Category: Commentary

Two groups, CPI and Refsa-IDEAS, are debating government subsidies.   This debate is critical because politicians are taking their cues from it. It is important that good judgement prevails. Much is at stake. But first, what is a subsidy? Why do we need it? Some believe subsidies are government money spent on primary healthcare, infrastructure,… Continue reading Before meddling with subsidies, ask why we need subsidies

The response by Research for Social Advancement (Refsa) institute to my note is disappointing. It provides little value added to the current knowledge on subsidies in Malaysia; repeats various motherhood statements about the need to rein in subsidies and selectively focuses on so-called various ivory tower statements that they have detected in my note to… Continue reading Refsa on subsidies: Still off the mark

 This is a statement by not-for-profit research institute REFSA (Research for Social Advancement) released on Friday, 12 October 2012. Budget 2013: Federal government subsidies go up in flames while poor Malaysians watch We write to rebut Dr Lim Teck Ghee’s assertion that “There is little empirical research to back up what has become an increasingly… Continue reading Response by Refsa on subsidy contentions

  The Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) is a well-connected international organization “committed to maintaining the threatened tropical rainforests with their rich plant and animal life, and to campaigning, in particular, for the rights of the peoples who inhabit the rainforests” with an especial focus on Sarawak. One of the BMF principals – its eponymous founder… Continue reading Bruno Manser Fund asking for global bank freeze on Taib assets

  CPI foreward Hindraf analyst Dr V.S. Paraman writes CPI an update on the activities of the rights movement and the fresh strategies put in play since the return of their exiled chairman P. Waytha Moorthy. ******************** Hindraf awaiting Najib’s, Anwar’s response By Dr S. Paraman The return home of Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy… Continue reading Hindraf awaiting Najib’s, Anwar’s response

  Mahathir Mohamad telah mempelawa PAS untuk melaksanakan hukum hudud di bawah payung Barisan Nasional (BN). Nyata bahawa pelawaan ini cuma sebuah taktik politik yang kecil. Namun begitu, satu pertimbangan yang ringkas boleh dilakukan mengenai kemungkinan PAS bersekutu dengan Umno, sama ada untuk tujuan melaksanakan hukum hudud atau untuk sebarang sebab yang lain. Kesimpulannya perpaduan… Continue reading PAS dan Umno, hudud dan perlaksanaan: realiti semasa

The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal and the Port Klang Free Trade Zone (PKFZ) fiasco have raised many concerns about transparency and corporate governance and its importance in promoting an honest sustainable corporate culture in Malaysia. The recent NFC and PKFZ fiasco has shown us how elected representatives and political leaders have allowed themselves to… Continue reading Constitutional amendment to prohibit MPs getting involved in business

 Introduction by CPI Recently, the CPI published an explanation from the Polis DiRaja Malaysia in response to public concern about rising crime in the country and official statistics which provide an opposite picture of the trend in the last three years (see the exchange in CPI between Dr Lim Teck Ghee and ACP Ramli Mohamed… Continue reading How official crime statistics are doctored and manipulated

CPI introduction We are reproducing below an excerpt from a former MCA insider who has left the country for good. The excerpt is from his letter responding to a request from his friend asking him to consider a return to Malaysia. The excerpt provides a personal but important perspective of the role of non-Malay parties… Continue reading Who have conned the Chinese in Malaysia?

I welcome and appreciate Dr Lim Teck Ghee’s thoughtful comments on the Polis Diraja Malaysia’s response to his earlier critique on the PDRM and crime . It appears that the police tend to be quite defensive and the public are also getting more frustrated and increasingly fearful of the security situation in our country. Hence… Continue reading Macro issues that create the environment for crime