Archive for January, 2008

Who is Khairy to tell everyone including Ministers to stop speculating on when the general election would be held?

Who is Khairy Jamaluddin to tell everyone, including Ministers, to stop speculating on when the general election would be held when he has not even been elected as Member of Parliament?

Of course, everybody knows that he is the most powerful man in the country, presiding over the fourth storey of Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya and who controls and manipulates the Prime Minister’s moves and decision-making.

But such unaccountable and even unconstitutional exercise of power should not get to his head to make him publicly rebuke Ministers for speculating when the next general election would be held, although his statement was specifically directed at the Election Commission and made no mention of Cabinet Ministers.

However, when Khairy called on all parties, including the Election Commission Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman , to stop speculating on when the general election would be held, claiming that “it was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s sole prerogative on when to call for the election”, it was clear that he was carrying out an Umno proxy war and his target was not Rashid but Cabinet Ministers like the Home Minister and Umno Secretary-General Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid.

It was only three days ago that Azmi said publicly that the general election was near – and in the past ten days, Radzi had been declaring that “It’s time for a leadership change in Perlis”, openly advocating that the current Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim should be replaced by Azmi.

However, standing in the way of Radzi and Azmi is Khairy, who is aligned with Shahidan as the Umno warlord in Perlis who could deliver what Khairy needed in Umno power stakes – to the extent that the scandals of Shahidan which Radzi had brought to the personal attention of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had been completely neutralized by Khairy. Read the rest of this entry »

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New method of crime by snatch thieves

Letters
by Joyce Ho

We have been reading about snatch thieves incidents. I witnessed for myself today a new method adopted by them.

Please pass this on to friends – Alert them of this NEW METHOD adopted by snatch thieves.

I was driving along SS2/22, Petaling Jaya going towards Damansara Jaya. This street is totally residential one street off the main road.

About 10 houses in front of me was this young lady walking by a car parked along the grass patch outside one of the terrace houses. As she was reaching the rear end of this clean decent looking Silver Proton Waja, I noticed the engine started and the left rear passenger doors window was being wound down.

Suddenly a man emerged out of the rear passenger doors window his entire torso! and making a grab of this ladys handbag!!!! As this man emerged from the cars window, the Silver Proton Waja was pulling out of its parking position slowly not in a hurry with the man from within just dragging the lady and her handbag along until she gave it up!! Then they drove off slowly no hurry!!!

All the above happened in front of my eyes in less than 30 seconds!!!!!

Her screams and cries did not help! No one came to her rescue in fact a middle age woman ran into her house upon seeing this happening right in front of her house only to come back out to lock her gates after the car has driven away! Do you blame her? The thieves were so bold!!!! Read the rest of this entry »

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DAP-PKR reach agreement on allocation of seats in Penang for next polls

Democratic Action Party and Parti Keadilan Rakyat have reached agreement on the allocation of parliamentary and state assembly seats for Penang for the next general election, expected in less than 70 days.

A joint media conference by leaders of both parties will be held in Penang on Wednesday to announce the details.

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Samy Vellu should cut short his India trip to get Hindraf 5 released from ISA since there is no evidence of their terrorist links

MIC President and Works Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu should cut short his current India trip and rush back to the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to uphold justice for the Hindraf Five wrongly detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since he has admitted to the Indian media that there is no evidence about Hindraf’s terrorist links.

Samy Vellu had told the Indian media in Chennai that the Malaysian government did not have any evidence that Hindraf had connection with Tamil Tigers or terrorists. He was responding to questions from reporters in Chennai.

This is the Q & A on the NDTVG.com where Samy Vellu admitted that there is no evidence that Hindraf has terrorist links:

NDTV: Do you have any evidence to back your government’s charge that the Hindraf has links with terrorists?

D S Vellu: Hindraf said they would fight like the Tigers, the way the Tigers are fighting in Sri Lanka. It was by Vedamurthy. After he talked like that, we did an investigation and it was felt that he may have gone there for training.

NDTV: Do you have evidence of this?

D S Vellu: No. It is our suspicion.

It was because of the alleged Hindraf’s terrorist links that the Hindraf Five, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, M. Manoharan, R. Kenghadharan and T. Vasantha Kumar were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan had told Malaysians immediately after their ISA arrests on 14th December 2007 that the detention of the Hindraf Five was “imperative” because “they clearly have links with international terrorist organizations”. (NST 15.12.07) Read the rest of this entry »

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Where is PAC report on AG’s Report 2006 before dissolution of Parliament?

I am asking for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to propose that there should be a special four-day meeting of Parliament within the next 30 days to dispose of all outstanding parliamentary business so that they will not lapse when Parliament is dissolved in less than 70 days for the 12th general election to be held.

One important outstanding parliamentary business is the report of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) into the 2006 Auditor-General’s Report, which had created a nation-wide furore when it was tabled in Parliament last September, exposing scandals including:

• payment of RM224 for a RM32 set of screwdrivers;

• paying RM1,146 for a set of pens costing RM160;

• paying RM5,700 for a car jack worth RM50;

• the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) paying RM5.59 million in advance to 4,183 students who did not apply for a loan; and .

• the largest single case of misuse of funds in the Report — the RM6.75 billion scandal of six Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) that have either not been delivered or not operational and the increase of their contract price twice from RM4.9 billion to RM6.75 billion or 38 percent.

MPs and Malaysians were assured last September that the PAC members would be going through the Auditor-General’s strictures of criminal breaches of trust and financial irregularities in his 2006 Report with a fine tooth comb and would be demanding full public accountability and responsibility.

If the 11th Parliament is now dissolved without the PAC completing and submitting its report, it will be a failure of parliamentary scrutiny and responsibility for the 11th Parliament and a terrible reflection on the record of the PAC Chairman, Datuk Shahrir Samad. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sex and The Politician

by M. Bakri Musa

Between the salacious reporting on and the holier-than-thou responses to the sexual escapade of former Health Minister Chua Soi Lek, three important points are overlooked. In a country where an intrusive government could as a law enforcement exercise barge into people’s bedrooms (consider the many khalwat raids), these points bear pondering.

One, what if she had not been a “personal friend” (presumably Chua also has “non-personal friends”) but a foreign intelligence agent, and he, somebody important like a Minister of Defense? Rest assured then that she would be very smooth and sophisticated; she would not let herself be blown to pieces or let the tape be released. It would be more valuable kept secret than exposed.

Two, what if my wife and I had stayed in that same room a few days immediately before, when those “technicians” were having their “practice” runs, or a few days later, when their voyeuristic lust is not yet fully satisfied? Those peeping toms could not blackmail us of course, but we would have felt violated nonetheless. The hotel would be liable, legally and morally, for the damages suffered by us just as surely as if the management had handed to known thugs duplicate keys to our room.

Last is the sense of perspective. In this escapade two people had great fun, with one subsequently paying dearly with his career. No one was killed, or potentially killed, assuming they engaged in “safe sex.” Yet the police expended considerable resources on the case. Meanwhile the recent brutal sex slaying of young Nurin Jazlin remains unsolved and forgotten. Read the rest of this entry »

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Najib, you are wrong

by Richard Teo

Yes the tide is turning in Kelantan but certainly not in favour of BN but for PAS. As a kelantanese I can safely tell Najib the true current political situation in Kelantan. How could Zubaidah Abu Bakar speculate in the 6th Jan.2008 NST that “there are many in Kelantan who want to see a change of government”?

This is farthest from the truth. The Malay psyche in Kelantan is vastly different from the psyche of Malays from the other states. The Malays in Kelantan are astute when it comes to politics. That explains why it is the only Malay state where the opposition party other than UMNO has ruled for a substantial period since Merdeka.

During BN’s tenure, pork sellers in the Chinese market were harrassed daily. They were confined to a small inconspicous space where pork could be sold hidden from public view. There was conditional and restricted time when pork could be sold. When PAS took over the government in 1990, they improved the Chinese market and pork was sold without any restrictions. In
short they were not harrassed.

Again, during BN’s tenure, Chinese could not buy houses built on Malay reservation land. Since most of the land come under the purview of Malay reservation, most Kelantanese Chinese could not own a home. But all these changed when PAS came to power.

Under the able DUN of Kota Bharu, Dato Annuar Tan, 30% of houses built on Malay reservation land were allocated for sale to the Kelantan Chinese.

Any doubts where the Chinese loyalty lies can easily be dispelled by visiting the Chinese enclave in Jalan Kebun Sultan. Ask any Chinese business community there and they will brazenly tell you that they will vote for PAS. Yes the Chinese votes in Kelantan are solidly behind PAS. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mazu statue – Lim questions Yong’s stand

Daily News Express
Lim questions Yong’s stand
Sunday 06 January 2008

Kota Kinabalu: Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang has accused Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Yong Teck Lee of leading the attack on former Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat to oppose the Mazu project in Kudat.

He said Yong – also a former Chief Minister – and Chong should be standing united to hold the middle ground to uphold the constitutional right of Sabahans and Malaysians on the freedom of religion by continuing with the construction of the 32.9 metres (108-feet Mazu) statue.

“It is disgraceful and tragic that instead of the two former Sabah Chief Ministers standing on an united platform working for the completion of the world’s tallest Mazu statue, Yong is leading an attack on Chong to oppose the project,” Lim said in a Press statement released in Parliament Saturday.

Lim, who is DAP Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timur, quoted several reports pertaining to the Mazu project by the two former Chief Ministers in the Daily Express. Read the rest of this entry »

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Obama’s historic Iowa victory should spur historic role by Malaysians Indians in next general election

In the 21st century of globalization and information/communications technologies, Malaysians and their leaders cannot continue to live like frogs in the well.

When Hindraf leaders sought the understanding and support of political leaders in India about the plight of Malaysian Indians, they were labelled as anti-national, disloyal and traitors of the country.

But now, the MIC President and Works Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu is on a extended trip to India on precisely the same purpose – although with very little results, but he has not been condemned as being anti-national, disloyal or traitors to the country.

If Malaysian leaders do not want to be “frogs in the well”, they must be sensitive to the fast-changing global developments and world opinion.

The continued marginalization of the Malaysian Indians will become an international issue, even more so for the Indian diaspora with a population close to Malaysia’s population – over 20 million.

The eyes of the world are on two awakening giants and they are both in Asia – China and India. The Indian company, Tata, for instance, is poised to take control of the British icons, Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, and within the next decade, India will become a bigger economy than the UK, the first Commonwealth country to do so. Read the rest of this entry »

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Samy Vellu’s triple shame in Chennai – apologies from mulitiple personalities warranted

I learn from a posting on my blog that the Malaysian Nanban today reported on its front page that the MIC President and sole Malaysian Indian Cabinet Minister for over 28 years, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu suffered grave humiliation in Chennai when the Tamil Nadu chief Minister S. Karunanidhi refused to meet him, despite Samy Vellu waiting for an appointment for three days.

Samy Vellu had said when he arrived in Chennai on Dec. 30 that he would meet Indian leaders including Karunanidhi and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to India to attend the three-day People of Indian Origin Conference in New Delhi starting on January 7.

He said he would explain “the real situation concerning the Indian community in Malaysia” to the Indian leaders in view of the “negative publicity” from the Nov. 25 Hindraf demonstration which drew support from 30,000 Indians from all over the country.

Samy Vellu was made to cool his heels in Chennai, waiting for three days and repeatedly phoning up for an appointment with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister but to no avail.

Nanban reported the displeasure of Samy Vellu at being given the cold shoulder, complaining at the ingratitude of Karunanidhi when the MIC President had treated the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister like royalty when Karunanidhi had previously visited Malaysia.

Samy Vellu has brought shame not only to himself, but to MIC, the Malaysian Indians and the Malaysian nation. For this he owes the Malaysian Indian community and all Malaysians a fulsome public apology.

This is the Samy Vellu’s first shame in Chennai.

He suffered a second shame in Chennai. Read the rest of this entry »

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EC Chairman Rashid should implement “caretaker govt” concept to ensure free, fair, clean election

I will seek a meeting with the Chairman of the Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman to discuss how the Election Commission proposes to ensure that the 12th general election is free, fair and clean, particularly whether the Election Commission proposes to apply the caretaker government concept when Parliament is dissolved.

When he became Prime Minister four years ago, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi propounded the concept of Islam Hadhari, founded on just and trustworthy governance.

A government which genuinely believes in fair play and justice as two important ingredients of Islam Hadhari would support the concept of a caretaker government between the dissolution of Parliament and the election of a new legislature and formation of new government.

Under this concept, which has become commonplace in first-world developed nations, there is only a caretaker government when Parliament stands dissolved for a general election to be held. Read the rest of this entry »

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Chua Soi Lek faces second “conspiracy of silence” on the MCA “blackhand” who caused his downfall

Four persons have been detained by the police in connection with the sex video of former Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek – a 29-year-old beauty salon owner in Taman Bukit Perdana, Batu Pahat and her assistant, a 50-year-old farmer in Batu Pahat and a 40-year-old man in a food court in Taman Sri Tebrau.

Johore Police sources have said that more arrests are expected in the coming days as police are confident of tracking down the main culprits behind the recording and distribution of the sex DVD.

Johore Police Chief Deputy Comm Datuk Hussin Ismail said that the cases are being investigated under Section 292 of the Penal Code for distributing and having in possession material containing pornographic elements.

Unless the four persons detained were involved in the syndicate responsible for the recording and distribution of the sex DVD, they should be released immediately if their only offence is one of possession of the Chua sex DVD and no charges should be brought against them.

The Police should also abandon the earlier plan announced by the Muar police chief Asst Comm Mohammad Nasir Ramli to conduct door-to-door searches of residents in Batu Pahat and Muar suspected to be possession of the Chua sex DVD as it would be a gross abuse of police powers and an intolerable and unacceptable violation of privacy of ordinary Malaysians.

The police should first conduct house-to-house search of MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Members of Parliament and leaders for the Chua sex DVD before it thinks about house-to-house search of residents of Batu Pahat and Muar.

DCP Hussin said that it is an offence to keep the Chua sex DVD and those who have it should surrender it to the police or destroy it.

How many of the MCA Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, MPs and leaders have surrendered their copies of the Chua sex DVD to the police? Read the rest of this entry »

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Ban on “Allah” for non-Muslims and on stop-work on world’s tallest Mazu statue – are moderates in Cabinet outnumbered by extremists?

In his speech at the Christmas high-tea organised by the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made a stirring call to moderates to lead the fight against fanatics or extremism will prevail.

He said: “If the moderates do not speak up, they will allow the extremists to occupy centre stage. And then, extremism will be seen as the religious or national approach in our country.”

However, from the continued ban on the use of “Allah” for non-Muslims and the stop-work on the world’s tallest Mazu statue in Kudat, Malaysians are entitled to ask: Where are the moderates in Cabinet and government to lead the fight against fanatics so that extremism will not prevail?

How can the Cabinet justify the total ban on the use of the word “Allah”, by surreptitiously inserting as an unwritten condition for the renewal of the printing permit of the Catholic weekly Herald, when for 50 years through four previous Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn and Tun Mahathir, the use of the word by Christians and Sikhs had not caused religious misunderstanding, tension or conflict?

It is the Cabinet decision to impose a total ban on the use of the word “Allah” for non-Muslim religions, trampling on the fundamental right of freedom of religion for non-Muslims, that is exacerbating inter-religious relations in plural Malaysia.

Why are there no moderates in the Cabinet to hold the middle-ground or have the extremists and fanatics now outnumber the moderates among the Ministers? Read the rest of this entry »

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Samy Vellu anti-national, disloyal and traitor in his current trip to India?

MIC President and Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu is in India to attend the three-day conference for People of Indian Origin (PIO) and he is taking the opportunity to meet the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explain to them the position of the Indian Malaysians in the country.

When Hindraf leaders sought to explain to Indian political leaders the plight of the Indian Malaysians as a new underclass after long-standing political, economic, educational, social, cultural and religious marginalization, they were accused of being anti-national, disloyal and traitors of the country.

Can Samy Vellu be equally denounced now as anti-national, disloyal and traitor for involving Indian leaders in the Malaysian domestic affairs with regard to the plight of the Indian Malaysians?

Samy Vellu is organizing a mammoth 15,000-people rally at the Cheras Badminton Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on January 20 to pledge support for Barisan Nasional and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Read the rest of this entry »

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Call for special parliamentary meeting before Parliament dissolves in 70 days for general election

Every day there are new and increasing pointers that the next general election is very close – in fact, I expect Parliament to be dissolved in less than 70 days for the 12th general election to be held.

This is the reason why the MCA President and Housing and Local Government Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting has been appointed Acting Health Minister after the sudden demise of the meteoric political career of Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek in the national landscape.

Is there no one in the current crop of MCA deputy ministers like Ong Tee Kiat, Donald Lim, Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Fu Ah Kiow, Wong Kam Hong, Hon Choon Kam or Liow Tiong Lai who is qualified to be appointed Health Minister to replace Chua that the MCA President must recommend himself to the Prime Minister as the Acting Health Minister?

The ulterior objective of such a move is clear – to keep a Ministerial seat open for his brother, Ong Ka Chuan after the general election!

The timing of the very organised, orchestrated and systematic campaign to destroy Chua’s political career in a blitzkrieg five-day operation is also linked to the fast approach of the general election, to wipe him out once and for all from the political scene!

Chua knows that he had been “killed” not by the Opposition, but by his own colleagues in the MCA. Yesterday, I had said that there could be no doubt that the “black hand” responsible for the “ninjas” who successfully carried out the political assassination of Chua could be traced or linked to person or persons sitting in the MCA Presidential Council which had with great hypocrisy “regrettably accepted and respected” Chua’s resignation from all government and party posts! Read the rest of this entry »

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Muslim Students, Challenge Yourselves!

by Azly Rahman

[An introduction to a speech on “student idealism” delivered at the annual gathering of the Malaysian and Indonesian Muslim students in Washington D.C., USA., December 2007. (PART 1)]

Assalamualikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Peace and Blessings to all of you. May Allah Bless our gathering and grant us wisdom and serenity amidst this increasingly chaotic world in which the powerful amongst us continue to trample over the powerless. May we see this trend reversed, in our lifetime.

I thank you for inviting me to me speak on something which makes me feel twenty years younger – on “student idealism”, on what is it, and what to do with it. I love the word “idealism”. It brings us right to what the Greek philosopher Plato said about the difference between “forms” and “appearance”. Of what the Hindus say about “Maya” and the troubled “yuga” in which Prince Rama would come back to bring salvation. A world in which the “rapper” and the “hip hopper” would say “for real…my dude?”

Twenty year ago, when I was very young, when I was president of the Malaysian Student Association and then of the Southeast Asian Student Association in an American university in the Midwest, friends and I used to explore issues of what to do when we have ideals. Countless hours of dialogues amongst friends of all races and nationalities, coupled with our obsession with the topic of the impending collapse of the dreaded apartheid system in South Africa and the subsequent release of Nelson Mandela – hundred of hours of these — yielded in us some sense of idealism. We studied the secret mission, logic, and innerworkings of the American multinational corporations in propping up dictators around the world. Read the rest of this entry »

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Renaming Synergy Drive to Sime Darby – merger or reverse takeover?

by Mendela

Some one e-mailed me the below:

I have been curious to find out the reason for the renaming of Synergy Drive to Sime Darby after the merger. By renaming the merged entities, it seemed more like a takeover.

The followings may offer some reasons which weren’t published in the mainstream papers.

1. Was it really a merger or was it a reversed takeover of Golden Hope and Kumpulan Guthrie by Sime Darby? We were told that this was a merger of equals. It’s now obvious that it was called a merger “to enable PNB to vote at the EGM. If it was called a takeover, it would be deemed to be a related party transaction and PNB would have to abstain from voting;

2. A takeover was evident when the new merged entity is called Sime Darby (SD) Berhad. Synergy Drive (SD) was it’s temporary name during the “takeover” exercise;

3. Did the promise to create the world’s largest listed oil palm plantation company really happen? Can the “new” Sime Darby be called a plantation company when only 47 per cent of revenue is contributed by plantation activities?;

4. Have the stakeholders, in particular the PNB, been “taken for a ride” with the promise to establish the world’s largest listed oil palm plantation but ended up still with a diversified company?; Read the rest of this entry »

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Herald & “Allah” – “Wonderful Christmas present” which is not so “wonderful” after all

The euphoria that good sense and sanity have finally prevailed among those in government whose decisions could adversely impact on inter-religious and inter-racial relations as to aggravate religious polarization in a plural society like Malaysia lasted just four days.

On New Year’s eve on Monday, 31st December 2007, Malaysians thought they saw a silver lining after a whole year of gloomy “annus horribilis” when they learnt that Herald, the Catholic weekly, had been allowed to continue printing its Bahasa Malaysia section with no restrictions on the use of the word Allah for God.

A happy editor of the 13-year-old Herald, Father Lawrence Andrew, said that a representative from the Internal Security Ministry delivered a letter containing the permit to print the paper, dated Dec. 28, by hand at 10 am on a Sunday (Dec. 30) – which was a great and commendable gesture of goodwill.

The letter placed no restrictions whatsoever and included the permit for all the languages, including the Bahasa Malaysia segment, causing Father Lawrence to give effusive thanks to the government and the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok for his assistance.

Bernard described the Herald permit as “good news” and “a wonderful Christmas present” by the government to the Christian community.

This morning, the euphoria that good sense and sanity have finally prevailed among the decision-makers in government on why it is imperative to promote inter-religious goodwill and harmony evaporated after just four days when Malaysians woke up to read headlines like “Herald can’t use ‘Allah’ in its publications” (Star) and “Cabinet: ‘Allah’ for Muslims only” (The Sun). Read the rest of this entry »

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Najib – teaching baby crabs to walk straight

Today’s New Straits Times carried two intriguing and controversial front-page headlines in the aftermath of the Chua Soi Lek sex video scandal: “LET THIS BE A LESSON” and “’My biggest mistake’”.

The “LET THIS BE A LESSON” headline and NST report (p 6) elicited the common reaction from most readers – “Is Najib the right person to give such a warning?”

The report quoted the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak telling Barisan Nasional leaders and members “to learn a lesson from the resignation of health minister Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek”.

Najib told Barisan Nasional leaders “to behave themselves so as not to embarrass the party”. He said party members must exercise discipline and abide by the code of conduct of the party.

Had Najib set exemplary standards in his political career as to qualify him to issue warning or is he akin to Father Crab teaching Baby Crab to walk straight?

Or was Najib saying that the real lesson to be learnt was not to be caught with the pants down?

The second NST frontpage headline “’My biggest mistake’” – also front page headline of Star My mistake – Chua blames downfall on hardwork“ and the Sun “Chua’s biggest mistake” – is equally thought-provoking.

Chua attributed his political downfall to his being too conscientious and hard-working as Health Minister and MCA vice president , to the extent that he gave this unsolicited advice to future Health Ministers – “Please go slow. If you go too fast, you will also be subject to speculation. This is political reality, so I agree with some people that it is the Ministry of Hell, not because of the ministry’s work but because of the political system that we have.”

A heart-felt advice by Chua to his successors to be Health Ministers of mediocrity instead of excellence and distinction? Read the rest of this entry »

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Ka Ting doubling up as Acting Health Minister – ridiculous, shameful and unacceptable

The proposal that the post of Health Minister left vacant by the resignation of Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek should be left unfilled with the MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting doubling up as Acting Health Minister is most ridiculous, shameful and unacceptable – subordinating the rights and interests of 26 million Malaysians to a world-class medical and health system to the rot and factional infighting in MCA.

It is a reflection of the advanced marginalization, irrelevance and rot of MCA that it has found itself in a dilemma over the appointment of a fourth MCA Minister to the extent there could be the serious suggestion that the post be left vacant until the next general election and that the MCA President double up as Acting Health Minister apart from his portfolio as Local Government and Housing Minister.

The Malaysian public are entitled to know whether the MCA Presidential Council has reached such a decision and whether the MCA President had formally forwarded such a proposal to the Prime Minister – as whether the country has a full-time Health Minister or just a half-time Acting Health Minister is a matter of grave public importance which concerns all Malaysians and not just MCA. Read the rest of this entry »

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