Archive for June, 2012
Rais’ taunting of Bersih 3.0 participants at launching of 1Malaysia moral guide most unwarranted and in very poor taste especially when BN leaders are themselves most lacking in moral values
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak on Thursday, 7 June 2012
The Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim’s taunting of Bersih 3.0 participants at the launching of his Ministry’s 1Malaysia moral guide today is most unwarranted and in very poor taste especially when Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders are themselves most lacking in moral values.
In making derogatory references to the Bersih 3.0 participants on April 28 when launching his Ministry’s book, ‘Penyerlahan Amalan Nilai-Nilai Murni 1Malaysia’ (Highlighting 1Malaysia’s Values), Rais has greatly offended the hundreds of thousands of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, class, region, age or gender who gathered peacefully in Kuala Lumpur on April 28 as one Malaysian people and united in one common national cause for a clean election.
Up to now, neither Rais nor any UMNO/Barisan Nasional leader including the Prime Minister has recognized or acknowledged that Bersih 3.0 was a historic and memorable national event with hundreds of thousands of Malaysians showing great patriotism and national unity, acting selflessly for the sake of the nation and future generations of Malaysians!
True, the Bersih 3.0 of April 28 was marred by incidents of violence and brutality, and all Malaysians want to know what went wrong after 3 pm that day to spoil the great unifying and peaceful carnival spirit which gave true expression to the spirit of 1Malaysia – and this is why Malaysians want a credible, independent and impartial inquiry on Bersih 3.0 like the Suhakam inquiry and not a biased and a compromised inquiry like the Hanif Omar panel. Read the rest of this entry »
PEMANDU lacks transparency over ‘disappearing’ projects, says think-tank
By Lee Wei Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 07, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — PEMANDU’s insistence on presenting an image of “perfection” and not disclosing issues and problems related to its Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) projects could backfire later, said the Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) think-tank today.
In its latest critique of Putrajaya’s efficiency agency, the opposition-linked think-tank questioned PEMANDU’s alleged failure to be upfront with problems and progress related to three projects — the LFoundry wafer fabrication (wafer fab) plant in Kedah, Damansara City 2 in KL and the Marina Island Pangkor’s Extension.
REFSA pointed out in a report today that LFoundry had declared itself insolvent in Germany and that it was not listed as a tenant in Kulim Hi-Tech Park where the wafer fab was supposed to be built and yet PEMANDU had in its annual report for last year declared the project 100 per cent completed.
The report, which was titled “Dissecting the ETP Annual Report: Part 2 — The mystery of the disappearing entry point projects (EPPs)”, also noted that there was no mention of any progress on Damansara City 2 despite the project being one of the largest related to KL and also no information on progress on the Marina Island Pangkor Extension. Read the rest of this entry »
Home ministry withholds its Bersih 3.0 clip
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 7 June 2012
Malaysiakini
Jun 6, 2012
The home ministry has confirmed that it is withholding its video clip on the Bersih 3.0 rally violence, a move which have initially drew scorn from civil society.
In a press release today, the ministry said the video will not be released until after the ministry appointed panel investigate all the footages which they have been furnished with.
“The independent panel should be given adequate space and time to assess each video,” read the statement.
In addition, the ministry said it would acknowledge all views and advice from the panel, which will meet on Monday. Read the rest of this entry »
Selangor: Life is better after Umno
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Selangor, UMNO on Wednesday, 6 June 2012
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 06, 2012
JUNE 6 — You will remember last month, when the Umno president visited Selangor and proclaimed boastfully that he was confident in recapturing Selangor?
He came with a thousand menacing and peace-disturbing motorcyclists in what was basically a show of force.
There is a famous quotation that says force works on servile natures, not the free. That would be an apt description of Umno people at the moment. Their servitude and muted acceptance of the excesses of their leaders is mindboggling. It suggests a terrible affliction of mental blockage.
That is why Najib Razak prefers the language of force and violence. He is a keen follower of the actress Katherine Hepburn, who once retorted: Why tap on their hands with feathers when you can knock their heads with sledgehammers.
The need for Umno in associating with disparate groups of dubious repute such as Perkasa, bikers aka Mat Rempits, martial arts groups, and the shadowy Pekida, exposes the real bully in Umno.
Umno is just a big bully organisation who likes to intimidate people and threaten them with the use of force. Read the rest of this entry »
BN sedang berusaha rebut mandat rakyat daripada Pakatan
Posted by Kit in Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Wednesday, 6 June 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 06, 2012
6 JUN — Sesungguhnya pilihanraya kali ini ialah pilihanraya untuk mengalahkan Pakatan Rakyat. Begitulah situasi sebenarnya kerana banyak dalil yang menunjukkan yang Barisan Nasional (BN) sedang tercari-cari waktu yang sesuai sejak setahun yang lalu untuk menentukan tarikh pilihanraya umum ini.
Sesungguhnya jika PRU di adakan sekarang PR akan mendapat mandat rakyat dan hakikatnya BN sedang berusaha untuk mengalahkan Pakatan Rakyat dan Pakatan Rakyatlah yang sebenarnya yang sedang mempertahankan mandat itu.
Sebagai parti yang memerintah BN masih membelek tarikh-tarikh yang sesuai kerana jika salah tarikh mereka khuatir BN akan dikalahkan dengan teruk oleh Pakatan Rakyat yang kini mendapat perhatian rakyat sebagai satu-satunya pilihan jika hendak menolak BN. Inilah kali pertama kita melihat keadaan parti pemerintah tidak dapat menentukan tarikh pilihanraya walaupun segala usaha telah dilakukan untuk memujuk rakyat kembali kepangkuan BN khususnya Umno Baru. Usaha untuk membetulkan Umno Baru sudah tidak akan berjaya lagi kerana untuk membetulkan Umno itu ia mesti di lakukan oleh pemimpin Umno Baru yang tidak terlibat dengan pentadbiran sekarang.
Ia tidak boleh lagi dilakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin yang telah secara “collective” membinasakan Umno Baru itu. Baik Najib Razak, atau pun Muhyiddin dan semua barisan pimpinan pada hari ini tidak akan mampu untuk mengembalikan Umno ketahap yang pernah mereka alami dahulu. Bagaimana mereka yang merosakkan Umno boleh memperbaikinya? Read the rest of this entry »
Priority duty of Hishammuddin as Home Minister is to give full support to Suhakam inquiry into Bersih 3.0 rally and dissolve the Hanif Panel instead of kicking off a video war to support official version of what happened on “428”
The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has announced that a compilation of videos on the Bersih 3.0 rally would be uploaded on the Home Ministry website today for public viewing to enable people to see the events that occurred during the rally.
He said: “With the video recording, the people can make their own judgement based on facts and not other consideration.”
This is a most deplorable development post-Bersih 3.0, as it is continuation of the vilification and demonization campaign launched by the Barisan Nasional government against Bersih 3.0 and Pakatan Rakyat after April 28, like the 30-minute documentary “Bersih 3.0 itu Kotor” telecast on TV1 on Sunday, 13th May which only antagonised and turned off the hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who had gathered peacefully in Kuala Lumpur in support of the Bersih 3.0 call for a clean election.
The priority duty of Hishammuddin as Home Minister is not to be accused, judge, jury and executioner all in one but to give full support for an independent, impartial and credible investigation into what actually happened at the Bersih 3.0 rally and establish what went wrong which marred a great historic event of peaceful people empowerment uniting Malaysians transcending race, religion, region, class, age or gender for a common national cause with incidents of violence and brutality, regardless of whether the victims were police personnel, media representatives or peaceful protestors. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s time to repeal the Sedition Act
Posted by Kit in DAP, Law & Order, Lim Guan Eng on Tuesday, 5 June 2012
— Jeyaseelan Anthony
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 05, 2012
JUNE 5 — The Sedition Act has reared its ugly head again. This time it is against Irene Fernandez and former Perak Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Nizar Mohamed.
We have seen how the Sedition Act was used against Karpal Singh, a prominent lawyer and politician, when he was charged for insulting the Sultan of Perak for saying that His Majesty should not interfere with matters concerning the state and that he can be sued for doing so. Some may wonder what sedition is all about as the word sounds very serious and terrifying.
No doubt it is a serious and terrifying offence as one may be imprisoned for merely voicing out different views and opinions. Worst still one may even be branded as a criminal, not for committing crimes like theft and murder but by only having different views or opinions that may be interpreted as being anti-establishment by the powers that be.
The prime minister had announced recently that the Sedition Act will be reviewed. This article posits that the Sedition Act 1948 should not be reviewed but repealed. The question is why?
I say this because, any piece of legislation which imprisons people for holding different views and opinions is to say the least, draconian. Such a law should not be a part of any legal system. Read the rest of this entry »
Undermining 1 Malaysia
— The Malaysian Insider
Jun 05, 2012
JUNE 5 — If there is any reason why Malaysians can’t seem to warm up to the 1 Malaysia concept, look no further than Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim’s comments today.
The Information, Communications and Culture Minister spoke at the 1 Malaysia Social Media Convention in Selangor that Malays must unite for a Barisan Nasional (BN) win in the upcoming general election to ensure their rights are not taken away by the opposition.
Fine. He is from Umno. He can say that and it is well within his right. But at a 1 Malaysia event? Really? Read the rest of this entry »
Can Mahathir give assurance that he will not suffer another attack of amnesia when testifying before RCIII in Sabah?
Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who is acting more and more like the de facto sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia after going on a 5-year “Sabbatical” following his 22-year premiership as the fourth PM of Malaysia, made two remarkable statements yesterday.
Firstly, he said he is unperturbed that the truth in all the alleged financial scandals during his 22-year premiership would be exposed if Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election.
He said I could do whatever I wanted even now to prove there were financial scandals during his premiership.
He said: “He can open any file, even now. He can bring me to court. I am not afraid.,”
What bravado indeed!
Read the rest of this entry »
Stunt-man politicians
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 5 June 2012
— Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 04, 2012
JUNE 4 — “Actors” are running amok in Malaysia these days, with their mouths and actions.
First there was the sometimes DPM (sometimes because sometimes he behaves like the PM) Muhyiddin Yassin saying that that the skirmish at Bersih 3.0 was a precursor to violence by Pakatan Rakyat once they lose the elections.
Today, Information Minister Rais Yatim said that Anwar Ibrahim must behave like a gentleman and accept the election results and not riot, etc.
It is interesting till today Najib Razak has not given his word that the BN will leave Putrajaya peacefully if it loses the election. You know why he is silent? Because his party has already unleashed the troublemakers and they are called Perkasa, Pekida, the petty traders association and the Rempits.
In fact, not one senior Umno leader has said that they will accept the people’s verdict. Read the rest of this entry »
Hishammuddin’s assurance of “order during and after GE” quite meaningless if not coupled with public pledge by Najib and key UMNO Ministers that BN will leave Putrajaya peacefully if it loses election
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 4 June 2012
After prolonged silence, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has given the assurance that the authorities would maintain peace and order at all costs should there be attempts to create chaos during and after the next general election.
He said the police would act impartially and according to the law to maintain order, declaring “Anyone who violates the law will be prosecuted to ensure the safety of the innocent. The safety of the people is of paramount importance.”
However, Hishammuddin’s statement failed to achieves the effect of giving full assurance to Malaysians for two reasons, viz:
• The inaction/indifference of the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the police authorities to the recent escalation of the political culture of aggression, thuggery and violence targeting Pakatan Rakyat and Bersih 2.0 leaders, including Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng, Nurul Izzah, Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin and most recently, the vicious attacks on DAP Selangor State Committee member V. Ganapathirao and his brother Papparaidu in Klang last Wednesday.
• The threat by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak when invoking the language of “crushed bodies, lives lost” for UMNO to defend power at any cost in Putrajaya at the 2010 UMNO General Assembly. Read the rest of this entry »
Bitter harvest for land below the wind
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Sabah on Monday, 4 June 2012
Myles Togoh | June 4, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Kaamatan or harvest festival in Sabah this time round is tempered with weariness and to some extent anger over the way genuine Sabahans have been treated.
COMMENT
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is holding its collective breath as talk gathers steam that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is expected to visit this week bearing a long-awaited “gift” to drum up support for his stumbling Barisan Nasional coalition government.
But the mood among non-partisan Sabahans as the Kadazandusun and Murut communities celebrate their biggest festival is a mixture that suggests bad temper and weariness.
Najib, as the leader of the BN who is fighting to stay in power for a second term, has, as expected, played the federal government’s vote-buying trump card by announcing on Friday the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the extraordinary population increase in the state over the last 20-odd years.
It is to settle a long-held demand for answers on how hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants gained citizenship and even special Bumiputera privileges that have almost wrested control of the state from the locals. Read the rest of this entry »
The Impact of Growth in International Schools
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Monday, 4 June 2012
by M. Bakri Musa
The government has gone beyond removing quotas, as with granting tax and other incentives, to encourage the growth of international schools. However, growth depends more on market forces, principally the demand which in turn is related to costs. Lower the cost and you expand the market. Reducing red tape, as with making it easy to get permits and secure visas, would lower costs far more effectively than any other move.
If there is a market and profit to be made, entrepreneurs will come in. That is the beauty and genius of the capitalist economy. I have no problem with education being “for profit”. That would be no different than the health and other sectors. Profit is just another measure of discipline, effectiveness, and productivity. Read the rest of this entry »
FGVH listing: Misery or windfall?
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 04, 2012
JUNE 4 — Every FELDA settler is an automatic member of their co-operative (KPF). KPF owns 51 per cent of FELDA Holdings, the business unit that is the rainmaker for FELDA. Has any settler asked what happens to KPF after the listing? Where is its 51 per cent in FELDA Holdings?
Did KPF get anything? If an EGM has taken place and delegates agreed to the transfer of KPF’s interest in FELDA Holdings and in 10 other subsidiaries, how was its stake in FH valued? Where did it go and how much stake does it get in the enlarged FGVH? I haven’t seen any clarification on this matter written anywhere. It’s as though KPF’s stake has vanished into thin air. Was this the reason Isa Samad came up with a statement that FELDA has allocated 20 per cent to settlers’ interest to be handled by a trust fund? Will KPF continue to exist?
Let’s be clear about this. We are not opposed to the idea of the settler receiving RM15,000 per household. The money is probably theirs anyway, derived probably from previous underpaid dividends. How many times have settlers gone before the courts demanding FELDA make good over its under-declaration of extraction rate on fresh fruit bunches (FFB)? Probably over the years, the value of the extra extraction ran into hundreds of millions. RM15k is probably a cumulative backdated under-payment to each FELDA household (112,635 of them).
The settler, especially the first generation, must think of the future by assessing what they are losing out. There is no way now second-generation FELDA settlers can lay claim on the 360,000 hectares of land managed by FELDA Plantations. All the land and the assets therein are leased to FGVH for 99 years. While FELDA probably gets payments on the lease, the lease rate is revisable every 20 years. They must also be mindful of the fact that they also lose about RM2.5 billion a year from earned revenues which are used to manage the FELDA plantations and provide social amenities. FELDA needs RM3 billion a year to run its operation. Read the rest of this entry »
Yang baik itu datang daripada Mahathir, yang tak baik itu datang daripada Pak Lah
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 3 June 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 03, 2012
3 JUN — Dr Mahathir menyalahkan Pak Lah lagi. “sendiri punya salah, dia salahkan orang lain pulak” kata beberapa orang yang berhubung dengan saya dan orang-orang yang berhubung dengan saya itu adalah dikalangan yang hadir semasa perjumpaan dengan Dr Mahathir di Johor dulu semalam. Sebagaimana yang saya dan ramai yang lain berkata, Dr Mahathir dihujung-hujung hayatnya asyik menyalahkan orang lain terutamanya Pak Lah diatas segala kelemahan BN dan Umno Baru itu.
Beliau tidak pernah membuat salah dan segala yang baik itu adalah dibuat oleh Dr Mahathir dan semua yang buruk itu adalah kesilapan dan kesalahan orang lain. ‘Yang baik itu semuanya datang dari Mahathir dan yang buruk itu adalah diatas kelemahan orang lain terutamanya Pak Lah. Mahathir seolah-olah ada benda yang hendak beliau bersihkan dari diri beliau sehinggakan Pak Lah tidak terlepas dari bibir dan ingatan beliau. Disebaliknya Pak Lah yang tahu apa yang Mahathir lakukan terhadap segala sistem kerajaan, tidak berkata apa-apa dan berdiam diri sahaja. Itulah perbezaan di antara kedua-dua bekas pemimpin negara kita itu.
Mahathir sentiasa mencari alasan untuk mengalihkan kesalahan besar beliau terhadap negara kepada orang lain tetapi satu perkara yang kita mesti ingat yang sejarah akan menghakimkan Dr Mahathir Mohamad ini dari rasuah dan salahguna kuasa. Segala kata-kata dan tindakan beliau tercatat di dalam buku nota sejarawan dan akan sampai masanya ia akan tertulis dalam sebuah buku sejarah khas untuk beliau suatu ketika nanti.
Bak kata perpatah, ‘masakan bangkai gajah boleh ditutupi dengan nyiru’. Suatu ketika nanti akan terbongkar juga. Saya tidak mempertahankan Pak Lah, tetapi kita mesti berlaku adil terhadap beliau kerana beliau yang lemah itu dilantik oleh Mahathir juga. Beliau sebagai orang yang saya kenali, tidak pernah tergila-gila hendak menjadi PM walaupun pun beliau mengharapkan untuk mendapatkan kedudukan itu. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir is worried that the truth will be out about all the financial scandals during his 22-year premiership if Pakatan Rakyat forms national government in next polls
Posted by Kit in Elections, Financial Scandals, Mahathir on Sunday, 3 June 2012
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has been more than his hyper-active self in the past fortnight, not only making preposterous statements about the political situation in the country but doing his utmost to fob off any possibility that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak might stick to his earlier timetable to hold 13th General Election in June/July.
It was in the past two weeks that Mahathir:
• Made the wild and preposterous statement that the Bersih 3.0 rally was a “preparation” and “warm-up” by Pakatan Rakyat for violent demonstrations to reject the results of the 13th general election should the opposition fail to win it.
• Made another wild and preposterous statement when warning that the defeat of UMNO would be akin to the Malays losing power in their own country, when the coalition that would replace UMNO/Barisan Nasional would be Pakatan Rakyat comprising PKR, PAS and DAP;
• Returned again and again to the theme that because of the Abdullah premiership, the Najib government is still weak and not ready for the 13th General Election which he wants to be held off until after the fasting month which ends in August.
However, the real reason why Mahathir is so hyper-active in the past fortnight and making so many wild and preposterous statements is because the former Prime Minister is worried that the truth will be out about all the financial scandals during his 22-year premiership if Pakatan Rakyat forms the national government in next polls. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Nor the main culprit behind forex scandal’
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Financial Scandals on Sunday, 3 June 2012
Athi Shankar | June 3, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
An ex-Bank Negara insider reveals the inside track on the currency speculation undertaken by Nor Mohamed Yakcop and other powerful people about 20 years ago.
GEORGE TOWN: A former Bank Negara insider has named four powerful elites as main players to have caused the central bank’s massive RM30-billion loss in the international foreign exchange speculation scandal some 20 years ago.
In his explosive revelation, retired Bank Negara deputy manager, Dr Rosli Yaakop named former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed, ex-finance minister Daim Zainuddin, ex-Bank Negara Governor, the late Jaffar Hussein and current Minister in Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Economic Planning Unit Government Nor Mohamed Yakcop as the “forex scandal elite club masters.”
Rosli told a forum here yesterday Jaffar and Nor were biggest culprits by going overboard in the speculative foreign currency venture.
He said the duo speculated and they gambled recklessly and irresponsibly with no regard to the safety of Bank Negara’s assets.
He revealed that they wanted to beat George Soros, perhaps, to impress their bosses that they were experts in forex dealings.
The former high ranking Bank Negara officer said the forex speculation activities were against the very grain of central bank principles.
He asked on how a central bank can be heavily involved in massive forex speculations when its task was to stamp out excessive speculations?
“Bank Negara’s duty was to protect and strengthen the value of ringgit, not to gamble ringgit in forex market.
“I think it was a deliberate attempt to make money for certain people using Bank Negara as piggy ride,” Rosli hammered home his conclusion during a question-answer session later.
He accused Nor to have directly caused the forex losses given that the Tasek Gelugor MP was the man tasked to speculate, and ultimately gamble, Malaysian Ringgit against foreign currencies. Read the rest of this entry »
BN Amended PPPA to Protect Itself
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, Media on Sunday, 3 June 2012
– by Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
Sunday, 03 June 2012
LET’S be honest and admit it. The recent amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) have done nothing for press freedom. In fact, they show no signs of moving in that direction.
Relieving newspapers and other publications of the need to renew their licence annually is of no use if they are still subject to the threat of getting their licence suspended or revoked. The Home Minister still holds the power to implement that threat.
This means they still have to be cautious about what they publish. They are still controlled.
Of course, there is now another amendment that allows for the Home Minister’s decision to be challenged in court. That’s something new and seems a bit of a surprise. And the Government has come out to claim that it’s a big leap forward.
But if one considers that there could be more to this amendment than appears on the surface, it will not be such a surprise after all.
I suspect it was made because Barisan Nasional (BN) the party is hedging its bets. It was made in case at some point in the future, BN should lose power. Read the rest of this entry »
Government losing Chinese support, putting reforms at risk
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Lim Guan Eng, Najib Razak, nation building, NEM, NEP on Sunday, 3 June 2012
Reuters/The Malaysian Insider
Jun 03, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Ethnic Chinese voters, upset over policies that favour majority Malays, have become increasingly alienated from Malaysia’s ruling coalition, raising the risk of racial polarisation and a slowdown in the pace of reforms.
Support for Prime Minister Najib Razak among Chinese voters plunged to 37 per cent in May from 56 per cent in February, a survey by the independent Merdeka Center showed on Friday. It found 56 per cent of Chinese were dissatisfied with the government, compared to 30 per cent of Indians and 23 per cent of Malays.
Recent state and by-elections underline the trend. The main Chinese party allied with the ruling National Front coalition in eastern Sarawak state lost 13 of 19 seats it contested in local elections last year and the opposition won a by-election in the same state in 2010 largely thanks to Chinese backing.
The Southeast Asian nation’s 6.5 million ethnic Chinese turned heavily to the opposition in 2008 polls, handing the National Front, which has ruled uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1957, its worst election showing.
Malaysia has seen ethnic Chinese voting with their feet, leaving the country for better prospects aboard including to neighbour and rival Singapore, in a troubling brain drain of talent and capital. “Malaysia needs talent to meet its goal of becoming a high-income country,” the World Bank noted in a report last year. “But the problem is that talent is leaving.”
With elections likely later this year, the government has failed to reverse the tide with voters such as Jack Gan, who complains he had to study much harder than his ethnic Malay peers to get into one of the country’s top universities. Read the rest of this entry »
Say what, PM?
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Law & Order, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 3 June 2012
— Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 02, 2012
JUNE 2 — Does Najib Razak really listen to himself? Or does he just read a speech and love the bluster.
He was at his Umno best today at the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s birthday, threatening to crush anyone who threatened law and order (just for clarification, he was not talking about the million illegals in Sabah who pose a law and order threat or the foreigners being given documents so that they can vote in Selangor but I suspect his ire was directed at Pakatan Rakyat and Bersih).
One line in his speech caught my attention: the ends must never justify the means, said Najib.
That is a good joke coming from the prime minister who has watched/encouraged/stayed silent as:
1) Perkasa/Pekida and other thugs encouraged by Umno have started a wave of violence against political opponents and Malaysians who don’t support the current regime.
2) Mat Rempits and other groups are funded and encouraged to beat up and harass anyone identified as a threat by the BN government. Ambiga Sreenevasan, Nurul Izzah and Lim Guan Eng come to mind. Read the rest of this entry »
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