The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Re-elected Obama looking for ‘Egypt of Asia’? Posted: 07 Nov 2012 04:00 PM PST NOV 8 — President Barack "Peace" — as no new wars in last four years — Obama may be less beholding to special interests during the second term. He will now want to leave a legacy behind, both domestically and on foreign policy. However, his legacy will now be held hostage to the court of public opinion. The re-election of Obama, both on popular (50 per cent to 48 per cent) and electoral (303 to 206) votes, is a message sent by the American people to work smarter (not only harder), longer, faster, and with partners, to "fix" what is broken, "mend" what needs fixing, "push" forward what is working and a "probation" to try new initiatives. The post-election comments for the peaceful president from world leaders, from secular to spiritual, have been positive, glowing, and extending an open hand to assist in the hard work ahead as all of us are in the same "boat" called humanity wanting dignity. In the second term, Obama needs to focus on Asia, generally, before China's once-in-decade political make-over starts execution (no pun intended), and possibly, a leading Muslim country, specifically, as an example a country which closely represents US ethnic, religious, and cultural diversification and "tolerance." Maybe it's time for the president and the US to find and get behind an "Egypt of Asia", as the oil and (perceived) regional influence of certain countries of recent past did not pan out as expected. Omnipotence? Will there be peace and stability in the Middle East within the next four years? It may be easier to have an Olympic gold medal winner in badminton from Malaysia than find the elusive peace in a region of piecemeal countries united and, yes, divided by tribalism. The omnipotence of the US as the voice of reason and calming stability backed by her economic and military might has been downgraded (let's leave S&P out of the equation) by the misadventures of George "Bring it on" Bush and the systemic risk to global economy by the sub-prime fiasco (also under George Bush), and the corresponding rise of the BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and newcomer South Africa. Clearly, the power has shifted away from the US. Where it has shifted to is another issue, as it's not debt battered and financially bleeding Europe. Hotspot The Arab Spring flushed out the regional diminishing US influence, including the unflinching support of entrenched poster child ally, Hosni Mubarak/Egypt, a benevolent dictator. However, the Middle East remains important mainly because of black gold, oil, and the havoc a price escalation can play on industries and capital markets in an already weakened global economy. The Middle East also remains a region of "unknown knowns", composed of a complicated jigsaw puzzle of Egypt (controlled chaos), Libya (chaos), Lebanon (proxy chaos), Palestinian/Israel (two-state solution), Syria (civil war), Yemen (drones), Iran (nuclear), Al-Qaeda (stateless terrorism) and so on. Although not mentioned on any geographical or topical defining map, Pakistan and Afghanistan are an extension of the region for the United States' earlier intervention and on-going challenges. To put it differently, "they broke it, and have to buy it," and with no return policy. Thus, it will take more than four years of precision focus, shuttling negations, wisdom patience, printing press of money and, possibly, divine intervention to have an acceptable "normality" i.e. absence of conflict, not necessarily peace. Expanding attention The primary focus will continue on the Middle East, but, much like five-year business plans looking for new business opportunities in different geographies, the US needs to remove the "horse blinders" and see the Muslim world not as one, but as many countries with rich histories, cultures and influences. Thus, oil/gas reserves, military bases and large domestic population will continue to be important, but possibly not outcome determinative. To make Obama's second term more interesting on foreign policy, vis-à-vis the 57-country Muslim world, selected Muslim countries need to "pitch" themselves as representative of democratic and religious principles (is this possible?). There are three Muslim countries in the G-20, Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, and these are only a starting point. Other countries worthy of consideration, based upon metrics-like population, GDP growth and 2020/2030 vision, capital markets, democratic principles, OIC influence, etc include Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria and Malaysia. As mentioned above, the court of public opinion will also matter for Obama, hence, from the above-mentioned destinations, the American public has a "challenging" opinion about these countries, except one. The Malaysian elections are around the corner next year, and the incumbent and opposition can expand their platform to pitch about Malaysia to both the White House and Congress. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize early in his first term is a tough benchmark act to follow for the second term for any democratically elected leader. His second term may be an extension of hope that transforms to trust that brings change, hence, actually earning the Prize that he accepted in the first term. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 07 Nov 2012 03:48 PM PST NOV 8 — Can't be bothered to read or catch mainstream media's political coverage? Can't blame you, but I have to for work (Oh, the toil of the penitent man). There is plenty out there, the news I mean, looking like it came from the left field of an unnamed solar system — where truth depends on if you can shave your armpits with your right leg. There is no such thing as just reporting. It is all context-rich and there is only one underlying message, two actually: Barisan Nasional (BN) god sent; everything else evil and full of Ewoks. Well, as one of the spawns of hell, do indulge me as I simplify some of the news you might be getting on your telly but well, does not make sense. So here's the news, what should be on your radar. Why, course it is spin. So lay off the Ewoks for the remainder of this column. Nazri "hums" along I'll give you dessert first. In what is the most ingenious reply to an accusation of improper conduct ever to be uttered by an Umno politician — even shoving aside the maestro Mahathir Mohamad, so it was quite special — Nazri Aziz says that he does not know anything about his son's relationship with another man because the minister claims he himself is not an incestuous homosexual. Though there are several enterprising "websites" unhindered by Malaysian firewalls arguing visually otherwise [N1], I am incredibly heartened to hear that the highly erratic minister is not a household predator. Equally reassuring is that son Nedim's relationship with the man other than his father was also not sexual. I am happy to report this because I was not entirely sure what a "Hummer" was until I looked it up. My fear was that a "Hummer" was another nasty euphemism born in the arid and desolate sands of Iraq during Desert Storm I. Fortunately for the Malaysian people it is only an expensive vehicle most Malaysians need not know about since we folks can't afford it. [N2] AES is not the new Not since they closed the bar at Parliament have both government and opposition MPs drunk from the same tap. The Automated Enforcement System (AES) is firmly opposed by politicians who do not abhor votes. Because on this issue, the citizen actually does care. The MPs are raising the exact same questions; like why are two companies profiting per summons issued, how come some hotspots seem to be entrapping drivers rather than encouraging better road etiquette and are the speed limits really in order and relevant. The answers have been almost the same from proponents: Are you being lackadaisical about road accidents, the implementation of AES elsewhere has lowered road tragedies and back to how come you are comfortable with people dying on the road, they are dying man and some of them have pets who can't live in shelters if their master becomes a paraplegic. I love the populist argument, it is one of those, "I am going to avoid dealing with the policy points you raise and keep pointing to the fact you don't have a heart". Policymaking cannot just be about us against them, or even all or nothing. Some of us have begun to ask, why is the government and its agencies unwilling to respond to the queries by tempering the policy to something more tolerable? Some of us are looking where the smartphone app available to spot where the cameras are located. Some of us are wondering if the system had a better name, more of us could accept it. PKFZ The only thing going for the whole PKFZ scandal is that it is in "Port Klang", which is incidentally the first two letters. I rarely meet adults in Malaysia, blue or white collar, struggling to comprehend that there is a place called Klang and within that place is an area with ports. Mention the phrase "Free Trade Zone" and people start to phase out, and when you put the PK and the FZ together almost everyone is utterly befuddled. Only two things stick with people, PKFZ was a project that ended up costing RM12.5 billion and that the regular rakyat never got anything out of it. It's like taking a million bags filled with RM12,500 each [N3] and chucking them into the deep sea as fair as the voters are concerned. It went on and on, from one transport minister to another giving an account of how things were so sensible and reasonable over in Klang that people should commend those involved for saving billions of ringgit by only limiting the losses to the lower end of what could have been actually chucked to sea. Eventually a few lads in the crowd picked up solar-powered complimentary calculators [N4], the kind you find in a night market, and worked out that there were not enough digit space in the machine for that figure. So they decided rather than upgrade their calculator or use a PC, they'd just call the whole thing "too expensive to ignore and the situation had to be upgraded to a full-fledged scandal". One transport minister chose not to play ball, and he since lost both his minister's post and as a bonus also his presidency of his party. But he is not the worst-placed ex-president of the MCA since the longest-serving one, Ling Liong Sik, is on trial for his role in the PKFZ scandal. Do you know more about PKFZ now? Probably not, and I think the real strategy at play is to report sporadically about the scandal in the most unintelligible manner until wishes the matter went away to save them the headache. "Maid" our economy look bad Malaysia may be the third largest economy in ASEAN, but the disparity of incomes is no more fearsome that everyone needs to serve the man with the ringgit for a pittance. The maids have made up their mind on the Malaysian economy. Though there are those who say it is the Indonesian, and now the Filipino, government which is getting in the way of the maids pipeline, little is said about the fact that those wanting to work as domestic helpers — with any knowledge of wage rates for the work they do worldwide — don't fancy Malaysia anymore [N5]. Singaporeans are Malaysians with more mullah and better lifts. Sure, when they clean the outside of the windows from the 18th floor they have moments of concern and no time to fall down in laughter. But the money is far better than in Malaysia. Saudi, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Singapore and several others come ahead of our country. Those advantages we have taken for granted are slipping, and those economies we head to as our holiday escapes are beginning to catch up, fast. But if local wage rates are kept depressed and the rich-poor divide continues its march back to the age of Dickens, then the new reality would be local maids in local homes, just like how it is in Indonesia and the Philippines. Don't get upset, at least it will keep the national unemployment rates low as low. Worn out spinner So that's some of the news you might need. Yeah, not cheerful, but at least you were not robbed during the time taken to read this column. Count your blessings and love your government, there is very little else to do in contemporary Malaysia, unless you want some trouble. Look at it as a 50-50, the news here is all about perspective. You might be sad all the time, but the elite are happy enough for the rest of us, they've taken our quota. So, it is actually happy sad news. Life has these ironies. Like me going to court to settle my traffic violation only to find the country's main court complex is a chaotic site of rampant illegal parks. The magistrate was telling all of us we should respect traffic laws while outside everyone parked anywhere they fancied. Happy sad news is the Malaysian way of saying news is not for everyone. Notes: [N1] I'm told also that the videos argue even better. [N2] At RM500,000, each BR1M household, which is more than half the households in the country, has to work 14 years — at RM3,000 or less monthly per home — to buy the Hummer. [N3] We could have gone with bags of peanuts rather than actual banknotes, storage space aside. [N4] Granted abacuses would have been more dramatic. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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