Thesun 2009-06-19 Page14 Its All About Priorities

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theSun

| FRIDAY JUNE 19 2009

speak up! letter

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It’s all about priorities RAPE, robbery and murder have become a daily staple – to the dangerous point that many of us are becoming immune to it. Just look at the reports on crime in the dailies, which most of the time are relegated to briefs or the inside pages. What’s new about another snatch theft unless the victim died, right? So, what’s newsworthy about another body of a foreigner found in a drain? I, too, was guilty of such complacent indifference a while back until our English intern Lynn Morris jolted me to the realities of the increasing crime rate when I wanted to trim down a report on a violent crime to a news brief. “What? In England this would be your page one story!” she exclaimed, expressing both her shock at my nonchalance and also the intolerance of more “progressive” societies towards crime, Of late the crime index has indicated that we are just a few notches below bordering anarchy. A dawn crime spree in Puchong on Monday a stone’s throw from the police station underscored two things – the audacity of the robbers and the shocking response time of the police who responded only after seven shops were hit. With 110,000 personnel it is impossible to expect our men in blue to be at our beck and call. They are overworked,

underpaid and ceramah, websites under-resourced. and newspapers Thus it is not and question unheard of to hear politicians and of police chiefs journalists. parroting the oftOne is not tellrepeated mantra ing the cops how of “crime prevento do their job but tion is everyone’s taxpayers will not responsibility”, be stepping out of urging neighbourline by requesting hood watches that the police get Down2Earth and other crime their priorities prevention initia- by Terence Fernandez right. tives. Deputy IGP Tan But having said that, one Sri Ismail Omar tried to allay cannot blame the people for our fears by saying that the finding it hard to be sympacrime index in Hongkong, Jathetic towards the plight of pan and Australia were worse the police – especially when than the figures in Malaysia. questions arise as to the use of He said that Malaysia their limited resources. was a relatively safe country One finds it hard to stomwith 772 crimes for every ach the police’s claims of lack 100,000 residents, compared of manpower with the 1,000 to Hongkong (1,166 cases personnel deployed for the for every 100,000 residents); Manek Urai by-election. Japan (1,569 cases) and AusIt is easy to understand tralia with 4,470 cases. the people’s seething anger These are figures that were when snatch thieves are getmade available in December. ting bolder due to fewer and Now with recession going into inconsistent patrols while full swing, one suspects that uniformed personnel show the numbers have changed. up in full force at public rallies Yes, crime prevention is to snatch candles and seize everyone’s responsibility. political paraphernalia. There must be more concerted It is difficult to be sensitive efforts to reduce crime. Local towards the inspector general authorities can be involved by of police’s call for understandintroducing their own patrols ing the difficulties faced by the as is done in Petaling Jaya. force in curbing crime when The use of CCTVs should they seem to have the resourcbe expanded as a deterrent, es and personnel to monitor and Rela should be roped in

The ‘freedom agenda’ on Terror is the advancement of freedom and human dignity through effective democracy.” Compared to the Clinton years, the ends WHEN historians analyse former US President democracy promotion were meant to serve George W. Bush’s prosecution of the “global war became visibly inflated – extending from open on terror”, perhaps no other strategy will loom markets and peaceful partners to include as large as what his administration termed the counter-terrorism and, more ambitiously, ending “freedom agenda”. tyranny. A breakdown between doctrine and The democracy promotion has been a longimplementation was inevitable. standing element of US foreign policy. From Indeed, the Bush administration’s relative successes in Japan and democracy promotion efforts schizGermany to failures in Somalia ophrenically careened between a and Haiti, the record has been sceptical realist view of the freedom mixed. The Clinton administration agenda and a neo-conservative one similarly embraced this agenda in zealously promoting it. As these its 1996 national security strategy: conflicting strains played out in “Democracies create free markets its foreign policy, the results were that offer economic opportunity either democracy doublespeak or and make for reliable trading partdemocracy poorly promoted. ners far less likely to wage war The most flagrant example of the with one another.” former was Pakistan where counIn the Bush years, democracy ter-terrorism imperatives trumped promotion evolved to become the democracy concerns. Before 9/11, central pillar of America’s postformer President Gen Pervez 9/11 counter-terrorism response. Where young views rule Musharraf was kept at arms length; Yet despite the rhetoric, this misthereafter, Pakistan under his regime became a sion was pursued in a contradictory and flawed “frontline state in the war on terror”. The Bush manner. As a result, US democracy promotion administration provided the Musharraf regime efforts and credibility overseas suffered greatly with over US$10 billion (RM35 billion), largely – as did its national security. in military aid; successfully pressed Congress The contrast could not have been starker to lift sanctions including those triggered by at the onset. During the 2000 presidential race, Musharraf’s 1999 military coup; and remained the Bush campaign de-emphasised entangling silent as he consolidated power through rigged engagements overseas, including democracy elections. It was only following a massive public promotion, as part of a realist and non-intervenoutcry upon the sacking of the Supreme Court tionist approach to foreign policy. This was an chief justice that the Bush administration avowed reversal of the Clinton administration’s shifted tack and supported elections leading to approach. Yet post 9/11, the Bush administration Musharraf’s exit. progressively elevated democracy promotion as With its democracy doublespeak, the Bush its central foreign policy tenet. administration more than damaged US credThis shift was best captured in Bush’s lofty ibility; it undermined its national and indeed second inaugural speech in 2005: “It is the policy international security. Although the Musharraf of the United States to seek and support the regime played a pivotal role in apprehending and growth of democratic movements and instikilling key al-Qaeda operatives, its collaboration tutions in every nation and culture, with the with right-wing Islamic parties and selective ultimate goal of ending tyranny in the world.” tolerance of militant groups helped radicalise The 2006 National Strategy for Winning the War Pakistan’s tribal belt – a key staging ground for on Terror would frame it in even sharper terms: regional and global terrorist attacks today. the only “long-term solution for winning the War by Ziad Haider

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Make maths pass compulsory for street patrols not merely herding foreigners into Black Marias. Taking it a step further, crime analyst Kamal Affendi Hashim had opined that developers should consult the police before embarking on new projects. This, he said should be made compulsory by the state government to ensure that there would be enough personnel to patrol the new areas, and also to obtain input from the cops on how to make homes more crime-proof via design and use of materials. (Although CitizenNades insists he had been campaigning for this long before!) But for now, to arrest the immediate problems of escalating crime, the best thing the police can do is to reassess their priorities to send out a message that they will come down hard on criminals. There have been many successes, one admits but not enough unfortunately, to return the people’s confidence that their streets are safe again. Like all little boys then, Terence’s ambition was to be polis, askar, bomba (in that order). He did not achieve his childhood dream and is today deputy editor (special reports and investigations). Feedback: [email protected].

Obama regulatory plan is ambitious gambit pg 16

I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY agree with implementing the compulsory pass for English in the SPM exams. I am also of the opinion that mathematics too should be made a compulsory pass, if not a credit. The concern that many students in rural areas will be unable to pass their SPM exams if such a policy is implemented showcases the poor attitude of putting quantity over quality. If anything, such a policy will force the students to work harder to earn their qualifications, thereby giving true value to the qualification itself. And it will simultaneously force the teachers and Education Ministry to do better in providing quality, meaningful and effective education. In raising the quality of the SPM qualification, the government will directly be raising the quality of its workforce, which is the only way to achieve a brighter future for Malaysia, especially in an international context. Furthermore, making English a compulsory pass will also ensure that we will be a nation that can communicate better on an international level, as English is almost universally the common language of the world. Concerns that speaking English will lead to a general decline in morals and erosion of culture in today’s youth are based on ignorance and intolerance or fear of change. Good, sound upbringing and education as well as appropriate guidance from elders, or lack of such, are what determine the moral and cultural sensitivities and ideals in youths. Jas Ang KL

We believe that the young should have a say in how Furthermore, democracy promotion even when the as the key foreign policy things are run, because they Bush administracounter-terrorism tool have everything at stake in tion promoted and its overall record. our future. This column credemocracy, these Setting actions aside, ates that space for our panel efforts often proved according to a leading of bright young sparks to counter-productive US pollster James Zogand even disastrous. by, even mere calls for debate issues that they feel The administration’s democracy by the US, strongly about. promoting gun-barwhich were blunt and rel democracy in inconsistent, imperiled Iraq was perhaps the cause in the Middle East: its most consequential mistake. Some would “Even Arabs who value freedom and democracy argue democracy promotion was never the goal did not want our (US) assistance in promoting – pointing instead to energy and geo-political democracy in their country.” considerations, the now-debunked WMD threat, Turning to the Obama administration, alor regime change. though standing up for democratic movements, Regardless of the motive for invasion, the human rights, and the rule of law will be key not administration’s subsequent attempt to transonly from a counter-terrorism but also from a form Iraq into a pluralistic, democratic society moral viewpoint, it must do so bearing in mind unleashed a storm of insurgent, sectarian, and three lessons from the Bush years. extremist violence. It has already cost the lives » The first and foremost is to maintain of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and over humility. The “freedom agenda” must not be 4,000 US soldiers. As such, democratic transiover-hyped with unreasonable expectations tion for many in the Middle East has become that leave the US exposed to corrosive charges synonymous with a descent into chaos. Gross of doublespeak. Achieving democratic change missteps along the way included the de-Baathiis a largely indigenous process that will outlast fication policy and the disbanding of the Iraqi any one administration; it must be pursued with national army – crucial personnel and institupatience and pragmatism and in tandem with tions needed to help build a functioning system the local society – not by force. of governance in Iraq. Although history may yet » The second is to take a long-term view favourably judge the outcome in Iraq, the case and emphasise institutions – not individuals. for democracy promotion in the Middle East by Greater attention must be paid to engaging and force has been laid to rest for now. helping develop civil society, legislatures that In the Bush administration’s defence, former are representative of and accountable to the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global people, and independent judiciaries. Affairs Paula Dobriansky argued that democ» The third lesson is to be prepared for racy promotion was but one of multiple foreign adverse democratic outcomes, as may be the policy priorities; compromises were necessary. case for the US in Iran today. The US must not Critics, she claimed, overlooked key achievefixate on any particular democratic metric. It ments. These include the creation of the US$100 must adopt a comprehensive approach while million (RM350 million) UN Democracy Fund and preparing to engage with elected parties with small victories of the State Department’s Middle whom it does not see eye to eye. East Partner Initiative in funding more than 350 initiatives in 15 countries ranging from press The writer is a Master in Public Policy candidate freedom to legal rights. at the Harvard Kennedy School and a former Yet these achievements were dwarfed by the Fulbright scholar in Malaysia. Comments: letBush administration’s rhetorical insistence on [email protected].