Archive for category Najib Razak
Malaysia’s Kangkung Meme
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak on Monday, 27 January 2014
By Mong Palatino
The Diplomat
January 22, 2014
Najib Razak’s gaffe involving the humble green veggie has become a rallying cry for the opposition.
Kangkung, or water spinach, has been trending in Malaysia since last week after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak cited it as an example of a commodity that has become less expensive over the course of his administration.
Najib was responding to protests against rising prices caused by the government’s decision to cut subsidies. During the New Year celebration, thousands joined a street parade in Kuala Lumpur to denounce the increase in prices of basic goods and services such as petrol, sugar, and toll fees.
Najib complained that the government is often blamed for rising prices – but ignored when prices go down.
“When the prices come down, why are there no praises for the government? When it goes up, the government gets the blame. This is unfair because [such issues are determined by] the weather condition,” Najib said in Bahasa.
Then, he highlighted kangkung’s cheap price in the market: “I read in the newspaper that some prices have come down. Kangkung prices once went up and now it is down.”
This remark ignited an uproarious public reaction. It unleashed a kangkung meme which quickly went viral on social media. Najib’s enemies used it to criticize the government’s economic policies, in particular the slashing of subsidies for sensitive consumer goods. They painted Najib as a clueless leader and insensitive to the worsening situation of the poor. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should be the first to undergo mandatory media training to prevent gaffes like the “kangkung” hullaballoo which has highlighted the “feet of clay” of the Najib administration
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, nation building on Sunday, 26 January 2014
The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is reported to have directed mandatory media training for his ministers to prevent missteps that have made his administration a laughing stock among Malaysians.
Najib’s second term has been marked by “foolish” remarks from several ministers that spawned Internet memes and jokes detrimental to Putrajaya’s image.
The Malaysian Insider’s report today “To avoid more gaffes, ministers to learn to speak sensibly” quoted a source that Najib wants his ministers to undergo media training to avoid repeatedly delivering “foolish remarks”.
Specifically cited as examples of Ministerial bloopers which have spoilt Putrajaya’s image were those by the Minister for Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Datuk Seri Hasan Malek who wanted the people to be thankful for having “sincere” leaders who “prioritise people’s needs above all else” in response to the people’s unhappiness at subsidy cuts and price hikes and the Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who made insensitive responses to the complaints of property owners in Kuala Lumpur to the hike in assessment rates.
“You want me to revaluate your property at 0.1% for 21 years? It does not matter to me… up to you.” He had admonished the media over the issue, telling them: “I don’t know why people like to spin this issue out of control. You should tell the rakyat that this is good for them,” Adnan had said. Read the rest of this entry »
Kit Siang to meet critics over ‘kangkung’ issue
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building on Saturday, 25 January 2014
Lee Way Loon
Malaysiakini
Jan 24, 2014
Under criticism from netizens and social activists, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang will be holding a dialogue session with youth in Kuala Lumpur next week to explain his suggestion that PKR’s Machang Bubuk assemblyperson Lee Khai Loon apologise.
Organised by DAP’s party organ The Rocket, the event is scheduled to be held at the party headquarters at 7 or 8pm next Tuesday.
Lim told Malaysiakini this morning that he decided to hold the event after reading a news report, in which a group of youth urged him to retract his statement last Tuesday.
“I think they probably did not look at the problem from all sides, or did not properly read the details of my statement, so I am prepared to exchange my views with them and I am prepared to listen to theirs,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Suggest Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat form a joint Summit secretariat comprising three representatives to decide on date, place and agenda of BN-PR Summit
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 23 January 2014
The Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor told The Malaysian Insider that the proposal by Pakatan Rakyat leaders for a Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat Leaders’ Summit will be discussed by the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting tomorrow.
I welcome the prompt response of the Barisan Nasional in convening its Supreme Council tomorrow and hope that the BN Supreme Council will give a positive response to the PR proposal for a summit of the leaders of both coalitions to assure Malaysians that there could not be another May 13 riots, although there are irresponsible and reckless elements seeking to incite racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension to create the conditions for another May 13 in the country.
The proposal by the Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PKR, PAS and DAP stem from their love and patriotism to Malaysia and I hope that the Barisan Nasional leaders could be similarly motivated by their love and patriotism to Malaysia to give a positive response to hold the first BN-PR Leaders’ Summit in the nation’s history. Read the rest of this entry »
Police and authorities must not allow the “spiral of violence” to begin and continue as this is the second stage of those who want to create the conditions for another May 13
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Penang, Police, UMNO on Thursday, 23 January 2014
Despite my Second Open Letter to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet yesterday, the third Cabinet meeting of 2014 was a great cop-out, with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers failing to fulfill their commitment and responsibility to face the quintuplet of national crisis squarely and courageously to end the government drift and the leadership, clueless and rudderless Najib administration.
Worst of all, there was no word or acknowledgement let alone leadership to end the systematic campaign by a group of irresponsible and reckless elements out to incite racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension to create another May 13 situation to destabilize the country, to achieve their petty, selfish political ends.
All right-thinking Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region or political affiliation must deplore in the strongest terms the gross abdication of responsibility of the Cabinet yesterday to put a stop to the continued incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension as well as to all the saber-rattling to create another May 13 situation.
I agree with former MCA President Ong Tee Keat who recently warned that Malaysia will be left in tatters if the Prime Minister continues to ignore the raising issues that divide the country. Read the rest of this entry »
March of the Umno Baruputras
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 23 January 2014
Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Jan 20, 2014
You may have heard about the “scientific research” trip to Antarctica by Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said and you’ve probably watched the film, ‘March of the Penguins’ about a trip made by emperor penguins.
One portrays the intelligence, dedication and struggles of a group conditioned by ritualistic behaviour. The other is a gathering of a self-important species, which is expert at claiming to work while they are really on holiday.
Ahmad Said’s Antarctic journey is not just another bird-brained idea of Umno Baru. The Antarctic is one of the last frontiers of travel. It is the ultimate in travel destinations. In the west, anyone who has gone to the Antarctic is well-heeled. It is the present you give to the person who has everything.
The Antarctic is hauntingly beautiful. It is not commonplace like the queues up Mount Everest, the luxury villas on tropical islands or the five-star safari retreats.
The rakyat questioned the wisdom of sending a research team to the Antarctic when more pressing problems could be addressed at home. The rakyat is incensed about sending a politician on an expensive luxury cruise. Read the rest of this entry »
Second Open Letter to Najib and Cabinet – Are BN leaders prepared to work with PR leaders to ensure that there could not be another repetition of May 13 riots in Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Corruption, Najib Razak, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Police, Prices on Wednesday, 22 January 2014
For the second time this year, I am taking full advantage of the Age of Information Technology which enables the instant communication of information with information travelling at the speed of light to pen this Second Open Letter this year to the Prime Minister and all Cabinet Ministers just before their third Cabinet meeting of the New Year of 2014.
Members of the Cabinet who have not read or not informed of this Second Open Letter before the Ministers meet for their third Cabinet meeting later this morning clearly belong to the dinosaur epoch and are not fit to be in the Cabinet – and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have a very strong reason to get rid of these dead-wood and half-past six Ministers in a Cabinet reshuffle.
In my first Open Letter to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet before their first Cabinet meeting on 8th January 2014, I urged the first Cabinet meeting to send our a clear and unmistakable message to end the national drift and loss of leadership and direction to create an united, harmonious, just, and competitive and great Malaysian nation.
I zeroed in on the nation’s quintuplet of crisis which warranted priority and immediate attention by the Cabinet, viz: Read the rest of this entry »
Shut the Mouths that Threaten May 13
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak, nation building on Tuesday, 21 January 2014
By Kee Thuan Chye
news.malaysia.msn.com
21 Jan 2014
It’s disturbing, to say the least. Street protests staged by Umno and/or groups affiliated to or inspired by it invariably espouse the threat of violence and express racial venom. The most recent ones, held on January 18 and 19 in Penang, are further indications of this trend.
These were staged to protest against Lee Khai Loon, the PKR state assemblyman of Machang Bubok, for publicly mocking Prime Minister Najib Razak’s statement about the drop in price of kangkung. But the proceedings turned ugly when race was made into an issue when it was never one in the first place.
To begin with, Lee’s satirical flashmob on January 16, which culminated in his stuffing kangkung into the mouth of an effigy of Najib, was not a racial act. It was instead an act that summed up public disgust for the prime minister’s apparent failure to empathise with the rakyat, who are struggling with the problem of rising costs. Many Malaysians indeed blame the Government for contributing to the rise because it cut petrol and sugar subsidies and raised electricity tariffs.
On top of that, Najib made the extra howler of saying that although the price of kangkung has come down, the people do not praise the Government for it, but when prices go up, they are quick to blame the Government. For that, he was widely condemned. And on social media, he was satirised as well. Even the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) picked up the story. Read the rest of this entry »
Can Malaysia step back from the brink?
Posted by Kit in Lim Teck Ghee, Najib Razak, nation building on Tuesday, 21 January 2014
– Lim Teck Ghee
CPI/The Malaysian Insider
January 21, 2014
In early 2011, I provided a paper to the United Nations system in Malaysia on various scenarios facing the country, giving special emphasis to the impact of political and economic issues on social development. In it, I explored three scenarios:
• A best case one where the government can achieve its goals and targets as set out in various government documents,
• A midway scenario where targets are partially achieved, and
• A worst case scenario where targets are mostly not achieved and where the economic, political and social situation deteriorates significantly over the medium-term.
Unfortunately, the worst case scenario is becoming a reality. Excerpts from the report below identify the key steps and processes leading to the establishment of an autocratic ethnocracy which would be a huge step backwards for the country.
It is still not too late for the Prime Minister and other leaders, especially from the BN and Umno, to lead the country away from the worst case scenario outlined in the paper.
But time is running out. Read the rest of this entry »
Time for all Malaysians to separate patriots who want an united peaceful, harmonious and prosperous Malaysia from traitors who want to create another May 13 by inciting racial and religious hatred, tension and conflict through lies and falsehoods
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Religion on Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Yesterday, the extremist group Perkasa claimed the “kangkung furore” can result in a repeat of the May 13 racial riots if it continues to be played up, claiming that the issue has become racial and is against Malaysia’s multi-racial society.
A Perkasa spokesman said many people are seen as disrespecting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib on this issue.
He said: “The May 13th incident may repeat itself if people want it to happen again. If the kangkung issue goes too far, it is not impossible that it might.”
Can there be a repeat of the May 13, 1969 riots?
Yes, if extremists and intolerant groups and element are allowed to continue and even to escalate their campaign of incitement of racial and religious hatred, tension and conflict using lies and falsehoods without immediate action by the authorities to put an end to such irresponsible, inflammatory, incendiary and seditious spewing and incitement of racial and religious hatred, tension and conflict in our plural society. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib Wrong to Blame Malaysians
Posted by Kit in English, Kee Thuan Chye, Mahathir, Najib Razak, NEP, UMNO on Tuesday, 21 January 2014
by Kee Thuan Chye
Yahoo! News
Jan 14, 2014
Prime Minister Najib Razak is wrong to blame Malaysians for the country’s standing in comparison to Japan and South Korea. He says Malaysia is not as developed and economically advanced as those two countries are because Malaysians lack strong will and fighting spirit.
This is bullshit.
He should instead blame his own party, Umno, and its partners in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. If it were not for the New Economic Policy (NEP) and its continued existence to this day, almost a quarter-century past its original termination date of 1990, we would not be in the state we’re in now.
The NEP made us economically less competitive. Investors were reluctant to put money into ventures for which they had to yield 30 per cent share to partners who brought hardly anything to the table.
The NEP triggered a massive brain drain that is now recognised as one of the factors weakening our hopes of becoming an advanced nation. Read the rest of this entry »
Boos, doubts stalk Najib after kangkung ridicule
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 20 January 2014
BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
January 20, 2014
It doesn’t seem to be getting any better for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after a week of being ridiculed for talking about falling vegetable prices amid rising living costs.
There is talk among the Umno elite of moves to push out the party president, who won more seats for the party but also lost more for Barisan Nasional (BN) in Election 2013. His men also swept the party elections last December but his position now looks shaky as dissent rises inside and outside Umno.
And yesterday, the boos were louder than the cheers when Najib presented the winner’s medal to badminton star Datuk Lee Chong Wei when won his 10th Malaysian Open singles title in Kuala Lumpur.
On the same day, the Umno-owned Berita Minggu carried an interview with Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir who expressed concern that the ruling BN might lose in the 14th general election if Putrajaya continued implementing unpopular decisions.
“Defeat is a real possibility if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak continues with his present policy of correct but unpopular decisions, especially issues concerning the rising cost of living.” Read the rest of this entry »
Liong Sik should identify whether Najib was the “influential person” who put pressure on him to vacate his position as Chairman of UTAR when he was charged with corruption in the PKFZ scandal
Posted by Kit in MCA, Najib Razak on Monday, 20 January 2014
China Press today carried an interview with former MCA President and former Transport Minister, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik on his accusation that he was slapped with corruption charges in the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal by the Attorney-General when there was insufficient evidence against him, reiterating that the Attorney-General did not respect Chinese leaders in government.
Malaysians are still waiting for responses to this very serious accusation both from the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail and the new MCA leadership.
In his interview with China Press today, Liong Sik alleged that “a very influential person” had put pressure on him to vacate his position as Chairman of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) when he was charged with corruption in the PKFZ scandal.
Liong Sik did not name this “very influential person”. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Malaysian patriots and moderates regardless of race, religion or political affiliation to come forward to save Malaysia from extremists
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 19 January 2014
Yesterday, Penang UMNO staged a demonstration in response to the kangkung-theme flash mob organised by PKR Machang Bubuk assemblyman, Lee Khai Loon.
I have no objection to Penang UMNO staging a peaceful demonstration but all right-thinking Malaysians must be horrified that the Penang UMNO demonstration was a blatant and shameless incitement of racial and religious hatred, tensions and conflict in Malaysia which must be condemned by all patriotic and peace-loving Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or political affiliation.
If any of the Pakatan Rakyat parties had been involved in such-like demonstration as the one conducted by Penang Umno, unashamedly and blatantly inciting racial and religious hatred, tensions and conflict, the police would have acted immediately and the Pakatan Rakyat leaders involved would have been behind bars awaiting trial for sedition.
Why is there no action by the Police and the authorities to stop such dangerous, irresponsible, incendiary and seditious incitement of racial and religious hatred, tensions and conflict by Penang UMNO yesterday Umno protesters yesterday indulged in the worst form of political gangsterism and thuggery, threatening with the rhetorical question: “Does DAP want another May 13” and carried the most blood-curdling racist and religious slogans and banners, even with one banner in blood red with the screaming words: “Because of DAPs leaders mouth, May 13, 1969 happened…Want some more?” and other inflammatory banners like “ABCD – Asal Bukan Cina DAP” and “DAP is the enemy of Islam”. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should not be paranoiac by the “kangkung furore” and completely immobilised when he should swiftly identify the underlying factors and demonstrate that he is not a “PM kangkung” running a “kangkung government” hollow inside apart from glittering external
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak on Saturday, 18 January 2014
The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should not be paranoiac by the “kangkung furore” and completely immobilised when he should swiftly identify the underlying factors of the “kangkung phenomenon” in Malaysia in the past week and demonstrate that he is not a “PM kangkung” running a “kangkung government” hollow inside apart from a glittering externa
In the past seven days, the “kangkung phenomenon” has taken the country by storm, as kangkung becoming the butt of comedy, satire, video and comic sketch.
What is most regrettable and must be condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians is the dishonest and dangerous game of political opportunists who tried to racialise the “kangkung furore” as the work of Chinese showing disrespect to Malay leaders.
In the past week, Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region have taken part in the “kangkung bashing” of Najib including the latest edition of comedy sketch, That Effing Show, hosted and produced by Ezra Said, entitled “Let Them Eat Kangkung”. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno’s misplaced anger over kangkung jokes
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak on Friday, 17 January 2014
NEWS ANALYSIS BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
January 16, 2014
Wow. The Umno members who rallied and tried to ring a fence round Datuk Seri Najib Razak to save him from further public ridicule over his ‘kangkung’ remarks, are incensed.
So incensed that it took a few days for them to feel “offended” enough to vent their anger against Machang Lubuk assemblyman Lee Khai Loon for allegedly making fun of their party president.
Everything about Umno these days is stage-managed and contrived. Even their anger.
On Sunday, Najib said that the government was never praised when the prices of goods went down. As an example, he noted that the price of kangkung had dropped. His speech at an event was uploaded onto YouTube and drew stinging criticism from netizens, with many pointing out the silliness of the PM using the cost of a vegetable which grew wildly by the road side as an example of government intervention.
For more than four days, Najib has been lampooned by a lot of Malaysians. Privately, even his partymen have been speaking about the PM’s growing ability to say the wrong things. To be fair, the kangkung line was a throwaway line that would have been glossed over under normal circumstances. Read the rest of this entry »
What’s next with Dr M’s fans baying for Najib’s head to roll
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 15 January 2014
BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
January 15, 2014
Nostalgia for better times has dominated this week with one Umno veteran openly calling for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to return to helm the country while the prime minister’s brother harked back to the integrity of their own prime minister father.
But the better times was when Umno was dominant and the Internal Security Act (ISA) was used to silence dissent, something which Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin alluded to when calling for Dr Mahathir’s return to lead the nation.
He is the latest Mahathirist to say the obvious in not so many words that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak must step down.
Several bloggers aligned to Dr Mahathir have called for the same in the weeks after the last Umno elections where Najib’s camp won handsomely.
These were among the same people who also agitated against Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who resigned as prime minister and Umno president in April 2009, a year after the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) suffered historic losses in the 2008 elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Between God and Allah
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islam, Najib Razak, Religion on Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Wall Street Journal
Jan 14, 2014
Malaysia tries to stop Christians using the Bahasa word for God.
For nearly 200 years non-Muslim residents of present-day Malaysia used the Arabic and Bahasa word “Allah” to refer to God. Seven years ago, the government began an unnecessary and provocative push to ban them from doing so in print. Now Malaysian police are accusing a Catholic priest of sedition after he announced that churches in the state of Selangor would continue using the A word in their local-language services.
At the heart of the dispute is prominent Catholic priest Lawrence Andrew. In 2007, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar banned Father Lawrence Andrew’s church newspaper from printing “Allah.” Father Andrew fought the ban in the courts and eventually lost in the Court of Appeal last October. In November, the sultan of Selangor took the campaign a step further and extended the ban to Bahasa-language Bibles and churches. Now Father Andrew is being investigated for violating the edict under the draconian Sedition Act. Read the rest of this entry »
In Nazir’s paean to dad, a call to action for all Malaysians
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Mahathir, Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 15 January 2014
NEWS ANALYSIS BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
January 14, 2014
It happens all the time. Whenever someone writes or talks about the golden generation of Malaysian leaders, it is a bittersweet experience for citizens of this blessed country.
There is pride that individuals such as Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Siew Sin, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman once charted the fortunes of Malaysia.
And there is deep longing for such men of integrity, principle and fairness.
Yet, there is also numbing sadness that such men no longer exists in government, replaced long time ago by inept individuals with a ravenous appetite for self.
Make no mistake, Razak and friends were flawed men, at times drive by political interests of their parties. But they loved this land above everything else. Above enriching their family members. Above nurturing crony capitalism. Read the rest of this entry »
Who is the leader?
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 15 January 2014
By Wan Saiful Wan Jan
Free Malaysia Today
January 15, 2014
How is it that Umno, a party that has been in power for so long, has suddenly become subservient to these relatively young entities?
COMMENT
Even if you disagree with groups like Perkasa and Isma, I think they really deserve an applause. These two groups have been very effective in their campaigns, to the extent that they cannot be simply dismissed in today’s public discourse.
Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa was set up by Ibrahim Ali soon after the 2008 general election. I don’t think I need to explain who Perkasa is because many readers already know them. Their campaign is centred around defending the rights of the ethnic Malays.
Isma stands for Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia. Those who are familiar with the history of Muslim groups in Malaysia will know that, up to a few yeas ago, the rivalry between the various Malaysian Muslim groups was fierce. And, the contested history is that Isma started off as a splinter from another group, the Jamaah Islah Malaysia (now known as Ikram).
It will take too long to explain the long and convoluted history of Isma properly. But suffice to say that Isma is one of the many Muslim groups that exist in Malaysia today that was inspired by another global movement called the Muslim Brotherhood.
The backgrounds of these two organisations are rather different. But, if we look at their work, they have become potent pressure groups in Malaysia today. Read the rest of this entry »
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