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Tokobuku Faisal Mustaffa

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Monday, 27-Jul-2009 16:10 Email | Share | Bookmark
SPEAKING FOR THE REFORMASI GENERATION

reformasi generation
PUBLISHER’S NOTES

The articles and essays in this book are arranged in such a way that they reflect the thoughts and ideas of Liew Chin Tong. It is the author’s journey throughout 2003 – 2009.

Part I deals with the author’s key ideas such as his reflections on the political awakening of the reformasi generation, i.e. those who witnessed the political upheaval of 1998 when then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad sacked his deputy Datuk Seri
Anwar Ibrahim for alleged abuse of power and sexual misconduct. Until today the sexual allegations have never been proven.

Chin Tong also shares the trials and tribulations of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) as well as its victory in the political tsunami of March 8, 2008 in his article We went through hell and back. The article Lets fight it out was written in anticipation of a serious political crisis, penned just days before Barisan Nasional usurped power in Perak via the defection of two assemblymen from both Parti Keadilan Rakyat and DAP.

Part II is all about the reign of fifth Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi whose era is remembered by many as the years of folly, flip-flopping and nothing much, as well as the rise of racial politics. The articles Abdullah’s long honeymoon over and Abdullah’s last chance to build legacy illustrate his points. The author also shares his participation in some of the by-elections held after March 8, 2008 such as the Permatang Pauh
by-election, which saw the return of Anwar Ibrahim to Parliament, and the Kuala Terengganu by-election that retained PAS comfortably after BN put forward an unpopular candidate linked to the camp of Abdullah Badawi. This is made clear in his article, My candidate, your problem. Chin Tong also explains the role played by Mahathir in destroying Abdullah’s government in He helped rid two PMs, will Abdullah be next?
Part III deals with the sixth Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, a man zealously trying to portray himself as a statesman in the stature of his late father second Prime Minister Tun Razak Hussein. Yet as Chin Tong points out, Najib is struggling
to overcome problems created by Mahathir and escalated by his predecessor Abdullah Badawi. Articles such as Najib misses the point, Malaysia misses the boat and Najib the prince illuminate the author’s points.

Part IV is devoted to his favourite subject – Parti Islam SeMalaysia or PAS – which was also the topic of the dissertation he wrote for his honours degree, focusing particularly on the rise of the Young Turks in the party long dominated by conservative ulama. He also shares his observations pertaining to closer rapport between the “mainstreamers” of PAS and his DAP party.

Part V is a random selection of his articles and essays written in the past five years on the much needed reform for Malaysia. Among Chin Tong’s favourite subjects is parliamentary reform, of which he writes extensively here with articles such as Needed urgently: A better Parliament and Cannibalised Parliament. He also touches on subjects such as the bloated Cabinet, the possibility of having a government for the Federal
Territory of Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia’s fiscal policy, as well as the problems of the public sector.

Book Detail:
ISBN: 978-983-44629-2-5 (pbk.)
Author: Liew Chin Tong
Publisher: Research for Social Advancement (REFSA)
Year: 2009
No of Pages: 224
Price: Price: MYR 35.00 (excluding postage cost)

To order;

1. Pls SMS 019-2232002 (Type <Reformasi Generation>)
2. After confirmation from the administrator, pay the amount to maybank2u.com or Maybank Kawanku to account Faisal bin Mustaffa (MBB 114179439605)

* choices: maybank.2u.com, Maybank kawanku ATM, or the nearest Maybank branches near you.

Most recent comments... (In posting order)Care to comment?
Book Review: Speaking For The Reformasi Generation (REFSA, Kuala Lumpur, 2009) by Liew Chin Tong

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - that best describe the times we are in, at least for us here in Malaysia, especially in the period between 1998-2008.

In the past decade, our Nation collectively have gone through a unique experience of turmoils and growth; the 1997 Asia financial crisis, the unprecedented 1998 Reformasi movement, the rise and fall of Mahathir Mohammad, the longest-serving Prime Minister, the ripple effect of post-911 global paranoid and finally, the 308 political tsunami which eventually saw the end of the rule of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the rise of Najib Tun Razak amidst controversies.

Speaking for the Reformasi Generation (SFTRG) is a book which speaks of the events that marked this past decade. Author Liew Chin Tong is arguably the emerging voice of this generation. A scholar, political strategist and now Member of the Malaysian Parliament, Liew who was a college student during the 1998 Reformasi period, could not have been in a better position to, so to speak, speak for the Reformasi Generation.

The Reformasi Generation
The Reformasi Generation (R-Generation) is roughly the Generation Y of Malaysia. Emerging from the confused modernism of Gen X, the R-Generation is in effect the real heir of the Baby Boomers, if only by our shared commitment to counterculture movement.

We grew up in the era of Mahathirism, of mega projects and political hegemony. Liew echoed many young people of our times when he wrote, "We were a generation growing up without knowing any other Prime Minister except Dr Mahathir".

Mahathir gave this generation unprecedented access to the Internet, and therefore access to a source of infinite ideologies and thoughts, via his Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) pet project. It was Mahathir who gave this generation its most revered icon of counterculture, Anwar Ibrahim when he paved the way for the latter in national politics and eventually appointed him as his Deputy in 1993. And it was also Mahathir who gave rise the opportunity for the birth of the Reformasi movement when he sacked Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

Ironically, it was Mahathir and his Mahathirism which the R-Generation rebelled against the most.

Biography of A Nation in Transition
Liew was not merely a passive observer of the events in the last ten years. As political aide to a number of key DAP leaders such as Teresa Kok, Fong Kui Lun, DAP Supremo Lim Kit Siang and eventually, to the Secretary-General of DAP and the future Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, Liew wrote from the perspective of a participant, drawing from his personal encounters with the issues and players of the political scene of our country.

In a way, SFTRG reads like an autobiography of this young emerging political leader of our country. It probed into the author's mind on thoughts ranging from our national history to economics to politics to social issues such as gender, housing, foreign workers and public transportation.

But on the other hand, SFTRG is also the biography of a Nation in transition. For Malaysia, just like for the R-Generation, the period between 1998-2008 was a period where we were going through late adolescence into another level of maturity. After more than two decades of authoritarian-rule of Mahathir where fundamental freedoms such as intellectual freedom, press freedom and freedom of association were greatly suppressed, the Nation and along with her, the R-Generation thirsted for these dynamics.

In his own way, Liew had managed to chronicle this transition, beginning with his own stories of participating in the Reformasi street protests and then proceeding to using his skills as a political scholar to analyse the different events and milestones which eventually shape our Nation in her present form. For a generation often muffled from history other than those portraying the ruling UMNO-Barisan Nasional Government in positive light, Liew the scholar-analyst re-tell f 		Fri 18-Sep-2009 17:51
Posted by:faisal mustaffa faisal.mustaffa@rocketmail.com
Series of talk on Speaking for Reformasi Generation:

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=176898444080&view=user#/event.php?eid=176898444080 		Sun 1-Nov-2009 08:53
Posted by:faisal mustaffa faisal.mustaffa@rocketmail.com
Book Review: Speaking For The Reformasi Generation (REFSA, Kuala Lumpur, 2009) by Liew Chin Tong

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – that best describe the times we are in, at least for us here in Malaysia, especially in the period between 1998-2008.

In the past decade, our Nation collectively have gone through a unique experience of turmoils and growth; the 1997 Asia financial crisis, the unprecedented 1998 Reformasi movement, the rise and fall of Mahathir Mohammad, the longest-serving Prime Minister, the ripple effect of post-911 global paranoid and finally, the 308 political tsunami which eventually saw the end of the rule of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the rise of Najib Tun Razak amidst controversies.

Speaking for the Reformasi Generation (SFTRG) is a book which speaks of the events that marked this past decade. Author Liew Chin Tong is arguably the emerging voice of this generation. A scholar, political strategist and now Member of the Malaysian Parliament, Liew who was a college student during the 1998 Reformasi period, could not have been in a better position to, so to speak, speak for the Reformasi Generation.

The Reformasi Generation
The Reformasi Generation (R-Generation) is roughly the Generation Y of Malaysia. Emerging from the confused modernism of Gen X, the R-Generation is in effect the real heir of the Baby Boomers, if only by our shared commitment to counterculture movement.

We grew up in the era of Mahathirism, of mega projects and political hegemony. Liew echoed many young people of our times when he wrote, “We were a generation growing up without knowing any other Prime Minister except Dr Mahathir”.

Mahathir gave this generation unprecedented access to the Internet, and therefore access to a source of infinite ideologies and thoughts, via his Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) pet project. It was Mahathir who gave this generation its most revered icon of counterculture, Anwar Ibrahim when he paved the way for the latter in national politics and eventually appointed him as his Deputy in 1993. And it was also Mahathir who gave rise the opportunity for the birth of the Reformasi movement when he sacked Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

Ironically, it was Mahathir and his Mahathirism which the R-Generation rebelled against the most.

Biography of A Nation in Transition
Liew was not merely a passive observer of the events in the last ten years. As political aide to a number of key DAP leaders such as Teresa Kok, Fong Kui Lun, DAP Supremo Lim Kit Siang and eventually, to the Secretary-General of DAP and the future Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, Liew wrote from the perspective of a participant, drawing from his personal encounters with the issues and players of the political scene of our country.

In a way, SFTRG reads like an autobiography of this young emerging political leader of our country. It probed into the author’s mind on thoughts ranging from our national history to economics to politics to social issues such as gender, housing, foreign workers and public transportation.

But on the other hand, SFTRG is also the biography of a Nation in transition. For Malaysia, just like for the R-Generation, the period between 1998-2008 was a period where we were going through late adolescence into another level of maturity. After more than two decades of authoritarian-rule of Mahathir where fundamental freedoms such as intellectual freedom, press freedom and freedom of association were greatly suppressed, the Nation and along with her, the R-Generation thirsted for these dynamics.

In his own way, Liew had managed to chronicle this transition, beginning with his own stories of participating in the Reformasi street protests and then proceeding to using his skills as a political scholar to analyse the different events and milestones which eventually shape our Nation in her present form. For a generation often muffled from history other than those portraying the ruling UMNO-Barisan Nasional Government in positive light, Liew the scholar-analyst re-tel 		Sun 1-Nov-2009 09:21
Posted by:faisal mustaffa faisal.mustaffa@rocketmail.com  - [Link]


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