The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| After brain drain, now capital flight? Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:25 PM PDT OCT 8 — PNB's takeover bid of SP Setia, merger talks between OSK Holdings and RHB Capital and Sime Darby taking over 30 per cent of E&O have set alarm bells ringing in the business community despite the prime minister's reassurance that the deals are strictly on a willing buyer-willing seller basis. For one, these deals fly in the face of the government's avowed determination to let the private sector be the engine of economic growth while it takes on the role of a facilitator. Where is the rationale then for the government taking over the management of relatively well-run private businesses? Even more significantly what is worrying is not the nature of the transactions themselves but the racial undertones to these deals. In most instances the sellers are Chinese and the buyers government linked companies. Even where the government is not involved, there are reports of major Chinese-owned conglomerates like Genting and YTL diversifying out of the country by making significant investments overseas. While it is nobody's case to argue that businesses should not be able to take corporate decisions as they see fit, are these isolated cases or part of a larger trend towards a minority community losing faith in Malaysia and expressing it through capital flight and physical migration? As it is, the World Bank recently estimated the size of the Malaysian diaspora at close to 1 million. Even more tellingly, 88 per cent of the Malaysian diaspora in Singapore with tertiary education is of ethnic Chinese origin. Decades of affirmative action has to a large extent contributed to this phenomenon, but recent statements from both sides of the political divide may have exacerbated the problem. The flip flops by BN on the abolishment of racial quotas under the NEM, the inability of MACC to make an effective dent on systemic corruption, the tolerance provided by the government towards Perkasa and the prolonged debate on PPSMI have all raised the level of uncertainty within the minority racial communities in Malaysia. If the growing emasculation of MCA at the hands of Umno is added to the mix, the picture for those ethnic minority supporters of BN looking for a continuation of its largely tolerant past begins to look bleak. The opposition too has not helped matters with PAS' strident stand on the hudud issue backed by Anwar Ibrahim's tacit "personal" endorsement of the same. DAP, despite its protestations of leaving PR if hudud is implemented, seems to be risking its support from its primarily ethnic Chinese base by its inability to rein in its coalition partners on this issue. Unless PR is able to revert to a unified position based on its vision of Malaysia as a merit- and needs-based welfare state rather than a theocratic Islamic state, it risks losing its support amongst the liberal educated urban voter across all racial communities, which have been its most vocal supporters so far. When social justice and economic equality are not forthcoming and both political options seem to be inimical to the minority interest, leaving the country for greener pastures may seem to be the only solution for some people. This has critical implications for the current and future competitiveness of Malaysia in the global economy. If the tipping point is reached (if it has not been already), the extent of human and capital flight will result in the country struggling to retain its current economic position, far from accelerating towards developed nation status. The current woes of MAS and TNB under government appointed boards and the lack of high quality local talent across business sectors are symptomatic of what the future of Malaysia could look like if these issues are left to fester. An uncompetitive economy, international censure and negative FDI, a poorly educated and trained workforce and an inability to climb up the value chain resulting in a lowering of real wages are the likely result. In such a scenario, migration would accelerate even further with the brightest from all races abandoning ship, worsening the situation even further. What the racial supremacists fail to realise is that if they actually get their way, there may not be much wealth or people left to lord it over. To compete, Malaysia needs to actually embrace the cliché of Malaysia, Truly Asia in social and economic thought and action by the national leadership of both political coalitions. Focus on the economy not religion. Focus on enhancing competitiveness not racial supremacy. Focus on providing equal access to quality education not on abolishing PPSMI. Focus on affirmative action based on merit and needs rather than race and religion. Celebrating and encouraging positive diversity may not be an option; it might just be the only way forward. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.  After brain drain, now capital flight? |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:20 PM PDT OCT 8 — Since I'm now in the planning stages of my band's next album, it is quite customary for me to start pillaging through my CD collection in search of a particular "sound" that I would like the new album to have. Although the songs have all been written already, my take on what the "art of the album" means will necessitate that I try to find a way to unify all the songs into something like a coherent whole. Sometimes the album title will do the trick, like our last album which we titled "Pop Tak Masuk Radio" which I somehow feel gave us the licence to explore different sorts of pop and rock 'n' roll styles that we rarely get to hear on the radio. If you listen to the album carefully, the songs' genres are all over the place. There's the Weezer-ish geek rock sound of the first single "Lagu Cinta Untukmu", the folk rock of "Mencari Malaysia", the glam rock stomp of "Goyang", the riff-happy garage rock of "Semua Tak Boleh", the mid-tempo acoustic balladry of "Whoa Oh Sayang" and so much more. It's more like a collection of 10 songs from possibly 10 different genres that somehow fit with each other like a glove because of the overall theme and mood that the album title gave. I mean at least I've never heard one single soul complain to me that it's an incoherent album as a whole, which in turn led me to assume that in general it all fits together. I haven't yet decided on a title for this new album, although I do have a few contenders playing in my mind already. But I have a feeling that, unlike the last album, this new one will be united more by a general sonic template rather than a certain theme hinted at by the album title. As I was writing the songs I have always kept in mind that I want this album to lean more towards the pop side of the power pop equation that is our chosen genre. Our last two albums gave more emphasis towards the "power" side of that equation, and I basically feel that we've explored enough of that side of the equation. It will be more fun to try and explore the other side, which we haven't done so in quite a long while. So I found myself going back to CDs by all the power pop artists I was more than crazy about in the late 90s, when the power pop underground was in full swing and even the major labels were signing power pop acts. One of the giants of that era was a guy called Jason Falkner. I can't really categorise him as a singer-songwriter because if there's one thing that is unique about the power pop scene, it is quite littered with solo artists who not only write and sing their own songs, but also play every single instrument that you hear on their albums, give or take a few lines of guitar or strings. In short, they're literally one-man bands. I'm a huge fan of many these one-man bands like Michael Carpenter, Darin, Brad Jones, Doug Powell and of course the aforementioned Jason Falkner. What makes Mr Falkner a giant amongst these already impressive one-man bands is not only the quality and adventure of his solo work, but also his previous work with power pop legends Jellyfish and the cruelly short-lived supergroup The Grays, whose line-up had such an impressive reputation that they were reportedly signed by a major label sight unseen, solely on the strength of who was in the band. Even though I've been a huge fan of Jason Falkner ever since I first found out about him in 1997 and have been following his career ever since (to the point of even owning bootlegs of his home demo recordings and "live" shows), I've never dared to use his music as a sonic template for any of my songs thus far for the simple reason that I've always thought of my songs as way more juvenile and cheeky in spirit compared to his songs. But fate has a certain way of bringing things together. For months I was convinced that the most appropriate sonic template for our new album might be Stephen Duffy's classic 90s album I Love My Friends, which I personally think has got a delicious amount of jangle and a classily crunchy guitar sound, combined with a crystal clear mix and a raw but clean drum sound. A rare chance to purchase Mr Falkner's last two albums, the latest of which is still a Japan only release, at slightly cheaper prices than buying it as an import from US websites, has now got me convinced that his latest one All Quiet On The Noise Floor has got just the right sound that I've been looking for. I still think my songs are quite juvenile and cheeky, even the ones for the new album, but I have a sneaky feeling that they've grown up sufficiently enough this time around to make me feel comfortable about having the word Couple and Jason Falkner uttered in the same sentence. For a big fan like me, that does feel kind of good to know. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan