theSun | FRIDAY OCTOBER 16 2009
speak up!
Debate national
issues first
THE priorities of some peo-
ple, or the lack of them, at
times, amuse me to the point
of tears of frustration.
You see it in politicians
such as those in Puteri Umno
who actually included the
ban on horror movies as a
resolution – yet they want to
be taken seriously.
PAS Youth continues to
harp on morality and ban-
ning “yellow culture” but
has been silent on corrup-
tion.
Various state religious
councils have issued fatwas
– without the consent of the
rulers – on subjects as di-
verse as tomboys and yoga,
yet no one has heard of an
edict against graft, racism
and abuse of power.
When Parliament recon-
venes on Monday, we will
see more examples of how
important national issues
have to take a back seat
to what can be perceived
as political pandering and
rhetoric.
The Port Klang Free Zone
(PKFZ) affair which has all
but turned the administra-
tion on its head does not
feature as among the main
topics for discussion on the
budget session.
DAP stalwart Lim Kit
Siang had every right to
grumble that his question
on the RM12.5 billion fiasco
has been deferred to Dec 3.
A topic of national interest
especially of the magnitude
of the PKFZ demands a spe-
cial debate of its own.
That the PKFZ plays
letter
letters@thesundaily.com
Why we need the Asian currency
THE root cause of the reces-
sion is the US monetary system
and if the world was not so
dependent on the US dollar,
the scenario today could have
turned out differently
That is why the call by the
new prime minister of Japan,
Yukio Hatoyama, for the setting
up of an East Asian Economic
Community (or Asian com-
munity) and its very own cur-
rency should be welcomed by
Malaysians.
The suggestion for an Asian
currency to replace the use of
the US dollar is nothing new;
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
suggested it way back in the
1990s.
A big flaw of the US dollar is
that it is not backed by anything.
(Though it was backed by gold
until August 1971). It not being
backed by anything means that
there is no limit to the amount
that can be printed and injected
into the economy whenever
the need arises. However, the
central bank of the US is not the
only body with the “power” to
create money out of thin air,
the banking institutions too can
“create” money on their own.
Banks create money by
second fiddle to Bangsa Ma-
laysia: 1People (Question 1);
Status of defunct Bernama
TV (Question 5); Regain-
ing control of Bernas from
foreign hands (Question
8); and Malaysia-Indonesia
ties (Question 9), among
others beg the question of
whether Parliament at times
truly addresses the rakyat’s
concerns.
A RM90 million renova-
tion of the august house
is not what a First World
Parliament is all about.
It is about respecting the
people’s wishes and giving
equal regard to all members
of Parliament irrespective of
the political divide.
In the case of PKFZ, one
cannot fathom why if we
can convene an emergency
sitting of Parliament for the
Palestinian cause, we can-
not have one that addresses
the country’s largest ever
financial scandal which af-
fects people closer to home.
Well, I suppose that will
be one of life’s greatest mys-
teries which even Inspector
Hercule Poirot would not be
able to unravel – although
how the powers-that-be
have gone about it is more
akin to the bumbling In-
spector Clouseau.
All these continue to add
fuel to the fire and provide
more ammunition to detrac-
tors that PKFZ will eventu-
ally be buried and put to
rest far from the etches of
the short memories of the
majority of the public.
As the Festival of Lights
giving out loans. Compounding
interest causes money and
debt to grow exponentially, way
beyond the level that can be
achieved by the real economy.
The excess money in the
economy was used by invest-
ment banks and big institutions
to invest in complicated invest-
ment vehicles called CDOs
(collaterised debt obligations)
and MBS (mortgaged backed
securities). Both the CDOs and
the MBS are connected to the
sub prime housing loans. When
the housing property bubble
burst, and loans could not be
repaid, falling prices of MBS
and CDOs got these financial
institutions into trouble and it
spread beyond the US because
major European institutions
had also bought heavily into
the CDOs and MBS.
Before it became fiat money
(not backed by gold) the US
dollar could be redeemed at
a set price of US$35 an ounce.
But without any asset backing
the US dollar derives it value
based only on whatever it is
perceived to be worth and that
is why the value of the US dollar
is subject to fluctuations. This
can be a great disadvantage for
13
Down2Earth
by Terence Fernandez
dawns on us tomorrow, I for
one am glad that newspaper
vendors, the majority of
whom are Hindus will not
have to divide their time
between work and being
with their family on this
auspicious day.
That Umno had decided
to conclude its assembly on
the eve of Deepavali helps
assure Indians, particularly
Hindus that the community
matters and they have a role
to play in nation-building.
That there will be no ac-
cusations of insensitivities
hurled at each other from
both sides and that the
“amanat presiden” (presi-
dent’s winding-up speech)
will be able to be perused by
all, is a stark contrast from
ugly events of last year,
when due to various issues
and incidents, community
relations were as brittle as
fresh muruku.
Hopefully, the gulab
jamun syrupy sweetness of
the 1Malaysia concept will
resonate among all Malay-
sians and not die a natural
death like other slogans
which were killed by the
realities of selfish politics.
Terence wishes all Hindus a
Happy Deepavali and hopes
the feel-good factor of the fes-
tive season will not burn out
as quickly as a sparkler. He is
deputy editor special reports
& investigations and can be
reached at terence@thesun-
daily.com and followed on
twitter @ TerencetheSUN
countries using the US dollar in
international trade.
The US dollar’s days as
the key global currency are
numbered. Even Unctad (UN
Conference on Trade and
Development), has said that
the world needs a new global
monetary system to prevent
speculations and to avoid large
trade imbalances.
For us in Asia, having our
own currency unit is a move
in the right direction. Asia is a
force to be reckoned with. After
all as pointed out by the former
governor of India’s central bank,
Y.V. Reddy, Asia has 67% of the
world’s currency reserves, 55%
of the world’s population and a
significant share of the world’s
Gross National Product.
The proposed Asian cur-
rency should be based on real
money so that it will be stable
and stability is needed for eco-
nomic development. It should
preferably be backed by gold
as previously suggested by Dr
Mahathir.
S.M. Mohamed Idris
President
Consumers Association
of Penang