US asks Malaysia to allow freedom of expression

[Dashken]

What can the US do? Bomb Malaysia if they don't listen?

(AFP) - - The United States on Monday called on Malaysia to allow freedom of expression and assembly as the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi widened its crackdown on dissent.

"We have repeatedly raised with Malaysian authorities our belief that citizens of any country should be allowed to peacefully assemble and express their views," department spokeswoman Nancy Beck told AFP.

"We also stated in our annual human rights report our belief that the Malaysian government places significant restrictions on the right to assemble peacefully," she said.

Police permits are required under Malaysia law for public assemblies, defined as a gathering of five or more persons, but the State Department's rights report says senior police officials and political leaders influenced decisions on granting or denying some permits.

It said "a more restrictive policy" was applied with government critics, opposition parties, and human rights activists.

Beck's remarks on Monday came after Kuala Lumpur widened a crackdown on dissent following two mass rallies last month, with three legal actions taken Monday that rights groups and opposition leaders condemned as anti-democratic.

Ahead of elections, dozens of Malaysian government critics have been rounded up and now face trial on counts including attempted murder and sedition.

Abdullah has threatened to invoke draconian internal security laws that allow detention without trial, citing past racial violence in the multicultural nation dominated by Muslim Malays as reason for restricting street protests.

"If the choice is between public safety and public freedom, I do not hesitate to say here that public safety will always win," he said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

The United States often hails Malaysia as a moderate Muslim democracy but the image took a knock when a series of indiscriminate destruction of Hindu temples were highlighted by some groups recently.

A US Congress-appointed commission expressed concern last week at the destruction of the temples and other alleged discrimination faced by religious minorities in Malaysia, one of Southeast Asia's more developed economies.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom also urged the administration of President George W. Bush to raise the matter with Kuala Lumpur and "insist that immediate measures be taken to protect sacred sites and prevent further destruction."

The government, which cracked down on two mass rallies last month, took three separate legal actions Monday that rights groups and opposition leaders condemned as anti-democratic.

Among them was a revival of sedition charges against three leaders of ethnic Indian rights group Hindraf, which organised a November anti-discrimination protest that drew 8,000 people. The court had earlier allowed them to walk free on the charges, which carry a penalty of three years in jail.

Lawyers and their supporters were also charged in connection with a human rights march that they mounted in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday which was broken up by police.

Another prominent lawyer, Edmund Bon, was also charged with obstructing a city official who tried to remove protest banners from Malaysia's Bar Council building.

Twelve opposition figures were rounded up over the weekend in connection with an electoral reform rally last month which drew nearly 30,000 people who police dispersed with tear gas and water cannons.

Source: News and Commentaries 2007 » US asks Malaysia to allow freedom of expression

[Adrian Wong]

Well, the US government can pressure US companies to do business elsewhere. Like it or not, US has invested heavily in Malaysia. If companies like Intel and AMD pull out their factories, there will be hell to pay.

It won't take much to convince them anyway. Many companies are already moving to countries with cheaper labour and fewer restrictions, like Cambodia and Vietnam. At the end of the day, only we stand to lose.

Then again, US is pretty weak now, being bankrupted by the war against terrorism, and one against insurgents in Iraq. With a recession looming, and the US dollar falling like nobody's business, I'm not sure if they have the political will to exert much influence. Especially when the US presidential elections are coming up.

On the other hand, as the outgoing President, Bush may want to do something good as his final legacy. Like defend democracy in Malaysia, for example? Also, he doesn't have to worry about getting re-elected.

[The_YongGrand]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Well, the US government can pressure US companies to do business elsewhere. Like it or not, US has invested heavily in Malaysia. If companies like Intel and AMD pull out their factories, there will be hell to pay.

It won't take much to convince them anyway. Many companies are already moving to countries with cheaper labour and fewer restrictions, like Cambodia and Vietnam. At the end of the day, only we stand to lose.

Then again, US is pretty weak now, being bankrupted by the war against terrorism, and one against insurgents in Iraq. With a recession looming, and the US dollar falling like nobody's business, I'm not sure if they have the political will to exert much influence. Especially when the US presidential elections are coming up.

On the other hand, as the outgoing President, Bush may want to do something good as his final legacy. Like defend democracy in Malaysia, for example? Also, he doesn't have to worry about getting re-elected.

Oh man... the America's been spreading too thin lately because of the war thingy maybe... and those major companies are moving to Vietnam and other possible places too.

Then how could America help to solve M'sia's nowadays problem?

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by The_YongGrand

Oh man... the America's been spreading too thin lately because of the war thingy maybe... and those major companies are moving to Vietnam and other possible places too.

Then how could America help to solve M'sia's nowadays problem?

Well, like I said, "encouraging" companies like Intel and AMD to pull out their factories will sure rattle the nerves of our UMNOputras.

After all, 2008 is going to be an election year for us as well. You can't win the election if you have just put thousands of your voters out of their jobs.

[PsYkHoTiK]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Well, the US government can pressure US companies to do business elsewhere. Like it or not, US has invested heavily in Malaysia. If companies like Intel and AMD pull out their factories, there will be hell to pay.

It won't take much to convince them anyway. Many companies are already moving to countries with cheaper labor and fewer restrictions, like Cambodia and Vietnam. At the end of the day, only we stand to lose.

Then again, US is pretty weak now, being bankrupted by the war against terrorism, and one against insurgents in Iraq. With a recession looming, and the US dollar falling like nobody's business, I'm not sure if they have the political will to exert much influence. Especially when the US presidential elections are coming up.

On the other hand, as the outgoing President, Bush may want to do something good as his final legacy. Like defend democracy in Malaysia, for example? Also, he doesn't have to worry about getting re-elected.

LOL and where did you get that?

I never even heard of this statement.

The economy is far from a recession. Stock markets is up and down but has stayed pretty much the same for months (NYSE is still mid 13s - even throughout the start of subprime crap). Even if a recession did happen, compared to other places, it is not felt as much here.

Government will never intervene with US Businesses or else they would be no different then the lackeys running the Malaysian government. Last I checked Motorola, Intel, and AMD aren't Federal owned. If they move, it will be a sole business decision.

The war has not bankrupted us. Come on now. To put things into perspective, a LOT of US company's R&D BUDGET is LARGER then Malaysia's GDP. A few years ago, it was Johnson & Johnson's R&D Budget that I saw was bigger then Malaysia's GDP. J&J unfortunately is no where near as big as some US corporations.

Malaysia's GDP (PPP): $313.2 billion. Per Capita: $12,800. Growth: 5.9%

US GDP (PPP): $13.06 trillion Per Capita: $43,800. Growth: 2.9%

Sure money market is money market. Sure we have a huge enlarging deficit.

But it is still far from being bankrupt. The US is now headed towards a market correction which is usually always cyclical in nature.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by PsYkHoTiK

LOL and where did you get that?

I never even heard of this statement.

The economy is far from a recession. Stock markets is up and down but has stayed pretty much the same for months (NYSE is still mid 13s - even throughout the start of subprime crap). Even if a recession did happen, compared to other places, it is not felt as much here.

Government will never intervene with US Businesses or else they would be no different then the lackeys running the Malaysian government. Last I checked Motorola, Intel, and AMD aren't Federal owned. If they move, it will be a sole business decision.

The war has not bankrupted us. Come on now. To put things into perspective, a LOT of US company's R&D BUDGET is LARGER then Malaysia's GDP. A few years ago, it was Johnson & Johnson's R&D Budget that I saw was bigger then Malaysia's GDP. J&J unfortunately is no where near as big as some US corporations.

Malaysia's GDP (PPP): $313.2 billion. Per Capita: $12,800. Growth: 5.9%

US GDP (PPP): $13.06 trillion Per Capita: $43,800. Growth: 2.9%

Sure money market is money market. Sure we have a huge enlarging deficit.

But it is still far from being bankrupt. The US is now headed towards a market correction which is usually always cyclical in nature.

Let me rephrase that. The US government is being bankrupted by the war. Like it or not, it's reflected in the falling value of the dollar. You can read some of it here - Face to Face with John Berthelsen

Pertinent quotes :

Experts say it is economically bankrupt and its declining US dollar is no more than fiat money.

The Bush administration has done its best to wreck the country for eight years, with misguided tax policies that have resulted in a US$10 trillion national debt.

Also, take a look at The Economist, Dec. 1, 2007. Here's a quote :

The anxiety is unmistakable. But this time the scare is about more than bad mortgage loans and their baleful effect on the credit markets. America may be falling into recession. And a new fear now stalks the markets : that the dollar's slide could spin out of control.

And another :

Much of the dollar's weakness is driven by economic fundamentals. Since peaking in 2002, it has fallen by 24% against a trade-weighted basket of currencies. Given America's need to borrow from aboard to finance its consumption, that is neither surprising nor sinister

If I'm not mistaken, the Federal Reserve is going to cut interest rates very soon, if they have not just done so. They wouldn't do that if the economy is booming. TheMiddleEast has a piece on the Gulf nations thinking about dropping their US dollar peg. There was also a piece (I forgot where) about the US asking China not to sell their reserves of the US dollars. If I remember correctly, the Chinese have the largest reserves of US dollars overseas and dropping the dollar would literally pull the rug from beneath the dollar.

But I agree that unlike Malaysia, the US does not generally interfere in the businesses. That is a GOOD thing because even as the US incurs debt over Iraq and Afghanistan, US companies are generally unaffected, except by the sliding dollar.

However, this does not mean the government will not and does not covertly or overtly influence companies not to do business in certain regions. Of course, except for sanctions on countries like Iran and Cuba, I'm not privy to secret dealings of the US government.

In any case, this really isn't about the US economy. A recession in the US is BAD for everyone. Especially for us, since US is our biggest trading partner. Right now, we are only being propped up by high oil prices. A recession in the US could wipe out that advantage and devastate the local economy.

Anyway, like I mentioned above, it is making business sense for US companies to move operations AWAY from Malaysia. We are losing competitiveness. It won't require the US government's intervention for companies to move at least some operations away. In fact, this is already happening.

The Malaysian government has been crowing about achieving a 6% growth and low inflation (3%?) but it's all a farce. The growth is only being sustained by high oil prices, and everyone knows that the real inflation is closer to 10-20%.

[PsYkHoTiK]

While I never said that the Bush Policy is being a good spender (Alan Greenspan speaks out greatly against the Administration's poor practices).

And if you note in my post, the trade deficit has existed for the longest times. We just have to realize that we are no longer a producing nation but should shift towards the service sector more (unfortunately national pride - buy American is still strong).

Like I said the market needs a correction (a.k.a federal reserve coming in to stimulate the market) to fix this credit problem. Some people don't realize that this is a multi faceted problem. The issue is that homes in the US have been in a bubble for a long time. The bubble is bursting which will ultimately lead to lower prices and a market rebound for people waiting for the dust to clear.

But still it is a far cry from bankruptcy. I don't really like the deficit, and its a big issue but the US is still in a position to maintain its status quo in the global economy regardless of the position of stronger currencies like the euro.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by PsYkHoTiK

While I never said that the Bush Policy is being a good spender (Alan Greenspan speaks out greatly against the Administration's poor practices).

And if you note in my post, the trade deficit has existed for the longest times. We just have to realize that we are no longer a producing nation but should shift towards the service sector more (unfortunately national pride - buy American is still strong).

Like I said the market needs a correction (a.k.a federal reserve coming in to stimulate the market) to fix this credit problem. Some people don't realize that this is a multi faceted problem. The issue is that homes in the US have been in a bubble for a long time. The bubble is bursting which will ultimately lead to lower prices and a market rebound for people waiting for the dust to clear.

But still it is a far cry from bankruptcy. I don't really like the deficit, and its a big issue but the US is still in a position to maintain its status quo in the global economy regardless of the position of stronger currencies like the euro.

Well, the issue really isn't about the Bush policy on spending although like I said, fortunately, the government does not control the businesses. Otherwise, Bush would have run them into the ground.

Coming back to topic, do you think the US government will have any clout on the issue? Would they even do anything?

[PsYkHoTiK]

In all honesty, I really doubt it. There are other 'bigger' issues for them to 'police' I guess like the West Bank, Myanmmars Junta (which doesn't really get too much in itself) and not to mention the wars and our own internal issues. Malaysia in all honesty pales in comparison to some of the other places in the world that has trully gone south.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by PsYkHoTiK

In all honesty, I really doubt it. There are other 'bigger' issues for them to 'police' I guess like the West Bank, Myanmmars Junta (which doesn't really get too much in itself) and not to mention the wars and our own internal issues. Malaysia in all honesty pales in comparison to some of the other places in the world that has trully gone south.

Hmm.. I would agree. Bush has bigger things to fry, literally.

But at least they did issue a statement on the lack of freedom in Malaysia. That stands as a blemish in Badawi's lacklustre record.