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• KL-S'pore high-speed rail link gets a rethink
• Election hopefuls to be screened
• Tourism Ministry investigates pamphlet rack purchase
• Sub-standard housemen
• For sure public advocacy is here to stay
• Pua: Anwar deserves a second chance
• Mustapa: Lynas jumping gun over rare earth refinery start date
• Government and golf club in battle over precious land
• Chua Soi Lek challenges Islam
• Chairman Isa and the listing of Felda Global Ventures-surat dari pembaca
• The True Cause of America’s Troubles
• The Catholic Church and the Mission Schools
• Fakta-fakta Penyenaraian Felda yang tidak kan disiarkan TV3 dan Utusan
• Seksualiti Merdeka not a 'free sex party', says Marina
• Elections 1990: Irregularities on the electoral rolls
• Hands off Islamic rituals, Muslim NGOs tell faith council
• Marina Mahathir livid over ‘free sex’ slur on Seksualiti Merdeka
• Small things for small minds
• PPSMI: Malaysia in the lost world?
• Taib’s son awarded millions in govt contracts
• Hit With Big Withdrawals, Fed Sells Assets, Borrows Cash
• No election until reforms are put in place
• 'Largest mobilisation of rakyat' if polls held before reforms
• China to inject over 1 trln yuan into money market
• Malaysia remains rich but also intolerant, says new study
• GE13: Bersih backs MCLM’s stand
• Boycotting polls not the answer, says Fuziah Salleh
• Tenaga faces cash shortage
• The battle for Malaysia starts with Selangor
• Pakatan Rakyat Sokong Protes Jika PRU Dipanggil Sebelum Syor Panel Khas
• ‘Graduates not competitive due to poor English’
• WIKILEAKS: RELIGIOUS, RACIAL POLITICS MARK RUN-UP TO CRITICAL BY-ELECTION
• Najib faces second rally threat
• Why Umno Malays are NOT Muslims
• MALAYSIA: A collapsing grand narrative
• Seksualiti Merdeka shows PAS kowtowing to ‘Anwarinas’, says Utusan
• Quality of English still ‘an issue”
• No need to renominate EPF beneficiaries, workers told
• Pro-BM group wants PPSMI scrapped immediately
• Greek parties ignore appeal for rapid compromise
• AirAsia denies gain from subsidies for rural service
• VIDEO : PKR leaders, NGO refused entry at Feedlot Project managed by Shahrizat's family?
• Tamil schools in Malaysia denied fully financial aided status
• Gerakan ‘Massa’ tuntut penambahbaikan pilihan raya
• WIKILEAKS: HOME MINISTER ASSEMBLES DIPLOMATS, DEFENDS HANDLING OF ANWAR CASE
• Recognising Malaysia's stateless Indians
• Dr M says Najib can save PPSMI: The falling out between Mahathir and Muhyiddin?
• SPEAKER’S CORNER - UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
• MCA: Make English a compulsory pass for SPM
• PPSMI and the Malaysian education malaise

KL-S'pore high-speed rail link gets a rethink Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:04 PM PST By Minderjeet Kaur and Ling Poh Lean, NST KUALA LUMPUR: The government may go ahead with the high-speed train between the capital city and Singapore. The project is expected to cut rail travelling time from the usual seven hours, to just two. Various policymakers and government agencies involved in improving public transport in the country are studying the issue in detail. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the government would wait for feedback from its Singaporean counterparts. "It now depends on the Singaporean government to allow us to carry out the project as the track will go into their land," he said. The train is expected to travel at 250 to 300kph. It is learnt that some transport agencies involved in the planning had proposed to have stops in Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor. "People can hop on the train at KL Sentral or at other stops and reach Singapore in just under two hours. "It can be viable as we will have more people travelling between both countries." He said it might also become the main source of transport as people would be able to get to their destination faster than travelling by air. "Travellers will not have to go through the hassle of check-in and check-out or having to hire a taxi from the airport to the business district," he added. He said the government agencies involved in the planning were also looking at immigration matters and the number of visitors the train would attract to Malaysia. The project was first mooted by the YTL Group in 2006 but it was not given the green light by the government because of the high cost involved. But it was cited as a high-impact project in the Economic Transformation Programme. In August, the Land Public Transport Commission conducted a pre-feasibility study on the project's economic viability and impact assessment.

Election hopefuls to be screened Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:02 PM PST By Farrah Naz Karim, NST PUTRAJAYA: Potential candidates for the 13th general election are expected to come under the microscope of several enforcement agencies including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Names of those being investigated by MACC or who could be the subject of an investigation would be classified under a list that would be sent to the leaders of their respective political parties, a source said yesterday. "It will then be up to the leaders to decide whether the person should be fielded as a candidate," the source added. It is understood that a different vetting process would also be carried out by the police and the Insolvency Department that could lead to a potential candidate having to sit out the elections. The source told the New Straits Times that in past general elections, only Barisan Nasional (BN) submitted its list of candidates to the MACC for vetting. The MACC, he said, also gave an undertaking to political parties using their vetting service, of guaranteed protection and secrecy of their submitted lists of names. "The move by the BN to submit its list to MACC was on a voluntary basis, as they feel it was for their own good. "A candidate who is being investigated for corruption or abuse of power, in the end, will only be a liability and party leaders know the importance of the screening process. "It would be good for opposition parties if they, too, send in their lists as they, too, would want candidates who are untainted," the source said. In the 2008 general election, the BN government, following the MACC vetting process, had withdrawn several names from its list of potential candidates, the source added. The BN had then submitted the names a month ahead of the announcement of the dissolution of Parliament. In the vetting process, the MACC would point out those being probed for corruption or abuse of power, while the police would check on their involvement in criminal acts. The police, it is understood, had for some time now, been running checks on politicians en bloc, that is on both sides of the political divide. The political parties would be alerted if their choice of candidates were already on a police watch list or under investigation. "Political parties would not be compelled to withdraw these names as candidates. "However, it is only logical for them to want to discard any unwanted baggage as voters, too, would want their candidates to be clean." For the 13th general election, thousands of politicians will be fighting it out for the 222 parliamentary and 505 state assembly seats. In view of this, the source said it was all the more important for political parties to have their candidates' lists vetted as there would be new and unknown candidates as well. He cited Parti Keadilan Rakyat's recent announcement, that its shortlist of candidates featured some new faces, as a reason that it should go through the authorities' vetting process.

Tourism Ministry investigates pamphlet rack purchase Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:52 AM PST (Bernama) - The Tourism Ministry is investigating the purchase of 1,000 units of metal pamphlet rack for Visit Malaysia Year 2007 which, according to the Auditor-General's Report 2010, was valued at RM1.95 million. In a statement here today, ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Ong Hong Peng said an investigation committee was established on Oct 5, and that a full investigation report would be submitted to him on Nov 18. However, he clarified that the Finance Ministry had approved payment of RM1.7 million for the purchase of 873 units of rack which were delivered, contrary to the report which stated that the purchase of 1,000 units of pamphlet rack was made through direct negotiation without approval from the Finance Ministry. The report had also said the Auditor-General's Office could not confirm whether the pamphlet racks were completely distributed with tourism pamphlets. Touching on the ministry's 2009 and 2010 advertising activities, Dr Ong clarified the direct booking of advertisement slots had helped save the commission paid to the agency (15% of the media purchase cost) totalling RM19.93 million in 2009, and RM9.2 million last year, as compared to using the service of advertising agency appointed through open tender. "The move also helped the Tourism Promotion Board to plan its expenditure plan for 2009 and 2010, for better financial management and reduced its accumulated deficit," he said. – Bernama

Sub-standard housemen Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:50 AM PST By Pauline Wong, The Sun PETALING JAYA (Nov 7, 2011): Government hospitals have been seeing deteriorating standards among housemen in recent years due to, among other things, the proliferation of medical schools which produce sub-standard graduates. A source told theSun that too many medical schools, too few good lecturers, and the "pampering" of housemen have contributed to the serious situation. The source said standards have been falling as more opportunities to study medicine both locally and overseas emerged, and housemen are getting used to having it easy. He noted that sadly, many housemen tend to "disappear" and cheat on their logbooks, are irresponsible, lazy, ignorant and unprofessional in carrying out their duties. "There are some who are good, but some just don't cut the grade," he said, adding that not all the blame rests on the housemen's attitude, but rather, it is a downward spiral brought on by the lack of proper training. "The sheer number of universities offering medical courses has led to standards set by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) not being met, because there are not enough good lecturers and trainers. "Its bad enough that good doctors do not necessarily make good teachers. What's worse, in some local public universities, lecturers are sometimes only senior civil servants with some medical background," said the source, a department head who sees hundreds of housemen in a major government hospital each year. "And now, exacerbating the situation is the government's decision not to make the Medical Qualifying Examination (MQE) compulsory for all medical graduates from foreign varsities," he lamented. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had earlier announced that the current list of 365 recognised overseas foreign universities may be abolished in favour of making it compulsory to pass the MQE before practising medicine here. However, the cabinet recently quashed the idea and instead directed that the list of recognised universities be shortened and reviewed more frequently. theSun had, today, front-paged concerns that the cabinet's decision may have negative consequences when Malaysia opens its doors to foreign medical practitioners under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement. The medical community had voiced the view that the MQE should be made compulsory for all medical graduates from foreign varsities, to act as a filter and maintain a benchmark in medical standards. The poor quality of housemen was recently highlighted in a letter to theSun, published under the heading 'Young doctors mollycoddled'. The writer, a specialist at a government hospital, had expressed his frustrations over the low quality of housemen whom he said had "bad attitudes and were lazy and incompetent". Asked to comment on the issue, Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Mary Suma Cardosa warned against generalising the negative comments. "There are some very good housemen who excel, and these are the doctors we (and the public) want to have and to nuture. But we also find poorly-trained housemen and it is very challenging and tiring to get them up to scratch," she said. She said the root cause of frustration and resentment among clinicians is having to teach these housemen things they should have already learnt in medical school. "The housemanship period is to teach young doctors how to apply all the knowledge and skills they have acquired in medical school to real life situations, but if they don't have the basic skills and knowledge, how can we train them?" she asked. "Unfortunately, some housemen are not interested and are unwilling to learn and to change, but have the cheek to complain that they are being 'abused' by their seniors," said Cardosa who is however not convinced that the fault lies entirely in medical schools. "Yes, some medical school are at fault for not having enough experienced teachers or fail to provide their students with enough patient exposure. But in other cases, it is simply because the medical graduates have a poor attitude," she said. "Young doctors (and their parents) should be made to realise that a doctor's life is a hard one, especially in the early years. Long hours are a necessary part of the training and the work. "No one should study medicine because of the glamour, status or because they think they are guaranteed a job which is certainly not the case," she said. Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shirlin said the ministry took a serious view on the matter, and was extending the training period for housemen. "We are very concerned with the quality of our young doctors, which is why the training for housemen was extended to two years from one year in 2008. The quality of doctors and patient safety cannot be compromised," she said, giving an assurance yhat only competent housemen will be given full registration by the MMC.

For sure public advocacy is here to stay Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:42 AM PST By Karim Raslan, The Star Where in the past we would have dealt with controversial matters surreptitiously, nowadays such delicacy and tact are considered old-fashioned if not deceitful. TO most onlookers, it would appear as if Malaysian public life had been hijacked by extremists – with Perkasa fronting ethnic nationalists and PAS' ulama leading the religious fundamentalists. Indeed, the notion of 'Malay-ness' is increasingly being determined by these two forces alone – leaving the "middle-ground" empty and forgotten. At the same time, there's also been a noticeable spike in identity politics as more and more people seek to define themselves according to race, religion or sexual preference – witness the Seksualiti Merdeka festival. The once-hesitant ways in which Asians regarded hot-button social issues has been replaced in some parts by a more open, Western assertiveness. When these two very different forces collide, the net result can be combustible. Moreover, it's hard to see how these controversies can be resolved given the starkly opposing world-views in operation. One thing's for sure: we can't turn the clock back. Public advocacy is here to stay. Where in the past we would have dealt with such matters surreptitiously, nowadays such delicacy and tact are considered old-fashioned if not deceitful – the hyper-transparent Wikileaks culture cuts all ways. This also applies to hard-charging NGOs like PAGE who have been in the vanguard of the pro-PPSMI camp. Looking back on the past, I cannot help but feel however that our previous willingness to live with internal contradictions and differences was also a hallmark of the "Malaysian Consensus" – basically an unwritten understanding to tolerate our country's myriad complexities. In essence, your private life and intellectual beliefs were your own business as long as you 'towed the line'. This epitomised the "middle-ground" of national politics. It wasn't necessarily honest or straightforward, but it did steer us away from potentially destructive confrontations. However, there are some figures who are trying to champion the "middle-ground" even though the Malaysian Consensus has to a large extent been lost. These leaders are very important, since they act as a balancing force, bridging, negotiating and then resolving tensions between the various pressure groups. At their best, they act as a kind of social and moral anchorage for the Malay community. They're definitely proud of being Malay and Muslim. On the other hand, they aren't alarmist or defeatist like Perkasa. They refuse to exclude anyone due to race or religion and civil liberties matter to them. They also understand that politics is about discussion, debate and compromise. Some are in PKR (Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah Anwar), while others remain in Umno (Deputy Minister for Higher Eduction Saifuddin Abdullah). It could be argued that former minister turned maverick Datuk Shahrir Samad is their standard-bearer. By certain measures MPs Khairy Jamaluddin and Nur Jazlan Mohamad also belong to this amorphous group. They're complemented by civil society stalwarts like the passionate activists in PAGE and the IDEAS Malaysia think-tank. PKR state assemblyman for Seri Setia, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, is this group's most prolific and impressive writer. Just 28-years-old, he has published his second book Coming of Age: A Decade of Essays 2001-2011. I reviewed Nik Nazmi's first offering Moving Forward: Malays for the 21st Century in 2009 and was eager to read his second. Coming of Age is a collection of Nik Nazmi's writings from his student days to his unexpected win in the 2008 general elections and his on-going career as a legislator. It covers an eclectic range of topics from Islam to football. Thankfully, Nik Nazmi's journey has not been at the cost of his belief in the transformative power of politics. From his writings and actions, he is able to straddle both Malay- and non-Malay milieus. Indeed – and he freely admits it – Nik Nazmi is a product of the NEP's success in creating a viable Malay middle-class. These are confident, public service-oriented young Malays who aren't bound by the legacies of the past. Born of the rakyat, they have the credibility to speak with the masses. Malaysia needs these leaders to succeed. We need them to moderate and modulate the political and moral absolutes that Perkasa and the Islamists are trying to ingrain into the Malay psyche. As Nik Nazmi writes: "At a time when people are talking about globalisation, communalism seems to be an outdated 'ism'. Being open-minded about the realities of the world does not mean that we should forget our roots. We should all appreciate differences in heritage. We should not look at our respective cultures as a barrier, but an opportunity to learn from one another." Of course, there are differences amongst this new "Malay middle-ground", such as over PPSMI — but that is to be expected. What is more important is for them to continue to take a clear, principled and moderate stand on the great questions of the time, and show the world that not all Malay voices are reactionary or fearful.

Pua: Anwar deserves a second chance Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:40 AM PST By Stephanie Sta Maria, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: Petaling Jaya Utara MP, Tony Pua, publicly vouched for Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim during a forum after a participant demanded to know why the former deputy prime minister should be given another chance in power. The unidentified man asked what had changed in Anwar that DAP was now championing for him to be returned into government. "This is fundamentally flawed," he told Pua. "You are asking us to trust a man who created the financial mismanagement in the country during his tenure as deputy prime minister." Pua, who had earlier delivered a talk on "Economic Transformation: For Better or Worse", replied that he had two reasons for backing Anwar. The first was based on what he has personally witnessed and the second on guesswork. "This is a man who used to be a little more Malay and religious," he reminded the 100-odd crowd at the Hotel Sri Petaling ballroom. "It is one thing for him to be telling you that we need affirmative action based on race but it is another thing altogether for him to be saying that to the rural Malay heartland." Pua said that Anwar had taken a very challenging line in explaining to the rural Malays that what they really need is affirmative action based on needs so that financial aid will reach them instead of just the upper crust of society. Political suicide "For many politicians this would be political suicide," he stated. "But the fact is that Anwar is willing to take that risk. And if Pakatan wins on that premise, then there is no reason for him to reverse what brought him into power."   READ MORE HERE.

Mustapa: Lynas jumping gun over rare earth refinery start date Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:34 AM PST By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed has slammed Lynas Corp for pre-empting the government by repeatedly projecting start dates for the Australian miner's controversial RM1.5 billion rare earth plant in Kuantan. The international trade and industry minister accused the Australian company of "jumping the gun" and failing to engage transparently with residents around its Kuantan refinery who have opposed the project due to fears of radiation pollution. Mustapa denied that the government was colluding with Lynas to ride roughshod over public safety. — Picture by Choo Choy May "They have no business to pre-empt the (Atomic Energy Licensing) board. No business at all to issue these kind of statements and we have reprimanded them," Mustapa told The Malaysian Insider in an interview last week. The minister said he understood the alarm of local residents over the project and has told Lynas repeatedly it "has not done enough engagement." "They've underestimated but learnt their lesson. They have been more transparent over the last one or two months. "But I saw them last week in Perth, it's still not enough," the Jeli MP said, adding that the failure of both Lynas and the government to engage from the start has resulted in "some people who cannot be persuaded." Mustapa was accused of being a "Lynas spokesman" by Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh last week. He denied the accusation from the PKR vice-president who has led protests against the Lynas plant, saying it was "akin to calling me a traitor." Lynas had earlier projected to be given the go-ahead from radiation regulators AELB by the fourth quarter of this year. But Putrajaya said last week it asked for changes and additional information on September 19 from the Sydney-based firm with regard to its safety submissions. Having shed more than half its value on the Australian Securities Exchange over the past six months, it was then reported to expect a pre-operating licence "by the end of the year and it could come before analysts make a planned visit to the plant this month." "'Slight delays' at its controversial Malaysian refinery will not affect its plans to supply rare earths to customers by the first half of next year," Australian daily Sydney Morning Herald said on November 1. The Malaysian government had adopted in July the 11 recommendations set out by an International Atomic Energy Agency-led (IAEA) review of the refinery.   READ MORE HERE.

Government and golf club in battle over precious land Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:33 AM PST By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider PETALING JAYA, Nov 8 — The federal government has initiated legal action to gain control of some 330 acres of prime land worth an estimated RM5 billion that is currently leased to the elite Subang National Golf Club (Kelab Golf Negara Subang — KGNS) here. The move could reinforce perception that the government is strapped for cash and comes after Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Husni Hanadzlah said that the government was looking at monetising its assets including land to help fund expenditure and controversies over "land grab" by the authorities in charge of building the new MRT system. A view of the golf club. — Picture courtesy of panoramio.com The golf club, which is seen as an iconic institution for those living in and around the township of Petaling Jaya, was opened in 1968 and entered into a 99-year lease arrangement for the land with the federal government in 1971. The Malaysian Insider understands that discussions over the status of the land have been going on for several years but things came to a head when the federal government decided to file a lawsuit in August asking KGNS to pay market rates to buy the 330 acres of land which sits squarely in the middle of both established and rapidly developing areas such as Subang Jaya, Ara Damansara, Kelana Jaya and Bandar Sunway. When KGNS first moved to the present site, the land was far less valuable as it was in the middle of rubber estates and former tin mining land, and the golf club today with its matured landscape presents a much appreciated green lung in the burgeoning Kelana Jaya area. The legal suit has also given rise to speculation that the land has been earmarked by the government for sale to developers to build high-end properties. Numerous politically-connected businessmen live in beautiful mansions opposite the club and could be opposed to any move to intensify development in the area. A club committee member, who declined to be quoted, told The Malaysian Insider that the club has filed a defence stating its historical position and its willingness to pay for the land but not at market rates. When contacted in London, KGNS president Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas said the club was negotiating with the government for a long direct lease and that it was also offering senior government officers membership at reduced rates.   READ MORE HERE.

Chua Soi Lek challenges Islam Posted: 07 Nov 2011 04:08 AM PST (The Star) - The DAP must first explain how hudud law will not affect the Chinese community before it asks for their support in the general election, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said. In throwing the challenge, he pointed out that the Federal Constitution should be amended if the country was to be turned into an Islamic state that paved the way for hudud's implementation. "As such, how can the DAP say that the Chinese will not be affected by such amendments?" he asked, adding that the DAP was either insulting the people's intelligence or blinded by its quest for power – both done at the expense of the community. Popular leader: Dr Chua greeting a party member while Kong looks on at the Lido Restaurant in Sitiawan yesterday. Speaking at a luncheon with Lumut MCA division members here yesterday, Dr Chua said the DAP should not offer the excuse that PAS needed at least two-thirds in Parliament to pass any amendment to the Constitution, and that the DAP would not support such an amendment. "There is no valid reason for the Chinese to support DAP, PAS or Parti Keadilan Rakyat as by doing so, the community is only helping to make PAS' dream of a hudud state nearer to reality," he said. Dr Chua said the DAP did not have the interest of the Chinese at heart when it collaborated with PAS. "The DAP wanted the Chinese votes to survive, and at the same time it worked with its enemy (PAS)," he said. Dr Chua also challenged the DAP to name Pakatan Rakyat's prime minister should the Opposition come to power. He said until and unless the DAP could do this, it was not in a position to assure the Chinese that their interests would be taken care of. Meanwhile, Lumut MP Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the people should know the consequences, if not the risks, if they supported Pakatan. He said the DAP could give excuses to gain the people's support but the facts speak louder. He, too, pointed out the hudud issue as a good example. Kong, who is also the Perak MCA deputy chairman, said if Pakatan came into power, it would table the proposed amendments to the Constitution in Parliament and pave the way for hudud's implementation. He said the DAP should explain to the people what the reality was if such a proposal was tabled. "Can the DAP guarantee that they could not get the two-thirds support to pass the Bill?"

Chairman Isa and the listing of Felda Global Ventures-surat dari pembaca Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:36 AM PST SAKMONGKOL AK47 FAKTA-FAKTA PENYENARAIAN FELDA YANG TIDAK AKAN DISIARKAN TV3 DAN UTUSAN: Menteri Koperasi sendiri tidak tahu menahu dan enggan mengeluarkan surat arahan Menteri bertarikh ke belakang (back dated) untuk masuk campur isu rampasan kuasa Koperasi Permodalan Felda demi memenuhi nafsu Isa Samad kecuali diarahkan PM Najib. Campurtangan beliau dalam Koperasi Permodalan Felda bakal memberikan imej tidak baik, dianggap campur tangan politik kerajaan dalam sebuah koperasi yang aman dan berjaya serta bakal dibantah Jawatankuasa Koperasi Antarabangsa (www.ica.coop/al-ica) yang turut dianggotai oleh Angkasa. Difahamkan beberapa lembaga pengarah Jawatankuasa Koperasi Antarabangsa dari EU dan Afrika akan mengadakan kenyataan bantahan dalam hal ini tidak lama lagi. Berdasarkan potensi perkara ini bakal memburukkan imej negara dan menjejaskan peti undi Felda di Parlimen Bera (sekurang-kurangnya 14 peti undi Felda terlibat di bawah Parlimen Bera) Dato Seri Ismail Sabri akan terus mengambil pendirian berdiam diri dan tidak akan menyokong usaha Isa Samad merampas kuasa Pengerusi Koperasi Felda walaupun Isa Samad menjaja nama PM Najib ke sana ke mari PerjanjianPajakan di antara Felda Global Ventures dan FELDA yang disorokkan dari diketahui warga Felda sekalian jelas menyatakan pajakan tanah terlibat adalah: ·         Tanah-tanahperladangan Felda yang diuruskan Felda Plantation berjumlah 360,000 hektar DAN; ·         Tanah-tanah sedia ada Felda (Additional Existing Land) yang telah dibenarkan kerajaan negeri untuk dibangunkan. Contohnya tanah Felda sendiri digunakanFelda dan peneroka untuk tujuan pertanian, perniagaan, sukan, perumahan generasi kedua, resort-resort Felda, serta tanah di mana penyelidikan. Dalam perjanjian itu menyebut bahawa jika tanah tersebut sudah mendapat geran,ia akan diberikankepada Felda Global Venture secara automatik dan jika belum diberikan geran akan diserahkan kepada  Felda Global secara 3 tahun secara penyambungan automatik sehingga 99 tahun. Jika peneroka-peneroka pada masa ini ada mengadakan aktiviti perniagaan, pertanian atau sosial di tanah Felda yang akan diambil alih Felda Global Venture, bersedialah untuk membayar sewa atau dirampas kembali tanah-tanah tersebut oleh Felda Global Venture bagi aktiviti yang mereka anggap lebih menguntungkan kepada kroni Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad ·         Tanah-tanah masa hadapan (Future land) yang bakal dibeli FELDA akan diserahkan kepada Felda Global Venture JIKA ISA SAMAD DAN SABRI AHMAD MENAFIKAN PERKARA INI, SEBAIK-BAIKNYA TUAN-PUAN PENEROKA MEMINTA ISA SAMAD DAN SABRI AHMAD MEMINTA DITUNJUKKAN DAHULU SURAT PERJANJIAN PAJAKAN DI ANTARA FELDA DAN FELDA GLOBAL VENTURES SEBELUM PAJAKAN DIMULAKAN PADA 1.01.2012. JIKA ENGGAN, DISARANKAN TUAN-PUAN MENYAMAN FELDA DARI MEMBUAT KEPUTUSAN MERUGIKAN MASA HADAPAN PENEROKA DAN ANAK-ANAK DAN MEMOHON INJUKSI MAHKAMAH BAGI MENGHALANG TINDAKAN PAJAKAN INI DILAKUKAN TANPA SURAT PAJAKAN INI DITELITI DAN MENDAPATKAN PERSETUJUAN SEMUA PENEROKA MELALUI SEBUAH REFERENDUM Struktur Pra-Penyenaraian Felda Global Venture telah direka khusus bagi menipu rakyat terutamanya peneroka dan kakitangan Felda. Struktur Penyenaraian dimaksudkan adalah: Koperasi permodalan Felda akan menguasai 60% ekwiti FGV manakala Felda akan menguasai 40% ekwiti. READ MORE HERE

The True Cause of America’s Troubles Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:30 AM PST MONEY AND MARKETS Are you wondering why the U.S. economy has now stagnated — despite the largest government stimulus, bailouts, and money printing of all time? Are you puzzled why the real income of American households has just suffered its worst plunge in recorded history — despite the so-called "recovery" of 2009-2011? Do you want to know why it now takes 40.5 weeks for the average unemployed worker to find a new job — also the worst in recorded history? And are you flabbergasted by the utter failure of the U.S. Congress to do anything about trillion-dollar federal deficits for years to come? Then, let me tell you precisely what's causing this mess. The fundamental source of the nation's troubles is DEBTS that are far larger and more destructive than Washington admits. Indeed, the U.S. government is covering up the magnitude of the nation's debt disasters with three major deceptions: Debt Deception #1 Washington Excludes the Massive Debts of Federal Government Agencies "As long as the government's debt burden is under 100 percent of GDP," they say, "we can handle it. It's only when it surpasses the 100 percent threshold that we'll be in danger." True or false? Let's look at the numbers: • U.S. GDP is $14.6 trillion. And … • According to the Federal Reserve's Flow of Funds, U.S. Treasury debts outstanding are $9.7 trillion. • So that means the debts are well under the 100 percent danger threshold, right? Wrong! The authorities conveniently ignore a massive $7.6 trillion of additional government debts that have piled up on the books of U.S. government agencies, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These agencies were created by the U.S. government, have always been controlled by the U.S. government, and now, after the federal bailouts of the last debt crisis, are even owned by the U.S. government. How in the world anyone could possibly exclude their debts from the U.S. government's books is beyond me. And yet that's precisely what Washington does. Add those debts to the government's total burden … and guess what! Instead of $9.7 trillion in federal government debts outstanding, the actual total comes to $17.3 trillion — a whopping 118.3 percent of GDP! READ MORE HERE

The Catholic Church and the Mission Schools Posted: 06 Nov 2011 10:06 PM PST reply by a Senior Physician Uppercaise is too kind to the Catholic church and the clergy. Let me use this space to explain why this body of people has been lacking in the simple wisdom that is required to keep pace with a changing modern world. Let me refer to two examples.  In the 1980s a senior partner of Ernst & Young, a Catholic, some senior Christian officers in the Ministry of Finance and EPU and myself decided that the Catholic schools and the Catholic church had to become financially independent and reject government aid. Our plan was to examine large pieces of land owned by the church for conversion to commercial use. This land thus converted for commercial purposes would be then built upon so that a steady source of revenue would flow to the Catholic Church to fund church activities including support for schooling. We realized that there were enough well-to-do people who would support private schools which they as well as the public very much wanted. The LaSalle schools would be highly acceptable because they had a reputation. The land that we were looking at were mainly in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor Baru. These were choice pieces of land which only did not have value so long as they were occupied by government aided buildings. A notable case in point was land in Bukit Nanas. This effort failed for the following reasons. There were conflicts in the heiarchy of the Catholic Church. Bishop Vendargon insisted on selling a very valuable piece of land occupied by a seminary in Penang to the private sector which he did. The public does not know where that money went. The Bishop and his advisors held meeting after meeting. They then informed us that they will not go along with our plan. They would rather leave everything to the wisdom of God.  Next was a plan that I together with two friends proposed specifically to SFI. Briefly this plan (supported by the Melaka State government) consisted of surrendering their existing school land including the land that belonged to the Sacred Heart Convent in Melaka for a much larger piece of land in Ayer Keroh. On this land would have been built two modern school buildings, one for SFI and one for the Convent with solar panel roofing (to save electricity), a chapel, a multipurpose athletic and games field with a running track to be shared by both schools, a basketball court, tennis and squash courts, and a boarding for upmarket local and foreign students. All this would be done by a renowned developer picked by the State government known to have the financial means, who had to build first before the schools relocated to these buildings. The State would support these new schools with generous infrastructure including roads, drainage, sewage and landscaping.  The State was keen that these schools be converted to private schools (this required approval from the education department which the State would assist in getting) so that students from other countries would come to Melaka.    The land in question was owned by 3 parties – the Catholic Church, the LaSalle brothers, and the Convent. To our astonishment we discovered that all these 3 parties would not talk to each other. There were also disagreements about changing these schools to private schools. Neither I nor other promoters of this idea were allowed to address these owners of the property. They seemed to be content to be sitting on these decaying properties in spite of the possibility that their land may be forceably acquired.  This plan was therefore scrapped. These two incidents should show Uppercaise the kind of people in the Church that we are dealing with. They are solely responsible for the sorry state of affairs of the premier Catholic schools in this country. Of course the government changed. This had to happen in a democracy. But you will notice that they did not touch private schools.  I believe that the leaders of the Catholic church had the clout to influence government leaders as time went by. Unfortunately these church leaders behaved like foreigners in their own country. In a separate letter "a Specialist" has written about the abuse that has occurred in the Assunta Hospital, another public project started for the poor by the Catholic Church. This matter was raised by "a concerned Malaysian" to which "a Specialist" responded. There does not seem to be anything that the "concerned Malaysian" can do. The board of directors of Assunta Hospital as well as Bishop Pakiam has maintained a discreet silence.  The lay public of the Catholic church must hold the church leaders including Bishop Pakiam responsible for the sad state of affairs that exist today.

Fakta-fakta Penyenaraian Felda yang tidak kan disiarkan TV3 dan Utusan Posted: 06 Nov 2011 09:54 PM PST Jaminan Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad bahawa FELDA bakal dibayar RM1 billion bagi meneruskan tujuan aktiviti pertanian dan pembangunan sosio-ekonomi peneroka setiap tahun selama 99 tahun adalah BOHONG DAN PENIPUAN TERBESAR By Suara Felda 1. Menteri Koperasi sendiri tidak tahu menahu dan enggan mengeluarkan surat arahan Menteri bertarikh ke belakang (back dated) untuk masuk campur isu rampasan kuasa Koperasi Permodalan Felda demi memenuhi nafsu Isa Samad kecuali diarahkan PM Najib. Campurtangan beliau dalam Koperasi Permodalan Felda bakal memberikan imej tidak baik, dianggap campur tangan politik kerajaan dalam sebuah koperasi yang aman dan berjaya serta bakal dibantah Jawatankuasa Koperasi Antarabangsa (www.ica.coop/al-ica) yang turut dianggotai oleh Angkasa. Difahamkan beberapa lembaga pengarah Jawatankuasa Koperasi Antarabangsa dari EU dan Afrika akan mengadakan kenyataan bantahan dalam hal ini tidak lama lagi. Berdasarkan potensi perkara ini bakal memburukkan imej negara dan menjejaskan peti undi Felda di Parlimen Bera (sekurang-kurangnya 14 peti undi Felda terlibat di bawah Parlimen Bera) Dato Seri Ismail Sabri akan terus mengambil pendirian berdiam diri dan tidak akan menyokong usaha Isa Samad merampas kuasa Pengerusi Koperasi Felda walaupun Isa Samad menjaja nama PM Najib ke sana ke mari. 2. Perjanjian Pajakan di antara Felda Global Ventures dan FELDA yang disorokkan dari diketahui warga Felda sekalian jelas menyatakan pajakan tanah terlibat adalah: Tanah-tanah perladangan Felda yang diuruskan Felda Plantation berjumlah 360,000 hektar DAN; Tanah-tanah sedia ada Felda (Additional Existing Land) yang telah dibenarkan kerajaan negeri untuk dibangunkan. Contohnya tanah Felda sendiri digunakanFelda dan peneroka untuk tujuan pertanian, perniagaan, sukan, perumahan generasi kedua, resort-resort Felda, serta tanah di mana penyelidikan. Dalam perjanjian itu menyebut bahawa jika tanah tersebut sudah mendapat geran,ia akan diberikankepada Felda Global Venture secara automatik dan jika belum diberikan geran akan diserahkan kepada Felda Global secara 3 tahun secara penyambungan automatik sehingga 99 tahun. Jika peneroka-peneroka pada masa ini ada mengadakan aktiviti perniagaan, pertanian atau sosial di tanah Felda yang akan diambil alih Felda Global Venture, bersedialah untuk membayar sewa atau dirampas kembali tanah-tanah tersebut oleh Felda Global Venture bagi aktiviti yang mereka anggap lebih menguntungkan kepada kroni Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad Tanah-tanah masa hadapan (Future land) yang bakal dibeli FELDA akan diserahkan kepada Felda Global Venture JIKA ISA SAMAD DAN SABRI AHMAD MENAFIKAN PERKARA INI, SEBAIK-BAIKNYA TUAN-PUAN PENEROKA MEMINTA ISA SAMAD DAN SABRI AHMAD MEMINTA DITUNJUKKAN DAHULU SURAT PERJANJIAN PAJAKAN DI ANTARA FELDA DAN FELDA GLOBAL VENTURES SEBELUM PAJAKAN DIMULAKAN PADA 1.01.2012. JIKA ENGGAN, DISARANKAN TUAN-PUAN MENYAMAN FELDA DARI MEMBUAT KEPUTUSAN MERUGIKAN MASA HADAPAN PENEROKA DAN ANAK-ANAK DAN MEMOHON INJUKSI MAHKAMAH BAGI MENGHALANG TINDAKAN PAJAKAN INI DILAKUKAN TANPA SURAT PAJAKAN INI DITELITI DAN MENDAPATKAN PERSETUJUAN SEMUA PENEROKA MELALUI SEBUAH REFERENDUM Struktur Pra-Penyenaraian Felda Global Venture telah direka khusus bagi menipu rakyat terutamanya peneroka dan kakitangan Felda. Struktur Penyenaraian dimaksudkan adalah: Tujuan Struktur Pra-Penyenaraian yang direka ini adalah seperti berikut: · Mewujudkan situasi kononnya terdapat konflik kuasa eksekutif apabila Pengarah Besar FELDA memegang kedua-dua jawatan Pengarah Besar FELDA dan Pengerusi Koperasi Permodalan Felda dan menggunakan alasan urus tadbir korporat yang baik (bukan menggunakan peraturan Suruhanjaya Sekuriti BSKL), Isa Samad merampas kuasa Pengerusi KPF melalui agenda khas dalam mesyuarat Lembaga Pengarah FELDA yang diadakan semasa ketiadaan Pengarah Besar yang menunaikan umrah dalam bulan Ramadan. Struktur ini dirancang sendiri oleh Sabri Ahmad, bukannya FELDA mahupun PM Najib sendiri bagi mewajarkan tindakan Isa Samad ini. Apabila Isa Samad menjadi Pengerusi KPF, perkara pertama akan dilakukan beliau adalah meluluskan pelepasan pegangan ekuiti KPF di dalam Felda Holdings Berhad, merombak pengurusan dan lembaga pengarah serta mengetuai jawatankuasa pelaburan dan merubah polisi sedia ada yang menjaga kepentingan ahli-ahlinya selama ini · Menutup mata kakitangan dan peneroka iaitu ahli-ahli Koperasi Permodalan Felda bahawa mereka bakal kehilangan 51% Saham dalam Felda Holdings Berhad iaitu Syarikat Utama yang mentadbir anak-anak syarikat Felda. Anak-anak syarikat ini tidak akan wujud tanpa usaha bersama pengurusan FELDA dan kakitangan dan Struktur Selepas Penyenaraian akan menyaksikan penguasaan saham Koperasi Permodalan Felda dalam anak-anak syarikat akan jatuh kepada 30% sahaja dan 70% bakal diberikan kepada pelabur luar. FELDA pula disingkir keluar dari sebarang pemilikan dan hak dalam penyenaraian ini · Hasil pelepasan hak Koperasi Permodalan Felda dalam anak-anak syarikat Felda dan pelepasan hak Felda dalam Felda Global Ventures dalam aktiviti dipanggil 'divestment' (lawan kepada investment) ini akan menghasilkan sedikit wang yang akan digunakan bagi aktiviti pemberian durian runtuh yang sangat tidak berbaloi jika dibandingkan pembayaran one-off durian runtuh VS pendapatan dividen 51% selama 99 tahun + kehilangan hak Felda dan peneroka terhadap anak-anak syarikat Felda + kehilangan pendapatan Felda sebanyak RM1.5 – 2.0 billion Kepada anak-anak Felda dan peneroka Felda yang celik IT, minta anda terangkan kepada ibu bapa dan rakan-rakan peneroka lain untuk memilih salah satu di antara berikut: DURIAN RUNTUH VS PENDAPATAN STABIL DAN HAK TERPELIHARA: Durian Runtuh secara sekali pemberian iaitu MAKSIMUM gabungan wang tunai dan 'pink form' sebanyak RM20,000 – RM50,000 bergantung kepada serius mana bantahan peneroka Pink Form atau Nilai Saham tersebut adalah keuntungan atas kertas sahaja. Ia diberi sebagai galakan kepada peneroka dan kakitangan untuk menjual pegangan mereka ke atas anak-anak syarikat Felda jika inginkan wang yang sebenar. Sebarang jualan akan dibeli oleh pelabur luar (Di Bursa Saham tidak ada sekatan terhadap profil pelabur sama ada bangsa lain, negara lain malah penjenayah juga boleh membelinya). Adalah dijangka jualan anak-anak syarikat Felda dan peluang memiliki tanah-tanah Felda ini sangat ditunggu pelabur luar Felda dan akan terlebih langgan beratus kali ganda. Bermaksud, sekali dijual, beratus calon menanti membeli saham anda terutama kroni Isa dan Sabri · Koperasi Permodalan Felda kehilangan 51% saham majoriti daripada pegangan semua anak syarikat dan bakal tinggal 30% sahaja apabila penyenaraian berlaku. · FELDA (pengurusan dan peneroka) tidak lagi ada HAK dan SUARA dalam anak-anak syarikat Felda malah adalah wajar FELDA mengarahkan nama FELDA dibuang dari Felda Global Ventures dan anak-anak syarikat Felda. Boleh diganti dengan Isa Global Ventures atau Sabri Prodata. Barulah terserlah PENIPUAN kononnya untuk masa hadapan FELDA tapi dihilangkan terus hak FELDA dan diberi kepada pelabur lain · Perbelanjaan Felda setahun adalah paling kurang RM500 juta belanja pengurusan dan RM1.5 billion untuk peneroka bagi aktiviti pertanian dan sosio-ekonomi. Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad MEMAKSA FELDA menerima cuma sekitar RM500 juta sahaja (PAKSAAN INI TERDAPAT DALAM SURAT PAJAKAN FELDA DAN FELDA GLOBAL VENTURES.SILA DAPATKAN PEGUAM UNTUK MINTA FELDA TUNJUK DAHULU SURAT PAJAKAN SEBELUM BERMULA 1.12.2012) Dengan pendapatan Felda hilang RM1.5 – RM2.0 billion, dijangka FELDA tidak lagi memberikan peneroka apa yang dinikmati selama ini seperti bantuan pertanian, pendidikan, usahawan, SIUF, kerohanian,sukan, perumahan dll. Kesimpulannya taraf istimewa peneroka FELDA jatuh kepada peserta tanah kampung lain seperti Kejora, Ketengah, Kesedar, Felcra dll. · Kuota Peneroka memegang Lembaga Pengarah anak-anak syarikat Felda akan dikurangkan kerana peneroka tiada lagi kaitan kecuali sekadar melabur dalam saham KPF yang memegang sekadar 30% daripada saham Felda Global Ventures Jaminan Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad bahawa FELDA bakal dibayar RM1 billion bagi meneruskan tujuan aktiviti pertanian dan pembangunan sosio-ekonomi peneroka setiap tahun selama 99 tahun adalah BOHONG DAN PENIPUAN TERBESAR: a. Tidak ada jaminan BERTULIS di mana-mana berkenaan sumbangan tersebut dalam Surat Pajakan Tanah Felda (Diminta Peneroka dapatkan Peguam bagi menuntut kepada Felda untuk meneliti Surat Pajakan ini sebelum 1.1.2012) seperti dijanjikan Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad. Malah jumlah RM1 billion tidak cukup pun untuk peneroka berdasarkan perbelanjaan sebelum ini b. Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad tidak akan meletakkan JAMINAN BERTULIS kerana ini mengurangkan minat pelabur dan kapitalis terhadap penyenaraian anak-anak syarikat Felda. Pelabur dan golongan kapitalis bermodal besar Cuma berminat memiliki segala pendapatan, tanah dan lain-lain aset Felda dan tidak berminat memberi SEDEKAH PERCUMA kepada Felda untuk peneroka c. Segala kata-kata, janji dan jaminan Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad pada masa ini TIDAK LAKU kerana tidak mewakili Lembaga Pengarah Felda Global Ventures yang baru nanti apabila Felda Global Ventures disenaraikan. Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad sekadar bertaraf kontrak dan apabila masing-masing sudah kenyang akan pergi dan TIDAK LAGI BERTANGGUNGJAWAB terhadap kenyataan mereka sebelum ini. Sabri Ahmad sendiri pernah terlibat penyelewengan RM120 juta di syarikat Golden Hope Plantation Bhd (sebuah syarikat yang pada masa itu telah disenarai) yang disiasat oleh KPMG Forensics dan didapati bersalah sehingga dipaksa Lembaga Pengarah Sime Darby untuk meletak jawatan. Skandal Sabri Ahmad dan berita ini dilapor akhbar utama dan media alternatif sekitar Jun 2008 dan skandal salah laku Sabri Ahmad pernah ditanya oleh YB Wee Choo Keong di Parlimen (Link: http://www.1malaysia.com.my/zh/news/pnb-will-not-interfere/) dan http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/new-straits-times/mi_8016/is_20080611/sime-fires-2-execs/ai_n44404255/ ) Tentang Isa Samad tidak perlu lagi didedahkan siapa beliau. Masih rasa selamatkah peneroka-peneroka Felda, kakitangan Felda terhadap 2 individu utama ini yang muncul di semua media dan sesi penerangan yang meminta supaya mereka diyakini untuk ubah masa hadapan Felda? Semua fakta-fakta ini akan terbukti jika terdapat wakil peneroka membuat laporan polis dan melantik peguam menyaman dan mendapatkan injuksi mahkamag menghalang Felda dari memasuki perjanjian yang meragukan dan melibatkan masa hadapan peneroka dan anak-anak. Juga minta peguam-peguam anda meminta Felda dedahkan secara telus berkenaan keputusan mesyuarat Lembaga Pengarah Felda yang mana lain diputuskan lain diberitahu oleh Isa Samad dan Sabri Ahmad semasa penerangan di media dan kepada himpunan peneroka dan kakitangan. Turut tertipu adalah pegawai Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan pejabat Timbalan Menteri Felda sendiri tetapi tidak boleh berbuat apa-apa kerana Isa Samad menjaja nama PM Najib merata-rata.

Seksualiti Merdeka not a 'free sex party', says Marina Posted: 06 Nov 2011 08:23 PM PST (The Star) - Seksualiti Merdeka is about discussion and spreading awareness on the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LBGT) community and not a free sex party, said Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir. Marina, who has launched the event the past two years, said she was upset with the unfair reporting by certain quarters, portraying the event as a "pesta seks bebas". "In the past two years, the event was held without a hitch. It only discussed human rights from the LBGT (lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender) community," said Marina. She added that the event was filled with talks and activities to spread awareness on the LBGT and also sexual orientation. She said this after police recorded statements from former Bar Council president Datuk S. Ambiga, Tenaganita executive director Irene Fernandez, Empower Malaysia executive director Maria Chin Abdullah, and Seksualiti Merdeka co-founder Pang Khee Teik. All of them had their statements taken at the Tenaganita office here Sunday. Ambiga said the LBGT community is a minority that faces discrimination daily and such irresponsible reporting could cause more harm than good. "The Mak Nyah (transexuals) are one of the minorities, who face a lot of discrimination and some of them even get beaten up for being themselves. "I am seriously concerned that labelling them negatively can lead to them being abused more frequently," she said adding that she would take legal action if such reporting continued. Pang said he would meet with Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar in the next three days to clarify the intentions of the event. "We are not a perhimpunan haram (illegal gathering) or a pesta seks bebas like certain quarters have suggested," he said. Seksualiti Merdeka, an event organised by a coalition of NGOs, artistes, activists and individuals, have described themselves as "Malaysia's only festival celebrating the human rights of people of diverse sexual orientation". The event has been held annually since 2008, and was supposed to host a series of activities to last until Nov 13 at the Annexe Gallery of Central Market here.

Elections 1990: Irregularities on the electoral rolls Posted: 06 Nov 2011 08:08 PM PST ALIRAN Pages From the Past looks back at the 1990 general election and finds that the problems of phantom voters and unreliable electoral rolls are not new phenomena. A condition for elections to be fair is that the electoral rolls containing the list of people eligible to vote must be clean. Numerous complaints concerning the electoral rolls used for the General Elections held on 20-21 October, however, put to question how clean the rolls were. Some complain that though they had registered during the voter registration exercise in March, their names could not be found on the official lists of electors used during polling. These omissions deprived countless eligible voters of their right to choose representatives for Parliament and State Assemblies. Slightly more mystifying was the problem of 'phantom voters'. For instance, an Indian lady from Ampang, Selangor received four voting cards (informing voters where they should go to vote) that were sent to her house bearing messages to vote Barisan; the curious thing was that the cards were addressed to Malay names though no one with such names had lived in the house for the 21 years she had been there. There are many other reports of people registered as electors with a certain address though these persons do not actually live there. These 'phantom' include a list of 17 names registered as living at the address of a factory in Penang. The existence of phantom voters on the rolls was one of the grounds for which Haji Sulaiman bin Kamaruddin sought an order from the High Court to instruct the Election Commission to rectify the rolls for the parliamentary constituency of Sepang and the Selangor State Assembly seats of Dengkil, Sg. Pelek and Batu Laut. The judge threw out the application, ruling that the matter had to be first brought to the attention of the Election Commission and Haji Sulaiman had not done so. However, in his judgment Mr. Justice Datuk Wira Wan Yahya Pawan Teh said "the facts in the case (are) startling". READ MORE HERE

Hands off Islamic rituals, Muslim NGOs tell faith council Posted: 06 Nov 2011 08:07 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Three Muslim groups cautioned the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) against interfering in Islamic matters after the national faith council questioned the slaughter of cows in school grounds for Aidil Adha. Last Friday, the non-Muslim faith council called on the authorities to end the ritualistic sacrifice of cows in school grounds and institutes of higher learning, saying such public spaces were unsuitable for a ceremony that was observed by only one community. "MCCBCHST should appreciate Muslims' tolerance and not interfere in the affairs of other religions," Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) and Persatuan Ulama Malaysia (PUM) said in a joint-statement today. "MCCBCHST should also co-operate as Muslims co-operate with followers of other religions, such as when Hindus celebrate Thaipusam, the Chinese celebrate the lantern festival, the Taoists celebrate the hungry ghost festival," they added. The trio advised the non-Muslim faith council to follow the examples of their peers in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia and not to raise "trivial matters that shamed society here". But the MCCBCHST said the activity ignored the sensitivity of Malaysia's multiracial and multicultural student population, and warned it could "escalate into something undesirable in the future". Aidil Adha, also called Hari Raya Korban locally, is among the biggest religious events celebrated by Muslims worldwide. It marks the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as an act of obedience to Allah. Frequently, livestock such as goats and cows are sacrificed during the festival to commemorate the animals Allah provided for Ibrahim to give up in place of Ismail. But Hindus regard the cow as a sacred animal. READ MORE HERE

Marina Mahathir livid over ‘free sex’ slur on Seksualiti Merdeka Posted: 06 Nov 2011 07:34 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - An emotional Datuk Paduka Marina Mahathir lashed out today at media reports describing "Seksualiti Merdeka" as a "free sex festival", and threatened to sue if the matter was not clarified. She told a media conference that "no words could describe" her anger at hearing the event being described as such on television station TV3 last night, and warned a reporter from the station of consequences if her statement today is misreported. "I have been looking at your face and we know who you are," the eldest daughter of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said during the press conference on the front porch of Tenaganita's headquarters here, visibly shaking with anger. Marina had turned up at the NGO's single-storey office on Jalan Gasing this evening to lend support to four fellow human rights activists who were being questioned by police over their involvement in the recently-banned sexuality rights festival. The four are Seksualiti Merdeka founder Pang Khee Teik, Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan, Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez, and Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah. "I am here only as a supporter because two years ago, I officiated Seksualiti Merdeka without any incident," she said. Marina explained the event was not to promote free sex, but to help the marginalised lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community understand their legal rights. "It is an event to explain and educate them of their rights within the laws, and not outside. "So I am very angry, very angry, there are no words to describe, at certain parties calling this a free sex festival. You have nothing better to do? Nowhere here is free sex allowed... are you crazy to imagine this?" she charged. READ MORE HERE

Small things for small minds Posted: 06 Nov 2011 06:25 PM PST So, do you think these people are really that godly or pious? They think only of themselves. They don't care about others. And these people are the people who condemn gays because they imagine themselves as saints. Yet they don't care whether their car is obstructing other cars when they go to the church or mosque. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin A number of Christians and Muslims are angry with me. They are angry for various reasons and one of the reasons is the 'Seksualiti Merdeka' issue. I suppose my article 'Way to go!' riled them up a bit. These religionists want to know whether I support homosexuality. Why must it always be about 'if you are not with me then you are against me'? That is the way of President Bush. Either you are with the US or you are against the US. And if you are not with the US then they have every right to attack your country and cause millions to suffer. This 'either you are with me or you are against me' is the root cause of this world's ills. Either you support Ketuanan Melayu or else you are an enemy of the Malays. Either you support Hudud or else you are an enemy of Islam. Either you support the protest against 'Seksualiti Merdeka' or else you are a gay lover (or maybe even gay yourself). So, what else? Either I support a female prime minister of Malaysia or else I am a male chauvinist? Either I support a Jewish prime minister of Malaysia or else I am anti-Semitic? Either I support the building of more churches or else I am anti-Christian? Either I support the building of more temples or else I am anti-Hindu? Either I support Bahasa Malaysia or else I am anti-Malay? Either I support polygamy or else I am insulting Prophet Muhammad? Either I support the keeping of slaves or else I am anti-Quran? Either I support sex with female slaves or else I am anti-Hadith? What happened to live and let live? And why must everyone live according to your value system? The trouble with both Christians and Muslims is: 1) they always think they are right and everyone else is wrong; 2) they always think they are pious and take on a righteous attitude; 3) they refuse to live and let live and everyone must live according to their standards; 4) they do not tolerate differences of opinion and regard those who disagree with them as the enemies of Christianity/Islam. How can both be right? Christians say they are going to heaven and the rest are going to hell. Muslims also say they are going to heaven and the rest are going to hell? How can both black and white be the same colour? One definitely must be right and the other wrong. And what makes you so sure that you are right and all the rest are wrong? What if I believe otherwise? And why can't I believe otherwise? You Christians are so sure that you are right and everyone else (especially gays) is a sinner bound for hell. Yeah, sure, it says so in the Bible. But which Bible? What makes you think I believe in your Bible? To start off with, what makes you think I even consider you a follower of Christ? What if I consider you a deviant? What if I consider the Nestorian (Persian) or Coptic (Egyptian) as the true Christian? What if I consider you Paulists who are practicing Paulism, which later changed its name to Christianity? Just because the Catholics are the majority does not mean I must regard them as true Christians. It is up to me which sect I want to consider true Christians. That is my right. That is not for you to tell me. If the Catholics had not killed so many non-Catholics over almost 1,000 years then probably the Nestorian or Coptic would be the majority today. If people had not been forced to become Catholics at the point of a sword, would there be so many Catholics around today? So might does not make it right. Yeah, sure, I know, you don't agree with me. You dispute what I say. But then that is your right. I also do not agree with you, which is also my right. So you believe what you want to believe and I will believe what I want to believe. And I believe that we should live and let live. You live your life and let others live their lives as long as they do not infringe into your space or violate your rights. It is the same with the Muslims, the twin brothers of the Catholics. They too have certain beliefs and they demand that everyone else comply with their beliefs. What if I don't believe what you believe? What if I believe that you are following the Abbasid version of Islam, which is a deviation from the Umayyad version of Islam? You might disagree but then that is your prerogative. You believe what you want and let me believe what I want. In Malaysia, Shias are considered deviants and will suffer arrest. In Iran, Malaysian Muslims are considered deviants. So who is right? Who is the real deviant? Of course, Malaysian Muslims will say that they are right and all the rest are wrong. How do you know? Where is the proof? So you see, whether it is Christians or Muslims, they all live in this illusion that they are right and all the rest are wrong. But they really don't know. They have no evidence. They only have the word of the priest, imam or ustaz that this is so. And based on what they believe is right and wrong, they will moralise and pass judgement on others. So, the religionists are up in arms against what they perceive as the immoral lifestyle of gays. And if we were to tell them to leave the gays alone and allow them whatever lifestyle they want to lead without any hassle from self-righteous moralists, they accuse us of being bad Christians/Muslims. Gays are immoral or wrong only because you think you are so moral and right. Morality and right, after all, is relative. Yes, I am a moral relativist. So what? So sue me. Some say it was immoral for Prophet Muhammad to marry an underage girl. And certainly Muslims will foam at the mouth if people start labelling Prophet Muhammad as a paedophile (yes, I have read some anti-Islam websites that say this). But then, more than 1,000 years ago, marrying off a five-year old boy to a three-year old girl was politically correct, even in Europe, as long as the marriage is not consummated until the children reach the age of puberty. It was widely practised as a means to seal political alliances between powerful families and to end feuds (with marriage ties). In fact, they even married off 13-year old girls to 50-year old men. That was quite normal. Sure, we need to fight against crime, sin, immorality, etc. But how many of you have NOT sinned (paid a bribe, accepted a bribe, cheated on your income tax, stolen a paper clip from the office, falsely declared on a form, lied to a friend, lied to your boss, etc.)? You speak as if you are so saintly. My car once got stuck in the Assunta Hospital car park because inconsiderate church-goers had parked indiscriminately. My car also always used to get stuck in the Bangsar mosque car park because inconsiderate mosque-goers park indiscriminately, as they always do. So, do you think these people are really that godly or pious? They think only of themselves. They don't care about others. And these people are the people who condemn gays because they imagine themselves as saints. Yet they don't care whether their car is obstructing other cars when they go to the church or mosque. Podah!

PPSMI: Malaysia in the lost world? Posted: 06 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST For that reason, Muhyiddin's decision to stop PPSMI is unwise. His watered-down decision to phase out PPSMI completely by 2016 for primary schools and 2021 for secondary schools for the small number of remaining schools still sticking to PPSMI is even more inexplicable.   Kim Quek Following the announcement by education minister Muhyiddin Yassin to stop the teaching of science and mathematics in English from 2012, Malaysia is once again embroiled in a messy controversy, this time cutting across political and racial divisions. It is messy because the ideas are aplenty and issues are floating around without proper focus. Sadly, both the proponent and opponent of PPSMI (the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English) are wrong in their vocal rationale. The proponent is wrong in saying that PPSMI will bring proficiency in the English language, as the key to achieve such proficiency is through proper teaching of the language itself, and not through learning another subject using English.  The opponent is also wrong in saying that PPSMI will weaken the national language or injure our national pride.  While the former reason is more imaginary than real as can be vouched by experienced educationists, the latter reason is more a reflection inferiority complex, rather than legitimate nationalism. Continue or abandon PPSMI? So how do we move from here?  Abandon or continue PPSMI? To answer this question, It will be helpful if we go back a few years and trace how the idea first started. When former premier Mahathir Mohamad first conceived the PPSMI in 2002, it was in recognition of the fact that our English language level was in shamble and that we badly needed improvement in order not to be thrown further behind by the rest of the world. Mahathir's intention – to upgrade English – was correct, but the path chosen was wrong. There was no dispute that English was very important or that it needed to be upgraded urgently. But to start teaching the subjects in English the very next year (2003) without first ensuring the availability of English-proficient teachers is wrong.  The result is a drop in the standard of science and mathematics without effective improvement in English proficiency. That Mahathir's program has been a failure is attested by Muhyiddin who said that only a small minority of schools are still adopting PPSMI while the rest have abandoned it due to lack of competent teachers. In fact, Mahathir should have zeroed in on the teaching of the language itself as the first phase of operation, and temporarily forget about PPSMI.  We should start with our teachers. Due to the large number of teachers required to be upgraded (hundreds of thousand) in their English proficiency, we should adopt the strategy of first training a large core brigade of English teachers, who will in turn train other teachers who need to be upgraded.  To train this core brigade, we need to import foreign teachers in addition to recruitment of local English teachers who may include those already in retirement. Only when we have trained sufficient English-proficient teachers in the schools, can we contemplate the introduction of PPSMI.  For that reason, the program may have to be introduced gradually, at a pace commensurate with availability of qualified teachers. Merits of PPSMI Though PPSMI is not the best gateway to good English, it is nevertheless a worthy endeavour that will bring the twin benefits of improvement in English as well as ready connectivity to the world of science and technology. Opponents of PPSMI often cite the examples of Russia and China as proof that one can stick to one's national language and yet achieve outstanding progress in science and technology.  But these critics forget that countries like Russia and China are huge countries with immense pools of talents and scholarship in the sciences and technology, while relatively diminutive Malaysia, lacking indigenous technology, has to constantly import foreign sources of knowledge which are acquired mostly in the English language.   As a matter of fact, English text books are already widely used in our institutions of higher learning, so why not start its use at an earlier age, such as at secondary school level, or even earlier if requisite conditions are fulfilled? It will surely be an advantage for our children to do so. For that reason, Muhyiddin's decision to stop PPSMI is unwise.  His watered-down decision to phase out PPSMI completely by 2016 for primary schools and 2021 for secondary schools for the small number of remaining schools still sticking to PPSMI is even more inexplicable.  The only acceptable reason for stopping PPSMI should only be one of technicality (the lack of competent teaching personnel) and not one of concept (the desirability of using English for the two subjects).  If certain schools have weathered 9 years (2003 to 2011) of rough riding with the new system of PPSMI, it means that these schools have already overcome the birth-pang of the new system, which should be a blessing to the students; does it make sense then to revert to the old system now?  Whose interests does the education minister has in mind – the students or his own political fortune? The way forward In fact our government should not only treasure what we have already achieved with the schools that have succeeded with PPSMI, we should expand such success with other schools, using the strategy I have outlined above – a serious program to urgently train a large pool of English teachers to teach other teachers.  Muhyddin said that while cutting off PPSMI, he is pursuing a serious program to upgrade English, for which he is trying to bring in 300 English teachers from the US to help out in those schools which need help.  But alas, he is making the same mistake as Mahathir – failing to see the realities.  We have thousands of schools and all of them are weak in English.  So, to which schools must we send these 300 teachers? Aren't they a drop in the ocean of Malaysian schools? How would that kind of deployment of US teachers be effective in raising our English level? Now that election is around the corner, and both political camps – BN and Pakatan Rakyat – are scrambling to snatch vital electoral support, I find that PPSMI has unfortunately fallen as a political pawn.  Politicians are issuing statements not with an eye to the interest of our students, but with political power as the target. Any give or take on the PPMSI issue is calculated on the basis of net electoral gain or loss. This is admittedly a difficult time for politicians, but it is also the time when true statesmanship can shine.  He who speaks genuinely for the welfare of our children's education and yet can convince the majority that it is the right way forward will be the winner – for himself, his party and the nation.

Taib’s son awarded millions in govt contracts Posted: 06 Nov 2011 03:43 PM PST Most of the contracts were awarded without an open tender being called, claims the DAP. (Free Malaysia Today) - KUCHING: For the past five years, Chief Minister Taib Mahmud's son Abu Bekir has been the main beneficiary of millions of ringgit worth of government contracts awarded by the state government. Confirming widely speculated rumours here, the state government recently disclosed in its written answer to a DAP assemblyman that most contracts were awarded without an open tender being called. The contracts were awarded to two companies – Titanium Project Management Sdn Bhd and Woodville Construction Sdn Bhd. Titanium is linked to Abu Bekir. The revelations, according to Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen, were "really shocking". "These details which are contained in the answers to my questions (submitted to the State Legislative Assembly) are really shocking," he said. Chong, who is also state DAP secretary, had put in his questions during the assembly's June sitting. He had written to ask the State Infrastructure Development and Communications Minister for a list of all contractors awarded by the state and federal governments for the construction and completion of bridges in Sarawak in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. He had also asked for the respective contract sums and actual sums of each bridge. Contracts to Titanium Chong also wanted to know whether the awards of these contracts were carried out pursuant to an open tender process and, if so, what were the criteria and consideration for appointment of these contractors as the main contractors for these bridges. "Basically, there are two companies given the state projects to build bridges in Sarawak without open tender. "One was Woodville Construction which is owned by Shin Yang group of companies and the other was Titanium Project Management which is owned by Abu Bekir, son of the chief minister," he said. Woodville Construction was given two projects worth RM217,500,000 while Titanium Project Management was awarded one contract. In 2008, the Titanium Project Management was awarded a contract to design, construct and complete bridges and culverts to replace temporary and semi-permanent council bridges and some Public Work Department bridges in Sarawak. "Under this contract, a few hundred bridges were given to Titanium Project Management to construct, and the value of the contract is RM1,178,410,000," he said, pointing out that this was "almost a monopoly" in the construction of bridges. "What is shocking is that the state projects were awarded to Abu Bekir and Shin Yang companies not through open tenders unlike the federal projects. "This is totally against the principle of fairness and transparency in awarding government contracts. "If you remember in 2001, the government contract was given to Titanium Management to construct 384 bridges at the cost of RM500 million. "In 2006, the company constructed only 332 bridges or about 80 percent of the bridges, but the government has to pay the company RM948 million," he said. READ MORE HERE

Hit With Big Withdrawals, Fed Sells Assets, Borrows Cash Posted: 06 Nov 2011 03:33 PM PST THE WALL STREET EXAMINER The Fed was hit with withdrawals of $83.3 billion last Wednesday, the largest withdrawals from its deposit accounts that were not associated with quarterly tax payments since February of 2009. $7 billion of that was the net cash transferred to the US Treasury from its note and bond sales less outlays. The Fed still had to meet the other $76 billion. These transactions were revealed in the Fed's weekly H.4.1 report. The Fed was apparently forced to take extraordinary measures to fund these withdrawals. These included the outright sale of nearly $24 billion in its Treasury note and bond holdings from the System Open Market Account. As a result, the Fed's System Open Market Account (SOMA) fell to $2.611 trillion, some $43 billion below the Fed's stated target of $2.654 trillion. Prior to this week, it had not strayed from by more than $7 billion since June. The Fed's action was not only a direct contradiction of its stated policy, but it was done without warning or explanation. It ran counter to Bernanke's penchant for telegraphing every important move the Fed makes so that the banking/speculating organizations can front-run it. The Fed took another unusual and virtually unprecedented action to fund these massive withdrawals. It borrowed $43 billion  from foreign central banks (FCBs) through Reverse Repurchase Agreements (revese repos, or RRPs). READ MORE HERE

No election until reforms are put in place Posted: 06 Nov 2011 03:14 PM PST PRESS STATEMENT: Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) It is no secret that a large number of Malaysian voters wish to see a regime change at Putrajaya and at state levels. This, we seek to do by due process, and constitutionally, through free and fair elections. This is plainly known by the Prime Minister, his government, his party and coalition members. Yet, our electoral process is fraught with irregularities that have long rendered our general elections mere shams that do not reflect or give effect to the will of the people. On 9th July, 2011, despite efforts on the part of the government and the police to hinder the right to legitimately assemble and protest, thousands of Malaysians descended on to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to make known their grievances with regard to the serious irregularities in our electoral system, and to present their demands to reform the same. Whilst the government and the Election Commission had initially continued to insist that those irregularities were more imagined than real, they had finally relented and, early last month, caused to be established a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the various complaints in relation to our electoral system. Both before and after the setting up of this Select Committee, we have been feted to revelation upon revelation of improprieties that would certainly render any hope of free and fair elections being held, futile. These include : 1.       an admission by the Election Commission, of the inclusion in the electoral roll of 42, 051 names whose records are unverifiable, thus clearly rendering the sanctity of the roll seriously and undisputably unreliable 2.       acknowledgement of and agreement by the Election Commission to remove the names of 220 non-ctiizens whose names appeared in the supplementary electoral roll draft for the Paya Jaras state constituency for the second quarter of 2011 3.       a disclosure through Wikileaks that 600,000 foreigners were given citizenship and placed on the electoral as voters in Sabah in the 90's, during the tenure of then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, and with his full complicity 4.       another exposure through Wikileaks that former Election Commission chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman had admitted to his having knowledge of the issuance of more than 60,000 fake Malaysian identity cards to foreign workers in Sabah in the 1990s on Umno's orders 5.       a report that there exist on the electoral roll cloned voters, numbering approximately 10,000 6.       the disenfranchisement of approximately 700,000 eligible voters currently overseas, by failing to recognise their status as absent voters and, as provided for under the constitution, afford to them the right and the requisite facilities to vote by post 7.       the changes to voter registration rules, thus hampering ongoing efforts to register the more than 4 million as yet unregistered Malaysians who have reached voting age. It is against this setting that we have now received credible information that the Prime Minister is intent on seeking the dissolution of Parliament on 11th November, and to fix polling day for the 13th general elections on 10th December, 2011. If true, we see this as a move, once again, by UMNO and the Barisan Nasional to hold on to power, both at federal and state levels, through fraudulent means and to thereby deny the legitimate pursuit by a majority of Malaysians for regime changes. The people are no longer prepared to countenance this blatant and shameless attempt to retain power through foul means. We reiterate here that we are desirous of securing a regime change in Putrajaya through free and fair elections. Any elections called before the Parliamentary Select Committee has completed its work and, before the reforms demanded are given effect to, will be anything but free and fair. We are determined to and will take all steps necessary to not allow any general elections called before the requisite reforms are put in place, to proceed.   Haris Ibrahim President Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement

'Largest mobilisation of rakyat' if polls held before reforms Posted: 06 Nov 2011 03:12 PM PST PRESS STATEMENT: Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) Recently, we have witness the rising power of the people bowed in several countries beyond a dictatorship govern. The sparks influence our country directly or indirectly, and the responded to the rising power of the people greatly feared by the government who play democracy inversely to remain in power. Despite enduring a government through fraud, including fraud in the elections that saw them with the specific purpose has rejected the reliable, clean and fair election system, but chose to pursue dubious electoral system and easily manipulated by the government agency itself. The Government is also pretend that they have alleged to have tremendous support, but the truth, mostly the people have rejected the ruling regime on factors of oppression and abuse the public trust.In the end as a result, this government collapsed fell even they've won a great victory in the elections of their creation. That's what happened in many countries ruled by regimes that deny democracy and ride all the agencies should act neutral, hence willing to sell country's sovereignty in order to remain in power In Malaysia, on July 9th 2011, thousands of people have chosen the street to persuade the country's election process improvements, which proved to be contaminated multiple disabilities who often denied the government. Shortcomings of the electoral process has been acknowledged by Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the Select Committee On The Election Process Improvement, contrary to the declaration the need for the improvement of the electoral process. In the meantime, further public statements issued by the leadership of the National Front and the Prime Minister himself, who suggested that the General Elections to-13 will be held soon and not have to wait for the promised electoral reform process to be complete. Even more annoy and conflict with the guarantee to improve the election process, there was the variety of negative developments, such as granting citizenship to foreigners as 'special' for the purpose of voting. This madness seems to sell the country to retain power. Also feared to occur, improvement of claim in the context of reforming the electoral system of postal voting system in a protest before this is not only ignored but exacerbated by the proposed public employees other than police and military, as a member of RELA and nurses for example are forced to use postal votes. This is how they purposely put more damage on electoral system to allow the regime to stay in power. The latest information from internal sources that can be believed to have revealed that the Prime Minister to dissolve the parliament in November to allow general elections occur in the near future. Taking advantage of the monsoon season and the hajj, reinforces that November was chosen as the most appropriate time, thus providing an additional advantage for the regime. Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) along with friends of other mass organizations today representing the totality of the people to warn the Prime Minister of Malaysia that the election can be called only after the process of improving the election process done. Process improvements should also be a process of 'reform' which provides answers to the serious weaknesses that are often used by certain parties and not just mere cosmetic change. Be assured the people had begun to lose patience. The country is facing a crisis of belief in the democratic process of elections is now the worst. If the election is still valid before a convincing electoral process improvements, we promise to move the largest mobilization of the people. If elections are called in the near future (at least) before the special committee executed, then a most dirty election in history is guaranteed. If this still occur, the inevitable perception of this election is only the 'false' to justify the regime stay in power. But this does not rule out the possibility of the people down not only to protest but the willing to change the regime that has long failed to secure the rights of the people to get the democratic process of elections clean and fair would be beyond the limit. We can not rule out the possibility of the people will rise to ensure that the regime collapse to the fair and clean elections can take place and this country can be saved. We on behalf of Malaysians who are concerned to give an ultimatum to the Prime Minister of Malaysia compulsory elections only after the process of improvement of the electoral process seriously and assure complete sets or face the power of the people.

China to inject over 1 trln yuan into money market Posted: 06 Nov 2011 02:09 PM PST (Reuters) - China is likely to inject more than 1 trillion yuan ($158 billion) into the money market in the next two months via annual subsidies from the Ministry of Finance, the official China Securities Journal on Monday quoted a research report as saying. The injection will help improve liquidity, which has been impacted by the government's tight monetary policy in place since October last year, the newspaper quoted the report by China International Capital Corp (CICC) as saying. The Finance Ministry typically offers subsidies to various industries and sectors in the last two months of each year as part of distribution of the government's annual tax income. The ministry does not publicise these subsidies but the market estimated they totalled 1 trillion-2 trillion yuan in 2010. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has not raised interest rates or bank reserve requirement ratios (RRR) since July in a sign that the government may be considering loosening its tight monetary stance amid the market turmoil sparked by the euro zone debt crisis. The central bank previously instituted a slew of rate and RRR hikes as inflation repeatedly hit three-year highs. Those steps offset the impact of liquidity injections via Finance Ministry subsidies late last year, but the market widely expects the PBOC will leave the subsidies to improve market liquidity this year, traders have said. ($1=6.34 Yuan)

Malaysia remains rich but also intolerant, says new study Posted: 06 Nov 2011 02:03 PM PST By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 — Malaysia maintained its rank as the 43rd most prosperous nation, trailing behind Singapore at 16th but the latest index of overall wealth also ranked the country among the worst countries for personal freedom and democracy, while it also scored poorly for security and the educational levels of workers. It was also found that Malaysians did not trust each other and generally did not welcome outsiders. Overall, Malaysia was a more prosperous nation than its other Asean neighbours such as Thailand which came in at 45 out of 110 countries. The London-based think-tank Legatum's Prosperity Index assesses 110 countries based on performance in eight areas such as economy, personal freedom, health and social capital. This year, Norway tops the list of 110 countries while Central African Republic came in last. Norway also topped the previous year's list. Malaysia's economy is ranked at 17th, the strongest sub-sector, and the report said Malaysia's economy performed well and there is a "high level of public confidence" in the financial sector. Despite Malaysia's positive ranking in the economy sub-sector, the country scored 35th in the governance sub-sector. The report said that objective and subjective indicators give a mixed account of Malaysia's governance. "Malaysia places 72nd, globally, for the strength of its democracy. The bureaucracy is the 28th most efficient in the world; however, following a period of significant political unrest in 2008 the political system underwent substantial change," the report said. On entrepreneurship and opportunity, Malaysia ranked at 36th. The report said Malaysia's ICT infrastructure encourages commercial activity. "Although only 1 per cent of GDP is spent on R&D, Malaysia maintains a very high level of ICT exports, placing it third on this variable both globally and regionally," the report said. On the education and health indicator, Malaysia ranked 46th. The report said the limited enrolment at high education levels means Malaysian workers are relatively poorly educated. The report also said that perhaps the low health expenditure per capita contributed to only "moderately good" indicators of public health, the report said. However, Malaysia was let down by personal freedom — its worst-performing indicator — ranking only 96th in the sub-index. The report said although Malaysians enjoy a fairly high level of civic choice, they do not welcome "outsiders". "In a 2010 survey, 77 per cent of respondents expressed satisfaction with their level of individual freedom, placing Malaysia in the top 50 countries of the index on this variable. However, this level of freedom does not create a tolerant society," it said. Malaysia is considered under the "weak" category in this sub-sector, along with Thailand, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Pakistan. The safety and security as well as social capital categories also dragged down Malaysia's overall ranking, with the country placing 53rd and 75th respectively. The report said despite overall stability, Malaysia experiences some political pressures, and citizens feel unsafe. "The average levels of internal displacement and communal conflict place Malaysia 53rd for demographic instability, which may result from border disputes, ownership or occupancy of land, access to transportation outlets, control of religious or historical sites, or proximity to environmental hazards," it said. The report also said Malaysians feel "unable to trust or rely on others", indicating a lack of social cohesion.     READ MORE HERE.

GE13: Bersih backs MCLM’s stand Posted: 06 Nov 2011 01:46 PM PST By Stephanie Sta Maria, FMT PETALING JAYA: Bersih 2.0 chairperson, S Ambiga, has thrown her support behind the Malaysia Civil Liberties Movement's (MCLM) stand to prevent the next general elections from proceeding before the necessary reforms are put in place. On Saturday MCLM president, Haris Ibrahim, said that MCLM had received "credible information" that Parliament will be dissolved on November 11 and that polling day would be fixed for December 10. He pointed out that any elections called before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) had completed its work will not be free and fair. Haris said MCLM will take all steps necessary to stop the general elections from proceeding before reforms are put in place. "Bersih 2.0 completely understands why MCLM has taken this stand," Ambiga told FMT. "They had done so based on information that the prime minister (Najib Tun Razak) will be calling for elections before implementing electoral reforms." 'PSC an eyewash' Last week the Election Commission (EC) told an online news portal that it would be conducting a briefing exercise for its electoral officers and is expected to complete it by the end of this month. Previously the nation went to the polls five months after the training was completed but the EC has remained mum over whether it is at the tail-end of preparations for the next general elections. Ambiga heavily stressed the importance of electoral reform and that Malaysia cannot go to the polls with the electoral roll in its current state. "There is certainly a feeling that there was no genuine intention to reform and that the PSC was just an eyewash. "The rakyat will definitely feel misled." "We accepted the setting up of the PSC in good faith and it will be a letdown for the rakyat if the elections proceed without any electoral reform," she said grimly. Ambiga confirmed that she, as well as other Bersih 2.0 Steering Committee members, will be turning up at Parliament on November 11 when the PSC holds its first public hearing there. 'Rakyat will rise' Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) meanwhile has warned of the "largest mobilisation of rakyat" if polls are held before any reforms are in place. In a press statement SAMM reminded the government of the rising power of the people as clearly seen in Middle East earlier this year.     READ MORE HERE.

Boycotting polls not the answer, says Fuziah Salleh Posted: 06 Nov 2011 01:40 PM PST By Queville To, FMT PENAMPANG: Boycotting the general election as a means of expressing their dissatisfaction against the Barisan Nasional government is not the answer, said Kuantan parliamentarian Fuziah Salleh. "A boycott is out of the question…We believe in the power of the people, the voice of the rakyat. "So we would like to say to the government of day to think about the rakyat and do not underestimate or belittle the rakyat as they know better. "They want to see a fair election," said Fuziah, who was here recently. She did not rule out the possibility of Bersih 3.0 (rally) taking place, if  the government and the Election Commission (EC) failed to meet the peoples' demand for genuine electoral reform, before the 13th General Election. She was responding to speculations that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would likely dissolve parliament on Nov 11 and call for the 13th general election in December before electoral reforms are implemented. She said among the far-reaching reforms that were proposed was the  the use of indelible ink to prevent the casting of votes by phantom voters. "By the time (if EC fails to carry out electoral reform) things will no longer be in our hands but in the peoples' hands. "The rakyat have shown what they are capable of (Bersih 1.0 and 2.0) so we don't know what will happen. "They want to see a fair election. It is not just Pakatan (Rakyat) but the people asking for it," said Fuziah who is also a PKR vice-president recently. Rakyat Reform Agenda PKR is not the first group to warn of further demonstrations to press for electoral reform in the country. Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) president, Haris Ibrahim, during a road show to introduce the group's "Rakyat Reform Agenda" (RARA) here in late September also warned of an imminent Bersih 3.0 if the government falters on the issue.     READ MORE HERE.

Tenaga faces cash shortage Posted: 06 Nov 2011 11:38 AM PST (The Star) - The situation confronting the power sector is becoming more convoluted by the day. Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) is crying foul over its cash running out as it struggles to pay for the high cost of alternative fuels. This follows another gas supply shortage occurring this time on a larger scale. There were suggestions of cost-sharing, based on the previous experience in 2002, on a ratio of 40:30:30, to be borne by the gas supplier Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), TNB itself and the independent power producers (IPPs). But that seems to have fallen on deaf ears. While TNB says it is no longer able to pay, the IPPs are saying there is obligation to pay. Meanwhile, Petronas says that up to August this year, it has already paid RM143.4bil in price differential, out of which RM103.2bil was for gas supplied to the power sector. Back in 2002, the country also experienced a gas supply shortage albeit on a smaller scale. The IPPs were forced to pay back based on the ratio of payment. "In those days, the perception was that IPPs made a lot of money at the expense of TNB,'' an analyst said, adding that the current situation was looking worse than before. "Now, the first generation IPPs are about to expire in 2015, so there is no need to squeeze them further.'' TNB is said to be paying RM400mil per month on the price differential between using distillates and gas as fuel. Research houses like Maybank Investment Bank (IB) Research are projecting that TNB's cash will run out in three to four quarters. "The IPPs are just offtakers of gas from TNB,'' said an analyst with a bank-backed brokerage. "The negotiations on gas prices are between TNB, Petronas and the Energy Commission. The shortage is so acute, with supply of less than 1,000 million std cu ft per day (mmscfd), this time. Due to the usage of distillates and oil, there is faster wear and tear. So the IPPs are also unhappy.'' The analyst suggested that TNB and Petronas each foot half of the bill as it was within its (TNB) right to ask Petronas to bear the cost. "The Economic Planning Unit had given the undertaking that TNB gets a certain amount of gas (1,250 mmscfd) from 2009 to 2011, and the power structure was based on that understanding. "By right, the Government has to pay the difference and TNB should be able to claim from Petronas,'' said the analyst. A source told StarBiz that the matter related to payment by the IPPs did not arise anymore, especially since TNB and the IPPs came together to issue a joint letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last week. Moreover, TNB did not seem to be pursuing the matter with the IPPs anymore, the source said. "The Government can raise tariffs, provide a subsidy to TNB and ask Petronas to pay for the gas shortfall. However, for TNB to make a cash call or do a rights issue to service working capital is a sure sign that things are not looking good. "As a monopoly company, they should not be making a cash call for working capital. The Government should take over the extra cost,'' said the analyst from Maybank IB Research.

The battle for Malaysia starts with Selangor Posted: 06 Nov 2011 11:25 AM PST By Shannon Teoh, Clara Chooi and Sheridan Mahavera, TMI KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 — An inscription on a monument in Malacca describes how important the port city was to Europe in the 16th century: "Whoever holds Malacca, holds the throat of Venice". Four hundred years later, the same could be said of Selangor and its relation to Putrajaya. In May, Barisan Nasional supremo Datuk Seri Najib Razak told a gathering in the Selangor capital, Shah Alam, that the coalition must win the state back "with any weapon". Besides being the country's richest state, a quarter of Selangor's population are migrants as far as Perlis, Sabah and Kelantan. The money and the ideas that gestate in the Klang Valley are taken back to the most remote corners of Malaysia where they can be translated into votes. It is why Pakatan Rakyat (PR) activists are passing out packets of propaganda to youths and families travelling back to their kampungs so that the pact's message gets spread far and wide. "One of the ways we get old folks in the kampung to support us is to get our supporters, who work in the Klang Valley, to persuade their parents and relatives when they balik kampung," said Rosli Md Nor, a PAS activist in northern Johor when talking about strategy in rural areas. Political odds-makers like to claim that the PR can still retain Selangor. Their arguments are based on the assumption that the more urbanised a state, the more its residents have access to new ideas, hence the more pliable they are to PR propaganda. But this claim underestimates the complexity of the state's social landscape. As the movement of people, the competition for opportunities and the legacy of racialism interact in unexpected ways to influence how a Selangor resident votes. So while the profile of a Selangor voter can still be broken down by race, class and geography, the state's unique landscape makes it hard to stereotype them. Migration The industries and businesses in the Klang Valley pull between 20 and 25 per cent of the populations in what is considered the state's countryside such as Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor and Hulu Langat to work and reside in central Selangor. Dr Badrulamin Baharon, of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), said these migrants, 60 per cent of whom are young adults, are still registered as voters in their kampungs. Living in cities exposes them to new ideas and experiences which shape their political attitudes or, in many cases, challenge the presumptions that they were taught in their villages. During weekends, these youths bring these new perspectives back to their villages and spread them to their parents and relatives. This makes every area in Selangor a mixed constituency as the divide shrinks between urban and rural in terms of political attitudes.  PKR deputy president Azmin Ali said that many urban poor in Batu Caves and Shah Alam, for instance, have been retrenched. This has consequences when they return to the rural areas to vote. "Those working-class Malays and Indians who come to the city have no other way out. They are affected most directly by inflation," said the Selangor PKR chief. Competition At the same time, being exposed to new ideas does not guarantee their acceptance as PAS and PKR has found out among urban, young Malays. The core PR concept introduced in the 2008 elections is its needs-based, colour-blind approach to policy, whether it's awarding contracts, civil service positions, scholarships or welfare handouts. This is in contrast to the BN, whose policies involve carving out allocating quotas based on race. Despite promoting its non-racial philosophy in Selangor, the PR still finds it hard to change mindsets rooted in the BN race-first paradigm, says Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad.   "Malays can see the corruption and the wastefulness in BN. But they are unsure that voting for PR is the right solution. They have been told for 50 years that only Umno can help the Malays," said Khalid. The insecurity runs across racial boundaries. DAP central working committee member Gobind Singh Deo said poor Indians also feel the same way. "The fact is they cannot communicate. Poor Indians cannot speak anything but Tamil and it's the same with other races so it still leads to racial insecurity," the Puchong MP said. Many band together in their ethnic groups as they come from mono-racial villages and are thrust into a landscape where they come face-to-face and must compete with other races for opportunities, said Gobind. He added that the lack of mutual understanding at close quarters led to conflicts that voters looked to both BN and PR to solve.     READ MORE HERE.

Pakatan Rakyat Sokong Protes Jika PRU Dipanggil Sebelum Syor Panel Khas Posted: 06 Nov 2011 05:30 AM PST KELAB GREENBOC Datuk Seri Najib Razak kini berhadapan dengan protes jalanan besar-besaran kedua jika pembaharuan pilihan raya gagal dilaksanakan sebelum memanggil pilihan raya umum ke-13, langkah yang dijangka boleh mengganggu usaha pentadbirannya mendapatkan majoriti dua pertiga di Parlimen. Semalam, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) dan Pergerakan Kebebasan Sivil Malaysia (MCLM) memberi perdana menteri kata dua bahawa pihaknya akan mengadakan protes mirip Bersih 2.0 jika membubarkan Parlimen sebelum pembaharuan pilihan raya dikuatkuasakan. Beberapa pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat (PR) hari ini melahirkan sokongan dengan pelan itu dan mahu Najib, yang juga Pengersusi Barisan Nasional (BN) menunaikan janjinya. Pemimpin-pemimpin PR yang dihubungi berkata perdana menteri harus membolehkan jawatankuasa pilihan khas, yang beliau telah bentuk, menyelesaikan fungsi mereka dalam tempoh enam bulan dan melaksanakan syor-syor yang dibuat sebelum pilihan raya umum ke-13. Naib Presiden PKR Nurul Izzah Anwar memberitahu The Malaysia Insider, partinya akan memberi sokongan kepada satu lagi protes jika perlu. "Saya percaya rakyat menunggu bukti janji-janji pembaharuan yang dibawa oleh perdana menteri," kata Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai ini dalam kenyataan menerusi SMS. Tegas Nurul Izzah, oleh kerana isu-isu pembaharuan pilihan raya berkaitan dengan perhimpunan Bersih 2.0, perlu ada gelombang ketiga. Najib dan imej pembaharuan beliau berhadapan dengan kritikan banyak pihak termasuk media antarabangsa ekoran tindakan keras pentadbirannya menangani perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 pada 9 Julai lalu. Dalam pada itu, Pengarah Jabatan Pilihan Raya PAS Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli juga berkata, partinya akan menyokong pendirian PR bagi memastikan pilihan raya umum ke-13 hanya akan dipanggil selepas pembaharuan pilihan raya dilaksanakan. "Pada pandangan parti-parti, sepatutnya tidak ada pilihan raya sehingga pembaharuan dilaksanakan. READ MORE HERE

‘Graduates not competitive due to poor English’ Posted: 06 Nov 2011 05:21 AM PST "This generation will have to face international standard and competition in terms of job market, as part of globalisation," said Tourres. She cited Pakistan as an example, where she gives lectures. "In Pakistan, although the people speak different dialects, next to the Urdu language, their English is better than our graduates," she pointed out. BERNAMA The quality of Malaysian undergraduates in having a good command of English still remains an issue says a Universiti Malaya academic. Marie Aimee Tourres, a senior research fellow at the Department of Development Studies, Universiti Malaya, said it was crucial for graduates to have a good command of English to ensure they would be able to compete effectively, in the global job market. Nevertheless, "in terms of education spending, Malaysia is comparable to some countries in the region based on the percentage spent over its gross domestic product (GDP) growth," she told Bernama in an interview, Kuala Lumpur. She said Malaysia was actually spending more vis-a-vis other countries. In Budget 2012, RM13.6 billion was allocated to the social sector, including education and training, health, welfare, housing and community development. Tourres said there was also a lot of focus given for training and re-training for graduates, which was important to continuously upgrade skilled and knowledge workers in the country. However, the quality of undergraduates remains an issue in Malaysia, since the students find it difficult to grasp the English language. "Language is definitely an issue," she said, citing a recent publication by the World Bank entitled , 'The Road to Academic Excellence', which was a study on what contributes to a world-class research university. The study compared University Malaya (UM) and National University of Singapore (NUS) in a chapter entitled 'The National University of Singapore and the University of Malaya: Common Roots and Different Paths'. In the report, it was stated that as NUS kept pace with the demands of a growing economy that sought to become competitive internationally, with English continuing as the language of instruction and research, UM began to focus inward as proficiency in English declined in favour of the national language. The publication, which is based on a study conducted by two scholars, Philip Altbach and Jamil Salmi, also stated that because UM taught courses predominantly in the national language, it had much more limited internationalisation of programme, academic staff and student body. Can grads compete internationally? "This generation will have to face international standard and competition in terms of job market, as part of globalisation," said Tourres. She cited Pakistan as an example, where she gives lectures. "In Pakistan, although the people speak different dialects, next to the Urdu language, their English is better than our graduates," she pointed out. It made them more marketable in the competitive global environment, she noted. "The immediate result of their English capacity is that you can find many Pakistanis who work for international organisations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund," noted  Tourres. She believed that even if Malaysia gave more focus in English, the national language and culture could still prosper, provided that teaching was made interesting. "More English in school will not deter Malay, Indian and Chinese culture per se. We should not mix the issue of a command of good language and the preservation of national heritage," she said. As for the distribution of the book voucher worth RM200 to all Malaysian students in public and private local institutions of higher learning, matriculation as well as Form 6 students nationwide, she believed that it should be monitored to ensure that it served the purpose. This assistance is expected to benefit 1.3 million students with an allocation of RM260 million. "That is a lot of money. Probably, it could have been done based on meritocracy to ensure that it is properly utilised," said  Tourres, pointing out that there were risks of students re-selling the voucher, especially when the new targeted generation lacked the reading habit and preferred to go online to search for their study materials.

WIKILEAKS: RELIGIOUS, RACIAL POLITICS MARK RUN-UP TO CRITICAL BY-ELECTION Posted: 05 Nov 2011 08:29 PM PDT A hostile crowd of about 500 protesters assembled in front of the building, including representatives from the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), Anwar Ibrahim's People Justice Party (PKR) (including a Member of Parliament), the United Malay National Organization (UMNO), and Muslim-based NGOs. A group of protesters led by Peninsular Malay Students Federations (GPMS) Vice-president Jais Abdul Karim and PKR MP Zulkifli Noordin stormed the building shortly after the forum began. Police at the scene made no attempt to stop the protesters, but actually escorted them inside, where the demonstrators disrupted the proceedings, using racial epithets and other derogatory language and forcing Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan to close the forum. Police did not make any arrests of the protestors, but have announced that they are investigating the forum's organizers. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Classified By: Classified By: Acting Political Section Chief William G. Gray for reasons 1.4 (b and d).  1.  (C) Summary.  The ruling National Front (BN) coalition is gearing up to oppose Anwar Ibrahim's return to parliament via an August 26 by-election.  BN tactics include intense rhetoric with religious and racial connotations.  A Malaysian Bar Council forum on conversion to Islam was shut down by a group of Muslim protesters spanning the political spectrum, a development that has provided the BN and government-controlled media with opportunities to rouse the emotions of their Muslim/Malay base.  In the meantime, the Government has again threatened to shut down a Catholic newspaper for "dabbling in politics."  Government and BN spokesmen continue to label Anwar an "American stooge" and accuse the USG of "meddling" in the internal affairs of Malaysia.  Post expects the rhetoric to continue to intensify with both sides viewing the by-election as part of the zero-sum power struggle between UMNO and Anwar.  End Summary. Protesters Block Forum 2.  (SBU) The Malaysian Bar Council attempted to hold a forum, entitled "Conversion to Islam," at their national headquarters on August 9.  Included in the forum was a panel discussion of two high profile conversion cases involving the difficulties faced by non-Muslims in conversion cases related to religiously mixed marriages.  A hostile crowd of about 500 protesters assembled in front of the building, including representatives from the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), Anwar Ibrahim's People Justice Party (PKR) (including a Member of Parliament), the United Malay National Organization (UMNO), and Muslim-based NGOs.  A group of protesters led by Peninsular Malay Students Federations (GPMS) Vice-president Jais Abdul Karim and PKR MP Zulkifli Noordin stormed the building shortly after the forum began.  Police at the scene made no attempt to stop the protesters, but actually escorted them inside, where the demonstrators disrupted the proceedings, using racial epithets and other derogatory language and forcing Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan to close the forum.  Police did not make any arrests of the protestors, but have announced that they are investigating the forum's organizers. 3.  (SBU) Criticism of the forum has crossed political lines and split both the opposition and ruling alliances.  On August 8, de facto Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, taking a position similar to that of Deputy Prime Minister Najib, said that such forums should be held behind closed doors and not openly.  However, PKR Deputy President Syed Husin Ali condemned the group that entered the Bar Council, including PKR MP Zulkifli.  Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said he hoped such forums would not be organized in the future, explaining, "issues concerning religion are very sensitive" and since matters on religion "are spelt out," there was no need for discussions.  Abdullah added that he would leave it up to the Home Ministry to decide whether action, including using the Internal Security Act (ISA) and Sedition Act, might be taken against the Bar Council. 4.  (SBU)  Syed Hamid, Home Minister, said he "hoped that the Bar council got the message that there are certain things that are out of bounds for public discussion, even if held in a private place."  DPM Najib dismissed the protesters' disruption, saying it was "expected" and blamed the disruption on the Bar Council for its "stubborn" insistence on holding the forum.  De facto Religious Affairs Minister Ahmad Zahid encouraged authorities to take action against the Bar Council for its "defiance" by proceeding with the forum. He claimed the forum had a "hidden agenda to disparage Islam."  While UMNO leaders have united in criticizing the Bar Council, the non-Malay parties of the BN, including Gerakan and MCA, have emphasized the need to address the problems the Bar Council was attempting to discuss. Catholic Herald Under Renewed Pressure 5.  (SBU) GOM has renewed its pressure on the Catholic weekly newsletter Herald for allegedly "dabbling" in politics (reftel).  The Home Affairs had issued a show-cause letter on July 16 accusing the paper of committing two offenses - not focusing on religion and religious activities, and carrying an article purportedly degrading Islam.  The division issued another warning on August 12 that Herald's permit will be suspended if it goes ahead with a planned editorial on the Permatang Pauh by-election in its forthcoming issue.  The Herald has a circulation of 12, 0000 and carries reports in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and Chinese.  Editor Father Lawrence Lim denied that the publication had breached permit conditions.  In his reply to the Home Affairs Ministry, Father Lim stated that the Ministry had not defined the concept of "religion" in the application form for a publishing permit and neither is there a definition in the Constitution.  Father Lim pointed out that the forthcoming editorial was only asking people to pray for a just and fair by-election. Anwar Portrayed as U.S. Puppet 6.  (SBU) The GOM is continuing its fierce rhetoric on Anwar Ibrahim, describing him as an American lackey.  Foreign Minister Rais Yatim fired the first salvo by stating that the USG should not meddle in Malaysia's internal affairs, arguing that even the UN secretary-general has not said anything about how Malaysia is handling its legal matters.  The press has quoted Rais as saying that he planned to write a letter to the UNSYG Ban complaining about U.S. "meddling.  Rais has maintained that the official U.S. stance as well as statements by former Vice President Gore and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter.  Echoing the foreign minister's view, UMNO Youth Internal Bureau Chairman and former PM Mahathir's son Mukhriz Mahathir described Anwar as a political puppet of the United States government.  He added that the statements by the USG and its former leaders are "a concerted conspiracy to install their lackey in Malaysia."  The UMNO-owned Malay newspapers have also prominently editorialized on allegedly close links between the U.S. and Anwar. The Next Steps 7.  (SBU) Anwar and BN continue to prepare to submit their by-election nominations on August 16 while his lawyers, confident they have a very strong case, prepare for the next stage of the legal process, which resumes on September 10. Anwar is expected to make appearances at a series of political rallies leading up to election day.  Although BN publicly talks about defeating Anwar, privately they concede his likely victory and seek to make the margin as small as possible.  Poloffs will monitor the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party Congress on August 15 in the Opposition controlled state of Perak as well as the by-election on August 26. Comment 8.  (C) The response to the Bar Council forum has illustrated the Government's willingness to utilize religious sensitivities and tensions for political gains.  The involvement of party members from PAS and PKR show the fragile nature of the Opposition's coalition and the potential for UMNO strategists to continue exploiting the coalition's lack of cohesiveness, especially along religious and racial lines.  The Malay language press on August 13 gave prominent and sympathetic coverage to a demonstration by thousands of students at the exclusively Malay Mara Technical University against a proposal by the new PKR-controlled Selangor state government to "integrate" the university by allotting 10 percent of the places for non-Malays.  As the by-election draws near, BN will likely increase the rhetoric, including implications that Malays' preferred status will disappear if Anwar and the opposition seize control of the government.  The message emerging in the Government-controlled media is that Anwar represents increased instability and a loss of sovereignty to the West, particularly the United States.  While fierce, religious and ethnic-tinged rhetoric is not unusual in Malaysian politics, the intensity of the current campaign likely reflects the views of the major players that the Opposition/BN power struggle is a zero-sum game.  Anwar believes he must become prime minister or go to jail over the politically-motivated sodomy charges and top UMNO leaders fear political defeat would mean loss of their positions of privilege and in some cases even result in exposure to possible criminal charges for graft and corruption. KEITH (August 2008)

Najib faces second rally threat Posted: 05 Nov 2011 05:08 PM PDT By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak is now facing the threat of a second major street protest if electoral reforms are not implemented before the polls, an outcome that could derail his plans to regain a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) and Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) threatened the prime minister yesterday with a protest ala Bersih 2.0's July 9 rally if polls are called before reforms are implemented. Several Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers expressed their support today for the proposal and vowed to hold Najib to his promises. They said the prime minister must allow the parliamentary select committee (PSC) he had formed to complete its six-month probe into the country's election process and implement its reform recommendations before calling the 13th general election. PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar told The Malaysia Insider today that PKR will lend its support to another such protest if there is a need for it. "I believe the rakyat are awaiting the proof of the pie from the pledges of reform made by the PM on September 14 this year. "Hence, at the bare minimum, the GE (general election) must be held post PSC for work on and implementation of much needed electoral reforms, some of which can immediately be implemented (such as the) use of indelible ink, automatic voter registration and longer campaigning period," she said via SMS. "Since these issues remain relevant to Bersih 2.0's struggle, then there's much necessity to have a third wave," Nurul Izzah added. Najib and his reformist image suffered in the wake of strong condemnation from the international media when his administration ordered a widespread clampdown on Bersih 2.0's July 9 protest. The election watchdog had rallied thousands to the streets of the capital in a march for free and fair elections, an event said to have strengthened the country's civil society movement significantly. Najib mooted the formation of the PSC shortly after the July 9 protest this year, Bersih 2.0's second, promising to look into Bersih 2.0's demands. The PSC will, however, be dissolved along with Parliament if polls are called before its six-month probe is completed. The move, along with the subsequent decision to repeal the Internal Security Act, relax security and press laws and promise increased civil liberties, was seen as the administration's attempt to recoup its losses after a backlash from July 9.     READ MORE HERE.

Why Umno Malays are NOT Muslims Posted: 05 Nov 2011 04:43 PM PDT This great annual convention of faith demonstrates the concept of equality of mankind, the most profound message of Islam, which allows no superiority on the basis of race, gender or social status. The only preference in the eyes of God is piety as stated in the Quran: "The best amongst you in the eyes of God is most righteous." NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Hajj: Equality before God Ahmad Al-Akhras, Harakah Daily    Every year, Muslims from all over the world take part in the largest gathering on Earth, the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Makkah. The Hajj is a religious obligation that every Muslim must fulfill, if financially and physically able, at least once in his or her lifetime. During these historic days, white, brown and black people, rich and poor, kings and peasants, men and women, old and young will all stand before God, all brothers and sisters, at the holiest of shrines in the center of the Muslim world, where all will call upon God to accept their good deeds. These days represent the zenith of every Muslim's lifetime. The Hajj resembles the re-enactment of the experiences of the Prophet Abraham, whose selfless sacrifice has no parallel in the history of humankind. The Hajj symbolizes the lessons taught by the final prophet, Muhammad, who stood on the plain of Arafat, proclaimed the completion of his mission and announced the proclamation of God: "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam, or submission to God, as your religion" (Quran 5:3). This great annual convention of faith demonstrates the concept of equality of mankind, the most profound message of Islam, which allows no superiority on the basis of race, gender or social status. The only preference in the eyes of God is piety as stated in the Quran: "The best amongst you in the eyes of God is most righteous." During the days of the Hajj, Muslims dress in the same simple way, observe the same regulations and say the same prayers at the same time in the same manner, for the same end. There is no royalty and aristocracy, but humility and devotion. These times confirm the commitment of Muslims, all Muslims, to God. It affirms their readiness to leave the material interest for his sake. The Hajj is a reminder of the Grand Assembly on the Day of Judgment when people will stand equal before God waiting for their final destiny, and as the Prophet Muhammad said, "God does not judge according to your bodies and appearances, but he scans your hearts and looks into your deeds." The Quran states these ideals really nicely (49:13): "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other)). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)." While Malcolm X was in Makkah performing his pilgrimage, he wrote to his assistants: "They asked me what about the Hajj had impressed me the most. . . . I said, `The brotherhood! The people of all races, colors, from all over the world coming together as one! It has proved to me the power of the One God.' . . . All ate as one, and slept as one. Everything about the pilgrimage atmosphere accented the oneness of man under one God." This is what the Hajj is all about. * The writer is a leading member of US Muslim civil rights group, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

MALAYSIA: A collapsing grand narrative Posted: 05 Nov 2011 04:14 PM PDT Have Malaysians failed to examine their lives, borrowing the Socratic maxim "the unexamined life is not worth living"? Are we summoning our greatest enemy - ignorance - to lead us to the path of developmentalism and putting knowledge in front of the firing squad circa Merdeka/Independence, borrowing again another Socratic maxim "the greatest enemy of knowledge is ignorance"? A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE Dr Azly Rahman What is ailing our society? Are we moving into the final stages of social, political, and moral annihilation, judging from the levels and forms of violence we are seeing emerging? We see no respect for the rule of law, an increasing gap between the rich and the poor, conspicuous consumption at the highest level of vulgarity, a continuing massacre of the voice of critical sensibility, a direction-less educational progress, production of public statements championing racial and religious bigotry, prostitutionalisation of the electoral process, drunkenness of politicians in attacking pluralists and multiculturalists, fear and trembling upon hearing the words "socialism" and "communism" - all these are indicators of the chaos Malaysians are experiencing in their attempt to understand where their leaders are taking them and why this nation is being torn apart. Has Malaysia made a wrong turn in conceptualising its economic, social, and political policies, merely transplanting a system left by the colonials? Have we nurtured a culture that ensures the continuation of a system of exploitation adorned with a façade of nationalism and patriotism derived from the much contested ideology of ketuanan Melayu that is fast losing its force of populism and gaining an image of neo-colonialist Sartrean nausea offering a "no-exit" route to a collapsing grand narrative of an Asian despotic form of deformed developmentalism? Why are we experiencing this phenomenon? Why are our elected officials becoming corrupted to the core - both in the way they use power and the way they display the image of being in power? What has crept cancerously into the cognitive faculties/thinking process of our leaders in these five decade of unilinear developmentalist agenda that necessitates such a brutal image of arrogance in the way the leaders react to the voices of discontent as in the Bersih rally and in investigations on corrupt practices? Have Malaysians failed to examine their lives, borrowing the Socratic maxim "the unexamined life is not worth living"? Are we summoning our greatest enemy - ignorance - to lead us to the path of developmentalism and putting knowledge in front of the firing squad circa Merdeka/Independence, borrowing again another Socratic maxim "the greatest enemy of knowledge is ignorance"? I suppose we have installed rulers who are not philosophers. We continue to install exploiters and abusers of power that use the ideological state apparatuses to allow a certain paradigm of human and material development to reign supreme. We have installed robber barons who speak with a two-pronged tongue of national development; skilled users of Orwellian doublespeak. What we have is now, after over 50 years of independence, are a broken education system; a population that does not read books that help in the improvement of the soul, mind, and spirit; a ruling regime that is holding its last dying breath by chanting the mantra of racial and religious bigotry in the hope that it can continue to live in luxury for the next decade or so. A philosophically dead society We have a philosophically dead society by those who could not even see the need to look at society through the lens of political economy but rather see the bastardised version of specialised functions of governance as the only way to run society as a political entity. We need to groom philosopher-rulers - not as an elitist Platonic or Confucian type of ruling elitism, but to create the everyday philosopher-ruler in our project of grooming future leaders in virtually all sectors of our lives. We need to reconceptualise the way we run our universities and public institutions in the training of the mind to lead organisations. We need to help members of society understand what knowledge is, its origin, its transformative power, and how it should be applied for the good of those that are potentially marginalised, alienated, or even mentally enslaved in newer and more subtle ways. Through education conceived differently to meet the needs of a degenerating society, members of society need to be taught how to analyse complex social, ethical, technological, and social issues in this post-industrial and informational age and offer scientific ideas to effect humanistic and social change in virtually all sectors of human intellectual-macro level activities. To save this nation from total destruction, we must go back to philosophy and through a rigorous curriculum adaptable to varying contexts of learning, teach our future leaders the following: To understand the nature of knowledge and the history of its conceptualisation. To understand the differences between knowledge, information, understanding, application, and able to articulate how these conceptions differ from one another. To utilise the understanding of the philosophical, cultural, and political-economic aspects of knowledge as a basis to create newer and synthesised understanding of these and craft frameworks to offer perspectives to social and moral problems. To develop logical, creative, moral, and futuristic ideas for social and organisational change; ideas informed by the deep rooted and broad-based understanding of knowledge in the most inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural sense of the word. To develop a set of cognitive skills to be recognised as effective, respectable, well-informed, philosophically-trained members of a think-tank group of social organisations and social frontier thinkers able to generate innovative solutions to complex problems. To explore varying cultural philosophies and draw universal themes of ethics and social reconstructionism to affect changes that will benefit the poor, marginalised, and alienated of all ethnic groups. Such is the newer design we ought to explore to renew our intellectual prosperity. We must begin to become a nation of philosophers more than a nation of plunderers. DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master's degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States. https://www.facebook.com/#!/azly.rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/

Seksualiti Merdeka shows PAS kowtowing to ‘Anwarinas’, says Utusan Posted: 05 Nov 2011 03:24 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — PAS will continue to stand idly by as Islam is attacked so long as the party stays under the thumb of pro-Anwar leaders and DAP, Mingguan Malaysia said today. The Umno-owned newspaper said PAS's silence in the face of Seksualiti Merdeka, a gay rights festival, showed the Islamist party was more worried about protecting its political masters than safeguarding Islam. "Until now, PAS has not yet stated its official position on the programme that promotes free sex. What we have are just the reactions of certain individual leaders," its editors said in the Awang Selamat column. "In two other issues that challenged the interests of Islam, the Jais (Selangor Islamic Religious Authorities) examination of a church and the anti-apostasy rally, PAS too was quiet as it chose to look after DAP's interests." Mingguan Malaysia said PAS has never kowtowed to other parties' demands but said this would be par for the course if PAS remained controlled by "Anwarinas", or supporters of Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. It singled out PAS leaders Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Mohamad Sabu for inspiring the organisers of Seksualiti Merdeka "to do whatever they want" by showing support for the banned Bersih rally for electoral reform held in July. "However ... Muslims still place hope on the rational faction within the party. They include Dr Hasan Ali, Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi and Nik Abduh. Mustafa Ali, Harun Din, Harun Taib, Nasharudin Mat Isa and Azizan Razak can also be trusted. "They, along with other members and supporters, still place the importance of Islam above political trickery and private agendas," the paper said. The Malay-language daily also warned that Seksualiti Merdeka would legitimise the practice of unnatural sex, the spread of which has gone unnoticed, if allowed to take place. It said this would lead to many more gay parades in Malaysia, and thanked those who protested against the festival for making their objections heard. Mingguan Malaysia added that it was not enough that the police had banned the festival and urged authorities to charge the organisers under existing laws. It warned that Seksualiti Merdeka would threaten faith, the Constitution, culture and the institution of the family, and remained a threat that needed to be monitored closely by the authorities.     READ MORE HERE.

Quality of English still ‘an issue” Posted: 05 Nov 2011 12:42 PM PDT (Bernama) - Malaysia is on par or ahead of some of the regional countries in terms of investment in education. However, the quality of its undergraduates in having a good command of English, still remains an issue. Marie Aimee Tourres, a senior research fellow at the Department of Development Studies, Universiti Malaya, said it was crucial for graduates to have a good command of English to ensure they would be able to compete effectively, in the global job market. Nevertheless, "in terms of education spending, Malaysia is comparable to some countries in the region based on the percentage spent over its gross domestic product (GDP) growth," she told Bernama in an interview here. She said Malaysia was actually spending more vis-à-vis other countries. In the 2012 Budget, RM13.6 billion was allocated to the social sector, including education and training, health, welfare, housing and community development. Tourres said there was also a lot of focus given for training and re-training for graduates, which was important to continuously upgrade skilled and knowledge workers in the country. However, the quality of undergraduates remains an issue in Malaysia, since the students find it difficult to grasp the English language. "Language is definitely an issue," she said, citing a recent publication by the World Bank entitled , "The Road to Academic Excellence", which was a study on what contributes to a world-class research university. The study compared Universiti Malaya (UM) and National University of Singapore (NUS) in a chapter entitled "The National University of Singapore and the University of Malaya: Common Roots and Different Paths". In the report, it was stated that as NUS kept pace with the demands of a growing economy that sought to become competitive internationally, with English continuing as the language of instruction and research, UM began to focus inward as proficiency in English declined in favour of the national language. The publication, which is based on a study conducted by two scholars, Philip Altbach and Jamil Salmi, also stated that because UM taught courses predominantly in the national language, it had much more limited internationalisation of programme, academic staff and student body. International standard "This generation will have to face international standard and competition in terms of job market, as part of globalisation," said Tourres. She cited Pakistan as an example, where she gives lectures. "In Pakistan, although the people speak different dialects, next to the Urdu language, their English is better than our graduates," she pointed out. It made them more marketable in the competitive global environment, she noted. "The immediate result of their English capacity is that you can find many Pakistanis who work for international organisations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund," said Tourres. She believed that even if Malaysia gave more focus in English, the national language and culture could still prosper, provided that teaching was made interesting. "More English in school will not deter Malay, Indian and Chinese culture per se. We should not mix the issue of a command of good language and the preservation of national heritage," she said. As for the distribution of the book voucher worth RM200 to all Malaysian students in public and private local institutions of higher learning, matriculation as well as Form 6 students nationwide, she believed that it should be monitored to ensure that it served the purpose. This assistance is expected to benefit 1.3 million students with an allocation of RM260 million. "That is a lot of money. Probably, it could have been done based on meritocracy to ensure that it is properly utilised," said Tourres, pointing out that there were risks of students re-selling the voucher, especially when the new targeted generation lacked the reading habit and preferred to go online to search for their study materials.

No need to renominate EPF beneficiaries, workers told Posted: 05 Nov 2011 12:39 PM PDT (The Star) - The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has debunked talk that contributors must renominate their beneficiaries once they reach their retirement age. They only needed to do so if they had made Age 55 withdrawals before Feb 1, 2008, said EPF public relations general manager Nik Affendi Jaafar. (On Feb 1, 2008, the EPF made it compulsory for those who continue to work after 55 to remain contributing until the maximum age of 75 at a revised rate of 5.5% for employees' contribution.) A chain email has been circulating, in which the writer claimed that a sister-in-law had to go through the legal process to claim the funds left by her husband after he passed away at the age of 60. The writer said: "EPF did not allow her to withdraw even though she was the sole beneficiary. "According to EPF, one has to rename their beneficiaries at the age of 55, making all previous nominations void." Nik Affendi explained that the case was only true if members had made Age 55 withdrawals before Feb 1, 2008. "Therefore if a member were to continue to contribute to the EPF, he would need to make a new nomination. However for EPF members who have made Age 55 Withdrawals after Feb 1, 2008, their nominations remain valid until a new nomination is made," he said. This also applies to members who are 55 years old but have not made the said withdrawal. Age 55 Withdrawals refer to EPF members who took out their savings upon reaching 55. The money, which could be withdrawn either in a lump sum or partially, is meant to provide financial support during their retirement period.

Pro-BM group wants PPSMI scrapped immediately Posted: 05 Nov 2011 12:30 PM PDT By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — PPSMI (the teaching and learning of mathematics and science in English) remains abolished but a Bahasa Malaysia lobby group here is demanding Putrajaya discontinue the policy immediately instead of gradually phasing it out. Gerakan Mansuhkan PPSMI (GMP) insisted that the government's continuance would indicate it is "not serious" with its plan to revert to using Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction for the two subjects. Its chairman Prof Dr Shaharir Mohd Zain pointed out that under Putrajaya's decision on Friday, PPSMI would only be completely phased out in nine years, during which time the government could still change its mind. "The government should follow the same strategy of implementing PPSMI ... otherwise it will send many wrong signals and indicate the government is not serious or fully committed. "I think it is unfortunate that he (Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) is doing something different from what most people expected him to do," the senior research fellow at Universiti Malaya (UM) told The Malaysian Insider. He said it would take too long for the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia to be fully implemented and urged the government to make the switch immediately. Muhyiddin, who is also the deputy prime minister, announced on Friday that while PPSMI remains abolished, the government would allow those already studying under the programme to continue until they have completed their secondary school education. Stressing that this does not mean the administration was backpeddling on its 2009 decision to scrap the policy, Muhyiddin had reasoned that the move would bring "relief" to many parents who have been lobbying for PPSMI. He explained the decision meant that students between Year Three and Form Five next year would be allowed the option of learning science and mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia, English or both languages, as allowed under PPSMI, until they complete their primary and secondary education.     RAED MORE HERE.

Greek parties ignore appeal for rapid compromise Posted: 05 Nov 2011 12:25 PM PDT (Reuters) - Greece's ruling socialists and opposition conservatives offered rival plans for saving the nation from bankruptcy and safeguarding its euro zone membership, ignoring an appeal from the president to cooperate now on tackling the mess. For Prime Minister George Papandreou, only a coalition government ruling for at least several months can set Greece on the road to national salvation and secure a financial lifeline from international lenders before the money runs out. But the conservative opposition flatly rejected the idea, offering its competing vision of snap elections -- and demanding Papandreou's resignation after two years of grappling with economic, political and social crisis. All this disregarded an appeal by President Karolos Papoulias for the opposing sides of Greek politics to overcome their differences and get to work solving a crisis which risks wrecking international faith in the entire euro project. "Consensus is the one and only way," Papoulias told the prime minister when he went to the presidential palace to launch his drive for a coalition government. At immediate stake is the fate of Greece's 130 billion euro bailout, agreed by euro zone leaders to keep Athens afloat, and restore confidence on global financial markets that the euro zone nations can handle a crisis that could afflict much bigger economies such as Italy and Spain. NOT GOOD AT COMPROMISE On Sunday the president will meet Antonis Samaras, who heads the conservative New Democracy party, as he tries to nudge the party politicians into something they are not good at -- compromise. Papandreou's socialist cabinet is due to meet informally also on Sunday, as his PASOK party searches for support among the smaller parties, with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos playing a leading role. Only a week ago the bailout deal seemed in the bag, but then Papandreou dropped a bombshell by announcing he would hold a referendum on the package -- which demands yet another wave of austerity be imposed on the long-suffering Greek population. With the deal threatening to unravel, Germany and France told Papandreou that Greece would receive not one cent more in aid unless it fulfilled its side of the bargain. Papandreou retreated on the referendum, but only after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Greece must make up its mind whether it wanted to stay in the euro or not. A CHASTENED PAPANDREOU Chastened, Papandreou was forced to signal that he was willing to stand down. He himself raised the specter of Greece's future in the euro. "My aim is to immediately create a government of cooperation," he said at the presidential palace. "A lack of consensus would worry our European partners over our country's will to stay in the euro zone." Here he hit a raw nerve. Greeks have fought tooth and nail against the spending cuts and tax rises demanded by their international lenders in the euro zone and IMF, with some protests turning violent on the streets of Athens. But there is also a widespread fear that Greece might be forced out of the euro and will have to go it alone with a revived national currency. "Europeans don't trust us anymore, they will throw us out," said Tassos Pagonis, a 48-year-old Athens taxi driver. "I hope we don't return to the drachma." The opposition showed little sign of giving ground. "We ask for a short-term transitional government in order to restore a sense of stability and then the country goes to the polls," said Samaras. "We did not seek a role in this government, only that Mr. Papandreou, who has become dangerous for the country, resigns." Opinion polls suggested Greeks favor Papandreou's model of a longer-serving unity government. One survey commissioned by Proto Thema newspaper showed 52 percent of the public back the idea of a national unity government while 36 percent wanted snap elections. Another poll commissioned by Ethnos newspaper put support for the rival ideas at 45 percent and 41.7 percent respectively. A government source said Papandreou's deputy, Finance Minister Venizelos, was already negotiating behind the scenes to win support from the smaller parties for a government that Venizelos himself wants to lead. "Venizelos is having contacts with party leaders to secure their agreement," said a government official who requested anonymity. In snubbing Papandreou, who survived a parliamentary confidence vote in the early hours of Saturday, Samaras acknowledged the leading role being played by Venizelos in the maneuvering for power. "Whenever we try to find a way out, the Papandreou-Venizelos government invents new obstacles to block it," he complained.

AirAsia denies gain from subsidies for rural service Posted: 05 Nov 2011 11:04 AM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Aviation tycoon Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has denied his AirAsia benefited from the RM249 million in federal subsidies paid to its Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) for rural flights four years ago. Putrajaya said it paid the amount when FAX operated the Rural Air Services (RAS) — flights to rural communities in East Malaysia — between August 2006 and September 2007, after which the service was handed back to flag carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) "Fly Asian Xpress was the sole operator of the Rural Air Services and not AirAsia Berhad. AirAsia Berhad did not receive any financial benefit arising from the RAS operations," the AirAsia boss said in a blog post yesterday. "Although the shareholders of FAX were similar to AirAsia Berhad, they ended up losing almost RM5 million of shareholder capital, because the wind-up costs of FAX, including retrenchment payments, were not covered by the government subsidy." Fernandes said when RAS was operated by MAS and subsequently MASwings, both carriers similarly incurred significant operating costs, which were also subsidies by the government. Deputy Transport Minister Jelaing Mersat told Parliament on Thursday that Putrajaya paid RM249 million to AirAsia to subsidise its rural flights to Sabah and Sarawak. He also said that MASwings needed less than half the amount of subsidy when it took over the routes from the no-frills carrier's unit subsidiary FAX in October 2007. "MASwings only needed less than half the subsidy as it is more organised and uses newer aircraft which cost less to maintain," Jelaing had said. But Fernandes explained the higher subsidy bill was due to an "abnormally high" number of overhauls and repairs needed for aircraft it inherited from MAS in 2006. He pointed out that FAX had paid RM48 million in maintenance costs at market rates to MAS Engineering, rather than at cost as had been offered to the national carrier previously. "With MAS as the only licensed engineering provider, no supplier competition was available to extract better rates," he said. FAX also paid RM72 million to a third-party for additional maintenance not provided by MAS as the national carrier had been slow to respond to requests and had wanted to charge higher rates. On top of that, FAX paid RM25 million for ground handling and other services by MAS; RM16 million on loan spares from MAS; RM9 million for pilot secondments from MAS between August 2006 and March 2007; and footed a write-down on spares worth RM9 million. "Finally, another contributing factor in the difference in subsidy claims is the higher global fuel price versus prior years under MAS: RM10 million," Fernandes said. "MASWings benefited from the amount spent by FAX because 80 per cent of the amount spent would not have to be incurred in the 12 months after MASWings took over," he added. The return of RAS routes to MAS after just 14 months had raised concerns of whether it would affect the national carrier's turnaround plans under then-chief executive Datuk Seri Idris Jala.     READ MORE HERE.

VIDEO : PKR leaders, NGO refused entry at Feedlot Project managed by Shahrizat's family? Posted: 05 Nov 2011 12:05 AM PDT By Malaysians Must Know The TRUTH   While at the site, photographs were taken but it was discovered that there were no animals (cattle) seen around. Look at these photo clips and make your own evaluation as to how RM250 Million taxpayer's monies has been claimed to be utilised. Some the pictures as seen on the video: Just LOOK where are the cattle supposed to have been reared: NO cattle or animals CAN BE SEEN.   Watch the video and read at: http://malaysiansmustknowthetruth.blogspot.com/2011/11/video-pkr-leaders-ngo-refused-entry-at.html

Tamil schools in Malaysia denied fully financial aided status Posted: 04 Nov 2011 11:57 PM PDT In National/Malay Muslim school system the theme seems to be to produce excellence. In the Chinese school system the theme seems to be to produce world class and competitive students. Whereas the Indian Tamil school system is groveling with basic issues like no electricity, no fields to play for school children and ill equipped classes in poor conditions. By Dr Paraman VS From pre-school education to primary schools, vocational & technical training as well as tertiary education, the Malaysian Indians have been neglected for several decades now. The drastic reduction of Tamil primary schools from 888 in number in 1957 to currently 523 even though the student population has more than doubled from 50k to108k now, is just one of the many glaring examples of state neglect.  In National/Malay Muslim school system the theme seems to be to produce excellence. In the Chinese school system the theme seems to be to produce world class and competitive students. Whereas the Indian Tamil school system is groveling with basic issues like no electricity, no fields to play for school children and ill equipped classes in poor conditions. Most Tamil schools lie on private lands and hence apparently do not come under the Federal Education Ministry to qualify for fully aided status. Out of sheer indirect neglect by the UMNO government, most of these Tamil schools remain in pre-independence state. There have been numerous articles written about the Tamil vernacular schools in Malaysia over the years: 1) Tamil school problems by S. Indramalar and Hariati Azizan, March 12,2000, The Star. 2) Is abolishing Tamil schools the solution by M Nadarajah , October 9, 2000 Malaysiakini. 3) Don't forsake Tamil Schools by Vasanthi Ramachandran, September 16, 2002, New Straits Times. 4) Tamil schools have important role to play by Ve Elanjelian , November 30, 2004, Malaysiakini. 5) Vernacular education system and the Left (Parts 1&2) by Lee Ban Chen September 14,15, 2005, Malaysiakini. 6) Pre-Merdeka Tamil school in a quandary by K Kabilan January 4, 2007, Malaysiakini. 7) Tamil schools, sacrificial lambs of a political agenda by Prof P Ramasamy April 10, 2007, Malaysiakini 8 ) Are Tamil schools ever meant to be an integral part of the National Education System ? by Jiwi Kathaiah July 29, 2011, Malaysiakini. These are the numerous articles highlighting the terrible condition these Tamil schools are in: 1) SJK(T) Ladang Bukit Jalil was relocated from a cemetery to the basement of DBKL low cost flats. 10/04/2008 Malaysiakini. 2) SJK(T) Ladang Escot finally received piped water supply after 50 years. 03/05/2010 Bernama. 3) Four acres of land allocated to SJK(T) Midlands , Shah Alam had gone missing. 01/11/09 Tamil Nesan. 4) SJK(T) Ladang Sungai Salak, Lukut where the school was situated upstairs in a shophouse. 10/08/2010 Malaysiakini. 5) SJK(T) Kuala Muda Hose, Sg Petani faces closure due to lack of transport. 08/01/2010 Makkal Ossai. 6) SJK(T) Jugra in Banting have to put up with overcrowding. Steel shipping containers were used as a solution for this problem. Previously 2 classes were sometimes even held in the canteen due to shortage of classrooms. 24/02/2010, Malay Mail. 7) Kindergarten in Ladang Bagan Pasir that was operating for 34 years was closed suddenly without giving any notice, according to shocked parents. 02/03/2010 Makkal Ossai. 8 ) MIC vice president Datuk Dr S Subramaniam said less than 10% of students in SJK(T) attended pre-schools which was well below the targeted 87% pre-school's student by 2012 under NKRA (National Key Result Areas). National average was 76%. 15/03/2010 Star. 9) Sungai Para Estate kindergarten seen to appear like a cow shed. 07/09/2010 www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com. 10) SJK(T) Sentul had electricity and water problems for a whole year. 25/01/2011 www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com. 11) Pupils of a Tamil school at Ladang Jeram in Kuantan have been using a container as their class room for the past decade reported Tamil Nesan. The school building had been reportedly been demolished by a company which took over the estate for commercial development 10 years ago on the condition that it will build a 6 classroom building and a Temple. However there has been no development to date. Efforts to put up a school building have been futile hence enrolment has been dwindling. 11/02/2011 Star. 12) Bagan Serai Tamil School congested with 350 pupils and no extension of building given. It has only 5 classrooms. 10/05/11 Malaysian Nanban. 13) Malaysian Nanban reported that a Tamil school in Gurun would be closed down due to low enrolment. The 70 year old school would be relocated to Gurun town as the estate wanted the land back. 02/06/11 Star. 14) Pictures appear to show dilapidated colonial wooden Kulai Tamil school building. 23/06/11 Malaysian Nanban. 15) Deputy Urban & Wellbeing Minister and MIC vice president Datuk M Saravanan said nearly a quarter of the Tamil school children in KL were underperforming because they come from poor homes. He added there were a large number of pupils who could not afford to pay school fees (RM 24 per year). A survey conducted in 2010 by an NGO found that 42% of Tamil school pupils in the country cannot read and write because they come from poor homes. About 10k Tamil school pupils attending year one are illiterate because they cannot afford to attend kindergartens. 29/06/11 Star Metro. 16) Primary School unsafe for 163 pupils. SJK (T) Ladang Kulai. The Star, 24/09/2011. 17) Many more schools are listed under the Malaysian Indian Minority & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2010 which can be read from http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/books/annualrightsviolations2010.pdf. For many decades now, the Malaysian public has been lead to believe that vernacular schools are the responsibility of the respective communities and the government's role are at best acts as a mere supplementary caretaker only. As Tamil schools are the bottom worst among the vernacular schools, this article shall be focusing on it. Most often than not, a fictitious stale serial comment is given stating, Tamil vernacular schools in particular, cannot receive fully aided status as most of the these Tamil schools (371 out of 523) are located on private lands. I used the term 'fictitious' because after going through the Razak report 1956, Rahman Talib report 1960, Mahathir report on education 1976, Education Act 1996 as well as the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, and I have till date not come across anything that justifies the misconception that any school lying on private land will not be entitled to fully aided status. Read more at: http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2011/11/05/tamil-schools-in-malaysia-denied-fully-financial-aided-status-is-unconstitutional-illegal-research-by-dr-paraman-vs/

Gerakan ‘Massa’ tuntut penambahbaikan pilihan raya Posted: 04 Nov 2011 09:20 PM PDT Jika PM gagal, protes secara besar-besaran bagi menuntut proses demokrasi pilihan raya yang bersih dan adil akan diadakan. (Free Malaysia Today) - Gerakan yang dikenali sebagai 'Massa' memberi amaran kepada Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak agar melakukan proses penambahbaikan pilihan raya sebelum pilihan raya umum diadakan. Pengerusi Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), Badrul Hisham Shaharin berkata jika gesaan sedemikian gagal dipenuhi, pihaknya tidak menolak kemungkinan akan mengadakan protes besar-besaran bagi menuntut proses demokrasi pilihan raya yang bersih dan adil. "Kami bersama teman-teman organisasi massa yang lain hari ini mewakili rakyat Malaysia keseluruhannya memberi amaran kepada PM bahawa PRU hanya boleh dipanggil setelah proses penambahbaikan proses pilihan raya dilakukan," kata beliau dalam satu sidang media hari ini. Beliau yang juga dikenali sebagai CheguBard berkata beliau merujuk kepada janji Najib selepas Himpunan Bersih 2.0 September lalu di mana beliau mengumumkan pembentukan sebuah Jawatankuasa Terpilih Parlimen untuk mengkaji perkara ini. Bagaimanapun, CheguBard melahirkan kebimbangan dengan beberapa 'maklumat' yang diterima bahawa Najib bakal membubarkan parlimen pada 11 September ini sebelum sebarang penambahbaikan diimplementasikan. Sementara itu, Pengerusi Gerakan Kebebasan Sivil Malaysia (MCLM) Haris Ibrahim menyatakan jika ini bukan kesnya, Najib sebagai Perdana Menteri dan Pengerusi Barisan Nasional harus menyatakan pendirian beliau dan berterus-terang dengan rakyat. READ MORE HERE

WIKILEAKS: HOME MINISTER ASSEMBLES DIPLOMATS, DEFENDS HANDLING OF ANWAR CASE Posted: 04 Nov 2011 08:38 PM PDT The GOM is becoming aware of the negative impact the Anwar case has had on its international reputation and is acting to change the negative foreign perceptions. Today's briefing was an attempt by the GOM to influence the diplomatic community, counter Anwar's own messaging the day before, and work against critical international media attention. The Minister shared no new information with the group as a whole and we doubt the briefing swayed diplomats to change their prior opinions; indeed, we heard a good measure of cynicism from some of the gathered diplomats. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Classified By: POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF MARK D. CLARK, REASON 1.4 (B AND D). Summary 1.  (C) Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar briefed foreign diplomats, including the Ambassador, on the sodomy case against Anwar Ibrahim on July 23, one day after de facto Opposition leader conducted his own diplomatic briefing. Syed Hamid dismissed claims of conspiracy, defended the police handling of the case, and emphasized that Anwar was being treated fairly as "Malaysia follows the rule of law." In a follow-on conversation, the Home Minister told the Ambassador the government believed the criminal act of sodomy was consensual, and stated authorities would decide whether to prosecute prior to the expiration of Anwar's bail on August 18.  Today's briefing reportedly was the result of a Cabinet decision.  The GOM is becoming aware of the damage the Anwar case has had on its international reputation and is acting to challenge negative foreign perceptions.  End Summary. Home Minister: "We want the truth to be told" 2.  (SBU) Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar on July 23 delivered a hastily-arranged briefing on Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy case to 96 representatives of the diplomatic corps.  The Ambassador and poloff attended.  The briefing came the day after Anwar's own briefing to diplomats (ref A).  The Minister stated the briefing was not a "rebuttal," but just to "state the facts" and present the government's side of the case.  Syed Hamid explicitly and repeatedly encouraged the assembled diplomats to use the information in the briefing to "put some of the picture right."  The Minister acknowledged the government is "fighting a battle of perception" and that Anwar's case was making "Malaysia familiar with (the concept of) trial in the media."  He said the idea of a government conspiracy against Anwar was "nonsense."  After the briefing, he told reporters, "To us, there is no need to be afraid of the truth.  Let them hear both sides.  Whether they believe it or not is another matter but I think they will appreciate our transparency." 3.  (SBU) Syed Hamid's briefing reiterated previous declarations that the GOM was not influencing the case.  He repeatedly offered examples of how the police responded with deliberate caution in its investigation of the allegations. The Minister stated Anwar received special treatment, not usually afforded suspects, such as not being arrested immediately and having his lawyer present while the police questioned him.  He defended the manner in which police arrested Anwar by stating Anwar's home is well fortified and protected by armed private security.  He denied police wore baklavas (masks) when making the arrest, noting that "normal police" arrested Anwar and those in Baklavas were merely providing security. 4.  (SBU) Syed Hamid referred to Anwar's sodomy charge in 1998 to support the current allegations of sodomy.  He further stated, "We want the truth to be told.  Let us investigate it and we will then know whether to proceed (with charges)." "Malaysia follows rule of law" 5.  (SBU) Syed Hamid explained that officials had not yet provided Anwar with the police report alleging sodomy because Malaysian law prohibits releasing such a report until the accused is formally charged.  He reiterated that every part of the investigation and police actions is within legal boundaries and that "Malaysia follows the rule of law."  He cited the removal of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Attorney General (AG) from an active role in the case because Anwar accused them of abuses when Anwar was in custody in 1998.  He declared the police and attorney general personnel investigating the case do not report to the IGP and AG.  (Note:  The government announced the AG and IGP's recusal several weeks into the case.  End Note.) Minister takes swing at "outside" interference 6. (SBU) Alluding to but not specifying critical statements made by USG officials and American NGOs, Syed Hamid said Malaysia does not need the involvement of outside bodies to ensure citizens are protected.  He continued by describing Malaysia as a rule of law country willing to do whatever was necessary to protect its citizens.  The Minister also stated Malaysia has different morals and standards from other countries, represented by its own laws, which it must follow. Decision to prosecute before August 18 7.  (C) Ambassador Keith and other selected western diplomats had the opportunity to sit with the Minister following the briefing.  The Ambassador asked Syed Hamid how often it pursued sodomy cases and whether prosecutors treated consensual cases differently from non-consensual ones.  The Minister replied that there were many sodomy cases and that once a police report was filed, prosecutors still tended to file charges regardless of whether the act was consensual or not.  He confided to the table that police believe the accuser, Saiful, consented to being sodomized, but later regretted participating in the act.  Syed Hamid alleged the 23-year old was so upset over the sodomy that he attempted suicide prior to filing the initial police report.  Saiful made his official complaint only after he went for a regular medical exam and told the doctor he was previously sodomized. The Minister also told the Ambassador prosecutors would make the decision on whether to charge Anwar prior to the expiration of his bail on August 18. Comment 8. (C) The GOM is becoming aware of the negative impact the Anwar case has had on its international reputation and is acting to change the negative foreign perceptions.  Today's briefing was an attempt by the GOM to influence the diplomatic community, counter Anwar's own messaging the day before, and work against critical international media attention.  The decision to hold the briefing was taken by the Cabinet earlier in the day at its regularly scheduled meeting, a ministry official told us, which accounts for the lack of advance notice.  The Minister shared no new information with the group as a whole and we doubt the briefing swayed diplomats to change their prior opinions; indeed, we heard a good measure of cynicism from some of the gathered diplomats.  The government's decision to hold the event and the Ambassador's discussion with the Home Minister afterward served to reinforce our belief that the GOM already has decided to charge Anwar for sodomy, and it will take this next step by mid-August. KEITH (July 2008)

Recognising Malaysia's stateless Indians Posted: 04 Nov 2011 08:21 PM PDT Indians arrived in Malaysia a century ago but many of their descendants still lack formal status. (Al Jazeera) - Ethnic Indians comprise nearly eight per cent of the Malaysian population, yet an inability to obtain their proper documents has rendered generations stateless. Official government estimates say 40,000 ethnic Indians, the descendants of Indians who arrived in Malaysia to work on plantations a century ago, do not have birth certificates or identity cards.  Activists say that number is much higher. Lacking basic documentation, many ethnic Indians do not have formal education and are unable to seek legal employment or cast a ballot. The government recently launched a drive to register ethnic Indians, but for many, even proving the nation as their birthplace presents a difficult hurdle. Al Jazeera's Florence Looi reports from Kuala Lumpur. SEE VIDEO HERE

Dr M says Najib can save PPSMI: The falling out between Mahathir and Muhyiddin? Posted: 04 Nov 2011 07:49 PM PDT To have Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (a man who hated the British like poison) to come out in defense of the English language is really something like a 180° about-turn looking West, linguistically speaking only. One of the very rare times that Dr. Mahathir has put on his thinking cap and saying something sensible. Science is definitely not a subject that our kids should learn using Bahasa Malaysia because many scientific terms cannot be translated and carried by BM. It may be alright if we say "bas" while the Orang Inggeris say "bus" as the sound of both almost the same. Science students will tell you the same cannot be applied in scientific terminology. Our Malaysian scientists trained in BM Science in future will make a mockery of themselves if they speak at international forum and the other delegates have to crane their ears and still at a loss to know what the speakers are talking about.  From the face of things, to the ordinary eyes, Dr. M's move is just a paradigm shift, but an analysis of events, stories we have been hearing, reading and receiving from grapevines, blogs, kopitiam talks, etc., seem to suggest a shift or a break-up of the so-called 3M Alliance (Mahathir, Muhyiddin and Mukhriz). This linkage between Mahathir and Muhyiddin never occurred before, so the breakup could be due to some mega project(s) and political strategy going drastically sour and irked Dr M. The answer, my friends, is probably written in the wind, the wind that carried rumors to my distant ears that the change of attitude could possibly have something to do with up and coming, and derailed projects in Johor such as: Double Tracking Rail Project being the final leg of EDTP project in the Peninsular, the Segamat-Tangkak and Central Spine Expressway, mega property projects in Iskandar Region (hidden reason for DPM's recent visit to Singapore), and even perhaps the RM50 billion newly announced Petronas Pengerang project in Johor (Muhyiddin's home state). But what I gather from the various blogs, news articles and news from close friends back home in Malaysia, the most controversial and likely one is the Double Tracking Rail project from Gemas to Johor Bahru as a start-off point and breakup of this 3M Alliance, for the following reasons. All Malaysians know that the original contract was awarded to MMC (Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary) by Dr Mahathir during his reign as PM. Then Pak Lah cancelled it, and Mahathir started his campaign to kick out Badawi which he did successfully. The in-coming PM Najib was supposed to toe Mahathir's line, but Rosmah wanted it her way (killing Mahathir's favorite song softly "My Way"). Then came RPK's article about making millions by being PM Najib's golfing partner in which it was revealed George Kent's Big Boss, Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock, demanded RM500 million from China CREC, RM200 million for Rosmah and RM300 million for himself. Even though Puan Sri Tan Swee Bee (Kay Hock's wife) and Cindy (Desmond Lim's wife) had been paying for all Rosmah's overseas trips and extravagant shopping, the revelation by RPK forced Rosmah to temporarily give Tan Sri Tan Tay Hock and company, a wide berth, while friendship and gratitude may remain in tact. This was when Kay Hock went to Muhyiddin (a Johorean) and Mukhriz (with Mahathir's blessings) to grab the project with another Chinese horse since CREC was tarnished by RPK. This was the start of the 3M Alliance with the main objectives to secure the project, to remove Najib (and say good-bye to Rosmah), to install Muhyiddin as PM and Mukhriz as his Deputy (the dream of Mahathir Dynasty coming true for Dr Mahathir to finally retire!) However, this idiot Muhyiddin is never liked by the Johor Malays including MB Ghani Othman and Kerishamuddin (for obvious reason Mukhriz going on top of him) including least of all, the Sultan of Johor. You will find that whenever Muhyiddin goes to Johor, it is always balik kampong Pagoh, his constituency and his only base to prop up his tenure and dying popularity in UMNO. Something must have gone astray in the 3M Alliance, either to do with the projects or politics. We don't know, but we know Dr M is not happy with Muhyiddin and he has no qualm showing his displeasure publicly, wielding his influence within UMNO as usual. It does seem to the Rakyat that the 3M is more focused on 3P - Power, Politics and Projects, the common denomination of which is Money. JO

SPEAKER’S CORNER - UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA Posted: 04 Nov 2011 07:45 PM PDT After an absence of 37 years Malaysia's original Speakers Corner will once again be the site of a historic and emotional gathering of many pioneer activists who kept it alive between 1966 and 1974. Encouraged by the recent govt. initiative to revive this tradition of student activism and public oratorical skills, a small group of veteran activists got together, obtained the authorization of the VC, Tan Sri Dr Gouth Jasnon, and plan to hold a grand Reunion to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Speaker's Corner that will be open to all past and present students of University of Malaya. The event will be held at the original site (across from the Arts Faculty and near the Library) on 30th November 2011 at 10.00am. This will be a social gathering of veteran and current activists from near and far away places including Puerto Rico, USA. We are hoping the media will give this historic event the publicity that it deserves. It is with this in mind that I contact you. We will appreciate it very much if the Star will cover this event before, during and after this gathering.

MCA: Make English a compulsory pass for SPM Posted: 04 Nov 2011 07:09 PM PDT By Melissa Chi, TMI KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — MCA moved today to back Putrajaya in scrapping PPSMI (teaching and learning of mathematics and science in English) but suggested that English be turned into a compulsory pass subject like Bahasa Malaysia in the SPM examination. Currently, Form Five students have to pass Bahasa Malaysia and history to receive their SPM certificate.  The party also suggested making English literature a compulsory subject in schools to add emphasis on the usage of the language, saying it would help Malaysians "keep up with the rest of the world".  "The government has listened to the voices of the rakyat in coming up with the win-win situation for all stakeholders concerned.  "It is however the fervent hope of the MCA that the Ministry of Education put emphasis on the usage of English to equip Malaysians with the universal language to keep up with the rest of the world," MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said in a statement today.  Dr Chua was responding to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's announcement yesterday that students who have already been using PPSMI may continue with it until they complete their secondary education.  But the deputy prime minister stressed that this did not mean the government was making a U-turn in its decision to scrap the policy.  He explained the decision meant that students between Year Three and Form Five next year would be given the option to learn science and maths in Bahasa Malaysia, English or both until they complete their primary and secondary education.  But this year's Year One students, the first batch to undergo MBMMBI (Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening Command of English), would have to continue learning the two subjects in Bahasa Malaysia when they enter Year Two, he said.     READ MORE HERE.

PPSMI and the Malaysian education malaise Posted: 04 Nov 2011 06:37 PM PDT By de minimis One of the part that worries me about the PPSMI saga is the claim by the Minister of Education that the matter of reversing the PPSMI policy has been given deep thought by all and sundry in the Cabinet. What worries me is that the Malaysian education system is too fragmented to the point that it now mirrors Astro programming. And, what do I mean by that? It is disturbing to see that Malaysian children are being shafted into different directions in the name of seeking quality education, culture and/or just plain, affordability. Parents who perceive that the quality of education in national schools (sekolah kebangsaan) have deteriorated precipitously have been sending their children to national-type Chinese schools or international schools. Other parents who doubt the quality of national schools have been sending their children to private schools using the national syllabus. Parents who believe that their children need to maintain their perceived "cultural identity" have been sending their children to Mandarin-medium or Tamil-medium schools. Let's not forget that there was also a time when Malay parents would send their children to Malay-medium schools with the same intent. Parents who believe that their children should be at the apex of society with a fighting chance of being entrenched as the elite of Malaysian society and/or be competitive at a global level, have been sending their children to international schools based in Malaysia!!!! That's what I mean by the Astro-programming parallel. And, I believe this to be the major issue. This is the pink elephant in the room that the Minister of Education and the Cabinet has chosen to ignore. Granted that this issue is a delicate and complex one, someone still has to address the issue. Or, maybe this is the precise point. It is NOT a political issue because no one, on either side of the Parliamentary divide, be they Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, have bothered to deal with the matter. Yet, everyone who has school-going children and anyone who has undergone any of the education routes I have outlined above should know or recall, the educational anomaly that exists in Malaysia. Who amongst the political leaders of contemporary Malaysia has the courage to raise this issue? Who dares to bell this cat? No one. All we have are parochial and chauvinistic gallery-pandering politicians and educationists who champion their own little causes. Will no one stand for the Malaysian nation?     READ MORE HERE.

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