Tuesday, April 29, 2008

How Taib Uses Timber To Divide and Rule The Ibans

Extracts from David Brown's doctoral dissertation "Why Governments Fail to Capture Economic Rent: The Unofficial Appropriation of Rain Forest Rent by Rulers in Insular Southeast Asia Between 1970 and 1999" (375 pages) will be posted in Sarawak Headhunter from time to time, but those who want to download, read, keep and distribute the whole dissertation will find it here or if the site is unavailable, just send an email to Sarawak Headhunter.

Chief Minister Taib also uses his timber concessions to buy the loyalty of the leaders of the largest ethnic group in Sarawak, the Iban, who comprise about 30 percent of the population. Taib and his predecessor both belong to the Melanau, a small coastal group. The Melanau, to ensure their political ascendancy, bind themselves to the state's Malay population, and play a delicate game of divide and rule with the rest of the state’s large groups (see Table 4.7 below). A newsmagazine interviewed a Sarawak Malay politician who described the political arithmetic that makes the Iban a threat to the Melanau.


‘Let's face it. One day they will rule the state. They have the numbers,’ a Sarawak Malay politician said. To date, Sarawak's 20% Malays and 5% Melanau have only held power by banding together, while the Iban have scattered their support across three parties (FEER 1989b).

A substantial group of the timber concessions widely regarded as belonging to Taib have been awarded by him to selected Iban leaders, who in turn have been pivotal to Taib's strategy of keeping the Iban from putting together an electoral majority to defeat him.

Taib must buy the support of the sons of two famous Iban leaders. Their fathers, now dead, led the Iban during most of the twentieth century. The sons are highly visible board members and shareholders in Taib family timber concessions. The most important Iban leader during much of the pre- and post-World War II period was Temonggong Koh
[1] who died in the 1940s. His son, Kenneth Kanyan, is a senator in the upper house of the Sarawak State Assembly (27 May 1997 interview with a reliable and informed academic).

After Temonggong Koh’s death, the successor to the position of traditional head of the Iban was Temonggong Jugah. Although he died in the 1970s, Temonggong Jugah’s son Leonard Linggi is now the powerful second-in-command of the Christian wing of the PBB party. The importance of this position is that for all PBB Christians who wish to run as state or federal candidates, including Iban, Bidayuh, and the dozens of groups who make up the Orang Ulu, Leonard Linggi "decides whether you can run or not" (4 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing). Linggi is also the General Secretary of the PBB party (26 May 1997 interview with a well-place and knowledgeable source in Sarawak).


Also of political significance is the fact that during the Ming Court affair, the two still-living Iban mentioned above, Kenneth Kanyan, the son of Temonggong Koh and Leonard Linggi, the son of Temonggong Jugah, stood by Chief Minister Taib Mahmud in his hour of need.


Although Sarawakians do not know the specifics about the timber concession holdings of various Iban leaders, they have a general idea of who has come out on top. For example, State Assemblyman Aidan Wing described Leonard Linggi as "the richest Iban" in Sarawak with "a half million hectares in timber concessions" (4 June 1997 interview).
[2]

In exchange for directorships and equity positions in timber concessions, Iban leaders bring in the vote of their community at election time. Other than election time bribes, timber rent is not redistributed to the larger Iban community (27 May 1997 interview with a reliable and informed academic).
[3]

A point worth re-emphasizing is that, with one exception,
[4] all timber concessions in which Iban leaders hold managerial or equity positions are those said to be licensed to Chief Minister Taib himself. These concessions are listed in Table 4.8.


[1] “Temonggong” is an Iban title conferred upon a supreme leader. Wearing a suit, but still sporting the distinctive bowl-shaped haircut favored by many Iban until a few decades ago, photographs of Temonggong Koh can be seen in historical displays in Kuching’s Sarawak Museum and the Singapore National Museum. During his life, Temonggong Koh was a major political force to be reckoned with, as he founded the Iban political party Barjasa, which eventually joined forces with the Melanau-led PBB. (* Probably meant Pesaka, formed with Jugah. Barjasa was actually formed by Tuanku Haji Bujang, Rahman Ya'kub and Taib, which later joined Panas to form Parti Bumiputera and later merged with Pesaka to form PBB or Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu).

[2] I asked Wing when he would be awarded a timber concession. He answered, "Perhaps in my second term. Timber concessions are rarely given out to first term state assemblymen. They are not awarded until state assemblymen have proved their political loyalty and staying power” (4 June 1997 interview).

[3] The lack of distribution of timber benefits to the grassroots by senior Iban political figures was confirmed by a well-placed and knowledgeable source in Sarawak, who told me that Linggi rarely, if ever, shares timber rent with other Iban (26 May 1997 interview).

[4] That exception is Garu, a timber concession is licensed to the Rimbunan Hijau conglomerate.

Table 4.8 Taib family timber concessions in which Iban political leaders are board members or shareholders

Name of Taib family timber concession

Name of Iban board member or shareholder

Position in or percentage of shares held in company

Leadership position within the Iban community, source(s) of information

Balleh Sawmill, 24,673 hectares.

Jugah Anak Bareng

11 percent shareholder

This is Temonggong Jugah, the now-deceased but once-supreme leader of the Iban (4 June 1997 interview with a Sarawak state assemblyman).

Balleh Sawmill, 24,673 hectares

Tiong Anak Anding

11 percent shareholder

Wife of the late Temonggong Jugah (4 June 1997 interview with a Sarawak state assemblyman).

Bumi Hijau,

26,000 hectares;

Garu,

44,847 hectares;

Kerasa,

49,996 hectares; Rajang Wood, 309,575 hectares; Raplex, 72,251 hectares.

Kenneth Kanyan ak Koh

Director; Director & 42 percent shareholder;

Director;

Director;

Director

Son of Temonggong Koh, the most important Iban leader in the pre- and post-World War II period. Kenneth Kanyan is now a Senator in the Sarawak State Assembly. He was a strong loyalist to Taib in the 1987 Ming Court affair.

Bumi Hijau,

26,000 hectares; Sarako, 36,000 hectares

Richard Mullok, nephew to, and proxy for, Alfred Jabu (6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing)

Director; Director, 42 percent shareholder

Alfred Jabu is the Deputy Chief Minister, and as such is “the highest ranking non-Malay in Sarawak” (27 May 1997 interview with a reliable and informed academic). He was one of two men to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Chief Minister Taib during the critical 10 March 1987 press conference during the Ming Court affair (Ritchie 1987: 22). He is a PBB nominee (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin)

Garu, 44,847 hectares

Temonggong Jinggut Ak Attan

Director and 39 percent shareholder

Traditional head of all Iban in the 7th and 3rd divisions of the Rejang River basin. This is a position that would have otherwise have fallen to Leonard Linggi, except that Linggi spends all his time in Kuching now, and is seldom on the ground in the Rejang River basin, as would befit a Temonggong (7 June 1997 interview with Joseph Jinggut).

Garu, 44,847 hectares

Robert Jarraw Ak Kana

Director, and nine percent shareholder

Son-in-law of Temonggong Jinggut ak Attan, traditional head of all Iban in the 7th and 3rd divisions of the Rejang River basin (6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing).


Table 4.8 (continued) Taib family timber concessions in which Iban political leaders are board members or shareholders

Name of Taib family timber concession

Name of Iban board member or shareholder

Position in or percentage of shares held in company

Leadership position within the Iban community, source(s) of information

Garu, 44,847 hectares

Joseph Jinggut

Director

Holds position of Wakil Kota (head of the local council) in the city of Kapit (7 June 1997 interview with Joseph Jinggut). He and his brother Justine Jinggut were two of four persons placed into leadership positions in the SNAP party in 1987 to replace those sacked or suspended as a result of their disloyalty to Chief Minister Taib during the Ming Court affair (Ritchie 1987: 34). Joseph's brother Justine is now Secretary General of SNAP (29 May 1997 interview with Dominique Ng). Joseph says his brother Justine was elevated to the position of Secretary General of SNAP because "in the present political climate, the important thing is for SNAP to reach some political accommodation with the PBB, not to be a thorn in their side. My brother has accomplished this" (7 June 1997 interview).

Keresa Timber,

49,996 hectares; Rajang Wood, 309,575 hectares;

Raplex, 72,251 hectares.

Leonard Linggi ak Jugah, son of Temonggong Jugah, traditional head of the Iban from the 1940s to 1970s.

Director, 50 percent shareholder; Director, 50.2 percent of shares through Limar Management Services, Rajang Resources (13 June 1997 interview with well-placed and knowledgeable source in Sarawak), and Silver Wood Company (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin); Director

Leonard Linggi holds no elected position, but is second in command of the “Christian wing” of the PBB party. The importance of Linggi’s position is that for all Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, or Christian who wish to run as a state or federal candidates representing the PBB, Leonard Linggi "decides whether you can run or not" (6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing). Linggi is also General Secretary of PBB (26 May 1997 interview with well-placed and knowledgeable source in Sarawak). Linggi is described as a PBB "money man," meaning the PBB comes to him for funds at campaign time (29 May 1997 interview with Dominique Ng).

Keresa Timber,

49,996

hectares

Edmund Erong ak Jugah

Director

Adopted brother of Leonard Linggi (4 June 1997 interview with a Sarawak state assemblyman). Edmund is mentally challenged (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin).


Name of Taib family timber concession

Name of Iban board member or shareholder

Position in or percentage of shares held in company

Leadership position within the Iban community, source(s) of information

Keresa Timber,

49,996

hectares

Datuk Temonggong Bayang Janting

Director

Father-in-law of Leonard Linggi (4 June 1997 interview with a Sarawak state assemblyman).

Rajang Wood, 309,575 hectares

Douglas Ugah Embas

Director, holder of a single share.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Development (6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing). Member of federal parliament representing Betong district (9 June 1997 interview with former federal parliamentarian Sim Kwang Yang).

Sarimas, 30,000 hectares

Datin Empian Jabu, proxy for and wife to Alfred Jabu

Director

Alfred Jabu is the Deputy Chief Minister, and as such is “the highest ranking non-Malay in Sarawak” (27 May 1997 interview with a reliable and informed academic). He was one of two men to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Chief Minister Taib during the critical 10 March 1987 press conference during the Ming Court affair (Ritchie 1987: 22). PBB nominee (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin)
















































A final, poignant comment, on the group of Iban compradors in Table 4.8 above, came as I reviewed these names with a Sarawak state assemblyman. Surprised to see the names of Iban leaders from three prominent families appearing over and over again – Jinggut, Linggi, and Kanyan - and himself representing a district that is heavily logged, the assemblyman told me that he had approached all three of these prominent Iban families for campaign contributions when he had run for office. All refused to help and instead supported his opponent. Looking back he said, "No wonder they would not help me. They were already paid off by the government." He added, "These people take money and resources coming from the lands belonging to the people of my district. Then when I run for office to try to help the people of my district, these downriver Iban use that money, which belongs to the people of my district, against them” (4 June 1997 interview).

Monday, April 28, 2008

Dying Cultures In Sarawak Should Be Revived - Taib Mahmud

April 26, 2008 17:01 PM

MUKAH: The Sarawak chief minister wants several forgotten ethnic cultures in the state to be revived by organising more ethnic-based cultural programmes.


Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said most of the cultures which had been the identity for Bumiputeras in Sarawak were dying in muziums. Some, he said, were kept in the former colonialist's country.

Kaul Fest has been celebrated in Mukah over the last 100 years

Kaul Fest has been celebrated in Mukah over the last 100 years

"Revive our culture. The colonialist has made our culture rot and dying in muziums and now is the time for us to bring it back to life by organising more cultural events," he said at the opening of the Kaul Fest 2008 in Kala Dana Beach, near here.

Kaul Fest has been celebrated in Mukah over the last 100 years and it was one of the main cultural events for the Melanau people living in Sarawak's coastal area.

Abdul Taib also hoped such events would be organised for other ethnic groups, such as a Baram Fest for the Bidayuhs and Orang Ulus.

Originating from the traditional beliefs held by the Melanaus, the Kaul Fest is held annually, usually in March or early April, as purification and thanksgiving to appease the spirits of the sea, land, forests and farm.

BERNAMA


Comment by Sarawak Headhunter:

Unless he was misquoted, this is another silly comment from this old man. How is it possible for culture to be kept and be dying in museums? And he has the cheek to blame the colonialists for this, when he himself is primarily responsible for denying and wiping out Sarawak native customary rights.

Of course by urging the natives to celebrate cultural festivals (events) could he perhaps be trying to distract them from what he is really up to and has been up to all this while?

It is certainly more than the spirits
of the sea, land, forests and farm that will need to be appeased once the real damage that Taib has done to Sarawak is uncovered and laid bare.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

How Much Is Enough For Taib Mahmud, His Family & Cronies?

Extracts from David Brown's doctoral dissertation "Why Governments Fail to Capture Economic Rent: The Unofficial Appropriation of Rain Forest Rent by Rulers in Insular Southeast Asia Between 1970 and 1999" (374 pages) will be posted in Sarawak Headhunter from time to time, but those who want to download, read, keep and distribute the whole dissertation will find it here or if the site is unavailable, just send an email to Sarawak Headhunter.

Taib Mahmud concessions


It is a commonly thought that 1.6 million hectares in timber concessions are held by Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and his relatives and political allies (New Sunday Times 1987). In my own calculations, I found almost one million hectares in Taib family timber holdings, spread across 20 concessions. This degree of direct corporate control by a state leader over a market share of this size is unique among the cases studied in this dissertation. A search of the articles of incorporation of these 20 concessions show directorships and shareholdings awarded to members of the chief minister's family, his proxies, and political supporters including the two largest parties in the Sarawak Alliance, the Chinese SUPP and the chief minister’s own party, the PBB.[1]


[1] A tense moment came while I was reviewing the list of managers and equity holders in Taib Mahmud timber concessions with a member of the PBB, State Assemblyman Aidan Wing. Until this interview took place, relations had been quite amicable between Wing and myself. Here we were, three days into a relaxed journey whose highlights included meeting Wing's lovely family, and then flying to the small coastal town of Mukah, the epicenter of the Melanau. The first two days of the journey, Wing had treated me to dinner with the male elders of Mukah - featuring the delicacy of raw sago worms - and a day-long drive along the coast with Baijuri Kipli (about whom, see the discussion of the KTS group’s Malkita timber concession in Table 4.11). However, when I got around to asking Wing about holders of managerial and equity positions in the Chief Minister’s timber concessions, Wing’s answers, quite precise at first, became fewer and farther between, and increasingly vague. Finally, he stopped answering altogether, and we were left in silence. Wing looked down for quite a long time, and looked up into my eyes and asked, without smiling, "Where did you get his list? These are all PBB companies" (6 June 1997 interview). After this, although our trip together continued for another five days, Wing kept me at arm's length. Entire days went by without my seeing him once. Relations between us were never the same.

Table 4.6 Timber concessions controlled by Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud in which his family members, friends, proxies or political allies are board members or shareholders.

Name of timber concession

Name of board member or shareholder

Position in or percentage of shares held in company

Relationship to current chief minister, source of information.

Bumi Hijau,

26,000 hectares

Douglas Sallang

Director

Former Senator (28 May 1997 interview with a Sarawak journalist, 6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing). PBB nominee (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin).

Gayasar, 25,006 hectares

Abang Abdul Karim Tun Abg. Hj. Openg

Director

Elder brother of one of the chief minister’s most important ministers, Abang Johari, the Minister Industry (28 May 1997 interview with a Sarawak journalist).

Kedasa, 41,000 hectares

Bok Kok Pheng, Wee Ai Choo

Directors

Nominees for SUPP, one of four parties that make up the Sarawak Alliance (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin).

Pasin, size unknown; Rinki, 33,300 hectares

Wahab bin Haji Dollah, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Development (28 May 1997 interview with a Sarawak journalist).

Director and 50 percent shareholder

Known as "Giant Killer" because he defeated former Chief Minister Tun Rahman in the state assembly elections in the aftermath of the 1987 Ming Court affair. Acted on the CM's behalf in an attempt to obtain editorial control of the Borneo Post, where he is now a shareholder. Together with the chief minister's first cousin, Hamid Sepawi, Dollah owns 25 percent of parent company of Utusan Sarawak newspaper. He serves as political lieutenant of Taib, by controlling the political activities, and seeing to the material needs, of eight PBB state assemblymen. He is a strong public proponent of continued Melanau leadership in Sarawak. Dollah is said to have been awarded eight timber concessions by Taib (Sayottaib 2001: sulit 6, dokumen 1-4), although this study identified only five. Dollah makes profits from his timber concessions available to PBB during election time (10 June 1997 interview with Kueh Yong Ann).

Pasin, size unknown

Dollah Ahmat Usop

Director

A relative of Wahab Dollah (6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing).

Pasin, size unknown

Dolek bin Hj Mit

Director

A close friend and associate of Wahab Dollah (28 May 1997 interview with a Sarawak journalist) and/or Wahab Dollah’s cousin (6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing).

Pasin, size unknown

Sharkawi Haji Bohari

Director

Former associate of Wahab Dollah. A former official of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (7 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing). A “Taib nominee” (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin).


Table 4.6 (continued) Timber concessions controlled by Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud in which his family members, friends, proxies or political allies are board members or shareholders.

Name of timber concession

Name of board member or shareholder

Position in or percentage of shares held in company

Relationship to current chief minister, source of information.

Rajang Wood,

309,575 hectares Raplex, 72,251 hectares

Abdillah Bin Haji Abdul Rahim

Director

A former General Manager of Sarawak Timber Industrial Development Corporation (18 August 1997 interview with Raphael Pura). Federal Senator (4 June 1997 interview with a state assemblyman, and 6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing).

Raplex, 72,251 hectares

Datuk Haji Bujang Mohd. Nor

Director

Former State Secretary of Sarawak under Chief Minister Taib, from the early-to-middle 1980s (26 May 1997 interview with a reliable and informed academic). Former State Financial Secretary. Former chair of Bakun Hydroelectric Electric Corporation (28 May 1997 interview with a Sarawak journalist). Current Executive Chairman of Harwood. His position on the board of Raplex may be a golden handshake for having held one or more of the posts discussed above (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin).

Rinki, 33,300 hectares

Abdul Hamid Haji Sepawi

Director and 50 percent shareholder

First cousin to the chief minister, and an important business figure in the CM’s family (6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing). Abdul Hamid is “holding part of the money” for the chief minister (11 June 1997 interview with former Assistant Minister of Finance Patau Ubis).

Sarako, 36,000 hectares; Sarimas, 32,000 hectares

Bustari Yusof

Director and 55 percent shareholder; Director

Although Bustari denies he is a nominee of the chief minister, one source insists that he is. Those who wish to settle the matter for themselves can go to Bustari’s reported watering hole, the Margarita Lounge at the Kuching Hilton (12 August 1997 interview with James Chin).

Sarako, 36,000 hectares

Dulang Holdings

3 percent shareholder

A company run by Bustari Yusof (13 June 1997 interview with well-placed and knowledgeable source in Sarawak).

Seatex Plantations, 30,000 hectares

Hj. Osman Tan

Sri Marzuki

Director, 17 percent shareholder

Son of a former acting Governor of Sarawak (28 May 1997 interview with Jack Wong).

Name of timber concession

Name of board member or shareholder

Position in or percentage of shares held in company

Relationship to current chief minister, source of information.

Seatex Plantations, 30,000 hectares

Hj Khalid Tan Sri Marzuki

Director, 21 percent shareholder

Not only the son of a former acting Governor of Sarawak, but also a former Political Secretary to Chief Minister Taib (28 May 1997 interview with a Sarawak journalist). The current Political Secretary to Minister of Industry Abang Johari, one of the most powerful members of the current cabinet (9 June 1997 interview with Sim Kwang Yang).

Timplex, 31,500 hectares

Ting Ming Hoi, former Sibu senator, now deceased.

Director

James Chin says that Ting Ming Hoi is a "SUPP nominee" (12 August 1997 interview).

Timplex, 31,500 hectares

Tai Sing Chii

Director

S.K. Lau writes that “when he was having trouble raising political funds in 1970, Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub turned his target to Tai Sing Chii, owner of Pan Sarawak, and hoped that he could ‘borrow’ three units of outboard engine and a few hundred khatis of rice from the latter. Later . . . staff of the company disclosed that Tai Sing Chii had donated about 3,000 dollars to Yakub. So after the latter came to power, he repaid Tai Sing Chii for his donation for more than 3,000 times of the amount donated. As a whole, Tai Sing Chii had made a wise decision. Yakub could still remember him several years after he stepped down from the post of Chief Minister. One day, when we met at Singapore . . . Airport, he still praised . . . Tai Sing Chii. . . . After Yakub lost his power, all of us thought Tai Sing Chii had lost his strong backing also. It seemed that he was finished. But he turned to support Taib. Since then, he got richer and richer” (Lau 1995: chapter 18, page 1).

Timplex, 31,500 hectares

Tuan Haji Abdul Rahim Tai

Director

Brother to deceased SUPP nominee Ting Ming Hoi (19 July 1997 interview with Chiew Chin Sing).

Timplex, 31,500 hectares

Y.M Tunku Zuhri Bin Tunku Zakaria

Director

Member of one of the royal families of Sarawak (28 May 1997 interview with a Sarawak journalist).

Timplex, 31,500 hectares

Abang Mohd. Bin Abang Sharkawi

Director

Son of a former Resident of Sarawak (6 June 1997 interview with State Assemblyman Aidan Wing).

Timplex, 31,500 hectares

Awang Jaya bin Pengiran Tajuddin

Director

Former treasurer of PBB's Bintulu branch (19 July 1997 interview with Chiew Chin Sing).


Blast From The Past - The Malaysian Dilemma Part 6 of 6

THE MALAYSIAN DILEMMA -

THE DISEASE AND THE CURE

by D.P. Pangai

13.Sep.1998

This article conveyed his impression obtained from a meeting of money managers who collectively control several hundred billion (US) dollars he attended.

As he said, "Mainly I wanted to know why such smart men and women--and they must be smart because if they aren't smart, why are they rich?--do such foolish things.

Here's what I learned: the seven habits that help produce the anything-but-efficient markets that rule the world:

1. Think short term. A few people in that meeting tried to talk about the long term--say, about what kind of earnings growth U.S. corporations might be able to achieve over the next five years. This sort of thing was brushed aside as too academic. But wait: Any economist will tell you that even a short-term investor should look at the long run. This year's stock price depends on this year's earnings plus what people think the price will be next year. But next year's price will depend on next year's earnings plus what people next year expect the price to be the following year.... Today's price, then, should take into account earnings prospects well into the future. Try telling that to the practitioners.

2. Be greedy. Many of the people kept talking about how they expected a final "melt-up" in prices before the big correction and how they planned to ride the market up for a while longer. Well, maybe they were right, but if you really think stocks are overvalued, how confident should you be about your ability to time the inevitable plunge? Trying to get those extra few percent could be a very expensive proposition.

3. Believe in the greater fool. Several money managers argued that Asian markets have been oversold, but that one shouldn't buy in until those markets start to turn around--just as others argued that the U.S. market is overvalued, but they didn't plan to sell until the market started to weaken. The obvious question was, If it becomes clear to you that the market has turned around, won't it be clear to everyone else? Implicitly, they all seemed to believe that the strategy was safe, because there is always someone else dense enough not to notice until it really is too late.

4. Run with the herd. You might have expected that a group of investors would have been interested to hear contrarian views from someone who suggested that the U.S. is on the verge of serious inflationary problems, or that Japan is poised for a rapid economic recovery, or that the European Monetary Union is going to fail -- which would have offered a nice challenge to conventional wisdom. But no: The few timid contrarians were ridiculed. The group apparently wanted conventional wisdom reinforced, not challenged.

5. Overgeneralize. I was amazed to hear the group condemn Japanese companies as uncompetitive, atrociously managed, unable to focus on the bottomline. But surely it can't be true of all Japanese companies; guys who managed to export even at 80 yen to the dollar must have at least a few tricks up their sleeves. And wasn't it only a couple of years ago that Japanese management techniques were the subject of hundreds of adulatory books and articles? They were never really that good, but surely they are better than their current reputation.

6. Be trendy. I came to the meeting expecting to hear a lot about the New Economic Paradigm, which asserts that technology and globalization mean that all the old rules have been repealed, that the inflation-free growth of the past six years will continue indefinitely, that we are at the start of a 20-year boom, etc. That doctrine is basically nonsense, of course--but anyway I quickly determined that it is, as they say in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "so five minutes ago." All the rules have changed again: Now we stand on the brink of a dreadful epoch of global deflation, and despite its previous track record of engineering recoveries, there is nothing the Fed can do about it. You see, it's a new new economy.

7. Play with other people's money. If, as I said, the people at that meeting were very smart, why did they act in ways that seem so foolish? Part of the answer, I suspect, is that they are employees, not principals; they are trying to make money and careers for themselves. In that position, it is hard to take a long view: In the long run, even if you aren't dead, you probably won't be working in the same place. It is also difficult for someone managing other people's money to take an independent line. To be wrong when everyone else is wrong is not such a terrible thing: You may lose a bonus, but probably not your job. On the other hand, to be wrong when everyone else is right... So everyone focuses on the same short-term numbers, tries to ride the trends, and buys the silly economic theory du jour.

Listening to all that money talking made me very nervous. After all, these people can funnel money into a country's markets, then abruptly pull that money out--and create a boom-bust cycle of pretty spectacular proportions. I don't think they can do it to the U.S.--in Greenspan I trust--but I am not 100% sure.

One thing that I am sure of is that the Asian leaders who have been fulminating against the evil machinations of speculators have it wrong. What I saw in that room was not a predatory pack of speculative wolves: It was an extremely dangerous flock of financial sheep."

In this analysis therefore, this was not as much a Zionist plot as a herd-like divestment or flight of investment which realised extraordinary gain for foreign fund managers coupled with a realisation of extraordinary profit from the resulting currency conversions by the so-called foreign currency speculators and left local investors holding onto shares whose values had come way down to earth and local Malaysian Ringgit currency which had greatly diminished in value compared to other foreign currencies such as the US Dollar, Japanese Yen and the British Pound.

Even if a real conspiracy existed, it would not really matter too much one way or the other. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. Malaysia had embraced an economic system which does not suffer fools and crooks gladly and was made to pay the price for its government’s miscalculations and misdeeds. Will Malaysians learn from this debacle and avoid repeating the mistakes of their present leaders? Only Malaysians themselves will be able to answer this as they prepare for elections in less than 1½ year’s time (or even earlier or not at all depending on Mahathir’s capacity to shock which cannot be underestimated).

It has become clear to all Malaysians that the government is intent on saving a handful of Mahathir and Daim cronies at the expense of the rest of the country. How do they expect Malaysians to trust them any longer?

The bailout involving Mirzan Mahathir’s shipping empire has been the biggest and most controversial deal so far. PETRONAS, which reports directly to Mahathir, announced on March 6, 1998 a complex deal under which it will purchase the state-affiliated Malaysian International Shipping Corporation, which in turn will purchase Mirzan's Hong Kong company, Pacific Basin Bulk Shipping, and part of his Kuala Lumpur-based Konsortium Perkapalan, which does shipping and haulage.

By Mirzan’s own admission the deal will wipe out some USD420 million in debts. What is a young man like him - he’s only 39 - doing with such extensive liabilities? By all accounts he is not the only one, as all of the cronies (and some of his other siblings as well) find themselves in the same predicament. Can or should the government save all of them? If it does, it can only be at the expense of public funds. The Far Eastern Economic Review reported that "several cabinet members are alarmed by the transaction. "I thought such things could only happen in Indonesia or some African country," says an UMNO leader.

Mirzan, for his part, told reporters: "I don't think it is a bailout. It's only a bailout if you say so."" Mirzan, of course, is only the Prime Minister’s son if you say so. And yes, such and stranger things do happen in Malaysia and may continue to happen if Mahathir and his cabal continue to have it their way.

Other strange deals to which the market reacted adversely include a controversial one involving Renong and the purchase by United Engineers, a subsidiary of Renong of an additional stake in Renong itself. The Far Eastern Economic Review states that "Though Renong is controlled by tycoon Halim Saad, many believe he holds those shares as a nominee for UMNO or its leaders -- which UMNO treasurer Daim denies. No Malaysian believes his denials.

The deal was particularly controversial because UEM received a waiver from regulatory bodies that, in effect, shortchanged Renong's minority shareholders. Insiders say Finance Minister Anwar was out of the loop on this rescue, and perhaps on others too. So, who is calling the shots on the bailouts?" Whatever it is, Renong is not out of the woods yet and is still in desperate need of a rescue plan, as are many other Malaysian corporations, connected as well as non-connected to the political leadership.

Malaysians wait with bated breath to see who among the cronies will be rescued next and whether public or government funds will be used. Even the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) coffers are said to have dried up in a futile bid to shore up the collapsing stock market, when what the EPF should have done naturally in a falling and extremely volatile market would be to sit it out and wait until the market has reached its lowest level before buying in cheap. However, the EPF was reportedly acting under instructions from the top and wasted billions of ringgit in this manner. One can only hazard guesses as to which cronies’ stocks they bought into and are now forced to hold on to and the extent of the "paper" losses they now bear.

There is a lot more that can be said, but so much for the disease (for the time being), now for the cure.

It is clear that the current riba or interest-based economic system has failed, either because it is prone to abuse whether by locals or foreigners or because it carries within itself the seeds of inequity and injustice.

Malaysia’s whole political and economic system need a complete revamp. Perhaps now is the time to really implement an Islamic system of economy with all its values. In spite of its avowed Islamic aims, the present government has only indulged in tokenism when it comes to Islam and will not implement anything really Islamic, always citing Malaysia’s multiracial society as an excuse as if Islam cannot take care of non-Muslim interests.

There appears to be no other cure except replacement therapy. The cancer has spread to wide and too deep to heal by normal means. Mahathir, Daim and their whole coterie of cronies must go. This evil empire must be brought to an end. Malaysians do not have a choice, even if GRR/PAS/DAP is the only alternative.

In a way, the economic crisis has given Malaysia a unique opportunity to restructure its whole political, economic and social system towards one of greater accountability, no corruption, trusteeship, no excesses or extravagance, more real social justice and not just talk, a truly fearless and independent judiciary, professional and efficient management, less hand-outs, better and more equitable distribution of wealth, a truly civil society. Malaysia can still show how to do things the right way, the Reformasi way.

There can be no doubt. The writing is on the wall. The winds of change are blowing. A new era is dawning. The forces of evil are being dispersed. A kinder and gentler Malaysia is here for the good of all Malaysians.

REFORMASI IS THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THE MALAYSIAN DILEMMA.

GOD SAVE MALAYSIA.