to lose import duties which it did not have. Nevertheless many developing countries were persuaded that bilateral free trade agreements were good for them.

7. These agreements could possibly be less likely to result in exploitation of the poor by the rich partner. But it is still very likely that the absence of import duty would leave local products of newly industrialising countries incapable of competing against imports from the more powerful trading partner. And the Governments would lose revenue from import tax.

8. If most countries have these free-trade agreements with each other then effectively the globalisation of the world in terms of free-trade would have been achieved.

9. The G-7 (later G-8) was set up by the rich countries to enable them, among other things to manage the world economic practices so as not be detrimental to their own growth. But in 2008 the whole of their banking system collapsed. This was followed by the onset of the most severe financial crisis in the history of the world. Such is the crisis that the G-8 felt it was necessary to include other countries in the management of the world's economy. Thus was the G-20 created. The powerful but troubled economic powers merely invited countries of their own choice to be members of the G-20.

10. One of the first things agreed to by the G-20 was not to protect their economies. But everyone of them reneged on their undertakings. Yet they keep on preaching free market and globalisation to the world.

11. Malaysia seems to be unaware of what is happening. It is still pushing on religiously with dismantling its trade related taxes inspite of the failures of the Qatar rounds of negotiations on globalisation. Malaysia has entered into several bilateral free trade agreements and is proposing to go into more of such.

12. Perhaps the officials have done a thorough study of the benefits of tree trade in terms of revenue, exports and the effect on Malaysian companies competing against imports.

13. Many Malaysians support easy access of foreign goods into the Malaysian market. They can buy more foreign made cars for example. But they must know that Malaysian cars find entering foreign markets extremely difficult. It is not just the price that is unattractive but in many instances condition and regulations effectively become trade barriers.

14. Yet we are planning on removing or reducing taxes on imported cars. Obviously Government revenue from imports would be greatly reduced if we do this. Additionally there will be a great deal of money flowing out of the country to pay for the imports and much less flowing in.

15. Importing cars into the country must erode sales of locally produced cars. The profitability of local automotive companies will also be affected. Not only will the producers of cars lose their sales volume and profits but the vendors, the dealers and the agencies will also lose their sources of income. There will losses of jobs in the automotive industry including among the vendors, dealers and agents.

16. It is important to study thoroughly the benefits and the losses to the national economy which will result from tax-free agreements and globalisation. Figures such as the GDP and per capita income will be very misleading. It is far better to rely on the value of exports and imports, the reduction or increase in Government revenue, the profitability or losses by local companies and industries resulting from loss of competitiveness in the local market against possible gains from exports, jobs created and other figures which are more indicative of the true results of changes of economic policies such as globalisation and free trade agreements.

17. Only if the figures are positive should we enter into negotiations for free-trade or for globalisation. It is important to remember that when Malaysia agreed to AFTA (Asean Free Trade Agreement) in which 40% local content would qualify as national product and should be tax exempt into ASEAN countries, non-Asean car makers from Japan, Korea and Europe shifted their production to ASEAN countries so as to gain national status after including 40% local contents.

18. Malaysian national cars have 90% local contents which increase production cost. They don't have economies of scale. As a result our exports cannot compete with those foreign brands produced in ASEAN countries with 40% local content.

19. We have made many mistakes in negotiating agreements with other countries and in drawing up foreign contracts. The costs have been very high. I hope our negotiators will bear this in mind and not allow anxiety to be compliant to the so-called universal practices promoted by globalisation and free trade to affect our better judgement.

PROTECTIONISM

2011-04-04T13:21:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on March 31, 2011 9:35 AM

1. Recently someone complained that Malaysians have to pay high prices for cars because the Government is protecting Proton.

2. Actually the high price for imported cars was fixed before Proton to reduce gas-guzzling cars from being imported. Thus cars with big engines are taxed (import duty) by 300%. Other cars are also heavily taxed to reduce import of petrol.

3. When Proton was introduced the price fixed was lower due to lower tax being charged. The buyers profited from the lower price so that those who could not buy a car before could now buy a Proton car.

4. Still the tax on Proton yielded 18 billion Ringgit in government revenue over a 10-year period. This is simply because more people bought Protons who before could not afford to own a car. The rapid growth in the ownership of cars is due to the cheapness of the Proton.

5. Today Proton's share of the market is less than 30%. A lot of foreign cars are being imported because Malaysians are richer now. Despite Mercedes and BMW costing three times more in Malaysia than in Europe, Malaysia is one of the best markets for these huge luxury cars. They buy these cars because they just like them and do not mind the high price. It has nothing to do with protecting Proton.

6. Is the Government doing something that other Governments are not doing? I list below the measures taken by other countries to protect their economy.

7. Singapore : Buyers have to pay a high price for a certificate to import cars.

8. In America US$74 billion in Government funds were used to bail out automotive companies. (Without this bailout General Motors would close down. Americans would have to buy foreign-made cars).

9. France: Government doled out billions to automakers to keep the automotive industries alive.

10. Spain : Interest free loans were made available by the Government to support local industries.

11. UK : Millions of pounds were given to businesses and banks to prevent them from closing down. Still all British car companies have closed down.

12. Germany : Financial incentives were given to scrap older cars so that people can buy new cars.

13. Italy : Subsidies are given for purchase of "green scooter".

14. Russia : Direct subsidies are given to auto companies and tariffs imposed on used cars to protect industry.

15. China, South Korea : Policies and subsidies are used to protect local automakers.

16. Russia, India and Turkey use import tariffs to protect local industries.

17. China, India, Russia, Vietnam, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil all have tariff barriers. The United States imposed 35% tariff on China-made tyres.

18. The G20 resolved against protectionism but all of them provide protection in various forms for their businesses, contracts and products.

19. So, is it wrong for Malaysia to protect local industries? Actually our protection is minimal.

20. We believe in competition but we are up against countries which protect their industries against foreign products. In Europe standards are raised every year to keep foreign cars out of their markets. The cars and other products we import are cheap because of subsidies and protection by their countries.

21. In America, if there is a slight defect in the product, selling the product in the US market would be stopped. Because one person got rashes from wearing gloves made of Malaysian rubber, all Malaysian gloves were banned.

22. Millions of Toyota's hybrid cars were recalled because one car had defective brakes.

23. We can close down Proton and buy only foreign-made cars. Roughly 50,000 people would be thrown out of work. Their families would be deprived of a bread-winner. Many other industries including component suppliers, transport companies etc will suffer. Economic growth would be effected.

24. If we think that without the need to protect Proton, foreign cars would be cheaper, we are wrong. Without the tax on foreign cars and on Proton cars, Government revenue would be smaller. There would be little money to finance infrastructure, universities, scholarships etc. Generally standards of living could decline. So the Government will have to continue with high taxes for imported cars. It is not Proton which is causing foreign cars to sell at high prices.

UNIVERSITY TOWNS

2011-04-04T13:19:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on March 28, 2011 8:00 AM

1. I had often wondered why university towns like Cambridge and Oxford do not develop in Malaysia after we build universities in places far from the towns.

2. After much study and thinking things over I have concluded that it is because universities, particularly Government universities, build all the shops within the campus and probably operate them as well. The residences for the students and staff are all built by the University.

3. Developers find no opportunity for developing the surrounding land through building shops and residences for staff and students. There will only be university campuses and no university towns.

4. Universities can be catalysts for new growth areas. That was how Cambridge and Oxford towns were founded. With clever planning these university towns can be very attractive and can attract visitors, especially relatives of the students coming to visit them.

5. Maybe those in charge of university funding and development should think about this.

MELAYU OH MELAYU

2011-03-23T03:38:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on March 22, 2011 11:31 AM

1. Saya sedih. Saya amat sedih apabila mendengar seorang orang Melayu yang mendakwa dia kecewa kerana dianya dilahir berbangsa Melayu.

2. Kekecewaannya disebabkan dia tidak dilahir hanya sebagai orang Islam.

3. Sesungguhnya tidak ada manusia yang dilahir tidak berbangsa. Mungkin ada yang tidak bernegara (stateless) tetapi mereka juga mempunyai bangsa, walaupun tidak diiktiraf oleh negara mereka sendiri. Jika dianya daripada kaum pendatang maka dianya akan menjadi bangsa kaum pendatang.

4. Jika dianya dilahir dalam masyarakat Orang Asli sekalipun dia tidak dapat lari daripada menjadi anggota suku kaum berkenaan.

5. Sesuatu bangsa itu dikenali dengan tempat tinggalnya, atau tempat dan negara asalnya, bahasanya dan budayanya. Anutan agama tidak selalunya dikaitkan dengan bangsa.

6. Demikian ada orang Arab yang beragama Kristian, walaupun majoriti beragama Islam. Demikian juga orang Cina ada yang beragama Islam walaupun majoriti beragama Buddha.

7. Justeru itu kelahiran seseorang tetap berbangsa walaupun tidak tetap agamanya. Sebaliknya orang yang dilahirkan kepada keluarga Islam tidak semestinya berbangsa tertentu. Majoriti daripada mereka berbangsa yang berlainan.

8. Walaupun demikian dalam dunia ini terdapat dua bangsa yang bangsanya ditentukan oleh agama Islamnya. Bangsa-bangsa ini ialah bangsa Maldives dan Melayu. Seseorang yang dilahir dalam keluarga Melayu tetap Islam kerana keluarga itu tidak akan berbangsa Melayu jika mereka tidak Islam.

9. Justeru itu berbahagialah seseorang yang dilahir dalam keluarga Melayu kerana dia tetap menjadi penganut agama Islam. Jika dia dilahir kepada keluarga Arab, atau Indonesia, atau Pakistan, belum tentu dia beragama Islam.

10. Sebab itulah seorang Melayu harus bersyukur kerana dilahir berbangsa Melayu. Apabila orang Melayu berasa dia kecewa kerana berbangsa Melayu, maka ini bermakna dia tidak menghargai nasibnya yang baik kerana dia dilahir sebagai orang Islam. Jika tidak kemungkinan besar dia tidak akan terima agama Islam.

11. Kenapakah kita berbangsa-bangsa? Al-Quran menyebut yang kita manusia terdiri daripada berbagai-bagai bangsa. Jika bangsa adalah sesuatu yang bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam, tentu sekali Tuhan tidak akan menjadikan manusia berbagai bangsa.

12. Yang terbaik daripada manusia bukankah kerana bangsanya tetapi kerana dia bertakwa kepada Allah s.w.t. Yang terbaik atau yang terburuk dikalangan orang Melayu bukanlah kerana bangsanya tetapi kerana dia bertakwa dan mengikuti ajaran Islam atau tidak mengamalkan ajaran Islam. Tidak disebut bahawa yang terbaik ialah orang Islam yang tidak daripada apa-apa bangsa.

13. Justeru itu berbangsa apa pun, Arab atau Ajam, tidak menidak ke-Islamannya. Yang menidak ke-Islaman ialah perbuatan yang bercanggah dengan ajaran Islam.

14. Ini yang harus disoal oleh seorang orang Islam dan bukan menidakkan bangsanya. Lagipun kalau dianya beragama Islam kebaikannya tidak terjamin. Ramai benar orang Islam yang melanggar ajaran Islam dan membuat dosa. Sebaliknya yang berbangsa Melayu dan beragama Islam, ramai yang menurut ajaran Islam dan mengelak daripada berbuat dosa.

15. Mentaati dan bersetia kepada bangsa Melayu, iaitu bangsa yang hanya Melayu jika dianya Islam, tidak bermakna menolak agama Islam. Sebaliknya kesetiaan dan ketaatan orang Melayu kepada agama Islam lebih terjamin. Walaupun biasa terdengar ada orang Melayu yang tinggalkan agama Islam, tetapi tidak ada bukti yang jelas berkenaan dengan adanya orang ini. Lagipun jika dia meninggalkan agama Islam dia tidak Melayu lagi.

IRON ORE

2011-03-18T11:59:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on March 17, 2011 6:15 PM

1. I read an advertisement in a Malaysian paper by a Malaysian Steel mill wanting to buy iron ore. I also know of another steel mill importing iron ore.

2. I think this is very strange. It is known that iron ore is being mined in Terengganu and Pahang right now. I understand that the iron ore is being exported. Without being processed in any order to add value.

3. Why cannot the people mining for iron ore in Malaysia sell the ore to Malaysian mills. The ore they have to buy comes from Australia or even Latin America. The price must be higher because of transportation cost. If Malaysian ore is sold to Malaysian mills, the profit would be higher for the miners as the transportation cost would be lower.

4. If the Malaysian mills are given mining concessions, the price would certainly be lower. It would enable Malaysian mills to compete with imports. If we must export , there should be some added value by conversion to pellets or billets or even construction steel. Malaysia would gain much by so doing.

5. I hope the government authorities concerned will look into this. There is something wrong when we chose to export the raw material needed for our own industry!

SEMENANJUNG TANAH MELAYU 2

2011-03-15T15:01:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on March 10, 2011 9:30 AM

1. Someone asked what about the "Orang Asli" literally the "Original People". Weren't they in the peninsular before the Malays?

2. They could be. So are the Red Indians, the Maoris, the aborigines of Australia, the many tribal people in many countries of the world.

3. If we consider that the Orang Asli have more rights to claim Malaysia as their own then we should acknowledge and respect the rights of the Red Indians, the Maoris, the Australian aborigines and all the other aborigines to be given back the land we now call America, Australia, New Zealand etc.

4. Perhaps in recognition of their rights, they are now not so ill-treated and killed as they were when the Europeans seized their lands. But this is not the same as declaring that the countries belong to the people originally found there.

5. In Latin America there were native, indigenous or Orang Asli governments when the Europeans arrived. The Aztecs, the Mayas, the Incas had recognisable states. But the Spaniards and the Portuguese conquered their lands and set up new States and Governments. The world have recognised these states.

6. In Malaysia the Orang Asli are as much citizens of the country as are the people of other races. They had never set up their own states and governments.

7. When the Europeans came, the governments and the states they had to deal with were Malay. All treaties were made with the Malay Governments. Even the Japanese recognised the existence of these Malay States when they drove the British out of the peninsular.

8. Of course when the British came back, they had to gain the assent of the Malay rulers in order to set up the Malayan Union. All subsequent agreements were with Malay rulers and Malay political leaders.

9. It is important to note that the Malay rulers only recognised Malays as their natural "rakyat". They also recognised "Orang Asli" and non-Malays who had been assimilated as "rakyat". However, non-Malays who continued to identify themselves with their countries of origin were not regarded as rakyat.

10. It was only after the Malayan Union was formed that the concept of citizenship was created. Still those recognised as rakyat of the rulers were acknowledged through what came to be regarded as special positions.

11. This was enshrined in the constitution. But the constitution also made it clear that the non-Malay citizens also have special position. Thus they may retain their original identity, use their own home language (mother tongue?) and perpetuate their own culture. They also have the right to teach in their own languages in Government supported primary schools and can set up their own private secondary schools.

12. The setting up of schools which teach in their own languages is not to be confused with schools for teaching other languages.

13. We would like to see the end of all special privileges so that we can all be together. We should all be just Malaysians speaking and teaching in one national language, practitioners of one national culture, and owing loyalty only to this beloved country, Malaysia.

SEMENANJUNG TANAH MELAYU

2011-03-03T19:04:00.003+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on March 3, 2011 5:55 PM

1. Was I rewriting history when I said that Peninsular Malaysia is historically Semenanjung Tanah Melayu? If Mr Gan Ping Sieu  (MCA Vice President) cares to read the history of this peninsular, he would know that officially the Malayan Union was replaced by Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. The English name "Federation of Malaya" was not official. I ought to know because I lived through this period.

2. But when the federation was enlarged to include Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak, the Malays, led by the Tunku agreed to the name "Malaysia" for the enlarged federation. Historically therefore the Malays agreed to the renaming of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. But historically the peninsular was Tanah Melayu, made up of Malay States ruled by their rulers, the Malay Sultans. All agreements with the British were made by the Malay Sultans of the Malay States of the Peninsular. Malaya or Malaysia never entered into agreements with the British simply because they did not exist as sovereign states.

3. These are the facts of history. I was speaking about the origins of Malaysia. Can we say the origin of Malaysia was Malaysia. Historically there was no Malaysia.

4. I talked about this in response to certain people who claim that the Malays are as much immigrants as the Chinese and Indians.

5. Some Malays are obviously descended from people who came to the Malay Peninsular from the Indonesian islands, India and the Arabian Peninsular.

6. Having come here they were assimilated after they identified themselves completely with the Malays by adopting the Malay language, their customs and traditions and by being Muslims.

7. This is a common phenomenon. In America, Australia, Latin America, the later immigrants accepted the languages of their adopted country as their mother tongue as well as the culture.

8. After doing this they no longer think of themselves as being of their original country. They are Americans, Australians and Argentinians period. We don't hear them claiming to be German Americans, Portuguese Australians or Italian Argentinians, even though they or their ancestors came from these countries.

9. Malays are Malays and it is mischievous to suggest that when asked about their race they would say they are Bugis or Javanese. It is only if they are asked where their ancestors came from that they would say Celebes or Java. Otherwise they are just Malays.

10. If you ask me I would reply that I am a Malay. I would not say I am a Malay or Malaysian of ethnic Indian origin. My mother tongue and home language is Malay, my culture and tradition is Malay and I am a Muslim. The constitution defines a Malay as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay custom and tradition and is a Muslim.

11. However I am told that IC cards in Singapore ignore Malays and state that the person is Bugis or Javanese. The intention is clear; to kill the Malay identity and create the impression that they are foreign immigrants.

12. Malays are caught in a dilemma. When challenged by the opposition on any racial issue, they are unable to respond because if they do then they would be accused of being racist even by members of the Barisan Nasional. When they do not reply then UMNO in particular would lose Malay support for not defending them. This will lead to UMNO being rejected by them. The Chinese have openly declared that they will not support Barisan Nasional. (read here)

13. Without Malay support and deprived of Chinese support UMNO would lose. Barisan Nasional would also lose.

14. Preventing Malays from defending themselves is not much different from supporting the opposition. When I rebut the anti-Malay racism of the opposition I am only trying to ensure that at least the Malays would support Barisan Nasional. I am no racist. Those who support racist statements by the opposition are the real racists.

15. For almost 52 years the Alliance and Barisan Nasional coalitions had worked well together. The prosperity that we enjoy during those years is the result of inter-racial cooperation through the Barisan Nasional.

16. In multiracial Malaysia no one can have everything that they consider they are entitled to - neither the Malays, nor the Chinese nor the Indians nor the different tribal groups in Sabah and Sarawak. The moment anyone demands that he be given everything that he thinks he is entitled to then there can be no inter-racial cooperation. Without inter-racial cooperation this country would go to the dogs.

17. We have read the fable of the thief who shouted "thief"! The racists are the same. They shout racist at others to distract from their own racism.

CHANGING REGIME

2011-03-01T03:23:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on February 28, 2011 10:30 AM

1. The people of Tunisia and Egypt have overthrown their Governments. A number of people have been killed in the process. More will follow before the uprisings will be over. Now comes the problem of setting up new Governments which would make the struggle and the sacrifices worthwhile. If the new Governments fail then all the struggles and sacrifices would have been in vain.

2. I am sure that the people would want to see a democratic Government, a Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

3. This sounds great but Government by the people will not be so easy. You cannot have the people directly governing themselves. You will need to have a new constitution and political parties which will enable representatives of the people to form the Government. For this, elections will have to be held. Unfortunately elections can be manipulated.

4. There will be a rush to grab for power by nationalists and by opportunists. It will not always be the good people who will win to form Governments. The idea of people choosing their leaders sounds very democratic but the people may not be savvy as to the quality of the candidates. Sectarian loyalties, money and narrow-mindedness may bring instability, economic regression and even anarchy.

5. The administrative machinery would need to be revamped and retrained as they would not be familiar with the democratic system. The police and military will have to understand professionalism i.e. that they will be the permanent part of the Government as against the elected Government which will last only as long as they manage to retain the support of the people.

6. The professional administrators, military and police must learn to be subservient to the elected Governments even when they are changed by the electorate through periodic elections. Their political affiliations will be private as they will have to serve whichever party forms the Government. It is going to be hard. The temptation to seize power will plague the minds of many.

7. Both the elected and permanent members of the Government will wield power to some degree. Power corrupts and will affect the performance of the Government. It is not necessary that the Government which replaces the old regime will be free from corruption. The people may have to try to remove the Government again and again with no certainty the replacements would be any better.

8. I pray and hope that the people who had suffered so much under the old regimes and suffered more in their present struggle will be rewarded with Governments that they had dreamed off.

BUKTI MENGKAFIR UMNO

2011-02-26T11:16:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on February 24, 2011 7:00 AM

1. Dalam Utusan Malaysia 18hb Februari, 2011, Nik Aziz bertanya apa bukti dia mengkafir UMNO.

2. Allah Maha Kaya.

3. Kepada soalannya, dia sendiri menjawab, "Tolak agama ambil nasionalis, apa nama kerja ini". Jadi nasionalis UMNO di dakwa oleh Nik Aziz menolak agama. Dan dia bertanya, "apa nama kerja ini". Tolak agama bermakna kafir. Jadi Nik Aziz tuduh UMNO kafir.

4. Nik Aziz menuduh saya fikir agama ini sembahyang, puasa, nikah kahwin, tengok anak bulan, itu sahaja agama saya. Memang pun bagi saya semua ini adalah sebahagian daripada ajaran agama Islam. Apa dianya yang saya tolak berkenaan agama dengan menjadi seorang nasionalis? Ini tidak diterangkan.

5. Tetapi sebelumnya dia mendakwa "sokong PAS ertinya sokong Islam". Kita jadi Islam setelah mengucap dua kalimah syahadah - "Tiada Tuhan (yang disembah) melainkan Allah dan Nabi Muhammad adalah Rasul Allah".

6. Apakah Nik Aziz berpendapat hanya setelah mengucap "sokong PAS" baru jadi Islam dan sebelum itu kafir? Ini juga bermakna Nik Aziz mengkafirkan saya.

7. Tidak ada pengertian lain dengan dakwaan UMNO tolak Islam selain daripada mendakwa UMNO adalah kafir.

8. Apa lagi bukti yang dikehendaki oleh Nik Aziz yang dia telah mengkafir saya dan UMNO kerana kami nasionalis yang tidak sokong PAS.

9. Nik Aziz membandingkan dirinya dengan malaikat yang menegur Nabi. Saya bukan Nabi dan Nik Aziz bukan malaikat. Nik Aziz dan saya hanya manusia biasa dan ahli politik. Teguran ahli politik kerana kepentingan politiknya tidak sama dengan teguran malaikat.

10. Lagi pun teguran Nik Aziz menidakkan ke-Islaman saya, satu teguran (lebih tepat lagi satu tuduhan) yang amat serius.

11. Apakah ada orang Islam yang tidak melenting jika sesiapa mengkafirkannya? Apakah Nik Aziz tidak akan melenting jika saya kata dia sudah kafir? Belum saya kata itu pun Nik Aziz sudah melenting.

12. Berkenaan dengan Nik Aziz dan PAS memperkenalkan Islam kepada DAP, bukti menunjukkan PAS yang telah dipengaruhi DAP.

13. Lihat sahaja tindakan biadap terhadap Sultan dan Raja Muda Perak oleh ahli PAS, berguling-guling atas jalan menghalang kereta Raja. Sebelum berbaik dengan DAP ahli PAS lebih berpegang kepada budaya Melayu. Kerana mahu sokong DAP ahli PAS mengenepikan ke-Melayuan mereka. Dan sekarang tuntutan untuk mendirikan negara Islam pun sudah tidak didengari lagi.

14. Apabila bapa kepada DAP menyarankan supaya orang Islam longgarkan pegangan mereka kepada ajaran Islam, Nik Aziz tidak menolaknya kerana anggapannya yang saranan ini tidak seburuk nasionalisme orang Islam UMNO. Janganlah melenting jika saya kata Nik Aziz sudah terima saranan Lee Kwan Yew supaya orang Islam longgarkan pegangan mereka kepada Islam kerana ini tidak dahsyat seperti menjadi nasionalis Melayu Islam dalam UMNO.

15. Sekarang Nik Aziz mahu Melayu diutamakan kerana mereka adalah masyarakat majoriti di negara ini. Bukan masalah orang Melayu yang menyebabkan Nik Aziz mengubah pendirian terhadap bangsanya tetapi kerana Melayu menjadi majoriti dan dianya memerlukan undi orang Melayu, tidak lebih daripada itu.

16. Kenalilah Nik Aziz, orang yang utamakan hanya undi orang Melayu, bukan keprihatinan terhadap masalah hidup mereka.

JAWAPAN KEPADA NIK AZIZ

2011-02-18T00:05:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on February 16, 2011 11:45 AM

1. Percubaan Dato Nik Aziz untuk memperingatkan saya bahawa saya akan berdiri dihadapan Allah s.w.t. satu masa nanti sedikit sebanyak membuktikan keangkuhannya seolah-olah saya tidak tahu akan agama saya. Saya juga beriman dengan hakikat bahawa setiap apa yang dipertuturkan dan diperbuat di dunia ini akan diadili di akhirat nanti.

2. Nik Aziz juga akan berdiri dihadapan Allah satu masa nanti dan segala yang dipertutur dan dilakukan olehnya di dunia ini akan diadili di akhirat nanti dan lidah, tangan dan kaki Nik Aziz akan jadi saksi. Bukan bagi Nik Aziz untuk mengadili saya atau sesiapa dan bukan Nik Aziz yang akan mengadili dirinya sendiri.

3. Sehingga kita diadili di akhirat kita tidak boleh dengan angkuhnya merasa kita tidak berdosa dan orang lain yang berdosa. Allah s.w.t. sahaja yang mengetahui segala dosa yang dilakukan oleh sesiapa, termasuk Nik Aziz. Dakwaan Nik Aziz yang dianya beriman, setelah mengkafir dan memecahbelah orang Islam, membuat berbagai-bagai tuduhan, akan ditentukan oleh Allah s.w.t. Tidak memadai dengan pengakuan Nik Aziz yang dianya beriman.

4. Saya tidak pernah dakwa yang saya ini selalunya betul dan tetap ke syurga. Saya juga tidak suruh sesiapa menyokong atau mengundi saya kerana itu akan menjamin mereka akan ke syurga di akhirat. Yang membuat dakwaan seperti ini ialah Nik Aziz.

5. Dalam Islam tidak ada paderi yang boleh ampunkan sesiapa, atau menjamin balasan di akhirat kelak. Di Tenang Nik Aziz secara terbuka menghukum orang UMNO sebagai Jahiliah.

6. Untuk tidak menjadi Jahiliah sokonglah PAS. Apakah ulama-ulama Islam yang tidak punyai kepentingan politik sudah putuskan bahawa syarat untuk menjadi orang Islam ialah menyokong PAS? Di manakah dalam Al-Quran dan Hadith yang sahih yang menyebut bahawa hanya dengan menyokong PAS baharulah seseorang itu beragama Islam? Kalau ini benar nenek moyang siapa yang jahil kerana tidak ada PAS masa mereka? Orang Islam lain di luar Malaysia sudah tentu bukan Islam kerana tidak ada PAS di negara mereka.

7. Orang UMNO adalah orang yang beragama Islam, walaupun bagi Nik Aziz mereka bukan Islam kerana tidak sokong PAS. Dunia mengiktiraf bahawa orang Melayu termasuk ahli UMNO dan ahli PAS juga adalah orang Islam. UMNO tidak mendakwa bahawa hanya orang UMNO sahaja yang Islam, atau dengan mengundi UMNO menjadi Islam dan akan ke syurga.

8. Oleh kerana orang UMNO beragama Islam maka perjuangan UMNO ialah untuk bangsa, agama (Islam) dan negara. Demikianlah pegangan UMNO kepada Islam sehingga Perlembagaan ciptaan UMNO mensyaratkan seseorang itu adalah Melayu jika dianya beragama Islam. Nik Aziz tidak akan memasukkan syarat ini kerana Melayu boleh jadi jahiliah dan tidak Islam kerana tidak sokong PAS.

9. Asas Islam mungkin tidak sama dengan nasionalisme. Penganut-penganut agama lain juga boleh jadi nasionalis. Ini tidak bermakna nasionalis Islam tidak Islam. Nasionalis yang terdiri daripada orang Islam memang berjuang untuk menegakkan agama Islam, memelihara negara Islam dan menjaga kehormatan agama Islam.

10. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk tidak menitik berat ke-Islamannya. Dia adalah seorang nasionalis. Pada masa dia berperang untuk negaranya, Turki dikuasai oleh orang Greek Kristian. Kerana nasionalismenya yang amat kuat, dia berperang sehingga Turki kembali ditakluk dan diperintah oleh orang Turki.

11. Dengan menyelamatkan Turki daripada orang Greek agama Islam terpelihara sehingga ke hari ini dan ke-Islaman orang Turki kekal. Sudah tentu Nik Aziz tidak akan akui orang Islam Turki adalah Islam.

12. Tidak ada keangkuhan yang lebih daripada seorang yang memikir dia sahaja Islam dan orang Islam lain tidak Islam dan tidak beriman kepada Allah s.w.t.

13. Terselamatnya banyak negara Islam yang dahulu dijajah adalah hasil perjuangan nasionalis Islam. Mereka nasionalis kerana mereka masing-masing sayang dan setia kepada negara mereka sahaja. Jika mereka hanya berjuang untuk Islam maka tumpuan mereka tentulah kepada membebaskan seluruh umat Islam tanpa mengira bangsa atau negara. Tetapi hakikatnya mereka tidak berjuang untuk negara Malaysia dan agama Islam di sini. Yang berjuang untuk membebaskan negara kita dengan agama Islam di sini ialah nasionalis Islam Melayu.

14. Nik Aziz sendiri berjuang hanya di Malaysia dan tidak di seluruh dunia Islam yang hari ini menghadapi pelbagai jenis penindasan dan tekanan. Walaupun Nik Aziz mendakwa bahawa dia berjuang untuk Islam, tetapi dengan menghadkan perjuangannya kepada negara ini dia juga adalah nasionalis sama seperti nasionalis dalam UMNO. Jika orang UMNO jahil kerana nasionalisme mereka, Nik Aziz juga jahil kerana sebab yang sama.

15. Apakah nasionalis Melayu Islam tidak pernah menyatakan tujuan hidup ini? Jika Nik Aziz membuka mata dan telinga, mungkin dia akan melihat perjuangan UMNO untuk Islam secara yang terpampang dihadapannya dan mendengar segala yang diperkatakan oleh pemimpin dan ahli UMNO berkenaan perjuangan untuk Islam, orang Islam dan negara Islam. Saya tidak perlu ulang tujuan hidup nasionalis Islam Melayu ialah mengabdikan diri kepada Allah s.w.t. dengan membuat ibadah tertentu, memelihara orang Islam dan agama islam bukan sahaja di Malaysia tetapi dimana sahaja orang Islam ditindas. Tuhan yang akan menilai pengabdian nasionalis Melayu Islam dan bukan Nik Aziz.

16. Sebaliknya apa yang keluar dari bibir Nik Aziz sebagai tujuan hidupnya ialah untuk memenangi pilihanraya dan menjadi pemerintah bersama DAP dan PKR. Untuk ini Nik Aziz secara terbuka sanggup mengkafirkan orang Islam UMNO, bersedia untuk bekerjasama dengan syaitan untuk menjayakan perjuangannya, bekerjasama dengan orang yang menolak perjuangannya untuk mendirikan negara Islam ala PAS, mempertahankan pendapat tokoh bukan Islam supaya orang Islam longgarkan pegangan mereka kepada ajaran agama Islam. Harapan Nik Aziz ialah dengan melakukan semua ini orang bukan Islam di Malaysia akan sokong partinya dalam pilihanraya. Bukan Islam yang diutamakan, bukan mengabdikan diri kepada Allah, tetapi kemenangan dalam pilihanraya.

17. Bolehkah Nik Aziz baca apa yang ada dalam hati orang Melayu UMNO Islam apabila mereka mengucap dua kalimah syahadah? Apakah Nik Aziz tahu apa yang ada dalam hati seseorang apabila dia berniat dalam hati semasa solat dan masa-masa lain. Apakah Nik Aziz percaya dia adalah manusia luarbiasa yang tahu apa ada dalam hati seseorang yang tidak sama dengan apa yang disebut olehnya?

18. Kuasa ini hanya ada pada Allah s.w.t. Adakah Nik Aziz juga mempunyai kuasa ini? Apakah pandangan Islam terhadap orang yang mendakwa dia boleh baca apa yang ada dalam hati manusia sepertimana Allah s.w.t. boleh membacanya.

19. Apakah dasar pejuangan UMNO telah saya jelaskan. Islam tidak menyuruh kita hanya membuat ibadat tertentu sahaja. Mempertahankan umat Islam di Malaysia adalah satu daripada yang diwajibkan ke atas orang Islam. Sebab itu orang yang terbunuh mempertahankan orang Islam dan negara mereka termasuk dalam golongan syahid.

20. Apakah usaha yang dibuat oleh Kerajaan pimpinan nasionalis Melayu Islam supaya keupayaan menyelamatkan umat Islam dan agama Islam di Malaysia ada pada negara ini tidak menepati satu daripada kewajipan orang Islam? Untuk pengetahuan Nik Aziz Kerajaan pimpinan Melayu Islam nasionalis berjaya menolong orang Islam bukan sahaja di Malaysia tetapi di negara tertentu sehingga serangan keatas mereka terpaksa dihentikan.

21. Untuk menunaikan kewajipan ini negara harus mempunyai kewangan yang cukup yang datang daripada peningkatan ekonomi negara. Akan mampukah kita menunaikan kewajipan ini jika kita papa kedana, selalu meminta-minta dan mengemis daripada orang lain. Perjuangan untuk membangunkan negara supaya pertahanannya lebih kukuh adalah kewajipan orang Islam. Tidak mencukupi jika kita hanya berdoa meminta pertolongan Allah s.w.t.

22. Apakah benar UMNO menghapuskan Jawi sehingga kita tidak dapat membaca Al-Quran? Tidakkah Kerajaan UMNO mengadakan sekolah agama, mata pelajaran Islam yang menggunakan tulisan Jawi? Kenapakah Harakah menggunakan tulisan Rumi? Bagaimanakah terdapat lebih ramai yang mempelajari agama sehingga ke peringkat universiti jika generasi ini buta Al-Quran, tidak boleh baca Jawi.

23. Peruntukan kepada sekolah agama rakyat dihentikan kerana bukan agama yang diajar di sekolah-sekolah ini tetapi politik pecah-belah parti PAS.

24. Tidak pernah saya membuat tuduhan yang Nik Aziz menyebabkan parti UMNO diharamkan, atau penubuhan Semangat 46 atau Parti Keadilan. Tetapi yang jelas ialah PAS memberi sokongan kuat kepada serpihan ini kerana gemar melihat perpecahan dan pengharaman UMNO.

25. Benarkah Islam menerima pecah belah sebagai satu perkara yang pasti berlaku seperti Nik Aziz katakan?

26. Tafsiran ayat 36 dalam Surah Al-Baqarah berbunyi demikian; "Setelah itu maka syaitan menggelincirkan mereka berdua (Adam dan Hawa) daripada syurga itu dan menyebabkan mereka dikeluarkan daripada nikmat yang mereka telah berada di dalamnya; dan kami berfirman, "Turunlah kamu. Sebahagian dari (keturunan) kamu menjadi musuh kepada sebahagian daripada yang lain; dan bagi kamu semua disediakan tempat kediaman di bumi, serta mendapat kesenangan hingga ke suatu masa (mati)".

27. Ayat ini adalah berkenaan umat manusia yang sering berpecah belah dan bermusuh-musuhan sesama mereka.

28. Rujukan oleh Nik Aziz kepada ayat ini secara tidak langsung menjadi pengakuan oleh Nik Aziz yang dianya memang terlibat dengan pecah belah orang Melayu Islam.

29. Khusus bagi orang Islam, Allah s.w.t. berfirman (Ayat 10 Surah Al-Hujarat); "Innamalmukminu na ikhwana..." iaitu orang-orang yang beriman (mukmin) itu adalah bersaudara.

30. Ayat itu diteruskan dan maksudnya ialah, "maka damaikanlah antara dua saudara kamu (yang bertelagah) itu, dan bertaqwalah kepada Allah supaya kamu beroleh rahmat."

31. Allah s.w.t. berfirman lagi dalam Al-Quran (Ayat 103, Surah Ali-Imran); "Dan berpeganglah kamu pada tali Allah (Al-Quran) dan janganlah kamu bercerai berai..."

32. Tak mungkin Nik Aziz tidak tahu akan ayat-ayat ini. Lebih mungkin Nik Aziz lupa dalam keghairahan menyalahguna agama untuk menghalalkan perbuatan yang ditegah. Yang jelas ialah Islam tidak menyuruh perpecahan di kalangan umat Islam.

33. Nabi Muhammad tidak memecah-belah orang Islam. Utbah bin Rabiah mengecam Nabi kerana agama Islam yang dibawa Baginda memecah belah kaum Quraisy (yang pada masa itu bukan semuanya Islam) kerana sebahagian daripada mereka telah memeluk agama Islam. Janganlah Nik Aziz banding dirinya dan apa yang dilakukan olehnya sama dengan Baginda Rasulullah. Baginda telah cuba menyatupadu orang Quraisy melalui Islam tetapi Nik Aziz menyeru supaya orang yang sudahpun Islam berpecah tiga dengan niat untuk melemahkan UMNO, musuh politik PAS.

34. UMNO tidak menculik ADUN PAS. Sebaliknya permusuhan antara pemimpin PAS Terengganu menyebabkan beberapa daripada mereka meninggalkan PAS untuk menyertai UMNO. Hari ini pun terlihat banyak peristiwa seperti ini berlaku. Jika mana-mana ahli PAS yang berpisah dari PAS untuk menyertai UMNO dan kemudian balik kepada PAS itu adalah pilihan mereka. Tidak ada paksaan atau tekanan dengan menyalahguna agama oleh UMNO untuk mendapat orang PAS.

35. Saya tidak tahu ada pilihanraya pada tahun 2003. Yang ada ialah Pilihanraya Umum 2004, di waktu mana saya bukan lagi Perdana Menteri dan PAS kalah teruk.

36. PAS tidak harus lupa di Memali enam orang anggota polis ditembak mati oleh pengganas Memali. Itulah sebabnya polis terpaksa tembak balas.

37. Iqraq ditafsir sebagai "baca". Membaca tetap akan memberi kita tambahan ilmu. Sebab itu intelek Islam dizaman dahulu mengejar ilmu dengan membaca dalam bahasa Greek ilmu yang diterokai oleh mereka itu. Tak mungkin mereka membaca tulisan Greek dengan mengguna bahasa Arab.

38. Selepas menguasai ilmu yang diterokai oleh orang Greek, orang India, Parsi dan lain-lain maka dapatlah intelek Islam menambah kepada ilmu sains dan matematik dengan hasil kajian mereka. Dengan itu juga bahasa Arab menjadi bahasa ilmu.

39. Orang Eropah terpaksa mempelajari bahasa Arab untuk menguasai ilmu mereka. Sementara itu orang Islam (Arab) menolak ilmu yang kononnya sekular, kerana kononnya tidak berkaitan dengan agama.

40. Ilmu terkini yang diterokai oleh bangsa Eropah ditulis hampir semuanya dalam bahasa Inggeris.

41. Sains dan matematik tidak seperti ilmu lain. Sains dan Matematik memperkenal banyak ilmu baru hasil kajian yang dibuat sepanjang masa. Semua hasil ini dihebah dalam bahasa Inggeris. Kita tidak mempunyai cukup pakar yang terlatih dalam bidang-bidang sains tertentu yang fasih dalam bahasa Inggeris dan Melayu untuk menterjemah beribu-ribu kertas kajian (research papers) dalam bahasa Inggeris. Sebaliknya jika ilmu baru ini tidak dikuasai oleh orang Melayu, bahkan orang Islam, mereka akan ketinggalan jauh kebelakang, menjadi mundur dan lemah, mudah dipermain orang.

42. Bolehkah Nik Aziz perkenalkan seorang Melayu yang mempelajari Sains hanya dalam Bahasa Melayu yang mampu menulis kertas atau memahami tulisan berkenaan dengan nano sains atau theory of relativity atau perkiraan yang diperlukan untuk menghantar space shuttle supaya menemui dan dipasang kepada International Space Station.

43. Pada pendapat Nik Aziz apakah hanya dengan mengguna bahasa Melayu dalam mempelajari sains dan matematik kita akan jadi lebih Islam? Apakah Nik Aziz berpendapat dengan mengguna bahasa Malayu maka kita lebih Melayu, lebih setia kepada bangsa, lebih nasionalis, sedangkan Nik Aziz mendakwa Melayu tidak penting asalkan kita Islam, dan nasionalisme menjadikan kita kurang Islam. Apakah minat Nik Aziz kepada pengajaran dalam bahasa Melayu tidak mencerminkan sifat Nik Aziz sebagai seorang nasionalis juga, sama seperti orang UMNO. Nik Aziz harus tuntut supaya Sains dan Matematik diajar dalam bahasa Arab, bukan bahasa Melayu.

44. Islam tidak akan sempurna tanpa iman kata Nik Aziz. Saya tahu dan orang UMNO tahu. Tetapi bagaimana Nik Aziz boleh tahu seseorang Islam sempurna imannya atau tidak? Allah s.w.t. tahu tetapi apakah Nik Aziz mempunyai kebolehan seperti Allah Ta'ala?

45. Apakah Abdullah bin Ubay di zaman Rasulullah tidak berjasa kepada Islam apabila dia membina Masjid Dhirar? Jika membina sekolah agama tidak bermakna UMNO berjasa kepada Islam, kenapakah saya dikecam apabila peruntukan kepada sekolah agama ditarik balik setelah sekolah dijadikan pusat mengembangkan ideologi PAS untuk membenci UMNO?

46. Apakah oleh kerana di Thailand juga wujud sekolah-sekolah agama (yang dibangun oleh orang Islam) maka ini bermakna pembinaan sekolah agama oleh UMNO tidak bermakna berjasa kepada Islam. Apabila PAS mendirikan sekolah agama apakah PAS berjasa kepada Islam? Atau berjasa kepada parti?

47. Arak sekarang dijual dibawah pemerintahan PAS. Besar atau kecil tidak bermakna kebenaran menjual arak tidak bertentangan dengan Islam.

48. Judi dan arak memang haram bagi Islam. Saya jemput Nik Aziz secara terbuka tuntut rakan karibnya DAP supaya sekarang ini, sebagai anggota dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang akan memerintah negara ini membuat pengakuan tertentu yang Kerajaan campuran Pakatan akan haramkan judi dan penjualan arak, disamping menerima hukum Hudud. Jika DAP enggan membuat kenyataan ini sanggupkah PAS mendakwa akan kalahkan calon DAP? Atau apakah PAS akan membisu berkenaan dengan negara Islam PAS, hukum Hudud, pengharaman judi dan arak kerana bukan dasar dan tujuan perjuangan PAS yang penting tetapi kemenangan dalam PRU dengan pertolongan DAP yang penting?

49. Akhir kata saya akui pengetahuan agama Nik Aziz dalam tetapi alangkah baiknya jika Nik Aziz berhenti daripada menyalahguna dan menyalah tafsir Islam demi kepentingan politik diri sendiri. Tidak ada sesiapa yang dapat lari daripada hari pengadilan yang dijanjikan oleh Allah s.w.t.

50. Justeru itu bertaqwalah kepada Allah s.w.t. dan hentikanlah mengeliru umat Islam di Malaysia kerana ingin menang pilihanraya.

HARD TRUTHS

2011-02-11T00:52:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on February 10, 2011 1:00 PM

1. A new book on Lee Kuan Yew has appeared with the title "Lee Kuan Yew - Hard Truths To Keep Singapore Going." It is a collection of 16 interviews with Lee Kuan Yew by Singapore journalists.

2. What is the hard truth which will keep Singapore going? It is, according to Lee Kuan Yew the vulnerability of Singapore. Without saying so in so many words, Lee Kuan Yew believes that the island's neighbours would war against it if it has no military capacity to defend itself. The United Nations would not help Singapore in the event of such an attack.

3. Even America would not defend Singapore despite the Security Framework Agreement. America went to the aid of Kuwait because of oil, but Singapore's problem is water.

4. Kuan Yew blamed me for stopping sand supply from Malaysia. I was quoted as saying, "Even at their present size they are trouble, you let them grow some more they will be more trouble." Rhetorically he then asked the journalist present, "We've got friendly neighbours? Grow up."

5. I may have said that, though I cannot remember. But is that an indication that we intend to invade Singapore?

6. Singapore had been taking large quantities of sand from the sea-bed east of Johore and also in the Strait of Malacca. As a result the coast has been eroded in places. Taking one billion cubic meters more of sand in these seas would cause serious erosion.

7. In addition the fish-breeding ground will be destroyed and this will affect Malaysian fishermen.

8. As to the trouble caused by Singapore; in the 22 years of my premiership I was not able to resolve any of the problems with Singapore. These are the Central Provident Fund, the railway land, the operation of the Malayan Railway in Singapore and the water price. Additionally the reclamation in the Tebrau Strait was affecting the deep water shipping lane for ships to and from Pasir Gudang Port. The only problem solved was the unilateral decision of Malaysia to give up the naval base in Woodlands after Singapore kept raising the lease payments. Malaysia did not ask for even a single cent as compensation for the facilities it has installed at the base.

9. As for Singapore's military planes flying over Malaysian air space, Malaysia had the right to disallow such flights for many reasons. Singapore would certainly not like to have Malaysian military planes flying over Singapore.

10. When we wanted to build a bridge to replace the congested causeway Singapore was not forthcoming.

11. All this while Malaysia had been supplying raw water at 3 sen per thousand gallons. Even to Melaka, Johore is paid 30 cent per thousand gallons. Negotiations to raised the price of water failed repeatedly. The first agreement will end this year. We will continue to supply raw water at 3 sen per thousand gallons until 2061 under the second agreement.

12. Yes, we buy treated water at a subsidised price of 50 cent per thousand gallons. We are willing to forego the supply and treat our water ourselves.

13. It was Malaysia which suggested that both countries submit claims to Pulau Batu Puteh to the international court. The court decided that the rock belongs to Singapore even though it is nearer Malaysia. But two other rocks further from Malaysia but nearer Singapore were awarded to Malaysia.

14. Malaysia's willingness to go to the International Court is hardly in keeping with a country which harbours the intention to invade Singapore.

15. Kuan Yew cried when Singapore left Malaysia. We thought that it was the separation which had saddened him. But now he tells us that it was because "I left behind tens of thousands of people who had joined our rallies". Kuan Yew might remember that despite the huge crowds attending the PAP rallies, the party won only one seat.

16. The PAP supporters immediately formed the DAP to fight the cause promoted by the PAP after the separation. The DAP is alive and well today in Malaysia. In fact it now rules Penang state.

17. But the rump UMNO left in Singapore could not survive in the hostile atmosphere created by the PAP Government. For that matter no other political party has been allowed to function properly in Singapore.

18. Kuan Yew claims all these opposition people are duds and must not be allowed to rule Singapore or even to be in the opposition. This is a frank admission that he determines who should represent the people of Singapore, not the people themselves as in a democracy. If there is any more proof needed that Singapore is a totalitarian state, this admission by Kuan Yew confirms it.

19. Now Kuan Yew is urging Muslims not to hold to the teachings of Islam too strictly. Most Muslims are in breach in their practice of Islam. But it is not for others to tell the Muslims that they should renege on their practice of Islam to facilitate integration in Singapore. In Malaysia we try to live with our differences. Our integration is not perfect because we are sensitive to the sensitivities of our people. We do not ask people to forsake their religious practices so we can integrate.

20. Malaysia has no intention to attack Singapore even if it is militarily weak. Even in my time there was no such intention. In fact we wanted to continue to supply Singapore with water, but at a fair price. I don't think my successors harbour any intention to do harm to Singapore. These are the hard truths. Competition in trade and shipping does not mean war, or a threat of war.

21. But one thing is certain: if Singapore treats Malaysia and Indonesia as its enemies then you must expect them to prepare for their defence. Even if it may not lead to war there will be tension and there will be an arms race. And much money will be wasted.

22. It would be far better if Mr Lee, the Minister Mentor of Singapore stop thinking about being vulnerable and that its neighbours harbour the intention to invade it. As with Pulau Batu Puteh, Sipadan and Ligitan our preference is for negotiation, arbitration or an international court's decision.

23. Remember Malaysia gave up Singapore peacefully. We did not try to use force to keep Singapore or to suppress its people.

PIRATES

2011-02-11T00:51:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on February 7, 2011 12:34 PM

1. I must congratulate Paskal, the Royal Malaysian Navy's commandos, for their success in preventing the capture of the Malaysian ship by Somali pirates recently.

2. It seems that the Korean commandos have been equally successful in frustrating the Somali pirates from hijacking a Korean ship.

3. I wonder if this means that the anti-piracy forces of the different countries are responsible for the ships of their own countries only. Will the Malaysian or Korean commandos sit by and watch as ships of other nations are hijacked in front of their eyes?

4. I believe there is some international law which prevents merchant ships from carrying armed personnel to deal with pirates boarding their ships. If there is then it is time we change the law.

5. Armed and trained personnel on board would be much more effective than having naval ships sending commandos when the merchant ships have already been boarded by the pirates. The pirates are likely to take hostage of the crew, threatening to kill them if the boarding party of commandos do not leave. The on-board commandos would be able to prevent boarding by the pirates and thus prevent them from making hostages of the crew.

6. Perhaps ships passing through dangerous waters might take on the commandos and they can disembark after reaching safe seas. The situation is sufficiently extraordinary and dangerous that departure from the norm is justified.

THE DOMINO EFFECT

2011-02-11T00:48:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on February 3, 2011 12:37 AM

**Saya ucapkan Selamat Menyambut Tahun Baru Cina kepada semua rakyat Malaysia terutamanya kepada pembaca blog saya ini. Gong Xi Fa Cai**

1. It looks like the Arab countries are experiencing some kind of revolution. Apparently the people are not happy with the leadership of their largely authoritarian Governments. Equally obviously they want a change of Governments or the leaders.

2. The revolution has succeeded in Tunisia. Now we are seeing upheavals in Egypt.

3. Should these revolutions succeed there would be new Governments. But it is worthwhile to remember that change is not always for the better. It is incumbent upon those bent on effecting change to have some idea about the kind of Governments they want. Otherwise they may get the same kind of Governments that they try so hard to be rid off. This is because most leaders upon achieving power would change and would forget the struggles and sacrifices which enabled them to be in power. Power corrupts as we all know.

4. Perhaps in order to avoid a new dictatorship from emerging, democracy would be chosen. A democratic leader can be changed merely through voting.

5. But the system can be abused. Either the elected leader would fix elections to perpetuate his office or there would be a series of ineffective Governments as the people reject each one with their votes. This will cause instability. The country would be no better.

6. To avoid this the electorate must not allow themselves to be manipulated. They must exercise their voting rights judiciously. But this would be something new to them and they may not be skilled enough in exercising their power to choose.

7. I will not presume to know all the needs of the countries concerned, much less to provide solutions.

8. Whatever, the new Governments must never forget the people who so courageously rose against the previous Governments. They had done so because they expect a better Government which will care for the people. I am told that high unemployment rate is one of the major causes. This problem must be given priority or the same fate will be met by the new Government. This will require better management of the economy, in particular the creation of more jobs.

9. Corruption in the administration must be reduced. Drastic measures will be needed. For this the most important thing is for the new ruling elites, particularly the leader, however chosen to demonstrate that they are not corrupt.

10. The skills in administration must be upgraded so that Government would be able to deliver on promises of better governance.

11. I feel sad that not a single Muslim country is classified as developed. Almost invariably it is due to Government incompetence. We see some hope in the progress made by Turkey. But even Turkey is far from being a developed country.

12. There will be some Muslims who will say that being developed is not important to Islam. What is important is to be Islamic according to their interpretation of the teachings of Islam.

13. This is fallacious. We know that the reason for the oppression of Muslim countries and discrimination against Muslims that we see today is because they are underdeveloped and weak. They are labeled as terrorists. They have no capacity to protect themselves. They are forever dependent on aid, usually by the powerful countries. And when powerful countries give aid, it is not free. They have to toe the line determined by the donors.

14. Does Islam teach us to be weak and poor, to be beggars incapable of defending ourselves? Certainly not. Therefore in striving to become a developed country we are not going against the teachings of Islam. Indeed what we will be doing is to restore the good image of Islam and to counter the propaganda that Islam is the cause of the poverty and incompetence of Muslims. To defend Islam and the Muslims, to regain respect for the religion cannot be against the teachings of Islam.

15. I hope and pray that those who replace the displaced Governments will govern their countries well and much good will come from the sacrifices made by the demonstrators.

NIK AZIZ DAN KWAN YEW

2011-02-11T00:46:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 31, 2011 4:40 PM

1. Kata Nik Aziz, "Melayu (di Malaysia) tolak Islam lebih teruk daripada Kwan Yew". Ternampak Nik Aziz lebih utamakan peluang untuk memburuk musuh politiknya di Malaysia daripada mempertahankan serangan terhadap Islam dan penganutnya oleh Lee Kwan Yew. Nik Aziz anggap nasionalis Melayu lebih teruk ke-Islaman mereka.

2. Di zaman British ramai pembesar Melayu minum arak dan ada pekerja Melayu yang minum toddy. Masjid pun tidak banyak dan ramai yang tidak sembahyang. Hasil perjuangan nasionalis Melayu negara sekarang diperintah oleh orang Melayu Islam. Mereka mengharamkan arak dalam majlis rasmi Kerajaan, menerap nilai-nilai Islam dalam pemerintahan, membekalkan wang Kerajaan untuk kegiatan-kegiatan agama Islam, memudahkan orang Islam buat kerja haji, mendirikan masjid-masjid, menubuhkan Universiti Islam, Bank Islam, Takaful, badan-badan dakwah, mengharamkan loteri nasional dan berbagai-bagai lagi yang disuruh oleh agama Islam. Teruk sangatkah orang nasionalis ini dalam mengamal ajaran Islam?

3. Sebaliknya apakah yang dilakukan oleh PAS dan Nik Aziz? Hasil yang terbesar ialah memecahbelahkan orang Islam di negara ini. Penubuhan PAS itu sendiri berjaya memecahbelahkan orang Melayu Islam setelah mereka bersatu dalam UMNO untuk memperjuangkan nasib bangsa yang beragama Islam.

4. PAS turut memecahbelahkan orang Melayu Islam di Malaysia sekali lagi apabila PAS mengadakan sembahyang Jumaat dua Imam, larangan terhadap perkahwinan orang PAS dengan orang UMNO, larangan ahli PAS menghadiri kenduri orang UMNO dan pengasingan kubur orang PAS dari orang UMNO, seolah-olah di Akhirat juga PAS ingin pecah belah orang Melayu Islam terus berlaku.

5. Apabila PAS bertanding dalam Pilihanraya 1955 dan seterusnya hingga 1986 ia mendakwa bahawa UMNO yang bekerjasama dengan orang bukan Islam, mereka menjadi kafir. Ini juga memecahkan perpaduan orang Islam di Malaysia.

6. Kemudian PAS bergabung tenaga dengan Semangat 46 dan DAP dalam Pilihanraya 1990 dan 1995. Dengan ini Semangat 46, serpihan dari UMNO mendapat nafas dan orang Melayu Islam terbahagi kepada tiga kumpulan.

7. Alhamdulillah Semangat 46 kembali semula kepada UMNO dan perpaduan orang Melayu Islam dalam UMNO dipulih semula. Tetapi apabila Timbalan Presiden UMNO di keluarkan dari parti, Nik Aziz dengan cepat memberi sokongan kuat kepadanya supaya parti serpihan yang ditubuh boleh menarik keluar sebahagian daripada ahli UMNO dan penyokongnya supaya parti orang Melayu Islam yang terbesar ini menjadi lemah.

8. Hasil daripada sokongan Nik Aziz orang Melayu sekali lagi berpecah tiga. Tidak cukup dengan ini Nik Aziz sanggup bekerja keras dengan DAP untuk menubuh Pakatan. Bahawa dahulu PAS mendakwa kerjasama oleh UMNO dengan orang bukan Islam menjadikan mereka kafir dilupakan sahaja kerana ingin menjadi Pakatan musuh UMNO yang kuat. Dengan cara ini Nik Aziz menentukan kali ini perpecahan orang Melayu Islam kepada tiga pasukan yang lemah menjadi kekal.

9. Inilah sumbangan Nik Aziz kepada Islam di Malaysia ini. Bahawa satu dari ajaran Islam yang penting ialah orang Islam itu bersaudara tidak dihirau oleh Nik Aziz.

10. Sesungguhnya Islam Nik Aziz lebih teruk dari Islam nasionalis. Beliau rela mempertahankan Lee Kuan Yew dengan menganggap cadangan Lee Kuan Yew supaya orang Islam Singapura tidak terlalu kuat berpegang kepada ajaran Islam adalah tidak seburuk dari Islam nasionalis Melayu.

11. Cadangan Lee Kuan Yew ini dianggap oleh Nik Aziz sebagai lebih baik dari segala-gala yang dilakukan oleh nasionalis Melayu di Malaysia. Bayangkan sahaja Islam di bawah pemerintahan Nik Aziz dengan Karpal, Kit Siang, Guan Eng. Jika pendapat rakan bukan Islam Nik Aziz menuntut supaya amalan ajaran Islam dilonggarkan, Nik Aziz mungkin bersetuju kerana Islam nasionalis lebih teruk daripada Lee Kuan Yew.

SEJARAH

2011-02-11T00:42:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 28, 2011 11:45 AM

1. Sejarah menceritakan apa yang telah berlaku dahulu kepada sesuatu negara atau bangsa. Tidak semua yang diceritakan diasaskan kepada fakta yang benar-benar berlaku. Tiap negara dan tiap ahli sejarah mengutamakan kepentingan negara apabila menulis berkenaan sejarah yang dilalui oleh negara masing-masing.

2. Demikian penulis sejarah British apabila menulis berkenaan pertempuran perang di Waterloo mendakwa bahawa pertempuran itu telah selesai dimenangi oleh Duke of Wellington, Jeneral yang mengetuai tentera British sebelum tentera Jerman yang diketuai oleh Blucher sampai ke Waterloo untuk membantu Wellington.

3. Ahli sejarah Jerman pula menulis bahawa Wellington hampir kalah di Waterloo apabila Blucher sampai dan menyelamatkan tentera British dan seterusnya memberi kemenangan kepada tentera gabungan Jerman dan British.

4. Banyaklah rencana dalam buku sejarah yang memberi gambaran yang berlainan dan berbeza berkenaan dengan peristiwa yang sama kerana kepentingan negara masing-masing.

5. Kita jarang membaca dalam buku sejarah Barat bahawa negara Sepanyol ditawan dan dikuasai orang Islam selama 800 tahun, atau kekalahan teruk tentera British di Gallipoli, Turki, di tangan tentera Turki pimpinan Mustafa Kamal.

6. Sekarang kita dengar pendapat bahawa dalam menulis sejarah negara kita sensitiviti semua kaum mesti diambil kira. Soalnya setakat manakah yang sensitiviti boleh menidak kebenaran sejarah? Jika ia keterlaluan maka sejarah yang akan dipelajari oleh penuntut kita akan menjadi cerita dongeng dan bukan sejarah.

7. Umpamanya ada dakwaan berkenaan dengan penduduk asal semenanjung ini yang bercanggah dengan kebenaran. Apakah kerana sensitifnya perkara ini maka kita tidak akan sebut berkenaan penduduk asal negeri-negeri Semenanjung, berkenaan orang asing yang datang menduduki semenanjung ini, yang menjadikan bahasa tempatan sebagai bahasa mereka, menerap sebahagian daripada budaya dan pakaian tempatan sebagai budaya dan pakaian mereka. Sekarang tidak ada lagi orang seperti ini kerana di zaman ini perlakuan seperti ini tidak dapat diterima oleh kaum tertentu.

8. Dan banyaklah lagi kebenaran sejarah yang boleh dianggap sensitif, sensitif kepada Melayu, Cina, Tamil, Iban, Kadazan dan lain-lain suku kaum. Jika semua yang sensitif kepada kaum-kaum di Malaysia ditapis maka tidak ada pelajaran yang akan diperolehi penuntut.

9. Sebaliknya satu daripada hasil dari matapelajaran sejarah ialah kita lebih prihatin dengan tidak melakukan kesalahan-kesalahan dahulu dalam tindak-tanduk rakyat dan pemerintah. Jika dahulu sistem raja berkuasa mutlak kerap membinasakan negara, maka sistem itu diganti dengan sistem pemerintahan oleh rakyat. Tanpa pengalaman dalam sejarah maka pembetulan cara pemerintahan negara tidak akan dapat dibuat.

10. Kata George Santayana, seorang ahli pemikir Amerika, "Mereka yang lupa akan sejarah akan didera dengan mengulangi kesilapan mereka berkali-kali".

11. Kita semua belajar dari pengalaman. Jika zaman ini lebih baik iklimnya daripada dahulu sebabnya ialah kerana kita tidak amalkan kesilapan-kesilapan dahulu. Kita telah belajar dari pengalaman kita dan pengalaman ini adalah sebahagian dari sejarah.

12. Jika kita lupakan atau ketepikan pengalaman dahulu yang kita alami tak dapat tidak pembaikan iklim dalam masyarakat manusia tidak akan menjadi lebih baik.

13. Saya telah baca buku teks sejarah dan saya dapati banyaklah peristiwa yang penting yang berlaku di zaman penjajahan British, Jepun, Siam dan sekali lagi British yang tidak terdapat dalam buku-buku ini.

14. Saya tahu apa yang tertinggal atau apa yang tidak diberi ulasan yang tepat kerana saya melalui zaman-zaman ini. Saya harap penulis yang akan menulis buku teks yang baru, sambil mengambilkira sensitiviti tetapi akan berpegang kepada kebenaran.

15. Oleh kerana semua ini maka janganlah kita terlalu ghairah untuk tidak menyentuh sensitiviti kaum-kaum di negara tercinta ini sehingga hilang segala pelajaran yang boleh diperolehi dari sejarah kita yang benar.

KAUM MELAYU SINGAPURA

2011-02-11T00:39:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 25, 2011 11:15 AM

1. Tan Malaka yang namanya amat terkenal di zaman Sukarno mendakwa Melayu Singapura lebih disiplin (daripada Melayu Malaysia). Ini memang benar. Bahkan rakyat Singapura tanpa mengira bangsa juga amat disiplin.

2. Sebagai contoh mereka tidak akan buang sampah di jalan. Dengan itu jalan-jalan di Singapura amat bersih.

3. Tetapi apabila mereka menyeberang ke tanah besar Malaysia mereka akan buang sampah dari kereta mereka dalam perjalanan.

4. Ada pelawak yang memanggil Singapura "a fine city". Sebabnya kerana bagi tiap kesalahan kecil rakyatnya akan dikenakan denda iaitu "fine".

5. Rakyat Malaysia pun bila ke Singapura akan berjaga-jaga supaya tidak dikenakan fine.

6. Di Malaysia buang sampah selori di tepi jalan pun tidak diambil apa-apa tindakan. Sudah tentu rakyat Malaysia di Malaysia tidak disiplin dalam soal kebersihan dan lain-lain.

7. Mungkin ini kerana kita demokratik. Parti-parti politik takut rakyat tidak akan sokong mereka jika mereka bertindak terlalu keras supaya rakyat berdisiplin.

8. Parti pemerintah Singapura tidak takut kepada rakyat. Jika rakyat pilih bukan calon PAP, dia akan diheret ke mahkamah, didenda dan dijadikan bankrap. Selepas itu dia tidak dapat ke Parlimen untuk membantah perlakuan pemerintah.

9. Jika dia dibenar mengambil tempat di Parlimen, dia tidak akan berani berkata apa-apa.

10. Mungkin Tan Malaka lebih senang jika amalan di Singapura didapati di Malaysia.

11. Jika "demokrasi" ala Singapura diamal disini saya yakin bukan sahaja Melayu Malaysia akan disiplin tetapi semua kaum akan disiplin.

12. Sesungguhnya keadaan di Singapura amat mengagumkan sesetengah daripada kita di Malaysia. Apa tidak. Masalah Kampung Baru dapat diselesaikan dengan mudah. Pindahkan sahaja penduduk Kampung Baru, dan bangunkan rumah pangsa yang akan diduduki oleh sesiapa sahaja. Seperti hilangnya Geylang dan Pasir Panjang akan hilanglah Kampung Baru.

13. Menteri-Menteri pun lega kerana jika dicalonkan semula oleh parti, kemenangan terjamin walaupun menidakkan hak bersuara rakyat.

MEDIUM OF TEACHING

2011-02-11T00:36:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 24, 2011 8:55 AM

1. In an interview by Nanyang Siang Pau, I pointed out that there is no country in the world, except Malaysia where the Government allows and pays for schools which use a foreign language for teaching in schools meant for a community whose ancestors came from a foreign country.

2. A NSP reader claims that I was wrong because in many countries the Chinese language is taught and are spoken.

3. May I point out that there is a difference between teaching in a foreign language and learning (and speaking) a foreign language. I was referring to teaching (medium of instruction) in a foreign language not learning a foreign language. Learning a foreign language is usually not only permissible but encouraged.

4. The claim that in Thailand there are schools which use Chinese as the medium of teaching is not correct. There are International schools which do not use the Thai national language but they are not funded by the Government. Similar international schools to cater for expatriates are found in many countries including in Malaysia. Some nationals also go to these schools. But they are not like the Chinese and Tamil schools in Malaysia which are Government funded schools.

5. Even in Singapore there are no Government funded schools where the medium of instruction is Chinese or Tamil. But the students must learn another language other than English, which is the medium of teaching in Singapore.

6. Incidentally the policy of the Singapore Government to use English as a teaching medium rather than Malay, Chinese or Tamil has not resulted in it being accused of being anti-Chinese, anti-Tamil or anti-Malay.

6. Nationally the national language of predominantly Chinese Singapore is Malay but Chinese, Tamil and English are also official languages which are taught and may be used instead of English.

7. If anyone wishes to refute what I state here, they are welcome. But they must provide evidence to show that I am wrong.

CENSORSHIP

2011-02-11T00:34:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 17, 2011 12:05 PM

1. Governments have often been accused of censoring unpleasant reports or books about them. Obviously this practice is not regarded highly by democrats everywhere. People believe that there must be some truth in the censored articles or publications, otherwise why should they be censored or banned.

2. Now we are seeing individuals, organisations and governments which have no power to censor also indulging in censoring unfavourable reports about them.

3. This they do by threatening to sue or suing the whistle blowers. The threat is intended to deter not only the particular individual but others also from uttering or reporting the same allegation. If the threat fails, then the matter is made a subject of libel action. Whether it becomes sub-judice or not the person is deterred from repeating the statements as it may prejudice the courts.

4. The affect of the libel action is to prevent the respondent from repeating the allegation. Effectively he has been censored, his right of free speech denied.

5. And if the court case can be prolonged, the censorship, or denial of the freedom of speech of the respondent will be effective in hiding the truth of the matter.

6. I am not a lawyer of course but I think the law is being abused to hide acts which may be criminal. Or it may be in order to prevent the public from getting the right information to make political decision.

7. I wonder whether the act to protect whistleblowers cover this thing or not.

SOUND BYTES - BERSARA

2011-02-11T00:32:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 14, 2011 2:15 PM

1. Saya setuju saya patut bersara dan serah segala-galanya kepada generasi muda. Tetapi saya sering menasihat kawan-kawan yang bersara supaya terus aktif kerana jika tidak mereka akan tua lebih cepat dan akan pergi lebih awal.

2. Saya juga cuba supaya tidak pergi lebih awal dengan mengaktifkan diri saya. Harap kawan-kawan saya membenarkan orang tua ini terus aktif. Akan sampai masanya yang saya tidak lagi boleh aktif walaupun saya ingin aktif. Pada masa itu saya akan terima apa yang ditakdirkan bagi saya oleh Allah subhanawata'ala.

3. Selagi Allaw s.w.t. memberi kesihatan dan tenaga kepada saya, saya tidak akan membazirkan kurniaan Tuhan ini.

KAMPUNG BARU 2

2011-02-11T00:28:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 11, 2011 2:05 PM

1. Saya tertarik dengan komen-komen terhadap isu Kampung Baru dalam blog saya.

2. Di antara yang menarik ialah cadangan supaya Kerajaan bangunkan Kampung Melayu moden dengan rumah-rumah kayu Melayu serta dilengkapkan dengan parit dan pokok-pokok.

3. Ia boleh dijadikan satu produk pelancongan untuk menunjuk budaya dan cara hidup orang Melayu dahulu kala.

4. Hanya saya tidak begitu senang jika orang Melayu dan kampung mereka menjadi produk pelancongan. Kita telah hentikan membawa pelancong melihat cara hidup Orang Asli kerana kita hormati mereka sebagai manusia dan bukan pameran muzium.

5. Namun demikian cadangan ini patut ditimbang. Apa pun janganlah kita pamerkan kedaifan orang Melayu dengan rumah robek mereka yang terdapat sekarang di tengah-tengah ibu kota moden kita.

6. Saya tidak setuju sama sekali cadangan Kerajaan memberi subsidi sebanyak 99.9 peratus. Mentaliti subsidi keterlaluan akan menjadikan orang Melayu amat lemah.

7. Di Singapura kampung-kampung Melayu sudah pun dimusnahkan dan orang Melayu ditempatkan di rumah-rumah pangsa supaya mereka hidup tidak lagi dikelilingi oleh kaum dan suku-sakat mereka. Dasar Singapura ialah untuk mengintegrasi semua kaum. Hakikat yang nyata ialah segala bukti usul-asal Singapura sebagai tanah milik Melayu hilang sama sekali.

8. Hari ini Kerajaan Malaysia dianggotai oleh majoriti orang Melayu yang prihatin terhadap nasib orang Melayu. Janganlah kita yakin tidak akan wujud Kerajaan di mana suara wakil Melayu tenggelam hapus. Tanda-tanda ini boleh berlaku sudah pun ternampak.

9. Jika pada masa itu pembaharuan Kampung Baru Kuala Lumpur dirancang, mungkin apa yang terjadi pada kampung Melayu di Singapura akan terjadi kepada Kampung Baru Kuala Lumpur.

KAMPUNG BARU, KUALA LUMPUR

2011-02-11T00:25:00.002+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 10, 2011 2:15 PM

1. Di antara kegagalan saya semasa menjadi Perdana Menteri ialah pemulihan dan pembangunan Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

2. Setelah mengumumkan rancangan Kerajaan untuk membangunkan Kampung Baru KL, beberapa masalah timbul berkenaan dengan pemilikan tanah dan harga tanah.

3. Ramai penduduk Kampung Baru yang asal telah pun pindah dari situ kerana mereka setelah mencapai kemajuan mendapati Kampung Baru sudah tidak lagi selesa bagi mereka.

4. Di masa yang sama ramai tuan tanah telah meninggal dunia dan siapa pewaris mereka sukar dikesan.

5. Tuntutan harga oleh tuan tanah yang dikesan adalah terlalu tinggi dan ini akan menyebabkan kos pembangunan juga amat tinggi. Dengan ini orang Melayu tidak mungkin dapat membeli kedai atau ruang untuk kediaman apabila dibina. Mungkin orang bukan Melayu sahaja yang mampu.

6. Jika harta yang dibangunkan dijual kepada bukan Melayu maka akan hilanglah Kampung Baru sebagai kawasan Melayu di KL.

7. Untuk menentukan penduduk Kampung Baru terus berada di situ maka satu syarat yang telah dikenakan kepada pemaju ialah penduduk Kampung Baru bukan sahaja dibayar harga tanah tetapi mereka akan diberi tempat perniagaan dan kediaman di bangunan yang akan didirikan. Syarat ini boleh menjamin orang Melayu yang sekarang berada di situ akan terus berada di situ. Mereka tidak akan terusir keluar.

8. Tetapi sekali lagi syarat in akan menaikkan kos pembanguan. Pemaju Melayu mungkin tidak berminat. Bukan Melayu juga mungkin tidak berminat kerana kemampuan Melayu membeli amat rendah. Hari ini pun banyaklah tempat kediaman dan kedai yang diperuntuk kepada orang Melayu tidak dapat dibeli oleh mereka.

9. Oleh sebab ini pembangunan Kampung Baru KL gagal dilaksanakan semasa saya menjadi Perdana Menteri.

10. Saya berdoa Kerajaan kini akan berjaya membangunkan semula Kampung Baru supaya pelawat ke Kuala Lumpur tidak akan lihat kedaifan orang Melayu di negara mereka sendiri. Di tengah-tengah ibu kota yang penuh dengan bangunan pencakar langit, yang moden dan mewah terdapat kampung setinggan Melayu dengan rumah kayu berbumbung zink karat.

ADVERTS

2011-02-11T00:22:00.003+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 7, 2011 9:00 AM

1. The advertising business in Malaysia must be doing very well. You cannot see buildings or trees or even the pylons supporting the monorail tracks because they are all covered with adverts or hidden by huge signboards on monopole. Sometimes whole buildings are wrapped in adverts. Buses and trains are similarly enveloped in advertisements.

2. I remember feeling great when the first monopole signboards made their appearance on the road to Subang airport. They made Kuala Lumpur look like the great cities of the world. I thought we were making progress.

3. The growth in the number of the huge monopole boards was rapid. New companies have been set up and are busy covering road bridges across streets and roads with huge adverts. There are also giant TV screens with moving pictures.

4. Nothing that can be plastered with adverts have been left bare. If one cannot see the forest for the trees, one can say that nothing can be seen of the architectural and landcaped beauty of Kuala Lumpur because adverts block your view.

5. Fortunately now we don't have so many of the adverts with huge bigger than life pictures of Ministers and Menteris Besar with their Boss, the Prime Minister.

6. There was one which I remember of a Minister of Tourism together with the then PM all over the country. Maybe it was for visitors to know who was close to the Prime Minister. This will surely persuade them to make more visits to this great country.

7. Anything in moderation is good. But when you have a surfeit of anything you can get sick. I think KL has too many adverts. They really deface the city.

8. I think it is time we regulate these outdoor ads. What do you think?

MALAYSIAN FOOTBALL

2011-01-06T02:57:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 5, 2011 3:15 PM

1. It's not too late I hope, for me to congratulate the Malaysian football team for winning the AFF Suzuki Cup.

2. Although I am not much of a football fan, I do follow the progress of the national football teams. For a long time, our football teams have been in the doldrums.

3. I am proud of this young team's achievement. They have restored the pride of "Harimau Malaya".

4. I hope they will continue to achieve success. I hope too that they will not be spoilt by the riches their success brings and would maintain the discipline and hardworking nature that brought them this far.

MUMBAI BRIDGE

2011-01-06T02:54:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 4, 2011 7:57 AM

1. I spent my annual holiday in India. After three days in Delhi I flew to Mumbai. The population of the city is 20 million spread over seven islands linked by bridges to each other and to the mainland.

2. From my window in the Taj Lands End Hotel I can see a bridge across the sea to the City Centre.

3. The bridge is curved forming a half circle from end to end. The centre part is cable-stayed with two supporting pylons. The rest, both the eastern and the western ends are supported by concrete pillars.

4. The haze is bad but the whole curved bridge can be clearly seen in the evening.

5. I wonder whether the Mumbaians protested about being curved and not straight.

THE FUTILITY OF WAR

2011-01-01T07:25:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 1, 2010 4:30 AM

**Saya mengucapkan Selamat Tahun Baru 2011 kepada semua rakyat Malaysia terutamanya kepada pembaca blog ini**

1. President Barack Obama of the greatest and most powerful nation in the world slipped secretly into Afghanistan in the darkness of the night. Hardly a triumphant entry for a conqueror. The world only got to know it after the event (read here).

2. And why was the great leader there? It is to find ways of getting out of a country which the US had spent a trillion dollars to conquer.

3. After killing a few thousands of America's youths not to mention maybe a hundred thousand Afghanistans to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban and to bring about democracy, the US finds itself accepting a possible Taliban coalition with the Karzai Government. I suspect it is not going to be very democratic.

4. Clearly the war (the mass killings) to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban is futile. Not only has it failed to achieve the objective, it has in fact resulted in more insecurity for America, for Afghanistan and for all America's allies.

5. So far the most powerful countries have lost to the poor, unsophisticated fighters of the very weak in Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The only place where they have won is in the Caribbean Island of Grenada.

6. Those trillions of dollars spent on research, development and productions of ever more effective murder weapons will prove to be a waste. In the end to claim the rights of the victor you have to be on the ground. And on the ground the people of the defeated countries will use primitive hand guns and home made bombs to kill the victors, within their countries and everywhere else. Like Obama, the victorious leaders will have to slink about in the darkness of the night, frightened by the hatred of those they had terrorized, despite the massive security personnel around them.

7. The victory would be meaningless.

8. When will the great powers learn that their overwhelming military power will avail them of nothing in this modern age.

9. When will they realise that war, the killing of innocent people is futile.

THE ANTI-SEMITIC

2011-01-01T07:21:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 24, 2010 1:45 PM

1. The Simon Weisenthal Centre (Jewish) has published a list of people who are classified as anti-Semitic in 2010.

2. This classification is based on the "slurs" uttered by these people against the Jews or Israel in that year.

3. I am listed among the top 10. I suppose what I had said in 2010 are regarded by the Jewish Centre as slurs but I was merely exercising my right to free speech to speak up against what I considered as injustice.

4. I condemned Israel for breaking international laws, carrying out an illegal siege of Gaza, attacking and seizing the Mavi Marmara and the Rachel Corrie in international waters, killing nine Turkish aid workers, and continuing to deprive the suffering people of Gaza of medical supplies, construction material and food.

5. Israel together with the US are the only countries to use depleted uranium in their bombs and shells which have resulted in all kinds of radiation diseases, among the Palestinians, especially the new-born babies.

6. If for any or all these I am considered to be anti-Semitic then so be it. But Jews clearly cannot be condemned for anything because 60 years ago the Nazis of Germany committed atrocities against them.

7. Apparently their sufferings of 60 years ago entitle them to inflicting sufferings on the Palestinians whose land they had stolen. No matter how cruel or unjust they may be no one may criticise them.

8. It is not being Semitic that is wrong. What is wrong and what draws condemnation is the arrogance, the lack of respect for the lives and rights of others, the blatant seizure of other people's land, the arbitrary imprisonment of people, the misinformation spread by the media they control etc - which are the subject of condemnation. Whoever commits them must be condemned. And it is obvious that it is the Israelis who commit them most. Israeli oppression and injustice towards the Palestinians cannot be disputed even by those who back Israel.

9. Yes, there were acts by those deprived of their land by the Zionists, which are no less wrong and worthy of condemnation.

10. But these people have no other means to fight back against the military weapons of their attackers. If they have the tanks, the war planes, the missiles etc they would fight "legitimate" wars. But they don't and there is a sanction on weapons being supplied to them. They have therefore to resort to whatever means they have to retaliate.

11. Admittedly the victims of their attacks include innocent civilians. But when bombs are dropped or missiles fired from afar the victims are also mostly innocent civilians, the old, the sick, the women and the children.

12. Are unexpected deaths and woundings by suicide bombers any different from the deaths and woundings by bombs, missiles, guns, tanks and bull-dozers used by the militarily well-equipped and powerful? I don't think they are.

13. Are the people waiting to be killed by bombs and missiles free from feelings of fear and terror at the prospect of sudden violent deaths and having their bodies painfully torn apart, as are those killed by suicide bombers or primitive rockets.

14. There is no difference in terms of violence between the acts of a suicide bomber and the killings by bombs dropped from the sky or missiles fired from a distance. Both cause fear and terror. Both acts are therefore acts of terror. Both qualify to be called terrorists. State terrorists are no different from irregular terrorists.

15. Historically the Jews may have lived in the land that is Palestine. But historically the original people of America were the misnamed Red Indians, as were the Aborigines and Maoris of Australia and New Zealand. If all lands must be returned to the first people to live there, then return the United States, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand to the indigenous natives. But you won't would you?

16. I am not anti-Semitic bcause I am not against the Arabs and other Semitic people, or for that matter those Jews who reject Zionism.

17. I am simply against injustice, against oppression and unmitigated and illegal violence.

18. If that makes me anti-Semitic then I am proud to be anti-Semitic, even though the term anti-Semitic is wrong.

THE UNITED STATES

2010-12-19T05:44:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 17, 2010 7:28 AM

1. There was a time when I thought that peace had come to the world. The Cold War had ended with the forces of the righteous triumphant.

2. But alas, for the small countries of the world, there is now more fear. The great democracies of the world, headed by the United States have decided on a crusade to democratise the whole world, through violence and war where necessary.

3. I am reading Robert Fisk, a British journalist, on the great war for civilisation i.e. the war in the Middle East. In all these wars the US plays a dominant role, not as a peace maker to stop the violent conflicts between the fractious Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries but to start wars against them so as to spread democracy.

4. In Palestine, United States' backing for Israel is unstinted, without regard for how many times and how blatant are Israel's disregard for the international law or morality or how violent and lethal are its methods.

5. Israel built "settlements" on Palestinian land with impunity, ravaged Palestinian villages, seize their land and expelled the inhabitants, openly shot and kill children, destroying houses with their occupants still inside, jailed and tortured more than a thousand Palestinians without charges or fair trial, illegally blockaded Gaza, attacked foreign ships on mercy mission while in international waters, killing foreign personnel on board, refuses to allow the Palestinians to call their land Palestine but instead to refer to themselves only as the Palestinian Authority.

6. Robert Fisk describes the torture methods of the Israelis and this is confirmed by Amnesty International. These include sleep deprivation, squatting for hours, violent shaking, imprisonment in a cupboard, beatings, pressure on the genitals and exposure to heat and cold.

7. Why is Israel free to do all these dastardly things? It is because the US backs it all the way.

8. Even when the Israelis ran over an American woman with a tractor, killing her, the US did not protest.

9. Netanyahu, the Israeli PM ignored President Obama when the latter demanded that no more Israeli settlements be built. The US President had to eat humble pie and did nothing.

10. That is Palestine and the Palestine/Israeli conflict. Then when the New York World Trade Centre was destroyed apparently by Saudi Arabs, the United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. These two countries have been bombed and rocketed over and over again, their towns and villages razed to the ground. Innocent people were killed by the thousands.

11. There is no respect for borders. Towns and villages in Pakistan also experience missile attacks, strafing by aircrafts and bombing, again killing civilians.

12. In Iraq, the excuse for invasion is that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. A "shock and awe" blitzkrieg has killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Iraq was occupied by US forces but no weapons of mass destruction were found. This excuse was a blatant lie and the US has belatedly admitted it. Now Wikileaks exposed that Israelis and pro-Israelis "fixed" the intelligence that induced the US to war with Iraq.

13. In Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan the killings and the destruction are still going on. But the US is not yet satisfied with the bloodbath it has initiated.

14. The next target is Iran. After their experience in Iraq there is seemingly less inclination by the US to invade Iran. Instead the method adopted is to starve the Iranians through a siege.

15. The United Nations Security Council has not approved the siege (sanctions) of Iran but the US has enough clout, influence over the countries of the world to get them to carry out its wishes.

16. Thus if the banks of any country has any dealings with Iran, the US will disallow the bank from doing business with the US. Many other arm twisting methods are used by the US to render its siege of Iran effective. The purpose of doing this is to impoverish and create difficulties for the people of Iran allegedly because of Iran's nuclear programme but actually to punish the Iranians for the closure of the US Embassy and the detention of its staff during the civil war. Revenge is very much a part of US foreign policy.

17. Now it is the turn of North Korea. It is the US who planned and implemented military exercises in waters close to North Korea. The idea is to threaten that already poor country to submit to the US.

18. Provoked, the North Koreans fired at the South Korean island in the narrow strait between it and South Korea where the military exercise is being conducted. And then the Western media condemns North Korea for this when it was in fact America which provoked North Korea into firing their guns.

19. Presidents of countries are not safe from arrest by the US. President Noriega of Panama is now languishing in an American jail. Now President Omar Bashir is being sought by America after the International Criminal Court found him guilty in a trial in which he was not defended.

20. President Salvador Allende of Chile was assassinated through the machinations of the CIA because he was a Marxist, even though he was elected by the Chileans.

21. Nicaragua had its harbour mined by the US in 1984. The United States was found guilty by the International Court. The other countries of South America live in fear of the US.

22. In the Far East the US ensured the enmity between Japan and China is perpetuated and heightened. Rapprochement between Germany and France was possible but not between Japan and China. The US opposed the formation of the East Asia Economic Group.

23. A policy of containment of China is urged on all the countries of South East Asia. Lately the US wants to be involved in the dispute over the islands of the South China Sea. For the US the dispute provides an opportunity to involve South East Asian countries in the encirclement of China.

24. It is clear that the US is seeking to make war against the small nations of the world. The US is willing to kill hundreds of thousands of people in order to spread its influence and domination.

25. No country in the world dares to condemn the US for its bullying of small weak countries.

26. Everywhere in the world US Embassies have to be fenced and guarded. Everywhere there would be demonstrations against the US. The country is the most hated nation in the world.

27. The US should be the leading nation in the world, abiding by the decisions of the United Nations, helping the poor and the weak, enriching the world with its technology and generally creating a better world by upholding non-violent ways of settling disputes between nations.

28. It is sad that the US has chosen the ugly way just for the sake of Israel. It is sad that a country which preaches human rights, justice and freedom is the country which is most guilty of breaching all the high values that it preaches.

29. Obama, with all his promises of change has changed nothing about US warlike ways and disregard for international norms. Clearly changes of Presidents, of parties forming Governments of the US will change nothing concerning US creed and policies.

30. The capacity of the US to learn from its experiences is almost nil.

31. The world will have to be reconciled with having the most powerful country in the world remaining addicted to the gun which won it the West in the past. This great democracy is anything but democratic in its relationship with the world community.

RUBBISH

2010-12-19T05:42:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 10, 2010 3:35 PM

1. It is reported that Malaysia produces 94,000 tons of rubbish per day or 34,310,000 tons per year.

2. I suppose a substantial portion of this must be produced by Greater Kuala Lumpur (population of about 5.5 million).

3. Population wise Greater KL has about 20 per cent of Malaysia's population. Therefore Greater KL's production of rubbish is approximately seven million tons per year.

4. What can we do with 7 million tons of rubbish. Well, we can throw it on the road outside our houses, or in the drain and rivers. In no time all our drains and rivers will be clogged up and water will overflow and flood the land. The health of the people will be at risk.

5. We can collect the rubbish and bury in a designated area. With 7 million tons a year we will be needing more and more land, and land in Greater KL is expensive. To use the land again the rubbish has to be dug and removed to another place for burial.

6. Alternatively we can have a rubbish mountain and people can go there to scrounge for any useful item. Probably the mountain of rubbish will be burnt slowly and pollute the atmosphere.

7. We can if we like, burn the rubbish behind our houses. One house doing this would be okay. But when everyone does this in KL the smoke would not only cause a haze to hang over KL, but the smell would be quite unbearable.

8. Again we can collect the rubbish and burn it in an incinerator. But no community wants to have the incinerator located anywhere near them. We must find a place where no one is living there. Look around Greater KL and you cannot find a piece of land far enough from any community to site the incinerator.

9. If you do find it would be so far away that he cost of transporting the rubbish would be a drain on the finances of City Hall. Maybe the rubbish producers should pay a special fee for rubbish disposal. I don't think anyone would agree to that. It's not the Malaysian way to pay what we can get for free.

10. I am putting this dilemma of the authorities on my blog so that people can come up with solutions. Frankly I think the authorities are scared to apply any solution because we are a democracy and no one wants to lose votes.

11. For those who are interested, read about the rubbish collection problem in Italy here.

12. Your comments please.

MiG and SUKHOI

2010-12-19T05:40:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 8, 2010 2:30 PM

1. Flight International reports that India may upgrade the Sukhoi-30MKI.

2. The MiG-21 would be retired but the MiG-29 would be upgraded.

3. Malaysia has been working with India on the modification to the Russian-built aircraft. Maybe we should find out what the upgrading of the Sukhoi Su-30 and the MiG-29 is all about.

4. There was talk before of replacing the MiG-29 with other aircraft. I wonder whether there is a threat of war currently. If there is none, then if necessary only we should upgrade what we have.

MAHA

2010-12-19T05:37:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 7, 2010 2:30 PM

**Selamat Menyambut Maal Hijrah 1432**

1. By the time I visited MAHA Show at Serdang Saturday morning, 1.8 million people had been ahead of me. The papers reported today that altogether 2.7 million people visited the show this year.

2. This year's show is clearly bigger and better. The Ministry of Agriculture and its agencies like MARDI and FAMA must be congratulated.

3. I noted that the Ministry of Agriculture has made tremendous progress in upgrading Malaysian agriculture. The farmers and fishermen should not languish in poverty if they make use of the techniques developed by MARDI, FAMA and other ministry agencies and departments.

4. I was most impressed by the quality of the fruits and their packaging. They are world-class. The Government has also gone a long way in helping people in the rural areas to market even their casual products. To those keen on doing something for themselves a motorbike with a side-car is available at highly subsidised price to go into the villages to buy kampung produce and sell to the outlets set up by FAMA. I am told that this scheme can give an income of more than RM1000-00 a month.

5. All kinds of machines are exhibited which can help small businesses. Among them is a bread-making machine which makes bread from rice or wheat grains simply by putting in the necessary ingredients inside a rice cooker like apparatus, switching it on and in 3 hours fresh bread would be produced.

6. We love the labour of making dodol, a kind of social activity which brings friends and neighbours in the village together. Now you need only to switch on the huge pot or bowl and in four hours the dodol maker will deliver whatever amount of dodol you want for Raya. Literally no sweat.

7. I was particularly interested in the cattle. They are big and look like the huge European animals. I don't think we can free ourselves from imported beef but really we can produce some of the beef ourselves. I had a lunch of steak produced by a Malaysian farmer and it was tender and delicious.

8. I read in the papers complaints on transportation. VIPs like my wife and I were well taken care off. But others had to walk or to queue for the special buses.

9. Yes, MAHA organisers should take note and improve transportation. But the show was free except for a RM3 parking fee for cars.

10. We are so used to getting things free and complaining about what we get as well. I know I will not be popular but I think paying something for a show like MAHA is not too great an imposition. Then maybe the transportation can be improved. I would suggest that transport be privatised. I am not thinking of more money for my cronies, but Government is notorious for not caring much especially when it gets a monopoly.

11. Of course children and OKU should be exempted from paying.

SOUNDBITES - HOUSING

2010-12-19T05:35:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 2, 2010 5:54 PM

1. There have been many comments on my blog on Housing.

2. As usual some are for and some against.

3. I don't have to reply because the comments cancel each other.

4. Nevertheless I think an audit of the occupancy of the buildings completed in the last three years would be useful to validate or disprove the comments on the blog.

5. The Government may find it useful to require returns on the sale and occupancy as well as the length of time premises unsold or bought remain empty.

6. This audit should be updated every three or six months. Not only will it be useful to the Government but developers will also benefit from the information.

HOUSING

2010-12-19T05:32:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 30, 2010 8:30 AM

1. In the 1980's and early 1990's there was a great construction boom in Tokyo. Land was sold at USD 3,000 per sq foot. Everyone was rushing to buy expensive land because the market for apartments and office space seem to be forever.

2. Then suddenly the market dried up. The boom became bust. Since then Japan has not been able to really recover.

3. It was the same with Hong Kong. The economy collapsed because of overbuilding.

4. In a way the sub-prime crisis which triggered the financial and economic collapse also had to do with the building industry.

5. I once thought that the tower crane should be included in the coat-of-arms of KL City Council because they were all over the city. KL grew at a rapid pace and the skyline changed almost every day.

6. KL is still growing. New high-rise apartments, condominiums and office buildings are mushrooming everywhere. It is really amazing. We really look like a newly developed country.

7. Can this growth go on forever? True, KL's population and that of Greater KL (including non-Wilayah areas) have been growing fast. At independence, the population was only 350,000. Today Klang Valley has a population of almost 6 million. Obviously the businesses and the workers at all levels need space to live and work.

8. But it is not impossible that the provision for these would not outstrip the rise in population and their spending power.

9. Shopping complexes are being developed sometimes next to each other. Surely it will cause the shoppers to be divided between them. There will not be enough to support all the complexes. Some will survive, some will die.

10. Already we have seen a few hyper-market chains going out of business. Will this not happen to a few of the shopping complexes? Will this not happen to the other major development projects?

11. And we are told of new giant projects. The Sungai Buloh KL City Centre, the new KL Financial District and the 100-storey Merdeka Tower Project.

12. Some people say that even the Petronas Twin Towers are empty. Well they are not fully occupied. This is because of a policy to allow only prestigious corporations and institutions to have the Twin Towers as their address. In any case, Petronas has enough requests for space to decide to add extra space for the shopping complex and a forty-storey tower.

13. I should really be advising Petronas to abandon its current project. But here I am talking about overbuilding in KL. Really I shouldn't. But I am really concerned over the possibility of the bubble bursting.

THE CURRENCY

2010-12-19T05:30:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 26, 2010 11:50 AM

1. The Malaysian Ringgit has appreciated after control was removed. It is now stronger against the US Dollar by approximately 20 per cent.

2. What does this mean to the people? It should result in imports becoming cheaper if not by 20 per cent at least by some percentage below that.

3. But I don't think Malaysian imports paid for in US Dollars is noticeably cheaper in Ringgit. Why is this so?

4. When the currency appreciates through market forces, it is neither constant nor does it do so at specific rates. It may appreciate a little, then depreciates. Then it may appreciate again.

5. It takes a long time before the strengthening is substantial as to affect costs of imports or exports.

6. Under this circumstance the depreciation in price of imports cannot be monitored. Despite an appreciation of the Ringgit against the US Dollar by 20 per cent, there may not be any change in the price of imports in Ringgit. In some cases the price might increase.

7. It is only when Malaysians travel abroad that they may feel richer due to the appreciation of the Ringgit.

8. But if the rate of exchange is controlled, then it will be possible to monitor the prices of major imports and their retail prices. Sugar, flour, components for manufacturing industry, petroleum products and even manufactured goods should be cheaper in Malaysian Ringgit when it appreciates and dearer when it depreciates. If through control we strengthen the Ringgit by 20 per cent then we should be able to enjoy imports cheaper by about that percentage.

9. If the Ringgit is controlled, how should the Government determine the exchange rate of the Ringgit at a given time. In 1998 the Ringgit was fixed at RM3.80 to the US Dollar because that was roughly the rate of exchange of the currencies of our neighbours against the US Dollar. We did not want our Ringgit to be too strong compared to the currencies of our neighbours. We wanted to remain competitive.

10. An appreciation of 20 per cent to the 1998 exchange rate would be about equal that of the current appreciation of the Thai Baht.

11. When to fix the new rate is dependent on the behaviour of the currency of our competitors. We should avoid small increases or decreases but should wait until the gain or loss would be around 10 per cent. Prior to doing this we should monitor the prices of our imports and exports. When we announce the new rate we can determine the gain or loss by the importers, wholesalers and retailers. The prices can then be calculated and any gain passed on to the consumers.

12. That is the advantage of currency control over free float even when managed.

13. It is strange that at the time when many countries have decided on currency control Malaysia is thinking of freeing the Ringgit from any control.

TUN DR LIM CHONG EU

2010-12-19T05:27:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 25, 2010 4:50 AM

1. We know that we must all leave this life one day. But knowing the inevitabilty of death cannot stop us from grieving over the passage of a great man, no matter how long he may have lived.

2. As a nationalist, as a friend, as a compatriot, I feel saddened by the passage from this life of Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.

3. Except for Tun Razak, Tun Lim contributed most to the formation of the National Front, the coalition which succeeded the Alliance, ruled and developed Malaysia until today. He responded postively to the proposal by Tun Razak to rejoin the coalition for the good of Malaysia. He rose above many of the grievances which had led him to leave the MCA, to become a junior partner even though he had been victorious. He was content to be just a Chief Minister of Penang.

4.It was as a Chief Minister that he made Foreign Direct Investment a by-word in Malaysia and perhaps in the world. He brought the first foreign investments in electronics to Penang. It was the best thing for overcoming unemploymnet which had plagued Malaysia till then.

5. It was he who made the Penang the centre for the transformation of Malaysia into an industrial nation. Towards this end he was tireless, almost single-handedly contacting and persuading foreign industrialists to invest in the new electronics industry. So successfull was he that very quickly Penang was short of workers and other states benefitted from his effort at creating employment.

6. I worked closely with Tun Lim and always found him open to proposals on the development of Penang and Malaysia. When he lost in the 1990 elections, it came as a shock to me. I had thought that the people of Penang would remember his services and overcome partisan sentiments. But I suppose I was hoping for far too much.

7. Malaysia, and I dare say Penang, has lost a great leader with the passing away of Tun Dr Lim Ching Eu.

8. I offer my condolences to Toh Puan Goh Sing Yeng and all the members of Tun Lim's family.

Rest in Peace.

SOUNDBITES

2010-12-19T05:24:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 22, 2010 9:45 AM

MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

The Nation newspaper reported on October 18th that the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Markel, said "Multikulti (Multicultural) in Germany has not worked" (read here).

Her remarks were prompted by the unwillingness of Germany's non-German population of 16 million, including Turks and Jews to "integrate" with the natives of Germany i.e. the ethnic Germans.

For the Muslim Turks integration means curbs on their religion. Whether the Jews also should have their religion curbed is not mentioned.

I think Malaysia can be regarded as being more successful with multi-culturalism. We are more tolerant of the differences between our racial origins, our religions, our languages and our cultures.

I think Germany and Chancellor Merkel can learn something from Malaysia about multi-culturalism.

THE STOCK MARKET

2010-12-19T05:22:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 19, 2010 10:20 AM

1. Lately we have been seeing rather rapid increases in the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index. Those who play the stock market must be feeling very happy. Much money must be made by investors from capital gains.

2. Some people believe that the rise of the KLCI is an indicator of the healthy state of the Malaysian economy. This may be true but let me throw some cold water in the belief that the index indicates that the economy is doing very well.

3. It is doing fairly well, no doubt, but that is not enough to push the KLCI to record highs. What is happening is that a lot of foreign money is coming in to buy Malaysian stocks.
4.In itself it is not bad. It is also a kind of foreign direct investment (FDI). But this kind of FDI is not about setting up industries to produce goods for export. The latter will not be easily liquidated to take the invested capital out. The plants which are set up cannot be easily sold. The Investors will have to manage them through good and bad times to get a return on their investments.

5. But FDI in stocks and shares can be sold any time and the proceeds taken out.

6. Just as increases in investments push up share prices and the KLCI, rapid or massive divestments will push down the share prices and index.

7. We read in the papers that the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States is pumping US600 billion Dollars into the US economy. A part of this money will no doubt be used to invest in stock and shares of the developing economies. The result of this FDI-financed purchases will be a rise in the share prices and the KLCI.

8. In 1997-1998 the foreign investors pulled out their investments and the KLCI dropped from 1,300 to 262. Naturally a lot of local investors lost money. They could not meet margin calls nor raise money to augment collaterals for their bank loans.

9. The banks found themselves burdened with large numbers of non-performing loans and had to face the threat of bankruptcy.

10. Should the banks collapse the economy of the country will go into a tailspin. It did in 1997-1998. It will happen again should the foreign investors dump their Malaysian shares to take profits from capital gains.

11. Foreign funds, especially from the US coming in to invest in Malaysia's stock market at this time must be considered as hot money. I would not be suprised when the KLCI peaks the foreign investors will dump their shares and collect capital gains. The share prices will fall rapidly and Malaysians who had chased the shares on their way up will be asked to meet margin calls. If they fail they will lose a lot of money.

12. I hope I am wrong. But sometimes my predictions about money and markets have proven to be right. In any case I only own 200 Malayan Tobacco shares bought before I became Education Minister. I have nothing to gain or to lose, but the country and the stock market investors will lose.

THE CURRENCY WAR 2

2010-12-19T05:20:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 18, 2010 11:30 AM

1. Malaysians, including Malaysian monetary authorities seem quite happy over the appreciation of the Ringgit against the US Dollar. We think that when our currency strengthens it must be because our economy is strong, Therefore we are doing well.

2. But are we doing well? Is it the Ringgit which is appreciating or is it the US Dollar which is devaluing?

3. Actually it is the US Dollar which is devaluing. It is devaluing against most other currencies, especially against China's currency.

4. Why is the dollar devaluing? Could it be due to the currency traders selling dollars? Could it be because the balance of payment is not in US favour?
5. Martin Wolf of the Financial Times, an expert on money have this to say. There is a global currency battle going on. "To put it crudely," he says, "the US wants to inflate the rest of the world, while the latter is trying to deflate the US. The US must win, since it has infinite ammunition; there is no limit to the dollars the Federal Reserve can create. What needs to be discussed is the terms of the world's surrender; the needed changes in nominal exchange rates and domestic policies around the world.

6. Our reserves are represented by the US Dollar, gold and other currencies which we keep in order to back the value of our Ringgit, The US clearly does not have to hold foreign currencies to back the Dollar. All the US has to is to create (print) money.

7. When we buy US Dollar bonds, we are in fact lending US Dollars to the US. When we redeem the bonds all the US has to do is to print more US Dollars to pay us.

8. How nice it would be if we can pay all our debts by just printing money.

9. There is something fishy going on and the fishy smell is very strong in the US. "Poor" China with 2.5 trillion devalued dollars in its reserve. Wonder how much Bank Negara has?

10. In the face of Governments devaluing their currencies in a currency war, what should Malaysia do? Keep the float or control? When we controlled our currency in 1998 we were called pariahs whose knowledge about finance could be wriiten on the back of a postage stamp. Now it seems many nations are using their magnifying glasses to read what is written on the back of the postage stamps.

LABUAN

2010-12-19T05:18:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 16, 2010 8:50 AM

**Saya ucapkan selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidil Adha kepada semua rakyat Malaysia yang beragama Islam. Saya juga berdoa agar semua jemaah Haji kita dapat mengerjakan ibadah Haji dengan sempurna dan dapat pulang ke tanah air dengan selamat, insya'allah**

1. The last time I was in Labuan was in 1998 to officiate the opening of the new building of the Labuan Offshore Financial Centre. So when I was invited to speak on Islamic Finance by the Centre, now known as the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority, I accepted it with alacrity. I wanted to see the progress made since I was there the last time.

2. I am glad to see obvious development everywhere. The old wood and zinc sheds have been largely replaced by new brick and mortar houses of pleasing designs. The roads are well paved. The kampung roads have been concretised. New buildings and shop houses are going up everywhere.

3. YB Dato Yusof Haji Mahal (MP for Labuan) rode with me around the island pointing out proudly to the concrete walkways in the water villages, the Direct Reduction Iron plant, the oil supply base and the big Petronas Methanol plants.
4. Somehow I felt once again the happiness and the nostalgia at seeing the greenness of the island and the landscaping. All the roads of Labuan are lighted as Labuan has a big gas powered plant. It exports electricity to the mainland.

5. There is a big new international airport but only MAS and Air Asia flies into Labuan. Although there is an open-sky policy, attempts to get foreign airlines to fly to Labuan has failed. As a result tourist arrivals is very small.

6. When I was PM I had suggested we make Labuan into a garden island. In Victoria Island in Vancouver, an old quarry was developed into a beautiful garden - the Butchart Gardens. Annually it receives 2 million visitors.

7. We once invited the developers of Butchart Gardens to build a smaller garden in Tanjung Malim near a hot spring whose hot water flows into a nearby river. Money was allocated for it but when I stepped down the project was dumped because the Government has no money.

8. If we want tourists to come we must have something to show them. Labuan has a few natural things to offer but not enough to attract foreign tourist. Converting the island into a garden, building bicycle tracts for mountain bikes and holding bicycle races, a regatta for sailing boats, fishing, diving to see shipwrecks would add to Labuan's attraction as a free port and shopping centre for visitors from Asean neighbours and other countries.

9. The cost to the Government for providing all these would be quite small but for the Government and the country the returns can be quite considerable.

10. Labuan is a Barisan Nasional stronghold. It was once won by an independent. I think enticing the 80,000 Labuanese would be good for BN politics.

WATER AGREEMENTS

2010-12-19T05:15:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 10, 2010 11:11 AM

1. Next year, 2011, one of the agreements to supply up to 86 million gallons of water per day (mgd) from Johore to Singapore at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons will end.

2. I understand Johore is still buying treated water from Singapore for 50 sen per 1,000 gallons. The amount purchased should not exceed 12 per cent of the raw water bought by Singapore.

3. The agreement also stipulates that the price of raw water and treated water can be renegotiated and changed if both parties agree. Should the raw water price be revised upwards Singapore would be entitled to revise the price of treated water.

4. If, for example, under the current agreement the water price is increased to 6 sen per 1,000 gallons, i.e. 100 per cent, Singapore can insist on the same percentage price increase by 100 per cent i.e. from 50 sen per 1,000 gallons to one Ringgit per thousand gallons.

5. If both sides agree on this quantum of price increase, Singapore would actually earn more from selling treated water to Johor than Malaysia would earn from selling raw water to Singapore.

6. Almost 10 years ago Johor was allocated sufficient money to build its own treatment plant so as not to buy treated water from Singapore. I am told that for reasons unknown, despite building its own treatment plant Johore is still buying treated water from Singapore.

7. Johore sells raw water to Melaka at 30 sen per 1,000 gallons. It seems that Johore is less generous towards Melaka than it is towards a foreign country. The wisdom of this escapes me.

8. Whatever, in 2011, a new agreement to supply Singapore with raw water from Johore may have to be made, I think that despite Singapore's desalination plant, despite Newater, and new reservoirs, Singapore would still need raw water from Johore. We should be willing to supply the people of Singapore with raw water.

9. The question is whether we should sell at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons and buy at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons of treated water as before or we should extract better terms.

10. Malaysian negotiators are unduly generous and we often provide ourselves with no exit clause. I will not cite the cases.

11. The public, the Johore people in particular, should be assured that we don't make agreements which are indefensible this time.

PROTON DALAM ERA TEKNOLOJI HIJAU

2010-12-19T05:11:00.001+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 9, 2010 2:15 PM

1. Pada 6hb November kereta Proton Exora telah menang pertandingan kereta zaman akan datang yang dianjurkan oleh RAC (Royal Automobile Club - United Kingdom). Pertandingan ini melibatkan hanya kereta-kereta otomobil yang tidak terlalu mencemar udara dengan pengeluaran asap, karbon dioksida dan monoksida.

2. Hampir semua syarikat-syarikat otomobil di dunia telah mengambil bahagian dalam pertandingan ini dengan kereta elektrik dan hybrid ciptaan mereka untuk masa depan (future). Kereta-kereta ini dikehendaki berjalan dari Brighton ke London, perjalanan sejauh lebih kurang 60 batu (miles).

3. Diantara jenama yang terkenal yang mengambil bahagian ialah Toyota (Jepun), Volkswagen (Jerman) dan General Motors (Amerika Syarikat). Ada yang mengambil bahagian dengan kereta yang sudah dipasarkan dan ada yang belum dipasarkan.

4. Proton menyertai dengan sebuah kereta Exora untuk pertandingan ini yang menggunakan sistem yang, selain daripada amat kurang mencemarkan udara tetapi juga menggunakan bahan bakar petrol yang amat sedikit.

5. Exora mendapat tempat pertama dalam kategori Extended Range Electric Vehicle (kereta elektrik yang ditingkatkan jarak perjalanannya) serta juga memenangi dalam semua kategori termasuk kereta elektrik (EV - Electric Vehicle), kereta yang ditingkatkan jarak perjalanan (extended range EV), hybrid (menggunakan enjin petroleum dan elektrik bersama) dan minyak disel.

6. Exora mencatat ekonomi penggunaan petrol sebanyak 136 batu (miles) bagi satu gelen. Tempat kedua hanya mampu mencatat jarak 62 batu (miles) bagi satu gelen - iaitu kurang separuh daripada kebolehan Proton Exora.

7. Keputusan pertandingan ini jelas menunjukkan yang teknologi Proton jauh lebih baik daripada teknologi lain-lain jenama.

8. Sementara itu Proton Saga elektrik juga mendapat kemenangan tetapi syarikat-syarikat lain membuat protes. Pihak Proton telah membantah terhadap protes ini.

9. Selain daripada kurang mencemar udara dan jarak perjalanan bagi satu gelen petrol kereta Exora dan Saga mampu memuatkan jumlah penumpang sepenuhnya dan bootnya (tempat simpanan barang) juga mempunyai kapasiti biasa. Hampir semua kereta lain terpaksa menggunakan boot dan tempat duduk belakang untuk bateri.

10. Kejayaan Proton dalam pertandingan ini membuktikan kemampuannya bersaing dengan syarikat-syarikat gergasi dunia dalam teknologi elektrik, extended range electric dan hybrid.

11. Proton sedang bersiap sedia untuk mengeluarkan Saga Elektrik dan Exora Extended Range untuk pasaran dunia. Buat kali pertama Proton mempunyai harapan untuk bersaing dalam pasaran kereta bermotor di seluruh dunia.

PERKASA

2010-11-05T15:48:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 4, 2010 7:30 PM

**Saya mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Hari Deepavali kepada semua rakyat Malaysia yang beragama Hindu, khususnya kepada pembaca laman blog ini**

1. Saya ucap terimakasih kerana ramai yang melawat blog saya dan membuat komen menyokong atau menolak. Ramai juga yang bercakap berkenaan bahagian-bahagian Perlembagaan yang tidak boleh dipinda (entrenched). Tetapi ramai yang tidak ambilkira tentang peruntukan-peruntukan dalam Perlembagaan yang begitu adil. Tiada perlindungan bagi hak sesuatu kaum yang tidak diimbangi dengan hak kaum-kaum lain.

2. Demikian apabila agama Islam dijadikan agama rasmi negara Malaysia, susulan daripada itu perlembagaan memperuntukkan bahawa agama-agama lain boleh dianuti dan dipraktik oleh penganut-penganut agama berkenaan tanpa gangguan.

3. Apabila bahasa Melayu diterima sebagai bahasa rasmi negara, tetapi bahasa-bahasa lain boleh digunakan sebagai bahasa ibunda dan bahasa pengantar di sekolah-sekolah.

4. Apabila sekolah kebangsaan ialah sekolah yang mengguna bahasa kebangsaan sebagai bahasa pengantar, sekolah-sekolah jenis nasional boleh mengguna bahasa Cina (bahasa kebangsaan China) dan bahasa Tamil (bahasa suku kaum Tamil).

5. Perlembagaan juga melindungi hak memiliki hartanah semua kaum supaya pengambilan tanah oleh Kerajaan tidak boleh dibuat tanpa pampasan.

6. Yang jelas ialah Perlembagaan Malaysia adil bagi semua kaum. Apabila keistimewaan diberi kepada satu kaum, kaum lain juga diberi keistimewaan dan dilindungi. Perkara yang harus diingati oleh semua ialah hak istimewa bukan bagi Melayu atau Bumiputera sahaja.

7. Perlembagaan boleh dipinda tetapi ianya hendaklah dengan persetujuan sekurang-kurangnya dua pertiga daripada ahli-ahli Dewan Rakyat. Demikianlah keahlian dewan dari segi agihan antara kaum, tidak mungkin mana-mana kaum dengan sendirinya meminda perlembagaan untuk menghapuskan hak istimewa Bumiputera atau bukan Bumiputera.

8. Berkenaan dengan Dasar Ekonomi Baru pula, agihan kepada Bumiputera hanyalah daripada bahagian ekonomi yang tumbuh dan tidak dengan merampas apa yang telah dimiliki bukan Bumiputera untuk diberi kepada Bumiputera.

9. Dalam pada itu raja-raja juga perlu memberi persetujuan jika kedudukan negeri-negeri mereka tersentuh.

10. Benarlah seperti kata Dato Seri Najib dalam mesyuarat Perhimpunan Agong UMNO bahawa tuntutan untuk meminda perlembagaan untuk melucutkan keistimewaan mana-mana kaum tidak mungkin dilakukan dan berjaya. Tuntutan ini hanya akan memburukkan hubungan antara kaum tanpa memberi manfaat kepada sesiapa.

11. Jika Perkasa dianggap rasis (dan saya juga rasis kerana bersekongkol dengannya) kerana mempertahankan hak keistimewaan orang Melayu, mereka yang bercadang untuk melucutkan hak orang Melayu tetapi tidak hak istimewa mereka sendiri tentulah bersifat rasis juga.

12. Hanya mereka yang bercadang melucutkan hak istimewa semua kaum sahaja yang tidak rasis.

PERKASA and ME

2010-11-05T15:46:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 2, 2010 3:40 PM

1. When the 5th PM took over, it became obvious he was incompetent and unable to govern the country and grow its economy. He was seen as weak by the Malays as well as by the Chinese and Indians. He flipped-flopped, making decisions and policies and reversing them, arresting opposition members under the ISA and then releasing them shortly after, claiming that he wanted to protect them.

2. Extremists among the Chinese and Indians felt they could safely challenge the Government, particularly over racial issues. They demanded that provisions in the Constitution favouring the Malays and the NEP quotas be removed. Even Barisan Nasional partners took up the call.

3. Normally UMNO leaders and UMNO generally would take up the defence of the Malays. But Abdullah as UMNO President and PM was silent (elegant silence) causing the other leaders and members of UMNO to become silent also.

4. As the attack against the Malays escalated and UMNO remained silent, the Malay public felt they were being let down by UMNO. Losing faith in UMNO, they began to set up NGOs to take up the challenges by the Chinese and Indian activists.

5. Perkasa as an NGO gained the most support because the founder was more vocal and willing to take risk and to rebut the views of the Chinese and Indian extremists.

6. Meanwhile Malay support for UMNO was silently eroding. In the 2008 elections the loss of Malay support for UMNO became evident. Many either abstained or voted for PAS.

7. Demands were then made for Abdullah to step down. Najib took over and he tried to regain Chinese support by apparently giving in to Chinese demands on several issues. The new UMNO leadership also opted to remain silent and failed to defend the Malay position. Instead of going back to support UMNO, Malays including UMNO members continue to flocked to Perkasa.

8. In the 2008 elections, many UMNO and BN candidates won only by small margins even in their strongholds. If in the next election defections by even a small number of supporters in some constituencies can result in a reduction of the Barisan Nasional majority or even cause the BN to lose altogether.

9. Because of the poor handling of the Perak crisis, the Chinese who considered the Pakatan Government of Perak as a Chinese Government, swore not to support BN anymore.

10. The situation of UMNO and BN looked bleak. They have not regained the Malay support lost in the 2008 elections and they face the prospect of the Chinese not supporting the Barisan Nasional in the 13th General Elections. Striving to regain Chinese support is not enough. They must also regain Malay support.

11. UMNO may think that all the Malays are supportive of the party. But UMNO cannot be sure of that. Their silence before the 2008 Election was deceptive. We now know that many supported the opposition. Can UMNO disregard or antagonise any Malay group? I think it would be dangerous to do so.

12. Perkasa has not indicated that it is against BN and UMNO. In fact it has hinted that it is for UMNO. Looking at the strength of Malay support for Perkasa antagonising them would not be to the benefit of the Barisan Nasional or UMNO.

13. Perkasa is accused of being racist and should be rejected on that ground. Is Perkasa racist? If anyone cares to study the statement by Perkasa he will not fail to note that it has confined itself to rebutting allegations that the non-Malays have been discriminated against, that the Malays need to retain their present position. If it is really racist then it would be demanding the abolition of the special treatment of the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia. This it has not done except when defending the Malay position.

14. It is illogical to expect that when the Chinese and Indian activists demand for the removal of policies and schemes to help the Malays, they, the Malays should remain silent or to agree. Surely the natural thing for them to do is to defend themselves. If their anointed protector, UMNO, refuses for whatever reason to voice disagreement against the demands of the Chinese and Indians, then the beleaguered Malays will have to find a champion elsewhere.

15. They could form a political party and undermine UMNO. But they did not. The Malays are already fragmented. And so they formed NGOs instead which leaves them with the option to support or not to support UMNO and the Barisan Nasional.

16. True there are a few Malays in Pakatan who seem to agree and support demands to do away with the affirmative action in favour of the Malays. But they are doing this simply to fish for Chinese support for their parties.

17. Whatever may be the feelings of UMNO, I have decided that the NGOs have a big enough following which could do damage to UMNO and the BN in the next election if they want to. Accordingly I have decided to stay close with Perkasa especially and to ensure that it does not swing over to the opposition. I would like to ensure that Perkasa supports the Barisan Nasional in the next election.

18. Does this make me a racist? I had at one time the opportunity and power to be a real Malay racist. But I won elections with strong non-Malay support. In fact in1999 it was Chinese support which gave me my 2/3 majority.

19. I was obviously not regarded as a racist then (except of course by the DAP). So why am I regarded as a racist now when all I want to do is to ensure Malay support for Barisan Nasional parties, especially UMNO.

HIGH INCOME ECONOMY

2010-11-05T15:44:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 26, 2010 2:25 PM

1. The Prime Minister has announced that Malaysia should develop into a high income economy. In the past we had stressed low cost because we wanted to attract Foreign Direct Investment through low wages for our workers. That was a good strategy because we were trying to solve our high unemployment problem.

2. We were so successful in creating jobs that we have to import foreign labour. We were effectively helping to solve the unemployment problem of other countries.

3. Our cost of labour is now higher than our neighbours and of course against China and Vietnam.There is no way we can compete with them. If our labour cost increases further, especially if we want to have a high income economy, we can no longer compete for FDI, at least the labour intensive ones.

4. When we increase incomes it will not be only wages and salaries which will increase, profits as income must also increase. Government can quite easily pay high salaries and wages. But even for the Government the money must come from somehwere.

5. Unless Government revenues increase, the money will have to come from reduction in development expenditure. This may not be welcomed by the people.

6. For the private sector the money can come from more efficient management, higher productivity through more efficient output by workers or through investments in better machinery and equipment. Almost invariably the higher wages and salaries will increase cost and therefore the prices of goods and services.

7. Higher income will therefore result in higher cost of living. This will reduce the purchasing power expected of higher incomes. This would be meaningless unless the increase in cost of living will be less than the increase in incomes.

8. Unless the increase in incomes is properly managed, it will not enrich the people in terms of purchasing power. As the cost of living rises, the increases in income may not purchase more than what the previous lower income would. Indeed it may be possible that the increases in income will actually purchase less goods and services than the previous low income.

9. We see today the purchasing power of the developed countries with much higher income than us. The United States is said to have a per capita income of USD36,000, roughly five times Malaysia's USD7,000 per capita. But the people are not five times richer than Malaysians in terms of purchasing power. In fact in certain cases the purchasing power is the same as Malaysians. According to the McDonald's Hamburger Index, the Ringgit is the same as the US Dollar in purchasing McDonald's hamburger - one Ringgit will buy in Malaysia what USD1 will buy in the US.

10. Clearly the increased income in high-cost countries does not give an increase in purchasing power equal to the increase in income as compared to low-cost countries. It is important that the Malaysian public understand this.

11. Malaysians are very sensitive to price increases, in many cases illogically. When crude oil increased in price from USD30 per barrel to USD140, Malaysians expect the pump price of petrol to remain the same. This is illogical. Surely the increase in crude price will be reflected in the retail petrol price.

12. The Government can subsidise. But when Government subsidises it must tap the money from other allocations. Perhaps it can use the extra profits from the sale of Malaysian crude in the market. But this would not be enough as we consume three-fourth of our oil and sell only one quarter. From the sale of one quarter of our oil, we cannot fully subsidise three quarters that we sell at the old price.

13. There must therefore be an increase in the price of retail oil. Malaysians must accept reasonable price increases when incomes and profits are increased on our way to becoming high-cost developed country. There is no way we can continue to enjoy low cost of living while we ensure we earn high incomes.

14. A high-income economy must therefore also be a high-cost (of living) country. But with good management the high incomes would increase our purchasing power to some extent, especially in the purchase of imported goods and services and when traveling abroad. There should be also a certain increase in purchasing power in the country. In effect despite higher cost of living we will still enjoy higher purchasing power and a higher standard of living.

15. I am all for the Government's high income policy. My worry is that the people may expect high income without the accompanying high cost of living. It is better for them to be forewarned.

THE CURRENCY WAR

2010-11-05T15:42:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 20, 2010 8:00 AM

1. Malaysians, including Malaysian monetary authorities seem quite happy over the appreciation of the Ringgit against the US Dollar. We think that when our currency strengthens it must be because our economy is strong. Therefore we are doing well.

2. But are we doing well? Is it the Ringgit which is appreciating or is it the US Dollar which is devaluing?

3. Actually it is the US Dollar which is devaluing. It is devaluing against most other currencies, especially against China's currency.

4. Why is the dollar devaluing? Could it be the currency traders are selling dollars? Could it be because the balance of payment is not in US favour?

5. Martin Wolf of the Financial Times, an expert on money has this to say. There is a global currency battle going on. "To put it crudely," he says, "the US wants to inflate the rest of the world, while the latter is trying to deflate the US. The US must win, since it has infinite ammunition; there is no limit to the dollars the Federal Reserve can create. What needs to be discussed is the terms of the world's surrender; the needed changes in nominal exchange rates and domestic policies around the world."

6. Our reserves are represented by the US Dollar, Gold and other currencies which we keep in order to back the value of our Ringgit. The US clearly does not have to hold foreign currencies to back the Dollar. All the US has to do is to create (print) money.

7. When we buy US Dollar bonds, we are in fact lending US Dollars to the US. When we redeem the bonds all the US has to do is to print more dollars to pay us. We are actually exchanging hard-earned money for pieces of paper which some people call toilet paper.

8. I wonder what Malaysia is doing during this currency war. Are we still keeping US Dollars as our reserves? Have our reserves depreciated because the US Dollar has depreciated?

9. Many countries are now "controlling" their currencies. Are we going to go the other way - to remove the last remnants of our control?

10. As I said in a previous article, the daily trade in currency amounts to 4 trillion dollars. Are we going to contribute to that trade?

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR, MELBOURNE

2010-11-05T15:39:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 13, 2010 12:15 PM

1. I would like to apologise to the students and others for failing to turn up to give the talk I had agreed to.

2. I would also like to thank those who sent get well messages, fruits and flowers while I was in hospital in Melbourne.

3. Honestly I feel I have lost an opportunity to meet and talk to what may be the future leaders of Malaysia. For this reason I am writing down here what would have been the contents of my talk.

4. The suggested topic for my talk was, "Are we ready for 1 Malaysia: Does Race Still Play a Part?"

5. I will be frank but factual. My only interest is the country we all love. I am past self-interest.

6. First let me refer to the slogan "1 Malaysia".

7. Without the Government spelling out the precise meaning of 1 Malaysia, different people are giving their own interpretations which not only differ from each other but are in conflict with each other.

8. The Malays generally interprete 1 Malaysia to mean real adoption of the national language as the home language by every citizen as happens in other multiracial countries. They also expect the abolition of Chinese and Tamil schools and ensuring the private sector has a fair participation of Malays and other Bumiputeras.

9. The Chinese and Indians interprete 1 Malaysia to mean amendments to the constitution to eliminate provisions for the special treatment of the Malays and their protection by the Rulers, removal of the quota for Malays in the Civil Service, termination of the NEP, termination of the 30 per cent quota for Malays and indigenous people in business, termination of the quota for awards of licences, contracts and Aps. All awards to be on a competitive basis and open to all irrespective of race. They also expect perpetuation and maintenance of Chinese and Indian schools by the Government.

10. These two interpretations of 1 Malaysia admittedly are by the more extreme groups. The more moderate ones from both sides are milder in their expectations but their minimum intetrpretations still provide irreconcilable conflicts. 1 Malaysia clearly means different things to the different races.

11. This is the present position and it is obvious that race still play a very important role.

12. Question: It is now more than 50 years since independence. For how long do the Malays expect to be treated as special and different from the other citizens?

Answer: For as long as the Chinese and Indians prefer to be identified with their countries of origins. For as long as they want to keep their home languages and their schools.

13. Question: The so-called social contract were made a long time ago. We were not involved and we cannot be bound by it forever. When can we ignore the social contract and draw up our own social contract?

Answer: When everyone agrees to throw out the old social contract and replace it with a new one.

This will take a long time. As the new contract will be between races, racial factors would be included. Unless both sides agree to give up their races' own rights as spelt out in the first contract i.e. the preservation of own home languages and schools etc. the rights of the indigenous races to their special position etc must remain a part of the new social contract.

It is not certain that each would not demand for more than what they got under the old contract. It is likely there would be no agreement and no contract. Ths would lead to perpetual conflicts.

14. Question: So there will be no solution. The racial divisions and conflicts will remain.

Answer: In Vision 2020 one of the objectives is to create a bangsa Malaysia.

The belief at that time was that if Malaysia becomes a fully developed country, it would become very prosperous.

This prosperity would be fairly shared between the races. There would be less jealousy between them. There would also be less fear of any race being dominated by any other race.

The political cooperation between the races would also be made more meaningful as loyalty to the country would override other loyalties. In fact non-racial parties would be the trend.

It would take a long time perhaps - depending on fair wealth distribution. But once it takes off the pace will increase.

Malaysians of all races would be so proud of their country and its great achievements that the desire to be linked with other countries would be much diminished if not disappear altogether (as happens in prosperous multi-racial countries like the US - where the German, Eisenhower led the war against Germany. Eisenhower was American first and his country of origin was irrelevant to him).

The Malaysians at that stage would be Bangsa Malaysia first and always. The thing to do now is to ensure prosperity for the country and its fair distribution. Removing current rights of any of the races at this moment will only lead to racial conflicts which would obstruct prosperity.

15. Question: There are Malays in the opposition who condemn the NEP as unfair discrimination.

Answer: There are also Chinese and Indians who appreciate what the Malays have done and support the NEP. They are not so vocal for obvious reasons.

One should look at the Malays who condemn the NEP. If they are politicians or supporters of certain parties their views are motivated by a desire to get Chinese support. They assume that they themselves would lead the nation and enjoy power and opportunities through Chinese support. But there will be a pay-back period. The support is not for free. The Malay leaders will be like Nizar (Jamaluddin) when he was Menteri Besar of Perak - mere puppets.

The non-politically educated Malays feel ashamed that they have to be helped. They would like to be recognised as people who succeeded on their own. If we study these people almost invariably they have benefited from the NEP. They appear to be ashamed of this.

They are ashamed to admit that they were unable to compete with the other races. I am not ashamed to admit that I cannot compete with the Chinese and Indian students when studying medicine. They had much better results than me and the other six Malay students for entry into the Medical College. Even at that time the British promised to the Rulers to help educate the Malays. I had my chance because of the affirmative action then. On pure merit I would not be a doctor today, not because I was not qualified, but my qualification was lower than others.

One has to remember that the Chinese civilisation is more than 4000 years old. No other civilisation has lasted that long. Naturally they have developed a culture better able to survive under all conditions. It is my belief that if the percentage of Chinese in the United Kingdom for example is the same as in Malaysia, UK would be better developed than it is now. It is not surprising that the Chinese excel in developing Malaysia (for which they are amply rewarded).

It is not shameful to lose out against them. Simply to catch up with them we need handicaps. To be given handicaps is to ensure fairness, not discrimination. That is why in golf you have handicaps. That is why in all contests there must be equality between the contestants.

It is selfish if having benefited from the handicaps you want to deny others from having them.

But when all is said and done, those who are given the benefits of handicaps must make honest efforts to use them properly. If they don't then they must forfeit the handicaps in the future.

MELBOURNE EXPERIENCE: THE HOSPITAL IN THE HOME

2010-11-05T15:36:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 11, 2010 9:05 AM

1. After three days in the Epworth Hospital, it was suggested that I be discharged but should continue treatment under the Hospital in the Home service.

2. The Home Hospital has a full staff of doctors, specialists and nurses. They will carry out the full hospital treatment, periodical medical examination and treatment, intravenous drips, physiotherapy etc. They do not stay with patients but would visit at the designated time and stay as long as necessary.

3. It is far better than house-call by doctors as they can only give limited service. You feel you are being well looked after as in the hospital, but you have the ambience of home and family.

4. I don't know if we have this service or not but I believe it can contribute to being a developed country.

5. Another service I experienced is the ambulance service. The two ambulance personnel are very highly trained to give first aid including CPR, proper handling of fractures, take blood pressure and heart rate, ECG and other signs and symptoms.

6. They handle their patients very competently, are in continuous communication with the hospital to ensure preparation for receiving the patients.

7. I believe an effort was made by local doctors to provide this kind of service in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately after the ambulances had been acquired the financiers backed out. The Return on Investment was not good enough.

8. The Government does not operate a full ambulance service. Nor do all hospitals provide such service.

9. There are now many hospitals in KL - both public and private. A good ambulance service can save many lives.

10. Maybe the Government could afford to support the superior ambulance service in one way or another - at least until they become viable. What we need is just one. If several such service is licensed, all would be likely to fail.

FOUR TRILLION DOLLARS

2010-09-22T13:38:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 21, 2010 1:50 PM

1. How much is 4 trillion dollars? Star Business picking a report from foreign source says it is the value of Germany's total output for one year.

2. I try to imagine the figure 4 trillion and wrote it down. It is 4,000,000,000,000. It is a lot, a great lot of money. But it is just the amount of dollars traded by the currency traders in just one day.

3. Yes, the currency traders are still at it, worldwide financial crisis notwithstanding.

4. Four trillion dollars worth of business in Germany in one year creates millions of jobs; spawns businesses big, medium and small; move millions of vehicles and trains, support a rich and highly developed Germany and the people of the country and much more.

5. But what does 4 trillion dollars in currency trade do? Apart from enriching a few players, nothing. No jobs are created, no businesses, big, medium or small spin off; no enhancement of international trade, no movements of goods or people, no sailing of ships or flights of aircraft, nothing.

6. 4 trillion a day and there are 365 days a year giving a total of 1,460 trillion or 1,460,000,000,000,000 in a year. So much money. But can we estimate how many of the earth's 6.5 billion people benefit?

7. But currency trading can also do damage to millions and millions of people, destroy whole countries, bankrupt businesses and banks and cause recessions. We know because it happened to us in 1997-98. We know because currency trading is one of the causes of the current crisis.

8. What kind of system is this that permits and protects a few people at the expense of millions of helpless people, their countries, their businesses, their societies and their well-being. Is this what capitalism and free trade is all about?

9. I saw Mike Moore's latest film, "Capitalism - A Love Story", and was appalled by the crudeness of people playing with money.

10. People free from financial problems are persuaded by banks to mortgage their fully paid up homes so that they can have money to invest and make more money. The investments fail and there was no money to redeem the mortgaged home. The banks took posession of the homes and the previous owners were forced to move out. But they had no money left and could not even rent a house, Thus a house-owner is rendered homeless.

11. This did not happen to one person. It happened to millions, The banks now own millions of houses. But nobody has enough money to buy them, nor can they borrow money to buy. Simply put the banks cannot get back the money they had lent and the banks fail. That is part of the story of the subprime loan failure which triggered the current crisis.

12. It is now nearly three years since the current crisis began. Every now and again the experts will claim that the crisis has bottomed out. But then news came that the crisis is still on.

13. Now there is talk of a double-dip, of the recession going on to another recession. This is very likely simply because nothing is being done to stop the activities which led to the crisis. As we can see currency trading is still going on, if anything, on a larger scale. Much of the bailout money, billions of dollars worth, has produced nothing worthwhile. The bankers and their people have used a goodly sum of the bailout money for hefty bonuses, the hedge funds are still active and so is presumably the "leveraging" and many of the gambling that lead to the crisis are still in place.

14. The leaders and their financial advisers in the great capitalist countries have learnt nothing. They continue to support the gambling and the manipulation. They are still influenced by their uncontrolled greed.

15. The worldwide recession will not end until Wall Street ceases to control whatever Government the United States and the United Kingdom may have.

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

2010-09-22T13:36:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 17, 2010 9:52 AM

1. One reason advanced by the advocates of letting the Ringgit to be traded abroad is that it will encourage foreign direct investment.

2. There was a time when Malaysia practically pioneered encouragement for foreign direct investment. It was even before FDI became popular with many developing countries as a shortcut to economic growth. Malaysia wanted FDI for job-creating labour intensive industries because of the need to create employment opportunities for its workforce at that time. It was really not about growing the economy.

3. For Malaysia at that time, foregoing taxes and even local participation were not important. The Government did not rely on FDI to fill its treasury.

4. The policy of attracting FDI was so successful that it resolved the problem of unemployment until it created a problem of labour shortage. This led to an inflow of foreign workers and the expatriation of billions of Ringgit back to their countries. FDI no longer helped Malaysia's growth.

5. But being used to this easy approach we keep on inviting FDI believing that it would still help with our economy. But let us look at what really happens when there is foreign direct investment.

6. Most people think that there would be an inflow of capital. But actually only about 10 per cent of the capital needed was brought in. The rest is borrowed from local banks, preferably foreign owned banks. It is therefore Malaysian money that is invested.

7. Apart from tax exemption Malaysia also subsidised the operations of foreign owned companies through subsidised electricity, fuel and domestic transportation. Of course the Malaysian workers contribute through their cheap labour.

8. There is another type of FDI which is even less beneficial. This take the form of investments in the stock market. Usually the objective is not to benefit from profits and dividends but from capital gains.

9. When foreign investors buy Malaysian shares, the prices are likely to appreciate. Foreign institutional investors, especially pension funds can easily push up share prices with their repeated purchases.

10. When the prices are high enough the investors would dump the shares and collect capital gains. The local investors would lose money as prices depreciated.

11. During the financial cirisis of 1997-98, foreign investors dumped their shares so as to quickly change the Ringgit into foreign (US) currency before further falls in the Ringgit would give them less foreign currency in exchange. This invariably caused a steep fall in the share prices and Stock Market Index with consequent losses by local investors.

12. The Malaysian Stock Exchange makes money from commissions or the sales and purchase of shares. Consequently they are happy with more selling and buying on the Exchange. They therefore welcome foreign investors in the market. In fact they believe that if short selling is allowed they will make even more money.But these kinds of market activities do not benefit the nation.

13. FDI is double-edged and caution is needed when deciding on encouraging it. Today FDI is not coming into Malaysia because countries such as China, Vietnam, even Thailand and Indonesia offer lower cost of labour. Besides the economic recession in America and Europe mean less capital is available.

14. But what about the Ringgit? How will it affect the FDI? We need to know whether there was a lowering of FDI due to fixing the Ringgit exchange rate in 1998. If there was, was it directly due to the exchange control or other factors like increase in the cost of labour and competition with the above-mentioned low cost countries?

15. Actually when the Ringgit was fixed at RM3.80 to 1 US Dollar, the cost of investing in Malaysia was lower in terms of foreign currency. Now that the Ringgit has appreciated to RM3.20, the cost has appreciated. If we allow free trading of Ringgit abroad, two things can happen.

16. If the Ringgit strengthens then the cost of investment in Malaysia would increase, This would not facilitate foreign investments.

17. On the other hand the currency traders may once again cause the Ringgit to depreciate. This may result in increased FDI. But remember how we went into recession when our ringgit was devalued by foreign currency traders? Do we want to have that crisis again?

18. The present financial crisis in the world is due to the abuse of regulations in the financial market. No positive steps have been taken so far to regulate it. Certainly currency trading remains unregulated and selective.

19. The latest report says that every day currency trading is valued at four trillion dollars, equal to the total output of Germany in one year.

20. Whereas Germany's 4 trillion dollars yearly output creates millions of jobs, businesses big and small and much trade, the 4 trillion a day currency trade creates practically no jobs, businesses or trade. Of course the currency traders make tons of money. In the process we know that they can cause a repeat of the crisis faced by the world when they lose. Why should the world allow such greedy people to put the world at risk.

21. If we fully free our Ringgit the risk of being attacked by currency traders will once again be faced by us. Do we really want to have the financial crisis once again?

22. So I hope the Government will explain why it wants the Ringgit to be traded again. I hope it is not because we want to be good boys who will always do what we are told to do.

MALAYSIA ACCORDING TO LKY

2010-09-22T13:33:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 14, 2010 6:20 PM

1. Mr Lee Kwan Yew, the Minister Mentor of Singapore is three years my senior. That means he and I practically grew up in the same period of time. That also means that I have been able to watch the progress of Mr Lee, and in fact to interact with him on various occasions.

2. His assertion in his interview with the New York Times that "Race relations (would be) better if Singapore (had) not (been) "turfed out" (of Malaysia) is worth studying. Is it true or is it fantasy?

3. Before Singapore joined the Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia, there was less racial politics in the Federation of Malaysia. In 1955 the Malays who made up 80 per cent of the citizens gave a large number of their constituencies to the few Chinese and Indian citizens and ensured they won with strong Malay support. As a result the Alliance won 51 of the 52 seats contested.

4. The Tunku then rewarded this willingness of the Chinese and Indian citizens to support the coalition concept by giving them one million unconditional citizenship. This reduced Malay majority to 60 per cent.

5. In the 1959 elections the Alliance of UMNO, MCA and MIC won easily though Kelantan was lost. PAS with only Malays as members was rejected. Racialism even when implied failed.

6. In 1963 Singapore became a part of Malaysia. Despite having promised that the PAP will not participate in Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak politics, Kwan Yew reneged and the PAP tried to displace the MCA in the Alliance by appealing to Chinese sentiments in the Peninsular. Of course the slogan was "Malaysian Malaysia" which implied that the Chinese were not having equal rights with the Malays. If this appeal to Chinese sentiments against the Malays was not racial, I do not know what is racial.

7. But the Peninsular Chinese favoured working with the Malays in UMNO. They totally rejected PAP in 1964.

8. Following the Malaysian Malaysia campaign a few UMNO leaders tried to rouse Singapore Malay sentiments. There were demonstrations in Singapore where before there were none. Kwan Yew accused Jaafar Albar for instigating the Singapore Malays. Although I never went to Singapore, nor met the Malays there, I was labelled a Malay-ultra by Kwan Yew himself.

9. By 1965 racism had taken hold and the Tunku was forced to end Singapore's membership of Malaysia. But the seed of Chinese racialism had been sown, so that even after the PAP left, the "Malaysian Malaysia" war cry was picked up by the DAP, an offspring of the PAP.

10. With the background of Singapore's activities in Malaysia in the short three years of its membership, can we really believe that if it had not been "turfed out" race relations would be better in Malaysia?

11. But proof of what would have happened was shown by the politics leading up to the 1969 Election. The MCA began to criticise the Sino/Malay cooperation especially on so-called special rights and demanded for a Chinese University. UMNO then began to clamour for a greater share of the economy of the country. The UMNO/MCA conflict resulted in the Alliance faring very badly in the 1969 Elections.

12. DAP and Gerakan, a new party largely made up of MCA dissidents made gains. The Alliance were shocked and rattled.

13. Then the Gerakan and DAP held their victory parade near the Malay settlement of Kampung Baru, hurling racist insults at the Malays. The result was the 13th May race riots.

14. Till today the racist slogan "Malaysian Malaysia" is the war-cry of the DAP. Racism in Malaysia is clearly the result of Singapore's membership of the country for just three years. Can we really believe that if Singapore had not been "turfed out" Malaysia would have no racial problem.

15. While Kwan Yew talks about his belief that all ethnic communities should free themselves from the shackles of racial segregation in order to promote fairness and equality among the races, he also said that "once we are by ourselves (out of Malaysia) the Chinese become the majority".

16. Singapore's population is made up of 75 per cent Chinese and they own 95 per cent of the economy. It is therefore not a truly multi-racial country but a Chinese country with minority racial groups who are additionally much poorer.

17. In Singapore dissent is not allowed, People who contest against the PAP would be hauled up in court for libel and if they win elections would not be allowed to take their places in Parliament. Whereas in Malaysia opposition parties invariably win seats in Parliament and even set up State Governments (today five out of the 13 States are ruled by the opposition parties) the PAP in Singapore has to appoint PAP members to represent the opposition.

18. Whether the PAP admits it or not, the party has always been led and dominated by ethnic Chinese and have won elections principally because of Chinese votes. The others are not even icing on the cake.

19. If Singapore is a part of Malaysia the PAP can certainly reproduce the Singapore kind of non-racial politics because together with the Malaysian Chinese, the PAP will ethnically dominate and control Malaysian politics. No dissent would be allowed and certainly no one would dare say anything about who really runs the country.

20. Amnesia is permissible but trying to claim that it is because Singapore had been "turfed out" for the present racist politics in Malaysia is simply not supported by facts of history.

21. Lee Kwan Yew and I saw the same things and know the reasons why.

DINAR EMAS 2

2010-09-22T13:32:00.000+08:00

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 14, 2010 8:50 AM

1. Izinkan saya jelaskan pandangan saya terhadap kegunaan dinar emas yang saya cadangkan.

2. Saya telah cadang dinar emas digunakan untuk dagangan antarabangsa sahaja. Saya tidak pernah cadang dinar emas diguna sebagai matawang mana-mana negara untuk kegunaan harian.

3. Walaupun harga emas lebih stabil daripada matawang, tetapi nilai emas juga bergerak. Semasa Perjanjian Brettonwoods satu auns emas bernilai $35 Dolar Amerika. Tetapi sekarang satu auns emas bernilai $1,300 Dolar Amerika. Ini bermakna nilai Dolar telah jatuh degan teruk. Namun untuk dagangan antarabangsa Dolar masih diguna.

4. Jika satu syiling emas diberi nilai 1 Ringgit hari ini umpamanya dan kemudian nilai emas meningkat maka sudah tentu pemilik syiling emas tidak akan gunanya untuk membeli-belah dengan bernilai satu Ringgit. Mereka akan guna wang kertas 1 Ringgit. Syiling emas akan disimpan.

5. Lama kelamaan semua dinar emas yang dikeluarkan oleh pihak berkuasa akan hilang dari pasaran. Walau banyak mana sekali pun pihak berkuasa mengeluar dinar emas akhirnya akan habis emas yang disimpan. Inilah yang berlaku pada Amerika Syarikat yang pada satu masa memiliki 80 peratus daripada simpanan (reserve) emas dunia.

6. Mekanisma yang lain akan diguna untuk dagangan antarabangsa dengan dinar emas. Simpanan matawang emas tidak perlu dalam bentuk syiling tetapi sebagai bata atau jongkong emas yang nilai-nilai akan mengikut harga emas dalam pasaran.

7. Bayaran untuk dagangan akan dibuat oleh bank pusat setelah dihitung nilai eksport dan nilai import antara dua negara. Jika import melebihi eksport maka negara berkenaan akan bayar dengan nota kredit bersamaan jumlah nilai emas sebanyak kelebihan nilai import tolak nilai eksport.

8. Jika pada bulan hadapan eksportnya ke negara berkenaan melebihi nilai import maka bayaran untuk kelebihan ini boleh dibuat dengan nota kredit bulan lepas.

9. Dengan cara ini tidak ada keperluan membayar dengan emas walaupun emas menentukan nilai barangan yang didagangkan. Hanya bayaran dibuat untuk lebih atau kurangnya eksport dengan import secara total dengan negara-negara berkenaan tiap bulan atau minggu. Jika nilai import adalah sama dengan eksport, bayaran tidak perlu dibuat. Ia menjadi dagangan secara barter (tukar barang).

10. Dengan menggunakan emas untuk menentukan nilai dagangan, Dolar Amerika yang jelas tidak stabil tidak perlu digunakan lagi. Permainan oleh penyangak matawang juga akan terhenti.