Archive for 2012
Sabahans be thankful (3)
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, Sabah on Tuesday, 4 September 2012
By Martin Jalleh
Sabahans be thankful (2)
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, Sabah on Tuesday, 4 September 2012
By Martin Jalleh
Sabahans be thankful!
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, Sabah on Tuesday, 4 September 2012
By Martin Jalleh
Najib’s Nervous and Nauseating
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 4 September 2012
By Martin Jalleh
1MDB’s RM2.3b acquisition of Genting Sanyen – Questions
By Sentinel
Several months ago, 1MDB had won the bid to acquire Tanjong Energy from Ananda Krishnan for a consideration in excess of RM 8 billion. One weekend in August, rumours swirled regarding a new major acquisition by 1MDB in the power sector.
The “rumours” became reality when an announcement by Bursa said that 1MDB had agreed to acquire a unit of Genting Energy for RM 2.3 billion. That unit of Genting Energy was Genting Sanyen, one of the first generation IPPs with a capacity of 720MW and which came into operation in 1995. The power purchase agreement (PPA) with TNB will expire in 2016. Separately, Genting made a parallel announcement regarding the divestment, adding that it will book a extraordinary gain of RM 1.9 billion from the sale.
Any person with some commercial sense will realise that the book value of the Genting asset in question is only RM 400 million. The PPA has 4 more years to run, after which the asset will be worth nothing more than scrap metal. Even if TNB decides to extend the term of the PPA, it will be on TNB’s terms, and not on Genting’s terms because the alternative to Genting is scrap value of the plant. So why would 1MDB pay RM 2.3 billion for the asset ? Can it recover the RM 2.3 billion in the 4 years remaining of the PPA? Read the rest of this entry »
Cocky BN needs to repent
Jeswan Kaur | September 3, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Before fingers are pointed at Pakatan for doing a bad job, it will do BN good to take a good look at itself and realise how how bad a track record it has.
COMMENT
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s former longest-serving prime minister, wants the rakyat to vote for Barisan Nasional come the 13th general election. His reason is that the federal government under the Barisan Nasional was all ears and had changed many laws and policies to bring a better future for the people.
Thanks but no thanks, Mahathir; had BN been listening, there would have been no reason for the “Bersih” saga to take place.
If all was well at the polls, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or Bersih, would not have taken to the streets, not one or twice but thrice.
And did the BN government listen then? No!
Why then must the rakyat vote BN back into power, if all BN does is to “monopolise” its existence and hoodwink the people into believing that it cares? Read the rest of this entry »
Choosing sides
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, UMNO on Monday, 3 September 2012
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 03, 2012
SEPT 3 —Malaysians will indeed have to choose. Stand on the side of the oppressors or the oppressed. Support the deceiver or the deceived. Support the corrupt and endorse the looting and the pillage of this country. All done in the name of Agama, Bangsa dan Negara. Everything is justifiable because the perpetrators are Malays and forgetting the victims are in the majority also Malays. Pardon the government in shortchanging the FELDA settlers, giving them a measly 2.5 per cent of the FGVH shares while the bulk of the shares are hijacked by people who have no connection at all with FELDA. Pardon Umno because even though it allocates 2.5 per cent to settlers and 3 per cent to FELDA employees, all is done in the name of the Malays.
Ignore the fact that the LCCT is going to cost close to RM6 billion instead of RM500 million if facilities for a low-cost airline are built northwards of the current KLIA instead of agreeing that the facilities be built on soft ground as proposed by the MAB? Are people in the MAB making hay while the sun shines?
We keep quiet because it’s done by the current government which fights for Agama, Bangsa dan Negara.
Then, does that mean the agama of Umno endorses corruption, pillage and looting? Does that also mean that bangsa permits Umno to do all the transgressions? And does that mean agama and bangsa of the Malays excuse the murder of a Mongolian because she is after all just a prostitute? And finally because it is done in the name and on behalf of negara which Umno claims absolute ownership of, all of the above are excusable?
The recent spate of advertisements where various people say I chose Malaysia and I choose to vote are nothing more than the vilest self-serving propaganda. They are also self-congratulating. They seem to suggest that those who support the government choose to show the support through the voting process and those who do not appear to be shown as people who want to change government through undemocratic means. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Janji Demokrasi’ the Real Merdeka Event
Posted by Kit in Elections, Hishammuddin, Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak, nation building on Monday, 3 September 2012
By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysiakini
Sept 2, 2012
The occasion could not have been better chosen or timed: The eve of the country’s 55th Merdeka anniversary, two hours before countdown.
The venue could not have been more appropriate: Dataran Merdeka,where the countdown to Merdeka is held every year to commemorate the very first countdown to independence in 1957.
The theme could not have been more telling: ‘JanjiDemokrasi’, a response to the Government’s Merdeka theme, ‘Janji Ditepati’. Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate) A.Samad Said to read his impassioned poem with its powerful ending:
Kita laungkan jerit senyaringnya: “Janji Demokrasi!”
sehingglah janji itu turut menjeritnya sendiri!
(We cry with all our hearts: “The promise of democracy!”
until the promise itself joins in and cries out togetherwith us!)
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein predicted few people would turn up. But, as usual, he was wrong. They came by the thousands – some counted tens of thousands – dressed in yellow, as requested by the organisers. Read the rest of this entry »
Dataran gathering gave me new hope
Posted by Kit in nation building on Monday, 3 September 2012
By Christine SK Lai
Free Malaysia Today
September 2, 2012
I have started questioning, and what I see in my beloved land saddens me.
COMMENT
Why on earth would thousands of people come out of their homes to join thousands of other strangers on the streets, risking possible arrest in an assembly declared illegal?
Why would many still dress up in yellow, knowing full well this would immediately ‘mark’ them out as easy targets amongst the crowd, should provocation break out?
I am talking about the ordinary Malays, Chinese, Indians and others, some coming from out-of-state, who spilled over Dataran Merdeka and its surrounding areas on Aug 30, 2012, from 10pm onwards.
There was no colourful parade to cheer, no fiery VIP ‘leaders’ making ‘ra-ra-ra’ rousing speeches, no big-time performance to be entertained by, and hey, no free food! No one paid them anything to come. Many probably had to battle after-work traffic jams to turn up.
Many, like us, would also have suffered the darn inconvenience of having to go on a merry-go-round chase, rushing to catch the last LRT home after the event (we were told as we tried to board at Pasar Seni that only Masjid Jamek was open). Read the rest of this entry »
Stop political corruption: Stop party-hopping
Posted by Kit in Elections, Parliament, Politics on Monday, 3 September 2012
by P Ramakrishnan
Aliran
2 September 2012
What must not be tolerated is the betrayal of voters who had cast their votes in favour of a candidate who then decides to party-hop after winning, says P Ramakrishnan in supporting anti-party-hopping legislation.
It isdifficult to justify why anyone would want to oppose an anti-party-hopping legislation that holds out hope for morality in politics. Any sane person should welcome this move so that elected representatives who betray their electors cannot go scot-free. These renegades cannot ignore the mandate of the voters who elected them.
The proposed legislation by the Penang State government does not prevent anyonefrom leaving their current party. They are free to go and join any party and associate themselves with whatever party they choose to keep company. There isno law to prevent them from jumping ship!
All that an anti-party-hopping legislation seeks to do is to force a by-election so that the voters who had been betrayed could be given the opportunity to decide once again whether they still want renegades or defectors to continue as their elected representatives. Those who initially elected the renegades must have the right to decide whether they still want them as their elected representative. Read the rest of this entry »
BN’s amateur politicking
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, nation building on Monday, 3 September 2012
— Lokman Zahid
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 02, 2012
SEPT 2 — Malaysia celebrated its 55th Merdeka Day two days ago but its politicians remain mired in a childish mindset that is best left at the kampung level. Come on, aren’t we supposed to be marching towards a developed nation status by 2020?
So why do we still have issues about a long-forgotten flag or that there are attempts to make Malaysia a republic? Who even remembers the flag and who in their right mind think that Malaysia can ever be a republic except the siege-mentality and scare-mongering of the folks in Barisan Nasional (BN).
The sad fact is that on the occasion of the 55th independence day anniversary celebrations, Najib Razak as prime minister had the opportunity to unite the country and speak like a statesman, the same way that Lee Hsien Loong did on August 9 at the National Day Rally in Singapore.
The Singapore Prime Minister cautioned Singaporeans against xenophobia and becoming lazy Singaporeans. After all, that tiny red dot south of the border is almost already the world’s richest country by per capita. He did not warn those who voted for the Opposition in the last elections, unlike our dear Najib.
In contrast, the BN government used this year’s National Day to divide the people, urging Malaysians to protect their “independence” from the Opposition. What kind of government does that? One that is bankrupt of ideas. Read the rest of this entry »
Internet blackout day: Politicisation of online activism?
Posted by Kit in IT, Media, Najib Razak on Sunday, 2 September 2012
— Damien D. Cheong and Yeap Su Yin
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 02, 2012
SEPT 2 — An internet blackout day was declared in Malaysia on 14 August 2012.
This was in protest against Section 114A of the recently-amended Evidence Act, which enables the authorities to act firmly against individuals who post defamatory, inflammatory and/or seditious content on the Internet.
The law not only holds the user/blogger potentially accountable for the offending post(s) but also any individual or organisation connected to the objectionable website or blog such as a person who: owns, administers or edits the website; is registered with the network service provider; and is in custody or control of the computer at the time the offence was committed.
These new amendments have alarmed many netizens and civil society groups because of the legislation’s wide scope and the heavy onus placed on the accused to prove his or her innocence. Many individuals have interpreted these amendments as an attempt by the Malaysian government to stifle internet freedom. The Stop 114A campaign was spearheaded by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), a civil society group, but it soon attracted support from several prominent civil society organisations, bloggers and opposition parties.
In the wake of Internet Blackout Day, the Najib administration promised to re-evaluate Section 114A, with the prime minister assuring the public that ‘Whatever we do, we must put the people first’. While this outcome may be interpreted as a success for online activism in Malaysia, the question this raises is whether such online activism can truly create an impact on its own or whether it needs support from opposition parties and political notables to do so. Read the rest of this entry »
Change of national flag Jalur Gemilang never a Pakatan Rakyat agenda and never discussed or raised in any PR meeting
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 2 September 2012
When the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday personally led three senior UMNO Ministers to attack the Pakatan Rakyat with the canard that PR wanted to replace the national flag Jalur Gemilang, it was more than anything else a reflection of their sense of desperation about UMNO/Barisan Nasional prospects in the impending 13th General Election than respect for the truth.
I do not believe that with all the police and intelligence resources at their command, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein could be unaware that there is completely no basis whatsoever in the canard that Pakatan Rakyat wanted to change the national flag.
The change of the national flag is never a Pakatan Rakyat agenda and has never been discussed or raised in any Pakatan Rakyat meeting.
This was why I had yesterday twittered in response to the allegation that PR wanted to change the national flag:
“Never came across such scatter-brained idea before. UMNO/BN dirty-tricks dept very busy”
Arguing for a secular state
Posted by Kit in Islamic state on Sunday, 2 September 2012
By Ahmad Farouk Musa
Free Malaysia Today
August 23, 2012
The question is would discriminatory policies noted in classical texts of Islamic state be acceptable in the modern era.
COMMENT
To many Muslims and especially the Islamists, the term secular is a very repugnant term and this abhorrence to anything secular stems mainly from the previously bitter experience of secularism in Turkey that had led to the dissolution of the Ottoman Caliphate, the last Caliphate in the Muslim world.
The fall of the Ottoman Caliphate led to some Muslim scholars to push for a new entity known as an Islamic state. The concept of an Islamic state was not known in the Islamic world before that. The main proponent for an Islamic state was none other than Muhammad Rashid Redha, a great Muslim reformer in the early 20th century. The main intention of Redha was to stem the onslaught of Western imperialism.
History has shown that while secularism was born in the West, its values spread across the world in many different continents and societies. According to Louay Safi, a scholar at the International Institute of Islamic Thought, secularism denotes a set of notions and values whose aim is to ensure that the state is neither engaged in promoting specific religious beliefs and values, nor uses its powers and offices to persecute religion.
To prevent state officials from using their political authority to impose a narrow set of religious attitudes and values on the larger society, and to foreclose the possibility of using religious symbols to agitate one religious community against another, a separation must be made between political authorities from religious affiliation. Read the rest of this entry »
China’s Growing Economic Crisis
Posted by Kit in China, international economic crisis on Saturday, 1 September 2012
By William Pesek
Bloomberg
Aug 30, 2012
Policy makers around the world have long envied China’s ability to get big things done. A huge 4 trillion-yuan ($630 billion) stimulus plan as the global economy cratered in 2008? No problem. Marshaling banks to lend trillions more? Check. Enacting sweeping regulatory changes at a moment’s notice? You bet.
Ahhh, the good old days. Now, a once-in-a-decade leadership shift is getting in the way of the stimulus-happy policies to which investors became accustomed. The nimbleness that helped China steer around the worst of the global crisis is confronting political paralysis of the kind more often seen in Japan, Europe and the U.S. The upshot is that China’s 7.6 percent growth rate may fall more in the next 12 months than anyone expects. Read the rest of this entry »
Puluhan juta wang dibelanjakan, Jalur Gemilang tidak juga berkibar
Posted by Kit in nation building on Saturday, 1 September 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 01, 2012
1 SEPT — Semalam genap 55 tahun negara kita merdeka dan begitu rapi persediaan yang diuruskan untuk merayakan Hari Kemerdekaan ini oleh kerajaan. Perayaan ini merupakan satu perayaan yang termahal sekali dan itu tidak mengapalah kerana memang sudah menjadi budaya kita berbelanja berlebih-lebihan untuk perayaan. Wang yang dibelanjakan pun bukannya duit siapa tetapi duit rakyat yang membayar cukai dengan keringat dan darah mereka.
Perayaan mengingati Hari Kemerdekaan di negara kita merupakan perayaan yang terboros sekali. Setahun yang lepas saya sempat melihat majlis ulang tahun negara Australia melalui kaca TV yang saya sudah lupa dari saluran mana. Tetapi Australia merayakan secara “simple” tetapi meriah. Majlis itu yang berlangsung dalam kurang dari dua jam hanya mendengar ucapan Perdana Menteri yang ringkas. Tidak ada bas disewa oleh kerajaan untuk mengangkut orang ramai dengan elaun kehadiran sebanyak RM30, baju-T dan sebagainya.
Semua Ahli Jemaah Kabinetnya hanya duduk di atas barisan kerusi yang “simple” dan mudah dan kita boleh tahu mereka tidak menggunakan wang rakyat yang begitu banyak untuk merayakan hari kebangsaan mereka. Sebaliknya kita di sini membelanjakan wang rakyat berpuluh-puluh juta untuk merayakan Hari Kebangsaan kita. Tetapi tak mengapa juga rakyat kita kebanyakannya tidak kisah harta benda mereka diperkosa seperti ini dan ada yang masih memberikan sokongan pihak yang membelanjakan wang mereka dengan boros itu.
Tetapi selain daripada memberikan komen tentang pembaziran ini saya ingin memberikan pemerhatian saya terhadap perayaan Hari Kebangsaan kita yang saya nampak tidak mendapat sambutan rakyat. Banyak publisiti yang kita dengar dan lihat tentang seruan untuk menaikkan Jalur Gemilang, tetapi di mana-mana kita pergi orang ramai tidak nampak Jalur Gemilang dikibarkan di premis-premis perniagaan dan rumah-rumah kediaman rakyat yang ramai. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Janji Ditepati’? Malaysia deserves better
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building on Saturday, 1 September 2012
— Marcus van Geyzel (loyarburok.com)
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 01, 2012
SEPT 1 — There are very few things that observers of Malaysian politics can regularly agree on.
However, there will be much concurrence with the suggestion that there are two significant traits for those who follow the local political scene very closely — a sense of humour, and a dose of masochism. Naturally, the agreement will be because those involved deem these traits necessary due to the ineptitude of those on “the other side”.
An unhealthy and extreme partisanship has evolved in Malaysian politics since 2008. This is even more obvious to anyone who follows political “commentary” on Twitter (to whom my use of the inverted commas would be obvious).
There is nothing wrong with a bit of banter and partisan one-upmanship. The disconcerting thing is when the immaturity comes from elected representatives, who forget (or perhaps never realised in the first place) that they are supposed to represent everyone, not just those who voted for them or their party.
Despite the frustration and disappointment, I do still follow some of these tweets, including the propaganda offered by full-time political commentators who are prominently featured in national newspapers. I did mention masochism earlier on.
However, the recent discussions about the Merdeka theme have taken things beyond what should be acceptable to any Malaysian, political or not.
I waited some time before putting my thoughts into writing, as I harboured some hope that the theme would be scrapped following the incessant criticism. Perhaps those responsible would hold their hands up and admit that it was a mistake? Silly me. Read the rest of this entry »
Dr Mahathir: How Will History Judge Him?
Koon Yew Yin
The Malaysian Insider
1st Sept 2012
Some friends have asked me as to how history will remember Dr. Mahathir. This has led me to thinking about Ho Chi Minh, Sukarno, Nehru, Lee Kuan Yew and other Asian giants of colonial and post colonial history, and how Dr. Mahathir measures up to them. However, comparing him to other leaders in our Asian neighbourhood may be unfair to Dr. Mahathir as it may be demanding too high a standard in leadership, given the unusual and extraordinary crop of leaders in our part of the world.
Instead, I am now more inclined to compare him with leaders from other countries of the world where the comparison may be more appropriate. One leader with whom I am sure Dr. Mahathir would not mind comparison is Kwame Nkrumah, a giant of contemporary African history who Dr Mahathir is probably hoping – when his own obituary is written – for future generations to put him in the company of.
Is Dr. Mahathir who has borrowed the ideas (and the slogans) of Nkrumah and other leading post independence leaders worthy of such a comparison? Or does he belong to some other group? Read the rest of this entry »
Najib did not conduct himself as Prime Minister for all Malaysians when he divided the people on Merdeka Day and urged Malaysians to “defend independence” against Pakatan Rakyat
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, nation building, UMNO on Saturday, 1 September 2012
Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not conduct himself as Prime Minister for all Malaysians when he divided the people on Merdeka Day and urged Malaysians to “defend independence” against Pakatan Rakyat.
In his closing speech at the “Merdeka 55: Janji ditepati” gathering at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium last night, Najib called on the audience “to defend the nation’s independence from enemies and the opposition alike”. (Malaysiakini/The Malaysian Insider)
He said:
“Ladies and gentlemen, remember that independence only knocks once for any nation. Let us close ranks and defend our independence with a solid front, at every corner and at any time.
“Even more so when enemies and the opposition are trying to bring chaos into the situation.”
This the final and ultimate proof that the 55th Merdeka Day celebrations had been hijacked by UMNO/Barisan Nasional as part of their desperate gambit to hang on to power in the impending 13th General Election – which had been evident when the UMNO/BN election theme of “Janji Ditepati” had been imported lock, stock and barrel to be elevated as the 55th Merdeka Day/49th Malay Day theme. Read the rest of this entry »
A new dawn?
Posted by Kit in Bersih, nation building, Sabah, Sarawak on Friday, 31 August 2012
— May Chee
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 31, 2012
AUG 31 — Woke up around 7am today, after about five hours of sleep. By the way, “Selamat Hari Merdeka” folks!
My husband and I went for the Janji Demokrasi Merdeka Countdown at the clock tower in Malacca last night. Again, it was another heartwarming experience. Syabas to all those who gathered there and elsewhere for the Janji Demokrasi!
This time around, no untoward incidents, I hear. That’s good, really good. See, if we have everyone’s good intentions in mind, all would be swell.
We left our house at 9pm. There was ample parking around the designated area. As we walked towards the clock tower, we could see cops and Rela personnel already in position. Since we were early, we walked towards Jonker, hoping to join some people at the stage. Along the way, we met some friends, so we headed for the stage together. Some yellow shirts were walking in the opposite direction. They were heading towards the clock tower. All youths. Good, I thought!
At the stage, there was a handful of yellow shirts and a group of around 15 members from the Unit Amal PAS. By 9.30pm the group had swelled to quite a huge number. After taking a group photograph at the foot of the stage, our Unit Amal youngsters led us to the clock tower. Before that, we were told to be at our best behaviour, not to provoke nor hamper the traffic. We walked on the pavement and at all times, the Unit Amal boys made sure traffic for the public was smooth. Though the folks along Jonker were burning incense and some other stuff (Ghost Month?), the Unit Amal boys admirably braved the ashes (some flying into their faces) to guide us. Read the rest of this entry »
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the year 2012
