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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- NKRA : a closer look at the big numbers by a simple man
- Aidilfitri Malaysia Open House at Permatang Pauh
- MAS-Air Asia deal revisited
- Tulis sejarah negara versi baru - alang-alang berbohong, bohong betul-betul
- Freeing the Malays and Muslims from religious mind control
- Is it really, Professor?
- Taib Probe Opens In Germany – Breaking News!
| NKRA : a closer look at the big numbers by a simple man Posted: 11 Sep 2011 10:11 PM PDT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ETP: PM announces RM1.43bil in investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(source: extracted from page 2 of the Sun morning edition 8th September)
Palm oil The first item, palm oil, where it was reported in the Sun as "development of downstream sector of palm oil industry, including a world-class research and development centre:" In short, someone is going to invest RM706million into down-stream, i.e. post plantation activities of palm oil industry, like manufacturing, distribution, branding and marketing. The big words actually did not explain exactly what will cost RM706 million and how exactly additional GNI of RM1.15 billion can be created – is it via new products and new markets, what and how the multiplier effect will generate the stipulated GNI Impact etc? A big number must have many components and from the Sun report, I do not see a single clear cut explanation. R & D itself is exploratory in nature and estimating accurately revenue arising from successful R & D activities that can be translated into viable commercial production and sales is extremely tricky (without even factoring in competition from other products such as soya bean and peanut oil) so I would seriously question how the "expected gross national income" of RM1.15 billion is a creditable statement of optimism and of course, vote pulling. Besides, the GNI projection covered a period up to 8 years away. I would be interested to see what the BN administration have forecasted for the next 8 years, details of which, voters can assess if the forecast are valid assumptions, or just big hyped up numbers which basis can be challenged.
Merdik TV Why would the BN administration want to burn another RM400million (equivalent to the original budget of the new Istana Negara) and add another 650 civil servants onto an already bloated civil service, and over the next 3 years, to buy 1,410 TV sets, employing an average 2.17 staff per TV to broadcast health messages? At R400million a pop, each TV on average will cost us RM238,687.94. We already have RTM which is free-to-air and certainly have bigger reach than 1,410 TV sets of RM238K each in 168 locations. Just produce more programmes and broadcast through its controlled media (and replacing the air time set aside for propaganda with proper rakyat-friendly heath programmes). We tax payers certainly can make better use with RM400 million, like patching up the horrendous roads in Wangsa Maju or build 8,000 units of affordable homes at RM50,000 a unit for example. And we have not examine which company is going to supply the TV set via direct negotiation or otherwise.
Strand Aerospace Malaysia Sdn Bhd Of all the projects, this sound most promising – 6,000 Malaysian engineers to be trained in a joint venture company set up by Malaysian entrepreneurs and a British aerospace expert Anthony Bedborough, reach GNI impact of RM3.5 billion by 2020. However, I wonder if this is a private sector initiative or it is a BN administration driven effort? Is SAM Sdn Bhd a GLC hence the Prime Minister can claim "lagi satu projek Barisan Nasional" or is it just a private sector investment? One consistent trend in Najib administration is the confusion whether an investment project is really a BN administration project or a private sector going on anyway. For example, Najib presented investments by oil giant Shell as if it's BN administration thingy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- At the same time, Najib said Shell Malaysia will also be investing RM1.5 billion in multiple projects to upgrade, expand or build facilities in upstream, midstream and downstream activities across Malaysia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- While he is so good at playing the role of Shell Malaysia's press officer, how come, for consistency sake, he did not announce the multi million investment in Kuantan by Lynas which was granted a 12 year pioneer status (as disclosed by Lynas themselves) when the maximum tax exemption period for promoted activities of national strategic importance is only 10 years? Or the multi million contract awarded to Ahmad Zaki,Kejuruteraan Kenari and Maya Maju consisting of RM400 million original allocation and R400 million overrun? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The new Istana Negara in Jalan Duta will now cost more than RM800 million, and not RM400 million as announced by the government in 2006. Deputy Works Minister Datuk Yong Khoon Seng said the cost includes the construction of a new RM130 million flyover leading to the palace in Jalan Duta, and upgrading works on Jalan Changkat Semantan costing RM32.5 million. He added that the flyover project and the road upgrading works were awarded to Ahmad Zaki Resources and Kejuruteraan Kenari respectively through direct negotiation. The Istana Negara complex itself will cost around RM650 million and the project was awarded to Maya Maju, also through direct negotiation. The palace will be completed by February next year. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As for the projected GNI of RM3.5 billion anticipated in 9 years time, how much revenue the SAM Sdn Bhd need to earn to hit the target? Since it averages about RM2 to RM4 million ringgit a year (reading the report below), SAM Sdn Bhd has a big gap to catch, making me wonder if they can actually hit the required number and I would be most interested to know of their business plan to accomplish this. |
| Aidilfitri Malaysia Open House at Permatang Pauh Posted: 11 Sep 2011 10:01 PM PDT But the people were induced by free food and goodies. This is how UMNO/BN work to show a big turn-out. You CAN'T FOOL THE RAKYAT ANYMORE. TIME FOR CHANGE is here and it is anticipated that after GE13, a NEW FEDERAL GOVERNMENT will be formed - NO LONGER UMNO/BN will form that government. See more pictures at: http://malaysiansmustknowthetruth.blogspot.com/2011/09/aidilfitri-malaysia-open-house-at.html
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| Posted: 11 Sep 2011 05:07 PM PDT I asked the Oracle of Syed Putra- can the MAS-AA deal be stopped? And what do you think of the deal? It's difficult for anyone not to impute some massive insider trading in the deal. Just like the recent purchase of E&O by Sime Darby just after a central figure in E&O increased his shares. But the authorities appear to be neutered when it comes to the rich powerful and the connected. A few months ago, the same person increased his shares ahead of the announcement involving Kencana and Sapura Crest Petroleum. Now I hear, there are rumors saying that the PDA (Petroleum Development Act) is going to be amended that will effectively turned Sapura- Kencana into a second PETRONAS. It will acquire the same monopolistic rights over energy resources. PETRONAS our national oil company will have to share the industry cake with somebody. These bastards at the top seem to have an insatiable lust when it comes to greed. It's the same with MAS. MAS is an exalted brand name. It's a crime to dilute the brand name and take the lazy man's way out by cannibalizing it and making money in that process. Khazanah buys back shares from Singaporeans not on account of good business sense but on account of national pride. Yet it doesn't seem to have the same patriotic sentiments when it comes to diluting and divesting MAS shares even to AAsia. Hey- I like your analogy of the modern Hamman cutting his teeth both in Pharaoh's and Moses's business. To answer your question as to whether the deal can be revoked- I will have to say yes. Yes it can - depending on the will and resolve of the PM. That's a very tall order, suggested the Oracle. The will and resolve of the PM depends on his understanding of the problem, what he wants to do and the significance he attaches to a strategic asset such as MAS. If the PM's thinking over these elements are fluid and ephemeral ( for want of less brutish terms) then the opaque and shady deals involving MAS and Air Asia will move on to its conclusion. So I read with interest when Nazir Razak pompously declared stop the shady and opaque deals or suffer the consequences. I thought he was referring to the deal in which CIMB played, in his own words, a mere matchmaker for Air Asia and Khazanah. Khazanah forces MAS to lose its manhood by parting away with a substantial portion of its equity in return for a lower number of shares but which are more valuable in Air Asia. Before the deal, the shares of Air Asia were traded on the high side, but after the deal was announced, the shares of Air Asia plummeted. It would almost appear that before the deal, the shares of Air Asia were artificially pushed up to allow its owners to part away with a smaller portion of their shares. Maybe, it would have been better to wait for the shares of Air Asia to go lower and swap shares. In that way, Kahzanah would have acquired a bigger portion of Air Asia and through that action, improved our national pride. If they had done that, then maybe, its talk about pride contains some credibility. If not shut the F**k up about national pride. Meanwhile, we are happy to note that the banker who has once said that the NEP has been bastardized and the ladder by which he has reached the top should now be thrown away is a workaholic coming to his office on Sundays and sometimes, as the guards below will tell you, coming at 2 am in the morning. I told the guard- I can do better- if I am paid RM 1.2 million a month, I will even sleep in the office. With all the deals done by Khazanah and other GLCs are accomplished with stealth, opaqueness and even shady, what's the conclusion? Did we hear of any AGM preceding the MAS-AA deal? What happens to the minority interests? The conclusion is: The country's economy is in unsafe hands. A few private individuals will make mountains of money whereas the problems of MAS will escalate.
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| Tulis sejarah negara versi baru - alang-alang berbohong, bohong betul-betul Posted: 11 Sep 2011 04:38 PM PDT Professor Zainal Keling menyatakan kita hanya sebuah 'protectorate state' bukan tanah jajahan British. Kalau apa yang dinyatakan oleh MPN itu benar maka kerajaan khususnya UMNO mesti secara jelas dan formal membuat kenyataan resmi yang negara kita adalah seperti negara Thailand yang tidak pernah di jajah.
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| Freeing the Malays and Muslims from religious mind control Posted: 11 Sep 2011 04:03 PM PDT Religious arrogance and zealotry are norms. Muslim leaders can assuredly rebuff equal partnership on inter-religious discussion panels. The Islamic moral police is free to raid churches and insult the Malay person's dignity and autonomy. Refusal to play along with another community's passion for its customs is condemned as chauvinistic or unconstitutional – the fate of elected representatives in Sarawak who chose the customary suit and tie over expensive uniforms and songkoks for a state assembly opening. Closing the gap with South Korea or Singapore at the top of quality-of-life indicators such as the UN Human Development Index is a minor national concern. We are prouder to have been ranked by the Pew Forum's Government Restriction Index alongside Saudi Arabia and Iran as world champions in constricting religious freedoms and other civil rights. The time has come to face the facts. 'Moderate Malaysia' and 'moderate Islam' are as good as dead. If our interest is to revive moderateness, we do not flog dead hypes. We must address the causes of death. The problem Two pervasive mentalities stand out among the chief culprits. They are racial and religious supremacy. Racial supremacy expects non-Malay citizens to be eternally grateful to the Malay race for granting their forefathers citizenship at Independence. It demands from the non-Malays unquestionable deference to the Malays, their culture and arbitrary declarations of Malay rights or privileges. Religious supremacy is the conviction that the Islamic belief is superior to all other beliefs and that it is the only path to true spirituality. Its adherents must not compromise on officially stipulated Islamic ideas and practices and cannot opt-out of the religion. Non-believers are fodder for conversion. A set of underlying reasons drive these mentalities. Political motives aside, there is a historical fear of disenfranchisement; a concept of entitlement as an exclusive birthright; envy; low self-esteem; a craving for a source of self-pride; a fear of the new or alien; meekness; and narrow-mindedness. Supremacism is sold as the cure-all. But it only adds to the problem. The projection of cultural or religious might becomes a pretext for the powerful to impose conformity and thereby control upon a majority. Behind the false security of religious dogma or ethnic nationalism, it is spiritually and psychologically defeating. It turns what should be a happy bazaar of exchange between cultures into a cautious tightrope walk. It sabotages nation-building, whatever the unifying slogan or initiative devised. Consider how this plays out in Malay-non-Malay relations. The ordinary Malay in Malaysia is kept at a near constant state of anxiety by the tirade about the non-Malays seeking to usurp Malay political and economic rights. The Malays are repeatedly called on to be united in the name of race and religion to fend off this imagined strike. To alleviate his insecurities the Malay is offered:
There is no commensurate effort to unleash the Malay mind and encourage the Malay person to seize the day, excel, question, take charge, propose or dissent. Political leaders and the religious bureaucracy do not favour this; an empowered people puts at stake their political influence and economic privilege. The outcome is a large class of Malays that is averse to thinking, recoils from taking responsibility and content with following instructions. Ennui, the deep weariness and dissatisfaction stemming from mindless satiety and boredom, is a common affliction. It is to this oppressive vacuity that the non-Malays are portrayed as 'threats'. It is also implied that the non-Malay cultures and attitudes can weaken Malay religiosity or morals (see, for example, Jakim's 'Guidelines for Muslims celebrating religious festivals of non-Muslims'). The Malays, for their part, are seen by the non-Malays as being exclusive and hegemonic with their loudspeakers and educational and economic quotas. The result is isolation between the communities, the straining of social ties under the slightest provocation and the successful thwarting of real solidarity between the races. The usual prescription is for the non-Malays to toe the line, to adapt without protest, or— told more gently by a prominent Malay DAP member— to be "responsive" to the Malays' "primordial sentiments of culture and religion". This misguided paradigm must go.
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| Posted: 11 Sep 2011 02:40 PM PDT The good Professor rested his claim as such on the fact that the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 between Raja Abdullah and the British Governor in Singapore did not mention that Perak was to be colonised but was only to be "protected" as a "protectorate" of the British. The Professor went on to say that the only states which were colonised by the British in Tanah Melayu were Singapore, Penang and Melaka. The good Professor may be correct in so far as historical terminologies go. But history is not about terminologies and semantics. True history is about facts and reality. Of course, facts may be looked at from different views, angles and perspective resulting in different interpretations and conclusions. Realities may also be subjected to the same treatment giving rise to the term of "administered reality". With all due respect to the good Professor, the British entry into Tanah Melayu and their subsequent entrenchment in Tanah Melayu's administration leading to at least a de facto colonisation of the whole of the Tanah Melayu peninsula and her surrounding islets cannot be viewed solely from and within the effect of the Pangkor Treaty alone. That would tantamount to an attempt to define the whole cosmos just by looking at the moon alone and nothing else. Let's however begin with the Pangkor Treaty 1874 (as the Professor had relied his thesis on it). For the record, prior to the Pangkor Treaty, the British, through the British East India Company, were already deeply entrenched in Tanah Melayu. It "colonised" Penang in 1786. Penang was later confirmed to be a possession of the British in 1800 by the then Sultan of Kedah. In 1819, Stamford Raffles took it upon himself to bring Singapore into the British fold. Later in 1824, the British and the Dutch, presumably under the mandate of some godlike creatures residing somewhere within the mountains of Scotland, decided among themselves to divide the Malay Archipelago into two, thereby giving away Melaka to the British and Indonesia (Sumatera) to the Dutch. In each of these three little states which the British saw fit to do as it please, they had a Governor who governed for the British. In 1867, these so called "settlements" became the "Crown Colonies" and came directly under the purview of the Colonial Office in London. Meanwhile, in Perak, upon the death of Sultan Ali in 1871, a palace power struggle was brewing. The Raja Muda of Perak was Raja Abdullah. He should have gone on to take the thrones. As events would have it, the Raja Bendahara, Raja Ismail was pronounced as Sultan. Perak was a rich tin producer at that time. The British were itchy to get their greedy hands on Perak. They were waiting for an opportunity. That opportunity presented itself when Raja Abdullah wrote to the Governor of Singapore, Sir Andrew Clarke, spelling out his desire to place Perak under British protection, and "to have a man of sufficient abilities to show (him) a good system of government." The British surely did not need further motivation but to lend their generous helping hands to a Malay ruler in need of course. With that, the Governor very kindly entered into the Pangkor Treaty with Raja Abdullah on 20th January 1874. With that agreement in hand, Raja Abdullah was made Sultan of Perak (although Raja Ismail was earlier appointed Sultan by the Malay palace). Raja Ismail (the then Sultan) of course did not attend the signing of the Pangkor Treaty as he did not recognise the agreement for obvious reason. But faced with the might of the very big and terribly friendly and generous British, Raja Ismail could not do anything other than seeing the throne being taken by Raja Abdullah. Sir W W Birch was appointed, pursuant to the agreement, Perak's 1st British Resident. (It was with considerable irony that Raja Abdullah – later Sultan Abdullah – was later thrown out to the Seychelles for conspiring to murder Birch). Professor Datuk Dr Zainal was correct to say that the Pangkor Treaty did not say Perak was a colony of the British. But surely that does not mean that Perak was not colonised by the British. So what if the British had said Perak was only a "protectorate"? Does it mean anything at all? What if the British had said that Perak was a "paradise where everybody could smoke opium till they laugh and laugh and laugh and they die"? Does that mean Perak was a "paradise where everybody could smoke opium till they laugh and laugh and laugh and they die"? Just because the British had said so? The British, for whatever reason, chiefly because they had wanted to classify their dominions throughout the world for economics and social purposes (and also for qualification for British citizenship) had categorised its "conquests" into three classes, the colonies, the protectorates and the protected states. Semantically of course there are differences between the three. But factually, it does not take a rocket scientist, or a learned bunch of thick-spectacled history professors to know that there were not much of a difference between them. A colony is of course a state which the British had "annexed" or "settled" in. This state was presumed to be a jungle or a barren state where civilisation did not exist. And the very civilised British had of course "discovered" that state, just like Stamford Raffles did Singapore or Francis Light did Penang. A "protectorate" is a state which the civilised and friendly (and generous) British had not annexed or settled in. This is a state where the British came in at the request of the helpless ruler of that state. It is a state where the British came to help or came to administer not through force but through agreements or treatise. Yes. That is a protectorate. A "protected" state on the other hand, is a state which is protected by the British, again at the request of the ruler of that state. However, according to the British, in a protected state, the British did not involve themselves with its governance. Yes. That is the difference between the three classes of the British conquests. Who said so? Well, the British said so. So, if the British said so, it must be correct right? Well, the British also said that Maggie Thatcher had balls. Remember? Relying on semantics – and these semantics were coined and used by none other than the British themselves – the good Professor said according to the Pangkor Treaty, Perak was not colonised. |
| Taib Probe Opens In Germany – Breaking News! Posted: 11 Sep 2011 07:29 AM PDT The development places serious further international pressure on BN to deal with their corrupted State Minister, who was forced to promise he would soon resign during the recent elections, but now shows no sign of doing so. We can reveal that the decision was confirmed to the Swiss NGO, the Bruno Manser Foundation at the end of last week and that the investigations are already under way. The move follows similar action in May by the Swiss Federation, which in turn finally prompted Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to initiate its own on-going enquiries into Taib, who has blatantly abused his political power in Sarawak to enrich himself over the past 30 years.  The MACC announcement in June, as reported by The Star
Trouble for Deutsche Bank !
The German announcement immediately places an embarrassing spotlight on one of country's most recognised institutions, the global financial giant, Deutsche Bank. Sarawak Report has been reporting on Deutsche Bank's uncomfortable links with the Taib family assets for months and in June the Bruno Manser Foundation (BMF) led an official protest over the Bank's involvement in alleged profits from timber corruption. The NGO has now presented the German Finance Ministry with a dossier revealing further connections between Taib and Germany's largest bank. These latest concerns include the connections involving the multi-million ringgit investment banking operation K & N Kenanga Holdings Bhd, where Deutsche Asia Bank and Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS), Taib's family company, are together by far the biggest shareholders. A merger in 2001 between K & N Kenanga, then 30% owned by Deutsche Asia Bank and the controversial finance subsidiary of CMS, Sarawak Securities Sdn Bhd, gained the combined company Universal Broker Status from the Securities Commission. Separate questions have also been raised over an unusual bond issue brokered in 2005 by Deutsche Bank AG in Labuan on behalf of the State of Sarawak. The deal raised US$800 million through a private company, SGOS Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd, described as 100% owned by the State Secretary of Sarawak. The 10-year bond is backed by the State of Sarawak. Details of the investigation In an email to BMF (see below) Germany's Finance Ministry has now confirmed that it has authorised the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, to launch a full enquiry into the connections between the country's leading financial institution and the Taib family. The email's explanation of BaFin's role leaves no doubt that the remit of that enquiry, will include money laundering:
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