Write Something If You Can't Sleep

It's 6:09AM Melbourne time, the usual time that I wake up everyday. Only difference is I'm currently in Penang, Malaysia where the local time is 3:10AM. Still struggling to adjust to the weather and time here after arriving here for almost 1 week already. There is noise everywhere even now in the early morning, I can still hear traffic 27 floors below me on the streets in Pulau Tikus and Gurney Drive. 

The skyline at Gurney Drive has changed quite drastically since I was here 3 years ago. The tallest hotel is currently under construction and has already topped out dwarfing all the other towers which were previously the giants along Persiaran Gurney. Gurney Wharf has been fully reclaimed and construction is currently underway in full capacity to catch up with lost time due to Covid-19. The landscape has certainly changed.

Besides changes to the physical appearance of the place, I noticed that there is another change which is more substantial in terms of its impact to people's lives. Prices for dining out have increased unreasonably, double at some places. A plate of Char Koay Teow is now RM10! This is something unforeseen just 5 years ago. Inflation has affected the whole world and Malaysia is no exception.

So far, my first week has been quite pleasant, get to eat most of the food on my list (my very own Michelin list, not the official one).

I'm looking forward for another 5 weeks of eventful holiday in Malaysia. Today is Christmas Eve, tomorrow is a special day for all Christians. Merry Christmas!

Be Grateful Always

Human Traffic Light System

Looking at these old photos makes me think how difficult life must have been during those days for people to travel from one place to another. Not many people could afford their own cars back. They relied heavily on public transport or simply walk to wherever they wished to go. I’m sure a walk to the local town centre was a pleasant and adventurous trip for many back then. It could be a weekend retreat for them to get out of the house and go somewhere in their town.

For those of us who were born in the 70s, there used to be two people working in a bus – one is the driver while the other person was responsible for selling tickets to passenger. I used to take one of these buses from my house to Komtar, the city centre of Penang Island, Malaysia. There was no touch and go payment system back then, we would hopped onto the bus, took our seat, then a man would approach us asking us where we wanted to go. He would then punched the ticket with the value of our trip. After he had finished selling all the tickets to all those who had just boarded the bus, he would knock the ceiling grab rail with his metal hole puncher and shouted: “Jalan!” (let’s go in Malay) signalling the bus driver in front to move on. There was no air-conditioned in the bus but the ride wasn’t uncomfortable. The side windows were wide opened to allow ventilation into the bus and the weather then wasn’t that hot compared to today. I’ve always enjoyed those trips on the bus. You see life back then was much simpler.

Things have changed tremendously in the 21^st century. Today, there is only one person working on every bus – the bus driver. His only job is mainly to drive the vehicle as the ticketing system is now automated with the touch ‘n’ go payment machines located at both entrance doors of the bus. Buses are now fully air-conditioned and very comfortable to ride on.

It always amazes me to see how much progress we have made in mere half a lifetime. Our society has evolved to be more sophisticated with all the latest technological gadgets. Theoretically, this should make our lives more comfortable and we all should be happier. But are we?

There are more and more negative news and information on the internet and mainstream media. It appears that we are now living a much more difficult lives than before. People complains about almost anything, from politics to even the food they eat in the restaurants. These thoughts don’t seem like coming from happy people.

Perhaps the next time we catch ourselves having these negative thoughts, pause that thought and reflect back of those good old days when we were happier even without all the conveniences that are available today. Latest smart phone and all the other modern conveniences won’t make us happy. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness. The easiest way to start this happiness journey is stop complaining, and be grateful of what we have right now.

看了这些旧照片后，我在想以前的人要从一个地方去到另一个地方是多么的辛苦啊！那个年代没有多少人可以买得起一辆车。他们依赖公共交通工具，或者步行到他们想去的地方。

对于我们这些70后的人来说，还记得在公交车上共有两个服务员 - 一位是司机，而另一位人负责向乘客出售车票。那时没有自动付款系统，上巴士坐下来后，服务员将会走来问我们要去哪里。然后他会根据我们要去的地点打票。当他完成了向所有刚登上巴士的人出售票后，他将用他的打孔器敲打天花板扶手，然后大喊：“ Jalan！” （马来语前进的意思）向坐在前面的司机发出信号可以安全开车了。那时的巴士没有冷气，但在乘客并不感到不舒服。窗口会开着，以便通风。那时的天气不比现在那么热。我每次都很享受乘巴士的旅途。当时的生活真的要简单得多。

如今，每辆巴士上只有一个人工作 — 那就是司机本身。他的唯一工作就是驾驶巴士，售票已经自动化。巴士上还装有空调，乘坐起来非常舒适。

我们的社会已经发展到科技发达和更加复杂。理论上来说，我们的生活现在因该更加舒适，我们所有人都应该更加快乐。但事实是如此吗？

互联网和主流媒体天天都有许多负面的新闻和信息。看来我们现在的生活好像比以前困难得多。人们几乎每样事情都抱怨，大家都好像很不愉快。

下一次我们发现自己陷入这些消极想法时，停下来思考一下，回想过去我们快乐的美好时光，那时我们并没有现在的所有便利。最新的智能手机和所有其他现代便利设施不会让我们快乐。唯一的方法是停止抱怨，并感恩我们所拥有的一切。

The Iconic Penang Ferry

2nd of January, the transition of the new year seems negligible. We are now in 2021 but I don't feel any significant difference emotionally. Maybe it is due to the fact that I can't travel back to Malaysia this year due to Covid-19.

However, things do change a lot especially for Penang since the beginning of 2021. The iconic Penang Ferry will be replaced by more modern water buses and vehicle transporters. While there are lots of noise mostly created by the politicians on both sides in the social media, let's cast aside emotions and look at what are the changes.

First let's hear the objection voices. DAP's Lim Guan Eng blasted Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong incessantly that the current move to scrap the iconic ferry is a revenge by the current government against the people of Penang. He claimed that Penang contributed RM7 billion to the federal government through taxes but the development fund allocated to the state always trailing behind other states. Lim went on to say that by cancelling the iconic 126 years old ferry service, the PN (Perikatan Nasional) government is declaring war with all Penangites. I think this statement has gone too far and sounds more political than logical to me.

Now, let's look at what the government has to say. Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong defended his decision to cancel the iconic ferry services for the safety and well-being of its passengers. This explanation puzzles me. I have been riding on the ferry numerous times both in person and in my car. The staff of Penang Port are always there to ensure that all passengers and vehicles and on board before they raise ramp/ gate of the ferry. The huge windows on both sides of the ferry providing stunning views of the Penang Channel have very high walls to prevent people from over-leaning and fall into the water. So safety is not the issue. Now what about the well-being of its passengers? The ferry has spacious interior with high ceiling, it is very cooling thanks to the large windows/ openings that allow sea breeze into the vehicles. I find it very comfortable and relaxing every time I'm on one of this iconic ferry.

So if safety and well-being are not the real issue, what then drove the government's decision to cancel this much loved iconic and historic vehicles from keep on operating? The answer lies in the operating and maintenance costs. Everyone knows that an old car requires more frequent service/ repairs than a brand new one. More spare parts have to be changed due to prolonged wear and tear. Now imagine that your car is 126 years old! So does this justify the government's decision to scrap it all together. Lim Guan Eng argues that there are only 3 such ferries in operation, new engines can bee fitted into them and the cost will not be exhorbitant.

Cast politics aside, I think we should keep at least one of such ferry for its significant historical values especially when George Town is an Unesco World Heritage city. We should still use it as transport vessel and not just for recreational purposes as there is no issue with its safety and well-being to its passengers. In Melbourne, old trams were fitted with new spare parts and equipped with air-conditioned and still carrying passengers around its century old rail network. It can be done technically but there must be a political will to do it.

However, we must also welcome the government's plan to introduce modern fleet to improve efficiency in carrying people across the Penang Channel. Let's get less political and focus on logic and practicality. Same goes to all the other issue that the country is now facing.

Hundreds of people rushed to ride on the ferry on its last day of service to count down for 2021.

The Pearls of Malaysia

Malaysia celebrated her 63rd Merdeka (Independence Day) this week. One of my friend asked me on social media how I was going to celebrate this event in Melbourne, my response to him was that with all the disappointing political development that is going on there, I wasn't really in the mood to celebrate anything. Then I heard 988 DJ Chan Fong said asking the audience on radio to focus on sharing the good things about Malaysia and I thought what a wonderful idea it was! There are indeed many good things about Malaysia that hold many people back from emigrating to a foreign country. 

 

Everyone I ask about what they miss the most while being away from Malaysia has given me the same consistent answer: food. It doesn’t matter whether you are from Penang, KL or Kuching, food seems to be the popular topic whenever you see a group of Malaysian get together overseas. Malaysian cuisine is so unique that you can’t find it elsewhere. Malaysian food is the father of fusion cuisine. Malaysian Chinese food is so much richer in taste, texture, colour and aroma that we can’t find it anywhere else in China. Chinese has settled here for centuries and we have managed to merge Chinese cuisine with the Indian and local Malay food to come up with a hybrid version. Curry noodle is one such example of fusion between Chinese and Indian cuisine.

In Penang, there are massive choices of cheap street food available everywhere you go in the city. Local cuisine is something that all Penangites are proud of simply because it is so unique that you can’t find it anywhere else in the world. With all the variety of international cuisine available in Melbourne where I live now, I still find Penang food is the best. Nothing beats a well stir fried Char Koay Teow! All the food experience that I have been taken for granted in the past has now become luxurious lifestyle while living in Australia. The good authentic ones are hard to find and the they are pricey. And the silky smooth Penang Koay Teow (rice noodle) is still not available anywhere in Australia today.

 

Then we have our colourful festivities throughout the year. Malaysia probably has the most public holidays in the world as we celebrate major festivals of our multi-racial society. We have three major new years to celebrate, Chinese, Malay and the common 1^st of January New Year. Tourists from all over the world come to Malaysia just to witness some of these festivals such as Chinese New Year and Thaipusam etc. These events are usually carried out with massive public parade, staged performances and concerts. The message that these festivals sent across to foreigners is that we cherish our heritage and we are not shy at all to show them off whenever possible.

 

My personal favourite festival has got to be Chinese New Year. It is a fifteen days long celebration and each day come with its own unique significance. Take the Chinese New Year Eve for example, it is one of the most meaningful event that I can think of where all the family members from all over the world will try to make it home just to have ‘reunion’ dinner together. It is a perfect occasion for everyone to see each other and catch up. Our home would inflate in residents number every time during that period of time. We will gather together in the living room to watch the special TV programmes that were on during this period of holiday. In the evening, people would play fireworks bought from the roadside stalls. There were more fireworks back then when the government was not so strict in enforcement. Nights never sleep during those 15 days period.

It is indeed a blessing to be able to live in Penang. Recently, I have seen many people posted on YouTube about the benefits of retiring in Penang. With its rich heritage, culture, food and beautiful beaches, it is not hard to understand why people are migrating to this idyllic island for good. Although small in size, Penang has one of the most diverse natural environment in the region. It is an island surround by sea with its own hill ranges in the middle of this turtle shaped land mass. I used to hike up Penang Hill regularly. It only took me an hour to reach the peak and experience the cooler climate up there. The beach at Tanjung Bungah is just 10 minutes drive away from home and it is one of the best place to enjoy the golden sunset of the tropics. 

Perhaps the beauty of Penang is best summarized by the comment of one foreigner. I once attended a lecture by a British architect at the majestic E&O Hotel. During the break as we were mingled around at the outdoor forecourt of the conference room, I overheard his conversation with one audience. His gaze fixed on the distant Gunung Jerai in Kedah across the sea and commented: “This is heaven!” I immediately took a look at the majestic mountain myself and thought that it was indeed a beautiful sight to behold.

Misconceptions About Penang

LETTER | Over the weekend, I had active discussions with my Penang friends who had migrated outstation and overseas over the state affairs in Penang within the context of the Federation of Malaysia. The issues are important for Penang specifically and Malaysia generally.

Misconception 1: Penang is stagnating and hasn’t been able to reinvent itself. The state remains dependent on the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector.

There is definitely nothing wrong in excelling in the E&E sector and, in fact, it is a sector that is extremely important to Malaysia’s economy.

From the country’s perspective, in 2018, the E&E sector created a trade surplus of RM119 billion (the highest among all subsectors for the manufacturing industry). The E&E sector represented 38% of Malaysia’s total exports in 2018, amounting to RM 380billion (+11% YoY), and Penang is the powerhouse that drives the sector.

Without it, Malaysia will be in deep financial trouble. While there could be a slowdown in the first half of 2019 due to uncertainties arising from a trade war among others, industry research expects a recovery in 2020 as the world moves into the 5G stage and the proliferation of many new technologies such as autonomous driving, IoT, Industry 4.0, augmented/virtual reality etc.

On the Penang economic front, the E&E sector contributes at least 300,000 jobs and more than RM1.5 billion in wages per month to drive the Penang economy.

If we have doubt about our capability, just look at the high value added, knowledge base products manufactured by the MNCs using local talents.

In addition, we have been seeing an increasing number of MNCs with a manufacturing footprint in Penang also choosing to operate their Global Business Centers (GBS) here, suggesting that Penang is versatile in terms of ecosystem and talents.

In recent years, the state also diversified into new segments of the economy, attracting investments for medical devices, aerospace, automation and equipment manufacturing.

In fact, the E&E industry in Penang is not only about creating jobs but the strong technical know-how of the engineering pool has successfully nurtured entrepreneurs who are able to compete on the global stage.

One only has to scan the Bursa Malaysia for these Penang-based listed companies and get a sense of their earnings growth record. For examples, Vitrox Corporation, founded by two ex-Hewlett-Packard engineers, has recorded a net profit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34% in 2013-2018 and its direct competitors are the renowned automated test equipment (ATE) companies from the US, Korea, Germany and Japan. The company’s market cap is now at RM3.3 billion.

Inari, an outsource semiconductor assembly and test vendor, recorded sales CAGR of 42% in FY11-18, with its market cap currently at RM5.6 billion.
Other home-grown Penang-based international E&E players are Globetronics, Pentamaster Corporation, SRM Integration to name but a few.

Penang is also proud of its tech start-ups such as Jobstreet, which grew exponentially before it was sold for a staggering RM1billion and Exabytes, a young web hosting and cloud service provider in Penang which attracted RM44 million investment recently.

Penang does have the environment to nurture high-potential local companies that are ready to scale and compete regionally, if not globally. To conclude otherwise is to ignore the facts before us.

However, we must not be complacent and we need to continuously upskill our labour force to ensure our competitive edge remains.

Misconception 2: For decades, skills migration, brain drain and the lack of high-quality job opportunities has been Penang’s Achilles heel.

There are plenty of jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for both the manufacturing and service industries, the mainstay of the state economy. For other sub-sectors of the service industry, such as financial services and journalism, Penang just doesn’t have the related industries due to the size of the state economy. 

No doubt Penang has been facing the brain drain issue but this is not solely out of Penang alone. In fact, this applies to all other states and this is a challenge to Malaysia. In actual fact, Penang is the state that registered the highest positive effectiveness ratio of migration at 58.4% in 2015-2016, according to Department of Statistics.

Misconception 3: Despite having achieved a high growth rate of 11% per annum between 1970 and 2008, growing from RM790 million in 1970 to RM49 billion in 2008, GDP growth rate has slowed down to 5% for the past 10 years.

It is illogical to look at Penang’s growth rate entirely on its own while we are a state within the Federation of Malaysia. However, Penang’s GDP growth rate has always mirrored that of Malaysia’s and most of the time, Penang is doing better than that of the country.

Further, many licenses and development budgets need to be approved at the federal level. Just imagine, if Penang could have the necessary financial licenses and more money to expand the airport, for example, Penang can do much better economically than what it is doing now.

Misconception 4: The state is losing ground in tourism, especially with it having not invested sufficiently in this sector, a situation compounded by how cities around the world are reinventing themselves.

As a state within the Federation of Malaysia, Penang’s economic growth is constrained by the national context. An example is the Penang International Airport which is now at a utilisation rate of 120% (demand more than supply) due to the increasing number of passengers.

It is worth to highlight that Malaysia is one of the top ten medical tourism destinations in the world with Penang being the leader contributing close to a 50% share for medical tourism to Malaysia.

Penang Desires To Be International and Intelligent City

When interviewed by Bloomberg when he was in Singapore recently, Penang's Chief Minister wishes to attract more foreign investors in particular from Singapore due to the available local talent.

He further elaborate that Penang is here to complement and not compete with Singapore.

Penang To Learn From Japan and Hong Kong On Public Transport

Chow-Kon-Yeow-GEORGE TOWN: Penang will tap into Japanese expertise to manage its future mass transit infrastructure, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said.

Chow said private Japanese rail companies were highly profitable as they ran a sustainable operations regime, which Penang hoped to emulate closely.

“A major reason for the success of Tokyo’s private rail lines is because they diversified their businesses beyond transportation into real estate holdings and retail outlets.

“Rather than relying strictly on farebox revenue and ads, the transit system in Penang should also develop other revenue sources, just as the Japanese private railways have done successfully.

“For this reason, we will look to Japan for its sustainable operations regime for mass transit infrastructure,” he said in a briefing on Penang’s Transport Master Plan (PTMP) to some 50 reps of Japanese companies operating in the state.

Also present were Embassy of Japan in Malaysia Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister Yoshinori Kodama and Japan Consul-General to Penang, Kiyoshi Itoi. They were accompanied by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Penang plans to build its own Light Rail Transport (LRT) and other modes of public transport via PTMP.

The RM27 billion project will be financed by creating three artificial islands south of Penang Island.

The PMTP includes a 5-in-1 transport solution encompassing an undersea tunnel; a cable car service across the channel; ferries and water-taxis; light rail transit and monorail; including buses, taxis and highways.

Earlier, 48 representatives from 31 Japanese companies based in Penang participated in the seminar on PTMP. It was hosted by PTMP’s project delivery partner, SRS Consortium.

GEORGE TOWN, June 13 — Penang hopes to secure a conditional approval for its first railway scheme connecting Bayan Lepas to Komtar by next month, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said.

The local government committee chairman said SRS Consortium, the project delivery partner (PDP) for the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), met with Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) last week.

“The meeting went well and seemed favourable,” he told reporters after a PTMP briefing with Japanese delegates at Komtar this morning.

Chow added that a July approval for the proposed Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) would allow the state to proceed with a three-month public inspection beginning August, to allow public feedback.

The Bayan Lepas LRT project, along with the pan island highway link and the reclamation of two islands off southern Penang, are part of the first phase of the PTMP implementation.

Chow also said that once SPAD grants the approval, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be set up to administer the implementation of these projects.


The SPV will be a government entity that that will also be tasked with facilitating city planning, development, promotion and management of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, he said.

Chow added that the state hopes to commence construction on the Bayan Lepas line - the first phase of the LRT project - by next year. Operations for the first phase should begin by 2023 while the full line should be operational by 2030, he said.

Earlier, during a question and answer session, SRS Consortium business development senior manager Andrew Chan said it will take up to three years before they could have land to sell under the PSR to fund the PTMP.

He said they can proceed with construction of the LRT and highway project first but would still need to time it with the sale of lands from the reclamation.

“We will depend on bridging financing first to fund the reclamation and construction of the LRT and after the third year, we will have lands to sell to fund the project,” he said.

When asked about sustainability of the future transport assets, Chow said the transport system will not rely strictly on farebox revenue and advertisements.

“We are looking at property development to generate another revenue source to sustain the transport assets, like in Japan and Hong Kong. I think Hong Kong’s MTR is known more as a property developer than as the LRT operator,” he said.

Source: The Malay Mail

Mahathir Advises The People

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in Penang as part of his cross-country tour – and as a guest of Penang Institute – to gather at least one million signatures for the Citizen’s Declaration he initiated. He spent 20 minutes talking with Ooi Kee Beng in between arriving from KL with Tun Dr Siti Hasmah and rushing off to deliver his speech at the packed Straits Quay Convention Centre. The interview took place in the late afternoon on May 8, 2016 at the E&O  Hotel.

Ooi Kee Beng: Tun, your generation fascinates me. You are of the nation-building generation who dared to imagine that it would not only change the world, but configure it to fit local conditions. The impact of that generation has of course been enormous in all post-colonial countries, but that generation is passing. What advice would you give young Malaysians about the future, given what you see now of global economic dynamics and the political situation in Malaysia today?

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad: The first thing for people to learn is the history of the country, because if you don’t have an understanding of the background of the country, you cannot make an assessment of events or of the improvements that have taken place. Many Malaysians today were born long after Independence. I would tell them that what we are seeing today is completely different from what we had under the British or even in the early days of Independence. So we must be able to make a comparison between the past and the present.

 OKB: If there is one word to describe you, Tun, I would use the word “nationalist”. You are very much, for want of a better word, a situationalist. Your analysis of events and different times shifts as things evolve; you seem very tuned into evolving dynamics. In that sense the methods you adopt would be understood best in a tactical mode. Would that be correct?

MM: I was trained as a doctor, and a doctor approaches a problem with a certain method. He has to know the background, the history of the patient, and do an additional examination to see what the problem is. For a sick person or for a community, it is the same thing. Once you adopt that approach, you recognise a problem much more clearly. And after recognising what the problem is, you can think about how to resolve it. Having been trained as a doctor, I approach most problems that way. I find it to be really very easy. It is methodical and it is very consistent and often quite accurate.

 You may end up with three possibilities, for example, and then you will have to do a further analysis to determine which disease it really is and what the cure should be. It is the same with a community – you have to determine what the problem is first.

OKB: But are there shortcomings to that kind of approach?

MM: Well, I suppose there are. There are of course people who can instinctively see what the problem is and come up with a solution. But instinct is not methodical. It may come or it may not come. You have no control over it. But the methodical process of examination by doctors is something that you do almost automatically, and you eliminate other possibilities to arrive at the right diagnosis.

OKB: One has to always consider multiple factors.

MM: Yes.

OKB: Since you have been in the limelight for an amazingly long time – in fact since after the Second World War, when you started writing as Che Det – you are very overexposed by now, and one would expect people who are overexposed to be very predictable. Yet you are not. You can be very unpredictable. I tend to think that when people are unpredictable, it is usually because they are being misunderstood. People have their own logic and in following that logic, they are really being consistent.

I would like to ask you a straightforward and personal question: “What motivates you deep down?” How do we see consistency and how do we make sense of your actions over the last 70 years? You do know that many think that you are often contradictory.

MM: Like you said earlier, I am a nationalist. That’s what motivates me. I have been exposed to many things inside the country and outside the country. The desire to do things, to achieve and to be proud of what [I] can do… [that] is consistent. You just have to do something to improve any situation. The situation may be already good, but you have to think – what else can you do?

So in that sense, there is consistency all the time. When I was a young boy, I saw poverty, I saw people who were jobless and living very poor lives. I felt it was not right. You see that some people are rich, and some people are very poor, and some people do not even have regular meals. These are social problems and when you see problems like that, you want to do something. We are brought up that way, to be concerned about people who are less fortunate than we are. So if they are less fortunate, what do we do for them?

Throughout my career that has been my motivation, and even the approach has been very consistent. I don’t come up suddenly with some fantastic thing. I think things over to myself. For example, when I wanted to resign [as Prime Minister in 2003], I did not tell anybody. I thought it was time for me to resign and give place to others. So without anybody pushing me out, I resigned.

OKB: I suppose the poor usually can’t help themselves, and so those who have the opportunity have the responsibility to help them.

MM: That is true of course. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer – at least relatively speaking. The rich can get richer because they have the means. For example, in business, they have the capital and if they see an opportunity, they make use of that opportunity to enrich themselves. A poor man may see an opportunity, but he has no capital, so he will forever be poor because he does not have the means. So what we should do is not only give him the opportunity but also give him the means to make use of that opportunity.

OKB: You are practically a socialist, are you not?

MM: Socialism itself is not bad. But it is used sometimes to oppress people, and that is bad. A system is good only if you make use of it properly. During colonial times, the Europeans were the “masters”. You called them “Tuan”, and you think that they are superior and that they know a lot while you don’t. And they can do what you cannot do. And in a way, you feel very inferior. You get an inferiority complex.

OKB: The whole of society, really…

MM: Yes. I asked myself, am I as inferior as they make it out to be? Well, I thought, they are there because of their dominance over the people. They have practically colonised the country, and they are given [good] jobs, authority and power. That was what made them superior people. They could do what you could not do.

OKB: These experiences in your younger days must have affected you very deeply.

MM: Yes, very much. But I was fortunate. I was among the 20 or so boys who had the opportunity to go to an English school. There were hundreds of others who were equally good, but they did not get the opportunity to get a good education. It seemed to me quite unfair.

You had the opportunity, they didn’t have the opportunity. So, the solution to that is to create the opportunity and to give them the means to make use of the opportunity for their own good.

OKB: Being one of the few privileged ones, you felt this to be your responsibility then?

MM: Yes.

OKB: One of the great innovations of your time was Vision 2020. If I ask you to reformulate Vision 2020 today, would there be things in there that would be different from before?

MM: We wanted to be a developed country, but a developed country in our own mold, not just a copy of some other developed country. So we started spelling out what we meant by “in our own mold”. What do you mean by being developed?

If we do not define it properly, people tend to take the simple definition, which is that if you have money then you are developed. So you see the stress on per capita income. If you have a per capita income of [US$]15,000 or 30,000, then you are developed.

But that is not true. I have always thought that thinking in averages is a very bad way of assessing anything. I tell people that they can drown in a river with an average depth of two feet. If one man is a millionaire and 999 men are poverty-stricken, then the average [wealth] is $1000. You see, averages are not a very good measurement of achievements.

So you have to define what you mean by development. And to me, it is not just about per capita income. It is about our capacity. Do we have very well educated people? Do we do research and development? Do we produce things by ourselves? Are we industrialised? All these things must be there before you can consider yourself developed. At the moment, the stress is far too much on per capita income. Per capita is an average, and it is not a good measurement.

OKB: It’s more about people’s integrity and dignity, isn’t it?

MM: Yeah! People must be able to hold their heads up, to stand tall like other people.

OKB: Something that would have happened along the way since the 1990s would be the development of “Melayu Baru” – the New Malay. It’s a new world today and the Malays are in a different place – as a community and also in their relationship with other communities. Are we seeing something that you would have foreseen, that once the Malays reached a certain level of development a lot of conflict would also come into play?

MM: I spent a lot of time when I was Prime Minister to try and change the value system and the culture of the Malays because I believe it is the value system that determines if you do well or not. I must admit that I wasn’t very successful. But a few of them have acquired new values, new ways of thinking. We do see quite a number of Malay professionals and Malay businessmen who do well. But the rest are not doing so well.

 This can be corrected if you can change their mindset.

OKB: You just need to go to the next stage… But do you then think that things are going backwards? I suppose you do.

MM: Now, the focus is not on changing the culture. The focus is now on… well, giving [people] things without their earning those things. That’s bad.

OKB: But people generally don’t like to change, or don’t like to be told to change.

MM: Yes, but we change all the time.

OKB: We do.

MM: Whether we like it or not, we change. If you lived in a kampung and you move into a town, and you still want to live like you did in the kampung, that’s not possible. In fact, we had a problem housing people in places like Kampung Abdullah Hukum and Kampung Kerinchi in KL. They wanted to have a house like they used to, elevated so they can rear chickens underneath, plant some vegetables around the house.

That is not possible in town. In town, you have to have high-rise buildings, you have to live in flats. And living in flats means there are adjustments to be made. You cannot grow vegetables, you cannot rear any chickens. If you don’t make these adjustments, you can’t really live in an urban area.

OKB: One amazing aspect of your life is that you have fought from within Umno and you have fought from outside Umno. And by Umno, I am connoting mainstream politics in Malaysia, really. That has left many people confused, even pundits. It must at times get rather confusing even for you.

MM: Well, when you form a political party, you have an objective. What are you struggling for? When you are running Umno and you forget your objective, and you veer away and you go for other things, then I don’t see any reason why I should be inside the party. Umno is [supposed to be] dedicated to developing Malaysia, to ensure that people enjoy a good life, that everybody has a share of the wealth and power in this country.

But then you find that some leaders do not focus on that. They focus instead on something to make themselves happy. For example, they think that the best thing to do is to give money to people, and in that way, become popular. These are not to be found in the objectives of founding Umno.

That’s why sometimes I am in, and sometimes I am out [of Umno].

OKB: Two Malaysian Prime Ministers ruled for a substantial period of time, and were very influential. These are you and Tunku Abdul Rahman. What is your appraisal of Tunku Abdul Rahman today?

MM: The Tunku contributed a lot to the country. He was the one who won independence for the country. He was also the one who solved a very difficult problem – the problem of multiracialism. Normally, in a multiracial country, there will be conflicts for different reasons. Such countries will not be stable and you cannot develop such countries. But Tunku found a way out for Malaysia. He decided that they should share this country, all these races. He came up with this idea of a coalition – not a single multiracial party because a single multiracial party doesn’t work. Some have tried to have a party with multiracial membership but that didn’t work because people were still not familiar with each other.

So he came up with this idea of a coalition. You remain as you are in your own party looking after your community, and yet you have a common objective [with the other communities], you see? And when wealth is created, then all will have a share. Even the power. You must share the power, you must share the wealth.
So this was put into the Constitution.

OKB: I see your aides are telling us that we have to stop talking now. Let me squeeze in one last question. You are from Alor Setar, not very far away from Penang. Can you share some thoughts about Penang, your reminiscences of the place perhaps?

MM: My father came from Penang. In those days, when you wanted to go someplace different, you went to Penang. Penang was a developed town. But Penang has not changed that much. Some parts are very modern. The quay and all that, they are all still the same – ramshackle buildings and all that, and not very tidy, I must say.

One part has changed, the other has remained as it was before independence. But I think this is a problem with democracy. When you want to do something that is good all round, there will be people who will object. And well, you don’t want to be unpopular, so you allow these things to go on.

I think they did a better job in KL. If you go to KL, you don’t see those ramshackle zinc sheds anymore.

OKB: Thank you for your time and for sharing.

Source: Penang Monthly

Mega projects for Penang Traffic

Two major projects are in the pipeline to alleviate traffic congestion in the state, said state exco member Lim Hock Seng.

 

In his oral reply to Nordin Ahmad (BN-Bayan Lepas), he said the Bayan Lepas LRT and the Pan Island Link I Highway under the RM27bil Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) were scheduled to be carried out between 2017 and 2023.

The Bayan Lepas LRT willhave interchange stationsconnecting three more future LRT and monorail lines still on the drawing table.

The 20km Pan Island Link Highway will connect Gurney Drive and the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas.

He said the project would be carried out by SRS Consortium, the appointed project delivery partner.

He added that three proposed islands have been planned on the southern tip of Penang island which are financial model to carry out the PTMP.

Lim said the proposed undersea tunnel and three paired roads would be carried out by Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd.

The 6.5km Penang Undersea Tunnel will connect north Butterworth to the Gurney Drive-Pangkor Road junction.

As for the three paired roads, Lim said it would be carried out in stages from 2016 to 2025.

The three paired roads are from Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang and Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drivejunction to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

“In fact, the paired road from Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Express-way to Air Itam can be carried out in June.

“Next year, it will be the road from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang followed by the one from Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Express-way to Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drive in 2018,” he said.

On why the three paired roads could not be carried out simultaneously, Lim said some of the lands were not ready.

“Besides, we also cannot afford to pay lump sum for the roads. It is not feasible. That’s why we have to carry out everything in stages,” he said.

Source: The Star