Further thoughts on Ombudsman

Posted on December 22, 2007 by Tricia

What impressed me most during my recent Young Leaders’ Program trip to Australia in early December 2007 – sponsored by the Australia-Malaysia Institute under Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – was the briefing by the Ombudsman representing New South Wales. The Ombudsman, a Swedish word originating since 1809, meaning “defender of the people”, is a person empowered to ensure fairness and justice in society. The role of the Ombudsman’s office is therefore to investigate and resolve cases, and hence make recommendations for improvement. Many countries around the world have begun adopting a similar mechanism for ensuring accountability of public offices, and Malaysia should be well on its way to establishing such an outfit, as calls for transparency and good governance are escalating.   Continue reading →

Posted in Outside Malaysia, The Cause | Leave a comment

Face to Face with Malaysia

Posted on December 15, 2007 by Tricia

This is a draft paper I’ve written for ROH (Revolution of Hope), a Christian group I belong to. It’s still in the process of being refined, but I would welcome any feedback from you guys before I develop it further into a 5,000 word essay to be published thereafter. Cheers!

Face to Face with Malaysia:

An Analysis of the Malaysian Reality

 

In attempting to seek theological responses to developments in Malaysia, it is first necessary to analyse in a thorough manner the realities being faced presently. This paper therefore seeks to explore the Malaysian reality, complete with positive achievements and more importantly, the challenges faced today. It attempts to provide a clear and unbiased perspective of the real issues confronted by everyday Malaysians. This will be done by first giving a brief history of Malaysian past, and then highlighting these issues thereafter. Face to face with Malaysia, does the Church see through a glass darkly?

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Indians Dialogue with the Chief

Posted on December 15, 2007 by Tricia

When all’s said and done, this dialogue should have come much earlier now, shouldn’t it?

The Malaysia Hindu Sangam public statement read out to the PM was well presented, fair and unbiased. Of course we all know that such an open and frank discussion would never have seen the light of day if not for the big publicity stunt pulled by HINDRAF recently, perhaps precisely the objective of Uthayakumar and his team.

Why does it take a big circus hullabaloo in order for the leaders to wake up and pay attention to the plight and dissatisfaction of its people? They would have otherwise continued on in sleepy slumber, carrying on token internal discussions with equally token responses like “yes, we will look into the situation, thanks for your complaints”…!!

Come on, don’t wait for ruckus before addressing needs of the people. Get into proper policy, people! But am glad lots of initiatives are taking place now, like Haris’ People’s Parliament, Citizen Think Tank’s shadow Government and so on. Watch this space for more constructive dialogue on how feedback can feed into policy.

Posted in The Cause | 1 Comment

Politics & Injustice: What’s Faith Gotta do with it?

Posted on December 15, 2007 by Tricia

I’m speaking at a youth camp this weekend on the topic of “Politics & Injustice: What’s Faith Gotta do with it?”

This is obviously a topic that I’m pretty familiar with already, but I’ve only ever spoken to crowds made up of adults, activists and/or theologians. I’ve done one session on blogging with a bunch of intellectual youth at a writers’ camp, but this will be a different ball game for me.

Having expired from the old sunday teaching classes a long time ago, getting back in touch and in rhythm with 13-18 year olds is gonna be a slight toughie, especially on the above subject that is as dry as bread crumbs. Wonder how they will take to it. I need to pump them with some activity. These are some of the things I am thinking to do in the workshop to ensure maximum participation from the young un’s.

  • Hook/Primer: Do a role play with different scenarios on “injustice” inviting volunteers from the floor + debrief
  • Book: Get out some contents on the slides on connection between faith and politics  
  • Get them into small groups and get them to answer some questions, discuss 
  • Show them powerpoint slides of active blogs (cos this is the Y-generation of facebook, blogs and so on)
  • Action forward: “Conscientizing” into action, how true transformation is manifested in daily living

Wish me all the best!

Posted in Personal, Religion | 2 Comments

Ombudsman

Posted on December 15, 2007 by Tricia

One of the institutions I was really impressed by during my recent trip to Australia was the Ombudsman. Originating from Sweden, the Ombudsman is defined as follows:

An ombudsman (English plural: ombudsmans or ombudsmen) is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens.

Although appointed by the Parliament in Australia, this is kept highly independent. Jurisdictions are clear. Processes are explicit. The Ombudsman selected AND all individuals working within the office must be strictly squeaky clean in terms of both moral (private) and public character. They must actually disclose the relationships they have with anyone who might be deemed as affecting their roles as independent officer.

For example, the deputy Ombudsman told us that his wife is a senior official in the trade department so any complaints and investigations relating to that area he HAS to bypass.

Full disclosure of relationships is a good thing, but how feasible is it in a culture where close friendships at the top level are as common as daylight, and the networking that goes on between those are as dubious and shadowy as night? In Asia we cannot separate personal and working relationships, which is why food comes before business as opposed to the other way round in the West.

This inherent culture is in itself a difficulty to contend with.

Nevertheless, Indonesia has an Ombudsman and I fail to see why we cannot too. As a friend recently put it, all it really needs at the end of the day is, “accountability, accountability, accountability”. Checks and balances are tedious processes but heck, they have to be done so that systems are well in place!

Posted in The Cause | Leave a comment

Islam: A Blessing to Malaysians?

Posted on December 14, 2007 by Tricia

Come to a seminar on “Islam: A Blessing to Malaysians?”

Ibn Khaldun Seminar 2

Jointly Organised by: The Centre for Public Policy Studies & Malaysia Think Tank London

Islam: A Blessing to Malaysians?
Time: 8pm – 10pm
Date: Tuesday, 18th December 2007
Venue: Menara Integriti, Institut Integriti Malaysia (Off Jln Duta) http://www.iim.com.my/v3/st_corporate/petalokasi.php
Entrance is Free of Charge

As a way of life, Islam provides guidance on how one should live one’s life. Muslims believe that the guidance is complete, covers all aspects of life, and is a blessing to all. But why is it that when the word ‘Islam’ is mentioned nowadays, peace and blessing are not necessarily the first thing that come to mind? In this panel discussion, the main speaker will present his thoughts on how Islam could be translated into liberal policies that will give choice and freedom to fellow Malaysians. The main presenter will bring to the table his experience as an ethnic minority Malay Muslim living in Britain, and his experience in British politics. Other panelists will provide critical comments on his presentation.

This event is designed to be an open discussion and a learning platform for everyone, including the panelists, who welcome contributions from the audience.

Main Presenter: Wan Saiful Wan Jan, Director General of Malaysia Think Tank London

Panelists:
· Ustaz Hasrizal Abdul Jamil, Malaysia Think Tank London
· Ven. Choy Chee Kuan, Vice-President, Malaysian Buddhist Association
· Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri, Secretary-General of Council of Churches Malaysia
· K. Shanmuga, Malaysia Hindu Sangam
 About the Main Presenter

Wan Saiful Wan Jan is Director General of Malaysia Think Tank London. Previously, he was at the British Conservative Party Research Department and the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit. Wan Saiful is a life-member of PAS. While completing his university studies in England, he was actively involved in HIZBI, a movement for Malaysians in the United Kingdom closely associated with PAS. He was among the longest-serving President of HIZBI, and after he stepped down, was appointed as Mursyid. He moved from KL to England in 1993 and has been living there since. In May 2007, he contested in the English local elections as a Conservative Party Candidate. He is actively involved in the Conservative Muslim Forum (CMF) and has co-authored a submission to the shadow cabinet on (British) National and International Security.

Please register by sending your details to tricia_yeoh@cpps.org.my or log onto www.cpps.org.my and www.malaysiathinktank.org for more information.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Evil and Good

Posted on December 13, 2007 by Tricia

“All it takes for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing”.

This descended into a debate on whether or not there really ARE any good men who do nothing.

The argument was, that the property of “goodness” is the sum of both inherent internalities and its subsequent action. For a man to have either one lacking would be that he did not then possess goodness in its ultimate form.

Hence, a good man would not do nothing. A good man doing nothing does not exist.

But then the debate continued, establishing the fact that goodness is a spectrum. Although it exists conceptually as a complete full standard, in reality no person can reach that mark. And if so, we are a mixture of goodness and badness. Hence, no person is considered fully “good”.

Perhaps the statement should be altered to read: “All that is required for evil to triumph is for a few partially good men to do nothing”.

Maybe we are being too pedantic.

Let the statement speak for itself, and let us who imagine we strive towards the penultimate form of goodness, be inspired by the remark… and most importantly, act upon our convictions. For staying silent and doing nothing is but evil in itself.

Posted in Reflections | Leave a comment

What a Democracy really means, Mister..

Posted on December 13, 2007 by Tricia

The word democracy has been used so foolishly and cheaply.

Democracy describes a small number of related forms of government and also a political philosophy. The word comes from the ancient Greek for “rule by the people”. A common feature of democracy as currently understood and practiced is competitive elections. Competitive elections are usually seen to require freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and some degree of rule of law.

Democracy means rule by the people with competitive elections, not one whose process is laced with vote buying and phantom voting. With unfair practices in the electoral process, it is highly uncertain as to whether or not the person with the actual number of majority is properly selected and voted for.

When I visited the Australian Electoral Commission, I was deeply impressed by the mechanisms put into place to ensure free and fair elections. This includes constant updating of the electoral roll, and compulsory voting (you get fined if you don’t), extremely stringent measures to ensure all people vote, the ballot counters are all independent and cannot belong to any political party etc. In Malaysia, our electoral roll is pretty much outdated, we don’t have compulsory voting, and those who volunteer to count can be from a political party therefore not independent.

If a democracy is one that allows free speech, free press and the rule of law, can we safely say that this is what we have currently? (stop laughing, please)

When questioned, Minister of Information Zam said that we have a democracy because “we hold elections every five years”. What an inferior, uneducated statement, lacking substance in qualifying what kind of electoral process we really have.

A dictated democracy is no democracy.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

ISA in Malaysia

Posted on December 13, 2007 by Tricia

As I walked across the luxurious corridors in KL Convention Centre overlooking the KLCC Park, it was difficult to even imagine that this was the exact same city in which numerous arrests have been taking place over the last couple of days, culminating in today’s five arrests under the ISA (Internal Security Act).

Five lawyers have been arrested in association with HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force) that conducted a massive rally calling on the Government to recognise the increasing marginalisation of the Indians in Malaysia. ISA detainees will be held under preventive detention for a minimum of 2 years without trial. Under the ISA, detainees are denied their right to trial, right to legal counsel, the right to defend oneself in open court and the right to be innocent until proven guilty.

It is impossible to now reconcile the image of an advanced nation well on its way to developed status with the one that is unfolding before my very eyes. Many of us Malaysians are in an utter state of disbelief at the manner in which the authorities are reacting. Is this the Government that we elected into position just three years ago? Is this the best way to handle already fragile inter-ethnic emotions?

Prime Minister Pak Lah has given an ultimatum, that whoever takes to the streets this way are not loyal nor do they love the country. He keeps on harping on the fact that “this is not our culture”, without properly addressing the root issue and cause. Without really investigating into the contents of the various memoranda being handed in to respective institutions (British High Commission, Parliament, the Agong, Prime Minister’s Department), he’s decided to merely refer to the manner in which the demonstrations have been conducted. What frustrates me most is the fact that every person out there on the streets recently, are there precisely because they love their country and cannot stand to see their homeland go down in flames this way.

Could they not have received the memoranda with grace and dignity, stating that they would be happy to work with the respective organisations presenting them? Could they not have granted the walks with appropriate parameters about which areas were allowed and which were not? Could they not have answered politely instead of dishing out violence against the people?

Watch the videoclips. Look at this one. Were they acting violently?

If we haven’t already woken up, this is the time.

The news on TV1 was crazily biased. Words like “keganasan” and “anak juga ditipu” were blazed across the screen whilst showing clips from the various rallies. Did they show pictures of Tian Chua’s car being burnt to bits?

What a day of darkness for us. We must have communities to converse with, lest we individually reduce ourselves to naught amidst these exciting yet gloomy times.

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Crackdown

Posted on December 12, 2007 by Tricia

Has started. 24 Bersih protestors were arrested today at Parliament, now out either on bail or with no charges.

The police are going all out this time.

Road blocks the whole day today.

Arrests taking place over the past couple of days.

I feel like I’m living in military Pakistan.

Responses from Pak Lah are so meagre. I could even write better speech responses, not the unrefined stuff he is articulating that hardly convinces me.

Tomorrow there will be more arrests, no doubt.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment