Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak mengumumkan kadar gaji minimum
kebangsaan sebanyak RM900 sebulan bagi Semenanjung dan RM800 sebulan
bagi Sabah, Sarawak serta Labuan.
Kadar itu yang bersamaan dengan RM4.33 sejam bagi
Semenanjung dan RM3.85 sejam bagi Sabah, Sarawak serta Labuan itu akan
meliputi pekerja dalam semua sektor ekonomi kecuali perkhidmatan
domestik termasuk pembantu rumah dan tukang kebun.
Tarikh kuat kuasa pelaksanaan kadar gaji minimum itu ialah enam bulan daripada tarikh Perintah Gaji Minimum diwartakan.
"Bagaimanapun, untuk memberi ruang dan peluang kepada majikan
kecil atau 'micro enterprises' membuat persediaan sepenuhnya supaya
peniagaan mereka tidak terjejas, tempoh kuat kuasa bagi kategori itu
ialah 12 bulan daripada tarikh Perintah Gaji Minimum diwartakan.
"Pengecualian 12 bulan ini tidak meliputi firma profesional seperti
klinik pergigian dan perubatan, firma guaman, firma arkitek, firma juru
perunding dan sebagainya, walaupun mereka mempunyai bilangan pekerja
lima orang atau kurang, mereka perlu mematuhi gaji minimum dalam masa
enam bulan," katanya pada majlis makan malam pekerja dan majikan di
sini malam ini sempena Hari Pekerja esok.
Ketika mengumumkan perkara itu pada majlis makan malam pekerja dan
majikan di sini, berkata kadar gaji minimum itu bersamaan RM4.33 sejam
bagi Semenanjung dan RM3.85 sejam bagi Sabah, Sarawak serta Labuan.
Katanya, untuk tidak membebankan majikan dan tidak merugikan
pekerja, penyerapan sebahagian elaun atau bayaran tunai tetap
dibenarkan dalam perkiraan gaji minimum.
Martin Luther King "I have a dream"-speech, August 28, 1963
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history
as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our
nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic
shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This
momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions
of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering
injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of
captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred
years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the
manacles of segregation
and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the
Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast
ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro
is still languished in the corners of American society and finds
himself in exile in his own land. So we have come here today to
dramatize an shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's Capital to cash a check.
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words
of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they
were signing a promissory note to which every American was to
fall heir.
This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be
guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory
note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of
honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro
people a bad check; a check which has come back marked
"insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the
bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are
insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this
nation. So we have come to cash this check- a check that will
give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of
justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the
fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of
cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to
the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to
lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the
solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the
moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not
pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and
equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will
now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns
to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility
in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The
whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our
nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on
the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the
process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of
wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom
by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must
forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and
discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate
into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the
majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro
community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for
many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here
today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with
our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our
freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march
ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the
devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of
the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.
We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the
fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the
highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is
from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
We can never be satisfied as long as our chlidren are stripped
of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for
whites only."
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi
cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for
which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until
justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty
stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great
trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow
jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for
freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and
staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the
veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith
that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South
Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to
the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that
somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow
in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a
dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out
the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be
self-evident; that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons
of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able
to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a
state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of
oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in
a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin
but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious
racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of
interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama
little black boys and black girls will be able to
join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and
brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exhalted, every
hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be
made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the
South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain
of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to
transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful
symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray
together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand
up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to
sing with new meaning, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land
of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of
the Pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom
ring."
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So
let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let
freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let
freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not
only that; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village
and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be
able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men
and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will
be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro
spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last!"
Sudah
lama agaknya saya tidak menulis tentang isu-isu yang melanda Negara tercinta
ini. Maka dengan ruang yang ada ini dan dengan sedikit pengetahuan kewangan, ekonomi,
politik, dan sosial ini saya ingin
merungkai dan mencadangkan bebarapa permasalahan yang timbul.
Sejak
dua minggu isu panas perbualan orang ramai, yang didebatkan oleh pemimpin
parti politik dan menjadi liputan utama media massa ialah isu memansuhkan
Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN).
Walaupun
cadangan memansuhkan PTPTN adalah cadangan bersama kepimpinan Pakatan
Rakyat; pemimpin Umno dan media kawalan Umno mensasarkan serangan ke atas
Ketua Pembangkang, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Hujah
yang dimainkan oleh pemimpin Umno ialah negara akan bankrap jika PTPTN
dimansuhkan. Perdana Menteri Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak memberikan
gambaran bahawa PTPTN mustahil dimansuhkan oleh Pakatan
kerana membabitkan perbelanjaan sebanyak RM43 billion.
Sekali dengar memang seperti mustahil. Walaubagaimanapun Perdana Menteri Datuk
Seri Najib tidak menyatakan adakah RM43 billion itu adalah tunggakan
setakat hari ini iaitu sejak pinjaman PTPTN mula dilancarkan atau kos
pinjaman PTPTN setiap tahun adalah RM43 billion.
Walaubagaimanapun kelmarin Pengarah Strategi PKR, saudara Rafizi Ramli mendakwa
RM43 billion itu bukan kos PTPTN untuk setahun sebaliknya kos tertunggak
selama 15 tahun. (lihat blog beliau)
Pemahaman isu pendidikan percuma perlu diterangkan dari sudut ekonomi kerana
kos pendidikan akan ditanggung oleh kerajaan dengan menggunakan duit awam.
Pada asasnya isu pendidikan percuma dan PTPTN dilihat kepada keyakinan rakyat
jelata kepada institusi pentadbir negara yakni kerajaan. Jika sesebuah kerajaan dipenuhi dengan rasuah
dan penyelewengan dana awam dan wang pembayar cukai. Celah manakah pendidikan
percuma boleh dilaksanakan dek saban hari terhidangnya maklumat kebocoran dan
ketirisan wang awam.
Saya
ulangi sekali lagi pendirian saya bahawa saya bersetuju dengan pendidikan
percuma tetapi saya kurang bersetuju untuk PTPTN dimansuhkan. PTPTN tidak perlu
dimansuhkan. Hapuskan bunga. yuran pengajian di university dipercumakan. Hutang
PTPTN perlu dibayar tanpa sebarang caj atau faedah. PTPTN adalah mekanisma
untuk mahasiswa menampung kos sara hidup di alam pengajian.
Saya
sekali lagi berkeyakinan dan menegaskan bahawa
pendidikan percuma untuk rakyat jelata di tanah air tercinta ini boleh dilaksanakan.
Pertamanya dari segi kedudukan sumber dan hasil yang diperolehi oleh kerajaan. Namun perlu dielakkan dari
hanya bergantung kepada hasil minyak . Ya, benar kita adalah negara pengeluar
minyak. Tetapi ranking keberapakah
jumlah pengeluaran minyak Malaysia di dunia?
Sebab
itu saya katakan kebergantungan kepada hasil minyak semata-mata menyebabkan kita
menjadi tidak inovatif untuk mencari sumber lain. Perlu diingat bahawa sumber
minyak adalah sumber yang terhad. Bila-bila masa boleh habis. Jadi, kita perlu
meneroka pasaran dan lubang pendapatan baru untuk menjana hasil mahsul selain
dari industri petroleum. Dalam istilah finance ia disebut “diversification” Yakni mempelbagaikan hasil Negara.
Namun
sebelum melaksanakan pendidikan percuma suka saya cadangkan agar kerajaan
merangka kembali sistem pendidikan Negara. Ini kerana system pendidikan Negara sekarang hanya mementingkan kebolehan pelajar untuk
menghafal dan berorentasikan kepada peperiksaan semata-mata. Apakah dengan
menghasilnya “penghafal” bukan pengurus, pentadbir, penganalisa dan pemimpin dapat membantu
membina modal insan?
Apabila
kejayaan bukan lagi diukur dengan berapa banyak A yang dapat..berapa tinggi
CGPA yang diperolehi tetapi lebih kepada keterampilan dan nilai budaya sosok insan
pelajar. Maka dengan ini para pelajar tidak lagi berlumba-lumba untuk
mendapatkan berapa banyak A ataupun hanya memfokus kepada study dengan
mengenepikan aktiviti kemasyarakatan dan berpersatuan. Maka, modal insan apakah yang ingin dilahirkan.
Nah saya menyeru kepada rakyat sekalian BERSEKUTU MEMBUAT PERUBAHAN untuk Malaysia yang lebih baik.
Malaysia has been focusing its economic activity by attracting foreign
investments through low-cost labour advantage in Malaysia. While we had
been targeting to become a developed nation ever since the year 1991,
our strategies had been those of the developing nation.
Many have been comparing Malaysia’s GDP per capita growth compared
to South Korea’s. In 1980, the GDP (PPP) per capita of Malaysia was
$2349.955, while South Korea was $2302.288. However in 2011, we see
that Malaysia had $15,578 GDP (PPP) per capita while South Korea had
$31,753. Of course simply comparing the two countries most people will
make a conclusion that Malaysia’s government had been very terrible in
managing the economy of the country. While in reality it was South
Korea who had an extraordinary growth. If we were to compare our growth
with Brazil, the situation exactly opposite with South Korea is
occurring, with Brazil having $3742.852 in 1980, but at $11,845 in 2011.
The question is what is the difference between Malaysia, South Korea
and Brazil? What do we have to do to increase our GDP (PPP) per capita
which reflects the average purchasing power of an individual in our
country? One of the ‘solutions’ proposed by both the government and the
opposition is the minimum wage legislation. It may be to everyone’s
surprise for the fact that among these three nations, Brazil was the
first to introduce minimum wage in 1938. While South Korea only
introduced it not more than 15 years ago, in 1998. Where at that time,
the GDP per capita of South Korea had long passed the GDP per capita
for Brazil.
So? Where are we actually heading to? Is this really the ‘solution’
to eradicate poverty and having a more equal distribution of income?
Malaysia had been focusing on the advantage of cheap labour cost for
too long already. To the extent that we don’t have enough labour force
for the cheap labour market which forced us to import more foreign
labours, making our cheap labour market more prominent. As a result,
the last time we achieved double digit growth in GDP (PPP) per capita
was in 1991.
The tragedy of cheap labour market did not end there. There are just
too many brain drains happening in Malaysia, where we had been placed
as number 9 in the world, with 2 out of 10 university graduates finding
jobs elsewhere. Of course there are many reasons for the brain drains
to happen, but without a doubt one of the main reasons is due to the
low wage in Malaysia compared to other countries and lack of job
opportunities. Three of my friends that is currently doing animation
related course in the United Kingdom have no intention of working in
Malaysia at all. They said it is because Malaysia’s payment for this
field is ridiculously low compared to other countries.
If we do not change our economic policy, than nothing will change in
Malaysia even though we apply minimum wage legislation. Malaysia had
been good enough in producing highly educated human capital; however it
seems that we are not producing enough job opportunities for this human
capital. Most of our labour markets are for the low-cost labour
category. And we are complaining that our graduates are picky in
choosing their jobs. Of course we want a job which will make use of
what we learn in the university? What is the point of studying in the
university, struggling doing assignments and examinations while we
ended up doing something completely unrelated to our field?
Without the slightest doubt that the minimum wage will cause an
increase in unemployment and inflation to occur in the short term as
that was the result in all researches done in developing countries.
Despite that, I hope this minimum wage legislation will push Malaysia
to participate in more high income economic activity with increased
efficiency. If not, the dream for Malaysia to become a developed nation
will forever become a dream.
Secara umumnya, Jerman adalah sebuah 'Daulah' atau negara yang hebat dalam penga...laman
transisi politiknya. Daripada pemerintahan monarki kepada pemerintahan
demokrasi, seterusnya kediktatoran dan juga terpecahnya negara itu
kepada dua wilayah di bawah zon pendudukan asing, berdirinya Tembok
Berlin sebagai simbol Perang Dingin paling diingati dalam sejarah,
Jerman kini merupakan sebuah negara yang dihormati di seluruh dunia.
Buku ini ditulis untuk menelusuri pelbagai simpang penting dalam
sejarah politik-ekonomi-sosial Jerman sejak pasca Perang Dunia Pertama
sehingga keruntuhan Tembok Berlin, dan seterusnya pasca penyatuan
wilayah Barat dan Timur dengan focus kepada keajaiban ekonomi Jerman
(Wirtschaftswunder) yang dinisbahkan kepada sistem Ekonomi Pasaran
Sosial (Soziale Marktwirtschaft). Meskipun umumnya banyak perbezaan
yang boleh ditunjukkan, beberapa ruang pembelajaran boleh didapatkan
dalam perbandingan antara Jerman dan Malaysia. -(BUKU EKONOMI PASARAN
SOSIAL) STATUS INI TELAH DI KEMASKINI DI FACEBOOK PADA 30 MAC 2012
Dengan sempurnanya lafaz ikrar sebagai Ketua Negara,
Sultan Kedah, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, 84, selamat ditabal
sebagai Yang di-Pertuan Agong ke-14 pada satu upacara penuh istiadat
kebesaran Raja-Raja Melayu di Istana Negara semalam.
Sebaik selesai kemuncak istiadat itu, tiupan nafiri dan paluan nobat
dengan lagu 'Perang' bergema di Balairong Seri dan para hadirin berdiri
serta melaungkan 'Daulat Tuanku' sebanyak tiga kali diketuai pemangku
Datuk Maharaja Lela, Azwan Effendy Zairakithnaini.
Serentak itu juga, tembakan meriam 21 das dilepaskan dan lagu Negaraku dimainkan oleh Pancaragam Pusat Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia diketuai Lt. Sabri Abdullah.
Istiadat pertabalan yang berlangsung penuh warna-warni itu
disaksikan kira-kira 900 orang tetamu termasuk Raja-Raja Melayu dan
Permaisuri masing-masing, wakil-wakil Raja-Raja Melayu, Yang
Dipertua-Yang Dipertua Negeri, Perdana Menteri, menteri-menteri Kabinet
dan isteri masing-masing.
