Post US Visit & Home Again

POST US VISIT

Three weeks of travelling across the US with a tight schedule was a challenging assignment…

I was in the midst of the excitement of the mid-term election. The change of rein in Congress was thoroughly expected. That was the result of changes being forced on a party that refused to change its ways. The antiwar sentiment was high. Some analysts opined that Americans chose Democrats not because they had a better plan but because Republican’s foreign policy and tactics had failed in Iraq and that voters wanted to send a very strong signal to President Bush. US politics had its fair share of scandal, administrative mismanagement, and corruption, but the avenues to fight them were lots more available compared to Malaysia.

Her first class mentality allows free mingling of ideas; it is refreshing to watch the open debates between candidates that gave voters to personally assess and evaluate their candidates and talk of bipartisan cooperation was even viewed positively by politicians from both parties, the President included.

HOME AGAIN

I found it interesting that the DPM used the term I used in my policy speech previously, transformational leadership, in his opening address to the Wanita, Pemuda, and Puteri delegates. His idea painted mostly what transformational leadership should achieve. The live telecast of the UMNO meet gave the public sufficient information as to the real nature of UMNO’s vision and mission in upholding the interests of the status quo in any circumstance and its disregard of changes that were happening at home and globally. There was little or no intellectual discussion as to what was just and fair for the people and minorities under a changed circumstance.

My idea of transformational leadership was to uphold VALUES, not interests, which would strengthen the mechanisms that supported the nation and country for centuries and beyond. A leadership that would take care of the welfare of all the peoples of Malaysia, NOT just only a particular group of people or members of a particular political ideology or for interests or short-term interests of a particular elite group. I believe that leaders of transformational leadership would begin by first correcting themselves relentlessly before embarking on a transformational leadership crusade.

Fuziah Salleh

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The Intentional Destruction of Women’s Lives

By Pn Hjh Fuziah Salleh
Head of Women’s Wing
Parti Keadilan Rakyat Malaysia (keADILan)

Monday 18 October 2006

Statement released 18 October 2006

The Intentional Destruction of Women’s Lives
As reflected in Malaysia’s incidence of violence against women and human trafficking

The incidence of violence against women speaks volumes of the inadequacy of the Barisan Nasional Government agencies that are supposed to protect the country’s citizens, particularly women. With the recent crime rate taking a hike, an increase of 11.3 % for the first seven months compared to last year, it gives a sham image of development, when citizens, especially women do not feel very safe walking about in the country. Domestic violence, rape, and sexual harassment continue to occur under the Barisan Nasional administration, which fails to approach the social problems in a holistic manner. The inadequacy of existing law also lacks protection from emotional and psychological violence against women.

About seventy percent of Malaysian malls are unsafe and susceptible clients especially women suffer risk of being snatched, harassed, sexually assaulted, rape and even killed.

In another dimension, reports of human trafficking within and across borders that propels the sex industry has brought with it a host of social, health and national problems. Human trafficking that reduces women as chattels and objects of lust is a manifestation of modern slavery that affects generations to come. Those that promote the trade are non-arguably the destroyers of human dignities and civilisation and those in authority that does nothing on it are the same.

The system generated by Barisan Nasional has failed to protect Malaysian women wholly. These figures and scenarios spelled a deliberate insensitivity of the system and lack of enforcement on proper measures that may cause the destruction of many women’s lives. Wanita keADILan views these as grave issues that warrant immediate resolve by the government. Two resolutions of the Congress of keADILan Women on September 1, 2006 demanded actions by the government.

Criticisms against Anwar

The utterance of a replacement for the New Economic Policy was the result of the apparent failure of the policy to elevate the economic plight of the Malays. It calls for a collective introspective, a reassessment of the national economic agenda in the light of a changed global environment, and the alleviation of the excesses of the ruling political elite, who were the real betrayers of the Malay race.

The personal wealth of Anwar Ibrahim is nowhere near those who accused him of betraying the Malay race. Anwar had undergone the menace of political conspiracy and sent to jail to protect what belonged to the people, including the Malays, from the clutches of nepotism, cronyism and economic rapacity in bailing out losses belonged to the political elite.

The talk against Anwar is purely a political stunt, without evidence, to smear his image. It is, sadly, an inferior means to gain UMNO’s waning popularity.

Fuziah Salleh