At the time of writing this blog....it is also the season of the Haj.
Insyaallah my wife and I will also be heading to Mekah to perform our Haj too in a few days time.
For all Muslim...this is one of the epic moments of our life that needs to be fulfilled.
Some who can afford will be able to do so with a minimum of fuss (albeit that he be INVITED by ALLAH).
Cost of performing Haj has increased many folds over the years so it is further expected that the cost to do the Haj will even be more costlier.
What will happen to the poorer people. What will happen to the farmers with meager earnings every year. To them to perform the Haj is one of the primary tenets of their life. Whatever may happen they MUST perform the Haj....even if they have to sell their land. This is the simple thoughts of the man in the field.
The question is who will they sell it to ?
Can another Malay buy the land from him ?
Is it a fair price that he will get in order for him to go to Mekah ?
When he comes back from Haj....what will be of him ?
Land has been sold, money is gone !!!
Will he be another piece of data in the subsidy line ?
In my earlier blog I mentioned about having an entity of land bank in the form of a company or a cooperative or the likes.
This is where the farmer will have a share in the entity, equitable to the size of his land in the whole setup.
If the farmer needs the money to perform the Haj for example....he can pledge his portion of the land to Agro Bank and the land will be in the hands of the bank. The farmer can perform the Haj and come back after the Haj and the land is still his only that it is being held and lodge with the bank. The yield and the income derived from the business from the land will be diverted to his account with the bank to repay his Haj loan. After covering all the loan the title of the land will be return to the rightful owner but in trust still with the company/cooperative (being the entity).
In this way the farmer will return home knowing that he still own the land. And he have the opportunity to pay back from the returns derived from the crop yield.
This is also the way to save the land from changing hands and more important that the land remains to be cultivated.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
LAND IS A PROBLEM.....WHAT CAN BE DONE !!!
Land so they say is an asset of the family.
The question is....is it ?
Look at the situation nowadays....
Gone are the days or the days are numbered when a father would keep the land for his children and grandchildren to live on and to work on.
Today...when asked the question of what are they going to do with the land ? Fathers would prefer to develop the land and get the money while they are still alive to enjoy the fruits of their toil.
That is from one angle.
From the other angle...you would have a totally different picture where the father keeps the land for the children and grandchildren and so forth. This is well and good.
However with the Muslim law in place, it also says that when the parents is no longer around, the properties or assets would be divided using the law of Fara'id. Thus making the land divisible according to the said law. This is being fair to all parties concern. However this division of land will keep on going to be pass down to the respective offsprings for generations to come. So what will happen ?
What will happen is that as the years go by, the land will be divided between families and sub-families till it becomes uneconomical for the land to be worked on or to be toiled. Thus we will be creating millions of hectares of land that is not being used (in Bahasa Malaysia we call it TANAH TERBIAR). These land are not land that is sub-quality soil or land that is too steep but good land which people just don't do any work on the land maybe because it is too small to be economical to work on, or there are family disputes that won't allow the kins to work on his land.
This is a loss in opportunity in agricultural production both for the family and for the nation.
THIS IS A TIME OF THINKING OUT OF THE BOX.....
In the rural areas, the land owners are predominantly Malays and they are mostly farmers.
Life is not getting any easier for everybody....let alone the farmers.
As the family numbers multiplies and the parents are no longer around....the land will be downsized for each of the subsequent new " landlords "....
How will they survive with all the rising cost of living.
Essential goods and consumables are not getting any cheaper as days go by...HOW WILL THEY SURVIVE ???
THIS IS THE TIME TO BE NON-CONVENTIONAL
and having
THE POLITICAL WILL TO DO SO
1) After 53 years of independence the nation has prospered under the same Government but what have we done to protect the farmers ? Is giving the fertilizer subsidy helping ? Is giving the diesel subsidy helping ?
To me the answer is not really as we do not really have a program for the farmers to be self reliant and self sustaining.
2) Is it not right now for the Government to seriously look into the program of LAND REFORMATION ???
3) If we don't address this situation now....we will by the end of each year have an increase of more and more unused and uncultivated land (TANAH TERBIAR).
4) However since this involves a policy involving the whole country....it will have to go through a lengthy process of going through the Parliament to be gazetted. Even though it is a lengthy process it still must start somewhere to get it going for the sake of the farming community in general.
5) As an example, all land gazetted as "important" farming land will be registered with Agriculture/Land Office to amalgamate them as individual parcel entities and land owners will own a share of the entity (company/cooperative).
6) The said entity will be managed by knowledgable and professional personals to make the project a success. Land owners or their children may work for the entity if found suitable for that purpose. Otherwise they can find other alternative jobs or create a new job for himself with whatever skills they have or will acquire.
The situation today is that there is a sense of false hope by the youth in the rural areas. Their father have the land.....but how much ? And upon the demise of the parents how many square feet of the land will actually belong to each individual ???
The wants of the youth today is no different then everybody else, nice clothes, nice motorbike or a car if possible, nice wife, nice house, having extras to continue enjoying.
But is this possible if they live in this dream and false hope.
Is this possible if the Government don't interfere in such matters as the LAND REFORMATION.
DRASTIC as it may seem but we have to think of the future of the agrarian society and the Malays in general.
In this way....the land will still belong to the "FAMILY" and the whole family will benefit for years to come PLUS the land will be economically cultivated for food production.
The question is....is it ?
Look at the situation nowadays....
Gone are the days or the days are numbered when a father would keep the land for his children and grandchildren to live on and to work on.
Today...when asked the question of what are they going to do with the land ? Fathers would prefer to develop the land and get the money while they are still alive to enjoy the fruits of their toil.
That is from one angle.
From the other angle...you would have a totally different picture where the father keeps the land for the children and grandchildren and so forth. This is well and good.
However with the Muslim law in place, it also says that when the parents is no longer around, the properties or assets would be divided using the law of Fara'id. Thus making the land divisible according to the said law. This is being fair to all parties concern. However this division of land will keep on going to be pass down to the respective offsprings for generations to come. So what will happen ?
What will happen is that as the years go by, the land will be divided between families and sub-families till it becomes uneconomical for the land to be worked on or to be toiled. Thus we will be creating millions of hectares of land that is not being used (in Bahasa Malaysia we call it TANAH TERBIAR). These land are not land that is sub-quality soil or land that is too steep but good land which people just don't do any work on the land maybe because it is too small to be economical to work on, or there are family disputes that won't allow the kins to work on his land.
This is a loss in opportunity in agricultural production both for the family and for the nation.
THIS IS A TIME OF THINKING OUT OF THE BOX.....
In the rural areas, the land owners are predominantly Malays and they are mostly farmers.
Life is not getting any easier for everybody....let alone the farmers.
As the family numbers multiplies and the parents are no longer around....the land will be downsized for each of the subsequent new " landlords "....
How will they survive with all the rising cost of living.
Essential goods and consumables are not getting any cheaper as days go by...HOW WILL THEY SURVIVE ???
THIS IS THE TIME TO BE NON-CONVENTIONAL
and having
THE POLITICAL WILL TO DO SO
1) After 53 years of independence the nation has prospered under the same Government but what have we done to protect the farmers ? Is giving the fertilizer subsidy helping ? Is giving the diesel subsidy helping ?
To me the answer is not really as we do not really have a program for the farmers to be self reliant and self sustaining.
2) Is it not right now for the Government to seriously look into the program of LAND REFORMATION ???
3) If we don't address this situation now....we will by the end of each year have an increase of more and more unused and uncultivated land (TANAH TERBIAR).
4) However since this involves a policy involving the whole country....it will have to go through a lengthy process of going through the Parliament to be gazetted. Even though it is a lengthy process it still must start somewhere to get it going for the sake of the farming community in general.
5) As an example, all land gazetted as "important" farming land will be registered with Agriculture/Land Office to amalgamate them as individual parcel entities and land owners will own a share of the entity (company/cooperative).
6) The said entity will be managed by knowledgable and professional personals to make the project a success. Land owners or their children may work for the entity if found suitable for that purpose. Otherwise they can find other alternative jobs or create a new job for himself with whatever skills they have or will acquire.
The situation today is that there is a sense of false hope by the youth in the rural areas. Their father have the land.....but how much ? And upon the demise of the parents how many square feet of the land will actually belong to each individual ???
The wants of the youth today is no different then everybody else, nice clothes, nice motorbike or a car if possible, nice wife, nice house, having extras to continue enjoying.
But is this possible if they live in this dream and false hope.
Is this possible if the Government don't interfere in such matters as the LAND REFORMATION.
DRASTIC as it may seem but we have to think of the future of the agrarian society and the Malays in general.
In this way....the land will still belong to the "FAMILY" and the whole family will benefit for years to come PLUS the land will be economically cultivated for food production.
While in Melbourne with students....
>Subject: SHORT SPEECH AT KUAM FUNCTION ON 1ST OCTOBER 2010
>
>
> With regards to the very short speech that I delivered at the KUAM function in Melbourne University as a supporting actor to Dato Seri Mustafar Mohamad following are the main points :-
>
> 1) The National Integration Program or what is now known as the "1 Malaysia" program has actually been in existence long before 2009. The foundation of unity, racial integration and harmony has been laid down starting by Tengku Abdul Rahman and the subsequent Prime Ministers. But what Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib did was to emphasize the importance of national stability, harmony and racial integration and understanding.
>
> 2) In a live TV program called FAST FORWARD.....a question was asked "Why is there a need to have many programs to get racial integration in the right direction" ? My answer is that....when I was young the kids have no care for anything but to have fun. Students were able to share the same room without much question. But now things changed....WHY. So if today we are talking in this program called FAST FORWARD.....maybe what we should do is to try to learn what was right then in those years....maybe we should have another program called FAST REVERSE so that we can learn what we did then that was right....and repeat.
>
> 3) Who is at fault if we are in this situation ? The answer is simple....WE (THE PARENTS) ARE AT FAULT because we allowed the situation to be what it is today.
>
> 4) At what point did we learn to harbour the various discontents ?
>
> 5) Because if we go to any pediatric department of any hospital...you wouldn't be able to differentiate by the cry the baby gives out. You wouldn't know whether the cry is from a Chinese baby or a Malay baby or from an Indian baby or a Khadazan born or whatever. A baby's cry is an innocent cry with no animosity to it.
>
> 6) To end any race....we still got to start with the first step and the next and the next till we finish the race. We as individuals don't have to wait for others to start the 1-Malaysia program. Why must we wait....we have to be the proactive citizen. We have to be the starter....we have to be more understanding, more tolerant with others especially so when we are a multiracial and multi-religious country.
>
> I believe that the 1-Malaysia program is not just any program from the mill but a program for unity, stability, harmony which will in turn lead to a vibrant growing Malaysia which is what ALL Malaysians want. A place where everyone is tolerant and where there is hope and future in economic stability and success.
>
>
>
>
> With regards to the very short speech that I delivered at the KUAM function in Melbourne University as a supporting actor to Dato Seri Mustafar Mohamad following are the main points :-
>
> 1) The National Integration Program or what is now known as the "1 Malaysia" program has actually been in existence long before 2009. The foundation of unity, racial integration and harmony has been laid down starting by Tengku Abdul Rahman and the subsequent Prime Ministers. But what Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib did was to emphasize the importance of national stability, harmony and racial integration and understanding.
>
> 2) In a live TV program called FAST FORWARD.....a question was asked "Why is there a need to have many programs to get racial integration in the right direction" ? My answer is that....when I was young the kids have no care for anything but to have fun. Students were able to share the same room without much question. But now things changed....WHY. So if today we are talking in this program called FAST FORWARD.....maybe what we should do is to try to learn what was right then in those years....maybe we should have another program called FAST REVERSE so that we can learn what we did then that was right....and repeat.
>
> 3) Who is at fault if we are in this situation ? The answer is simple....WE (THE PARENTS) ARE AT FAULT because we allowed the situation to be what it is today.
>
> 4) At what point did we learn to harbour the various discontents ?
>
> 5) Because if we go to any pediatric department of any hospital...you wouldn't be able to differentiate by the cry the baby gives out. You wouldn't know whether the cry is from a Chinese baby or a Malay baby or from an Indian baby or a Khadazan born or whatever. A baby's cry is an innocent cry with no animosity to it.
>
> 6) To end any race....we still got to start with the first step and the next and the next till we finish the race. We as individuals don't have to wait for others to start the 1-Malaysia program. Why must we wait....we have to be the proactive citizen. We have to be the starter....we have to be more understanding, more tolerant with others especially so when we are a multiracial and multi-religious country.
>
> I believe that the 1-Malaysia program is not just any program from the mill but a program for unity, stability, harmony which will in turn lead to a vibrant growing Malaysia which is what ALL Malaysians want. A place where everyone is tolerant and where there is hope and future in economic stability and success.
>
>
Saturday, October 16, 2010
WHEN IN MELBOURNE - Sept / Oct 2010
When I was in Melbourne late September 2010 to attend a student function to have Tun Dr Mahathir as a guest speaker...everybody seems excited to see and hear Tun in person. However, Tun was not well and had to rest. The point here is...Tun kept his promise to go to Melbourne to address the students and the public as that program was open to all.
As mentioned, Tun was not well and was advised to take a rest. Tun none-the-less requested that Dato Seri Mustafar Mohamad gave the talk instead of Tun himself. Tok Pa did a good job in approaching the issues of developments in Malaysia, the 1-Malaysia concept as well as current economic issues.
There were many questions that had to be answered by Tok Pa and he did well. What was annoying was a TV reporter who kept disturbing the sequence of Tok Pa's answers as he was trying to make Tok Pa make a mistake in his answers as it was recorded on the tape.
I was also given the opportunity to say a few words to the students. And I continued on why I believe in the 1-Malaysia concept and why we should support that concept. I shall elaborate on what I said in my future blog statement.
Oh Yes....I almost forgot. I met YB Lim Kit Siang the opposition Member of Parliament in a famous Pancake Restaurant with his grand-daughter and he wrote in his blog that he met me but....much to my disappointment he mentioned the current Member of Parliament for Arau and not my name (be the immediate past Member of Parliament for Arau). What a disappointment...because I thought that he really know me and my name. Maybe its because I am not as famous as he is.
As mentioned, Tun was not well and was advised to take a rest. Tun none-the-less requested that Dato Seri Mustafar Mohamad gave the talk instead of Tun himself. Tok Pa did a good job in approaching the issues of developments in Malaysia, the 1-Malaysia concept as well as current economic issues.
There were many questions that had to be answered by Tok Pa and he did well. What was annoying was a TV reporter who kept disturbing the sequence of Tok Pa's answers as he was trying to make Tok Pa make a mistake in his answers as it was recorded on the tape.
I was also given the opportunity to say a few words to the students. And I continued on why I believe in the 1-Malaysia concept and why we should support that concept. I shall elaborate on what I said in my future blog statement.
Oh Yes....I almost forgot. I met YB Lim Kit Siang the opposition Member of Parliament in a famous Pancake Restaurant with his grand-daughter and he wrote in his blog that he met me but....much to my disappointment he mentioned the current Member of Parliament for Arau and not my name (be the immediate past Member of Parliament for Arau). What a disappointment...because I thought that he really know me and my name. Maybe its because I am not as famous as he is.
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