THE ARRIVAL OF THE CHINESE CENTURY BY JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ

 

 

 

 

THE CHINESE CENTURY: The Emergence of an New Global Political and Economic Order

by
Joseph E. Stiglitz

Without fanfare—indeed, with some misgivings about its new status—China has just overtaken the United States as the world’s largest economy. This is, and should be, a wake-up call—but not the kind most Americans might imagine.

READ HERE ARTICLE IN VANITYFARE

http://www.vanityfair.com/…/china-worlds-largest-economy.pr…

When the history of 2014 is written, it will take note of a large fact that has received little attention: 2014 was the last year in which the United States could claim to be the world’s largest economic power. China enters 2015 in the top position, where it will likely remain for a very long time, if not forever. In doing so, it returns to the position it held through most of human history.

Comparing the gross domestic product of different economies is very difficult. Technical committees come up with estimates, based on the best judgments possible, of what are called “purchasing-power parities,” which enable the comparison of incomes in various countries.

These shouldn’t be taken as precise numbers, but they do provide a good basis for assessing the relative size of different economies. Early in 2014, the body that conducts these international assessments—the World Bank’s International Comparison Program—came out with new numbers. (The complexity of the task is such that there have been only three reports in 20 years.)

The latest assessment, released last spring, was more contentious and, in some ways, more momentous than those in previous years.

It was more contentious precisely because it was more momentous: the new numbers showed that China would become the world’s largest economy far sooner than anyone had expected—it was on track to do so before the end of 2014.

The source of contention would surprise many Americans, and it says a lot about the differences between China and the U.S.—and about the dangers of projecting onto the Chinese some of our own attitudes. Americans want very much to be No. 1—we enjoy having that status.

In contrast, China is not so eager. According to some reports, the Chinese participants even threatened to walk out of the technical discussions. For one thing, China did not want to stick its head above the parapet—being No. 1 comes with a cost. It means paying more to support international bodies such as the United Nations. It could bring pressure to take an enlightened leadership role on issues such as climate change. It might very well prompt ordinary Chinese to wonder if more of the country’s wealth should be spent on them. (The news about China’s change in status was in fact blacked out at home.) There was one more concern, and it was a big one: China understands full well America’s psychological preoccupation with being No. 1—and was deeply worried about what our reaction would be when we no longer were.

Of course, in many ways—for instance, in terms of exports and household savings—China long ago surpassed the United States. With savings and investment making up close to 50 percent of G.D.P., the Chinese worry about having too much savings, just as Americans worry about having too little.

In other areas, such as manufacturing, the Chinese overtook the U.S. only within the past several years. They still trail America when it comes to the number of patents awarded, but they are closing the gap.

The areas where the United States remains competitive with China are not always ones we’d most want to call attention to. The two countries have comparable levels of inequality. (Ours is the highest in the developed world.) China outpaces America in the number of people executed every year, but the U.S. is far ahead when it comes to the proportion of the population in prison (more than 700 per 100,000 people).

China overtook the U.S. in 2007 as the world’s largest polluter, by total volume, though on a per capita basis we continue to hold the lead. The United States remains the largest military power, spending more on our armed forces than the next top 10 nations combined (not that we have always used our military power wisely).

But the bedrock strength of the U.S. has always rested less on hard military power than on “soft power,” most notably its economic influence. That is an essential point to remember.

GREAT BRITAIN WAS A DOMINANT POWER- 200 YEARS AGO

Tectonic shifts in global economic power have obviously occurred before, and as a result we know something about what happens when they do. Two hundred years ago, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain emerged as the world’s dominant power. Its empire spanned a quarter of the globe. Its currency, the pound sterling, became the global reserve currency—as sound as gold itself. Britain, sometimes working in concert with its allies, imposed its own trade rules. It could discriminate against importation of Indian textiles and force India to buy British cloth.

Britain and its allies could also insist that China keep its markets open to opium, and when China, knowing the drug’s devastating effect, tried to close its borders, the allies twice went to war to maintain the free flow of this product.

Britain’s dominance was to last a hundred years and continued even after the U.S. surpassed Britain economically, in the 1870s. There’s always a lag (as there will be with the U.S. and China).

The transitional event was World War I, when Britain achieved victory over Germany only with the assistance of the United States. After the war, America was as reluctant to accept its potential new responsibilities as Britain was to voluntarily give up its role. Woodrow Wilson did what he could to construct a postwar world that would make another global conflict less likely, but isolationism at home meant that the U.S. never joined the League of Nations. In the economic sphere, America insisted on going its own way—passing the Smoot-Hawley tariffs and bringing to an end an era that had seen a worldwide boom in trade.

Britain maintained its empire, but gradually the pound sterling gave way to the dollar: in the end, economic realities dominate. Many American firms became global enterprises, and American culture was clearly ascendant.

World War II was the next defining event. Devastated by the conflict, Britain would soon lose virtually all of its colonies.

THE UNITED STATES TOOK THE MANTLE FROM GREAT BRITAIN

This time the U.S. did assume the mantle of leadership. It was central in creating the United Nations and in fashioning the Bretton Woods agreements, which would underlie the new political and economic order. Even so, the record was uneven.

Rather than creating a global reserve currency, which would have contributed so much to worldwide economic stability—as John Maynard Keynes had rightly argued—the U.S. put its own short-term self-interest first, foolishly thinking it would gain by having the dollar become the world’s reserve currency. The dollar’s status is a mixed blessing: it enables the U.S. to borrow at a low interest rate, as others demand dollars to put into their reserves, but at the same time the value of the dollar rises (above what it otherwise would have been), creating or exacerbating a trade deficit and weakening the economy.

USA AND USSR COMPETED FOR WORLD DOMINANCE IN 20TH CENTURY

For 45 years after World War II, global politics was dominated by two superpowers, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., representing two very different visions both of how to organ­ize and govern an economy and a society and of the relative importance of political and economic rights.

Ultimately, the Soviet system was to fail, as much because of internal corruption, unchecked by democratic processes, as anything else. Its military power had been formidable; its soft power was increasingly a joke. The world was now dominated by a single superpower, one that continued to invest heavily in its military. That said, the U.S. was a superpower not just militarily but also economically.

THE UNITED STATES' CRITICAL MISTAKES

The United States then made TWO critical mistakes. First, it inferred that its triumph meant a triumph for everything it stood for. But in much of the Third World, concerns about poverty—and the economic rights that had long been advocated by the left—remained paramount.

The second mistake was to use the short period of its unilateral dominance, between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of Lehman Brothers, to pursue its own narrow economic interests—or, more accurately, the economic interests of its multi-nationals, including its big banks—rather than to create a new, stable world order.

The trade regime the U.S. pushed through in 1994, creating the World Trade Organization, was so unbalanced that, five years later, when another trade agreement was in the offing, the prospect led to riots in Seattle. Talking about free and fair trade, while insisting (for instance) on subsidies for its rich farmers, has cast the U.S. as hypocritical and self-serving.

And Washington never fully grasped the consequences of so many of its shortsighted actions—intended to extend and strengthen its dominance but in fact diminishing its long-term position. During the East Asia crisis, in the 1990s, the U.S. Treasury worked hard to undermine the so-called Miyazawa Initiative, Japan’s generous offer of $100 billion to help jump-start economies that were sinking into recession and depression.

The policies the U.S. pushed on these countries—austerity and high interest rates, with no bailouts for banks in trouble—were just the opposite of those that these same Treasury officials advocated for the U.S. after the meltdown of 2008. Even today, a decade and a half after the East Asia crisis, the mere mention of the U.S. role can prompt angry accusations and charges of hypocrisy in Asian capitals.

CHINA AS THE WORLD'S NO 1 ECONOMIC POWER

Now China is the world’s No. 1 economic power. Why should we care?

On one level, we actually shouldn’t. The world economy is not a zero-sum game, where China’s growth must necessarily come at the expense of ours. In fact, its growth is complementary to ours.

If it grows faster, it will buy more of our goods, and we will prosper. There has always, to be sure, been a little hype in such claims—just ask workers who have lost their manufacturing jobs to China.
But that reality has as much to do with our own economic policies at home as it does with the rise of some other country.

On another level, the emergence of China into the top spot matters a great deal, and we need to be aware of the implications.

First, as noted, America’s real strength lies in its soft power—the example it provides to others and the influence of its ideas, including ideas about economic and political life.

The rise of China to No. 1 brings new prominence to that country’s political and economic model—and to its own forms of soft power. The rise of China also shines a harsh spotlight on the American model. That model has not been delivering for large portions of its own population. The typical American family is worse off than it was a quarter-century ago, adjusted for inflation; the proportion of people in poverty has increased. China, too, is marked by high levels of inequality, but its economy has been doing some good for most of its citizens.

China moved some 500 million people out of poverty during the same period that saw America’s middle class enter a period of stagnation. An economic model that doesn’t serve a majority of its citizens is not going to provide a role model for others to emulate. America should see the rise of China as a wake-up call to put our own house in order.

Second, if we ponder the rise of China and then take actions based on the idea that the world economy is indeed a zero-sum game—and that we therefore need to boost our share and reduce China’s—we will erode our soft power even further. This would be exactly the wrong kind of wake-up call.

If we see China’s gains as coming at our expense, we will strive for “containment,” taking steps designed to limit China’s influence. These actions will ultimately prove futile, but will nonetheless undermine confidence in the U.S. and its position of leadership. U.S. foreign policy has repeatedly fallen into this trap. Consider the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed free-trade agreement among the U.S., Japan, and several other Asian countries—which excludes China altogether. It is seen by many as a way to tighten the links between the U.S. and certain Asian countries, at the expense of links with China. There is a vast and dynamic Asia supply chain, with goods moving around the region during different stages of production; the Trans-Pacific Partnership looks like an attempt to cut China out of this supply chain.

Another example: the U.S. looks askance at China’s incipient efforts to assume global responsibility in some areas. China wants to take on a larger role in existing international institutions, but Congress says, in effect, that the old club doesn’t like active new members: they can continue taking a backseat, but they can’t have voting rights commensurate with their role in the global economy.

When the other G-20 nations agree that it is time that the leadership of international economic organizations be determined on the basis of merit, not nationality, the U.S. insists that the old order is good enough—that the World Bank, for instance, should continue to be headed by an American.

Yet another example: when China, together with France and other countries—supported by an International Commission of Experts appointed by the president of the U.N., which I chaired—suggested that we finish the work that Keynes had started at Bretton Woods, by creating an international reserve currency, the U.S. blocked the effort.

And a final example: the U.S. has sought to deter China’s efforts to channel more assistance to developing countries through newly created multilateral institutions in which China would have a large, perhaps dominant role. The need for trillions of dollars of investment in infrastructure has been widely recognized—and providing that investment is well beyond the capacity of the World Bank and existing multilateral institutions. What is needed is not only a more inclusive governance regime at the World Bank but also more capital. On both scores, the U.S. Congress has said no.

Meanwhile, China is trying to create an Asian Infrastructure Fund, working with a large number of other countries in the region. The U.S. is twisting arms so that those countries won’t join.

The United States is confronted with real foreign-policy challenges that will prove hard to resolve: militant Islam; the Palestine conflict, which is now in its seventh decade; an aggressive Russia, insisting on asserting its power, at least in its own neighborhood; continuing threats of nuclear proliferation. We will need the cooperation of China to address many, if not all, of these problems.
We should take this moment, as China becomes the world’s largest economy, to “pivot” our foreign policy away from containment.

The economic interests of China and the U.S. are intricately intertwined.

We both have an interest in seeing a well-functioning global political and economic order. Given historical memories and its own sense of dignity, China won’t be able to accept the global system simply as it is, with rules that have been set by the West, to benefit the West and its corporate interests, and that reflect the West’s perspectives.

We will have to cooperate, like it or not—and we should want to. In the meantime, the most important thing America can do to maintain the value of its soft power is to address its own systemic deficiencies—economic and political practices that are corrupt, to put the matter baldly, and skewed toward the rich and powerful.

A new global political and economic order is emerging, the result of new economic realities. We cannot change these economic realities.

But if WE RESPOND TO THEM IN THE WRONG WAY, WE RISK A BACKLASH that will result in either a dysfunctional global system or a global order that is distinctly not what we would have wanted.

- Joseph E. Stiglitz

CHINA OVERTOOK UNITED STATES AS THE WORLD's No. 1 ECONOMIC SUPERPOWER EARLIER THAN PREDICTED, ACCORDING TO THE IMF ( International Monetary Fund)

REUTERS report:, 10 OCTOBER 2014

China has surpassed the US in terms of GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), becoming the largest in the world by this measure, International Monetary Fund estimates show.
...

The US has been the global leader since overtaking the UK in 1872. Most economists previously thought China would pull ahead in 2019.

In 2014 China reached $17.6 trillion or 16.48 percent of the world’s purchasing-power-adjusted GDP, while the US made slightly less, 16.28 percent or $17.4 trillion, the FT reported citing IMF data.

PPP is recognized as the best way to compare the size of economies rather than using volatile exchange rates, which rarely reflect the true cost of goods and services. Thus a trillion US dollars are worth a lot more in China than in the US.





On the purchasing power basis, China is overtaking the US right about now and becoming the world’s biggest economy, according to the forecast.

According to IMF estimates, in 2015 the gap between China and the US will increase to almost a trillion dollars:

Chinese GDP PPP will amount to $19.23 trillion against $18.286 trillion in the US.

However in terms of a REAL GDP the United States remains the undisputed world leader with $16.8 trillion output, significantly outpacing China with $10.4 trillion.

 

 

MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA: COMPARING BETWEEN TWO CLOSE NEIGHBOURS

Malaysiakini was BARRED from covering the meeting between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Putrajaya, DESPITE the MALAYSIAN authorities having issued passes to the news portal.

Security officers told the Malaysiakini reporter thst even though Malaysiakini has been issued special media passes, the reporter is NOT allow...ed to enter the PMO “ UPON HIGHER ORDERS".

Malaysiakini was issued the media passes last week for the visit by Joko after an official application to the Information Ministry.

The passes were signed by the Head of the Security Officers of the PMO.

The pass tag issued to this reporter is numbered MD0204 and stated “this pass is an OFFICIAL document during the visit and to be worn prominently at all the times”.

It also stated that the pass is valid during the period of visit only.


One nation marching FORWARD in 21st Century to being a more open transparent and democratic country amongst the international community of civilised nations.

WHILST the other is being driven BACKWARDS in time to being a parochially and religiously bigoted and racially-divided country of intimidated people generally associated with the much-despised dictatorial and masochistic community of pariah nations.

THE TRUTH ABOUT UMNO'S AGRICULTURE MINISTER, ISMAIL SABRI YAAKOB

UMNO MINISTER'S CALL FOR MALAYS TO BOYCOTT CHINESE BUSINESSES IS A JOKE TO MCA PRESIDENT

After the Cabinet meeting decided NOT to act against fellow Cabinet Minister, Agriculture Minister Ismail Sabri for his call to the MALAYS to BOYCOTT CHINESE BUSINESSES, MCA president Liow Tiong Lai and the agriculture and agro-based industries minister SHARE A GOOD LAUGH at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, while waiting for the arrival of Indonesian president Joko Widodo.

The photo of this was taken at the KL Airport
...

ISMAIL cheekily posted the photo on his Twitter and Facebook accounts. ( possibly to tell HIS MALAY SUPPORTERS that his call to the Malays to boycott Chinese businesses is OK with the MCA president and WITH THE MCA CHINESE.

( Ismail Sabri wants to embarrass the MCA president with MCA Chinese supporters by posting his photo laughing with Liow on his Twitter and Facebook accounts. "MCA, I HAVE YOUR PRESIDENT BETWEEN MY LEGS, HAHAHA")

Also in the gleeful snapshot was Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who defended Ismail.
But Liow cowardly opted to upload a photograph of himself alone with the Indonesian president instead on his Twitter account.

Meanwhile, 165 MCA Youth divisions had demanded Ismail Sabri Yaakob to apologise over his remark concerning Chinese traders.

Read here article in malaysiakini : http://s.m5.malaysiakini.com/news/288436.html
 

UMNO MAMAK ANTARA 92 KETUA BAHAGIAN UMNO BERTINDAK SEBAGAI ORANGA MABUK MINUM TODI

UMNO-MAMAK MUSA SHEIKH FADZIR DI ANTARA 92 KETUA BAHAGIAN YANG BERTINDAK MACAM "ORANG MABUK MINUM TODI" MENYOKONG KENYATAAN RASIS OLEH MENTERI UMNO ISMAIL SABRI YAAKOB.

MASYARAKAT MELAYU NAK TANYA:, SIAPAKAH "MUSA SHEIKH FADZIR " SEBENARNYA ????

BACA DISINI: http://tinyurl.com/kf9cvcj

FLASHBACK: NOVEMBER 2014

Minister Lim Guan Eng HIT BACK at UMNO's Lies About MALAY-LAND Buying in Penang.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/281913

Lim Guan Eng told a MALAY crowd in Bayan Baru yesterday that it is UMNO PENANG LEADERS who BOUGHT AND SOLD their land.

THE CASE OF KAMPUNG TERANG, BALIK PULAU

Lim cited a case in Kampung Terang, Balik Pulau, where 10 acres of land was purchased on Jan 31, 2012, for RM8.6 million.

The plot was bought over from 31 land owners by MAISON HEIGHT Sdn Bhd, he explained.
Three months later, on May 16, a similar plot of land was sold for RM13.5 million, for a PROFIT of RM5 million, to a THIRD party, he added.

Lim revealed that MAISON HEIGHT was owned by:

1, Bukit Mertajam UMNO CHIEF MUSA SHEIKH FADZIR, and
2. Bukit Gelugor UMNO CHIEF OMAR FAUDZAR

"These two Umno leaders should be condemned for profiting from the sale of Malay land in Balik Pulau," said Lim.

Lim was responding to Wanita Umno delegate Rohaya Abu Ismail who bashed DAP and the Penang government for allegedly "oppresing the Malays" in the state, especially in land and house matters.
Lim accused Umno of lying because the DAP never bought even an inch of land in Balik Pulau.

DAP had ONLY BOUGHT A BUILDING IN RANGOON ROAD in George Town for its Penang headquarters, he added.

Lim said Umno had slandered the DAP and Penang government, by saying the party had purchased land in Balik Pulau, whatever the cost, to "chase out the Malays".

"It is the leaders from Umno who betrayed the Malays by selling their land for profit," he told the 100-odd crowd during his speech at the event to honour the Bukit Gedung Malay hawkers for winning a national award this year for cleanliness, safety and health.
-----------
READ HERE AND SEE THE DOCUMENTS WITH REGARD TO THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF MALAY LAND BY MAISON HEIGHTS SDN BHD.

http://darisungaiderhaka.blogspot.com.au/…/pemimpin-umno-pu…
AND HERE...


FLASHBACK: Friday, 20 July 2012
Read here in BJ Zainulfaqar's blog: http://faqar.blogspot.com.au/…/dua-umno-ppinang-kaut-untung…

DUA UMNO P. PINANG KAUT UNTUNG RM 5 JUTA HASIL JUAL TANAH MELAYU BALIK PULAU?

DUA pemimpin Umno Pulau Pinang didakwa sebagai pengkhianat serta seakan menghalau Melayu dari pulau apabila berjaya memujuk 31 pemilik tanah di Kampung Terang, Balik Pulau untuk menjual tanah masing-masing.

Mereka, Timbalan Pengerusi Perhubungan Umno Pulau Pinang, Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir dan Datuk Omar Faudzar (Pengarah Pilihan Raya Barisan Nasional Pulau Pinang) melalui syaraikat hartanah Maison Heights Sdn. Bhd. (849163-W) didakwa berjaya membeli tanah tersebut dengan harga RM8.6 juta (RM8,563,983.12) pada 31 Januari lepas.

Pembantu Khas Speaker Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Pulau Pinang, Mohd. Yusri Yaacob mendakwa, Maison Heights yang dikuasai oleh kedua-dua pemimpin parti pendesak Melayu itu pada 16 Mei lepas telah menjual tanah tersebut kepada Kay Pride Sdn. Bhd. pula dengan harga RM13.5 juta (RM13,457,664.00).

"Dalam masa 5 bulan sahaja Maison Heights Sdn Bhd telah mendapat keuntungan hampir RM 5 juta.
"Dengan fakta ini terbukti bahawa selama ini Pimpinan UMNO Pulau Pinang yang 'menghalau' orang Melayu keluar dari Pulau Pinang," kata beliau melalui e-mel kepada wartawan.

Perkembangan terbaru ini didedah semasa pihak pembangkang Pulau Pinang khususnya Umno ghairah menuduh pentadbiran Ketua Menteri, Lim Guan Eng cuba menindas serta cuba mengusir Melayu dari negeri berkenaan

MALAYSIANS MUST BE ALL MORONS IF HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN IS CORRECT ISMAIL SABRI DID NOT ASK MALAYS TO BOYCOTT CHINESE BUSINESSES.

THE CASTRATION OF MCA AND GERAKAN LEADERS BY NAJIB AND UMNO

TIT FOR TAT BOYCOTT: MALAYS BOYCOTT CHINESE BUSINESSES, AND CHINESE RETALIATE BOYCOTTING MALAY BUSINESSES

UMNO MINISTER ISMAIL SABRI YAAKOB CALLS MALAYS TO BOYCOTT MALAYSIAN CHINESE BUSINESSES

ARE MALAYS IN MALAYSIA THAT WEAK AND HOPELESSLY INSECURE? THIS PARTICULAR MALAY BELIEVES SO.

USE KELANTAN FLOOD TO CURB THE RISING POWERS OF THE CHINESE, FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE OF MALAYSIA, TUN ABDUL HAMID MOHAMAD ADVISES PAS.

The heavy floods in Kelantan should spur the state government, led by PAS to unite with its Malay brethren in Umno to curb the rise of Chinese political power, according to former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad.

http://tinyurl.com/nt6jhjl

In a letter penned to Utusan Malaysia, Abdul Hamid said PAS should emulate Acheh’s move to co-operate with Jakarta after the northern Sumatran province — which was fighting for an independent Islamic state — was hit by a tsunami in 2006, resulting in the death of close to one million people.

“Ten years ago Acheh was hit by tsunami that resulted in thousands of deaths. Now Kelantan is hit by floods... due to the tsunami Acheh and the Indonesian government agreed to co-exist. “What about the Malaysian and Kelantan governments? Isn’t there a lesson to be learnt from Acheh? Haven’t the disaster taught them to repent and start prioritising something bigger like religion and race instead of party interests?” he said.

Abdul Hamid said the PAS-Umno rivalry split the Malays and gave minorities, especially the Chinese, the chance to exploit the situation.

“In essence, because of Malay division, the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, are consolidating their political power”.

Talks of a PAS-Umno unity government have surfaced after Kelantan, along with seven other states, was hit by severe floods last week — killing 27 people and wreaking damages estimated at around RM1 billion.

Some from Umno, suggested that that a unity government in Kelantan between PAS and Umno would aid reconstruction.

The former chief justice claimed Umno has been forthcoming in wanting to forge the co-operation despite the reluctance from PAS.

He noted that PAS appeared unwilling because of two reasons — first, because it had been betrayed by Umno before when it joined the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition more than two decades ago and second, because PAS is now controlled by “the professionals” rather than the ulama class.

Abdul Hamid argued PAS should now look past what had transpired before for the sake of Islam and the Malays.

“Does PAS not want to think about Islam and the Malays which form the core principles of both parties? Is it just because of anger towards Umno, PAS no longer cares about the Malays and Islam?” he wrote.

Unity between the two sides are also likely prevented by sections of PAS allied with DAP which is pro-communist and pro-christian, he said.

“There are the non-ulama faction in PAS now. This faction idolises communists, support the Catholic church in the Allah issue and appeared to be more keen on supporting on any DAP agenda just to get votes and become MPs or state assemblymen,” he said.

He called on PAS to repent as it had deviated from its original struggle.

While some in PAS have rejected the idea of unity with Umno, the Kelantan government remains silent over the possibility. Some believe the silence may indicate the idea is being considered,

Kelantan was the first state to be hit by what has been dubbed as “Malaysia’s tsunami”, followed by Terengganu, Pahang, and later, Perak and Johor.

Over 240,674 people were evacuated from their homes in Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Johor, Perlis, Selangor and Kedah. Close to half have since returned as floodwaters have receded in most areas.

MEANWHILE...

http://tinyurl.com/lwra5fo

. The Lutheran Church in Malaysia will be donating RM30,000 for these efforts and, to support this, BLC will set aside our “Missions Offerings” (the baskets that go around) for the next two Sundays (28 December 2014 and 4 January 2015) as our contribution. Please come prepared to contribute to this urgent and dire need.

Apart from praying and contributing through our Missions Offerings, there are also other ways in which you can help.

This article lists out 11 practical ways that you can channel your help through to those affected. (http://hype.my/…/psa-10-ways-you-can-contribute-to-the-all…/)


AND...BERNAMA reports:

http://tinyurl.com/p5rdofp

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians around the country have donated more than a million ringgit in 10 days towards a fund for flood relief by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.

The fund’s official website sms13999.skmm.gov.my said pledges made via SMS text messages stood at RM1,035,264 at 11.15am on Saturday.

The fund is organised by the ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission in collaboration with major telecommunications companies.

Donations can be made by sending an SMS text “BANJIR (space)(AMOUNT)”, for example BANJIR 20 for RM20, to 13999.

Donations can be made in the amounts of RM1, RM3, RM5, RM10, RM15, RM20, RM30, RM40 or RM50.

ISMA, JANGAN BUAT MALU AGAMA ISLAM AND MEMBODOHKAN AGAMA KAUM MELAYU

ONLY MODERATION AND LIBERALISM WILL ALLOW MALAYSIA TO SURVIVE, SAYS TUN MUSA HITAM

Former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam has declared that HE IS A LIBERAL AND PROUD OF IT.

He joins a small but growing band of Malay Muslims speaking up in the face of Islamic fundamentalism that has crept into the country.

In an interview with The Star daily published today, Musa, the first of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s four deputies, also pointed out that UMNO WAS FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLE...S OF MODERATION AND LIBERALISM because the Malay nationalist party wanted Malaysia to be one.

Musa’s declaration of his liberal beliefs comes after a group of 25 retired senior civil servants called for open debate of Islamic legislation in Malaysia and urged Putrajaya to assert the supremacy of the Federal Constitution over Shariah state laws.

Tun Musa said,

“Only moderation and liberalism will allow us to survive.

“First let me say this emphatically and very firmly - I have always been a liberal and a moderate and am proud of it. My family, my parents, my elders brought me up that way, and in my more grown up days since I entered politics, my political party Umno adopted the stance of moderation from the early days that we gained independence.

But I don’t know what’s happening there now."

A. PM NAJIB AND THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES AGAINST MODERATION AND SECULARISM

Malaysia’s religious authorities have long derided liberalism and pluralism, with Friday sermons nationwide claiming a conspiracy by “enemies of Islam” to manipulate Muslims through such philosophies and other ideologies like secularism, socialism, feminism and positivism.

This has been repeated by Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who in April said that Islam was being tested by new threats under the guise of humanism, secularism, liberalism and human rights.

B. MALAY LEADERS INSTILLING FEAR AND SIEGE MENTALITY AMONG THE MALAYS,

The 80-year-old also noted that “many Malay leaders” were attempting to instil fear and a siege mentality among the Malays, but did not name anyone.

“As a result, they are also instilling a very serious inferiority complex among the Malays. This is misplaced. So many Malays are capable, yet every day these groups are saying ‘You are inferior, you need protection’ and ‘Those superior people are attacking or threatening us’,” said Musa.

He said Malays had no reason to fear as they were well-equipped to face such challenges and to be competitive.

The former deputy prime minister and home minister, who served from 1981 to 1986, stressed that a democracy must have a high tolerance of criticism, amid a spate of investigations and prosecutions under the Sedition Act 1948 targeting mostly dissidents against the government.

“So, what I am trying to do is appeal to both sides, don’t just arrest them and hassle them. Use rationale and reasoning,” he said.

C. RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS ISSUES FOR POLITICAL MILEAGE

Musa also expressed concern about the use of racial and religious issues to gain political mileage, which he said hearkened back to the time leading up to the bloody May 13 race riots in 1969.

“Very early on in my political career, I saw so many attempts for popular support using racial and religious issues. I hate to use this example but I have to - the May 13 incident was the result of it all.

“But we were supposed to have learnt and corrected ourselves after that. Yet now, after so many years, we seem to be back to the old days. The basic ingredients are the same, the approach is the same, even the statements are the same in many respects. In the historical perspective, it brings a very eerie reminder of the bad old days,” he said

D. SUPPORT FOR THE "25 EMINENT MALAYS"

Musa told The Star that he was very happy to see the statement made by the 25 prominent Malays.

“To me personally, that was a very good symbolic statement made by them in that they triggered thinking, arguments and conversations. Then there were the responses, which I compliment also because they are not calling names. They are not arguing based on irrationality but arguing on an almost point-by-point basis. This was absent before,” he said.

ISMA DAN ABDULLAH ZAIK ABDUL RAHMAN, SILA BACA INI...

ISMA, THIS IS WHAT OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH TELLS US......

WE MALAYSIAN-CHRISTIANS WISH YOU WELL, ISMA

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” – Luke 2:14

And yes YOU have the Right NOT not to wish anyone a Merry Christmas.


http://tinyurl.com/ppajcet

From SCOTT NG

The people at ISMA are absolutely right when they say that they have a right not to wish anyone a “Merry Christmas”.

After all, Christmas isn’t central to any facet of their culture or beliefs, and it shouldn’t be compulsory for them to have to wish anyone anything during any cultural or religious celebration other than out of a sense of community and camaraderie.

In fact, no Christian would go out of his way to expect one of Malaysia’s far-right groups to wish him a merry anything, given the protestations we’ve heard throughout the year from ISMA.

But it is ISMA’s right to not wish anyone a “Merry Christmas”.

However, that’s not what we ask for from ISMA. All we want is the right to celebrate peacefully, without controversy, probably for the first time this year.

All we want is to meet some friends, whether at home or at a restaurant, and maybe exchange gifts.Perhaps even have a drink or two to celebrate getting through another year together, still going strong.

Even to the less devout of us, Christmas is a special time to be thankful for family and loved ones, to presents gifts in thanks for receiving the love and company we’re been given throughout the year.
It’s not as grandiose as it seems on a personal level, and is a time for reflection above all else.

It’s a time to head back home and enjoy dad’s lamb shanks and mom fussing over the guests, to say hello to the siblings and perhaps even give them something, to connect with cousins you haven’t seen for months, to let the uncles and aunties ask about marriage and smile inanely after brushing the question off.

It’s about going to church early in the morning to be reminded that even if we don’t love ourselves, there is a Creator who does, and that all hardships we endure eventually will seem small in hindsight.

To greet friends you haven’t seen in a while because you haven’t been as dutiful as you might like in going to church.

To listen to the pastor speak and think that perhaps next year I will do better by myself and my loved ones.
It’s a time for forgiveness. So, on behalf of all Christians, I’d like to say to ISMA, we forgive you.

You may hurt our feelings and belittle our beliefs. You may make us disheartened and feel as if we are being crushed even as we go about and live life in our own little ways.

But our faith is predicated on the idea of unconditional forgiveness, even towards our enemies, and in that self-same spirit, we wish you the very best of the seasons greetings.

Let this be a time to lay down our swords and instead to enjoy a moment of peace after all the turmoil that’s raged in Malaysia throughout the year.

After all, there’ll be plenty more where that came from soon enough.

- Scott Ng

MINISTER TELLS ISMA, " BUTT OUT" ON CHRISTMAS GREETINGS BY MUSLIMS

Housing, Local Government and Urban Well-Being Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan has asked Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) to "butt out" with their claims that Muslims should not wish “Merry Christmas” to Christians.

http://s.m5.malaysiakini.com/news/284290.html

In a series of Twitter postings this morning, the Umno MP from Kota Belud showed defiance by wishing Christians “Merry Christmas” before mak...ing sarcastic swipes at Isma.

"Not only (do) I wish Merry Christmas to all, I will host a bigger Christmas celebration this year in Kota Belud. Isma is invited to learn about moderation," he posted on his Twitter handle this morning.

"Isma is not my voice. They don't represent me and millions of Muslim Malaysians. Religious bigotry has no place in moderate Malaysia," he added.

He was responding to claims made by Isma activists recently that wishing Christians “Merry Christmas” would be tantamount to Muslims admitting that God had a son, and that Muslims should conduct preaching instead during the festi

PAS IS " A PAIN IN THE ASS"

PAS today dismissed talks that its renewed push for hudud in Kelantan will destroy Pakatan Rakyat, saying the coalition had "agreed to disagree" on issues such as this.

http://tinyurl.com/p4at3s3

Its information chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar said in the spirit of democracy, the party would accept if Parliament rejects the move to introduce the Shariah enactment.

"I don't consider hudud can split PR. This is because we have reached an agreement previously... when the late Karpal Singh was still alive, we had reached a consensus on this (hudud), to agree to disagree," he told reporters at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

"PAS has agreed that DAP did not agree on hudud. The meaning here is we respect each others' opinions. This is a fine democratic achievement that PR has made.

"Like a married couple, there must be something that they disagree with one another, but they can still live under one roof. No problem."

The Pokok Sena MP's statement comes as the PAS-led Kelantan government recently moved to convene a special sitting of the legislative assembly on Monday to amend its Islamic laws in order to pave the way for a private member's bill in Parliament.

The bill will need a simple majority of 112 lawmakers supporting it in order for it to be passed and can be tabled once the Kelantan assembly passes the amendment to its Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II.

DAP has repeatedly demanded that PAS shelve its plans in Kelantan, stressing that the Islamic criminal code was not part of the opposition's common policy framework.

After a long silence, PKR today agreed with DAP.

PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali said PR would focus on the highest objectives of Shariah, including economic, social and safety issues, over the Islamic criminal law.

Mahfuz today added that its partners should not worry about the implementation of hudud as it would still need to go through the proper democratic process.

"If Parliament rejects it, then Kelantan will not be able to implement the enactment. This means PAS must accept if Parliament rejects the move.”

At the same time, Mahfuz also urged the Kelantan government to arrange a meeting with interested stakeholders to brief them on the amendment.
"I hope the state government can share this and arrange a meeting to brief to all parties interested in this issue.
"This is because all this is just an amendment to the current enactment, not a new one. Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code II has existed for almost 20 years," he said, urging sceptics to listen to the presentation of the amendment before coming to any conclusion.


MEANWHILE.....

PAS CENTRAL COMMITEE NEVER AGREED TO THE HUDUD BILL

http://s.m5.malaysiakini.com/news/284351.html

PAS central committee members said they NEVER AGREED to bring the Kelantan's Private Member's Bill on hudud to Parliament.

This means PAS-led Kelantan government may be doing more than what it is allowed to by PAS.
PAS’ central committee ONLY AGREED to the Kelantan government to work on the technicalities with the Umno-led federal government, they said.

The state government was then supposed to come back to the PAS central committee to present their findings.

Central committee members Mujahid Yusof Rawa , Dr Hatta Ramli and another member who preferred anonymity said that this was what was agreed.

"We had decided for the federal government to table the motion," Hatta said.

Hatta, who is Kuala Krai MP, also refuted Kelantan PAS state deputy commissioner Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah who said the state had the blessing of the PAS central committee.

Mohd Amar, the deputy chief minister of Kelantan, in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini said all PAS MPs are duty bound to bring the Private Member's Bill on hudud to Parliament, as the orders are coming from the party’s central committee.

Mujahid, who is Parit Buntar MP and PAS Unity Bureau chief said that Kelantan government did not get back to the central committee over discussions it had with the federal government.

"They were supposed to come back to us with the government-to-government discussions and then we (PAS central committee) were supposed to decide if we were to be the ones to bring the Private Member's Bill to the Parliament.

"In fact, in recent meetings, we were too busy with other issues that we did not even discuss hudud," Mujahid said.

Party deputy president Mohamad Sabu (left) was only willing to say that the hudud issue is still very much under discussion and that there is no decision on who will table it in Parliament.

The Kelantan government will hold a special state assembly sitting on December 29 to amend the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (II) Enactment 1993 before it is brought to the Parliament in a Private Member's Bill, to enable to state to implement the hudud.


AND.....

http://tinyurl.com/pw4tbna

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad is among PAS leaders who have been caught off-guard by the move to amend a Shariah Criminal Enactment in Kelantan that would lead to hudud law in the state.

The decision by PAS in Kelantan to go ahead with plans that will lead to the implementation of hudud in the state has taken the party's top leadership by surprise as it was not discussed at its central committee (CC) meeting.

Central committee member Khalid Samad confirmed that the matter was NOT raised at its last meeting on December 15.

The CC meeting took place a day before Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob's announcement that the state assembly will convene a special sitting on December 29 to amend its Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II as part of a move to pave the way for a private member's bill in Parliament to enable the state to enforce the Islamic penal code.

"The issue was not discussed at the last meeting. We were only debating if a Bill should be brought to Parliament or if it should be approached in a different manner," he told The Malaysian Insider.

He said quite a few of the CC leaders were taken by surprise by Kelantan PAS as they were unaware of its intentions.'

However, the Shah Alam MP downplayed talks that Kelantan PAS's insistence to go ahead with the proposal would lead to the break up of Pakatan Rakyat (PR), saying that the issue will be further discussed at the PAS leadership meeting next month.

"The next Parliament sitting is in March and there is still room for discussion," he said.

He said PAS is aware of the concerns addressed by its PR partners. PKR and DAP, and pledged to raise it with his leaders at the meeting.

PAKATAN RAKYAT PARTNERS SHOULD CUT TIES FROM PAS OVER THE HUDUD BILL

Pakatan Rakyat will have to SUSPEND WORKING TIES WITH PAS if the Kelantan government goes ahead with its plan to amend the Shariah Criminal Enactment that will pave the way for hudud implementation in the state, a DAP lawmaker said.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo said PR which consisted of PKR, DAP and PAS must demonstrate its commitment to uphold the common policy framework, even if it meant suspe...nding or cutting ties with any partner who threatened the spirit of the loose coalition.

"We must inspire confidence and demonstrate our commitment to the common policy framework in PR. We must be firm and show that it is something which cannot and must not to be taken lightly," Gobind said in a statement today.

Kelantan is proposing changes to the law ahead of its plan to table a private member’s bill in Parliament to facilitate implementation of hudud in the state.
Hudud covers crimes in Islamic law such as theft, highway robbery, adultery, alcohol consumption and sexual intercourse outside marriage.

Those convicted could face punishment such as amputation of limbs, flogging and death by stoning.

Gobind, who is also DAP's legal bureau head, referred to a report quoting Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah who said PAS changed its focus on Islamic state to welfare state and allowed Christians to use "Allah" in their worship, but "still, we did not win Putrajaya" in 2013.

He also cited Amar's statement that hudud was more important than capturing Putrajaya and that the Islamist party was prepared to even sleep with arch rival Umno to see it through.

Gobin said this was by far the clearest admission by PAS that they were never serious about their role in PR and that they were never committed to its common policy framework.

"It appears that all this while PAS weighed in on PR to win Putrajaya so that they could set up an Islamic state and implement hudud even with Umno, if DAP and PKR disagreed to do so," he added.

He said PAS was going ahead to table an amendment in the Kelantan state legislative assembly on December 29 despite being reminded numerous times by PKR and DAP that they cannot do this without the consensus of all parties.

"It is very clear that the bill does not have the backing nor support of PR. More importantly, it strikes against the common policy framework of PR," he said, adding that PAS was therefore forcing a split.

He said PAS knew fully well objections by the DAP and no discussion nor agreement had been reached with DAP and PKR on the matter.

Gobind reminded PAS that all component parties in PR were dutybound to defend the common policy framework, which formed the basis for the coalition's gains in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.

"If ever Pakatan Rakyat is to remain a political force to be reckoned with, one which the people can trust and will respect, we must now demonstrate our commitment to uphold the common policy framework," he added.

Constitutional lawyers have repeatedly said it is almost impossible to implement hudud under the present political, democratic and constitutional framework.

Lawyer Syahredzan Johan said the entire system would have to be overhauled if the Islamic criminal law was to replace the penal code.

He said any attempt to introduce hudud was a mere political game to demonstrate to Muslims which party – PAS or Umno – was more "Islamic".

December 24, 2014

PAS AND THE HUDUD BILL: BLATANTLY DISHONEST AND FAILING TO KEEP ITS WORD

- DAP's Response to Kelantan PAS's HUDUD Bill.

http://tinyurl.com/kah9833

I fully endorse what the Selangor Mentri Besar and PKR Deputy President Azmin Ali said yesterday, that hudud is not a common policy of Pakatan Rakyat, hence PAS should bring the issue to the Pakatan Rakyat presidential council for discussion.

Azmin referred to the September 28, 2011 meeting of Pakatan Rakyat Presidential Council at the PAS Headquarters attended by over 30 top leaders of DAP, PKR and PAS, which was also attended the then DAP National Chairman, Karpal Singh, and Kelantan exco members, and the consensus was that hudud was not part of PR joint common policy framework until all parties agreed to it.

As Azmin said: “If there is any new opinion or suggestion, it has to be brought back to the original consensus which was agreed among Pakatan, meaning that it has to go back to Pakatan's presidential council.”

But PAS has never brought this matter to Pakatan’s presidential council.

In fact, the headline of The Malaysian Insider report on the Sept. 28, 2011 PR Presidential Council meeting was: “Pakatan: Hudud only if all parties agree.”

If the PR Presidential Council had not reached the consensus on Sept. 28, 2011 that hudud was not common PR policy and that PAS would not unilaterally push for the implementation of hudud without the consensus of all PR parties, three things would have happened:

1. PAS would have continued to push for the implementation of hudud regardless of the views of DAP and PKR.

2. Pakatan Rakyat would have disintegrated.

3. UMNO/Barisan Nasional would not have become a minority government with only 47% of the popular vote – in fact it would have regained the two-thirds parliamentary majority it lost in the 2008 General Elections.

BLATANT DISHONESTY

It is shocking that there are PAS leaders who are claiming that there is nothing wrong in misleading Malaysian voters in the 13th General Elections in May last year to support Pakatan Rakyat and PAS candidates and yet renege after the general elections on the undertaking that PAS will comply with the PR common policy framework and would not unilaterally push for the implementation of hudud without the agreement of the three PR component parties.

Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah has said that winning Putrajaya will come second to the implementation of hudud, that it is only the means to an end!

I am not sanguine that the Kelantan State Assembly special sitting on Dec. 29 can guarantee that PAS will be returned to power in the next general election, as what could be sacrificed as a result of PAS reneging on its undertaking to PR and the Malaysian voters would be both Putrajaya and the Kelantan State Government.

But we have to await the 14th General Elections to see the full impact of the consequences.

DAP leaders have agreed to disagree with PAS leaders on the issue of hudud because we believe we are on the same page to want to promote justice, freedom, democracy, good governance, incorruptibility and moderation in Malaysia.

KEEPING ONE's WORD COUNTS.

We believe that we are honest politicians who will not use devious and dishonest means to mislead and cheat voters to vote for PR candidates under false pretences.

As I said yesterday, the December 29 Kelantan State Assembly special sitting to implement hudud will be a point of no return for both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat.

If certain UMNO leaders, like certain PAS leaders, can act unilaterally and arbitrarily to act against the founding principles of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat by devious and dishonest means, then it is doomsday not only for Pakatan Rakyat but also Barisan Nasional.

If the Kelantan State Assembly special meeting to push through the implementation of hudud, which even the PAS Central Committee is unaware of, is held,

 I see no purpose in my attending any future Pakatan Rakyat Presidential Council meetings, and I leave it to the party to decide on its next course of action.

- Lim Kit Siang
MP for Gelang Patah