Opinion
Although the ruling People Power Party (PPP) suffered a crushing defeat in South Korea’s April 10 parliamentary elections, it still managed to win 108 seats out of a total of 300. Most importantly, the opposition parties were denied the two-thirds majority that would have allowed them to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. Although Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and other top government officials have announced their resignations one by one, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has to deal with a “twisted National Assembly,” so it should be assumed that there will be no change in the majority. To begin with, foreign policy and policy toward North Korea have not had much influence on the voting behavior of South Koreans, and this election was no exception. As a former prosecutor, Yoon Suk Yeol seems to have a strong tendency to go his own way. A prime example of this is his consistent emphasis on Japan-Korea relations, despite public backlash over the issue of former civilian workers from the Korean Peninsula. With the loss of unifying force resulting from the crushing general election defeat, it may be difficult to expect further progress in security cooperation with Japan. However, this will set it apart from previous South Korean governments, such as the Roh Moo-hyun administration, which strengthened its anti-Japanese stance as its approval ratings declined. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants to hold the first Japan-North Korea summit in 20 years with Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un, and it is hard to imagine that Yoon Suk Yeol, who attaches great importance to Japan-South Korea relations, would oppose this idea. There is no doubt that efforts to strengthen cooperation among Japan, the United States and South Korea will continue as long as Biden is president of the United States. Coincidentally, at the Japan-U.S. summit in Washington on the same day, Kishida asked Biden for his understanding of efforts to hold a Japan-North Korea summit and received his approval. However, this is unlikely to have any particular impact on future Japan-North Korea negotiations. This is because President Biden has expressed support for Japan’s policy toward North Korea, and the Kishida administration has no intention of making excessive concessions to North Korea. Rather, what Prime Minister Kishida should do to make the Japan-North Korea summit a reality is to approach North Korea, be willing to take risks, and make efforts to convince public opinion at home. Getting the cooperation of the United States is just one way to improve the environment. North Korea has repeatedly issued statements rejecting dialogue with Japan, which is reluctant to make major concessions, and it remains difficult for Japan-North Korea negotiations to make progress even with the support of the United States and South Korea. Japan is not the only country with which North Korea refuses to talk. Kim Jong Un has called South Korea the “number one enemy” and has also cut off hotlines to Seoul. Three summits with former President Moon Jae-in have yielded no concrete benefits […]
1 d ago
A colonial hang over is a concept that is not easily understood by all. Yet it attests to two very sad and powerful effects, when not properly managed from the very beginning of the country’s independence from the previous colonial master(s). Even the likes of superpowers, such as the United States (US), that was once the colony of the United Kingdom (UK) are not spared from the problem. The two effects are the belief in every country’s own revolution as unparalleled and must be above and beyond the pale of the colonial government. In the case of Malaysia, for that matter, the US, the polity had to adapt to the laws and customs of the UK from the very start. Not surprisingly, Sukarno saw Malaysia as a “colonial creation” that was open to immediate attack during the Konfrontasi in 1962-1965. Malaysia can be firm against foreign power but it cannot crack down immediately on the people who was longing for freedom and prosperity. In the same context, the US embedded the right to bear arms as the second amendment in the bills of rights in 1786. To this very date, the US continues to suffer from an over abundance of powerful hands arms. Secondly, there is also the expectation that everything must be done from the top. But the very essence of the Madani administration is that the civil society must participate in ensuring social harmony too. The very fact that an open and outrageous criticism that the PM of Malaysia has not succeeded barely after 16.5 months of his five year tenure in office implies the existence of a free and open environment to speak up. In the case of the US, it is a given that the NGOs and civil society must do the same to keep the spirit of the American Revolution alive. But as can be seen from the failure of the US Congress and NGOs to agree from the start until at the six month mark after the Gaza Palestine genocide that Israel’s policy of total and massive retaliation and destruction had crossed all manners and forms of the international humanitarian laws, leading to an on going famine in Gaza, the American NGOs themselves had failed. Within the context of Malaysia, multi racial coalition to speak up against one of the worst tragedies to have evolve from the Middle East, which can lead to World War III, is a sign that Malaysians do not understand the national and international obligations thrust upon them. This is what one can infer from a post-colonial hangover. How does it work ? First a simple clarification of the medical and physiological phenomenal would be of utmost importance. A hang over, in generic medical terms, refers to the after effects of heavy drinking from the previous day. Some of the most common symptoms would be headaches and a state of prolonged disorientation as the body/brain tries to purge itself from the excesses of prior inebriation in the entire blood system. […]
3 d ago
Arriving early at SMK Permata last Friday morning, I was ushered by teacher Bhavani into a hall full of Form 4 and Form 5 students, with boys neatly seated on one side, and girls on the other. After being introduced to them, thus began my event as a guest motivational and inspirational speaker to these young minds. I surveyed with questions like “What will you do after your SPM exams?”, “Do you know what to do?”, and “Who influenced you, and what are your existing skill sets?” After they had answered these questions, I started my session on “Why must a student focus in life”, a topic I thought was most critical for the 5th Formers. I selected six students to appear on stage and was most impressed with their answers. Many of the students planned to pursue careers in business, with emphasis on their good language and people skills being their motivating factors. I then asked, “How many of you make your beds in the morning?” A few acknowledged while the majority stayed silent. I then moved on to my favourite topic with the question “Who among you washes the toilet at home? Do you leave the toilet clean for the next person?” There was pin-drop silence among my audience. Why have the sad and shameful conditions of our school toilets remained the same? From my school days till today, government school toilets have been an issue of horror, shame and disgust. The current levels of health hazards placed by their conditions are just unimaginable. The issue of toilets is what I want to emphasise among my readers. 1. Ignorance: The way the school toilet issue has been handled all these years is similar to ignoring an elephant in the room. This is an issue that has been discussed repeatedly in forums either via online media or letters to the editor, among all parents in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA / PIBG), but never in our Parliament. The Minister of Education (MOE) must address this matter as it is of grave concern towards our children’s well-being and health, as well as holding up the status of an educational institution. Such ignorance is inexcusable, and we see this not only within the school toilets, but also several eateries and public lavatories in almost every part of the country. If we do not educate our children from young on how to care for the cleanliness of the toilet at home, it is for certain they will not have this understanding be it in school or anywhere else. 2. Early Education: Japanese children are often taught about cleanliness and hygiene in preschool and early elementary school. The MOE should look upon the Japanese concept and make it compulsory to ensure every child is trained to keep the toilet and surroundings clean, starting from preschool and continuing till the child leaves school. Every school principal must be held responsible for the cleanliness of the toilets, ensure that the cleaners are doing their job […]
4 d ago
Of all the institutions and agencies of the League of Nations to have survived the ghastly end of World War I in 1919, only the International Labor Organization (ILO) could prove itself worthy of being retained. On issues verging on international peace and security, not excluding international humanitarian laws, even genocide —- of which one is in motion in Gaza —- although the world has witnessed others in Myanmar, Darfur, Rwanda and countless others before, the United Nations Security Council is rendered hapless. Why ? As and when a binding resolution has to be passed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the veto power of the five permanent members in the UNSC have been wielded time and again to protect their crony states, even when they are actively pursuing a policy of wiping out either partially or in whole, another population —- ethnic cleansing. The hot button issue of today is Gaza. The problem is it has been triggering countless terror stricken campaigns, as things stand, verging on the likes of Israel, bombing 1.7 million more Gazans, all of whom are concentrated in Rafah. Since the verdict of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 26, 2024, which the judges voted by 14 to 2, that Israel is involved in a plausible genocide and the United States being complicitous, the situation has gone from bad to worse. It was none other than former UN Ambassador of US during the Obama Administration, who has had to admit, what the world has long known, indeed, opposed, that Gaza is facing a triple assault of a no holds barred arms assault from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), deliberate choking off of at least 500 food trucks that are needed to keep the victims well fed and now mass starvation. Malaysia has spoken of the strategic and moral necessity of reforming the UNSC. Instead of allowing each of the five permanent members, therein, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the US from wielding their veto to protect their allies that have gone rogue in murdering tens of thousands without even wanting to countenance a second “ceasefire,” such a formula be permanently altered in these forms. First and foremost, for a veto to work more effectively, to prevent an issue from degenerating into the worst specter of a killing spree by one state against the other, at least three vetoes are needed by the five permanent members to block the UNSC resolution. Secondly, the UN General Assembly, a simple majority from the 197 member states is also needed to approve of what the UNSC had approved of. Without these immediate reforms, the world will be careening to more and more disasters as a genocide fought like a blood feud of Tel Aviv against the Palestinians to have all of them dispossessed of their identity and their rights to have their own separate state, would continue unabated to leave cross generational scars. By accusing the United Nations Relief World Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza […]
4 d ago
Each year we celebrate a number of disability days, often with the involvement of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), Ministry of Health (MOH) and, at times, the Ministry of Education (MOE). Recently, we observed World Autism Awareness Day (2 April). In March, we celebrated World Down Syndrome Day (21 March). There are also International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), World Cerebral Palsy Day (6 October), Invisible Disabilities Week (17–23 October) and many others. These events will usually have statements made by the relevant ministers, invariably illustrated by photo-ops of the ministers with persons with disabilities and some infographics or images on the respective social media pages of KPWKM, MOH and MOE.
1 w ago
