‘Rafizi should be protected, not victimised, by our institutions’

High Court upholds Rafizi’s OSA conviction, 18-month prison sentence

Justice: The Kuala Lumpur High Court has upheld one of PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli’s convictions under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and his 18-month prison sentence.

The PKR leader was found guilty of disseminating the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB, but was acquitted of possessing the document.

No prosecution has been brought against the person who allegedly stole the rakyat’s money. And the auditor-general’s report on the suspected crime has been classified under the Official Secret Acts (OSA).

Worse still, when someone did his public duty to disclose the report, he was arrested, charged, and prosecuted!

So in Malaysia, alleged thieves are protected, but Malaysians who exposed the thieves are prosecuted. In other words, alleged crooks are honoured but honest people are made villains and criminalised.

What an upside-down world we live in, here in Malaysia.

Anonymous 1607021442717254: Rafizi has done so much for the country. The judges too could have done their part but sadly, they followed the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law.

Newday: Shame, shame, shame. Who wants to be a whistleblower in this country if this is what happens time and again? Stay strong, Rafizi.

Anonymous 539281478077880: As expected they would never allow Rafizi to be freed as he may bring greater damage to current political leaders. They are just “too scared” to let him roam freely.

Hang Tuah PJ: If he is prevented from contesting GE14 by a conviction, the rakyat will rise. We will see a new version of Reformasi. Rafizi is not just my MP in Pandan, we share him with all Malaysians.

Clearwater: Many a time, discretion is the better part of valour. Rafizi, why court unnecessary legal battles which exhaust your time and resources?

Surely the better strategy is to stay free to fight another day on a battleground of your own choosing.

Not Convinced: Don’t blame the victim. Blame the perpetrator.

By jailing Rafizi, the government is sending a clear and unmistakable message to all Malaysians – if you try to oppose the kleptocrats, you will be severely punished.

Jbsuara: The activist who blows the whistle on high-level corruption goes to jail, while the alleged wrongdoers and thieves are still roaming free.

Rafizi has exposed the abuse of power behind various scandals. He should be protected by the institutions of the country instead of being victimised.

Today is another dark, gloomy day for Malaysia as it moved onwards with a bleak future under the Umno/BN regime.

Chicken and egg: High youth unemployment rate in M’sia

Anonymous 2460391489930458: The youth unemployment rate in Malaysia, which is three times the national unemployment rate, has been attributed to a “chicken-and-egg” situation in which employers blame graduates for lacking necessary skills and experience, while graduates argue that they cannot gain experience if they are unable to find work.

From first-hand experience interviewing job candidates, I was appalled at the way many of them carried themselves during the interview and the values they held with regards to work.

A lot of interviewees came unprepared; they were unaware of the business or industry we were in and seemed disinterested in finding out during the interview.

At times improperly attired, most did not make the effort to demonstrate how they could positively contribute to our business in the capacity they were applying for.

The interview typically ended up looking like a botched interrogation, with the employer attempting to solicit information from the interviewee without much success.

It’s not uncommon to hear interviewees “get to the point” very early in the interview: “How much is the salary?”, “Saturdays need to work or not? Need to work half day or full day?”, “Annual leave – how many days?”. You get the point.

The problem is not just the lack of imagination and creativity, it’s also attitude.

Hopeful but Prepared: As someone who has suffered from the poor quality of the new graduates, I have a comment.

Even the new graduates with a good attitude lack the basic problem-solving foundation, that they cannot deal with issues outside their scope.

Am I being too harsh? However, I’m comparing them to overseas students who are doing their internship. It is a sad fact that they are lacking compared to people one or two years younger.

This is not their fault, but the fault of the education system and their spoon-feeding methodology that even the basic skills of adaptability and independent thinking seem to be lacking.

Don’t shove the problem onto the companies, when it is the foundational skills from the education system that is lacking. What do you expect people to do, hold their hands?

There is a limit to how much companies can pour into new graduates. Training takes time and money, and with the quality of the local graduates, well…

If the foundation is firm, it is easy to build the experience, but the foundation is built over a decade of schooling. How much time and money do you want companies to spend correcting that?

Leongan: Students can learn some of the skills sought after by employers as mentioned by academic Barjoyai Bardai in the article, such as “emotional intelligence, creativity and innovation, as well as the ability to anticipate and prepare for the future” during their college days.

How? By participating in extramural activities. But with so much coursework, reading and learning to do after classes during each academic semester, not much time is left for joining such activities.

By being a chairperson or committee member of, say, a student society, one can learn skills while organising extramural activities.

Wira: In a nutshell, Barjoyai is suggesting that employers should start from the egg. What employers want are trainable chicks, literally speaking.

They do not want stillborns, which are plentiful from the tertiary education market.

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