US-China heralded a new 'great power relationship'

China seeks ‘great power relationship’ with U.S. but warns against meddling in Tibet, Taiwan

Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

China's Vice President Xi Jinping: “China welcomes the United States playing a constructive role in promoting the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, and at the same time we hope the U.S. side will truly respect the interests and concerns of countries in the region, including China.”hare

By Chris Buckley and Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON – China’s Vice President Xi Jinping on Wednesday offered deeper co-operation with the United States on trade and hot spots like North Korea and Iran, but warned Washington to heed Beijing’s demands on Tibet, Taiwan and other contentious issues.

“Sino-U.S. relations stand at a new historic starting point,” China’s expected next leader told U.S. business groups after meetings on Tuesday with President Barack Obama and other top U.S. officials.

China and the United States should strive to create “a new type of great power relationship for the 21st century,” Xi said.

But he said the two powers also had to “strive to avoid misunderstandings and avert misjudgments” and should “truly respect each other’s core interests and major concerns.”

Xi’s visit to United States this week presents a chance for him to boost his international standing before his expected promotion to head of China’s communist party later this year and president of the world’s most populous nation in 2013.

Even as Xi continued his U.S. visit, Obama, at a campaign-style stop in Milwaukee, took aim at China’s trade practices, saying he will not stand idly by when American’s competitors “don’t play by the rules.” “I directed my administration to create a Trade Enforcement Unit with one job: investigating unfair trade practices in countries like China,” Obama told factory workers.

Xi met with House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Harry Reid on Wednesday morning and after his speech was headed to Iowa for the next leg of his trip, which finishes later this week in Los Angeles.

Xi addressed a number of sore spots in the U.S.-China relationship, including Beijing’s currency policy.

Many U.S. lawmakers complain the yuan is significantly undervalued, giving Chinese companies an unfair price advantage that helped lift the U.S. trade deficit with China to a record US$295.5-billion in 2011.

Xi said currency reforms already taken by Beijing helped boost U.S. exports to China to more than US$100-billion in 2011 and has significantly reduced China’s overall trade surplus.

“China has become the United States’ fastest growing export market,” Xi said. “The trade surplus as a proportion of GDP has been falling from over 7% to 2%, at a level internationally recognized as reasonable.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner acknowledged on Wednesday that Beijing is gradually letting its currency rise, but not fast enough to please the United States.

“We think they have some ways to go, we would like them to move more quickly,” he told a congressional panel.



SHARED CHALLENGES

Xi is poised to become China’s next leader following a decade in which it has risen to become the world’s second largest economy while the United States has fought two wars and endured the deepest and longest recession since the Great Depression that sapped its resources.

“The world is currently undergoing profound changes, and China and the United States face shared challenges and shared responsibilities in international affairs,” Xi said.

“We should further use bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to enhance coordination between China and the United States on hotspots, including developments on the Korean peninsula and the Iran nuclear issue,” he said.

At the same time, he urged Washington not to support movements in Taiwan and Tibet for independence.

China deems the self-ruled island of Taiwan to be an illegitimate breakaway from mainland rule since 1949, and has warned that the island must accept eventual reunification.

In recent years, tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have eased as economic flows have grown. But Beijing remains wary of U.S. involvement in the issue, which it calls an internal affair.

In early 2010, the Obama administrations decision to move forward with proposed arms sales to Taiwan triggered vehement criticism from Beijing, including warnings of sanctions against U.S. companies involved in the sales. Those warnings petered out, but Xi made clear that Taiwan remains an acute concern for Beijing’s dealings with Washington.

Tensions over Chinese control of Tibet have flared in past months when a succession of protests and self-immolations have exposed volatile discontent. Chinese officials have repeatedly blamed those tensions on separatists or supporters of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Buddhist leader of the region.

Xi also acknowledged the Obama administration’s recent “pivot” toward Asia, but warned it not to push too far.

“China welcomes the United States playing a constructive role in promoting the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, and at the same time we hope the U.S. side will truly respect the interests and concerns of countries in the region, including China.”

© Thomson Reuters 2012

Xi sees new 'starting point' for US-China ties

By Andrew Beatty (AFP) 

WASHINGTON — Chinese heir apparent Xi Jinping heralded "a new historical starting point" for ties with the United States, wooing US business leaders with a glimpse of a more cooperative future.

Speaking during a lavish ballroom luncheon with the upper crust of corporate America, Vice President Xi described deeper Sino-American ties as an "unstoppable river that keeps surging ahead."

Glossing over the tumultuous twists and turns in 30 years of Cold War-dominated relations, Xi said interests had become ever-more intertwined. "It is a course that cannot be stopped or reversed," he said.

Xi welcomed Washington's interest in the Asia Pacific region, and said cooperation was needed on a range of challenges from North Korea to Iran, so long as China's interests are also respected.

Xi is on his maiden visit to the United States as a top official, a trip many hope will help close a chapter in relations characterized by mistrust and mudslinging, particularly in the commercial sphere.

As the tectonic plates of global trade have shifted in recent decades, China and the United States -- the world's two largest economies -- have frequently collided, jutted and bumped against each other, sometimes to damaging effect for both.

With Xi widely tipped to lead China from 2013 and Obama in a November re-election battle, the visit is being seen as a dress rehearsal for the next generation of US-China relations.

During the trip, Xi has worked US constituencies key to the bilateral ties: official Washington, corporate leaders and, in Iowa, a return to small-town America which he visited more than two decades ago.

His stops in Washington have included the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, Congress and the US-China Business Council.

Throughout his trip Xi has received the trappings of a state visit -- even if he is only head of state in waiting.

In a broad-ranging speech that was short on specifics Wednesday, Xi told business leaders that increased understanding, mutual respect for core interests, trade and cooperation in international affairs should form the basis for relations.

"Over the past 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the friendship between our two peoples has deepened, mutually beneficial cooperation has expanded and our interests have become increasingly interconnected," he said.

At the luncheon Xi was introduced by former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger whose secret trip to China in 1971 paved the way for the normalization of relations between Washington and Beijing.

The pair were flanked by a cadre of Chinese Communist Party officials, as well as executives from Coca Cola, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Procter & Gamble and Estee Lauder.

Coca Cola CEO Muhtar Kent expressed the cautious optimism felt in the US business community about future ties with China.

He described Xi's visit as "another important milestone toward building an enduring and constructive relationship between our two nations."

The Chinese vice president largely steered clear of specific policy pronouncements, but stressed the mutual benefits of trade, pointing out that 47 of 50 US states had seen their exports with China grow in the last decade.

Despite deepening ties, many Americans and their lawmakers angrily accuse Beijing of not playing by the rules.

They accuse China of keeping the value of its currency unfairly low to fuel inexpensive exports, which have catalyzed China's headlong dash toward becoming an economic superpower.

From June 2010, Beijing has allowed the yuan to rise 8.5 percent against the dollar, in part because of domestic inflation pressures -- making the yuan an increasingly dubious scapegoat for lopsided trade.

In the last decade, trade between the two countries has increased over 275 percent and is now worth half a trillion dollars a year.

But Chinese exports still make up 80 percent of bilateral trade, despite China joining the World Trade Organization a decade ago, leading to accusations of protectionism from US industry.

Xi, repeating a long standing gripe, said the US would need to reform its own trade restrictions on exports to China in order to right that imbalance.

"It is very important for addressing the China-US trade imbalance that the United States adjusts its economic policies and structure, including removing various restrictions on exports to China, in particular easing control on civilian high-tech exports to China as soon as possible," he said.

China has often blamed the US deficit on Washington's own rules on exporting sensitive equipment that could be adapted for military or intelligence use.

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved

How frail the Malaysian unity!

How frail our unity is

WHY NOT? By WONG SAI WAN saiwan@thestar.com.my

Malaysians always boast about how we can live with each other but yet that multi-racial fabric is easily torn.

REPORTERS for English newspapers in Malaysia are taught from their very first day not to write their reports on racial lines but to promote national unity and, more importantly, not to incite racial hatred.

The most common example of this is reporting on court cases.

This is why court reporters go out of the way to find out the occupations of the protagonists in the trial.

More often than not, one would read in a paper like ours that “a factory worker was charged with stabbing a clerk at a shopping complex”, without reference to the ethnicity of the people involved.

The thinking of our newspaper gurus in the early days was that although we were made up of various communities, it was best we saw each other as Malaysians, and to mention someone’s ethnic background was considered bad form.

Of course, there was an underlying reason for it.

Editors those days were also conscious of promoting unity and maintaining good race relations.

Imagine the sort of problems that could arise if the story above read: “A Malay factory worker was charged with stabbing a Chinese clerk at a shopping complex.”

Such writing, it was argued, would do nothing for the development of the country or race relations.

In fact, there were some who argued that such a writing style would only inflame hatred, especially if the report was about violence.

It would not be wrong to say such thinking became even more pronounced after the racial riots of May 13, 1969.

I was taught this no-race mantra when I joined this newspaper in 1984. In fact, my editor told me, the mere mention of the name would be a dead giveaway of the person’s race (his words, not mine).



“Wong Sai Wan cannot be an Indian person” was his favourite reminder to me each time he caught me writing an article where I mentioned someone by his ethnicity.

However, things have changed over the past three decades.

Although most English language newspapers in this country still do not report crime and court articles according to ethnicity, most of us now allow mention of language or ethnicity if it gives perspective to an article, especially features.

After 40 years, we would have all thought that we would be mature enough to handle any form of differences without referring to it in terms of race or religion.

Along with the millions of other Malaysians, I often shake my head in disbelief when opportunist politicians try to use the race card to shore up their flagging popularity.

I was so proud to see young Malaysians reject the position taken by these older politicians from both sides of the divide and instead to treat any issue based on merit and not on the colour of one’s skin.

Since 2008, I have been slowly converted to the position that Malaysia has become mature enough to handle conflicts and criminal violence even if the perpetrators were identified by race or religion.

Yes, our society has created code words to describe each other and most of the time these descriptions are taken in good humour.

These code words evolve with time. For example, during my younger days, all Malays were referred to as Ah Mat, Chinese as Ah Chong and Indians as Muthu.

Nowadays, the nicknames have changed to Mat Rempit, Ah Beng and Macha.

These monikers are slightly crude, but not derogatory – at least that’s what I think and see from the reaction within our modern society.

However, then came the infamous I-City KFC incident.  It was a simple case of a restaurant worker losing his cool and punching a customer who obviously also lost his cool.

However, the incident, unlike similar fights that had happened numerous times in other restaurants, was captured on video and uploaded on YouTube.

It went viral after it was shared on Facebook. The clip was uploaded without moderation to give it some sort of perspective.

The person who taped it with a handphone described it as a fight at KFC.

What happened over the next few hours of the uploading of the video on cyberspace was truly disgusting. Malaysians put a racial slant on the incident.

Most of those who took the side of the customer, Danny Ng, were non-Malays, while the restaurant staff were mainly defended by Malays.

On Facebook, supporters on either side started to verbally attack each other – with some making up various stories of how the incident started, and the supposed quarrel between Ng and the staff.

The words used by the two groups to attack each other were derogatory and racist. The so-called unity we boast about was shattered.

Ng has since denied that the incident was racial in nature and clarified that neither he nor the KFC staff used any racial slurs.

However, those on the social media ignored this and continued to make all sorts of comments.

Facebook and YouTube are the most popular forms of social media. Opinions are shaped on these two websites.

Comments there become a strong reflection of the state of our own society.

Sadly, in this case, we failed big time. Malaysians have come across as immature, racist and unforgiving.

Malaysians need to show the world that we can handle ourselves, accept each other and celebrate our differences.

Fortunately, the “quarrel” occurred over cyberspace, and maybe it was a good place to let off steam without taking it into the real world.

This incident has shown that our unity is very fragile and our race relations far from adequate.

Our leaders must realise this and not rely on bigotry to gain popularity with only a certain segment of society.

> Executive Editor Wong Sai Wan loves his fried chicken but also hates poor service.

 Related post:


Let’s all be Malaysians first !

S’pore escaping recession?

Govt reiterates 1%-3% GDP forecast for 2012 after smaller contraction

SINGAPORE: Singapore says it may avoid a recession despite the weak global economic outlook, after data showed the economy contracted less than expected in the last quarter of 2011 despite persistent weakness in electronics.

“The first month of trade numbers, export numbers are quite good,” Thia Jang Ping, a director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told a news conference.

“It's still too early to call, but our near-term indicators do not suggest an imminent danger of Singapore slipping very badly into a recession in the first quarter,” he added.

The economy shrank 2.5% in the fourth quarter from the preceding period on an annualised and seasonally adjusted basis, data showed yesterday.

Slowdown: Singapore’s port is seen through the downtown business district. The island nation says its trade and non-oil domestic exports are expected to grow by 3% to 5% this year, down from a rise of 8% and 2.2%, respectively, in 2011. — AP

 

The GDP data was better than an advance flash estimate of a 2.9% contraction, but worse than the median estimate for a 2.3 % decline by economists polled by Reuters.



From a year earlier, gross domestic product grew 3.6%. Singapore stocks and currency weakened yesterday although that was in line with the regional trend, with sentiment hit by a another delay in cementing a bailout package for Greece.

Singapore expects its economy to grow by 1% to 3% in 2012, down from last year's revised expansion of 4.9%, although it warned of risks to the forecast.

Asia is suffering the effects of slowing demand in the West, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month warned that Europe's debt crisis could tip the world economy into recession.

A recession is often defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction, and Singapore, whose trade is three times GDP, tends to feel the chills from a deterioration in global economic conditions faster than most countries.

“Specifically, a disorderly sovereign default in the eurozone could precipitate a global financial crisis, while an escalation of geopolitical tension in the Middle East could trigger a global oil price shock,” Singapore's trade ministry said in a statement.

On Wednesday, South Korea said January exports fell 7% from a year ago in the biggest annual decline since October 2009, while Australia said its leading index of employment dropped in February in a sign that jobs growth could fall.

Singapore also said yesterday its trade and non-oil domestic exports were expected to grow by 3% to 5 % this year, down from a rise of 8% and 2.2%, respectively, in 2011. - Reuters

Is the Two-Party-Sytem becoming a Two-Race-System? Online spars started before Chua-Lim debate!

 All systems go for the showdown

IT'S all systems go as temperatures rise for the showdown between MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek and DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng at the Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow (Feb 18, 2012)



The rules and format have been finalised for their debate on the topic: Is the Two-Party System Becoming a Two-Race System?

The debate in Mandarin will be aired live on Astro AEC (Channel 301) and repeated at 11pm on Saturday. Non-Mandarin speakers can also watch the debate in Bahasa Malaysia on Astro Awani(Channel 501). It can also be watched via live streaming on www.astro.com.my/bendiquan

About 600 seats have been allocated at the venue, including 200 each for MCA and DAP. The debate is jointly organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute and MCA think-tank Insap.

Battle of wits between Chua and Lim to be aired live on television

Reports by LIM WEY WEN, LEE YEN MUN, CHRISTINA TAN and CHIN MUI YOON

 KUALA LUMPUR: The showdown that will see MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng engage in a battle of wits will be similar to the US presidential election debate.

Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) director and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Michael Yeoh told The Star, however, that although the duel would resemble the American debate, this had been adapted to the local setting.

“All parties have agreed upon important matters like the seat allocation and structure of the debate,” Dr Yeoh said, adding that the 200 seats set aside for each political party would remain.

The one-hour debate titled “Is the two-party system becoming a two-race system?” starts at 5pm tomorrow.



Both Dr Chua and Lim will draw lots to determine who speaks first and they will then be allowed a few minutes to give their opening remarks on the topic.

After that, both speakers will be asked to answer one question posed by the moderator – historian and Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall chief executive officer Tan Ah Chai.

Shortly after, both speakers will field questions from the audience. They will then have the opportunity to give some closing remarks.

The debate will be conducted in Mandarin and will be aired live on Astro AEC (Channel 301).

In the channel’s special edition of News Talk, host Siow Hui Mei will facilitate a pre-debate panel discussion 30 minutes before its start.

A replay will be televised at 11pm the same day.

Viewers can catch the debate translated into Bahasa Malaysia on Astro Awani (Channel 501). They can also watch a live streaming of the programme via Astro’s BDQ website (www.astro.com.my/bendiquan).

Speaking experts give tips to Chua and Lim

By CHIN MUI YOON  newsdesk@thestar.com.my 

PETALING JAYA: Dress right, keep a cool head, inject some humour and maintain eye contact.

These are some of the tips from public speaking experts to MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as they face each other in the upcoming debate tomorrow.

According to them, the manner in which both men address issues affecting the nation will have far-reaching influence on how the public perceive their leadership, vision and values and, ultimately, affect how they cast their votes in the next general election.

Former TV newscaster and veteran event host Datuk Mahadzir Lokman advised the leaders to dress more casually to present a more approachable, people-centric appearance rather than a typical politician’s suit and tie.

“Our politicians tend to be very mundane in their choice of dressing,” he said.

“Of course, they can’t wear baggy jeans or T-shirts, but I do suggest a pair of slacks and short-sleeve cotton or linen shirt to appear as a down-to-earth wakil rakyat.”

Mahadzir opined that both speakers must articulate their points in a crisp and clear manner and added that he believed Dr Chua had an advantage here as he had strong oratory skills.

“He speaks very well and he is respected in the Chinese community as a taiko or big brother. To them, a taiko leads and has the right to do whatever he wants,” he said.

He added that both men must appeal to two segments of the Chinese community — the English-speaking and the Chinese educated —and that the latter would expect precise Mandarin with faultless grammar, pitch and intonation.

“I believe parts of the debate will be in English which is important as it is not just the Chinese who will be watching, everyone else will be too!”

Datuk Lawrence Chan, executive chairman of PDL Management Corporation and an international speaker and trainer, felt that “Dr Chua’s forte is his vast experience while Lim’s strengths are his youth and the long, hard way he took to reach the Chief Minister’s post.”

“But what will be vital for both is whether they can keep a cool head. In a debate, certain issues tend to invoke strong emotions, and the speakers can come across as authoritarian, which can put off people.

“Maintaining eye contact with the audience is also important, as are their non-verbal expressions which are there for all to see during a live debate. Sometimes it is not what’s being said that counts, it’s how they say it. If the speakers speak persuasively, even those who are neutral will swing to their side.

“I would also advise them to use some humour that is relevant, as people tend to remember such moments.”

According to Roshan Thiran, CEO of Leaderonomics, a leadership development social enterprise, leadership styles are driven by personalities.

“And as far as public perception goes, Lim is seen as a Gen X leader whom people can relate to easily.

“He has established an image as a leader who is approachable. It’s a positive trait but on the downside, he may take a while to respond to issues.

“Dr Chua, on the other hand, is a smart and savvy leader who has survived many crises in his political career. He is a leader who knows how to lead through different and difficult circumstances,” said Roshan.

He added that what would be important in a live debate would be for the two men to know how to leverage on their strengths while playing down their weaknesses.

Supporters spar online ahead of the main event

Reports by LIM WEY WEN, LEE YEN MUN, CHRISTINA TAN and CHIN MUI YOON

PUTRAJAYA: Supporters of both MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng are beating the war drums online as the political rivals prepare to face off in what has been dubbed the most anticipated debate of the year for the Chinese community.

Encouragement filled the Facebook pages of both Dr Chua and Lim while others took the opportunity to “thumb down” their opponents.

Dr Chua will square off with Lim tomorrow on the topic “Is the two-party system becoming a two-race system?” before a 600-strong audience at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

“Big boss, drop the hammer down, show them that all promises made must be based on the political reality of Malaysia,” Facebook user Reon Lim wrote on Dr Chua’s page.

Another supporter, Ragvinder Singh Jessy, said: “Guan Eng is thrashed. He lacks substance in debates. He’s no match to your prowess.”

DAP supporters were equally enthusiastic about Lim, with some suggesting to the Penang Chief Minister to sport his signature “Brylcreem look” for good luck.

“We all kind of like it and miss it, don’t know why but that hairstyle gives you extra ‘uumphh’ and ‘pow-wah’ (power). Good luck, CM – we believe in you!” said Evelyn Hor, referring to Lim’s slick hairdo.

Those who did not manage to reserve a seat for the debate expressed their disappointment.

Although the debate will be aired live on Astro, some are unhappy because not everyone has access to satellite television.

“Why the free tv station no broadcast? I hope tv station in media prima or rtm can broadcast this, not everyone can watch through astro,” wrote Bernard Low Chun Sun on Dr Chua’s Facebook page.

The debate, organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute and MCA think-tank Insap, is part of a day-long forum on “The Chinese at a Political Crossroads in the Next General Election”.

 Related post/Stories:

•  Malaysian Two Party System Becoming a Two-Race System?” A question of one or two sarongs!
• Malaysian Chinese at a Political Crossroads forum; Chua-Lim Debate on 18/2/2012
• Malaysian Politics: Chua-Lim Debate Sets New Standard
• Battle of Batu Pahat boys
• Chua: Let's get first debate over first 

Malaysia's GDP Growth 5.1% in 2011, pretty okay?

Malaysia's growth beats consensus

By FINTAN NG fintan@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2011 despite the challenging external environment as domestic demand continued to support growth.

Bank Negara said in a press statement that full-year growth came in at 5.1% after expanding 7.2% in 2010 as domestic demand conditions remained favourable supported by both private and public sector spending.

The fourth-quarter GDP figures came in slightly higher than the 4.8% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey while the full-year growth was largely in line with a separate survey, where the median estimate was 5% and in line with official estimates of 5% to 5.5% growth.

“Domestic demand expanded by 10.5% during the quarter, driven by the continued expansion in household and business spending, and public sector expenditure,” the central bank said.

Private comsumption increased by 7.1% supported by favourable income growth while public consumption rose by 23.6% following higher expenditure on emoluments and supplies and services.

Gross fixed capital formation, which measures the net increase of fixed or physical assets, increased by 8.5% supported by continued expansion in capital spending by the private sector and the non-financial public enterprises.

“The federal government development expenditure during the quarter was mostly channelled into the transportation, trade and industry sectors,” the central bank said.

The services sector grew by 6.4% for the quarter (6.8% for the year), manufacturing expanded by 5.2% (4.5%), construction rose 6.4% (3.5%), agriculture expanded by 6.9% (5.6%) while the mining sector's pace of decline narrowed compared to the third quarter, falling by 3.3% and declining 5.7% for the year.

The headline inflation rate, as measured by the annual change in the consumer price index, declined to 3.2% in the fourth quarter with inflation in the transport category ower at 3.2% reflecting the absence of further adjustments on prices of RON95 petrol, diesel and LPG in the quarter.



“Inflation in the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, however, rose to 5.3% during the quarter, mainly due to higher prices in the fish and seafood subcategory,” Bank Negara said.

Economists said the latest data confirmed earlier reports of the country's growth being on a slower trend largely due to the drop in external demand as global growth slowed.

They said this trend would continue into the first half of this year before recovering gradually in the second half as conditions globally improved with more clarity on the issues surrounding the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd economic research head Lee Heng Guie told StarBiz that the main drag to growth in the fourth quarter and the whole year was the volatile external environment which resulted in stagnant demand for consumer electronics.

He said domestic demand would continue to sustain the economy although there was “a slight let-up” in consumer spending. “The question is how sustainable is consumption going to be and this will depend on key drivers such as commodity prices and income,” Lee said, noting that the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research consumer sentiments index was trending down.

“In summary, we see quite uneven growth in the first half of this year before the economy picks up in the second half,” he said, expecting full-year GDP to come in at 3.8%.

AmResearch Sdn Bhd director of economic research Manokaran Mottain said the latest data showed that the “fear factor” was rising with households becoming more cautious about spending.

However, he was more sanguine compared to his peers where exports were concerned, pointing to the export growth in goods and services (where the current account suplus, although narrowing in the fourth quarter, stood at RM22bil for the year) but said the data showed the economy was geared to domestic activity with government handouts playing a crucial role in supporting consumption.

“Going forward, well-crafted domestic strategies and the timely rollout of the Economic Transformation Programme projects will now be more urgent as they will create multiplier effects especially in the services sector,” Manokaran said.

He added that the data clearly showed that the economy, while experiencing moderating growth, was not “falling off the cliff” with full-year growth in 2012 coming in at 5%. “The worst-case scenario is global growth dropping to below 3% and project implementation delays at home, which means growth of around 4%,” Manokaran said.

Meanwhile Affin Investment Bank Bhd chief economist Alan Tan said growth this year would still be affected despite signs of nascent recovery in the United States and the improvement in global purchasing managers' indices.

“For this year, the first half will still show signs of moderation in exports as consumer electronics demand slows down,” he said, adding that growth for the full year would still be a healthy 4% considering the challenges.

For Bank Negara statements click here

Malaysia should do pretty okay

Making a Point - By Jagdev Singh Sidhu

THE report card for the economy in 2011 is out and by all accounts, Malaysia did pretty okay.

With the official forecast of growth at between 5% to 5.5%, there was much scepticism throughout 2011 whether that could be achieved. Who can blame the tea-leave readers out there whose job is to forecast where the economy is heading?

There was so much external fear with Europe on the brink, America seeing greater economic trouble and China teetering on a bubble bursting that expectations were slashed, and on average far less than what the Government had predicted.

As it turns out, maybe after the gravity-defying performance in the third quarter where the gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.8%, people began to say “hold on. Maybe things aren't so bleak.”

As it turns out, they were mostly right when the GDP data was released yesterday.

The economy expanded by 5.2% in the fourth quarter and for the whole year, growth was 5.1%. There are numbers where things could be better. Industrial production and export growth isn't the best.

 

But what drove the economy upwards was domestic demand, basically what the Government, people and companies spend and invest.

Domestic demand jumped 10.5% in the fourth quarter compared with 9% in the third. Capital investments surged 8.5% compared with 6.1% in the previous quarter and higher investments will mean more production, jobs and better economic strength.

The troubles of Europe might have lost its fear factor and America appears to be repairing itself steadily. There are reasons to be more optimistic but the official tune has turned, surprisingly, a little sour.

Bank Negara in its statement said; “Growth prospects, however, have become increasingly uncertain with the emergence of greater downside risks.”

The warning calls for more caution but there is still enough policy measures to keep domestic demand intact.

There are policies of putting cash in the hands of the people through direct cash handouts. There is a base effect from the consumption boom to worry about and whether that can continue into 2012.

But there are indicators out there to suggest domestic demand might still do well but maybe not at the same breakneck speed.

First, there is the stock market. Yes, people might say its not a perfect barometer of what an economy is doing but it does show there is confidence in how corporate Malaysia might be performing.

With direct investments abroad by Malaysian companies jumping to RM14.4bil in the third quarter from RM12.9bil previously, it shows Malaysian companies are taking advantage of growth opportunities outside Malaysia. That can point to higher profits and maybe salaries in the future.

The other is property. We might have been cautious last year about property prices falling off the cliff at some point in 2012 but there is no indication that might happen. Prices might soften but if we were to see our neighbours down south, it might not freeze the market.

For January, Singapore registered the highest sales of private homes in the past 14 months, despite increasing clamps on foreigners buying homes there.

With jobs steady and likely to increase with more investments being made, the stock market doing alright and property prices holding firm, these are ingredients that will allow people to continue spending.

If the Private Sector Retirement Age Bill gets passed, that should create more consumption by people whose earnings lifespan will increase by a further five years. The mass rapid transit system which is kicking off will also boost construction and the GDP.

Economists do wonder if the growth forecast of 5% to 6% for 2012 will be maintained given the risks and challenges. There might be a revision downwards in March but whatever the case, Malaysia like last year, should do pretty okay.

● Deputy news editor Jagdev Singh Sidhu is lapping up the Linsanity! Jeremy Lin's play for the New York Knicks has been a fantastic story. Hope that continues until he meets the Detroit Pistons. 

Japanese Occupation survivors tell their stories

IN 1942, the Japanese invaded Malaya, and thus began three-and-a half years under the rule of a nationalistic and iron-fi sted army. This year is the 70th anniversary of the fall of Malaya to the Japanese. Stories abound of how Malayans at that time were treated and how many escaped the suffering and torture under the Japanese. MICHELLE CHUN speaks to four people who lived to tell their stories. 

Chye ... I will never forgive the Japanese>>

Seow ... my mother’ssacrifi ce saved my life 

HE was only six years old when the Japanese came. Now, 70 years later, Seow Boon Hor remembers clearly what happened the day the Japanese came to his village in Parit Tinggi, Negri Sembilan in search of informers.

His entire family was massacred that day but he managed to survive, all because his quickthinking mother – who was heavily pregnant at that time – shielded him with her body.

It was her act of sacrifice that saved his life. “My mother threw herself on top of me, and as the soldier stabbed her, the knife went through her and into me too. After the third stab, which was to my side, I fainted.

Zainul ... did not suffer much from the occupation

 “When I woke up, an old man from the village who had found me told me to follow him, so I turned to my mother and pulled her arm, telling her it was time to go.

 “But the old man said, ‘Your mother is dead, we must leave her’,” he said with glistening eyes.

Clad in a patterned shirt and black trousers, Seow sat on a plastic stool next to his mixed rice stall in Section 19 as he recalled the events as if they had happened just yesterday. Of the 600 villagers bayoneted that day, only five survived.

 “We wanted to make a run for the hills, but suddenly heard the footsteps of Japanese soldiers, and quickly played dead until they left.”

 Tay ... hid in a jungle for three months.

Another survivor who lived to tell his tale is Chye Kooi Loong, who was 12 years old when the war broke out.

“It seemed like a dream when we heard the Japanese had reached Malaya, we always thought the war would stay in China. My father was an accountant, a rare profession in those days, so we were evacuated to the hills of Kampar,” the 83-year-old said in a phone interview.

He attended a Japanese school because all students who attended were given weekly rations of rice, sugar, and coconut oil.



“In school, we were taught that people from the Land of the Rising Sun were very courteous, but it was the exact opposite – there was a lot of violence and killing. One thing I cannot forget is when a village ‘aunty’ objected to Japanese soldiers taking her chickens, and was killed. Killed over chickens!” he said.

However, not all Malayans experienced the hardship Chye and Seow faced at the hands of the Japanese. One of them is Datuk Zainul Aziz, who worked as an assistant at the Japanese Naval Hospital in Penang.

“At that time, all of us had to attend Japanese school, and everybody had to work otherwise there would be no food on the table.

“I went for an interview at the hospital, and even though I was 13 the doctors employed me to help treat the wounds of Japanese soldiers and learn about medicine,” the 84-year-old said in a phone interview.

Zainul said that he has no ill-feelings towards the Japanese because he did not suffer much at their hands, having been given food and rations while working in the hospital.

“My family members also did not suffer much as they went to work for the Japanese,repairing ships and such.”

Another survivor, Elijah Tay, 79, also did not bear the brunt of the Japanese army’s violence throughout the occupation period.

“The Japanese invaded Malaya when I was about eight; we hid in a rubber estate for three months before coming out,” he told the Sun in his Malacca home on Feb 4.

“My mother would play the piano in my father’s Chinese school, which had closed down, and a Japanese soldier heard her playing one day and came in to listen.

 “He became a friend of my father’s, helping him to open a private school in Labis, where my mother taught the students Japanese songs for the annual concert,” he said.

When the Japanese army heard the students sing, Tay recalled, they were so impressed the captain ordered that no one was to enter the school without his permission.

 “Elsewhere, the Japanese were killing, looting and raping.

“What happened to us was nothing less than a miracle,” Tay said.

 It is because of the atrocities committed by the Japanese that forgiveness is difficult for many survivors, even today.

 “I will never forgive the Japanese; I cannot be friendly with them because I cannot forget what they did,” Chye said.

Seow, on the other hand, said today’s eneration cannot be blamed for the acts of those in the past.

 “I have forgiven them, I suppose. We cannot blame the Japanese today for what was done before, and many have shown remorse. When I visited Japan, four ex-soldiers who were part of the Japanese army to Malaya knelt in front of me and begged for forgiveness,” he said.

But for Chye and many others, an official apology from the Japanese government is a necessary first step towards closure.

 “The Japanese need to formally acknowledge and admit they committed atrocious crimes during the Japanese occupation of Malaya, and not that we were treated well as is currently written in their history books,” he said.

 For the first time ever, eyewitness accounts of the events that occurred in Malaya during Japanese rule have been preserved in a video documentary, produced by History Asia in conjunction with FINAS, Novista and Primeworks Studio. The documentary, Rising Sun over Malaya, will premiere on History Channel (Astro Channel 555) on Feb 15 at 10pm.

NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS

theSun ON MONDAY | FEBRUARY 13, 2012

Related post: Rightways: Nanjing Massacre remembered!

The Nanjing Massacre « Talesfromthelou's Blog
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China and the US: the princeling and the professor

Barack Obama should strive to create conditions in which Xi Jinping, the presumed next leader of China, can play reformer 

Editorial guardian.co.uk, 

If Russia is a country with an unpredictable past, spare a thought for Jia Juchuan, the historian entrusted with the official biography of the father of the next presumed leader of China, Xi Jinping. The story of Xi's father – a member of the first generation of Chinese revolutionary leaders – is a bear trap for the fifth. The elder Xi was both a pioneer of the People's Republic who rose to the rank of vice-premier and a victim of Mao's cultural revolution.

This was not without consequence for the son who may shortly inherit the leadership. Xi junior exchanged his gilded cage in Beijing for a cave home in the impoverished northwestern province of Shaanxi. The first volume of Xi the elder's life was published without problems, but the second volume, covering the purge, has been shelved for three years, ever since the son's destiny became clear. 
Everybody wants a hand in writing it, the historian complained to the Washington Post. If only China's collective leadership could have followed Churchill's advice to Stalin and Roosevelt.



Xi's own biography is a major political asset as the Chinese leader-in-waiting tours America this week on what everyone is taking to be a pre-coronation visit. It gives him the ability to be all things to all men. He is both the princeling confident and authoritative enough to speak his mind, and a man with first-hand experience of rural China. Xi is the modern entrepreneur, not only at ease with China's coastal wealth but the creator of much of it, especially in Shenzhen. And he can also present himself as the man of the people – frugal, down to earth, pragmatic, eating dressed-down in government canteens, a modern politician at home with big business but uncorrupted by it. Supporters of Tibet have scoured Xi Jinping's past for any signs of a shift away from Beijing's growing clampdown. Xi's father was an interlocutor for the Dalai Lama's special envoy Lodi Gyari. But these are straws in the wind. Read what Xi said in a speech celebrating the 60th anniversary of Tibet's "peaceful liberation" last year – that China should fight against separatist activities of the Dalai group and "completely destroy any attempt to undermine stability in Tibet and the national unity of the motherland". As the US ambassador candidly observed, Xi seems personable, but US officials "don't really know much about him".

Perhaps that is why Xi was given the red carpet treatment on Tuesday in Washington. His day included a stop at the Oval Office, lunch with the vice-president and the secretary of state, and a highly unusual visit to the Pentagon – all after a dinner with Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft. Xi remains number two, and his succession – although heavily scripted, with all members of the standing committee of the politburo except Xi and Li Keqiang set to leave – is not yet complete. The choreography of Tuesday's events left little room for doubt. These were the two most important world leaders getting a sense of each other for the first time.

For an America that has consciously turned its diplomatic firepower away from Europe and the Middle East – the former in economic decline, the latter convulsed by revolution to which Washington is a bystander – the Asia Pacific region represents a more fruitful arena. Not only as the economic powerhouse of the world, but an area where US power projection is positively sought – by its traditional allies Japan, Australia and the Philippines, but also by lesser nations emerging from China's shadow. If China and America can deliver mutually assured economic destruction – as the holder of $2tn of US treasury and mortgage-backed debt, China would suffer disastrous capital losses if it spooked the markets – in military terms China and America are regional powers. What more important task than they understand each other's red lines?

Obama should not read too much into Xi's arrival. He should strive to create the conditions in which Xi could play the reformer. If not, the US might find that Xi is equally at home with a more traditional role.

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Cut Your Valentine Some Slack !

Partner's Efforts at Improving Your Relationship Should Not Be Ignored 

ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2012) — If the one you love usually forgets Valentine's Day, but this year makes a romantic effort, you should give him credit for trying.

If the one you love usually forgets Valentine's Day, but this year makes a romantic effort, you should give your partner credit for trying. (Credit: © detailblick / Fotolia)

A new Northwestern University study shows that the more you believe your partner is capable of change and perceive that he or she is trying to improve, the more secure and happy you will feel in your relationship. That is true even if you think your partner could still do more to be a better partner.

"Many of us tend to under appreciate our partner's efforts to improve the relationship, simply because we do not have enough faith in those attempts," said Chin Ming Hui, the lead author of the study and a fourth-year graduate student in the department of psychology at Northwestern University's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. "When we see those efforts in a positive light, we can enjoy our relationship much more."



In this study, romantic couples were separated and asked to rate how much their partner was trying to improve his or her relationship-oriented characteristics, such as patience, understanding and being a good listener.

Three months later, the same couples were asked to rate their partner's current standing on these relationship-oriented characteristics and their overall feelings about the relationship. The results of the study showed that the more you think your partner is incapable of changing, the more your partner's sincere efforts fail to improve the relationship.

"If you don't believe that your partner is capable of changing his or her fundamental characteristics, even when he or she is working hard to try to improve your relationship, you can actually end up discounting these efforts," said Daniel C. Molden, senior author of the study and an associate professor of psychology at Northwestern.

The good news for those who are skeptical of a partner's ability to change: with self-awareness and effort, you can convince yourself that your partner's effort does matter and that your relationship can improve.

"A secret to building a happy relationship is to embrace the idea that your partner can change, to give him or her credit for making these types of efforts and to resist blaming him or her for not trying hard enough all of the time," Molden said.

This study was published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, January 2012 and was also conducted by Michael Harris Bond, professor of psychology at Polytechnic University of Hong Kong.

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BJCC management fiasco: 'Outsourcing not the fair way', a walking game must use buggy; Wants 10 to face the music!

Council unhappy over golf club being run by third party

By JOSEPHINE JALLEH josephine@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: The liaison council of the Bukit Jambul Country Club (BJCC) that is at the centre of a buggy rule controversy has hit out at the state government for “outsourcing” the club’s management to a Japanese company.

BJCC secretary Alfred Beh claimed members were upset over the state’s decision as the company’s primary objective was “profit driven”.

“The state government and Chief Minister (Lim Guan Eng) have failed to consider the members’ interests,” he said.

“Golf courses are places of sporting and recreational activi­ties, not institutions to rake in pro­fits.”

Beh was responding to Friday’s dispute between the club’s disgruntled members and its management, with both sides lodging police reports against each other following the compulsory buggy rule effective Feb 1.



Club managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto had said the rule was to ensure golfers “maximise their time on the field” and that there was no walking on the course.

He also claimed that the club rules allowed such a rule and majority of the 2,800 club members were happy with it.

Japanese firm Taiyo Resort (KL) Bhd took over the club’s management in 2010 and signed a leasing agreement with Penang Develop­ment Corporation (PDC) and Island Golf Properties Bhd.

Beh said the BJCC golf course was built in 1984 as a “walking course” and that the club did not have a buggy track incorporated in the original layout.

He also claimed there were only 700 golfing members out of the 2,800, with the rest being social and associate members.

“And among this 700, probably only half play the game regularly,” he added.

Golf truly a walking game 

I AM the secretary of the Liaison Council of Bukit Jambul Country Club (BJCC) and wish to clarify some of the statements issued by club managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto, as reported in The Star on Feb 10.

Members of the club have never challenged the proprietary status of the club.

Please allow me to provide some background of BJCC, so you can understand the situation that has led to this clash with the club management.

1. Island Golf Properties Berhad (IGPB) is the developer which operates and manages BJCC which is a proprietary club and is required by law to comply with Division 5 of Part IV of the Companies Act 1965 and the Policy Guidelines and Requirements for Sale of Club Membership dated Sept 8, 1992, and updated on July 31, 2002.

2. The club’s objective is to promote golfing, swimming, tennis, squash and other forms of sporting, social and recreational activities for members.

3. The developer (IGPB) is the registered lessee of the land [No:P.T.258, Mukim 13, Daerah Timur Laut] leased from Penang Development Corporation for sixty (60) years commencing 01/02/1985 and expiring on 31/01/2045.

4. The developer is by law required to appoint a trustee to act in the interests of club membership holders.

5. There must be a trust deed to benefit and protect members. The principle deed of trust between IGPB and the trustee and several persons who acquire/have acquired membership mentioned in respect of BJCC (the members) was signed on Nov 2, 1993.

To date, seven supplemental trust deeds have been entered into.

6. The BJCC golf course was built in 1984 as a ‘walking course’. BJCC did not purchase golf buggies nor did it have a buggy track incorporated in the original course layout. Even a buggy shed was not incorporated into the building design.

The first set of 30 buggies was acquired only in 1990 and their use was not compulsory.

Those who purchased membership as from 1984 did so on the explicit understanding that they would be able to walk the course when playing golf whilst carrying their golf clubs or pulling the same on a golf trolley.

7. One has to just take a look at how this game is being played around the world.

Watch how Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and the many heroes of the game play it. They walk the golf course through 18 holes.

There had never been an international or a national game (in Malaysia) or tournament where all players ride motorised carts to move around the course.

This is how the game has to be played, with the player playing against the terrain of the course, the different conditions of the fairways and the different types of grasses on each fairway. They challenge their stamina to play the game.

Therefore, it is only natural that members of a golf club would want to play this game the same way great sportsmen play it.

8. However, over time, more and more golf clubs started to think of the golfers who become physically disabled and still wish to play the game.

That gave birth to the motorised carts. But the introduction of these carts was never meant to replace the true and correct game methods.

9. The crux of the matter is that golf has to be properly played to be called golf.

But we need to cater for the unfortunate golfers who become physically incapable of walking.

The clash with the club management did not arise from a minority few, as stated by Sakamoto.

There are some 260 golfers who were affected and are now aggrieved, not the 50-odd claimed by him.

Another claim he made which I feel was misleading was that the club has 2,800 members and all of them are happy with the new rules.

What he failed to impress to the press is that out of the 2,800 members, there are about 700 golfing members, with the rest making up the social and associate member categories.

And of this 700, there are probably only 50% of them who play the game on a regular basis.

The golf course at any day can accommodate only about 280 players, so declaring that he has 2,800 members happy with this situation is misleading.

Before the management introduced the reduction in the time meant for golfers to walk the course, there was an average of 85 to 110 members each morning and about the same number in the afternoon visiting the golf course each day to play this game.

The first change was introduced in December 2010. Several members became disgusted with the changes and stopped playing or they went to other places to play the game.

Members are now up in arms over the disruptive changes.

They bought transferable memberships through a sales pro- spectus given by IGPB, which among others, promises certain facilities for members to use and enjoy.

The aggrieved members bought their membership on the premise that they could use the golf facilities as they saw it then (i.e with people playing the game by walking the course, which then confirms that this is indeed the correct place to play the game). This gave them true enjoyment of the game.

To change any of these, the members contend that the club management (now outsourced to this Japanese company which has no roots in our state and country) has to comply with the Trust Deeds as enforced by the Companies Acts.

And the developer needs to seek the members’ agreement on any change that affects the members’ rights to use and enjoy the facilities for which the members pay a monthly subscription.

This is not an easy matter to comprehensively cover in full and to get clear understanding of. The intent of this statement is to counter the misleading claims, so that Penangites understand the implications.

To highlight a few points in summary:

(a) Golf is a walking game, same as any other game.

(b) Most golf courses today have motorised carts to give players a choice, either to use them or not to. But a choice must exist.

(c) BJCC members are displeased with our state government which outsourced the management of the club to a foreigner whose sole objective, we believe, is profit-driven.

The state government and the Chief Minister have absolutely no understanding and appreciation of the game of golf and have failed to consider the interests of the members at large.

(d) It is common knowledge that golf courses are places of sporting and recreational activi-ties and are not institutions to rake in profits. Sports clubs are social obligations to the commu-nity.

Thanking you in anticipation.

ALFRED BEH,Secretary, Liaison Council of BJCC, Penang. 
The Star Feb 15, 2012

BJCC wants 10 to face the music

 Sunday February 19, 2012

GEORGE TOWN: The compulsory buggy use issue has further ‘heated up’ after 10 Bukit Jambul Country Club (BJCC) members were hauled up for disciplinary action.

More then 50 people, believed to be BJCC members, turned up at the club to show support for the 10 who were accompanied by their lawyers.

“The 2pm hearing (yesterday), was postponed as the members decided to seek another date after being told by the disciplinary committee that no legal representation was allowed.

“The members have instructed their lawyers to send a notice (tomorrow) to the committee to place on record as to what had transpired at the hearing,” said the group’s spokesman Alfred Beh.

He said the members had allegedly teed off despite not being allowed to register as they refused to abide by the compulsory buggy use ruling implemented on Feb 1.

On Tuesday, the club’s disgruntled members and its management lodged police reports over the issue.

Beh claimed that members were also upset with the state’s decision to “outsource” the club’s management to a Japanese firm which had failed to consider their interests.

BJCC managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto could not be reached for comments.

He had said that the new rule was to ensure golfers could “maximise their time on the field” and that the majority of the 2,800 club members were happy with the decision.

Japanese firm Taiyo Resort (KL) Bhd took over the club’s management in 2010 and signed a leasing agreement with Penang Develop­ment Corporation and Island Golf Properties Bhd.



Related posts:

Golf, a good walking game!

BJCC Golf Club management Fiasco: challenges members to leave! Would Guan Eng Intervene?

BJCC Golf and Country Club News

Genuine love goes beyond sex and passion!

EVERY year on Feb 14, the world takes delight in celebrating Valentine’s Day - a special occasion in which people celebrate and express love, feelings for each other and develop a sense of belonging and friendship.

To love and be loved by someone is the most beautiful, moving, fulfilling and fantastic human emotion and experience!

Question is: Is the love we so talk and desire about real, genuine, permanent and unconditional?

Is it true to the very sense of the word - LOVE?

True love knows no bounds and consists of great sacrifice and care. It also embraces compassion, kindness, respect and thoughtfulness.

Genuine love has our interests at heart and it goes beyond sex, passion and sensual gratification. This love is the best and most mature in every way.

Real love comes with a lot of responsibility, commitment, understanding, tolerance, acceptance and humility.

It is true that in today’s world, it is easy to fall in love but to further develop, maintain and sustain the great feeling is another matter altogether.

The many divorces, marital breakdowns, broken families, suicides out of failed marriages and relationships, extra-marital affairs, one night stands and wild sex bring to mind just how people nowadays regard, treat and value the sanctity of love?

It is sad but true that people take love for granted and in the words of the great writer Robert Browing: “Take away love and with earth is a tomb”.

The world will indeed be a meaningless and cold place if it is devoid of love – the most powerful force in humans.

As we look around today, there is simply too much conflict, hostility, unrest, sorrow, fear, suffering and pain taking place the world over.

The time has come for us to turn hatred and ignorance into love and wisdom.

It is time everyone started to be more considerate and responsible and played a role in promoting the virtues of friendliness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness and giving.

Together, we can all make a difference and contribute towards making a better, merrier and meaningful world for all to live in.

Let us not hate but love each other instead and live by one spirit, one heart, and one aspiration as members of the human race!

Happy Valentine’s Day to all.

DAVID TIH,
Malacca.

PAS Valentine’s Day equation!

One Man's Meat By Philip Golingai  

Why is PAS so against Valentine’s Day? It has equated the day to: roses + candlelight dinner + love = sex.

PAS urged the government to place anti-Valentine Day's advertisements on television to discourage Muslims from celebrating the event.

FROM what I’ve been reading, PAS has been equating Valentine’s Day to: roses + candlelight dinner + love = sex.

Curious to know how Feb 14 can lead to sex, I met PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan at-Tantawi at the party’s headquarters in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. I thought the secret would be revealed.

“Why is PAS so against Valentine’s Day?” I asked Nasrudin.

“We don’t want to ban Valentine’s Day. What we want is to state that Muslims cannot celebrate it as it is not a day which is celebrated by Muslims,” he said in Malay.

“Non-Muslims are free to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Why can’t Muslims celebrate Valentine’s Day?” I asked.

“It is not a Muslim activity. It is from another religion. I am not clear about it.

“Some say it is from the Christians or other ...” he said, stopping abruptly as he probably decided not to speculate on the origin of Valentine’s Day so as not to offend non-Muslims.

“But it is usual in Malaysia that it encourages couple to go for date at a suspicious, quiet and dark place like a hotel, a park or a beach. And that is wrong.”

“Religion aside,” I said, “what’s wrong with Valentine’s Day?”

“For example, I read in the newspaper a few years ago that a hotel in Terengganu had a promotion for its Valentine’s Day dinner where the first 10 couples to register would get a free night stay,” Nasrudin said.

“Doesn’t that show that Valentine’s Day leads to immoral activities?”

“Is it true that PAS thinks that Valentine’s Day will lead to ... ermm...,” I said, and because I couldn’t find the right word for “sex” in Malay, I fluffed my question.



I decided on zina (illicit sex).

“We are taking pre-emptive measures,” explained Nasrudin.

“Usually when Valentine’s Day is celebrated a couple will go for a date and we don’t want that date to lead to zina and etc.”

“We have three conditions for a Muslim couple who wants to go on a date. First, they can’t be berdua-duaan (going out as a couple), they must be chaperoned by a mahram (a close relative).

“Second, the woman can’t wear clothes that show her aurat (parts of the body that should not be exposed according to Islamic belief) and that is menjolok mata (in Defence Ministry lingo: poke eye).

“Third, the couple cannot do activities prohibited by their religion. (i.e. khalwat and zina).

“But when I say that couple can date with these three conditions I don’t mean they can celebrate Valentine’s Day. They can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.”

The PAS Youth chief explained that it was not only zina which was salah (wrong) but also berdua-duaan.

“Berdua-duaan is the mukadimah (prelude) to zina,” he said. “That is why a couple can’t be berdua-duaan. They must be accompanied by a mahram.”

“What is the percentage of berdua-duan couple ending up having sex?” I asked.

“It is not impossible (that they would end up having sex). But I don’t have the statistics. But when a couple berdua-duaan in a room, there is a third party,” he said.

“Interesting,” I thought, “threesome with the mahram.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Syaitan (devil),” he said. “We have to worry about syaitan.”

Syaitan, according to the Ustaz, will seduce the couple into doing the nasty.

“In most rape cases, the perpetrator is known to the victim. And this is because when the couple is in a place where they are alone, the perpetrator will succumb to his desire,” the politician known as Tantawi explained.

“That is the danger of berdua-duaan. It will lead to other social problems such as rape and baby dumping.”

But it is not only Valentine’s Day that PAS thinks encourages free sex.

“We know pergaulan bebas (free association) happens on public holidays even on Hari Merdeka,” Nasrudin said.

“How?” I asked, surprised to learn that celebrating Hari Merdeka can lead to sex. Must be something to do with the word “independence” I thought.

On the eve of Hari Merdeka, according to the ustaz, there were couples who waited for the clock to strike midnight in a dark and secluded place.

And they would be drinking alcohol and eventually (to use a visual metaphor in Malay movies) the champagne cork would pop.

I can’t wait for PAS to ban romantic celebrations of Hari Merdeka.