Happy New Year 2009!

We will say good bye to 2008 in a just a few more hours. 2009 will arrive with plenty of challenges. Looking back at the last 12 months and felt that time really flies. At this time of the year last year, we were all geared up in anticipation of the general election. Not long after, the big battle came and gone.

March 8th 2008 will be recorded as a historic day in our nation's history. It is a turning point of a new dawn for a new Malaysia. It it the beginning of a 2-party system for Malaysians and I hope it will bring about more positive changes for our society.

It has been a hectic year for DAP politicians. After the peak of 308, we have to face a new political landscape. Change we have seen, at least in the 5 states we are now in government. Parliament will never be the same with more than 80 opposition MPs. The rakyat have given us a big mandate and put on our shoulders a big trust and responsibility to bring about changes. Expectations are sky high. Patience are running fast and they want to see results. No more rhetorics but tangible results.

That is the reality of Malaysian politics today. Tough for politicians including myself but it's a good thing for Malaysia. People are more critical than ever. They want more accountability from their elected reps, across the board.

Well, Malaysian politics will never be quiet, not even for one day..just reflects the political "happenings" in the last 12 months. And expect more to come in 2009, starting with the big battle in Kuala Terengganu.

In Seremban, the NS DAP will "celebrate" the new year with a demonstration in the Senawang toll plaza tomorrow, 1st Jan at 10 a.m., to continue to call on PLUS to abolish the toll for KL-Seremban route and make toll-free for the 3 interchanges within Seremban town..What is our justification? I will reveal tomorrow.

So folks, join us near the Senawang toll plaza if you are free tomorrow morning.

On a personal note, I have this new year's resolution every year - to exercise more and to lose weight! but never succeeded :)

Happy New Year 2009!

p/s the above image is the cover for my 2009 calendar which i distributed to my constituents.. Read more!

KLIA East@Labu

The first ever airport to be built in Negeri Sembilan will be in my parliamentary constituency! Am sure many of you heard the news that the Cabinet has given the nod to the proposed new Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Labu. Well, the exact location should be around Gadong Jaya, a place within the Rasah Parliament constituency.

I visited the new village in Labu this morning to meet the voters and distributed my 2009 calendar. Spoke to the press and voiced my support to the LCCT project. I have various reasons to support the LCCT project. The most important of all is because it located within my constituency :) The new airport will surely be a catalyst for development in the surrounding area. More infrastructure development will pour in. The land value in Labu will skyrocket in the future.

The other reason i support the project is because it is a "Private Finance Initiative" (PFI) project. It means no taxpayer's monies will be used to fund the project. The estimated building cost is RM1.6 billion. You can't ask for more in the current gloomy economic condition right? It is definitely a good news. Private investment is an important component to jumpstart the economy. Hopefully, the RM1.6 billion can create more multiplier effects to the local economy.

I call on the state government to ensure that the project will bring some benefits to the local players like small contractors, suppliers and so on so that they can enjoy a small pie of the cake. Open tender for all the related contracts given is a MUST! If any of you are Sime Darby's shareholders, hope that you can voice it up in your AGM!

The project will take 2 years to complete. In such a project, surely thousands of workers will be located there. Hopefully, it will create some business opportunities for the local folks.

The other reason i support the new LCCT is because the current one near the KLIA cargo is really a shame. I used the airport regularly (DAP's policy of flying the cheapest available fare) and found it really messy and inconvenient. Imagine you have the board a flight on a rainy day. Bet you will get wet. Even if you take a bus in Puduraya won't get you wet on a rainy day. In that sense, isn't it worst than Puduraya?

Hope the new LCCT will provide a more comfortable journey for travelers. Flying budget airline has more or less become a norm for ordinary Malaysians.

Welcome to KLIA @ RASAH! . Read more!

DAP Anti-Melayu?

Below is my article published in the December edition of "Roket" (DAP's mouthpiece)

DAP Anti-Melayu?

DAP anti-Melayu! DAP anti-Islam! Inilah tohmahan-tohmahan yang sering disumbatkan oleh propagandis UMNO ke dalam pemikiran masyarakat Melayu Malaysia selama lebih 40 tahun ini. Memang saya memperakui bahawa propaganda UMNO begitu effektif sekali selama ini sehinggakan DAP berjaya digambarkan sebagai “musuh” orang Melayu dan justeru itu orang Melayu memerlukan UMNO untuk mempertahankan hak-hak mereka daripada “dirompak” oleh kaum lain khasnya DAP.

Mengapa mereka berjaya sebelum ini? Media arus perdana Bahasa Melayu yang menjadi agen propagandis kepada UMNO memainkan peranan utama ini. Rata-rata masyarakat Melayu bergantung kepada Utusan Malaysia dan Berita Harian sebagai akhbar paling utama mereka. Untuk media elektronik pula, saluran RTM dan Buletin Utama TV3 merupakan sumber informasi yang paling utama. Bayangkan, pernahkah sesiapa membaca atau mendengar apa-apa berita yang positif mengenai parti ataupun pemimpin DAP dalam media-media ini? Kebiasaannya, DAP ditonjolkan sebagai sebuah parti chauvinis Cina yang sering kali mempersoalkan hak-hak istimewa orang Melayu. Tambahan pula, rencana-rencana yang ditulis dalam Mingguan Malaysia mengemudi pemikiran masyarakat Melayu ke arah itu.

Apa sahaja yang dilakukan ataupun penerangan daripada DAP selalunya akan berkesudahan dalam tong sampah di pejabat editor. Ini yang menjadi modus operandi parti UMNO selama ini untuk cuba menguburkan DAP daripada berkembang menjadi sebuah parti yang mendapat sokongan berbilang kaum rakyat Malaysia. Namun, transformasi masyarakat Malaysia dalam sedekad yang lalu yang dipacu melalui gelombang teknologi internet telah membantu sedikit sebanyak memecahkan tembok pemikiran negatif tersebut terhadap DAP di kalangan masyarakat Melayu pada hari ini.

Apakah falsafah perjuangan DAP? Adakah kebangkitan DAP dalam arena politik negara dan pentadbiran kerajaan yang disertai oleh DAP akan menghakis kedudukan orang Melayu dan justeru itu kepentingan dan kebajikan mereka akan tergadai? Saya merasakan persoalan-persoalan ini perlu diperjelaskan untuk menyakinkan masyarakat Melayu sekiranya kita ingin melihat kewujudan sistem pentadbiran dua parti di Malaysia.

DAP bertunjangkan ideologi sosial demokrasi. Apa maksudnya? Di antara prinsip-prinsip penting yang diperjuangkan ialah keadilan sosial, kesamarataan peluang (equality of opportunity), kebebasan dan solidariti. Demokrasi maksudnya kita membawa obor perjuangan kita melalui sistem pilihanraya dan bukannya melalui sebarang cara yang tidak mengikut lunas perlembagaan. Hakikatnya, DAP bertanding dalam sistem pilihanraya di Malaysia sejak tahun 1965 lagi dan walaupun sering kali bersaing di atas padang yang tidak samarata, kami tetap menerima setiap keputusannya.

Mungkin prinsip-prinsip yang saya perkatakan tadi terlalu abstrak bagi masyarakat umum. Namun keadilan sosial boleh ditakrifkan sebagai keadilan untuk masyarakat dari segi layanan, pertimbangan dasar dan bantuan kepada mereka yang miskin dan terpinggir tanpa melihat warna kulit dan latarbelakang agamanya. Adakah prinsip-prinsip ini bertentangan dengan ajaran agam Islam? Jawapannya tentu tidak! Perdebatan dalam perkara ini sering menjadi hangat di Dewan Rakyat. Setiap kali Ahli Parlimen DAP bangun menimbulkan isu ini, ada sahaja YB dari UMNO yang bangun yang cuba memutar-belitkan bahawa DAP menentang bantuan kerajaan untuk orang Melayu. “Smash” ini cukup mudah dibalas. Sekiranya prinsip ini dipratikkan, kan ramai yang mendapat bantuan itu terdiri daripada masyarakat Melayu juga yang benar-benar memerlukannya. Perbezaannya, golongan Cina dan India atau apa-apa kaum yang lain yang juga memerlukan bantuan tetap diberi perhatian. Adakah masyarakat Melayu di akar umbi akan berasa dengki? Saya cukup yakin tidak.

Kita juga mengejar kesamarataan dari segi peluang. Peluang untuk belajar di universiti, peluang untuk mendapat biasiswa, peluang untuk berniaga, peluang untuk menduduki apa-apa jawatan penting dan peluang untuk berjaya dalam segala aspek hidup. Orang UMNO menggunakan alasan bahawa orang Melayu masih di belakang dalam pelbagai aspek dan tidak mempunyai daya saing dengan kaum-kaum lain dan justeru itu memerlukan “perlindungan” daripada kerajaan.

Yang pertamanya, persepsi seumpama ini seolah-olah merendahkan keupayaan masyarakat Melayu sendiri. Masyarakat Malaysia hari ini telah banyak berubah. Kini sudah wujud satu kelas menengah Melayu yang besar dan anak-anak Melayu mempunyai akses dan kapasiti untuk bersaing dengan sesiapa sahaja tanpa apa-apa “handicap”. Bukankah itu semangat yang cuba dihidupkan oleh mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir dengan slogannya “Malaysia Boleh”? Ada juga pendapat yang menyatakan bahawa pemikiran UMNO inilah yang akhirnya akan membantutkan perkembangan dan kebangkitan masyarakat Melayu dalam persekitaran global zaman ini.

Keduanya, alasan memberikan peluang untuk orang Melayu sebenarnya telah lama “diperkosa” oleh orang UMNO sendiri dengan menganugerahkan sebarang kontrak kerajaan kepada kaum-kerabat dan sahabat handai mereka yang dalam pengertian ekonomi ditakrifkan sebagai kronisme. Saya nak tanya rakan-rakan Melayu yang langsung tidak ada “kabel” dengan pemimpin UMNO, mampukah saudara mendapat sebarang projek kerajaan dengan usaha sendiri?

Memang tidak dinafikan bahawa masih ada golongan yang kurang mampu untuk bersaing dalam padang yang samarata. Kemungkinan juga mereka ini sebahagian besarnya dari masyarakat Melayu di luar bandar. Namun, mereka yang tergolong dalam kategori ini juga meliputi anak-anak India yang membesar di ladang dan estet, budak-budak Cina di ratusan kampung baru di pekan-pekan kecil dan mereka-mereka yang dilahirkan di pendalaman Sabah dan Sarawak.

Memang kami bersetuju golongan ini perlu diberikan sedikit kelonggaran dan perhatian khusus untuk turut mendapat peluang dalam segala aspek mobiliti ke atas (upward mobility) seperti yang dinikmati oleh rakan-rakan mereka di kawasan Bandar. Namun, kayu pengukur untuk diberikan “diskriminasi positif” ini tidak seharusnya berdasarkan warna kulit tetapi sebaliknya berlandaskan taraf sosio-ekonomi keluarga mereka. Persoalannya, adakah masyarakat Melayu yang miskin akan terpinggir dan dilupakan dalam pelaksanaan dasar seumpama ini?

Sudah tiba masanya kita melihat setiap insan manusia yang lain itu sebagai kaum manusia (humankind) terlebih dahulu dan bukannya warna di atas kulitnya. Sekiranya setiap rakyat Malaysia mempunyai daya pemikiran tersebut ditambah pula dengan pelaksanaan segala dasar kerajaan berasaskan prinsip ini, maka Malaysia tidak memerlukan Kementerian Perpaduan Nasional untuk mencapai perpaduan yang sejati di kalangan rakyat berbilang kaum kita.

Kesimpulannya, tidak ada alasan langsung bagi DAP untuk melihat orang Melayu sebagai musuh atau sebaliknya? Apa yang boleh kita kecapai daripada itu? Kita tidak pernah mempertikaikan beberapa perkara yang asas seperti Islam sebagai agami rasmi, Perkara 153 kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan kedaulatan Raja Berlembagaan. Yang kita perjuangkan ialah supaya dasar-dasar kerajaan bersifat lebih Malaysia dan supaya setiap rakyat Malaysia merasakan “semangat kepunyaan” atau “a sense of belonging” dalam negara kita ini.


Loke Siew Fook
Ahli Parlimen Rasah dan
Pengarah Pendidikan Politik DAP. Read more!

NO to IJN "piratisation"

22 Disember 2008

Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Najib Razak
Menteri Kewangan Malaysia
Kementerian Kewangan
Putrajaya.

Yang Amat Berhormat,

MEMORANDUM BANTAHAN TERHADAP CADANGAN PENSWASTAAN INSTITUT JANTUNG NEGARA

Adalah saya dengan segala hormatnya merujuk kepada perkara yang tersebut di atas.

2. Saya mewakili Pergerakan Pemuda Sosialis DAP (DAPSY Malaysia) ingin secara tegasnya menyatakan bantahan kami terhadap sebarang cadangan penswastaan Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) seperti yang telah dilaporkan oleh media massa. Walaupun pihak YAB telah mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa kerajaan telah menangguhkan cadangan penswastaan tersebut dan perlu dikaji secara lebih teliti, namun DAPSY ingin menyeru Kerajaan Persekutuan supaya membatalkan terus hasrat untuk menswastakan IJN.

3. IJN merupakan sebuah pusat perubatan jantung yang terunggul bukan sahaja di Malaysia namun di seluruh rantau ini. Kejayaan IJN menjadi sebuah pusat perubatan jantung yang termasyur perlulah dijadikan tauladan kepada sektor awam dan menjadi model kepada institusi-institusi kerajaan yang lain. Kekuatan IJN ialah terletak di bahu para pakar bedah di institut tersebut dan seluruh warga sokongannya. Komitmen terbuka mereka terhadap IJN dan kenyataan mereka yang menyangkal kononnya mereka menuntut gaji yang lebih lumayan perlulah diambil kira secara serius oleh pihak kerajaan.

4. IJN telah membantu ramai warga golongan miskin mendapatkan pembedahan dan perkhidmatan kesihatan yang terbaik walaupun mereka tidak mampu dari segi tanggungan kewangan kerana falsafah penubuhan IJN ialah menanggung tanggungjawab sosial dan bukannya berorientasikan keuntungan. Falsafah ini perlu dipertahankan di IJN buat selama-lamanya. Kenyataan bahawa kerajaan akan tetap mengawal kos perubatan di IJN selepas diswastakan adalah kurang menyakinkan dan tidak dapat memberikan apa-apa jaminan kepada rakyat.

5. Sebagai seorang bekas pesakit yang pernah mendapat pembedahan di IJN, saya sendiri menganggap IJN bukan sahaja sebagai sebuah pusat perubatan tetapi sebuah institusi yang amat membanggakan rakyat Malaysia. Setiap pesakit yang mendapat rawatan di IJN diberi layanan yang terbaik dan secara saksama. IJN bukan sahaja tempat untuk menyembuhkan pesakit jantung tetapi ia juga tempat yang terbaik untuk menyemai hati rakyat Malaysia yang murni dan bersatu-padu. Kejayaan IJN dalam pembedahan “transplant” adik Tee Hui Yee adalah antara banyak contoh yang menjanakan semangat kekitaan dan masyarakat penyayang di Malaysia.

6. Sebagai rakyat Malaysia yang prihatin dan pemimpin masyarakat, kami amat berharap YAB sebagai bakal Perdana Menteri dapat membuat satu keputusan yang pantas dan tegas dalam perkara ini. Respons negatif dari pelbagai pihak terhadap cadangan ini menunjukkan betapa tidak popularnya cadangan tersebut. Kerajaan seharusnya memberikan satu komitmen terbuka untuk tidak menswastakan IJN dan terus memberikan sokongan kepada IJN sebagai sebuah institusi milik kerajaan.

7. Kesudian pihak YAB mendengar pandangan kami adalah amat dialu-alukan dan dihargai. Keputusan positif daripada pihak kerajaan mengenai perkara ini amat diharapkan oleh seluruh rakyat Malaysia pada masa kini. Pertimbangan yang sewajarnya oleh pihak YAB didahulukan dengan ucapan ribuan terima kasih.

Sekian dimaklumkan.


Berkhidmat untuk rakyat,


LOKE SIEW FOOK
AHLI PARLIMEN RASAH merangkap
KETUA DAPSY MALAYSIA

. Read more!

Debate on the UUCA amendment bill

Read more!

Debate on Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (2)

Read more!

Debate on Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (1)

Read more!

Parliament: Protect whistleblowers from litigation

By LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: A mechanism is needed to ensure that members of the public who report incidents of corruption are protected from being sued.

Loke Siew Fook (DAP-Rasah) said out that a woman who had lodged a report with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) against a policeman for bribery was later sued by the policeman for defamation after the court dismissed the case on technicalities.

“This will not encourage people to make reports,” he said during the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill 2008 debate on Tuesday.

When Mohd Nor Othman (BN-Hulu Terengganu) asked what would happen if a false report was made, Loke said there were provisions in the MACC Bill to penalise the culprit.

Loke argued that the punishment meted out against those who make false reports was unjust compared with the punishment for those who allegedly committed the offence.

“Graft offenders will have to pay five times the amount they bribed, but those who make a false report have to pay RM100,000,” he said.

“We don’t want to create space for abuse. It is the role of the MACC to investigate and take action against such abuse,” he said.

He also suggested that the MACC offices be made accessible to the public, as was the practice with the Independent Commission against Corruption in Hong Kong, and that the building be covered with dark glass to ensure confidentiality.

Source: The Star online. Read more!

Wind of Change for Sarawak!

I was in Sabah and Sarawak over the last weekend for Party events. Was in Kota Kinabalu on Friday night to give a talk to new party members and was the Speaker for the Sabah DAP convention. Flew to Kuching in the evening and was also the Speaker for Sarawak DAP Annual Convention on Sunday.

I was also invited to speak at the mammoth 350-table dinner in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of DAP Sarawak. It was my first ever speech in Kuching. I thanked the Kuching voters for started the "wind of change" in the 2006 state election where DAP won 3 seats in Kuching alone. I told them that the "political tsunami" on 8th March was triggered by Sarawak's "wind of change".

I said that the political landscape in Malaysia has changed tremendously after 308. In the last 42 years, DAP has always been labelled as "the opposition party". But after 308, we are now ruling party in Penang, Perak and Selangor and UMNO is the opposition there. I stated that we want to achieve not only one DAP Chief Ministership in Penang but also have the ambition of seeing a DAP Chief Minister in Sarawak!

The SUPP has anticipated that the DAP will bring its full force from Semenanjung to Sarawak in the next state election and I answered that, yes...we will be there for sure! We will give our full support to our Sarawakian comrades to topple the Barisan Nasional in Sarawak and send the "white hair" (nickname for Sarawak CM Taib Mahmud") out of office.

陸兆福：行動黨也要在砂州當首長
大馬 即時新聞 2008-12-15 14:26

(砂拉越‧古晉）行動黨社青團團長陸兆福表示，行動黨的夢想不單只是做一個州屬的首席部長，而且也要在砂拉越當首席部長。

他相信，如果大家配合與支持，並做行動黨的後盾，這個理想可以實現。

“來屆州選，我們一定會來，每一個選區會有2至3人來為砂州行動黨的候選人站台，一起打人聯黨，希望砂州在來屆州選會有更好的成績。”

他表示，常聽行動黨砂州領袖呼吁砂州人民學習西馬人在308大海嘯的精神，差一點把國陣打下來，但其實西馬同胞，特別是行動黨應感謝砂州人民，特別是古晉選民，因為308的反風是從砂州2006年州選吹到西馬。

“308後，馬來西亞的政壇很大求變，風水輪流轉，以前行動黨都是反對黨，現在不是了，在檳城、霹靂及雪州等，巫統是反對黨，我們是執政黨。”

陸兆福也是森州亞沙國會議員兼羅白州議員。他在上週日（12月14日）晚上出席行動黨砂州聯委會成立30週年紀念晚宴時說，行動黨一路來扮演反對黨，給馬華及民政黨等“欺負”，而砂州行動黨則是給人聯黨“欺負”。

“現在在西馬，馬華及民政黨做反對黨做得很可憐，他們在308後講敢怒敢言，是不是承認他們過去都不敢講話？以前我們都是去政府部門拉布條反對，如今馬華及國陣卻是在黨所拉布條，自己看，自己爽，都不會做反對黨。”

星洲互動‧2008.12.15. Read more!

MCA MPs dumb on UUCA amendment bill!

Media Statement by DAPSY National Chairman and MP for Rasah Loke Siew Fook on Friday, 12 December 2008 in Petaling Jaya.

Not a single MCA MPs took part in the debate for Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 amendment bill, what is the stand of MCA Youth on UUCA?

One of the most anticipated bills to be debated in the current Parliamentary sitting is the amendment to the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971. The debate at the policy stage stretched over 2 days on the 10th and 11the December. 80% of the MPs who took part in the debate were from Pakatan Rakyat. None of the 5 MCA backbenchers took part in the debate or even follow the debate in the chambers.

The UUCA has always been a very contentious subject and a matter of prime concerns not only among the student activists but also the members of the academic fraternity. Many arguments have been put forward that the existence of UUCA is one of the main hindrance for academic excellence in our local universities as it created a fear environment in our campuses. The implementation of UUCA in the past 38 years has created a “spoon-fed” system among our undergraduates who are trained not to questions and “think out of the box”. This is one of the factors that led to the lack of creativity and innovativeness among our local graduates today.

As none of the MCA MPs took part in the debate, I would like to ask what is the position of MCA and in particular MCA Youth regarding the amendment to the UUCA? Do they agree or disagree to the amendments? Or abstain? Or no stands at all?

In my debate on the bill, I have raised up the issue regarding the definition of “student” where in the new definition mean all registered students in universities including those at the post-graduate and post-doctoral level on a full time or part-time basis. This means that if a Member of Parliament applies to take up post-graduate courses in our universities, he or she must get the approval from the Vice Chancellor. Isn’t this in contradiction with the MCA’s lifelong learning program which encourages one to continue their studies no matter how high is their positions?

DAPSY calls on the government to repeal the UUCA once and for all as it does not help in anyway to uplift the standard of our public universities and its existence will continue to curtail the fundamental rights of our undergraduates and stifle their ability to “think out if the box”. We acknowledged that there is a need for a legislation to govern the running of public universities but academic freedom must be returned to the campus. The UUCA must be repealed and be replaced with a new act purely on the running and management of the universities – “Akta Urus Tadbir Universiti (AUTU)”.


-Loke Siew Fook-
. Read more!

DAPSY is center-left.

Dapsy - leaning left or right?
Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Dec 11, 08 1:09pm

The DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) lacks a clear ideological outlook, concedes its newly-elected chief.

However, Anthony Loke, 31, is quick to add that just as its name connotes, the wing thrives on the principles of socialism.

"Although we carry the name socialist youth, the party has always been centre left. We are not so much socialist left because if you look at the policies and issues that we have brought, we have always taken the centrist approach.

"Although we are centrists we sustain the socialist elements, our values have always been like equality, freedom and justice and so on. We are definitely a centre-left party," he told Malaysiakini during an interview yesterday.

He also said Dapsy members, numbering around 20,000, are not sufficiently exposed to ideological debates and more must be done to educate them.

Political observers have long criticised Dapsy for its inactiveness - averaging at one national executive council meeting a year. Some have blamed this on the lack of party ideological understanding among its members.

More must be done

As the leader, Loke said, he takes full responsibility for this and promised to step up efforts to educate party members.

"I do not deny in terms of ideological debate we have not done enough in terms of imparting the ideology to our members, especially younger members.

"For improvement, there must be more internal debates, more political education and I think one of the biggest challenges is we have to instill a reading culture among our members which I think is still quite lacking," added the Rasah MP.

Despite this shortcoming, Loke is confident that Dapsy will head in the right direction.

Below are the excerpts from the interview.

Many analysts say that Dapsy members are not clear about the wing's ideology. For example, at the recent meeting, the Internationale (socialist anthem) was sung and members ask if Dapsy is left or right?

Loke: I do not deny in terms of ideological debate we have not done enough in terms of imparting the ideology to our members, especially younger members.

But of course in the Malaysian context, ideological debate has always been the at the backburner and not at the forefront because it is hard to define left and right as two spectrums.

How do you improve this?
For improvement, there must be more internal debates, more political education and I think one of the biggest challenges is that we have to instill a reading culture among our members.

Because all this ideological understanding only comes with reading books and articles and following the development in other countries.

In three years, Dapsy has held only three meetings and many are saying that this reflects its inactiveness. That's why we have to reactivate it. In the coming months and years, I would ensure that national executive council meetings are held more frequently, at least once in two months - that is the minimum.

I would also have to start a series of visits to different states to visit our divisions, to at least meet the members and tell them what needs to be done and so on, give them a clear direction where to go from now.

When you use the term socialist, it carries with it a heavy ideological baggage. As the leader, would you describe Dapsy as left-wing?

Although we carry the name socialist youth, the party has always been centre left. We are not so much socialist left because if you look at the policies and issues that we have brought, we have always taken the centrist approach rather than the left.

Although we are centrists we sustain the socialist elements, our values are like equality, freedom, justice and so on. We are definitely a centre-left party.

Do you think this is a deterrent in attracting Malays into your party?
We have difficulty in attracting the Malays and this is also because of the historical baggage. DAP has always been labeled as, or given the impression, that we are opposing Malay interests.

It's not so much the socialist ideology that deters Malays from joining but more so that Umno has successfully painted us as an anti-Malay party.

Do you think the party has done enough to garner Malay support?

There is room for improvement. I do not deny that we have not done enough but of course we have limited channels to reach the Malays because ... the Malay media is not with us, they have never given us enough space.

But having said that, I see that things are improving. We have improved in the sense where we have a Malay 'Rocket' edition (party organ) and through my articles and writings, I try to tell the Malays what DAP stands for.

One of my recent articles was entitled 'DAP anti-Malay?' where I tried to answer the kind of anxiety and questions the Malays have about the party, but of course, this is a baby step when it comes to reaching out to the Malays.

But we take every opportunity to reach out to the Malays. For example, we have taken the opportunity to appear in Malay media programmes if there are chances.

We are not hostile to the Malays, we have always been receptive to them and we do hope that they would join our party.

But at the last party AGM, Chinese was the dominant medium for communication

It's not true that we use Chinese as the main medium. Bahasa Malaysia has always been given prominence in all the party congress. All our party documents for the congress were done in Bahasa Malaysia. We have stressed on using more Bahasa Malaysia in our congress or the AGM.

Suppose the Malay membership in your party grows, would the party leadership be willing to share leadership posts with the Malays?

That’s not an issue. Whoever comes in and is willing to work and willing to contribute... everybody would be given opportunities. Not that we want all the leadership positions to be filled by Chinese, if they are capable we are more than willing to groom them and so on.

And you feel that your party members would support this?

I think we have no problem with that. We never had any problem with that. You have to know the mentality of DAP members. People might think DAP is a chauvinist party, that is not true.

If you look at the history of the party, whenever there is a prominent Malay, party members would definitely support the person as either a candidate or a leader... there has always been cases where Malay leaders are promoted as national leaders for example, the late Ahmad Noor (former DAP vice-president) - he stood in a Chinese-dominated area, this shows that we are receptive of Malay leaders.

Do you have some sort of a plan to get more Malay members?

The most important thing is to break the mold of the Malay first, the impression of the Malays towards DAP, not so much as attracting them to be members yet.

What's important is to get the Malays to accept DAP as a multi-racial party before we talk about a plan of recruiting Malays. Most important is to win their support and to win their trust. If we can’t break the mold we can't talk about recruiting them as members.

In the last elections, we managed to gain support from the Malays. For example, in my constituency I got about 40 percent of the Malay votes, which is quite good.

Now back to the ideological debate, some senior leaders in the party are known to be proponents of market democracy ideas or very right-wing economic ideas. How do you reconcile these differences?

Yes, of course there are a couple of leaders that came from different backgrounds. For example like the corporate sector, who are proponents of a more liberal type of economy and more liberal policies. But I think that we have to reconcile in a sense where a balance must be struck.

I can understand that some believe we have to have competitiveness but we have to strike a balance. If we have a far left agenda, it’s not going to work in DAP. That is why we have always adopted the centrist approach.

The problem with social democratic systems is that in a globalised economic system where you are confronted by bigger neo-liberal forces like the United States. social democratic systems would often be integrated, assimilated or forced into neo-liberal ways given the global economic mechanism. How do you survive in this environment?

I think this is the biggest challenge faced by all social democratic forces throughout the world. I think the most important thing is the difference between us and the neo-liberal forces.

Of course in terms of economy, we have to abide by the global economy but the challenge is how we present a more humane face of market economy, how to place a certain safety net, a certain social agenda in the economy and how to protect the poor and the marginalised.

We have to adopt the global market economy but within our society, within our government, they have a role to play or the government can play a role to provide a safety net for society.

Your party's relations with PAS is not exactly peachy, do you think that the youth from both sides share similar ideals, which are not shared by the senior leaders?

I'm quite happy to say that there were several PAS Youth representatives at our congress last week and they are national PAS exco members. I had a chat with them and we agreed that it’s time to move forward.

I don't deny that we have a hard relationship with PAS, but I must stress that we have no problems with the moderates in PAS, we do not see eye-to-eye regarding certain policies with the conservatives.

For example in Parliament, we have a very good relationship. My neighbours in Parliament are all PAS MPs, we don’t see any problems in engaging them and having a better relationship with them and the same goes to PAS Youth.

I'm sure the majority of the leadership in PAS Youth are quite progressive in nature, they’re quite forward looking and I think they know that we need to work together more in Pakatan. Both sides have to be more proactive in engaging each other.

I can see that there will be more controversial issues along the way, I can foresee that in the next two or three years. For example, the recent call (by PAS) to ban street dancing in Penang, this did not go down well with Dapsy.

When we are talking about young people, I told the PAS representatives, if you want to attract the younger generation, you cannot have the mindset of banning everything.

. Read more!

Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy

Media Statement by DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) National Chairman and MP for Rasah Loke Siew Fook on 9th December 2008 in Petaling Jaya

The Federal Government must handle the relief efforts in the Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy professionally and fairly

It is very disturbing to hear that many residents living within the danger zone at Bukit Antarabangsa refused to move out from their houses although advised by the authorities for fear of their belongings being stolen. This shows that the confidence level to the rescue team in particular the police force is at a very low point. Although the place is currently very dangerous and facing a tragedy, the fact that the people there have no confidence in the police to take good care of their properties and safeguard their interest reflects very badly on the professionalism of the police force.

The Federal Government must view this concern seriously and immediately direct the Inspector General of Police to give full assurance to the public that the police will act professionally in handling the tragedy and any wrongdoings or theft by any quarters will be taken sternest action. DAPSY hopes that the residents will move out voluntarily for the time being to avoid any mishaps and to facilitate all rescue efforts.

DAPSY expresses our sympathy to all the victims in the Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy and we shared their sorrows and sadness. We urge the government be it federal or state to provide all necessary assistance to the victims and the affected residents.

However, the government must be seen as acting fairly and must not be seen as giving double-standard treatment. We feel uncomfortable with the suggestion by the International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to provide free hotel rooms to the affected residents. This is most unprecedented.

We would like to remind the government that if this is done for Bukit Antarabangsa victims, then it will open a precedent for all natural disasters victims in the future. Is the government prepare to provide free hotel rooms for all victims whenever there is a disaster be it in kampong or small villages? In other areas, the government has always relocates the affected residents in community halls or schools as a temporary measure.

We have nothing personal against the residents in Bukit Antarabangsa but the government must treat all victims in such tragedy fairly and equally.


-Loke Siew Fook- . Read more!

Do you know how much you paid the federal government?

This is the answer i got from the state assembly on how much taxes collected by the federal government from Negeri Sembilan taxpayers.

Tahun	Selain syarikat	Syarikat	Lain-lain	Jumlah
2005	217.2	140.35	52.45	410
2006	222.81	159.91	54.08	436.8
2007	242.74	214.41	55.89	513.04

Dalam RM juta

* Selain syarikat termasuk individu, koperasi dan badan amanah.
** Lain-lain termasuk cukai pegangan dan duti setem

Cukai jalan yang dikutip di NS (Road tax)

Tahun	Transaksi	Jumlah Kutipan (RM)
2005	282,487	57,161,004.80
2006	283,020	45,895,297.10
2007	289,149	43,760,425.27
Jumlah	854,656	146,816,727.17

Read more!

I will lead DAPSY for the next 2 years.

Loke wins DAP Youth chief uncontested
Dec 2, 08 6:55pm - Report in Malaysiakini

DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) national secretary Loke Siew Fook became the opposition party’s new Youth chief today after no other candidates were nominated to contest the post at the wing’s national congress elections, set to take place this Saturday.

In a statement released today, Loke said for the first time, reporters will be able to cover the congress, which will take place at the MAA Building in Kuala Lumpur.

"The Dapsy National Congress 2008 will elect a new leadership for the term 2008-2010," said Loke, who is Rasah member of parliament and Lobak state assemblyperson.

Among the closely-watched contests is the post of Loke’s deputy, which is heating up between Teratai state assemblyperson Jenice Lee Ying Ha and Pulau Tikus state assemblyperson Koay Teng Hai.

Two other women, Carmen Leong Ooi Kuan and Violet Yong Wui Wui, will be battling each other and Wong Kah Moh for the two positions of Dapsy vice-chairpersons.

29 vie for 15 exco seats

Under the party constitution, one of the posts must be held by a woman.

The position of Dapsy national secretary, meanwhile, will see a contest between Kampung Tunku state representative Lau Weng San and Cheras DAP liaison committee secretary Loh Chee Heng.

Twenty-nine others will be vying for the 15 seats on Dapsy’s national executive committee, five of whom must be women.

They are Ashvin Raj, Chan Su Sann, Cheong Chee Khing, Choong Siew Onn, Eddie Chang Teck Chee, Fong Kok Leong, Gobind Singh Deo, Jagdeep Singh Deo, Khoo Poay Tiong, Kuan Perk Siong, Lau Keng Ee, Lee Chun Hur, Lee Fu Haw, Leong Ooi Yee, Medaline Chang She Yun, Ng Suee Lim, Ng Tien Chee (Eddie), Ng Wei Aik, Ong Boon Piow, Ooi Leng Hang, Tan Hong Pin, Tan Hun Wooi, Teo Eng Ching, Teo Kok Seong, Tey Kok Kiew, Tiew Way Keng, V Sivakumar, Yew Teong Chong and Yong Choo Kiong.. Read more!