An explosion along with a mushroom cloud has been reported in the news. Things are unclear for the moment but I pray it has nothing to do with North Korea’s current nuclear aspiration.
I found about it while I was browsing Wikipedia and it happened two days ago according to Associated Press.
p/s – Report by Reuters, US Says N.Korea Blast Unlikely to Have Been Nuclear.
I have a feeling that the Malaysian government does not give a damn for the environment. The last time, it was the incinerator in Broga. Despite opposition from the locals and various environmental organizations, the project went through. Now, it concerns the Tioman Island, probably one of the famous diving scuba sites in the world with a beautiful coral reef system.
Here is the situation. The government plans to build a new marina somewhere off the island for the sake of tourism. In their mind probably, they would be able to boost tourism by providing the relevant infrastructure; in this case, a marina. They have argued that the marina will help develop Tioman further and at the same time, help the locals to move up the social ladder.
This is my opinion. People from all over the world come to the island mainly to enjoy the reef system and the tropical weather. Part of the attraction will no doubt be devastated during the planned construction of the marina and thus, what good is a marina to tourism when the marina itself will threaten the main reason behind Tioman’s tourism industry?
Tioman does not need a marina. What Tioman needs is to be left alone from a certain type of policymakers.
I, as you would probably guess, disagree with the project. The marina construction comes at the expense of the system. I think it is utterly stupid to destroy the main attraction of the island in order to build a marina. Years ago, similar things happened at Tioman. The government built an airport on a reclaimed land off Tioman and in the process, damaged part of the ecosystem. In my opinion, an alternative to an airport is the usage of floatplane, or seaplane. However, there is no use crying over split milk.
Conversely, the construction of the marina has not even started and any damage to the coral reef system can be avoided by preventing this project.
The Malaysian Department of the Environment (DOE) has recorded its opposition towards the marina project but from what I have read, the DOE has no power comparable to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent this. To prove this, three barges associated with the project contractor have already reached Tioman even though the DOE has yet to approve the contractor’s environmental management plan.
At the same time, I am never going to trust the DOE again. Even the fast eroding EPA earns more respect from any green’s eye. What good is the DOE when the report environmental impact assessment (EIA) is approved even while the environment is at a terrible loss? How could such body, supposedly to take care of the environment, gave a green light even as the coral reef system is being threatened unnecessarily?
The same thing happened to Broga. The EIA allowed the construction of the incinerator despite the knowledge that the incinerator site is in a proven water catchments area.
Perhaps the libertarian’s common belief is entirely true; one cannot trust the government.
I am not sure what I am going to do other than rant. It seems hopeless. It seems, I have more power in the US than in my home country. Nevertheless, I have just joined Environmental Justice, a campus wide environmental group. Through this organization, I hope I could somehow forward the trouble in Tioman.
p/s – This coming Monday, Nader, yes, Ralph Nader is coming to Michigan. I will be skipping class to attend that.
Some people were surprised to see me celebrating Anwar Ibrahim’s release last week. Some of these people have seen me belittled the movement that Anwar helped started more than six years ago. Now, let me explain my position.
During the Asian Financial Crisis, I do believe Mahathir did the right thing by reversing Anwar’s decisions and ultimately, refusing IMF’s aid package. The IMF package in my opinion was too austere to act as a medicine. IMF wanted too many changes in a very short time frame. If Mahathir had gone with Anwar’s decision, Malaysia would probably suffer what Indonesia had.
Of course, that does not mean Anwar should be thrown to jail and treated the way he was treated. With a clash of policy, in my opinion, Anwar dismissal was sufficient.
But then, once dismissed, Anwar called up his supporters and his supporters in turn turned Kuala Lumpur into a war zone in 1999. Perhaps, that riot was not planned by Anwar. Maybe the riot itself was instigated by some of his mindless supporters. But still, whether it was planned or not, it was irresponsible to say the least.
The government acted almost swiftly to suppress the dissent. In some sense, it was good to see peace was restored, no matter how uneasy it was. On the other hand, as a result to that, the government used the Internal Security Act, an act somewhat similar to the Patriot Act in idea that was introduced by the Bush Administration a few years later, continuously in order to suppress almost every opposition toward the government then led by Mahathir.
Later, Anwar was charged with corruption and sodomy. I am not sure whether Anwar is guilty or not but the proofs that were presented against Anwar are not convincing. Here is where the ancient Greek wisdom comes in – innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. In Anwar’s case, there is certainly reasonable doubt. At the same time, throughout those trials, a few Anwar’s supporters were silenced, their rights stripped.
And then, after all that, somehow, Anwar is associated with freedom and justice.
I love freedom but despite that association, I do not support Anwar. Though the movement did upstart a new call for freedom, it was somewhat shortsighted as it main goal was to fight for Anwar, not freedom per se. It was hypocritical from my point of view.
However, Voltaire once said, “Monsieur l’abb, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.” I truly believe in that. I believe he was wronged for some dubious reason and as a result, his rights were stolen from him and along with the others that protested with him.
That is the main reason why I celebrate Anwar’s freedom. Notice that I am not celebrating Anwar’s release because he is Anwar Ibrahim but because freedom is threatened. I believe it is somehow our responsibility to fight for Anwar’s freedom, may it by force or by merely disagree with the power that be quietly in our heart, regardless whether we agree or disagree with the oppresseds’ opinion. If you disagree with this, remember Martin Niemoeller and his stylized words:
First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.
The other reason that I am glad to see Anwar free is the state of the opposition. The opposition is in dire need for a charismatic leader. Without a good opposition leader, Barisan Nasional, the current ruling coalition, will retain a ridiculous supermajority in the Malaysian Parliament. Like in economics, a competitive market is more efficient than a monopoly. With a monopoly, a deadweight loss is inevitable.
That, my friends, are two reasons on why I celebrate Anwar’s release. Again, I say, I do not support Anwar.
p/s – Yeah baby! After three semesters, I have finally gotten into the game theory class. Yeah! My misery is now almost complete.
The Malaysian High Court has accepted Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal. He has been set free just a few hours ago. Major sources are running reports on Anwar Ibrahim on the front page as I am writing this.
I hope this will be a good development for Malaysia. I do believe this is a good thing for Malaysia.
Singapore has just received its third Prime Minister, a sign that the region, Southeast Asia is moving into a new period. Roughly a year ago, Malaysia installed its fifth Prime Minister and Indonesia, from the look of it, should have a new President no later than this year’s end. I perceived this development as something positive as the region moves into the right direction.
Despite the change, a few things trouble me. In Malaysia, the currently Deputy Prime Minister is a son of a former Malaysian Prime Minister. In Indonesia, the current President is the daughter of Indonesia’s first President; in Singapore, the new Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong is the son of Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. Of course, in the United States, the current President is a son of a former President but the US obviously is not even an Asian country.
Nevertheless, Singapore’s new man has promised for a more open society. The tiny city state is one of the most developed areas in the world but politically-wise, it is almost a dictatorship, a beneficial one unlike in some places. Democracy is limited and its Parliament is very much comprised of just one party, which sadly, very much resembles the current composition of Malaysiaan lower house, the Dewan Rakyat. With this, the fight for a liberal society will certainly go through a long and winding road.
For the moment at least, Singapore is not a role model for Malaysian struggle for greater rights and freedom. Malaysian media probably has greater freedom than its Singaporean counterpart. Malaysia is ranked 104th in a 2003 report by Reporters Without Borders in term of press freedom. Singapore is placed at 144th. When it concerns gay rights, Singapore is probably ranked way higher than Malaysia given the fact that recently, a gay parade was held there.
However, if the liberalization of Singaporean society is successful (note the word is liberalization, not liberation though I do not doubt some people in Malaysia would love to see the liberation of Singapore from the Singaporeans), I believe it would have a wonderful effect on Malaysia. What better than having a model right at your doorstep?
Then again, with Lee Kuan Yew still in power, believing in an open Singaporean society is a little bit far fetched.
p/s – two hurricanes will hit Florida within this week and the next. And for August and the summer in general, it feels like November. It is climate change I tell you! (I’m kidding though I do feel the weather is a little bit crazy for the past few years.)
pp/s – Zinedine Zidane has retired from the footballing world. There go one more star. I will miss his flair. Hail to the football great.
ppp/s – It is $45 per barrel and going up still.
p^4/s – Damn! I love the sunflower in my new icon! 