Community mediation: From the perspective of Penang’s Justices of the Peace

This paper on our blogsite was published in The Edge,
Dec 6, 2021, with minimal editorial changes.

By Ong Seng Huat

MEDIATION as a means to resolve disputes is not new. It has been practised in the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations. It was also commonly employed in India, China and neighbouring Japan and Korea. Different words had been used to describe the practice and, in each area, local beliefs have had an influence on how it was carried out. In the East Asian region, for example, Confucianism had a strong influence. 

Mediation was being used to resolve disputes in Peninsular Malaya prior to the introduction of laws and the judicial system by the British in 1807. Indeed, the Malays, Chinese and Indians who resided here have been practising it since at least the 15th century.

The Malays used sulh (which in Arabic means “end of arguments or compromise”, translated as “conciliation”). The mediators were local chiefs (imam, penghulu and ketua kampung), administrators of specific areas or jurisdictions. They were appointed by the local people and endorsed by the Sultan. 

Panchayat, practised by the Indians, centred around a village council of elders (usually numbering five) who were acknowledged by the community as a governing body. Brought from India, the system facilitated decision-making with regard to the social issues confronted by the villagers. 

As for the Chinese, tiaojie (调节), which literally means mediation, was the primary mode of dispute settlement adopted by the early settlers. Used for thousands of years in traditional China, its theory and practice had been influenced by the Confucian philosophy. It was recorded in Malaya, for example, that a temple, EngChoonTohTeoGan in Malacca (1949), included mediation processes in its rules and regulations.

Justices of the Peace in colonial Penang: The office of the Justices of the Peace (JP) was a British creation. Eminent persons of communities were appointed as JPs to assist the Crown in the preservation and maintenance of peace of their communities. In Penang, a Straits Settlements state (1826-1948) under the British administration prior to Independence, JPs were appointed to mitigate the shortage of magistrates then. In addition to their statutory roles, the JPs then also acted as mediators in community conflicts and disputes. 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN MEDIATION IN MALAYSIA

Mediation has assumed some prominence in Malaysia of late. It is in this light that I would like to discuss the practice. The following are some recent milestone events:

Community mediation: This “alternative dispute resolution” practice was initiated formally by the Department of National Unity and Integration (DNUI) in 2007. The DNUI was previously under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Department, as a mode to help residents of geographical communities (neighbourhoods) to amicably and promptly settle their differences and disputes. Apart from preventing conflict, it also aimed to foster better inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic relations. Since then, the DNUI has been training “community mediators” to serve their respective Rukun Tetangga (RT) sectors throughout the country.

Rukun Tetangga (RT) Act 2012: This Act underscores the role of the “community mediator”. Section 8 stipulates that RT sector committees are “to provide community mediation for the purpose of conciliation or otherwise settle any dispute or difference amongst the members of community”, that is, within their neighbourhoods.

Mediation Act 2012: This piece of legislation was enacted as “an Act to promote and encourage mediation as a method of alternative dispute resolution by providing for the process of mediation, thereby facilitating the parties in disputes to settle disputes in a fair, speedy, and cost-effective manner and to provide for related matters”. It governs the conduct of mediation in Malaysia, particularly ad hoc mediation whereby parties to a civil or commercial dispute voluntarily submit their dispute to be mediated without or prior to commencing litigation in court. 

Practice Direction on Mediation 4/2016: This “practice direction”, issued by the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court, was aimed at encouraging disputing parties to choose pre-action mediation or to seek amicable settlement before trial or appeal. By this Direction, the courts may now also refer the disputing parties to appoint a mediator or mediators to undertake court annexed mediation as directed by the judge or magistrate during pre-trial civil case management. As per Paragraph 5, the modes of mediation could be conducted (a) with the judge leading it (b) via the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) or (c) via other mediators agreeable by both parties. Mode 5(c) is categorised as other mediation institutions or ad hoc community mediation.

Covid19 Act 2020: The proviso in Section 9 mirrored the procedure laid out in the Mediation Act 2012 (MA 2012). It states that “any dispute in respect of any inability of any party or parties to perform any contractual obligation arising from any of the categories of contracts specified in the Schedule to this Part due to the measures prescribed, made or taken under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 to control or prevent the spread of Covid-19 may be settled by way of mediation”.

Covid19 Mediation Centre: The subsequent creation of the “Covid19 Mediation Centre” reaffirms the government’s commitment to not only acknowledge the benefits of mediation but also assist the affected parties, particularly the lower income groups to resolve their disputes amicably, speedily and cost effectively. A timely test now is to gauge if there are sufficient trained mediators to undertake the unprecedented tasks. Though the Covid19 Bill 2020 is independent of the MA 2012, disputants are free to decide on their preferred mediation option via MA 2012. In this instance the JP Council community mediators are prepared and will avail themselves for national service when called upon.

With these new developments, mediation in Malaysia is no longer interpreted as an informal alternative dispute resolution process that is not binding by law. It is now enshrined as one of the processes of dispute resolutions in the Malaysian legal system.

COUNCIL OF THE JUSTICES OF THE PEACE, STATE OF PENANG

The Council of the Justices of the Peace, State of Penang, was established in 1962 to provide a platform for Penang JPs to coordinate and pool their resources to serve the local community more effectively. It is a registered entity with the Registrar of Societies. With no new appointment since 1990, the membership stands at 60 comprising eminent community leaders including retired senior civil servants, industrialists, merchants, accountants, medical doctors, surveyors, planters, corporate directors and other trade practitioners.

Transformation of council into a mediation institution: Due to changes in certain statutes after Independence, the role of JPs in Penang has been greatly diminished. Although Sections 98 and 99 of the Subordinate Courts Act 1948 allowed for the appointment of JPs as “second class” magistrates, no JP has thus far been given the position. Recent developments in mediation, however, have raised the possibility of re-engaging these community leaders, appointed by the state authorities, to act as mediators to resolve community disputes. They are ideal for the role.

Penang JPs have been involved in mediation since the 19th century. One notable example was Foo Tye Sin JP who acted as mediator in local community conflicts and disputes during British rule. 

Some time in 2014, the JP Council received a paper entitled: “Transformation of the institution of Justices of the Peace of Penang” from High Court judge Yang Arif Dato’ Lim Chong Fong, then an advocate and solicitor in private practice. Inspired by the ideas outlined and convinced after meeting the writer in person, the council, at its 2016 annual general meeting, resolved to transform the office of the JP to include mediators. This is besides continuing with its limited statutory roles and functions. Consequently, the council’s constitution was amended to include mediation as one of its objectives. As a mediation institution, JP mediators can be appointed as ad hoc mediators pursuant to Part III of the MA 2012.

Mediation skills course: Pursuant to Section 7(2)(a), MA 2012, a mediator shall “possess the relevant qualifications, special knowledge or experience in mediation through training or formal education”. To secure recognition, competency and practical experience for its members, the council approached Ir Harbans Singh (currently panelist of the Asian International Arbitration Centre or AIAC).  He in turn pitched the council’s proposal to the then Director of Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA), Datuk Sundra Rajoo, for support and endorsement. KLRCA has been renamed AIAC. The first JP-KLRCA (AIAC) mediation skills course was held in August 2016. Our collaboration with AIAC to train community mediators continues to this day.

COMMUNITY-BASED PHILOSOPHY

In line with a broad community-based approach, trainees for community mediators are both JPs and non-JP community leaders from diverse background including those from sectors like medical, legal, engineering, construction, finance, trade, commerce and other industries. Apart from the ad hoc mediation, two JP mediators have also served in the Penang High Court annexed mediation in 2016. 

Mediation Bureau: As the mediation service involves non-JP mediators, the council established a bureau to allow it to be semi-autonomously managed. With the tacit support of the state government, the Mediation Bureau was officially launched by His Excellency, the Governor of the state of Penang, Tun Dato’ Seri Utama (Dr) Haji Abdul Rahman Bin Haji Abbas, on 20 July 2017. The bureau has a rented office located at the Caring Society Complex and has a panel consisting 25 JP and non-JP mediators (local community leaders) representing different strata of the community. Currently, the bureau provides pro bono pre-action mediation services to the local community. Pursuant to Court Practice Direction 4/2016 paragraph 5c, the council has offered to assist the courts in alleviating the burden of pending cases, particularly those related to community disputes.

Community mediation and social harmony: Community mediation serves as an important means to keep a community harmonious. They do so by resolving conflicts or disputes — no matter how petty — speedily before they develop into full-blown cases that eventually ended up in the courts. By having mediators within these communities, we are also empowering their leaders to manage their interests and well-being from within, apart from maintaining peace. Further, the JP Council’s idea of engaging local community leaders means that the people involved in the mediation processes are familiar with other on-the-ground issues that may help or hinder conflict resolution. 

MOVING FORWARD

We are grateful to all the directors, past and present, of AIAC for their encouragement and support to train community mediators in Penang. The endorsement provided not only the necessary knowledge and skills but also a mark of recognition of their competency as mediators. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and its related restrictions, the last scheduled training was aborted. Nevertheless, we look forward to bring the collaboration to the next level.

Community mediation symposium: An understanding with the state Department of National Unity and Integration Department (DNUI) to collaborate and share resources to serve the local community was established in 2019. With the DNUI endorsement, the JP Council successfully hosted a community mediation symposium on 10 November 2019. It was unfortunate that due to the pandemic, the scheduled MOU on 5 April 2020 was deferred. 

Road map for promotion: In reaching out to the community at large, we have created a road map to promote, educate and disseminate the benefits of mediation within their own respective communities. Our first collaborator in this road map is Min Sin Seah, a century old local socio-educational organisation.

Accessible and affordable training module: Work is currently in progress with an institution of higher learning to design and develop a training module to make learning both easily accessible and affordable. Meanwhile, we are prepared to work with other interest groups or organisations for mutual benefits and professional advancement.

One-stop centre: In addition, we are striving to establish a state-level one-stop dispute resolution centre with the state government’s participation and support. 

In sum, this low-cost and effective assisted negotiation between two disputing parties with the help of a neutral third party, is here to stay. It should be given much greater prominence to create greater social harmony and more empowerment to the community, especially its leaders.   

• Dato’ Ong Seng Huat JP is Honorary Secretary, Council of Justices of the Peace, State of Penang. Read more about him here.

Don’t overstay when the writing is on the wall

Republished from New Straits Times, Dec 4, 2021,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

MY late mother, from Dongguan, Guangdong Province, in southern China, Low Ah Hup, had this advice for me to survive the rat race, bracing for life’s challenges or tip-toeing on social etiquette: choot moon thai theen sek, yap moon thai min sek.

It simply meant when going out the front door of a house, look at the colour of the sky; when entering a house, assess the colour of the host’s face.

How right she was! If we see dark skies, then we ought to be prepared and bring an umbrella in case a thunderstorm starts.

The second part of her tip was even more telling: if we enter a house for a tete-a-tete with someone, it’s time to vamoose to avoid overstaying the welcome, lest we see scowls or dark faces.

The most “celebrated” case we’ve seen so far was the riot on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Jan 6.

That was when a mob of unruly supporters of former president Donald Trump attacked the United States Capitol building to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election by disrupting a joint session of Congress to count electoral votes that would formalise President Joe Biden’s victory.

Amid the shocking scenes, the Capitol was locked down and lawmakers and staff evacuated, while rioters assaulted law enforcement officers, vandalised property and occupied the building for several hours. 

What was bizarre was that Trump resisted sending the National Guard to quell the mob and again asserted that the election was “fraudulent”.

But, common sense later prevailed when the Capitol was cleared to allow for the counting of electoral votes, which was completed in the early hours of Jan 7.

Much has also been happening in Malaysia since May 2018 and even right up to about a month ago in Melaka, when politicians schemed to regain or stay in power, depending on how one looks at the convoluting scenarios.

After all, American diplomat, Walter Annenberg, did say that “the greatest power is not money power, but political power”.

Over the last 50 years or so, we’ve seen what political power can do for the political elites in the name of grandiose-sounding policies.

This is especially so when political power easily translates into money power.

And this fact has not been lost among non-politicians as well. Many dishonest leaders of non-governmental organisations, charity foundations, trade unions, cultural federations, clan associations and vocational trades guilds, especially those with plenty of lolly in the kitty through subscriptions, endowments and fundraisers, have been known to follow the rule book of double-dealing politicians.

An ongoing case in point revolves round a state clansmen association for the Hainanese community, a Chinese dialect group noted for its civility and politeness (besides their chicken chop and chicken rice).

But, temperatures among some of them have been rising when key office bearers allegedly sought another another three-year term by amending the association constitution.

These people, who’ve led the association for two terms, claimed they wanted to complete the association’s “unfinished business” as they were stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But, their detractors begged to differ, as they claimed that one shouldn’t measure one’s life by its duration but by contributions to society.

One of them said: “Individuals, no matter how powerful or popular, cannot be indispensable. When the time comes for them to take a back seat or retire, they should do so with dignity by welcoming the next generation of leaders who can then emerge with fresh ideas and even bring about new changes to augment the good work undertaken by the elders before them.”

The association’s annual general meeting is, surprisingly, scheduled over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Let’s hope good sense will prevail among members without sparks flying or punches being thrown.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Mega blockbuster: The Battle at Lake Changjin (NC16) and the Korean War

By Chin Foo Chun

THIS MOVIE is now the second-highest grossing movie (over 5 billion yuan or about US$800 million) of all time in China — after Wolf Warrior 2. In comparison, James Bond’s No Time to Die has grossed over US$700 million so far.

The film boasts three celebrated directors — Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige and Dante Lam — a run time of almost three hours as well as the most intense and bloody battle scenes one can watch that do not involve Mel Gibson, according to John Lui, in his movie review in the Straits Times.

There are three acts to this story, as summarised by John Lui:

The first act is the prelude to the war, showing humble People’s Liberation Army commander Wu Qianli (Wu Jing) returning to his village after the Chinese Civil War with dreams of giving a plot of land to his peasant parents. His break is short-lived, as trouble brews in North Korea.

Actors portray historical figures such as Chairman Mao Zedong and revolutionary leader Zhou Enlai, giving voice to worries about the foreign forces acting with impunity on Chinese soil. Lookalikes also portray the opposing side — for example, General Douglas MacArthur, the American heading the United Nations forces.

The middle portion deals with the infiltration by Chinese troops into North Korea, with the final third chapter showing the battle, known in the West as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

John Lui expresses this view:

This expressly patriotic work puts a heavy shine on Chinese military success, while either ignoring or excusing its blunders. In other words, it is no different from most Hollywood war movies celebrating American military triumphs.

Rushing troops to the front without enough food and warm clothing — the cold, reaching 40 deg C below zero, would prove to be as deadly for the Chinese side as enemy weapons — is referenced. It is not shown as an example of poor decision-making, but an act of heroic self-sacrifice.

The patriotic sloganeering will likely leave many viewers cold, but this Chinese movie can be enjoyed as a work of bonkers battle action. It does serve as a welcome antidote to Hollywood war films that have demonised the opposing side as mindless, freedom-hating hordes.

Having watched Wolf Warrior 2 (also starring Wu Jing as the hero) a few years ago, I can appreciate the kind of Chinese patriotic nationalism on display.

In another news commentary, Danson Cheong of the Straits Times has this to say:

The Battle of Lake Changjin — a nationalist shot across the bow.

The Korean War epic is whipping up nationalist sentiments while serving as a warning to the US and its allies that China is not to be trifled with.

This is an example of how China’s propaganda twists history to nurture nationalism and enhance credibility of Mao and CPC [Communist Party of China] — so that people will not question the supremacy of the CPC leadership which has reunified the country and led them to glory.

In reality and fact, the Korean War was a dubious bit of history which led to unnecessary loss of Chinese lives, and undoubtedly was of dubious benefit to China.

Kim Il Sung poster: Signature depiction
during that era. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Let’s examine Danson Cheong’s comment about this dubious bit of history. I will try to distill the history of the Korean War as a sequence of events:

1. In 1945, at the end of WWII, Russia/Soviet Union and the US came to a standoff at the 38th Parallel in Korea, following the defeat of Japan (similar to the standoff in Germany with East and West Germany and division of Berlin; here Seoul was firmly in South Korea but vulnerable as it is near the 38th Parallel).
2. In 1948, both sides agreed to withdraw leaving behind a North Korea heavily armed by the Soviet Union, and a South Korea — ROK (Republic of Korea) — supported by the US. 
3. By 1950, Kim Il Sung had approached Stalin for support to attack South Korea and reunite Korea.
4. Stalin agreed to arm, fund and support Kim Il Sung, provided he could convince Mao to support him in this war. Stalin would not contribute Russian/Soviet forces to a war.
5. At that time, China led and governed by the CPC, was absolutely poor and short of resources to support a war adventure. But in the end, Mao agreed (and overrode dissension and doubts within the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] about engaging in a war, even if China was not funding it), perhaps fearing that if Kim did not win, China would be vulnerable to a US invasion (bear in mind that at that time, McCarthyism and the vendetta against communism/socialism was on the rise in the US — earlier days of Cold War).
6. On June 25, 1950, Kim Il Sung launched his attack on South Korea — crossing the 38th Parallel, and overwhelmed the forces there (who were caught by surprise) quickly. The South Korean and US forces were pushed to the south-eastern corner at Busan — where they made their stand.

7. 

   MacArthur, in dark jacket, observing the invasion
   of Incheon. Source: Wikimedia Commons

   Bruised by this surprise attack and with his reputation in tatters, MacArthur was desperate to counterattack and regain the initiative. Against the concerns expressed by his generals, McArthur took the bold decision to launch a dangerous high risk invasion at Incheon (location of the current international airport) — a craggy rocky coastline (and not smooth sands like Normandy). This surprise counterattack succeeded and Kim Il Sung’s forces were encircled. They quickly retreated back above the 38th Parallel. MacArthur turned from being a disgraced general to a war hero (i.e. from WWII hero to zero and back to hero).
8. Emboldened by this victory, MacArthur’s forces pushed northwards. MacArthur wanted to get rid of Kim Il Sung and push all the way to the Yalu, and create a buffer zone in China for a reunited Korea. He even entertained and promoted the idea of using nuclear bombs to create a “dead zone” in China above the Yalu.
9. On Oct 15, 1950, Truman flew to Wake Island (nearer Guam, west of Hawaii), to meet MacArthur. This was a major concession from a president to fly out to meet his general — a subordinate, who had not been exactly compliant with Truman’s instructions. Yet MacArthur’s stature as war hero and support in Congress, was an obstacle to Truman gaining absolute control over the strategy to contain and keep the war short. MacArthur assured Truman that the war would be over by Christmas, in order to assuage Truman who was worried that China would enter the war, and that it would become a protracted extended conflict — potentially a World War III.

10. 

    PLA troops before the Changjin battle.
    Source: Wikimedia Commons

    On Oct 19, 1950, China entered the war, and on Nov 27, 1950, launched the surprise attack at Chosin Reservoir (or Lake Jangjin in Korean). 120,000 Chinese troops attacked the 30,000 UN troops led by the US (contributing majority of the troops). The Battle of Lake Changjin was a key battle — the turning point, which halted the momentum of the US and UN forces. Both sides lost a lot of men, but the PLA suffered hell of a lot more loss of lives, since they were poorly equipped and practically all they had, was the advantage of numbers and the courage of the PLA soldiers.
11. The US and UN forces retreated to the 38th Parallel. By Dec 1950, Truman had decided to try to end the war, and stop his recalcitrant general from taunting the Chinese and continuing the war. In Apr 1951, Truman finally sacked and recalled him back to the US. McArthur returned home a war hero and there was even a “Thanksgiving Macy-style” parade in New York to welcome him back. MacArthur waved to a cheering and adoring crowd lined along the Manhattan streets. This sacking of MacArthur cost Truman dearly — politically. MacArthur subsequently tried to run for the presidency, but Eisenhower beat him to it and became president, succeeding Truman.
12. In the meantime, the Korean War continued as a war of attrition for two years until July 27, 1953, when Eisenhower finally managed to end the war as Truman had intended earlier. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed — keeping the 38th Parallel as the dividing line, thus halting the war but there was no peace treaty.

Kim Il Sung did not achieve his objective to become top Korean honcho with his war adventure, but the cruel collateral damage was extensive loss of lives — Korean, Chinese, American and those of UN forces, and economic debilitation. Stalin gave him arms and funding to fight the war, but did not contribute soldiers to the adventure. Instead, Stalin found a sucker — Mao to do the dirty heavy lifting — sacrificing his impoverished PLA forces who had already suffered so much in their civil war against the Kuomintang. To me, it is a sad and tragic part of PLA history — something to commemorate and reflect on the mistakes and loss of lives. It is not some event to be celebrated or glorified.

Imagine this parallel universe scenario. Let’s say Kim Il Sung had lost the war after the Incheon offensive, Mao had not entered the war, the recalcitrant MacArthur was restrained by Truman and the US/UN forces had stopped before or at the Yalu. The 38th Parallel dividing line would have shifted to the Yalu. Today, we may have a united democratic Korea with a thriving free market capitalist society, trading freely with a Deng-reformed China, living in peace. Would that not be a better outcome than the current situation of an impoverished North Korea ruled by the Kim family dictators, with people malnourished, suffering and living out of fear?

M*A*S*H season premiere, 1974: Different cultural
approach to the Korean War. Source: Wikimedia Commons

As a film/TV buff and a M*A*S*H fan, I find it interesting to note that the Americans (or rather Hollywood) fictionalised a book by Richard Hornberger (portrayed as Hawkeye Pierce by Alan Alda in the series) about his Korean War experience as a medical surgeon, to make a comedy series with the backdrop of the trials and tribulations of war. In comparison, the Chinese (through three top notch directors guided by Beijing’s wishes) chose to use a Korean war film to inspire and arouse Chinese nationalism and patriotism. It says something too about the different cultural approaches of these two superpower countries with different socio-political systems. Danson Cheong quoted Shanghai-based military analyst Ni Lexiong in relation to the film in the context of current Taiwan tensions:    

When it comes to preparing for war, there are two things to do: first is preparing materials and hardware, the second is psychological and mental preparation... These movies tell people that if a conflict does happen, they don’t have to be afraid.

Let’s hope these preparations are unnecessary and this week’s Xi-Biden virtual summit has helped to tone down the rhetoric of conflict. (In Hokkien “pai kiah” angry rhetoric lingo, it is time to ease off on the “dare or not” taunts…)

• The Battle at Lake Changjin (NC16), 176 minutes, opened in Singapore on Nov 11, 2021
• Chin Foo Chun is a former investment banker working for three global banks (JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas and CIBC) with regional responsibilities in the Asia-Pacific. Read more about him here.

‘Give back to our children the spirit of adventure’

By Quah Seng Sun

WOULD YOU allow your son or daughter to take part in wholesome outdoor school activities like Scouting and Guiding? During our time, it would be an unqualified “Yes”! Today, it is a rhetorical question. 

Molly Ooi, who taught at Penang Free School in the 1980s and was Group Scout Leader (GSL) of 8th Georgetown (South) Sea Scouts Group and also Ranger Guider, laments that these activities have lost their shine.

“It’s such a shame that camping is now confined to the school field and not many students want to be Scouts anymore. The Scouting light doesn’t shine brightly anymore and Coronation and Jubilee Camps are both gone. Scouting and Guiding are both internationally recognised uniformed movements which prepare young people holistically for their futures.” 

Molly Ooi with the Sea Scouts of Penang Free School
in the 1980s

Together with her husband, David Hwang Hong Shi, who himself taught at Westlands Primary School in the 1950s and Penang Free School in the 1960s, she tries to burn the torch for these activities: “Parents should encourage their wards to participate. Don’t make them lose their sense of adventure.” 

Molly’s accounts highlight a few differences between then and now. One is the change in attitude, a sharp turn towards taking less risk among all the parties involved. Another is the diminished trust among students, teachers, parents and the various levels of administration. 

“Malaysian kids today have lost their sense of adventure. Many prefer to be hooked to their handphones. Parents are too worried about letting them out even for a nature walk. Teachers are afraid of taking them out in case accidents happen and parents sue them. And principals don’t want the hassle of paperwork and answering to the Education authorities in case something happens. Kids get to camp in the school field only when they can get a teacher to stay with them at nights — which is rare,” she says.

Molly Ooi with the Rangers of Penang Free School

“When I was young, we cycled everywhere and our teachers took us for all kinds of hikes and excursions. We visited factories and ate cookies, chocs and got other goodies, went to tin mines, all kinds of estates, farms and orchards (again free vegetables and fruits there), got special passes for movies like The Sound of Music and other interesting children’s literature and lots more. We had no handphones but we had fun outdoors with our wonderful, caring teachers whom our parents trusted.”

Molly’s own adventure with Scouting started in the 1970s. In a recent posting on her Facebook, she wrote that she had taken her Woodbadge Course while teaching in Malacca during those years. She became a Sea Scout Leader of the Open Sea Scouts troop there which comprised both Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. There were camping and canoeing at Tanjong Keling Beach. Today, there are no more stretches of clean white sand as the beach has been obliterated by hotels and apartments.

When she was transferred to Penang Free School, she became the warranted Group Scout Leader (GSL) of 8th Georgetown (South) Sea Scouts Group and also Ranger Guider. “Those were interesting years of camping at Camp Coronation, numerous hikes to Muka Head and Gertak Sanggul, over the Ayer Itam hill to Balik Pulau, Penang Hill and other adventurous activities and combined training camps together with 1st Georgetown (South) GSL Mr Khoo Poh Kheng and 7th Georgetown (South) Rover Scout Leaders (RSLs).

She offered two Internet links to Scouting: Importance of Scouting and Guiding in Schools and Scouting and World Development.

• Quah Seng Sun is one of three people who maintain this WPS blogsite. Recently he authored two books, Let the Aisles Proclaim: The First Two Hundred Years of Penang Free School 1816-2016 and Ten Thousand Prosperities: The Story of Ban Hin Lee Bank. Read more about him here.

ADDENDUM

A comment on facebook put the picture as taken after the PFS Scout Show in 1984. "It was one of those rare occasions that the Sea Scouts were in uniform (white shirt and navy blue pants). The whites were outstanding but the Scout Commissioner wasn't too pleased as this was against the norm. But somehow we survived," the writer* recollected as a response to this story.

He continued, "Sadly, those were the transition times from camping in the wild to camping in school, and the beginning of parental consent and the fear of the dangers of sea activities. We chose the former and at the end, our numbers were whittled down to what you see in the picture. Most of the time - practically every Saturday - that bunch of nutcase Sea Scouts were either at Pantai Keracut or Muka Head or canoeing round the island. We rowed canvas canoes. They were like bloody logs in the water!!! But with the choppy currents around Muka Head, it was a blessing.

"Those were the days... camping, backwoodsman, odd-job weeks, washing cars, cutting hedges for funds, Scout shows, Scout car racing, naval training, whacking our own paths to Pantai Acheh, licking limestones at Muka Head because we ran out of water, night hikes to Pantai Keracut, caught by the Police for sleeping in the cemetery with parangs after tiring out trying to grab the best bamboos, transporting 15-feet bamboos tied to two bicycles, and dragonboats. Camping at Youth Park was considered degrading to us. Yes, those were the days."

* The writer wished not to be named.

Globalisation, technology, Elon Musk and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms

By Chin Foo Chun

WHAT HAS globalisation, technology, Elon Musk and Romance of Three Kingdoms got to do with one another?

Let’s start with Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, while Tesla’s stock price stays where it is today.

On 2 Nov 21, he tweeted a Chinese poem from the classic, Romance of Three Kingdoms, about Cao Cao’s sons, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, contesting for power. Some say it is an oblique reference to the spat between the dodgy Dogecoin and the newer, perhaps less dodgy, Shiba Inu, which has overtaken Dogecoin in market value. Apparently, some consider Shiba Inu to be a token which aspires to be an Ethereum-based alternative to Dogecoin.

Musk has often in the past been a frequent advocate for Dogecoin. So what could be his message behind the poem. Let’s take a look.

The posted tweet was titled “Humankind” by Musk, although it is commonly known as the “Quatrain of Seven Steps,” the allegorical poem attributed to Cao Zhi. Legend goes that Cao Pi, freshly crowned king, was suspicious that his more popular brother was trying to usurp his rule. Cao Pi forced Cao Zhi to produce a poem that would proclaim his innocence, within seven strides. The poem is as follows:

Beanstalks are ignited to boil beans

The beans in the pot cry out.

We are born of the self-same root

Why should we incinerate each other with such impatience?

It is kind of curious that Elon Musk would refer to this Chinese poem. Where could he have learnt of this? I have two conspiracies to offer:

1. Tesla’s largest factory is now the Shanghai Gigafactory. Perhaps over drinks or dinner, one of his Chinese executives told him the story, which caught his imagination?
2. Leo KoGuan, who is now Tesla’s third largest individual shareholder (after Elon Musk and Larry Ellison), has met Musk before. He is a former Chinese Indonesian, inspired by the Xuan Yuan’s Chinese rule of law, and now a Professor at Tsinghua. He has the KoGuan School of Law at Shanghai JiaoTong University, and the Leo KoGuan Law Building at Tsinghua University, named after him. Maybe he told Musk the story?   

Both Elon Musk and Leo KoGuan are children of globalisation.

Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa. His father was a South African engineer, entrepreneur and property developer. His Canadian mother was a model and dietitian. He grew up and was schooled in Pretoria. Moving to Canada, he entered Queens University in Kingston, Ontario before transferring to UPenn. After graduating with BSc in economics and BA in physics, he was accepted to pursue a PhD in materials science at Stanford. After two days at Stanford, he dropped out and started his tech and business career – eventually becoming part of the PayPal mafia. He left PayPal and launched Tesla and Space X, and in the process became the richest man in the world.

Leo KoGuan is nowhere as rich as Elon Musk, but his stake in Tesla is worth a humbling US$7 billion or more. His story is much less known. He was born in Indonesia, studied international affairs at Columbia and then law at NYU. In 1989, KoGuan bought steeply discounted assets of a bankrupt New Jersey-based software supplier that became the basis of SHI – an IT solutions, product and services company. He ran the company with his then-wife, Thai Lee, who was the first Korean-American woman to enter Harvard Business School. By the time they divorced in 2002, it was pulling in annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. She is still currently CEO and SHI’s annual revenues are now US$11 billion. KoGuan remains as non-executive Chairman.

Leo KoGuan’s name came into the limelight when he bought the triplex penthouse apartment on top of the 65-storey Guoco Tower in Singapore from James Dyson – UK’s richest man. Guoco Tower was built and developed by Quek Leng Chan, a Chinese Malaysian tycoon.

Let’s consider the virtuous circle/cycle of globalisation here (my apologies if I stretched my imagination a bit). Chinese consumers buy Tesla cars made in the Shanghai Gigafactory by Chinese workers. This contributes to Elon Musk’s wealth which is propelled by buoyant US stock markets. This rubs off on an astute investor like Leo KoGuan who prospers with huge bets, as Tesla’s stock price catapults upwards. With a teeny weeny bit of his wealth, he purchases the Guoco Tower penthouse from James Dyson (whose wealth is generated in part through his factories in the Philippines and Malaysia). The success of the Guoco Tower development, in turn makes Quek Leng Chan richer, reinforcing his resources and ability to invest in more businesses like his semiconductor assembly & test business, packaging auto-chips going into cars – though not into Tesla cars, at least not yet. (It contributes to creating jobs and wealth for the middle class in Malaysia.)

So we have come full circle – a virtuous one, as Chinese consumers contribute to the flow of business and resources across the globe and leading to jobs which help drive consumption in Malaysia too. It is a wonderful story of the power of free market capitalism and Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” in a global context, as we connect the dots or beans as metaphorically referred to in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Unlike the beans in that famous poem, here the beans are enablers. Instead of incinerating one another, they work together seamlessly (without prior intent) across the globe – demonstrating the “shock and awe” power and synergies of globalisation.

• Chin Foo Chun is a former investment banker working for three global banks (JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas and CIBC) with regional responsibilities in the Asia-Pacific. Read more about him here.

We should seriously study, legislate a future generations law

Republished from New Straits Times, Sep 10, 2021,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

AS WE LOOK back at what our country has achieved in the last 64 years, there’re certainly many triumphs and also failures that we may as well not dwell on, lest they bring us more heartaches.

We could’ve achieved much more. So it’s best to look to the future as Soyen Shaku, a Japanese Zen monk, discovered when he found a way out of past failures by saying, “Do not regret the past, look to the future”.

Perhaps this is akin to the popular saying of no use crying over spilt milk.

Much has happened in our beloved country, especially in the past two years or so. Besides the arduous health and economic challenges, we’ve also been treated to a giant spectacle of political upheavals and manoeuvring on a scale we’ve never seen before.

The familiar refrain of “where do we go from here?” is often heard among those who care about the future of this land we call home.

While we’ve been engrossed in much political infighting, some neighbouring countries that had once lagged behind have even overtaken us.

Take our automobile industry, for example, which we had often boasted about when we got off the starting blocks as early as 1985.

But we’ve not made much headway since then, especially in selling our wares to big international markets, except for making millions of Malaysians happy with their relatively cheap locally made vehicles compared with competing overseas rivals.

Of course, we enriched some local parts producers along the way in the name of localisation.

And look at the South Koreans: one of their marques started about the same time as us, and look where they are now.

Their cars, viewed with disdain by some snooty automobile makers then, have found a niche in the garages, driveways and parking lots of many North American and European homes with their stylish designs, advanced engineering and fuel economy.

Even one-time war-torn Vietnam will start marketing home-grown electric SUVs to the industrialised West in November. Enough said.

But I pray there’s still hope yet for our future generation as I’m captivated by this line of optimism: The past is your lesson. The present is your engine. The future is your motivation.

It may be wishful thinking on my part to hope for radical changes in the next 100 days or so that could bring forth many solutions or answers to the multitude of challenges that we now face.

Who or what could lead us out of the quagmire? Do we sink further into mediocrity?  

I’m drawn to Dr Roman Krznaric, a Briton described as a public philosopher, who had expounded on the need to reinvent democracy for the long term.

He argues that when politicians fail to look beyond the next election — or even the latest tweet — they are neglecting the rights of future generations.

He depicts such flaws as short-termism and presentism.

Governments, he declares, typically prefer quick fixes, such as putting more criminals behind bars rather than dealing with the deeper social and economic causes of crime.

Nations bicker around international conference tables, focused on their near-term interests, while the planet burns and species disappear.

Like Krznaric, I’m intrigued by what the government of Wales in the United Kingdom had done in an interesting attempt to right the wrongs, although it may not be a fool-proof panacea.

Premised on “acting today for a better tomorrow”, Wales had established a Future Generations Commissioner as part of the 2015 Wellbeing for Future Generations Act.

Sophie Howe, described as one of the United Kingdom’s changemakers and top businesswomen, was appointed to the important role in 2016.

Her responsibility is to ensure that public bodies in Wales make policy decisions looking at least 30 years into the future.

The Guardian newspaper describes her as the “world’s first minister of the unborn”.

In a nutshell, the far-sighted Welsh law requires public bodies to think about the long-term impact of their decisions, to work better with people, communities and each other, and to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change.

This legislation has been attracting interest from other countries as it offers a huge opportunity to make a long-lasting, positive change to current and future generations.

Do we dare take such a giant step for the wellbeing of future Malaysians?

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Straits Echo

THIS IS quite a well-known picture, a three-storey building that once housed the venerated Straits Echo Press newspaper. I have no idea when the newspaper located its operations here but very long ago, it used to operate from a shophouse in Beach Street. In the 1960s, I do remember seeing the building at this spot – the corner of Penang Road and Dato Koyah Road – but never in my wildest dreams then could I foresee that one day in the 1970s, I would have this newspaper as my first employer, albeit only for a short six-month stint.

I said venerated because where the Press was concerned, this English language daily was the pride of Penang. Often, it carried news that the more national-level The Straits Times, with its headquarters in Singapore, was unable to report first-hand. Before the Second World War, The Straits Times occasionally had to rely on re-printing news that had earlier appeared in the Straits Echo. Thus in a way, the latter, despite its regional coverage, was seen as an ultimate source of authority for news about Penang.

Like The Straits Times, the Straits Echo newspaper was a broadsheet which was a large format and somewhat unwieldy to hold. To keep up with the times, but more to challenge The Star newspaper which hit the streets in 1971, the Straits Echo transformed into a tabloid in the 1970s. With it came a new name, The National Echo, and blue was adopted as its colour for the masthead in contrast to The Star’s red. The competition with The Star was keen and at one stage, an evening edition – the so-called street edition – of the newspaper was introduced so that readers could read that day’s news on the same day. Later, The National Echo opened an office in Kuala Lumpur and shifted its centre of operations there. Unfortunately, it could not compete with the likes of New Straits Times, The Malay Mail and The Star, and The National Echo folded in 1986.

When I worked there in the 1970s, the newspaper was owned by someone named KK Liew. The editor was a Eurasian named Wilson de Souza while the senior editors were Cheah Cheong Lin and Sunny Tan. The chief reporter was a very loud man named G Ratnam. Among my peers were people like Kee Thuan Chye, Ung Mah Pheng, Ong Thean Seang and Ooi Kee Beng. The last named is now the Executive Director of Penang Institute.

© Quah Seng Sun

Updates and add-ons:

Lim Siang Jin: 

• My great grandfather, Lim Cheng How, used to manage the company that owned the Straits Echo. This is from my grandfather’s memoirs: “Attached to the Criterion Press, Ltd, former proprietors of the Straits Echo, the premises of which were at Nos 226 and 228 Beach Street, presumably as an assistant, my father rose to the appointment of manager with, I believe, a salary of $100/- pm which was then considered excellent pay having regard to the fact that the cost of living was cheap”.
• In the mid-1980s, the late Soo Ewe Jin (later one of the Deputy Executive Editors of The Star)  and I were approached to come up with a plan to revive The National Echo, perhaps take it back to Penang and focus on news from the north again. We were both working for ISIS Malaysia then. Both from Penang, we were quite excited about the project, however, nothing came out of it.

Resilience

THIS WAS a story from The Star newspaper last Wednesday, the 25th of August. Although it correctly stated that Hwang Hong Shi taught at the Westlands School, the translation into SMK Westlands was wrong. SMK Westlands is Westlands Secondary School which opened in 1957. Westlands School was the primary school which is today the Westlands Centre for Sports Excellence, the premises still located in Victoria Green Road. But Master Hwang did indeed teach at both schools: Westlands School in the 1950s and Westlands Secondary School in the 1970s.

GEORGE TOWN: Having hid in the jungles of Sitiawan, Perak, as a child over four long years during the Japanese occupation, octogenarian Hwang Hong Shi has cherished every day of his life since.

Recalling the dark chapter, the 87-year-old retired teacher said he was only eight when he fled into the wilderness with his family.

“We heard they were beheading Chinese school teachers, and both my parents were teachers.

“They weren’t very good at farming and being the eldest, I had to help out as much as I could.

“My father would dig up the ground and I would plant paddy seeds.

“I also learnt to fish in the river,” he said, adding that the family lived in fear inside a hut they had built.

Hwang said there was often not enough food for the family of five.

“We had to make do with what we could get our hands on, like sweet potatoes, tapioca and plain rice to stay alive,” he said at his home in Taman Sri Nibong.

He said he could never forget his anxiety back then.

“The times we sneaked into the neighbouring towns fearing execution, to the times we ate tree roots out of hunger – we had to be resilient to be able to survive,” he said, adding that these were the qualities he applied in his daily life throughout his career as a teacher, then a general manager.

Hwang said that when the British took over, things improved.

“I began my schooling, but it still felt like we were living under someone else’s roof. Our future was uncertain,” he said.

He was a 23-year-old teacher in 1957 when Merdeka was declared.

“I did not know much about national affairs then, so I didn’t understand the political aspect of it, but to me, Independence meant better opportunities for all and freedom from conflict,” he said.

Born in Sungai Siput, the Perakian dedicated 37 years of his life to teaching in several schools, including the then Westland School (now SMK Westlands), Sekolah Umum Permatang Pasir in Seberang Prai, Penang Free School and the International School of Penang (Uplands).

Ten Thousand Prosperities

HOW MANY Old Westlanders from both the primary and secondary schools were customers of Ban Hin Lee Bank (or BHL Bank) in the past? I guess many of us were. To a great extent, BHL Bank was part of our daily lives: we either borrowed money from the bank or deposited our money with it. Then there were the coinboxes. Too many to mention but all have become collectors’ items. 

At the height of its banking business in the 1990s, its visibility among the local community was considered second to none. Among my batch of primary schoolmates (Class of 1965), I know of only two – Khoo Kay Liang and myself – who were in the bank’s employment. We joined in the mid-1970s and continued until BHL Bank was merged into Southern Bank in 2000. A total of 23 years in my case, a very long time indeed. I wouldn’t have stayed if working conditions and social activities were not right in this One Big Harmonious Family. In the 1980s and 1990s, many of the staff that joined were barely out from their school uniforms. The bank took them in if their Form Six academic results were good enough but many were also selected for their sport prowess. 

Today, more than 20 years have passed since the merger. With the passing of time, the memories that my friends and former colleagues harbour of the bank are at risk of being forgotten. Recognising that more memories could be lost in the future, I had embarked on a project two years ago to collect a verbal history of BHL Bank’s halcyon days. Penang’s most loved home-grown bank is now remembered in this book which I’ve aptly called “Ten Thousand Prosperities: The Story of Ban Hin Lee Bank.” The “ten thousand prosperities” in the title comes from the literal translation of the bank’s name in Hokkien: 萬興利  

The video below gives a quick flip through my old memories. A small slice of Penang's history. Hope you enjoy it. 

© Quah Seng Sun

Protecting children: Four disadvantaged groups to focus on

By Jim Lim

MALAYSIA may have acceded to the Convention for the Rights of the Child in 1995 and passed the Child Act in 2001, but key challenges remained and have to date, shown few signs for optimism.

At the heart of the problem lies the country’s vague definition of “nationality” as derived from its founding Constitution, resulting in complex and exaggerated inconsistencies and contradictions over children in general. These problems are particularly acute in marginalised communities and among those from disadvantaged groups.

The difficulties can be seen at the legislative level on private law on children and on public law. This is where the definition of, criteria for and access to fundamental rights and services become even more confusing.

Orang Asli children: The community lacks in educational facilities and development
investments. Source: Muhammad Adzha, Wikimedia Commons

Legal practitioners will attest to the complexities and the absence of transparency in child care law, especially in fundamental rights and duties. For example, there is a disproportionate high number of years for a child to apply for and attain citizenship, only because Malaysia does not grant automatic citizenship by birth and its differential treatment on the sex and national status of the parents.

This private law conundrum above is not the purpose of this paper. However, it is the provisions and the denial of services through a fundamental human rights’ deficit in the public law aspects that is the subject of our current attention.

We refer to the situation of children at greatest disadvantage or “marginalised” by the circumstances of their birth, upbringing or status. The following groups have come to our attention and their current situation:

• Children, mostly orphans, brought up in state-run children’s homes,
• Children from the refugee communities,
• Children from rural and poor communities, e.g. the Orang Asli community
• Children in wedlock.

Children brought up in care in residential institutions

Orphans raised in care homes are common practice. They are placed in establishments run by private entities, by voluntary (NGO) groups, usually religious organisations, and by the social welfare department.

In general, children who become orphans fall under those abandoned or abused and would normally end up in residential establishments. The length of stay can range from a few weeks to many years, including up to 18 years old. As there is no formal legislative procedure for the rescue and safeguarding of vulnerable or children “at risk”, many different stakeholder agencies intervene in their own way to help.

There is no requirement (legislative compliance) on standards of care for these  establishments looking after/caring for such socially dislocated children. Whilst many home owners and management provide excellent to good care, there is no way to prevent abuse, physical, emotional or sexual, by a minority unsuitable care staff, especially against a backdrop of wider cultural  paternalistic views about children. There have been voices raised by some of the children themselves on their abuse.

Much of these concerns have come from “Perbak” (Pertubuhan Kebajikan & Sosial Malaysia) an organisation set up by an ex-resident child in care. The high-profile leader, Muhammad Khairul Hafiz Abdullah, had stayed at a place where it is alleged that there are hundreds of abused children now adults. They have come to recall their painful experiences. It is the government-run orphanages that Perbak is referring to, in this instance, and the majority are Malay-Muslim boys.

Furthermore, many of these former children in government care are deemed either undocumented or stateless. Being “stateless” means that access to many government services is denied. Moreover, most are left to fend for themselves once they reach the age of 18.

Read more about Perbak here, here and here in reports by The Star. Also a letter by this author here.

Children who have suffered abused whilst in “public care” should be appropriately compensated for the suffering endured. Nothing is worse than having one’s childhood heartlessly taken away. Discharging formal responsibility at the age of 18 or abandoning such young adults to fend on their own and further denying them “citizenship” undermines any concept of civility in a developed nation.

In terms of alternative substitute parenting and care, the concept of “family fostering” or professionally-paid fostering support is not well developed in Malaysia. In many developed countries, such family substitute care is widely promoted through government investment, with its suitability and popularity endorsed by child care experts over often large institutional/residential care.

Children from the refugee communities

Refugees in Malaysia are normally accredited through the UN resettlement programme and almost all are awaiting disposal to a third safe country as Malaysia restricts the numbers it accepts. Therefore, many are resident in situ pro-tem until a country in the West takes them.

Refugee children are sadly denied access to local schools and any education provided to them is from voluntary NGOs or local religious organisations like the church. Adult refugees are allowed to take some employment and local work but on limited reduced hours.

Children from the Orang Asli community

The plight of the Orang Asli (OA) community in Malaysia is well documented and the government’s acknowledgment is a positive sign that some help and resources are available. In short, this indigenous community is widely acknowledged as amongst the rural poor.

However, it remains the case that there is systemic discrimination against the community throughout the country and their resultant marginalisation has a negative impact in aspects of health outcomes, educational and positive social outcomes.

The OA community is largely in rural communities in most states of peninsular Malaysia and in East Malaysia. Most are employed in the agriculture sector although many OA are emerging as community activists campaigning for equal participation and representation and greater allocation of resources for their community. The government’s paid lip service over the years has gone hand-in-hand with the private sector continued labour-exploitation within the agricultural sectors. NGOs have complained bitterly about the disproportionate and unequal allocation of educational resources and lack of investment for the development of the community.

Child marriage

The issue of child marriage is a controversial one. The UN raised this as a concern as far back as 1995. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is calling for “global action to end this human rights violation by 2030” (read here). A pertinent matter in many Muslim countries is around the dual legal systems of civil law and shariah law; the latter permitting marriage in exceptional circumstances for a child. A local prominent NGO, “Voice of the Children” (read more here) publicised the issue as recent as 2013, together with “Girls not Brides” (read more here), a global organisation on girls being forced in wedlock.

The PH Government began to address the issue of child marriage, as well as reinforced “Help lines” for child safety. However, with the new PN government’s more conservative outlook, the outright ban widely sought for appears “on hold”.

Child marriages are abhorrent. It is a human rights issue. They deny and take away a child’s right to growing up and there is no rationale for not ending the practice by passing legislation and banning it outright.

Conclusion

It is difficult to defend the government’s record in matters on safeguarding and the protection for children. There remains a lack of regulation for the care of vulnerable groups in our society and much reliance is inappropriately placed on the shoulders of the voluntary or religious groups and where business and profits are to be made, on the private sector. Therefore, enforceable regulation and strict standards in operation when private sector companies provide services is necessary to promote safeguarding and well being.

With regards to legislative framework there is much to be getting on with, the Sexual Exploitation Act 2017 following from laws on prohibitive child employment, care centres, domestic violence etc but there is little evidence of effective co-ordination or collective responsibility on enforcement action. In short, existing laws are not effectively enforced and proposed social policy legislation suffers from inertia and delays.

Strikingly absent is also regulation for those seeking employment as care givers, care workers or wardens in residential institutions. For example, are they suitably qualified to care for children? Are those staff members adequately vetted?

Lack of compliance and enforcement on premises suitable and fit for purpose, i.e. safety access, fire escapes, was a contributory cause to the tragic fire at a tahfiz school or madrasa resulting in the deaths of 21 children and two teachers. Although it was a criminal act, there was evidence of neglect and non-compliance by the building owners. Read more here.

Finally, the much overdue recognition of social work as a profession, the Social Workers’ Act, all up and ready for legislative consent has been delayed yet further as the government ponders and treads along its various priorities.

Besides putting a proper framework for social care and assistance to vulnerable groups in society such as children, there is an equal need to obtain social justice for the country’s disadvantaged children most of whom were brought up in institutional settings as opposed to, in family settings.

• Jim Lim is a former Director of Social Services in a London Borough, a former CEO of a charity. He is retired and is from Penang. He is a Member of the Malaysian Association of Social Workers. Read more about him here. 

Time to act firmly against underachievers, saboteurs

Republished from New Straits Times, Jul 14, 2021,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

FOR THE past few weeks, I’ve been feeling numb, not so much from getting those precious vaccine shots, but more from the idiocy that has enveloped our beloved country.

I don’t find any comfort from witnessing the unproductive actions of certain people in positions of power and decision-making as many matters could have been avoided.

If only people had common sense to act rationally. Perhaps too much information on a single day has caused us to lose our common sense, as alluded by novelist Gertrude Stein.

When the Emergency was proclaimed earlier this year, there were high hopes that we would be seeing strict lockdowns to get the coronavirus off our backs. But it was not to be.

Waves upon waves of dithering have caused the country to be nowhere it wanted to be as seen from the daily Covid-19 cases that surpassed 11,000 yesterday! The numbers could even be higher as some cases go unreported.

An audio clip of frontliners in government hospitals in the Klang Valley crying for help from their never-ending toil from last year choked me to tears. Think about it seriously — they have been firefighting daily and yet, there are parties who are feeding the flames by being lax about the pandemic.

From the audio clip, a doctor could be heard saying: “When is this going to end?”

This will not end if we are still unsure of what to do next amid the pussy-footing with the Covid-19 standard operating procedures as this column had emphasised in the past!

We are now in a war against Covid-19 and yet we are not on a war footing, so to speak. Politicians and policymakers have always said that the country has always been battle-ready, but what readiness is there when our Intensive Care Units are overwhelmed, coupled with a severe shortage of medical staff and oxygen supply?

And in the midst of this, we can’t even handle the issue of the country’s more than 23,000 contract doctors, who have been toiling since Day One. They will always be useful to our country. The "dog-in-the-manger" attitude among top administrators can't go on forever.

This also brings to mind the issue of the recent felling of 15,000 durian trees in Raub, the country’s musang king hub. While the authorities may have their reasons — as they claimed that the trees had been illegally planted on government land — it was tantamount to economic sabotage and bodoh sombong.

Why now? Why didn’t they take action when the land was initially cleared? Why fell fruit-bearing trees? Some win-win solutions could have been found, but common sense didn't prevail.  

Vegetable farmers in highlands have also been dumping their produce of late because they can’t send them to markets in the lowlands as lorries have been stopped from travelling by the authorities.

This is despite the fact that some Malaysians do not even have enough to eat because of the prolonged lockdown, which has led to people losing jobs and sources of income. Why do we allow this state of hopelessness to fester?

Brigadier-General Dr Mohd Arshil Moideen, who heads the armed forces’ Health Service Division, courageously called a spade a spade recently.

I salute him for being forthright when he said: “In a war, like the war against Covid-19, we need a single standardised strategy line of command that everyone can abide by.” A clear chain of command is certainly lacking for the rakyat’s wellbeing.

Malaysia needs to see light at the end of the tunnel. We can’t go on like this with ministers going off on a tangent on their assessment of the economy.

We can’t have little Napoleons ruining businesses and the lives of the rakyat from frequent raids, dodgy summonses and flippant SOP.

Dear prime minister, please act firmly against these underachievers and saboteurs. Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.

You know you have made the right decision when there is peace in your heart. The rakyat await.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

WPS staff in the mid 1950s

THE STAFF of Westlands Primary School in the mid-1950s. Only a handful of the teachers are recognisable. In the front row: Iskandar Md Ismail (second from left), K Balram (fourth from left) and Teoh Chooi Hor (ninth from left). In the middle row: Thomas Khor (second from left), Teoh Chye Teik (fifth from left), Hwang Hong Shi (sixth from left), Tan Eng Chuan (10th from left) and Lim Ah Loke (11th from left). In the back row, possibly Tan Seng Aun (ninth from left).

Balram was later to become the Headmaster of Westlands Primary. Iskandar, Teoh Chye Teik, Hwang Hong Shi, Lim Ah Loke and Tan Seng Aun were transferred to Penang Free School in subsequent years.

Malaysia needs to clean up recruitment practices

Republished from New Straits Times, Nov 3, 2020,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

I HAD OFTEN wondered when the lopsided conditions for migrant workers that had prevailed for years in our country would attract the attention of those who might give greater weight to justice and fairness.

Strangely, that recognition did surface recently, but it wasn't from our own volition, but from foreign countries instead!

The floodgates were broken recently when the United States and New Zealand singled out a Malaysian glove manufacturer that had forced migrant workers (mostly women from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal) to work long hours, sometimes as long as 12 hours a day, seven days a week! On top of that, these workers often paid huge sums to secure jobs in Malaysia and the practice usually left them with huge debts they cannot pay back.

It is estimated that such fees may account for up to four to seven months of a worker’s salary! In another area where Malaysia had often beamed with pride – palm oil – a local company’s products were also banned by the US for transgressions in – again – the hiring and treatment of migrant workers.

These importers decided to act as they had found reasonable evidence of forced labour in the production process. These workers aren’t robots or machines. Do spare a thought for these people who might be a father, brother, mother, sister, uncle or aunt to someone. They certainly didn’t want to be trapped in such oppressing conditions, but circumstances forced them to leave the comforts of their homeland to eke out a living here.

The time has come for Malaysia to clean up its act. How long must Malaysians deny or pretend that conditions for low-level migrant workers are “all right”? How can we allow our reputation to be sullied by these repressive regulations or conditions? What if we faced more sanctions from developed nations? We can't consume all the rubber gloves and palm oil that we produce, can we?

There must be some basis to the complaints, which had often been shrugged away or swept aside in the past. There's no smoke without fire. Now, the glove manufacturer that had been targeted had reportedly paid back US$12 million to its workers concerned and had also started paying recruitment agencies the necessary fees instead.

What a turn of events! Such compensation wouldn't cause a big dent in its revenue, as demand for gloves had surged by almost 50 per cent due to this year's Covid-19 pandemic, while share prices of Malaysian glovemaking companies had also soared by as much as 400 per cent on Bursa Malaysia of late! To paraphrase Tom Perez, an American politician, it would be unfair if workers baking the pie of prosperity were not sharing the dividends.

It takes two hands to clap and the issue of migrant labour also takes into account the government’s stance on the matter. The authorities must also bear some of the responsibility for this poor state of affairs. We’ve to really take a long hard look at our immigration policies and question ourselves: do we need foreign workers or not? If no is the answer, then do away with them and let Malaysians take up all the responsibilities from A to Z.

If the answer is yes, it’s time to stop pussy-footing. Make the recruitment conditions as transparent as possible so that any employer need not rely on runners, agents, go-betweens and intermediaries and what-have-yous (it’s almost an industry by itself in Malaysia!)

In 2008, the then Chief Secretary to the government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, initiated an embracing policy known as the “No Wrong Door”. It ensured that the public would no longer be turned away even if they approached the wrong department or agency and the government servants there would forward the customers' needs to the relevant office.

Has that policy been thrown out of the window because of changes in the top civil servant’s job or it found little currency as it eliminated the need for a “runners’ culture” to thrive? Now, who wants to start the ball rolling again?

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

‘Cartoon cards’ or ang kong ngah pai

THE “CARTOON CARDS” or ang kong ngah pai that we played came in perforated sheets (bigger than A4), designed to allow us to tear them into small ones. We ended up with about 20 cards, roughly 2in by 2.5in in size, from each big piece. On one side are reprints of full-colour cartoons and illustrations, probably of Japanese origin. On the other, one-colour graphics.

Such cards were part of the seasonal games in Penang. I suspect now all these could have been orchestrated by importers and distributors – invisible hands. Otherwise how could these seasons have happened with such regularity, widespread distribution of their appendices.

As far as I can remember, there were three ways we played such cards:

• Shooting the head and tail like marbles (read here). In this version, we switched the marbles for cards.
• High-five: This was between two players, each holding a card on the palm. They performed a high-five and allowed the cards to drop. If the cards landed with similar sides (full-colour or one-colour) facing up, it was a draw. If they landed differently, both cards would go to the person with the full-coloured side facing up.
• Currency: In school we were not allowed to gamble, especially with cash. However, seemingly innocuous games like opening books to add up their numbers, tossing coins to guess heads or tails, etc, were indeed gambling, as were the tontin games peddled by street vendors. In some of these we used cards to bet. We didn’t wager with cash so it was okay, I suppose.

© Lim Siang Jin

Fake news purveyors say they are journalists too

Republished from New Straits Times, Oct 24, 2020,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

IN AN EVER-CONFUSING world of legitimate news criss-crossing with fake news, I’m just wondering how long Donald Trump, the chief promoter of fake news, will continue to spew bad vibes about the mainstream media.

When less is said of fake news, such labelling will hopefully evaporate.

But will it? Especially now that Trump has given greater legitimacy to the wicked forces of fake news by saying such news is everywhere. Prior to late 2016, murmurs of news being manipulated made the rounds but never at the frequency that Trump easily belched “Fake News!” whenever issues weren't in his favour.

Fake news has become a big thing, especially on social media. When fake news is repeated, it becomes really difficult for the public to discern what's real and what’s not.

Real news practitioners have resigned to the fact that fake news and rumours had thrived online because few can verify what's real. And more so when people tend to veer towards content that reinforces their own biases.

Granted that the media had been frequently used by the four Ps — politicians, propagandists, publicists or public relations practitioners — in the past. I won’t say that lies had been thrown about and the media readily gulped them up. To be fair, it’s how the information is treated (or slanted) and disseminated. But with the advent of social media, that’s another kettle of fish!

Let’s take a moment to reflect what a young Pakistani politician, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said: “Propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation have always been part of political warfare. Social media and other new platforms have given it a new life and reach through which the fake news phenomenon can reach everywhere.”

Now if a politician such as Bilawal had admitted that those ingredients had always been part of the political machinery, then perhaps we’ve to exercise greater caution when digesting information from politicians. Maybe not with a pinch of salt but several spoonfuls, perhaps! 

Whether Trump gets re-elected as president remains to be seen. But, ever since he took office in January 2017, he has been assailing the mainstream media for producing fake news.

As a journalist for a number of decades, I’ve always abhorred that kind of labelling. True blue journalists may take a certain stand, stance or bias but certainly won't stoop so low as to produce something that's not real. That’s the domain of fiction writers or mercenary writers imbued with a mission.

By and large, journalists in mainstream news organisations have been steadfast in their profession. But sadly, fake news is now a new menace in the public space as their purveyors also proclaim themselves to be journalists too and taint the noble profession in the process.

I concur with Jim Acosta, who reports for CNN at the White House, when he said: “Yes, Barack Obama had his clashes with the press. I witnessed those first-hand covering the second term of his administration. But we did not have Obama on almost a weekly basis referring to the press as the enemy of the people and accusing reporters of treason and calling legitimate stories fake news.”

The use of social media to implant falsehoods by latching on the legitimacy of mainstream media organisations is rather appalling. With no lack of creative people and the juicy goings-on in Malaysia these days, satirists have been having a field day.

But, what’s worse is that some have even resorted to “hijacking” some media organisation's online platforms to pass on disinformation for their benefit, and frequently saying a public holiday had been declared or that the government was going to pay out bonuses to its employees. Such ruses occur whenever some state or national team had emerged victorious in some popular sports events and during Budget time.

And Bernama, the national news agency, hadn’t been spared such manipulation. What’s even more ruinous is when some people tend to shatter Bernama’s reputation and level of journalistic competency by using their own interpretation of events or some online auto translating tools to post some purported news items on social media.

Bernama has reported this to the police several times but these envious perpetrators have yet to be trapped. I hope these journalist-wannabes can be exposed soon!

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong writer is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.