Freedom Academy 2009 on Globalisation & the Free Market

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I attended the previous Freedom Academy in last August and learned so much about the Free Market, Individual Rights, Limited Government and Rule of Law. This latest Freedom Academy is on the Free Market. And it couldn’t  have arrived at the right time when almost everyone is blaming the Free Market for today global economic crisis!

Globalisation and the free market are taking a bashing. The global economic turmoil has resulted in claims that we are looking at the end of capitalism. And, for many years we have been told that globalization, trade liberalization, and capitalism are bad for the poor and for developing countries generally. But what does free market capitalism really entail? Are the criticisms justified?

Come join and find out from

16 – 18 January 2009.
Theme: “Globalisation, the free market and developing countries”
Venue: Residence Hotel, UNITEN, Selangor

University students, graduates, and young professionals from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei are invited to attend Malaysia Think Tank’s second Freedom Academy which will be held on 16 – 18 January 2009 (Friday – Sunday) at Residence Hotel, UNITEN, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

At this Freedom Academy participants will study in depth the true meaning and morality of capitalism, how globalisation has brought prosperity to developing economies, and why free market capitalism is still the way for forward.

We are particularly looking for those sympathetic to, or are curious about, libertarian and classical liberal ideas.

Come and enjoy the Freedom Academy! You will be challenged intellectually and you will get an invaluable opportunity to network with like-minded friends.

Click here for application form

The Programme

Come with an open mind, and go back with a good understanding of the positive impact brought by globalisation and the free market to developing economies.

In this Freedom Academy, we will discuss important topics including:

• The financial crisis: causes and solutions
• The meaning and morality of capitalism and the free market
• The role of government
• The impact of globalization on developing economies
• How the market works and can the market produce social justice for the poor
• Case studies from other countries

This Freedom Academy will be conducted in English.

Attendance fee

Fees are to be paid in full before the start of the Freedom Academy.

RM325.00 (only RM195 for Kelab Wau Bebas members, i.e. participants of previous Freedom Academy) – which will cover all meals from Friday dinner to lunch on Sunday, lectures, books, delegates pack, and accommodation (shared twin room) at Residence Hotel.

RM195.00 (only RM175 for Kelab Wau Bebas members) – without accommodation.

Scholarships

The Malaysia Think Tank can offer scholarships to selected applicants. You can apply for full or partial scholarships to cover attendance fee. We do not pay for travel expenses. The Malaysia Think Tank reserves the right to determine the value of scholarship to be awarded.

Deadline

All applications must be received before Monday 5 January 2009.

Successful applicants will be informed by as soon as possible, before Friday 9 January 2009.

Further information

For further information, please contact Noor Amin bin Ahmad via email amin@malaysiathinktank.org

Click here for application form

Lecturers

Professor Julian Morris, Executive Director, International Policy Network.

Julian graduated from Edinburgh University in 1992 with a degree in economics. After pursuing graduate work in economics (leading to two masters degrees), he worked at the Institute of Economic Affairs and in 1998 was appointed Director of the IEA’s Environment and Technology Programme. In his spare time, he completed a Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Westminster in 1999. In 2001, Julian founded the International Policy Network, a think-tank based in London that works on global policy issues relating to health, environment, trade, and development. In 2002, he was appointed a Visiting Professor at the University of Buckingham.

Julian is the author or editor of many papers and books, including Environment and Health: Myths and Realities (co-edited with Kendra Okonski; International Policy Press, 2004), Sustainable Development: Promoting Progress or Perpetuating Poverty (Profile Books, 2002), and Ideal Matter: Globalisation and the Intellectual Property Debate (co-written with Rosalind Mowatt, Duncan Reekie, and Richard Tren; Centre for the New Europe, 2002). He is also co-editor of the Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development and a member of the editorial board of Energy and Environment. His articles and book reviews have appeared in The Financial Times, The Sunday Times (UK), The Australian, The Wall Street Journal Europe, Economic Times (India), Business Day (South Africa), The Daily Telegraph (UK), Economic Affairs, Nature, Toxicology, and various other newspapers and journals. He also regularly appears on TV and radio.

Dr Khalil Ahmad, President, Alternate Solutions Institute, Pakistan.

Dr. Khalil Ahmad studied Philosophy, History, Economics and Literature, and holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from University of the Punjab, and till 2006 taught courses on Philosophy and Education to graduate and post-graduate classes. During his college and university days, he had been an ardent Marxist, but two philosophers Sir Karl Popper’s and Frederick August Hayek’s ideas converted him to Libertarianism.

Khalil founded the Alternate Solutions Institute, first free market think tank of Pakistan, and heads it. He frequently contributes articles on the current issues to various local/foreign newspapers including The News, Business Recorder, The Post, Pakistan Observer, The Frontier Post/Asian Wall Street Journal, South China Morning Post, Mint, Globe & Mail. He has published more than two dozen articles on the rule of law movement in the above-mentioned local papers. He has published a booklet (The Greatest Battle for the Rule of Law in Pakistan) on the rule of law movement in Pakistan.

Khalil has also published a number of research papers, articles and columns on economic, political, social, philosophical, literary, and current issues. His articles pioneer free market themes and ideas in Pakistan.

Alec Van Gelder, Network Director, International Policy Network.
Alec van Gelder is Network Director at International Policy Network, a think tank based in London. Among other publications, Alec is author of “Dirigiste Divide; how Governments obstruct development and access to ICTs” and “Nashville in Africa” and his work on trade, health, technology and development issues has been published in many newspapers including: the Globe and Mail, Boston Globe, Business Day, Wall Street Journal and International Herald Tribune. Alec holds a Master’s degree in International Economics and Development from UCL in Belgium and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Lehigh University in the United States. He speaks English, Spanish, French and Dutch with fluency.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan – MTT Director General & Head of Libertarian Education Project (LEAP).
Wan Saiful is Director General of the Malaysia Think Tank and heads MTT’s Libertarian Education Project (LEAP). He is also Editor of WauBebas.org, a joint Cato Institute – Malaysia Think Tank project for speakers of the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu). Wan Saiful boarded at Sekolah Alam Shah, Kuala Lumpur, and then Tonbridge School, England. He went to the University of Liverpool, Northumbria University and Middlesex University Business School, London. He holds a BA (Hons) in Management and an MSc in Research Methodologies. Wan Saiful has worked for the British Conservative Party’s Research Department, and, prior to that, the think tank Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit. He was also vice chair of his local Conservative Association, which oversees two parliamentary constituencies. In May 2007, he contested in the English local elections as a Conservative Party candidate. He is now Head of Policy for the Conservative Muslim Forum.

Although he now lives in England, he follows Malaysian politics very closely, having joined the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) since 1993. During his university years, he was active in HIZBI, a UK-based student organisation with close links to PAS. He gradually climbed the ranks in HIZBI, holding various positions including Secretary-General, President and was finally appointed to the highest post as Mursyid. His writings have appeared in various Malaysian newspapers including Berita Harian, Utusan Malaysia, The Star, The Sun, New Sabah Times, Malaysiakini and Harakah.

Click here for application form

Further information

For further information, please contact Noor Amin bin Ahmad via email amin@malaysiathinktank.org

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Teh Tarik Forum is Back with Said Zahari on the UMNO’s Dilemma!

NOTICE OF POSTPONEMENT

TEH TARIK FORUM ON 11-12-2009 AT PENANG PARTI GERAKAN HQ

Please be informed that due to unforeseen circumstances, our Teh Tarik Forum on “the UMNO Dilemma after March 8” by Said Zahari which is originally scheduled on 11-12-2008 at 8pm at Penang Parti Gerakan HQ has to be postponed to a date to be fixed.

Any inconvenience caused is much regretted.

Dated 9-12-2008

This Notice is issued by

Political Training Bureau,

Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia

Penang

Dear friends, so our Gerakan Teh Tarik Forum is finally back ! After a short break since last September. We kick start the new season of Gerakan Teh Tarik Forum with Said Zahari on “The UMNO’s Dilemma after March 8.”

Who is Said Zahari? He has such a colourful past. He was the Chief Editor of the then Utusan Malaysia that put up a good fight resisting the take over of Utusan Malaysia from UMNO. Yes, Utusan Malaysia then back in the 50’s and early 60’s was teh hotbed for the Malay lefts. For that he was banished from Malaysia to Singapore.

He was later detained by Lee Kuan Yew under ISA for the next 17years! He was only allowed to reside in Malaysia in 1994.

He is indeed one of the very few left that has the privileges of having been there, seen all and still survived until today.

So, friends you miss THIS Talk at your own perils as we have friends traveling all the way from KL just to listen to Said Zahari!

Penang Gerakan TEH TARIK FORUM

Invites SAID ZAHARI to talk on

THE UMNO DILEMMA AFTER MARCH 8

308大选后，巫统面临的困境。

Date: On 11^th December 2008, THURSDAY

Time: 8pm (Light Refreshments are available from 7.30pm)

Venue:  Penang Gerakan HQ, 139 Jalan Macalister.

Said Zahari was the former Editor-in-chief of the Utusan Melayu Group. He led a strike of Utusan Melayu workers way back in 1961 in a move to prevent the taking over of the press by UMNO then. For that, he was banished from Peninsula Malaysia to return to Singapore.

In Singapore he was arrested on 2^nd Feb 1963 under the ISA by the Lee Kuan Yew regime.  This mass arrest code-named Operation Cold Store was a total clampdown of more than 130 opposition leaders, MPs and trade unionists.  Said Zahari was to stay in Lee Kuan Yew’s prison without trial for the next 17 years.

15 years after his release in 1979 from the Singapore prison ,  he was allowed to reside in Malaysia in 1994, personally vetted by PM Dr. Mahathir. He has written two books: Dark Clouds At Dawn and The Long Nightmare, which provide an alternative Singapore history to the “official” version of Lee Kuan Yew. In his books, Said exposes the cruelty of the Singapore regime inflicted not only on him but also on his family as a result of the  long and arbitrary imprisonment.  In a poem written in 1969 for his wife Sal, now deceased, Said affirmed his determination to fight for justice and his love for his wife:

…Neither this prison wall

Nor a hundred years of incarceration

Shall diminish my love.

Now aged 80, Said Zahari is writing his third book.  He continues to be politically alert, to fight against injustices and for democracy, especially in Singapore.  Said Zahari is a simple man by nature, but the suffering he has endured has made him an extraordinary man.

His strong ideological stand is well respected by many in the political circles.  This talk organized by GTTF is a rare occasion to hear his views on UMNO, which is facing one of its biggest challenges since its inception.

Come to meet and listen to this surviving freedom fighter !!

Wall Street Crisis:Bankruptcy, not bailout, is the right answer!

Breaking news!

“WASHINGTON (AP) — In a vote that shook the government, Wall Street and markets around the world, the House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation’s financial system, leaving both parties’ lawmakers and the Bush administration scrambling to pick up the pieces. Dismayed investors sent the Dow Jones industrials plunging 777 points, the most ever for a single day. ”

(more : No Bail-Out for Now)

This bailout was a terrible idea. Here’s why.

The current mess would never have occurred in the absence of ill-conceived federal policies. The federal government chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970; these two mortgage lending institutions are at the center of the crisis. The government implicitly promised these institutions that it would make good on their debts, so Fannie and Freddie took on huge amounts of excessive risk.

Bankruptcy and not bail-out

So, this Hari Raya the world is waiting with bated breath… What will happen after this?

TIME ‘S UP FOR PM PAK LAH?

(Photo:the Malaysian Insider)

They say a picture says a thousand words. This photo certainly speaks volume about PM Abdullah’s current dilemma. Much that his supporters would like to argue otherwise, PM Abdullah’s fate is almost sealed. Yes, almost, not there yet but looks inevitable. It is no longer a question of when but how to bow out gracefully.

So, the question now is how people would remember PAK LAH or to be precise his legacy? I once wrote a posting here on the possibilities that he be remembered as the Father of Democratization of Malaysia.( Pak Lah as bapa pendemokrasian malaysia) But that was months ago. May be time has come for the people to really assess Pak Lah’s legacy.

Make no mistake about it. Some would still remember PaK Lah as Mr. Nice Guy/Mr. Clean and the PM that won an unprecedented landslide victory for BN in 2004 General Election. Yet, most would remember him as Mr. Flip-Flopping and the PM that created history by losing 5 state governments and 2/3 majority in Dewan Rakyat to the opposition.

However, things could have been different. Had he lived up to so many of his promises of long overdue reforms since 2004, more so after the 308 political tsunami. And Yes, history would have been different, if he had sticked to his own rigorous reform script and not yet another round of UMNO warlords-pleasing for the past few months.

Story had it that ” a couple of days after the March 8 general elections, a calm Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sat down with some supporters and his inner circle in Sri Perdana to survey the new political landscape and weigh the prime minister’s options going forward.

Those familiar with the meeting recalled that a confetti of ideas were tossed around on how to regain the initiative from the Anwar Ibrahim-led opposition and to hold off Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other critics within Umno baying for Abdullah’s blood.

One idea got some traction – the notion that Abdullah had to throw caution to the wind and reform the various institutions in the country.

He had to care less of what his party thought and focus solely on what Malaysians wanted. If he followed this strategy, he would be so popular with Malaysians that his party will not dare to move against him.

Even the downside was attractive – the idea that he would be remembered as a Malaysian Mikhail Gorbachev who lost his power and position doing the right thing.

That seems like sound advice which Abdullah should have followed.

Instead, after appointing Datuk Zaid Ibrahim as the de facto law minister and making some loud noises about reforms, he retreated to his usual patch, worried that he was upsetting the Umno warlords. ”

(more please read: If the PM had only thrown away caution, not chances….)

As they also say the rest now is history. And what would be your honest judgment of the 5th Malaysian Prime Minister, Pak Lah’s legacy?

Anwar’s 916: One door closes, another door opens?

(photo: the malaysian insider)

So, nothing actually happened today on the much-talked about and much-awaited Anwar’s 916?

Not really. Today, it seems that with Datuk Zaid Ibrahim sticked to his decision to resign from the Cabinet in his Press Conference, one door is considered officially close: the door to reform from within Barisan Nasional. (Umno does not have the appetite for change).

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at the press conference in Kuala Lumpur today. ~ Picture by Choo Choy May (the Malaysian Insider)

Approximately, three hours later, Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim called a room-packed Press Conference announcing that Pakatan has secured more than enough numbers (Pas’s tresuarer Hatta Ramli put the numbers at  116) to form a new Malaysian Government anytime from now. That could mean another door to reform is open. (Anwar demands smooth transition)

To many, today is an anti-climax of sort. But to me, today is the day of utmost significant.

Today marks the door of reform from within Barisan Nasional is close. Our (all those so-called reformists that joined BN through various BN component parties) raison d’tere to remain and fight from within Barisan Nasional is gone.

The door to reform the Nation lies else where, may be Pakatan, but no longer in BN, for that door is close with the departure of, may be, the last good man in Pak Lah’s cabinet.

Countdown: 48-hour before Anwar’s September 16

Now enter the final countdown to the much talked about 916…

What do you do?

Just pray for those who have been unjustly wronged and, may be also our future?

Photo:Malaysian insider BN’s leadership is counting :BN counts political costs ahead of Sept 16 Anwar’s Pakatan is waiting: Anwar closes in on d day

Lesson on Liberty (Credibility) & Safety (Stability)

Please enjoy the cartoon above and try to figure out yourselves the message.

I heard someone argued this morning in the meeting, stability (safety) is more important than credibility (liberty)! That reminds me of Benjamin Franklin , who once cautioned us:

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

(more interesting cartoons that are rich in messages can be found at:Road to Serfdom (cartoon) )