Archive for category Good Governance
Malaysia’s ‘stupidity’ sizzles Internet
Posted by Kit in Facebook, Good Governance, Tourism on Friday, 17 June 2011
By Casey Lee
June 17, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today
KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia, it seems, is fast becoming the purveyor of laughs on the worldwide web.
On the heels of the Obedient Wives Club which aimed to turn ‘good wives into first class whores’, there’s now the Malaysian government spending RM1.8 million (US$590,000) on six Facebook, which incidentally is free, applications.
The Internet application (app) developer world is abuzz with humour and bewildement at the ‘stupidity’ of the move. Read the rest of this entry »
Loke says Yen Yen’s answers unsatisfactory
Posted by Kit in Facebook, Good Governance, Tourism on Friday, 17 June 2011
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
June 17, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — The DAP’s Anthony Loke today accused Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen of not answering why six Facebook pages cost RM1.8 million.
“This is unsatisfactory. She has not yet explained what exactly is integrated social media campaigning…what is the scope of social media? Facebook and Twitter? If it’s not a website, what is the money for? Advertisements? Where?” the DAP socialist youth chief (Dapsy) told The Malaysian Insider.
The Tourism Minister said yesterday she did not contradict a detailed account of the costs, and that the sum of money was for an “integrated social media campaign.” Read the rest of this entry »
Yen Yen blames DAP for Facebook ‘distortion’
Posted by Kit in Facebook, Good Governance, Tourism on Friday, 17 June 2011
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 16, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen blamed DAP for “distorting” facts on the tourism ministry’s RM1.8 million expenditure to develop six Facebook pages, insisting today she did not contradict a detailed account of the costs.
Her deputy, James Dawos Mamit, had told Parliament that each Facebook page had cost RM293,072.
“My deputy minister had answered it very clearly… Facebook is free.
“The cost is for the integrated social media campaign, the DAP has taken the campaign and distorted it… I accuse him (Anthony Loke) of distortion,” she told reporters today.
The tourism minister said that so far RM250,000 had been spent on the campaign. Read the rest of this entry »
Guan Eng: RM13b bloated spending shows IPPs protected
Posted by Kit in Energy, Finance, Good Governance on Wednesday, 15 June 2011
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 15, 2011
Lim: The only losers are 27 million ordinary consumers who are not IPPs.
KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — The Najib administration’s attempt to increase its 2011 budget by RM13 billion is proof of its failure to control spending even after slashing subsidies on daily essentials, DAP’s Lim Guan Eng said today.
The Penang Chief Minister blamed Barisan Nasional’s (BN) “bad governance” for the increasing cost of living in Malaysia, adding that the public was now experiencing “the worst of both worlds”.
“By reducing subsidies, there are inflationary pressure causing prices to rise and hurting the poor. And yet, cuts do not improve efficiency and competitiveness nor cut down budget expenditure as the IPPs (independent power producers) are still allowed to enjoy gas subsidies.
“The only losers are 27 million ordinary consumers who are not IPPs,” he said in a statement today.
Putrajaya tabled a RM13,186,713,000 supplementary supply bill in Parliament yesterday, seeking additional spending in the first half of this year. The amount is an 8 per cent addition to Budget 2011’s RM162,805,323,000, which was tabled last year. Read the rest of this entry »
Yen Yen, explain ‘Curi-curi’ M’sia
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Tourism on Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Tarani Palani
Free Malaysia Today
June 15, 2011
If the minister fails to provide a proper explanation for the RM1.8 million ‘splurge’, an opposition MP warns that netizens may bay for her blood.
KUALA LUMPUR: Due to the growing discontent, an opposition leader urged Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen to explain why RM1.8 million was spent on six Facebook pages to promote Malaysia.
Speaking in Parliament, DAP’s Rasah MP Anthony Loke said there was palpable discontent against the amount spent when it could have been attained at almost no cost.
Loke highlighted two Facebook pages regarding the matter, the “1 million Malaysians say no to RM1.8 million” and “Curi-curi wang Malaysia”, the latter being a twist of the ministry’s famous tagline “Cuti-cuti Malaysia”.
“These are very creative. Within 18 hours the ‘Curi-Curi wang Malaysia’ page already has 11,380 ‘likes’ – already half of the Tourism Malaysia’s Facebook site. And it is free!” he told reporters.
The Citrawarna 1Malaysia Facebook page attracted a total of 20,292 Facebook “likes” since its launch on May 21 this year.
A quick check by FMT revealed that “Curi-Curi wang Malaysia” currently had 14, 232 “likes” whereas “1 million Malaysians say no to RM1.8 million” had 749 “likes”. Read the rest of this entry »
The failure of our institutions
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance on Wednesday, 15 June 2011
By Art Harun
June 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JUNE 15 — When Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) opened a Twitter account some months ago, I was actually pleasantly surprised that it chose to follow my Twitter account. I promptly decided to return the compliment by following MACC on Twitter.
From then on, I could read MACC’s instant reports of the Teoh Beng Hock royal commission of inquiry (RCI) proceedings on Twitter. I must say it was a good initiative by MACC. Kudos to whoever that was in MACC who decided to utilise the social-networking facility by engaging the cyber-society through Twitter.
During the height of the Sarawak election campaign, I decided that it was about time that I had a two-way communication with MACC over Twitter. Conscious of the fact that the biggest election issue for that election was the alleged wealth — which were not rebutted and categorically denied — of Taib Mahmud and his family members, I decided to tickle MACC’s feet with a question.
Read the rest of this entry »
Where is the accountability factor?
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, IT on Wednesday, 15 June 2011
By Edwin Yapp
Jun 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JUNE 15 — I had been away on a break but being the news junkie I am, I had been following various interesting news even while on vacation.
One that certainly caught my eye was the item reported in The Malaysian Insider, as well as other online news sites, about how a recently set up government price check website had been hacked into, the act of which has resulted in the loss of over 2,000 registered users’ details.
The 1 Malaysia Pengguna Bijak’s (1MPB) website launched on June 7 allows the public to check and compare the prices of consumer products sold at 1,255 retail outlets nationwide by clicking on the portal (1pengguna.com). Read the rest of this entry »
Words into practice
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance on Monday, 13 June 2011
By R. Nadeswaran
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 | Sun2Surf
EVERY right-thinking Malaysian will certainly have to agree with the prime minister’s remarks made last week at the World Islamic Economic Forum in Kazakhstan that characteristics like openness, honesty and transparency are vital if the people are to have faith that their government is working for them and not for itself.
Saying that these guiding principles would also show that leaders and politicians were striving to lift the whole economy and not to “line their own pockets”, he sent this powerful message: “As political leaders and statesmen, it is up to us to show the resolve, dedication, commitment and political will required to do what is right, to right what is wrong and to prevent corruption from becoming a norm in our societies.”
This is not the first time that he has spoken out against the ills that afflict our society. Read the rest of this entry »
IPPs, where’s your social responsibility?
Posted by Kit in Energy, Good Governance, Prices on Monday, 13 June 2011
MalaysiaKini
June 13, 2011
‘Why are IPPs hiding behind the non-disclosure clauses? Their position however is comprehensible – they are only protecting their own self-interests.’
IPPs do not benefit from gas subsidy
DannyLoH: What the Association of Independent Power Producers (Penjanabebas) need to explain is why, despite the gas subsidies, our electricity tariff is higher than Thailand, whose producers are purchasing gas at market price?
Paul Warren Penjanabebas, by this letter, you surely have succeeded in ensuring that people only look at the subsidies on the fuel consumed by you. But you did say that your compensation is in two components – fuel and capacity.
And just in case you wish to feign ignorance or lack of understanding, let me put it this way – if one of your members’ capacity is 1,200 megawatts, he gets paid for that 1,200 megawatts.
Read the rest of this entry »
RM100 mil spent in one day: Cut Rais Yatim’s pay
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Rais Yatim on Monday, 13 June 2011
MalaysiaKini
June 13, 2011
‘Why is there no action when a minister made a wrong decision and wasted taxpayers’ money? Cut Rais Yatim’s pay by RM10 for his decision.’
Artiste Day: ‘Rais blew half year’s budget in 1 day’
Just Me: Waste is the name of the game. Of the RM100 million, maybe only 20 percent goes to the real project.
Indeed, the petrol subsidy is not really subsidy. We have paid in advance for it in the form of car taxes, which is the highest in the region. So giving some back is not a subsidy. In Thailand, which has a smaller passenger car market, they have no local car producer, but their auto industry is much bigger than Malaysia and employ more people.
Read the rest of this entry »
We were soldiers
Posted by Kit in Defence, Good Governance on Sunday, 12 June 2011
by drrafick
June 11, 2011
1.I read with interest the statement by Zahid Hamidi on Malaysian Mirror where he refuted claims that former members of the Armed Forces (AF) are opposing the government. Apparently he made the comments in view of claims by some that many ex-servicemen opposed the government by expressing their views on the Internet. I am not sure whether me and Arshad Raji can be considered in the same category with other since we are ex-serviceman. I know many ex-servicemen do not blog but express their frustration with BN over my blog and at coffee shops.
2.Are we really frustrated with the government or with the politicians that governs the machinery? Personally on occasion I am frustrated with both. I am fed up with the hypocrite politicians. I am sick and tired with politicians that divide the nation. I am fed up with the politicians who make decisions that bring misery to the people. I am fed up with this “legal robbers” that drain the nation’s wealth and who makes lousy decisions that burden the people. The list about the politicians does not end there. Read the rest of this entry »
Guan Eng rounds on Soi Lek for Penang deficit ‘lies’
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Lim Guan Eng, MCA, Penang, Penang Government on Friday, 10 June 2011
By Yow Hong Chieh
June 10, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has slammed MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek for “lies” in claiming that the state government was running on a budget deficit that will deepen next year.
Lim said that since Pakatan Rakyat (PR) took over the state from Barisan Nasional (BN), Penang has recorded the highest budget surpluses in the nation’s history with RM88 million in 2008, RM77 million in 2009 and RM33 million in 2010, as confirmed by the Auditor-General’s Report.
He added that the current Penang administration was the only government in Malaysia, whether state or federal, to be praised by Transparency International for its fight against corruption.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib: Good governance easier said than done
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Good Governance on Wednesday, 8 June 2011
June 08, 201 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Muslim leaders today that achieving good governance was “easier said than done.”
The prime minister told the seventh World Islamic Economic Forum in his speech that this was due to political influence, inequality, strong family ties, greed, inadequate regulations and poor enforcement.
“Even the fear of God at times can do little to ensure… integrity,” he said in Ankara, Kazakhstan.
However, the Barisan Nasional (BN) chief said that his administration was committed to pursuing good governance to make Malaysia more competitive. Read the rest of this entry »
Politics ruin religion and religion ruins politics
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Religion on Wednesday, 8 June 2011
By Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
June 07, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JUNE 7 — The turmoil in the Middle East started off with the uprising in Tunisia to get rid of their corrupt leader, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. The man, his family and cronies enriched themselves at the expense of the Tunisian people. They built palaces for themselves and cornered businesses to themselves. In the meantime the emerging youths found that with their professional degrees that they possessed, they were left unemployed.
They had to peddle wares, hawking them from makeshift sheds. Even this was forbidden and their trade was smashed by the authorities. One disappointed, dejected and helpless youth committed suicide by torching himself. The ember of revolt was thus lighted.
Tunisia has been a secular state since it achieved its independence and became a republic in 1957. The revolution that took place was not religious in character. It was secular and supported by all citizens irrespective of their religious denominations. Read the rest of this entry »
PwC says KL needs revamp to be competitive city
Posted by Kit in Economics, Good Governance on Tuesday, 7 June 2011
By Lee Wei Lian
June 07, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — The city needs to improve its hard and soft infrastructure to compete with global commerce and culture capitals, says Andrew Chan Yik Hong, PwC Malaysia’ executive director in charge of capital projects and infrastructure.
This comes after PwC released a report (www.pwc.com/cities) this week predicting the trajectory of 26 select cities based on a wide range of criteria such as intellectual capital, transportation, health, economic clout, liveability and lifestyle assets.
Kuala Lumpur did not make the list.
New York topped the list, followed by Toronto, San Francisco, Stockholm and Sydney. Singapore was the top-ranked Asian city, finishing ninth on the list, ahead of Hong Kong (10) and Tokyo (14). Read the rest of this entry »
Subsidy flip-flops sign of deeper problems, say economists
Posted by Kit in Economics, Good Governance on Tuesday, 7 June 2011
June 07, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — Economists perceive the Najib administration as prone to backtracking on policies, with political concerns trumping the need for economic reform.
In a scathing commentary published today by the Singapore Straits Times, the government’s dithering over subsidy cuts for energy and basic consumer goods was criticised by regional economists who are stirring a wider debate over the country’s long-term economic prospects.
The Straits Times said the big question being asked now was whether resource-rich Malaysia had fallen out of step with the global environment. Read the rest of this entry »
As Malaysia’s assets wane, Umno scrambles for wealth control
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics, Good Governance, UMNO on Monday, 6 June 2011
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
June 06, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — The fight is on for the country’s diminishing resources and assets, and leading the charge to secure rights to projects and land ownership are Umno warlords and politically-connected individuals.
As Malaysia grapples with imminent tariff hikes and a subsidy bill that could double to RM21 billion this year, individuals within the ruling Malay party appear to be wasting little time in demanding that the Najib administration award them immediate rights to government and commercial projects.
This is evident in the current tussle surrounding Umno’s attacks on UDA Holdings Bhd’s sale of prime land in downtown Kuala Lumpur, where despite the agency’s assurance that the sale to Mutiara Goodyear would benefit Bumiputeras, Umno leaders have attacked the agency, saying RM215.5 million deal would hurt Bumiputera interests. Read the rest of this entry »
Bigger landslide in the making
Posted by Kit in environment, Good Governance, Selangor on Thursday, 2 June 2011
Stephanie Sta Maria | May 30, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
The situation in Bukit Antarabangsa is serious as the slope failures or shallow landslides are indications of an impending bigger landslide.
KUALA LUMPUR: Double landslides occurred side by side in Bukit Antarabangsa, Hulu Kelang, Selangor, 10 days ago but escaped public attention for both struck on the same day as the Hulu Langat tragedy.
As rescue personnel and the media rushed to the Madrasah Al-Taqwa Orphanage, business owners and employees watched mounds of wet earth sliding down the slope behind their commercial centre in Taman Ukay Perdana.
Unlike Hulu Langat, however, no property damages or injuries took place in the Bukit Antarabangsa incident.
The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) moved swiftly in dispatching a team from its hillslope division to begin immediate work in containing the situation and repairing the slope.
MPAJ is currently the only authority with an existing hillslope division which was formed after the 2008 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, which claimed five lives. Read the rest of this entry »
Khazanah MD ‘frustrated’ in regulated industries, reports FT
Posted by Kit in Economics, Finance, Good Governance on Tuesday, 31 May 2011
By Yow Hong ChiehMay 30, 2011 | The Malaysia Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar has admitted to being disappointed by his inability to trim fat from the portfolio he inherited in 2004 due to political interference, the Financial Times reported yesterday.
“We have had our frustrations, and there have been areas, mostly in the regulated sectors such as electricity, automobiles and aviation, where value has stagnated or even declined,” Azman (picture) told the international financial daily.
The Financial Times said that despite scoring a “crushing victory” in a US$3.6 billion (RM10.8 billion) takeover battle with India’s Fortis for Singapore healthcare group Parkway Holdings, Khazanah was still struggling to turn around companies in its legacy portfolio, which includes national carmaker Proton and Malaysia Airlines.
“Big questions remain about Khazanah’s ability to deal equally decisively with the rest of its portfolio, not least because of government opposition to radical surgery on any of its significant companies,” the report said. Read the rest of this entry »
Pua dares gov’t to declassify IPP contracts
Posted by Kit in DAP, Energy, Good Governance on Sunday, 29 May 2011
Regina Lee | May 28, 11
Malaysiakini
The DAP has challenged the BN-led federal government to declassify the Independent Power Producer (IPP) agreements amidst the massive subsidy cutting exercise in the country.
The party’s publicity secretary and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said that this should be done to “justify the government’s refusal to restructure these wildly unfair contracts which allow them to make astronomical returns at the expense of the people”. Read the rest of this entry »
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