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Lecture Notes/MPU-3322

MPU-3322 CONTEMPORARY
MALAYSIAN ISSUES

LECTURE NOTES

Social Issues

Environmental Issues

Economic Issues

Political Issues

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CHAPTER 1: SOCIAL ISSUES -- DRUG TRAFFICKING ANDDRUG ADDICTION

A. Drug Trafficking

1. What is drug trafficking?


 A global illicit trade.
 Involves the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug
prohibition laws.
 The amount of the substance that needs to be involved in order to label it a trafficking charge
depends on the substance.

2. International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Drug Trafficking in Malaysia


 Malaysia is neither a significant source country nor a major transit point for U.S.-bound illegal
drugs. However, drug trafficking through the country to supply domestic and regional markets
remains a challenge, and transnational drug trafficking organizations have been attempting to
expand crystal methamphetamine production in the country.
 Transnational drug trafficking organizations continue to use Kuala Lumpur as a trafficking hub,
and Nigerian trafficking organizations have been known to use commercial courier services to ship
methamphetamine and heroin into and from Malaysia.
 There is no notable cultivation of illicit drug crops in Malaysia. Demand for and the consumption
of drugs is limited on the local market.

3. Statistics: Number of drug-related arrest

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4. Mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking

Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Revised 1980) provides mandatory death sentence for
drug trafficking offences.

Reasons to justify the death penalty:

a. Remove the offender from the midst of the society to protect public’s interest
 To deter the offender from repeating the offence.
 Without a mandatory death penaltydrug traffickers may still be able to repeat their
offense once they have completed the term of their imprisonment.
b. Serve as a deterrent to potential drug traffickers.
 Death penalty severe penaltypolicymakers and legislatures anticipated that there
would be more deterrents of such crimes.
 Serves as an example to prevent others from committing similar offence
 Keeping alive the constant threat of punishment by passing exemplary sentences,
particularly when the offence is deemed to be on the increase.

Reasons to abolish the death penalty:

In October 2009, ENCOD (European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies), which is a
European coalition of NGO’s and individuals concerned with the global drug issue, wrote a letter of
appeal to the Malaysian government, urging the government to abolish death penalty for drug
trafficking.

The death penalty should be abolished because it:

a. Runs counter to the universal protection of human rights


 At odds with the international trend of doing away the use of this measure.
 According to Amnesty International, 140 countries have abolished the death penalty.

b. Has not been effective in reducing the number of drug traffickers.

 1990 to 2011: the number of drug traffickers had increased from 744 to 3,845.
 Drug addiction amongst youths is still rampant death penalty had not been a very successful
deterrence.

c. Does not deal with the root cause of drug trafficking


 Demand for drugs still many people in Malaysia who want to take drugs.
 There would always be others who would step into the drug market to sell drugs when the
former traffickers had been executed.

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d. The core business of globally organised criminal organisations.


 Those arrested for drug trafficking relatively small amounts“low-ranking drug mules”
who did not have major responsibilities in this business.
 Killing them will not scare the drugs gangs away, as the drug gangs will only need to get
replacements for the executed traffickers.

5. Causes of Drug Trafficking

a. Financial incentives
 Fuelled by the economic principle of supply and demand in a world a high demand for
illicit substances that cannot be obtained through any legal means.
 Large amounts of money to be made.
b. The possibility of escaping the gallows
 Enhances their courage to break the law.
 Being charged under section 39B DDA does not guarantee that death penalty would be
imposed on the accused
c. The practice of corruption
 Creates a breeding ground for drug trafficking as drug traffickers could buy their way into
the demand market.
 Low integrity level among some of the government officialsdrug traffickers will become
bolder in their approach.
d. Demand for drugs creates a continuous need for the supply of drugs.
 Night-life entertainments at pubs or discos creates a demand for party drugs that are
purported to be able help the party-goers to unwind.
 Peer influence and the adventurous nature of the young people easy target to drug abuse.

B. Drug Addiction

1. Statistics: number of drugs addicts from January 2010 till February 2016

Total: 131,841
Gender
Male Female
127,797 4044
Age
19 years old and below 20-39 years old 40 years old and above
8732 93, 044 29,355

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2. National disaster and main threat to national security


a. The close geographical propinquity to Myanmar, Laos and Thailand (Golden Triangle) and
other Southeast Asian countries that produces illicit drugs
b. On February 19, 1983, the government declared drug as national disaster and is a main threat
to national security due to the following reasons:
o Drug addiction could reach epidemic proportions
o 65% of the addicts were young men between the ages of 20 to 29 (represented the backbone
and the hope of the nation’s future).

3. Steps taken to wage a war against drugs abuse

a. Cracking down on illegal immigrants in the country's struggle


 In need of more coordination among the Immigration Department, police, National Registration
Department, People's Volunteer Corps and the Civil Defense Department.
 The government will continue to launch operations to nab illegal immigrants to weed out
problems such as drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

b. Setting up a special task force focusing on anti-drug trafficking at Malaysia-Thailand border


 Malaysia’s border with Thailand  opens to two-way smuggling activities.
 Need to tighten up the country’s border security with competent policing and efficient border
patrolling.

c. The federal police launched its Special Tactical Intelligence Narcotics Group (STING) in year
2014.
 Through STING, the police have increased enforcement, and their intelligence network is more
efficient and collaboration with their foreign counterparts is better
 Sting’s primary focus — drug-processing syndicates and drug kingpins.

d. The government and non-governmental organisations have set up prevention and rehabilitation
centres for drug addicts.
 The facilities in Cure and Care Rehabilitation Centre (CCRC) and 1 Malaysian Cure and Care
Clinics (C & C) are more advanced than in some countries.
 Provide educational training to drug addicts empower them to turn over a new leaf once they
are released from the centres.

e. Still using the punishment as a deterrent for drug trafficking


 Despite calls from human rights activists for Malaysia to abolish the death penalty for the crime
of drug trafficking
 Sending out the message that drug trafficking is a crime not tolerated in the country.

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4. Should drug use be decriminalized?

a. The approach taken:

 Using and carrying drugs (up to certain limits) were legal


 Selling and making drugs remained illegal.
 Providing clean and free/affordable drugs at proper doses.

b. A case in Portugal

 1980s  had one of the highest drug users in the world


 Tough law enforcement had not been effective
 Therefore, Portugal chose a radical approach: they decriminalize all drug use, the first country
to do so, in 2001.
 Results in 2011 (10 years later):
Lower the drug use by youths aged 15-24 years old (this age group is considered most
susceptible to drug use initiation and prolonged drug use)
Drug-related deaths fell sharply by about 75

c. Decriminalization of drug use in other countries and Malaysia

Increasingly more countries today are changing their approach to handle the drug problem:
 Australia, Denmark, Canada, and Switzerland provide safe havens or drug clinics where addicts
can receive clean drugs for free and be intoxicated under supervised conditions.
 Netherlands has also legalized the sale of cannabis at sanctioned coffee shops. The number of
hard addicts in Netherlands has stabilized and the average age of addicts has risen to 38 years,
an indication that their drug policy is working.
 Uruguay has recently legalized the growing and sale of marijuana. Even the US has softened
their fight against drugs.
 Malaysia too is beginning to treat drug addicts more as medical patients and less as criminals.

Advantages of decriminalizing drug use:

i) Direct focus on the treating drug users, instead of punishing them


 Remove the social stigma of drug users, causing addicts to voluntarily seek treatment.
 Drug users are asked to reflect on why they might want to use drugs and the possible repercussions
from their decision.

ii) The drugs provided by these clinics are purer, unadulterated, and clean from contaminants
 Drug clinics cause deaths by drug overdose and HIV infections to cease completely.
 Drugs provided by the drug cartels  without quality control  likely to lead to drug overdose
because the users do not know what they are taking.
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iii) Reduce drug-related crimes and HIV infection

 Drugs sold at the streets are higher due to interest in profit making  encourages drug users to
commit crimes to help pay for their addiction.
 Clean and free drugs through drugs clinic  lead to fewer drug-related crimes, like vehicle thefts,
muggings and burglaries committed by drug addicts as well as HIV infection due to drug use

iv) Addicts under this drug prescription treatment could function as normal

 Remove the social stigma of drug users  addicts under this drug prescription treatment can
remain lucid
 Given drug substitution under proper supervision  better control of their lives, most being able
to secure permanent jobs
 Most of the addicts under this would carry on with their addiction for no more than 3 years, with
only 15% of them continuing for longer periods.

5. The Concern of Drug Relapse:

a. Definition of drug relapse usage, intake or misuse of psychoactive substances after one had
received drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation, physically and psychologically.

6. Factors Contributing to Relapse among Drug Addicts in Malaysia

a. Encounter additional crisis


 Problems, stress, failed forecast
 Coupled with pessimistic thinking and anxiety that all issues cannot be resolved  lead to
immature actions.
b. Suffering from low self-efficacy
 Self-efficacy the degree to which an individual feels confident and capable of performing a
certain behavior in a specific situational context.
 Low self-efficacy  lack of inner strength  relapsed addiction after their release from getting
treatment and rehabilitation.
c. Less support from family members and the community by large towards former addicts
 Weak communication patterns and less effective interactions amongst former addicts’ family
 “Don’t care attitude” towards the former addicts  causes the former addicts to relapse.
d. Peer pressures especially from the old friends who still use drugs
 Influence from 50% of old friends to pick up the habit again
 Even assisting rehabilitated individuals to get the needed supply of drugs.

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e. Unemployment issues among former drug addicts


 Inability to get jobs amongst former addicts who were discharged from rehabilitation centres
coupled with lack of financial support
 Being offered low salaries without taking into consideration their qualifications and
experiencecausing dissatisfactions amongst the former addicts  quit their jobs.

7. The Ways to Prevent Drug Relapse

a. Training of self-help character for the former drug addicts


 Trained to have strong determination as well as strong internal resilience to stay away from
drugshelp them to face difficulties and to be independent after they re-enter the community.
 To build highly defensive spirits to want improvements in their lives.

b. Integrated effort among family, employers and community


 To be ready to work hand in hand to take over the role played by drug counselors after the
addicts are released.
 More sincere help to repentant former addicts giving them undivided support and
encouragement so that they can be more self-assured to continue with their lives – healthy and
free from drugs.

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CHAPTER 2: SOCIAL ISSUES -- RISING CRIME AND CORRUPTION

A. RISING CRIME

1. Crime Statistics
 Decline in crime rate: according to Dang Wangi district police chief Zainol Samah, the street crime
rate in Kuala Lumpur in 2015 showed a drastic decline of 37.7 per cent, or 439 fewer cases,
compared with 2014. He said, last year only saw 675 cases of street crime, such as robberies and
thefts, compared with 1,114 cases in 2014.
 Two ways to measure crime:
a) Official crime statistics (recorded crime) – which are based on the aggregate records of offender
and offences processed by the police, courts and prison agencies.
b) Unofficial crime statistics (dark figure) – which are produced from surveys outside the criminal
justice system. Not every crime is reported by the public and recorded by the police. Pemandu
gathered that about 25% of the crimes experienced by the public were not reported to the
police known as the “dark figure”.

2. The public’s perception on crimes

The Crime Index may have gone down but the recent spate of vicious crimes had left some Malaysians to
doubt the report. Malaysians are alarmed with the numerous news report on crime daily -- armed robberies,
snatch theft, shooting crimes – in the daily newspapers as well as in Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

Police are stepping up efforts to tackle street crime to reverse public perception that crime is still high.

Factors on why the public has increased fear of crimes in recent years:

a. Street crime stories can be traumatic.


 The victim talks about the crime the message spreads and scares people.
 Online sharing of the crime stories can become viral and create fear in the readers.
 Example: March 2015the video clip showing an old lady being dragged on the ground by
the snatch thieves riding on a motorcycle after she held on to her handbag went viral in the
social media and created fear among the people.
b. Lack of building trust between the public and the police personnel.
 Cases of corruption and the breach of ethics involving the police personnel
 The public lacks of assurance doubt that the police will come to their rescue in the event that
something untoward happens to them.
c. Street crimes like snatch thefts and break-ins threaten the daily life of the ordinary people.
 Police said street crime, which includes snatch thefts, smash-and-grab incidents, bump-and-rob
cases involving vehicles and wayside robberies, was more visible to the public and added to
the feeling of insecurity
 Crimes take place on the street or in the residential areas the people feel the threat of crime
being very close to their daily living.

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Effects of this increased fear of crimes among the public:

a. People become emotionally uncomfortable.


 Feel vulnerable and isolated even in their own environment.
 Outside of the house feel anxious and afraid.
b. People begin to invest time and money in defensive measures.
 Some buy extra locks for their house grilles; some, especially ladies, register in self-defence
classes.
 Self-employ a security guard to patrol at their neighbourhood.
c. Lash back at the authorities.
 Their sense of insecurity  under the impression that the police authorities and the local
council have not been doing their part to create a safe living environment for them.
 Cause them to lose faith in the local council, even the state government.

3. Gangsterism

 Most secondary school students linked to secret societies have yet to become initiated gang members,
investigations revealed.

 However, not amused by triads’ recruitment of teenagers, the federal police are calling for all
stakeholders to play their role to prevent gangsterism from corrupting Malaysian youths.

 Federal police Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh said secret
societies set their eyes on students to prepare the youngsters as their future cadres. “What these triad
gangs were doing was recruiting new members to fill the low ranks, who would serve as their runners
and who they can order around. They target teenagers as these youths are vulnerable and can be easily
influenced to join their groups”

Causes of Gangsterism among youths

a. Influenced by peer group


 Peer group plays an important role in moulding one’s character, either prompting them to do good
things or to do bad things.
 When a peer group challenges a youth to act in a delinquent manner, ie to commit acts of
gangsterism, the youth may feel challenged to prove his merits before his peers and loses sight of
moral discernment.
 Usually the young people tend to share their problems with their peers rather than discussing it with
their family. For them, only their peers will understand their feelings better. Therefore, they may
just follow the delinquent acts of their peers even though deep down, they realize it is wrong to do
so.
b. Lack of parental love
 Parents may be too busy to earn a living to support the family that they do not realize that they have
neglected their children’s emotional needs for good spiritual and moral guidance.

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 Due to their busyness, such parents also do not spend enough quality time with their children,
causing the children to feel lonely and in greater need of companionship from their peers.
c. Surrounding environment
 Home environment  lacks of peace and harmony  youths may likely be drawn to take part in
acts of gangsterism to release stress and frustration.
 Neighbourhood  growing up in a neighbourhood marred by criminal activities  higher tendency
to be influenced to take part in gangsterism as a way of self protection as well.
d. Influence from mass media
 Some films or dramas, even cartoons portray elements of gangsterism.
 May influence some young minds to see violence as a way to solve problems.

4. Snatch thefts

Purse snatching is the most frequently reported crime against expatriates and Malaysian citizens. The usual
modus operandi (MO) is one or two males on a motorbike approaching the target from the rear and
snatching a purse, handbag, or cell phone.

Reasons why snatch theft is the most frequent street crime:

a. Easy targets
 The most common targets women (especially old ladies) walking alone with their handbags or
purses
 Youngsters with smartphones youngsters tend to be too engrossed with their smartphones,
checking things out in the smartphones, to be aware of their surroundings.
b. The convenience of the attack
 These types of robberies occur at all hours, in front of witnesses, and even in upscale neighborhoods
 Snatch thieves normally ride on the motorcyclecan easily speed off after snatching the desired
items from the victims.
c. Lack of CCTV (close circuit television)
 Most streets in Malaysia have not been installed with CCTV  unlike certain developed countries
like South Korea.
 This lack emboldens the snatch thieves to strike on their victimshave the confidence that they
will be able to escape after the crime is committed.

Measures to Curb Snatch Thefts:

a. Enforcement of the law:


The attackers were not only criminals but were most inhumandeserve the full force of the law to be
brought to bear upon them.
More stringent punishment must be meted out to those convicted of snatch thefts commensurate with
the seriousness of the offence.
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b. Street patrols:
 More street patrols by the uniformed and plain clothes personnel are needed for in hot spots
areasshould operate 24 hours a day in crime hotspots.
 More frequent vehicle patrols in small lanes along major city roads which have been used by snatch
thieves as getaway routes
c. Tackle the problem of drug addicts:
 Most snatch thieves are drug addicts who need to support their habit.
 As long as this problem is not resolved, many drug-related crimes will continue to occur.
 Drug addicts were the main perpetrators of street crimeat least 40% of the crimes since 2010.
d. Local authorities:
 Should introduce initiatives and implement the guidelines under the safe city concept to provide
safety features such as constructing barriers to separate pedestrian walkways and roads.
 The police have been working with KL City Hall on a “safer city” programme.
 Having more lighting in back alleys and secluded areas, as well as making pedestrian walkways
inaccessible to motorcycles
e. Enhanced vigilance of the pedestrians:
 Pedestrians must put into practice the guidelines provided by the MCPF and the police
 To be more watchful of their surroundings when they are walking on the streets or in the car park;
to avoid walking alone in lonely streets etc.
f. Educational workshops:
 Police should conduct more workshops to teach the public how to avoid being victims of street
crimes.
 These programmes are also to get people to be acquainted with their local police officers.
g. Civic consciousness:
 Malaysians need to practise civic consciousness in rendering help to victims, especially if the
victims have been injured due to the snatch theft.
 Where possiblenab the snatch thieves and hand them over to the authorities.

To sum up, there is an urgent need for all parties -- law enforcement agencies, including local authorities
and NGOs -- to work with one mind and commitment to fight the snatch-thief scourge which is a bane
in our society.

5. Shooting Crime

a. The spate of shooting in recent years has sparked a national debate on how to combat violent crime,
how to get ahead of the criminals and how to curb the easy access to guns.
 Criminals these days are becoming more brazen and brutal  not afraid of the law
 Spreading fear among the public.
 Who are the victims? more varied and involved people of influence such as businessman,
politicians and government official.
 Motive for shooting crime: may be revenge-related or rivalry between two parties.

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b. In response to growing concern of the public, the Ops Cantas Khas was mounted by the Royal
Malaysian Police (PDRM) since mid-August 2013 as a serious effort of hunting down criminals to
curb crime.

B. CORRUPTION

1. Statistics
a. Malaysia has climbed up three places in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) table for 2014.
According to the index that was prepared by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International
(TI), Malaysia was ranked 50th out of 175 countries, while last year, it was ranked 53rd out of 177
countries. Malaysia scored 52 points in the CPI score, two more points than they did in 2013.
b. More and more Malaysians feel the level of corruption in the country has increased over the past
year, a survey by Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) has revealed.
c. Results of the 2017 Global Corruption Barometer, launched today, showed this perception was
shared by 60% of the 1,009 respondents polled.
d. The number has almost doubled since three years ago. A similar survey in 2013 showed that only
39% of respondents felt the level of corruption had increased. In 2014, the perception level was
just 30%.
e. In the latest survey, only 27% perceived the level of corruption to be the same as it was at the
beginning of 2016, 11% felt it had decreased, while the balance of 2% said they “didn’t know”.
f. TI-M president Akhbar Satar called for tougher measures to be implemented to curb corruption
among the high-risk service providers, which are the police and government officials.

2. Ways to Combat Corruption in Malaysia

a. The government declaring war in corruption in 2010


 Specialised courts were set up for corruption, which reduced the backlog of corruption cases
in court.
 The government put in some deterrents, such as a name and shame database which lists
individuals who have been convicted in a Malaysian court of law for corruption.
b. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) needs to work hand in hand with all parties.
 Some look at MACC as an enemy, but they should look at MACC as their friend.
 The authorities that fight corruption must join hands. Besides that, the people need to be
convinced that MACC is really an independent body.
c. Enacting the legislation, the law itself, to allow stern actions to be taken against those guilty of
corruption.
 Example: the declaration of assets and people living beyond their means.
 Give powers to the authority to get to the root of corruption.
d. Introducing integrity.
 To have a clean governmentthe leadership itself must be committed to upholding integrity.
 The values must come from their own conviction that they will uphold righteousness and
integrity regardless of circumstances.
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CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL ISSUES -- RACIAL UNITY AND EDUCATION

A. RACIAL UNITY

1. Unity amidst Diversity


a. The Department of National Unity defines national unity as "a situation in which all citizens from
the various ethnic groups, religions, and states live in peace as one united nationality, giving full
commitment to national identity based upon the Federal Constitution and the Rukunegara."
b. Malaysia is one of the most plural and heterogeneous countries in the world, with three major ethnic
groups — Malay, Chinese, and Indian — plus several other indigenous tribes. This ethnic and
cultural diversity is reflected in the wide variety of languages spoken and religions practiced in
Malaysia; even within the same ethnic group, various traditions prevail.

c. The importance of promoting unity amidst diversity in Malaysia


i) Promote the development of the country
- Each race, with their sets of dominant cultural beliefs and practices, has their inborn and
nurtured characteristics that can be of contributive value to the growth of the nation.
- Racial unitythe strength of each race is brought together and produces a huge positive
impact on the development of the country.
ii) Attracting foreign tourists and investors
- Diversity among races a point of attraction to tourists as they can sample the various
cultural heritage of different races – promoting the tourism industry in the country.
- Diversity in the country provides attractive opportunities for foreign investors to market
their goods and services.
- If we allow our diversity to tear our social fabric apart economic loss to our country
no one would be interested to visit or invest in a country that is marred by instability.
iii) Promote the acceptance and appreciation of diversity
- Unity amidst diversity an indicator that Malaysians adopt the attitude of being broad in
their acceptance of values of others.
- The acceptance of differing views and valuesMalaysians are able to appreciate the
contribution of other races in the country.
iv) Maintaining national and regional peace and harmony
- Racial tensions and conflicts are common in multiracial countries. When Malaysia
becomes a role model in maintaining unity amidst diversity, it brings forth a positive
influence to the neighbouring countries, especially in countries like Myanmar which is in
still in the midst of religious clashes.
- Therefore, the unity in Malaysia can become a stabilizing factor to the peace and harmony
in the region.

2. New Challenges Encountered in Attaining Racial Unity in Malaysia


Modern Malaysia is increasingly forced to confront the tensions arising from this fount of diversity,
and the politics of race and religion. Malaysia has been free of ethnic bloodshed, but as Malaysians
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enter into a new era of globalization, there have been some new challenges that test the unity
foundation of the country.

a. The rise of political and religious extremism


 Extremism or radicalism could never bring together the masses of different race, culture and
belief system into one common end.
 Extremism contradicts to a peaceful coexistence among racesan extremist group will look
down upon another group of different believers and perceived as enemies.

b. Irresponsible Use of the Social Media


 Some parties posted inflammatory and derogatory statements about other races
 Such hate messages are could be incited by certain incidences that involve parties of different
ethnicity and religious backgrounds – eg: car accident – or could be fanned by certain extremist
view of certain parties about another ethnic or religion.

c. New debates on the establishment of Vernacular Schools


 Vernacular schools are already enshrined in the Constitution and the law, even included in the
National (Education) Blueprint but their establishment has been a contentious issue among
politicians and even academicians.
 New debates vernacular schools are hotbeds for racism and anti-establishment sentiments
and therefore certain parties proposed that vernacular schools be abolished. Dissatisfactions
among the supporters of vernacular schools seen as an infringement of their right to learn
their mother tongue.

d. Heavy politicking in recent years


 Since the General Election 2013 many Malaysians are becoming more politically aware of
their civic right to vote for a better government.
 Political parties have been aggressively putting forth their rationales on various issues to win
the heart and mind of the people, particularly the race that they are representing, in preparation
of gaining the their vote of confidence for the next election no united solution to the issue
further dividing the people.

3. Several Initiatives Taken by the Government

Vision 2020 Targeting developed status for Malaysia by the year 2020
National unity is named as a key component of a developed country
“Bangsa Malaysia” Emphasises that the people are able to:
(Malaysian Nation)  identify themselves with the country
policy  speak Bahasa Malaysia (the Malay language)
 accept the Constitution.

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National Service Aims to address racial polarisation and encourage national unity
programme By bringing youths from a variety of backgrounds together in one
setting.
1Malaysia Emphasises ethnic harmony and national unity
Values of perseverance, a culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty,
education, humility, integrity, and meritocracy.

B. EDUCATION

1. Budget cut in public universities in government’s allocation of 2017

Higher education institutions had their budget slashed by RM2.4 billion (US$573 million), from
RM15.78 billion (US$3.8 billion) in 2015 to RM13.37 billion (US$3.2 billion) for the year 2016.

Universiti Malaya had the most severe cut of 27.30 percent, followed by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
at 23.76 percent and Universiti Teknologi MARA at 23.72 percent.

a) Malaysia Education Blueprint for Higher Education (2015-2025)


 Reemphasizing financial sustainability
 Malaysia is number 12 in the world for input in higher education, but 44 for output (research
output, institutional ranking, enrolment and employability)

b) Concerns over the budget cut


 Upkeep of facilities which includes routine maintenance and repairs could be affected due to
lower funds
 Charge to be imposed on use of certain facilities for student activities  causing students to
run their activities in public areas which could be noisy and distracting.

c) The issue of public universities of having been too dependent on government funding
 Not viewed as a sustainable approach
 Should instead adopt prudent and innovative use of resources

d) The need for new paradigms of operation to be developed quickly to prevent standards of service
from being affected
 Diversifying university revenues, which may include collaboration with industry partners and
investments in lucrative sectors.
 Finding ways to improve expenditure efficiency in public universities, such as reducing the
number of overseas trips and using internal facilities to hold events.

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2. The issue of Vernacular Schools – to remain or to abolish?

There are about 1,200 Chinese primary schools and about 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia. Over
650,000 children attend vernacular schools and these constitute about 95% of Chinese children and
about 55% of Indian children.

Reasons why vernacular ought to remain:

a) Vernacular schools play an important role in ensuring cultural heritage is preserved through
the generations.
 The Chinese and Tamil languages in these schools don’t just function as a medium of
instruction.
 They also provide a link to the community’s cultural heritage. Hence, they are instrumental
in embodying a multi-cultural 1Malaysia.
b) It is also advantageous for the country to cultivate talent with multilingual abilities and who
are from multicultural backgrounds.
 These talents will allow our country to compete internationally
 Generate economic benefits for the nation.

Recommendations to improve the quality and the function of vernacular schools in the Malaysian
context:

a) Enhancing Bahasa Melayu:


 More than 30% of the students from vernacular schools fail to obtain a minimum level of
proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia after six years of primary education.
 A need for comprehensive review of policy and implementation especially the teaching
methods to ensure that students from vernacular schools are provided with the
opportunities to acquire good command of Bahasa Melayu, both in oral and written forms.
b) More autonomy for vernacular schools in running the schools including in the hiring and firing
of teachers.
 Appointment of school heads  to be professionally done, not politically done.
 A decentralised educational system is recommended by giving more power to school heads.

3. The Issue of Medical Studies in Malaysia

a. Medical students abroad without the minimum grades


 There are students who entered medical schools abroad without a "No Objection Certificate",
which requires at least five B’s in Science and Mathematics subjects at SPM level.
 There are agents were getting students to sign up to further their studies overseas despite not
meeting the minimum grades.

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 Those who did not meet the minimum grades required by the Malaysian Medical Council before
beginning medical studies may not be accepted as housemen once they graduate.

b. The huge number of medical students graduating each year


 An independent task force is badly needed to address the issue by drawing up short, medium and
long-term solutions to tackle the issue of oversupply and quality of the graduate
 The Government must exert political will to remove foreign medical schools that did not meet the
standards from its list of recognised schools to address the large number of graduates.

c. Drop out during housemanship


 The main reason was poor grasp of English  difficult for medical graduates to keep pace with
their peers from other nations .
 Other contributing factors  lack of interest in basic medical training, poor relationship skills with
patients and frustration due to working condition.

d. Long wait of housemanship


 Malaysia is losing some of its top medical graduates to Singaporethese students are identified
even before they graduate and are given provisional offers.
 A six- to eight-month wait for housemanship was too long and students who did not want to wait
had taken up offers from Singapore.
 This comes as Malaysia struggles to accommodate thousands of its medical graduates for
housemanship.

4. Unemployment among graduates

 Bank Negara’s latest annual report has devoted a section to the unemployment among youths, touching
on Malaysia’s position compared to other countries, and what the possible long-term implications are
and measures that need to be taken.
 The bright side of the survey is that Malaysia is not alone in facing the problem of unemployed youths.
Other countries in the region are also facing the same predicament, where a large number of youths –
those between the ages of 15 and 24 – are unemployed.
 According to the survey based on 2015 numbers, when the national unemployment figure was at 3.1%,
the unemployment rate among youths was about 10.7% – three times the national average.
 Thailand and Singapore have a higher ratio of youth unemployment compared to their national averages
at 4.4 times and 3.9 times, respectively.
 Among the youths in the workforce, the percentage of those unemployed is higher among those with a
tertiary education compared to the ones without a tertiary education. In 2015, of the 405,000 youths
with tertiary education, 15.3% were unemployed.
 Compare this to the unemployment among those without a tertiary education, where out of the 2.162
million youths without tertiary education, only 9.8% were unemployed.

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Reasons why Malaysian fresh graduates are unemployed

1. Unrealistic salary and remuneration expectation

 According to a survey by Jobstreet, certain fresh graduates are demanding as high as RM6500 as
their starting salary.
 However, in reality, in order to earn more than RM5000 in Malaysia, one need to meet several job
requirements where past working experience is an essential factor.

2. Clueless

 One of the most common interview questions is “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” The reason
why this is often asked is to gauge if the candidate understands the advertised position and whether
s/he has a future plan and knows what career path is in place for the position.
 Employers enter each recruitment initiative in search of “the right person for the right job”
expectation. They care for your career goals of the job candidates to ensure that they hire those who
are always motivated, empowered and are likely to stay in the company.
 When candidates are unable to clearly define what their future plan is, the outlook is that they are
not serious with their application and this might translate into an unsuccessful job application.

3. Lack of critical thinking skills

 Our education system has been built in such way where the importance has been given to be able
to provide exact answers rather than allowing room for critical thinking skills.
 Being relatively new to the workforce, one glaring short-fall in our workforce is the ability to think
not only analytically, but also critically.
 Candidates who are able to portray these during interviews are more likely to be successful.
 These are the kind of candidates that would be regarded as “talents” in an organization, people with
high potentials would be an asset to the organization if given the right guidance and grooming.

4. Communication skills

 One of the most sought after requirement for an employee, especially for a large organization is
communication skills.
 Some high potential candidates with excellent grades flop at interviews due to failure to display the
ability to communicate and articulate ideas clearly.
 Communication skills here is not singularly pointed at the ability to converse fluently but also
includes body language, and the ability to convey information effectively and efficiently.

5. Poor character and self esteem

 If the job candidate is late for interviews, dressed inappropriately, and poorly groomed, it not would
be sending the best of first impressions to the panel of interviewers and effectively narrowing his /
her chances of securing a job placement.
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CHAPTER 4: SOCIAL ISSUES: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

A. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
1. Definition
a. Illegal migrationa regular migration, undocumented migration or clandestine
migration.
b. Illegal immigrant a foreigner who either has illegally crossed an international political
border, or a foreigner who has entered a country legally but then overstays his or her
visa.
c. Illegal immigration immigration across national borders in a way that violates the
immigration law of the destination country.
d. The Immigration Act describes undocumented migrants consist of a person who is
unlawfully enter or remain in Malaysia.
i. Refugees and asylum seekers are equally subject to the Immigration Act as other
undocumented migrants.
ii. However, refugees and asylum seekers who are registered under the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will permissible to stay in
Malaysia.
iii. Malaysian immigration law does not provide special protection or procedures for
asylum seekers refuges or trafficked persons nor does it make special provisions
for children or women, including pregnant women.
iv. He or she is liable to being imprisoned, whipped, detained and removed.

2. Statistics of Illegal Immigrants


a. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) in
Malaysia there were 104,070 refugees and asylum seekers registered with them as at the
end May 2013.
b. The number of foreign workers registered nationwide was 2.2 million while 2.5 million
were not registered as of 2014
c. Sabah has the highest population of immigrants, including illegal immigrants, as
compared to other states in Malaysia.

3. Recent measures taken by the Government

a. Arresting the illegal immigrants

About 30,000 illegals had been arrested from January to October in 2014 year
nationwide. In addition, more than 50,000 illegals had voluntarily surrendered under the
amnesty programme from July until October 2014.

b. Heavier penalty

On 10 November 2014, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had called for
heavier penalties to be imposed on those who brought in illegal immigrants, including
whipping.
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4. Factors of Illegal Immigration

Push Factors:
a. Political struggle in the source country
 Authoritarian regimes in the source countries are considered as the primary reason
for illegal immigration.
 Political struggles within ethnic movements, or other violent removals from power-
-combined with interstate conflict in many large parts of the world gives a
significant motivation to illegal immigration.
b. The deterioration of stability and security generates a massive displacement of
population
 A large proportion try somewhat to get in the neighbouring countries illegally
 Not deterred by reform and enforcement of the immigration policies in most
destination countries which have developed selective immigration and set new rules
for any kind of stay.

Pull Factors:
a. Prosperity, stability and population decline in the destination countries.
 Before 21st century, Filipino and Indonesian (Kalimantan) had entered Sabah
because the stability in the state
 The number of local people was not high.
b. Demand for low skill workers
 Many occupations (agricultural and construction) do not require high skilled
workers
 Employers in host countries continue to hire them at wages highly superior to
wages in the source countries.

5. Impact from the illegal immigrants


a. Economy
 Positive impact: illegal immigrants are willing take up the jobs in agriculture and
construction sector that are refused by legal residents help to develop the country
 Negative impact: caused financial burden to the country to manage foreign prisoners in
prisons

a. Social destabilization
 Confusion of identity because of the similarity of the faces among the illegal immigrant
and local people – eg General Election 2013, where a few Malaysian Indians were
mistaken to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
 The emergence illegal squatter’s settlement a negative image of Malaysia.

b. National security

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 Illegal immigrants have been involved and convicted for crimes ranging from petty
theft to rape and high profile robberies and murders.
 Malaysian security forces have also regularly uncovered supplies of weapons in
illegal immigrant squatters distributed throughout peninsular and East Malaysia.
 Conflicts from the source country may spill over to Malaysia, like in the case of the
clashes of the Myanmar immigrants

c. Contagious diseases

 Close to half of foreign workers who underwent medical tests in 2014 are infected with
the contagious airborne disease tuberculosis (TB), the Malaysian Medical Association
(MMA) has said.
 Those who know they are ill and cannot come in through the legal channel will choose
to come in illegally.

6. Measures to prevent and control illegal immigrants

a. The Measures taken by the Government

i. Formation of Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESCOM)


 To enhance the security of Eastern part of Sabah such as Lahad Datu, Kunak
and Semporna
 To prevent foreigners like the Filipinos from entering Sabah easily through the
road sea.
ii. Implementation of 6P Program, which is referred to as
 Pendaftaran (Registration)
 Pemutihan (Neutralise)
 Pengampunan (Amnesty)
 Pemantauan (Monitoring)
 Penguatkuasaan (Authorization)
 Pengusiran (Expulsion)

 Focuses on the settling the issue of illegal immigrants and foreign workers.
 Aims to help government to identify the number of illegal immigrants in
Malaysia for further action.

iii. Launching operation from time to time


 “Ops Tegas” involved officer enforcement such as Immigration Department,
police and RELA (Malaysian People Volunteer Corps) was launched in March
2005 to suppress illegal immigrants.
 “Ops Nyah” is launched to return the legal immigrants voluntarily back to their
own countries.
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b. The role of the society


 Common people should help the authorities to solve this issue
 For example, by making a report to the authorities if they know of any company
that hires illegal migrants as workers.

7. The effectiveness of the ways to reduce illegal immigrants


It has not been an easy job to solve the issue of the illegal immigrants and the United States
itself is facing similar predicaments.

a. 6P Program
 Effective: the government has managed to call the illegal immigrants to get their
permit in the right manner.
 Ineffective: the dishonesty of the appointed 6P agents some had cheated dozens
of Bangladeshi workers. This happened due to the lack of monitoring of the
agents.

b. Ops Tegas and Ops Nyah


 Effective: many illegal immigrants were arrested and sent back to their country
has reduced the number of illegal immigrants in some ways.
 Ineffective: some authorities received bribery money from the illegal immigrants
who wanted to avoid being arrested.

c. Liaison with other countries


 Effective: diplomatic relation sometimes could help the government to solve the
issue of illegal immigrant.
 Ineffective: the countries with huge population and high level of povertynot
easy to control the illegal immigration.

8. Corruption and illegal immigrants

a. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has revealed that corruption and
other wrongdoings by enforcement officers, including Immigration officers, at the entry
points were among the reasons for foreigners being able to enter this country illegally.
b. According to the MACC 2010 Report, there were Immigration officers who lived a
luxurious life on ill-gotten money for facilitating the entry and exit of illegals, as
uncovered at the Pulau Ketam passenger jetty.
c. The bribes were for allowing the illegals to enter the country although their passports
had false stamping or they were without any valid travel document.

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B. Human Trafficking

In June 2014, the United States government has downgraded Malaysia along with three other countries
– Thailand, The Gambia and Venezuela – to Tier 3 in its annual Trafficking of Persons (TIP) Report.

The report noted that there is ample evidence of forced labour and sex trafficking in Malaysia.

 Malaysia's problem with migrants from other Asian nations who seek work on farms, factories and
construction sites only to be trapped and have their passports taken and wages withheld
 Malaysia had made "inadequate efforts to improve its flawed victim-protection regime" and had
investigated fewer trafficking cases in 2013 than in 2012.

1. Definition of Trafficking by the United Nation (UN)


a. Trafficking refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons,
by means of the threat or use of force or other form of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of
deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving
of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having over another person, for the
purpose of exploitation. Exploitation includes prostitution, forced labour, slavery, or other
forms of servitude.

2. Where does human trafficking take place?


a. Human trafficking exists across national borders, involving both developing and developed
countries.
b. It has become an organized, trans-national crime and an increasing booming global business.
c. It could take place within the same state or country, taking victims from one part to another
against their will.

3. Methods of control by traffickers for prostitution


a. Taking away personal documents and travel documents
b. Demanding or taking a disproportionately large part of the proceeds of prostitution
c. Selling-or threatening to do so-the victim to another pimp
d. Withholding food
e. Isolation of the victim from friends, family and colleagues
f. Instilling fear of police and the justice system
g. Blackmail
h. Debt bondage
i. Mistreatment, beating, rape, intimidation, violence
j. Threat of violence against victim’s family

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4. Global Report on Trafficking in Persons


a. It was launched in 2013 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)to
conduct global assessment of the scope of human trafficking and what is being done to fight
it. It includes: an overview of trafficking patterns; legal steps taken in response; and country-
specific information on reported cases of trafficking in persons, victims, and prosecutions.
b. According to the report, human trafficking falls into three main categories:

i. The most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation.


Main victims of sexual exploitationwomen and girls.
ii. The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour (18%).
Forced labour is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual
exploitation.
iii. Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children.
However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up
to 100% in parts of West Africa).

5. The United Nations Protocol against Trafficking in Persons


a. The protocol, the foremost international agreement in this trafficking, entered into force in
2003. In the past few years the number of Member States seriously implementing the
Protocol has more than doubled (from 54 to 125 out of the 155 States covered).
b. However, there are still many countries that lack the necessary legal instruments or political
will.

6. Trafficking in Malaysia
a. The overwhelming majority of trafficking victims are among the two million documented
and 1.9 million undocumented foreign workers in Malaysia from various countries
including Indonesia, Nepal, India, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Burma, Cambodia,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam.
b. In terms of geographical location, Malaysia has become an ideal transit point for trafficking
activities, especially to Australia, America and Japan.
c. Child trafficking - trafficked from neighbouring countries for sale to childless couples in
Malaysia. Malaysian children formed the majority of victims rescued when police smashed
37 baby-trafficking syndicates in the country between 2009 and 2012.
d. Woman trafficking - trafficked for the prostitution purpose. A significant number of young
foreign women are recruited for work in Malaysian restaurants and hotels, some of whom
migrate through the use of “Guest Relations Officer” visas, but subsequently are coerced
into Malaysia’s commercial sex trade.
e. Trafficking of domestic workers
Local NGOs estimate that for every domestic servant legally employed in Malaysia there
is one working in the country illegally and many may be trafficked.

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f. Internal trafficking: Statelessness


i. Factors of statelessness
 Citizenship is derived from one's parents; however, many children are stateless
because the government refuses to register their birth due to inadequate proof of
their parents' marriage.
 Interfaith marriages are also not recognized by the government which sometimes
results in undocumented, de facto stateless children.
ii. Effects of being stateless:
 Without birth certificates, government officials deny stateless persons’ access to
education, health care, and the right to own property.
 At risk of seeking unofficial employment opportunities
 Further causes them to be at risk of trafficking.

g. Laws and regulations which protect women and children from being trafficked are:

i) Article 6 of Federal Constitution


- Stipulates that all forms of forced labour are prohibited.
ii) Section 371 of the Panel Code
- Provides much avenue for the prosecution of traffickers as well as perpetrators.
Running of prostitution is punishable.
- The intention to place someone, irrespective of their age in prostitution in another
country should also be stamped as trafficking.
- Repeat offences carry a liability of whipping of not more than 10 strokes and not
less than 6 but not more than 10 strokes.
iii) The Child Act 2001 (Act 611)
- Set out harder penalty for gaining a child for purpose of prostitution or the purpose
of sexual intercourse with any other person either within or outside Malaysia.
- The penalty under the Act is RM50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding
15 years or both.

h. Protection for Trafficked Victims in Malaysia

Victim protection efforts remain inadequate in Malaysia because of the following reasons: -

i. Forcible detention in “shelters

 Victims identified by Malaysian authorities are adjudicated under a “protective order”


that triggers their forcible detention in “shelters”
 Some are isolated, unable to work or earn income, and have little or no access to legal
or psychological assistance provided by the government or NGOs.

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ii. Treated as illegal aliens

 Furthermore, the government treats victims of trafficking as illegal aliens and turns
them over to immigration authorities for deportation after they provide evidence to
prosecutors
 The government does not make available any alternatives to repatriation for victims
who may face harm or retribution upon return to their home country.

iii. No incentives for victim cooperation

 In fact, during trial proceedings, authorities often do not make adequate efforts to
separate victims from their traffickers
 Results in threats to the victims and their families if they cooperate with police and
prosecutors.

i. Measures taken by the Government

i. Amendments to the anti-trafficking law

In November 2010 placing the Labor Department as an enforcement agency within the
Ministry of Human Resources.

The Ministry of Human Resources imposed new requirements:

 requires foreign domestic workers and their employers to attend a compulsory half-
day seminar on workers’ rights
 a portion of a domestic worker’s salary must be placed into a bank account in the
employee’s name in order to provide a record of payment.

ii. Carry out investigation on companies

 The Malaysian Home Ministry has investigated 277 outsourcing companies that recruit
foreign workers into Malaysia
 Placed 42 on a watchlist for engaging in suspicious activities.

iii. Awareness campaign on human trafficking

 The Women’s Ministry continues to produce pamphlets about indicators of trafficking,


which are distributed at border checkpoints.
 The government also continues to implement an anti-trafficking public awareness
campaign in print media, on the radio, and on television.

7. Factors for Human Trafficking

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Pull Factors
a. Globalization
 Free markets, free trade, greater economic competition, and a decline in state intervention
in the economy.
 Trafficking in human beings has become the third important source of revenue for criminal
syndicates after narcotics and arms.

b. Higher wages
 This is one of the factors that attract people to be trafficked. Syndicates usually lure people
by promising jobs with high wages, and instead they end up as victims in an illegal business
in host countries such as in Malaysia or Thailand.
 This is also influenced by the fact that the Malaysian Ringgit or Thai Baht currency are
worth more when converted into Indonesian Rupiah or Myanmar Kyat.
c. Job opportunities
 Lack of job opportunities in the source countries, many trafficking victims look forward to
destination countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, where there are many jobs
available.
 Unfortunately, when they arrive they are not allowed to obtain legitimate jobs.
d. Better quality of life
 Destination countries are usually more developed than the source countries
 Destination countries provide not only job opportunities but also promise other benefits of
higher quality of life.
e. Geography and culture
 Geographical locationthe Indonesians preferred Malaysia because it is easy to access
through the sea road and low-cost.
 Similarity of culture Malaysia has been swamped with Indonesian immigrants due to the
two countries having similar cultures and religions.

Push Factors
a. Poverty
 Food insecurity has been defined as the major cause of human trafficking.
 Being poor, with insufficient food, make the victims exposed to the traffickers, and makes
engagement in criminal activities such as trafficking particularly tempting.

b. Lack of education
 Traffickers often recruit hill tribe people, especially from mountainous areas of Myanmar,
Thailand, Laos, China and Vietnam, who have little formal education or exposure to the
modern world, especially on matters about legitimate job opportunities.
 Without knowledge and qualifications for legitimate jobs, they become easy prey to
traffickers who deceive them with false promises of jobs in other countries.

c. Economic law of supply and demand for trafficking

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In Southeast Asia, transnational organized crime, such as Chinese Triads, has been
identified as being mainly responsible for the trafficking business.
 Nevertheless, there are also other smaller local syndicates involved, and the region’s
overall rapid development has led to increasing demand to supply more labour in the
destination countries.
.
d. Easy money
 Young girls and women, with no specific training and skills, are easily attracted to this
illegal business because it produces 25 times more money than working in the factory.
 The traffickers in turn can find it easy to lure female trafficking victims.

e. Insecure environment in the source countries


 In some countries, such as Myanmar, oppressive regimes have caused frustration among
the people in the country.
 Being trafficked is seen as the easiest way to get out of their country.

f. High price of a virgin girl


 Some families, especially in Vietnam, willingly allow their young daughters to be
trafficked to become prostitutes.
 This is because the price of a virgin prostitute is high and the money is used to support the
family.

8. How to prevent and control human trafficking

a. The role of embassies


 Give advice to their nationals to ensure that their employment agencies are registered and that
they are aware of their rights to engage only in occupation for which they have mutually agreed
to before leaving their home countries.
 Reason: international trafficking frequently masquerades as migrant work.

b. Quicker, proactive and stringent actions by the enforcement authorities


 Plays a key role in shutting down trafficking syndicate
 Traffickers must be prosecuted, convicted and punished.

c. The decriminalization of victims of trafficking


 Help in creating an environment that is less hostile and more transparent to those victimized
by the people trafficking industries.
 Victims of trafficking need to be identified and encouraged to come forward to report
traffickers and cooperate with enforcement agencies as available witnesses.

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d. The role of tourism industry


 To be alert of situations where children and young women are trafficked for sexual purpose.
 Must respect the rights of women and children, bearing in mind that hospitality does not call
for sexual exploitation of women and children.

e. The role of NGOs and community empowerment


 Coordination between NGOs and support ought to be given to the NGOs that have developed
programs to assist in the repatriation and reintegration of the trafficked people.
 Local community members should be empowered to recognize their personal responsibility to
other community members and to value action over inaction, when they witness any suspected
trafficking cases in their community.

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CHAPTER 5: SOCIAL ISSUES -- NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

A. The differences between communicable and non-communicable diseases

Communicable diseases Non communicable diseases

Contagious disease Non Contagious disease

Spreads from one person to another Does not spread from one person to the other

Generally, involves the lower socio- involves generally affluent class


economic group

Vehicles of transmission and the vectors play Dietary habits, environment and lifestyle play a role
a major role in the spread of disease. in the causation of these diseases.

Treatment of the etiological agent is the


remedy. Changing the dietary habits, lifestyle and the
environment is the permanent remedy.
Acute diseases requiring active medical care.
Chronic diseases need long lasting chronic
Treated conservatively treatment.

Treated conservatively and surgically.

B. INCOMMUNICABLE / NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

1. Definition: Non communicable diseases (NCDs) are diseases which are not transmissible.
2. Non communicable diseases a clear threat not only to human health, but also to development and
economic growth of the country.
3. According to the Social Security Organisation of Malaysia in June 2013, there has been near to
35% increase in NCD diseases from year 2000 till 2012, with diabetes reigning in the rate of
increase.

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4. NCDs include:

a. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD: heart disease and stroke)

 Definition: a group of diseases involving the heart, blood vessels, or the squeal of poor blood supply
due to a diseased vascular supply.
 Over the past decade, CVD has become the single largest cause of death worldwide, representing
nearly 30% of all deaths and about 50% of NCD deaths (WHO, 2011a).
 Risk factors of CVD:
i) Behavioural risk factors such as physical inactivity, tobacco use and unhealthy diet explain
nearly 80% of the CVD burden
ii) Hypertension remains (high blood pressure) the most important cardiovascular risk factor and
it is the main cause for stroke

 The silent danger of hypertension:

i) According to Dr Azani Mohammed Daud, who is the president of the Malaysian Society of
Hypertension, “for every person diagnosed with hypertension, there are six who are not”
ii) Most patients with hypertension don’t know that they have it. Most people are unaware that
they have hypertension due to the absence of symptoms. Some people, however, have persistent
headaches and a check with their doctor usually reveals that they have high blood pressure
readings.

b. Cancer
 Definition: the rapid growth and division of abnormal cells in a part of the body. These cells outlive
normal cells and have the ability to metastasize, or invade parts of the body and spread to other
organs.
 Cancer is the second largest cause of death worldwide. In Malaysia, cancer is the second killer after
heart disease among the Malaysians.
 Risk factors include genetic causes, behavioural causes (such as tobacco or alcohol use, physical
inactivity and dietary factors), infections, environmental and occupational carcinogens and
radiation.
 Different risk factors contribute to the development of cancers in different sites. Smokeless tobacco
is largely responsible for oral cancers, whereas bacteria play a role in the development of stomach
cancer.
 Five leading cancers among population of Malaysia are Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer,
Nasopharynx, Cervix and Lymphoma. Frequency of cancer according gender.
 Cancer treatment
i) The prescribed course of treatment that oncologists administer for cancer is chemotherapy.
 Just how effective chemotherapy is has been debatable.
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 Numerous studies have been conducted assessing its actual effectiveness in treating cancer and
destroying cancer cells. According to Clinical Oncology (2004), overall, chemotherapy
contributes just over 2% to improved survival in cancer patients in Australia and the US.
Currently, eight years later, this conclusion has not been refuted.

ii) Nutritional therapy in cancer treatment.

 Provide general nutritional support in the situation of poor appetite and


undernutrition/cachexia (especially if undergoing chemo/radiotherapy).
 Empower the defense/immune cells to fight the cancer.

 Directly damage/kill cancer cells (eg by causing apoptosis) just as the chemo drugs do, but
without harming normal cells.

c. Chronic respiratory diseases


 Definition: chronic diseases of the airways and other structures of the lung. Some of the most
common are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), respiratory allergies,
occupational lung diseases and pulmonary hypertension.
 COPD refers to a group of progressive lung diseases that make it difficult to breathe – including
chronic bronchitis and emphysema (assessed by pulmonary function and x-ray evidence).
 Affecting more than 210 million people worldwideCOPD accounts for 3-8% of total deaths in
high-income countries and 4-9% of total deaths in low- and middle-income countries, including
Malaysia (LMICs) (Mannino et al., 2007).

d. Diabetes
 Definition: a metabolic disorder in which the body is unable to appropriately regulate the level of sugar,
specifically glucose, in the blood, either by poor sensitivity to the protein insulin, or due to inadequate
production of insulin by the pancreas.
 Two types of diabetes could be found in Malaysia:
i) Type 1 diabetes insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM, for short).
ii) Type 2 diabetes non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM, for short). Type 2
diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all diabetes cases.
 Effects of diabetes:
i) A major risk factor for other causes of death, like cardiovascular disease, kidney disease
ii) Diabetes has a high attributable burden of disability, ie diabetes can cause blindness
 Diabetes in Malaysia:
i) The problem of obesity: Almost one in two Malaysians are either overweight or obese, placing
them at a high risk for diabetes.
ii) Affecting the younger age group: 20 % of Malaysians above the age of 30 are diabetic patients.

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e. Mental health disorder


 Definition: a set of medical conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to
relate to others and daily functioning. The patients normally suffer from depression, Alzheimer,
schizophrenia and alcohol or drug abuse disorders. Sometimes, it refers to as mental disorders,
mental health conditions or neuropsychiatric disorders, these conditions affect hundreds of millions
of people worldwide.
 Challenges encountered by people with serious mental illness:
i) Struggle with the symptoms and disabilities that result from the disease.
ii) On the other, they are challenged by the stereotypes and prejudice that result from
misconceptions about mental illness.
iii) Robbed of the opportunities that define a quality life: good jobs, safe housing, satisfactory
health care, and affiliation with a diverse group of people.

 Public perception on mental illness

i) fear and exclusion: persons with severe mental illness should be feared and, therefore, be kept
out of most communities;
ii) authoritarianism: persons with severe mental illness are irresponsible, so life decisions should
be made by others;
iii) benevolence: persons with severe mental illness are childlike and need to be cared for.

 Factors that contribute to the late treatment of mental health disorder:

i. Lack of public awareness

 Records with the National Mental Health Registry (NMHR) have shown that public
awareness about mental health issues is far from satisfactory.

 One average it takes up to 28 months for an individual with mental health problems to
seek treatment possibly already too late the individual's thinking or decision
making capacities might have been impaired beyond the scope of treatment.

ii. Public prejudice towards mental health disorder


 Forces many persons to shy away from undergoing proper treatment or getting their
illness diagnosed.
 Many people are still unable to understand the difference between an all-encompassing
mental health term and a more specific mental problem term.

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iii. Fear of being labelled


 Persons with mental health issues also hesitate to seek psychiatric help out of a fear
that they might be labelled as a "mental patient."
 This deep rooted misconception has led to a rise in social prejudice against people
suffering from mental ailments.

 The role of the families:

Apart from society, a person's immediate family also plays an important role in helping them
maintain good mental health by getting their mental problems treated.

i. Monitor behavioural changes in family members

 The most common sign of a mental health problema sudden change in the behaviour
of a person -- a jovial person might turn into an introvert, become short-tempered, start
keeping or speaking to oneself, have a disrupted sleep pattern, lose their appetite, is
unable to carry out daily activities or starts displaying suicidal tendencies.
 In need of a proper diagnosis by an expert and the right therapy are a must.

ii. Monitoring the treatment process of patient


 Families are the ones who will ensure that the person undergoing treatment completes
their course of the prescribed medication.
 It is also common that halfway through the treatment families start taking for granted
that the patient has recovered without realising that the patient can relapse under
duress.

5. Preventing and Controlling NCDs

Malaysia established National Strategic Plan for Non-Communicable Diseases (NSP-NCD 2011-
2015) in 2010 the framework for strengthening NCDs prevention and control program in
Malaysia.

Aim  to achieve population-wide NCD risk factor screening to detect risk factors at their earliest
stage, and uses obesity as the main entry point for NCD risk factor intervention.

a. Planning and implementation


 NCDP-1M is a nation-wide programme.
 Each state has to determine the extent of their participation and submit formal funding
applications to support their selected projects.
 To increase accountability, District Officers of Health were made responsible for all
projects within the respective state.
b. Community participation and engagement
 The participation of the community has been crucial to the success of NCDP-1M.
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 In need of the support of the community for communicable disease prevention efforts.
 The willingness of the rural community, in particular, to work with clinic health staff.
c. Monitoring and evaluation of NCDP-1M

 Collecting data from each district through online templates.


 Online processenables up-to-date monitoring of the various projects.
 Example: community-based weight loss programmes provide data on key performance
indicators like percentage of clients with weight loss after 6-month follow-up.

6. Impacts of NCDs:

a. Affecting the patient’s quality of life

 Discomfort / pain, like in the case of cancer patients.


 Immobility, as in the case of some stroke patients
 Confinement, if the person is bedridden
 Disability, if certain parts of the body is affected by NCDs. For example, a diabetic patient
may have one of his leg amputated or become blind at the advanced stage of the illness
 Abstinence from favourite food, like fried chicken, soda drinks etc

b. Shorter life-span for those inflicted with NCDs


 Suffer from a shorter life-span if they were afflicted at a younger age.
 They do not get to live life to its ripe old age.

c. Socio-development of the country


 When NCDs become more prevalent in a country, the diseases will rob the nation of its
socio-development.
 In the terminal stage of their illness, the NCDs patient will not be able to contribute as
much as desired to the social welfare of the country.

d. Economic impact

Positive impact
The increase in NCDs among Malaysians has boost up:
i) The health care industry, with the need for more hospitals and the healthcare practitioners.
Alternative health centers – Ayurvedic health centers or Traditional Chinese Medical
Centre – have also experienced an increase in their economic gain.
ii) The pharmaceutical industry, with the need for the consumption of medicine and the
creation of new drugs to combat the illness
iii) The multi-level marketing industry that focuses on health supplements
iv) The organic farming industry – farming and selling organic vegetables / fruits

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v) The insurance industry, as more and more people seek to be insured against the critical
illnesses due to high cost of treatment for NCDs.

Negative impact
The increase in NCDs among Malaysians have affected the economic standing of the patient and
the family. NCDs treatment can be very costly. In Malaysia, it is not rare to see the patient or the
family appealing for donations through the mass media when the cost of the treatment surpasses
their financial ability.

e. Increased awareness of a healthy lifestyle

o Increase in NCDsmore people, especially those living in the urban areas, begin to give heed
to the practice a healthier lifestyle.
o Health-related seminars are often conducted by health practitioners to equip the public with the
necessary knowledge about preventive measures and treatment options for NCDs.
o Health related information is also disseminated through the mass media.

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CHAPTER 6: SOCIAL ISSUES -- INFECTIOUS / COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

C. Infectious Diseases

 Definition: the word pandemic is derived from the Greek word, which is pan (all) and demos
(people). A global pandemic is an epidemic of some infectious disease that can and is spreading at
a rapid rate throughout the world, including Malaysia. Viruses, germs, parasites, and other virulent
disease agents can and do move much more easily than at any time in recorded history.
 In the past 100 years ago, influenza, typhoid, and cholera were major killers. In recent years, other
infectious diseases have made front page news: HIV, Ebola virus, SARS, and most recently, avian
or bird flu.
 In Malaysia there are five main infectious diseases that refer to dengue fever, tuberculosis, food
poisoning, hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD), and HIV/AIDS.

1. Dengue fever
a. Definition: dengue is one of the vector borne diseases and among this kind of diseases;
dengue is the highest percentage for it. Dengue fever is passed by infected female Aedes
Aegypti mosquitoes. It gets under the skin and into the blood. Dengue is caused by flavi
viruses.
b. After reporting a record dengue season in 2015 with more than 120,000 cases, Ministry of
Health has reported that nearly 6,000 cases (5,835 cases to be exact) in just the first two
weeks of 2016, including 3 deaths.

c. Factors on the alarming increase of dengue cases recently:


i) The El Nino phenomenon / global warming
 The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has a history of worsening infectious
diseases including influenza epidemics, plague and hantavirus, in addition to
mosquito borne infectious diseases.
 According to Ministry of Health, El Nino is expected to cause dengue cases to
increase by 50 per cent.

ii) Dengue virus may have changed in some ways


 In addition to the increased number of cases, doctors are seeing different /types of
symptoms, which raises the alarming possibility that the virus is becoming even
more deadly and difficult to control.
 Dr. Jeyaindran Sinnadurai, the deputy director general of health at the Ministry of
Health, Malaysia, said that we are seeing people present with liver failure and
meningitis; things that have not seen before with dengue.

iii) There is no treatment for dengue


 Aside from saline drip to boost patients’ platelet count, there is no treatment for
dengue.
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 To make thing worse, there are four types of dengue virus; meaning, people can
get the disease more than once and this explain why symptoms are becoming more
severe and deads are rising with repeated infections.

iv) Increased air travel


 The ease and increased air travel brings the virus to areas that were previously
dengue-free when a mosquito bites and infected traveler and then spreads it to
others.
 Aedesaegypti have the potential to spread dengue in the tropics and subtropics
countries including in the Southern and Southeastern United States.

v) Rapid population growth


 Population growth in developing nations is pushing more people into substandard
housing in mosquito-infested areas.
 Inadequate basic urban infrastructure eg. unreliable water supply leading
householders to store water in containers close to homes and increase in volume
of solid waste, such as discarded plastic containers and other abandoned items
provide larval habitats in urban areas.

d. Ways to control this disease


i) Penalty
 Heavy penalty imposed for creating breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes,
RM500 compound fine for the first offence
 Facing a fine of up to RM10,000 in court for a repeated offence

ii) Chemical Control of Dengue Mosquitoes


 Chemical control can be effective in controlling mosquito populations.
 For instance, insecticides can be used to kill mosquito larvae or adult mosquitoes.

iii) Biological Control of Dengue Mosquitoes


 Biological approaches are also being considered as alternatives to control mosquito
populations.
 For example, predatory crustaceans called copepods and many varieties of fish,
including fish and goldfish, eat mosquito larvae.

iv) Personal Actions


 Reduce the risk of mosquitoes entering their homes
using window and door screens
keeping their doors and windows closed and using air conditioning to keep their
homes cool.
 Aedesaegypti typically bite people during the day, so wearing long pants and long-
sleeved shirts can reduce mosquito bites when spending time outdoors.

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2. Tuberculosis (TB)

a. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Malaysia as an intermediate TB-burdened
country.
b. It is one of five main infectious diseases in Malaysia.
c. Increase in TB cases in Malaysia:
2008 = 17,506
2009 = 18,102
2010 = 19,337
2011 = about 20,000 cases.
d. The symptoms of TB are:
 Prolonged cough (more than two weeks)
 Loss of weight and loss of appetite
 Night sweats
 Coughing out blood (though not a common symptom)

e. The factors of increasing TB cases:


i) The influx of illegal migrant workers.
 The statistics over the past few years show that only about 10 to 15 % of the total TB
infection in Malaysia is due to immigrants.
 Besides, the increase in the number of AIDS patients also contributed to this case. It is
because when the body's immune system is low, TB could creep in easily.
ii) Easy spread of disease through air
 TB is an airborne disease and it spreads via the air infected by the bacilli, just like a
common flu virus.
 For this reason, TB has to be diagnosed early and treated effectively.
 If the patient is not treated with TB drugs, the worse the lung damage and the
continuous coughing may spread the germs to others in his or her house or workplace.
iii) Poor knowledge among public regarding this infection.
 Do not take prolonged cough seriously as they do not know that it could be a symptom
of TB.
 Therefore  late treatment  meanwhile, before getting treated, they have already
spread the illness to others.

f. Several ways had been taken by Malaysian government in dealing with TB:

i) Health screening for migrant labours before entering Malaysia.


 Making it compulsory for them to declare their status of health before they are allowed
work in Malaysia.
 For the illegal immigrantsthe government deport them back to their own countries.
ii) Giving beneficial information to the public
 The distribution of pamphlet and posted posters with health related information about
TB-- normally undertaken by the hospital.

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 Visitors at the hospital – patients and their family members or friends – become the
recipients of this awareness.
iii) The government also encourages NGOs to conduct activities and programs to educate the
public on TB disease.
 Those who employ migrant workers have to be educated regarding the
symptomalways on the alert about the health condition of their workers as their
workers may have contact with the illegal ones infected by the disease.
 Periodical health screening is necessary for migrant workers to treat any early onset of
TB infection among them to halt the spread of the disease.

3. Food Poisoning

 What causes foodborne diseases (FBD)?


The ingestion of contaminated foods and food products and include a broad group of illnesses caused
by bacteria, viruses, parasites and chemical agents and toxins, which contaminate food at different
points along the farm to table continuum.
 Foods that are commonly contaminated include poultry, eggs, milk, seafood and dairy products.
 What are the things noticed in most of the food poisoning cases?
 Involve many victims at once. This does not mean an individual or two do not get food poisoning.
 The food in question is prepared by someone else or somewhere else, always outside their homes.
 The foods are also prepared commercially and in large quantities.
 Food handlers and mass caterers who do not follow food hygiene practices allow food to be
contaminated and when consumed by their customers results in food poisoning.

a. Milk Contamination
Cases that have taken place:
 Students suffering from food poisoning after drinking milk supplied under the free milk scheme in the
school.
 Milk powder has been recalled due to contamination.

b. Nasi Lemak Poisoning

 School pupils suffered food poisoning after having 'nasi lemak' under the Supplementary Food
Programme (SFP) at their school canteen.
 Suffered from bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting

4. Leptospirosis

 The Health Ministry has cautioned people off holidaying in natural water spots to beware of cases of
leptospirosis, also known as rat urine disease.

 May-June 2016: at least two people died of the disease after dips in a waterfall or pond.

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 An average of 27% of cases were recorded at recreational areas in 2014-2015. The disease killed 78
people in 2015.

 The Health Ministry had conducted tests in 71 natural water spots nationwide in 2015 and found eight
sites to have traces of the disease.

a) Factors Responsible for The Emergence of Leptospirosis

The conditions that are favourable for maintenance and transmission of Leptospirosis are:

1) Reservoir and carrier hosts

 Leptospirosis has a very wide range of natural rodent, and non-rodent reservoir hosts especially
rats, cattle, dogs, foxes, rabbits, etc.
 The animals act as carriers of the leptospires and excrete large number of leptospires in their
urine, thus responsible for the contamination of large and small water bodies as well as soil.

2) Flooding, drainage congestion

 Flooding and drainage congestion may be risk factors for contamination of water bodies with
infected animal urine.
 Water logged areas may force rodent population to abandon their burrows and contaminate the
stagnant water by their urine.

3) Animal-Human Interface

 The potential for infection increases through exposure from occupational or recreational
activities without proper protection.
 Poor cleanliness/sanitation in recreational areas may attract animal host such as rodent thus
increases the risk of contamination. This happened when scraps, such as food waste left behind
by visitors became food sources for rats and other wildlife, which would then end up leaving
their droppings in natural water sites.
 These may be due to poor maintenance of facilities, improper disposal of waste and public
attitude/ apathy.

4) Human host risk factors

 Several sections of the population are more susceptible to infection such as those not previously
exposed to the bacteria in their environment (naïve immunities), and those with chronic disease
and open skin wounds.

b) Prevention of Leptospirosis
 Leptospirosis is spread through the urine, stool and reproductive fluids of infected animals,
especially rats.
 The heavy rains only add to the risk of these contaminants flowing into puddles, soil and
other areas where people frequent.
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 The bacteria enter a human’s body through cuts, abrasions or through the mouth and nose
(mucous membranes).
 Since there is little we can do to stop the flooding on the streets, there are some precautions
we can take:

1. Avoid stepping in puddles of water. They not only contain rain water, but also runoff from
sewage, open fields and roads, adding to the possibility that it might contain the bacteria.
2. If walking in puddles is unavoidable, make sure to wash your shoes and feet well with
clean water once you reach your destination. Pour water and clean the area between the
toes especially well.
3. Avoid standing in a puddle for long periods of time. This will help reduce the chances of
contracting the disease.
4. Wear shoes that allow the drainage of puddle water and that can be washed. This will allow
any excess water to drain out as you walk and allow for thorough cleaning and drying after
you wash them. Washing the shoes is imperative because if you step into puddle water
filled shoes with well washed feet, the whole process is useless.
5. Once you have the opportunity, wash your feet and hands well with water and soap, making
sure you scrub well between the toes and fingers.
6. Avoid touching your face, mouth and nose with your hands. Use tissues or a handkerchief
if you have to wipe your face. This will help reduce the transmission of the bacterium from
your hands to your nose and mouth.
7. Use a hand sanitizer whenever required, especially after visiting a common toilet.
8. If you have a cut or abrasion, make sure the dressing is changed regularly and the wound
is dried regularly. If your bandage gets wet, be sure to re-dress the wound after washing
the area well and using an appropriate antibacterial solution.
9. If you have just had a pedicure, make sure you avoid rain water as much as possible for
about a day after the treatment. This is because during a pedicure there are chances of
minute abrasions that could allow the entry of the bacteria. If you have to step out, make
sure you wash your feet well with an antibacterial soap and warm water as soon as you can.
Applying an antiseptic solution to the feet after washing them is also advisable.
10. Try keeping your nails short and clean during monsoon. Long nails are known to trap a lot
of dirt and contaminants. Cutting them and cleaning them well is the best way to stay away
from communicable diseases.
11. Avoid swimming and drinking raw water from natural water bodies or ponds.

5. AIDS / HIV

a. Statistics:

 HIV in Malaysia was first recorded in 1986.


December 2013 = 101,672 HIV cases.

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 In 2013, heterosexual HIV transmission accounted for half of the 3,393 new infections in Malaysia, far
ahead of other modes of transmission such as homo/bisexual contacts and unsafe drug injections, both
at 22 per cent respectively.

b. The stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS

 Some cannot look past what causes HIV/AIDS to be transmitted: unprotected sex and “dirty needles”
gives rise to the ugly spectre of stigma and discrimination that further marginalises those in the high-
risk groups including drug users and sex workers.
 Shelters / foundations who are currently running programmes for people living with HIV encounter
challenges in raising sufficient funds to keep the programmes the public tends to be judgmental,
thinking that those infected with HIV/AIDS do not deserve their help.

c. Better understanding among the younger generation of healthcare professionals

 Nowadays, the younger generation has a better understanding of HIV/AIDSled to a crop of healthcare
professionals who have no aversion to treating patients.
 There is still the issue of some providers being reluctant to treat people living with HIV/AIDS, but this
number has lessened.

6. Impact of Infectious Diseases

a. Impact on employment
 Reduced attendance of workers due to infection, fear of infection, or absenteeism of
workers caring for their families.
 Broader economic problems caused by reduced workforces may then initiate economic
downturn and further unemployment.
b. Impact on economy and global trade
 Disease outbreaks among livestock are a major risk for the farming sector.
 Sudden and drastic cuts in consumption of the affected products and reductions in its price.
 Reduced animal value due to control measures such as compulsory emergency vaccination,
and business interruption costs.

c. Impact on transport, travel, tourism and social gathering.


 Travellers / vacationers may perceive a threat cancel trips or immediately leave the
affected country.
 Social gatherings such as symposia or conventions may be cancelled for public health
reasons.

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d. Impact on delivery health care


 In cases of serious epidemic  health care providers have to deal with unprecedented
numbers of patients in emergency rooms and hospitals, while coping with severe supply
constraints.
 The same workers must also bear the mental burden of the risk they may pose in spreading
the disease to their families.

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CHAPTER 7: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES - CLIMATE CHANGE, DEFORESTATION AND


ENDANGERED SPECIES

A. Environmental Problems

 Our environment is constantly changing. There is no denying that. However, as our environment
changes, so does the need to become increasingly aware of the problems that surround it. With a
massive influx of natural disasters, warming and cooling periods, different types of weather patterns
and much more, people need to be aware of what types of environmental problems our planet is facing.
 Global warming has become an undisputed fact about our current livelihoods; our planet is warming
up and we are definitely part of the problem. However, this isn’t the only environmental problem that
we should be concerned about. All across the world, people are facing a wealth of new and challenging
environmental problems every day. Some of them are small and only affect a few ecosystems, but
others are drastically changing the landscape of what we already know.
 Our planet is poised at the brink of a severe environmental crisis. Current environmental problems
make us vulnerable to disasters and tragedies, now and in the future. We are in a state of planetary
emergency, with environmental problems piling up high around us. Unless we address the various
issues prudently and seriously we are surely doomed for disaster. Current environmental problems
require urgent attention.

B. Major Current Environmental Problems

1. Pollution

 Pollution of air, water and soil require millions of years to recoup. Industry and motor vehicle exhaust
are the number one pollutants.
 Heavy metals, nitrates and plastic are toxins responsible for pollution. While water pollution is caused
by oil spill, acid rain, urban runoff; air pollution is caused by various gases and toxins released by
industries and factories and combustion of fossil fuels; soil pollution is majorly caused by industrial
waste that deprives soil from essential nutrients.

2. Global Warming

 Climate changes like global warming is the result of human practices like emission of Greenhouse
gases.
 Global warming leads to rising temperatures of the oceans and the earth’ surface causing melting of
polar ice caps, rise in sea levels and also unnatural patterns of precipitation such as flash floods,
excessive snow or desertification.

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3. Overpopulation

 The population of the planet is reaching unsustainable levels as it faces shortage of resources like water,
fuel and food.
 Population explosion in less developed and developing countries is straining the already scarce
resources.
 Intensive agriculture practiced to produce food damages the environment through use of chemical
fertilizer, pesticides and insecticides. Overpopulation is one of the crucial current environmental
problem.

4. Natural Resource Depletion

 Natural resource depletion is another crucial current environmental problem. Fossil fuel consumption
results in emission of Greenhouse gases, which is responsible for global warming and climate change.
 Globally, people are taking efforts to shift to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, biogas and
geothermal energy. The cost of installing the infrastructure and maintaining these sources has
plummeted in the recent years.

5. Waste Disposal

 The over consumption of resources and creation of plastics are creating a global crisis of waste disposal.
Developed countries are notorious for producing an excessive amount of waste or garbage and dumping
their waste in the oceans and, less developed countries.
 Nuclear waste disposal has tremendous health hazards associated with it. Plastic, fast food, packaging
and cheap electronic wastes threaten the well beings of humans. Waste disposal is one of urgent current
environmental problem.

6. Climate Change

 Climate change is yet another environmental problem that has surfaced in last couple of decades. It
occurs due to rise in global warming which occurs due to increase in temperature of atmosphere by
burning of fossil fuels and release of harmful gases by industries.
 Climate change has various harmful effects but not limited to melting of polar ice, change in seasons,
occurrence of new diseases, frequent occurrence of floods and change in overall weather scenario.

7. Loss of Biodiversity

 Human activity is leading to the extinction of species and habitats and loss of bio-diversity. Eco
systems, which took millions of years to perfect, are in danger when any species population is
decimating.

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 Balance of natural processes like pollination is crucial to the survival of the eco-system and human
activity threatens the same. Another example is the destruction of coral reefs in the various oceans,
which support the rich marine life.

8. Deforestation

 Our forests are natural sinks of carbon dioxide and produce fresh oxygen as well as helps in regulating
temperature and rainfall. At present forests cover 30% of the land but every year tree cover is lost
amounting to the country of Panama due to growing population demand for more food, shelter and
cloth.
 Deforestation simply means clearing of green cover and make that land available for residential,
industrial or commercial purpose.

9. Ocean Acidification

 It is a direct impact of excessive production of CO2. 25% of CO2 produced by humans.


 The ocean acidity has increased by the last 250 years but by 2100, it may shoot up by 150%. The main
impact is on shellfish and plankton in the same way as human osteoporosis.

10. Ozone Layer Depletion

 The ozone layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us from the sun’s
harmful rays. Depletion of the crucial Ozone layer of the atmosphere is attributed to pollution caused
by Chlorine and Bromide found in Chloro-floro carbons (CFC’s).
 Once these toxic gases reach the upper atmosphere, they cause a hole in the ozone layer, the biggest of
which is above the Antarctic.
 The CFC’s are banned in many industries and consumer products. Ozone layer is valuable because it
prevents harmful UV radiation from reaching the earth. This is one of the most important current
environmental problem.

11. Acid Rain

 Acid rain occurs due to the presence of certain pollutants in the atmosphere. Acid rain can be caused
due to combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes or rotting vegetation which release sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.
 Acid rain is a known environmental problem that can have serious effect on human health, wildlife and
aquatic species.

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12. Water Pollution

 Clean drinking water is becoming a rare commodity. Water is becoming an economic and political
issue as the human population fights for this resource.
 One of the options suggested is using the process of desalinization. Industrial development is filling
our rivers seas and oceans with toxic pollutants which are a major threat to human health.

13. Urban Sprawl

 Urban sprawl refers to migration of population from high density urban areas to low density rural areas
which results in spreading of city over more and more rural land.
 Urban sprawl results in land degradation, increased traffic, environmental issues and health issues. The
ever growing demand of land displaces natural environment consisting of flora and fauna instead of
being replaced.

14: Public Health Issues

 The current environmental problems pose a lot of risk to health of humans, and animals. Dirty water is
the biggest health risk of the world and poses threat to the quality of life and public health.
 Run-off to rivers carries along toxins, chemicals and disease carrying organisms. Pollutants cause
respiratory diseases like asthma and cardiac-vascular problems. High temperatures encourage the
spread of infectious diseases like dengue.

15. Genetic Engineering

 Genetic modification of food using biotechnology is called genetic engineering. Genetic modification
of food results in increased toxins and diseases as genes from an allergic plant can transfer to target
plant.
 Genetically modified crops can cause serious environmental problems as an engineered gene may prove
toxic to wildlife. Another drawback is that increased use of toxins to make insect resistant plant can
cause resultant organisms to become resistant to antibiotics.

The need for change in our daily lives and the movements of our government is growing. Because so many
different factors come into play - voting, governmental issues, the desire to stick to routine - many people
don’t consider that what they do will affect future generations. If humans continue moving forward in such
a harmful way towards the future, then there will be no future to consider. Although it’s true that we cannot
physically stop our ozone layer from thinning (and scientists are still having trouble figuring out what is
causing it exactly,) there are still so many things we can do to try and put a dent in what we already know.
By raising awareness in our local community and within our families about these issues, we can help
contribute to a more environmentally conscious and friendly place for all to live.

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C. Climate change

1. Definition of Climate Change

Climate change is …
 a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns
 the period of climate change ranges from decades to millions of years.
 a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average
conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events).

2. Factors of Climate Change

a. Natural Causes

 Due to changes in volcanic activity and changes in solar radiation.


 Volcanic eruptions  episodic and have relatively short-term effects on climate.
 Changes in solar irradiance  have contributed to climate trends over the past century

b. Human Causes

Climate change can also be caused by human activities spurred by the Industrial Revolution, such
as:

 The burning of fossil fuels

 Human’s endless hunger for energy  ongoing burning of unlimited quantities of fossil fuels.
 When fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas - are burnt they release CO2 (carbon dioxide) into
the atmosphere.
 Results in  the layer of greenhouse gas gets thicker, which is in turn making the Earth
warmer.

 The conversion of land for forestry and agriculture

 These activities change the land surface


 Results in:

 influence both the amount of incoming energy and the amount of outgoing energy
 causing both warming and cooling effects on the climate.

 The increased consumption of meat

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 A worldwide trend for American-style diets  leading to a large increase in meat and dairy
consumption
 More meat consumption  more arable cultivation is turned over to producing feedstock for
animals that provide meat for humans.
 The losses at each stage are large, and as humans globally eat more and more meat, conversion
from plants to food becomes less and less efficient, driving agricultural expansion and releasing
more greenhouse gases.

 Energy wastage

 Cheap and abundant fossil fuels have cemented bad energy habits, especially in rich countries.
 Example: electrical appliances are left on a standby mode.
 The energy waste could easily be reduced if we use our energy more efficiently.

3. Effects of Climate Change in Malaysia

a. Agriculture production

 Changes in climate factors could decrease yields of rice, the main staple food in Malaysia, from
13% to 80% and decrease the production of industrial crops, particularly oil palm, rubber and
cocoa from 10-30%
 On the contrary, population of the country is expected to increase in the next few decades 
increased domestic demand of food.
 As a result  food crises and consequently threaten food security in the country

b. Water supply

 According to National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (Nahrim)  there would be water
supply issues in the future, especially in areas with higher risk or vulnerability, such as in the Muda
watershed in Kedah and small basins like Linggi.
 The unusually long spell of dry weather in February-March 2014 :-
 water shortage in Negeri Sembilan was declared to be in a state of crisis
 water rationing measures in Selangor.

c. Flood

 According to National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia’s (Nahrim)  there will be


an increase in rainfall magnitude and intensity in the future.
 Global warming will affect peak flow, causing more extreme floods at river basins in the
country.
 Recent cases: severe flood in Malaysia, especially in Kelantan, Pahang, Perak and Terengganu
from 15 December 2014–3 January 2015, affecting more than 200,000 people. This flood has
been described as the worst flood in decades.

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d. Socio-political stability

 Long dry spell  water rationing exercise  causing many to be dissatisfied with the local
authorities due to the inconvenience and the stress.
 Severe flood  many towns and villages in Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu and Perak to be
submerged in flood water  high tensions due to loss of lives, the damage of properties and
goods and the temporary loss of the source of their livelihood
 The extreme climate change  led to political debates  affected the socio-political fabric of
the Malaysian society.

4. What we can do to counter climate change?

Some of the measures include:

a. Reduce energy use

 Adopt energy-saving habits. Make it a habit to turn off the lights as you leave a room.
 Replace standard light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
 Turn off your computer and unplug electronics when they are not in use.

b. High efficiency appliances

 When replacing appliances, look for high efficiency units.


 Appliances with ENERGY STAR ratings, an international standard for energy-efficient
consumer products, typically utilize a minimum of 20 % less energy.

c. Recycle and repurpose

 Recycling: make recycling part of your daily routine  recycle all packaging and consumer
goods that you can.
 Repurpose: give used items, eg clothing and household goods, a chance at a second life by
donating them to charity or selling them at a garage sale.

d. Limiting the consumption of meat

 In the industrialized world, consumers eat as much as 90 kilograms of meat per year
 According to the study, however, reducing global meat consumption to just 90 grams a day
could help cut the methane and nitrous oxide emissions released from cows  will slow the
rate of climate change.

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D. Deforestation

1. Definition of Deforestation

 Clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees


 The land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use.
 Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use.

2. Effects of Deforestation

a. Affects land sustainability

 Trees provide habitats for many species in this world.


 When the habitat for plants and animals is cut down or burned  species that may not be
present anywhere else on Earth disappear.
 Without them, much of our lands would be barren or lack diversity, which is not good for the
land sustainability.

b. Release of carbon dioxide

 Every tree that is cut down releases its stored carbon dioxide that it accumulates over its years
of growth.
 Older trees  the more carbon dioxide released  damaging to the atmosphere.
 Deforestation is responsible for approximately 20 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions.

c. Global warming

 Trees also provide an escape from the urban heat island effect
 Urban heat island effect: the temperature of cities and buildings are hotter than the surrounding
forestry and natural splendor.

3. Rampant Deforestation in Malaysia

a. Report by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) researchers


 The first three months of 2013: a 115% increase in deforestation in Malaysia
 Malaysia's figure was the highest among five countries where deforestation was detected.

b. Study by the Netherlands-based Wetlands International


 Malaysia is uprooting an average 2 percent of the rain forest a year on Sarawak, or nearly 10
percent over the last five years.
 Most of it is being converted to palm oil plantations.

c. Expansion of palm oil plantations


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 Malaysia and Indonesia produce about 85 percent of the world's palm oil
 Uses of palm oil  cooking oil, cosmetics, soaps, bread, chocolate, industrial lubricant, even
was once considered an ideal biofuel alternative to fossil fuel
 Under heavy criticism  due to widespread rainforest destruction for the expansion of the
plantations.

4. The Importance of Forests

a. Preserve biological diversity


 Forests cover 30% of the Earth's surface
 Contain much of the biological diversity found on land
 Harbour over two-thirds of known terrestrial species, many of which are threatened.
b. Ensuring our continued existence.
 Forests provide critical environmental services
 Regulating water flow into our streams/ rivers and moderating climatic change.
c. Supply us with many essential items
 Timber for all kinds of uses
 Non-timber forest products such as rattan and bamboo, wild fruits such as the petai (Parkia
spp.), durian (Durio spp.) and medicinal plants.
d. Many of the animals found in forests are of great importance to us.
 Example: bats help to pollinate fruit plants and keep the number of insect pests down
 Without bats  have to depend on insecticides, most of which are harmful to the environment.
e. The importance of tropical rainforests
 Tropical rainforests  as one of the most productive type of forests in the world.
 There are only three areas in the world where tropical rainforests are found – tropical South
America, Central Africa and Southeast Asia.
 The rainforests of Southeast Asia are believed to be the oldest and among the most biologically
diverse in the world.

E. Endangered Species
 In Malaysia, just like elsewhere the modern world, many species of wildlife are disappearing fast,
and conservation measures are needed to prevent animals and plants from vanishing for good.
 The World Conservation Union has stated that 14% of mammals in Malaysia are facing extinction
unless something is done fast to halt their decline in numbers.
 Three large mammal species that fall within this category are the Sumatran Rhinoceros
(Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) and the Malayan Tapir
(Tapirus indicus)..

1. Why Do Animals Become Endangered?

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Humans are largely responsible when animals become extinct, endangered or threatened. Here are some
reasons why animals become endangered:

a. Destruction of Habitat due to Man’s Self interest


 Humans destroy precious habitat--the natural environment of a living thing--when they fill
swamps and marshes, dam rivers and cut down trees to build homes, roads and other
developments.
 For many people  conservation takes second place to the welfare of human beings  do not
realise that all animal and plants species have vital roles to play in the ecosystem.
b. Pollution
 Oil spills, acid rain and water pollution have been devastating for many species of fish and
birds.
 Chemical pollutants may interfere with metabolic functions, causing functional impairment or
death of organisms.
 Reduction in the number of any species within a given food chain  affects other members of
the ecosystem.

c. Illegal and over-hunting


 Many animals are over-hunted because their meat, fur and other parts are very valuable.
 One of the saddest and sickest reasons that animals are hunted is because of the crazy
supernatural belief that parts of their bodies, such as rhino horn, have magic properties.
 Some have resorted to online illegal wildlife trade  the entire trade is mostly carried out via
their mobile phone.

d. Exotic or Alien Species


 When animals or plants arrive into a new habitat from a foreign place they sometimes introduce
diseases that the native species can't fight.
 These "exotic" species can also prey on the native species.
 The introduction of these alien species to a new environment can have major dissociative
effects to an entire ecosystem and be a key driver in species extinctions.

2. Measures that have been taken in Wildlife Conservation:

a. Operasi Taring:

 Recently this operation was carried out by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks
(Perhilitan) to combat online illegal wildlife trade.
 As of March 2015  managed to arrest several “important players” in the illegal wildlife
trade syndicate and to seize several protected wildlife species..

b. Educational awareness on the practice of responsible environmental stewardship


The public have to be taught that all living things have important roles to play in the natural
world.

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Education on environmental conservation has been included in the syllabus taught in schools
and higher institutions of learning.
NGOs like the Malaysian Nature Society  pioneer conservation through habitat conservation
and environmental education.

c. Wildlife conservation projects:


 Many individuals and organisations have been stepping forward with ideas and projects to
help conserve the environment and the flora and fauna that depend on it.
 Example  awareness on the conservation of Malayan Tigers  the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) staged a public event in Kuala Lumpur in which protesters pretended to drop dead,
and in so doing, called attention to the threat to the tigers.

d. Collaborative efforts:
 The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has collaborated with the Johor State
government on a project which aims to increase the population of Malaysian Tigers by as
much as 50% over the course of the next decade.
 March 2015: in the ASEAN Regional Forum’s workshop, Malaysia began to set the
groundwork for an Asean push against wildlife trafficking.

e. Promoting eco-tourism:
 The mountains, jungles and beaches of Malaysia have made this area of the world the most
popular destination for tourists in Southern Asia.
 On a financial level  important for Malaysia to look after its natural habitats or the eco-
tourists will have no reason to want to go there.

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CHAPTER 8: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES – POLLUTION, NATURAL DISASTERS AND


SUSTAINABILITY

A. Pollution

 Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse
change.
 Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. Pollutants,
the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring
contaminants.
 Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution.

1. Factors of Land pollution

a. Large scale farming

 Has caused thousands of acres of forest land to be ploughed up and the habitat of thousands, maybe
even millions of wildlife has been destroyed.
 Many wildlife flees or migrate to escape the dangers and activities of man.
 Cause an imbalance in their ecosystem, making some areas too densely populated with predators
and not enough food to go around.

b. Pesticides used in agriculture

 Many of these pesticides contain non biological ingredients and can cause abnormal changes /
mutation in any wildlife that comes across it.
 Affecting insects to which the pesticides are aimed as well as the animals or human who feed on
the plants.
 Pesticides pollute the earth, making it useless as well as poisonous after all the nutrients have been
sapped out from it.

c. Dumping site

 Malaysia  a dumping site to the millions of tons of rubbish thrown every week due to the sharp
increase in the population.
 Rapid development, population increase and changes in consumption pattern directly (and
indirectly) resulted in the generation of enormous amount of waste, ranging from biodegradable to
synthetic waste.
 This situation has been and will be reducing our environmental capacity to sustain life.

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2. Factors of Air Pollution:

c. Industrial Activities

Many industrial zones have been set up in mostly forestland and uninhabited areas.

Effects:

i. trees have been cut down to accommodate towards the building of large industrial factories.
ii. oxygen supply is decreased
iii. the factories are spewing out poisonous gases in the course of its production.

d. Increasing vehicles on the road

 Personal ownership of cars  due to the competitive prices of locally made cars and their
affordable financing scheme.
 Effect: an increasing amount of cars on the road, especially in the city areas congested with
human population  excess poisonous gases and heat are emitted daily.

c. Indiscriminate open air burning to get rid of excess rubbish


 Although open air burning is banned by law, the ban has not been heeded by the people of
Malaysia.
 Smoke and heat is released.
 Example: open air burning in plantations in Indonesia has caused haze in its neighbouring
countries, including Malaysia since 2005

3. Factors of Water Pollution:

a. Industrial activities
 Malaysia is fast becoming an industrial country  many of her rivers have become polluted
due to the many wastes that have been poured out into her rivers.
 Example: the paper making industry  requires chemicals, often poisonous in its production.
 The rivers are used as an outlet for the chemicals to drain away, in turn harming the waters and
the lives that revolve around them.

b. Tourism near the river sites


 Has prompted the construction of hotels and resorts around the area  the forests surrounding
the river areas have been chopped down
 The surrounding soil has no roots to hold on to and soon erode when the rains come.

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 The soil runs into the rivers and soon the rivers become murky and shut out all the sunlight
from reaching the aquatic life in the rivers and streams.

4. Bauxite Mining Issue


The case:
 Malaysia has imposed a three-month ban on bauxite mining beginning 15 January 2016
due to worries over its environmental impact.
 Flimsy regulation and a lack of environmental safeguards on bauxite mining 
environmentalists and residents blamed waste from the extraction process of bauxite for
polluting the waters off eastern Malaysia, in the state of Pahang.

5. The side effects of bauxite mining

a. Air Pollution and Acid Rain

 Dust is a primarily environmental problem caused by Bauxite mining.

 The “red” dust covers very large surrounding areas that affect the habitats, including
residential and agricultural neighborhoods of the Bauxite exploitation site  very harmful
to the growth of the agricultural products and reduces the productivity of these trees.

b. Water Pollution
 It requires an estimated area equivalent to the bauxite site to dump the red sludge.
 When the toxic red sludge is dumped on the ground:
i) The toxic chemicals will be percolated to the underground water table along with
rainwater
ii) Contaminate the main water source of the area.

c. Fishery Pollution
 The fishing industry will also be damaged due to the poisonous chemicals from the red
sludge
 The red sludge can cause the genetic distortion of fish in the ocean  affecting the health
and lives of the people consuming the fish.

d. Toxicity Affecting Human Lives


 The red sludge puts health and human lives at risk of being lost or harmed due to air, water
and fish pollution.
 The medical statistics prove that prolonged toxicity may cause encephalopathy,
osteoporosis, anemia, and possibly Parkinson diseases.

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B. Natural Disaster

1. Definition:
 A major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth
 Examples include floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic
processes.

2. Effects:
 Loss of life
 Property damage  economic damage

3. Examples of natural disasters in Malaysia:

b. Landslides in Malaysia are regular natural disasters in Malaysia which happen at the
hillsides.
c. Flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas. It may be caused by heavy
rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane or tropical storm followed by poor
drainage systems.

c. Earthquake in Sabah (2015)


 Struck Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia with a moment magnitude of 6.0 on 5 June 2015, which
lasted for 30 seconds. The earthquake was the strongest to affect Malaysia since 1976.
 18 people died on Mount Kinabalu

4. The effects of severe floods:

a. Financial loss incurred to individuals and businesses


 Household items, furniture, vehicles and other properties are damaged by the flood water.
 Businesses are affected, therefore bringing in financial loss to businesses

b. Lessons in classes are disrupted in some badly affected flood areas


 Educational materials, tables and chairs are damaged after being soaked in flood water
 Students would not be able to catch up on their studies according to schedule
if schools have to be closed for a certain period.

c. Victims are easily exposed to various diseases


 Floods has the potential to increase the transmission of diseases, particularly water-borne
illnesses like typhoid fever, chlorea, and hepatitis A and the increase of mosquito-borne
diseases like malaria.
 The most common reason humans and animals get sick during floods is because if they are
stranded, they can quickly lose access to clean drinking water.
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d. Vicious cycle of poverty

 Depending on the severity of the flood, some victims suffer heavy damage and loss of
property and items and would need to loan money from friends, relatives or even the
bank to recover from their loss.
 The debts will bring them in the vicious cycle of poverty as on top of financial loss
suffered, flood victims have to be burdened with the payment of debts.

C. Sustainability

 Malaysia’s position is unique in the global map of sustainable development. We always find
ourselves at the centre of attention on sustainability because of the country’s rich natural
endowments which is located in the tropical belt.
 Malaysia hosts a portion of the important tropical rainforest belt. It has a uniquely rich diversity
of flora and fauna with more than 25,000 plant species. Malaysia’s rainforests are a source of
timber and other products — such as rattan and medicinal plants — that support the livelihoods
of numerous communities. They are a reservoir of biodiversity and they increasingly attract
tourists.
 Exceptional species diversity and richness  Malaysia is recognised as one of the world’s 12
mega-diverse countries where special attention is needed to arrest habitat loss.

1. Challenges encountered in the Malaysia in the implementation of sustainable development:

a. Malaysia continues to be bedeviled by the problem of federalism.


 Environmental policy is mainly a federal jurisdiction, but land encompassing agriculture,
forestry, mining and water is a state jurisdiction.
 The power of the states over land has constrained national policy-making.
b. The general apathy among our public about the environment and sustainability. Malaysians
generally lack understanding of the underlying causes of environmental problems.
 In a survey of 6,090 Malaysians, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia (2009: 83–4) found
that only 43 per cent of respondents were aware of the causes of annual events such as flash
flooding and haze.
 The survey also found that awareness of environmental problems did not necessarily translate
directly into positive environmental behavior.
 Continuous environmental education is necessary and should be targeting the schools in more
concrete ways.
c. The fragmentation in the delivery system of the public service.
 Example: the power over planning permission lies with the local authority as provided by the
Town and Country Planning Act 1976.
 There have been instances where some of the decisions made by local authorities were not in
sync with federal policies.

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2. Measures Taken to Achieve Sustainability by the Government

a. Formulation of a national policy statement on green technology.


 The central role of green technology was emphasised by the release of a National Green
Technology Policy
 Overseeing greening in four sectors — energy, buildings, water and waste management
and transportation.

b. Registration of a green building association.


 Malaysia Green Building Confederation (MGBC) was established in 2009 to support the
government’s objective of promoting sustainably built environments.
 The Green Building Index (GBI) had also been launched to enable green grading and
certification of Malaysian buildings.

c. Initiation of a green financing scheme.


 In 2010, a soft loan incentive, the Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS), was
launched to create a policy environment that will attract innovators and users of green
technology.
 Granting soft loan to companies (both technology developers and technology users) in
which the government would subsidise 2 per cent of the interest rate.

d. Launching of the Green Townships Framework.


 Outline comprehensive guidelines for new and existing townships in the country to ‘go
green’ by incorporating environmentally friendly technologies.
 Putrajaya and Cyberjaya have been chosen to spearhead the project and to become models
of green townships in the country.

3. The National Policy on Biological Diversity 2015-2025

The National Policy on Biological Diversity seeks to conserve Malaysia's biological diversity and to ensure
that its components are utilised in a sustainable manner for the continued progress and socio-economic
development of the nation.

Goal 1: to empower and harness the  The Federal and State governments will play the leading
commitment of all stakeholders to role, at the same time engaging all other agencies,
join hands including the academia, will also be engaged in this
to conserve our biodiversity mission.
 Civil society is expected to play an even greater role in
biodiversity conservation in the future.

Goal 2: To significantly reduce  Future national and state development policies and
pressure on biodiversity programmes to have biodiversity conservation embedded
in them.
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 The need to embrace sustainable consumption and


production.

Goal 3: To safeguard our key  Threatened plant and animal species, especially those
ecosystems, species and genetic that are in immediate danger of extinction, require
diversity species management plans as the basis for their
conservation.
 To conserve viable, representative examples of all of its
natural habitats.

Goal 4: To ensure that benefits  The goal is to work towards institutionalising a national
arising from the regulatory framework.
utilisation of biological diversity  To work with relevant stakeholders to protect the
are shared in a fair and knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous
equitable manner peoples and local communities.

Goal 5: To improve the capacity,  Biodiversity is our shared heritage - it is also our shared
knowledge and skills of all responsibility.
stakeholders to conserve  All stakeholders should have the appropriate level of
biodiversity knowledge about biodiversity so that everyone can better
understand the threats, as well as being able to better
plan and design environmental interventions.

CHAPTER 9: ECONOMIC ISSUES -- INCOME INEQUALITY

A. Introduction

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 Income inequality metrics or income distribution metrics are used by social scientists to measure
the distribution of income, and economic inequality among the participants in a particular economy,
such as that of a specific country or of the world in general.
 Income distribution has always been a central concern of economic theory and economic policy.
Modern economists have also addressed this issue, but have been more concerned with the
distribution of income across individuals and households.
 The Gini coefficient (also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio) is a measure of statistical
dispersion intended to represent the income distribution of a nation's residents. Gini coefficient is
commonly used as a measure of inequality of income or wealth. The range of the Gini index is
between 0 and 1 (0% and 100%), where 0 indicates perfect equality and 1 (100%) indicates
maximum inequality.

B. The Positive Effects of Income Inequality

1. Growing opportunity
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 The lower income earner group would be more driven to advance themselves, to improve their
standard of living, through education or other types of skills learning.

 Income inequality provides growing opportunities to entrepreneurs as it encourages them to


take risks and set up new business.

 Without the prospect of substantial rewards  little incentive to take risks and invest in new
business opportunities

2. Improved standard of living in less developed areas

 When the productivity level of businesses or any other industries is higher due to positively
driven workers, businesses or any other industries will grow.

 To accommodate the growth of the business, some companies may set up new branches in less
developed areas and thereby provide job opportunities to the people there.

 When there is increased economic activities in the less developed areas, this in turn will
encourage the growth of other small-medium enterprises (SME), eg grocery shops, book stores
etc.

3. Rewarding the deserving ones

 Someone works harder or has better skills or talents  receives a higher wage.
 The promise of a higher wage is essential to encourage extra effort or exemplary performance
at work so that the rewarded ones are continually motivated to pursue excellence in service and
productivity.
 Rewarding hard work and excellent performance  a driving factor to other workers to avoid
passivity or poor work ethics at work.

4. Trickle Down Effect to Others

 If an entrepreneur successfully sets up a business  create jobs and provide incomes for other
workers.
 Income inequality promotes professionalism, innovation and creativity at work.
 There will then be a boost to productivity leading to a higher national output – so in the end,
everyone can benefit.

C. The Negative Effects of Income Inequality

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1. Economic growth

 There is evidence from a broad panel of recent academic studies shows that there is a nonlinear
relation between income inequality and the rate of growth and investment.
 Very high inequality slows growth
 Moderate inequality encourages growth.

2. Education

 Greater income inequality and greater poverty inhibit access to schooling and investment in
human capital.
 High income inequality  the poor would live in a vicious cycle of poverty as the poverty
stricken parents would be too hard pressed financially to invest in the education of their
children.
 Moreover, some parents may have to use up the time meant for study revision, by asking their
children to help out in adult job tasks (eg helping to man the stall, plantation work etc).
Therefore, the children may end up neglecting their studies.

3. Health and life-span

 Richer, better-educated people live longer than poorer, less-educated people  more able to
understand and use health information and have better access to healthier food and better
healthcare system.
 The poorer, less-educated people suffer from malnutrition, poorer living conditions that expose
them to more diseases.

4. Political Instability
 High inequality threatens a country’s political stability because more people are dissatisfied
with their economic status
 Harder to reach political consensus among population groups with higher and lower incomes.
Effects of political instability:
i. increases the risks of investing in a country and so significantly undermines its development
potential.
ii. failure to build national consensus
iii. may result in violent conflicts

5. Social Ills

 Example: mental illness, violence, imprisonment, lack of trust, teenage births, obesity, drug
abuse, and poor educational performance of schoolchildren

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 High inequality reverberates through societies on multiple levels, correlating with, if not
causing, more crime, less happiness, poorer mental and physical health, less racial harmony,
and less civic and political participation.

6. Sustainable Development

 High inequality limits the use of important market instruments such as changes in prices and
fines.
 Example: higher rates for electricity and hot water might promote energy efficiency, but in the
face of serious inequality, governments introducing even slightly higher rates risk causing
extreme deprivation among the poorest citizens

7. Ethnic Relations

 High income inequality can lead to ethnic tensions that may lead to larger issues of racial
conflicts and eruption of riots between/among ethnics in the country.
 Strained ethnic relations that eventually led to a national crisis have taken place in Germany,
Indonesia and Malaysia.

D. Income Inequality in Malaysia

1. 1957-1970
a. After independence in 1957, the ruling Alliance government continued the laissez-faire economy
policy of the colonial government. The laissez-faire approach resulted in rapid economic growth.
b. From 1957 to 1970, income inequality became worse among the people. The rich appeared to
benefit the most from the rapid economic growth at the expense of the poor (middle and lower-
income groups):
 About half the population was living under poverty; The poor amongst the Indian population
fared the worst
 Active government intervention in the economy to help the Malay was not implemented  the
majority of Malay still in poverty.
 Significant imbalance in terms of wealth (equity) ownership between the Malays and the
Chinese. By 1970 the Malays owned only about 2.4% of the ownership of share capital, while
the Chinese owned 27.2%.
 Inter-ethnic inequality in terms of employment and occupation, which reflected the differences
in skills, education and experiences of each ethnic group.
i. By 1970, about 2/3 of those employed in primary sector were Malays. Three-quarter of
the Malays were agricultural workers mostly involved in small, subsistence farming and
fishing activities.
ii. The non-Malays on the other hand, were largely employed in the secondary and tertiary
sectors. On the other hand, the non-Malays were associated with mining, manufacturing
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and construction, a high productivity sector. The professional, technical, sales and
managerial jobs were predominantly held by Chinese.

2. In the 1970 till 1990’s

a. The overall inequality rose between 1970 and 1976 and then fell at the end of the NEP period.
b. Before the 1990s, the inequality improved tremendously due to commendable government policies
that include the promotion of export-oriented industrialisation, education, and training, and the
restructuring of equity ownership and assistance in asset accumulation.
c. However, post-1990s, there is little change in inequality due to the difference in the growth rates
of incomes of the rural and urban areas, inflows of migrant workers, and impediments to the process
of internal migration.

3. Entering the new millennium – towards Vision 2020

a. The median monthly household income for Malaysians in 2014 increased by 11.7 per cent annually
to RM4,585 from RM3,626 in 2012. For the mean monthly household income for Malaysians, it
increased 10.3 per cent per annum to RM6,141 in 2014 from RM5,000 in 2012, it said. (Department
of Statistics Malaysia)
b. Although this is an improvement, there are still gaps between income levels among ethnic groups,
people in urban and rural areas. Example: the urban-rural income gap widened from 2009 to 2012.
Nonetheless, there has been an improving trend in Malaysia for the income inequality from 2009
to 2012.
c. However, Malaysia’ s Gini coefficient (an index that measures the degree of inequality in income
distribution) is still high compared with other countries such as Thailand at 0.4, Indonesia (0.37)
and India (0.33). Despite the improvement, Malaysia's Gini index has remained stagnant at 0.4
since the late 1980s.

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CHAPTER 10: ECONOMIC ISSUES -- POVERTY ERADICATION

The Poverty Line Income (PLI) measures the capacity of households to meet the minimum requirement for
food and non-food consumption.

Poverty alleviation has always been a concern in Malaysia's development strategies. Malaysia has been
applauded by international organizations for its success stories in poverty eradication. The incident of
poverty had decreased from 1950 till 2012:

 1970 = 49.3 percent


 2012 = 1.7 percent

The unique socio cultural of Malaysia has led to the dimensions of poverty being investigated based on
ethnic groups and strata.

Bumiputeras, were the group with the highest poverty incidence, with 64.8 percent in 1970 but down to 2.2
percent in 2012 (EPU, 2013). The other two major ethnic groups, the Chinese and Indians had a low and
moderate poverty incidence with 26 and 39.2 percent in 1970 to 0.3 and 1.8 percent in 2012 (EPU, 2013).

Poverty incidence was also higher in the rural area as compared to the urban area with 58.7 and 21.3 percent
in 1970 to 3.4 and 1.0 percent in 2012. Despite the remarkable dropped in poverty incidence there were still
some pockets of poverty and many of them were elderly.

A. Challenges for Poverty Reduction in Malaysia

The following are important issues which need attention as the country faces a new category of new poor:

1. Migrants Workers’ Issues

 Contraction in employment opportunities drastically affects the urban poor, the near poor, migrant
workers.
 A high prevalence of unemployment and retrenchment are also acknowledged by relevant
authorities.
 Huge demand for knowledgeable and skilled human resources in capital intensive and high value
added activities.

2. Ethnic Issues

 The educational achievements of Bumiputera and rural students in disciplines which are very much
fundamental to the economy was considerably lower than the urban and non Bumiputera students.
 If the policy makers do not create promising arrangements  lead to fragmentations, factions 
worsen the turmoil between ethnic groups.

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 Therefore, the National Economic Plan 2010 (NEP) poverty eradication mainly focussed on Malay
rural population, and the policies and initiatives turned ethnically motivated.

3. Rural and Urban Poor

 Poverty has constantly been identified as a problem confined to rural.


 Rural and urban migration  leads to a vast proportion of new poor family units settling in urban
settings
 Innovative policies and strategies should be implemented with strong commitment in programs
planning and inner city development

4. Poverty Line Income Issues

 Poverty Line Income Issues are constantly discussed by absolute and relative terms
 Views on relative poverty have been changing over time.
 An ambiguity in the redefinition of relative poverty  makes comparisons difficult between
different periods of time.

A. Urban Poverty

Although urban poverty in Malaysia is not a serious phenomenon, it is far harsher and extreme than rural
poverty.

What could be the factors causing urban poverty?

1. Low levels of education or skills


 The migration of low-income groups who are less educated and lacking in skills from rural into
urban areas to seek for greener pasture.
 Higher wages  but higher cost of living in urban areas  causing their purchasing power to
decrease.
 A monthly salary of RM1,200 to RM1,500, which is about average for this category of workers, is
not sufficient, given that house rentals alone cost about half of these amounts in the cities

2. Lack of employment opportunities


 For jobs that require low skills such as in the service, manufacturing or construction industries,
employers prefer to hire foreign workers due to lower wages.
 Therefore, some migrated rural people may end up with without any fixed job or fixed income if
they struggle to make ends meet by doing odd jobs.

3. Low wages but large family size


 Those that migrated from rural areas may not have been educated about proper family planning 
the family to have quite a number of children.

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 Most of the time, the father is the sole breadwinner as the mother needs to be at home to take care
of the children, especially when the children are still young.
 Therefore, the family become more hard-pressed financially due to the increased needs in the
family, yet there is only one source of income.

4. The neglected elderly


 Without labor income after retirement, the elderly ones are more susceptible to living in poverty
compared to the non-elderly.
 Some of the elderly ones do not have any family support during their golden years.
 Elderly ones with children  some are neglected because their children may be too preoccupied
with their own materialistic needs.

B. Measures taken by the Government to eradicate poverty

Since 1971 the government has implemented various policies to eradicate poverty and restructure society.

Focus 

 Affirmative actions based on ethnicity


 Assessment of the efficiency of government on rural development
 Education and employment.

For rural development, the government's measures encompass two components:

 Integrated agricultural development programmes (IADPs)


 Regional development encompassing new land development and land consolidation and
rehabilitation.

1. Economic Policies

Two main economic policies initiated by the government are:

a) New Economic Policy (NEP)


 It is the government initiated project to alleviate poverty among the various ethnic groups through
numerous strategies and programmes.
 The period of British rule left behind some remnant effects on our society and economy. The
economic system and the geographical location of where we lived and worked were divided along
racial lines.

The Malays  in the traditional agricultural sector where per capita income was the lowest and
poverty was the highest.

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The Chinese  in mining, manufacturing and construction where per capita income was recorded
as much higher.

The Indians  labourers in estates and mining.

 The rationale of introducing NEP in June 1970

 Racial riots in 1969  due to socioeconomical imbalance.


 Problem of poverty and the economic differences along racial lines were detrimental to social
stability and national unity and had to be addressed immediately.
 The NEP was formulated as a concerted effort to reduce poverty and restructure the economy.

 The NEP was introduced to attain national unity via the dual aims of:
 Eradicating poverty among all Malaysians
 Restructuring Malaysian society so that the identification of race with economic functions and
geographical location is reduced and eventually eliminated

b) (LIH) NKRA (2010-2015)

 The Raising Living Standards of Low-Income Households National Key Results Area (LIH NKRA)
has been a core part of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) since 2010.

The LIH NKRA initiatives in GTP 1.0 (2010-2012)

 Focus: implementing initiatives that drove straight into the heart of poverty. One of the key
programmes that led to this achievement was the 1Azam.
 The implementation of 1 Azam:
Objective: Strike a balance between providing direct aid and economic opportunities to its
participants to ensure that they become financially self-sustaining
Strategies: Provide economic activity programmes to guide the poor and extreme poor on ways
to increase their income and break away from the vicious cycle of poverty.
Four areas of assistance:
 Job placements (Azam Kerja)
 Creating small business enterprises (Azam Niaga)
 Creating small service providers (Azam Khidmat)
 Creating opportunities in agriculture (Azam Tani)

 Achievement: Extreme poverty has reduced to 1.7 per cent in 2012. Pockets of extreme poor that
continue to exist are made up of indigenous communities and specific target groups.

The LIH NKRA initiatives in GTP 2.0 (2013-2015)

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Target group: The LIH NKRA initiatives in GTP 2.0 (2013-2015) are designed to reach out to these
groups (indigenous communities and specific target groups), in particular those who have yet to receive
assistance from the government.
Objective: economic empowerment of individuals and communities through basic facilities and the
right environment.
Strategies: greater cooperation from NGOs and corporations to leverage on the expertise of these groups
in delivering services and aid. Corporations who intend to give back to society can do so through
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.

2. The rural development strategies

Among some of the strategies are as follow:

a) Agriculture development:
 Implemented as IADP's (Integrated Agricultural Development Programmes) to improve
productivity and incomes of farmers.
 Involves a package of physical and economic infrastructures, social amenities, technology,
imputs and agricultural support services.

b) Regional and Land Development


 Land scale regional and land development projects involving resettlement of landless or
marginal farmers into land schemes.
 Involves a package of physical, economic and social infrastructures and amenities.

c) Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation


 Involves consolidation and rehabilitation of uneconomic holdings in existing agricultural
and rural areas.
 Aim: to improve the productivity and income of farmers.

d) Agricultural Support Services and Subsidies


 The provision of institutional and agricultural support services such as extension, training,
input and price subsidies, research, marketing, etc.
 Aim: to reduce real costs of production and increase efficiency in production.

e) Rural Industrialisation
 Involves the expansion of agricultural resources-based industries as well as rural
handicrafts.
 Aim: to create employment and supplement rural incomes.

3. Establishment of Government Agencies to assist rural farmers and planters.

i) RISDA (Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority)


 To overcome problems and to eradicate poverty among rubber smallholders

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 Aids rubber replanting, provides seedlings and fertilizer to the smallholders.


 A programme under RISDA is called as SEPENTAS (Skim Penggalak Tanam Semula)  provided
interest free loans to households with less than two hectares of rubber.

ii) FELDA
 To overcome the problem of landlessness and to reduce chronic rural poverty.
 FELDA also provides technical, processing, marketing and other forms of support.
 FELDA schemes were equipped with roads, water supply, irrigation and drainage works,
transportation, clinics, schools and other basic amenities.

iii) Padi and Rice Marketing Board (PRMB), National Rice Board (LPN), Federal Agriculture
Marketing Authority (FAMA) and Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA)
 To serve and assist rice farmers in the country.
 Among the assistance are to provide irrigation scheme, training, introduce new technologies
 Also provides guaranteed minimum price for the purchase price of the paddy, subsidy scheme like
fertilizer, seeds, credits, and pesticides.

4. Education and employment.


The objective of educational programmes are:

a. Develop appropriate education and training programmes to raise the supply of trained manpower
and direct incentives as well as administrative measures to boost their participation in the modern
sector.
b. Create more Bumiputera professionals.
c. Increase educated rural labor into higher income occupations in the urban industrial and service
sectors  by implementing university enrolment quotas, scholarships and other educational
subsidies.

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CHAPTER 11 : ECONOMIC ISSUES -- RISING COST OF LIVING AND RAISING THE LIVING
STANDARD

A. RISING COST OF LIVING

1980s and 1990s -- a steady growth rate of more than 7% on average in Malaysia, with a relatively low
inflation rate. Since 2011 -- inflation has been steadily rising year on year.

Malaysian households’ earning:

 60% of Malaysian households earn less than RM6000 monthly.


 80% of households earning an average income of RM2500.

Economists are predicting that 2015 will be a difficult year for Malaysians.

 Payment of GST (Goods & Service Tax) on goods and services purchased. GST is proposed to replace
the current consumption tax i.e. the sales tax and service tax (SST). The introduction of GST is part of
the Government's tax reform programmed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the existing
taxation system.

1. Factors that have contributed to the rising cost of living:

a. Climate change, unpredictable weather conditions

 Droughts and floods: bad crops and shortage of essential produce such as wheat and sugar. Example:
countries like Russia, Canada, and Australia, major exporters of wheat, had less to export, which drives
up the global price of the commodity.
 Effect: When these exporting countries announce their lower production levels, and consequently lower
exports, it also causes panic buying in the market, forcing the prices up further.

b. The volatility of fuel prices

 Since the last quarter of 2014, petrol price had been plunging down  causing the Malaysian ringgit
weakened in comparison to US Dollar.
 The Malaysian ringgit fell by the most among emerging Asian peers on fears that sliding oil prices may
hurt the country's current account surplus and widen the fiscal deficit as it is a net oil exporter.

c. Subsidy rationalisation measures


 In its bid to reduce its debts, the government has taken aggressive subsidy rationalisation measures,
including the slashing of fuel and sugar subsidies.

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 Effect: price hike across many household items as fuel and sugar are essential commodities used in
most household items.

d. Saddled by loans

 In recent years, the prices of houses have increased.


 With no public transport in many towns, 93% of households own cars mostly purchased through easy
credit schemes.
 Also saddled with loans for purchasing durable consumer goods, and paying utility bills and internet
bills.

e. GST and concerns of further price hike

 A major concern about the implementation of the GST is the resulting price effects on consumers.
 The prices of other categories of goods and services in the CPI basket such as education, health,
recreation and culture, food and non-alcoholic beverages and food away from home are expected to
increase slightly between 0.67% to 2.21%.

f. The Price of Real Estate

 A rapid increase in property prices over the past four to five years with the excessive speculation in the
property market driving property prices to an artificially high level.
 Preponderance towards luxury properties like terrace houses, semi-detached homes and bungalows.
 Housing developers from the private sector focus more on bigger and comfortable homes, using better
quality construction materials.

g. Excessive Profiteering of Some Merchants

 Some merchants have chosen to put personal gains above the suffering of their own kinsmen by
committing the sin of opportunistic profiteering.
 Although there has an increase in the price of petrol and sugar due to the removal of subsidies and
although GST has been implemented since April 2015, the price hike has been above the estimated
percentage of increase due to some merchants resorting to excessive profiteering (increasing prices of
goods and services to gain extra profit).

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B. WEAKENING OF RINGGIT

 Malaysia’s ringgit has slid past 4.0 against US dollar in the worst currency crash seen for the first
time in 17 years.
 Heightened by worsening global outlook, devaluation of China’s yuan, political scandals linked to
the Prime Minister, plus the falling crude oil prices, the four horsemen of the apocalypse have
assembled for the ringgit’s troubled days ahead.
 The main culprit however, is the decreasing oil prices which destabilises the oil-exporting
economy. The continuous ringgit slide is alarmingly disquieting.
 How would the decrease of ringgit’s value affect you as a consumer? Are we the generation bound
to experience the comeback of ringgit meltdown during 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis?

b) Negative effects of weakening Ringgit

1. Increased price of goods and services

 If you have mixed feelings about Goods and Service Tax (GST) imposed on the things you love, a weak
ringgit will worsen your buying mood.
 Prepare to tighten your belt as the increased cost of imported goods will be reflected on the price tags.
 The cost of imported components utilised by domestic producers will also contribute to the impact.
This results in us expressing great disdain over the price hike of imported fresh goods (vegetables,
fruits, etc.).

2. Inflation

 When the ringgit experiences depreciation, the cost of imported goods will increase as mentioned
earlier.
 The use of raw materials from foreign markets will also contribute to inflation caused by imported
goods.
 As a result, domestic producers are forced to sell their goods on a higher price to sustain the increased
cost of operation.
 For instance, automobile companies which utilise imported components in their vehicles would feel the
impact of weak ringgit and market the finished vehicles on a higher price to the end consumers.

3. Costly oversea travel

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 The poor exchange rate for ringgit equates to a lesser value it carries when you convert it to foreign
currencies.
 You should revise your plans to study or travel abroad as the expenses in your budget is expected to
increase on a consequential proportion. Until the Malaysia’s ringgit has fully recovered, join the Cuti-
cuti Malaysia bandwagon for cheaper travel.

4. Reduced purchasing power

 When the price of goods and services increase, but your income is not, what do you have left? Answer:
A diminished purchasing power.
 You have likely felt the pinch after the implementation of GST. With the weakening of the ringgit, the
prices of goods and services are expected to increase further.
 The increased cost of goods does not permit you to spend freely like you used to. As a result, there are
lesser things you can buy with your money as your purchasing power is reduced.

5. Prolonged difficult times ahead

 The ringgit’s depreciation is mostly caused by external factors. Followed by the strengthening of US
dollar, ringgit is unlikely to fare well against greenback in the present.
 The falling crude oil prices are beyond the control of the Malaysian government as well. If the
plummeting value of ringgit persists and threaten the economy, we may expect the government to
impose capital controls to protect the economy.
 The 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis forced the former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to fix the
ringgit at 3.80 to the dollar as a form of capital control to prevent the country’s economy from going
downhill.

c) Positive effects of weakening Ringgit

1. Exports growth

 A weak ringgit can act as a stimulus to the Malaysian businesses as it has now become more affordable
for foreign markets to purchase Malaysian-made goods.
 The increment of demand for the domestic products will likely generate more profits for the certain
businesses such as the manufacturing sector.
 Export-oriented businesses which market its goods to international markets will find the weak ringgit
beneficial as they enjoy higher sales volume.
 As a whole, the increment in exports for some economic sectors will be observed.

2. Tourism boost

 Foreign tourists will benefit from a weaker ringgit as it grants them a higher purchasing power to
splurge like a shopaholic.
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 Singaporeans who enjoy a quick getaway to Malaysia would likely be the prime benefiters as ringgit
falls to an all-time new low trading around 2.90 to the Sing dollar. If you are a foreigner reading this,
there is no better time to visit Malaysia as the weak ringgit gives you more value for your money.

3. Increased foreign investment

 The falling ringgit makes investment in Malaysia more welcoming. As such, investors will take
advantage of this and strike while the iron is hot.
 A weak ringgit will encourage foreigners to invest through foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign
investment portfolio as it is cheaper to operate and buy stocks and bonds in Malaysia respectively.
 While the effects of capital flow generated by foreign investment portfolio is not immediately felt by
the citizens, FDI can generate employment opportunities in the market as multinational companies build
new facilities to conduct businesses in the country.

The depreciation of ringgit is boon and bane for the country. Currency fluctuation is a naturally occurring
process of the economy. In a state of perpetual flux, the economy is not immune to global trends triggered
by a chain of events elsewhere in the world. Our country is not immune to this phenomenon; however, this
is a challenge we can overcome. While surely things will get better in time, it may be wise to assess your
current financial security.

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CHAPTER 12 : ECONOMIC ISSUES -- BRAIN DRAIN

A. Définition

 It is also called as human capital flight.


 Brain drain denotes the departure of educated or professional people from one country, economic
sector, or field for another, usually for better pay or living conditions.
 More practically, brain drain simply refers to the migration of highly-skilled workers as measured
by their level of educational attainment, typically at the level of Bachelor’s degree or higher.

B. Brain Drain in Malaysia.

1. Being one of the countries most affected by brain drain.


 Not only being incapable of delivering the required talent, but also in being unable to retain the
current local talent or attract foreign ones.
 Malaysia aims to escape the second-world chasm and join the league of high-income nations
by 2020, but the biggest deterrent is the lack of skilled human capital.
2. Estimated statistics
 Since it is extremely difficult to keep track of the current Malaysian diaspora which is so widely
spread out, the World Bank used previous data and took into account the most recent trends,
and from it estimated that at least 800,000 and up to 1.4 million Malaysians were currently
living overseas.
 Among the diaspora, more than a third of them are over 25 years of age.
3. Gloomy picture of the Malaysian brain drain situation
 Brain drain has grown rapidly but is likely to intensify  further eroding the country’s already
narrow skills base.
 The number of skilled Malaysians living abroad has tripled in the last two decades with 2 out
of every 10 Malaysians with tertiary education opting to leave for either OECD (Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries or Singapore.
4. Breakdown of the brain drain to destination countries are as follows:
• 54% to Singapore, resulting in Malaysian-born employees contributing to a quarter of the
island nation's population and 47% of its skilled foreign labor in 2010
• 15% to Australia
• 10% to the United States
• 5% to the United Kingdom.

5. Simply put, one in every ten skilled Malaysians born in Malaysia choose to leave the country,
which is twice the world average. While the numbers are similar to Singapore and Hong Kong,
they are actually incomparable to Malaysia because that is a typical situation for small and open
economies. Malaysia is suffering the loss of skilled brain drain, especially for technology-based
jobs.

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C. The Main Factors of the Malaysian Brain Drain

The World Bank identified in their Monitor Report the factors of the Malaysian brain drain.

1. The main cause is attributed to the less attractive salary and benefits offered in the country.
 This difference is especially noticeable in the high-skill technology sector.
 In a survey conducted by JobStreet’s survey, among the top reasons for the brain drain was the
large gap between expected and offered salaries.

2. A sensitive, yet substantial cause of the Malaysian Brain Drain is the perceived social injustice in
the country.
 Some Malaysian emigrants in the brain-drain issue were dissatisfied with the extra assistance
determined by Article 153 of the Constitution.
 Foreign observers recognize this as a major cause of brain drain.

3. The limited access to high-quality education also remains to be a significant cause of brain drain.
 Enrollment into affordable public tertiary education institutions is very limited and based on
racial quotas while private universities are costly and is not anywhere near the standards of
universities in developed countries.
 Primary and secondary education, although free, is of substandard quality  uncommonly
supported by long hours of outside tutoring for those who can afford it.

4. The close proximity of Singapore and its substantially more developed environment also
encourages the Malaysian diaspora to migrate there.
 The proximity allows them to keep in touch with family left behind in Malaysia
 The extensive network of Malaysians already living there make it easier for them to make the
move.

D. Effects of Brain Drain in Malaysia

1. May trap a country into an undesirable equilibrium

 The World Bank states that brain drain could cause a vicious circle that may trap a country into
an undesirable equilibrium with low levels of human capital and large technology gap
 Could contribute to rich countries becoming richer and poor countries becoming poorer.
(World Bank, April 2011).

2. A large diaspora of skilled workers who have graduated from institutions of higher education
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 The economy has witnessed a large diaspora of skilled workers in comparison to the overall
population, and receives a sizeable number of immigrants from neighbouring countries,
 Causes the erosion of an economy’s skill base and dampens innovation

3. Affecting firm productivity due to the tight labour-market for skills

 Could potentially affect economic growth in the long-run.


 According to the World Bank Report in 2011, Malaysia's growth fell to an average 4.6% in the
past decade (2000-2010), from 7.2% the previous period.

4. Touches the core of Malaysia's aspiration to become a high-income nation.

 With human capital the bedrock of any high-income economy, Malaysia will need to develop,
attract and retain talent.
 Malaysia needs talent, but talent seems to be leaving.

5. Affecting SMEs (Small-Medium Enterprises) in attracting local talents to work in the country

 Due to the budget constraints faced by SMEs.


 Some SMEs do not have the financial capabilities to host talent fairs themselves, without any
financial aid from the government.

E. Measures to Solve Brain-Drain

1. Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and Economic Transformation Programme


(ETP)

 The Malaysian government has identified productivity and inclusiveness as the key factors to solve
emigration and have established the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and Economic
Transformation Programme (ETP) to tackle the issue from these perspectives.
 Under the GTP, the government is hoping to address the issue of non-inclusiveness for non-
Bumiputeras.
 Through it, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has launched the 1Malaysia campaign,
which encourages Malaysians to no longer identify their culture by race but by nationality.

2. Talent Corporation

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 The government is also currently working with Talent Corporation to attract, nurture and retain
talent required for a high-income economy.
 Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) was set up to strengthen public - private sector
collaboration in widening and deepening the talent pool in Malaysia
 It has introduced the Returning Expert Program (REP) to encourage Malaysians currently working
abroad to return home by providing incentives like a flat tax rate of 15%, tax exemption for all
personal effects brought home and permanent resident status for spouse and children.

3. The Otak-Otak Program

 The Otak-Otak Program (Otak-Otak) was established by four young professionals who returned
from abroad to pursue a career in Malaysia
 Otak-Otak is an internship programme that focuses on bridging the gap between industry
professionals and students.
 Otak-Otak builds a community of students and established professionals working together to give
back to each other and to the nation, much like an alumni network.

4. Feedback from the current diaspora

 Essential in determining policies to reduce brain drain.


 Some of the most popular responses from the respondents were their wish that there would be a
paradigm shift away from raced-based towards need-based affirmative action and evidence of
fundamental and positive change in the government.

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CHAPTER 13: POLITICAL ISSUES

A. Introduction

Malaya became independent from colonization in 1957. In 1963, Malaysia was formed and Tunku Abdul
Rahman became the first Prime Minister of the country. Before and after independence, political parties
had played a vital role in reclaiming the sovereignty of the country and in developing Malaysia to its height
of success today.

B. The Political Scenario’s from 1957-2008

1. Formation of BarisanNasional (BN) in 1973


 The natural evolution from Perikatan, United Malays National Organisation, Malaysia Chinese
Association, and Malaysia Indian Congress (UMNO, MCA and MIC)
 Expanded to include the People's Progressive Party (PPP), Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party
(PAS) and PartiGerakan Rakyat (Gerakan) which until that point were opposition but joined
the broader BarisanNasional after the May 13th 1969 events in the name of national interest.
2. The political response to outbreak of violence in May 13th 1969 was:
a. Broaden governing coalition to form the bigger BN allies.
b. Adopt a far more assertively pro-Bumiputera economic policy under the banner of the New
Economic Policy (NEP).
 A two-prong objective:
(i) Restructure the Malaysian economy to remove the identification of a race
based on their economic activities
(ii) Increase the Bumiputera share of ownership in the economy to 30 percent.
 The NEP programme has ensured that ethnicity has been the defining principle of economic
policy. As a result, it has also remained the key axis of political identity and representation in
Malaysia.

3. The leadership and goverance under Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad


- He was the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia (May 1981 till October 2003)
His achievements:
 The principal architect of Malaysia's transformation to become a developed nation.
 Malaysia experienced rapid modernisation and economic growth, and his government initiated a
series of bold infrastructure projects.
 Managed to elevate Malaysia’s position as the 17th biggest trading nation in the world.
 Turn Malaysia into the next Asian tiger as an industrialized economy.
 Transformed Malaysia from an agricultural nation to an industrialised nation.

4. The dismissal of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim


 In 1998, the former Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sacked by Tun Dr.
Mahathir Mohamad and then arrested on September 20, 1998.
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 Six years of imprisonment for sexual misconduct charges.


 Reaction of the public: - shocked and sympathy
 Many considered that his dismissal had been carried out in an undemocratic manner.
5. The release of Anwar Ibrahim from prison
 The Reformasi movement seeking to build the political/institutional foundations of an alternative
form of governance based on the principles of good governance and liberal democratic norms.
 The emergence of a group of younger citizens that was attuned to the concept and birth of a
democratic and open society
6. The formation of Barisan Alternatif in 1998 (BA, Alternative Front in Malay) a coalition of
Malaysian opposition parties, formed as a counterweight to the ruling BN. BA was formed by the four
largest opposition parties
a. the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS)
b. the Democratic Action Party (DAP)
c. the National Justice Party (Keadilan)
d. the Malaysian People's Party - announced an electoral alliance and issued a joint manifesto.
Disbanded after the 2004 general elections, all 4 former component parties of BA (then 3, after a merger
of 2 of the parties) have since formed a new coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR), following the 2008 general
elections.
7. PAS as the former BN coalition and Democratic Action Party (DAP) as the opposition play a vital role
in shaping Malaysian politic and country as a whole.
a. PAS is an Islamic political organization registered with the Malaysia’s Organization
Registration Society, established in Butterworth, Penang on 24th November 1951.
 A strong support from northern rural and conservative area such as Kelantan and
Terengganu.
 Kelantan has been ruled by the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) since 1990, with re-
elections in 1995, 1999 and 2004, 2008 and 2013.
8. The DAP was founded on 18th March 1966 and had contested in 11 general elections from 1969 to
2013.
 DAP is one of the three main opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS,
that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties.
 DAP secured over 70% of the total number of parliamentary seats it contested in the 13th
general election, winning 38 of the 51 seats.

9. BN coalition fom 1957 to 2004:


 1957-2004: the BN coalition has won every election with 2/3 majority in Parliament.
 10th Malaysian General Election in November 1999 BN gained 56%, but still maintained its
two-third majority in parliament.
 11th Malaysian general election in March 2004BN under Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi, bounced back with an increased majority, gaining 63.9% of the votes. BN won
198 parliamentary seats and this is the largest majority and the best ever performance that BN had
won since the 1978 elections.

C. 2008 General Election


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1. The stronger influence of politics


 Since 2008, politics has been creeping into almost every fiber of Malaysian society.
 The politicizing of every single issue religion, race, economics, advertisement, transportation,
academic, school, mainstream media and etc.
 Purpose: gaining political support
 Effect: possible divisive consequences among ethnic.
2. Political tsunami ~ huge change in political landscape
 The 12th General Election in March 8, 2008 (GE 12, 2008) has been characterised as a “political
tsunami”.
 The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition unprecedented losses
 The primary peninsular opposition – PKR, DAP and PAS remarkable gains.
 Four additional state governments also fell to the opposition (Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Wilayah
Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur)
3. Factors attributed to the decline in BN dominance are:

a. The educated middle class


 The rise of the educated middle class plays an essential role in the new political mosaic
with the seeding of young political figures and strong Non-Governmental Organisation
(NGO’s) to balance the democratic government authority.
 The government now has to brace itself against a big challenge coming from the
Opposition, which was called by the academic community as 3 vs. 1 (The Opposition +
NGO’s + social media vs. BN)

b. The non-Malay voters


 Thomas Pepinsky, (2008) identifies one of the main causes of the ruling regime’s poor
showing as “non-Malay voters’ rejecting the incumbent coalition in favour of secular
opposition parties.” There certainly appears to have been a shift in the level of support for
the ruling BN coalition among the Chinese and Indian voters.
 In the 12 GE, the emergence of the opposition alliance (PKR-DAP-PAS)has provided
voters a political alternative at the polls.

c. The new media


 Shaping the emerging democratic space (political uprising) in Malaysia.
 The social media especially the internet is providing Malaysians with avenues for airing
their views on political, economic and social matters.

d. Street protests
The major events happened in terms of contentious politics at the mass society level were
two major street protests that took place in November 2007, less than five months prior to
the 12 GE.

i. Bersih rally

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 On November 10 2007, an estimated 40,000 individuals, consisting of a coalition of


seventy civil society groups, joined by members of opposition political parties and
individuals, took to the streets of the nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.
 Organized under the Coalition of Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH, which is the Malay
word for “clean”), this protest was to petition the king for reforms to the electoral system.
 The subsequent rally, Bersih 2.0 rally (also called The Walk for Democracy) was a
demonstration held on 9 July 2011 in Kuala Lumpuras a follow-up to the 2007 Bersih rally.
The 2011 rally's immediate demands were:

 Clean the electoral roll


 Reform postal voting
 Use of indelible ink during election
 A minimum campaign period of 21 days
 Free and fair access to mainstream media
 Strengthen public institutions
 Stop corruption
 The Bersih 3.0 rally (also called Sit In rally or DudukBantah in Malay) was a
demonstration in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia held on 28 April 2012. Following the rally in
2011, the government of Malaysia organised a Public Select Committee (PSC) to look into
electoral reforms in Malaysia, which released their proposals in April 2012.

In addition to the eight previous demands, it called for:

 The Election Commission must resign, as it has failed in its responsibility and has lost
the confidence of the public.
 The electoral process must be cleaned before the 13th General Elections.
 Invite international observers to observe the 13th General Elections.

ii. Hindraf

 An estimated 30,000 ethnic Indians organized as the Hindu Rights Action Force (HIN-
DRAF), an Indian nongovernmental organization, marched peacefully on the streets of
Kuala Lumpur in November 25th 2007 to protest the ruling BN coalition’s neglect of the
Tamil-speaking Hindu working class.

D. Measures taken by BarisanNasional to remain relevant after GE12, 2008

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The leadership and governance of Datuk Seri Najib


1. 1 Malaysia, People First, performance Now Aim
Aim: to take this young nation of 27 million people to a new and greater height of progress; to forge
a new level of nationhood out of the various races in Malaysia
Endeavour to provide to the needs among lower and middle class Malaysians through the following
initiatives:
 Health care service such as Klinik 1 Malaysia
 Affordable and quality housing project like Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA), Program
Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) and RumahMesra Rakyat 1Malaysia (RMR1M).
 Ease the impact of inflation – Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BRIM), Kedai Rakyat I Malaysia,
Menu Rakyat 1 Malaysia, BaucerBuku 1 Malaysia (BB1M) and etc.
2. Government Transformation Programme (GTP)
 Endeavour to make Malaysian a developed nation, that is a high-income nation, by 2020.
 To fundamentally transform the Government into an efficient and people-centred institution.
3. The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP)
 Aims to develop Malaysia into a high-income country by 2020 via increased investment.
 To build a resilient, dynamic and innovative economy.
 To bring in investments  further infrastructure development, such as the expansion of the
North-South Expressway and a proposed Pan-Borneo Highway

C. The GE 13, 2013

1. In days leading to GE 13, 2013, both BN and PR have outlined their political manifesto to woo
voters:
a. Barisan Nasional promised to:

i) Ease the cost of living


ii) Uplift the urban well–being
iii) Provide an affordable and secure housing
iv) Provide access to quality health services
v) Work out greater efficiency in public transportation
vi) Work out a world-class infrastructure development and rural transformation
vii) Build a resilient, dynamic and innovative economy
viii) Build educational excellence
ix) Enhance security and public safety
x) Strengthen women’s participation
xi) Nurture the youth
xii) Weave a network of social safety nets
xiii) Promote Islam, religious freedom and harmony
xiv) Fight the scourge of corruption
xv) Revitalise the public service, enhance good governance
xvi) Preserve nature’s resources
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To sum up BN’s political manifesto, Najib promised to develop “a country where the weak are protected,
those in want assisted, the strong protect, the young are loved, the elderly valued, those in need are attended
to, and those with potential given opportunities to bloom."

b. Pakatan Rakyat’s manifesto

Pakatan Rakyat’s political manifesto is premised on four fundamental pillars – Fraternity-Brotherhood of


the People (Rakyat Bersaudara), the People’s Economy (Ekonomi Rakyat), the People’s Well-being
(Kesejahteraan Rakyat) and the People’s Government (Kerajaan Rakyat), the Pakatan’s Manifesto promises
and is committed to ensuring justice, peace and equality for all the rakyat.

Pakatan Rakyat promised to:

i) Achieve a socially just development and shall be constantly guided by a people-centric


paradigm.
ii) Continue to have a clean and transparent government, guided by moral principles and
universal values.
iii) Administer Malaysia with trust, accountability and competency which will see a rise in
prosperity of the rakyat and a dignified life for all.
iv) Create a society that defends the truth and opposes cruelty, oppression and despotism, that
endears the fraternity and brotherhood of all mankind and strives for continuous
improvement.
v) Reiterate respect for the position of Islam as the official religion of the Federation while
equally guarantees the freedom of other religions as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
vi) Generate enough revenue through the 3 critical measures, namely of prudent spending and
avoiding leakages, realigning priority and through a sustainable growth.
vii) Increase both income and disposable income of the rakyat
viii) Forge and empower a model that includes the rakyat as important employees, stakeholders
and beneficiaries in a “Social Market Economy”.

2. The results of the GE13 showed BN winning with a majority seat in the national parliament. With
a record 84.5 per cent voter turnout, the final results gave the BN 133 and the opposition PR
coalition 89 out of 222 parliamentary seats, while at the state level, the BN coalition won 275, and
the opposition garnered 230 out of 505 seats. The BN retained majority in the national parliament,
and retook the state of Kedah from PAS. In the rest of the states, the status quo was maintained.

3. The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition under the leadership of the Prime Minister Najib Razak,
formed the government with a majority of seats and 47.38% of the popular vote while the Pakatan
Rakyat (PR) coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim formed the bulk of the opposition in Parliament after
winning 50.87% of the popular vote.

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F. Pakatan Harapan

1. The Pakatan Harapan,(PH) is a political coalition bringing together centre-left political


movements, organisations, parties and independent individuals in Malaysia.
2. The coalition was formed on 22 September 2015, consisting the Democratic Action Party, People's
Justice Party, National Trust Party and after 14 March, Malaysian United Indigenous Party.
3. The movement has aimed to form a broad alliance of centre-left parties for the general election due
to be held before 24 August 2018.

G. The Future in Malaysia’s Politics

1. Malaysia is expected to be a developed nation in the near future. Malaysia is a very complex society
due to the existence of a diverse population – Malay and other Bumiputera, Chinese and Indians –
making Malaysia a plural society composed of different ethnics, cultures, customs, and languages.
2. Ethnic-politics, religious-politics, Malay and non-Malay politics, racism-politics appear to be
lingering around in arena of Malaysian politics today.
3. Since the12th general election, Malaysia's political landscape has been changing. In fact, political
and social changes have already been taking place in the past decades in the age of social media
and amidst the instant-information society.
4. Ethnic politics in Malaysia is moving toward a new plateau where cross-ethnic line voting may be
a more common trend. The young generation is expected to play a bigger role in the Malaysian
politics landscape for the coming 14th GE.
5. ‘Alternative’ forms of media are also expected take centre-stage in the dissemination of political
information. Blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as well as a host of other independent news
portals are becoming increasingly popular.

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