Are Malaysian Employment Laws Challenging?

Are Malaysian employment laws and policies in keeping with the new models or do they still carry signs of the traditional master-servant model and archaic gender stereotypes?
 
WE hear of female civil servants taking optional retirement but that is because the Public Service Commission allows for that.

And when they go, they get a pension.

But to be forced to retire in the private sector before your male colleagues? That goes against the grain and, surely, Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees gender equality.

And yet that is the case for female workers in some industries in the private sector.

In June 2001, the Guppy Plastics Industries' new employee handbook stipulated that the retirement age for its female and male workers was 50 and 55 respectively. Apparently, women are prone to medical problems after 50.

Tan: The argument that female workers lose their ability at 50 is not backed by scientific fact.

The fact that the Federal Constitution was amended a month later to include gender in Article 8's equality provision and that Malaysia is a signatory to the United Nation's Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) before that was of no consequence to them or the Court of Appeal.

On March 21 this year, the second highest court in the country dismissed an appeal by eight female employees against their forced retirement from Guppy in July 2001, saying the plastics company had merely followed its handbook and early retirement for female workers was industry practice.

The fact that other industries also have similar retirement policies is a matter for concern. Apart from a clear case of gender bias, some could, like Guppy had done, re-employ the terminated workers on a contract basis, depriving them of benefits they would have got otherwise.

The women are not giving up, though. They are applying for leave to appeal in the Federal Court.

Lawyer Honey Tan says the Guppy case reinforces the male and female stereotypes. “The argument that female workers lose their ability at 50 is not backed by scientific fact,” she says.

“If age was a bona fide occupational qualification, then both male and female workers should retire at the same time.”

Should our employment laws remain in the dark ages, leaving a worker with social security that is nebulous at best?

Tan will be raising the Guppy case and other cases of sex discrimination at the workplace for discussion and debate at a conference on “Challenges in Employment Law: Proposals for Reform” on July 2.

The one-day conference is organised by the Malaysian Chapter of the International Society of Labour and Social Security Law (MSLSSL) and Current Law Journal.

Roy: There is a great need to create public awareness of labour laws and social security.

 

Participants will hear from Susila Sithamparam, Industrial Court president, Lawasia Committee on Labour Law chair Bernard Banks, Human Resources Ministry officials, unionists, lawyers, employers and an Industrial Court chairman.

The other topics that will be debated are minimum wage, contract labour and labour claims under Section 69 of the Employment Act.

“There is a great need to create public awareness of labour laws and social security,” says conference organising chairman Datuk Roy Rajasingham.

As such, the Malaysian chapter of the international society was set up in 2011 to promote the study of labour and social security laws here and at the international level, adds Roy, who is also MSLSSL vice-president.

“It seeks to provide lawyers, labour practitioners and others working in the fields of labour and social security law with a forum for discussion and debate.”

Membership is open to all who, because of their scholarly work or judicial or professional activities, are interested in furthering the aims and purposes of the society.

Besides them, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), Human Resources Ministry, Employees Provident Fund and Social Security Organisation are entitled to nominate one representative each to be a member.

Conference participants can expect to look at proposals for reform in the changing field of social security, employment, and human resources management.

One of the long-time bones of contention has been whether to introduce a minimum wage.

Recently, the Government ended that dispute by announcing a minimum wage for the private sector but whether this is the best thing for workers here and Malaysia's competitiveness remains to be seen.

Lo: The matter of what constitutes minimum wage has to be resolved.

“Even though the rate has been announced, the matter of what constitutes minimum wage has to be resolved,” says Andrew Lo, who will be speaking on the topic.

“Does it include, for example, shift allowance, service charge, overtime payment, performance bonus? How about accommodation, transport and meals provided by employers?” says Lo, chief executive officer of the Sarawak Bank Employees Union.

Also speaking is MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan and participants can expect a robust discussion on who benefits most.

For example, would a minimum wage increase the standard of living for the poor and increase domestic consumption, which is the engine of economic growth?

Or would it destroy jobs?

Lo notes that some employers are already claiming that up to four million jobs are at risk and 200,000 businesses may close.

As such, he speculates, some companies may adopt more capital intensive and efficient production systems and reduce the number of workers needed.

MSLSSL president Datuk Dr Cyrus Das says it would be good for all stakeholders to remember that a minimum wage is tied to a “living wage”.

“Every society that prescribes to social justice must accept a minimum wage structure and employment. You can't pay a worker RM300 and expect him to survive on that today.”

Another major concern currently is the over-dependence on contract labour and foreign labour.

Dr Das says contract labour should not be introduced for the local workforce as that would mean bypassing trade union membership by workers, who would otherwise be eligible to join a trade union.

“The mechanism of trade union membership and terms of employment guaranteed by a collective agreement are generally regarded as minimum safeguards to an industrial workforce,” he adds.

Dr Das: You can’t pay a worker RM300 and expect him to survive on that today.

Lo, who is also MTUC Sarawak secretary-general, claims that the supply of foreign workers is controlled by syndicates and is a multi-million industry.

“Employment agents are exploiting foreign workers as they charge more than what the workers would have earned during their employment contract.”

One of the recent amendments to employment law is that which allows labour supply companies to source and employ foreign workers and farm them out to work for a fee.

“The problem arises when these labour contractors abscond, leaving their workers unpaid. The company where the employees have been working will deny responsibility as they are not the employer, leaving employees high and dry,” Lo says.

This amendment and others were greeted with protest and concern but were passed by Parliament anyway, ostensibly to facilitate the easier registration of labour contractors.

The question now, says Lo, is whether the amendments will ensure greater accountability and protection for workers or would they be legalising an undesirable practice.

He adds that the conference will look into whether a Royal Commission would be appropriate to provide an independent, in-depth inquiry to assist the Government in formulating a robust, effective, enforceable, and sustainable foreign labour policy.

By SHAILA KOSHY koshy@thestar.com.my

> Register before June 11 for an early bird fee. For conference details, contact 03-4270 5400 or e-mail priority@cljlaw.com

By their dialogues we shall know them

Political conferences all have their own character, which also determines their actual value.

ONLY a quarter of a century ago, Malaysia launched the first premier annual conference for the most dynamic part of the world.

Thus was ISIS’ Asia-Pacific Roundtable (APR), organised by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Kuala Lumpur. It soon became an institution and a pilgrimage for strategic thinkers, policymakers and analysts with a focus on security in East Asia and the Americas, with Russia, Australasia and the Pacific somewhere in between.

As a non-governmental forum, the APR became the top “Track Two” dialogue for the Asia-Pacific mega-region’s movers and shakers. Because Track One (governmental) forums were official, delegates there would be inhibited and dialogues overburdened with protocol.

Track Two dialogues, however, were non-official and included governmental officials alongside academics and others. With everyone speaking in a private capacity, exchanges tended to be more open and candid.

      Track One: Malaysia’s Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi speaking on the final day of the Institute for Strategic Studies summit in Singapore on June 3. — EPA

This allowed officials the time and space to speak their mind, while giving non-officials an opportunity to “listen in” and address officials directly. The APR series would go on to inspire copies, or at least near-copies.

In 2002, Singapore began its own annual conference series in the Shangri-la Dialogue (SD). This would be a Track One exercise managed by Britain’s Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS).

Through the years other Asean countries also established their own national think- tanks, with one from each country forming part of the Asean-ISIS network. The APR then became their joint project, while still being organised by ISIS Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

After the SD, the Swiss-based World Economic Forum (WEF) also turned its gaze eastwards. Apart from the WEF’s annual meetings in Davos, it also began to hold several conferences a year elsewhere, including the annual WEF on East Asia.

The APR is held in late May or early June each year. For both the SD and the WEF on East Asia to be held back-to-back with the 2012 APR testifies to the APR as a form of mainstay. Organisers tend to hold broadly similar forums in a region around the same time to economise on travel expenses for international participants. That the other international conferences adjusted their schedules to suit Asean-ISIS’s timing is a measure of how Asean and its institutions can implicitly drive international events involving major world powers.

While the SD focuses on politics and provides a political platform for delegates, the WEF on East Asia (like other WEF forums) emphasises corporate activity and provides a business platform for delegates. Their similarities and differences with each other and with the APR became obvious this year.

The APR’s agenda this time ranged from regional security with the rise of China and India, to US strategic interests, sub-regional perspectives, governance issues and Myanmar’s future.

There was, as usual, a fair assortment of delegates from various countries around the Asia-Pacific. Someone remarked on how much of the discussion was taken up on China and the implications of its continued rise, but at least the conference could not be accused of skirting the reality outside.

This concerns the key question of how much of the region’s realities are actually reflected in conference discussions. What is their street credibility like?

The SD tended, perhaps typically, to be dominated by Western voices. Much of the time it was US officials in particular talking to their Asian counterparts over everyone else.

US-China military relations or rather the lack of them this time became almost the dominant theme. Attracting most interest was the US view of China’s rise, in particular with the attendance of US Defence Secretary and former CIA director Leon Panetta.

The SD’s strategic focus on China came at a time when Vietnam and the Philippines were experiencing renewed problems with China’s rival claims to South China Sea territory. Perhaps for this reason, several Chinese would-be delegates apparently gave this year’s SD a miss.

This showed that Chinese delegates had yet to prepare themselves sufficiently for vigorous public debates. That would require, for example, adequate mastery of the main language of discourse, English, to engage with others convincingly and persuasively.

With the “China component” virtually absent, there was a complaint that the Shangri-la Dialogue proved to be not much of a dialogue. And since friendly relations across the seas this time were somewhat strained, it wasn’t much of a Shangri-la situation either.

Further north in Bangkok, several important social issues were aired along with the platforms for businesses.

There were the obligatory discussions on China-US or US-China relations, of course. Who could seriously omit such a pivotal issue in the region?

But China was discussed in a variety of ways beyond the flat topic of a military enigma. There was, for example, consideration of how the worsening European debt crisis could hit China and then impact on the rest of the region in myriad ways.

There were also important exchanges on the reform process in Myanmar. However, these were somewhat dwarfed by the presence of Aung San Suu Kyi, on the podium addressing everyone directly in her first trip outside her country in 24 years.

For the first time, delegates could speak with her and relate to the needs of Myanmar and its people. Such was the impact created that the WEF on East Asia decided to hold next year’s conference in Myanmar.

The discussion on how banks must also serve the poor had a showing by the Boston Consulting Group. However, talk of how providing banking access to some 20% of the world’s population still without access could re-energise growth did not arouse much debate on how this might require a whole reconceptualisation of banking priorities.

Discussion on the need for mobile healthcare, particularly for rural areas, saw representations by the Telenor Group and Boston Consulting. While this would clearly maximise the capacity of healthcare professionals, it would also involve a serious re-assessment of private and public sector roles in healthcare funding.

Food security was a main item on the agenda, with the observation that despite increases in food production in the past half century, a billion people are still starving. But again, there was not much debate on how the question is not the amount of food produced but its distribution, as determined by global markets and prices.

As a conference in the heart of the Asean region, surrounded by Asean realities, the WEF could not miss the quickening pace of Asean economic integration and the creation of a common market by 2015. There was no doubt that Asean integration would proceed full-speed in all its intended spheres. In attempting to learn from the EU experience, however, Asean needed to adapt from European successes while avoiding the failures.

Over at the SD in Singapore, the question of how the US could grapple with a looming Chinese presence in the region led to consideration of the US navy’s new intended toy, the super-high-tech destroyer DDG-1000.

At US$3bil (RM9.56bil) each, this would push the navy into the space age and the Defence Department into near-insolvency. Perhaps not surprisingly, there was also little debate on how the greatest threats confronting the US are not other countries but non-state actors like terrorist groups and various militant organisations.

Perhaps some help could come by way of more Track Two dialogues.

Behind The Headlines By Bunn Nagara

China to launch 3 astronauts in new manned space flight docking

 • China will launch its Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft sometime in mid-June.

 • Shenzhou-9 and its carrier rocket, the Long March-2F, had been moved to the launch platform.

 • In the next few days, scientists will conduct functional tests on the spacecraft and the rocket.

The Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft, the Long March-2F rocket, and the escape tower are vertically transferred to the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, June 9, 2012. China will launch its Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft sometime in mid-June to perform the country's first manned space docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module, a spokesperson with the country's manned space program said here Saturday. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin)

Click to see more photos

JIUQUAN, Gansu, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China will launch its Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft sometime in mid-June to perform the country's first manned space docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module, a spokesperson said here Saturday.

By 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the spacecraft and its carrier rocket, the Long March-2F, had been moved to the launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, a spokesperson with the country's manned space program said.

In the next few days, scientists will conduct functional tests on the spacecraft and the rocket, as well as joint tests on selected astronauts, spacecraft, rocket and ground systems, according to the spokesperson.

The Shenzhou-9 will be launched into space to perform China's first manned space docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module.

The manned spacecraft Shenzhou-9 and its carrier rocket were delivered to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in early April this year.

The Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace-1, was lowered to docking orbit in early June and is orbiting normally, the spokesperson said.

The final preparations are running smoothly, and the selected astronauts have completed their training and are in sound physical and mental conditions, according to the spokesperson.

Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of the country's manned space program, said earlier that the three-person crew on Shenzhou-9 might include female astronauts, but the final selection would be decided "on the very last condition."

The space docking mission will be manually conducted by astronauts, giving China another chance to test its docking technology, the program's spokesperson said previously.

One of the three Shenzhou-9 crew members will not board the Tiangong-1 space module lab, but will remain inside the spacecraft as a precautionary measure in case of emergency, the spokesperson said.

The target module Tiangong-1, which blasted off on Sept. 29, 2011, went into long-term operation in space awaiting docking attempts of Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 after completing China's first space docking mission with the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft in early November.

Related: 

Shenzhou-9 spacecraft delivered to launch center
BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The manned spacecraft Shenzhou-9 was delivered to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, a spokesman with the country's manned space program said.  Full story

Shenzhou-9 may take female astronaut to space: official
BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Authorities have completed the initial selection of crew members for China's first manned space docking mission, and the roster includes female astronauts, an official with the country's manned space program has said.  Full story

China to carry out manned space flight

The manned space flight will dock with the Tiangong 1 space station module, pictured here being launched

Continue reading the main story

 

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• Chinese spacecraft dock in orbit Watch
• Chinese capsule returns to Earth
• China launches first space lab Watch

China has announced it will carry out a manned space flight at some point in the middle of June.

A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft has been moved to a launch pad in the north-west of the country.

According to state news agency Xinhua, it will carry three astronauts - possibly including a woman - to the Taingong 1 space station module.

This will be China's fourth manned space flight and its first since 2008.

It became only the third country to independently send a man into space in 2003.

Stellar plans
 
Last year, China completed a complicated space docking manoeuvre when an unmanned craft docked with the Taingong 1, or "Heavenly Body", by remote control.

The astronauts onboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft will also dock with the Taingong 1 - an experimental module currently orbiting Earth - and carry out scientific experiments on board.

Xinhua reported that Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of China's manned space programme, said the crew "might include female astronauts".

The mission is part of China's programme to develop a full orbiting space station.

Beijing is planning to complete the 60-tonne manned space station by 2020.

China was previously turned away from the International Space Station, a much bigger project run by 16 nations, reportedly after objections from the United States.- BBC

China to Launch 3 Astronauts to Space Lab This Month

by Tariq Malik, SPACE.com Managing Editor

A Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 rocket rolls out to the launch pad at China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ahead of a planned June 2012 launch of the country's first manned space docking mission. CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office View full size image

China will launch its first manned mission to an orbiting space laboratory in mid-June, according to state media reports and the country's human spaceflight agency.

A Long March 2F rocket will launch three astronauts aboard a Shenzhou 9 capsule for China's first manned space docking at the mini-space station Tiangong-1. The space lab module has been circling Earth unmanned since its launch last year.

"The Shenzhou 9 will perform our country's first manned space docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong 1 space lab module," the Xinhua news agency quoted Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program, as saying today (June 9).

Zhou's comments came as he accompanied the rocket set to launch the Shenzhou 9 mission to a pad at China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest region.

The mission, Zhou told Xinhua, will be a major milestone for China's space exploration program.

"It means China's spacecraft will become a genuine manned shuttle tool between space and Earth. It can send human beings to space stations or space labs," Zhou told Xinhua. "This will be a significant step in China's manned space flight history."  [Gallery: Tiangong 1, China's First Space Lab]

China's Shenzhou 9 mission will mark the fourth human spaceflight for the country, which has been making steady advances since the launch of Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei in 2003 on Shenzhou 5, the country's first human spaceflight. China is the third country to achieve human spaceflight after Russia and the United States.

Since its first flight, China has launched two more manned missions, the two-man Shenzhou 6 flight and three-person Shenzhou 7 mission. Last September, China launched the Tiangong 1 module — a prototype for a future space station — into orbit. That launch was followed in November by the unmanned Shenzhou 8 mission, which successfully docked a capsule with the space laboratory twice during the test flight.

The Shenzhou 9 mission will mark China's first human spaceflight to an orbiting module. Earlier this year, space program officials said the mission could also mark the first launch of China's first female astronaut, but a final decision on that is pending, Xinhua reported.

This image released by the China Manned Space Engineering Office shows
the Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 capsule that will launch
three astronauts to the Tiangong 1 space lab in June 2012.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office

View full size image

A translation of an announcement released online by the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSE), which oversees China's human spaceflight program, stated that preparations of both the rocket and Shenzhou 9 astronaut crew are going smoothly.

A series of spacecraft and rocket tests, as well as final mission training, are underway ahead of the planned spaceflight, CMSE officials said.

China's Shenzhou (or "Divine Vessel") spacecraft are three-module space capsules with a design originally based on Russia's Soyuz space capsules, but the Chinese vehicles carry substantial modifications.

Like the Soyuz, Shenzhou vehicles carry up to three astronauts and consist of a propulsion module, a crew capsule and an orbital module. But unlike Russia's Soyuz, the orbital module of Shenzhou spacecraft carries its own solar arrays and can remain in space after its crew returns to Earth in the crew capsule.

China's Tiangong 1 ("Heavenly Palace 1") space laboratory module, meanwhile, is a prototype space station designed to test the technologies required for a much larger space station complex currently under development. The Tiangong 1 module is 34 feet long (10.4 meters), 11 feet wide (3.35 m) and weighed about 8.5 metric tons.

Chinese space officials have said the country is developing a larger, 60-ton space station that will consist of several modules. That space station is slated to be launched in 2020.

China is currently following a three-step space exploration program that ultimately aims to land an astronaut on the moon. According to a white paper released by the Chinese government in December, the country plans to launch a series of robotic moon landers and a lunar sample-return mission by 2016.

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Singapore millionaires who don’t feel rich

Singapore, the third richest country in the world on a per capita basis, may be good at accumulating wealth but it fares less well when it comes to distributing it.WHEN I read last week that one in six households in Singapore is a millionaire in investable wealth, it stirred mixed emotions of pride and worry.

Bloomberg had earlier reported that the city state had become the third richest country in the world on a per capita basis.



Many Singaporeans probably share these mixed feelings, if they could take time away from work to think about it. (More on that later.)

The pride, of course, stems from our transformation from a squatter colony to this present level of affluence in only 47 years, and the concern comes from the high cost of living that such wealth brings.

Singapore is the 10th most expensive city in the world. The two factors – wealth and high cost – are related; if cost of living is taken into account Singapore’s wealth ranking drops to 11th in the world.

Inflation clouds everyone’s lives, unless he is among the 188,000 millionaire households, to which it probably matters much less..

A school-teacher commented: “Being told that I am living in one of the world’s richest cities doesn’t profit my life and the resultant high cost is a blow.”

Last year, the number of millionaires (in US dollars) increased by 14%, one of the world’s fastest growth rates. In the previous year – from 2009 to 2010 – it went up by a record one-third.

Their wealth does not include the value of their properties or other fixed assets. If it does, Singaporeans would be even richer.

The question is: how many of the new rich are foreigners who took up permanent residency here? If the number is high, it could distort the picture a little.

Over the past five years, the number of rich mainland Chinese, Indians and Indonesians who took up PR here has risen, pushing up the price of properties.

Two of Facebook billionaire co-founders, Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin, have made Singapore their home.

I also noticed that the pro-government media has been playing up stories of rising wealth and the capacity of Singaporeans to spend it. It is understandable because it paints a rosy picture.

Recent tales included the following:

> Singapore’s (resale) public flats are worth more than some expensive villas and islands in Portugal, Greece and Spain, as well as luxurious properties in the United States, reported Business Times.

> Rising property prices – nearly 7,000 “shoe box” condos of 300 sq ft to 500 sq ft have been built. A 463 sq ft condo was sold for S$702,000 (RM1.7mil).

> For sale: a bottle of special edition whisky in Singapore for S$250,000 (RM620,165).

> Singapore girl from a promi­­nent family splurging S$200,000 (RM496,252) on a photo shoot.

> Launch of the Singapore’s most expensive car, priced at S$3.6mil (RM9mil).

> A 23,920 sq ft bungalow at the prestigious Nassim Road was sold for a record S$47.8mil (RM118.6mil).

Such stories will likely continue to happen but so will tales relating to the new poor.

Singapore may be good at accumulating wealth but it fares less well when it comes to distributing it.

In fact, what is rubbing off some of the “wealth” shine is the widening inequality between the rich and the poor, an imbalance that ranks a notorious second in the world next to Hong Kong.

According to the Manpower Ministry, the earnings of the poorest 20% had stagnated in the past 10 years, with real income rising only S$200 (RM496) to S$1,400 (RM3,471), or 0.3%.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad wrote: “Singapore is rich and happy at the moment, and that’s not good. America was like that at one point in time.”

I know what he means.

A blogger recalled this was what former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said years ago. He said he feared affluence was making Singaporeans complacent.

He said the young generation compared badly with the poorer, hard-striving migrants from China and needed “spurs on its side” to drive it on.

Are wealthy Singaporeans happy? Happiness is subjective, but a Twitter reported that only one quarter of the people are happy.

A newspaper for Indians in Singapore, Tabla, wrote: “They are among the world’s wealthiest, ranking sixth highest in net wealth with a mean value of US$284,692 (RM908,737) per adult. But Singaporeans aren’t necessarily a happy lot.”

Most attribute it to the pressure cooker living, the high cost of living and the education system. Despite what Lee said, Singaporeans work the longest hours in a worldwide comparison, beating the Japanese.

But the country has the second lowest job satisfaction in the world, according to an Accenture survey, with some 76% saying they are dissatisfied with their jobs.

Long-time visitor Brian Nelsen wrote last month: “Where are the friendly Singaporeans I used to know?”

He expressed shock and dismay at the abrupt change in the attitude of Singaporeans towards tourists in the last few years. They appear unfriendly and rude nowadays.

“Nobody smiles or returns a greeting any more. Many are now a surly lot,” he said. He probably had not met our richer folks.

Joyce Hooi of The Business Times wrote: “If Singapore had been a person, it would have stood above the unwashed tableau of Occupy Wall Street, watching from its penthouse and laughing into its Cognac.”

The really wealthy are busy buying up luxuries.

Every single day, she added, 25 people had bought a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW, and a Ferrari every four days over the past 11 months.

INSIGHT DOWN SOUTH BY SEAH CHIANG NEE  cnseah@thestar.com.my

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Bridging the rich-poor gap in Singapore 

Foreign worker flow choked in Singapore 

Singapore 'warns' US on China bashing 

Singapore warns US on anti-China rhetoric!

Euro debt crisis remains biggest threat to global economy, UN reports

UNITED NATIONS, June 7 -- The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) has released its mid-year World Economic Situation and Prospects (WEPS) report, in which it states that the continuous euro crisis remains a large threat to the world economy.

"The euro area debt crisis remains the biggest threat to the global economy," said the representative from the UN Department of Public Information, Newton Kanhema, to reporters during a press conference here on Thursday.

"An escalation of the crisis could result in severe turmoil in financial markets," he said.

The WEPS report reflects that, although some growth has been seen in developed countries, they continue to face significant challenges, particularly in Europe. The WEPS forecasts that the economic situation will "remain tepid" for 2012, with a slow- down in China's growth to an estimated 8.3 percent, while India is expected to grow between 6.7 to 7.2 percent during the 2012- 2013 term.

As a proposed solution to the dwindling global economy, assistant secretary-general for DESA, Jomo Kwame Sundaram, stressed the importance of cooperation between all countries.

"International cooperation is extremely important," said Sundaram. "International cooperation is important, because it will ensure, all countries, and all economies will benefit from [ it]."

As developed countries continue to struggle to bounce back, the report says they have to address four major issues: deleveraging banks, firms and households that continue to restrain normal credit flow; the continuous high rate of unemployment; the fiscal austerity responses to rising public debts; and the exposure of banks to sovereign debts, partnered with weakened economies that prolong the stagnation of the crisis.

The report also stresses that the "re-orientation of fiscal policies should be internationally, coordinated, and aligned with structural policies that support direct job creation, and green growth." -  Xinhua

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US military still strongest in the world

Despite the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the financial crisis, the U.S. military is still the most powerful military in the world, a report released Tuesday in Beijing said.

The report "U.S. Military Assessment Report 2011", published by the China Strategic Culture Promotion Association, contains six chapters, 14 sections and three appendixes, including the U.S. strategic points, the U.S. military strength and deployment of troops, the defense budget and procurement of weapons and equipment, the U.S. structural and organizational reform, the new development of the U.S. combat theory and the U.S. joint military exercises, and summarizes the development situation of the U.S. military strength between 2010 and 2011.

The report pointed out that the internal and external environment faced by the United States has undergone major changes over the past two years. At home, the impact caused by the financial crisis on real economy has not been fundamentally alleviated; the national economy continues to decline; the budget deficit hits record highs and the unemployment keeps high. Outside the country, the United States is faced with the challenge to its leadership position brought by the multi-polarization of international forces and the rise of emerging powers. 

On the occasion of withdrawing from Iraq and ending the war in Afghanistan, the United States shifted its strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific region. The Obama administration has formulated new national security strategy, defense strategy and military strategy and accelerated the global deployment of troops. It is making efforts to strengthen army building in terms of institutional establishment, weapons and equipment, combat theory and military training and enhance the ability of war and non-war military actions.

The report said that although the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the financial crisis began in 2008 had an important impact on the comprehensive strength of the United States, the impact on its military capabilities has not yet been seen. The U.S. troops are still the most powerful in the world and it still has the ability to simultaneously start two large-scale regional wars and some small-scale emergent battles. It can provide strong support for the United States to return to the Asia-Pacific region and shift the strategic focus eastward.

The report also said that on one hand, China should remain vigilant on the United States' returning to Asia-Pacific region, intervening in the territorial disputes on South China Sea and transfer of its strategic focus eastward; on the other hand, China should also see the common interests in the deep economic integration of the two countries and in maintaining the peace, stability, development, cooperation and prosperity of the world.

In line with the spirit of mutual respect and mutual trust, equality and mutual benefit, both sides should strengthen the cooperation and exchange especially that of the two militaries and jointly cope with the challenges and threats of the 21th century.

The China Strategic Culture Promotion Association is a national non-profit civil society group composed of experts, scholars and social activists who are engaged in studies of international issues, Taiwan issue and cultural issues. The association was founded in Beijing on Jan. 5 2011, aiming at promoting security and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and encouraging the peaceful development on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through the studies, dissemination and exchange of Chinese strategic culture.

Read the Chinese version: 中国智库：美国军队仍然是世界上最强大的军队，author: Yang Tiehu

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Malaysian 13th General Election Pow-wow, Register as voters now!

On the edge of our seats

The whole country is getting fidgety as Malaysians await the 13th general election.

IT’S an extended silly season. Everyone is ultra sensitive and every event or statement is examined with a fine toothcomb for any underlying political message.

Hardly a day goes by that a politician does not let fly a missile at one opponent or another. From cows, condos to sex tapes, no one and nothing is spared.

One would have thought that after months of this, politicians would have run out of ammunition, and from the quality of the rockets being shot out, they are close to scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Everyone is so tense that even the recent reduction in RON 97 by 10 sen is seen as an indication that the polls is near.

By my vast experience of having covered the past five general elections, the polls should have already been here, gone and dusted. But this time round, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak seems intent on dragging out the silly season for as long as he can.

His opponents have joined him by declaring that Selangor and Penang would not hold their polls together with the national elections. Selangor MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had declared that his government would definitely not follow if it is held this month.

A June general election does not seem likely now (for some unexplainable reasons, the country has never held a general election in the month of June). So does this mean that Selangor will now follow suit if it is held next month?

No way, says Khalid’s boss Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who wants Selangor to go the full distance (sometime in April next year). The games of the silly season continue.

One senior Barisan Nasional official enquired with a party worker recently how things were going and was shocked at the reply he got.

“Boss, we are all very tired. We have been on war footing since October and we do not know how much more we can take,” said the party worker.

Some of the candidates-designate from both sides, who have been campaigning quietly since January, are quietly complaining that they are running out of funds and at the same time cannot do anything about raising money from supporters.

“What am I to tell my supporters? No party will announce its candidates so early for fear they may be bought over or of sabotage,” said one aspiring candidate.

This is why some Umno stalwarts are calling on the leadership to start naming the potential candidates so that they can “be properly introduced” to the branches and avoid any sabotage.

This, I suspect, will also allow these people to make use of the official party machinery which means it will be less taxing on his or her personal resources which can then be reserved for the actual polling and campaign period.

This 13th GE will be a watershed election for Malaysia and every seat will see tough fights. “The mother of all battles” was how one senior journalist described the coming polls.

Unfortunately, like all things that are anticipated with such great expectations, I fear it will fall short of everyone’s outlook. GE 13 can’t help but disappoint because we are expecting so much from it.

Prior to last week, when it became obvious that the polls would not be in June or July, everyone seemed resigned to the election being held in September.

But then came Najib’s announcement that Budget 2013 would be tabled on Sept 28.

One could almost hear the groans of frustration going up all over the place. The so-called experts are now even suggesting November or January as the new dates.

One Cabinet Minister even pointed out that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad held the 10th general elections in exactly the same manner.

Dr Mahathir tabled the budget in October 1999, allowed the Lower House to debate the budget, but before it would be passed, he went to see the King and had Parliament dissolved. He took his Budget as his manifesto for the polls.

This senior Cabinet member said outright that Najib would do exactly the same because it proved to be a masterstroke by Dr Mahathir to defeat his foes then.

This conversation with the minister took place a month ago, long before Najib announced his Budget date.

So does this mean that the polls will be in October?

If statistics are anything to go by, it is unlikely to be held then because only the 1990 GE was held in the month of October (Oct 21 to be exact).

The following are the exact dates of the past 12 elections.
1st GE - Aug 19, 1959;
2nd GE - April 25, 1964;
3rd GE - May 10, 1969
4th GE - Aug 24 and Sept 14 1974;
5th GE - July 8, 1978;
6th GE - April 22, 1982;
7th GE - Aug 3, 1986;
8th GE - Oct 21, 1990;
9th GE - April 25, 1995;
10th GE - Nov 29, 1999;
11th GE - March 21, 2004; and
12th GE - March 8, 2008

Hopefully, someone out there can find a pattern from this list of dates and then correctly predict the polling date that Najib is holding so close to his chest and does not look likely to reveal any time soon.

Those claiming to know the man’s plans said we should examine Najib’s speech during last year’s Malaysia Day on Sept 16.

“He made many promises there. Once he has fulfilled all those promises, I am sure he will call for the elections,” said one of them.

The polls cannot come fast enough for most of us because we want to get back to some real work.

WHY NOT?
By WONG SAI WAN

> Executive editor Wong Sai Wan has been on election footing since 2010 and will be glad when it comes.

EC: Register now and you can vote in September

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysians who are eligible to vote should register this month to qualify to vote in the general election if it is held in September.

“If they register in the second quarter of this year, they will be able to vote if the election is held after August,” Election Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said yesterday after briefing 30 officials from 15 political parties in Sabah about electoral regulations.

There are about a quarter million Sabahans above the age of 21 who have yet to register while about 3.6 million eligible voters nationwide have not registered.

Wan Ahmad said there were 946,638 registered voters in Sabah and 258,943 eligible voters have yet to register.

“I hope they will register now,” he said, adding that if everyone registered, Sabah would cross the one million mark and could reach 1,205,581 registered voters by September.

He also said there were very few people, who had come forward to clarify the position of some 13,000 dubious voters when they exhibited the names for three months.

“We believe many of these people are dead and their families did not report the deaths to the National Registration Department. We can't remove their names, so it remains in the rolls until their next-of-kin have not come forward to clarify it.

“That's why sometimes you get cases of someone with an age of 120 who is still in the roll.

“We cannot remove it as we are not empowered by law to delete such names,” he added.

Wan Ahmad also said they would be setting up 31 mobile election enforcement teams to check on offenders for Sabah and Labuan's 26 parliamentary constituencies.

He said there would be two teams each in Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan while each constituency would have a team, comprising an election officer, a police inspector, a local authority official and representatives of contesting parties.

By MUGUNTAN VANAR vmugu@thestar.com.my