Archive for 2012
The question of housing (Part 1): Understanding the problem
Posted by Kit in Housing, Penang, Penang Government, Zairil Khir Johari on Monday, 16 July 2012
By Zairil Khir Johari | July 16, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
JULY 16 — As far as Penang is concerned, housing has become a hot button issue. Critics are aplenty and everyone, from the locals at the kopitiams to the expatriates at the cocktail bars, seems to have an opinion on it. However, before lamenting about the housing situation in Penang, one first needs to understand it.
The general grouse is twofold. Firstly, it is said that housing prices are exponentially increasing with no signs of a slowdown. Secondly, complaints are heard that there is not enough housing to cater for the lower-income groups. The fear is then raised that the shortage of low-cost housing coupled with ever-increasing property prices will eventually drive people out of the state, especially from the island.
Now, the first contention is admittedly true. There is no denying the fact that property prices are on the rise, having averagely increased by 50 per cent over the past five years. However, the causes of this phenomenon are often misunderstood. On the second count, to say that there is an undersupply of low-cost housing is inaccurate. In fact, it is a statistical fallacy. Both require further explanation.
Read the rest of this entry »
Umno itu sudah terlalu fakir dalam perjuangan
Posted by Kit in Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, UMNO on Monday, 16 July 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 15, 2012
15 JULAI — Muhyiddin menyeru agar Umno mempertahankan kerusi Gelang Patah habis-habisan kerana Gelang Patah merupakan kawasan yang menempatkan pusat pentadbiran negeri Johor dan mempunyai infrastuktur yang terbaik di negeri Johor. Di dalam kawasan ini jugalah terletaknya Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) dan berbagai-bagai infrastruktur terbaik di negeri Johor.
Kenyataan seperti ini yang datangnya dari Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan ianya membayangkan bahawa negeri Johor juga merupakan negeri yang sangat ditakuti oleh BN dalam menghadapi PRU yang akan datang ini. Kenyataan yang membayangkan ketakutan dari pihak BN tidak pernah kita dengar sebelum ini jika ia melibatkan negeri Johor kerana Johor sebelum ini merupakan kubu kuat BN sejak negara mengadakan pilihanraya.
BN dan Umno di negeri Johor sebelum ini hanya mengambil pilihanraya umum sebagai satu pesta sahaja kerana bak kata orang Umno semasa parti itu kuat dahulu, ‘calon Umno tidak payah turun berkempen. Hantarkan songkok untuk mewakili calon-calon-calonnya sahaja sudah cukup dan BN akan menang’. Tetapi kenyataan yang datang dari seorang Timbalan Perdana Menteri yang juga merupakan anak Johor ini, amat jelas yang BN di Johor tidak boleh lagi bercakap takbur seperti dahulu. Keadaan sudah berubah dan rakyat lebih fokus untuk mencari pemimpin dan parti yang lebih berguna dari dahulu. Read the rest of this entry »
Wanted: Not just bersih elections but also parliamentary reforms
Posted by Kit in Parliament on Sunday, 15 July 2012
— Francis Loh
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 15, 2012
JULY 15 — Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jafar recently admitted that under the present system of parliamentary democracy, there does not exist a clear separation of powers between the Executive and Legislative arms of government on the one hand, and between the Executive and Judiciary on the other. It’s only ‘illusionary’, he clarified to a group of law students who visited him (The Sun, 11 July 2012).
In the case of Executive-Parliamentary relations, Wan Junaidi clarified that the ruling party is in a dominant position to control the Speaker and the House. For him, politicians no longer speak based on their conscience. Instead, the PM and members of the Cabinet yield significant influence over decisions made in the House by ‘twisting their (MPs) arms through the whip’. Therefore, it is very much the case that the Executive rules, rather than Parliament.
As for the separation of powers between the Executive and the Judiciary, Wan Junaidi admitted that the line is also blurred as the PM has a say in the appointment of judges despite the actual process of selection coming under the purview of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
However, he stressed that this was not tantamount to direct ‘interference’ by the Executive into the Judiciary, for there ‘has not been any evidence to prove any such claims made by certain parties’. One could, of course, differ from his qualification. Correct, correct, correct?
Wan Junaidi laid the blame for this state of affairs on ‘the Westminster system’, which Malaysia inherited from its colonial masters. Read the rest of this entry »
Day of infamy for Malaysian journalism – Utusan Malaysia defending the indefensible instead of apologizing for being foremost “Lies-paper” in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 14 July 2012
Today is a day of infamy for Malaysian journalism – with the UMNO publication Utusan Malaysia defending the indefensible instead of apologizing for being the foremost “Lies-paper” in Malaysia in the past three years under the premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
At a forum on social media organized by Biro Tata Negara (BTN) of the Prime Minister’s Department and the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention secretariat, Utusan Malaysia’s deputy chief editor Mohd Zaini Hassan claimed that media practitioners are allowed to spin the facts to paint a “desired picture” to the reader and to launch a “gentlemanly attack” against the Opposition.
Claiming that there are three categories of “fact, spin and blatant lies”, Zaini purports to distance himself from “lies” but gives his approval to “spin”, saying: “Spin we can; no matter how we spin a certain fact to be biased in our favour, that’s okay.”
Zaini is insulting the intelligence of Malaysians in trying a “spin of all spins” attempting to pass off lies and blatant lies as mere “spin”!
Spin must clearly be delineated from lies and blatant lies. Spin occurs when facts are linked in a deceptive way that attempts to portray an individual or organization in the best or worst possible light.
But what Utusan had been most guilty off in the past three years is not just deception through “spinning” certain facts while omitting other facts, but the retailing of downright lies and falsehoods. Read the rest of this entry »
Public gave RM143,000 towards Pua’s Syabas suit damages
By Ida Lim
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 14, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — In just one week, tens of thousands of Malaysians rallied around the DAP’s Tony Pua and donated RM143,256, nearly three-fourths of the RM200,000 in damages he owed water company Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) after losing a defamation lawsuit last month.
The opposition party had started an online campaign to raise RM100,000 to help the federal lawmaker pay the amount by July 16, but the financial support from the public was beyond expectation.
“As at 4pm 13/7/12 (Fri), the online donation campaign has raised RM143,256, a remarkable achievement of small contributions from tens of thousands of Malaysians in less than a week,” Pua wrote on his Facebook page this morning.
He also said that the party “will end the online fund-raiser today.”
Last month, Syabas had won a defamation suit against the DAP national publicity secretary, who was ordered to pay RM200,000 in damages besides costs and interests.
Although Pua has filed an appeal against the decision, he had said on micro-blogging site Twitter that Syabas wants him to pay the RM200,000 by July 16.
He has also said today that Syabas was seeking an additional RM80,000 in costs, but the amount is still under negotiations. Read the rest of this entry »
Selepas berjumpa PM, bekas wakil-wakil rakyat bersungut
Posted by Kit in Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, UMNO on Saturday, 14 July 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 13, 2012
13 JULAI — Rupa-rupanya semalam PM Najib Razak telah memanggil semua bekas-bekas wakil rakyat Barisan Nasional seluruh negara ke kediaman beliau untuk meminta bantuan untuk BN menghadapi pilihanraya yang paling getir buat parti pemerintah sejak negara merdeka.
Dalam keadaan sebegini tentulah sebab kenapa mereka dipanggil itu ialah kerana Najib tidak begitu yakin meraih kemenangan apabila menghadapi parti-parti “alternative” dalam PRU akan datang ini.
Dua orang bekas Adun dan seorang bekas ahli parlimen telah menghubungi saya dan ketiga-tiga orang ini mempunyai cerita yang sama.
“Dah nak tergolek baru panggil kami,” kata salah seorang yang menghubungi saya itu.
Menurut kata ahli Mubarak itu, Najib mengakui yang tekanan terhadap Umno dan BN sangat kuat dan pihak Pakatan Rakyat begitu serius dalam usaha untuk ke Putrajaya itu. Read the rest of this entry »
Peace in Malaysia not what it seems to be
— Adelene Teo
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 13, 2012
JULY 13 — Since Independence in 1957 from the British, Malaysia has generally been a peaceful country except for the Communist insurgency between 1948 and 1960, and the racial conflict in 1969.
It may have indirectly supported several wars but it has never gotten directly involved in any, and except for Konfrontasi that Indonesia started, has always existed harmoniously with its neighbouring countries.
Occasionally, gruesome crimes are reported but these were often, though not always, resolved by the relevant authorities. The national Street Crime Index showed a decline by 40.6 per cent since 2009, and the government also reported a reduction in society’s fear of becoming a victim to crime.
Thus, it came as no surprise that Malaysia was ranked 20th by the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) in the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI). As urged by Prime Minister Najib Razak, Malaysians should take pride in this success.
Why then are Malaysians still casting doubts over GPI’s 2012 report? Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathirism is alive and kicking!
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 13, 2012
JULY 13 — Dr Mahathir seems unable to let go of the fact that he isn’t PM of Malaysia anymore. He plays the eternal busybody, offering unsolicited advice. He employs sophistry of reasons to convince people of his biased conclusions. So, he says almost sage-like that Malaysia will be in dire straits if Pakatan takes over. But the age of unidirectional reasoning is over. Previously he had help from the media industrial complex — TV and mainstream newspapers. That isn’t going to happen anymore.
No right-thinking person wants to read Utusex Malaysia where only reports on prayer times and the 4-digit lottery are true; readership of the NST has gone down because, as Lee Kuan Yew observed, the paper has lost credibility. People are turned off at watching TV3 because as soon as we switch it on we see the apparitions of Ustazah Ummi Hafilda berating Anwar; we see Hasan “membetulkan aqidah” Ali and all the other lost souls picked up ravenously by talent-starved Umno and now dancing to the tune the paying pied piper plays.
Now, the people can talk and reason back. What Mahathir says is no longer accepted unquestioningly. Read the rest of this entry »
Harassment of pro-democracy activists in Malaysia reveals a worrying undercurrent of racism
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Friday, 13 July 2012
Economist
Jul 14th 2012 | KUALA LUMPUR
Politics in Malaysia
The racial question
THE house of Ambiga Sreenevasan in a leafy neighbourhood of Kuala Lumpur looks ordinary enough. Getting into it, though, betrays a different reality. A security guard greets visitors, who are then scrutinised by newly installed surveillance cameras. A bodyguard hovers somewhere inside the house.
The precautions are revealing. Ms Ambiga has become the target of what she describes as “relentless attacks”, including death threats. They have thrust a middle-class lawyer (she is a former president of the Malaysian Bar Council) into the centre of politics in the run-up to what could be a pivotal general election. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia safest country in Southeast Asia. Really?
Posted by Kit in Crime, ETP, Hishammuddin, Najib Razak on Friday, 13 July 2012
By Ong Kian Ming
Malaysiakini
The issue of crime, especially in the urban areas, has once again surfaced as a hot political issue. The Home Minister, Hishamuddin Hussein, was quoted as saying that the fear of crime is a result of ‘public perception’ while the CEO of PEMANDU, Idris Jala, was reported as having asked the media to focus more on the crimes that have been solved rather than those which have been committed. Meanwhile, DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, seems to have been given conflicting sets of crime data on Selangor and has called for PEMANDU and the Home Ministry to released detailed crime statistics by the type of crime and the places where they were committed.
It is very difficult to question the validity of the crime statistics since this data is collected, compiled and later disseminated to the various ministries and later the public at large by the police. An in-depth audit is required in order to get a better handle on the veracity of these statistics.
Read the rest of this entry »
Perceptions and deceptions
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Financial Scandals, Hishammuddin, Human Rights, Media on Friday, 13 July 2012
Rom Nain
Malaysiakini
Jul 12, 2012
Our political leaders evidently have a not-so-smart-ass response for everything under the hazy Malaysian sun.
Some – the few who can read – probably would have read that story about the French queen, Marie Antoinette, apparently saying `Let them eat cake’ upon learning that the French peasants had no bread.
Yes, perhaps that is why our home minister, upon hearing that the ISA detainees were on a hunger strike, twittered that it was the choice of the ISA detainees to hold the hunger strike, just as it was his choice to have lamb chops.
Not very sensitive of him, it could be argued. But then, neither was the French queen who, history tells us, was later executed by guillotine. Yes, she had her head chopped off.
Many of our politicians, I think, share this misconception that they are so darn smart and can deliver flippant comments, inane lines and get away with it. Read the rest of this entry »
Making of a great cover-up
Free Malaysia Today
July 10, 2012
The contact was more than physical: it was a brutal crushing of bodies.
The probe into the April 28 rally is turning out to be a sham. The panel chairman tasked with finding the truth about the events that led to the outbreak of violence on that dark day made a preposterous statement when he said the police were ordered not to come into physical contact with the protesters to avoid spilling blood. The chairman must have been wearing blinkers on the day when thousands converged on the barricades of freedom square. It was not a pretty sight when the clashes eventually broke out.
When the trouble erupted, the chief investigator was probably in his Genting redoubt and did not see what happened on the ground. Or maybe he saw on the idiot box the government version where the poor victims were his men in blue. The reality was different. Did the police hold back for fear of coming into contact with human flesh? No, sir! Switch off the propaganda stuff and watch the citizens’ videos to get the truth.
When the storm broke loose, all those men in uniform were transformed into ferocious animals who lost all restraint and attacked the defenceless people in a paroxysm of rage. The contact was more than physical: it was a brutal crushing of bodies. The arms and legs of the police were their batons: they used them to beat, stomp, trample, slap, punch, kick while at the same time unleashing salvos after salvos of tear gas directly into the trapped crowd.
In scenes after scenes, the guardians of law and order became the perpetrators of violence. There are photos of Federal Reserve Unit clutching batons, contrary to what the chief investigator claimed. He said the FRU contingent was not equipped with batons, which is a bared-faced lie. All the uniformed personnel were out in full force eager to do battle with citizens armed only with mineral water bottles and salt. Read the rest of this entry »
Is Petronas an ungrateful child of Malaysia?
Anas Alam Faizli
Free Malaysia Today
July 12, 2012
In early June Petronas hinted publicly at the World Gas Conference that they are tired of being the Malaysian government’s cash cow. They said no to fuel subsidy and last year they said they wanted to pay less dividends! Is Petronas ungrateful? The money belongs to the rakyat anyway and hence the government.
While many have attempted to comment on the sustainability of Petronas’ payouts, this article aims to give some insights into the realities of the local oil & gas industry, and why returning all oil harvests back to Malaysians may not benefit them in the longer run.
In 1974, Petronas, fully owned by the government of Malaysia, was established and given full ownership and control of our Petroleum reserves. Today, it has evolved into a fully integrated oil and gas multinational corporation, ranked among FORTUNE 500’s largest and most profitable oil and gas corporations with a total workforce of more than 30,000. Read the rest of this entry »
Can’t keep silent about crime
― Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 12, 2012
JULY 12 ― Firstly, Eugene Teh of Pemandu should know his place. He is a consultant, employed by Idris Jala.
He is not the prime minister or the home minister or even our wakil rakyat. He is a consultant who depends on the co-operation of the police to do his work. If the cops are unhappy with Teh, he will have to look for work elsewhere.
So I suppose it is no surprise that he issues a plea to Malaysians to stop bashing the cops because they are our only hope, etc. He goes on to describe the stressful conditions in which they work.
Don’t take us for fools. We deal with the cops daily. We go to police stations to report snatch thefts only to either face unsympathetic faces or worse yet, to be told “banyak kes macam ini”. Read the rest of this entry »
Janji dimungkiri, Mahathirisme hidup lagi
Posted by Kit in Elections, Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 12 July 2012
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 12, 2012
12 JULAI — Dr Mahathir yang masih tidak boleh melupakan seronok jadi PM selama 22 tahun menyatakan masa depan Malaysia musnah jika Pakatan menang. Dia sebenarnya rindukan Mahathirisme. Najib di anggap kurang cerdik melaksanakan doktrin Mahathirism. Sebab itu Mahathir sedang asah parang hendak sembelih leher Najib di bantu oleh Muhyidin al lelongi dan Mukriz a/l Mahathir.
Sebelum masa itu tiba, perkara yang serupa dislogankan oleh PM Najib. Mengenai slogan-slogan rakyat dah lali dengan jerit sana sini Najib. Ketika meraikan ahli Umno yang di angkut dan dibayar berhimpun di stadium Bukit Jalil, dia kata nak istihar pilihanraya dia tetap takut. Di Melaka dia kata Umno akan menang 14-0, saya kata, kalau demikian, semalam sudah Najib istihar PRU. Najib tahu perpaduan orang Umno akan kurang 30 peratus pada hari dia menamakan calun. Jadi bagaimana hendak bertarung dalam gelanggang, apabila diluar pun sudah kelam kabut.
Orang Umno dah letih menunggu bila PRU akan di adakan. Kepada orang Umno, PRU ialah Hari Raya. Sebab masa itu, duit datang mencurah curah. Motorsikal dan kereta Myvi sudah di pesan tapi duit belum turun. Orang Umno gelisah. Hendakkan PRU di cepatkan. Mereka tahu kalau Umno kalah, orang Melayu tetap akan terbela bahkan di jagai dengan lebih baik dari yang Umno mampu. Read the rest of this entry »
Drop sedition charges against Karpal and Uthayakumar to prove Najib’s bona fides when announcing repeal of Sedition Act
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Human Rights, Najib Razak on Thursday, 12 July 2012
The Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail should drop sedition charges against DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh and Human Rights Party leader P. Uthayakumar to establish the bona fides of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak when announcing that the Sedition Act 1948 will be repealed and replaced with a new act to be known as the National Harmony Act.
In his speech yesterday, Najib said the decision to repeal the Sedition Act was to find a mechanism that could ensure the freedom of speech for every citizen and the need to handle the complexity of plurality existing in the country.
He said that with the new National Harmony Act, the country would be “better equipped to manage our national fault lines” and “help to strengthen national cohesion by protecting national unity and nurturing religious harmony”.
The history of the Sedition Act in Malaysia is the history of an undemocratic, draconian, archaic, authoritarian and repressive law used in a most selective and discriminatory manner by the powers-of-the-day not only to suppress freedom of speech and expression by criminalising dissent but also to target and penalise Opposition personalities. Read the rest of this entry »
Thugs at my doorstep
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, ETP, Ong Kian Ming on Wednesday, 11 July 2012
— Ong Kian Ming
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 11, 2012
JULY 11 — At approx 4.45pm [yesterday] (July 10), three thugs, in their early to late twenties, tried to break into my house in Petaling Jaya.
Thankfully, they were unsuccessful. Thankfully, I am not hurt. I am immensely grateful at the outpouring of support shown by my friends and family. I am thankful to the police for their quick response in sending three squad cars to my house five minutes after I reported the incident and their follow up on this case.
Many are probably wondering why I think it was politically motivated rather than just a simple attempted break in. I cannot be 100 per cent sure that it was politically motivated but I’m quite sure of it. And here’s why:
The thugs came in a car and they parked directly in front of my house, which is about 200m from the community guard house. It is a simple and spartan double story terrace house. It is not a flashy house. I drive a Toyota Vios.
There are other houses along the same row with Mercedes-Benz and other nicer cars. Some of my neighbours were not at home. It would have been much easier to break into their homes instead of mine (not that I am recommending that they do this). Or a house that is more secluded. Or a house which seems to have more stuff to steal.
My car was in the driveway. The thugs must have considered the possibility that someone was at home. They broke the automatic gates, which create a huge noise, rather than scaling over the gate, which would have been easy to do and much more discreet. Read the rest of this entry »
Smoke and mirrors
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Media, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 11 July 2012
— Rom Nain
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 11, 2012
JULY 11 — For many, certainly among the educated, urban middle class, it has become quite apparent why this administration has become increasingly unpalatable.
There have been the barefaced lies and arrogant disdain in response to scandals such as the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), Scorpene submarines, and controversial projects such as the Lynas plant.
There also have been the crass accusations and misrepresentations of important and meaningful events like Bersih 3.0, the ongoing blatant buying of the peoples’ votes using public funds and, of course, the continuing, unprovoked character assassination of people and parties who, for some inexplicable reason, seem to scare the living daylights out of the members of this regime.
The call by the Barisan Nasional’s Seri Gading MP, Mohamad Aziz, for Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan to be hanged for treason is a perfect example of this desperation, this stupidity, this insanity.
All this, evidently, has contributed to a general feeling of revulsion among many at the antics of a regime that appears to have gone mad with power. And will do anything to cling on to it, especially at a time when its legitimacy is evidently at an all-time low and is rapidly sinking further.
Indeed, things seem to have all gone wrong for Prime Minister Najib Razak. Read the rest of this entry »
Rebellious divisions holding Najib back
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | July 11, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Is Najib Tun Razak, who has been groomed since young to lead the country, facing a coup in Umno?
COMMENT
Why is Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Tun Razak procrastinating in naming an election date?
After all, he’s enjoying a good personal rating, and good reports from the ground. Not forgetting Umno is now flush with cash.
The real reason he delays and delays, and huffs and puffs is that he fears a looming revolt within Umno.
The incumbents are insisting they are winnable. Would anyone dare replace warlord Tajudin Rahman (Pasir Salak), for example?
Najib is facing potential revolts in all divisions. Read the rest of this entry »
Teoh Beng Hock like Ahmad Sarbaini, Aminurasyid and V.Kugan will be among priority cases of “transitional justice” in a new Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya after 13GE to address past human rights violations and rebuild social trust in a democratic system of governance
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Crime, Human Rights, Teoh Beng Hock on Wednesday, 11 July 2012
We are here to remember Teoh Beng Hock, cruel victim of injustice and misgovernance, and to reaffirm our commitment to continue to do all we can to ensure that we will not cease until justice is done to Beng Hock and his family.
The death of Teoh Beng Hock at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters at Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, together with cases of Ahmad Sarbaini, Aminurasyid and V. Kugan will be among the priority cases of “transitional justice” in a new Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya after the 13th General Election to address human rights violations and rebuild social trust in a democratic system of governance.
What is “transitional justice”? Read the rest of this entry »
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