Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- What to do NOW
- Why I decided not to support Pakatan
- Press Conference to announce the launch of Petisyen Rakyat Tuntut Pilihanraya Bersih
- Highway Concessionaires Robbing The Rakyat Blind… Yet Again!
- Jet peribadi Menteri Pertahanan
- Taib under investigation in the UK
| Posted: 14 Nov 2011 09:58 PM PST By Hakim Joe The fat fugitive cigar-chomping hippie has always accused us of perpetually whinging of how things presently are and not contributing enough suggestions on how to correct all these transgressions. He tells us not to live in the past but to move ahead into the present and to start acting now lest we are stopped from such actions in the future. Well, here is a list of what I think Pakatan Rakyat should do NOW: Foremost, they need to resolve the leadership issue once and for all. DSAI is the de facto leader by consensus but he might be back in jail very soon and all the PR component party leaders need to settle on an individual leading the Opposition during GE13 as DSAI cannot viably be capable of doing so from within his prison cell. Additionally, in the event that PR actually garners sufficient parliamentary seats to topple the existing government, DSAI is not legally qualified to become the PM of Malaysia. Wan Azizah however could be a good choice as she is widely accepted by everybody. Political experience will never become an issue here. Look at the Philippines: Corazon Aquino – zero political experience but possibly the best President the Philippines ever had and definitely loads better than how her son is performing now (even with his political upbringing). The DPM should go to the respectable Nik Aziz as he is the only person the voters can accept to hold that position. Lim and Karpal both do not qualify as the Constitution forbids it on racial grounds. (God forbids if that position is offered to Azmin Ali.) And then there are all the important ministerial positions but that can wait until GE13 is won. Number Two on the agenda is the many proposed policies, in which PR needs to state, which will act as their political platform. Reforms, Rights, Privileges, Amendments to existing laws, Separation of Powers, etc are but a few of the important issues that require clarification now (not later). Pakatan desperately needs to have a common policy that is acceptable to all Malaysians and to show a united front. Campaign posters and banners need to show all three party emblems and no more conflicting resolutions from the three leaders or their associates. It has to be "One for All and All for One" but most importantly, it has to be declared out for all to know. Number Three is the setting up of an elections committee with all three parties combined and the organization of the many divisional level working parties that will be capable of reacting immediately once Parliament is dissolved. These entire election machinery needs to be ready now and not next month or next year. Additionally, the work parties must be structured to perform different duties and leaders be selected to lead them. Why set up after eections are called when they can be prepared now? Number Four is the budget as elections are a costly affair. Brochures, flags, banners, pins, caps and T-shirts need to be printed. Food and drinks need to be provided for the working party members. Travel expenses are required for the pre-election campaigning all over Malaysia. Transportation needs to be prepared and organized for the traveling parties and accommodations provided for if it is an interstate overnight trip. Umbrellas need to be ready, tents, tables and chairs need to be rented and all these translate into large numbers that needs to be paid. As they say, No Money No Talk. Number Five is that the proposed candidates must go on the campaigning trail now and not after elections are called for. The more exposure to the targeted voters, the higher the chances of being elected. Who would want to vote for a candidate that one has never seen or heard before or a candidate that makes his or her appearance once every four years. Additionally, no free seats for BN. Every seat must be contested even if one risks losing the deposit. Number Six is information. The more information that is provided to the voters of Pakatan's intentions, the better informed the voters will be and Pakatan's hierarchy will need to be targeting a certain category of voters, as it will be a waste of time, effort and resources to try convincing hardcore BN voters on such a short period of time. Subsequently, the use of alternate news media must be amplified to a larger audience for this and also to expose the government's shortfalls and alleged corrupt practices. Number Seven would be the preparation of an expert committee to inspect the electoral roll once it is ready. This might actually translate into work parties physically confirming addresses on the ground through legwork but essentially it will only mean the scrutinization of the electoral roll looking for identical entries or suspect voter information. It would be rather impossible to squeeze 100 residents into an apartment building if 100 different voters on the roll exhibit identical residential addresses or if a voter whose birthday is on 1900 or before that. The best manner to handle such a big task would be to get a large group of people to input all these information into a computer or to get a scanner with OCR capabilities to do it. A scan would then be easily achieved to sort out the identical entries. A mammoth undertaking but seats are lost with just one vote. Number Eight would be to follow up on the BN promises. Najib has indicated that electoral reforms are underway. He has also said that he will abolish the ISA. Additionally, he has allowed students to be involved in politics but so far nothing has been accomplished and the Opposition urgently needs to harass them on the implementation date both in Parliament and in the media. Get BERSIH 3.0 going. Sue the GOM for its broken promises. Do anything to exaggerate the situation; just do not do nothing as BN will explore any opportunity to do the same to PR. Show the people what PR is capable of and scare the bejesus out of BN. Number Nine. Sort out the Selangor State Government chaos now as it is riddled with BN goons (literally). Clean up that crappy clutter and the people will actually believe that PR is actually capable of helming the country in Putrajaya. In addition, sort out the East Malaysian opposition party mess because both Sabah and Sarawak possesses 56 parliamentary seats of the total of 222 seats (25%) even when they only have 19.5% of the population of Malaysia. Pakatan was only able to secure 2 pitiful parliamentary seats there in 2008. Lastly, get the people involved right now. Secure every possible advantage. Get the 2008 Elections and the BERSIH 2.0 momentum going. Get Reformasi back. Exhibit DSAI's black eye. Screen the Perak State Assembly fiasco. Remember Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani. Wear yellow T-shirts. Remind the people how a mere dentist can afford a RM30 million bungalow and get away with it or how a pornstar became the people's alleged leader. Distribute copies of that sex tape. Get those Birkin bags out. Present to the public the billion Ringgit subs that is capable of erasing immigration records and killing a girl but yet incapable of submerging underwater. Ask the GOM why tear gas was fired into a hospital during BERSIH 2.0. Burn more incense to the Jelapang bitch. Do ANYTHING. Just do not do NOTHING. |
| Why I decided not to support Pakatan Posted: 14 Nov 2011 09:50 PM PST By Paul Raj I have decided not to support Pakatan Rakyat on three very important grounds. First of all, as a civil servant, my rice bowl is at stake since DAP leader Mr Tony Pua has annouced that Pakatan will cut nearly 40% jobs in the civil service. Despite Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim saying that it is not true, DAP and its top leaders have not denied Mr Tony Pua's statement. Compared with the Barisan Nasional under Datuk Seri Najib which has extended the civil servants' tenure to age 60 and gave much monetary benifits to civil servants, DAP wants to sack 40% of us! How can we civil servants support such a party? If what Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said is true, that what Mr Tong Pua said is not true, then to show their sincerity, DAP must apologise to civil servants publicly, and promise not to field Mr Tony Pua as a candidate for the 13th general election. Otherwise, we will campaign against DAP candidates. Secondly, PAS is insisting on achieving its Islamic state with the implementation of hudud. Can Christians honestly support Pakatan in view of this? Even Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has publicly supported hudud. It is too risky for Christians to support PAS, unless the party publicly promises that it will not implement Islamic law when Pakatan comes to power. DAP leaders like Mr Lim Guan Eng has been defending PAS, and keeping quiet on various PAS actions like banning a cinema in Bangi, and calling for the banning of Elton's concert. We cannot support Pakatan as it is too dangarous. Thirdlly, the credibility of many Pakatan candidates are questionable. There are still DAP people who object to wearing songkoks at official functions, although they are prepared to wear hats and Japanese baseball caps. When Ms Hannah Yeoh wore the tudung during Hari Raya, she was attacked by DAP leaders and members. Also, DAP leaders are not that clean after all, they practise cronyism and nepotism, and some are corrupt too. DAP says they champion human rights and press freedom, yet Mr Lim Guan Eng bans Utusan in Penang. How can Christians support these hypocrits? For us, it is better to stay with Barisan which has shown that it can change and will give us a good life. Pakatan just talks and never delivers. Like Mr George Khoo has said before, DAP does not even care for the veteran leaders who build up the party, and now the new upstarts like Mr Tony Pua come in and take over. I was told that Mr Tony Pua wants to remove serveral veteran leaders like Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Mr Fong Kui Lum, Mr Ronnie Liu, and put his own people as candidates for next general election. For these three important reasons, I urge all Christians to stop supporting Pakatan. All civil servants should also protest against DAP, especially to kick out Mr Tony Pua, who is out to break our ricebowls.
|
| Press Conference to announce the launch of Petisyen Rakyat Tuntut Pilihanraya Bersih Posted: 14 Nov 2011 03:37 PM PST
Puan Rosni Malan, the widow of the late Baharuddin Ahmad who died during the Bersih 2.0 rally on 9th July 2011, and Madam Anne Ooi, now known to all as Auntie Bersih, have come together to launch a petition to enable the largest number of Malaysians to lend their voices to a growing call for the fullest possible reforms to our electoral process so as to endure the 13th General Election, when held, will be truly free and fair. They will jointly hold a press conference to announce the launch of this petition. Details of the press conference are as follows :- Date : Wednesday, 16th November, 2011 Time : 2.00pm Venue : Ground Floor, Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall We would appreciate if you could send your journalist to cover the event. For clarification, please contact the following numbers : 019-3201151
Messrs Saibullah M.V.Nathan & Co Peguambela & Peguamcara Advocates & Solicitors No.9-2B, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/1, Pandan Indah, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. Tel No. : 03-4294 5872 / 4294 5809 Fax : 03-4294 5871 |
| Highway Concessionaires Robbing The Rakyat Blind… Yet Again! Posted: 14 Nov 2011 01:55 PM PST By Teo Nie Ching via Malaysian Mirror The Cheras-Kajang Highway, which spans a distance of 11.5km, is a crucial highway that links Kuala Lumpur city centre with Kajang. It was opened to public on 15th January 1999. There are two toll booths – at the 9th and 11th km of the highway. The toll charges are RM1.00 and RM0.90 respectively. This is an extremely heavy burden on road users as the booths are barely 2km apart and a return journey costs commuters a hefty RM3.80! The highway toll concession agreement was executed in 1995 for a term of 30 years commencing 19th September 1995 and expiring on 18th September 2025. However in 2002, as a result of public protests, the federal government did not allow the highway concessionaire to raise the toll rates according to the abovementioned agreement and as compensation, extended the concessionaire's term by 2 years and paid them RM105.15 million. At the same time, in order to avoid using the tolled highway, residents of Bandar Mahkota initiated a campaign to urge the government to open up the main road at Bandar Mahkota. Their struggle lasted a few years, culminating in a bloody incident in 2008 that attracted national attention. Happily, their efforts did not end in vain and the road was opened up for public use. However, all is not well as the federal government has yet again granted an extension to the concessionaire, this time for 3 years. The original construction cost for the Cheras-Kajang Highway was RM282 million and until the end of 2010, total maintenance expenses amounted to RM147.3 million. By the same token, until the end of last year, the toll concessionaire collected charges amounting to RM585.5 million. If one adds up the compensation amount and the profit fron last year, the concessionaire stands to make a staggering RM261.35 million. This is only up to 2010. The people's nightmare will last for another 20 years before the concession period runs its course. According to the written reply by the Ministry of Public Works, the toll charges for this highway will be revised again in 2013. If there are no objections, a return journey can cost up to RM5 or RM6. If there is widespread public protest, we can envisage that the federal government will yet again extend the concession period as a compensatory move. If the people do not protest, they lose. If they protest, they still lose. It is a lose-lose situation for the rakyat while the government's cronies reap huge profits from this lopsided deal. This ridiculous situation has exhausted the patience of highway users and they are launching a signature campaign to petition for the toll to be abolished. Their target is to collect 100,000 signatures and submit the petition to the Prime Minister.
TEO NIE CHING is MP for Serdang |
| Jet peribadi Menteri Pertahanan Posted: 13 Nov 2011 10:23 PM PST By Touch Down Saya mendapat tahu baru-baru ini bahawa Dato Sri Zahid Hamidi, Menteri Pertahanan Malaysia pergi menunaikan haji dengan menaiki jet peribadi. Isteri beliau datang dahulu ke Madinah dan beliau menjemput dengan jet peribadi dan kemudian terus ke Jeddah untuk ke Mekah. Siapa empunya jet peribadi ini, jika sahabat beliau; dengan tujuan apa di beri untuk menggunakan jet peribadi ini. Adakah sahabat beliau yang mempunyai kepentingan didalam Kementerian Pertahanan? Jika beliau menggunakan wang sendiri untuk menyewa jet berkenaan; dari mana beliau dapat wang sebegitu banyak? Untuk pengetahuan semua, tiap kali beliau ke Arab Saudi bersama keluarga dan sahabat beliau, kereta dari Tabung Haji di gunakan untuk kenderaan beliau semasa di sana, walhal beliau bukan lagi Menteri Haji!! Kadangkala beberapa kereta di gunakan untuk mengangkut barang dan pengangkutan bersama sahabat karib beliau semasa di sana. Kenderaan yang digunakan adalah dari Tabung Haji yang mana mereka di gunakan untuk urusan peribadi. Kenderaan berkenaan adalah di beli dengan wang pendeposit Tabung Haji dan mereka menyalahkannya. Beliau sering ke Arab Saudi pada tiap tahun terutama setiap bulan Ramadhan dengan rakan kongsi yang sama beliau iaitu Tuan Sheikh Rozi. Adakah lawatan atau Umrah beliau di tanggung oleh rakan kongsi ini? Kalau beliau tidak mengaku Sheikh Rozi rakan beliau, kenapa semasa majlis penganugerahan darjah Datuk kepada Sheikh Rozi oleh Tuanku Sultan Kelantan baru-baru ni, Dato Zahid berada sama di dalam Istana Kelantan? Tahun ini juga beliau datang Umrah bulan Ramadhan dengan pesawat peribadi yang di punyai oleh peniaga dari Sarawak (seorang Tan Sri) bersama Tuan Sheikh Rozi juga. Rakyat berharap supaya sesiapa di dalam kerajaan yang menyalah gunakan kuasa dan kepentingan untuk urusan peribadi supaya berhenti berbuat demikian. |
| Taib under investigation in the UK Posted: 13 Nov 2011 10:20 PM PST British government to monitor Malaysia's anti-corruption agency By Bruno Manser Fund Foreign and Commonwealth Office alerted over alleged money-laundering by Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud ("Taib") in the United Kingdom (LONDON, UK). The British government will be monitoring the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission's (MACC) investigation into Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud ("Taib") and will use its findings "to support a UK investigation". This has been confirmed in a letter to the Bruno Manser Fund from British Minister of State, Jeremy Browne, the Minister who holds responsibility for Britain's relations with Malaysia. Browne confirms that the UK government has started looking into alleged Taib family money-laundering in the UK and British offshore financial centres. According to the Minister, a complaint by the Bruno Manser Fund has been "forwarded to the relevant UK authorities". "We are also aware, as your letter states, that the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) has announced the opening of its own investigation into Taib earlier this year." "The UK attaches considerable importance to the integrity and supervision of its financial services industry and property sector, so concrete allegations of money laundering are taken very seriously." The Minister also stated that the British and Malaysian Governments had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Transnational Crime, "which foresees close cooperation on money laundering and other illegal activities." The Bruno Manser Fund had alerted British Prime Minister David Cameron about suspected money-laundering by the Taib family and called on the British government to freeze illicit Taib assets in the UK. The Taibs' business flagship in the UK is Ridgeford Properties, a property company controlled by Taib's daughter Jamilah Taib Murray and his Canadian son-in-law, Sean Murray. Ridgeford Properties holds luxury properties in Central London estimated to be worth several hundred million pounds. Prior to the British government, the Swiss and German bank regulators had announced that they would look into potential Taib-related dealings in their countries. Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Canada's Finance Minister James Flaherty had also assured the Bruno Manser Fund that their governments were taking money-laundering allegations against the Taib family very seriously and would look into the matter. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan