Towards a new epoch of Humane Economics

Text & Images from Malaysiakini

Anwar named Selangor economic adviser

Terence Netto
Nov 13, 2009
5:41pm


Anwar Ibrahim will get a chance to implement emerging new theories of economic development now that he's been appointed economic adviser to the Selangor state government.

The appointment was announced today by Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim in a bid to enlist a wider array of experience from within Pakatan Rakyat to boost its standing as pacesetter among Malaysian sates where economic development is concerned.

Khalid's administration was recently beset by internal dissension, with a couple of executive councillors opening feuding over matters ranging from the trivial to the important.

Anwar's presence in the state's inner councils would lend it prestige and have a diminishing effect on internal politicking.

Humane economic theories

In recent international forums, Anwar, the former Minister of Finance (1991-1998), has espoused a theory of humane economics which Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen have leaned towards as expressing a more holistic description of economic progress.

Until the current global financial crisis caused by subprime mortgages, rises in gross domestic product (GDP) were taken as sufficient indicators of economic progress, figures that Stiglitz and Sen now claim are only narrowly reflective of what analysts say ought to go into computing the Felcific Calculus: the levels of economic ease and social amenity that in combination reflect holistic human development.

While finance minister in the 1990s, Anwar presided over a period of strong economic growth, marked by surplus budgets, adequate spending on affordable housing, easy credit for small businesses, and stability in oil prices and toll rates.

Before becoming finance minister, Anwar held the portfolios of education, agriculture, youth, culture and sports, all of which sharpened his perceptual and analytical faculties for the winnowing of insight from experience.

Anwar's tenure as finance minister was marked by favourable international notices. The prestigious magazine Asia Money named him Finance Minister of the Year in 1996 and Newsweek International lauded him as Asian of the Year in 1998.

Anwar' stints as government minister gained him a wide array of international contacts first built up when he was leader of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, a base upon which he leveraged his national prominence to regional and world levels.

Climb up from a fall from grace

But it was not all prominence and glitter. With his sacking from government in 1998 and jailing for possibly trumped-up charges of corruption and sodomy, Anwar was accused of squirreling away RM3 billion in master accounts abroad.

The accusation deepened the depth of moral turpitude that his detractors claimed the once high-flying politician had fallen into.

So it was sweet vindication earlier this week when a former chief of the anti-corruption agency told a defamation trial in Kuala Lumpur that his agency's investigation of the charge in 1999 cleared Anwar of malfeasance.

It was rare vindication for a man against whom a slew of accusations was hurled the moment he fell from grace.

The strong anti-corruption stance of the former minister while in government had earned him the resentment of corporate and political conspirators seeking to amass wealth at the expense of good governance.

No doubt Anwar would be out to justify his reputation for financial accountability and transparency as economic adviser to the Selangor government that had marked his tenure as minister.

DO NOT DISTURB! THIS LAND IS SACRED!

Last week I blogged about the sudden intrusion of earthmoving equipment into Kampong Pertak and how our swift response was able to stop the rampage within a day. Well, the digging and scraping started on Friday. The excavator and tractor pulled out on Saturday afternoon. And late Sunday night a heavy downpour resulted in a major treefall - right across the access trail. The forest had decided to form its own barricade against vehicular traffic.

This slope has always been extremely sensitive to vibration, especially in wet weather. Since 1994 when I moved to Kg Pertak, there have been at least a dozen collapses, usually triggered by attempts to widen the trail, military exercises, or large convoys of 4X4s. Conditions here are similar to the catastrophic alternative road to Fraser's Hill. From an initial cost of RM6 million the roadworks ballooned to more than RM30 million, because of constant landslips. The road has now been abandoned.

A good chunk of the hill accompanied the tree...

These large boulders with tree roots wrapped around them are what holds up the embankment. Once a few big ones come tumbling down, the entire slope becomes permanently unstable. Slapping a layer of cement over the collapsed slope is only a band-aid solution that won't last more than two years. Proper reinforcement works don't come cheap - and will transform a charming trail into another soulless highway. Will some UMNO crony think of setting up a toll booth?

Muddy runoff... straight down the embankment and into a previously crystalline river...

The contractor wanted to finish the job as quickly as possible. No time to worry about where to dump the raw, scraped earth. So it gets piled up along the edge of a steep embankment, waiting for the next heavy downpour...

It's a vibrant new reality with Pakatan Rakyat in charge of Selangor. A few SMSes and phonecalls - and district councillor Chua Yee Ling is sent to investigate. She confirms that there has been no application for a permit to commence roadworks in Kg Pertak, the Forestry Department was not notified, and the District Office is completely in the dark. The fact that this illegal project was ostensibly funded by the MCA at the instigation of some UMNO members makes the whole deal even shadier. Some folks find it convenient to forget that this entire area is classified Hutan Simpanan Kekal - Protected Forest Reserve.

District councillor Yee Ling and her friend Ken took lots of photos and will be reporting to Elizabeth Wong, Selangor state exco in charge of tourism, consumer affairs and the environment. I suggested that the state government help the Orang Asli acquire a secondhand truck which can easily access the trail and bring out bamboo and durians harvested by the villagers. A much cheaper, simpler solution which will not bring about the further contamination of the area by greedy developers and those insensitive to the magical and mysterious nature of the forest.

SELCAT CATCHES SOME RATS!

District Officer alleges BN men abused state allocations

By Neville Spykerman | The Malaysian Insider

SHAH ALAM, Sept 8 — A district officer today revealed that Barisan National (BN) assemblymen under his jurisdiction had misused their state allocations ahead of the March 8 general elections last year.

Gombak District Officer Huzaini Samsi, who testified before the special select committee for competency, accountability and transparency (Selcat), also admitted that there was even a ‘possibility that the annual allocations were used for campaigning.”

He admitted it was morally wrong and extraordinary for the state lawmakers and exco members to spend their entire annual allocations in just two months.

BN state lawmakers received RM500,00 while state executive councillors received an additional RM100,000.

He said normal monthly expenditure only amounts to between RM20,000 and RM50,000 but during the general elections the lawmakers maximise their expenditure.’

“They try and spend as much as possible before the general elections.”

Huzaini, who became the Gombak District Officer in 2007, gave a candid account of how there was virtually no accountability and safeguards on how previous BN assemblyman spent their annual allocations.

He was the second witness to testify at the first of the public inquiry into how state allocations are spent by state law makers by the previous and current administrations.

Huzaini, who is in charge of overseeing allocations to six constituencies, said it was his personal opinion that lawmakers were entitled to the allocations while his office merely tried its best to ensure applications are approved with minimum delay.

He said assemblymen would call his office to expedite applications for funds but he initially denied there was any direct pressure to approve.

"We usually just approve all applications because we want to avoid confrontation," he said, adding that they were frequently caught in a difficult position.

“We are wrong if we approve and wrong if we don’t.”

Huzaini said normal applications for funds are approved within two weeks but state lawmakers would often asked for applications to be processed and funds to be issued earlier.

However he was stumped when shown the spending patterns of previous BN assemblymen whose constituency are under his jurisdiction.

The previous Batu Caves lawmaker for instance made 90 applications amounting to almost RM500,000 on February 12 last year and all the funds were paid out within 9 days.

“Fantastic, I did not know my staff could work so hard,” said Huzaini.

He also could not explain how RM70,000 in cash was paid out to one individual.

Another example shown was that of the Paya Jaras state constituency, where 165 applications amounting to RM504,500 were made between January 17 and February 1, 2008.

The entire amount was paid to a single individual.

Huzaini also confirmed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had recently raided the Gombak land office but said he did not know if they were checking only on the files of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers or the previous BN assemblymen

Earlier Petaling District Officer Datuk Zulkepli Ahmad was at a loss to explain how approval for state allocations for BN lawmakers was given even after the state assembly was dissolved and even after the new PR state government was sworn-in.

Both Huzaini and Zulkepli requested for time to check their records. Huzaini is scheduled to return on Friday while Zulkepli requested two weeks.

Meanwhile Selcat chairman Teng Chang Khim said all nine District Officers will be called along with other necessary witnesses during the inquiry which will continue until September 14.

He said any current and previous state lawmakers who wish to clarify or dispute the testimony of the officers can come forward and testify during the public inquiry.

“They can contact the secretariat of the state legislative assembly and arrangements will be made for them.”

Now we know why Najib wants Selangor back in BN hands!

[Selcat pics courtesy of Hannah Yeoh, sourced from Malaysiakini]