Did the Cabinet discuss the scandalous million-ringgit fee to Jean Todt as Malaysia’s tourism ambassador or are the Cabinet Ministers deaf to the nation-wide howls of outrage when this news came out


Did the Cabinet which met this morning discuss the scandalous million-ringgit fee to former Ferrari Formula One owner Jean Todt as Malaysia’s tourism ambassador or are the Cabinet Ministers totally cut off from the ground and deaf to the nation-wide howls of outrage when this news came out?

Did the Cabinet review the need and efficacy of the million-ringgit payment to Todt and whole concept of appointing million-ringgit tourism ambassadors?

Parti Keadilan Rakyat MP for Gombak, Azmin Ali has said that the RM1 million fee to Todt, which has been confirmed by the Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen, included an annual fee of RM593,000 and another RM388,000 to pay for Todt’s holidays in Malaysia.

How many tourist ambassadors ala-Todt have been appointed by the Tourism Ministry to date, and have they all been given million-ringgit fees? Who is actually the first tourism ambassador appointed by the Tourism Ministry?

And what is the really the rationale for the appointment of tourism ambassadors when the Tourism Ministry has tourism officers all over the world.

Surprisingly, the Public Accounts Committee Chairman, Datuk Azmi Khalid has kept his silence and not said anything about the PAC opening investigations into the issue of appointing million-ringgit tourism ambassadors.

In this connection, did the MCA and Gerakan Ministers raise objections in today’s Cabinet meeting at the answer given by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator Datuk Jamil Khair bin Baharom in Parliament about the possibility of hudud being used to deal with snatch thieves.

MCA Publicity Bureau and the Gerakan Youth came out with a fierce attack on Jamil’s answer in Parliament, but all these statements are just meaningless political show and empty political P.R. (public relations) if MCA and Gerakan Ministers dare not even raise strong objections in the Cabinet.

What have the MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon got to say? What have they done in the Cabinet to ensure that no UMNO or Barisan Nasional Minister or Deputy Minister would ever make such a statement on hudud in Parliament again?

  1. #1 by carboncopy on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 5:22 pm

    “One million in Europe gets you nothing nowadays,” said Ng Yen Yen in her arrogant reply to the query on John Todt million ringgit deal.

  2. #2 by KennyGan on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 5:29 pm

    Sorry, shameless plug on my latest article in Suara Keadilan

    The Politics of Sodomy: Will Justice be Mangled Again?
    http://en.suarakeadilan.com/top-story-1/2009/06/10362

    “To convict an innocent man of false charges, there must be four parties acting in concert, three of them in the criminal justice system. They are the Police to fabricate evidence, the Attorney-General to frame the charge and the Judiciary to convict the accused irrespective of whether he can put up a creditable defense.

    However in a democracy, even these three powerful institutions acting in concert are not enough. To this must be added a fourth institution – the press, also aptly referred to as the ‘Fourth Estate’.”

    Read more at Suara Keadilan

  3. #3 by OrangRojak on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 5:47 pm

    One of the comments on TMI’s article on this subject suggested that the deal was tied up with the future of F1 in Malaysia. Is there any mileage in the suggestion?

  4. #4 by chengho on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 5:49 pm

    I love Ferrari , a friend of a friend whispering Azmin love ferrari too…

  5. #5 by rabbit on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 6:23 pm

    hmmm why not ask for MU football stars? cheaper mah, n yet malaysia got a lot of island. try to cut half pulau langkawi or pulau layang layang to them. it is a good idea. hmm they velue is a round 5million per star. buy1 get 11. hahahaha ohhh Jet Li is in sin now, you can call him to join too. i think he is cheaper then Dtk Yeoh. PLEASE dont spen malaysian money for that. use your own money.

  6. #6 by YK Leong on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 6:28 pm

    RM1 million only. Very useless and worthless nowadays. Sub, sub water lah.

  7. #7 by ktteokt on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 7:53 pm

    Misappropriation is a crime no matter what the amount is – be it RM1 million or just RM1! As a minister, Ng Yen Yen ought to know that and not compare with what you can get or can’t get with RM1 million in Europe!

  8. #8 by ALLAN THAM on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 8:13 pm

    One million is just nothing to the Dr. or to the Toad but many Malaysian can even have a proper meal. Ai ya how to compare lah, people take million just like waste paper.

  9. #9 by ALLAN THAM on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 8:17 pm

    Goh Chook Tong wife also say millions is nothing to the Kidney foundation chairman, so our Klang Dr. also say million is nothing. Wah! her mouth is very big lah. See million as nothing. How long we have to work to get million??? May Klang Dr. give us some advise. Yes may just joint MCA, people do not talk million they talk billions. Just like PKFZ.

  10. #10 by -ec- on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 8:26 pm

    nyy said
    “????????????????????????????????‘????’????????????????????”
    “????????????????????????????”
    http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/107324

    translated as:
    “even tough the tourism board has offices worldwide, but our officer cannot open the doors of the super vip. i don’t think that azmin can do the job too”
    “now that the world’s economy is slowing down, i don’t need azmin’s support, but to hope he is responsible”

    (1) ktk take note: nyy has failed her kpi. her officer could not performed. now we have to ask what are these worldwide tourism officers do? have they discharged their duties? are they paid to travel worldwide and cannot do the job? our taxpayer money go to the drain again.

    (2) how does nyy know that azmin cannot do the job? after ge13 she will know.

    (3) so nyy implied that the 1 million is worth it. look who is talking? 1 million is really peanuts to her. how could we trust this kind of people to manage our taxpayer’s money.

    (4) look, who shall be responsible now? for this kind of appointment, should not she disclose it in the parliament, for the money involved is huge. is not nyy the one that is not responsible. now the rakyat shall all begin to wonder, how much such under table arrangements being transacted without the rakyat’s knowledge. WE NEED TRANSPARENCY NOT IRRESPONSIBILITY.

    (5) whether it is actually paid out is not the issue, the issue is why such amount is being budgeted in the first place? as all of us know, there is nothing that is not spent overbudget in this country.

    (6) that remind us to audit expenses spent related to F1, something inherited from our tdm.

    to be responsible that (a) her staff cannot do the job (b) non disclosure of such arrangement, NYY SHALL RESIGN NOW.

    and she need to make a public apology to azmin for her unfounded speculation that azmin could not do the job.

  11. #11 by -ec- on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 8:28 pm

    ops, chinese words cannot be displayed here, please refer to malaysiakini’s report.

  12. #12 by -ec- on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 8:49 pm

    look, nyy is talking again, this time bt. koman’s cyanide:
    http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/107333

    “?????????????????????????????on and on and on and on??”
    translated: “i have discussed with the villagers and taken steps, but the issue goes on and on and on and on”

    (1) nyy said that the issue is politicized. hey, nyy, when you could not do the job and could not settle this years ago, of course the villagers now turn to the opposition. *this is the reason why mca is in the process of extinction.

    and to nr: how could you appoint nyy into the cabinet again when she could not perform years ago. nr now not only have back-doorers, now incompetent appointment. ktk to take note again.

    “…????????????????????????????????”
    translated: “nyy said that she is a doctor and she has asked the raub hospital that there was no case of poisoning”

    (2) i wonder whether did she buy a cert to be a doctor. it is a common sense that chemical poisoning could takes longer time to contaminate and it could be slow in showing symptoms. i am not a doctor, i watch some tv drama and could figure out such a simple logic.

    “??????????????????????”
    translated: “nyy said that there are still fish in the pond, if there is anything, those fish should die first, right?”

    (3) dear bt koman villagers, your lives are just like fish, some ‘fish’ have to die first to indicate a problem. now you all should invite nyy back to raub, we shall see whether this ‘arrogant, incapable and irresponsible fish’ will die in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years or 10 years. i can bet she will not take your invitation because she is now a ‘travel’ minister.

    again, please refer to malaysiakini’s post.

  13. #13 by monsterball on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 8:52 pm

    Somehow Dollah have roving eyes and itchy hands…must touch..Jean Todd …when she is near him.
    Hubby does not mind….very open minded fella.
    If Dollah touches my wife like that..PM or no PM….I will give him tight slap.

  14. #14 by OrangRojak on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 9:00 pm

    -ec- Says: ops, chinese words cannot be displayed here
    You’re not in China now!

    空穴來風

  15. #15 by OngTuaKang on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 9:13 pm

    The back-doored KPI & KRA Minister must take note and monitor this kind of million dollar package given out to VVIP and measure the performance or rate of return to justify his paycheck.
    Anyway, this million outpour under Yen Yen looks petty and chicken feed when compare to 12.5 billion under Ta Kut.

  16. #16 by Joshua on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 9:15 pm

    RMOne million there and RMone million here and not enough and so RM1billion here and there, and maybe still not enough and so US$50 billions was gone as alleged guaranteed by Bank Negara Malaysia for the socalled private loan that may never come to M’sia.

    So all these are part of the RM30 billions profligacy according to my 27 Police Reports worth RM30 trillions all done with my hard earned money for a poor man like me. Yet the illegal Governments shut all eyes to all the issues of my 27 Police Reports posted in http://malaysia-police-reports.blogspot.com/

    pw:southpaw Air

  17. #17 by Joshua on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 9:18 pm

    correction:

    So all these are part of the RM30 billions should be RM30 trillions past, present and future.

    pw: sibling hands

  18. #18 by katdog on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 9:27 pm

    1 million ringgit is nothing. For example, top football players are easily paid 100,000 pounds a week or half a million ringgit a week! Endorsements by top sportsmen goes into the millions.

    1 million ringgit to Jean Todt is nothing and probably something that he can easily get in a month.

    I think the key debate here boils down to whether spending one million to get a person such as Jean Todt to endorse Malaysia as a tourist destination is worth the money spent or not.

    Personally i fail to see what the big fuss is about. I recall Celcom ( subsidiary of TM) spent millions paying football stars to do commercials for them. This is no different.

  19. #19 by limkamput on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 9:38 pm

    I guess it is ok for a dumb to touch someone’s wife. Sometimes it is better to be dumb like this mega dumb than being a PM.

  20. #20 by yhsiew on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 10:17 pm

    The issue of appointing million-ringgit tourism ambassadors is blatant wastage of public fund.

    At a time when people in Sabah are suffering from poverty, how could the government turn its back on them and stuffed a million ringgit into a foreigner’s pocket?

  21. #21 by Loh on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 10:27 pm

    We like to see the job description for one that pays a millon ringgit a year, and we also like to see the resumi of the person engaged ans how his experiences correspond to the job description.

  22. #22 by delon85 on Friday, 26 June 2009 - 11:54 pm

    “One million in Europe gets you nothing nowadays,” said Ng Yen Yen.

    With one million, you can send many students overseas or pay an experienced lecturer to teach our university students.

  23. #23 by Taxidriver on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 12:01 am

    International companies pick the Little Red Dot to hold important conferences, bringing in big revenue for SIA, hotels and businesses. Annually, the Little Red Dot stand to gain about $40 billion this alone, not to mention the revenue generated from its tourism industry.

    The Little Red Dot did not send an angkasawan to space. The Little Red Dot need not even to give Jean Todt a cent and he and Mrs Todt use to holiday there.

    If you are good, you are good. People can see. Don’t be like the hen going cluck,cluck,cluck- wanting the whole world to know it has just layed an egg!

    Spending money and not getting the desired results is stupidity. But, come to think of it, RM1 juta – apa itu? Compared to PKFZ loss of RM12.5billion ……… kachang. Dr NYY was right.

  24. #24 by frankyapp on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 2:47 am

    RM 1 million is nothing to nyy cos it’s not her own but if it’s hers she may say something else.The rakyat has given her a job,she should carry out her job with great care and responsibliity and not made uncalled for statement like “one million ringgit in Europe is nothing “.To an orang asli,one million ringgit is enough for his whole life and is able to feed a whole generation of his siblings.Moreover one million ringgit is enough to build one thousand basic homes for the rural poor.Can’t nyy see that or she has never visited a poor rural village at all.If one minister says one million ringgit is nothing,oh my God,how many ministers do we have in the cabinet and assumming all talk like her,in no time our budget will go bankrupt.Now we know why our taxes always go up,making our cost of living so high.Presently you guys can’t buy a thing at all with one ringgit in any food stalls.NYY is this what you want and to see further essential food items to go rocket high,causing majority of poor folks to suffer and to die of hunger.Are you humane or a devil.

  25. #25 by katdog on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 2:52 am

    “If you are good, you are good. People can see. Don’t be like the hen going cluck,cluck,cluck- wanting the whole world to know it has just layed an egg!” Says Taxidriver.

    I agree with this statement. The BN leaders are all so caught up in their cycle of self delusion and lies that they waste money on fanciful projects like the angkasawan project. Now TNB is even talking about building nuclear power plants in Malaysia.

    Can you imagine, schools in East Malaysia don’t even have proper furniture or access to electricity and yet the government is busy talking about nuclear power plants? We barely have a functioning public transport system and we want space programmes?

    And every year we continue to waste money on nonsense like the National Service programme (which has costed taxpayers RM3 billion so far).

    Why raise such hoo hah over a paltry RM 1 million. What i would rather want to know is, why are we wasting RM500 million a year on NS which honestly does nothing for the country. Why is the government paying huge sums of money to highway concessionaires? The government had to pay RM286 million as compensation this year. Honestly, what is 1 million compared to all these?

  26. #26 by monsterball on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 2:58 am

    For more than 30 years Europe and USA promote tourism…to South East Asia….leaving Malaysia out…because Malaysia have so much red tapes and conditions for air liners to land in Malaysia.
    Now quite open…simply too late.
    We boast of 1 billion tourists…while little dot have few many times more.
    Dare UMNO tel us how many tourist red dot have…compared to Malaysia?
    UMNO knows next to nothing about business.
    How an Malaysian or UMNO improve..when key positions are based on race and must be an UMNO die hard member…not based on qualifications.
    Besides our natural resources…Malaysia is blessed with value for money to tourists…..but UMNO keep mismanaging and will do so..with their racialist attitudes.
    Right now…..no more cows with brains.. to manage certain things….the public is not aware of.
    Desperate to make Malay Mail and Astro succeed….newcomers have arrived.

  27. #27 by passerby on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 3:33 am

    I don’t see the logic of paying someone to be the WALKING tourism ambassador. What happens if he were to fall down to-morrow and there goes your million $$$.

    How is he going to do in his promotion? Is he going to tell everyone he met that ” I the the Malaysia WALKING tourism ambassador and here is my business card”. How effective can this one by one and from mouth to mouth campaign be? Who ever come out with this kind of idea must be a moron.

  28. #28 by passerby on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 3:39 am

    Oop!. I mean “if he were to fall down dead to-morrow”

  29. #29 by monsterball on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 3:49 am

    The touch and raba raba feeling siok making Dollah happy is most important.
    What is few millions of tax payer’s money..to make an UMNO leader happy.
    Ah…go to bed…another matter.
    The other Jean will chop “it” at night to feed to the cats…call
    “prickmeat”

  30. #30 by ekompute on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 4:34 am

    “To convict an innocent man of false charges, there must be four parties acting in concert, three of them in the criminal justice system. They are the Police to fabricate evidence, the Attorney-General to frame the charge and the Judiciary to convict the accused irrespective of whether he can put up a creditable defense. However in a democracy, even these three powerful institutions acting in concert are not enough. To this must be added a fourth institution – the press, also aptly referred to as the ‘Fourth Estate’.”

    True, true… add the Press that are run by the government, using proxies.

  31. #31 by ekompute on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 4:41 am

    “One million in Europe gets you nothing nowadays,” said Ng Yen Yen in her arrogant reply to the query on John Todt million ringgit deal.”

    Agree, agree… when one million in Malaysia also gets you nothing these days. One million is just pocket change, we are talking about big bucks, multi-million scandals, and billion dollar scandals. So don’t make my toe laugh with your silly one million.

  32. #32 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 8:16 am

    Look at the larger picture. In the context of tourism receipts, the contribution from tourism to national economy has been increasing/ encouraging. Tourism receipts increased from RM25.8mil (13.3 million visitors) in 2002 to RM29.7 million (15.7 million visitors) in 2004, and to RM36.3mil (17.6 million visitors) in 2006. According to Economic Report 2007/2008, gross tourism earnings have increased to RM38.2bil in 2006, and by 2007/8 tourist earnings have become major contributor of earnings.

    Tun Mahathir had its pet project – Sepang International Circuit (“SIC”), and for Tun Ahmad Badawi, its the international sailing event, Monsoon Cup held off the coast of Terengganu.

    The 60-year-old Jean Todt (Datukship from Terengganu) – ex boss of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company’s Formula One constructor is associated with grand prixs all around the world. (Todt headed Ferrari’s Formula One team when the Italian carmaker won six straight constructors’ titles between 1999 and 2004 with driver Michael Schumacher). Obviously Todt a multi millionaire himself is connected to rich and famous and could help pull them in – in that capacity, whatever one calls it, “tourism ambassador”. It must have been thought that Todt could help both Sepang International Circuit & Monsoon Cup. (SIC, for example, tries to maintain itself by catering for personal track usage. For RM150 you can take fast car to run in a full race environment held within the confines and safety of the SIC).

    And because Todt’s partner is Datuk Michelle Yeoh he visits Malaysia and even joined Malaysia My Second Home Programme(MM2H).

    Ng Yen yen said that RM1 million for Todt converted into euros was not much and it was intended to cover expenses such as air fare etc She said Todt had “expressed disappointment that (the issue was raised) on something that was offered to him on goodwill.
    “He is telling me and that many friends from the press are constantly calling him on the matter,” adding that it an insult to a “wealthy and well-recognised man”.

    I agree. PKR’s Azmin Ali has no other bigger issue to raise than this ? Don’t make country a laughing stock. Identify your issue: Is it a quarrel with the concept of “tourism ambassador” or that it be paid to Todt or what or RM1 million is big deal to a country wasting RM 12.5 billion in PKFZ scandal or a big deal to Todt or you got something against Mahathir’s brain child Sepang or Pak Lah/Patrick Lim’s Monsoon Cup or even a Ringgit having little value vis a vis Euros???

  33. #33 by mumzie on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 8:22 am

    Uncle Kit, the ‘beca’ paddler can be a better tourism ambassador, most Malaysian are jobless and BN, Yen Yen paid 1m to Mr n Mrs Todt (Toad), BN we didn’t know you are being silly and we tax payer are being con to pay for the tax and BN you miss use the money for the two nuts? We want you use our tax money to help us the malaysian needy, give meals to people who really need it! NOT IN YOUR OWN STOMACH BN!!!!!!!!!! What do TOAD know about Malaysia? No wonder Malaysia had a very bad reputation in the eye of world.

  34. #34 by lee wee tak_ on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 8:27 am

    Ng Yen Yen has derided the currency under the care of the government to which she is a part of.

    RM1 million can’t go far in Europe you say? I am not going into why our currency has gone down the gutter under BN but let me suggest this:

    the Tourism Ministry should relocate it’s office into one of those DBKL flats surrounded by people earning less RM2,000 a month and have a whole family to feed. Now you can &#@ing tell me how far RM1million can go………….

    Wasn’t Ng Yen Yen ex-minister with social welfare under her care, she of all people should be more sensitive to the plight of the poor and downtrodden

  35. #35 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 8:27 am

    Reminds of the other petty issue – big hue and cry of Pak Lah’s friendly gesture of placing right hand on Michelle Yeoh’s shoulders in a dinner function with the other hand desturing at someone – as if it were a capital crime. What was essentially a avuncular/social/friendly gesture has been made out to be lusty gesture from dirty old man or something like that. Blow up this kind of thing -0 or RM1 million token gestuire of goodwill to Todt – only reflects our own petty mentality that make reasonable men all over the world laugh and scorn us than the objects of our criticisms!

  36. #36 by limkamput on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:10 am

    The issue is not whether or not the recipient is rich or otherwise. The issue is not whether or not RM 1 million is big money or small money in euro term for this guy. The issue is whether or not each time we want to spend on something, have we made proper assessment or calculation. A couple of millions here and there does make a big sum. I think national leaders when assessing projects or spending money must always perform a simple test: If it is their own money, would they want to spend it? Would the return worth it? After the project is implemented, have they made proper monitoring to ensure their success? For too long I think the national coffer is like the Disneyland of our leaders. Hence we have SIC for Mahathir and Monsoon Cup for Abdullah. Since many of us here talk like tourism experts, I too may want to be one.

    You see, for country like Malaysia, we just have to keep our natural attractions like beaches, forest and mountains clean and beautiful. But have we? Even Pulau Redang is not spared of plastic bottles and dirt at its beaches. For country like Malaysia, food and shopping are our pride and strength. But have we kept our places clean and orderly and have our retailers been honest? Ours is a nation of filth, it is time we admit it.

    Taman Negara alone, I believe, is sufficient to generate enough interest for people to come to Malaysia. Now, please look at the logistics of getting there. Are they properly promoted? Look at the management and the facilities at the park. The last time I went there, the canopy walk was almost dangerous and a portion of the walk closed due to lack of maintenance and yet they have collected full entrance fee from each of us.

    The wannabe here made two postings. I disagree with the first but can go along with the second. I just hope that he is not being paid for writing here. I have noticed a precipitate change in his view. Desperate time and situations call for desperate measures!

  37. #37 by lopez on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:33 am

    sick people in m see hair club,
    extremely sick but a sure fact, they can outlast any of us, i dare not even imagine what lies ahead.
    some of us dont even have proper basic amenities and we brag about our big big towers and iconic wooden blocks and white elephants.
    And those clowns continue advocating gigantic plans and rhetoric bluffs how the everyone has benefitted.
    how grand we cried and yell to announce where the sweet potato is on the globe.
    Now the glamour curtain has withered, we can all see what ought to have been done if,,,,, known earlier.

  38. #38 by -ec- on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:40 am

    obama called:

    nr has made it as a free publicity. you can read his blog, bernama or the msm. i don’t want to repeat it here.

    let read the ‘similar’ report from Associated Press:

    “(AP) — WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has discussed nuclear nonproliferation in a telephone call with Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says the president told Najib of his unease especially about proliferation by North Korea and Iran. Gibbs says the two leaders also spoke in Friday’s call about the international economic crisis and ways to bring reconstruction and stability to Afghanistan.”

    the one thing that nr did not diosclose to the people is about nuclear nonproliferation issue. this seems to be the major reason of the conversation. very soon we will be regarded to be grouped with north korea and iran.

  39. #39 by Joshua on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:41 am

    I am told at the latest seminar of MITI, that halal food supposedly for quality also is no guarantee of NO food poisoning in schools etc including the Foreign Minister recovered from a recent food poisoning (which send a negative message worldwide).

    So unless the food problems are addressed by Joshua Kong, it is hopeless to pay anybody to promote malaysia as self praise is no praise.

    stupid people for illegal people…

    pw: senghor Raft

  40. #40 by k1980 on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 10:38 am

    “One million in Europe gets you nothing nowadays,” said Ng Yen Yen.

    Then WHF did the Permanent Resident from Australia use taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and not her own?

  41. #41 by ctc537 on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 10:54 am

    Tourism can be promoted in other ways. Why wasting so much money by paying the million-ringgit fee to former Ferrari Formula One owner Jean Todt as Malaysia’s tourism ambassador.
    In tourism, we should emulate Thailand. The Thai government has established excellent diplomatic relations with countries from which most of its tourists come. Countries such as Italy, pain U.K., Netherlands, France, the US, etc. King Bhumiphol also make frequent official visits to those countries, and their kings,queens, Presidents and PMs also pay return visits to Thailand. Even Arab and Muslim countries also enjoy excellent relations with Thailand.
    Promoting tourism is not all about paying certain famous personalities to do the job. It is also about the international image and reputation of the country.

  42. #42 by zak_hammaad on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 11:29 am

    “Nation-wide howls of outrage when this news came out” – Nation-wide howls? DAP and the Pakatan do not represent the ‘nation’. I think Mr Lim is barking in the dark and barking alone.

    He should take Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat’s advice and stop wasting time in misleading the rakyat on unsubstantiated allegations and discuss matters that are real!

  43. #43 by ekompute on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 11:40 am

    “Taman Negara alone, I believe, is sufficient to generate enough interest for people to come to Malaysia.”

    No, no, no…. we need a Mat Salleh to promote our country. Taman Negara is not Mat Salleh.

  44. #44 by taiking on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 11:54 am

    Of course 1m is nothing. Wot more when it is 1m ringgit in europe. I mean look at this. Dubious 500m commission for submarine deal is too small to excite the umno gobermen. And 12.5b does not appear to be a sinful amount for them to lose in a single scandal. Oh please. Just shut up. 1m is nothing. Really. It is not even enough to buy a ferrari or s500 MB for any umnoputra. Our per capita earning may be on par with some african nations but come on umnoputras’ earning is well above everyone else’s. We are on different platform ok? And theirs is definitely way above ours. OK?

  45. #45 by passerby on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 11:55 am

    You mean 12bil going down the drain is not real. Some thing must be wrong with your head!

  46. #46 by Raja Chulan on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 12:11 pm

    I think Ng Yen Yen should be replaced as Tourism Minister by either Todt or Michele Yeoh. This will solve the problem of having an incompetent Ng at the ministry.

    On another note, I was watching the TV3 news last night where Micheal Jackson’s dead was reported. A good major portion of this news reporting was centered around MJ now being a Muslim and that his name is now Mikhail. Ah…. what a sick TV3!!

    Otherwise, cheers!!

    Raja Chulan.

  47. #47 by a2a on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 12:31 pm

    If the government think one million is nothing.

    WHY DON’T THEY GIVE EVERY MALAYSIAN FAMILY ONE MILLION SO MALAYSIAN NO COMPLAINTS.

    PLEASE START DISTRIBUE ONE MILLIONS SOON SO ALL MALAYSIAN HAPPY NO COMPLAINT, LOH.

    THEY ADMIN PEOPLE TAX MONEYAS FREE GIFTS FOR THEM TO DO WHAT THEY LIKE TO DO WITHOUT ANY REPONSIBILITY.

  48. #48 by frankyapp on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 12:55 pm

    Jeffrey,it’s not the matter whether the money spent is big or small.It’s about appropriation.Is the sum of one million ringgit spent on one person to promote tourism appropriate ?.After all we have ambassador in almost ever country on earth to do the promotion,need we still needed this one guy.

  49. #49 by frankyapp on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 12:58 pm

    sorry correction, should read “every country “

  50. #50 by ekompute on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 1:55 pm

    Raja Chulan says: I think Ng Yen Yen should be replaced as Tourism Minister by either Todt or Michele Yeoh. This will solve the problem of having an incompetent Ng at the ministry. On another note, I was watching the TV3 news last night where Micheal Jackson’s dead was reported. A good major portion of this news reporting was centered around MJ now being a Muslim and that his name is now Mikhail. Ah…. what a sick TV3!!

    Good point there, Raja Chulan. I think Michele Yeoh should fit the bill very well and her husband can help along for free.

    Mikhail? I think TV3 made a mistake. I always thought that Mikhail is a Russian name…. Mikhail of Vladimir, Mikhail Yaroslavich…. But whether Michael Jackson is now a Muslim or not is not important because judging from his lifestyle, I don’t see him leading a Muslim life. In fact, Muslims should try to distance themselves from him. So what is TV3 trying to say?

  51. #51 by OrangRojak on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 2:09 pm

    Search google for

    mikaeel liyanaznil

    He certainly was a unique character.

  52. #52 by limkamput on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 2:15 pm

    ekompute Says:
    //But whether Michael Jackson is now a Muslim or not is not important because judging from his lifestyle, I don’t see him leading a Muslim life.//

    So what is Muslim lifestyle? Do you know? If Micheal is not, may i know what lifestyle was he leading? Christian? Jewish, Budhist? Hindu? A typical no brainer talking.

  53. #53 by ALLAN THAM on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 2:28 pm

    Order RM 1 million Ipoh kar see hor fen and make it another Malaysia boleh with the Ipoh bond girl and toad sitting with all to eat may be better spend to sell Malaysia to mat salleh

  54. #54 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 3:36 pm

    “It’s not the matter whether the money spent is big or small.It’s about appropriation.” – frankyapp said Today at 12: 55.41 (1 hour ago)

    I like to address that. I am also talking about appropriation. Since first F1 race in 1999, the Malaysia Grand Prix has become a popular (and comparatively affordable) destination for Formula One fans, yearly. I already said in earlier posting that Mahathir’s Sepang International Circuit (SIC) needs money for operation and maintenance. In between Grand Prixs, SIC resorts to catering for personal track usage by public : for RM150, I could take a fast car to run it in a full race environment held within the confines and safety of the SIC.

    Maybe it was/is felt ex Ferrari boss Jean Todt could promote Malaysian profile internationally – not just in terms of international sporting event on the track in SIC but also the other prestigious international sailing event – the Monsoon Cup.

    Now even the tiny red dot in the South that in earlier years decried grand prix has now promoted it. The Singapore Grand Prix was held on September 28 2008 (Night grand Prix also). Singapore Tourism Board anticipated an incremental revenue of around US$70 million directly generated from such an event. (I don’t how much it eventually got).

    It certainly raised Singapore’s profile internationally from being associated with the premium brand that is Formula 1! The hotels made lots of money from tourists coming in for such an event -in that season, just like the way our KL hotels did when Grand Prix was on.

    I have already said that tourists earnings are fast becoming 3rd largest foreign exchange earner for us – and all these sporting events promote tourists dollars.

    Jean Todt resigned as CEO of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company’s Formula One on March 18, 2008, assumed a “special appointment” within the company’s racing department along with a rumoured job as FIA president. He resigned this position one year later (Source: Wikipedia).

    Are we saying here that this man (Jean Todt) has not the international connections to promote Formula 1 races in our Grand Prixs or the other Sporting event Monsoon Cup – or are we saying that these international sporting events sought to be promoted here do not help us make tourists Dollars – that paying him RM1 million as gesture covering expenses as Tourism ambassador is a flagrant waste of money??? Is that the position?? There is an obvious connection between Ferrari/Formula 1 Jean Todt with grand prixs and sporting events. Its not that one is paying a rock star like the late Michael Jackson to promote Formula 1 races in our SIC/Monsoon Cup where there is no nexus between the King of Pop’s talents and these international sporting events.

    What about instead of paying RM1 million Jean Todt who togther with our own Datuk Michelle Yeoh are promoting My Second Home Programme(MM2H) we pay instead Sir Alex Ferguson to bring his “Red Devils” over here to promote Malaysia espcially our football worldwide, will this also be criticised as waste of money?

    This is advertising lah. Even a reasonably big corporation will spend more than RM1 million a year on advertising its product, let alone a country for its interntaional profile and tourists earnings.

  55. #55 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 3:53 pm

    Taman Negara may be a tourist attraction but why talk of improving canopy walk and comparing it in terms of scale/tourists earnings, income for Hotels, F&B Airlines etc, as grand prix and other international sporting events attracting international crowd generate? Of course they cannot say explicitly Jean Todt = Grand Prix = tourists dollars because there’s lot of bettings going on and thats ‘haram’ to some people.

  56. #56 by OrangRojak on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 4:01 pm

    Jeffrey nobody is decrying why, but who and what. When Malaysia has such an unequal distribution of wealth, giving free money to a rich foreigner is always going to raise some eyebrows. I doubt there would be any objections if it was clear that the money had been used for some specific objectives, but ‘flights’ could have been because he has occasional cravings for vending machine croque-monsieur.

    You’re arguing oddly today – are you a F1 fan? A Francophile? Cannot be! You would know it is ‘Grands Prix’! ‘Are we saying…?’ No, we’re not. If the money really was for covering expenses [incurred] as Tourism ambassador then who could complain? People are complaining because it appears that some (any) money – when there are pressing and obvious needs for money just about everywhere in Malaysia – appears to have been given to the rich friends of our rich elites, and the reason given is “it’s not much [where he comes from]”. Preposterous!

    We know what advertising is. This doesn’t fit the bill. As a general rule, I would say “paying him RM1 million as gesture” is exactly what reasonable Malaysians should criticise. Doesn’t matter whether it’s Todt or Abramoff, governments throwing money around – to make themselves look like they have a lot – just makes them look like johnny-come-latelies. You’re worried about being embarrassed? Maybe you should pay your friends to pretend you don’t embarrass them.

  57. #57 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 4:25 pm

    ‘Gesture’ means, in relation to someone helping you to promote tourism, you don’t take him for granted, hence a token amount that at least covers his expenses, as distinct from to profiting him, which obviously he is rich enough for the RM1 million to constitute a significant financial windfall.

    “If the money really was for covering expenses [incurred] as Tourism ambassador then who could complain?” True. However if, it were suggested, that the money was not for covering expenses [incurred] as Tourism ambassador, then what could RM 1 million otherwise be (for a person like Todt)?

    So it still comes back to the first question – whether there is a reasonable nexus between an individual like Todt with his credentials amd promotion of Formula 1 Races/Grand Prix in this country that would increase the country’s international profile and bring in the tourists dollars (at least in that season). I think there is.

  58. #58 by limkamput on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 5:46 pm

    Wannabe, let’s put it this way lah, since you have brought up the Singapore F1 race. I am going to say this without any fact, but just my hunch: Singapore F1 will eventually become better organised and popular than Malaysia’s even though they are not engaging this toad or that toad! I think you have stubbornly ignored the genuine concern of the issue highlighted here.

    You know what our problem is? We have always thought that there is a simple solution to our complex problems. We think paying RM1 million to this fellow will help us popularise F1, Monsoon cup and tourism in general in Malaysia. Wannabe, we shall see how interested or how effective this toad can be in our efforts toward achieving this objective. Remember we also have invited many internationally renowned personalities for our Multimedia Super Corridor. May I know what has happened to this project? If you can’t see the follies we have been indulging all these years, you must be an idiot.

    When people come to Taman Negara, it is obvious that they would need hotel, food and other services. Only idiots would say that only F1 and Monsoon cup would bring tourist dollars. How much have they paid you to write what you wrote, wannabe? Please lah, what a** nexus are you talking about?

  59. #59 by W KOK on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 5:53 pm

    From Malaysian Insider……….

    Ketua Pemuda Gerakan ketinggalan zaman, kata MB Kedah
    ALOR SETAR, Jun 25 — Menteri Besar Kedah, Datuk Seri Azizan Razak menyifatkan Ketua Pemuda Gerakan Kedah, Tan Keng Liang ketinggalan zaman apabila terus mengajak orang menyertai BN.

    “Semua sekarang nak tinggalkan Umno dan BN untuk menyertai PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat. Tiba-tiba dia pula ajak masuk BN, pelik sungguh,” kata Azizan kepada media dalam satu majlis di Gurun hari ini.

    Azizan mengulas gesaan Tan yang meminta DAP dan PKR menyertai BN bagi membentuk kerajaan baru di Kedah dengan meninggalkan PAS.

    Ini kerana, kata Tan, kerajaan Kedah dibawah pimpinan PAS sekarang meminggirkan orang bukan Melayu di Kedah.

    Menurut Azizan, Tan ketinggalan dalam banyak hal termasuk isu kouta 50 peratus untuk orang Melayu apabila tanah rezab Melayu diambil untuk projek perumahan di bandar Alor Setar.

    Tan juga, kata Azizan, ketinggalan dalam isu pusat penyembelihan babi di Mergong.

    Sebelum ini, Azizan berkata, yang tidak adil adalah kerajaan BN sebelum ini yang telah meluluskan tanah rezab Melayu untuk projek perumahan tetapi menetapkan hanya 20 peratus sahaja kouta untuk orang Melayu.

    “Ini tanah rezab Melayu, bukan tanah pegangan bebas. Untuk tanah pegangan bebas, mana ada syarat itu,” katanya.

    Dalam isu pusat penyembelihan babi di Mergong pula, pusat yang terletak di Pasar Mergong ini, walaupun telah bergerak selama lebih 30 tahun, namun ia tidak pernah mempunyai lesen yang sah dari pihak berkuasa tempatan.

    Aktivitinya pula mendapat bantahan orang Melayu yang turut ke pasar ini kerana bahan-bahan buangannya dibuang dalam tong sampah yang sama dengan penggunaan lain dan sebahagiannya dialirkan ke sungai berdekatan.

    Ekoran bantahan itu, Majlis Bandaraya Alor Setar telah mengarahkan pusat penyembelihan ini dipindahkan ke tempat lain.

    Ekoran itu, persatuan peniaga babi ini telah membuat rayuan kepada Menteri Besar Kedah untuk memberikan tempoh kepada mereka sebulan untuk mendapatkan tempat baru.

    “Menteri Besar telah menulis surat kepada Datuk Bandar Alor Setar agar rayuan mereka ini diterima. Jika selepas sebulan mereka tidak dapat kawasan baru, itu masalah mereka kerana mereka yang meminta tempoh sebulan,” kata Setiausaha Akhbar MB Kedah, Helmi Khalid yang dihubungi hari ini.

    Menurut Helmi, satu kawasan baru telah dikenalpasti untuk dijadikan tempat penyembelihan babi ini iaitu di satu kawasan dalam Kampung Cina Pendang.

    “Pejabat MB telah bersetuju dengan tapak baru ini jika mendapat kelulusan khasnya dari Jabatan Veterinar. Surat juga telah dihantar kepada Yang Dipertua Majlis Daerah Pendang agar permohonan ini diluluskan jika mendapat sokongan dari jabatan-jabatan berkaitan,” beritahu Helmi.

    Sementara itu, hubungan antara parti-parti dalam Pakatan Rakyat di Kedah sangat baik, kata anggota Parlimen Jerai, Mohd Firdaus Jaafar.

    “Oleh itu, saya yakin pancingan Tan itu tidak akan dimakan oleh sahabat-sahabat saya dalam PKR atau DAP. Orang sekarang nak tinggal BN dan nak masuk Pakatan,” kata beliau.

    Tentang isu-isu yang dibangkitkan, Firdaus yakin ia akan adapat diselesaikan dengan baik Oleh MB Kedah.

    “Sabarlah, isu babi ini sensitif dan tidak siapa mahu babi diternak atau disembelih di sebelah rumah mereka sekarang dengan wabak selsema babi ini. Jadi kena bersabarlah supaya kawasan yang dijadikan kawasan ternak dan sembelih itu nanti benar-benar sesuai,” katanya.
    http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/bahasa/30528-ketua-pemuda-gerakan-ketinggalan-zaman-kata-mb-kedah

  60. #60 by limkamput on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 5:56 pm

    OrangRojak, I wish i could think and write like you. Yes only for this ocassion, ok.

    Where is godfather? His presence is much needed to shut this wannabe up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

  61. #61 by limkamput on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 6:00 pm

    W KOK, use your head lah. Why are you trying to distract the debate here by posting a totally irrelevant piece? Who care what Gerakan say anyway.

  62. #62 by OrangRojak on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 6:06 pm

    Christ on a bike! Limkamput, my father-in-law wasn’t over the moon about his daughter being shagged by a dirty white man either, but ‘toad’ is going too far! I too – on first reading the story of Ms Yeoh’s romance – was disappointed with her choice when she could have had me, but we deal respectably with these things in public.

    Jeffrey, I don’t think Todt was at any risk of being taken for granted. What did he get the ‘Datuk’ for? Just spotted this article at the Straits Times:

    http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_396148.html

    It’s getting worse! So where did the money go? I think that having someone like Todt playing an ambassadorial role for Malaysia can only be a good thing. I think if the government had made a more transparent job of defining his role and benefits, a lot of fuss could have been avoided.

    Perhaps it’s best to leave this one for a bit, given the Straits Times’ contribution linked here.

  63. #63 by limkamput on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 6:43 pm

    My goodness, in the light of Straits Times article, the problem is now bigger than i thought. Wannabe, can you see the point we saw now?

  64. #64 by Loh on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 6:53 pm

    ///His lawyer Martel in the written statement said that Todt had accepted the tourism role because of his ‘very strong personal and private connections he has developed with Malaysia, from where it is known that his live-in partner originates.’ ‘Jean Todt is happy to support the development of tourism in the country on a voluntary basis, carrying out selected tasks which only occupy a very minimal part of his time,’ he added. — AFP///–From OrangRojak reference.

    ///Ng Yen Yen said that RM1 million for Todt converted into euros was not much and it was intended to cover expenses such as air fare etc. She said Todt had “expressed disappointment that (the issue was raised) on something that was offered to him on goodwill.///–Jeffrey

    The ‘selected tasks’ which would involve minimal part of Todt’s time would not be worth a million ringgit a year, whether the number is astronomical or small as one wishes to view it. As for visiting Malaysia, that would be more to Todt’s convenience rather than to come for the selected tasks’. As for travelling elsewhere, it might not be entirely to serve the purposes of advertising for Malaysia. It would not be right to compensate such travel at first class fare when full time ambassadors normally travel on coach class.

    It would appear that Todt never expected any payment or reimbursement for his expenses on travel which he would also have other objectives to fulfil. But Minister Ng Yen Yen thought that she would be able to impress Todt in granting a million ringgit, which unfortunately others agreed too to be a small sum. In fact that amount of money would be equal to salary of our full time ambassadors for five years.

    There was argument that Todt might be worth that much as advertisement; but for what?

  65. #65 by Joshua on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 8:33 pm

    Despite Todt’s denial in NST, promoting a nation is very fundamental and foods and their quality is very important.

    I have terrible experiences of foods the number of times I was in KL. Not foods in the cheap shops or open market, but sometimes in the five star hotels and once in a vegetarian restaurant.

    Even in Sabah, I have come across complaints of stomach problems by foreigners even a few weeks ago when I was in Gaya Street on Sunday.

    So how to promote tourism in the nation when such problems would be circulated everywhere of food problems.

    I also know that many foreigners stick to their western foods when they visit Asian places. Why?

    We cannot improve such a fundamental issue like foods and their quality, then how to promote tourism to keep happy visitors to come back regularly?

    The billions of Ringgit spent overseas in tourism including our most travelled ministers in socalled tourism promotion trips have definitely gone to waste…as part of the RM30 trillions profligacy.. no longer sustainable for any longer.

    pw: sim- watson

  66. #66 by Onlooker Politics on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 8:38 pm

    Sin Chew Daily Online reported on 27.06.2009 that Jean Todt’s lawyer Martel denied on behalf of Jean Todt that RM1 million had been received by Jean Todt and claimed that Jean Todt accepted the tourism role only based on volunteer basis and not on monetary consideration.

    However, Malaysia’s Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen did not deny that RM1 million had been paid out to Jean Todt on his appointed role as Tourism Ambassadors.

    Now who is really telling the truth? If Jean Todt and Dr Ng Yen Yen are both telling us the truth, then I can start to smell some fishy rottenness coming from the Tourism Ministry of Malaysia!

    The question which we should ask now is “who actually stole the RM1 million and made Jean Todt a scapegoat in the theft case?” Should Umno Minister agree that the hands of this thief, if convicted in court, must be chopped off in order to prevent him/her from committing further theft, robbery, fund embezzlement, or other form of money-stolen felony again?

  67. #67 by monsterball on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 8:57 pm

    Jean Todt is very rich herself…and she does not need the RM1 million.
    I think she is totally sincere to do something for Malaysia…free of charge.
    What she is after are titles and authority to act on behalf of Malaysia with a letter of appointment.
    Then from Datuk to Tan Sri….or even Tun.
    The point is…how far will she goes to get her dreams come true.
    She is an actress and beautiful actresses are welknown to get get the parts…they want…. with fantastic persuasions.
    How was Dollah persuaded?
    On the RM1..it is recorded… given to her.
    Did she received it?

  68. #68 by vsp on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:20 pm

    In officialese-speak, RM1 million could mean RM10 or RM100 million. Wouldn’t you be surprised? When everything is done in an opaque manner can one be blamed if one is to swallow the figure with a pinch of salt?

  69. #69 by lopez on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:32 pm

    ipoh girl has forgetful mind, she forgotten why she has to go to hong kong to get her fame and fortune, why not at all in bolihland in the first place.

    just like us cant get anywhere in a glass house….why dont she help us but sorry we cant pay you nor give you titles and gar lan

  70. #70 by a2a on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:35 pm

    Now, this is what we call not racist, when chinese commented and complaint chinese moive star between right and wrong.

    This is what Malaysian people environment should live in.

    NOT RACIST.

    We should take any racist political parties down to the drain in time ahead else they causing Malaysian live fighting with racist.

  71. #71 by a2a on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:36 pm

    chinese movie star

  72. #72 by taiking on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 9:46 pm

    Are we looking at the plot of three frogs and a toad? The marvelous and very remarkable jumps by the frogs are now known to all. I shant repeat them here. But I must apologise for knowing nothing about the toad – until now that is. That toad I am told is our tourism ambassador. Yes. So what was required of him as our appointed ambassador of tourism? If promoting malaysia is what he is suppose to do then can my ignorance of his position as tourism ambassador all these while serve as an indication of something; i.e. that nothing much has actually been done by him in furtherance of his responsibility in that appointed position? But really what can he do with a million ringgit worth of our currency in europe? To promote and market malaysia to europeans with that million? Come off it. Didnt yen2 herself admit that a million ringgit is nothing in europe? Can I be faulted then if I failed to fathom what effective promotion and marketing the toad could engage with so little in his pocket? Yen2 is well appraised of the situation and her response is a clear illumination of the fact. This begs the question, why only a million ringgit and not more? And if one million is all that was allocated and given to the toad with the clear knowledge that it would only fire malaysia the distance of an inch in european soil then can I be faulted to observe that it was meant to be mere pocket money for the toad?

  73. #73 by monsterball on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 10:35 pm

    Micheal Yeoh …..now Jean Todt…must know..she owes her popularity to the people…not the UMNO government.
    From HongKong or here…she must know UMNO play race and religion politics…for 53 years and she should know…change in government is the most important responsibilities of all citizens.
    Granted…tourism maybe her best contribution to Malaysia with he connections.
    Nevertheless..she is smart and sharp enough to learn….we can put that on hold….and she can join keDAILan or DAP..to help the noble cause.
    By her supporting or joining any PR party… itself….will pull in many votes to PR.
    By not doing so…can we safely say…Jean Todt is thinking of herself…..just like racialists MCA and Gerakan buggers?
    What a waste of her fame….given by the people…to get close to UMNO.

  74. #74 by Onlooker Politics on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 10:43 pm

    “Jean Todt is very rich herself…and she does not need the RM1 million.” (monsterball)

    Where have you been to, Monsterball? You must have missed the newspaper report and therefore you mistook Jean Todt as the Bond Girl, Michelle Yeoh from Ipoh!

    For your information, Jean Todt is a male and not a female, which you mistook! Below is the introduction on Jean Todt found in wikipedia:
    Jean Todt (b. February 25, 1946, Pierrefort, France) is the former executive director of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company’s Formula One constructor. On October 25, 2006, he was appointed as the company’s CEO. On March 18, 2008, Todt resigned as CEO and assumed a “special appointment” within the company’s racing department, along with a rumoured job as FIA president. He resigned this position one year later.

    Personal life
    On September 28, 2005, Todt’s engagement to actress Michelle Yeoh was reported. Yeoh has subsequently denied the engagement. As recently as March 2007, Yeoh denied assertions as to an upcoming marriage. On July 31, 2008, Ms. Yeoh confirmed the rumor that she was engaged (to Jean Todt) during an interview with Craig Ferguson on CBS’s The Late Late Show. Todt also have join Malaysia My Second Home Programme(MM2H).

    Todt has a small role in the film Astérix at the Olympic Games.

    Todt’s son Nicolas is a manager of Formula One drivers including Ferrari incumbent Felipe Massa.

  75. #75 by monsterball on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 11:13 pm

    Thanks alot…Onlooker Politics.
    Yes Jean Todt is the male…the husband to be to Micheal Yeoh.
    Yes…this Italian man will do anything to get permanent residence in Malaysia…..to be near Micheal….madly in love la.
    But Micheal is very close to UMNO too.
    Names maybe mixed up…message is solely for Micheal Yeoh.
    Jean Todt is an Italian…..what do you expect from an Italian?
    Thanks again…Onlooker Politics.
    Have a nice weekend.

  76. #76 by monsterball on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 11:28 pm

    His name sound French!!
    French or Italian…who cares……hahahahahahaha
    Both are great lovers.
    Both can bullshit like hell….hahahahahaha
    But I love the fun fun Italiano than Frenchy snob.

  77. #77 by monsterball on Saturday, 27 June 2009 - 11:29 pm

    His name sound French!!
    French or Italian…who cares……hahahahahahaha
    Both are great lovers.
    Both can fool others..very well….hahahahahaha
    But I love the fun fun Italiano than Frenchy snob.

  78. #78 by TomThumb on Sunday, 28 June 2009 - 12:51 am

    one million ringgit is only about united states dollars 200k and that is chicken shi*t

  79. #79 by TomThumb on Sunday, 28 June 2009 - 5:19 am

    to monsterball, jean-jacques rousseau was a man. why am i not surprised?

  80. #80 by yhsiew on Sunday, 28 June 2009 - 9:21 am

    Dear Ng Yen Yen,

    If you think one million ringgit in Europe gets you nothing nowadays, please give it to me.

  81. #81 by vsp on Sunday, 28 June 2009 - 9:48 am

    Wonder why the Bond girl has to fall for a French toad. There are so many eligible horses around for her to ride on. Oh why, why, why, a toad… ?

    Anyway this Bond girl is a dummy. The fact that she has achieved success is because the damn UNMO idiots has driven many to find greener pastures overseas. Just because UMNO decided to honour her with a bauble she has forgotten why she has to struggle in HongKong to find fame. What a cheapskate this Bond girl has become.

    No wonder she can only find a toad for a future husband. Hope this toad is not a poisonous one!

  82. #82 by vsp on Sunday, 28 June 2009 - 10:23 am

    Sorry, this is not a French toad but an Italian one

  83. #83 by monsterball on Sunday, 28 June 2009 - 11:12 am

    Because you think you are so smart and never make any mistake and admit and apologize.. exactly like all BN buggers……you idiotic… TomThumb.
    Kiddo…want to be sarcastic..also no class or style…just a big mouth and full of gas.

  84. #84 by katdog on Sunday, 28 June 2009 - 1:52 pm

    Many people here using derogatory names and name calling Jean Todt. Some now even hinting some bad stuf about the actress Michelle Yeoh.

    C’mon people. Jean Todt does not need a paltry RM1 million. We have no quarrel with Jean Todt or Michelle Yeoh. What the hell do we want to get by insulting them? They didn’t steal the money. They didn’t demand for it. It was allocated by the Tourism Ministry.

    Our beef is with the manner in which the Tourism Ministry allocated the RM 1 million. Whether it was justified and well spent or not. Not with those two.

    Please stop such low class personal attacks upon people who are not involved or related to the issue.

    I think harping on this issue and talking about 1 million is just embarrassing when the government already wastes RM500 million every year on NS.

  85. #85 by shortie kiasu on Sunday, 28 June 2009 - 5:00 pm

    There is an issue here as the public fund is involved. If it is a private fund from Ng Yen Yen, who the hell care whether she gave one million or ten million Ringgit away to somebody who she thinks is a big celebrity who can pulled in tourists and the dollars.

    We have to look at the acountability and transparency of spending people’s money.

    It does not matter whether it is one million or a hundreds of million, the basic principle is the same.

    Public fund has to be protected for proper use for the public.

    That is why we beg to differ from what the previous writter had posted.

  86. #86 by Onlooker Politics on Monday, 29 June 2009 - 5:32 pm

    “Anyway this Bond girl is a dummy.” (Vsp)

    I wouldn’t agree on the comment that this Bond girl is a dummy. This Bond Girl was doing well in her career as actress because she really acted well.

    However, I had to be frank that this Bond Girl was selected to act as Bond Girl not solely attributing to his attractiveness in Physical Appearance but mainly because the Bond girl was chosen by a Malaysian Tycoon shortly after the Film Production Company of James Bond Movies, which located at London, had been acquired by a Malaysian Tycoon using the funds sourced from two KLSE-listed companies which the Malaysian Tycoon had susbtantial shareholding interest. If I am not wrong, then I remember that the Film Production Company Buyover business deal happened during 1995-1996.

    Later after 1998, the two KLSE-listed companies were put under PN17 by the Securities Commission of Malaysia due to their having financial insolvency problem. This was just one example of capital flight which happened quite frequently in Malaysia when the local business community or the international business communities had began to lose their confidence on the performing capabilities of Barisan Nasional Government!

  87. #87 by rage on Wednesday, 1 July 2009 - 5:01 pm

    This piece of news made me sick to my stomach. Our taxpayers’ money going to a foreign hand who is rich enough not to take up the role. But who can resist spending other people’s money? NYY puts herself on the rich and famous list in that foreign land-how rewarding for her. But poor us who struggle everyday. RM1 m is nothing? Who’s kdding?

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