Current Affairs

Dong Zong, or the United Chinese School Committees’ Association, organised a rally on March 25th where it presented four resolutions aimed at addressing the shortage of Mandarin-speaking teachers at Chinese schools. 

Professor James Chin, political analyst and senior fellow at the Institute of Democratic and Economic Affairs or IDEAS, says the issue of Mandarin-speaking teachers is a politically-driven one, rather than education. 

In the following interview, Chin discusses:

- whether the SPM Mandarin language qualification is a necessary requirement for teachers teaching Bahasa Malaysia and English in Chinese schools

- how the UEC fits into the picture of teacher shortage at Chinese schools

- the implications of Chinese schools being accorded equal status with national schools, and the possibility of this happening

- why Dong Zong has always been at loggerheads with the government for more than five decades

- Dong Zong's influence in advocating Chinese educationists' rights, and the perceived decline in its influence

- potential impact of Dong Zong on the upcoming general elections

- whether the politicisation of education has affected the standard of education in Malaysia

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On March 31, a series of coordinated bomb attacks in Hatyai killed 14 people, including two Malaysians. Since 2004, more than 5,000 have been killed as a result of the insurgency in Southern Thailand.

In the following interview, Dr Michael Montesano, visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, discusses:

-  the likelihood of foreign fighter involvement, given the increasingly coordinated and sophisticated nature of the bombings

- why the bombers are now targeting commercial areas instead of individuals

- alleged failure of counter-terrorism and security measures in Thailand to avert such bombings and identify perpetrators

- why the military is against the proposed "special administrative zone" in the South, and awarding autonomy of any kind towards citizens of Southern Thailand

- connection between state of Thai politics and resolving the seven-year insurgency

- effectiveness of dialogue in resolving the conflict 

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With the launch of the Renewable Energy Act 2011, Feed-in-Tariff system, and founding of SEDA as the main authority for the Renewable Energy industry last year, Malaysia's renewable energy capacity is projected to reach over 2 thousand mega watts by 2020, or some 11 percent of the total peak electricity demand.

Current Affairs interviews Datuk Seri Peter Chin, Minister of Energy, Green Technology & Water, for an update on Renewable Energy in Malaysia, where he addresses the following issues:

- How Malaysia intends to achieve 985 Megawatt (MW) of renewable energy or a 5.5% share of the energy mix by 2015 and in the long run, 11% of the energy mix by 2020

- What the current contribution rate of renewable energy to the energy mix is and the achievability of the 2015 target

- Whether to create a bigger quota to implement the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT), given the good response and high demand of FiT applications

- His thoughts on SEDA’s proposal for IPPs to contribute to the RE fund

- What is needed to increase investment in the country's green tech industry and in obtaining financial assistance for projects

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On April 3, Myanmar’s government confirmed that Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her allies have won in the recent by-elections, taking 40 out of 45 seats at stake. This comes a day after Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party had announced that they had won at least 43 seats. 

Sumana Rajarethnam, senior analyst with Economist Intelligence Unit Singapore who had written an EIU preview report on the Myanmar by-elections tells BFM that he considers the byelections to be a successful one, despite earlier allegations of irregularities with the electoral process.

In the following interview, he discusses the following:

- Impact of the by-election win for NLD and the country

- How the outcome reflects on the electoral process in Myanmar, and changes since 2010

- Will the decision on sanctions by US and EU be affected by the win

- The influence and power that Suu Kyi gains by entering Parliament

- Challenges awaiting Myanmar on the road to 2015

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In conjunction with the first anniversary of the Corporate Integrity Pledge, we speak to Transparency International Malaysia's president Datuk Paul Low on how the adoption of the pledge has taken off in the past six months since its first sign up. Low also discusses the existing gaps that need to be addressed within companies, challenges of enforcing corporate governance and anti-corruption measures down the line and how the Corporate Integrity Pledge can be further strengthened.

In Part Two of the interview, Maybank Group Chief Risk Officer Dr John Lee elaborates in detail about how Maybank -- the first financial institution to sign the pledge last year -- fights corruption within its organisation, and the effects of such measures.

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Last month, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said that discussions on the fate of the Race Relations Bill, along with other bills set to replace the ISA, are likely to take place this month. This follows after years of flip-flopping on decision of tabling the Race Relations Bill in recent years.

In the following interview, Lim Chee Wee, president of the Malaysian Bar Council discusses:

- the government's flip-flopping in pushing the Bill through since 2008

- whether the Race Relations Bill will be able to reconcile with Article 153

- how Bumiputera policies will be affected if the Bill is passed

- lessons to learn from the UK's implementation of the Race Relations Act 1976 and its more recent Equality Act 2010, and how these lessons can be implemented in Malaysia

- whether the Race Relations Bill has the potential of being abused

- possible hurdles should the Bill be tabled

- whether legislation is the best way to deal with race relations issues in the country

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In the following interview, Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd CEO Wan Abdul Halim Wan Ismail discusses:

- the purpose behind the founding of Selangor's sole sand mining concessionaire in 2008

- how effective the company's operations have been in curbing illegal sand mining 

- his response to claims that Kumpulan Semesta -- as the state's sole sand mining concessionaire -- is contributing to a shortage in sand to fulfil demand and the rise of illegal mining operators

- how Kumpulan Semesta addresses the problem of sand shortage 

- Kumpulan Semesta's criteria in selecting contractors 

- why sand theft is so rampant, and what can be done to curb this

- price differential between legally and illegally mined sand 

- industry players' suggestion that more operators be allowed to mine sand in Selangor

- response to claims that Kumpulan Semesta and Kumpuland Hartanah are at loggerheads

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Harimau Muda has proven to be the best in Asean after defending its SEA Games gold in football last year and winning the Asean Football Federation Cup in 2010. However, there still lies a general perception that Malaysians don’t support local football as much as they do international teams and clubs. 

Dez Corkhill, managing editor of Astro Arena, disagrees, saying that the perception is an urban one. He says local football is strongly supported throughout the country, with the better performing teams garnering more support from the local fans. He believes that no other event can draw as many people to a stadium on a weekday night, as does football. This is also seen in the viewership figures of local televised football matches on Astro Arena, which he says, surpasses that of the televised English Premier League matches.

He says one of the problems that contribute to the perception of empty seats during a football match is that there are not many made-for-football stadiums in Malaysia. A smaller seating capacity allows fans a closer match-watching experience, and the perception of a full turnout at matches, akin to the English Premier League matches in the UK. 

In the following interview, Corkhill talks about the media's influence in driving public perception of local football, why local football of today should not be compared with the likes of the 1970s, as well as the challenges facing Harimau Muda in becoming the next Asian champions.

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Recently, the Election Commission moved more than 31,000 voters from PJ Selatan to the Lembah Pantai parliamentary constituency in the latest border revision. 

In the following interview, Syahredzan Johan, chairperson of the constitutional law committee at the Malaysian Bar Council, discusses:

- his comments on the Elections Commission's reasoning behind the latest border revision 

- what Section 7 of the Elections Act 1958 says about delimitation and the powers of the EC in delimitation

- under what circumstances is delimitation legitimate

- criteria in determining new border delineation

- implications on shifting voters’ polling constituencies to another state or parliamentary constituency despite their voting address remaining unchanged, and what this means for voters in the upcoming elections

- how delimitation can be abused for political purposes

- how the public can play an important role as a safeguard against abuse in delimitation exercise

- whether there should be more openness to the delimitation process 

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In the following interview, Shamsudin Khalid, president of the Malaysian Photovoltaic Industry Association discusses:

- local industry concerns pertaining to the implementation of the solar feed-in-tariff (FiT) in Malaysia

- benefits of balloting instead of currently employed online bidding system

- why the industry is advocating for the government to focus more on residential adopters of FiT, as opposed to power plants

- why awareness level about solar FiT is low in Malaysia

- the need for the solar industry downstream to be developed

- SEDA's proposal for independent power producers and utility firms to contribute part of their profits to RE fund

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