Ahad, 13 November 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


Guessing Game On Tsu Koon's 'Sacrifice' To End Soon?

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 10:30 PM PST

(Bernama) - The guessing game on what sort of sacrifice Gerakan president Dr Koh Tsu Koon will make to move his party forward may end later this week.

Party insiders say that the leaders are in the final phase of sorting out the details for an announcement.

During Gerakan's national delegates conference (NDC) last month, Koh said he was willing to sacrifice himself, a statement that remained ambiguous and required between-the-lines reading.

Some took it to mean that he would no longer contest in the next general election, but others read it as the party chief would still contest but in the toughest seat available.

Whatever the choice, intense internal lobbying and wrangling may defer Koh's announcement because it hinges on getting some party leaders to make way for others to take charge of Gerakan's onslaught in the next general election, especially in Penang.

Those close to Koh said the Minister in the Prime Minister Department had made up his mind as he had already briefed the top Barisan Nasional leadership on his impending decision.

"Just wait for few more days. All will be clearer," said a grassroots leader, who did not want to be identified, adding that the announcement would be made before Gerakan's central committee (CC) meeting in Penang on Saturday (Nov 19).

Party leaders are also scheduled to attend an event at the Gerakan-backed Wawasan Open University (WOU), where former party president Dr Lim Keng Yaik will be appointed as the chancellor of WOU.

On Thursday, Koh dropped another hint about sacrificing, saying that he had always been ready to give up the chairmanship of the BN in Penang to a person acceptable by other BN components.

Talk is rife that Koh's acquiescence in giving up the chairman's post is part of Gerakan's transformation efforts that will see him opting out of the election all together with Penang state party chief Dr Teng Hock Nan and Gerakan vice-president Chia Kwang Chye.

Koh, together with Hock Nan and Chia, once formed a formidable team in the party to the extent that they were dubbed as the "Iron Triangle", with some party members even likening their strong bonds to the party's emblem, which is triangular in shape.

Whether those bonds are still as strong is difficult to answer, especially after Gerakan's thrashing in the 2008 general election.

The new game plan calls for a new set of leaders consisting of party secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow and Penang Gerakan vice-president and party CC member Ong Thean Lye leading the party's challenge in the next general election, particularly in Penang.

However, difficulties still persist. Party insiders say Chia still wants to take a shot in the next polls but add that Hock Nan does not think that he (Chia) should, and that he (Hock Nan) would only agree to step down if Chia stays out.

In a recent interview with Sin Chew Daily, Chia said he did not believe that party leaders would be so "childish" and "blur" to insist on such pre-conditions for the party to move forward.

For Penang-based political analyst Cheah See Kian, Koh may able to get Hock Nan to compromise and allow Chang Yeow to take over the state BN's leadership but the problem is that Hock Nan was elected to his post as Penang Gerakan chairman.

"Chang Yeow can only be state BN chairman if there is a plan for him to take over Penang Gerakan chairman's position. Unless there is some sort of transition plan being worked out, how can you have Chang Yeow as the state BN chairman when he is not even a state party chairman?" he remarked.

Cheah felt that it may not be a problem for Koh to let go of the Penang BN chairman's position as he would still continue as Gerakan president but not for Hock Nan, as he was only a party vice-president.

"There must be a special arrangment for these issues to be resolved, this involves a compromise and timetable for transition," he added.

The wrangling is taking a toll on Chang Yeow, who openly expressed his unhappiness over the situation in a recent Facebook posting stating that he did wish to be drawn into an unnecessary "battle field" where indecisiveness dominated.

His comment come just after he told a news portal that he was ready to take over as Penang BN chairman and that Koh had spoken to him twice on the matter.

Deputy President Chang Ko Youn, when asked to comment, said party leaders were still working out the details and an announcement may be made after the party's central working committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

So will Koh make an announcement on Thursday, exactly a month after the party's national delegates conference? Nobody knows for sure.

But many do know that indecisiveness cost Gerakan dearly in March 2008, especially when it came to who should take charge in Penang.

 

Najib: Malaysia does not stifle dissent

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 09:48 PM PST

(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Malaysia is now a fully mature democracy as the ruling government allows dissent, the national news agency reported today.

According to Bernama Online, the prime minister said this after his speech on the "Global Movement of the Moderates" in Hawaii where he is attending the Asia Pacific Economic Caucus (Apec) Summit.

He dismissed the idea the voices of dissent back home signaled widespread public unhappiness with his government similar to that which caused the "Arab Spring" earlier this year.

The Najib administration came under heavy global criticism for clamping down on dissent last July 9 following the Bersih 2.0 street march in its capital city where police shot chemical-laced water and tear gas among thousands of civilians demanding cleaner elections.

Despite banning the civil society movement, Najib gave in to public pressure and established a bipartisan parliamentary team to review its electoral system. The inquiry kicked off last Friday and is ongoing.

 

READ MORE HERE.

PM warns of recession if belts tightened too soon

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 09:42 PM PST

By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider

Datuk Seri Najib Razak has pledged to trim Putrajaya's spending next year but said the country could face a recession if the government cuts down on debts too fast.

"My Budget also involves some fiscal tightening, using economic growth to lower the overall level of borrowing," the sixth prime minister posted on his official 1 Malaysia blog yesterday.

"But I am also certain we must not cut borrowing too far and too fast because if we do we risk plunging our economy into stagnation or recession and that would mean the poor paying the highest cost of all," he added.

Najib is currently attending the Asia Pacific Economic Caucus (APEC) Leaders Summit in Hawaii.

In his blog post, the trained economist move to calm fears that Malaysia would be dragged down by the ongoing euro zone debt crisis.

He assured Malaysians the country's economy was still strong and would remain so through the strengthening of the private sector to draw more foreign investment and by giving entrepreneurs more opportunities to venture into business, especially in the rural areas.

"While I cannot promise to solve the crisis the euro zone any more than I can stop flooding in Thailand, I can promise that whatever I do, it will be conscientiously done to avoid risking our economic stability," he vowed.

Najib, who will be seeking his first mandate in the polls widely expected to be called in the next six months, has been pushing to carry out administrative and economic reforms.

He said liberalising service sectors such as engineering, legal services and telecoms to foreign investment will make Malaysian entrepreneurs more globally competitive.

"Foreign investment pays for modernisation and growth and helps integrate Malaysia's economy ever more closely with the developed world.

"It increases competition and so helps keep prices low. It drives innovation and so increases skill levels in Malaysia and makes Malaysian jobs in export-facing sectors more secure," he said.

Najib also cited a World Bank study on the ease of doing business for 2012, which showed Malaysia strengthening its position and entering the top 20, as "food for thought for those who are constantly knocking our performance".

Domestically, the PM said there is a need to develop and implement best practices that will ensure long-term growth, through "innovation, creative thinking and increased productivity".

"We must embrace out-of-the-box thinking and explore non-conventional solutions to problems.

"We must seek sustainable ways to increase output, maximise resources, and reduce wastage, and we must do so creatively. Innovation and creativity fuel the growth of industry leaders and strong economies; we must follow suit," he said.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 09:12 PM PST

By May Chee

I will have to run away from home soon. Born and bred in one of the two states that now want to criminalize homosexual activities (whatever that may mean), I fear soon some people will come knocking on my door, wanting to turn out my closets! Or should it be a case of "Leadership by Example" whereby these people should do some spring-cleaning in their own homes first?

What if they find some members of their families hiding in these closets? Are they going to turn them in? I hope not because even vipers know how to love their own!

'm of the opinion that only those who have got nothing better to do with their lives have the time to find issues with others. Everything is an issue these days! If these people are so intolerant, how do they get past their own reflections that stare back at them
from their mirrors each morning? How is it that they can see the splinter in the eye of another without first removing the log from their own?

There should be no frontier for love. There is a place for everyone under the sun and we do have plenty of sun here, in Malaysia, so what's stopping us? To be seen as a people of faith? A holy people? Can we be a holy people when we persecute others wantonly?

Can we be seen as the faithful if we deny others the right to live their lives with dignity? Are these "holier than thou" people trying to purge society of "evil" or are they trying to be one up against another? Who are the "evil" ones here? I would say only those who are pure of heart and intentions are not!

Though all societies feel the need to separate good from evil, they have done so according to human standards. The good book tells us that true purity is that of the heart. We should be an enlightened people by modeling our lives on "love of our neighbour", including the orphans, widows and strangers. An act is deemed unworthy if done just to obtain human approval.

What about justice towards one's neighbour? Is it justified to criminalize another's behaviour just because he takes a different road? Are we not a "free" people? Did someone not say just very recently that we have the best democracy in the world? A case of "Malaysia Boleh", perhaps? How can our LGBTIQ brothers and sisters live truly and freely if we dictate to them how they should live their lives?

Is it democratic to dictate to another how he should eat, breathe and love?

What does unity in diversity mean? Seems like those who were espousing this adage not too long ago are now guilty of encouraging division, untruth and violence under the pretense of serving a just cause. A scandal is not something that makes a noise or causes a stir in society but one which leads consciences astray and causes those who seemed honest to fall.

I would say that those who condone and practise blatant corruption as an example of being scandalous. Vote-buying doesn't sit well with me, too, and the list goes on. Go-lah, those of you who see yourselves as moral-guardians of society – round up those who are truly corrupted, not criminalize those who are just asking for their right to be seen, heard and treated as an equal, something long overdue in our first-class democratic society!

The world is challenging enough for some, almost a trial on a daily basis. This is the 21st century. We can no longer sit back and let others lord over us. We have as much a right to be here as anyone. We need to work towards a just society and we cannot achieve it through accusations and hatred. Forgiveness must replace the thirst for revenge. Moreover revenge is not ours to take. So, too, the propensity to judge another.

Don't get me wrong. I'm no saint and I'm not beneath judging another. However, I hate myself for doing this, that is judging another. In judging, we mere humans tend to condemn. I try to live my life this way – to do my best and live the rest to God, including judging another. I believe in judging, He tempers it with great mercy. Mercy is compassion and forebearance shown by one to another who is in his power and has no claim to kindness.

The good book says that God is compassionate, sharing a deeper mercy where misery is deeper, offering hope and total liberation where hope is dimmest. God respects people. Respect is an attitude proper to a free person. God is patient, so much so that the reconciliation of so many contradictory groups, forces and cultural currents active in the world today will only be attained at the end of time. In the meantime, we have no business labeling any of them as "the good ones" or "the bad ones".

So, I implore you, my fellow Malaysians, be merciful for "Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy". You never know when you might just end up at the shorter end of the stick!

To my LGBTIQ brothers and sisters, I hope you can find comfort in this phrase: "I will not relieve you of your load but by placing my yoke on you, I give you means of carrying the load." Have faith and God bless.

Khairy Jamaludin - Jangan pertahankan isu NFC. Ianya amat memalukan

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 04:39 PM PST

ASPAN ALIAS

Lepas satu isu timbul satu isu yang melibatkan pemerahan wang rakyat yang di lakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO dan keluarganya dalam jumlah yang besar dan tidak terfikir oleh sesiapa yang mempunyai sedikit daya pemikiran yang baik.

Isu yang terakhir yang kita dengar setakat ini ialah isu NFC (national feedlot centre) yang melibatkan keseluruhan keluarga Ketua Wanita UMNO dan seorang Menteri yang masuk ke dalam Jemaah Menteri negara melalui pintu belakang itu.

Dengan terbongkarnya tindakan mencuri ini maka ramailah pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO yang membuat kenyataan sambil berbohong di Parlimen dengan menyatakan yang projek lembu itu adalah projek yang berjaya.

Muhyiddin Yassin yang bertanggung jawab untuk menjadikan projek ini menjadi realiti telah meminta Noh Omar untuk menjawab dan mempertahankan Sharizat di dalam parlimen tetapi beliau menyepi dan tidak berkata apa-apa. Tindakan Muhyiddin untuk meminta Noh Omar untuk menjawab itu memang tindakan yang bijak kerana jawapan yang sebodoh itu hanya boleh diberikan oleh orang seperti Noh Omar itu.

Yang mengejutkan saya ialah penglibatan Khairy Jamaludin membantu Noh Omar mempertahankan tindakan keluarga seorang ahli jemaah kabinet negara dengan mengatakan yang projek itu adalah projek yang berjaya. Khairy menambah lagi kekalutan dengan memberi tahu rakyat yang pembelian kondominium berharga RM10 juta itu adalah tindakan yang betul kerana untuk mengelakan wang lebihan syarikat itu dari 'idle' di dalam akaun syarikat.

Khairy yang baru mula hidup ini sedaya upaya untuk memperbodohkan orang ramai. Khairy yang selama ini saya anggap pemimpin berpotensi dalam UMNO dan negara sekarang sudah menampakan dirinya sudah terpengaruh dengan budaya mempersendakan rakyat. Mungkin Khairy terpaksa bersama-sama Noh Omar menganggap rakyat ramai ini bodoh dan boleh diperlakukan apa sahaja terhadap mereka (rakyat).

Dengan tindakan Khairy memberikan alasan yang jembel untuk mempertahankan Sharizat dan keluarganya saya telah dapat membuktikan teori yang saya selalu sebut; sehebat mana pun dan sehandal mana pun pemikiran dan kepimpinan seseorang itu, apabila terlibat di peringkat kepimpinan UMNO seseorang itu akan menjadi lemah pemikiran dan akan selalu bertindak bodoh mempertahan perkara yang tidak boleh dipertahankan lagi.

Pendeknya UMNO hanya mampu untuk merosakan pemikiran orang ramai dengan menyakinkan perkara yang bathil itu di terima sebagai perkara yang hak. Apa sahaja yang buruk yang di lakukan oleh mana-mana pemimpin tertinggi UMNO itu mereka (pemimpin UMNO) akan berpusu-pusu mempertahankan kesalahan sesama mereka.

Dalam isu NFC ini amat jelas kerajaan sedang cuba untuk memperlembukan orang ramai dengan projek lembu ini. Mereka menggunakan lembu untuk melembukan kita semua. Mereka seolah-olah meminta kita semua bertepuk tangan kerana kegagalan projek ini dan menganggapkan yang projek ini adalah projek berjaya.

Noh Omar dan Khairy seolah-olah menganggap yang kita di bawah ini semuanya lembu yang tidak tahu mengira dan membaca.

READ MORE HERE

 

‘It’s not your father’s money’

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 04:34 PM PST

The Auditor-General's Report 2010 is not about politics or the opposition, it is simply about the 'mismanagement of our money'.

The Malaysian Marine Parks Department spent a whopping RM56,350 for a pair of night vision Marine binoculars. They paid 29 times more than the binocular's market value of RM1,940 a pair.

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, Free Malaysia Today

The 2010 Auditor General's Report is a voluminous document with horrifying mentions of repeated trangresions by the authorities.

It offered more or less the same findings contained in reports of preceding years , which is bizzarre overpricing, negligence, incompetency and officious arrogance.

If you are perplexed as to why the opposition should bicker about the report then we shall have to explain to you in as simple terms as possible.

This is not about politics or the opposition. This is beyond the opposition. This is about the mismanagement of our money.

And mismanagement of our money deserves to be treated as a cause of concern. We are talking about possible fraud and deception.

The short answer to the question then as to why the opposition are irked by the AG's Report as are all right thinking Malaysians is that the money being treated isn't the property of the transgressors.

BN government's deception

That being so, the administration of the money and the application of the funds thereof, must be done with utmost care.

It's not your father's money. That is the short answer.

The long answer is, Malaysians are fed up with the deception and misappropriation of funds.

For the year 2010, the government approved a budget of RM149 billion for operating expenditure (opex).

This wasn't enough and the government had to increase the opex to RM151 billion.

The report noted that nine ministries had overspent. Here is where all of us should be concerned. This is taxpayers money being spent on opex.

The two billion could have been spent on capital expenditure (capex) which builds capacity to create more wealth.

Now, Malaysians are equally outraged by the revelations of the 2010 Auditor-General Reports on the continuing financial scandals, hanky-panky and gross financial negligence in government.

Bizzarre overpricing

We are horrified to learn for example that the National Sports Institute acquired 23 horses totalling RM5.66 million without a Financial Ministry go-ahead.

None of these horses competed in two recommended international championships.

Then we have the case of the RM142 million RazakSAT satellite malfunctioning barely a year after being commissioned.

Wait, we have more disclosures in the AG Report 2010.

The Malaysian Marine Parks Department spent a whopping RM56,350 for a pair of night vision Marine binoculars. They paid 29 times more than the binocular's market value of RM1,940 a pair.

They also paid the same amount for another pair of night vision Bushnell binoculars, or 1,893% more than its actual price of RM2,827.

We are once again appalled at the incompetence of front line workers incapable of appreciating the importance of proper placement of decimal points and making accounting mistakes that have resulted in wasteful overspending.

These should not have happened if there are efficient and proper internal audit systems.

As the result of a laid back attitude, we are told of stories where a pensioner received RM21,433 a month instead of RM214.33 for 16 months! The mistake was detected after more than a year.

The officer who finally detected the mistake should be a given a merit order.

We are also dismayed of hearing Giatmara Centre mistakenly paying RM170 per kg instead of RM1.70 per kg for sugar for a poverty eradication programme or RM25, 500 for 150 kg of sugar!

This must be a special kind of sugar.

READ MORE HERE

 

PKR eyes mixed seats in the south

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 04:19 PM PST

PKR's national congress in Johor at the end of the month will signal its intention to make the Umno fortress a frontline state.

While DAP has declared that he is Pakatan's candidate for Prime Minister, PAS has been silent, and that speaks volumes. The thing is that not many people are prepared to vote for a party whose leader has all these personal problems and who may be facing jail.

Joceline Tan, The Star

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim has had a terrible year. The sodomy trial continues to take up his time, his party is struggling to stay relevant and there was the sex video controversy that whipped up such a storm earlier this year.

But anyone watching the latest video of him in the PKR election website would never suspect that he has had such a big load on his shoulders.

The centrepiece of the website, still a work in progress, is a video depicting Anwar as a man of the people in line with the party's election theme of Demi Rakyat (for the people). It is quite different from the usual propaganda associated with political parties; this one has a contemporary and unfussy feel to it. Even the message comes across in a simple way, that PKR is a party that exists for the people.

Man to watch: Azmin is said to have secured the backing of his party's de facto leader to be Mentri Besar of Selangor if Pakatan holds on to the state. The PKR deputy president is seen here at a Selangor event with his rival Khalid (right) and Selangor Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim.

A huge part of the video shows Anwar riding the LRT train and strolling along the platform area wearing sunglasses. He is also depicted drinking teh-O in a mamak shop, leading the prayers in a surau as well as conducting a meeting.

He looks good in the aviator-style sunglasses but they also give him the figure of a visually impaired man who is wondering which train to take. When he gets on the train, he makes his way down the aisle wearing a broad smile and shakes hands with the passengers. But from their reaction, it is clear that many of them are unsure who he is.

But the man is a natural actor. He could have been a big star in the Malay movie scene if he was not such a political animal.

Anwar has been critical of almost everything about his arch rival Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, but he seems to be taking a leaf from the Prime Minister's going-down-to-the-people approach. And why not? A PKR survey has indicated that Malaysians view Najib in a better light than Anwar.

Rafizi: Beating the war drums at the AGM.

Anwar is talking about a Malaysian Spring, claiming that Pakatan Rakyat is going to form the federal government after the upcoming general election. This despite the fact that he has declared the sodomy trial as a "foregone conclusion", meaning that he expects to be convicted and jailed.

"Anwar is trying to push the party into election mode, to build up the momentum," said political insider and UCSI don Dr Ong Kian Ming.

The PKR de facto leader is rallying the troops in preparation for the party's national congress at the end of the month and, more important, in the run-up to the general election.

The congress will be in Johor this year. It is a signal that PKR intends to make Johor its frontline state.

"The mood is about going into the election – election preparation, policies, young voters. We will be beating the war drums," said strategy chief Rafizi Ramli, the brain behind many of the ideas popping up in the party.

They know that Johor is Umno's fortress and that the Malay majority seats, especially those with Felda content, are no-go areas. Surveys in Johor have shown that Barisan Nasional enjoys 85% support in the Felda areas, 75% among Malays and 60% among Indians.

Pakatan leaders are aware they have gone as far as they can in states like Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan.

Saifuddin: PKR is training its guns on Johor.

Strategically speaking, said Rafizi, PKR have to slug it out elsewhere if they want to add on to their parliamentary count. Besides, the non-Malay-majority parliamentary seats in Johor are quite similar to that in the Klang Valley in terms of demography and economics. They are also easily accessible, unlike those in Sabah and Sarawak.

"Johor will be the battle ground. The focus will be on the mixed seats," he said.

The perception is that PKR is going to be the big loser among the Pakatan parties in this election but PKR aims to rattle the ruling party in Johor when they convene at the Pulai Springs Resort where the congress will be held. The last congress in Petaling Jaya had capped a nightmarish party polls that saw dirty laundry being aired and which deeply embarrassed the party.

All that is behind them now and, according to secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution, speakers will focus on issues relating to the young, cost of living, scandals and corruption, and plight of the working class.

"We have told speakers not to spend time praising party leaders. There will be a report card on the preparation for the election and seat negotiation. We will set targets on seats to win and analyse what lies ahead," said Saifuddin.

The man to watch in the party is deputy president Azmin Ali.

He was the big winner in the stormy party election last year. He showed everyone that he is there not only because of Anwar but also due to grassroots support. There were allegations of fraud and vote rigging on his part but party leaders seem to have reconciled with the fact that he is here to stay.

Air of disappointment

Faekah: "Most powerful lady" in Selangor.

Azmin is known for his planning and organising skills. However, some are disappointed that he has clung to his style of speaking softly and carrying a big stick. They had expected him to take political positions, comment on issues and take on the other side. After all, his blog graphics show him waving like a champion with a picture of the Prime Minister's office behind him.

He has not done much to show what he is about. There have been no major projects nor has he articulated big issues. He has not really raised the game.

He was a much-watched debater in Parliament until Anwar returned as Permatang Pauh MP. After that, it seemed like the lieutenant did not want to steal the limelight from the boss. Some call it apple polishing, others think he is merely giving Anwar "face".

But, said a close aide: "Azmin is a careful man, he does not make rash decisions. He knows it's a marathon and he wants to bide his time, unlike Mat Sabu (PAS deputy president) who was everywhere after winning and got badly burnt."

Many have noted that Anwar is starting to treat him as an equal. He listens to Azmin rather than just instruct him to do this and that.

Azmin's priority is the general election. Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is the PKR president but Azmin and Anwar will likely have the main say over candidates and seats.

"Everybody will be kissing his hand soon," said a cynical observer.

The fight is on between Azmin, who is the party's Selangor chief, and Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Azmin wants the MB's post and, according to sources, Anwar has finally given the nod. Khalid, some suggest, may only contest a parliamentary seat.

Anwar and Khalid are still cordial and they talk but, as some joke, they are talking different languages.

Some think the on-going criticism of Khalid's political secretary Faekah Husin is part of the campaign to undermine Khalid. They blame her for keeping a distance between the party and the MB. Faekah, a lawyer, is only about 1.5m (5 feet) tall but she is dubbed the "most powerful lady" in Selangor because she has the ears of the MB and Dr Wan Azizah who was her former boss.

Recently, a senior party leader was so upset that Faekah spoke about Selangor's minimum wage policy before the MB announced it that he sent out a message via Twitter to Khalid asking him to control his aide. Unfortunately, something went wrong and it went out as a tweet and became public knowledge.

But Faekah has brushed off the allegations of being powerful. She insisted that if even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had problems controlling Khalid, no one can tell the MB what to do.

"He works very hard and he makes us work even harder. I never had pimples on my face until I joined his office," she said.

The tussle over the MB's post is a sideshow compared to bigger issues facing the party.

"PKR is actually on the defensive this time. It is the weak link in Pakatan," said Dr Ong.

The party, he said, is struggling to find good quality Malay candidates. Malay seats, especially the rural ones, are more difficult to fill than non-Malay seats. Apart from the usual qualifications, rural Malays want a candidate who is an anak kampung and religious credentials are important.

At a luncheon talk in Singapore earlier this year, Anwar declared that the difference between PKR and other political parties was that it gave opportunities for young people to be candidates.

Many of the party's main events have been organised by its younger leaders. But not everyone is sure whether Anwar will be willing to put his foot down on candidates and go with young, qualified faces or stick with the traditional but older loyalists.

The party had gone from zero to hero in the last election. But its image has sunk somewhat because of its reputation for "frogs" leaving the party and also because of Anwar's personal problems. His flip-flop on the hudud issue also damaged the party.

Anwar is a bit of an oxymoron in PKR. He is the X-factor in the party; at the same time, he is also the one dragging it down. The threat of a new sex video filmed in Bangkok hangs over the party like another sword of Damocles.

While DAP has declared that he is Pakatan's candidate for Prime Minister, PAS has been silent, and that speaks volumes. The thing is that not many people are prepared to vote for a party whose leader has all these personal problems and who may be facing jail.

At a dinner talk attended by Chinese community figures in Subang last week, a businessman asked Anwar: "You managed to put PAS and DAP together but you can only do that if you are here. What if you are not around?"

Despite the emergence of young, energetic leaders, PKR is still very much Anwar-centric. And despite the issues surrounding him, the party has never discussed a scenario without Anwar.

"If Anwar has to go to jail, Azmin will be the one leading," said a PKR assemblyman.

Given that, Azmin is the one to watch in more ways than one. The trouble is that not everyone in the party thinks he is quite ready for the role.

The coming general election will test the party and the leadership of Azmin.

 

Another three-way fight in Jelapang likely

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 04:07 PM PST

(The Star) - The Jelapang state seat may see a three-cornered fight in the coming general election.

In the 2008 election, the seat was contested by Barisan Nasional, and Pakatan Rakyat's DAP and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

The winner was DAP's Datuk Hee Yit Foong, who has since become a Barisan-friendly independent.

PSM deputy chairman M. Saraswathy said the party would maintain its quota of one parliamentary and three state seats for the coming general election. "Negotia-tions with Pakatan on seat allocations are going well," she said.

On the party's claim on Jelapang, Saraswathy said the party had been servicing the people there tirelessly since the last election.

"Even after Hee became an Independent in 2009, I continued with my service to the people," she said.

"There was also a short interim period where there was no service centre by DAP as Hee had closed hers," she added.

During the 2008 election, last minute negotiations between the DAP and PSM to avoid a three-cornered fight broke down, resulting in a free-for-all.

 

China unlikely to budge on thorny South China Sea dispute

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 03:55 PM PST

"ASEAN does not even have a common stand on the South China Sea dispute and has a poor track record in settling issues like this," said Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.

Reuters

Pressured at home and increasingly sensing a concerted regional effort to contain its territorial claims, China will be in no mood to make concessions on vast areas of the disputed South China Sea at two key east Asian summits in Indonesia this week.

China has the most extensive historic sovereignty claims in the potentially oil and gas rich South China Sea, including uninhabited atolls near the equatorial northern coast of Borneo.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei are the other claimants to parts of the sea, and along with the United States and Japan, are pressuring Beijing to try and seek some way forward on the knotty issue of sovereignty, which has flared up again this year with often tense maritime stand-offs.

But China, growing in confidence and military power, will see no reason to back down, a foreign policy analyst said.

"It's pretty prominent and pretty powerful now, so why back down now?" Kerry Brown, head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House, a London foreign policy institute.

"It would be odd for it to do so when you consider how big its strategic needs are, its energy needs, and the potential that these disputed territories have to fulfil those," he added.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is attending first a summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), followed straight after by the East Asia Summit on November 19, both on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

The East Asia Summit has been held every year since 2005. It gathers senior officials or leaders from Southeast Asia, China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. US President Barack Obama is also due to attend this year.

Diplomats say the South China Sea will most likely be raised during the two meetings.

Claimants to the sea have been trying to cool tension after a series of disputes this year, including when Chinese patrol boats threatened to ram a Philippine-contracted survey ship in the Reed Bank in March.

China and Vietnam last month signed an agreement seeking to contain the dispute, but the wording was vague and contained little new that the two sides had not agreed on previously.

"It's really only a question of time before we see another incident of the kind we saw earlier this year," said Ian Storey, a fellow at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

"China opposes any discussion of the issue at these kinds of forums," he added. "It opposes the 'internationalisation' of the problem. That's a limiting factor because China is obviously the key player in all of this and if it doesn't want to talk you're not going to make much headway."

China insists the dispute can only be resolved by bilateral talks between the parties directly concerned and has reacted angrily to attempts by the United States or old enemy Japan to get involved. India too has entered the frame via an oil exploration agreement with Vietnam.

With US bases to the east in Japan and South Korea, China fears its southern flank could be threatened if the United States stepped up its naval presence in the South China Sea, even if, as Washington says, it only wants to protect freedom of navigation.

Expecting ASEAN to play a role could also be wishful thinking.

"ASEAN does not even have a common stand on the South China Sea dispute and has a poor track record in settling issues like this," said Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.

China's state-run press has given wide coverage to the dispute.

Last week, the overseas edition of the People's Daily warned East Asian countries against letting the United States poke its nose in prickly questions like the South China Sea.

"Everything shows that the United States will provoke the contradictions which exist between countries in this region for its own benefit," it said in a commentary.

As well, more than 80 per cent of respondents to an on-line survey the Global Times' website said force should be used to resolve the issue, putting a degree of public pressure on the government not to surrender or weaken its claims.

"Whatever happens, I hope the country does not let its people lose face over this," wrote one on-line reader of the popular tabloid, run by Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily.

A former Chinese naval officer and academic at China's National Defence University warned in the Global Times on Friday that China risked "leaving fallow one's own land" if it were not more active in the South China Sea.

"Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines have all established a presence. We should be more proactive in strengthening our presence and control," Fan Jinfa wrote.

 

Should we settle for this nonsense?

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 03:50 PM PST

According to Khairy, who — to an outsider like me — seems mighty ready to prove that he is a reliable Umno man, said that the company did not want excess funds to lie idle. This guy thinks that we are dumb as the Umno people he mixes around with.

Ali Kadir, The Malaysia Insider

It is left to us, ordinary Malaysians, to show outrage at the thievery, corruption, mismanagement and subterfuge that is happening in our country.

Let us just ponder at what has happened since the Auditor-General noted that the National Feedlot project was a failure or on the verge of being a failure. First, you have the deputy prime minister downwards trying to convince Malaysians that the project was a success, with arguments that defy logic.

Then you had Noh Omar and Khairy Jamaluddin speaking up and defending the track record of the project and the main beneficiaries of the RM250 million soft loan: Shahrizat Jalil's family.

Their defence of the incredible — the squandering of public funds — indicated that the old and new of Umno are joined at the hip by ignorance, stupidity and a seemingly endless acceptance of bad practices.

Then came the revelation that the holding company behind the NFC project diverted nearly RM10 million in federal funds to buy a condominium in Bangsar. A company with a mandate to develop cattle project dabbling in property speculation, or was it a case of some people siphoning out public funds to build up their property portfolio?

According to Khairy, who — to an outsider like me — seems mighty ready to prove that he is a reliable Umno man, said that the company did not want excess funds to lie idle. This guy thinks that we are dumb as the Umno people he mixes around with.

When government funds or a soft loan is issued for a specific purpose, it cannot be used for other purposes. Otherwise, can you imagine the rampant abuses that would be taking place?

Here is the thing that has been disturbing me: Instead of shining a light on wrong practices and even owning up to mistakes, Umno and this government are prepared to lie and defend the indefensible.

In this NFC case, it is because a minister's family is caught in this mess that politicians and the media are all colluding to defend the abuse of taxpayers' funds.

Is Shahrizat's family the only one who obtained a sweet deal from the government? I believe this is not the case. Our ministers and politicians want leadership positions so that they can suck out the marrow from our country.

READ MORE HERE

 

Shall we dread or welcome the dragon?

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 03:40 PM PST

Chinese astrologers have no clear answer about what to expect next year. There may be turmoil ahead, or there may be peace

At present, one of the mostly hotly debated controversies is the end-of-the-world prediction of the Mayans. According to the calendar of that ancient civilisation, the end will come on Dec 21, 2012. It has been speculated that it will come about as a result of Earth colliding with some object from space, or a coronal mass ejection from the sun, or an explosion of a black hole.

Stanley Koh, Free Malaysia Today

The water dragon will rule in the Chinese year of 4709, which runs from Feb 4, 2012 to Feb 9, 2013. What do the energies of this fabulous creature have in store for humanity? The optimists would like to think that we are entering a period of civility, compassion and spiritual advancement, the kind of fairy tale world you see depicted in so many of those traditional Chinese paintings.

The realists, however, see little good news on the horizon. Recent reports about the world population exceeding seven billion, coupled with fears of extreme weather conditions, have raised new concerns about the future of humanity.

According to some astrologers, some of the energies brought by the dragon are similar to those brought by the dog in terms of their karmic effects on society. They say many natural disasters and manmade catastrophes have happened in dragon or dog years or even in months, days, hours or seconds in which one of these animals was on the ascendant.

The South Asia tsunami of Dec 26, 2004, for example, happened during the hour of either the dragon or the dog. The Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York happened in the hour of the dragon. The 2010 massacre of Hong Kong tourists in Manila took place in the hour of the dog.

However, not all is bleak in dragon years. In 1952, which was also a water dragon year, Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of England. The Mousetrap, a play based on an Agatha Christie story, opened in London and became the longest continuously running theatre production in history. And medical history was made with the first separation of Siamese twins at Mt Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

Many successful personalities were born in 1952, and they include people who have become CEOs of Coca Cola, Exxon, Mobile, Time Warner, Colgate and ITT.

Dragons, as characters in mythology and folklore, are not exclusive to Chinese tradition. They appear in Mesopotamian lore as well as many European myths. The English word "dragon" is derived from the Latin "draconern" for "huge serpent".

In Western myths, dragons are fearsome creatures. They destroy villages, abduct maidens and wreak all kinds of havoc on mankind. The Chinese, however, regard this creature with a respectful awe. Many emperors and dynasties adopted the image of the dragon as symbols of power and wealth.

To pessimists, the global scene in the 21st century will continue to be unpleasant, if not more so, regardless of astrological changes. They believe the powerful and influential are likely to go on seeking more power, fame and wealth and dominating this dog-eat-dog world.

Nobody has ever won any prizes for accurately predicting disasters and catastrophes, but Chinese astrologers were not too far off the mark when they predicted that the current Year of the Rabbit would be a year of social and political upheavals in some parts of the world.

READ MORE HERE

 

SAMM sedia lancar perhimpunan Bersih ketiga

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 03:34 PM PST

"Tarikhnya sudah dipilih dan akan diumumkan dalam masa terdekat," kata Badrul Hisham yang lebih dikenali sebagai Chegu Bard.

(Free Malaysia Today) - Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) membayangkan perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 akan diadakan kerana mendakwa kerajaan tidak membuat apa-apa bagi menambak baik perjalanan pilihan raya.

Bersih 3.0 bertujuan untuk memberi kata dua kepada Perdana Menteri sama ada melakukan perubahan sistem pilihanraya terlebih dahulu sebelum PRU13 atau berdepan dengan satu lagi perhimpunan protes rakyat terbesar.

Bersih 3.0 akan turut memantau perjalanan PSC supaya ia tidak dilengah-lengahkan dengan sengaja di atas muslihat tertentu.

Pengerusi SAMM, Badrul Hisham Shaharim berkata, "Bersih 3.0 sedia dilancarkan bila-bila masa dari sekarang."

"Setakat ini, kerajaan melalui agensi SPR dilihat masih tidak membuat apa-apa pendekatan awal untuk baik-pulih sistem pilihanraya terutamanya dalam aspek tuntutan yang tidak memerlukan perubahan akta seperti penggunaan dakwat kekal.

READ MORE HERE

 

Top US Economist Jeffrey Sachs Was ‘Cultivated’ and ‘Influenced’ To Become a ...

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 01:34 PM PST

By Sarawak Report

Horizon to horizon – Sime Darby's HQ for its plantations between Miri and Bintulu

Sarawak Report has uncovered shocking documents, which detail a deliberate and orchestrated campaign by the Malaysian Oil Palm giant, Sime Darby, to court and seduce one of the world's most celebrated economists into becoming an 'Ambassador' for the company.

Jeffrey Sachs is the Professor of Sustainable Development at New York's Columbia University and was listed by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

As Head of the University's Earth Institute, Special Adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and former Director of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, Sachs is famous for his initiatives on reducing world poverty.

Yet, despite the World Bank's decision to ban further lending to large scale palm oil plantations, because they have been shown to INCREASE poverty, Sime Darby believe, according to these documents, that they have converted Jeffrey Sachs into a valuable 'champion' for their company and for Malaysia's palm oil industry.

Our evidence shows that Sime Darby,  Malaysia's largest oil palm company,  hired the disgraced PR outfit FBC Media to 'cultivate' and 'influence' this key opinion former, so that they could  use him as a 'Third Party Endorser' in the numerous newspaper advertisements and TV programmes they commissioned to promote their palm oil business.

 
READ MORE HERE.


 

 

 

 

All eyes on the Malay votes

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 01:30 PM PST

Of the 222 parliamentary seats, only 46 are Chinese majority. So winning the hearts and minds of Malay voters has become the focus of the competing Malay-based parties.

As for Anwar, on the one hand, he is telling his Chinese audience that hudud laws are not part of Pakatan's policy. On the other, he is telling the Malay audience that he backs the implementation of hudud laws, putting the DAP in a spot as PAS has said it couldn't care less if the DAP agrees or not.

By Wong Chun Wai, The Star 

WHEN Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the government had decided to scrap the PPSMI (teaching of Maths and Science in English policy) in primary schools, there was loud outrage from the urbanites.

This unhappiness has continued with most urban voters refusing to accept the reasons given by the Education Minister, believing instead that politics is the reason behind the decision.

There were subtle threats of punishing the Barisan Nasional government in the polls but PAS and PKR, both Malay-based parties, also quickly stated their stand against continuing the policy.

A Malay non-governmental organisation, Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM), had revealed that its survey of 27,200 parents, mostly Malays, found 55% wanted the PPSMI to be retained compared to only 13% who didn't. Of these respondents, 15,000 were rural parents. But Malay groups, and certainly Malay-based parties, had found their own surveys telling them the opposite.

With a general election looming, winning the hearts and minds of the predominantly Malay voters has become the focus of the competing Malay-based parties.

The fact is that of the 222 parliamentary seats, only 46 are Chinese majority and there is not even a single constituency with an Indian majority.

The three main parties, Umno, PAS and PKR, have all stepped up their posturing as defenders of the Malay/Muslim votes, well aware that while they need the support of the other communities, they cannot ignore the sentiments of the Malay voters.

So when DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said that if Pakatan Rakyat formed the next federal government, it would trim down the civil service – majority of whom are Malays – his allies had to scramble to do damage control.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and senior PAS leaders had to quickly douse the fire, denying that there was such a plan.

The opposition leaders have been on tenterhooks since the fiasco by PAS deputy president Mohamed Sabu, who allegedly described communist guerrillas involved in the 1950s Bukit Kepong incident as freedom fighters.

With many Malay families having at least one relative in the police, army or other uniformed unit, Mat Sabu's remarks cost the Pakatan Rakyat a huge chunk of votes. Since then, the usually fiery speaker has remained quiet, and PAS is hoping that the anger against him will soon die out.

The Islamist party has also abandoned its attempt to project a more liberal image and has gone back to talking about hudud laws and the Islamic state and banning concerts to retain its core supporters.

As for Anwar, on the one hand, he is telling his Chinese audience that hudud laws are not part of Pakatan's policy. On the other, he is telling the Malay audience that he backs the implementation of hudud laws, putting the DAP in a spot as PAS has said it couldn't care less if the DAP agrees or not.

The DAP seems to be helpless over the issue with its leaders saying they have "agreed to disagree" over the implementation of hudud laws. PAS claims it would not affect non-Malays but this is a fallacy because it will extend beyond family and religious laws.

In criminal matters, when a case involves a Muslim and a non-Muslim, if hudud is chosen, it will clearly put the latter in a spot. One example is sex offences where four witnesses are required.

Only DAP lawyer Karpal Singh seems to acknowledge the difficult path ahead.

The fight over Malay votes has continued with DAP's Lim Guan Eng coming out to say that if Pakatan wins, Anwar will be the prime minister. It is a move to allay fear among non-Muslim voters as PAS is eyeing the post.

There has been muted response from PAS as it is an open secret that its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang wants to be PM.

Lim has insisted that Anwar would be PM "even if he is in jail (if convicted for sodomy charges)", but the point is, if Anwar is going to be PM, then he wouldn't be in jail.

Most non-Muslims wouldn't blink over the Seksualiti Merdeka issue as they are aware that the event is not a gay orgy as claimed by some media.

Many of us find the hysterical reaction to be lacking compassion and even ridiculous, but this is the silly season. It was a case of wrong timing and political naivete on the part of the organisers. After all, the event has been held for the past two years without any controversy.

But human rights lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who was invited to open the forum, is seen as an opposition figure, and with Anwar's sodomy trial coming to a conclusion soon, the timing could not have been worse.

Well aware of the Muslim psyche and sentiments, PAS swiftly joined in to criticise the gay rights event.

The much-touted 11.11.11 date, which many thought would see the dissolution of Parliament, is over and with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak himself saying that polls would not be held this year, the run-up campaign looks set to be a draggy affair.

Even now, the posturing, rhetoric, accusations and lies are becoming tiresome, and the polls could still be very far away, possibly in mid-2012.

 

Engage people openly, meaningfully and consistently

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 01:22 PM PST

(The Star) - OVER the past two days, the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reforms held public hearings with several public interest groups in the country.

It is a welcome move by the Government to engage the people and their representative groups on matters of great public interest.

This element of participatory democracy, as set within the context of a parliamentary democracy, would serve the nation well.

Both the Government and the governed share the objective of ensuring that all aspects of the coming general election will be above board and beyond reproach.

Greater transparency in formulating measures towards this end is therefore only to be encouraged.

Nonetheless, some doubts may remain over how exactly these deliberations with the PSC would translate into policy and practice.

For the Government to assuage public concern over this matter, which it must surely do, all reasonable proposals that have been put forward should be considered.

Whether that will happen can be seen in how the various issues raised are handled from now.

For the PSC's engagement with the people to be meaningful, it cannot be mere window dressing.

All legitimate reservations and grievances should be addressed competently and satisfactorily.

The more diverse the respondents' backgrounds, the more fruitful the discussions ought to be.

There can no longer be any hesitation in doing what is right, no equivocation on what must be done, and no partisan second thoughts about the public duties at hand.

Another means of ensuring that public interest is served, and is seen to be served, is for public sector agencies in general to be consistent in seriously engaging the people constructively.

There is much that Malaysians in their private capacity can contribute by way of suggesting best practices.

The ultimate purpose of public service is surely to serve the public conscientiously, regardless of individual likes and dislikes.

The public sector should be ready to acknowledge that as a maturing democracy, Malaysia comprises citizens of different preferences and persuasions.

The art of public administration therefore lies in managing these differences within the scope of a larger national endeavour for the greater benefit of the nation as a whole.

A maturing electorate is also one that would assess an administration on both what it resolves to do, and how it chooses to do it.

Lynas: A colossal catastrophe waiting to happen

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 12:55 PM PST

By MN D'Cruz, Aliran

I am writing this as a concerned citizen, living in Kuantan for the past 60-odd years. My concern is not about my personal safety or health, as I am well into my eighties and the call may come anytime, sooner rather than later. May I also add that I have no political agenda in this matter and I am not a member of any political party, Barisan Nasional or Opposition.

But my real concern is about the safety and health of generations of our children to come, as well as the expanding population that has to work, live and perhaps die in the vicinity of the proposed plant. This vicinity includes Kuantan Town, Beserah, Batu Hitam, Jabor, Balok, Sungei Karang, Cherating and other settlements along the coast, right up to Kemaman and may be further on into the neighbouring state of Terengganu.

Most of these villages are well populated and growing. The proponents of this project and those in the authority of the state/federal governments now have a solemn duty to ensure the health and safety of the people in these regions for generations to come. But I am really concerned that whatever assurance they may give verbally or in writing may not hold good for ever. Nobody, except God, can predict natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, tidal waves and floods, which may strike anytime.

I am sure those who built the plants in the Three Mile Island in USA (1979), Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011) had taken utmost precautions to prevent disasters and yet they happened. Thousands of people died in these disasters and thousands more are still suffering the after-effects of these disasters. Do we want to have a similar situation in this country?

The biggest question is "Why do we want this plant in Gebeng or for that matter anywhere in Malaysia?"

Are we so hard-up for foreign direct investment that we are prepared to accept a backyard industry, rejected in its own country? Western Australia has all the required facilities, viz. less populated region, accessibility to seawater and port, good transport system and infrastructure.

So why do they want to come to Gebeng to do this job?

According to Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, "the state government did not approve the project and it had no power to stop it…"

"When Lynas first proposed the project, International Trade and Industry Ministry had given the project to Terengganu . However, due to delays (or rejection by Terengganu?) the Ministry asked us to consider having the plant in Gebeng" (Press report, 20 April 2011).

Does it mean the state government has no power to refuse permission for the plant to be built in Gebeng? Land usage is a state matter and the state should have the last say in such matters. So it is surprising to note the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has forced the Lynas Gebeng Project, down the state's throat.

"Atomic Board has limited jurisdiction" (press report).

Does it mean that in matters outside its jurisdiction, it can wash its hands and put the blame on other agencies like the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, the Department of Environment and even the State Development Corporation?

"A full operational licence will not be issued if Lynas does not meet the requirements that have been set" (press report, April 23, 2011).

So, if the requirements are not met with, will the RM700 million Lynas plant under construction now become a white elephant?

"Lynas, which hopes to begin operation in September 2011, expects to bring in RM8 billion a year from 2013 that too tax-free, based on current prices."

Who are the real beneficiaries of the RM8 billion a year income — the state government, Lynas Australia, the federal government, Lynas (M) Sdn Bhd?

I understand there is LYNAS (M) Sdn Bhd in existence.

Who are the directors, shareholders and stakeholders of this company?

It has been reported that a delegation of state exco reps visited the Lynas headquarters in Australia.

Who sponsored their visit? Did they see any plant in operation there? What technical or scientific expertise did the members of the delegation have to do an objective study of the pros and cons of operating such a plant? Who paid for their expenses? Lynas or the state government?

The raw-material is to be imported from Lynas Australia.

Why bring the raw materials from Australia, when it could safely be processed there? Is it because the 41 safety and health regulations by the Australian government are more stringent than whatever conditions we may impose in Malaysia?

According to some experts the public is already exposed to naturally occurring and ionising radiation. Do we need an extra dose of radiation?

The finished products will be taken back to Australia but the "tailings" will be "safely" left behind in Gebeng.

Why should we hold on to this toxic waste for many, many years, even if they are deposited underground?

Isn't it true that there is no 'safe' level of radiation, as far as its effects on the health of the people is concerned? (Letter to the Press by Mr David K C Quek dated May 27, 2011).

Do we want a repeat of Bukit Merah, Perak, where the Japanese Company which ran the rare-earth plant is spending RM300 million to do the clean-up and even after more than 25 years, they have not succeeded in cleaning up, leaving behind those with birth defects and eight leukaemia cases — seven have since died (New York Times, March 8, 2011)

"Chinese farmers in China pay the price for rare-earth addictive" (press report).

 

READ MORE HERE.

Umno missing religious edge in Kelantan, says Mustapa

Posted: 12 Nov 2011 12:43 PM PST

By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed has admitted that Umno's efforts to regain Kelantan are being hampered by the lack of religious scholars in the party's state leadership.

The Kelantan Umno chief told The Malaysian Insider in a recent interview that while it could channel federal resources to develop the east coast state, the shortage of "ulama (Muslim scholars)" was a "challenge for us" in "deeply religious Kelantan."

"For that reason, PAS has a strong foothold in Kelantan," the international trade and industry minister said of the Islamist party that has governed the mostly rural state since 1990.

"On our side, we do not have as many religious scholars. That's a challenge for us. We've not been able to attract people with a solid religious grounding to be in the Kelantan Umno leadership," Mustapa said.

PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has maintained his popularity as a symbol of PAS's brand of Islam — religiosity and moderation in governance — since becoming mentri besar over two decades ago.

"I can bring up many issues on mismanagement by the state government, but at the end of the day, what people will see is me attacking an old man wearing a jubah (robe) in the Dewan Negeri (state assembly)," state opposition leader Datuk Che Alwi Ahmad told The Malaysian Insider recently.

Politicians also told The Malaysian Insider that PAS's success or failure in implementing hudud, the Islamic penal law, in Kelantan will serve as an indicator of Malay voter support there ahead of a general election expected to be called soon.

But state Umno leaders have also said that economist Mustapa, who is their MB candidate of choice, has a "squeaky-clean" and "scandal-free" image, and have made it a point to burnish the minister's credentials "every chance" they get in forums and even public events.

Mustapa, who is Jeli MP, has been working with Umno officials on its "Gelombang Merah" campaign to take back the state.

The economist, with a first class honours degree in Economics from University of Melbourne, Australia and a Masters in Economic Development from the Boston University, also said in the interview that PAS is "running out of ideas" to spur the state's economy.

"The people who have been driving the economy are civil servants, small traders and people who work outside of Kelantan.

 

READ MORE HERE.

 



Kit Siang: Shouldn’t someone go to jail in cattle farm scandal?

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 07:26 PM PST

By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider

DAP's Lim Kit Siang asked today if anyone will be jailed over the alleged financial abuse in a publicly-funded cattle farm owned and run by a federal minister's family. 

The opposition leader's comments come in the wake of last week's public debate on the National Feedlot Centre (NFC), operated by Women, Family and Community Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil's husband and children. 

Allegations of financial impropriety have dogged the project after the Auditor-General revealed last month that the NFC had failed to meet production targets for 2010, despite benefiting from a RM134.72 million soft loan from the government. 

"The prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak or his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was agriculture minister when the NFC project was first mooted and approved, should answer this question in the minds of most Malaysians: 'Shouldn't someone go to jail?'" Lim said in a statement today. 

He said the question was uppermost in the minds of Malaysians after Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin defended the NFC's purchase of a RM10 million upscale Bangsar condominium as a "strategic" investment. 

Lim also questioned the inaction of the national anti-graft agency in probing claims that millions in federal funds meant for the cattle farm had been used for other purposes, in violation of strict loan conditions. 

"If the cast of personalities involved in the NFC scandal had all involved Pakatan Rakyat leaders and their family members... there is no doubt that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) would have swooped in on the case from day one," he said.  

Shahrizat's husband and children should come forward to clear the air given the numerous contradicting statements issued in defence of the NFC by Umno leaders like Khairy, Lim added. 

"It is time that her husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail, her children Wan Shahimur Izran, Wan Shahimur Izmir and Wan Izzana Fatimah, break their silence," he said.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Ambiga seeks RCI into citizenship-for-votes claims

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 07:23 PM PST

By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan today pushed for the establishment of a royal panel to investigate claims the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) has been fast-tracking citizenship applications for foreigners in return for their votes.

The prominent lawyer and civil rights activist noted the federal government has been plagued by such claims recently and that the allegations persist despite repeated denials by its officials.

"I'm sorry but to me that's the highest treason to this country, that we are registering foreigners as citizens for the purposes of voting," the prominent civil rights activist told a bipartisan parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform.

"If that is the case and if there is evidence, then we must have a Royal Commission to examine this," she proposed to the nine-man panel on Day Two of its public hearing.

A unit of the Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office had allegedly posted on its official website last September 17 that its citizens who are working in Malaysia had been asked to vote for the ruling BN coalition in exchange for fast-tracked citizenship requests.

The allegation triggered a public uproar prompting an Opposition MP to moot the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the issue.

Both Putrajaya and Dhaka — the latter through its High Commission here — have denied the claims.

The controversial webpage has since disappeared from the Bangladesh NGO Affairs' Bureau's official website.

MORE TO COME HERE.

Karpal: Strong Umno move to ‘knock off’ Najib

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 05:14 PM PST

If the next election ends with a hung-parliament, then there should be a re-election, says Karpal Singh

Immediately after the fall of Pakatan's Perak government in Feb 2009, Karpal rapped Anwar for predicting a usurpation of Putrajaya administration few months earlier via the backdoor of parliamentarian crossovers from Barisan Nasional.

Athi, Shankar, Free Malaysia Today

DAP national chairman Karpal Singh believes Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) president Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is 'living in his own world' and unrealistic in his view that snap polls should not be held until after reforms have been carried out.

Karpal said the former Semangat 46 president had 'missed his opportunities' of becoming Malaysia's Prime Minister after he dissolved Semangat 46 and rejoined Umno.

"His own people like  Rais Yatim and Ahmad Shabeery Chik have betrayed him to become ministers," said Karpal.

He slammed Razaleigh, who is commonly known as Ku Li, for not having the stamina to last in opposition politics and succumbing to former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed' political trap.

Touching on Prime Minister Najib Razak, he said the premier was under tremendous internal pressure to call for a snap poll by next March to ensure his own survival rather than in larger public interests.

He pointed that a recent book titled 'Kesilapan-kesilapan Najib' (Najib's Mistakes),  authored by former Wangsa Maju deputy Umno Youth chief Shahbudin Husin, documented frequent criticisms by Ku Li and Mahathir and clearly showed  there was a strong Umno factional move to knock Najib off his perch.

"Pressure is piling up on Najib to call for at least a snap parliamentary poll to secure a fresh mandate for his rule," stressed Karpal.

On the PAS state government's insistence to implement the Islamic hudud law in Kelantan, he said the DAP would oppose any unconstitutional move to implement it in the country.

He called on PAS to stop the hudud politics to avoid frightening off the non-Muslim voters.

"The groundswell favours Pakatan to form the next federal government.

"PAS should not scuttle it," he said.

Anwar still DAP's choice

On the this issue of Anwar Ibrahim, Karpal said that DAP was under no illusion as to who would be premier if Pakatan Rakyat came into federal power.

The party's choice, Karpal said, is undoubtedly Anwar, who is parliamentary opposition leader.

Karpal said both his party and another Pakatan ally, PAS, backed the PKR supremo as the coalition's premier-designate because of his proven credentials as political leader and government administrator.

Anwar was previously the deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. He has also held other ministerial positions during his 16-odd years in the federal ruling party, Umno.

Describing Anwar as an astute politician, Karpal said the Permatang Pauh MP was fit and competent enough to become the Prime Minister.

"For DAP, Anwar is the right man for the job," he insisted

Karpal, who is the leading counsel defending Anwar in the on-going Sodomy II trial, however expressed hope that the PKR leader would not be disqualified (vis-vis a conviction) from contesting in next polls.

"It will definitely complicate matters if he was convicted," Karpal told a press conference during his Bukit Gelugor parliamentary constituency visit here today.

He was responding to a question raised by MCA president Chua Soi Lek on whether Karpal would still back Anwar as the premier after criticizing the PKR leader on his Sept 16 takeover fiasco three years ago.

Karpal in turn has challenged Chua to stand in any Chinese-majority seat against top DAP leaders to prove that MCA had the community support.

"Chua can stand in Ipoh Timur, Bagan or even Bukit Gelugor," said Karpal.

He counseled the MCA leader to first look into stabilizing his own rocking party rather than going around challenging others without any substance.

READ MORE HERE

 

Belanja RM10 bilion tapi rakyat tidak dapat faedah

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:37 PM PST

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said sendiri mengakui Monsoon Cup satu pembaziran tetapi diteruskan untuk memperkenalkan negeri di mata dunia

(Free Malaysia Today) - PAS Terengganu mendakwa kerajaan negeri telah membelanjakan lebih RM10 bilion royalti minyak tetapi tidak emmberi manfaat kepada rakyat.

"Kerajaan negeri membelanjakan wang itu tetapi sesetengah projek masih tidak siap kerana penyelwengan yang dilakukan oleh pemimpin Umno," dakwa pemangku Ketua Penerangan PAS negeri, Azman Shapawi Abdul Rani.

Menurutnya, antara pembaziran itu ialah projek Monsoon Cup – pertandingan kapal layar di muara sungai Terengganu yang diadakan setiap  tahun.

Beliau berkata, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said sendiri mengakui Monsoon Cup satu pembaziran tetapi diteruskan untuk memperkenalkan negeri di mata dunia.

Bina mahligai

Tetapi, tambah Azman setelah lebih lima tahun tidak banyak manfaat yang diperolehi oleh rakyat Terengganu.

"Kononnya penganjuran Monsoon Cup untuk memberi peluang pekerjaan dan faedah kepada nelayan Pulau Duyong tidak berjaya kerana mereka masih ditakuk lama," katanya.

READ MORE HERE

 

BN tepis dakwaan Azmin, tinggalkan RM1.4 bilion untuk Pakatan

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:34 PM PST

Ketua Penerangan BN Negeri yang juga Adun Kuang Syukur Idrus berkata, `kalau tidak salah ingatan saya Dr Khir memberitahu wang tunai waktu itu ialah RM1. 4 bilion.

(Free Malaysia Today) - BN Selangor menafikan mereka meninggalkan  hutang ratusan juta ringgit kepada Pakatan Rakyat dalam pilihan raya umum 2008.

Menteri Besar waktu itu ialah Dr Mohd Khir Toyo yang memegang jawatan nombor satu negeri termaju itu sejak  tahun 2000. Beliau merupakan  Adun Sungai Panjang

Ketua Penerangan BN Negeri yang juga Adun Kuang Syukur Idrus berkata, `dalam pengetahuan saya wang tunai RM1. 4 bilion ditinggalkan oleh bekas  Menteri Besar, Dr Mohd Khir Toyo.

Manakala wang dalam akaun syarikat milik kerajaan negeri juga dalam berbilion ringgit.

Syukur terkejut dengan dakwaan pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat Azmin Ali yang mengatakan BN meninggalkan 40 jenis hutang bernilai RM829. 9 juta pada 2008.

Azmin yang juga Adun Bukit Antarabangsa berkata, bagaimanapun kerajaan negeri sekarang berjaya membayar hutang tertunggak sebanyak RM253.16 juta termasuk anuiti semasa RM79.7 juta.

Syukur berkata, wang berbilion ringgit yang ditinggalkan BN telah habis dibelanjakan oleh Pakatan Rakyat.

READ MORE HERE

 

PRU-13: BN Lembah Pantai bergelora

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:31 PM PST

Orang-orang Raja Nong Chik bertepuk tangan bila timbul skandal projek lembu feedlot.

(Free Malaysia Today) - Barisan Nasional (BN) Lembah Pantai semakin bergelora apabila penyokong tokoh tertentu dari Umno mula bersaing sesama sendiri bagi memastikan pemimpin yang disokong mereka dicalonkan dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke 13 nanti.

Seorang ahli Pergerakan Wanita Umno, yang memegang potfolio yang tidak kurang penting dalam pergerakan itu memberitahu, isu ini semakin panas semenjak timbulnya isu Pusat Feedlot Kebangsaaan yang dikaitkan dengan Menteri Pembangunan, Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Datuk Seri Sharizat Abd Jalil.

Beliau yang mahu dikenali sebagai Ani berkata, selain Sharizat yang dianggap sebagai calon tradisi di parlimen itu, nama lain yang disebut sebagai calon ialah Menteri Pembangunan Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar, Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.

"Sekarang angin gelora pilihan raya siapa akan dicalonkan memang semakin panas, dah semacam tak terkawal lagi dah di Lembah Pantai ni.

"Walaupun semua orang tahu dah berapa penggal Sharizat bertanding di Lembah Pantai, tetapi Raja Nong Chik juga dah lama cuba masuk jarum, berkempen sana-sini.

Tepuk tangan isu projek feedlot

"Yang buat saya sakit hati tu, bila timbul pula skandal projek feedlot tu, orang-orang Raja Nong Chik, bukannya nak membantu atau pun sekurang-kurangnya simpati, tetapi bertepuk tangan lagi adalah.

"Kalau penyokong pembangkang tu tak kisahlah, tetapi saya tengok dia orang pun sama juga macam penyokong pembangkang, itu yang buat saya sedih tu," kata beliau.

Beliau juga memberitahu walaupun anggapan sesetengah pihak bahawa Raja Nong Chik adalah calon boleh menang di Parlimen Lembah Pantai tetapi belum tentu dapat mengatasi prestasi Sharizat sekaligus boleh menjamin kemenangan BN di kawasan itu.

"Saya berpendapat kalau ada orang kata Raja Nong Chik adalah calon 'winnable' di sini, itu belum tentu lagi, sebab Sharizat adalah calon favourite di sini kalau nak bandingkan dengan Raja Nong Chik.

"Memang kita akui dia adalah Ketua Umno di sini, tetapi jangan lupa Sharizat pernah berkhidmat sebagai YB selama tiga penggal, banyak bantu penduduk dan dah tentu lebih mengenali pengundi di sini berbanding Nong Chik.

READ MORE HERE

 

Overseas M’sians indignant with MCA

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:26 PM PST

Malaysians abroad are insulted over MCA's claim that they are ignorant about current affairs in the country.

(Free Malaysia Today) - MCA president, Chua Soi Lek, swiftness in clarifying the party's stand on overseas voting came a little too late. Word had already reached Malaysians abroad and they have taken the party to task for it.

MCA central committee member, Ei Kim Hock, told the parliamentary election reform panel yesterday morning that Malaysians living abroad were unqualified to vote as they were "out of touch" with the country's current affairs.

He added that MCA's research had shown that most of these Malaysians only received information from dubious sources which may not paint a true picture of the situation here.

Within a few hours Chua chastised Ei for his improper explanation and clarified that MCA opposed overseas voting because of the "logistical nightmare" and resources needed for its success.

But by this morning FMT had received emails from Malaysians mostly residing in the US and UK expressing indignance over Ei's statement.

Slamming Ei's comments as "ludicrous", "rhetorical" and "patronizing", these Malaysians stated that they made an extra effort to keep abreast of Malaysia's current affairs because of the very fact that they live abroad.

They also emphasized that their news sources comprised mainstream and alternative news portals, TV channels and blogs including Buletin Utama, Harian Metro, The Star, FMT, Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider and NST.

Juliana Zulkifli, an academic in Essex, said that Ei's statement 'is expected' from a Barisan Nasional (BN) component party that stands to lose the most when Malaysians abroad vote.

She also noted its irony given the amount of effort and money spent by BN over the past decade in coming to "talk and update" the overseas Malaysian community of matters back home.

"The statement also seems counter-intuitive to movements such as the overseas Umno, MCA and MIC clubs sprouting here which are not exclusively helmed by students," Juliana said.

"If BN is actively engaging members of the Malaysian community abroad then why deny them the right to vote?" she added.

MCA 'clueless'

Ken Vin Lek, a student in Warwick, pointed out that overseas Malaysians encompass thousands of students sponsored by the Public Service Department and other government-linked companies who would one day return to Malaysia.

"So if they're trying to say prospective employees don't know Malaysia merely because they reside abroad then they've not kept up with times and are not apt to lead a nation.

"News sources on Malaysia are easily accessible via the internet and scholars are more than able to afford smartphones and laptops to keep up with such information," he said.

Susan Abrahm, an author in Dublin, added that MCA has a "very narrow view" of how the digital word works and is in danger of  forgetting the monumental power of sharing sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Aaron Nair, a student in Boston, further flayed MCA for "patronizing the intellect of overseas Malaysians" and wondered if the party was more clueless about the situation back home than "us far-flung Malaysians".

"I have a keen objective view of ongoings back home and I give wind to both alternative and mainstream media although we all know who are the soothsayers and who are the real deal," he said.

READ MORE HERE

 

Najib has ‘forfeited his right to govern’

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:24 PM PST

Former de facto Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim is of the opinion that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has made a mistake in dismissing the National Feedlot issue.

(Free Malaysia Today) - Kita chief, Zaid Ibrahim believes that Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak's, defence of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) fiasco is an indication that his time is up.

"Najib should have done the sensible thing and admitted that the whole NFC issue was a mistake.

"That's how a reformist government would react."

"You don't give a project worth a few hundred million ringgit to a minister and say its because no one wants it. If no one wants it then don't start the project," Zaid said during an interview with FMT yesterday.

The NFC project is being run by the husband and children of  Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

The recent  Auditor-General's Report described the NFC project as a "mess" and since then PKR has exposed details of alleged business and financial mismanagement within NFC.

Najib however has dismissed allegations of abuse of power in the federal government's RM250 million soft loan to NFC.

'Gives govt a bad image'

But Zaid stressed the irrelevance of debating business technicalities when very act of awarding the project to a federal minister's family was in itself unprincipled.

"If you can give RM200 million or RM300 million to one minister, you could have probably given the same to other ministers as well…

"It gives the government a bad image and Najib made a mistake by saying it is above board because it is not," said Zaid.

Zaid added that even if the minister was the most capable and the project was objectively evaluated no one would have believed it.

He said Najib's failure to respond to the issue has as such given the opposition its ammunition.

"And this issue would last quite awhile," he warned.

"People cannot tolerate case after case of blatant abuse."

"When you give a minister a project like this and say nothing is wrong, then your time is up because you can no longer differentiate between what is right and wrong.

"And so you forfeit your right to govern," Zaid said

Govt has explained

Kota Belud MP, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, also acknowledged as a 'valid concern' the  awarding of the project to a federal minister.

But he emphasized that the project was done via a tender process and not through direct negotiations.

"Six companies submitted a bid and two were ultimately chosen – NFC and Australia's Lambert Corporation.

"When Lambert withdrew halfway (through) it affected the project timeline hence why NFC couldn't meet the production target," he said.

Rahman also shot down the opposition's allegation of mismanagement within NFC and insisted that everything had been done in order.

"The government and backbenchers have provided constant and dependable replies.

"And (Rembau MP) Khairy (Jamaluddin) has provided a very good explanation on his blog regarding the condo," he said refering to the controversial RM9.8 million condominium in Bangsar.

READ MORE HERE

 

Wrong way to become creator of transformation

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:20 PM PST

Daniel John Jambun

I must say I am very irritated by a little-noticed news story published in your esteemed paper last October 27, titled "Undergraduates told to become creator of transformation." It was as a report of a speech by the Prime Minister delivered by Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein at the closing of the Prime Minister's Trophy Debate between students of institutions of higher learning at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Kuala Lumpur on October 22.

In that speech the PM outlined five major aspects to be played by undergraduates in the country's development, including becoming creators of transformation "instead of spreading controversies." He said "undergraduates must become solvers instead of causing disasters besides becoming lovers of knowledge instead of becoming dream merchants." At this point my patience ran out. How is it possible for young people not to create controversies in the pursuit of change, in the effort to transform the Malaysian society? What if the social or political situation is so bad that they have to voice their opposition to what are being practiced? How are they going to transform society if they are just puppets trying to follow and join what is going on, for better of for worse?

And what does the PM mean by causing disasters, becoming lovers of knowledge instead of becoming dream merchants? These are all conflicting concepts! We must all be dream merchants, selling our dreams to transform the Malaysian society into becoming a great example for other countries. How can we be lovers of knowledge and then don't apply them and just support the government  even if it is doing a lot of things wrong? Is that causing disasters? No! That is changing a bad system, and that is the very purpose of the democratic system under a constitutional monarchy that we enjoy in Malaysia . Najib himself had said that the age when the government is supposed to know everything is over. Very often, the new generation knows what they want for their country's future, and they want to dismantle old and outdated systems that are making our administration obsolete.

Najib also said that the young people shouldn't "become merely vendors of empty stories just to gain sympathy in continuing the personal agendas of certain groups" and then admitted that "We all know the voice and ideas of the young generation today, particularly the undergraduates, must be taken as the best capital which will drive the country's development." What he seems to be saying is that students shouldn't try to be politicians but they are the ones with the best ideas to drive the country forward. That's another contradiction in terms.

As I see it, the ideas of the younger generation cannot be stopped or controlled by the current crop of government leaders. It's way too late for that. The young people know what they want for their country, for their children and grandchildren and they have been too much exposed and educated through observations of developments in other countries to be so easily influenced by sweet talks from their leaders. Najib said in the same speech, "At the very least, they can act as an effective reciprocal instrument for all the government policies and plans" which to me meant that he expect all undergraduates should reciprocate (react positively to show gratitude). This means they shouldn't oppose or criticize. But, again, what if the policies and plans are wrong and against the interests of undergraduates like the provision in the Universities and University Colleges Act which prohibits students form becoming involved in politics?

The best way is to have the dialogues open from both sides, with the government being receptive to criticism and not just expecting support for everything it does. If the government cannot tolerate criticism from the younger generation, the country's forward move will be stalled, and the opposition will have even more reasons to want to change the government.

 

Citizen Empowerment Programme 19 & 20 Nov 2011

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:14 PM PST

Citizen Empowerment School (CES) is initiated by Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) to Raise Awareness Amongst the Rakyat.

Curently, CES  offers Citizen Empowerment Programme which will be conducted over two days on every month. Participants will have the privilege of listening to and learning from some of Malaysia's leading social activists, including MCLM Chairman Raja Petra Kamarudin and MCLM President Haris M. Ibrahim.

The CES 's programme offers an incisive analysis of the state of our nation, Malaysia, offering an accurate picture that cuts through political rhetoric and popular misconceptions. Topics will cover poverty and social injustice, the Federal Constitution as well as electoral fraud and other abuses.

Subsequently, CES will help participants to explore all the possible steps and actions they can take to contribute to making Malaysia the nation envisioned by our founding fathers.

CES is a very intensive and interactive workshop. However, we are confident that participants will come away with a profound understanding of their role as the Third Force, and with that, a powerful sense of empowerment.

It is our hope that with each session of CES, more and more Malaysians will join us in our efforts to take our country back on the right path as a democratic, just and inclusive nation for all.

READ MORE HERE

REGISTER HERE: https://sites.google.com/site/citizenempowersch/tests

 

Sabah BN needs ‘phantom voters’ to win

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 02:14 PM PST

By Queville To, FMT

KOTA KINABALU: After years of timid pleas for an investigation into the overwhelming presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah by state government leaders, the calls are becoming shriller as the countdown to the 13th general election takes shape.

Sounding panicky and even hysterical over the last couple of weeks almost all the state Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition partners have trotted out one after the other to 'demand' the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).

Joining the list of parties demanding an RCI on the issue which would invariably expose a host of illegal activities by past and present high-level government figures, is newly-empowered Gerakan. Gerakan in Sabah is a controversy in itself because it gained power in the state through the back door.

But the notable absentee from the alphabet soup of acronyms which is the roll-call of BN partners – PBS, UPKO, PBRS, LDP, MCA, Gerakan and MIC – is however the party that calls the shots in Sabah – Umno. Umno is the overlord in Sabah's ruling regime.

The outspoken demands have also, however, raised the long-held suspicions that support for such parties is fading in the state and they are acting in desperation to fend off a backlash by the electorate if elections are called.

Former BN supporter, the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) which is now in the opposition ranks believes the various state BN component parties are desperate.

Weary electorate

Its information chief Chong Pit Fah pointed out that despite all their calls for an RCI in the newspapers, none of the government MPs had made any move to file a motion in the Parliament to ensure such a body is formed.

"Anything less is an insult to the people of Sabah," said Chong who sees the latest round of public demands by the BN components as being toothless.

"The 13th general election is just around the corners," he explains, emphasizing the view held by a weary electorate who understand the various nuances of BN party 'demands'.

Chong was commenting on a local MCA division leader joining the RCI chorus, when the party's top leadership has denied that there is anything illegal in how thousands of illegal immigrants in Sabah gained citizenship documents and become voters.

Lee Chee Liong, the Deputy Home Minister and the party's MP for Kampar during a visit to Sabah astonishingly dismissed the existence of 'Project IC' as the secretive scheme to register illegal immigrants as citizens and use them as a BN vote bank in any election is known.

Chong said that given Lee's stand, the turnaround by the local MCA leader was nonsense.

Sabah MCA leadership did not refute what Lee said and "apologize to the people of Sabah for his insulting remarks", said Chong.

'Fixed deposit' of immigrants

He said it was now a well-known fact that all BN components had used such "new Malaysians" or "phantom voters" to sway past elections and would likely do so again in the coming polls.

But BN now can  ill-afford to disenfranchise this "fixed deposit" of BN voters.

 

READ MORE HERE.

Europe-Malaysia, partners in difficult times

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 02:11 PM PST

By Vincent Piket, Ambassador, head of delegation of the European Union to Malaysia via The Star

THESE are difficult times for the global economy. People are following the debate about the economic and financial challenges facing Greece and some other members of the euro area.

Economic growth is forecast to slow in Europe as well as in the United States. But the wilder speculation is wrong. The European Union (EU) is responding forcefully to the crisis and the euro is here to stay. The EU remains the world's largest economy, and the EU and Malaysia enjoy a strong and growing economic relationship.

The EU as a whole is one of the largest foreign investors in Malaysia, with more than 2000 companies established here. The EU is also Malaysia's fourth largest trading partner, with Malaysian exports of more than RM85bil in 2010. So it is natural that people in Malaysia are concerned at the prospect of further economic difficulties in Europe.

While Malaysia's economy still shows robust growth, this country, like many others, cannot avoid the consequences of an economic slowdown or recession in its major trading partners. But the EU economy is resilient and will return to the path of growth. And EU-Malaysia trade and investment relations will remain at the heart of our alliance. The EU's leaders are addressing the current serious situation.

As the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy has said, "We will continue to do what it takes to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area, working on more governance, fiscal discipline and fiscal integration." He also declared, "European leaders are taking the decisions, individually and jointly, to bring this storm to rest. We are acting with determination and in a spirit of solidarity. It requires political courage and statesmanship."

It is clear that coordinated and decisive measures are needed to resolve the current crisis, and to ensure it does not happen again. Only far-reaching measures will bring government debt levels in certain Member States under control and make sure that countries live within their means in future.

To this end, the EU's leaders have agreed on new mechanisms and frameworks which show that we have learned our lesson and will be better equipped to ensure stability and discipline in future.

To manage the crisis in the short term, the European Financial Stability Facility has been created with the capacity to support countries in difficulty. Furthermore, leaders have strengthened budgetary and macroeconomic surveillance and made it easier for the EU to sanction Member States which do not honour agreed commitments in terms of policy coordination.

More tough decisions and hard work lie ahead, but the basis for discipline and trust is there for the long-term future of the euro. Amid the difficulties, it is also important to remember a few other facts underpinning the EU's relations with the world and with Malaysia specifically.

First, the European economy has many strengths. Our long-standing approach of integrating internally while remaining open to the rest of the world has driven the EU's economy to decades of economic growth. With just 7% of the world's population, the EU produces about 20% of world economic output.

And its trade with the rest of the world accounts for around 20% of global exports and imports. While three countries, representing just 6% of the GDP of the euro area, have threatened the financial stability of the whole euro area, the EU still includes some of the world's most competitive industrial regions and boasts some of the world's most dynamic and innovative companies.

Second, the euro is the currency of 330 million people in the 17 euro-area countries, and has become the world's second most important currency after the US dollar. The single currency makes the European single market more efficient. It increases price transparency, eliminates currency exchange costs, oils the wheels of the European economy and facilitates trade. The result of this crisis will be a stronger and more integrated EU "more, not less Europe", as European Commission President Jos Manuel Barroso has said.

Third, we should also remember that the EU-Malaysia economic relationship is resilient. We have been through crises in the past, especially following the Asian monetary crisis of the late 1990s and the world financial crisis of 2008. But each time trade and investment have bounced back: suffice to mention that after a depressed 2009, Malaysian exports to the EU rose by 40% and hit an all-time high last year.

The worst possible response to this crisis would be to close borders or increase protectionism. Most economists agree that the worst economic crisis ever, in the 1930s, was severely worsened by trade protectionist measures, which reduced trade and caused retaliatory tariffs in other countries. International trade plunged by more than 50%. Our challenge now is to redouble our commitment to multilateral negotiations and trade expansion. The best forum for this is still the WTO and the Doha Development Round as they could increase opportunities for trade, creating jobs and income for all.

At the same time, bilateral EU and Malaysian economic and trade links have entered a whole new exciting phase. In October 2010, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak  and the EU Commission President Barroso officially launched the EU-Malaysia FTA negotiations. Negotiations are well underway and both parties aim to conclude in 2012.

The objective of the FTA negotiations with Malaysia is simple: we wish to create new opportunities for businesses from both sides. Companies wishing to sell goods or offering services between the two sides should enjoy preferential treatment. And consumers should get access to a wider variety of products at better prices.

For the EU, Malaysia represents a growing market for exports and investments, as well as a crucial link to the wider Asean region. Likewise, it makes eminent sense for Malaysia to get preferential access to the EU, the world's largest market. The gains of a new, more ambitious arrangement for liberalising our bilateral trade can be huge.

A study conducted in 2006 indicated that Malaysia would be a clear "winner". Let me just quote one figure: Malaysia's GDP would be boosted by 8% by 2020 if a deep and comprehensive Free Trade Area (FTA) were to be concluded.

We will have some difficult times ahead. But the EU economy will recover, the euro will emerge stronger and EU-Malaysia trade and investment could be significantly greater as the EU returns to the path of economic growth and prosperity.

Malaysia needs to boost marketing efforts to further attract FDIs

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 01:55 PM PST

By Jasmine Chin, The Borneo Post

KUCHING: Instead of speculating on uncertain conditions surrounding the macro-environment, Malaysia needs to place a deeper emphasis into marketing its local corporations as this will weather its economy through tough times.

Commenting on this was director and head of research of OSK Research Sdn Bhd (OSK Research) Chris Eng, who observed that Malaysia had remain attractive in the eyes of foreign investors, as seen through positive responses received from the recent 'Invest Malaysia Hong Kong 2011'.

"The event proved to be a success with a 27-per cent increase in the number of corporates showcased as well as the number of fund managers attending compared with the previous year.

"We believe there is a substantial interest in Malaysian investment stories among Hong Kong investors. A lot of them were keen to identify good buys from among the participating corporate, with many new investors seeking to be briefed on the background of these corporations," he told The Borneo Post in a recent phone interview.

In view of this, Eng was aware that although Malaysia was increasingly active in its pursuit to attract more foreign investments, the country's marketing efforts must be sustained and be improved. This was to ensure that longer term transformation plans in the country would appeal to the longer term investors in Hong Kong.

"We are already gaining traction in terms of inflow of investments from Singapore and participants in Europe are confident of our country in light of the progress of our Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

"Hong Kong by itself is an ideal market and therefore we hope to change the perspective of Hong Kong investors towards Malaysia. This will be done by further highlighting the tenacity of Malaysian companies in achieving sustainable long-term growth beyond the country's borders," he said.
As such, he believed that Bursa Malaysia played a crucial role in marketing the portfolios of some of the country's leading corporations; and this should be done without excluding other smaller players.

'I can see that we have a lot of potential companies out there and the participating groups during the event have drawn out some impressive plans for the coming year. Defensive companies like Aeon Co (M) Bhd, KPJ Healthcare Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, QL Resources Bhd and SEG International Bhd have highlighted their respective niches which should see them through challenging periods.

"While Hong Kong investors, especially those with Asean funds are generally familiar with bigger caps in Malaysia, continued marketing of our mid and small cap companies should be done to ensure as well as sustain interest in this rewarding segment of the Malaysian market," he explained.

Despite noting his concerns for the country's marketing endeavours, Eng was confident of the nation's prospects. This was premised on the announcement made by government-backed Performance Management and Delivery Unit's (Pemandu) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala in its 'One-Year Report Card'.

In line with the theme 'Change Perspective' fitting the ETP, the 14 corporates which participated during the event were either from sectors that would see long term transformation over the next nine years to 2020 were shorter term beneficiaries of the ETP, or regional and global champions in their respective sector.

Malaysian states to punish homosexuality

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 01:52 PM PST

The Guardian

Two Malaysian states are set to change their Islamic laws to punish Muslims who engage in homosexuality, increasing the prospect of gay Muslims being punished under both federal and state religious laws and adding to concerns about rising intolerance.

In Malaysia, homosexuality is punishable by law by caning and up to 20 years in prison, but the amendments planned by the Pahang and Malacca religious authorities would give the state governments additional powers.

If the proposed changes come into force, jail terms could run consecutively if a gay Muslim person is punished under both laws.

Malacca's chief minister, Mohd Ali Rustam, said the state would review its Islamic law provisions to allow Muslim gay men and lesbians to be tried in court and punished by a prison sentence or a fine to "deter" homosexuality.

"So many people like to promote human rights, even up to the point they want to allow lesbian activities and homosexuality," Ali told Reuters.

"In Islam, we cannot do all this. It is against Islamic law," he said, adding that gay Muslim people would also be required to attend counselling.

Ali, who is also the Malacca Islamic religious department chairman, said the proposed penalties would also apply to those who "supported" homosexuality.

"We want to put it in the enactment so that we can enforce it and bring them to our sharia court. Then we can charge them for promoting or supporting these illegal activities," he said.

On Thursday, the leading cleric of central Pahang state was quoted in the Star newspaper as saying it would also amend its Islamic laws to allow for action against homosexuality.

"Islam prohibits deviant sexual orientation or behaviour," Abdul Rahman Osman was quoted as saying. "Appropriate action should be taken to address these problems. We fear that this abnormal behaviour will be regarded as a norm."

In Malaysia, religion is within the respective states' purview and the authorities do not need federal government approval to effect legislative changes.

Last week, organisers were forced to cancel an annual sexuality rights festival in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, after police threatened to crack down on the event, claiming it could create unease and public disorder.

About 60% of the country's 28 million population are Muslims, and Islamic law tenets are used as an official yardstick for the behaviour of followers. Nevertheless, Muslims often throng Kuala Lumpur bars that serve alcohol.

Extramarital sex is frowned upon and same-gender relationships often draw criticism, although the rise of alternative media channels has resulted in a greater openness in debates about homosexuality.

But public discussions involving sexuality often assume a conservative veneer. Films and music are also heavily censored to remove explicit content, and gay people and transvestites complain of professional and social discrimination.

Police record statement from Malaysian Bar Council President

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 05:47 AM PST

(Bernama) - The police have recorded a statement from Malaysian Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee in connection with the banned '2011 Seksualiti Merdeka' program.

The statement was recorded at 3.20pm, at the Duta Court police station here today.

Later, Lim told reporters he was called up by the police to answer questions over the council's involvement in the program.

He said, as the council was listed as one of the organizers of Seksualiti Merdeka, the police wanted to know who its organizers were, and the council's role, among others.

The program, which was held for the fourth time since 2008, was scheduled to have begun from Nov 2 until Nov 13, but was discontinued by the organizers when there was strong opposition from various groups as it was alleged to promote the rights of lesbians, bisexuals, gays and transsexuals in the country.

In the interest of public order, the police have banned functions organized by any group relating to the 'Seksualiti Merdeka' program.

 

Philosophy as taught by Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 01:54 AM PST

Unless the Malays unite they are going to be reduced to a minority, said the one-time Prime Minister of Malaysia. The Indians are united into seven political parties. The Chinese are united into six political parties. But the Malays are divided into three political parties. And this is not good for the future of the Malays.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

1. We should not allow political freedom for students. Political freedom will threaten peace and unity, said the VC of UiTM. The most peaceful countries in the world are those that do not allow political freedom.

In fact, the most peaceful countries in the world are those that do not allow any freedom at all. Women cannot drive or leave the home unescorted. There are no general elections. Just one family runs the country and fills all the government posts. All the country's wealth goes into the pockets of just one family and no one can question how they manage the country's finances. These are the most peaceful countries in the world.

2. We should not allow gays in Malaysia. As the Mufti said, gays will eventually result in the entire population of the world getting wiped out. As it is, the world's population has already been reduced to 7 billion and this may reduce even further if gays are allowed the freedom to practice their gay activities.

Unfortunately, Hitler did not succeed in wiping out all the gays as he had intended. If not, we would not be facing this problem of gays demanding rights and freedom and so on.

In fact, Jews are also dangerous, just like gays. The Jews were the ones who invented democracy. And those who support democracy are supporting gay rights. We must remember that the Jews also killed Jesus. So that makes them doubly dangerous.

3. Malaysians who live overseas should not be allowed to vote, said MCA. This is because when they live overseas they do not get to watch TV3 or RTM or NTV7 every night. So they do not know what is happening in Malaysia. Only those who watch TV3 or RTM or NTV7 every night will know what is happening in Malaysia.

If these Malaysians who live overseas and who do not watch TV3 or RTM or NTV7 every night are allowed to vote, they may vote for the wrong party. It is crucial, therefore, that only those who know who to vote for should be allowed to vote. If they do not know who to vote for they should not be allowed to vote.

4. Unless the Malays unite they are going to be reduced to a minority, said the one-time Prime Minister of Malaysia. The Indians are united into seven political parties. The Chinese are united into six political parties. But the Malays are divided into three political parties. And this is not good for the future of the Malays.

The Malays should be united into just one political party just like the Indians and Chinese who are united into seven and six political parties respectively. Only if the Malays are united into one political party will they have the political power and strength to discriminate, persecute and bully the other races and treat them as second-class citizens.
 

Translated into Chinese at: http://ccliew.blogspot.com/2011/11/blog-post_6428.html

 

‘Aunty Bersih’ promises to show polls reform panel how to fix system

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 12:57 AM PST

(The Malaysian Insider) - Annie Ooi Siew Lan, the retired teacher dubbed "Aunty Bersih", challenged today the polls review panel's sincerity to electoral reform and vowed to show it her list of how to fix the system in the next seven days.

 

The slight, skinny 65-year-old became an accidental icon when she was pictured battling chemical-laced water cannons and tear gas shot by the police into the locked-down capital city to join in the Bersih 2.0 march on July 9 for cleaner elections.

File photo of Ooi during the Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur on July 9, 2011.
She stunned the parliamentary select committee (PSC) today with her forthright manner from the start when she demanded the "vote to be given to everyone 21 years old and above."

To this, she cited as examples nurses, doctors, soldiers and policemen on duty on polling day.

"We don't want any more corruption," said the short-haired woman dressed in a pale yellow top reminiscent of the Bersih T-shirt she wore on July 9. The coalition of 62 civil societies has adopted yellow as its colour.

The nine-man PSC appeared perplexed by Ooi's statement.

Its chair, Kota Marudu MP Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, explained that it was the panel's aim and asked her for suggestions, which appeared to vex Ooi.

"There are eight demands out there. Loud and clear. I've no need to repeat them," she said, referring to Bersih 2.0's list of demands.

"Cakap pun tak dengar, ada yang dengar pun tak bertindak, apa lagi? Susahkah ini keadilan? [What's the point of speaking further, those who hear don't act, what else is there? Is justice so difficult?]" she asked.

When Kangar MP Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad ventured to reply that it was because those who qualified to vote did not do so, Ooi shot back: "Why is it so hard? Why so long and hard [to register voters]?"

"You want solutions? Solutions to what?" she pushed the panel to answer before promising to return in seven days with her list of practical solutions to carry out electoral reform.

"If the sick can't go to the voting stations, can't you do something about it?" she asked, her voice rising as with her temper.

"I speak for the voiceless. What you're asking from me is solutions. I'm just a simple, simple, simple person," she cried out, prompting Ongkili to plead with her to calm down.

Bersih 2.0 has been pushing the Election Commission to carry out eight steps they claim can be carried out immediately and will improve the electoral system before the next national polls are held, widely expected to be called early next year.

READ MORE HERE

 

 

Is Time to Move Bangkok?

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 12:48 AM PST

THE DIPLOMAT

The flooding in Bangkok shows little sign of getting better, and its impact on Thailand's economy and the global supply chain of many computer and automotive components has yet to be fully tallied. Japanese companies in particular have made enormous investments in Thailand and have been particularly hard hit by the flooding, but all computer disk drive makers and many car manufacturers have been affected.

People are stranded throughout Bangkok, the government's messages are still confusing and hard to understand, and the divisions in Thai political society have prevented the type of unity in the political system that should be necessary at such a time of crisis. In addition, diseases carried by the fetid water are beginning to be a problem in Bangkok and the outlying suburbs. Many foreign investors will now rethink their decisions to place so much of their supply chain in Thailand.

But even more worrying, these floods, which are the worst in Thailand in 50 years, could be a harbinger of the future.

In an excellent story by Agence France Presse, reporters in Bangkok examine why the Thai capital is likely, in years to come, to face similar if not worse floods. Such floods could repeatedly devastate Thailand's manufacturing base and threaten the millions of people in the capital, which dominates Thailand as the country's political, cultural, and economic epicenter. Urbanization in the city's outlying areas has reduced regions of vegetation that absorbed water in the past; overbuilding in the city core has done the same.

The capital, built on swamp, is still sinking every year, and with global temperatures rising and weather patterns changing, Thailand is likely to face a longer, more intense rainy season for years to come — which would in turn make the city harder to drain and would more consistently overflow the Chao Praya River. The OECD has classified Thailand's capital as one of the ten most endangered cities in the world, according to the AFP report. "In 50 years…most of Bangkok will be below sea level," Anond Snidvongs, an expert on water management, told AFP.

READ MORE HERE

 

Political freedom would threaten peace and unity, says UiTM's VC

Posted: 11 Nov 2011 12:42 AM PST

(Bernama) - There is no necessity to amend the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) because politicking will only split the students, said Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) vice-chancellor Datuk Prof Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar.

He said the university was not in favour of the proposed amendment to the UUCA as political freedom would only threaten peace and the unity of Malay and bumiputra students in the university.

"My wards (UiTM students) are peaceful and in harmony in their struggle for knowledge to become a useful human being.

"What is important is that all of us are united and not divided," he told a press conference.

He was commenting on the proposal by several groups who wanted the UUCA to be amended to give space and freedom to the university students to be involved in politics.

Sahol Hamid said currently, the students had been given an opportunity to express their views and opinions through the associations and campus elections that were being held, and these were sufficient for them.

"In fact, I personally have my own Facebook account which is used to contact the UiTM students directly.

"They can make whatever complaints to me and appropriate action will be taken," he said adding that Malay politics these days would lead to division instead of unity.

 

States eye harsher laws for Muslim gays

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 05:45 PM PST

(REUTERS) - Two states are set to change their Islamic laws to punish Muslims who engage in homosexuality, raising the prospect of gay Muslims being punished twice and stoking concerns about rising intolerance towards same-gender relationships.

Homosexuality is punishable by law by caning and up to 20 years in jail, but the legal amendments planned by Pahang and Malacca religious authorities would give the state governments additional ammunition.

If the proposed changes came into force, a Muslim homosexual could be punished under both federal and state religious charges, meaning that jail terms could run consecutively and result in longer time.

Analysts said the proposed amendments hinted at an increasing intolerance towards homosexuality and could erode support for the government among the majority ethnic Malays, who are Muslims by birth.

"The irony of the situation is that the overwhelming majority of gay people in this country are Malays," said James Chin, a political analyst at Monash University. "When they have these laws to target non-mainstream sexual minorities, they are actually targeting their own people."

Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the state would review its Islamic law provisions to allow Muslim gays and lesbians to be tried in court and punished by a jail term or a fine to deter homosexuality.

"So many people like to promote human rights, even up to the point they want to allow lesbian activities and homosexuality," Ali told Reuters.

"In Islam, we cannot do all this. It is against Islamic law," he said, adding that Muslim homosexuals would also be required to attend counselling.

Ali, who is also Malacca Islamic Religious Department chairman, said the proposed penalties would also apply to those who supported homosexuality even if they did not practise it.

"We want to put it in the enactment so that we can enforce it and bring them to our sharia (Islamic law) court. Then we can charge them for promoting or supporting these illegal activities."

Yesterday, the top cleric in Pahang was quoted in The Star newspaper as saying the state would also amend its Islamic laws to allow for action against homosexual-related activities.

"Islam prohibits deviant sexual orientation or behaviour," Abdul Rahman Osman was quoted as saying. "Appropriate action should be taken to address these problems. We fear that this abnormal behaviour will be regarded as a norm."

Religion is within the respective states' purview and the authorities do not need federal government approval to effect legislative changes.

Last week, organisers were forced to cancel the annual sexuality rights Seksualiti Merdeka festival in Kuala Lumpur after police threatened to crack down on the event, saying it could create widespread unease and public disorder.

About 60 per cent of the country's population of 28 million are Muslims, and Islamic law tenets are used as an official yardstick for the behaviour of followers. Still, Muslims often throng bars serving alcohol in Kuala Lumpur.

Extramarital sex is frowned upon and same-gender relationships often draw criticism although the rise of alternative media channels has bred a greater openness in debates about homosexuality.

But public discussions involving sexuality often assume a conservative veneer. Films and music are also heavily censored to remove explicit content, and homosexuals and transvestites complain of professional and social discrimination.

 

The Bangsar beef pie in the sky

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 05:37 PM PST

THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

It is understandable that Khairy Jamaluddin wants to defend fellow Umno ex-officio vice-president Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil over excess public funds for a cattle-farming project being used to buy a luxury condominium in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

It makes good financial sense. Get into real estate rather than livestock and see your money multiply quickly in the capital city's upscale residential suburb.

Except, the money for the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project wasn't for such investments. The money is part of public funds for a project to reduce Malaysia's dependence on beef imports.

And the NFC and the National Meat and Livestocks Corporation (NMLC), a management company owned by Shahrizat's family, is in the business of cattle-farming, not real estate.

If Putrajaya wanted to make quicker money, it might as well play poker in the casinos. Or buy and sell properties in Bukit Tunku, Bangsar and Ampang to reduce the federal deficit.

The Umno Youth chief said today that when the government ran out of funds to develop satellite cattle farms, NMLC was left with surplus funds that had been disbursed to it and that it decided real estate investment was a good way to get returns.

"Should they have left the money in the current account which does not have a high yield while waiting for the satellite farms or should they have invested the money while waiting?" asked Khairy. "The management made a decision that the best return on investment would have been from real estate."

He was referring to PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution's statement yesterday that the luxury apartment at One Menerung, Bangsar, was recorded by NFC, a cattle-farming project managed by the minister's family, as part of a RM83 million "loan" to the NMLC.

Khairy also said the condo has since been rented out and has also appreciated in value since it was purchased but did not specify the rental yield.

His explanation might make sense to Umno delegates at its annual congress at the end of November as much as one can believe there's a pie in the sky but not to the public or even civil servants who have to account for every sen spent for specific projects.

If anything, Khairy's stout defence of Shahrizat and her family, while admirable, only draws further scrutiny to the project that the government auditor said was "in a mess".

Right now, the stench from the project has just become a lot more overwhelming.

 

Karpal wants open inquiry on Saiful-DPP love affair

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 05:32 PM PST

Anwar's counsel Karpal Singh says the AG's clearance raised more questions than answers and that there should be an independent inquiry into the alleged affair.

(Free Malaysia Today) - The allegation of an affair between deputy public prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif and Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan cries out for an open inquiry and should not have been investigated and closed by the Attorney-General's Chambers, veteran lawyer Karpal Singh said today.

Responding to the findings of the Attorney-General's Chambers in clearing the two from having an affair, Karpal said the Attorney- General cannot be judge and jury in his own cause.

"It is elementary that there should been an independent investigation by a body with no affinity to the Attorney-General's Chambers. The position cries out for transparency," he said in a statement today.

He added that the findings of the AG Chambers raised more questions than answers.

Farah Azlina was part of the prosecution team in Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial while Saiful is the alleged victim.

Yesterday, in response to Karpal's question in Parliament on the matter, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Razak said the AG's Chambers had probed the matter and found that the allegation to be "baseless" and that there was no "concrete evidence" to suggest of a love affair.

Following the allegation, Nazri said Farah Azlina was removed from the prosecution team to prevent any further allegations of impropriety and to maintain the prosecution's credibility.

Karpal, who is Anwar's leading lawyer in the case, however, was not satisfied with the explanation given by Nazri on the alleged affair.

No public denial

He noted that there had been no public denial by both Saiful and Farah Azlina on the affair. Neither have they denied in court under oath despite the opportunity being there, he added.

He also asked as to why Farah Azlina was reassigned to a different section within the AG's Chambers if there was no basis to the allegation.

"Why should she have been punished through this move if she was innocent of any impropriety?" asked Karpal.

He said that if an affair between the pair existed, then questions arise as to their criminal culpability in a Syariah Court.

READ MORE HERE

 

Anwar like a chameleon, says Tee Yong

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST

(The Star) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is a political chameleon who changes his stand when facing different crowds, said MCA Young Professionals Bureau chief Datuk Chua Tee Yong.

Chua said the Opposition Leader had openly supported the implementation of hudud law in Kelantan in September but in November, he backpedalled to a Chinese crowd in Selangor by saying that hudud law was not part of Pakatan Rakyat's policy.

He said Anwar's backing of hudud law and for PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat was made only to cater to the large Muslim population.

"This is where we see his political chameleon ways' in full play. There is no sincerity in his words at all," Chua said in a statement yesterday.

To gain the support of the urban Chinese community and leaders of 65 Chinese associations and guilds at a function in Subang Jaya on Nov 8, Anwar had stated that Pakatan would not implement hudud law, Chua added.

He said that if PKR or DAP were genuine in ensuring that hudud law would not be enacted as a federal policy, Pakatan should spell it out clearly in its Buku Jingga or Orange Book.

"Such recourse is more so pertinent in view of PAS' backing for the Orange Book," he said.

Chua said Anwar and other PKR leaders had fervently denied Pakatan's plan to reduce the number of civil servants when it was revealed by DAP MP Tony Pua but they did not demonstrate the same enthusiasm in pushing back PAS' plan to implement hudud law in Kelantan, despite concerns and condemnation by Malaysians.

"This clearly shows the double-standard treatment by Anwar and the lack of courage by PKR to challenge PAS, even if it means putting the interest of non-Muslims at risk.

"What's more, should Pakatan come to power, there would be no guarantee that the implementation of hudud law nationwide could be stopped by either Anwar or DAP leaders," he said.

 

‘Rosmah, a thorn in Najib’s side’

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:43 PM PST

Umno grassroots members wish BN would lose at the polls just so her antics and extravagant lifestyle can be toned down, says the author of 'Kesilapan-kesilapan Najib'.

Several of the chapters headings include: 1Malaysia Silap Pertama Di Hari Pertama Sebagai PM (1Malaysia the first mistake on the first day as PM); Pelantikan Apco (Engaging foreign public relations consultancy firm Apco Worldwide) and; Gagal Mengawal Karenah dan Gaya Mewah Rosmah (Failure to control (his wife) Rosmah (Mansor)'s luxurious lifestyle.

Tarani Palani, Free Malaysia Today

The author of "Kesilapan-kesilapan Najib" (Najib's Mistakes), Shahbudin Husin, said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should step down if he does not rectify his errors soon.

Shahbudin, a member of Umno's Wangsa Maju branch, said: "It serves as a warning… he should correct his mistakes before the next general election."

"If he fails to do so, then he should step down. We support our party but we cannot support a weak leader," added the former deputy Youth chief of Wangsa Maju.

Shahbudin's 267-page book touched on various issues, including Najib's 1Malaysia concept, his use of international public relations firm Apco and the alleged influence of his wife Rosmah.

Several of the chapters headings include: 1Malaysia Silap Pertama Di Hari Pertama Sebagai PM (1Malaysia the first mistake on the first day as PM); Pelantikan Apco (Engaging foreign public relations consultancy firm Apco Worldwide) and; Gagal Mengawal Karenah dan Gaya Mewah Rosmah (Failure to control (his wife) Rosmah (Mansor)'s luxurious lifestyle.

"I even caught my 12-year-old child's friends discussing Rosmah's hairstyles and her luxurious spending. Her antics have not gone unnoticed by many of the Umno grassroots members."

"Many didn't like ex-premier Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) because he crossed so many people. But no one made nasty comments about his wife Siti Hasmah. Rosmah gets everyone talking," he told FMT.

Shahbudin added that her antics were so distressing to some Umno members that they wish Najib will not retain two-thirds in the polls so as prevent Rosmah's antics from getting worse.

He also touched on the US$24 million (RM73 million) diamond ring fiasco implicating Rosmah, which was exposed by Pakatan Rakyat NGO, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM).

Its president, Badrul Hisham Shaharin, claimed that the ring had passed through Customs without import duties paid on it.

'No smoke without fire'

Pro-Umno bloggers came to Rosmah's defence, claiming that the ring was brought into the country for a four-day private display.

Forced to respond to the issue, Najib denied that the ring was purchased by Rosmah or used for private display.

Asked if he, as an Umno member, believed that pro-Pakatan bloggers may have exaggerated the issue, Shahbudin said that there was no smoke without fire.

"I believe there has to be a basis for such an extravagant story. In three to four days they wanted to return the ring. But why did it come here in the first place?" he asked.

He said that history has shown many leaders fell because of their spouses such as former Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos, and his infamous wife Imelda Marcos. But Najib seems to pay no heed to it.

Shahbudin whose first book, "Najib, the last Prime Minister", which was also highly critical of the premier's leadership, denied that he was sponsored by any faction within Umno.

"I did it on my own time and money. I paid for the 13,000 copies of the first book with my own money. In fact, I was quite embarrassed to approach Harakah daily to advertise my book because I'm an Umno member.

"So how can people say that someone within Umno or even the opposition is funding me?" he asked.

READ MORE HERE

 

Najib’s magic trick for 13th GE

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:29 PM PST

The rakyat should support calls for the 13th general election to be postponed until after ALL the recommendations (on electoral reforms) have been implemented.

Any reforms, which BN announces now, are purely cosmetic. They give the appearance that Najib is listening. It is like a roué wooing a schoolgirl with sweet talk, before he has his way with her. He walks away smiling, because she was fool enough to believe him. He outsmarted her.

Mariam Mokhtar, Free Malaysia Today

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's flurry of reforms in the last couple of months, raises disturbing questions about his desire to make Malaysia the "best democracy in the world".

Who stands to benefit most from his idea of the "best democracy" in the world? The rakyat or the Barisan Nasional (BN) political elite?

The naïve rakyat, who are lulled into a sense of security by Najib's rash of reforms, may think it will be the main beneficiaries. On the other hand, BN's political elite and their cronies hope to woo the electorate by appearing to accede to calls for political reforms and then undo the reforms, after they have secured a win.

Judging by the number of times BN has reneged on election promises in the last 54 years, it will be the latter group who will benefit.

Any reforms, which BN announces now, are purely cosmetic. They give the appearance that Najib is listening. It is like a roué wooing a schoolgirl with sweet talk, before he has his way with her. He walks away smiling, because she was fool enough to believe him. He outsmarted her.

That is the danger the rakyat faces now – to be lulled into thinking Najib will enact the reforms that he has promised. After the 13th general election (GE), he will sing a different tune, if BN wins.

BN's promise of reforms is pointless when all other aspects of BN rule ignore human rights, the rule of law, endemic corruption and economic enhancement. The "best democracy in the world" is not one which elevates one race but ignores the others.

A government which allows family members and close associates to benefit in multimillion ringgit projects is not fit for purpose.

Launching personal attacks on members of the opposition and smearing their children's reputations are morally wrong, distasteful and will backfire.

The prime minister's reputation was trashed after his disastrous handling of the July 9 Bersih 2.0 "pro-democracy march". This was a terrible blow for someone who values spin and image above all else.

So, Najib felt compelled to pull out all the stops to try to rebuild his image both within his own party and with the rakyat.

He started with the repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA). Just like the magician doing his illusory show, who made the rabbit disappear, he then produced two more from a hat. Yes, Najib promised that there would be two new laws to replace the ISA.

Why did a sea change envelope Najib and make him repeal the ISA? For several decades, various groups which wanted the ISA abolished were ignored, but with the 13th general election around the corner, Najib acquiesced.

Paramount importance

Najib's deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the education minister, was adamant that science and mathematics should be taught in Malay.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad joined in the chorus to maintain the teaching of these subjects in English. Parents vowed to vote for the opposition. The day after announcing his final decision, Muhyiddin was forced into an embarrassing U-turn.

In Najib's "best democracy in the world", a Muslim girl can get married and start a family as soon as she reaches puberty, without her parents' consent. Some girls reach puberty at nine years old.

At 18 years old, teenagers can drive a car and buy cigarettes, but they can't vote until they are 21.

Furthermore, the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) prohibits students from engaging in any political activity.

It isn't just the students who are restricted. Any academic who does not toe the political line may find himself suspended and his academic career in jeopardy. Compare the two university lecturers, Professor Abdul Aziz Bari and Ridhuan Tee. Mind control is what Umno-BN is after and not freeing the mind for intellectual expression and advancement.

As we have only one chance to reform our government and vote for a party that will govern properly, the run-up to the 13th general election is of paramount importance. It matters to all of us.

Najib and BN are doing a magic trick. What has BN done to improve the lot of the rural population in the more economically deprived areas? Some kampungs and longhouses still lack water, electricity and proper roads. Schools and clinics are poorly funded.

And yet, the prime minister, his self-styled "First Lady", their family and his political party have spent billions of ringgit on personal travel, luxury goods and bribes, all funded by the taxpayers.

One way is to deprive these people of their luxuries, so they can focus their efforts on solving the nation's problems. For example, we should make them commute to work using public transport.

That means taking away their chauffeur-driven cars, their outriders and the police who restrict traffic on the roads when these VIPs travel. Once they suffer the traumas we go through, our public transport system might not be in such a deplorable condition.

When Najib made his maiden speech at the UN general assembly, he talked about rejecting extremism and being a moderate. So why does he don the cloak of racism at home? Does he have a split personality or is he just a scheming con-man who knows which side his electoral bread is buttered?

READ MORE HERE

 

SPOTLIGHT: A test of Umno's reinvention

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:23 PM PST

The Umno general assembly in three weeks' time will be closely watched for proof that the party has reformed and prepared itself for the next general election

"How the assemblies of Umno's three wings, Wanita, Youth and Puteri, take shape will indicate what can be expected at the general assembly proper the next day. The wings are the movers, their assemblies are a prelude to the main assembly," said Prof Datuk Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, head of the politics, security and international affairs cluster of the National Council of Professors.

By Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times

Umno, the linchpin of the 13-party ruling Barisan Nasional, holds its general assembly in less than three weeks -- likely its last before the 13th general election.

What goes on during the convention, which kicks off on Nov 29 and goes on until Dec 3, of this most scrutinised party  will be of great interest to many.

One question for which answers will be sought is whether Umno, which boasts a membership of 3.5 million, has taken the pulse of the people and adopted changes to meet the political demands of discerning voters. Another is whether the grand old party has instituted reforms following the setbacks it endured in the 2008 general election. This will restore its founding status as the party that represents the Malays in the country.

Umno had renewed its commitment to put the people first when it celebrated its 65th anniversary on May 11 this year, as the party worked to ensure it remains the bedrock of Malay politics and revives the selfless spirit of its establishment in 1946.

In doing so, it affirmed the principle of inclusiveness of the other races.

The party has been brutally honest with itself, conceding for the first time that it could lose power if it failed to change its ways, and eliminate power struggles and money politics.

What the public is keen to see in the general assembly is how far Umno has reinvented itself.

"How the assemblies of Umno's three wings, Wanita, Youth and Puteri, take shape will indicate what can be expected at the general assembly proper the next day. The wings are the movers, their assemblies are a prelude to the main assembly," said Prof Datuk Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, head of the politics, security and international affairs cluster of the National Council of Professors.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak is scheduled to deliver the president's message at a pre-council meeting on Nov 29. The three Umno wings will hold their respective assemblies the next day while the assembly proper will take place for three days beginning Dec 1. Transformation has become crucial for Umno, which will rest its fate with the people at the next polls.

Umno's top leaders, especially Najib, have reiterated that it cannot be business as usual for the party.

Najib is determined to fix the party's image to win over lost support. This will be first time that he is leading the Umno-led BN coalition into the general election.

All new leaders, said former Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik, wanted to score a decisive win in their first electoral outing and Najib was no exception.

"His predecessors secured big victories when they led   BN into a general election for the first time. It is   natural for Najib to want to win back BN's traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament at the next general election. He will also do this in his own way," said Sabbaruddin.

Najib has for some time now been upping the tempo, rousing his troops for what analysts say is a do or die electoral campaign for Umno.

"It's a battle royale, so delegates have to leave the general assembly with renewed spirit and a high level of confidence in winning the election," Mustafa said.

Najib has been pressing the party's rank and file to close ranks, discard factionalism and embrace the collective objective of putting up a strong challenge to their political foes. Party members were reminded that the enemy was outside the party, not within.

But   rivalries among divisional leaders have not stopped, even in the constituencies where internal discord had been identified as the cause of Umno's defeat in 2008.

Recent incidents during Aidil Adha have raised eyebrows.

Grassroots  leaders had  even politicised the religious festival as they competed to outdo each other in the ritual slaughter of cattle for the poor.

Umno wants to win many more seats in all states and what it needs most, at this point, is to see its machinery intensify preparations for the polls.

The party is now on a mission to identify winnable candidates, even looking elsewhere for suitable personalities. Grassroots leaders are hoping that such criteria  will be spelled out more  clearly at the assembly.

"Yes, some will be waiting to get a clearer picture of what winnable candidates mean at the assembly," said Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan.

Najib has been telling the Umno grassroots to leave the selection of candidates to the party leadership and not squabble when those from the divisional hierarchy fail to make it into the final list. But he has not specified the qualities that he is looking for, only  saying that prospective candidates must be popular and acceptable to the people.

Umno, as the largest party in the country, cannot afford to be seen as self-absorbed in its internal conflicts but rather should work more visibly towards achieving a bigger victory for itself and  BN.

Former Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has also warned Umno members against disunity and disarray, urging them to return to the party's original struggle and cast aside self-interest to win the general election.


 

RM10m cattle condo was an investment, says Khairy

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:18 PM PST

By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider

Khairy Jamaluddin savaged PKR today for claiming corruption in the purchase of a RM10 million Bangsar condominium by a federally-funded cattle project owned by a minister's family.

The Umno Youth chief claimed the condo was bought as an investment when the National Meat and Livestocks Corporation (NMLC), a company wholly-owned by Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil's family, found itself with excess funds.

Khairy, who has appeared as Shahrizat's staunch defender over the National Feedlot Centre controversy, said NMLC was left with surplus funds that when the government ran out of funds to develop satellite cattle farms.

It then decided on real estate investment as a means to put the excess liquidity to work.

He did not, however, say if the company was authorised to make the property investment.

"Should they have left the money in the current account, which does not have a high yield, while waiting for the satellite farms or should they have invested the money while waiting," said Khairy. 

"The management made a decision that the best return on investment would have been from real estate."

Khairy added that the condo has since been rented out and also appreciated in value since it was purchased. He did not, however, specify the rental yield.

Many real estate experts have concluded that Kuala Lumpur is facing a glut of luxury properties, with rental yields falling as much as 50 per cent in some cases.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said yesterday the luxury apartment at One Menerung, Bangsar, was recorded by NFC, a cattle farming project managed by the minister's family, as part of a RM83 million "loan" to NMLC.

Today, Khairy also slammed PKR strategic director Rafizi Rami and accused him of lying when the latter said beef from the feedlot project was sold only to elite restaurants.

According to the Rembau MP, beef from the project was also sold to Carrefour, Giant and wet markets.

READ MORE HERE

 

Anwar just placating civil servants — Abdul Karim

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:14 PM PST

(Borneo Post) - KUCHING: Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was just trying to cool the situation down when he said Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had scrapped its intention to reduce the number of civil servants if it ruled the country.

Assistant Minister of Youth Development and Assistant Minister of Housing Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said civil servants were very angry with the proposal by DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua, and Anwar was just trying to cool them down.

"When he (Anwar) disagreed with the proposal, it is just to cool down the anger of the civil servants towards DAP and PR," Abdul Karim said when contacted yesterday.

He was asked on Anwar's online comment on Tuesday that PR had scrapped the proposal to reduce the number of the 1.2 million civil servants if it wins the general election, as earlier proposed by Pua.

Abdul Karim, who is chief political secretary to the Chief Minister, said DAP's contention to reduce  the number of civil servants was an insult to all civil servants, be they at the federal or state levels.

The proposal, Abdul Karim said, also reflected how ignorant DAP was about the role of the civil servants in transforming the country to become vibrant.

"Bumiputeras in the civil service should be able to see DAP's real agenda. They just don't have any love for the Bumiputeras," the Asajaya assemblyman said.

Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary general Datuk Dr Stephen Rundi said the contradicting statements by Anwar and Pua indicated "the nature of their uncertain
future undertakings and collaboration".

"To me, this is one of the few different opinions that surface from PR leaders and I believe there will be more contradicting opinions in the future," Dr Rundi said when contacted.

The Assistant Minister of Public Utilities (Electricity and Telecommunications) also said the statement reflected how low PR thought of civil servants, adding that civil servants had done so much to bring the country to what it was today.

Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing said he was not surprised at the contradicting statements by Anwar and Pua, adding that differences in opinion would always happen as they seem to politicise every policy.

"I just hope Malaysians will see through all these before casting their votes," the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president said.


Karpal quizzed on PM choice

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:12 PM PST

(The Star) - The MCA has taken Karpal Singh to task over a statement by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be prime minister should the Pakatan Rakyat alliance take over the Federal Government.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said he wanted to know if Karpal, the DAP national chairman, would support and stand by Lim's statement that the PKR adviser would be the prime minister.

"Since Lim has expressed his views, we want to find out if Karpal and PAS are united in their views as well.

"I recall that, not long ago, Karpal had wanted Anwar to resign as Opposition Leader," Dr Chua said after launching the 39th students' excellence award of SJK(C) Ai Chun here on Wednesday.

He was earlier asked whether he thought non-Muslims should first convert to Islam if they wanted to be deputy prime minister should Pakatan administer the country.

The question followed reports quoting Anwar that a Chinese could be considered for the deputy prime minister's spot should Pakatan take over the Government.

Dr Chua said Anwar made the remarks because the Chinese are under the impression there will be a Chinese deputy prime minister under a Pakatan-ruled Government.

"So, now I want to know if there is such a thing. Or, do non-Muslims need to convert in order to become deputy prime minister?" he asked, adding that if no proper explanation was given, it could be just another publicity stunt and more political spinning.

Dr Chua also asked the DAP to clarify if hudud law being pursued by PAS would affect non-Muslims.

"If the answer is no, we need to know why? Because, in order to implement hudud, there would be amendments to the Constitution."

In his speech, Dr Chua said the MCA would continue to suggest to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister ways to improve Chinese schools.

He added that the party was doing its best to bring up issues faced by Chinese schools to the nation's leaders to find effective solutions.

 

 

Populist policies will undermine reform

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:05 PM PST

We can say goodbye to Reformasi if the national agenda for change is usurped by populist desperadoes.

Pakatan Rakyat has also indulged in populism since they came into power, which makes us wonder about the substance of 'reformasi'.

By Kua Kia Soong, Free Malaysia Today

Watching recent events and statements by Malaysian politicians, the urgent need for reform in our country risks being undermined by populism on both sides of the political divide as they jostle for votes in the coming general election.

From the Barisan Nasional, we have seen the free hand-outs of RM100 ringgit to every student in the school system without any form of means testing.

We have also recently witnessed the extreme form of populism, namely, "mobocracy", whereby mob rule can dictate that a perfectly legal and peaceful gathering, Seksualiti Merdeka be banned by the police.

Pakatan Rakyat has also indulged in populism since they came into power, which makes us wonder about the substance of 'reformasi'.

First, the Selangor state government gave away free water without any form of means testing and without thinking about "demand management" which is crucial to water conservation.

Now, to the suggestion that we should look into making the civil service lean and mean, Pakatan says that while this makes economic sense, it is politically foolhardy.

One wonders if the promised rescindment of the New Economic Policy will later be similarly jettisoned because of "political consideration".

Progressive means testing

During the fifties and sixties, Malaysian schools had some form of means testing to ensure that deserving students (ie. those from lower-income families) could have access to fee-waivers, free textbooks and even free meals.

Such a progressive policy was a prudent use of valuable resources and did not create any resentment among the better-off students.

In contrast, the hand-out of RM100 recently promised by the BN government to every student regardless of income is not only an imprudent use of taxpayers' money, it is likely to be ridiculed as meaningless by the students from rich families.

Likewise, the populist granting of free water by the Selangor state government to all and sundry. Why should those who squander water in washing their cars every day be entitled to free water?

How do the Orang Asli feel about such wastage when they were displaced from their ancestral land for the Selangor Dam supposedly because they had been told the dam was vital for the needs of the Klang Valley?

Is such a populist measure congruent with the call for demand management which is crucial to water conservancy everywhere in the world? It makes nonsense of the call for rainwater harvesting when we can have access to free treated water.

Full audit and action

Every organisational transformation – especially in the loss-making government agencies – needs a full audit and swift remedial action to follow.

That is what the BN government's recent razzmatazz about "transformation this and transformation that" ought to be about. Nowhere is this more obvious than in our heavily bloated civil service.

For example, our power plants have failed to run at full capacity, about which I have repeatedly called for thorough audits.

The crisis in our energy industry is certainly not just due to the current gas shortage. The same can be said for the decades-old mismanagement and inefficiencies in KTM.

In my 2010 title 'Questioning Arms Spending in Malaysia', I not only called for the drastic reduction of our defence budget but also the conversion of arms production to socially useful production and the promotion of a culture of peace.

The billions of ringgit in savings could be used for creating thousands of jobs.

READ MORE HERE

 

PKR’s load of bull

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 03:56 PM PST

In PKR's original allegation, they characterised NLMC as only handling marketing, hence queried why that would require such a large sum of money. I have explained previously and once again here that NLMC's involvement spans the entire supply chain from processing to marketing. Another allegation explained away by fact and reason.

By Khairy Jamaluddin, The Malaysian Insider

Over the past couple of days the PKR machinery has gone into overdrive to paint a picture of power abuse surrounding the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC). 

I have systematically engaged, both in Parliament and through my blog, many of the accusations and insinuations. I took care to be clear and detailed about why this picture the likes of YB Saifuddin Nasution and PKR director of strategy, Rafizi Ramli, are keen to paint does not stand the test of scrutiny.

Through a comprehensive examination of the facts, each allegation has been conclusively rebutted and exposed as founded on a fatal combination of shoddy mathematics, cherry-picked figures and outright lies. I will subject Rafizi's latest attempt to flog the dead horse to the same process below.

Something that has become terribly clear to me is that throughout this debate, Rafizi has shown himself to be disingenuous, dishonest and in the habit of shifting the goalposts the very moment he realises a line of attack is broken down. Let me explain why.

First, he alleged that NFC was given 5,000 acres of land in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, for free. As I have stated, this is categorically false — NFC was only offered 1,500 acres on lease by the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Incorporated.

Two major errors: On the acreage of the land in question and the fact that it is on lease, not handed out for free. You will notice that he makes no mention of this in his Malaysiakini piece on November 10, although there is still the November 1 blog entry with the words "1 lembu = 5 ekar". Great math.

Secondly, he was also absolutely caught out on the allegation that — and I quote him here — "the (NFC) beef is only being supplied to luxurious restaurant chains owned by Shahrizat's family called Meatworks, Senor Santos and Brawns in Singapore". More about where NFC beef is supplied to later. But for the moment, I reiterate what I have said repeatedly: NFC simply could not have supplied meat to Senor Santos and Brawns because the Singapore government prohibits the import of raw beef from Peninsular Malaysia due to fear of foot and mouth disease.

When I directed this to his attention on Twitter, Rafizi, perhaps excitably, sought to correct me by posting a link to the Singaporean Agri-food and Veterinary Authority website purportedly showing that Malaysia is amongst the countries approved to export beef to the Republic.

What he failed to do — and I suspect this was more out of incompetence more than anything else — was to scroll down to the footnote on the list, which clearly shows that Malaysia may only export processed, and not raw meat, which relates to NFC. Again, you will not see this allegation in his more recent remarks.

Incidentally, in his desperation he did try to deny ever saying NFC sold beef to the restaurants in Singapore. (This was his tweet on November 8: "I nvr said NFC sold its raw meat 2 Senor Santos/Brawn in Singapore"). You would've thought a Strategy Director knows that direct quotes are quite easily searchable on the Internet. He was unceremoniously exposed as a liar within minutes. That jig, too, was up.

He then quickly shifted to the question of the RM250 million government loan to NFC. On this matter, he was wrong to say that all RM250 million had been spent or disbursed; to date, the total drawdown available for use by NFC is RM181 million, consistent with the reply given by the prime minister, the minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries, and verified by the Auditor-General's report.

The remainder of the loan is still in the Special Loan Account (SLA) in which the loan was placed initially or put into fix deposit instruments in order to gain returns while waiting for further operational drawdowns from NFC. I have written about this process extensively on my blog.

Rafizi then tried to kick up a storm over the disbursement of the RM81.2 million to a related company of NFC, the National Livestock & Meat Corporation Sdn Bhd (NLMC). But there is no fuss to be made. Such disbursements are reasonable, considering that NLMC is tasked to operate the abattoir, develop the supply chain and market for NFC's products, as well as purchase cattle from satellite farms. This ties in with the feedlot project's broad overall goals, spanning from infrastructure, processing to distribution and marketing.

In PKR's original allegation, they characterised NLMC as only handling marketing, hence queried why that would require such a large sum of money. I have explained previously and once again here that NLMC's involvement spans the entire supply chain from processing to marketing. Another allegation explained away by fact and reason.

Shifting his sights to another NFC sister company, the Real Food Company (RFC), Rafizi questioned why RFC was given pricing discounts totalling RM3 million — insidiously employing the term "subsidy" for a particular effect.

I provided a straightforward explanation for that discount in my earlier blog entry. RFC is the sole distributor of NFC meat; the discount allowed the final product to be sold to wholesalers, wet markets and hypermarkets at competitive prices, which most will recognise as a fairly common aspect of any market entry strategy — the discount was not given to engineer a larger profit margin for RFC but rather passed through to retailers and consumers. When demand is established and economies of scale attained, prices can be normalised. And in any case, is it not the consumers who ultimately benefits through that discount? Where's the beef?

But of course, Rafizi only banged on this just so he could link it to his earlier remark about NFC supplying only to luxurious restaurants owned by the minister's family. In his recent article, he wrote, "NFC was entitled to subsidise the operations of Meatworks through a scheme that cost taxpayers nearly RM3 million in 2009". (Note again the conspicuous absence of the two restaurants in Singapore after being exposed on that allegation).

This is another lie, because alongside the likes of Carrefour, Giant and numerous wet markets, NFC beef is also supplied to restaurants like Jake's Charbroil Steak, Tony Roma's, Dome Café, Smokin Salma and Jarrod & Rawlins — all of which enjoy the benefits of the discount as Meatworks does.

Sure, these are up-market establishments, but premium meat accounts for only five percent of a cow carcass anyway. Most of the rest of the cow are sold in hypermarkets and wet markets and also enjoy this discount that Rafizi so desperately wants to link only to Meatworks. So this talk of "a subsidy for the elites who have expensive taste buds" is absolute nonsense on multiple levels.

Having been proven wrong on every single point despite jumping around from one baseless accusation to another, Rafizi's final throw of the dice was to press on over this same issue of disbursements and discounts, but without at all challenging the reasons I offered.

Running out of arguments that he can cook up, he accused me of saying that the SLA was an "escrow account but not an escrow account" — even managing to slip in a comment about how he "had spent many years as a chartered accountant and an auditor".

I'm not too sure how much good those years did him in terms of understanding the simplest of analogies — we already know from above they didn't help much in building meticulousness or attention to detail.

I never said the SLA was an escrow account — it is what it is, a Special Loan Account; not an escrow account. In my press conference on November 9, I merely drew a comparison to an escrow account to illustrate the strict processes involved in any drawdown from the SLA, which requires approval from several parties, in this case both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance.

Sure, there is no independent third party disbursing money as per an escrow account, but the principle I was establishing is that monies in the SLA cannot be freely accessed by NFC without the approval of two government ministries. Surely that reference to the principles of trust and accountability also found in an escrow arrangement is not too difficult to comprehend?

Despite his lies, deceit and incompetence, Rafizi is right about one thing: "It's not about the cows". It is about his and PKR's politicisation of the NFC issue, simply because it is linked to a minister's family.

Make no bones about it, I fully expect the opposition to play a role in pursuing the truth, especially when there is suspicion of wrongdoing. But once facts are provided that do not support that suspicion, the honourable thing is not to demand for the minister's resignation, but to accept that you are wrong and move on.

By the way, Rafizi closed his latest article by saying that this debate "is not about technicalities". I disagree. In many ways, it is precisely about technicalities, details and facts — only through rigorous examination and reasoned argument can one decide whether to make the charge of abuse of power. But perhaps you can tell that someone is out of his depth when he relents — no longer wanting to engage you on facts and details, appealing instead to unsubstantiated sentiment.

p.s. You're probably wondering where the explanation for the condominium purchase is since that's the latest salvo from PKR. Admittedly it's a great issue to spin. It is easily distilled to a sensational punch line: "Feedlot uses government money to buy luxury condo". People who are prejudiced will be attracted to PKR's cheap shot without wanting to hear an explanation.

Anyway, the explanation is provided for below. It is in Bahasa Malaysia and separate from my reply to Rafizi above for reasons of consistency. Rafizi's last article, which the above is a response to, first appeared in English and did not refer to the apartment purchase. Hence my reply above is in English and excludes an explanation for that.

The apartment purchase was raised by YB Saifuddin Nasution in a press conference at Parliament yesterday. So, to be consistent, I have responded to that in Bahasa Malaysia as below.

Isu apartmen dan projek NFC

PKR sekali lagi telah membuat tuduhan tidak berasas untuk memesong rakyat berhubung isu National Feedlot Corporation (NFC). Semalam mereka cuba memesongkan rakyat dengan tuduhan penyelewangan dana bagi membeli apartment One Menerung, Bangsar yang dikatakan hak milik keluarga Menteri Keluarga, Wanita dan Masyarakat. Perkara ini mudah disensasikan kerana jika dilihat sepintas lalu pasti ramai akan tanya apa kaitan projek NFC dengan pelaburan hartanah?

PKR mungkin rasa teruja dengan hujah mereka tapi saya ingin tegaskan bahawa tuduhan tersebut jauh terpesong, bak jauh panggang dari api.

Mengikut kajian saya, memang benar National Livestock & Meat Corporation (NLMC) telah membeli apartment One Menerung di Bangsar. Pelaburan ini dibuat dengan dana yang telah disalurkan kepada NFC dari akaun pinjaman khas (SLA) yang dikawal selia oleh Kementerian Kewangan dan juga Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani. Daripada sumber ini, NFC telah memindah sebanyak RM81.2 juta kepada NLMC.

Antara tugas dan skop kerja NLMC ialah proses operasi penyembelihan, boning atau proses pengasingan daging dan tulang, pembungkusan serta penghantaran disamping berperanan membeli hasil daripada ladang-ladang satelit apabila ladang-ladang ini beroperasi.

Dalam tuduhan asal, PKR sebut NLMC ini cuma membuat kerja pemasaran bagi NFC. Jelas disini tuduhan itu tidak berasas memandangkan skop menyeluruh yang diberi kepada NLMC yang memerlukan perbelanjaan operasi yang besar. Sebab itu, NLMC diperuntukkan RM81.2 juta untuk menampung kos operasi.

Malangnya, projek NFC telah mengalami kelewatan operasi. Kelewatan operasi ini tidak disebabkan oleh pengurusan NFC. Antara sebab kelewatan ini sepertimana dijelaskan oleh YB Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani di Parlimen pada 8 November ialah Kerajaan tidak ada peruntukan yang mencukupi untuk membangunkan ladang-ladang satelit.

Apabila ladang-ladang ini tidak dibangunkan sebahagian dari duit yang ada pada NLMC tidak dibelanjakan. Kerajaan juga masih tidak dapat membina pusat penyembelihan yang menepati piawai antarabangsa atau Export Quality Abattoir (EQA) sepertimana perjanjiannya dengan NFC. 

Apabila kelewatan ini berlaku, pihak pengurusan NFC berdepan dengan keputusan penting. Apakah mereka hanya biar duit yang diberi kepada NLMC itu dalam akaun semasa yang tidak memberi pulangan yang besar sambil menunggu ladang-ladang satelit dan EQA dibangunkan atau mereka melabur duit itu dan mendapat pulangan sambil menunggu masalah kelewatan operasi tersebut diatasi?

Kalau dibiar sahaja duit itu dalam akaun semasa, bukan sekadar ia tidak membawa pulangan tetapi dengan iklim ekonomi dunia yang melihat fenomena inflasi atau kenaikkan harga barang, nilai sebenar duit ini mungkin terhakis.

Sebagai contoh mudah, kalau NLMC membeli lembu dari ladang-ladang satelit hari ini, kosnya mungkin lebih murah dari pembelian yang dibuat tahun depan disebabkan kenaikkan harga barang dan komoditi. Jadi apabila semua ini tidak dapat dibeli dan ditangguhkan, sudah menjadi tugas pengurusan untuk memikirkan apa mereka nak buat dengan duit tunai yang ada dalam akaun semasa itu.

Pihak pengurusan telah membuat keputusan bahawa pelaburan yang paling selamat, yang memberi pulangan yang besar, yang boleh dijual apabila duit diperlukan untuk operasi adalah aset hartanah. Sudah pasti mereka telah mencari projek perumahan yang berkualiti tinggi dan popular agar pulangan NLMC dalam bentuk sewa dan juga kenaikkan harga apartment itu lebih besar dari pelaburan lain seperti akaun simpanan tetap. Difahamkan, apartmen berkenaan telahpun disewa dan mula memberi pulangan kepada NLMC. Nilai apartmen tersebut juga telah naik sejak dibeli NLMC.

Mungkin ada yang bertanya, kenapa duit dari SLA yang dikawal selia oleh kerajaan disalurkan kepada NFC sekiranya ada kelewatan operasi? Harus diingat, projek ini dimulakan dalam iklim ekonomi dunia yang tidak menentu. Krisis kewangan dunia telah memberi kesan kepada perbelajaan kerajaan yang disusun semula mengikut keutamaan rakyat.

Saya yakin kerajaan telah meluluskan pengunaan pinjaman dari SLA kepada NFC mengikut perancangan awal tanpa apa-apa kelewatan kepada operasi NFC. Tetapi apabila keadaan ekonomi dunia dan negara menjadi lebih mencabar, adalah menjadi wajar untuk kerajaan menyusun semula keutamaan perbelanjaannya dan inilah yang menyebabkan kelewatan operasi NFC seperti dijelaskan di atas.

Saya rasa walaupun penjelasan diatas amat logik dan munasabah khususnya dari sudut perniagaan di mana pelaburan dibuat sambil menunggu kelewatan projek yang disebabkan faktor di luar kawalan NFC dan NLMC, PKR akan tetap mempolitikkan isu ini dan tidak akan menerima penerangan yang diberi.

Tetapi walau apa pun tohmahan palsu yang diberi oleh PKR, kebenaran alam kes ini sudah terang lagi bersuluh bagi mereka yang tidak prejudis. Dalam kes apartmen One Menerung, pengurusan NFC dan NLMC telah membuat keputusan untuk melabur duit yang masih tidak dapat diguna disebabkan kelewatan operasi supaya mendapat pulangan.

Hujahnya mudah dan jelas.

* Khairy Jamaluddin is Umno Youth chief and the MP for Rembau

 

Cops open new probe on Anwar’s Datuk T report

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 03:43 PM PST

(The Malaysian Insider) - The police are now probing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for allegedly providing false information when questioned about the "Datuk T" sex video, a move PKR says is politically motivated.

The probe was opened after investigating officer, DSP Shanmugan Moorthy, lodged a police report claiming Anwar had knowingly given him false information, an offence under Section 182 of the Penal Code.

The crime is punishable by a six-month jail term or a fine of RM2,000.

The new police investigation is expected to pile pressure on the opposition leader, who has steadfastly denied being the man seen having sex with a purported prostitute in the video.

The video was shown to the media in April by former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik, businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and former Perkasa treasurer-general Datuk Shuib Lazim – collectively known as Datuk T.

PKR today claimed that the probe was yet another politically-motivated attack on Anwar, who is also the party's de facto leader.

"This is a very disturbing new development," PKR vice president N. Surendran told reporters at the party's headquarters here today.

"What we see here is the start of a new political trial against the federal opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim."

Surendran said he had no doubt Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) were colluding with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney-General (A-G) to bring down Anwar, "just as they were behind the persecution in 1998 and... in 2008".

"They are all in it together. They are planning it together," he said, adding that the police should end the probe immediately.

PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli said the probe appeared to be an attempt by BN to distract Malaysians from the ongoing controversy over the National Feedlot Centre (NFC), linked to Umno vice president Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil.

He pointed out that it was odd the police decided to bring up the issue now even though Shanmugan lodged his report on September 28.

READ MORE HERE

 

5 Reasons Why Penang Will Not Go To The Polls This Year If Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun ...

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 03:30 PM PST

LIM GUAN ENG

As speculation rises whether Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak will call for snap elections on this auspicious date of 11 November 2011, there are 5 key reasons why Penang will not follow suit and hold concurrent elections with the federal parliamentary seats this year.

One, BN has still not fulfilled its promise to repeal the Internal Security Act and disbursed RM 500 to all households earning below RM3,000 per month.  Questions are raised as to whether BN will conduct a mere cosmetic exercise of repealing the ISA but replacing it with two ISA-like laws. resulting in Malaysians ending up with two ISAs instead of one.

The disbursement of RM100 to students this year when this measure is included in the budget is for 2012 and not 2011 raises questions of legality especially when the 2012 Budget has still not being passed in Parliament. Further if the RM100 is to be paid this year when it is not budgeted in this year 2011 budget, where is the Federal government getting the money from.

Lest we forget Malaysia recorded a budget deficit this year as has been a deficit for 15 years. The National Deficit for 2010 is RM43.27billion, for 2011 is RM45.51 billion whilst the 2012 projected deficit for is RM43billion. (4.7% out of RM918 billion nominal GDP projected). Where is the Federal government going to get the extra RM530 million for giving to school students RM100 this year when it is not budgeted for 2011 and will only increase the 2011 deficit further?

Two, holding general elections now would be unfair to those performing the haj as they will be denied their right to vote and determine the next government. The last batch of the Haj pilgrims are not expected back until Dec 11 and almost 30,000 Malaysians went to Mecca to perform their pilgrimage

Three, the failure and refusal by the BN government to explain the misappropriation of funds, gross irregularities and abuses of power as outlined in the 2010 Auditor-General's Report. The 2010 Auditor-General Report reminds Malaysians of everything that is wrong in the BN Federal government. Night-vision marine binoculars costing only RM 1,940 are bought at a price of RM56,350, a TV LCD and DVD player bought with a contract price of RM16,100 was supplied with an inferior brand valued at only RM195; RM770,000 was spent to supply electricity to one house.

The Auditor-General's Report said nine ministries or departments had overspent their operating allocation for last year by a total of RM3.73 billion and even a Minister Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is involved when a RM73.6 million cattle-farming project is given to her family's company. Her husband is the Executive Chairman while her son is the CEO. The rest of her children, meanwhile, are executive directors.

Many questions remained unanswered about this National Feedlot Corporation project in Gemas, Negri Sembilan. Chief amongst its failures is its production of only 3,289 heads in 2010 or 41.1 per cent of its intended target of 8,000 heads. The AG's report also cites poor management as a key factor and points to other failings such as its failure to train enough farmers, a 5,000-acre farmland that is overgrown and poor maintenance of its facilities.

Naturally, Malaysians are concerned about public money which includes an additional soft loan of RM250 million being used to fund this "family business", especially when it is turning out to be a monumental failure. In addition, Sharizat has still to deny reports of how the funds were used on non-cow related purposes including an allegation by PKR that nearly RM10 million was spent to purchase a high-end condominium.

Four, the Parliamentary Select Committee of Electoral Reforms have still not completed its hearings to carry out reforms to ensure a free, fair and clean elections. Failure to do so would permit the dirtiest general elections in history with phantom voters and illegal immigrants being transformed magically to citizens and voters in a few hours. Would Malaysia's destiny be determined by Malaysian citizens or phantom voters and illegal immigrants?

Five, the national agenda for the end of this year should be focused on flood prevention and mitigation. Malaysians should learn from the horrors of floods in Thailand that has caused tragic loss of life and huge financial losses. To hold general elections now during the rainy monsoon season when flood victims are more bothered about surviving than voting, would be not only be a denial of their democratic right of choice but cruel and inhumane.

If Najib insists on calling snap polls this year, then the Penang Pakatan Rakyat will hold a special convention where a recommendation will be made not to hold the state election together with the federal parliament.

 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net
 

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