YOURSAY ‘Among flawed democracies, perhaps we are among the best of the best.
If a democracy is flawed, why call it a democracy?
Fair Play
: Steve Oh, you are right. But among flawed democracies, perhaps we are among the best of the best in the sense there are many far worse than us. Perhaps this is also the flawed reasoning of flawed leaders and a flawed ranking system.
Boonpou : A better term to describe democracy in Malaysia is ‘managed democracy’.
Given the government's fetishism with setting quantitative but not qualitative achievements, for example, the Petronas Twin Towers, the biggest kite, the longest sandwich, the first space tourist, alarming number of ministers with PhDs - never mind how they obtained them, the fetishism with all sorts of honorific titles, the easiest enrolment standard into law or medical schools for the majority of Malaysians, the number of ministers who cannot speak or think in English, perhaps even in their own mother tongues, and so on, Malaysia should be inducted into the Guinness Book of Records for being one of the longest-serving managed democracies in the world.
Dean Johns : Right on, Steve. Malaysia under Umno/BN is not just a flawed democracy, but an outright fraud democracy.
The Analyser : Then call it an Islamic democracy. Islam, so we are told, is a way of life where every aspect of life is controlled and dictated. Because, at the time the profit and the caliph's committees had no concept of human rights, so there is no concept of human rights in present day Islam.
It's one of the great ironies of human nature that the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) gives full protection to religious oddities, but the privilege is not returned.
Once again it's not Malaysia under BN that's the problem, it's Malaysia under Islam that's the problem. As it is Pakistan under Islam, and Afghanistan under Islam, Syria under... and... and... and... and... ad infinitum.
Until you can recognise that fact this country is doomed. Haven't Malaysians learnt anything from the PKR fiasco?
Steve, I think I'd prefer a morally decadent leader if he had some vision, imagination and some integrity. Good morals is no guarantee that you'll get anything better than that old man from Kelantan.
SteveOh : The Analyser, agree with the gist of your comments but didn't Malaysia see 22 years of one with 'some vision, imagination and some integrity'?
Asitis : To describe it as Islamic democracy is to describe it using an oxymoron.
Anticonmen : It is not a flawed democracy. It is a closet dictatorship by a few thieves, conmen and fanatics.
Exranger Is Incorrect : Flawed democracy is still democracy, just as a dead chicken is still a chicken - just that it is dead.
KL developing into a modern ‘slum’ city
Moontime : This is a disaster of mega proportions initiated by the greedy and corrupt and condoned by the mediocre and complacent civil service.
I was born in KL but I'd rather not stay there at all because the quality of life has gone way down. What good is a developed nation status when residents still need to grapple with traffic jams exacerbated by potholed riddled roads?
Actually the root cause of it is lack of integration. Town planners seldom look at the big picture because as far as money is concerned, who cares? As long as I do my job and get my money, let the residents take care of the problems themselves.
Let's Face It : We are a nation full of shortsighted leaders who lack vision and detest long-term planning. We tend to address the problem only when it literally happens in our own little backyard. I just don't see the problem being solved anytime soon unless we are prepared to make sacrifices and prepare to change to a more sustainable lifestyle.
Anonymous_40f4 : Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has recently completed a concrete flyover in Jalan Segambut, another useless project. Instead of widening the road, they build a flyover and the traffic jam is now throughout the day and has become unbearable.
The signboard says Bukit Kiara but it is actually Jalan Segambut. Who should be penalised? The consultant and DBKL must answer for this flop design. DBKL has already approved scores of high-rise condos in Segambut but doesn’t care about widening the road. We don’t know if the Segambut MP, YB Lim Lip Eng, can organise a memo handing-over and a gathering in front of DBKL to meet the datuk bandar.
Basically : DBKL only cares for one thing - payouts, and that’s what motivates it. Most of KL's problems can be traced back to DBKL's alleged greed and excesses, not to mention poor management.
Just look at the new KL plan, it aims to make more money for developers at the expense of keeping the city liveable and beautiful. Look at Warisan Tower, a monstrosity aimed at big payouts when they should have beautified the hill and made it a historical site, not to mention gazetting Chinatown as a heritage zone (And say bye bye to the profiteers? No way).
Lionking : Well, another achievement of the BN-led government. Nothing is spared when we have unbridled corruption, mismanagement, cronyism and leaders who have a very low level of enlightenment.
ONG: The way planning approvals have been given, our planning authorities and planners are either very stupid or very corrupt. This applies to both BN - and Pakatan-governed states.
Strata title still an issue for many apartments
CiViC : There are more issues than just strata titles here. All these are caused by inefficiencies in government offices and it's the same in every department.
Peteray : Dear Stephen Ng, thank you for highlighting the plight, However, I am disappointed that you omitted the most glaring example of all in Petaling Jaya, the Fraser Maxwell & Cameron Towers! Maybe their story is too ancient to tell as it is already 20 years since the apartments were built and many of our younger Malaysiakini readers may not have been born yet at that time!
Spinnot : Other states also have this strata title problem and some much worse than others. I suspect some government officers and developers are in a "You help me, I help you" situation.
Sinner : Let me add, the shophouses in Taman Sri Rampai, Setapak, KL which were sold by Rampai Development Sdn Bhd and of which DBKL is the landowner had been sold for 20 years now but they still do have strata titles, as the shops were part of a development which include stratified retail and office lots called Rampai Town Centre.
Every time an owner needs to sell his property, the developer gets a cut in administrative fees. This is ridiculous. If the developer goes bust, the owners will face grave problems as they will never get their titles. The government should charge the developer for not taking out strata or individual titles for the properties they sell.
Anonymous #59879079: Time to overhaul the entire system to prevent this from happening. Probably only in Malaysia, and we want to call ourselves developed by 2020. A pipe dream.
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