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BN’s disgusting international standards
PAS cooking up a lot religious nonsense
HAPPY BIRTHDAY YB Nurul Izzah Anwar
SUBSIDI UNTUK MALAYSIA ATAU SUBSIDI UNTUK ORANG FILIPINA?

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 10:32 PM PST

The Barisan Nasional (BN) government sure has a funny way of recognising international achievers. It kicks them out of office when they start performing with international standards.

By Jackson Ng, Retired Journalist

REMEMBER how Tan Sri Robert Phang was ousted as an advisory panel member of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission?

Phang was one of the pioneer members of the panel upon the formation of the MACC. However, his outspokenness has been a thorn to the corridors of power.

Unlike the majority of the "Yes Man" MACC panel members who chose to accept their appointment but remained muted throughout their tenure, Phang spoke up against corruption and abuse of power.

Phang openly took on the likes of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz, former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan (for alleged abuse of power and conspiracy with the underworld) and those who benefitted from the multi-billion ringgit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) financial scandal.

Phang's ouster in the MACC panel was sparked when he took on the all-powerful Attorney-General (A-G) Tan Sri Gani Patail.

That was too much for Phang to chew as Gani's office can decide whether to prosecute an accused, with or without evidence; with authentic or fabricated evidence as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy I and II hearings have revealed thus far.

And all Phang did was to call on Gani to rebut allegations linking him to high-profile but shady corporate figures who allegedly paid for his haj trip. The allegations were backed by documents.

Of course there were many other allegations against the A-G but the documentary evidence posted in the public electronic domain was just too embarrassing and overwhelming.

So what happened?

Gani ordered a probe on allegations of corruption, posted ANONYMOUSLY in a blog, which eventually led to nowhere and Phang was cleared by the MACC.

Phang had voluntary quit as a MACC panel member to facilitate the investigations against him and to uphold the integrity of the MACC.

After Phang was cleared, he was not reappointed to the MACC panel.

Boring? Hold your horses man! Read on and I can assure you that it is becoming both amusing and disgusting.

What I find most amusing is the fact that Phang was recently the recipient of the Socially Responsible Company (SRC) Awards 2011's Master Class Awards in Anti-Corruption.

So what's the big deal, you may ask?

Well, the SRC 2011 Awards are sanctioned by:

* The United Nations;
* The United Nations Global Impact; and
* Audited by McMillan Woods.

And, now for the best laugh! The award presentation, organised by JCI Malaysia and hosted by JCI E-Metro KL, was supported by:

* Malaysia's Prime Minister's Department;
* Malaysia's Youth and Sports Ministry; and
* Malaysia's Human Resources Department.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) government sure has a funny way of recognising international achievers. It kicks them out of office when they start performing with international standards.

Phang better watch his next step and not be too delighted with the UN-recognition or the BN government will start treating him like a public pariah.

What am I talking about? Look how the BN government is treating former Bar Council president and Bersih 2 leader Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.

For those suffering from amnesia (especially those from BN-Umno), U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton awarded Ambiga the Secretary of State's Award for International Women of Courage at the US State Department on March 11, 2009 in Washington, DC.

The awards were given to eight women from around the world who have shown leadership while struggling for social justice and human rights.

There you have it, Malaysians. The BN government sure have strange ways to reward or recognise talent and international achievers.

Protecting cow breeders who use public funds allocated for beef production to buy multi-million-ringgit condominiums is international standard and supreme achievers.

PAS cooking up a lot religious nonsense

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 03:57 PM PST

DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN

Which Christian can help being angered by the accusation by PAS' problematic Hasan Ali that Christian missionaries are using eight ways to proselytize Muslims - one of which included using a rather far-fetched 'solar-powered handheld talking Bible.' He also said that Christians were setting up welfare groups that handed out financial and other forms of assistance to single mothers, the poor, the elderly and others with inducements including daily provisions, capital for business purposes and other aid.

It is no surprise then that he got a proper tongue lashing from Islamic scholar, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, for insulting both Muslims and the Islamic faith, and from Rev. Thomas Philips, the vice chairman of inter-faith group The Malaysian Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) who said, "Talk is cheap. Where is the proof. There are more than ample laws to punish those that try to proselytize Muslims so if Hasan Ali has evidence, put it on show. Don't just accuse."

I would like to remind Hassan, that his pro-Islamist party is the number one source of religious intolerance in Malaysia. In fact PAS was the original group that forced the once liberal Umno to become a religious extremist organization as well because it felt the need to compete to get Malay support since the 1970s. This was the biggest wrong turn in the history of the nation which has now become a country with little tolerance, in which racial groups have been so polarized that religious debates and mutual attacks are happening in a daily basis nowadays. What a shame!

Why is PAS so eager to make the Christian its enemies? Isn't it enough that Perkasa has been attacking Christians to make the Christians appear to be the political devil in the country? Why is Hassan complaining about solar-powered Bibles? I have never seen, nor even heard of such a Bible, but let me tell Hassan this: If there is such a Bible, then I am very glad because now there is a new portable Bible which can help Christians keep up with the holy book while they are on the move, and without having to flip through the pages. And why would such a Bible a problem to Muslims? What about the electronic Al-Quran which is in the market to help Muslims read the holy book whole traveling? Are the Christians complaining about that? No! I would say, congratulations to the Muslims!

For Hassan's information, although I have never seen a solar-powered Bible, there are already many portable Bibles everywhere now. Anyone can install a complete Bible text even in handphones. If you want the easier to read versions with larger fonts, there are other that can be uploaded into i-Pads and laptops. There are also thousands of websites in the Internet where the Bible is available in its many versions, in all languages of the world, including in Indonesian. But why should such a situation be a problem to Muslims when the Al-Quran is also available in many languages in the internet, including in the English and Malay languages. I myself have even glanced through these but id didn't bother me at all. I didn't feel that I was being proselytized, so why should the Muslims in PAS be so sensitive that they have to attack the Christians for having electronic Bibles? And why blame us if the Internet is full of Bibles and evangelism materials?

And let's please understand that the meaning of the word proselytize comes both ways. Both Christians and Muslims are commanded by their holy books to proselytize others, but in Malaysia we are not allowed to proselytize Muslims, so we obey the law. But what is the point if we are still accused of proselytizing Muslims whether we do it or not? And we Christians all know that the Muslims are free to proselytize us, and as law-abiding citizens, we try to live with this unfair situation. But because we so obedient, groups like PAS and Perkasa are now expecting more from us: (a) Perkasa has demanded that Christians be not allowed to become teachers, (b) We are not allowed to use our own national language for our religious services, (c) We are not allowed to use around 30 words in our religion, especially "Allah" which unofficially can be used in Sabah and Sarawak but not in the Peninsular – a most stupid decision!, and (d) and Baru Bian in Sarawak had just claimed that Christian pre-schoolers in Sarawak are being taught Muslims prayers.

PAS also needs to answer one very critical question about the sensitive matter of conversions: What if a Malay converts according to his own wish without any effort to proselytize him from anybody? Will PAS still be saying it is all the fault of Christians in Malaysia? What of the person was converted by studying Christian materials in the Internet or from books he bought from the bookstores? Does this mean that the Christians in Malaysia must now brace themselves the horror of PAS coming into power because they will be arrested and jailed in case some Muslim becomes Christians, even though the Christians have nothing to do with the conversion?

They want to step over our heads and make all sorts of accusations against Christians such as (a) We are supposed to be trying to convert Muslims, (b) We want to have a Christian Prime Minister in the country, and now (c) We are spreading electronic Bibles. What other sins will we be accused of next, I wonder.

Some people forget that we Christians have equal rights as Malaysians! We contribute to the development of the country, and we pay our taxes too. In fact more than 80 percent of the taxes in Malaysia are paid by non-Muslims! But when we build our churches or do evangelism work, we have to come up with our own money, while the Muslims have can use part of the taxes to build their mosques.

I just want to ask Hassan Ali a few more questions: If PR ever rules the country, is PAS going to create laws to suppress Christians even worse than what is happening now? Is the party going to ban all electronic Bibles? Will the party ban all kinds of social and welfare programs from being carried out by Christian organizations? And in view of the strange behavior that Hassan Ali is showing the public right now, is he saying that PAS doesn't need the votes of Christians? I look forward to his response. And I can assure him this won't be the last he will hear from me on the issue!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YB Nurul Izzah Anwar

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 03:25 PM PST

Many happy returns of the day

SUBSIDI UNTUK MALAYSIA ATAU SUBSIDI UNTUK ORANG FILIPINA?

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:10 PM PST

Saya ingin menyumbang pendapat mengenai pembelian aset-aset Esso/Mobil di Malaysia oleh syarikat arak Filipina, San Miguel. Ingin saya bertanya, mengapakah syarikat dalam industri strategik minyak negara, yang menerima subsidi kerajaan, boleh dijual dengan begitu mudah kepada orang asing?

Untuk meringankan beban rakyat Malaysia dari kenaikan harga di pasaran minyak global, kerajaan membayar subsidi kepada syarikat-syarikat minyak seperti Petronas, Shell, Esso/Mobil dan BH Petrol. Syarikat-syarikat ini sama ada mempunyai kepentingan majoriti yang dipegang GLC, atau telah melabur berbilion ringgit demi menyumbang kembali kepada pembangunan negara kita – oleh itu, justifikasi untuk syarikat-syarikat ini untuk menerima subsidi minyak adalah wajar.

Akan tetapi, dengan penjualan stesen-stesen minyak Esso dan Mobil kepada syarikat pembuat dan pengedar arak San Miguel dari Filipina, tiada justifikasi langsung untuk San Miguel menikmati subsidi minyak kerajaan (dan secara langsung wang dari kocek rakyat Malaysia). Tawaran San Miguel tidak menyebut tentang apa-apa cadangan pelaburan dalam negara.

Para pembaca lihatlah sendiri jadual di bawah:

Dari perspektif lain, penyata kewangan ExxonMobil bagi tahun berakhir 31 Disember 2010 menunjukkan ExxonMobil menerima subsidi kerajaan bejumlah RM152,939,651 (sila rujuk mukasurat 47 fail ini: http://announcements.bursamalaysia.com/EDMS/subweb.nsf/7f04516f8098680348256c6f0017a6bf/6c54e41a288ee4c74825787d002c5f4e/$FILE/ESSO-Page%2012%20to%20ProxyForm%20(2.6MB).pdf). Inilah jumlah (tidak termasuk pelepasan cukai) yang akan disalur keluar dari negara kita ke Manila, dan seterusnya ke kocek San Miguel setiap tahun, untuk membuat lebih banyak arak.

Saya hairan kenapa kerajaan Malaysia mengambil masa begitu lama untuk menolak pembelian stesen-stesen Esso/Mobil oleh San Miguel. Kenapa sunyi sangat dekat Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi Dan Kepengunaan? Dah kena sogok ke? Jangan lupa, duit San Miguel tu duit arak, haram tu…

Pada pendapat saya, Petronas harus campur tangan dan mengambil alih pembelian stesen-stesen Esso/Mobil dari San Miguel. Petronas sendiri mempunyai sasaran menambah sebanyak 250 stesen dalam masa 5 tahun akan datang (http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/pdg25/Article/). Petronas bukan sahaja mempunyai wang dan aset yang mencukupi, bahkan sebagai syarikat minyak negara, Petronas boleh menjadi penyelamat pemilik-pemilik stesen Esso/Mobil Bumiputera yang akan dipaksa San Miguel menjual arak yang haram di stesen-stesen mereka.

Nik Azahari

Kota Bharu, Kelantan

********************************************

Petronas unit eyes top spot in petrol retail mart

(NST) - Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PDB) expects to invest up to RM2 billion over the next five years to set up as many as 250 petrol stations, as it aims to become the number one player in the petrol retail segment within three to five years.

The company currently has more than 950 petrol stations nationwide and controls a volume market share of about 32 per cent. About three years ago, its market share was below 30 per cent.

Over the next five years, PDB plans to spend RM250 million to RM400 million annually to build 30 to 50 new petrol stations a year.

"Although overall we are the market leader, but if you look at the sub-segments, there are areas that we are still not number one, and retail is one of them.

"We hope to become the number one player in that space within three to five years, with a market share of 40 per cent. It's going to be very challenging but that's our goal," said Amir Hamzah Azizan, PDB managing director and chief executive officer.

The capital expenditure will be funded via internally-gene-rated funds.

The company hopes to achieve better margins moving forward as it grows its non-fuel business such as sales from its convenient stores, as well as expands its petrol station network.

Amir Hamzah said with more stations, the company can secure better prices on goods and services from its suppliers.

PDB may consider buying smaller rivals if opportunity arises and if the deal makes sense.

"We won't do mergers and acquisitions (M&As) for the sake of M&As. It has to be beneficial and bring synergies to the company," he said.

PDB's net profit rose 41 per cent to RM228.45 million during the fourth quarter ended March 31 2011, against RM161.11 million in the same period last year. Its revenue for the quarter rose 17 per cent to RM6.38 billion.

For the full year, its net profit rose 15.5 per cent to RM869.73 million, while revenue rose 12.5 per cent to RM23.27 billion.

"Overall, I believe the company had a good year, especially against the backdrop of the economic recovery market," he said.

The company also aims to push its lubricant business segment to the number one spot, with a 32 per cent market share from the current 22 per cent.

"For the lubricant business, it's going to be an aggressive market penetration and promotions, with strong backing from Petronas Lubricants International," Amir Hamzah said.

For the commercial and liquefied natural gas segments, he said PDB would focus on maintaining its leadership position with quality services and marketing.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Sabtu, 19 November 2011