Philosophy Politics Economics

Jumaat, 6 Mei 2011

Philosophy Politics Economics

Posted: 06 May 2011 08:51 PM PDT

Pakatan asks why public funds used to defend Tricubes
By Boo Su-Lyn May 06, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) today demanded the government explain why public funds were spent to buy newspaper advertorials defending the 1 Malaysia email project when it was a private initiative.

A two-page advertorial headlined "Truths and Lies about MyEmail" by the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (Pemandu) on the controversial project was published in major newspapers today.

[...]

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua similarly denounced Pemandu's advertorial. "I think it has come to a really silly stage where the government is spending tens of thousands in advertorials to defend a so-called private initiative because 'Pemandu believes in integrity and transparency'," said Pua.

"If that's really the case, then just disclose the request for proposal (RFP) documents from the government as well as the full contract terms and letter of award given to Tricubes. Publish them online and save the tens of thousands of tax-payers' money," the Petaling Jaya Utara MP added.

Pemandu refused to divulge the cost of the advertorial when questioned by The Malaysian Insider today. "We have answered your question... I have nothing to add," Pemandu corporate communication chief Ku Kok Peng told The Malaysian Insider on the phone.

Pemandu also emailed a statement to The Malaysian Insider and said it commissioned the advertorials to "make sure that the general public is not misinformed by people who distort the truth."

In the advertorial, Pemandu CEO Senator Datuk Seri Idris Jala said Tricubes Bhd would invest 100 per cent of the RM50 million MyEmail project that was conceptualised as an Entry Point Project (EPP) under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). Jala also stressed that the government "will not spend a single sen" in the project's investment and operating costs.

"On the other hand, it is estimated that the government stands to save at least RM200 million over 10 years," he said.

He explained that government agencies would make savings of almost 50 per cent by paying 50 sen per email to myemail.my accounts, as government agencies currently paid up to RM1 per mail and RM2 for each returned hardcopy correspondence.

Pua pointed out government agencies should instead encourage the public to register their own email accounts. "Now you're paying 50 sen to someone else to send it [electronically]. Why not send it to (email) addresses provided by people and save the entire RM1?" asked Pua.

[...]

Pua also questioned why the government conducted a selection process if the project was merely a private initiative. "If it's completely private, [they] don't need to go through Pemandu or Mampu (Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit). Just go to the government department and sell their services," said Pua.

Jala said today that the selection process was an assessment to find out which company would likely succeed in rolling out the email service. "Other parties who are not selected or did not submit a proposal earlier can still pursue the opportunity if they see a viable business case for it," said Jala.

[...]

For the full article, read it here.

Equal Opportunity Commission to Reverse Brain Drain?

Posted: 06 May 2011 12:18 AM PDT

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has set the lofty goal of becoming a high-income nation earning US$15,000 per capita which all Malaysians must support.

However, the recent World Bank Malaysia Economic Monitor Report on "Brain Drain" serves up a stark reminder to Najib that such goals will be nothing but pipe dreams if critical reforms are not instituted. The Report said that "Malaysia seems stuck in a middle-income trap, the predicament that prevents middle-income countries from fulfilling the next step in their development path towards high income."

It added that our "growing inability to remain competitive as a high-volume, low-cost producer coupled with the difficulty to break into fast-growing markets for knowledge- and innovation-based products and services."

As a result, we are failing to achieve our income potential and it cited the damning but instructive example of South Korea where "four decades ago South Korea was markedly poorer than Malaysia, South Korea's per capita income is now three times higher than Malaysia's."

To break out of the middle-income trap and to fulfil our growth and income potentials, the World Bank report had confirmed what many had already knew, that Malaysia must stem and reverse the acute brain drain faced by this country, where 2 out of every 10 tertiary educated leaves.

In fact, the World Bank survey has found that an overwhelming 87% of respondents suggested that a "paradigm shift away from race-based towards needs-based affirmative action" may entice a migrant to return to Malaysia. What's more, the survey had indicated that 60% of respondents cited "social injustice" as a key reason for their leaving the country.

Hence as an immediate measure to demonstrate Najib's commitment towards achieving a high-income nation status, he must reinstate the "Equal Opportunity Commission" (EOC) which was proposed in the New Economic Model (NEM) Part 1, but was subsequently inconspicuously dropped due to strong protests from within UMNO and from right-wing Malay rights groups such as Perkasa.

The EOC was proposed in the original NEM to "cover discriminatory and unfair practices" in both the public and private sectors, not only to promote "economic efficiency through competition", but more critically, to ensure "inclusive growth".

The late Datuk Zainal Aznam, who was the Deputy Director at Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) and Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER), who had spent 20 years with the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), was a key member of the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) who delivered the NEM.

Datuk Zainal Aznam was highly critical of the Government's decision to drop the proposed EOC where he said "after more than 50 years of independent growth, we are no closer to being racially blind… Current and future conflicts in Malaysia will be fuelled more by an outraged sense of inequality and unfairness in economic opportunities…"

At a forum organised by think-tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) in February this year, Datuk Zainal Aznam had revealed that reforms such as the EOC were "lambasted and strangled by right wing groups led by Perkasa. They wanted to burn part one (of the NEM)"

He lamented that "there is political will, but it is insufficient, like (what happened with) the Equal Opportunities Commission," and added that he had "serious doubts (about) how far the BN government is willing to go."

As a tribute most befitting to Datuk Zainal Aznam who had passed away on last week, Najib should immediately announce the reinstatement of the proposed EOC, and introduce the necessary legislations in the coming parliamentary sitting commencing on 13th June. The measure will contribute positively towards helping Najib's Talent Corporation succeed in convincing migrants to return, and curb the excessive drain on the country's talent, so critical in achieving Malaysian's high income nation target.

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Jumaat, 6 Mei 2011