tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6062885048967473982024-03-19T12:29:36.073-07:00Malaysian Political UpdateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-28009463658163941112009-08-03T14:06:00.000-07:002009-08-03T14:15:43.998-07:00Malaysian Arrests Put in Question Vow of Rights - The New York Times<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuokcV_-WFB2pujq63kHiGBlnZwWDGFaYNHrpQFOuaOh2oIVscgq05drB7neNQT_TE3LQ_k0cqJSxBp1ZSWNYJb9xOKjofvvJunzxDV_YGpwerQq0OEQXNpKb6S-Lhwjbu1FHpa6HbGQ/s1600-h/03malaysia_600[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365847894207606738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 221px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuokcV_-WFB2pujq63kHiGBlnZwWDGFaYNHrpQFOuaOh2oIVscgq05drB7neNQT_TE3LQ_k0cqJSxBp1ZSWNYJb9xOKjofvvJunzxDV_YGpwerQq0OEQXNpKb6S-Lhwjbu1FHpa6HbGQ/s400/03malaysia_600%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><em></em><br /><em> <span style="font-size:78%;">Saeed Khan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images</span></em><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Demonstrators ran as Malaysian anti-riot police fired tear gas shells near Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday</em>.<br /></span><br /><div>BANGKOK — Soon after coming to power four months ago, Najib Razak, the Malaysian prime minister, vowed to temper the country’s repressive laws and respect civil liberties though they have often been ignored.But <a title="More news and information about Malaysia." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/malaysia/index.html?inline=nyt-geo">Malaysia</a>’s honeymoon of liberalism hit the rocks over the weekend, when the police broke up a large rally in Kuala Lumpur, arresting nearly 600 people and reaffirming the governing party’s longstanding policy of zero tolerance toward street protests.</div><div><br />Opposition parties, which organized the rally, were calling for the repeal of a law that allows the government to jail its critics indefinitely without charge. The opposition is also pressing the government to expand an inquiry into the recent death under mysterious circumstances of a political aide after a late-night interrogation by anticorruption officials.</div><div><br />News services estimated that the rally on Saturday, which was broken up by thousands of police officers using tear gas and water cannons, drew about 20,000 protesters, making it the largest demonstration in two years.<br />“We can provide them stadiums where they can shout themselves hoarse till dawn, but don’t cause disturbance in the streets,” Mr. Najib said Sunday, according to the Malaysian news media.</div><div><br />Since taking office in April, Mr. Najib has gained favor with investors and businesspeople by partly <a title="Times article" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/world/asia/01malaysia.html">dismantling a system of racial preferences</a> that long caused resentment among the country’s minorities.<br />He also released 13 political detainees held without trial. <a title="Details on Merdeka poll (PDF)" href="http://www.merdeka.org/v2/download/News%20Release%20-%20Opinion%20Poll%20July%202009-edited.pdf">An opinion poll</a> conducted from June 19 to July 1 showed 65 percent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with his performance. The poll, by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, surveyed 1,060 voters.<br />More recently, Mr. Najib’s government has been criticized as reverting to the authoritarian tactics of previous administrations.</div><div><br />A former health minister and stalwart of the governing coalition, Chua Jui Meng, defected to the opposition in July, saying that Mr. Najib represented an “iron fist behind the velvet glove.”<br />Lim Kit Siang, a prominent opposition politician, said <a title="Lim Kit Siang blog" href="http://blog.limkitsiang.com/">in a blog entry on Sunday</a> that the large number of people detained “underlines” that the “greatest violators of human rights are often the police and the law enforcement agencies.”</div><div><br />The death of the political aide, Teoh Beng Hock, in July has galvanized opposition parties and caused widespread outrage, especially among the minority Chinese.<br />Mr. Teoh, a legislative aide in the opposition-controlled state of Selangor, was found dead beneath the 14th-story window of the offices of the country’s anticorruption commission after a nightlong interrogation. <a title="Article from The Star Online on the report" href="http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/18/nation/20090718155423&sec=nation">A pathologist’s report</a> said he died of internal injuries from a fall.<br />A government minister initially said Mr. Teoh, 30, committed suicide, but his belt and back pockets were torn, adding to speculation that he might have been forced out the window.<br />After initial resistance, the government bowed to public pressure and ordered an inquiry into Mr. Teoh’s death as well as the interrogation tactics of the anticorruption officers.</div><div><br />Deaths in police custody have increased in recent years, according to <a title="The group’s Web site" href="http://www.suaram.net/">Suaram</a>, a human rights group. According to the Malaysian Home Ministry, 1,535 people died in police custody between 2003 and 2007, the latest year for which data is available.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>By THOMAS FULLER<br />Published: August 2, 2009 </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-40845602292392642512009-05-07T23:36:00.000-07:002009-05-07T23:43:28.468-07:00Rule of law in jeopardy- Malaysiakini<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAbh8iEpL6fi_TqB6TFzjPVELaiVL1DgQNTNl8cd2p4ImU_OFgRNA6HL-7stq0ANUuJV4JCzYMB93b4UFURWBrCY9YLAlMNzEwPwBOESZgtPhFS52f5jbl-VNmMuygmpUyDPaMqQYmWI/s1600-h/5c3917c8f7ef9985ef26b81f5ac72cbe%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333339587129630786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 219px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAbh8iEpL6fi_TqB6TFzjPVELaiVL1DgQNTNl8cd2p4ImU_OFgRNA6HL-7stq0ANUuJV4JCzYMB93b4UFURWBrCY9YLAlMNzEwPwBOESZgtPhFS52f5jbl-VNmMuygmpUyDPaMqQYmWI/s400/5c3917c8f7ef9985ef26b81f5ac72cbe%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong><em>Perak Speaker Sivakumar being dragged,abused and manhandled by security unknown individual out of Perak State Assembly .</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><br /><div><strong>Param Cumaraswamy May 8, 09 1:33pm </strong></div><div><br />On March 4, I appealed to the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the state legislative assembly to avoid the crisis there leading to anarchy.Indeed what happened in the state legislative assembly yesterday was anarchy.</div><div><br />I have never seen or heard of such chaos in any legislature in the world. That such commotion could occur in a state where the ruler was once the Lord President of the Supreme Court is beyond belief.As I said previously he could have averted all these if he had dissolved the legislative assembly on Feb 5, and left it to the rakyat to elect a new government in accordance with the fundamentals of democracy.Rulers must not only be above politics but must be seen to be so.Lawyers will continue debating the validity of appointments and removals of the Menteri Besar and the speaker and the crude manner in which V Sivakumar was removed.They will continue to debate on the validity of motions adopted yesterday and at the previous meeting under the tree.Each will have an interpretation of the applicable provisions of the constitution and bye laws.As I said on March 4, this is not the time to look into the technicalities and strict interpretation of the law, constitution and bye laws. </div><div><br />That one disputed speaker could call in the police to assist the sergeant-at-arms to remove the other speaker who was indeed removed forcibly did not speak well of the calibre of these state representatives.Procedural fairness was thrown overboard in the assembly yesterday. The Perak Regent Raja Nazrin Shah's presence there and his delivery of the royal address may not be seen as the ruler not being above politics.What about the court ruling?What is most disconcerting is all these happened when there was pending before the High Court an application to determine who is the rightful Menteri Besar!Why the unholy haste to summon the legislative assembly? The state constitution does not expressly provide that if the assembly is not convened within six months since the last session the assembly is automatically dissolved.What happens if on Monday the High Court declares that the rightful Menteri Besar is Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin? </div><div><br />On the other hand if the court finds that Zambry Abd Kadir's appointment was valid, the public perception would be that the events of yesterday pre-empted the decision of the court.The independence and impartiality of the court would be called into question. .The ugly events of yesterday clearly showed that there can never be an orderly and stable government in Perak unless the legislative assembly is dissolved and fresh elections held.I therefore urge Sultan Azlan Shah to exercise his discretionary power under Article 36(2) of the state constitution and dissolve the legislative assembly.More than anybody else he should know better the finer principles of democracy and its values for a state under a just rule of law. </div><div> </div><div><br /><strong>PARAM CUMARASWAMY is a former Malaysian Bar president (1986 - 1988). He also served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers by the UN Commission on Human Rights from 1994 to 2003. </strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-46746362472620942172009-03-07T10:20:00.000-08:002009-03-07T10:24:27.283-08:00Global Recession Could Last Till End-2010 Or Longer- AFPNEW DELHI: The US professor nicknamed "Dr. Doom" for forecasting the financial crisis has said the global recession will last all of this year and probably next, India's Mail Today reported Saturday.New York University professor Nouriel Roubini said that in the best-case scenario, the recession will continue through 2010 in advanced economies while job losses will persist for an additional year, the paper reported.<br /><br />He said world governments are falling behind the curve in tackling the crisis with "policymakers moving in the right direction--but (doing) too little too late."Speaking at a New Delhi conference, Roubini warned that the United States, Europe and Japan must "get their act together" to avoid the global economy sinking further.<br /><br />"People were hoping it would be a V-shaped recession--a sharp fall, followed by an equally quick recovery," he said."But we are in the middle of an ugly U-shaped recession," he said Friday.<br />Roubini said the bottom of the "U"--the length of time the world economy will continue to contract--would last a minimum of three years starting from December 2007.But he said there was a "one-in-three chance" that recession would turn into an "L"--a prolonged period of stagnation or shrinking output, coupled with falling prices as demand dries up.<br /><br />As early as 2005, Roubini said US home prices were riding a speculative wave that would soon sink the economy, but was dismissed as a doomsayer.In Delhi, he said the problems of the financial system and financial institutions were getting worse, but that the outlook could be improved by governments taking charge of insolvent banks, cleaning them up and then selling them to private investors.<br /><br />"People say when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches cold. In this case, the US is just not sneezing, it has a severe case of chronic pneumonia.""We all sink or swim together," he said, adding there is no way policy action in emerging economic giants India and China can pull the global economy out of the slump. (AFP)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-50930121577128414452009-03-03T10:29:00.000-08:002009-03-04T01:54:22.066-08:00Under a tree, assembly votes for fresh polls- Malaysian Insider<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLIg3ZiXDvrpRqyzTUaCqB3VdoL5eRP6EohD-LnHBafFo28-EDRoBhP7DB0E_Cs63CA9mF5kIcvL4VMQRmQJi7f0sJeq4SI9vRBqAVnRO0BjQB2GpVDlSzo_5awB6X0MEe_Q62bVmbAo/s1600-h/n65111386384_1426383_5763179%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309268410890805954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyLIg3ZiXDvrpRqyzTUaCqB3VdoL5eRP6EohD-LnHBafFo28-EDRoBhP7DB0E_Cs63CA9mF5kIcvL4VMQRmQJi7f0sJeq4SI9vRBqAVnRO0BjQB2GpVDlSzo_5awB6X0MEe_Q62bVmbAo/s400/n65111386384_1426383_5763179%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_MaRgFay2b6SdPaG0zfadn92TX8nwZxNsF_pjdX-FqIonvB608DyGMVy6d0ARpYdUhs2A_fYPsla9BEzc3aS1cz7k5JvMjaccTBIpf8Lg4wq8_1Pu9qWs6Q8gXvZ6_UWjfKeSXqFRtQ/s1600-h/n65111386384_1426382_7332317%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309268295031681426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_MaRgFay2b6SdPaG0zfadn92TX8nwZxNsF_pjdX-FqIonvB608DyGMVy6d0ARpYdUhs2A_fYPsla9BEzc3aS1cz7k5JvMjaccTBIpf8Lg4wq8_1Pu9qWs6Q8gXvZ6_UWjfKeSXqFRtQ/s400/n65111386384_1426382_7332317%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuWMFbfYsfyBujt3JqLqBxKkbabf02EKgPL0vL3RXGl8mQYnV4yjFna8agHUutMMSw8hMArqD5_vnOythAmtS6zwP4dbPLHlWtndygeGURxhwqzASHeEq5mfz1caQ-mB1hwwAJmSuOtY/s1600-h/n65111386384_1426380_1495392%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309267625221424642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuWMFbfYsfyBujt3JqLqBxKkbabf02EKgPL0vL3RXGl8mQYnV4yjFna8agHUutMMSw8hMArqD5_vnOythAmtS6zwP4dbPLHlWtndygeGURxhwqzASHeEq5mfz1caQ-mB1hwwAJmSuOtY/s400/n65111386384_1426380_1495392%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96qpxaLVlFf8IchIWz1oJfu9xkp3Z4mC6I0NF_LBGX8Xldww_SUcyhbq5gjWsCWAKys7H_nA76Ux9njWJ1L7cwhyyCMlF8wZUbT3PgCpfkbibeA1yNiC4kg_nhrIX39TTgsev1FwKATE/s1600-h/n65111386384_1426378_1969824%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309267460920546210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 350px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 283px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96qpxaLVlFf8IchIWz1oJfu9xkp3Z4mC6I0NF_LBGX8Xldww_SUcyhbq5gjWsCWAKys7H_nA76Ux9njWJ1L7cwhyyCMlF8wZUbT3PgCpfkbibeA1yNiC4kg_nhrIX39TTgsev1FwKATE/s400/n65111386384_1426378_1969824%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a> Photos courtesy from Nizar's Facebook<br /><br /><div>IPOH, March 3 — In the shade of a rain tree with the State Secretariat just 200 metres away, Perak Speaker V Sivakumar convened an emergency sitting of the state assembly today which effectively voted to end the de facto Barisan Nasional (BN) government of Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.Across town at the same time in the Ipoh High Court, BN lawyers were arguing to stay the proceedings of the state assembly, pending a law suit against Sivakumar for suspending from the assembly Zambry and his six executive council members.On an eventful day, Perak’s administration has been thrown into chaos with both BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) questioning the legitimacy of each other’s actions.<br /><br />The State Secretary’s directive to close off the building which houses the state assembly had added to the confusion over the administration of the state.The directive resulted in riot police barring state assemblymen from entering the building.All the lawmakers that had turned up this morning were from PR parties. BN legislators, not surprisingly, did not show up as they contend the assembly was invalid.Sivakumar was the only person given permission to access the building, but he chose instead to walk nearby to convene the assembly with the presence of the PR assemblymen.<br /><br />Dressed in his ceremonial black robes and songkok, the Speaker presided over a sitting, which on the face of it appeared legal as long as he was present.The sitting proceeded to pass three votes – expressing their confidence in Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin as mentri besar; calling on Nizar to seek a dissolution of the state assembly; and endorsing Sivakumar’s suspension of Zambry and the de facto BN executive council.Nizar told reporters later that he would seek an audience with the Sultan to ask for consent to dissolve the assembly.<br /><br />At the Ipoh High Court, Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim ruled that five lawyers, including constitutional expert Tommy Thomas, had no locus standi to represent the Perak Speaker in court.He said the Speaker must be represented by the state legal advisor because he is part of the state government.Thomas told reporters the team had no choice but to withdraw from the case.Earlier this morning, a minor scuffle broke out when a group of unidentified men tried to stop Nizar and other PR assemblymen from entering the state assembly compound.Subsequently, Nizar and the assemblymen were prevented from entering the state assembly by riot police, backed by two trucks with water cannons.<br /><br />Yesterday, Zambry declared any attempt to hold an emergency sitting of the state assembly a “threat to national security.”Nizar told reporters later that he would seek an audience with the Sultan to ask for consent to dissolve the assembly.At the Ipoh High Court, Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim ruled that five lawyers, including constitutional expert Tommy Thomas, had no locus standi to represent the Perak Speaker in court.He said the Speaker must be represented by the state legal advisor because he is part of the state government.Thomas told reporters the team had no choice but to withdraw from the case.<br /><br />Earlier this morning, a minor scuffle broke out when a group of unidentified men tried to stop Nizar and other PR assemblymen from entering the state assembly compound.Subsequently, Nizar and the assemblymen were prevented from entering the state assembly by riot police, backed by two trucks with water cannons.Yesterday, Zambry declared any attempt to hold an emergency sitting of the state assembly a “threat to national seNizar told reporters later that he would seek an audience with the Sultan to ask for consent to dissolve the assembly.<br /><br />At the Ipoh High Court, Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim ruled that five lawyers, including constitutional expert Tommy Thomas, had no locus standi to represent the Perak Speaker in court.He said the Speaker must be represented by the state legal advisor because he is part of the state government.Thomas told reporters the team had no choice but to withdraw from the case.Earlier this morning, a minor scuffle broke out when a group of unidentified men tried to stop Nizar and other PR assemblymen from entering the state assembly compound.<br /><br />Subsequently, Nizar and the assemblymen were prevented from entering the state assembly by riot police, backed by two trucks with water cannons.Yesterday, Zambry declared any attempt to hold an emergency sitting of the state assembly a “threat to national security.”</div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-88993560395723905372009-02-22T11:47:00.000-08:002009-02-22T11:53:17.238-08:00New anti-corruption body yet another BN lap dog?- MalaysiakiniIt is so quick to act on reports against Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim but chooses to ignore the years of abuses under the previous administration of Khir Toyo.’ <br />On <a href="http://www1.malaysiakini.com/news/98713" target="_blank">Car & Cows: S'gor MB could be charged</a><br /><br />Helen Yeap: It never ceases to amaze me how low the clowns from Barisan Nasional will stoop to stay in power and continue with its blatant pillaging of taxpayers' monies.<br />The MACC is turning out to be just another BN lapdog. The MACC is so quick to act on reports against the current democratically-elected Pakatan Rakyat MB of Selangor but chooses to ignore the years and millions if not billions of abuses under the previous administration of Khir Toyo.<br />Just think of the few cases which spring to mind - illegal buildings built without permits on land where land taxes have not been paid for decades, approvals for hill-side developments which caused death and destruction etc, etc.<br />Malaysia is a country run by corrupt officials who do not even pretend to be democratic anymore. It will very soon be on par with the likes of Indonesia or worse, Zimbabwe. There is no hope left.<br />All young Malaysians should get out if they can and all Malaysians living overseas would do well to spread the word about the evil BN government officials and ministers who steal taxpayers’ money through shady contracts.<br />They then run off to live in their fancy bungalows in Australia and other ‘Western’ places.<br /><br />John Tan: My compliments to the newly-minted MACC for their swift action in wrapping-up investigations on the above. Which in a way makes me wonder what happened to all the other reported cases of suspected corrupt practices.<br />Since some of them have not been highlighted for so long, most of us might have trouble recalling them but off-hand there are a few good ones that come to mind ie, Pempena, the Youth and Sports Ministry and PKFZ affair.<br />I am sure many of us can help the MACC to recall more. I hope the MACC would also demonstrate their competence over a broad spectrum of cases and not be seen to be selective when it comes to swift action.<br />After all public perception is everything when it comes to image unless the MACC does not need to maintain that image.<br />The EC, another ‘independent body’ has demonstrated that public opinion means nothing to them so I hope the MACC is not thinking in the same vein.<br /><br />Stephen Ng: It is in my opinion, the MACC chief has clearly abused his position in making a public statement against a VIP. As a matter of fact, a decision has yet to be made by the attorney- general whether to charge the menteri besar.<br />For Ahmad Said to make the statement, he was already preempting the AG’s decision, leaving the AG with no leeway for his own discretion.<br />This will also raise a lot of concerns whether the MACC will be seen as biased. I am sure in the past, a number of reports were lodged against other political figures which the MACC did not investigate seriously.<br />Why then is there now such a strong stand made against the political leader of a Pakatan Rakyat component party? He did not personally benefit from the distribution of the meat. And I am sure he has used his Lexus for official functions.<br />Ahmad Said has a lot to explain to the people why irregularities by the previous Selangor administration have gone unchecked or why irregularities highlighted by the auditor-general’s report against certain government departments were never investigated.<br />The behaviour of Ahmad Said and MACC would certainly raise many an eyebrow.<br /><br />Yuvan: Wow! The speed at which MACC investigates complaints and reports against non-BN politicians is amazing. It is truly supersonic!<br />Now, can the MACC maintain the same speed and enthusiasm in its investigations into all those countless number of complaints and reports involving BN politicians?<br />MACC should prove, beyond any doubt, that they are able to discharge their duties and responsibilities without fear or favour. All that they should see is the validity of the complaint or the report and if the person or persons implicated have committed an offence.<br />They should maintain an absolute neutral stand and should not at all be concerned about the status and position of the person or persons they are investigating. Only then can we believe that MACC is truly independent and transparent.<br /><br />Kenny Gan: MACC should be mindful that it is not perceived as an Umno stooge by the public so early in its formation by going after ludicrous and marginal cases involving opposition politicians while ignoring serious cases of real corruption by Umno politicians.<br />Even if Selangor MB Khalid really used state funds to buys cows for the poor, what is wrong with that? The public does not see it as corruption as he has not stolen a cent for his own pocket.<br />As Khalid has explained that he used his personal Lexus for official functions, what is wrong in using state funds for maintenance?<br />This is no more than a company reimbursing staff for use of their personal cars for company purposes.<br />Are these the worst crimes in the country? The AG and the MACC should not treat the public as stupid lest they be regarded with scorn and derision.<br /><br />CH Siew: Since the set up of MACC, many reports were filed especially by Pakatan Rakyat on irregularities involving BN personalities.<br />Yet, it seems that the MACC is very picky on whom they should investigate. Nothing at all was done with the reports involving BN personalities but full-hearted commitment was given to those involving Pakatan Rakyat.<br />Am I seeing a bias in MACC behaviour? It is just another minion created to protect BN's interest.<br />The matter of the cows and cars have already been explained. Still they are out to nail our MB of Selangor. I would say that the MACC has used its creativity in the wrong place.<br />It is very obvious now that any scheme that BN created by Pak Lah or Najib cannot be trusted because they are simply not straight.<br /><br />GH Kok: Deputy PM Najib is on the warpath. Starting from the illegal overthrow of the Perak state government, to threats and bribery in Kedah and Selangor and undermining the integrity and dignity of Selangor exco Elizabeth Wong, now he trains his weapons on Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid.<br />He's using all available weapons at his disposal - the media, the police and the MACC, the Special Branch, state agencies and private parties.<br />It is obvious from the recent sequence of events that he wants to destroy Pakatan Rakyat at all costs.<br />He is embarking on a systematic attack on the representatives that we have voted for and put in office. Indirectly, he is launching an attack on us, the voters. He must be stopped.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-85384545441590968222009-02-06T10:29:00.000-08:002009-02-13T10:33:39.046-08:00Perak Crisis: A Mockery of our Democratic system- Hannah Yeoh<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8RWUcSvoiFD6rULWLIGPoJajSpgKGqK94tV6cWwQJuRXDkxiopxFt6mozjMLrkn5bNrzFRfE_flFlunY7UgY2Qs0lOZ22wHiocP_egwm3WiCbqcT9GTKD84gSXgWP1pUQ8Uk51FZSBw/s1600-h/b00b20384d8807676664e24061fd1708%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302351439783404722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 215px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8RWUcSvoiFD6rULWLIGPoJajSpgKGqK94tV6cWwQJuRXDkxiopxFt6mozjMLrkn5bNrzFRfE_flFlunY7UgY2Qs0lOZ22wHiocP_egwm3WiCbqcT9GTKD84gSXgWP1pUQ8Uk51FZSBw/s400/b00b20384d8807676664e24061fd1708%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a> Nizar 'booted out' of MB's office- Malaysiakini photo<br /><br /><br /><div>To those who argue that the political crisis in Perak now is a taste of Pakatan's own medicine (referring to the Sept 16 takeover plan), they have failed to see the key differences between the two. </div><div><br />If you remember what happened when Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed to have the numbers to form the new federal government, he wrote to PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi requesting him to convene an emergency sitting of Parliament. This was rejected by the PM. The next constitutional option is to press for the dissolution of Parliament to make way for fresh new elections. That was also not entertained. Anwar Ibrahim exhausted the constitutional means that were available to him. If Pakatan were to act unconstitutionally and lure defections, then we will be having a new government today. But we didn't and we will not act unconstitutionally. </div><div><br />So you can't say that Najib's coup and Pakatan's plan were one and the same.Some may also say, well what about the earlier defection of Bota assemblyman, Datuk Nasarudin Hashim? Why did Pakatan Rakyat accept him? Why not force his seat to be vacated for a by-election? Let's keep things in perspective here. His defection was that of an opposition lawmaker to a governing lawmaker. His defection did not alter the balance of power in the State Assembly. Pakatan Rakyat remained as government, and BN as opposition. Status quo. </div><div><br />Logically and intelligently, anyone can safely assume that Pakatan Rakyat didn't need a defection from BN. Thus, he defected on his own accord and on his own will. There was no need for Pakatan Rakyat to force him to vacate his seat as he did not win the seat on a Pakatan ticket. The Pakatan government really has no standing in forcing him to vacate a seat which wasn't earned by Pakatan in the first place! </div><div><br />I must say that I had great respect for Sultan Azlan Shah. Until yesterday. I wonder how he could possibly consent to the formation of a new BN state government when constitutionally, a government is still in place. And to even approve to a new Menteri Besar when the existing one is still in office? How can any state have 2 heads of government at any one time? There can only be one Menteri Besar of Perak. This is a mockery. The Menteri Besar can only be removed by the State Assembly via a vote of no-confidence or via the dissolution of the assembly. And none of these two constitutional means has been requested by BN. How can anyone claim that Najib and Anwar are one and the same? </div><div><br />Next, the Sultan called for a "unity" government to be formed by BN and the Independents. Let's be clear about this. The Independents are in no way legally bound to represent BN. Well, at least not yet, not till they officially become members of a BN component party. All that the Sultan and Najib has from them is a verbal assurance that "we will be friendly to BN". And just by appearing in a press conference with Najib, it justifies the change of government? </div><div><br />What if next week these Independents were to be seen in a press conference with Pakatan? A real "unity" government envisioned by the Sultan should have been an all-inclusive government of Pakatan, BN, and the Independents. Pakatan and BN each have 28 seats, and the Independents 3. Thus, no single party or coalition has a commanding majority. If there is to be a "unity" government, it calls for a new coalition of PR-BN-Ind which is impossible. </div><div><br />Thus, what the Sultan has called for is simply a name without substance. What "unity" if it's going to consist of only single-minded representatives - all "friendly to BN"? That's not a "unity" government, it's a BN government. This is a mockery of the intelligence of Malaysians. A beginning of what is to come with this PM-to-be. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-265155759082776862008-12-16T10:33:00.000-08:002008-12-16T10:46:57.676-08:00Iraqi shoe-thrower captures Mideast rage at Bush- Reuters<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-Z0V_vd_nRDuUXE7UvfQ5CcTENmoVzgWzcEz-hdCndd1uVkjFPeQCVXC380sHeMMkhUmvJuz2i6JpowfmjtgCRSxrxbY4PFjZ1zku7X6C-abRnM5Vn7APAdUsBKr7yvedqDNuSX-ac8/s1600-h/r%5B2%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280461004795201746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 305px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-Z0V_vd_nRDuUXE7UvfQ5CcTENmoVzgWzcEz-hdCndd1uVkjFPeQCVXC380sHeMMkhUmvJuz2i6JpowfmjtgCRSxrxbY4PFjZ1zku7X6C-abRnM5Vn7APAdUsBKr7yvedqDNuSX-ac8/s400/r%5B2%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16vOSb-hD1-xNZDNc-5Gw6-3yJKtMIOTpoYGMxJKbUEKwnOT35R4UJKbDnJVRnpcr1LaPPyj03dAJ6HzwRXkF_TR3ODXb33Lcgzrug6nds_t4U7M2NHtvCLzqoWMyl-E2XpB9ZQenGkk/s1600-h/bush_shoe_1215%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280460404630705666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 224px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16vOSb-hD1-xNZDNc-5Gw6-3yJKtMIOTpoYGMxJKbUEKwnOT35R4UJKbDnJVRnpcr1LaPPyj03dAJ6HzwRXkF_TR3ODXb33Lcgzrug6nds_t4U7M2NHtvCLzqoWMyl-E2XpB9ZQenGkk/s400/bush_shoe_1215%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div>By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent - Analysis</div><div><br />BEIRUT (Reuters) - The hurling of shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush on his farewell visit to Iraq strikes many in the Middle East as a fittingly furious comment on what they see as his calamitous legacy in the region.</div><div><br />Arab and Iranian TV stations have gleefully replayed the clip, sometimes in slow motion, of an Iraqi reporter calling Bush a "dog" and throwing his shoes at him -- the Middle East's tastiest insults -- at a Baghdad news conference on Sunday.</div><div><br />The affront was a twisted echo of the triumphal moment for Bush when joyous Iraqis used their footwear to beat a statue of Saddam Hussein toppled by U.S. invading troops in 2003.<br />"It indicates how much antagonism he's been able to create in the whole region," former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told Reuters, adding that the incident was regrettable.<br />Bush had harmed America's reputation and the friendship many had felt for it. "Despite past mistakes in its policies, there was always a redeeming factor. In this particular case, there doesn't seem to have ever been a redeeming factor," Maher said.</div><div><br />Muntazer al-Zaidi, who works for independent al-Baghdadiya television, has shot to local stardom for his attack on Bush and his cry: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."<br />He has also won instant fame abroad -- a poem on an Islamist website praises him as "a hero with a lion's heart" -- although the Iraqi government slated his "barbaric and ignominious act."<br />Zaidi's crude public display of disdain for an incumbent U.S. president hit a chord with many in the Middle East.</div><div><br />"The Iraqi journalist is a true and free Baghdadi," said a Saudi private sector employee who gave his name as Abu Faisal. "He was brave and did us proud. Bush destroyed (Iraq) so surely he deserved to be beaten with a shoe."<br />Khalid al-Dakhil, a Saudi university lecturer in social politics, said the incident summed up Bush's impact on the Middle East, which "will haunt this region for a long time."<br />Dakhil, who said Bush had committed war crimes in Iraq after launching a war based on "lies" that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction, nevertheless fretted about the shoe-throwing.<br />"While understandable, it wasn't the most sophisticated and constructive way to express one's anger at Bush, especially coming from an educated Arab journalist. It reinforces the stereotype ideas in the Western world about Arabs."</div><div><br />Some Palestinians, whose hopes of independent statehood have withered in the eight-year Bush era, relished the moment.<br />"A shoe company in Hebron claimed the attack on Bush and they will give the attacker shoes all his life," runs one joke being exchanged on mobile telephones in the Gaza Strip.</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-37900866955050480332008-12-13T09:51:00.000-08:002008-12-13T09:58:24.004-08:00How to become very rich in Malaysia- The Star<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhcXZhwbKcx5oTRwsUg41MzPEj6L3JGwwvJmWvQF80Ge7oEJ6uDsyeznZwV6svTPj_KJ0Odeo1ljLM715Hl8jZVT46ZFM6A7pZKXZ-PT_vBK0JSPoxSMfHjKfEoGjB8W0z_fEz0nwzi4/s1600-h/gunaquestionofbusiness%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279335081413086754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 84px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhcXZhwbKcx5oTRwsUg41MzPEj6L3JGwwvJmWvQF80Ge7oEJ6uDsyeznZwV6svTPj_KJ0Odeo1ljLM715Hl8jZVT46ZFM6A7pZKXZ-PT_vBK0JSPoxSMfHjKfEoGjB8W0z_fEz0nwzi4/s400/gunaquestionofbusiness%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Connections and the ability to flip assets can get you going places</strong></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>If you have ever wondered how to get rich in Malaysia – fabulously rich and very quickly at that – here’s a model that you might want to look at very closely. Not easy to do but if you do have a couple of projects in the bag, it will set you up for several lifetimes.</div><div><br />First you need connections – strong ones, the higher the better and if it goes right up to the top all the better. You need this because you need to convince the powers that be that your projects are good.But you might ask if your projects are so good, why do you need connections? Why don’t you just go out and execute? Good questions, those. Here’s the answer - you need the state to give you something to do the deal that will help the nation.</div><div><br />Still can’t figure it out? See, it’s like this. You want to help the country, right? The country needs say a port. But you can’t build a port just like that. You need land to build a port. You tell the state or federal government you need land – cheap land, preferably free to build the port.<br />Or to take another example, you want to help the country by building a power plant. But look, you need land too and not only that you need the power to be sold. So you want an agreement – an iron-clad one to sell the power to Tenaga Nasional and to pass through all costs.</div><div><br />You see, that’s your reward as an entrepreneur – you get someone else to build the power plant, they guarantee the performance of the plant and someone else guarantees to buy your power and pay for all your costs. Nice deal? You bet. Billionaires have been made that way.<br />Or you may want to start an air hub. If you are persuasive enough, you can even convince the government to compulsorily acquire the land and sell it to you cheap. Once you have cheap land, lucrative contracts and concession agreements, the sky’s the limit.</div><div><br />Let’s take it a step further. If you want to realise the value of all of these things that you have and still keep control of them, it’s nice to have a listed company into which you can inject them. Inject one asset for shares and you gain control of the company.And then inject others over the years for cash, taking the money out of the company. Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?Do it right and get a flow of assets to inject in (you can do anything with discounted cash flow valuations – just change the discount rate, and presto, the value changes!), and you get a tidy flow of profits and cash into your personal accounts over the years. I mean a really tidy flow.<br />Just how much can you make this way, you ask? Why don’t you take a guess first? Did you say RM500mil? Guess again. RM1bil? How about five times that and you may be getting into the right order of magnitude.</div><div><br />One Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary actually made some RM4.5bil that way - actually more because he still controls the listed company. (<a href="http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/13/business/2786964&sec=business" target="_blank">MMC’s latest RM1.7bil deal irks investors7</a>) We are not saying he is the only one, which makes your chances of joining the ranks better – if you are connected to high places that is.But then again, if things change – and that’s still a big ‘if’ – you might not find it so easy anymore.</div><div><br /><em><strong>P. Gunasegaram is managing editor of The Star. He thinks it is high time we changed the way we did business</strong></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-29710513013836542702008-12-02T11:23:00.000-08:002008-12-02T11:27:39.411-08:00High Time for Samy to leave...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlRpuftI2rKm0GixWAxHrPN2avT6c_D7Fmnfagsiwytq5O9ZeEHhUEp8sd2LpYBykAzMfpiIUvijXmMb4BYzb7Lk4jyKfLKcy1kvDnCJHyKD7lDkcfnRK4lsb8oSAMoPEfioVHE6P2RM/s1600-h/2463c7c54bc9b198800230b5df4d8111%5B1%5D%5B1%5D.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275276343327127522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 219px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlRpuftI2rKm0GixWAxHrPN2avT6c_D7Fmnfagsiwytq5O9ZeEHhUEp8sd2LpYBykAzMfpiIUvijXmMb4BYzb7Lk4jyKfLKcy1kvDnCJHyKD7lDkcfnRK4lsb8oSAMoPEfioVHE6P2RM/s400/2463c7c54bc9b198800230b5df4d8111%5B1%5D%5B1%5D.png" border="0" /></a><br /><div>After the disastrous General Election results in March, reform in the leadership of Barisan National component parties seems to be moving in the right direction with the changing of old guards taken place.Slowly but surely most of the leaders have to give way due to unpopular support from the grassroot members.UMNO President Abdullah Badawi have to step down to pave the way for his Deputy Najib to take over by March next year.</div><div><br />MCA, the second largest component party of the ruling front have just elected Ong Tee Kiat and Chua Soi lek as their new President and Deputy President respectively in the just concluded MCA election last weekend.This is possible as both Ong Ka Ting and Chan Kong Choy refuse to defend their present post.Another component party,Gerakan also see Koh Tsu Khoon returned unopposed as their new President after their veteren leader Lim Keng Yaik retired. </div><div><br />Among the old guards of Dr M era who are still around are MIC president Samy Vellu and UMNO Wanita Chief Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz.Interestingly Datuk Shahrizat, have qualified to contest for the Wanita President post after gaining enough nominations to challenge the incumbent Rafidah even though she have announce her intention not to contest for the President post.</div><div><br />However only MIC President, Samy Vellu have stubbornly refuse to step down even though he was humiliated after losing his Sg Siput Parliament seat.He had yet to see the reality of Malaysian politics.Now he is still keen to fight for his political survival as reported by Athi Veeranggan from Malaysiankini...part of the report are as follows...</div><div><br />Politics is the art of the possible and impossible possibilities becoming impossibilities and vice-versa. MIC president S Samy Vellu stands out among those who have mastered the art.Just two years ago, he backed G Palanivel to challenge and successfully oust incumbent S Subramaniam for the deputy president's post.Prior to that, Subramaniam had been stripped of his government post by the party supremo when he was dropped as MIC candidate for the Segamat parliamentary seat in the 2004 general election</div><div><br />Now, Samy Vellu is said to be planning a reconciliation with his old nemesis Subramaniam to oust Palanivel, with whom the MIC leader no longer sees eye-to-eye.Palanivel was widely regarded as Samy Vellu's successor as party president.Insiders stressed however, that Samy Vellu only wanted Palanivel as an interim deputy to eventually make way for another stalwart, S Sothinathan.The Samy Vellu-Palanivel partnership can be described as rocky at best, and things boiled over just before the March general election, in which many MIC leaders, including the party president and Palanivel, were booted out by voters across the country.Just before MIC's humiliating performance on March 8, Palanivel is believed to have told Barisan Nasional chairman and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that "he was ready to take over MIC" from beleaguered Samy Vellu, who had lost his commanding influence among Malaysian Indians.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-42936616942206918002008-11-25T11:31:00.000-08:002008-11-25T11:37:50.874-08:00IF OBAMA HAD BEEN A MALAYSIAN<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZ8zHvKBjl-0-nVQYSfCmVZvkzmLkkyFUcROb8ZTd9dJDosFkCGJQhcwMN0OheYi5mQnPbGKJ4yxCAdjs0OyJSrD55NkHqpZG2fmO93ESQHlnL2i0-QXKVDJYa5yTH-gffOODpgveI9A/s1600-h/37f0dea48d237e9316abd83a649e7869%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272681540113162450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 271px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZ8zHvKBjl-0-nVQYSfCmVZvkzmLkkyFUcROb8ZTd9dJDosFkCGJQhcwMN0OheYi5mQnPbGKJ4yxCAdjs0OyJSrD55NkHqpZG2fmO93ESQHlnL2i0-QXKVDJYa5yTH-gffOODpgveI9A/s400/37f0dea48d237e9316abd83a649e7869%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>*From a Disappointed Member (Malaysiakini) Nov 14, 2008 4:20pm</div><br /><div><br />It is nice to know that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi thinks anyone can become PM in Malaysia. He must think we are stupid and blind to the realities of being ethnic minorities in Malaysia.If Barack Obama was unfortunate enough to have been born in Malaysia, he couldn't even become the general manager of PKNS, never mind, president of the US, the most powerful country in the world.If he became a born-again Christian in his teenage years, keeping in view his father was African Muslim, Jakim would have hauled him off to a religious rehabilitation detention centre in Malaysia, and his kids would have been taken away from him.Michelle Obama would then have been advised by our racist religious authorities to divorce him.</div><br /><div><br />Just for not being Malay, Umno would have overlooked his obvious talents and intelligence, and they would have denied him permanent residence or a citizenship and he can forget about any potential scholarships, job promotions or a place in a public university.Like Vijay Singh, world champion golfer, he would have been forced to emigrate to live elsewhere.If Barack Obama had advocated equal opportunity and equal rights in Malaysia, he would have been demonised by* Utusan Malaysia* as being anti-Malay and anti-Islam and taken into custody under the ISA just like what happened to Teresa Kok, and he would have had Molotov cocktails chucked into his parent's house, and had curly daggers waved at him.</div><br /><div><br />If he had advocated rule of law like Zaid Ibrahim, they would called him a traitor to the Malay race.If he advocated democracy like Anwar Ibrahim, then Umno, the world champions of fitnah would have fixed him for sodomy.If like the jailed Hindraf 5 leaders, Barack Obama tells us to 'hope for change' and have the 'audacity of hope' then it would have been ISA and water cannons for him and his supporters.For practicing freedom of religion and conscience, and following the religion of his choice, he would have been charged with apostasy, and don't forget, some of our Malaysian politicians have advocated death for apostasy, just to prove their religious standing in the eyes of theirethnic voters.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Abdullah Badawi's statement that anyone can be PM in Malaysia is a sick joke and a clear attempt to mislead the public, and to assuage the collective privileged guilt of Umno's wealthy and corrupt warlords who head a party dedicated to race supremacy, religious and racialapartheid, and the worst type of racial and religious politics.</div><br /><div><br />I am so glad Barack Obama will be the next president of the US. It goes to show that ordinary voters in the most powerful country in the world are prepared to reject the evils of racism, and embrace solidarity with their fellow voters in the context of equal rights and equal citizenship.They have shown long-suffering ordinary Malaysians what real muhibbah looks like instead of the dagger-waving displays (Umno AGM), Umno Youth beating up women delegates at peace conferences (Apcet II, KL), and nameless criminals chucking Molotov cocktails into women MPs' houses - that is, what I would term the Biro Tata Negara brand of nation-building by Umno.</div><br /><div><br />I doubt if Barack Obama can have any impact on Malaysia's racist politics but it is good to know that people in America can still make a common stand with their fellow voters across racial lines for the common good.I challenge Umno to invite Barack Obama to Malaysia to show him the political and judicial wonders of our Malaysian system.I challenge Umno's gutless politicians to tell Barack Obama, president-elect of the United States of America what opportunities he would have had if he were born in Malaysia</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-71703557343094964202008-11-25T09:52:00.000-08:002008-11-25T09:58:28.320-08:00Anwar faces long trek<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_43OAFnQRo2ZOd5ZXXx2pG1Efpod5GySiVtm3w12DPq2aWSGm2_ryDAJSaCufMAf2uJ9uqbXK7yCibnpepgOGzcj-48Qnk4BdxttoKsiwIdiv1yY_erXdbfoeD2cYOpDccIK-lebcYkk/s1600-h/20081125.175002_20081125_anwar1%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272655930817440786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 350px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 175px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_43OAFnQRo2ZOd5ZXXx2pG1Efpod5GySiVtm3w12DPq2aWSGm2_ryDAJSaCufMAf2uJ9uqbXK7yCibnpepgOGzcj-48Qnk4BdxttoKsiwIdiv1yY_erXdbfoeD2cYOpDccIK-lebcYkk/s400/20081125.175002_20081125_anwar1%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>KUALA LUMPUR - AFTER a botched bid to oust the government in September, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will likely have to bide his time until elections in 2012-13 before making another bid for power.</div><br /><div><br />From watershed elections in March to his triumphant return to parliament after a decade's absence, Anwar dominated the headlines. Even his arrest and trial on fresh sodomy charges failed to thwart his campaign to topple the government by his self-imposed deadline of Sept 16.<br />Victory seemed within his grasp when the government apparently felt compelled to ship 40 MPs to Taiwan on a 'study trip' in mid-September to prevent them from defecting to Anwar's camp and thus giving him a majority in parliament.</div><br /><div><br />The deadline passed. Financial turmoil swept the globe, and with an economic slowdown looming, voters in this Asian country of 27 million people suddenly had more immediate worries than Malaysia's chronic political intrigue.<br />Now the 61-year-old Anwar, whose People's Justice Party holds its annual convention this weekend, has to explain why he is not addressing the meeting as the new prime minister of Malaysia.</div><br /><div><br />'His (Anwar's) strategy of haste that he adopted after March 8 (elections) stopped working after Abdullah was forced to retire,' said Ooi Kee Beng, an analyst at Singapore's Institute of South-east Asian Studies.<br />'Now, he has to do it the patient way.' Lacklustre Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi essentially derailed Anwar's express train to power by deciding to hand power to his more assured deputy, Najib Razak, earlier than planned.</div><br /><div><br />Affirmative selectionMr Abdullah's National Front coalition, which has ruled uninterrupted for 51 years, stopped being transfixed by Anwar and started making policies to deal with an economy that is expected to grow by only 1.5 per cent next year from 5.4 per cent this year.<br />Mr Najib, 55, will take office in March when he becomes president of the United Malays National Organisation, the dominant party in the 13-party National Front.<br />Mr Najib, who is deputy premier and finance minister, has taken the fight to Anwar by linking him to unpopular measures proposed by the International Monetary Fund when Anwar was finance minister during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, while projecting an aura of economic competence himself.</div><br /><div><br />He has announced some measures to offset lower economic growth, but hasn't raided the treasury to do so, putting US$2 billion (S$3.02 billion) saved from petrol subsidies into pump-priming measures.<br />Mr Najib even stole some of Anwar's thunder by relaxing a requirement that ethnic Malays have to own 30 per cent of companies - one of the affirmative action programmes that aim to uplift Malays who constitute 60 per cent of the population.<br />Anwar's opposition coalition had campaigned for abolition of those programmes in the March elections.</div><br /><div><br />Inflation is falling rapidly from a peak of 8.5 per cent in mid-year and the central bank on Monday unexpectedly cut interest rates for the first time in five years.<br />'There's a widespread acceptance that Anwar will no longer take over the country,' said an investment analyst at a foreign bank in Singapore. 'Being PM is out of the question right now.' 'Najib is reinforcing his power base. He's the new face of Malaysia,' he said.<br />Snap elections?The opposition and some pro-government newspapers have started to push the idea of snap elections soon after Mr Najib takes power in March, saying he would need to win a popular mandate.</div><br /><div><br />But Umno's coalition allies are still in disarray after the electoral debacle eight months ago.<br />'The risk (for snap polls) is very great. It will be suicidal because of the hangover from the March political tsunami,' said political author Yahaya Ismail.<br />Other analysts said Mr Najib would likely wait for mandatory re-drawing of electoral boundaries in 2012 before calling for polls. The government's current five-year mandate ends in 2013.<br />One glimmer of hope for Anwar could be polls in the timber- and petroleum-rich state of Sarawak on Borneo island. Sarawak has been a Barisan stronghold since it joined Malaysia in 1963 and may hold state elections as early as next year.</div><br /><div><br />Provided Anwar can fend off what he says are politically motivated sodomy charges that are a reprise of the court action that got him jailed in the 1990s, and can keep his fractious three-party coalition together, victory in Sarawak could be another lever to apply pressure to government legislators.</div><br /><div><br />Key to that will be how well the opposition runs the five states it controls. There has already been a backlash in the pro-government media over issues ranging from race relations to dual language street signs.<br />'The next electoral showdown is the Sarawak election, so it is a given goal for (the opposition coalition) to make an impression there,' analyst Ooi Kee Beng said. 'It will try to open the floodgates so that the 'March 8 tsunami' will flow into east Malaysia as well. -- REUTERS</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-14382181154880954062008-07-03T23:46:00.000-07:002008-07-04T08:25:04.733-07:00Bolehwood Drama<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggosNgmD3jToIBaDCCCCDX3aXo_dlU1xzc4mrZW3XpbQ8HdMhYQR-G4o44zagwM0cIWGfFfReK0Rip-CvOA8FRUlwZ1e1HZbr2hEZdHYKLFDYTomOnfwsGi83ovCqjQmPXRfMgzgZpfyk/s1600-h/871345bd36629c8642e94902b99459a9[1].gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219054241202257282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggosNgmD3jToIBaDCCCCDX3aXo_dlU1xzc4mrZW3XpbQ8HdMhYQR-G4o44zagwM0cIWGfFfReK0Rip-CvOA8FRUlwZ1e1HZbr2hEZdHYKLFDYTomOnfwsGi83ovCqjQmPXRfMgzgZpfyk/s400/871345bd36629c8642e94902b99459a9%5B1%5D.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The last few weeks have been an interesting period for Malaysian as we witness a number of dramatic political events taking place in our Bolehland. It started with the sodomy charges lodged by Dato Seri Anwar former aide En Saiful against him. Anwar fight back by acussing our DPM Najib to have a hand on the issue and even claimed that En Saiful was planted by Umno to discredit him. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Later yesterday Razak Baginda private investigator Mr P Balasubramaniam make a shocking statutory declaration linking Najib to the Altantuya murder case. The declaration was reveal in a packed press conference held by Party Keadilan De Facto leader Dato Seri Anwar which was also attended by Bala lawyer and few PKR leaders. Later in the Parliament, Najib deny the allegation and said the truth will prevail.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>However in less than 24 hours, Mr P Balasubramaniam made a dramatic turnabout and retracted the first Statutory Declaration with an amended new Declaration with Najib name ommitted. It surely generate more anxiety and intensity to the already volatile political situation in the country.</div><div></div><div>The local share markets, Bursa Saham reacted negatively by tumbling almost 30 points at lunch break.It is a political showdown between the incumbent DPM and the former DPM of Malaysia and interestingly our PM position is not shaken with this latest event.</div><div></div><div>It was reported in Malaysiakini that Anwar will have another press conference later today and Malaysian are sure to expect another drama unfolding...</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-70239636803525766082008-06-19T07:57:00.000-07:002008-06-19T08:31:52.463-07:00BN: No action against SAPP for now - Malaysiakini<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0vWFdUVd57diITDjPNCyKMnsyc3unvPkTeEKJsgbhuzF4zdVadbQ_gTt8ap1BEUEw19-_2z0zoUCtiN9qOMvzMhIOMJdL2r7juNmAdzdqj7IHexykdYPHKaVn36dxj88w762A1kfpqQ/s1600-h/sapp.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213612768799661010" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0vWFdUVd57diITDjPNCyKMnsyc3unvPkTeEKJsgbhuzF4zdVadbQ_gTt8ap1BEUEw19-_2z0zoUCtiN9qOMvzMhIOMJdL2r7juNmAdzdqj7IHexykdYPHKaVn36dxj88w762A1kfpqQ/s320/sapp.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Barisan Nasional supreme council today resolved not to take action against Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) until it gets an "official statement" from the party for its planned of no confidence vote against the prime minister.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor said this today on behalf of all 13 component party members, minus Sapp which was not invited to the emergency meeting.After the two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre, Tengku Adnan read out the BN supreme council's decision to the media."All the BN component parties condemn Yong Teck Lee's (Sapp president) statement. His statement is unprincipled, unethical and is against BN's beliefs and spirit of unity."All the component parties also want Sapp supreme council to confirm or reject Yong's statement yesterday," said Tengku Adnan</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Action would only be decided against Sapp after it's "official statement" pertaining Yong's statement, said the BN secretary-general.Another decision reached at the meeting was for parliamentarians from all BN component parties to attend all parliamentary sessions."They must also follow BN's instructions and reject any no-confidence motions against the prime minister. All the component parties here also voiced their support Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the prime minister of Malaysia," said Tengku Adnan.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>When asked why Sapp was not invited to today's meeting, he said: "We did not invite them because we were going to discuss about them".He said that BN component parties have been warned before not to air their grievances through the media but to bring it up at its supreme council meetings.Representatives of all component parties were present at the meeting.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>However, one notable absentee was Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who could not return on time from his overseas trip.Also absent was PPP president M Kayveas and Upko chief Bernard Dompok, also believed to be overseas. However their representatives were at the meeting.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-22941807018466164972008-06-19T06:28:00.000-07:002008-06-19T06:38:40.867-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-injKwG_yR0439-zLM4nXdLvniUIwjMrdkz-jzVGgRwjVrIae_L3m_Uh2m0VNhAMgBjISBLbkGqIiCpzArFtwavmNI-7U48CJ_VGugqza_1mpRX3InwWExBdKfFaoX-FS47NA_OswVRo/s1600-h/logo_en[1].gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213585986775245330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-injKwG_yR0439-zLM4nXdLvniUIwjMrdkz-jzVGgRwjVrIae_L3m_Uh2m0VNhAMgBjISBLbkGqIiCpzArFtwavmNI-7U48CJ_VGugqza_1mpRX3InwWExBdKfFaoX-FS47NA_OswVRo/s400/logo_en%5B1%5D.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjts0v0p5YmJ1YZENfKnqHEgrVumSa_YI5E3eoSgzCp52b_DdTLfR3aa5vR052464o9HXofeMm-LiuYjI_KDjWIaWW03ckJCYSOgkCfK4KJAsKznvCXAy84ocilSBsP6fvUxmCNomicn_0/s1600-h/blog_item_no_holds[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213585489075274738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjts0v0p5YmJ1YZENfKnqHEgrVumSa_YI5E3eoSgzCp52b_DdTLfR3aa5vR052464o9HXofeMm-LiuYjI_KDjWIaWW03ckJCYSOgkCfK4KJAsKznvCXAy84ocilSBsP6fvUxmCNomicn_0/s400/blog_item_no_holds%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /><div><br /><div> The mainstream media is slowly and surely getting less and less readership due to the preference of the Rakyat for a more balance and fast news which they can easily access from the alternative news online portal like Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today.Unlike Malaysia Today which is a free website, Malaysiakini need to be subscribe for a nominal fee.The former is manage by the controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin who was earlier charged under the Sedition Act, while the latter by Steven Gan.Both have quite a substantial viewership which could easily outperform the mainstream media like The Star and NST.</div><br /><div>Sensing the change in the trend of readership and with the control of 5 states by the Pakatan Rakyat government, The Star was quick to change their pro government reporting to a more balanced news coverage and are able to maintain their readership which easily outbeat NST. However Utusan Malaysia still keep to their old style of coverage and was subsequently blacklisted from the Pakatan Rakyat coalition for their bias reporting.</div><br /><div>During the recent 12th General Election, Malaysiakini idea of giving free viewership for 2 weeks was a good strategic move.The website was rewarded with very heavy traffic viewership which could only be access by HTML mode.The latest election news update was fantastic fast and accurate.While RTM and TV3 were slowly flowing out their election results on Sabah,Sarawak and none on the states won by the Opposition,the alternative news were already announcing the forming of the new government by the Opposition in the 5 states. The mainstream media need to take corrective action to change or they will slowly dissappear from the viewer screen. </div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-54847753598082313422008-06-08T08:49:00.000-07:002008-06-19T08:57:33.837-07:00The Second Tsunami ( Part 3 )<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiu4NJitkjP8IO-hNH711PyPPV9FZnsm7ike7I8utJQ8WTot50ur7yGIlonWVvRHXDGGao7rSPDoEVqVF3tzq9ZGMJcqGIdPS7BnRXxsb32RbFTyG8xBOzUUtM3ivDDXjQNZA-eBZyrKw/s1600-h/petrol_hike_killing_common_man[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213621488455478754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiu4NJitkjP8IO-hNH711PyPPV9FZnsm7ike7I8utJQ8WTot50ur7yGIlonWVvRHXDGGao7rSPDoEVqVF3tzq9ZGMJcqGIdPS7BnRXxsb32RbFTyG8xBOzUUtM3ivDDXjQNZA-eBZyrKw/s400/petrol_hike_killing_common_man%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>After the flip flop policy on banning foreign registered car from filling up their gas tank, the Pak Lah administration now want to introduce softener measures to ease the Rakyat burden from the steep hike in petrol price. One day after the fuel increase, the construction sector faced an immediate increased in ready mixed concrete with an sudden jump of RM37 per metre cube.The transporter immediately raised their transport charges by 40%.</div><div><br />After raising the petrol by 40%, the flip flop BN government are discussing ways to mitigate the hardship faced by the Rakyat. Very simple, just revert the oil price to normal Not need to crack their head and can then go back to sleep again...<br />Meanwhile, The Star reported today that the impact of the fuel price rise is starting to affect consumers, with transport and crane operators now increasing their rates by between 29% and 45%. Sabah Federation of Lorry Transportation Associations president Chua Pui Ming said its members had increased rates by 45% since June 5. Under the new rates, traders who used to fork out RM600 to send a shipment of goods overland from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan now have to pay RM870. </div><div><br />Stating that the federation's 3,000 members had no choice but to increase rates, Chua said the fuel subsidies that some of them received through the fleet card system was minimal.In a statement issued yesterday, the Association of Tipper Lorry Owners of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur said they would increase their rates by 40% with immediate effect. President Lee Keen Seng said the increase was in the rate for transporting goods by tipper lorries. </div><div><br />In BUTTERWORTH, Mobile Crane Association North Malaya president Lee Tuck Woh said the association had decided to increase mobile crane charges in four states by RM100, effective Friday. “It is not just the price of diesel that has gone up. The cost of steel cable wires, tyres, batteries and spare parts have also increased in the past few months,” said Lee.The RM100 increase is for seven types of cranes, ranging from seven to 60-tonne and sky-lift equipment.<br />Lee said they used to charge RM350 per day for a seven-tonne crane. He added that rental for 20m to 24m sky-lift equipment would now cost RM500 per day compared to RM400 previously. Although the new charges would affect the construction and industrial sectors and haulage industry, he said they had no choice in the matter. The association represents 60 members from Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak, who operate about 600 mobile cranes.</div><div><br />Reuter reported today that,Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said the government's unpopular decision to raise fuel prices will hasten its fall, as more members from the ruling coalition break ranks.The hike in line with a global surge in oil prices has stoked public anger against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is already battling for his political life after the worst electoral performance in his coalition's 50-year rule in March.<br />Small and scattered protests have taken place against the 41 percent increase in petrol prices and 63 percent for diesel, which Anwar said was the result of the government's failure to manage its finances well despite being a new oil exporter.The government says fuel subsidies have become financially crippling. Pump prices in Malaysia are still one of the cheapest in Asia."Politically, the message was clear on 8th of March, economically it's now a disaster. That is why we are calling on them to resign," Anwar told a news conference ahead of a rally called in the capital to build support against the ruling coalition.</div><div><br />Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, has previously said that he had enough lawmakers to topple Abdullah's government following the election on March 8 and was waiting for the right moment.On Sunday, Anwar, sensing blood, said the plan for a change in government was on track as more members from Abdullah's ruling Barisan Nasional coalition were drawn to his group, angry over what he said was the "highest single increase" in fuel prices around the world."Our timetable (for party crossovers) is still on. It's on schedule and now it's more attractive after the price hikes." </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-77710490004085223552008-06-06T08:58:00.000-07:002008-06-19T09:06:33.346-07:00The Second Tsunami! ( Part 2)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGqSJW13WRw7vsMzC5UFK4br-SndsBS2kS91K9QSwdyAzHdcjumUE5xVbeYwo_XbWd8rDz6Rl3KY3zDMaXMewe9GuzdnUebgrYeONrBFPGeHqC88Y01vvzv5kIvCWfqKGykKrpl0TfmA/s1600-h/0506protest01[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213624484072991954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGqSJW13WRw7vsMzC5UFK4br-SndsBS2kS91K9QSwdyAzHdcjumUE5xVbeYwo_XbWd8rDz6Rl3KY3zDMaXMewe9GuzdnUebgrYeONrBFPGeHqC88Y01vvzv5kIvCWfqKGykKrpl0TfmA/s320/0506protest01%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Malaysian experienced the first Tsunami on 8th March 2008 after the shocking 12th General Election results and is now feeling the effect of the second Tsunami from the drastic fuel hike.<br />In an immediate response to the sudden petrol hike from the government after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, DAP have organised simultaneous protest against the price increase at Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh on the next morning. In Kuala Lumpur, among the DAP leaders who attended the protest were Teresa Kok, Fong Kui Lun, Tan Seng Giaw, Lim Lip Eng and Janice Lee which was lead by Cheras MP YB Tan Kok Wai.</div><br /><div><br />"We want the Government to immediately announce that the increment will be stopped immediately because the public anger has reached to the maximum. We call on the Government to act wisely. Stop robbing the rakyat!" Tan pronounced.He warned that the Government's failure to do so would result in a nightmare.</div><br /><div><br />His colleague, Teresa Kok, added that businesses would be seriously affected by the last-minute price increase and would thereby pass on the higher costs to the consumer."We can anticipate the prices going up. This is a serious inflation. We've been told the Lorry Association are going to increase their transportation costs."We're a petrol exporting country. All these years, the government earned so much from export (of oil). Instead of increasing petrol prices, they should be giving back to the people. They don't talk about this anymore," she noted.</div><br /><div><br />This afternoon some 200 people held a peaceful assembly at Komtar in George Town, Penang.They held placards condemning the hike, chanted anti-government slogans and called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down immediately.</div><br /><div><br />Kebun Bunga state assemblyperson Jason Ong Khan Lee, who was at the scene, cautioned that the fuel hike would elicit social unrest and spark off new wave of criminality as middle and lower wage earners would struggle to meet the ends.He warned that the surging cost would force several industries to close down or downsize, resulting in economy collapse."The federal government should review the fuel hike immediately to prevent such socio-economic tribulations," he said.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Change YOUR lifestyle BK Ong questioned whether the government leaders were prepared to change their lifestyle, a cliché used to the people, to adjust to the fuel hike."They should eat less, cook less, travel less, socialise less, tighten their belts, buy less cars, use less energy and perhaps live lifeless."Are they prepared to do so?" he shouted to the crowd, adding that politicians should not preach what they won't practice.</div><br /><div><br />Meanwhile the reaction from the Sabah leaders were uncompromising.Sapp president Yong Teck Lee warned Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of a serious political fallout for the BN, the party's Youth wing went a step further by calling for the resignation of the prime minister and his cabinet."If the government losses the faith of the people, then it will find it even more difficult to govern," he said."For those who have just been earning enough to make ends meet every month, the fuel price increases will be a serious blow as they will have to now pay more at the petrol pump and when they buy groceries," Yong elaborated.</div><br /><div><br />He said even middle-income earners would be reeling from the inflationary effect resulting from the fuel price hike.In this regard, Yong doubted the impact of the one-off RM625 rebate for vehicle owners and RM125 for motorcyclists as the there was a time lapse between when money was spent on fuel and when they could receive rebates.Yong further added that many people continue to question why Malaysia as a net petroleum exporting nation till 2014 was experiencing a negative impact from a spike in global oil prices."The man on the street is puzzled as to why Petronas is making so much money while the ordinary folks are losing out,"" he pointed out.Losing trust and confidence.</div><br /><div><br />While Yong was merely sounding a warning bell, Sapp Youth chief was more straightforward in calling for leaders who "failed to safeguard people's interest" to step down.Au Kam Wah, in a statement issued from Kota Kinabalu, said these leaders should allow others who are more capable to take over.</div><br /><div><br />Meanwhile The Malaysian Insider reported that during the Umno Supreme Council retreat, a few ministers disagreed with the decision to reduce subsidies and allow the pump price of petrol to increase to RM2.70 per litre. In this group were Muhyiddin and Rais. The Malaysian Insider understands that the Foreign Minister was also among a clutch of ministers who during the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday felt that the government should hold off reducing the subsidies for a few months. </div><br /><div><br />But the majority of ministers during the Cabinet meeting including Najib and Muhyiddin felt that the government could not afford to continue with high levels of subsidy for much longer. Since the 40 per cent petrol price hike was implemented on Thursday, there has been an adverse reaction on the ground, including from Umno members.Stinging SMSes have been sent from the grassroots to politicians in the capital, questioning the fitness of Abdullah and the Cabinet to continue running the country and pleading with the leadership to show empathy.</div><br /><div><br />This strong reaction from the Umno ground may have prompted Muhyiddin to have second thoughts about the timing of the price increase. With the branch elections only weeks away and anger against the hike percolating across the country, Umno politicians seeking higher office in the party will have to distance themselves from this unpopular decision of reducing subsidies.There is a good chance of many more Umno ministers slamming the price hike before the branches start meeting in mid-July. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-45265834606760739442008-06-04T09:09:00.000-07:002008-06-19T09:16:24.400-07:00The Second Tsunami! ( Part 1)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDd9sDmaE7nhZU2mOO8SpR23nyXgkQGuRc2qeN-wySMnU5zUxIsshk8_T1mV_zbVJeh0fTsziO1uzOTZAmF3Jn-SBxzp8UD4tSesAa0KrH0i7r5X8Yvo2FkNFpZncEz2ochKrmx1FEy54/s1600-h/petrolprices2[1][1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213626697848424850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDd9sDmaE7nhZU2mOO8SpR23nyXgkQGuRc2qeN-wySMnU5zUxIsshk8_T1mV_zbVJeh0fTsziO1uzOTZAmF3Jn-SBxzp8UD4tSesAa0KrH0i7r5X8Yvo2FkNFpZncEz2ochKrmx1FEy54/s400/petrolprices2%5B1%5D%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The sudden announcement of the petrol hike of 78 sen by the PM after the Cabinet meeting have caught many Malaysian by surprise.It contradicted with the earlier statement by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Minister, Datuk Shahrir that the actual implementation will only take place in August. The reaction from the ground was filled with anger and disappointment.Have earlier received the bad news from my buddy at 5.35pm and thought it was just another rumours but was confirmed later at 6pm by text messages.<br />Managed to have my tank fill up at one of the petrol station at Jalan Kuchai Lama.The terrible queue at all the petrol stations to meet the midnight deadline have caused unnecessary traffic congestion.</div><br /><div><br />Now let's us compare the price of our petrol with other OIL PRODUCING countries<br />UAE– RM1.19/litre<br />Eygpt– RM1.03/litre<br />Bahrain– RM0.87/litre<br />Qatar– RM0.68/litre<br />Kuwait– RM0.67/litre<br />Saudi Arabia– RM0.38/litre<br />Iran– RM0.35/litre<br />Nigeria– RM0.32/litre<br />Turkmenistan– RM0.25/litre<br />Venezuela– RM0.16/litre<br />MALAYSIA– RM2.70/litre</div><br /><div><br />The above statistics clearly show that we have the highest price among all the oil producing countries. Another Malaysian achievement! Malaysia Boleh!<br />Majority of Malaysian drive to work because we do not have an efficient public transport system like Singapore to rely on. This increase will definitely cut deep into the pockets of the ordinary Rakyat.<br />Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is taking a major political risk in removing subsidies on petrol. "It is not an attempt to be popular, we have to think in the best interests of the people,""God willing I hope Malaysians will not demonstrate over this," he said.</div><br /><div><br />But his call may go unheeded as fresh protests over the price increases are likely, said PAS parliamentarian Mohd Hatta Ramli who led anti-inflation demonstrations earlier this year."This is a massive hike and will create big problems for all and sundry. It will have a knock-on effect of increasing prices of all kinds of goods," he said."We strongly feel that it is a severe misjudgement on the part of the government," he said. "In all probability, there will be a protest."<br />With the instability of the current BN government and the dependency of the East Malaysian party for support, the above political risk taken by the Pak Lah administration might have adverse repercussion.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-9602518632492761952008-05-09T05:51:00.000-07:002008-06-19T05:57:58.278-07:00Grand Saga vs People Saga<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQO1DIho1yYF2D3S0xXTU6kk8l7AjC7KHkYp3SDrBb3TQkIF9hxKFER3f1ASj_ia6siXR6K74d1Su73igqe3wNfZNE4tBvsswycGhr6JkVqO3W1r7z6QNUja2DcuXfCcael-6jjjsuNw4/s1600-h/a9dd06ae3acc3ce8f1a7e80c42a218ca%5B1%5D[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213575822411059170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQO1DIho1yYF2D3S0xXTU6kk8l7AjC7KHkYp3SDrBb3TQkIF9hxKFER3f1ASj_ia6siXR6K74d1Su73igqe3wNfZNE4tBvsswycGhr6JkVqO3W1r7z6QNUja2DcuXfCcael-6jjjsuNw4/s400/a9dd06ae3acc3ce8f1a7e80c42a218ca%255B1%255D%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqNvJxI0io3nMRm0ofXFHWMfnL9z1FWfp8GP-gEwCqiKS0ADCSVyPMmrybnPq7-idbytW3TSz9kDYBe3RDQA3TJhuk7yXZEB3VBMt8XQCMOYb2tyUrwwSfW1gZC4MH_zG2JfnMDyB2uw/s1600-h/68717bed7010196645f4a260ee770e70[1][1].png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213575470888028418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqNvJxI0io3nMRm0ofXFHWMfnL9z1FWfp8GP-gEwCqiKS0ADCSVyPMmrybnPq7-idbytW3TSz9kDYBe3RDQA3TJhuk7yXZEB3VBMt8XQCMOYb2tyUrwwSfW1gZC4MH_zG2JfnMDyB2uw/s400/68717bed7010196645f4a260ee770e70%255B1%255D%5B1%5D.png" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>The never ending dispute on the 3 feet concrete barricades put up by the Grand Saga toll concessionaire have caused much frustration and and anger to the surrounding residents of Bandar Mahkota Cheras. Not only they were forced to travel extra 6km but also have to pay extra 90 sen for the toll. After the change of the Selangor state government to Pakatan Rakyat, the residents are getting bolder and supported by their newly elected MP have taken down the concrete barriers on their own. </div><div><br />But with the help of the police, Grand Saga managed to erect back the barrier. However the concrete blocks were swiftly tear down again by the residents. Emotion ran high at yesterday incident which saw more than 1,000 residents and some 100 police forces involved in a showdown whereby teargas and water cannons were fired at protesters. The MP for Segambut was also injured in the tussle and was admitted to the hospital for observation.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-42788236660203203042008-05-07T05:42:00.000-07:002008-06-19T05:50:19.623-07:00Blogger@Jail.com.my<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmqvxIhyYH2mTobW9NmS7AJudvDnT99QkasigNFQg2y7Wkbd2CZSwJmHGBl_54pqn7h97M5UFgYhN60SPagbWv8NiSYIVj3cF2S6zZclR_VsZdLSmdMZnQhgesLruayJKRfCLHm6IkRw/s1600-h/FREE_RPK_VER_WHT[1][1].gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213573478555392930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmqvxIhyYH2mTobW9NmS7AJudvDnT99QkasigNFQg2y7Wkbd2CZSwJmHGBl_54pqn7h97M5UFgYhN60SPagbWv8NiSYIVj3cF2S6zZclR_VsZdLSmdMZnQhgesLruayJKRfCLHm6IkRw/s400/FREE_RPK_VER_WHT%5B1%5D%5B1%5D.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Controversial political blogger Raja Petra chooses to go jail than to post for the RM5,000 bail over the Sedition charge. The clampdown on bloggers who are only offering their opinion and views on current issues are seen by many as a step backward by the Pak Lah administration.</div><div><br />Immediately after yesterday arrest a fundraisng was organised to collect fund for posting the bail and the updates as at 09.09am 7th May 2008 - Total Donation after they call off the campaignFrom CIMB bank account : RM24,500.00From Paypal account : $4,330.10 USD<br />The support from the public was fantastics and overwhelming. In an immediate response, the Bar Council expressed shocked and disappointment over the government's decision to charge Malaysia Today webmaster Raja Petra Kamaruddin with sedition.</div><div><br />Calling the Sedition Act 1948 an "archaic legislation which should be repealed", its president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said the Act was incompatible with Malaysian society. Meanwhile,<br />the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) are concerned that the Sedition Act continues to be used to harass bloggers, contradicting the positive attitude that the government exhibited towards bloggers post election.<br />Later today, Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin refused to meet his wife who went to the Sungai Buloh Prison to persuade him to post bail for a sedition charge.Raja Petra's counsel Jadadish Chandra said Marina Lee Abdullah went to the prison with another counsel Matthias Chang at about 9am to facilitate the bail process.Jadadish said Raja Petra had informed prison officers he did not want to meet anyone including his wife."Raja Petra is refusing bail and officers had told Marina her husband had also refused to eat since Tuesday," he told Bernama.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-87610850604443370842008-03-22T09:53:00.000-07:002008-06-13T09:55:29.434-07:00After the Tsunami...Dear Comrades,The unexpected results of the 12th GE have not only caught BN off guard but the Opposition ill prepare.Suddenly the Opposition alliance or some called it Barisan Rakyat or Anwar termed it as the Government in waiting stared at how to form the 4 new states governments.The most complicated state is Perak where you have DAP winning 18 states seat whereas PKR and PAS getting 7 and 6 respectively achieving a slim majority of 31 seats against BN 28 seats.As commented by Kit Siang in his blog,he thought he will have a well deserved rest after the election but he was fully occupied and hardly sleep to attend to all the new political development after the election.Initially there were rumblings on the ground on who should be the Menteri Besar with even DAP and PKR threatened to pull out if PAS candidates were given the MB post.Hovever goodwill prevailed and a loose coalition have been agreed to run the state with PAS given the MB post and DAP getting the lion shares of the exco seats.This is what we call the birth of new cooperation between DAP and PAS and it will be interesting to see how they will run the state effectively.Penang was one of the earliest state government controlled by BR which started work.The new CM Mr Lim Guan Eng immediately formed the new exco with 2 Deputy CM and the first Indian Deputy CM in Malaysian history.He announced new measures to curb corruption with the implementation of open tenders for all state projects and results posted in the website for all to view.He even refuse to stay in the CM residence preferring to put up at his father's place because the CM place is leaking and need RM300,000 to repair which he reluctant to spend.THIS IS THE TYPE OF LEADER WE NEED.I remembered when the new MB for Selangor moved in,he spent lavishling on the MB residence.While waiting for the renovation to complete he stayed at the expense of the taxpayers money at one of the 5 star hotel in Selangor.Thats is where all our rakyat money gone due to their sheer waste of public money.On the BN front, Terengganu is the only state without a MB.This is due to the dissatisffaction of the present Agung to some of the state issue before the GE namely the handling of the Bersih demo by the MB at Batu Buruk where gunshots were fired to disperse the crowds.This definately a slap to our PM after the Perlis saga where the PM preferred candidate was sidelined.Finally we can see the Royalties exert their power towards the Executives.The new cabinets lineup announced by PM was quite unexpected with the dropping of the Iron Lady Rafidah Aziz but the appointment of Mohd Taib tainted with the Australian airport scandals have somehow prove that the PM have to outweigh his personal interest above national interest,to boost his sagging support for the upcoming Umno elections.To be continue...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-74560767139108108382008-03-11T09:51:00.001-07:002008-06-13T09:52:48.526-07:00The Dawn of a New Era8th March 2008 was my happiest day in my life.The Rakyat have spoken loud and clear that enough is enough of the corrupt,arrogant and rotten BN government.Makkal Shakti, people's power have overthrowned 4 more states in West Malaysia to the hand of the Opposition.What a Tsunami effect and the swing towards the opposition was strong not only from the Indians and Chinese but also surprisingly by the Malays electorate.<br /><br />The frustration by the Rakyat have been boiling over the years by the increased in fuel prices,crime rates,high cost of living. The Indian have been severely discriminated by the unlawful demolision of their temples,snatching of their corpse by Muslim religious authority,holding of the Umno AGM on Deepavali day with no due respect to the Hindus.The last straw was the detention of the 5 Hindraf activist under ISA.<br /><br />Finally when our Sleeping PM announced the dissolution of the Parliament on 13-2-2008 and campaign period of 13 days,his lucky 13 have turned to be the unluckiest for him.The ceramah organised by the Opposition have attracted huge crowds and the amount of donation collected was tremendous.The biggest ceramah was the one organised by DAP in Penang which was able to atrract 40,000 people and collected RM123,000 two days before the Election.Kit Siang and Anwar were the star attraction in most of the ceramah held.<br /><br />Went back Malacca to vote at Kota Melaka and rushed back to KL to assist DAP Seputeh as Polling agent at Salak South New Village.Sign of BN losing their grip started flowing in at 7pm when news report from our DAP Penang reported that all the 3 Gerakan CM designate lost to DAP candidates.The attendance at Salak South polling stream was surprisingly high at 88% compared to last election of 75%.This show that the Rakyat are coming full force to teach the BN a lesson.My polling stream result was DAP 424 and BN 67.<br /><br />Later we were told that Teresa Kok won by a whopping 36,000 majority,the highest in the country.Went over to Sri Petaling polling centre to congratulate Teresa and she managed to speak to the reporters on how MCA have been teasing DAP all the years that we can only talk but can do.Now we can show them that we can even form a state government in Penang.<br /><br /><br />Few factors contributed to the downfall of BN in this election.The biased reporting in the mainstream papers,TV and radio have angered the people and an insult to their intelligent.However the Internet,SMS have really helped the Opposition to win this battle.Most people are frustated by the one sided reporting and have resorted to the internet to get the Opposition news.U tube also played the ceramah of the opposition to the comfort of their home.<br /><br />DAP have really done a good groundwork for this election.They have their own campaign song,election tools,and group pf young and enterprising professionals like lawyers,activist and blogger to plan their strategy.In most of their ceramah,they effectively played their campaign song, JUST CHANGE IT.which was really touching and sent a strong message to the electorate.<br /><br />To be continue...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-70876748152682695802008-03-07T09:47:00.000-08:002008-06-13T09:48:37.431-07:00Election Campaign update live from KL!Have been busy helping up with DAP Seputeh putting up buntings and banners the last few nights and also assist them at the operation centre checking on the electorate polling centres. In between still managed to attend to some of the DAP ceramahs held at PJ,Seputeh and Klang.The response from the Rakyat was fantastic and overwhelming.Last night went all the way to Port Klang to witness one of the biggest DAP ceramah ever.The crowd estimated to 10,000 spilled over to the main road.The guest speaker of the night was none other than Lim Kit Siang.Surprisingly Indian make up almost 30% of the crowd.One of the DAP candidate for the Bandar Klang state is the ISA datainee Mr Manoharan.Her wife,children and mother were there to lend support to her husband and looking at the strong support the Indians gave I am sure that Manoharan can win the state seat.Most of the crowds there waited eagerly for Kit Siang arrival even though it was drizzling the whole night.Finally Kit Siang came at 11.15pm and was given a hero welcome from the huge crowd.Cries of Makkal Sakti ( People Power from Hindraf group) was echo from the Indian crowd when Kit Siang shouted the slogan.The DAP veteran leader spoke on the need to deny BN 2/3 majority so that there are check and balance towards BN policy and rampant abuse of power.The supports from Klang supporters were fanstatic! Almost 50 cars and motorbike were colourfully decorated with DAP flags and posters.I can feel the edge of change is coming to Klang and the DAP campaign song really lived up the whole atmosphere.The total donation collected that night from the crowd was RM42,000.Another interesting ceramah was at PJ SS2.PJU is a parliamentary seat contested by Tony Pua, the youngest Singapore listed IT company who resigned to join DAP. Attended two of the ceramah which was held on Monday to pull the Pasar Malam crowd.The weather was quite fine when the first few speaker spoke but when Raja Petra spoke,it was raining dogs and cats.Raja Petra the editor of the popular political web site Malaysia Today told the crowd that the rain was nothing compared to the chemical laced water cannon spray during the Bersih and Hindraf rally.The crowd stood on throughout the whole speech during the rain.The guest attraction of the night was Fong Po Kuan aka Chili Padi.She came at about 11pm and was warmly welcome by the crowd and they really love the way she deliver her hard hitting speech.Will be going back to Malacca to vote on Friday night and rush back to KL the next morning to help DAP Seputeh as a polling agent.So friends, please vote for change,you can do it!To be continue... live from the polling centre.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-1225730026629878882007-12-14T09:40:00.000-08:002008-06-13T09:41:24.255-07:00DAP Puchong Fund Raising DinnerDAP Puchong organised the Fund Raising Dinner last night to raise fund for the upcoming General Election widely speculated to be held next year before April 2008. It was also to raise fund for the Kinrara State seat which YB Teresa will be contesting. All the 100 tables costing RM1,000 each was fully taken up.<br />Among the invited speakers were YB Lim Kit Siang, the Opposition Leader and DAP advisor,Jeff Ooi, the prominent blogger who just joined DAP and Liew Chin Tong the DAP election campaign strategist.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606288504896747398.post-5649213488021575592007-04-29T09:36:00.000-07:002008-06-13T09:37:33.262-07:00No Joke in IjokDear Comrades,<br /><br />How you guys doing? Hope everything’s fine. However something is not fine in Ijok.As you know, BN is facing one of the toughest by-election battles with Party Keadilan in Ijok. This time Anwar Ibrahim, our ex DPM is leading the opposition campaign with the full support of DAP and PAS. They have a very qualified candidate by the name of Tan Sri Khalid who was once the CEO for Guthrie and PNB. He is facing an MIC rookie from BN.The opposition is facing an uphill task to fight against the might of the BN machineries which went all out to win the election. All sorts of dirty tactics were employed by BN.Million of ringgit were spend at the expense of the taxpayers money to resurface the roads, donate sewing machines, give goodies, erect new lamp posts and traffic lights. It is really an insult to the rakyat that after more than 50 years, you can only now see so many developments just because they are so desperate to win. Someone was joking that we can only get so much development if your MP our State assemblymen are dead. It happened in Batu Talam, it happened in Machap and now in Ijok, so next time elects an old and sick candidate at your constituency.<br /><br />To get first hand situation on the ground I have make 2 trips to Ijok and will be going again tomorrow night, the last day of campaign period .Came back from Ijok 2 days ago. Very heavy presence of police personnel in this constituency. The traffic leading to this small little town was screened by police road blocks. It looks as if they are going for war or to instill fear to the residents. Reached Ijok town at about 8.45pm after fetching my friend at Sg Buluh.Ceramah was going on with the speeches of DAP leaders like Dr Tan Seng Geow and Ms Chong Eng.About 20 minutes later as I was standing by the roadside, I saw a Mercedes Benz dropped Anwar Ibrahim who also one of the speaker of ceramah, very lucky to be able to shake hand with him. Anwar was warmly welcome by the crowd, majority of them Chinese residents of the town. He can really charmed the audience with his speeches on wide range of topics on how he was humiliated in the prison and how he really feel the need to change this rotten and corrupted Government. Can joke, can talk, really a talented speaker.<br /><br />Anwar speech was interrupted by the arrival of the Opposition Leader, Mr Lim Kit Siang who was greeted with cheers from the one thousand odds residents. He was very upset with the cancellation of his earlier ceramah at Batang Berjuntai.He related how 3 trucks of FRU were there to disperse the crowds and this is the first time in Malaysia history that an election rally need a police permit. Something strike his mind that the BN feel threaten by the support of the voters and have to engage such an underhand tactic to scare the crowd, Luckily the ceramah at Ijok went on smoothly without any disturbance with the presence of so many police personnel.<br /><br />To be continued…Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0