Poll – 1Malaysia

Peludah Warna – A. Samad Said

PELUDAH WARNA

Kuasa gusar kini menggelegak murka;
warna kuning diisytihar racun terbisa.
Diragutnya baju-T segeram tenaga
dan diumum itulah busana bahaya.

Tapi, kita jahit semula perca kain,
menjadikannya panji terindah dan tulen.
Warna kuning yang teramat tenang dan syahdu
kita kembalikan damai ke dalam qalbu.

Kini cahaya mentari mungkin diramas
dan sinar kuningnya juga mungkin dicantas.
Memanglah mereka kini peludah warna
sedang menghimpun lendir kahak sebanyaknya.

Kerana nikmat amat lama berkuasa,
kuasa pun seolah menjadi hartanya.

A Samad Said

梁文道:「族基政治」

我喜歡馬來西亞，其中一個原因是我把它當成學校，一間能教懂我族群政治之魅力與困境的學校。對我這個中國人來說，這實在是一門十分切時的課程。

馬來西亞的長壽執政聯盟叫做「國陣」，底下有三個分別代表三大族群的政黨；一是馬來人的「巫統」，二是華人的「馬華公會」，三是印度人的「國大黨」。這樣的組合在表面上看好像很「和諧」，很配合馬來西亞那多元共存「真正亞洲」的形象。可是只要仔細觀察下去，即使外人如我，也能輕易發現它的問題。

一般而言，政黨應該是種代表人民直接參政問政的工具。除了現在的中國共產黨、過去的德國納粹黨，以及新加坡的人民行動黨，世界上幾乎沒有多少個政黨能夠宣稱自己是代表全體人民的「全民黨」。尋常政黨總是局部的，它要不是代表某種傾向某種理念；就是代表某一部分人民，而這一部分人民則總是因為一些共同的屬性和利益，才成為一個似乎十分清晰而且相對獨特的群體。那麼在馬來西亞這個例子裡頭，「國陣」到底代表誰呢？好聽點說，「巫統」、「馬華公會」和「國大黨」就像三條扭在一起的繩索，堅不可摧。

難聽點講，那就是一個死結，無法代表任何一個群體也無法代表任何一種利益傾向，只能不斷困在內幕政治的算計和妥協之中。

再深入點說，這個格局乃是典型的「族基政治」，以族群為一切政治行動的基礎，以族群為全國政治、經濟和社會規劃的原點。它的前提係馬來人是馬來人，華人是華人，印度人是印度人，三大族群各有不可歸約的利益和獨特主張；所以才要有屬於自己的政黨去代表自己。然而，這真是一個不可置疑無法動搖的客觀事實嗎？

我們怎能保證所有馬來人都有一致的利益主張，又怎麼確定每一個華人都有相近的政治理念呢？舉個簡單的例子，當經濟日漸發展，有一部分馬來人已經先富了起來，並且形成一個權貴階層，而另一部分馬來人則仍然處於貧無立錐之地，處在社會底層的時候，那個據說能夠代表馬來人利益的「巫統」到底是代表哪一種馬來人呢？

換句話講，在任何一個足夠複雜的社會裡頭，人民的階級、利益、信迎、教育背景、工作種類、政治理念以及居住區域，這一切一切都不可能簡單地按照族群身份呈現平均分布的狀態。總有一些地區會混居了不同族群，而這個地區自有其與別不同的規劃需要。

Tequila Effect

What Does it Mean?

Informal name given to the impact of the 1994 Mexican economic crisis on the South American economy. The Tequila Effect occurred because of a sudden devaluation in the Mexican peso, which then caused other currencies in the region (the Southern Cone and Brazil) to decline. The falling peso was propped up by US$50 billion loan granted by then U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Also referred to as the “Mexican Shock”.

Immediately after the Mexican peso was devalued in the early days of the Presidency of Ernesto Zedillo, South American countries suffered rapid currency depreciation. It was a known fact that the peso was overvalued, but the extent of Mexico’s economic vulnerability was not well known. Since governments and businesses in the area had high levels of U.S. dollar-denominated debt, the devaluation meant that it would be increasingly difficult to pay back the debts.

Salad Oil Scandal 沙拉油醜聞

Anthony De Angelis, Salad Oil King of New Jersey

What Does it Mean?

One of the worst corporate scandals of its time. It occurred when Allied Crude Vegetable Oil Company discovered that banks would make loans secured by its salad oil inventory.

When the ships full of salad oil would arrive in the docks, inspectors would test it and confirm that the ship was full of salad oil. However, the company didn’t remind anyone that oil floats on water. They had filled salad oil tanks with water and put a few feet of oil on top, fooling everyone. The company would even transfer oil to different tanks while taking inspectors out to lunch. In 1963, the scam was busted and over $175 million worth of salad oil was missing.

Commodities trader and company founder Anthony De Angelis was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the scandal and served seven years in prison. American Express took one of the biggest hits from the scandal, losing nearly $58 million and experiencing a 50% drop in AMEX stock as a result.

Source: Investopedia, The Public “I”

Stalking-Horse Bid 假马竞拍

What Does it Mean?
An initial bid on a bankrupt company’s assets from an interested buyer chosen by the bankrupt company. From a pool of bidders, the bankrupt company chooses the stalking horse to make the first bid.

This method allows the distressed company to avoid low bids on its assets. Once the stalking horse has made its bid, other potential buyers may submit competing bids for the bankrupt company’s assets. In essence, the stalking horse sets the bar so that other bidders can’t low-ball the purchase price.