PEOPLE'S POET - aliran.com · Muhammad (Pak Sako) and Lim Chin Siong. He was even support-ive of...

Aliran Monthly 21(10)

PP3739/12/2001 ISSN 0127 - 5127 / RM3.00 / 2001:21(10)

PEOPLE'S POETPEOPLE'S POETPEOPLE'S POETPEOPLE'S POETPEOPLE'S POET


sman Awang loomsvery tall in any conver-sation, writing or studyon modern Malay lit-

erature. Also very well-knownas Tongkat Warrant, he usedabout a dozen nom-de-plumes towrite poems, dramas, literarycriticism and even a series of es-says on Malay courtesy (budibahasa), especially in the earlierpart of his career. But almost allof his outstanding poems werewritten under Tongkat Warrant,while his views on Malay cour-tesy were usually expressed,most appropriately, under thepseudonym Manis.

Usman is popularly considered,and most justifiably too, as per-haps the best poet in the Malaylanguage. Most important, he isaccepted without question as apeople’s poet. Writing since 1955,Usman did not produce a verylarge corpus of poetry, only about

Usman Awang (1929-2001)

The People's Poetby Dr Syed Husin Ali

COVER STORY

UUUUU

Just Beautiful


alaysia mourns the passing of UsmanAwang, the people’s poet. In this issue, wefeature tributes by Dr Syed Husin Ali andAmir Muhammad. They speak of his im-

mense contribution not only to Malaysian literaturebut to society as a whole.

Dr Wong Soak Koon takes another look at several ofUsman’s well-known poems, highlighting his care-ful selection of details and images. She describesthe poet’s life-long concern for justice and fairplayand his empathy for the suffering of the poor, themarginalised and the oppressed. Take time to ap-preciate these poems reproduced inside.

The other focus of this issue of AM is the proposedThird Link for Penang. We present a series of arti-cles arguing that a more comprehensive and sus-tainable transport policy must be developed forPenang.

Ganesh Rasagam gives us 10 reasons why the ThirdLink is not needed. We also report on what severalPenangites have to say. Anil Netto warns thatPenang is already turning into a huge expanse oftar and concrete. He asks: Where is the transpar-ency in the preparation of feasibility studies andthe EIA report? Have the people been consulted?Finally, we reproduce a memorandum to the authori-ties from a newly established network called STOP(Sustainable Transport Options for Penang). Wehope that you will support this endeavour.

We wish all readers Selamat Hari Raya, MerryChristmas, Happy New Year and belated Deepavaligreetings too! Let us celebrate our differences, butlet us also remember those detained under the ISA.

C O N T E N T S

Printed by Angkatan Edaran Enterprise Sdn. Bhd. Lot 6, Jalan Tukang 16/4,Seksyen 16, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

EDITOR'S NOTE

COVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORY••••• People's PoetPeople's PoetPeople's PoetPeople's PoetPeople's Poet 22222

••••• Rereading Usman's PoemsRereading Usman's PoemsRereading Usman's PoemsRereading Usman's PoemsRereading Usman's Poems 77777

••••• Death Of A PatriotDeath Of A PatriotDeath Of A PatriotDeath Of A PatriotDeath Of A Patriot 1 11 11 11 11 1

FEATURESFEATURESFEATURESFEATURESFEATURES••••• Judiciary Under ScrutinyJudiciary Under ScrutinyJudiciary Under ScrutinyJudiciary Under ScrutinyJudiciary Under Scrutiny 1 41 41 41 41 4

••••• New AGNew AGNew AGNew AGNew AG 1 71 71 71 71 7

••••• 10 Good Reasons Penang10 Good Reasons Penang10 Good Reasons Penang10 Good Reasons Penang10 Good Reasons Penang

Does Not Need Third LinkDoes Not Need Third LinkDoes Not Need Third LinkDoes Not Need Third LinkDoes Not Need Third Link 1 91 91 91 91 9

••••• How Ferry Service Scaled DownHow Ferry Service Scaled DownHow Ferry Service Scaled DownHow Ferry Service Scaled DownHow Ferry Service Scaled Down 2 12 12 12 12 1

• What Penangites Say• What Penangites Say• What Penangites Say• What Penangites Say• What Penangites Say 2 22 22 22 22 2

••••• Parking Lot Of The OrientParking Lot Of The OrientParking Lot Of The OrientParking Lot Of The OrientParking Lot Of The Orient 2 42 42 42 42 4

••••• STOP MemorandumSTOP MemorandumSTOP MemorandumSTOP MemorandumSTOP Memorandum 2 72 72 72 72 7

••••• Penang Needs LRTPenang Needs LRTPenang Needs LRTPenang Needs LRTPenang Needs LRT 2 92 92 92 92 9

••••• Aftershocks That Will Shake UsAftershocks That Will Shake UsAftershocks That Will Shake UsAftershocks That Will Shake UsAftershocks That Will Shake Us 3 03 03 03 03 0

••••• Aliran President SpeaksAliran President SpeaksAliran President SpeaksAliran President SpeaksAliran President Speaks 3 43 43 43 43 4

REGULARSREGULARSREGULARSREGULARSREGULARS••••• LettersLettersLettersLettersLetters 3 23 23 23 23 2

••••• Current ConcernsCurrent ConcernsCurrent ConcernsCurrent ConcernsCurrent Concerns 3 63 63 63 63 6

••••• Heart To Heart: Herb FeithHeart To Heart: Herb FeithHeart To Heart: Herb FeithHeart To Heart: Herb FeithHeart To Heart: Herb Feith 3 83 83 83 83 8

OTHERSOTHERSOTHERSOTHERSOTHERS••••• Subscription FormSubscription FormSubscription FormSubscription FormSubscription Form 1 81 81 81 81 8

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200 of them. But the man, his per-sonality, his poetry and his ideashave a much deeper and wider in-fluence than that number wouldsuggest. Many of his poems aresimple, clear, oftentimes romantic,and just beautiful. He was a mas-ter at weaving words into strik-ing phrases, sentences and versesthat are of exceptional classicalbeauty and sometimes appear tobe nostalgic and even escapist.

Although the forms of Usman’saesthetic creations are stronglytraditional, yet in content they ex-press many ideas and ideals thatare very modern. Usman wasdeeply against feudal and colo-nial domination, which in hisview strangles freedom andprogress. Particularly in the earlypart of his career he strongly op-posed poverty, which he saw asthe product of exploitation; andhe deeply empathised with thedesire and attempts to alleviate theconditions of the disadvantagedand the marginalised. He wasagainst class, ethnic and genderdiscrimination, and in his ownartistic way he always fought forequality, inter-social harmonyand national unity. He wasagainst war and always longedfor universal peace. All of his emo-tions and ideas on these mattersare effectively expressed in hiswritings, not just his poetry.

In two cases, Usman combinedboth poetry and action. The firstwas when, together with SaidZahari and Tajuddin Kahar,Usman led a long strike to de-fend Utusan Publications frombeing taken over by the rulingpolitical party then. During thestrike Usman was productive inwriting poems about their strug-

gle. The most well known amongthem is “Duri dan Api”, a titlewhich he used for one of his an-thologies. After more than ahundred days, the strike was de-feated and almost all the strik-ing staff lost their jobs. Said wasdetained in Singapore for 17years.

Secondly, Usman was very sup-portive of the Palestinian strugglefor liberation. He formed and ledthe Malaysia-Palestine Friend-ship Association. He was invitedto a Palestinian conference led bynone other than Yasser Arafat.There he recited his poem in hon-our of the Palestinian struggle,“Salam Benua”, a title also usedfor another of his poetry collec-tions.

Because of the ideas expressed inmany of his poems, Usman wasconsidered and even branded asa leftist. But Usman was never in-volved directly with party politics,although he was very politicallyconscious. Indirectly he was veryclose to leftist politicians likeAhmad Boestamam, Ishak HajiMuhammad (Pak Sako) and LimChin Siong. He was even support-ive of them as well as the partiesthat they led, like the Partai Rakyat(in Malaya then) and BarisanSosialis (in Singapore). In fact, fora long time, until his health af-fected his creative activities, heeven acted unofficially as edito-rial advisor of many of the PRM’spublications. But Usman did notreserve his kind help only to hisleftist political friends. He was al-ways ready and willing to extenda helping hand to anybody whosought it, including those in orclose to government, especiallythe young burning with aspira-tions of becoming a famous writerlike him.

Usman’s compatriots, young andold alike, loved most of his poems.In the fifties, not long afterUsman’s works appeared in pub-lication, a wave of interest devel-oped, especially in schools andamong students, to hold publicdeclamations of Malay poetry. Itlater spread far and wide to allkinds of literary competitions andcultural functions. Usman’s po-ems, such as “Bunga Popi” and“Pak Utih” became prominent fea-tures in such declamations. Thewave subsided in the seventiesand eighties, when there wasmore emphasis laid on material-istic economic development.

But in the nineties it was revived.Recently, when a government-controlled television featured po-etry reading before its prime newstime, the first poem recited to in-augurate this short programmewas by Usman. It was recited byanother well-known poet-novelistand also national literary laure-ate, A. Samad Said, who regardsUsman as one of his earlier men-tors. There is no doubt that Usmanis not only a people’s poet, but alsoa very popular one. No wonder, anumber of his poems have beentranslated into almost a dozen for-eign languages, including Eng-lish, Russian, Chinese and Ara-bic.

As a person Usman was sweet,gentle, sensitive, humorous, kind,hospitable and yet sometimes firmto the point of being recalcitrant.All kinds of people from variousethnic and religious backgrounds,from school children to seniorambassadors, loved to meet andbefriend him. And Usman wasever ready to receive and entertainthem. He had the help of a mostwonderful wife, Hasnah Din,whose delicious cuisine was al-

Duri Dan Api


ways a great joy to their guests.

In fact they also had the patienceto entertain some stragglers, rela-tives or friends, who came to staymuch longer in their hospitablehome. I stayed with them fornearly a year when I was an “un-employed and floating” graduate.So too with poet-artist LatiffMohidin, some time later. In 1974,when the police were seeking toarrest some students,Hishamudin Rais, Yunus Ali andothers sought refuge with Tongkatand Kak Senah, as they were of-ten affectionately referred to. Theyextended their generosity evenwhen they were facing financialdifficulties.

Like his poetry, Usman’s person-ality embodied both tradition andmodernity. He was traditional butnot conservative, modern but notwesternised. He seemed to havesucceeded in synthesising thegood in both. His life and hisoutlook seems to have been influ-enced by three main factors,namely, his early background, hisimmersion into the lower strata ofSingapore society, and his closeinteractions with his colleagues,especially in Utusan Melayu.

He was born within a poor ruralfamily in Sedili, near Kota Tinggi,Johor. When still a teenager andduring his early twenties, heserved as a forced labourer underJapanese military, and also as anoffice boy and a policeman underBritish colonial rule. He knew ex-actly what poverty and the strug-gle to live really meant.

When he worked in Singapore, hewas immersed into the predomi-nantly proletarian Malay societythere. He became one with their

A Wonderful Human BeingAliran joins the nation in mourning the passing of UsmanAwang, the renowned poet and novelist who stood out as agiant among Malaysia’s literary figures.

Usman was a great patriot and a wonderful human being.His sense of humanity transcended ethnic considerations. Ina society where interethnic friendship too often remains anideal rather than reality, he was a consistent and true friendof all communities.

His writings always reflected deep and sincere concerns forthe common man. He will be remembered not just for his liter-ary achievements but as a ‘poet of the people’.

We in Aliran have a special reason for missing him. Usmanserved as a member of Aliran’s Trust Board for a number ofyears beginning when the Board was established in 1985.

May God shower him with His blessings.

Aliran Executive Committee29 November 2001

desire and attempts, as a minor-ity group, to survive colonialismand struggle for freedom andprogress. In Utusan Melayu,where he worked and interactedwith many, particularly A. SamadIsmail, who were involved in thefight for independence and socialjustice through that well-knownnewspaper, Usman matured as aman, an intellectual and a liter-ary figure. There is no doubt that,when his economic life improveda great deal during his stay inKuala Lumpur, Usman was not asactively involved with left politics,which anyhow had declined inthe eighties and nineties. But heremained committed to his formerideas and ideals.

I know that some of his friendswere very disappointed whenUsman wrote and read a poem inpraise of Prime Minister Dr

Mahathir Mohamad in 1995. Butat that time, he and many of hisformer leftist friends too, were en-thused by Mahathir for adoptingapparently a firm position againstneo-colonialism and for taking upthe just cause of Palestine.Mahathir was echoing forty yearstoo late what the left had foughtfor, and for which many were ac-cused of mouthing so-called pro-Communist slogans and as a re-sult some were jailed under theISA. In this poem, Usman praisedMahathir for his rather progres-sive stand on certain internationalissues. Actually, long before this,Usman had also written poemsdedicated to Ahmad Boestamam,Hasnul Hadi. Said Zahari and DrM.K Rajakumar, following theirdetention without trial under thedraconian Internal Security Act(ISA). There is nothing special inUsman’s praise for Mahathir.

Synthesising The Good


Usman ’ s Las t Poems

SAUDARA ANWAR IBRAHIM(Selamat Hari Lahir)

Palu telah dijatuhkanLama sebelum tanganmu terikat ke belakangKau gegar aras kayanganKekuasaan yang mula tergoncang

Sekali tanganmu terancung ke udaraSejuta teriakan menyambutnyaSekali suaramu terpancar ke angkasaSejuta gelombang gema menyahutnya

Demi sumpah perjuanganDemi maruah keadilanTabah dan gagahTidak pernah menyerah.

Demi sumpah perjuanganDemi maruah keadilanTabah dan gagahTidak pernah menyerah.

JENTAYU YANG LUKA (Untuk Wan Azizah)

Tiba-tiba dia bangkitDengan kelembutan yang tetap sopanBerdiri di barisan paling hadapanSebagai pahlawan keadilan

Lama dulu wajahnya tersembunyiDi belakang pemimpin berani sang suamiMengintip dengan mata kecilnyaSegala tingkah dan senyuman pura-puraSi pengampu yang bermuka duaSi penyembah yang berjiwa hambaSi pengemis segenggam laba

Dia adalah jentayu yang lukaTerbang mengepak menyonsong gumpalan awanMencakar menjeritkan kebebasan dan keadilanMencabar dunia yang semakin kejam.

When Anwar Ibrahim was sackedas DPM and Deputy President ofUMNO, Usman was dumb-founded. He immediately visitedAnwar to express his deepest con-cern and sympathy. He plannedto compile an anthology of poemsin honour of Anwar. Actuallythere had been a long and specialrelationship between the poet andthe politician. When Usman wasrecovering from his bypass sur-gery, Anwar and Wan Azizah vis-ited him. Usman arranged to takea group photograph of his familywith them. For a long time thephotograph of the group deco-rated the lounge in his house.When Usman became less mobile,he transferred the photograph tohis own bedroom.

Usman was concerned that hisdeteriorating health and the slowresponse from fellow poets weredelaying his project. Anyhow,with his determination and thehelp of Prof Muhammad HajiSalleh, another national literarylaureate, and others, Usman man-aged to produce, under his andS.S. Dino’s editorship, an anthol-ogy called Dari Derita Bangsa(From the Sufferings of a Nation).It contains works from 21 promi-nent local poets. The most signifi-cant thing is that the anthology isclosed by two poems by Usman,“Jentayu Yang Luka” (WoundedPhoenix), dedicated to WanAzizah, and “Saudara AnwarIbrahim”, for the occasion of hisbirthday.

In them Usman expressed his can-did support for their struggle to es-tablish justice, freedom and truth.They were his last poems. I knowthey came from the very depth ofUsman’s sincere heart.

D S A I

q


t is sad that very often we are impelledto reread a poet’s works because he isno longer with us, when the best acco-lade one can give a writer is to read

his creations, enjoy them as well as critique themwhile he is with us and can give us fresh feed-back. In rereading some of Usman Awang’swords, I was first drawn to a paragraph in hisacceptance speech when he was awarded the“Anugerah Sastera Negara” (National LiteraryAward) in 1983, which reads:

Such is the case that when I have attainedhalf a century, I am almost inudated, by allsorts of honours which are suddenly heapedupon me (dikejutkan oleh berbagai-bagaipenghormatan yang bagaikan tiba-tibabertimpa datangnya). Many odd questionsarise. Have I done something wrong? HaveI erred? Have I ceased to be the voice of thepoor and the oppressed? Or, is it because Ihave, not only high blood pressure, but prob-lems with my heart, that it is felt that some-thing ought to be given to me before theblood stops flowing and the heart stops beat-ing?

So much of the man is conveyed in these fewlines. Foremost is an unrelentingly honest self-scrutiny which prevents him from simply bath-ing in the glow of yet another accolade. Hisword bertimpa even connotes a sense of of theburden and weight of these numerous honours.The questions he asked himself reveal a keensense of the danger of public honour erodingprivate integrity. Can and will a SasterawanNegara (National Laureate) continue to speakout against the authorities in the cause of jus-tice and fairness or will he become another alat-alat negara (a tool of the state)? With his charac-

COVER STORY

Rereading Usman's Poems

IIIII

A lifelong concern for Justice and Fairplay

by Dr Wong Soak Koon

teristic wit, he then refers to his own mortalityand in so doing, may have reminded the moresensitive among his listeners in the august Ban-quet Hall of Parliament House that death lev-els all, the honoured and the unsung, the pow-erful and the powerless.

Usman Awang’s l ife-long concern for thepoor, the oppressed, the marginalised isfound not only in his poems but in his shortstories, essays and drama as well as his novel.Some of his closest friends may feel that hewas a socialist at heart but it is unnecessaryto attach a label to a concern for social jus-tice that was culled from lived experiencesand not from a political manifesto or partypolitics. Usman Awang’s “politics” were bornof a deep empathy for the suffering of a poorfarmer like Pak Utih, or a rebel in the jungleawaiting violent death, or an ice-cream sellerhawking his wares in the heart of a busymetropolis. In fact the idealism and, in somepoems, the romantic sentimentality, is thevery opposite of the hardened practicalitywhich must guide politicians, governmentand opposition alike.

A master of the well-selected detail and thesharpest metaphor, Usman Awang continues the“protest” tradition which, for some, began inthe Sejarah Melayu, or Malay Annals, where in-justice was notnotnotnotnot passively endured by the rakyat.In clever language usage (innuendoes andsarcasms), in subtle acts of defiance or outrightaccusations (e.g. the peasant women who pro-tested loudly when their cooked rice was sto-len by members of the defeated King’s retinueafter the fall of Malacca), the people in The MalayAnnals, aristocratic or common folk, indict in-justice.


In the oft-recited poem, Pak Utih, (Father Utih,1954) Usman Awang uses simple language toexpose unfulfilled promises of “freedom” un-der the newly-independent nation state. PakUtih still waits for better medical care while hepays the medicine man (or Pak Dukun) from themeagre store he has earned by the sweat of hisbrow. The juxtuposition of the rural citizenrywith those in towns who too readily wave theirhands as leaders pass in their limousinesthematises the poet’s recurrent concern with therural-urban divide. Banquets, feasting are ac-tivities of urban, bourgeois citizens who haveforgotten the contribution of the peasant (petaniyang berjasa), and thus do not care to know ofhis suffering.

An independent nation with such uncaringleaders and citizens is really directionless be-neath its surface progress and development.The final line: “Where are the leaders going intheir limousines?” aptly sums up the generallack of a political will to effect change for thelikes of Pak Utih. No wonder then that 20years later in 1974 when Usman Awang wrotePak Utih (2), Pak Utih is in a worse state withhis land mortgaged, his grandchildren, verylikely, destined for the lock-up, either becauseof their own criminality or, more likely, be-cause of their agitation for reform as a youngergeneration impatient for justice so long de-nied. The poem ends poignantly with the im-ages of death and decay as the starving grand-children die from feeding on the ubi gadung,but there is an ominous warning of future un-rest in the final lines:

Now and then in the still of the nightfrom the hill-top on the jungle fringea voice comes chanting:

dandle high dandle lowthe parang has been sharpenedonce you’ve set to have a bathlet the water really flow.(alang-alang mandi biar sampai basah)

The patience of the Malay peasants may nolonger work to constrain their wrath and a songto lull children becomes a rallying cry to actionin the fight for justice.

Rereading Usman Awang’s Bunga Popi, 1955(Poppies) in this season of violence and war asthe war-mongers fan emotions in America andother places and the blood of both the inno-cent and combatants in places like Palestine andAfghanistan colour the soil, we are remindedof the horrors unleashed by men:

From blood, from pus thatrots in the soilfrom skeletons that have losttheir livesthe result of war maniacswho kill love,the red flowers bloom beautifully,requesting to be adored.

The poppies, so bright and beautiful, are theemblems of war, soil enriched by human bloodand pus.

In Salam Benua, 1970, (“Greetings to the Conti-nent”), Usman Awang’s ability to transcend po-litical and ethnic boundaries so as to respondto a common humanity resonates like a clarioncall to us to ask important questions. Who gainsfrom the division, the boundaries erected? Whodictates the borders of the so-called new worldorder? With characteristic insight, he says:

they rob us with their lawssending bullets wrapped in dollarsforcing us to chooseand choose we mustthere is no other way.

“Bullets wrapped in dollars” is an arrestingimage pointing to the fact that “war” can alsobe waged, away from battlefields, in Stock Ex-changes, in the neo-colonialism of foreign aid.And to combat this subservience to the BigPowers of the world, some defy even their ownnational leaders who have capitulated. Thesedefiant ones are themselves propelled into vio-lence having “chosen guns and bullets.” Andso, divisions remain as violence begats violenceand “little children sling on their weapons.” Thepoem nonetheless ends on a note of hope, how-ever slim, as the poetic voice greets his fellowmen with a vision of a world withoug visa, pass-


Father UtihFather UtihFather UtihFather UtihFather UtihIIIII

He has one wife - whom he embraces until deathfive children who want to eat everydayan old hut where an inherited tale is hanginga piece of barren land to cultivate.

The skin of his hands is taut and callousedaccustomed to any amount of sweatO Father Utih, the worthy peasant.

But malaria comes hunting themeven though he offers a million prayersand Mother Utih calls the village medicine manfor magic formulas, curses repeatedly chanted.

The medicine man with his reward goes homewith money and a pullet tied together.

IIIIIIIIII

In towns the leaders keep shoutingof elections and the people’s freedomof thousand-fold prosperity in a sovereign statea golden bridge of prosperity into the world hereafter.

When victory brightly shinesthe leaders in cars move forward,their chests thrust forwardO! the beloved subjects wave their hands.

Everywhere there are banquets and festivitiesdelicious roast chicken is servedchicken from the village promised prosperity.

Father Utih still waits in prayerwhere are the leaders going in their limousines?

(Translated by Adibah Amin)

q

1 9 5 4

port or concern for colour and creed.

Usman Awang’s views on the role ofthe intellectual or the literate personin societies where many are still il-literate centres on the role of the pub-lic intellectual. The intellectual mustimmerse himself in the daily lives ofthe poor, the oppressed, rural folkand not simply enjoy the bourgeoiscomforts of an urban milieu. (SeePeranan Intelektual or The Role of theIntellectual). All too often, the bour-geois’ intellectual can be co-optedand so becomes complacent or evenindifferent. Usman Awang repeat-edly counsels them to experience inperson the hardship of the op-pressed, the poor and allow theirfive senses, mind and heart to learnlessons not learnt in the universities.The reference to learning from thepoor, the oppressed is very impor-tant for it necessitates humility; wemust realise that our book-learning,our myriad economic theories are notthe only answers. In speaking of thewriter’s movement, Angkatan’50 (The50’s Group), for example he says:

We of the Angkatan’50 do nothave a wide and robust under-standing of the many ills in oursociety. And we must acknowl-edge that what we have thus fararticulated about the people’s suf-fering has come from our ownview-point, from the angle of vi-sion of the middle-class.

This brief survey cannot hope to dojustice to the rich legacy Usman Awangleaves us but we hope that it will en-courage people to read his works ifthey have not done so or to rereadthem. But above all, Usman Awang’slife-long concern for justice, fairplayand for the lot of the oppressed mustcontinue to energize us into action.That would be the best “monument”we can erect to honour him.


IIIIIThey separate us

the passports visas frontiers all names for barriersthey rob us with their laws

sending bullets wrapped in dollarsforcing us to chooseand choose we mustthere is no other way

IIIIIIIIIIFriend, you have chosen guns and bullets

many leaders prefer their dollarsfor this you must soak your clothes

red grass, red riverchildren’s weeping

the blood of the exploited

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYou squeeze cactus and grind stones

to make food and drinkgirls toil decorated in dust

little children sling on their weaponsyou darken the sky with exploding pipelines

others sing in prisonsfor the freedom of Palestine

IVIVIVIVIVWe strive in drying rice fields

daring peasants have begun to clear the virginjungle

small beginnings in a cloudlike calmnessa calmness that nips us in the bud

we the few are still learningfrom all your experiences,

and our own

we shall consolidate the May eclipseat the true target

of this archipelago

VVVVVGreetings

without visapassport

golfcolour

to humanity, people,of all continents.

(Translated by Muhammed Hj Salleh)

From blood, from pus that rots in the soil,

from skeletons that have lost their lives,

snatched by weapons,

the result of war maniacs who kill love,

the red flowers bloom beautifully, requesting to be

adored.

Those who live on are remnants of life, full of

sufferings,

wizened, bent, deformed, maimed and blind,

war in retrospect is full of horrors;

they remember now, in bitterness, in solitude.

Others lost children, husbands and sweethearts,

lost their sources of support, their livelihood,

they live in starvation,

thousands widowed, thousands disappointed,

thousands tormented;

millions of orphans live on, and beg.

The war maniacs have killed all love!

war raged and found profit in colonial lands!

war raged and killed babies in their cradles!

war raged, and destroyed cultural values

Poppies are the flowers of fallen soldiers,

flowers drenched red with blood, full of horrors,

we hate war, full of killing!

we cry for a never-ending peace!

(Translated by Adibah Amin)

PoppiesPoppiesPoppiesPoppiesPoppies Greetings To The ContinentGreetings To The ContinentGreetings To The ContinentGreetings To The ContinentGreetings To The Continent

1 9 7 01 9 5 5


ith the passing of UsmanAwang, Malaysia is leftwith one less personwho knows what mat-

ters. He is one of the very fewMalaysian writers whose appealcould cut across racial and cul-tural barriers, and he maintainedright to the end the spirit of ques-tioning those in power. (“spirit ofexposing social injustice” - TheStar)

Several of his poems, plays andshort stories are comfortably en-sconced in the collective imagina-tion of two generations ofMalaysians. Equally important isthe image of the man himself,whose integrity, humility andopen-heartedness have served asinspiration to many.

He once recounted an early expe-rience that served as a guidingprinciple for the rest of his life.During the Japanese Occupationhe was a forced labourer for theinvaders before managing to es-cape with the help of a Tamilclerk, who hid him in his house.The clerk’s wife told him, “Treatthis as your own house, Usman.We are all the same. Regardless ofrace, we all have the same redblood. People are divided betweenthe rich and the poor, the bad andthe good.”

As a policeman during the Emer-

gency, he was compelled to arrestmany people but later said, “Idon’t know why they were caught.They seemed to us to be good peo-ple, teachers, shopkeepers, work-ers . It was only gradually that Istarted to learn the truth about thepolitical situation, detentions,police action and so on.” Anotherformative experience was whenhe was assigned to guard a politi-cal congress; listening to the left-wing nationalist leaders likeBurhanuddin Helmy, ShamsiahFakeh and Ahmad Boestamamwere invaluable in shaping hissocial conscience.

War and poverty had cut short hisformal education at Standard Six

but his immersion in the univer-sity of life - as policeman, journal-ist, editor, and activist - made surethat his works were grounded inthe social verities of their time. Hisearly poems such as the anti-war“Bunga Popi” (1955) burned witha commitment to universal hu-manity and a hatred of brutalityand discrimination. His “PakUtih” (1954) is the ballad of a ne-glected farmer that ends:

Pak Utih masih menanti dengan doa,Bapak-bapak pergi ke mana di mobilbesar?

He wrote a second poem called “PakUtih” in 1974 which underscored thefact that independence from our colo-

COVER STORY

Death Of A Patriotby Amir Muhammed

WWWWW


nial masters nevertheless left the ru-ral poor as poor as ever, but with per-haps a different set of problems:

Tiba-tiba Pak Utih pandai menulisDitulisnya huruf-huruf sebesarbatang kelapa:I-N-F-L-A-S-I

In his later poems, the undoubtedstrength of his convictions becametinged with irony and satire in-stead of mere righteousness.“Bagaimana Kalau”, “BenarkahKetam Mengajar AnaknyaBerjalan Betul?” and “Surat dariMasyarakat Burung KepadaDatuk Bandar”, all written in1979, are brilliant socio-politicalcritiques cloaked in fun and mock-ing laughter, although his lan-guage remained as supple and un-pretentious as ever.

Not all his poetry revolved aroundthe theme of social injustice.“Kekasih” (1971), with its sensuousmetaphors and seductive rhythms,remains one of the greatest expres-sions of romantic love in the lan-guage; its popularity is proven by thefact that it has been set to song sev-eral times.

Although best-known as a poet,he did make some important con-tributions to other genres. Hisgroundbreaking verse-play“Matinya Seorang Pahlawan”(1961) helped to popularise theidea of 15th century Malaccanwarrior Hang Jebat as the real heroin his fight against Hang Tuah.Jebat was recast as a fierce ideal-ist who valued truth and friend-ship above feudal allegiance to anunjust king:

Raja adil raja disembahRaja tak adil raja disanggah!

The theme so captured the publicimagination that “MatinyaSeorang Pahlawan” has becomeone of the most performed of localplays. His musical “Uda DanDara” (1972), which is due to berestaged in a big way next year, isnot just a love story but a socialistprotest against class barriers andcapitalist exploitation.

A handful of his short stories willalso survive as testaments to hisdramatic acumen and moral rig-our. “Sebuah Khemah Didirikan”(1961) commemorates the UtusanMelayu strike when journalistsfrom that newspaper were tryingvaliantly to save it from politicalinterference. In its depiction of thelonely struggle of maintaining integ-rity and self-worth against the lureof easy money, it is one of the finestshort stories written in this coun-try. Equally powerful is “MatinyaSeorang Perem-puan” (1959), inwhich the murder of a woman be-comes the catalyst for a boy to realisejust how dangerous his politician fa-ther is.

He was a man imbued by princi-ples of justice and equality but heknew how to have fun. Pictures ofhim from his early days show astriking dandy, and anecdotesabound of his romantic pursuits.His appetite for life included in itan antipathy for the corrupt andthe exploitative - in other words,people who would be most likelyto reduce the quality of that life.

He was a fierce defender of theMalay language and wrote“Keranda 152” (1967) to com-memorate the occasion in whichlanguage activists protestedagainst the continual marginal-isation of Bahasa Malaysia, but he

was no ethnocentric bigot. Hispoem “Sahabatku” (1983), dedi-cated to his friend Dr. M. K.Rajakumar, contained his visionof a united nation:

Bilakah semua warga negaramendapat haklayanan dan keadilan yang samaDikenali dengan satu rupa nama:Bangsa Malaysia?

It’s no accident that among theeight men who have beenawarded the title of SasterawanNegara (National Laureate), his iseasily the most widely-read andrecognized among non-Malays. Itwas wonderful to see artists from somany language streams pay tributeto him at Salam Benua, an event or-ganised in 1998 by the privately-owned Actors Studio, which is mostcommonly associated with English-language theatre.

Even Usman’s tenure as editor inDewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in the1970s is fondly remembered as atime when the institution wasopen to, and encouraging of, par-ticipation from writers and cul-tural figures from all races. Theofficial notion of cultural space be-came narrower and more exclusionaryafter he left. The cultural bureaucratsof today should perhaps read deeplyinto the closing stanza of his “SalamBenua” (1970):

Salamtanpa visapaspotgolfwarnakemanusiaan rakyatseluruh benua.

Although ill health reduced his crea-tive output to a trickle in the last dec-


q

A radically censored/“edited” version of thispiece appeared on page 3of The Star on 30 Novem-ber 2001 where evenphrases like “the lonelystruggle of maintaining in-tegrity and self-worthagainst the lure of easymoney” were deleted. Anyphrase suggesting that theauthorities can be ques-tioned was similarlysnipped. The phrases de-leted are shown in italics.

We reproduce this pieceboth as a tribute to UsmanAwang’s courage and,ironically, as an illustra-tion of the kind of “edit-ing”/ self-censorshippractised by the main-stream media.

ade of his life, he remained an impor-tant icon frequently consulted or vis-ited by younger writers. Rather thanbe bought over by the comforts of theestablishment, he preferred to be au-tonomous and remained a championof the underdog: Two of his last po-ems, written in 1999, were calledJentayu Yang Luka (Untuk WanAzizah) and Saudara Anwar Ibrahim.They are collected in Dari DeritaBangsa (2001), a book of protest andhumanitarian poems that he helpedto compile.

Usman Awang - a good writerwith a few great works, a lover oftruth and life, a scourge of the falseand the rapacious - is emphati-cally a credit to the burgeoningMalaysian race that he helped tocreate.

Following Usman Awang’sdeath, some of the government-controlled media have been re-peatedly showing clippings ofUsman with Prime Minister DrMahathir Mohamad, whichwere taken during a functionorganised by Utusan Melayu.

Two years ago ZainuddinMydin who was then ChiefEditor of Utusan Melayugroup organised a poetry read-ing function apparently tohonour Usman Awang.

According to Syed Husin Ali,Usman told him thatZainuddin persistently per-suaded him to attend the func-tion. Usman gave all kinds ofexcuse so as not to go - hishealth, his inability to walk upsteps and to sit long throughsuch occasions. ButZainuddin was insistent andhe promised Usman to take allmeasures necessary to makehim comfortable. Being themagnanimous person he was,Usman did not have the heartor strength to ignore the pleas,even from a person he was notterribly easy with.

To Usman’s surprise,Mahathir also attended that

function. Usman was equallysurprised that Utusan Publica-tions, of all things, consideredit appropriate to take it uponthemselves to proclaim him asSeniman Agung (Great Artist).He was given RM5,000, a sumtoo small compared with sucha high-sounding title, whichwas ceremoniously handedover by the Prime Minister.

It so happened that during thattime Mahathir was feeling thestrain of the implied attacks bynational literary laureate,Datuk Shahnon Ahmad,through his notorious novelShit. Both Mahathir andZainuddin appeared to belooking for the support of thehighly respected Usman.

According to Syed Husinagain, after that unfortunateoccasion Usman told himthat he felt very sad becausehe thought he was “deceived”(terpedaya). He never imag-ined that anyone could takeadvantage of him in order tohelp a leader whose politicalcredibility was under ques-tion then. Much later, Usmangave an interview to a youngartist friend to express hissadness.

Usman Awang Deceived?

q


hen asked recently howhe thought the judiciaryhad performed since hebecame the Chief Justice

of Malaysia late last year, Tan SriMohamed Dzaiddin Abdullahreplied that it was not for him tosay but for the people to judge. Tolawyers, who are in the best posi-tion to judge, the answer is plain.During that short period, confi-dence in the judiciary is beginningto be restored.

Judges, who had previously beensidelined by the former Chief Jus-tice, are now free to perform theirfunctions as judges. The alloca-tion of chosen cases to certainjudges to hear has been discon-tinued. Judges now appear towork together as part of that teamcalled the judiciary. Rarely doesone now hear or read about a

Dzaiddin in overall charge.

His call to his judges was to beindependent and to decide ac-cording to the evidence and facts.He was not one to order or requesthis judges to decide in a particu-lar way, as seemed to have beendone by his predecessor accord-ing to the revelation by JusticeMohamad Kamil in his recentjudgment in an election petition.In the atmosphere created by TanSri Dzaiddin, judges were seento perform their function withmore confidence. The decisionsof the Federal Court in the Zainurcase, of the High Court at ShahAlam in the habeas corpus caseand of Justice Mohamad Kamil inthe election petition are cases inpoint. Each is supported by thefacts and the law of the case. Thenthere were the decisions of theCourt of Appeal which have putback some sense of proportioninto the award of damages in defa-mation cases.

These developments were wel-comed by the Bar. The judiciarywas seen to be on the road to fullrecovery. But the question lingeredin the minds of lawyers as towhether this change for the betterwas going to be allowed to con-

JUSTICE

Judiciary Under Scrutiny

by Raja Aziz Addruse

WWWWW

The future direction of the judiciary is once again becominguncertain.

judge losing his temper in courtfor contrived reasons. Except fora very few who seem to feel theneed to remind those who appearbefore them that they are judges,the rest have no identity-problem.Because of that we hardly hear orread of reports of judges taking of-fence over inconsequential issuesand committing all and sundryfor contempt on the flimsiest ofgrounds.

What has brought about this no-ticeable change? As Tan SriDzaiddin himself said after hisappointment, it is a question ofleadership. Unlike his predeces-sor, Tan Sri Dzaiddin leaves eachtier in the hierarchy of the judici-ary to operate independently ofeach other with the head of eachto be responsible for the judgesunder him, but with Tan Sri

Now We HaveA Problem


tinue. An indication that the judi-ciary was coming under the closescrutiny of the Executive wasgiven when senior ministers of theGovernment publicly criticisedJustice Mohamad Kamil for dis-closing in his judgment referredto above, that his superior hadgiven him a directive over the tel-ephone to strike off the election pe-titions he was to try.

Initially, the Government’s posi-tion on this alleged interferencewith the judge’s exercise of judi-cial discretion was one of concernbecause of the adverse effect itwould have on the independenceof the judiciary. The Minister incharge of law in the Prime Minis-ter’s Department, Datuk Dr RaisYatim, thought that the disclo-sure, having been made by thejudge in his judgment, must betaken seriously by all parties, andhe himself would take necessarymeasures to ensure that the dis-closure was investigated. Ex-pressing the hope that such inci-dents would not recur, he said:‘The country is known for its ju-dicial independence and we mustmake it clear that nobody shouldviolate our judicial system.’

After Tan Sri Dzaiddin’s pred-ecessor voluntarily owned up thathe was the person who had tel-ephoned the judge, but deniedthat he had given him the alleged

directive, the Government’s standon the issue was seen to shift. ThePrime Minister took the judge totask saying that he had, by mak-ing the disclosure, “tarnished”the image of the court by draggingit into public controversy and“now we have a problem trustingthe court” Particular emphasiswas given by the Prime Ministerto statements the judge had madein the judgment expressing hisfrustrations over a personal mat-ter involving his child. TheDeputy Prime Minister seemedalso to be unhappy with the wayjudges were going about improv-ing the image of the judiciary. Hisadvice was that members of thejudiciary could by all means im-prove their image, but they shouldnot go beyond their responsibili-ties to prove a point to the Gov-ernment and the people. Whatthat means was not clear. Whatwas clear was that a scenario likethat which preceded the events of1988 and which resulted in the in-tegrity of and confidence in thejudiciary being undermined, wasbeing created. As in 1988 whenthe Prime Minister said that itwas up to the head of the judici-ary (then Tun Mohd Salleh Abas)to admonish judges (in that casefor making public their politicalviews), it was publicly announcedby Datuk Dr Rais Yatim that theGovernment was willing to giveextra power to Tan Sri Dzaiddin

to discipline judges following re-cent “judicial quips” made byjudges when they made their de-cisions. After all, it was the ChiefJustice who “holds the whip. Youcan’t whip from outside.”

In the light of these statements byMinisters of the Government, thefuture direction of the judiciary isonce again becoming uncertain.Whether the judiciary was to pro-ceed on the road to full recoverywould depend on who was to beappointed to fill a vacancy in asenior judicial post created by theretirement of Justice Lamin binMohd Yunus, the former Presidentof the Court of Appeal, in Marchthis year. The logical choice for theCourt of Appeal post was Tan SriWan Adnan bin Ismail, the ChiefJudge, Malaya. That seemed to bedictated by both seniority andmerit. If that happened, the ques-tion of interest was who was tosucceed him as Chief Judge, Ma-laya? If the image of the judiciarywas to continue to improve, thesuccessor must be one who satis-fied generally accepted criteria forthe appointment of judges. Theserequire the most senior to be thefirst choice unless another is moresuitable by reason of:-

• merit,

• legal ability (in the sense ofprofessional qualification, ex-

Where appointments and promotions are made in disregard of

acceptable criteria it is not the confidence of the public in the

judiciary alone that is undermined. Good judges, too, will feel no

pride in being part of a judicial system where neither merit nor

seniority is recognised.


perience, knowledge), charac-ter)

• character (by reference to hon-esty, integrity, openmindedness, diligence, com-mon sense, temperament)

• personal skills (in communica-tion, language, analytical,mental agility, leadershipskills, ability to accept criti-cism)

• Awareness of what is requiredof a judge (meaning that hemust be apolitical, secular inapproach, fearless anduninfluenced by personal dif-ficulties or views, and inde-pendent)

On these criteria, there could beno dispute about the most suitablecandidate. The obvious choicewas Justice Malik Ahmad. He wasthe senior most Federal Courtjudge after Justice Wan Adnan,and his merit as a judge was be-yond question.

But when the appointmentswere announced on 6 Septem-ber, 2001, it was Justice AhmadFairuz who was named as thenew Chief Judge, Malaya, tosucceed Justice Wan Adnanwho became the new Presidentof the Court of Appeal.

Many will recall Justice AhmadFairuz’s involvement in the Courtof Appeal decisions in the con-tempt cases of Murray Hiebertand Zainur Zakaria, the latter ofwhich was recently resoundinglyreversed by the Federal Court. Jus-tice Fairuz also presided over the

coram which heard and dis-missed the Malaysian Bar’s ap-peal against the decision of theHigh Court to restrain the hold-ing of an extraordinary generalmeeting of the Bar (convened todiscuss allegations of improprietyagainst the then Chief Justice anda sitting judge of the Court of Ap-peal). The Court of Appeal haddismissed the Malaysian Bar’sappeal on, amongst others, theground that the Federal Constitu-tion prohibited any discussion onthe conduct of judges except inParliament. While these caseswere decided on facts peculiar tothemselves, the principles in-volved were universal, particu-larly those pertaining to funda-mental liberties. That JusticeAhmad Fairuz has been chosenover Justice Abdul Malik in spiteof the implications of those deci-sions is worrying.

Many will also remember thehighly controversial decision ofJustice Ahmad Fairuz in theelection petition case broughtagainst Wee Choo Keong in1995, where, after holding Wee(then a member of the DAP) tohave been disqualified fromstanding as a candidate in theParliamentary election, had re-turned the losing candidate asa Member of Parliamant withoutrequiring the process of holdinga by-election to be gone through.

With the appointment of the newChief Judge, Malaya, the appre-hension felt by many membersof the Bar that the improvementin the judiciary was to be short-lived appears justified. Whereappointments and promotionsare made in disregard of accept-able criteria it is not the confi-dence of the public in the judici-

ary alone that is undermined.Good judges, too, will feel nopride in being part of a judicialsystem where neither merit norseniority is recognised.

It looks as if the much-welcomeddecisions of the courts givensince Tan Sri Dzaiddin becameChief Justice have rung alarmbells that the judiciary is becom-ing too independent. We may bein the process of seeing history re-peating itself. The country will bethe loser once again if it does. It isindeed a great pity. Instead of go-ing forward, we have now takenone step back.

Now that Tan Sri Dzaiddin has“decentralised” the judiciary,the responsibility for the per-formance of the High Court inMalaya will fall squarely on Jus-tice Ahmad Fairuz’s shoulders.Just as Tan Sri Dzaiddin hasbeen subjected to close scrutinyby the Bar since his appointmentas Chief Justice, Justice AhmadFairuz will equally be. Havingwitnessed the recent improve-ment in the performance of theHigh Courts of Malaya, anychange indicating that the judi-ciary may be retrogressing to thepre-Dzaiddin days will be im-mediately noticeable.

It is hoped that that will not hap-pen.

Alarm Bells

Raja Aziz is a formerRaja Aziz is a formerRaja Aziz is a formerRaja Aziz is a formerRaja Aziz is a formerchairman of the Barchairman of the Barchairman of the Barchairman of the Barchairman of the BarCouncil Malaysia. ThisCouncil Malaysia. ThisCouncil Malaysia. ThisCouncil Malaysia. ThisCouncil Malaysia. Thisarticle first appeared inarticle first appeared inarticle first appeared inarticle first appeared inarticle first appeared inInsaf the journal of theInsaf the journal of theInsaf the journal of theInsaf the journal of theInsaf the journal of theBar, in September 2001.Bar, in September 2001.Bar, in September 2001.Bar, in September 2001.Bar, in September 2001.

q


liran is utterly dismayed and disap-pointed with the appointment of DatukAbdul Gani Patail as the new Attorney-General succeeding the current holder

of the post, Datuk Seri Ainum Mohd Saaid. It isan appointment that is not likely to enhance theprestige of our system of justice or encouragepublic confidence in the fairness of prosecution.

Abdul Gani comes with a dark cloud hangingover his head regarding his controversial con-duct concerning the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahimand Nallakaruppan cases, as alleged by ManjitSingh in his hand-delivered letter to then At-torney-General Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah on 12October 1998.

According to this letter (which is on publicrecord and easily available and reproduced inAliran Monthly, Vol 21(6) pp 7-8), it was allegedthat Abdul Gani was involved in a question-able attempt to elicit evidence against AnwarIbrahim in a way that would prejudice his case.It is suggested that Abdul Gani had wantedNallakaruppan to bear false witness againstAnwar Ibrahim.

A totally-shattered Manjit agonised in his letter:

“I was shocked that Dato Gani even had thegall to make such a suggestion to me. Heobviously does not know me. I do not ap-prove of such extraction of evidence againstANYONE, not even, or should I say least ofall, a beggar picked up off the streets. Aman’s life, or for that matter even his free-dom, is not a tool for prosecution agenciesto use as a bargaining chip. No jurispruden-tial system will condone such an act.

“It is blackmail and extortion of the highest cul-pability and my greatest disaapointment is that aonce independent agency that I worked with some25 years ago and of which I have such satisfyingmemories has descended to such levels in the crea-tion and collection of evidence. To use the deaththreat as a means to the extortion of evidence thatis otherwise not there (why else make such a de-mand?) It is unforgivable and surely must initself be a crime, leave alone a sin, of the greatestmagnitude. Whether his means justify the endthat he seeks are matters that Dato Gani will haveto wrestle with within his own conscience.”

Further, the Federal Court in the Zainur Zakariacase never cleared or exonerated Gani and infact raised very serious concerns aboutprosecutorial propriety.

His appointment begs the question: What is in-tegrity all about? Does it amount to anythingin our system of justice? A person without atainted character would be the best personqualified to hold this high position. Such a per-son would bring respect to his office and winthe confidence of the public.

Justice itself has fallen victim with this ap-pointment. Whatever hope there may havebeen for change has been brutally reversed.Sadly, it is back to the bad old days. This ap-pointment has starkly emphasised the gov-ernment’s complete contempt for public opin-ion and for our shared values in the notionof fairness and justice.

P. RamakrishnanPresident

20 November 2001

Aliran Utterly Dismayed

JUSTICE

Appointment Of New AG

AAAAA

Justice itself has fallen victim with this appointment.


“Libertyof thought

meansliberty

to communicateone's thought.”

AM 2001: 21(10)

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The NEP:Development andAlternativeConsciousness


1 .1 .1 .1 .1 . Will the Third Link reduceWill the Third Link reduceWill the Third Link reduceWill the Third Link reduceWill the Third Link reduceurban traffic congestion andurban traffic congestion andurban traffic congestion andurban traffic congestion andurban traffic congestion andtravel delay?travel delay?travel delay?travel delay?travel delay?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

Traffic modeling shows that withboth the Penang and ButterworthOuter Ring Roads in place to-gether with the Third Link, trafficcongestion and travel delay willbe much worse than at present.New roads, especially bridges,attract more traffic that in the caseof Penang will be mainly singleoccupancy private cars and mo-torcycles. The road networks at theexit and entry points to the ThirdLink will not have adequate traf-fic dispersal capacity to cope withthis increase in vehicles as shownby the experience in the KlangValley and in many parts of theworld.

2.2.2.2.2. Will the Third Link improveWill the Third Link improveWill the Third Link improveWill the Third Link improveWill the Third Link improvethe quality of the urban envi-the quality of the urban envi-the quality of the urban envi-the quality of the urban envi-the quality of the urban envi-ronment?ronment?ronment?ronment?ronment?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

There will be increased air andnoise pollution from vehicularemissions and more residentialneighbourhoods will be exposedto traffic generated pollution.There will be significant impacton the coastal zones, the marineecology and the port from the

sediments and waste generatedby the seabed construction andland reclamation activity. Thewidening of access roads and con-struction of new overhead passeswill lead to visual intrusion andcommunity severance in estab-lished residential districts.

3 .3 .3 .3 .3 . Will the Third Link improveWill the Third Link improveWill the Third Link improveWill the Third Link improveWill the Third Link improvetravel safety and comfort?travel safety and comfort?travel safety and comfort?travel safety and comfort?travel safety and comfort?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

An increase in private vehicle us-age normally results in higherrates of deaths and serious injuryfrom road accidents especially forthe more vulnerable road userssuch as motorcyclists, cyclists andpedestrians. Delays due to trafficcongestion at the entry and exit

points and increased exposure tonoise and air pollution will in-crease driver frustration and havean adverse health impact. The av-erage length of driving trips willincrease resulting in a higher riskof road accidents.

4.4.4.4.4. Will the Third Link increaseWill the Third Link increaseWill the Third Link increaseWill the Third Link increaseWill the Third Link increasepublic transport usage?public transport usage?public transport usage?public transport usage?public transport usage?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

The Third Link will significantlyincrease private vehicle owner-ship and use and will furthererode public transport usage.

5 .5 .5 .5 .5 . Will the Third Link facilitateWill the Third Link facilitateWill the Third Link facilitateWill the Third Link facilitateWill the Third Link facilitatesustainable landuse?sustainable landuse?sustainable landuse?sustainable landuse?sustainable landuse?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

10 Good Reasons Why PenangDoes Not Need The Third Linkby Ganesh Rasagam

Pulau Jerejak (left) and Batu Maung on Penang island :significant impact on coastal zones

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT


The Third Link will intensify ur-ban sprawl, generate longer, moreexpensive and inefficient com-muting trips and establish exten-sive, unsustainable urbanlanduse and travel patterns. Thepattern of urbanization will bebased on a car centric road net-work that will require substantialland allocations for road andparking space at the expense ofcoastal community recreational fa-cilities, parks and open spaces.

6.6.6.6.6. Will the Third Link enhanceWill the Third Link enhanceWill the Third Link enhanceWill the Third Link enhanceWill the Third Link enhancequality of life for the peoplequality of life for the peoplequality of life for the peoplequality of life for the peoplequality of life for the peopleof Penang?of Penang?of Penang?of Penang?of Penang?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

With increased traffic congestion,pollution, destruction of naturalcoastal and marine eco-systems,urban sprawl and stress, therewill be an obvious decline in thequality of life for both residentsand visitors to Penang.

7.7.7.7.7. Is the Third Link economi-Is the Third Link economi-Is the Third Link economi-Is the Third Link economi-Is the Third Link economi-cally feasible?cally feasible?cally feasible?cally feasible?cally feasible?

tably conclude that the firm thatgets the toll concession will enjoya positive return on investmentbased on revenue from grossly in-

flated traffic volume projections.However, this simplistic economicevaluation will not include theexternal environmental and socialcosts of the project that will beborne by the people of Penang.Japanese loans are normally tied toJapanese consultants, contractors andequipment suppliers who will onlyleave the crumbs to the locals. Ironi-cally, at a time when Japan hasdecided to switch focus away fromroads and bridges to investmentsin public transport systems, Japa-nese firms are actively pursuingthese projects overseas to be builtusing Japanese funds and suppli-ers so that more Japanese cars andmotorcycles can be sold.

8.8.8.8.8. Is the Third Link financiallyIs the Third Link financiallyIs the Third Link financiallyIs the Third Link financiallyIs the Third Link financiallysustainable?sustainable?sustainable?sustainable?sustainable?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

The estimated cost of RM 2.3 bil-lion appears to be unrealisticallylow considering the complexitiesof undersea tunneling and the factthat the relatively simpler PenangBridge cost almost RM 1.0 billionaround 20 years ago! In any case,the next two generations ofMalaysians will be indebted to theJapanese for this loan. Given the

notoriety of the Japanese financialsystem there is more than enoughreason to worry about whetherthe financial viability of thisproject has been properly ana-lysed.

9.9.9.9.9. Will the Third Link enhanceWill the Third Link enhanceWill the Third Link enhanceWill the Third Link enhanceWill the Third Link enhancePenang’s economic competi-Penang’s economic competi-Penang’s economic competi-Penang’s economic competi-Penang’s economic competi-tiveness?tiveness?tiveness?tiveness?tiveness?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

The usual arguments of reducingtravel times and delay costs do nothold in this case as traffic conges-tion will still be a major problem.On top of that, land freight costswill increase, as both bridge tollswill inevitably need to be raisedsubstantially to pay for the ThirdLink. As for tourism, the trafficcongestion, urban sprawl anddecline in quality of life will cer-tainly erode the attractiveness ofPenang. It is rather unlikely thattourists will arrive in droves tovisit the “Titanic” in the middle ofthe Third Link!

10 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .1 0 .Is the Third Link the only orIs the Third Link the only orIs the Third Link the only orIs the Third Link the only orIs the Third Link the only orbest option?best option?best option?best option?best option?

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

Optimising the efficient use of thePenang bridge through wideningand implementation of intelligenttraffic management systems, ex-panding the ferry service and in-troducing an integrated lightrailtransit (LRT) based public trans-port system are far more sustain-able and cost effective solutionsin the long-term.

The Penang Bridge can be widened to three lanes as was originally planned.

Ganesh Rasagam is a trafficGanesh Rasagam is a trafficGanesh Rasagam is a trafficGanesh Rasagam is a trafficGanesh Rasagam is a trafficplanner based in Penang.planner based in Penang.planner based in Penang.planner based in Penang.planner based in Penang.

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FERRIES IN USE THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Normal Days Weekends & Public(no. of ferries) Holiday (no. of ferries)

6.30 am – 10 pm 5 5

10 pm – 12 midnight 2 3

Midnight – 1 am 2 2

1 am – 6.30 am 1 1

How The Ferry ServiceWas Scaled Down

Notes:• An additional ferry terminal fordouble-decker vehicles ferries was builtin the mid-1970s.• The Penang Bridge was completed in1985. The ferry service was at its peakthen.• In the late 1980s, the old terminalcollapsed and was never rebuilt. The oldpassenger-vehicle ferries were discardedwhile the top-decks of the vehicler ferrieswere hastily converted to carrypassengers. (picture above)• By end 2001, there were 3 vehicular /passenger ferries and 2 double deckervehicular ferries in service.

YEAR Early 70s 1 9 7 5 1 9 8 5 2 0 0 1

Type of Ferry * VP VP DD VP DD VP

Ferries Available 7 7 3 7 6 6

Ferries running during peak hrs (A) 6 6 3 6 5 5

Single Ferry capacity (vehicles) (B) 2 8 2 8 5 5 2 8 5 5 2 8

No. of trips/hour (approx) (C) 2 . 5 2 . 5 2 . 5 2 . 5 2 . 5 2 . 5

Total Vehicles ferried/hr (AxBxC) 4 2 0 4 2 0 4 1 2 4 2 0 688 3 5 0

Total Vehicles ferried/hr (all ferries) 4 2 0 8 3 2 1 1 0 8 3 5 0

NO. OF FERRIES AND TOTAL CAPACITY DURING PEAK HOURS

* Type VP : Vehicular/passenger ferries -Lower deck: 28 vehicles (excluding motorbikes). Upper deck: passengersType DD : Double-decker vehicular ferries -Lower deck: average 33 vehicles. Upper deck: average 32 vehiclesNote : Vehicles excludes motorcycles and bicycles

The old collapsed (see arrow) terminal that was never repaired


n the 1970s, when Ijoined the Penang PortCommission, there wereseven vehicle-cum-pas-

senger ferries (of which about sixwere in service) that docked at theold terminal. These were PulauPinang, P. Langkawi, P. Aman, P.Tioman, P. Lumut, P. Redang, andP. Pangkor.

Just before I joined in 1975, a newterminal was built (on both themainland and the island). At first,there were three double-decker ve-hicular ferries - Pulau Talang-Talang, P. Rawa, and P. Undan(built in Hong Kong) - using thisnew terminal. Three more of theseferries were acquired later: P.Rimau, Pulau Kapas, and P.Angsa (built in Pasir Gudang).

The ferries used to come at a fre-quency of 5-10 minutes. It wasoperating dengan lancar (verysmoothly).

So at the time of the collapse of theold terminal, there were six vehi-cle-cum-passenger ferries (out ofseven available) and five double-decker vehicular ferries (out of sixavailable) in service.

When the old terminal collapsedin the late 1980s, the seven oldvehicle-cum-passenger ferrieswere disposed of. The six newerdouble-decker vehicular ferries

were converted to vehicle-cum-passenger ferries.

The number of ferries in servicedropped from about 11 to 5 afterthe collapse of the old terminal.

Currently, out of the five ferriesoperating daily, only two operateafter 10 p.m. and just one from 1a.m. until the early morning. Onweekends and public holidays,there is usually an extra ferry inservice from 10 pm until midnight.

The long queues of vehicles at theferries terminals are sometimesdue to ferries being out of order.So you have these five ferries inservice, and if one or two of themare out of order, the waiting timebecomes longer. These ferries havebeen operating for more than 20years, so I guess their engines arenot at their best.

Some people still prefer using theferries – much depends on wherethey are coming from and theirultimate destination.

There might be a need for a thirdlink perhaps after five years or tenyears. But I don’t think there is aneed for a new link now. For now,you need to increase the numberof ferries and rebuild the old ter-minal. I hear there are plans tobring on two new double-deckerferries later this year.

Improve the ferry service first andthen assess the traffic situation tosee if there is still a need for an-other link.

The third link is a waste of money.We need to improve the ferry serv-ices. A lot of people are put off by

What Penangites SayFormer ferry crew member with 25 years of experience workingon the ferries:

IIIII

Long queues at the Butterworth ferry terminal: When this picture was taken at mid-day, only 4 of the 6 ferries were running.


Jeweller, B'worth:


the ferries now as they have towait such a long time. Theyshould bring back the (double-decker) vehicular ferries. If wewere a rich country, building aThird Link wouldn’t matter – butwe are not. The problem is the gov-ernment is not listening to the peo-ple.

My friend, a retired teacher, thinksthe third link will be good as aback-up just in case the PenangBridge collapses. But to me, thePenang Bridge and the ferries areenough. Just improve the ferryservice. A RM2 billion bridge-tun-nel project is not necessary. We allknow why they like these big con-tracts (rubs the tips of his thumb andindex finger together).

I think Penang people will sufferif they have the Third Link. If theThird Link comes, then Penangwill be flooded with cars-lah. Atthe moment, you just see thoseroads in Penang, peak hours,crawling here and there…Theysay Penang Bridge congested,congested,. But when they go overto Penang, that side so congestedalso. I think the ferries, they shouldexpand-lah. They should dosomething to the ferries. But a lotof people are against the secondbridge. Even the (traffic) policechief was saying that day, it’s nopoint building the Third Linkwhen the roads there are not com-pleted. The main thing is to com-plete every road facility, then onlyyou think of the Third Link.

But I think the Third Linkshouldn’t come up. Congestion.At the moment the Tanjong

Tokong roads areso crowded al-ready. Kedahpeople want to gothere all, willflood that place.And the condo-miniums all com-ing up in TanjongBungah. Theyshould stopbuilding condo-miniums inPenang - toomany already. Letthe people comeover the main-land and stay. They have thePenang Bridge and the ferries, theycan just cross over.

Make better roads, tar the hous-ing estate roads, I see the roads inPenang already worse, congestedyou know. Cannot-lah… So whatdo you think? The Third Link isnot worth it ah? It’s not worth it.People will get more stressful onthe other side.

Third Link? This one ah? (laughs)Ten years-lah (to complete). Notso fast-lah. It will take 10 years be-fore you can see anything. Nowyou cannot (see anything). Theyhaven’t started. It will take a fewyears…drag here, dragthere…afterwards half way, theysay the economy no good, thenthey stop again. I think 10 yearsabove-lah.

I think they need it (a Third Link).The Bridge there quite jammed al-ready. The government will do it.They have loan from Japannow….they can collect back (fromtolls), some more they got lubang

Guard, B'worth:

Homemaker, B'worth:

q

Repair Shop-owner,B ' w o r t h :

(an opportunity).

These politicians have lubang,some more the land they buy at acheap price, after they sell at anexpensive price, got lubang one-lah all these politicians; we all gotno lubang only; we pay the tollonly. Before we can start paying,they have already earned back themoney.

I think next time they will changethe ferries, they will change tosmall ferries like the ferries toPulau Langkawi, can take just 100passengers, small ones, so veryfast - take 5 minutes to reachPenang. The old ferries remain asdouble decker but only all for ve-hicles, better-lah - efficiency.

You want to go to Penang, you justpark your bike there and take thesmall ferry, faster-lah, 5 minutesyou can reach Penang. The big fer-ries they should keep that just forcars.

Some more they can earn money.After give licence to this and thatone…semua kawan dapat duit lah.Kita ta’ da lubang, we pay the tollonly.


t was only on June 1 thatWorks Minister SamyVellu declared that thegovernment was deter-

mined to push ahead with aRM2.3 billion nothern link: a 9.2km bridge-tunnel from BaganAjam on the mainland to BaganJermal on Penang Island. The de-cision, he said, was “final”.

Obviously, not “final” enough.Within days of Samy Vellu’s an-nouncement, all sorts of objectionsand counter-proposals surfaced -from the state’s traffic chief whowas concerned about the trafficimplications to politicians withvested interests in having the linknear their constituencies.

The head of the Penang Port, forhis part, said the port would beimplementing a multi-millionringgit dangerous cargo terminalon a 50ha reclaimed site, just be-side the proposed area of thenorthern link. It also had plans todredge the channel to make itdeeper – from the present 11.5metres to 15 metres. The proposednorthern bridge-tunnel wouldmake such dredging work impos-sible.

Then came murmurs that a south-ern link might be more suitable.The Penang state government pre-

fers a 20 km southern link - fromHujung Bukit on the mainland toBatu Maung on the Island, argu-ing that these areas were under-developed. So does the PenangDevelopment Corporation, whichhas land banks in the south thatit wants to develop. We are notquite sure how these land bankswere acquired, how much waspaid for them and whether thesellers received a fair price.

All these reservations and coun-terproposals make a mockery ofthe federal government’s feasibil-ity study for the northern option,which - to put it mildly - has beenfound wanting and lacking inpublic participation and transpar-ency. What kind of report is this?The firm that prepared the feasi-bility report also obviousy failedto adequatelyadequatelyadequatelyadequatelyadequately consult all the rel-evant parties.

No Environmental Impact As-

sessment for the either the north-ern link or the southern link hasso far been made public.

So far, the debate in the media hasbeen restricted to the choice of lo-cation for a new link - whether anorthern link or southern linkwould be more appropriate. Therehas been little public discussionon whether the Third Link is re-ally necessary in the first place.(The First Link is the ferry servicewhile the Second Link is the 8.5km-long Penang Bridge, com-pleted in 1985.)

Samy Vellu’s northern option,about 8 km away from the ferryterminals, was to have been in theform of a 9.2-km bridge-tunnel. Itwould have started start as abridging until it reached two arti-ficial islands before mid-channelon either side: these would havebeen the starting points of a mid-channel 2-km long tunnel that


The Parking Lot Of The OrientIf the authorities fail to look at more sustainable transportoptions, the Pearl of the Orient will soon turn into a huge expanseof tar and concrete

by Anil Netto

IIIII

The ferries still transport large numbers of people


would allow shipping traffic toand from Penang’s ports to passunhindered.

But this northern link appears tobe history as the state governmentis now gung-ho about a longersouthern link: a bridge withoutany tunnel.

But the lingering question re-mains: is a new link really neces-sary? Or is it merely to provide“jobs for the boys” - lucrative con-struction contracts for favouredfirms?

Aliran categorically opposes theThird Link, whether it is in thenorth or in the south. Penang can-not afford more traffic congestion,which is what another road linkto the island will lead to, chokingthe state’s already narrow, con-gested streets even further. Al-ready, the vehicle density onPenang’s roads is higher than thatof Singapore and Hong Kong.

Officials are talking about ThirdLink, but so far nobody has men-tioned how much the proposedtoll rate would be. Come on, giveus an indication of the likely tollrate. Why the silence on this?

It is likely that the toll rate will beeven more than the astronomicalrates imposed for the much shorterSecond Link between Johor andSingapore.

More than 15 years after thePenang Bridge was opened, com-muters are still paying RM7 inbridge tolls for the ride from themainland to the island.

The Penang Bridge, which pro-vides easy access to the BayanLepas Free Trade Zones and thePenang International Airport,complements the decades-old, ne-

glected but still functional, stillpopular ferry service in the northlinking Butterworth on the main-land to George Town on the is-land.

Certainly, the Penang Bridge israpidly reaching its maximumcarrying capacity, especially dur-ing peak hours. Traffic grinds to astandstill every time there is anaccident on the bridge.

But much of the Penang Bridge’straffic snarls could have been re-lieved had the ferry service notbeen neglected since the bridge’scompletion in 1985. The frequencyof the ferries has fallen sharplysince then (see table).

Only five out of six available fer-ries ply the channel now. Whenone or two of these ferries breakdown, commuters are left withonly three or four ferries and notsurprisingly, long queues of vehi-cles snake out of the terminalswaiting up to an hour beforeboarding. All this is a far cry fromthe 11 ferries, including five dou-ble-decker vehicular ferries, oper-ating in 1985, when the ferry serv-ice was at its peak, just before thePenang Bridge was completed.

In the late 1980s, the old ferry ter-minal on the mainland servingboth passengers and vehicles col-lapsed and was never rebuilt.That terminal had operated side-by-side with the existing terminal,built in the mid-1970s.

The existing terminal used to ca-ter to the five double-decker ve-hicular ferries that provided fast,efficient service. When the old ter-minal collapsed, these vehicularferries were hastily converted to

vehicular-cum-passenger ferries.

The original vehicular-cum-pas-senger ferries that once docked atthe old terminal were graduallydiscarded, drastically reducingthe total number of ferries opera-tional and their overall vehicle-carrying capacity.

At present, cross-channel com-muters pay 7-ringgit (1.8 dollars)in toll charges per car - the ferrytoll was hiked to make it on parwith the Penang Bridge toll - andtoll is only collected on the main-land side. Once on the island, com-muters can opt for either theBridge or the ferry for the toll-freeride to the mainland.

More often than not, impatientcommuters on both sides give theferry service a miss - when theysee the long queues outside theferry terminals on both the islandand the mainland - and head forthe bridge.

Critics allege that the terminalwas never rebuilt and the ferryservice was scaled down so as tomaximise toll collection on thenew Penang Bridge. Port authori-ties, for their part, have arguedthat the ferries are outdated andrunning at a loss. It is likely, how-ever, that the losses are due to theferry terminals not being used tooptimum capacity resulting in in-sufficient gross profits to coverfixed overheads.

Whatever the case, frustratedcommuters have deserted theferry service in droves. Not sur-prisingly, the rise in traffic on thePenang Bridge has surpassedeven the planners’ expectations:the original toll booths proved tobe grossly insufficient to cater tothe expanding traffic volume andnew toll booths had to be added.

Where Have All TheFerries Gone?


Responding to the concerns overthe environmental impact of theproposed Third Link, Works Min-ister Samy Vellu has said the gov-ernment would go ahead with theproject as it gave priority to com-muters’ convenience.

He said the Environmental ImpactAssessment (EIA) studies hadbeen conducted earlier and thefindings were submitted to theScience, Technology and Environ-ment Ministry before the designfor the proposed link was drawnup. “There will be no adverse ef-fects to the ecology system as wewill take into account many as-pects before construction workstarts,” he said.

But the state traffic police chief haswarned that planned new ringroads on the island would haveto be completed first before thenew link is completed. This is tocater for an expected surge in cartraffic pouring into the island,which is about half the size of Sin-gapore.

Even establishment personalitiesinvolved in heritage conservationand the Penang Port have ex-pressed reservations. Heritageactivists are concerned about theimpact of additional traffic onPenang’s efforts to be listed asworld heritage site.

It is a fact that the number of carswill rapidly fill up additional roadspace provided by the new roadsand the proposed Third Link.One wonders if there will be anopen tender in the selection of con-tractors if the Third Link is bull-dozed through. In any case, theThird Link’s final cost could well

be more than the RM2.3 billionringgit mentioned in press reportsbearing in mind that the PenangBridge (without any tunnel) costRM850 million some 20 years ago.

Penang doesn’t need another roadlink for now and all that is neededis a less costly, urgent upgrade ofthe ferry service to immediately re-lieve congestion on the PenangBridge. The authorties recentlyadded two more dedicated ve-hicular ferries to their fleet, result-ing in a dramatic drop in waitingtime and shorter queues. Imagineif more such ferries are added!Congestion on the Penang Bridgewould immediately vanish. Somore ferries (which cost onlyRM14 million each) and terminalsare desperately needed - but theauthorities would rather spendbillions on a massive new bridgerather than give the Penang Portthe RM125 million it says it needto upgrade the ferrry service.

Those with long memories mayremember there were pledges towiden the Penang Bridge fromtwo to three lanes each way, aswas initially planned. The extralane could have served as a dedi-cated buslane.

In the long term, the state shouldbe looking at more sustainabletransport modes, including LightRail Transit systems (on both theisland and the mainland) withcross-channel links (high-speedpassenger ferries, hovercraft, oreven an LRT link). Constructingnew ferries and running a vastlyexpanded ferry service wouldprovide hundeds, even thou-sands of new jobs in Penang.

Sustainable transport optionsoverland could include electric

trams, trolley-buses, light railtrains, and monorails.

Meanwhile, non-motorised trans-port modes like cycling and walk-ing should be extensively pro-moted. Pavements and traffic-freezones need to be expanded.

The key to avoiding congestion isan effcient integrated public trans-port - the approach should be tomove people not vehicles. It wouldbe even better if there could bethoughtful accessiblity planningto reduce the need for people tocommute long distances for workand leisure.

But before all this can happen,there has to be greater politicalwill and coordination in improv-ing public transport. It is vital tohave a state-level public transportbody to improve public transportin Penang.

One wonders whether the reluc-tance to improve public trans-port has anything to do with thegovernment having one eye onthe sales of Proton and Peroduacars, which could be jeopardisedif more public transport alterna-tives are available. The hugeroad/bridge construction con-tracts and potentially lucrativetoll collection are other factorsthat are likely to make govern-ments less interested in sustain-able transport.

But by failing to plan for afford-able sustainable transport op-tions, the government reveals itslack of concern for the quality ofthe people’s everyday life. Suchrecklessness may one day comeback to haunt us. But it might betoo late by then for Penang. “ThePearl of the Orient” would havemorphed into “The Parking Lot ofthe Orient.”

Possible Solutions

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Show UsThe EIA Report


S. T. O. PS. T. O. PS. T. O. PS. T. O. PS. T. O. P(SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT OPTIONS for PENANG)(SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT OPTIONS for PENANG)(SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT OPTIONS for PENANG)(SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT OPTIONS for PENANG)(SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT OPTIONS for PENANG)

Memorandum to:

e are an alliance of non-governmental organiza-tions in Penang whichshare a concern over the

lack of a comprehensive sustain-able transport policy in the Stateincluding the suitability of theproposed Second Link to Penang.We are of the view that this newproposed link should be regardedas the 3rd link between the main-land and the island, given that theferry service is the original firstlink.

We consist of the Consumers’ As-

sociation of Penang, SahabatAlam Malaysia, Aliran, thePenang Heritage Trust, Sustain-able Transport EnvironmentPenang, Sustainable IndependentLiving and Access, AngkatanBelia Islam Malaysia (Penang Di-vision), and the Malayan TradesUnion Congress (Penang Divi-sion).

It is very clear that since the 1960s,little has been done to promote

public transport in the State. In-stead, transport planning and in-frastructure development haveoverwhelmingly supported theuse of private vehicles creating acar-dependent population and, inthe process, marginalising thosewithout private cars.

The JICA Urban Transport studyin 1981 had projected the percapita vehicle ownership forPenang to be 6.1 persons per carand 5.7 persons per motorcycle bythe year 2000. However, these lev-els were surpassed even before1990 and ownership levels inPenang are comparable to devel-oped countries with 3 persons percar. Thus, in the year 2000, Penanghad 321 cars per 1000 personscompared to 96 for Singapore and49 for Hong Kong.

While the total road length in theState increased by about 38% be-

The Proposed Third Link In Penang

Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir MohamedPrime Minister

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad BadawiDeputy Prime Minister

Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu KoonPenang Chief Minister

Datuk Seri S. Samy VelluWorks Minister


Overview OfTransport Concerns

WWWWW

Car Ownership Trends

Vehicular Density


tween1990 and 2000, the totalregistered vehicles in the State in-creased by 107%.

Vehicle density thus increased by1.5 times, while the number of ve-hicles per 1000 persons almostdoubled. Hence, the pace of roaddevelopment in Penang is notkeeping pace with the rapidgrowth of motor vehicles.

During 1991-2000, traffic volumeon the major primary roads in theState increased by around 10%per year largely attributed togrowth of private vehicles (carsand motorcycles).

An analysis of Penang’s roadsafety records shows that between1991 and 2000, the rate of increasein road accidents (deaths and in-juries), is significantly higher thanthe average for the entire country.The number of accidents per10,000 persons in Penang is al-most four times the national aver-age in 2000.

The contribution of vehicle emis-sions to the overall air pollutionload is also a major concern. Pri-vate cars, which constitute around30% of the total number of vehi-cles, contribute more than 67% ofthe total emissions of particulates.

We are of the view that urbantransport planning needs to becomprehensive and integratedinstead of being ad hoc. It musttake into consideration the roles

of various modes (road/rail/wa-ter) and interchanges, the role ofnon-motorised transport and themanagement of environmentaland social impacts. Its objectiveshould be equitable and efficientaccess for the people, not onlymotorcars.

We firmly believe that the Staterequires a comprehensive sustain-able transport policy that is fun-damentally committed to publictransport and discourages privatemotorized transport. Such a trans-port system must be economically,ecologically and socially sustain-able.

The purpose of the Third Linkseems to be to solve the frequentgridlock of motor vehicles takingplace on the present PenangBridge.

We believe that: -

a) This problem cannot be ad-dressed by simply facilitatingaccess for more private carsand vehicles on anotherBridge when the problem isthe mobility and access ofpeople.

b) This solution also cannot beadopted without first consid-ering its effect on the alreadyserious traffic problems exist-ing on Penang Island.

c) In view of its enormous cost,we believe that other optionssuch as upgrading the ferryservices or a rail link shouldalso be considered.

d) Finally, in any proposed solu-tion, the traffic congestion inthe city and on Penang Bridgemust be considered as part andparcel of the same problem.

In view of the Government’scommitment to transparencyand accountability, we urge theGovernment to initiate publicconsultations on these issues.We also request that all the pre-vious studies relating toPenang’s traffic problems andthe feasibility of the ‘Third Link’be open for public scrutiny anddebate.

We look forward very much to be-ing provided with these studiesand reports so that we may un-derstand better the rationale andbasis for the proposed Third Link.

We record our deep regret over thestatement by the Public WorksMinister, Datuk Seri Samy Veluthat public consultation is unnec-essary as this is a Federal Govern-ment project. [The Star, 17/3/2000].

We trust that you will give thisappeal your utmost considerationand would provide us with theinformation we have requestedfor. We also look forward to hav-ing a meaningful public consul-tation and dialogue with you inthis regard.

We look forward to your urgentresponse.

S.M.Mohamed Idris(for and behalf of S.T.O.P)

Lack Of IntegratedTransport Planning

Concerns About TheThird Link To Penang

Transparency AndA c c o u n t a b i l i t y

Accidents And OtherHealth Hazards


he state government’splan for a New GurneyDrive promenade is justa red herring to divert at-

tention away from the issue athand. Does Penang really needmore another link to allow moretraffic to pour into the island?

A “New Gurney Drive” will notbe the same. The existing GurneyDrive - known for its sumptousfood-stalls and relaxed atmos-phere - and Penang are almostsynonymous. While it is arguablewhether a new promenade fartherout will capture the same charm,let us not forget why the existinghistorical Gurney Drive sea-frontis endangered: to make way forfeeder roads leading to the pro-posed bridge-tunnel link (theThird Link).

Indeed, the Third Link will cre-ate new arteries cutting acrossthe island and along the seafronts. The additional traffic fromthese new arteries will spill intoGeorge Town’s inner city areaand other residential areas, fur-ther choking Penang’s alreadynarrow streets. The state trafficchief has rightly pointed out thatwithout additional roads on theisland and mainland, the ThirdLink will add to Penang’s trafficwoes. But if more roads are built,the additional traffic and pollu-tion will destroy what’s left ofPenang’s charm and dim GeorgeTown’s hopes of gaining recog-nition as a world heritage site. Wedemand that the EIA report be

made public.

We maintain that another roadlink to the island is not necessary.Instead, we should be looking atways to curb the volume of trafficand stop traffic pouring into theisland, which has a limited carry-ing capacity. What we badly needis a light rail transit system sup-plemented by and integrated to anefficient bus service. This we donot have. Such an integrated sys-tem should cover the main com-muter routes on the island and themainland. If possible, thereshould be a train-link or high-speed ferry service across thechannel connected to the LRT ter-minals on the island and themainland much like Vancouver’sSea Bus ferry service, which islinked to its Sky Train elevated railservice.

Where to find the money for anLRT system? Scrap the plans forthe RM2.3 billion bridge-tunnellink as well as the Penang OuterRing Road (PORR) and theButterworth Outer Ring Road(BORR), which will likely cost afurther couple of billion ringgit.Incidentally, how did the govern-ment arrived at the price tag ofonly RM2.3 billion when, to ourknowledge, there has not yet beenan open tender for the new link?The money saved from theseprojects can be used to build theLRT network.

We reiterate our call for the FirstLink - the ferry service - to be ex-

panded as a short-term solution.Why has there been such a deaf-ening silence from the governmenton the ferry service? Why can’t wehave more modern, faster ferrriesfor now? Is that too easy and toocheap a solution compared to themega bucks it is willing to pumpinto the Third Link? Don’t tell usthe ferries are not economicallyviable but a RM2.3 billion bridge-tunnel will be. And please tell usthe proposed toll rate for thisbridge-tunnel now so that thepublic can have a better idea whatthey are in for. Surely there wouldhave have been an assumed tollrate in the financial feasibility fore-casts for the new link.

Lessons have not yet been learntfrom the last financial crisis. Thegovernment seems to indulgingagain in mega projects, the latestidea being a fancy new buildingto house the state assembly (thepresent building looks perfectlyadequate and dignified) and allgovernment departments. Funnyhow there is always a shortage ofland for low-cost housing but notfor such mega projects like this.

Give us faster, more frequent fer-ries and an LRT network andspare us more traffic, pollutionand tolls. Penang has been knownas the Pearl of the Orient. Don’tturn it into an Island of Misery.Please scrap the bridge-tunnelproject.

Aliran Executive Committee7 August 2001

Penang Needs LRT System

TTTTT



A new international order maynot have emerged from the caul-dron of 11 September, but it is nottoo early to discern the outlines ofthe emerging world.

September did not change every-thing: the map of the world, theglobal pattern of economic andmilitary power, the relative distri-bution of democratic, semi-au-thoritarian and tyrannical statesremains much the same. Many ofthe problems which are least sus-ceptible to traditional forms ofstate control (the environment, mi-gration, the drugs trade, Aids)long predated 11 September.

Yet this recognition of continuitydownplays the degree to whichthe attacks on the US ‘homeland’have reshaped, or promise to re-shape, our world.

First, there has been a markedincrease in the focus and asser-tion of United States power. TheUS was, prior to 11 September,the dominant world power inevery significant index. Yet itwas uncertain as to how to ex-ert this, wavering between amultilateral approach, tena-ciously pursued by the Clintonadministration, and the unilat-eral - which is not the same asthe isolationist - policy favouredby Bush. The signs of that uni-lateralism were evident enough

in the first few months: rejectionof Kyoto, stalling on OECD regu-lation of tax havens, sliding outof chemical warfare conven-tions, NMD, sneering at the UN,to name a few.

The events of 11 September haveforced the Bush administration toreverse some of these policies andstall on others. But in two impor-tant ways there has been majorchange. Within the US, the crisishas produced a radical strength-ening of the power of the Presi-dent: no leader in US history, withthe possible exception ofRoosevelt in wartime, has had thecontrol over Congress, his ownparty, the military establishment,and public opinion that Bush en-joys. Inept on his feet he may be,but the US President does knowhow to build a coalition and thatis what he has done at executiveand political levels.

At the same time the crisis has ledmuch of the rest of the world towork more closely with the US.When the call for co-operationfrom Washington comes, it hasproven hard to refuse. Here liesthe second of the great changesbrought about by 11 September:some US allies, notably SaudiArabia, have moved further away,but the overall diplomatic balancesheet has been to America’s ad-vantage.

Russia has, with its own benefitsin mind, consolidated a strategicand political collaboration withWashington: it has given the greenlight to a temporary stationing ofUS forces in Central Asia, and isoffering itself as a long-term part-ner in the energy market, an alter-native to the unreliable PersianGulf. China, too, to the alarm ofsome in the Middle East, who lookto it as the only permanent mem-ber of the Security Council not tohave a colonial past, joined thecounter-terrorist campaign. Ger-many and Japan have, in somemeasure, sloughed off their post-1945 pacifism.

Against this, however, lies thethird of the outcomes of 11 Sep-tember, the consolidation, to a de-gree latent but not present beforethat date, of a global coalition ofanti-US sentiment. Just as US lib-eral writers have talked in the1990s of the importance for USdominance of ‘soft’ power - inmedia, language, lifestyle, tech-nology - so the opposition to USpower is forming above all in thisdomain.

This has highlighted a change inthe nature of power in the mod-ern world. The basis of much or-thodox international relations

INTERNATIONAL

Aftershocks That WillShake Us Allby Fred Halliday

A CountervailingB a l a n c e


theory is the concept ‘balance ofpower’: this means not an equaldistribution of power, but a self-correcting mechanism, whereby, ifone state becomes too strong, oth-ers form a countervailing alliance.This version of balance of powerdid not work in the period sincethe end of the Cold War: there wasno countervailing bloc. Rather,everyone seemed to ‘bandwagon’,to join the US bloc and its associ-ated international institutions likeNato and the WTO.

However, if states bandwagon,popular opinion does not neces-sarily follow. At the level of popu-lar feeling, and not just in theMuslim world, a countervailingbalance is taking shape. Hence theopposition of much of LatinAmerica to support for the UScampaign, widespread objectionsin East Asia and in, normallyanti-Muslim, India.

These shifts in the distributionand character of power are com-pounded by changes in the man-agement of the global economy; 11September has depressed certainimportant sectors of the market -airlines, tourism, oil, insurance.

It has diffused a wider lack of con-fidence on the part of investorsand consumers, accentuating thetrend towards recession. It haspushed down global demand foroil - there is now surplus capac-ity. This has precipitated not onlya fall in oil prices, but also led to aprice war between OPEC and themain non-OPEC producers.

There is renewed concern to re-duce dependence on oil from theGulf - the site of two thirds of theworld’s reserves, but now felt tobe a region of enduring instabil-ity. Non-Gulf producers, notablyRussia, the Caspian states and

Venezuela, are pressing their case.

The most important economicshift is that, above all, 11 Septem-ber has brought the state - and notleast the US state - back into themanagement of the worldeconomy: neo-liberal faith in themarket, already frayed, has nowbeen further eroded as govern-ments promise to subsidise ailingsectors, use fiscal adjustment andlower interest rates to offset thecrisis. One open question is howall this will affect the eurochangeover next January: the sta-bility pact is already under pres-sure, and George Bush is notlikely to worry about what hap-pens to this rival to the dollar.

Some of the changes that have be-come evident since 11 Septemberwere already incipient: the asser-tion of US power by Bush, the

The Return OfThe State

Fred Halliday is ProfessorFred Halliday is ProfessorFred Halliday is ProfessorFred Halliday is ProfessorFred Halliday is Professorof International Relationsof International Relationsof International Relationsof International Relationsof International Relationsat the LSE. His new bookat the LSE. His new bookat the LSE. His new bookat the LSE. His new bookat the LSE. His new book‘Two Hours That Shook the‘Two Hours That Shook the‘Two Hours That Shook the‘Two Hours That Shook the‘Two Hours That Shook theWorld: 11 September 2001,World: 11 September 2001,World: 11 September 2001,World: 11 September 2001,World: 11 September 2001,Causes and Consequences’Causes and Consequences’Causes and Consequences’Causes and Consequences’Causes and Consequences’is published this week byis published this week byis published this week byis published this week byis published this week bySaqi Books, London.Saqi Books, London.Saqi Books, London.Saqi Books, London.Saqi Books, London.

Nip it in the bud, linger not a moment more,Perchance it triggers off a major holocaust.Hurl no longer, explosive cocktails,Over demarcation lines of a fanatical few.Stop the insane massacre, end the senseless slaughterOf innocent lives snuffed out mercilesslyAnd of those embroiled in the dispute.

Dwellings that once were, are razed to ruins, reduced to ashes;In the smithereens there’s no place to rest the weary head.

And you motley crowd of onlookers and insipid bystanders,Show compassion with an unprejudiced mind; lend a help-ing hand.Refrain from adding fuel to the fires of speculation,Of unsubstantiated accusations, wild insinuations and propa-ganda.Haven’t we learnt enough after two World WarsAnd countless conflicts, the madness of it all?

Noel F. D’Oliveiro

Haven’t We Learnt A Thing?Haven’t We Learnt A Thing?Haven’t We Learnt A Thing?Haven’t We Learnt A Thing?Haven’t We Learnt A Thing?

rhetoric of cultural conflict, a re-siling from a commitment to uni-versal standards on humanrights, intervention by OECDstates to offset an anticipated re-cession. Yet that date marks arupture in modern history. It takesyears to assess the consequencesof major earthquakes: 11 Septem-ber will be no exception. Thebroader seismic impact can, how-ever, be discerned.

Source: The Sunday Observer, November 25, 2001


I refer to Hamdan Mohammad’sletter on Kabir. For his informa-tion, Kabir, the 15th centuryuwahhid (believer in the unity ofGod) was a founding father ofSant Mat (Path of the Saints). Thequote in Aliran Monthly that seemsto have perturbed Hamdan is notto be taken literally. Kabir is re-puted to have been an electic mys-tic who was intent on exposingthe futility of the externalities ofreligious fervour. The quote ismeant to illustrate the mysticalawareness of the omnipresence ofthe Almighty. Should Hamdan beinterested he could refer to Char-lotte Vaudeville’s A Weaver NamedKabir (Oxford University Press,1993 and 1997). Wasallam

Latif Kamaluddin,School of Social Sciences, USM

via e-mail

I refer to Hamdan Mohamad's e-mail, 'Misleading Quote?' Youimpress by printing it with a mutedefence. I am so amused I cannotresist responding. WhoeverHumayan Kabir was, I believe weare NOT to take his words liter-ally.

Read their meaning as a whole forit's his way to say that God is ALLencompassing and is everywhere.

Would Humayan be so naive tosay (and to believe) that the Mus-lim God lives in Mecca? It was justto show man's narrow thinking.Did not he continue that 'He whomade the world lives not in a citymade by hands'? This should beself-explanatory!

SipisiKlang

Monday, 11 September 1893. Thefirst ever World Parliament of Re-ligions welcomed representativesof all religions of the world to Chi-cago.

Amongst the delegates to this par-liament was a young man whorepresented nothing and yet eve-rything. He belonged to no sect,but India as a whole. He was thegreat Swami Vivekananda.

This was the first time this youngHindu monk spoke before such anassembly. He had prepared noth-ing, while other speakers readfrom written textx. Each of theother orators spoke of his God, ofthe God of his sect. Vivekanandaalone spoke of all their Gods, andembraced them all in the Univer-sal Being, in The One.

Vivekananda called for an end toall superficial religious and sec-tarian differences. The Parliamentof Religious gave him a standingovation. He said,

'Sectarianism, bigotry and itshumble descendant, fanaticism,have long possessed this beauti-ful earth with violence, drenchedit with human blood, destroyedcivilizations and sent whole na-tions into despair. Had it not beenfor such horrible demons, humansociety would be far more ad-vanced than it is now. But theirtime has come; and I ferventlyhope that the bell that tolled thismorning in honour of this conven-tion may be the death-knell of allfanaticism, of all persecutionswith the sword and the pen, andof all uncharitable feelings be-tween persons wending their way

Letters should be no more than 250 words and must includethe writer's name and address. Pseudonyms may be used. Sendletters to : Editor, ALIRAN MONTHLY, 103, Medan Penaga,11600 Penang, Malaysia or e-mail to : [email protected] expressed need not reflect those of Aliran.

Kabir An Electic Mystic It's Self-explanatory!

The OtherSeptember 11


to the same goal!”

It is indeed very sad that on 11September 2001, the 108th anni-versary of Vivekananda’s ChicagoAddress, the 'horrible demons' hereferred to once again reared theirugly heads and demonstratedtheir handiwork on the New YorkWorld Trade Centre. In responseto these inhumane attacks, an-other class of demons targeted in-nocent Muslims of America in thename of patriotism and revenge.

No superpower, however great,can end sectarianism, bigotry andfanaticism. It is to the power andweapon of Love, to which SwamiVivekananda often alluded in hisspeeches, that the world needs toturn in order to end violence andterrorism.

K PuvirajanBukit Mertajam

As an Aliran Monthly subcriber, Iwould like to thank you all foryour coverage of issues in Malay-

sia and your fight for justice andhuman rights. Recently I readnews that some churches in Ma-laysia were burned. This is a veryserious matter and I hope thatAliran will play its part again.And please act fast before thingsget worse. In the past, I read newsof Indonesian Chinese beingkilled but sadly Aliran took a longtime to publish news about them.I wish you all the best. I will con-tinue be an Aliran subscriber.

Seanvia e-mail

Wong Kok Keong’s article, ‘ItMatters Who Owns the Media’,(AM, e1, 8) was well written andhighlighted the idealist concept of‘absolute objectivity’. Byimplication, it drew our attentionto the realist concept of ‘relativeobjectivity’.

I agree that ownership of printand broadcast media isimportant because it greatlyinfluenced the line or stancetaken by journalists. In short, theowner’s agenda is writ large inany media organisation, ‘theneeds of nation-building’having no place to theiroperations. If those needs areaddressed, their definitionbecomes the jealously guardedturf of the top politicians in theNational Front.

It is well known among seniorjournalists that the corporateculture of The New Straits Times,Berita Harian and their associateddailies and periodicals isconformist, mainly because theyare owned and controlled byUMNO.

Once, before Operasi Lalang in1987, the corporate culture ofThe Star was somewhat creativebecause MCA which owned itwanted to moderate whateverexcesses that UMNO at timesreflected. Since then, MCAappears to have forgotten orfailed to play that role.

As for the broadcast media,largely owned by theGovernment, its relatedagencies or parties closelylinked to them, discerningMalaysians know the situation:the less said the better!

Hence, the print and broadcastmedia in Malaysia are little morethan propaganda machines forthe powers that be, or businessesthat generate income for theirowners.

Look, for instance, at thereporting in The Star of theongoing MCA leadership crisiswhich centred on the party’sacquisition of Nanyang SiangPau and China Press against thepopular will of the Chinesecommunity. It illustrates thetendency of top management, insuch situations, to ignore oreven doctor the views of thoseopposed to their interests.Journalists operating undersuch conditions must abide bythe decisions taken by these topmanagers to protect their ownjobs.

This is lamentable. Malaysiansshould rightly expect to get a dietof relatively objective news at theirbreakfast table, not news taintedby sycophancy.

B.C. TanPenang

Arson Attacks On Churches

Media OwnersAnd All That …


riends, when we last meta year ago, I was veryelated. I really felt de-mocracy was on the

march. There were clear evidencesfor this jubilation.

The gathering at the KamuntingDetention Camp then had at-tracted more than 2000 active andspirited citizens.

The Kesas Highway gatheringwas another high point for de-mocracy. In a fantastic show ofdefiance, tens of thousandsturned up to demand for theirrights.

Attendances at the variousceramahs was impressive.

There was at least a semblance ofunity and cohesion in the BarisanAlternative.

But all these encouraging trendsand signs have crumpled in theonslaught of the state.

While elsewhere, individualswho were fighting governmentsand nations for their rights wererightly or wrongly termed as ter-rorists, right here at home it is thestate that has turned terroristagainst the individuals. It is thestate in this country that is terror-ising activists who stand up forcertain rights.

Beginning from April the stateapparatus were used in a veryhigh-handed fashion to arrestand detain critics and dissidentsunder the ISA without addusinga single shred of evidence to im-plicate these unfortunate activists.The BN has imputed a lot of un-substantiated and violent activi-ties to them to justify their arrestsand incarceration. But those ac-cused and locked away have beendenied their fundamental right ofdefence. They were not accordedthis natural justice.

To strengthen the BN’s argumentfor the continued existence andthe use of the ISA, we were inun-dated with tales of MalaysianMujahidin running wild with theintention of toppling the electedgovernment through violentmeans.

Recently we even heard the ri-diculous claim that this so-calledMalaysian Mujahidin were plan-ning to attack some American sail-ors. Again no evidence was pro-duced.

Unfortunately for the Americansbut fortunately for Mahathir, theSeptember 11 tragedy had to hap-pen as if to strengthen Mahathir’shand - indeed it has strengthenedhis hand.

In a self-serving stand Mahathir

now thumbs his nose at theAmericans, claiming that he hadbeen right all along in using theISA in curbing violence and fight-ing terrorism. I’m sure he couldn’tcontain himself when Congresspassed some obnoxious laws tocurtail freedom and invade per-sonal privacy. But just becauseAmerica passes these laws, itdoesn’t turn the ISA into an ac-ceptable and just piece of legisla-tion. It is still immoral. Let’s notforget that.

If Mahathir harps on the fact thathe still needs the ISA to containviolence, it is legitimate to askhow many people are there run-ning around violently to over-throw his government? Have wewitnessed any rioting in thiscountry? Have we had any indus-trial strikes that threaten the wellbeing of the nation in a long spell?

While he focuses the nation’s at-tention on a small minority who

ALIRAN'S AGM

We Will Not Settle For CrumbsWe want the full menu of rights

P Ramakrishnan's speech at Aliran's 25th AGM

FFFFF


may pose a challenge to his po-litical leadership by brandingthem as threatening the peace ofthe country, he cunningly takesaway the rights of the majority.

People lose their rights, while hepoints an accusing finger at theminority as being culpable of caus-ing mischief.

When he denies a political partya permit to hold a ceramah, he isnot only crippling a political partyactivity, he is actually denying themajority of the people their rightto listen to differing views.

When he restricts a political par-ty’s publication only for its mem-bers, he is in fact denying the peo-ple’s right to information.

And when he lands hard on thefew, he sends cold shivers to themany. this is why this year’s ob-servance of Operation Lalang wassuch a subdued affair. The crowdwasn’t all that big; there were nofiery speeches or spirited chant-ing of slogans. They were not al-lowed anywhere near the campbut were stopped some 3km awayfrom it.

And when they dispersed andwent into shops for refreshments,48 of them were picked up. I sup-pose they were picked for not riot-ing!

But the message is clear. Even ifyou are peaceful, they will go af-ter you as long as there is any formof gathering that is seen as pro-test against the government. Theintention is to intimidate and dis-courage the people from rallyingaround any cause.

It is unfortunate that there is novisible politics to counter

Mahathir’s policies or offer an ef-fective alternative. It is a shameand such a disappointment thatthe Barisan Alternative is in suchshambles. DAP has dropped out.PAS with its unbending views onthe Islamic State has disillusionedthe vast majority of the non-Malays. The merger betweenKeADILan and PRM has beendeliberately aborted. Some well-known personalities in theKeADILan are stepping downfrom the leadership. And the madscramble for party posts is onwhich rather than strengthenKeADILan will weaken in.

It is in this perspective that wehave to view our role in society.To expect political change thethrough political parties - eitherfrom the ruling or opposition par-ties - is an impossible dream.They are only interested in posi-tions and power.

Our role is all the more crucial. Wemust continue to do what we aredoing with even more determina-tion.

The educative role that we playthrough the Aliran Monthly willcontinue to focus on issues that arevital to us as a nation. The variousconcerns that need to be addressedwill be given due attention.

We can only be effective when ourreadership expands and we areable to reach out even further. Weneed to talk about this later to for-mulate new strategies to achievethis.

Our citizen’s Health Initiativewill continue to speak up for aneffective and just healthcare forall.

Our Charter 2000 will struggle for

a freer and fairer media so that thetainted image of journalism willbe redeemed.

We will continue to oppose the 3rdlink between the mainland andthe island because it means morepollution, congestion and night-mare for those on the island.

We will not be cowed or brokenby those who do not mean wellfor us. As long as there is a will,we will prevail.

I am amazed that we have sur-vived 25 years, in spite of the op-pression, in spite of the ISA, inspite of the printer problems, inspite of media blackout, in spiteof growing old.

I have no doubt we will be aroundfor the next 25 years - with or with-out me!

Nothing can deter us, as long asthe spirit is willing, as long as ourfaith is strong, as long as our heartis throbbing.

It is said, “There is in this worldno such force as the force of a mandetermined to rise. The humansoul cannot be permanentlychained.”

We will not be bought or bribed orappeased by Mahathir’s tokengestures or proffered concessions.Our stand is clear.

Let me conclude by quoting Arch-bishop Desmond Tutu; who viv-idly illuminates this stand:

“I am not interested in pickingup crumbs of compassionthrown from the table of some-one who considers himself mymaster. I want the full menu ofrights.”q


Aliran is shocked at the absurd-ity of retired Court of Appealpresident Tan Sri Lamin Yunus’reasoning in responding to RajaAziz Addruse’s remarks regard-ing the appointment of JusticeFairuz Sheik Abdul Halim as thenew Chief Judge of Malaya.

Lamin had claimed that RajaAziz’s view was “tantamount tocriticising the ability or inabilityof the King to appoint a suitableperson.”

He carries this ridiculous argu-ment further by stating, “If such acriticism in public is allowed topass, it simply means that theKing’s integrity can be questionedin public.”

We are disturbed beyond beliefthat Lamin has shown such dis-respect to law and logic. We aredumbfounded that he has forgot-ten his own ruling in the appoint-ment of Judges of the High Court,of the Court of Appeal, and of the

Federal Court, who “shall be ap-pointed by the Yang di-PertuanAgong, on the advice of the PrimeMinister, after consulting the Con-ference of Rulers.” (Article 122B(1))

Lamin had stated on March 2,2000: “The intention of the Arti-cle is clear i.e. the Yang di-PertuanAgong must act on the advice ofthe Prime Minister.”

In other words, His Majesty doesnot choose the candidate or decideon the suitablity of the candidatefor appointment. The choosingand deciding is the prerogative ofthe Prime Minister. His Majestymerely fulfils a constitutional re-quirement and discharges a per-functory duty that is required ofhim.

How can Lamin justify his con-tention that Raja Aziz’s view was“tantamount to criticising the abil-ity or inability of the King to ap-point a suitable person”? Howcan he even argue that the King’sintegrity was being questioned?What is the basis? Where is the

logic?

Lamin would have been honestand to the point if he had arguedthat Raja Aziz’s view questionsthe Prime Minister’s ability inchoosing the right candidate andthe PM’s wisdom in deciding thecandidate’s suitability. In fact, thisis what Raja Aziz’s view is tanta-mount to: It is a criticism directedat the Prime Minister. His Majestyis not part of the controversy orthe cause of it.

One wonders whether Lamin wasbeing mischievous in what ap-pears to be an attempt to drag thegood name of the His Majesty intothis controversy by deliberatingdistorting Raja Aziz’s intention inhighlighting a perceived injusticein the appointment of the newChief Judge of Malaya.

What other inference could bedrawn when one studies Lamin’sjudgment of 2 March 2000 con-cerning Datuk Hj Moktar bin HjSidin’s eligibility to be part of aquorum to hear Dato’ SeriAnwar's appeal.

Lamin referred to Clause (1A) ofArticle 40, which states:

“In the exercise of his functionsunder this Constituion of federallaw, where the Yang di PertuanAgong is to act in accordance withadvice, on advice, or after consid-ering advice, the Yang di-PertuanAgong shall accept and act in ac-cordance with such advice.”

He then concluded, “Clearlytherefore the Yang di-PertuanAgong must act upon the adviceof the Prime Minister. The adviceenvisaged by Article 40 (1A) is thedirect advice given by the

A record of A record of A record of A record of A record of Aliran'sAliran'sAliran'sAliran'sAliran's stand on current affairs. stand on current affairs. stand on current affairs. stand on current affairs. stand on current affairs.

Ridiculous AndAbsurd Reasons


recommender and not advice ob-tained after consultation.”

Lamin further emphasised theprerogative of the Prime Ministerwhich he contended must be bind-ing. “So in the context of Article122B (1) of the Constitution, wherethe Prime Minister has advisedthat a person be appointed aJudge…, legally the Prime Minis-ter can insist that the appointmentbe proceeded with.”

It is therefore very clear that it isthe Prime Minister who is respon-sible for causing a particular per-son to be appointed.

If Lamin had intended to defendthe newly appointed Chief Judgeof Malaya, he should have arguedrationally and legally to justifythis appointment and not pull ared herring to hit at Raja Aziz.

In the circumstances, it is in orderto demand that Lamin apologisesto His Majesty for unnecessarilydragging in his good name. Healso owes an apology to Raja Azizfor imputing things that wereclrearly not meant to be.

P RamakrishnanPresident

13 November 2001

It was an asinine decision to re-place the name of a national herowho had laid down his life for hiscountry. It was an insensitive andunthinking decision which mocksthe decision-makers and makes amockery of honour and patriotism.

It was in recognition of his loy-

alty to country and duty that TanSri Koo Chong Kong was hon-oured by a grateful state for hisservices and sacrifices in combat-ing the communist terrorists.What would have been a bettertribute to the late Perak PoliceChief than to perpetuate hismemory by naming the road lead-ing to the state police headquar-ters? This tribute was meant to bepart of our history in livingmemory and inspire others toemulate this gallant example ofservice to country and duty.

The 24 councillors who decidedto revoke Koo’s name and replaceit with another name - which hasno significance whatsoever - haveshown no sense of history or dis-played any notion of gratitude. Bytheir thoughtless action they havesullied Koo’s name and slurredhis honour and brought anguishto his family.

They have callously ignored thefact that the nation’s peace andprosperity enjoyed today islargely due to gallant peoplelike Koo and others in the pub-lic force and the army who hadsacrificed their lives in the truespirit of dedication and patriot-ism.

This insult to Koo’s memory hon-ouring his valour and bravery,cannot be obviated by merely stat-ing that the City Council’s road-naming committee “felt it wasproper and suited current times”to rename the road.

Aliran would like to ask this road-naming committee whether itwould condone or tolerate a deci-sion by some road-naming com-mittee to rename roads like JalanTunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan TunRazak, Jalan Tun Sambanthanand Jalan Tun H S Lee, in keepingwith “the current times”? It is un-thinkable. No one should evencontemplate an idiotic idea likethat!

It is only fitting that this asininedecision be rescinded and thename of Koo be restored to its right-ful place and left there inperpeturity.

All road-naming committees mustheed and be guided by this sim-ple advice: Before you pull downthe fence, find out why it was putup in the first place.

P. RamakrishnanPresident

27 November 2001

Rescind And RestoreKoo's Honour


erb Feith, 71, a leadingIndonesianist, waskilled in a traffic acci-dent that occurred while

he was on his way home fromMonash University, Melbourne,on 14 November 2001. Whilecrossing the railway lines, Herbwas knocked down by a train.

Herb’s major works included TheDecline of Constitutional Democracyin Indonesia (1962), which wasbased on his Cornell UniversityPhD dissertation, and IndonesianPolitical Thinking 1945-1965(1970) which he co-edited withLance Castles. He served inMonash University for over 30years and for a while held the postof professor of politics, which hesubsequently vacated to devotemore time to research and writing.His students, many now distin-guished Indonesianists, includedHarold Crouch (who previouslytaught in Universiti KebangsaanMalaysia), Ulf Sundhaussen,Krishna Sen, David Bourchier, JimSchiller, Richard Tanter, the lateRex Mortimer, Ichlasul Amal andDewi Anwar Fortuna.

When he retired, a major confer-ence was held in Monash in 1992,bringing together Herb’s col-leagues, friends and former stu-

dents – a Who’s Who ofIndonesianists - from all over theworld. The book Democracy in In-donesia in the 1950s and 1990s(1994) edited by David Bourchierand John Legge is a tribute to thisoutstanding scholar.

But Herb was always more than ascholar. He was the first Austral-ian volunteer in Indonesia in1951 and played an instrumentalrole in developing the VolunteerGraduate Scheme which sentAustralian volunteers to Indone-sia. A fore-runner to the US PeaceCorps programme, this pro-gramme lives on today as the Aus-tralian Volunteers Internationalwhich sends thousands of Aus-tralians to work in developingcountries. In the 1990s, Herb andhis wife Betty returned as volun-teers to Indonesia after theirretirment; for almost 10 years Herbserved as Visiting Professor ofPolitics in Gadjah Mada Univer-sity in Jogjakarta.

His love for Indonesia did not pre-vent him from criticizingSuharto’s New Order. Based on hisstudy of contemporary Indonesia,he developed the notion of the re-pressive-developmentalist regime,which influenced the way manyyoung Indonesiansists and Indo-

nesians viewed the New Order.Herb was also very concernedwith the New Order’s treatment ofEast Timor and West Papua, andthought deeply on how to solvethe conflicts there. Indeed, in hislatter years, Herb developed a pas-sion for peace studies and wasactive in the peace movement. Itwas due to people like Herb thatthe peace movement in Australiatook a rather different turn fromits counterparts in the UnitedStates or Britain, for instance. Forin Australia peace issues clearlywent beyond concern over nuclearproliferation and strategic affairs.With the Asia-Pacific region asbackyard, Australia’s peacemovement, influenced by peoplelike Herb, was directly related tothe questions of development anddemocratization of developingcountries as well.

It was in this connection thatAliran first developed close tieswith Herb. We were honoured byhis presence in a seminar TheArms Race which we held inPenang in July 1983. His addressto us is contained in the bookwhich we subsequently pub-lished. Following that seminar,Herb continued to correspondwith us and whenever he droppedby to visit his Penang relatives —

HEART TO HEART :"What comes from the lips reaches the ear,what comes from the heart reaches the heart" - Arab proverb

Scholar, activist, teacher

R e m e m b e r i n gHerb Feith (1930 -2001)

HHHHH

by Francis Loh


his daughter Annie having mar-ried a Butterworth boy — hewould oblige us with a talk, or atleast drop by the office to sharehis latest thoughts.

It was my privilege to interactclosely with Herb for some fouryears in the late 1980s when I tookup a lecturer’s position in politicsin Monash University. I learnt agreat deal from him about Indo-nesian politics and about peace.It was during this time too that Idiscovered what an inspiringteacher he also was.

As I was scheduled to inherit thecourse Rich World Poor World, anintroduction to the politics of de-velopment, which Herb hadtaught for more than a decade, Ithought that I should sit in for afew classes and pick up sometips on how to teach the coursethe following year. In fact, I wasso enthralled with how hetaught the course that I endedup following his course the en-tire semester.

In trying to communicatebetter with his students,Herb evolved a particularstyle of teaching based onFreirean pedagogic princi-ples, among others. Hencehe sought to relate teach-ing-learning to the outsideworld on the one hand,and to break down the‘banking’ notion of educa-tion (wherein the teacher‘deposited’ knowledgeinto the minds of his/herstudents) on the other.

For his large classes, Herbwould always prepare oneto two sheets of notes on aparticular topic. Studentspicked up these notes as

they walked in. For the next 10minutes, they would read. Herbwould then entertain questions.All were encouraged to ask. Onother days, Herb would show amovie, or invite a speaker. Again,there would be questions. Beforethe session ended, Herb allowedstudents to make announcementsabout upcoming events, a talk, afilm, a demonstration, etc. Therewas much learning to be gainedfrom outside of the classroom.

His tutorials were broken downinto smaller groups that he called‘cells’. These cells were requiredto meet separately outside of theformal lectures and tutorials. Herbwould attend these cell meetingsoccasionally. Herb was turningthe normal teaching-learningprocess upside down. Learningwas to be conducted throughquestioning; knowledge was to besought through co-operativerather than individual effort; andthere was much to learn outsidethe ivory towers of academia. Toassess the students, he did not

simply consider their contributionto the research report, for manythe end product of learning. Hestressed, equally, the process oflearning. Accordingly, apart fromawarding marks for the final es-say, he invited the students to as-sess themselves as well as othersin their cells based on one's con-tribution to the group. He organ-ized his Peace Studies course verymuch the same way and in bothcases motivated the students tothink about international devel-opment and peace affairs, and todo something about them.Therewas some magic to all this as Herbengaged his students.

Likewise, when he supervised hisgraduate students – and I wasprivileged to co-supervise severalwith him – he read and listenedintently to what they had to say.He would then pose his questions.Questions, and more questions, itappeared lay at the core of histeaching and learning method.

Not only did Herb influence theIndonesianists therefore, hetouched young volunteers, under-graduate and graduate students,the peace movement, and muchbeyond. I will treasure not onlyhaving learnt so much from himwhile I was in Monash, but alsothe times we went jogging on thebeach in Batu Feringghi, lookingfor vegetarian food all overPenang, and the picture of Herbcatching a mid-day snooze in myoffice.

Aliran extends its deepest condo-lences to Betty, his wife, and theirthree children – David, Annieand Robbie, and several grand-children. We thank them for hav-ing shared this wonderful personwith us. q

Aliran Monthly 21(10) Batu Maung: Proposed site of Third Link (Southern Option)

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PEOPLE'S POET - aliran.com · Muhammad (Pak Sako) and Lim Chin Siong. He was even support-ive of...

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