COMMENT By WONG CHUN WAIThursday Nov 30, 2006


YOU'VE got to be joking, Yang Berhormat Datuk Mohd Said Yusuf.The MP forJasin may have closed one eye on his other controversies but he must haveclosed both eyes for likening Bukit Bintang to Patpong in Bangkok famed forits raunchy entertainment

.It's a gross exaggeration because any visitor to Kuala Lumpur will know thatBukit Bintang is not what Mohd Said has described it to be.

Bukit Bintang is known to have the best shopping malls, restaurants, hotelsand entertainment spots.But has anyone seen Malaysian women in bikinis pole dancing on bar tops ortouts inviting foreigners to tiger shows?

According to Mohd Said, his Arab friends told him that the sex activitiesmade Malaysia "better than Thailand".

Mohd Said is known as the "close one eye" MP for his controversial remark toCustoms officials to overlook a consignment belonging to his company'sclient that was seized for exceeding the size limit.

He had also accused certain Customs officials of selling confiscated luxurycars cheaply to their friends in the palace. He could not produce anyevidence to back his allegations.

Mohd Said should have personally investigated what his Arab friends had toldhim and if he could not do it personally, he should have submitted theinformation to the authorities.

To make these allegations, just when Malaysia is about launch Visit MalaysiaYear 2007 is damaging, to say the least.We like to be known as a destination for family holidays and one where wiveshave no reason to worry when their husbands are here on business trips.Most wives know there are very few options for their husbands when they cometo Kuala Lumpur, but not so in Bangkok, Manila, Phnom Penh, Singapore oreven Jakarta.

Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has correctly rebutted MohdSaid, saying that Malaysians and not foreigners are confused as to howMalaysia was being promoted overseas.

Correction Tengku, it is Mohd Said who is confused and not Malaysians. Therest of us are proud of the commercials being aired to promote Malaysiaahead of the big event because we understand the economic impact.

We are ready to put on our best smiles and to extend our famed hospitalityto the millions of tourists coming our way because they like the seas, theforests, the multi-culturalism and the food.

These tourists know what to expect of Malaysia when they planned theirholidays and if racy adult entertainment is their choice, it is unlikelythat they will pick KL.

Sure, there are nightclubs, and if foreigners look hard enough, there wouldbe sex workers but surely not on the scale of other sex cities.And if there are local women who like foreigners at bars and pubs, who canstop them if they want to go further! It's nobody's business.Let's not mistake the foot massage outlets along Bukit Bintang for tiredshoppers, because these are clean places.

Bukit Bintang MCA chief Senator Datuk Dr Lee Chong Meng has good reasons tobe upset and to feel insulted by Mohd Said's remarks. He should know histerritory better.

As Tengku Mansor, the Federal Territory Umno chief said: "We cannot goaround branding everything which resembles entertainment as sinful andillicit."The trouble with many politicians is that while they are quick to criticisewhat they perceive to be sinful, the same decibel is not heard when it comesto corruption.

Corruption is a sin and surely we should hear more politicians back DatukSeri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his fight against graft.Not only are many of our politicians not on the forefront, but they alsoseem to shy away from talking about accountability and credibility.Many, including those seemingly religious in their diet and dressing, appearto be selective when it comes to their pick of sins. Somehow, corruption,abuse of power and women do not affect their religious practices, regardlessof their spiritual belief.

The authorities should also call on Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturerZawawi Muhammad Lukman to back his claim in a survey of 4,000 people, thatminors between the ages of nine and 18 were involved in vice.This is a serious allegation. He also said he came across a mother who askedher 11-year-old daughter to have sex with her boyfriend.

The police must find out whether this is a case of sexual abuse, rape orprostitution because providing sex for money is something different alltogether.

We hope the newspaper has quoted the researcher wrongly, andInspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has correctly said thepolice would probe the matter.

Again it is an issue that has tarnished the image of Malaysia. For manypeople, including those involved in non-governmental organisations, they canonly express disbelief.People in position, politicians or otherwise, must realise that they cannotsimply make general statements which can bring negative implications.

This damage is irreversible.

The bottom line is let's open our eyes when we see something that we knowmust be brought to the notice of the authorities.

That's not Malaysia "boleh", that's Malaysia "bodoh" (stupid).

While Malaysia fiddles, its opportunities are running dry
Michael Backman November 15, 2006
MALAYSIA'S been at it again, arguing about what proportion of the economy each of its two main races - the Malays and the Chinese - owns. It's an argument that's been running for 40 years. That wealth and race are not synonymous is important for national cohesion, but really it's time Malaysia grew up.

It's a tough world out there and there can be little sympathy for a country that prefers to argue about how to divide wealth rather than get on with the job of creating it.

The long-held aim is for 30 per cent of corporate equity to be in Malay hands, but the figure that the Government uses to justify handing over huge swathes of public companies to Malays but not to other races is absurd. It bases its figure on equity valued, not at market value, but at par value.

Many shares have a par value of say $1 but a market value of $12. And so the Government figure (18.9 per cent is the most recent figure) is a grossunderestimate. Last month a paper by a researcher at a local think-tank came up with a figure of 45 per cent based on actual stock prices. All hell broke loose. The paper was withdrawn and the researcher resigned in protest. Part of the problem is that he is Chinese.

"Malaysia boleh!" is Malaysia's national catch cry. It translates to"Malaysia can!" and Malaysia certainly can. Few countries are as good at wasting money. It is richly endowed with natural resources and the national obsession seems to be to extract these, sell them off and then collectively spray the proceeds up against the wall.This all happens in the context of Malaysia's grossly inflated sense of its place in the world.

Most Malaysians are convinced that the eyes of the world are on theircountry and that their leaders are world figures. This is thanks toMalaysia's tame media and the bravado of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. The truth is, few people on the streets of London or New York could point to Malaysia on a map much less name its prime minister or capital city

.As if to make this point, a recent episode of The Simpsons features anewsreader trying to announce that a tidal wave had hit some place called Kuala Lumpur. He couldn't pronounce the city's name and so made up one, as if no-one cared anyway. But the joke was on the script writers - KualaLumpur is inland.

Petronas, the national oil company is well run, particularly when compared to the disaster that passes for a national oil company in neighbouringIndonesia. But in some respects, this is Malaysia's problem. The verysuccess of Petronas means that it is used to underwrite all manner ofexcess.

The KLCC development in central Kuala Lumpur is an example. It includes the Twin Towers, the tallest buildings in the world when they were built, which was their point.

It certainly wasn't that there was an office shortage in Kuala Lumpur - there wasn't.

Malaysians are very proud of these towers. Goodness knows why. They had little to do with them. The money for them came out of the ground and the engineering was contracted out to South Korean companies.They don't even run the shopping centre that's beneath them. That's handled by Australia's Westfield.

Next year, a Malaysian astronaut will go into space aboard a Russianrocket - the first Malay in space. And the cost? $RM95 million ($A34.3million), to be footed by Malaysian taxpayers. The Science and Technology Minister has said that a moon landing in 2020 is the next target, aboard a US flight. There's no indication of what the Americans will charge for this, assuming there's even a chance that they will consider it. But what isMalaysia getting by using the space programs of others as a taxi service? There are no obvious technical benefits, but no doubt Malaysians will be told once again, that they are "boleh". The trouble is, they're not. It's not their space program.

Back in July, the Government announced that it would spend $RM490 million on a sports complex near the London Olympics site so that Malaysian athletes can train there and "get used to cold weather".

But the summer Olympics are held in the summer.

So what is the complex's real purpose? The dozens of goodwill missions by ministers and bureaucrats to London to check on the centre's construction and then on the athletes while they train might provide a clue.


Bank bale outs, a formula one racing track, an entire new capital city - Petronas has paid for them all. It's been an orgy of nonsense that Malaysia can ill afford.

Why? Because Malaysia's oil will run out in about 19 years. As it is,Malaysia will become a net oil importer in 2011 - that's just five years away.

So it's in this context that the latest debate about race and wealth is so sad.

It is time to move on, time to prepare the economy for life after oil. But, like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, the Malaysian Government is moreinterested in stunts like sending a Malaysian into space when Malaysia's inadequate schools could have done with the cash, and arguing about wealth distribution using transparently ridiculous statistics.

That's not Malaysia "boleh", that's Malaysia "bodoh" (stupid).