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MRT Communications
Repeated Warnings Were Not Taken Seriously Says SEPA
Election promises: Who copied whom?
Academics call upon Barisan and Pakatan to declare policy positions on national finance and debt
Taib distorting the message on Change
Defeating the people’s will
Taib set to sacrifice Baram, retain unpopular dam project

Posted: 08 Apr 2013 12:17 PM PDT

Is MRT Corp afraid of what the public has to say?

Tan from Damansara Damai

MRT Corp has done a good job so far in trying to communicate and engage with the public on various issues affected city dwellers. However, I noticed recently that it has redesigned its website, and in the process, lost many of the user functionality that was previously there.

For instance, the map on the alignment was interactive and convenient to scroll and zoom in to see where the stations are on where it passes through. The current map is just flat and static and serves very little purpose. I have also noticed that that the poll feature has been removed. Is MRT Corp afraid of what the public has to say?

The pictures and video galleries too have been removed. I would have thought that would be the best way to show the nation what the progress is looking like and highlight engagements with various communities.

The twitter has also recently been used to promote contests and traffic diversions only. There does not seem to be a will to engage in conversations, which I find odd.

On a final note - what is the purpose of the MRT info centers? There is the rental of prime lots, staff and utility costs, but almost negligible people coming in. The location of the centers are ill conceived and I am sure no one would drive all the way to a Kota Damansara center, try to find parking, just to see posters and videos when a good, well designed website will do the trick. Does the final costs for the MRT take into account these spending?

Repeated Warnings Were Not Taken Seriously Says SEPA

Posted: 08 Apr 2013 12:10 PM PDT

Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA)

Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA), President Lanash Thanda expressed deep regret that the repeated warnings were not heeded by the quarry company and government agencies resulting in the incident on Saturday which saw boulders crashing down to the village under Kukusan Hill in Tawau.

"Since 2012, SEPA's past President, Wong Tack had repeatedly highlighted this issue and went down to the ground with SEPA member, Gary Yap to check the situation of this quarry that was allowed to be carried out after the Kukusan Forest was downgraded from being a Class I Forest Reserve to Class II," stated Lanash who was recently elected to the new committee for 2013.

SEPA had challenged the validity of the quarry, which damaged the environment of the Forest Reserve and endangered the community living at the foothill of the Reserve.

"We deeply regret seeing that once again the needs of development outweighed the wellbeing of not only the environment but also people living in the surrounding area," said Lanash at a Press Conference held at the SEPA office in Kota Kinabalu.

In September 2012, the company Hap Seng who runs the quarry issued a statement that claimed that the quarry was compliant with the terms of approvals from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Department of Environment (DOE).

"If the company did comply, this shows that the standard requirement for carrying out quarrying was flawed as it resulted in injury of people in the surrounding area and now the government has said it would relocate all the people living within the area," pointed out Lanash.

SEPA proposed that the quarry be closed for a thorough investigation which should look into two aspects aspect; firstly on the blasting that has been allowed within the Forest Reserve and secondly on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) particularly on environmental and safety standards that were approved.

"We need to ask if the company had taken into consideration the proximity of the Kampung Tanjung Batu Tengah (Besi Buruk), was this issue identified in the mitigating measures, and if not why not?" asked the SEPA President.

There have been many incidents that show that development has priority over the environment and the safety of people. Like many other issues that SEPA have highlighted over the years certain developments are accidents waiting to happen.

"It was very fortunate that this incident did not result in deaths of the residents of the village but we must learn from our mistakes and we have to move forward by having more stringent measures and standards," concluded Lanash.

Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA)

Election promises: Who copied whom?

Posted: 08 Apr 2013 12:02 PM PDT

All of its overarching policy statements, ranging from eliminating discrimination to promoting culture to better education to job opportunities, have been the guiding principles of the ruling party these past 55 years.

Wong Sai Kim

Have you heard this story before? At the launch of a new book, a visitor jumped up and down, screaming: "This is plagiarism. I have read every word in this book before." When he was asked 'Where?' he replied with a chuckle: "In the dictionary".

I was reminded of this joke when I read in the newspapers about Pakatan Rakyat's allegation that Barisan Nasional had 'plagiarised' its manifesto. PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar claimed that parts of the Barisan manifesto were 'lifted' from the Pakatan manifesto.

I have read the Barisan manifesto and I have re-read the Pakatan manifesto. I find instead that the reverse is true. Every policy in the Pakatan manifesto is a rehash of Alliance/Barisan policies which have been in existence since Malayan/Malaysian independence.

No, this is not an exaggeration. All of its overarching policy statements, ranging from eliminating discrimination to promoting culture to better education to job opportunities, have been the guiding principles of the ruling party these past 55 years.

There is not a single policy guideline that is new in the Pakatan document. As a specific policy, Nurul singled out the 'reduction of car prices' as her example of BN piracy. Let's look at this claim closely.

The BN Government had introduced the National Automotive Policy way back in 2006 with the following as one of its aims: "To safeguard the interests of consumers in terms of value for money, safety and quality of products and services".

Inherent in this clause is the promise to not only review car prices but more importantly, to look into the whole question of making the total cost of transportation more affordable for all Malaysians.

If reducing the price of cars is to make them more affordable, one must remember that the national car project was launched almost 30 years ago, making car ownership affordable to a larger section of the Malaysian population than before.

Pakatan proposes to 'restructure the automotive policy'. The Automotive Policy is a dynamic instrument which has already been restructured over the last seven years. So, who is copying whom?

Another Pakatan proposal; to abolish tolls, is also not new. The BN government had in the past abolished tolls in selected areas and will continue to review toll collection on the expiry of toll concession periods. The Pakatan manifesto does not promise to abolish tolls immediately. Its stated policy is to 'gradually' abolish tolls. The word 'gradually' is not defined, and it could take 10, 15 or 20 years. It must also be remembered that collecting tolls is not anathema to Pakatan. In Penang, the State Government is proposing toll collection in its proposed undersea tunnel project. Again, who is copying from whom?

Yet another Pakatan proposal is to abolish monopolies. But isn't this the same purpose for which the Competition Act 2010 was introduced by the ruling government? So again, who is copying from whom?

Other copycat policies of Pakatan include the following:

• Building affordable houses for all.

• Basic health access

• Social safety network

• One million new jobs

• Minimum wage

These issues have always been the cornerstone of BN government's policy thrusts.

SO, ONCE AGAIN, WHO IS COPYING WHOM?

Academics call upon Barisan and Pakatan to declare policy positions on national finance and debt

Posted: 07 Apr 2013 02:36 PM PDT

press-st

Recent financial crises have visited economic calamity upon ordinary citizens in the countries of the East and West alike. Experience tells us that there can be no complacency about a nation's financial state.

Concerns voiced in various reports and the media call for special attention to Malaysia's finances and their management. These concerns are:

A record-breaking capital flight out of Malaysia. Financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) reported that a total of RM880 billion of funds were illegally transferred out of the country between 2001 and 2010.

A sharply rising trend in government debt. This debt almost doubled from RM274 billion at the beginning of 2008 to RM502 billion at the end of 2012. International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics expect it to grow by RM277 billion to RM779 billion in 2017.

Incomplete information about the Malaysian government's full exposure to debt. The official figures for government debt exclude debts that are called contingent liabilities. These include off-balance-sheet borrowings and the debts of banks, government-linked companies and other private-sector enterprises that the government has guaranteed to pay off in the event that these entities default. One estimate of these hidden debts in 2011 placed it at RM117 billion.

Rapid growth of the share of total government debt owed to foreign holders. This has soared from 0.1% in 2003 to 6.7% in 2006, 11.8% in 2009, and 26.8% in 2012. Although 97% of this debt remains Ringgit-denominated, this trend is a cause for concern, and compromises future policy autonomy as well as heightens exposure to capital flight in the event of financial panic.

Possible massive losses by 1Malaysia Development Bhd. Recent revelations indicate that this strategic company, wholly owned by the government of Malaysia and tasked to lead in market driven initiatives to help transform the Malaysian economy, may have incurred losses of as much as RM4 billion through mispricing of its bond issue.

Inconsistencies in Bank Negara reports regarding Malaysia's total debt. While one portion of Bank Negara's statistics tallies with the official total debt of RM695.4 billion for 2011 and RM737.6 billion for 2012, elsewhere in its reports it is implied that Malaysia's total debt is more than twice larger, at about RM2.025 trillion for 2011 and RM1.743 trillion for 2012. The latter would ordinarily be considered crisis-level figures.

Fears of an imminent credit bubble in Malaysia and other East Asian countries. Households in Malaysia have amassed a consumer debt in excess of RM600 billion according to an IMF country report. Various financial analyses claim that Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan are at risk of a household debt crisis.

The lack of sustainability of Malaysia's GDP growth. Rapid liquidations of natural capital such as petroleum and forests to finance deficit spending or to fulfill debt obligations have adverse economic and ecological implications for present and future generations. Moreover, unproductive investments and expenditures are recorded as positive GDP in the national accounts even if they yield returns that do not cover borrowing costs.

A lack of discipline in adhering to Malaysia's statutory ceiling for debt. The ceiling has been raised on the debt limit from 40% of GDP set in 2003 to 45% in 2008 and subsequently to the present 55% in 2009.

The above details signal an alarming trend.

Decisive action is required to safeguard Malaysia's development potential and forestall a crisis situation such as in Greece.

In line with public interest, therefore, and as a first step towards democratising the management of government finances, we, the undersigned, call upon Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, the main contenders for government in the 13th Malaysian general elections, to openly lay out detailed policy positions on how they intend to manage the nation's finances.

In their policy briefs on national finance and debt, the two political coalitions must provide the following minimum feedback:

1. Justify the projections for the borrowings that they anticipate making in the coming five years under their respective watch;

2. Spell out plans for tackling fiscal deficits and ballooning government and household debts;

3. Explain how their election manifesto promises on government spending will be consistent with sustainable debt and resource management;

4. Declare their commitment to investigating illegal financial outflows and repatriating these monies as prescribed by the United Nations Convention against Corruption;

5. State explicitly whether they will support the foundations of public transparency and accountability in our national finances by

(i) establishing a continuously updated 'debt register' that will be publicly available on the Internet, which records the stock of debts, the sources of these debts, interest/dividend payments made on these and details of the uses made of these borrowings;

(ii) establishing a multi-partisan parliamentary committee for debt oversight and approval;

(iii) holding public fora and referenda on spending or debt decisions of great import; and

(iv) other possible measures.

We urge the two major political coalitions to produce their national finance and debt policy briefs focusing on the proposals set out above as soon as possible.

The voters of this country deserve to go to the voting booths with better knowledge of what to expect in the management of Malaysia's finance and debts from the new government in power.

Signatories

Dr Cheong Kee Cheok

Dr Fatimah Kari

Dr Terence Gomez

Dr KJ John

Dr Cassey Lee

Dr Lee Hwok Aun

Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Dr Rajah Rasiah

Pak Sako

Dr. Rozilini M Fernandez- Chung

Dr. Yew Siew Yong

Taib distorting the message on Change

Posted: 07 Apr 2013 12:51 PM PDT

It's important to make an example of some politicians from time to time so that they will take not take the people for granted and forget who put them in power.

Joe Fernandez

Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud used his interview with MobTv.my to distort the message of change coming from the younger generation. Watch at: http://www.mobtv.my/talkshow-3094.html

He focused on his theme that Sarawak has undergone a lot of change since becoming a member of the Federation of Malaysia and the process continues. He talked about the number of roads built, provision of water and electricity supplies, sponsorship of six universities etc etc

The dumb interviewer appeared to be assisting Taib with his propaganda and even stating that the younger generation doesn't seem to understand what change means.

The issue that Taib avoided is that by change what the young people in particular means is that they want him, his family, relatives, friends and cronies and the fat cats and sycophants hanging around him to go. They want this lot out of politics and government.

Instead, Taib was going on and on about how much change he has brought and is bringing and will continue to bring.

Is he suggesting that the Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) must continue to ruleSarawak forever? Where's the change of government that all civilised and democratic societies seek?

Is he suggesting that Sarawak remains his family's ancestral property and that no one should rule the country except him and his family?

Power corrupts and absolutely power corrupts absolutely.

A change of government will allow the people to audit the PBB Government and bring wrongdoers to book for abuse of power, abuse of trust, conflict of interest, lack of integrity, corruption and treason.

It's important to make an example of some politicians from time to time so that they will take not take the people for granted and forget who put them in power.

Sabah and Sarawak are the poorest nations in Malaysia because of the proxy and stooge politics of the traitors and which sees all revenues flowing into the Federal coffers to keep the people perpetually down and unable to leave Malaysia.

A change of Government in Sarawak will enable the people to regain control of the resources and revenues of their country which will be brought back to Kuching from Putrajaya; contribute only towards defence, foreign affairs, and national economic planning; review all development plans of the PBB, retain what can be retained either fully, in part or to various degrees; amend what should be amended; and scrap what should be scrapped; what remains of the PBB development plan can be an addendum to the plans of the new government.

Defeating the people’s will

Posted: 07 Apr 2013 12:47 PM PDT

In the GE12 held in 2008, the people of Perak voted for a Pakatan Rakyat state government. The Umno-dominated BN decided to use dirty politics to subvert the people's choice.

Tota

Tota urges the people of Perak to teach the BN a lesson at the polls for subverting the will of the people expressed in the last general election.

In the GE12 held in 2008, the people of Perak voted for a Pakatan Rakyat state government. The Umno-dominated BN decided to use dirty politics to subvert the people's choice.

Many evil forces – BN, led by Najib, the state secretary, the police, parasites with power, and immoral and unscrupulous political frogs – conspired, connived and colluded to steal the rightfully elected government allegedly through bribery and corruption.

GE13 will be held soon. As a patriotic Malaysian, I see the people of Perak placed in a unique position to ensure once and for all no politician or party would again dare to defeat the people's will through crooked means. Such an opportunity does not come often to a state to make history. Vote every BN candidate out. Better still ensure everyone of them loses his/her deposit!

This will send the strongest message to political scoundrels that if they ever break the people's will, they will be punished mercilessly. Let Perak lead the way. It will be Perak's greatest contribution to ensuring that Malaysia is a genuine democracy where elections are free and fair.

Come on, people of Perak, show that People Power (Makkal Sakti) is supreme and that people are the boss and politicians are their servants. Let Perak be the heart of true nationalism and patriotism.

I quote below M Bakri Musa, noted surgeon and writer:

The lack of political sophistication and wisdom gets worse as we examine Mahathir's successors. More recently there were the political crises in Perak and Selangor, both the consequence of the political tsunami of the 2008 general elections. Again, both demonstrated the failure of Malay leadership. In Perak, the Sultan proved unable to escape his feudal mentality. He treated his 'People's Representatives' in the state assembly as his henchman, ready to do his bidding, – legality and political ramifications aside. The political crisis quickly degenerated. Instead of being part of the solution, he was quickly reduced to being part of the problem, and a very significant one at that.
The Perak crisis demonstrated another significant point. It is often assumed that if only we have qualified and experienced people in charge, then no matter how battered or inadequate our institutions are, these individuals will rise to the challenge. In Perak, we have a sultan who by any measure is the most qualified and experienced, having served as the nation's top judge and later, King. Yet his critical decision following the 2008 election, which demanded the most judicious of judgment, proved unwise and premature. And that is putting it mildly and politely.
The principal political protagonists there were Barisan Nasional's Zambry Kadir, a Temple University PhD, and Pakatan's Nizar Jamaluddin, a professional engineer fluent in multiple languages. The election saw the defeat of the incumbent Barisan government with Pakatan's Nizar taking over as Menteri Besar. The state of affairs was short-lived. Through shady machinations, Barisan successfully persuaded a few Pakatan representatives to switch sides. That triggered a political tussle that quickly degenerated into a major constitutional crisis. It did not have to end that way; the wise course would have been to call for a formal vote of 'no confidence' in the assembly and then have fresh elections called.
The Barisan folks, however, were unsure of their standing with voters. There were real concerns that voters would not approve of the 'representative buying' and Barisan risked even greater losses. So, in cahoots with the Sultan, Barisan concocted a novel scheme where he, the sultan, would decide which party had the citizens' confidence dispensing with a formal Assembly vote.
From there it was a short but steep slide to seeing the Pakatan speaker of the Assembly being manhandled and dragged out, with chairs thrown all round. The sultan (actually his representative, the crown prince), was reduced to cooling his heels in an adjoining room, unable to address the Assembly because of the mayhem.
The pathetic part to the whole ugly spectacle was the despicable behaviour of members of the permanent establishment, form the sultan's counsellors and State Secretary to the Legal Advisor and Chief of Police. They should have played an impartial and mediating role, to act as an effective buffer mechanism. Instead they too became thickly embroiled, getting hopelessly ensnared in the mess through their highly partisan performances.
As for the judiciary, it failed to appreciate the urgency or gravity of the crisis. The case did not merit an expedited hearing and was left to meander through the usual slow judicial process. By contrast, the lawsuit triggered by the 2000 American presidential elections over the Florida ballots ended at the Supreme Court for a definitive decision in a matter of days, not months.
When you examine the credentials of the principal players in the Perak mess, they were all impressive. In performance, however, they were no different from the thugs in an ugly street brawl. Their impressive diplomas meant nothing; they only looked impressive when framed and hung on office walls.
Excerpt from 'Liberating the Malay Mind' by M Bakri Musa.

P.S. Every Malaysian must read this excellent book to understand the serious ailments plaguing our beloved country.

Tota is the pseudonym of an occasional contributor to Thinking Allowed Online.

Taib set to sacrifice Baram, retain unpopular dam project

Posted: 07 Apr 2013 12:36 PM PDT

Joe Fernandez

I am surprised to receive a text message from an Orang Ulu friend in Sarawak confiding that he would be voting for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in Baram although all indications are that the Opposition would sweep the seat.

The message goes:

"Boss - in OU Oiltown here wen ask abt Baram they flatly say KALAH!! And Miri again they say KALAH oso. Y v pessimestic? Hw like dat Boss? No choice now must hv to pour $$$... And lots n lots of it.. Unlike b4 BN went to war wit 110% of winning but nw it's 50:50 chance wic s no gud news. Hw boss?"

"DLW -vs- Sahabat Alam Harrison Ngau logging n land issues. Now d bloody damned Dam issue. My vote is for BN but I'm betting wit d CKPs for pkr at rmxxxK... Hw boss?"

The main issue is the proposed Baram Dam project which has run into stiff opposition from the Orang Ulu people.

Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud is unlikely to back down on the dam project. He would prefer to sacrifice the seat.

However, if the Opposition takes Baram as expected, the Taib Dynasty has no business going ahead with the dam project in that seat. He will be asking for real trouble if the dam project proceeds.

It's surprising that the text message sender, an MBA and former banker, wants to vote BN.

BN has been in power for 56 years in Malaya and 50 years in Borneo.

So, we need to throw it out and get the new Government to conduct due diligence and an audit of the 56 years and 50 years to know what monkey tricks the BN has been up to over the years behind the people's back.

The due diligence and audit will facilitate the new government bringing wrongdoers from the BN to book to make an example of them.

There's no doubt that the BN politicians have been stealing the people's money over the last half century. In desperation, for self-preservation, unelected caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak keeps throwing goodies including cash at the people, bribing them with their own money. The people, who are being insulted in this manner, know better.

Henceforth, no party or coalition should be allowed to rule in Putrajaya or any state for more than two or three terms or 12 years at the very maximum.

This will help reduce the number of politicians that the people will have to lock up every time there's a change of Government.

We cannot allow a situation where the more things appear to change, the more they remain the same. That's self-preservation.

We need to mature as a democracy. That will not happen as long as BN is in power. However, there's nothing to prevent BN returning to power in Putrajaya after a spell warming the Opposition benches for a change. They eat to eat humble pie for two to three terms.

Taib himself has been Chief Minister of Sarawak, the second poorest state in Malaysia according to the World Bank in Dec 2010, since 1981 and shows no signs of stepping down despite a bout with colon cancer and the loss of his wife to lung cancer. Even as his wife laying dying, suffering for many years before succumbing to the disease, Taib was busy shacking up with a Lebanese lady, forty five years his junior.

His predecessor was his maternal uncle Abdul Rahman Yakub who was Chief Minister for ten years until a Sarawak United People's Party (Supp) rebellion against him, during Hussein Onn's premiership, forced him to step down. Hussein was firm that Rahman Yakub should go despite the latter hosting a massive 50,000 strong rally of Malays at the old airport to demonstrate his strength.

Taib, a Melanau Muslim grandson of a Christian, never forgot how his uncle was humiliated and forced out of office by the Chinese.

So, he made it his mission to destroy Supp and the kingmaker role of the Chinese in Sarawak politics.

In that he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

So, the Sarawak Chinese see little point in backing a BN Government where they will have no influence whatsoever.

Taib has become Public Enemy Number One to not only the Chinese but a substantial number of the Orang Ulu, Bidayuh and the Melanau, all better-educated Dayaks, unlike the Iban who still lag behind in literacy rates, and many Malays in the urban areas.

The Sarawak Malays are mainly coastal-dwelling Bidayuh and Iban who became Muslim several hundred years ago. Sarawak Malay is an Iban dialect.

There are no local opposition parties to challenge Taib.

So, the field has been left wide open for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to take on the BN in a one-to-one fight. The people of Sarawak have put the Borneo Agenda, mooted by Sabah strongman Jeffrey Kitingan, on the backburner as they wrestle with the immediate task of ending Taib's rule. The Borneo Agenda stands against everything that the parti parti Malaya in Borneo and Putrajaya stands for.

Taib has historically never done well in a straight fight. In 1987, he was almost defeated by an alliance made up of the Malay-based Permas and the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS).

Polls over, Taib was quick to invite PBDS to rejoin the state BN in order to break its alliance with the Malays.

He then put his machinery into motion and had PBDS deregistered several years later using rogue elements and his massive financial resources.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Selasa, 9 April 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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