Local Government Elections?

We have been talking about local government elections for the longest time. We pushed it hard during the last general elections. I know I did. I also know that there are many who have criticised the Pakatan Rakyat state governments as to why such elections have not been held.

There have been many reasons given for the delay, some of which I find very real and valid, others less so. I'll not deal with these reasons on this blog post. Instead, I've finally gotten a reply from the Ministry of Housing & Local Government on my following question with regards to local government elections.

[Petaling Jaya Utara] minta Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan menyatakan sama ada kerajaan akan membantah ataupun menghalang negeri-negeri yang dipimpin oleh DAP, PKR dan PAS melaksanakan pilihan raya Kerajaan Tempatan yang merupakan ruang lingkup kuasa Kerajaan Negeri. Jika ia, sila memberikan penjelasan yang terperinci.

The answer by the Ministry was essentially to say that the state has no such right as follows.

Untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat, cadangan untuk mengadakan semula pilihan raya kerajaan tempatan adalah tidak selaras dengan undang-undang dan dasar sedia ada. Antara undang-undang yang berkenaan ialah Akta Kerajaan Tempatan 1976 (Akta 171) dan Akta Pilihanraya Kerajaan Tempatan 1960 (Akta 473).

Walaubagaimanapun, sekiranya terdapat cadangan untuk mengadakan pilihan raya kerajaan tempatan, maka selaras dengan peruntukan Perkara 96A Perlembagaan Persekutuan, persoalan dasar berhubung cadangan ini hendaklah terlebih dahulu dipertimbang dan diputuskan di peringkat Majlis Negara bagi Kerajaan Tempatan.

Is it? Is it not? I'm no legal expert but I do know that there's clearly uncertainty over who has control over local government elections. Regardless, it's clear from the answer above that the Federal Government will not support any attempts at local elections at the state government level.

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Biro Tatanegara

I've asked about the racist nature of the Barisan Nasional's propaganda organ Biro Tatanegara and have received a written reply from the Prime Minister's office. I've blogged it here on my Education in Malaysia blog for those interested on the issue. ;-)

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Fighting UUCA Tooth & Nail

Apologies for not having blogged for about a week. Besides a break since November was a record blogging month here, I was tied up with a few things, most notably "selling" dinner tickets as well as parliamentary work, particularly the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) which came up for debate in Parliament on Wednesday last week.

While, the most recent amendments to the UUCA has been passed without amendments late Thursday evening, readers should know (if it's of any comfort) that it was not passed before the representatives from Pakatan Rakyat giving the Minister of Higher Education some serious and often, uncomfortable grilling before it got passed.

At the same time, on behalf of an informal Pakatan Rakyat UUCA committee led by Nurul Izzah Anwar (LEMBAH PANTAI) and input from many academics, I have filed a motion to amend some 20 clauses in 6 sections, to the Amendment Act proposed by the Higher Education Ministry. Short of proposing a new bill, which will never see the light of day in the parliament, attempting to amend a bill which is put forward by the Government is the nearest and best available option to present our version of the bill.

The above is footage by Malaysiakini on a press conference which I gave a summary on the proposed amendments to the UUCA amendment bill.

I will blog on each of the sections which I have attempted to amend at the Committee stage of debate on the Amendment bill separate, as they are really long but most importantly, I will blog on the response of the Higher Education Minister on each of these sections, some of which were a real disappointing disgrace.

And for those who can't wait to read a little of my thoughts on UUCA, feel free to check out my posts on Education in Malaysia.

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ValueCap Not For Bailouts?

Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak continued to insist that the RM5 billion injection of public funds into the Valuecap Sdn Bhd investment fund will not be used to either bail out the politically connected of any government-linked companies (GLCs) as reported in the media today.

His denial has come to calm public fears and unhappiness over the move to direct the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to lend the RM5 billion to Valuecap.

However, his assurances lacks conviction for he has still begs many many questions.

1. With so many credible foreign and local investment and fund managers with extensive experience in the local markets, why is it that the Government is not direct funds to these institutions to “value invest”? Why is it that the Government is directing these funds to a little known company, ValueCap, with uncertain, opaque and questionable track record to invest such a large sum of money?
   
   
2. The fact that the original bond amounting to RM5.1 billion which will expire in March 2009 has been further extended beyond the terms of the agreement raises the question as why a company which has not been able to repay such an amount, be extended an additional RM5 billion? ValueCap is set to become one of the rare fund management company in the world which invests with nearly 100% of its investment capital sourced from loans and not from investors.
   
   
3. After initial protests by the public on EPF's loan to ValueCap which is subjected to extensive risks, the Government took the most irresponsible step of becoming the guarantor to the loan. What that essentially means is that should ValueCap fail to repay the EPF, the tax payers will then bear the burden of the loan. 
   

This measure will also create a moral hazard situation whereby the fund managers will likely adopt a high risk investment strategy since there is no “downside” to the investment for the Government will bail them out in the event of failure.

In fact, the repeated attempts to provide verbal reassurance on EPF's RM5 billion injection by the Finance Minister clearly demonstrate continued public opposition to the measure since it was first announced more than a month ago.

Hence, Datuk Seri Najib should do what a responsible Finance Minster should do, that is to reverse the RM5 billion injection decision, and instead place appropriate pressure on the EPF investment board to improve the performance of its investment returns.

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Syed Hamid Appoints Perception Expert

Over the past week, the police force as well as the Deputy Prime Minister have launched a concerted "public relations" attempt to fight the "perception" that crime is high in Malaysia, instead of fighting crime itself. They had loudly proclaimed that Malaysia is a safer place than countries such as Japan, Hong Kong and is even comparable to Singapore.

However, the exercised proved shortlived as DAP presented hard facts and information over the past few days via press conferences and in Parliament itself, that Malaysia is in not in anyway safer than Japan or Hong Kong, or even comparable to Singapore. I've blogged the research in detail here, or to quote Sdr Lim Kit Siang on his blog:

For instance, homicide per 100,000 population is 1.09 cases in Japan, 0.26 cases in Hong Kong but 2.12 in Malaysia; while rape per 100,000 population is 1.62 in Japan, 1.54 in Hong Kong while in Malaysia it is 11.47. For robbery per 100,000 population, it is 4.78 for Japan, 17.56 for Hong Kong while 90.49 for Malaysia.

Instead of taking the criticisms in the right spirit, and start to really act on crime in Malaysia, guess what our Home Minister decided to persist with his fight with "perception". I have just read in Financial Daily today that

...[t]he government intends to appoint an expert in criminal studies from a local university to do research on crime rate in the country in an effort to convince the people that the crime rate in Malaysia is lower than that in several other countries.

WHAT?! Faint(!) (If you want to faint a second time, read the report from The Star here)

Will someone be willing to pay and engage an "expert" in our local university to do a research to produce a report which will convince the Government that they are doing a terrible job in solving crime and that crime really is getting unbearable in this country?

I've provided all the relevant links and data sources for the information we have in our press statements as well as on my blog. These are the all sourced from the official government websites in Japan and Singapore. The police and Ministry just have to verify those information to obtain the "truth"!

With a Home Minister like Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, is there hope that crime will actually stop increasing, much less reducing it? I can only shake my head in absolutely and total disgust.

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Christmas Carol in Recession

I got this Christmas Carol in mail, thought it's quite apt given the BN government's continued denial of what's happening.  Music please!

You'd better watch out,
You'd better not cry;
You'd better keep cash,
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town.

It's hitting you once,
It's hitting you twice
It doesn't care if you've been careful and wise
Recession is coming to town

It's worthless if you've got shares
It's worthless if you've got bonds
It's safe when you've got cash in hand
So keep cash for goodness sake, HEY

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town!

Finance products are confusing
Finance products are so vague
The banks make you bear the cost of risk
So keep out for goodness sake, OH

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town.

An early "Happy Christmas" to you! ;-)

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What Economic Crisis?

So says the Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Kong Cho Ha.

Malaysia is only feeling the minimum impact of the global economic crisis and financial meltdown, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha told the Dewan Negara today...

“It is only feeling the pinch indirectly from the minimum impact of the sub-prime mortgage crisis cushioned by the strong domestic economy,” he said when replying to a supplementary question from Senator Maijol Mahap during question time.

So guys, don't worry, be happy. ;-)

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Crime is all Perception

That's what the Royal Malaysian Police and the Government would like you to think. Clearly, it seems if since the Police can't fight crime effectively, the next best thing to do is to fight perception.

The Royal Malaysian Police and the Deputy Prime Minister have over the past few days, gone on an offensive to blame the high crime rates in Malaysia on “perception”.

The Star reported on 30th November that the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the latest statistics showed the crime index to be 772 cases per 100,000 residents and compared it favourably against Singapore which according to him “recorded 704.7 cases, Hong Kong (1,166), Japan (1,569) and Australia (4,470)”.

On 1st December, the IGP himself, Tan Sri Musa Hassan was reported in the New Straits Times saying that “our crime rate is still low compared with many other countries although the global trend shows an increase... Singapore's crime rate is 740.7 cases for every 100,000 population, Hong Kong's is 1,166, Japan's is 1,569, Australia's is 4,470 and Rome's is 8,341.”

As reported in the Malaysian Insider, “Malaysia is still a very safe country, but the problem is public perception. We are trying our level best to give a correct picture,” Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin told The Straits Times.

And as reported in the media today, our Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said that "our perception of crime must change" because “based on the statistics given by the police, it indicates that the crime rate in Malaysia is lower than Japan and Hong Kong.”

The above appears to be a concerted effort by the Government to downplay the significance of 2% increase in the crime index as of October this year compared to last year, as well as to blame the public concerons over high crime rates in Malaysia as a matter of misplaced “perception”.

Howvever, the Royal Malaysian Police has failed to provide the full picture in the statistics provided and instead have given a misleading perception that Malaysia is much safer than Japan, which is renown as one of the safest countries in the world.

Based on statistics provided by the Statistics Bureau of Japan, in 2007, the crime rate per 100,000 is 1,493.6. However, approximately 75% of this number is classified as “larceny” or theft (e.g., shoplifting etc.)

Similarly in 2005, the crime rate per 100,000 is 1,775.7. However, larceny made up 76% of all cases, while violent crimes which includes homicide, arson, rape, bodily injury etc., made up 3.8% or 66.6 cases per 100,000. Homicide and rape cases form 1.09 and 1.62 cases per 100,000 population respectively. In contrast, for 2007, violent crimes recorded 180.1 cases per 100,000 while homicide and rape cases in Malaysia form 2.12 and 11.47 cases per 100,000 population respectively.

The biggest contrast is for robbery cases in Japan which records only 4.69 cases per 100,000 while it's a staggering 88.76 cases for Malaysia. Similarly, criminal intimidation in Japan records only 1.92 cases per 100,000 while in Malaysia it's 21.31 cases. Hence, the Government's attempts to paint a picture that Malaysia is much safer than Japan is clearly misleading at best. In fact, from the statistics of violent crimes above, Malaysia is a much more dangerous place when compared to Japan.

To further illustrate how the comparisons with the countries highlighted is misleading is that the Malaysian index includes on violent and property crimes, but excludes white collar and moral crimes. For the Japanese index, “intellectual offences” (e.g., fraud, embezzlement, counterfeit etc.) and moral offences makes up 20% of the total crime rate in 2005.

Similarly in Singapore, the Singapore Police Force announced a crime rate of 715 per 100,000 in 2007 where commercial and miscellaneous crimes constitute 21.8% of the index. Hence the claim that Malaysia is nearly as safe as Singapore is clearly unfounded.

In addition, separate crimes ranking table compiled by NationMaster, Malaysia is ranked 34th in terms of the number of murders per capita, which is higher compared to Australia (43), Italy (47), Hong Kong (59) and Japan (60). In terms of rapes per capita, we are ranked 38th, but still ahead of Italy (46), Japan (54) and Hong Kong (55).

Therefore, while Malaysia is clearly not the worst country in the world in terms of crime, the fact that the crime index has risen by more than 45% since 2003, while violent crimes have increased by more than 85% demonstrates clearly the dire circumstances we are in.

The people of Malaysia no longer feel secure and safe walking the streets. Hence the Government's attempts to change the “perception of crime” in Malaysia by citing statistics which are most misleading is most irresponsible. Instead of continuously blaming public perception as the key reason why crime is seen as serious in this country, the Government and the Royal Malaysian Police should instead focus its efforts in fighting crime and improving its credibility with tangible steps, such as implementing the full recommendations of the Royal Police Commission report which included the restructuring of the police force such that 30% of the police force is transferred from administrative to crime-fighting functions as well as to set up the all-important Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission.

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MCA Faces Identity Crisis?

It's sometimes hard to read MCA these days. At times, they'll try to play 'hero' to the public by voicing out on certain issues - which they should rightly do, but at other times, they'll contradict themselves especially it appears, when there is a possibility of angering their "big brother".

Newly elected political comeback kid, MCA deputy president Chua Soi Lek on Thursday said that "it was time to change the concept of power sharing within Barisan Nasional."

He said that the oft-used slogan of ‘Ketuanan Melayu', or Malay supremacy, that indicated a master and servant relationship was unacceptable.

"We accept Malay leadership, but not Malay supremacy... When we say we reject 'Ketuanan Melayu', we are not challenging the Malay special rights. It is enshrined in our constitution and nobody can take that away at the present moment."

Well, without taking into consideration who made the statement, the content of it sounds like a good statement to me, something that I would say too.

But 2 days later, the MCA president himself, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, the newly elected "maverick" seems to have surprisingly decided to put in all sorts of disclaimers to Chua's statement.

MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek's remark that the concept of Malay supremacy was no longer relevant, is not the party's stand, party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said today.

"It is his personal view. The MCA's stand will be based on a resolution made by its president or state chairmen," Ong told reporters after chairing the Johor MCA liaison committee meeting here today.

I actually raised my eyebrows when I read the above report, both in Utusan Online, Sinchew Online and in The Malaysian Insider. Now has it got anything to do with dotted lines connecting Datuk Seri Ong's statement to the following statement by UMNO leaders?

From Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein who

...described those questioning the Malay supremacy concept as insincere and only pursuing their personal political interest.

From former Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad who asked MCA

...not raise issues which could hurt the feelings of other races but instead focus on efforts to rebuild the party."Umno could also bring up many issues, but what is the point? What is important is that we clean up our own houses.

Or from UMNO Secretary-General, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who said

...there is no point of ketuanan (supremacy) if Malays are not the masters... He should look at the incidents in Mumbai and Bangkok and not be emotional when making a statement.

Go figure.

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"2008 Celebrating Hope & Change" Dinner

As blogged earlier, and a gentle reminder, we look forward to your support to make this fund-raising dinner a success. The Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng has also confirmed his attendance to speak at the function.

"2008 - Celebrating The Year of Hope & Change"

Venue: MBPJ Dewan Banquet
Date: 17 December 2008 (Wednesday)
Time: 7.30pm
Speakers: Lim Guan Eng, Gobind Singh, Tony Pua, Lau Weng San,
Dr Cheah Wing Yin, Hannah Yeoh

Halal Chinese food will be served, and the primary language for this dinner will be English.

The cost of the dinner will be RM60 per pax or RM600 per table. VIP tables are also available for RM1,500 a table. The funds raised from the dinner, anticipated to be approximately RM30,000 each will be used for running our respective service centres, and a portion donated to DAP Selangor and DAP Malaysia. Even for my office alone, it costs at least RM10,000 to operate monthly with 3-4 staff and any shortfall essentially comes from my own allowance as a Member of Parliament.

Hence we look forward to your generous support to help us provide our services to the public. For reservations, please email to allypua@yahoo.com or to me directly with your name, contact number, which dinner(s) and number of seats or tables (VIP or normal) required. We will then get back to you with further information.

For those who are not able to make the dinner, donations are also very much welcome ;-). Cheques should be written to "DAP Damansara Branch" or cash can be deposited at DAP Damansara Maybank account: 5141 9634 2008. Credit card payment is also available upon request.

Thank you once again for your continued support!

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Arrested Development

My latest article for The NutGraph looked once again (no more after this, I assure you, as this was written just after the episode occurred), at my arrest by the Royal Malaysian Police for attending an alleged illegal gathering at the PJ Civic Centre (note also the irony of the venue).

Besides a personal take on the "experience", I also touched on the robust debate as to whether I should even have attended the event here, and would it have compromised my role as a member of parliament.

WELL, it was just going to be a sooner-or-later thing. Getting arrested is kinda like a serious occupational hazard for a politician, elected or otherwise, who belongs in the opposition camp in this country.

So when I was actually arrested on Sunday, 9 Nov 2008, at the candlelight vigil commemorating the first anniversary of the historic Bersih (Coalition for Clean and Fair Election) rally, I was certainly not mentally unprepared. Especially not after the ISA (Internal Security Act) "scare" just a few weeks earlier.

I still remember my very first interview with a senior journalist from a local paper when I was about to quit my job, sell my company and join the topsy-turvy world of politics with the DAP, some 18 months ago. As the interview ended, she said she really couldn't imagine me, this geeky, pseudo-intellectual (aka nerd), corporate personality involved in your "typical" opposition activities such as street rallies, protest demonstrations, and of course, getting arrested by the police.

Read the full article here and enjoy! ;-)

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PAS & Prohibition

The storm over the issue of severely restricting the sale of alcohol in Selangor has since come to pass when the proposal which was to be tabled in the Majlis Perbandaran Klang (MPK) meeting this morning was withdrawn, and the Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim gave a press conference to douse the fire later in the afternoon.

I had issued a media statement earlier in the morning with headlines on the issue appearing on all Chinese press. While, the matter may have come to a momentary pass, some of the points, which were also reported in Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider remain valid, so I'll repost my entire statement below.

PAS Selangor Needs A Crash Course on Coalition Politics

The Chinese vernacular press today had headlines screaming that PAS Selangor intends to impose a ban on the sale of alcohol throughout the state, which will involve stopping the sale of these products in 7-11 outlets, mini-markets as well as 'open' coffee shops.

It also appears that despite not having obtain approval for such a proposal in the Selangor state executive committee (EXCO), PAS Selangor has attempted to subvert the EXCO's authority by introducing such regulations in Selangor by instructing its municipal councillors to table such motions for approval at the local councils.

While PAS Selangor has every right to propose any regulations it feels is necessary, they must not forget that in Selangor, they are part of a coalition comprising of 2 other parties in the state whereby they possess 8 seats out of 36 seats won by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. Therefore, any attempts by PAS Selangor to flex its muscles without due regard to its fellow coalition partners will be deemed as arrogant and uncooperative, which will only serve to weaken the governing coalition which was voted in by the Selangor citizens.

More critically, PAS must understand the fact that Selangor, perhaps more than any other state is one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan states in the country, with non-Malays and non-Muslims comprising at least 49% of the population. PAS Selangor leadership under State Executive Councillor, Datuk Dr Mohd Hasan Ali must realise that it has won many seats in Selangor which are mixed constituencies such as Kota Raja parliamentary seat. PAS has won with a sizeable 8,329 votes majority, despite the fact that more than 50% of the population are non-Muslims – a feat which was previously unimaginable before March 8th.

Hence, if PAS Selangor choses to ignore the spirit of the multi-racial and multi-cultural mandate granted by the people of Selangor in the last elections, its continued unilateral attempts to impose its views in the Selangor administration will only lead to the break up in the state Pakatan Rakyat.

The DAP does not and will never support the sale of “haram” goods such as alcohol and spirits to Muslims, giving full respect to each their religious beliefs. However, the DAP will never support the blanket banning on the sale of alcohol in retail outlets, not because we encourage the promotion of alcohol consumption but because the proposed ban in essence infringes on the rights of others in state of Selangor.

We call upon the state PAS leadership to listen to the voice of reason not only from its coalition partners but also from within its own party which is not unanimous with the decision. PAS Selangor must understand that it is part of a coalition led by the Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and learn quickly the intricacies of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition which is vastly different from the Barisan Nasional, where UMNO lords over its coalition partners.

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Who Is In Charge of Licensed Money Lenders?

Malaysia is flooded with many "licensed" money lenders who we read about often in the newspapers. They are often viewed as licensed "ah longs" who have legal basis to lend money but uses not necessary so legal means to recover debts.

Here's a little trivia for you. Which Ministry is in-charge of these "licensed money lenders"? Well, if you are "new" to Malaysian politics, it's not the Ministry of Finance, where it logically should be. After all, logic is not what is the strength of our Government's administration (e.g., 13 agencies under different ministries takes care of public transportation).

What is possibly most surprising when I discovered this fact about 2 years ago is that money lenders are actually licensed by Ministry of Housing and Local Government. Yes, you heard (read) me right. How on earth is money lending activities related to this Ministry, you are likely to ask. Well, to understand the above, you'll probably need to understand the background to the Barisan Nasional administration, that is the Housing & Local Government ministry has always been the domain of component party, Malaysia Chinese Association (MCA). So you can further infer the connection between the political party and the business the Ministry is tasked to "regulate".

Well, out of curiosity of what the official answer from the Ministry is going to be, I asked the Prime Minister the following question:

...[apakah] sebab kuasa perlesenan syarikat pinjaman wang berada dalam Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan tempatan dan bukannya satu fungsi Kementerian Kewangan yang lebih berpengaruh dan berkepakaran dalam bidang kewangan.

The reply from the Prime Minister's office is as follows:

Untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat, perniagaan pinjaman wang dan pajak gadai merupakan peninggalan (atau legasi) dari sistem pentadbiran terdahulu.

Peniagaan ini tidak diletakkan di bawah kawal selia Kementerian Kewangan ataupun Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) kerana syarikat-syarikat yang menjalankan perniagaan tersebut tidak dibenarkan mengambil deposit dari para pelanggan. Untuk menjalankan perniagaan, syarikat-syarikat yang dilesenkan perlu mempunyai modal sendiri yang mencukupi untuk memberikan pinjaman. Oleh yang demikian, syarikat-syarikat yang menjalankan perniagaan pinjaman wang dan pajak gadai tidak terdedah kepada ancaman kewangan yang boleh menyebabkan "economic risk" (dengan izin) atau ketidakstabilan kewangan, seperti yang terdapat pada bank-bank dan institusi kewangan komersil.

Sekiranya terdapat cadang untuk memindahkan kuasa kawal selia syarikat-syarikat yang menjalankan perniagaan pinjaman wang dan pajak gadai ke Kementerian Kewangan, satu kajian yang menyeluruh perlu dilaksanakan oleh Kerajaan sebelum sebarang keputusan diambil. Ini adalah kerana satu persetujuan perlu dicapai oleh pihak kementerian dan syarikat-syarikat tersubut mengenai tatacara pengurusan risiko kredit (credit risk manangement practice) yang dipraktikkan.

Make what you will with the reply above. I found the argument that a money lenders' license is unconnected with the country's credit system just plain ignorant or even ludicrous , or even the fact that these licensees need to agree before a change in ministerial responsibilities is effected.

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Released from Police Bail

The above is a 7 minute video shot by BK on the night of the his own arrest.

As you would probably have read in the online news reports yesterday, those who were arrested on 10th November for the peaceful candlelight vigil to protest against the Internal Security Act as well as to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the BERSIH rally, have all been released from police bail, after reporting ourselves to the PJ police station yesterday morning.

As the officer-in-charge stated, "we'll call you if you get charged". Otherwise, we don't have to report back to the police station. ;-)

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Taxi!

I've written a few times on public transportation in this country, but one of the issues which I'm extremely concerned about but have not really delve into is the issue of taxis in Malaysia.

I had the opportunity, and was in time (after being released from my arrest) to pose my question in Parliament during the oral question and answer session to the Minister of Entrepreneurship Development and Cooperatives (MEDC) on Monday last week on the state of affairs of the taxi system in the country at this point of time.

[PETALING JAYA UTARA] minta Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi menyatakan sebab kegagalan kerajaan melaksanakan dan menguatkuasakan kegunaan sistem tambang bermeter untuk perkhidmatan teksi, terutamanya di bandar-bandar pelancongan seperti Pulau Pinang, Melaka dan Johor Bahru dan juga tempat tertentu di Lembah Klang seperti Perhentian Bas Pudu Raya dan KL Sentral.

His response was the lengthiest I've received on the issue, as is also available from the Hansard here (pages 2-5).

Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi [Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar]: Tuan Yang di-Pertua, untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat, kegagalan kerajaan melaksanakan dan menguatkuasakan kegunaan sistem tambang bermeter untuk perkhidmatan teksi terutamanya di bandar-bandar pelancongan seperti Pulau Pinang, Melaka dan Johor Bahru dan juga tempat tertentu di Lembah Klang seperti Perhentian Bas Pudu Raya dan KL Sentral adalah disebabkan perkara-perkara seperti berikut:

(i) sikap pemandu yang berasa mereka mempunyai pilihan untuk mengaut keuntungan dalam jangka masa pendek tanpa memikirkan kesan jangka masa panjang di mana kemungkinan pemilik lesen dikenakan tindakan gantung atau batal lesen sekiranya sabit kesalahan hasil aduan atau tangkapan penguat kuasa LPKP atau JPJ;

(ii) sikap penumpang yang masih mempunyai persepsi yang kurang tepat tentang konsep menggunakan khidmat teksi di mana penumpang masih bertanyakan pemandu tentang harga tambang dan lokasi, sedangkan mereka sepatutnya hanya perlu terus masuk ke dalam teksi dan meminta pemandu ke destinasi yang diingini; dan

(iii) sikap pengadu yang kurang memberi kerjasama dalam menyampaikan maklumat secara lengkap untuk laporan terperinci disediakan serta mengelak untuk menjadi saksi atas kesalahan melibatkan pemandu.

Walau bagaimanapun, pihak kementerian serta agensi-agensi penguat kuasa lain terus
menguatkuasakan sistem tambang bermeter melalui:

(i) operasi harian dan berkala di kawasan zon teksi dengan mengambil tindakan terhadap teksi yang terbabit oleh LPKP; dan

(ii) operasi penyamaran dengan menaiki teksi bagi memastikan pemandu menggunakan meter oleh JPJ.

Secara keseluruhannya bagi tempoh Januari hingga Jun 2008 sebanyak 1,298 kes
tangkapan dibuat untuk pelbagai jenis kesalahan melibatkan teksi di Semenanjung Malaysia oleh LPKP. Daripada jumlah ini sebanyak 771 kes atau 60% merupakan kes tangkapan terhadap kesalahan enggan menggunakan meter. Terima kasih.

It was lengthy but it still did not really answer the question as to why it's happening today. Hence in my supplementary question, I wanted to push my point that the Ministry has failed after all these years, and a new paradigm is required to resolve this issue:

[Petaling Jaya Utara]: Terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua, terima kasih Yang Berhormat Menteri. Masalah ini adalah satu masalah yang agak lama sejak saya pertama kali datang ke Kuala Lumpur 20 tahun yang lalu. Pertama kali datang kena tipu oleh pihak polis - pihak polis pulak - pihak pemandu teksi dengan harga yang mahal. [Ketawa]

Tahun ini juga saya melancong ke Pulau Pinang, perjalanan yang agak pendek dari KOMTAR ke Padang Brown yang memakan masa tidak melebihi 5 minit pun kena RM10 juga. Masalah ini sudah lama. Kenapa sampai sekarang ini belum lagi dapat selesai? 

Kenapa bila saya pergi ke negara lain walaupun bukannya negara maju seperti Singapore dan Hong Kong, pergi Thailand, pergi Vietnam, pergi Jakarta, semua pakai meter. Semua dapat pakai meter.

Timbalan Yang di-Pertua: Baik, Yang Berhormat. Soalan, Yang Berhormat.

[Petaling Jaya Utara]: Soalan saya, berapa antara yang ditangkap kerana tidak menggunakan meter telah pun digantung lesennya. Adakah kementerian terlalu lenient terhadap pemandu-pemandu teksi yang tidak mengikut peraturan dan adakah kementerian benar-benar berhasrat untuk menghapuskan masalah ini? Kalau tidak, adakah ianya lebih baik jika tugas ini diserahkan kepada...

[Batu Pahat]: Panjang sangat itu.

[Petaling Jaya Utara]: ...Kementerian Pengangkutan dan kalau tidak, boleh jadi tugas ini boleh diserahkan kepada kuasa negeri-negeri untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini.

Dato’ Dr. Mohamad Shahrum bin Osman [Lipis]: Patutlah kena pukul oleh polis.

Note the interjection by LIPIS displays the standard of government backbenchers you have in Parliament. The Minister's reply was as follows, and the little pandemonium in between:

Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Terima kasih Yang Berhormat. Seperti mana saya nyatakan tadi ada tiga sebab mengapa kita sukar mengambil tindakan. Salah satu sebabnya seperti Yang Berhormatlah, saya ingat. Ini masuk kategori yang ketiga iaitu sikap pengadu yang tidak memberikan kerjasama. Kalau Yang Berhormat sudah naik kereta teksi di Pulau Pinang, sepatutnya Yang Berhormat ambillah dia punya nombor – ambil nombor, ambil nama, beritahu jam pukul berapa – hantar kepada saya. Saya janji saya mesti ambil tindakan. Kita boleh gantung dan kita boleh batalkan. Tindakan kita sudah ambil.

Saya sudah kata tadi bahawa setengah daripada tangkapan yang kita buat, 771 kes kita telah ambil tindakan kerana tidak menggunakan meter dan soalan Yang Berhormat, kita di...

[Petaling Jaya Utara]: Ada digantung tidak?

Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Sabarlah. Itu yang polis pukul itu, belum habis jawab lagi sudah bangun. [Disorak]

Beberapa Ahli: [Menyampuk]

Tuan M. Kula Segaran [Ipoh Barat]: Apa ini cheap shotlah. What a cheap shot.

Tuan N. Gobalakrishnan [Padang Serai]: Menteri...

Dato’ Haji Lilah Yasin [Jempol]: Padan kena pukul.

Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Yang Berhormat...

Tuan N. Gobalakrishnan [Padang Serai]: Apa ini?

Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: ...Yang Berhormat, patut Yang Berhormat nasihat dia. Ini my floor. Saya belum habis jawab lagi.

Tuan M. Kula Segaran [Ipoh Barat]: Ini jawab takutkah?

Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad [Kuala Selangor]: Tak betul, tak betul.

Tuan M. Kula Segaran [Ipoh Barat]: We must understand.

Dato’ Haji Lilah bin Yasin [Jempol]: Orang jahat mesti kena pukul. [Dewan riuh]

Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Baik Yang
Berhormat.

Tuan M. Kula Segaran [Ipoh Barat]: We must understand the trouble went through.

Tuan N. Gobalakrishnan [Padang Serai]: [Bercakap tanpa pembesar suara]

Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat Padang Serai, Yang Berhormat Ipoh Barat minta tolong. Yang Berhormat Menteri jawab teruskanlah.

Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Bukan understand. Sama-samalah kena understand. Janganlah suruh kerajaan sahaja faham, pembangkang tak nak faham. Sama-sama kena faham. Bagi saya habis dahulu.

[...]

Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Tindakan yang telah kita ambil ialah sebanyak 1,173 iaitu, kita sudah beri amaran - 80, kita gantung – 23, kita batalkan lesen – 700 dan kita kompaun – 1,063. Bermakna tindakan telah diambil. Akan tetapi saya percaya Tuan Yang di-Pertua, kalau ramai lagi pengguna-pengguna teksi tampil ke hadapan memberikan maklumat lebih terperinci, kita akan mengambil tindakan yang lebih tegas. Terima kasih.

There's plenty more to say here, but this post is long enough, so I'll leave the readers to make their comments first and make my comments later. Suffice it to say, there's still plenty of question marks, and placing the onus on the MP to report any intransigent taxi drivers to solve the problems is just a non-starter.  Of course, the "kena pukul" pandemonium provided the unnecessary distraction. ;-)

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