Malaysia: an example to emulate
Dr Mahathir bin Mohammad after serving his country for 22 years as prime minister at last handed over power to his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Malaysia under Mahathir had been the world's most impressive success story. Two generations ago the country was so backward that it looked like a large botanical garden. There were only tin mines and rubber plantations. Mahathir turned it into a manufacturing powerhouse. Despite his scathing anti-West outbursts, he remained a voice of moderation, a crusader against religious fundamentalism and an ardent advocate of tolerance.
To put the country on the track of development, he made education the basis of his strategy. He utilized the talents of the rural areas by providing education facilities in far-flung areas. He hired capable teachers from all over the world and set up a sound system of education. As a result of this, the per capita income of Malaysia is $3,600, exports are more than $88 billion and foreign exchange reserves are $33 billion.
During the 1997 East Asia crisis, Mahathir refused to accept the IMF's assistance. He was convinced that borrowing from the IMF would mean loss of independence, but what he feared most was that the IMF would not allow his government to effectively reduce disparity between the Malays and the non-Malays.
It was the economic dimension of his decision and the very act of refusal, which the West is not accustomed to, that surprised the world. When the currency crisis hit most of the East Asian countries, the IMF sought to intervene to "rescue" them. Mahathir refused to buckle under the IMF's demand and did the opposite of what the international agency recommended. He imposed capital controls and pegged the country's currency to the US dollar.
Officially Mahathir provided facilities at such a large scale to the industrialists and businessmen of Japan and western countries that they started making investment without any hindrance. Most of the business under the government control was privatized. Internally he taught the whole nation the lesson of working hard and going forward. By quitting power he set an example for the dozens of Muslim heads who say that their countries will progress and develop as long as they and their children are alive.
But in the Islamic Republic of ours, two different education systems exist, one for the ruling minority and the other for the poor majority. English or Urdu, there is nothing wrong in adopting any medium of instruction, but it should be one and the same for all. It is astonishing that our high-ups fail to understand the importance of this minor step, i.e. introducing a single syllabus in schools.
To achieve the desired objective we need politicians and rulers who are God-fearing, honest, selfless, wise, bold, calm and cool and men of excellent character, unimpeachable integrity and high calibre. The only disease our country suffers from is economic which springs from the lack of a sound human resource base. For over 56 years we have been following western prescription, the cornerstone of which has been to keep us illiterate so that we can be led blindly by them.
Our internal dangers are not fundamentalism and extremism but poverty, illiteracy, feudalism, drug trafficking and exploitation of women and the underprivileged against which we must fight with an iron hand. It must be remembered that all developed nations have prospered after learning lessons from their past.
S.A. KHOKHAR
Lahore
Former PS employees' woes
I would like to bring the following facts to the notice of the relevant authorities for consideration and redressal on humanitarian grounds:
- As an employee of Pakistan Steel I opted for new pay-scales effective from 1-7-2002 in the hope that full gratuity would be paid to me sooner or later.
- As per the terms and conditions of my appointment, in the absence of normal pension as available to the federal government employees, full gratuity was to be paid to me, but instead I have been paid half gratuity.
Thus, the denial of full gratuity is a gross violation of the terms and conditions of my appointment as well as an infringement of inalienable rights.
- The former Pakistan Steel chairman, while addressing the employees of Pakistan Steel, had promised to get the gratuity restored to full. However, vide circular No A&P-3-8/4 (VRF)/P&C) dated 03-10-2003 gratuity has been restored to full arbitrarily with immediate effect.
- Is it not discriminatory that most of my colleagues who also opted for new pay-scales effective from 1-7-2002, and who will retire after 3-10-2003 will get full gratuity, but since I retired on 13-4-2003 I have received only half gratuity. There cannot be two different policies for payment of gratuity, i.e. in full to those employees retiring after October 3, 2003, and payment of half gratuity to those employees who retired before October 3.
- New pay-scales were also introduced in the past, but the gratuity was not halved, and Pakistan Steel retired employees (retired on superannuation) were not denied their fundamental right to full gratuity.
- Denial of the above fundamental right is not a cavil but a genuine grievance which must be redressed immediately.
I urge the industries and the production minister to intervene to restore full gratuity to the retired employees of Pakistan Steel with retros-pective effect, instead of October 3 made applicable arbitrarily.
The Sindh ombudsman is also requested to take suo motu notice of the denial of full gratuity to the PS retirees who opted for new pay-scales effective from July 1, 2002, in the hope that full gratuity would be restored and paid to them.
FAYYAZ AHMAD
Karachi
Saigal, and not Saigol
Mr Ayaz Amir in his wonderfully evocative memories of great singers of the subcontinent ("K. L. Saigol: 1904-1946", January 16) has misspelled and thus mispronounced Kundan Lal Saigol's name. Isn't it Saigal, not Saigol? At least that is how I remember how a DJ of a 7-8am Hindi movie songs' programme on Radio Ceylon, Hamid Sayani, pronounced his name daily.
Mr Amir has completely overlooked another singer equal or greater than Kundan Lal Saigal. It was the one and only Pankaj Mullick of Calcutta who sang Kyaa maine kiya hai which I am sure Mr Amir has not heard.
And what about Adnan Sami with Maula tere ghhar me andhera kabhi nahi? Mr Amir should have also mentioned Shamshad Begum, an equal of the great Noor Jehan.
P. HARIMOHAN
New York, NY., USA
(2)
Mr Ayaz Amir's column on K. L. Saigal was more interesting than his usual columns on the political scene of the country, and his views on music seemed more consistent than his opinion about General Pervez Musharraf. But he and others who responded to his piece have made one mistake - they have spelled Saigal as Saigol.
Our people make another very common mistake; they spell the Indian state of Gujarat as Gujrat, which is the spelling of the town in our part of Punjab. That's why the language - Gujarati is often misspelled as Gujrati.
ASIF NOORANI
Karachi
Appointment of nurses
I want to bring to the attention of the NWFP health minister the violation of all considerations or merit in nomination of nurses for the ward administration course at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science (PIMS), Islamabad, for the two reserved seats for the province.
My father, Samin Hussain, who is working as head nurse at the AHQ Hospital, Parachinar, applied for the course two months ago through proper channels via medical superintendent, and the application was then processed to the health DG via DHS, Fata. I was told by the authorities concerned that my father had not applied on the proper admission form of the Nursing College, PIMS.
I brought the form and my father did all the necessary formalities by attaching relevant documents. But processing took round about five weeks, and then I was told that the last date, December 27, 2003, had expired.
On my representation, the offices of the health DG and the secretary, Peshawar, again considered my father's application and processed it for two weeks. But now I am informed that nomination of two nurses has been formalized. Two women nurses have been nominated out of a total of six applicants, including my father. My father is senior-most among the six, working as head nurse in BPS 16 and with a diploma in community health from the PIMS.
I urge the NWFP health minister to inquire into the procedure adopted for nominations. The PIMS course begins in early March, and there is yet time to address the irregularities committed.
SAJID HUSSAIN
Parchinar
Wapda engineers' promotion issue
We want to highlight the grim situation of power engineers in Water and Power Development Authority. The engineers who got their promotion as senior engineer in the early '90s are still working in the same grade, and there is no hope for their next promotion in the coming many years. In this way, they will have to work without any financial benefit in terms of length of service or move-over or promotion.
Due to these reasons, the power engineers are seeking retirement or resigning from their jobs in search of better prospects. This is a very unfortunate situation for this vital department of national importance and for the future of the engineers.
Consequently, for the last many years there has been a continuous outflow of engineers having valuable experience in important sectors of the power wing.
If Wapda is unable to give regular promotion to senior engineers as superintending engineer/director, then, as an alternative, it may arrange for a proforma promotion or timescale promotion. This would be a great blessing not only for the affected engineers but also for this gigantic power utility.
ABDUL GHAFOOR KHAN
Faisalabad
Weapons of mass destruction
Frederick Sweet, a professor of reproductive biology in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, USA, has warned that when the war against Iraq ends, George Bush will have caused the poisoning of hundreds of thousands more humans than he says Saddam Hussein poisoned. And then it will go on killing for generations.
More than eight months have passed since the Iraq war began, but the United States is still investigating reports that WMDs were shipped out of Iraq via Syria in the months before the allied forces began their assault on the regime of Saddam Hussein, says a report in World Tribune of January 11.
Another news item dating back to August 23, 2003, reported that the US suspected Iraqi WMDs to be in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. No clue has been found to date.
While the search for WMDs goes on, US A-10 Warthog aircraft continue to fire depleted uranium (DU) shells producing uranium oxide dust on explosion. DU is the waste residue made from the uranium enrichment process. This radioactive and toxic substance is 1.7 times as dense as lead and is used to make shells that penetrate steel armour.
Werner Burkart, the German deputy director- general for nuclear sciences and applications at the IAEA, says: "If you have pieces or even whole [DU] penetrators around, this is not an acute health hazard, but it is for sure above radiation protection dose levels. The important thing in any battlefield - especially in populated urban areas - is somebody has to clean up these sites."
While the Bush administration and the Pentagon continue to overlook the dangers to American troops and Iraqi civilians from breathing the uranium oxide dust produced in (DU) weapons' explosions, nuclear physicists and physicians at the World DU/Uranium Weapons Conference held in Hamburg, Germany, in October last year, challenge these reassurances. The official 2003 Conference Statement concluded: "The knowledge on which this [Pentagon] model is based is faulty and outdated. This is like comparing [someone] sitting in front of a fire with [them] eating a hot coal."
Uranium oxide particles are available for inhalation long time after a war is over. Anyone in the general area of their prior use is at risk, several years after their use or contamination. This was proven by urine measurements in Kosovo in 2001. All of the people sampled showed contamination from DU. This was also shown by urine tests of Gulf War veterans made 10 years after their exposure.
The significant rise in malignancies, congenital malformations and radiation related immunodeficiency disorders affecting thousands of people in Kosovo, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Yugoslavia and American veterans of the Gulf War have been attributed to the use of DU in weapons. Such a heavy exposure led to a new clinical condition called as Gulf-War Syndrome. DU bombings in Bosnia in 1996 and in Yugoslavia in 1999 reveal a frightening reality. Ovarian cancer in Iraqi women of the southern region has now fully increased by 16-fold.
Where do the weapons of mass destruction lie? How long will this continue? Is there no one to stand for those who are dying for no fault at all? Will the leaders of the world ever listen to the cries of humanity... developing newer complications every other day?
Following every lead with the hard evidences that recline beside such deadly crimes against humanity, it is not difficult to find the answer.
SARAH IDREES
Karachi
Ordeal of air passengers
MY son, Rehan Zamin and his wife were scheduled to fly to Chicago by PK-793 early in the morning on January 14. The departure was scheduled at 4am.However, at 3.20am the passengers were informed that owing to inclement weather the flight would be departing at 9am. Naturally, my family members had no option but to go back and report again at 8am. The boarding was complete by 9.10am primarily because PIA had added on passengers from flights PK-751 to Oslo and PK-204 to Dubai, these passengers were flying to Lahore for their onward journey.
Not surprisingly, because of the merger of the flights at the eleventh hour, there was chaos and the PIA staff posted at gate 23 was unable to control the situation. When the passengers had boarded the aircraft, they were told that the aircraft was not carrying enough food for the extra passengers. Thus, the arrangement of extra food resulted in a further delay of 20 minutes.
From the foregoing it is evident that PIA delayed its flight without explaining the real position to the passengers, many of whom were bound to miss their onward connecting flights.
All this could have been avoided had the PIA staff posted at the boarding counters and gate 23 handled the situation pleasantly and tactfully. Unfortunately the staff was confused and no assistance was provided to them by their superiors.
Systematic steps must be taken promptly to prevent the decline in Pakistan International Airline's standards which was once an internationally respected and reputed airline.
BRIG (R) AKHTAR ZAMIN
Karachi
Cricket team's performance
I am very happy about the Pakistan cricket team's performance against New Zealand in the fifth one-day international played at Westpac Stadium, Wellington, on January 17, despite the fact that our team lost.
We, the cricket fans, know how hard our team worked in that game, and this is what we expect from it. Victory is a thing that can go to any side, but what is in our control is to play as well as we can.
We wish the national team best of luck for the coming series against India and just want the players to play as competitively as they did in the fifth game against New Zealand.
MOHAMMAD KAMRAN VIGHIO
Karachi
Poultry disease
There has been a lot of furore regarding the outbreak of avian influenza disease in poultry in the vicinity of Karachi and neighbouring areas. Claims and counter-claims by poultry experts, scientists and poultry association have left people confused.
In a report on January 17, it was claimed by the Karachi Wholesale Poultry Association that only layer birds had been affected by the disease which, according to the general-secretary of the association, Kamal Akhter Siddiqui, were being consumed by people who lacked the means to buy costlier birds, which are consumed by 10 per cent or the city's population.
Mr Siddiqui should note that 10 per cent of the population means 1.5 million people. What right does he or the association have to play with the lives of so many people by claiming that only layer birds have fallen victim to the disease, which are being consumed by the poor masses which itself is an outrace. All such birds should be totally destroyed and not a single bird should be marketed.
In the same news item, a scientist, Dr Jamil Ahmed, claims that the illegal practice of selling the meat of dead birds is being checked. What a shame! Have we Muslims stooped down so low that we are being sold the meat of dead birds?
Why are the health authorities silent about such practices which are being admitted by the poultry people openly in the newspaper? Will they only wake up when deaths are reported among the citizens of Karachi?
CONCERNED HOUSEWIFE
Karachi
Medical education
Reference to the letter by Dr Mohammad Shahmd (January 18), he is right that medical education has gone to dogs, but the main reason is not that Professor Tippu Sultan has not been named vice- chancellor of the Dow Medical University.
The main reason is the mass production of sub-standard doctors who eventually become sub-standard teachers in the same system. If a proper aptitude test is established to weed out "farmaishi" medical students, and a fee structure as expensive as in the US/Aga Khan Medical university is introduced, I assure you more than 90 per cent of the rot in the medical system will be arrested.
Economically handicapped but talent students can be given either soft loans or scholarships so as not to exclude them from the profession. The money raised can improve the salaries of teachers so that they can forget about private practice and concentrate on research and teaching.
DR JAMAL NASIR MEMON
Karachi