Fearing loss of fortresses, BN cracks down on Pakatan ceramahs

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

UPDATED Police went all out to disrupt the Pakatan Rakyat at two ‘sensitive’ spots in Johor and Perak – where chances are high that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s BN coalition will lose new ground at the next general election.

“Johor, the Felda and Felcra settlers are the last frontiers for the BN in the peninsula. They are what the BN fears losing the most. BN is afraid Pakatan will capture their fortresses and this is why they have come all-out to thwart us,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Ambushed

On Saturday night, FRU personnel ambushed a dinner-talk in Rengit, Batu Pahat. They chased people away from the tables and even tore down the backdrop banners before Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and Johor PKR chief Chua Jui Meng could arrive.

“They are afraid the people will get the correct information from us,” Anwar later tweeted back.

Seven people were arrested, PKR information chief Latheefa Koya was at the police station until nearly 4am trying to secure their release .

“The police are deliberately being slow. There are a lot of supporters waiting outside. Jui Meng and Dr Syed Husin are also with me. They have insisted on staying until everyone is released,” Latheefa told Malaysia Chronicle. All seven have since been freed.

Rough police action

Hundreds of kilometres away at Changkat Lada, Pasir Salak, it was the nearly the same script. Around 8.30pm, police began blocking roads leading to the hall where the Himpunan Warga Felcra Peringkat Kebangsaan was being held, creating massive traffic congestion.

Felcra stands for Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority. It is a sister unit of land settlers’ scheme Felda, which recently drew fire for running down its cash pile in exchange for questionable assets.

Deposed Perak Mentri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin dan Mazlan Aliman, head of the National Children of Felda Settlers’ Association or Anak, had been scheduled to speak.

“To me this is a sign of fear, the BN is scared,” Mazlan told Malaysia Chronicle.

Earlier this month, Mazlan had promised to expose Felcra’s corruption at the Himpunan or Assembly on Saturday.

“I will expose incidents of embezzlement involving cow-herding and fish farming activities as well as land owned by Felcra in Boston, USA worth about RM5 million during the assembly,” he said.

Pakatan supports DAP’s sacking of ‘letterheads’ councilor

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Pakatan Rakyat leaders supported DAP’s decision to sack Klang municipal councillor, Tee Boon Hock, from the party for allegedly misusing letterheads belonging to Selangor executive councilor Ronnie Liu to secure contracts for his cronies.

“Pakatan must show that it walks its talk. It is how we differentiate ourselves from Umno-BN,” MP for Shah Alam Khalid Samad told Malaysia Chronicle.

Nonetheless, they also warned against over-zealousness in the chase to be clean and transparent as that could unfairly create scapegoats.

Fair-play paramount

On Saturday, national DAP disciplinary chairman Tan Kok Wai announced the decision to expel Tee for breaching party principles and constitution.

The Klang councillor had been accused of using Ronnie’s letterheads and seal to issue letters of support to obtain contracts worth a total of RM1 million for 20 companies. According to Kok Wai, after studying all the documents, the disciplinary committee found that at least one of the firms was related to Tee’s family.

“Corruption is the biggest scourge in the country so this is what we have promised as a coalition to fight. DAP is showing leadership by example with its firm handling of the issue,” PKR Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“But we must also remember to be fair at all times and avoid the scapegoat culture that is now the hallmark of Umno and BN politics.”

Further action

Meanwhile, other DAP leaders urged the party to pass the case to the authorities for further action.

Selangor Mentri Bsar Khalid Ibrahim has promised to refer the case to the Malaysian Anti-Corrupotion Commission if internal investigations found wrongdoing.

“I fully support DAP’s sacking of the councilor for abusing the exco’s letterhead. No such acts should be toterated. We should not hesitate to ask the Attorney General to prosecute,” said Sibu MP Wong Ho Leng.

Related Story:   Letterheads graft: DAP expels Klang councillor Tee Boon Hock…

50 years of ISA

Tian Chua

1 August is the 50th Anniversary of ISA. The notorious law was enacted in 1960 when the legitimacy of the newly founded federation of Malaya was challenged by armed insurgency.

The ruling Alliance led by late Tunku Abdul Rahman assured the Parliament that the ISA would not be used against dissidents abiding by peaceful means of struggle and within the framework of the Constitution. Nonetheless as soon as it was passed, activists from a wide range of political spectrum became victims of the repressive law.

It is obvious that despite the apologists of authoritarian regime frequently justifying the law in the name national security, the ISA is undoubtedly oppressive, undemocratic and it contravenes basic human rights. In half a century of its existence, thousands of people had been imprisoned, and deprived of their families, livelihood and freedom.

The draconian law has conveniently become the weapon for the BN regime to perpetuate corruption and to cover up its misuses of power. It is also a tool to institutionalize a culture of fear among the Malaysian people.

The practice of detention without trial is not condoned by any religious values. In addition to preventive detention, the ISA had been a license for the authorities to torture and torment detainees. Thus such inhumane law should be condemned by democratic minded people both domestically and globally.

In the last few years, in collaborating with civil society organizations, Parti Keadilan Rakyat had intensified its campaign against the ISA. We are unequivocal in our demand for the abolition of the notorious law.

KEADILAN regrets the reluctance and delay in removing the provision for indefinite detention. Throughout 50 years we have witnessed innocent individuals becoming victims of this unjust law. The long list of people included Anwar Ibrahim, Syed Husin Ali, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Lim Guan Eng, Jeffry Kittingan, Mat Sabu, and many other Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

We believe that Najib and his Government is aware of the growing opposition against the Act. The PM must surely understand that the continuous existence of the ISA will project a negative image of Malaysia in the eyes of the international community.

By not abolishing the ISA, we suspect PM Najib is keeping his options open. Once the political interests of the ruling UMNO are threatened, I am convinced Najib would have no qualms in ordering a heavy crackdown using the ISA.

On behalf of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, I reiterate our firm and unambiguous stand– the ISA must be abolished. We are determined to continue our struggle for change and to make sure that laws which are inconsistent with human rights and democracy are eventually reformed.

(Tian Chua is the Member of Parliament for Batu and the strategic director of PKR. He was also an ISA detainee)

50 years of ISA: Kit Siang ‘renewed’ and ‘committed’ to the fight

Melissa Chi, Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — For Lim Kit Siang, a veteran politician popularly known for his no-holds-barred rhetoric, the one most painful experience from his detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) was having his freedom capped.

The DAP adviser’s only freedom had come in tiny doses and during those difficult days and his only comfort came from being allowed to wear his own clothes and to take short jogs around the secured compound to keep himself active.

When relating his story recently, Lim told The Malaysian Insider that it was really during his 35-month confinement under the ISA that he truly started to value his freedom.

“Freedom is the most precious thing, it is not tangible, something only when you lose, you’ll cherish it,” said Lim, who was detained on two separate occasions in 1969 and 1987.

He noted that it was the provision in the law that allowed for detention without trial that truly hampered a person’s freedom.

“It could really put a strain on a person’s belief and conviction. It is also extremely tough on the families. I would say that for most detainees, their families would go through great trauma,” the Ipoh Timur MP said.

Lim explained that the families had to adjust to the fact that they can only see the detainee once a week for such a short amount of time.

“For some, it is even harder for they would have to travel quite a distance just to spend a half hour with their loved one,” he said.

During his first detention in 1969, Lim’s family was living in Batu Pahat, Johor, which is about 32 miles from the Muar Detention Centre.

“Also, we are often kept in the dark. Most of the detained would not be informed of their release date and would only look forward to the 24th month of their detention to know if they would be released of have their terms extended,” he said.

He noted that in both cases of his detention, he was only informed of his release on the very day itself.

“Of course, I did not believe it (at first). I was a shocking, but pleasant experience,” the veteran politician said.

In 1969, Lim was detained under the ISA for 17 months for making “insensitive statements” and creating “disharmony to the state”.

He was sent to the Muar Detention Centre, which does not exist anymore.

Ten years later, he was convicted of five charges under Official Secrets Act (OSA) for exposing an inappropriate arms deal between the government and a Swiss company. He was again a victim of the ISA during the infamous Operasi Lalang in 1987 for “inciting racism” and was held without trial for 18 months at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak.

His two-time detention did nothing to dampen Lim’s fighting spirit however and instead, the 69-year-old said it had made him more resilient to fighting for a “better Malaysia”.

He said that his experiences had not wavered in his conviction, but rather reaffirmed his stance toward abolishing the preventive laws.

“In my case, I felt more renewed and committed [to fight for a] better Malaysia and not to allow all these undemocratic and repressive measure,” he said.

“It is pernicious, undemocratic and also opens to all sorts of abuses and should be abolished,” Lim said of the Act.

Lim’s sentiments were echoed by local as well as international human rights groups and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

He said there are talks about the amendments and the promise to table it at the Parliament but he said it had yet to happen.

The government had announced its plans to table amendments to six preventive laws including the ISA 1960, Emergency Ordinance (EO) Act 1969 and the Police Act 1967 this year, and has promised that the tweaks would better protect human rights and prevent abuse of power.

The proposed amendments have been approved by the Attorney-General’s Chambers for presentation to the Cabinet soon.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop had said that the amendments to the laws would involve five primary aspects including ministerial powers, the shortening of detention periods, police powers, rights and treatment of detainees and the abolition of several sections in the ISA.

Abu Seman, however, confirmed that these laws would only be amended and not abolished.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein had said that the changes to the ISA would include the right to hold peaceful assemblies.

The most recent incident in relation to that was on August 1, 2009 when 589 people were arrested on the day of the rally, including 44 children and 40 women. Out of the total, 498 people were released on the same day and 91 were held at the Bukit Jalil Police Station, according to Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram)’s memorandum to Suhakam.

On April 3, 2009, the day Datuk Seri Najib Razak took office as Prime Minister, he announced the removal of bans on two opposition newspapers, Suara Keadilan and Harakah, run by PKR and PAS respectively, and the release of 13 people held under the ISA.

He pledged to conduct a comprehensive review of the much-criticized law which allows for indefinite detention without trial. These promises had garnered support locally and abroad, and earned him goodwill.

Lim, however, reiterated that the ISA should be abolished. He pointed out that since the government had been holding on to the excuse of terrorism, there should be a specific terrorism act, and do away with such an “open-ended” act such as ISA.

“It had stunted the democratic growth… creating a culture of fear,” he said of the ISA, since its inception 50 years ago.

Lim said a greater public pressure from all sectors of society would add pressure to the government to abolish the act.

“Those in power at present should take seriously of such charges,” he said.

Click here to read more

50 years of ISA: For Karpal, reading was a luxury while in jail …

Dinesh Kumar, Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Isolated from his wife and sons and the rest of the world as he knew it, the only comfort for Karpal Singh in his small, solitary cell was the newspaper used to wrap the nasi lemak brought in during meal times.

He could not care less if it was old news but at least perusing through the old paper brought solace.

However, even that little freedom he enjoyed was immediately snatched away, denying him the comfort of reading for the next 60 days.

To be stripped of one’s power and basic rights as humans is in itself a grave sentence for anyone.

“The guards saw me reading it and they took it away from me. They told me I’m not supposed to be reading anything,” Karpal forlornly recalled to The Malaysian Insider this past week.

The Bukit Gelugor MP was amongst the 106 people, including DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang and Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali, arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA)in the 1987 Operasi Lalang.

The self-styled “Tiger of Jelutong”, Karpal said the solitary confinement was unbearable and called it “torture. It’s a horrible thing to do to a person”.

He recalled the guards refused to give him a blade for his shave in the first week of his detention.

“I told them I wanted to shave my beard. They said they will it not give it to me because I might cut my throat. I asked them to give me the blade or I’ll cut their throat,” Karpal chuckled.

The ISA marks the 50th year since the enactment of the act, which provides unlimited power for the Home Minister to order the arrest and detention of anyone deemed as a threat to national security for a period of 60 days.

This can be further extended by the Home Minister.

The ISA has been labelled as archaic and an infringement to basic human rights by civil groups, who are demanding the government abolish it together with the other preventive laws.

Karpal reminisced the anguish of being detained without trial, saying “everyone is born free”.

He even admitted of taking the freedom he enjoyed for granted, until he was detained.

He however fondly recalled the friendship he built with two Malayan Communist Party members.

They were released together with him and after a few years, “one of them sent me an invitation to his wedding”.

Sticking to his cause, Karpal urged Malaysians, especially the younger generation, to join the war against the ISA as it is as much a threat to them as it is to politicians and activists.

Click here to read more

TAPE 2 Anti ISA Rally 2009: Remembering the Police Brutality…

http://www.youtube.com/v/Q4oEa6uTXHs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_detailpage&fs=1

BN Fiddles While Malaysia Burns

Kenny Gan, Malaysia Chronicle

A UN report that Malaysia’s FDI nosedived by 81% in 2009 compared to 2008 should ring alarm bells that our economy is in trouble. This plunge is despite the fact that 2008 was a low year for FDI. Neither is this a one-off occurrence as our FDI has been declining for a decade.

Last year we attracted less FDI than Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia which used to lag behind us. On a brighter note we did better than Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos and we may soon be comparing ourselves with these countries. Even more ominous is that FDI outflow has been greater than FDI inflow since 2006 which is unusual for a developing country. The FDI outflow has all the signs of capital flight and show that even locals are losing confidence in the economy.

Private investments are also down and unsustainable government spending is propping up the economy. Our manufacturing base is shrinking and there is a danger that we may de-industralize with existing multi-national companies moving out. Instead of tackling this serious problem BN is more interested in pointless issues such who can use Allah and Malay unity. Instead of working closely with the PR state governments BN is trying to sabotage them by withholding funds and busy with politicking to discredit and pull them down.

Why are foreigners not interested in Malaysia despite our strategic location, political stability, high literacy rate and English speaking population? What has happened to our competitiveness in attracting foreign investments? The reasons are many and include high corruption, high crime rate, lack of democracy, racial policies, shortage of skilled workers and lack of judicial independence. However I shall focus on the last two which are real deal breakers for foreign investors.

Lack of skilled workers is seriously impairing our ability to transition to a high income knowledge economy. According to Universiti Malaya economist Rajah Rasiah, Malaysia has 300 to 400 science and technology workers for every 100,000 persons as opposed to 3,000 in countries which have made the transition. At the low end we are unable to compete with countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and China in terms of cheap labour but we are unable to move up the value chain due to lack of skilled workers. This is call the middle income trap but bear in mind that middle income may become low income as other countries progress.

This lack of skilled workers is not a new phenomenon, it is the product of decades of a flawed education policy and exacerbated by high migration of skilled human capital. When there is no meritocracy in tertiary education our universities begin to churn out unemployable graduates.

Public university entry is bifurcated into two streams – matriculation which represents a faster and easier path to university for Malays and STMP for non-Malays which takes an extra year after a difficult public exam. Even then, many well performing non-Malay students are denied places in public universities or are unable to earn a place in the course they want. If their parents are financially well-off they can further their studies in private institutions but it leaves a bitterness which is fuel for future migration.

The existence of single race technical schools, colleges and universities reserved for bumiputras has not helped to raise standards. If Malays are aware that they do not need good grades to enter university as there are more than enough places for them what incentive do they have to study hard? The universities’ response to low quality and unmotivated undergraduates is to dumb down academic standards to help them graduate. Meanwhile many bright non-bumiputra students without strong financial means are denied a chance to further their education.

A big pool of high quality graduates is the future of the country. If there are not enough universities the priority is to build more and improve their academic standard, not to buy multi-billion ringgit submarines to defend against non-existent threats. Could it be that the tertiary needs of Malays are met more than 100% so there is no urgency to build more universities?

Even worse, proposals by the Chinese and Indian communities to build their own universities using private funds were stalled and disallowed for decades. Only after the 1999 general election when the non-Malays saved BN did Mahathir allow MCA to build UTAR and MIC to build AIMST; primarily to save these parties from the wrath of their communities more than anything else.

University academic staff and promotion are heavily influenced by race which is another blow to standards. Our universities have long fallen out of the list of 200 best universities in the world and only recently has UM managed to claw back to 180th place. Single race education institutions have no place in the modern world and should be opened up to all races but will BN do it? A proposal by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid to open up 10% of Mara colleges to non-Malays was met with a furious uproar by Umno.

Racial bigotry in education has cost the country dearly but BN is doing nothing to address the deep-seated problems in education. Compounding this is a critical brain drain problem which is hemorrhaging skilled people overseas. Statistics show that more than 300,000 skilled Malaysians migrate to foreign lands every year and this figure is probably outdated as migration is accelerating.

The government has proposed setting up a Talents Corporation to attract skilled Malaysians back with attractive packages but like the ‘Returning Scientists Program’ and the ‘Brain Gain Program’ is bound to fail. While there are many pull factors in developed countries there are also many push factors here in the unequal treatment and limited opportunities for minority races and the lack of meritocracy in employment and promotion. Making a segment of the population feel second class is not the best way to retain them.

Beside the lack of skilled workers the second big deterrent to foreign investors is the perceived lack of judicial independence. It is a shame that foreign partners usually specify Singapore as the centre of arbitration in case of any disputes. If foreigners do not trust our judiciary they are loath to come in and put their money down for fear that they will be given short strife in future. But nothing is being done to improve the judiciary.

After the Perak power grab debacle which saw the judiciary stepping on the Constitution with illogical and controversial judgements to enforce BN’s power grab the government is pushing ahead with Anwar Ibrahim’s ridiculous sodomy trial. When this odious case is over all dregs of judicial independence will evaporate into thin air if indeed there are still some remnants left.

Malaysia’s economy is in a deep pit caused by racial policies, lack of meritocracy, lack of skilled workers, high migration rate, low university standard, stagnant income, declining foreign investment, endemic corruption, rent seeking practices, high wastage, unfettered unproductive spending on defense, useless mega projects, diminishing natural resources, authoritarian government, compromised democratic institutions, tainted judiciary, useless MACC, spineless controlled media, etc .

The country is being supported by petroleum which is a diminishing resource and the industriousness of its people which is being squandered. No country with such a burden can go up, the only way is down.

Can BN fix the country? If we analyze the problems we will find that racial policies are the root of Malaysia’s problems. But Umno is powerless to change things because as a Malay nationalist party the special treatment of Malays underpins their political power.

Rolling out slick economic plans with lofty targets but no substance behind them does not help. As expected prime minister Najib Razak has watered down the market driven intentions of the NEM and retained the outdated 30% bumiputra equity under pressure from right wing groups like Perkasa. Hence we see that the spirit of the NEP will live in the NEM as it has in the NDP.

All races are in the same boat and if they do not paddle together the country can hardly go forward competitively. Whatever happens to the boat will affect all races.

Only a political change to the multi-racial politics of Pakatan Rakyat can save Malaysia and recovery will be long and slow. Otherwise instead of being a high income country, we are on track to be a maid and manual labour exporting country by 2020 if BN continues to rule.

Betrayed and backstabbed, Ling should not hesitate to tell all

Viktor Wong, Malaysia Chronicle

Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, the former MCA president who is also the ex-transport minister, was hauled up last week and charged in the court for corruption and abuse of power in the Port Klang Free Zone financial scandal.

But if Tun Dr Ling were an Umno leader, would he be taken into custody and charged in the court for the same offense? We doubt so.

In this PKFZ fiasco, Dr Ling could not be the sole person to mastermind the entire episode. He is not that powerful, certainly he does not have enough clout to authorize a multi-billion Ringgit project like this on his own.

Yet, others clearly more empowered than him who were also involved in this project have not been arrested or charged. Why?

Is Dr Ling being made a scapegoat to swallow all the blame? What about the others, be it from Umno or MCA. Leaders of these two core BN parties are the key players in this failed project and it is absurd to tell the people that Ling is the sole mastermind behind this scandal.

If Dr Ling feels that he should not be blamed for the entire debacle, then feel free to speak. Umno has already betrayed you. The current leadership in MCA has also sold you out.

So spill the beans, tell all. Make public the names of all those who were involved and who these Umno and MCA leaders were.

By the way, where is Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak?

SYABAS CEO Paid More Than His Counterpart in Bank of China

Tulang Besi

No wonder the country is heading towards utter bankruptcy. They were milking the people into paying high rates of water so that they can enjoy exorbitant pay that doesn’t match their experience and qualification. Not to mention the humongous amount of money to be made for UMNO and UMNOPUTRAs.

A quote from a Reuter’s article says:

China, for example, boasts three of the world’s four biggest banks, yet the leaders of those banks – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp and Bank of China – are among the lowest paid of those surveyed by Reuters. The chairman and the president of each of the banks are paid roughly $230,000 per year

Bank ICBC, bank terbesar di dunia, membayar CEO mereka USD234,700 pada tahun 2008. Jumlah ini bersamaan RM1 juta setahun.

The SYABAS CEO, on the other hand, went on record as to admitting that his salary is RM5.1 million per year.

If you convert Razali’s salary into US Dollars, it will come up to roughly USD1.6 million. Compared to the average salary of the three Chinese banks, we will come up to the figure USD1.6million – USD230k= USD1.33 million.

In other words, the CEO of Syabas makes USD1.33 million more in a year compared to the CEO of Bank of China.

At the same time, Bank of China, ICBC and Algriculture Bank of China are three of the biggest banks in the world. While SYABAS is only responsible for water management in one state within Malaysia.

So, my question being: What is the justification for the UMNO appointed CEO of SYABAS to be paid USD1.33 million more than any of the CEO’s of the biggest banks in the world????

To me, this is just the tip of the ice berg on how UMNO robs the people blind using the various GLC’s. Whenever anyone questions such fact, UMNO will invoke the Melayu card and automatically turns it into a racist issue.

Bear in mind, SYABAS is planning to sue the Selangor state government. The reasongs given is not very clear, but my guess is, they want to use the summons to extort money from the people so that their CEO and company executives can continue to be paid exorbitantly without any justification.

No wonder the country is heading towards utter bankruptcy. They were milking the people into paying high rates of water so that they can enjoy exorbitant pay that doesn’t match their experience and qualification. Not to mention the humongous amount of money to be made for UMNO and UMNOPUTRAs.

Click here to read more at Tulang Besi’s blog

Study shows U.S. bank CEO pay dwarfs rest of world

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) Chairman Jiang Jianqing attends a news conference announcing the 2007 annual results in Hong Kong March 25, 2008. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) Chairman Jiang Jianqing attends a news conference announcing the 2007 annual results in Hong Kong March 25, 2008.

By Steve Eder

NEW YORK | Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:43am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – You wouldn’t know it by his pay stubs, but Jiang Jianqing heads the world’s largest bank.

Jiang, chairman of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, made just $234,700 in 2008. That’s less than 2 percent of the $19.6 million awarded to Jamie Dimon, chief executive of the world’s fourth-largest bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The contrast illustrates the massive differences in pay among the CEOs of the world’s top banks. The compensation of the CEOs of the largest U.S. banks towers above what’s paid to banking chiefs in other parts of the world, according to a Reuters analysis of pay at the 18 biggest banks by market value.

Excessive compensation at banks is expected to be discussed this week when the Group of 20 nations meets in Pittsburgh. But consensus on the issue remains a distant hope as there continue to be vast differences in how bankers are paid, from the CEO on down.

The United States is home to four of the nine largest banks in the world — JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup Inc. It is also home to four of the six most handsomely rewarded bank CEOs.

“The U.S. executive pay levels have always dwarfed pay for companies elsewhere in the world,” said Sarah Anderson, a fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies, which is critical of Wall Street, and co-author of the recent study “America’s Bailout Barons.”

“They have claimed it is impossible to recruit people without paying such compensation. Yet, if you look at the pay levels in Europe and in a lot of Asian countries, somehow they manage to find people who can run major global firms while making a fraction of what they make in the U.S.,” she said.

For a graphic comparing bank chiefs’ pay around the world, click here

“BASICALLY NOTHING”

China, for example, boasts three of the world’s four biggest banks, yet the leaders of those banks — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp and Bank of China — are among the lowest paid of those surveyed by Reuters. The chairman and the president of each of the banks are paid roughly $230,000 per year.

“That’s basically nothing for the leaders of these huge Chinese financial institutions,” said Laura Thatcher, who leads law firm Alston & Bird’s executive compensation practice in Atlanta. “I can’t imagine why they would work for nothing.”

So how, exactly, do the Chinese do it?

The Chinese banks, which are state-controlled, are typically led by bureaucrats appointed by the central government, and executive pay is capped.

Being the head of a Chinese bank does come with perks, just like running a U.S. bank. The top Chinese bank executive gets such non-cash benefits as a car, driver, medical insurance, food and housing. Experts note that many American and European executives receive similar benefits.

Some of the Chinese bank executives may be willing to accept the pay level of a top government official in the hope of moving into a powerful political position in the future.

But the executives also feel the consequences of a global downturn, just like some of the U.S. CEOs who were forced to skip bonuses or accept reduced salaries in the past two years.

ICBC’s Jiang took a 10 percent pay cut in 2008, even as ICBC’s profit jumped 36 percent to $16.23 billion.

LOST IN TRANSLATION?

Aside from China, all of the banking CEOs included in the survey made at least $1 million last year. Total compensation included publicly disclosed bonuses, stock awards, options and other perks.

HSBC Holdings, the world’s third-largest bank by market capitalization, paid CEO Michael Geoghegan $2.8 million in 2008 — much more than his Chinese counterparts but far less than JPMorgan paid Dimon.

Outside the United States, the highest-paid bank CEO works for Banco Santander SA, which has the seventh-largest market cap and paid Alfredo Saenz $13.66 million for 2008.

Royal Bank of Canada paid Gordon Nixon $9.5 million, while Australian CEOs Ralph Norris of Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Gail Kelly of Westpac Banking Corp made $8 million and $7.4 million, respectively.

Japan’s biggest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ, did not release the pay details of its CEO.

Alan Johnson, a Wall Street compensation consultant with Johnson Associates, said much is lost in translation when comparing CEO pay from country to country.

And that will make it difficult for world leaders to find consensus at the G20 summit.

“Different cultures, different disclosures,” Johnson said. “It just highlights the difficulty across the world in trying to make far-reaching pay decisions.”

To Anderson, though, comparing bank CEO pay around the world makes the issue much more clear-cut.

“These kinds of figures undercut the main argument by the U.S. financial industry lobby that they will lose top talent to competitors in Europe or Asia,” Anderson said.

Is Malaysia heading for Intensive Care Unit?

J. D. Lovrenciear

LETTER Going by the news outbreak these days, one cannot help feeling that Malaysia is heading for the socio-political and economic intensive care unit (ICU). From that date the legendary yet controversial Doctor brutally sacked his deputy and stepped down from his hard-lined premiership, the nation has been nose-diving.

Two truths surface.

One, Tun Dr. Mahathir ploughed a pathway at a very high price that kept the nation moving forward.

Two, he left the nation to only go downward as his socio-politic and economic mantra did not withstand the test of time.

Just look at the reputation Pak Lah has earned. And reassess the image the current premier is having.

Today, we see politicians lambasting each other. The left wing and right wing are battling it out, playing the infamous series of ‘Spy verses Spy’. Along with that, race-based politics has become the currency to attack and counter attack.

Sleaze, greed, acrimonious wealth accumulation, fear and all kinds of legal battles are the daily symptoms. Meanwhile, every breadwinner rakyat knows that it is becoming a daily or monthly nightmare to meet bills and put food on the table.

The political pathways are being filled with all kinds of landmines and booby traps ranging from police actions, arrests and detentions without trial, to all sorts of threats, intimidation and fear creation.

It appears quite clear that we are no longer administering sustainable care to keep the nation bobbling for a more secure future advancement. On the contrary we are so obsessed with power struggles and territorial gain-ships muddled with all sorts of legal battles and counter suits. Party interests have gained supremacy over governing a nation according to the wishes of the electorate.

And the most recent expose by the one-time gurka of UMNO, Tengku Razaleigh who was at the helm of serving the nation –  about how the nation is profusely bleeding from blatant thefts sends shivers down any caring citizen.

Indeed the nation is headed for the ICU. And the outcome will also be  equally a 50-50 bet. Perhaps, the time has come for all to join hands in prayer vigils nationwide as our politicians have disqualified themselves from catheterizing a bleeding nation.