Kill National Service Before It Kills Again
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye on Saturday, 5 October 2013, 6:35 pm
By Kee Thuan Chye
msn.com
3rd October 2013
Let me be upfront about this. I’ve never been in favour of our National Service (NS) programme, and I think it should be scrapped immediately.
From the day it was implemented in December 2003 – in fact, even when it was first proposed about two years before that – I had thought of it as nothing but a propaganda opportunity for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government, as another medium it could exploit to pollute young minds with its warped ideas about nationalism and patriotism. And goodness knows what else.
In fact, one of its declared objectives is – brace yourself for it – developing a generation that is obedient and loyal to the Government. Read the rest of this entry »
Time to say no to racism
Posted by Kit in nation building on Saturday, 5 October 2013, 10:42 am
– Bob Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
October 04, 2013
My Malay buddy texted me: “Would you comment as a non-Malay, in particular Chinese, how you see future of non-Malays, especially Chinese, with the likes of Perkasa, Jati, Jimm around and even Umno becoming more rightist. Also with country appearing to becoming more Malay as well as Malay population increasing while non-Malay population decreasing? Will not name you, of course.”
He’s a columnist just like me and he needed my response to help him put together a piece on the sorry state of race relations in the country. So I rang him up and offered him my opinion.
“Must be a hard time you Chinese are facing eh?” he said before assuring me he would not use my name in his column. Read the rest of this entry »
A-G Spot-on, IGP All at Sea
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report, Corruption, Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak, Police on Saturday, 5 October 2013, 9:50 am
By Kee Thuan Chye
Yahoo! News
5th October 2013
The Auditor-General’s report for 2012 is alarming. And this is so not only because it exposed huge wastage committed by government departments last year, but also because nothing seems to have changed all these many years.
Year after year, the A-G tells us of cases of improper payment; of purchases made at astronomical prices; of unreasonable project delays; of poor asset management; of non-adherence to procedures, etc, etc. But year after year, nothing is done to address the shortcomings.
It seems as if our civil service just continues to plod on, continues to waste, continues to be inefficient, continues to make corrupt transactions. And the overriding controller – i.e. the Government – just lets it be.
The Government knows from the A-G’s reports that corruption is rife in the civil service, but it probably realises it doesn’t have the moral standing to haul in the culprits. After all, the civil servants are following the example of the country’s leadership. And since the Government has also not shown itself to be accountable for a lot of things, how can we stop the rot? Read the rest of this entry »
Malays: The oppressed ‘master race’
Zurairi AR
The Malay Mail Online
October 4, 2013
Oct 4 — Most Malays would like to think that their race is one that is proud and as old as time, and thus will remain pure and noble until the end of it all.
“Takkan Melayu hilang di dunia,” (Malays will never become extinct) they would repeat ad nauseam, parroting the words allegedly spoken by the icon of that noble Malay man: Hang Tuah.
Bereft of achievements that they can be immensely proud of as Malaysians, numerous Malays have retreated into a cocoon, where race and religion have become their defining marks.
I had the most interesting opportunity to immerse myself in this mentality last weekend as I sat in on a symposium called “Mendepani Agenda Asing” (Facing foreign agenda), or MEGA, co-organised by the Islamist NGO Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA). Read the rest of this entry »
Zahid leads the pack in Umno vice-presidential race
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Friday, 4 October 2013, 6:43 pm
by Eileen Ng and Mobhd Farhan Darwis
The Malaysian Insider
October 04, 2013
Umno incumbent vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi appears to be gaining ground among the party’s 191 divisions in the run-up to the October 19 party polls, say Umno insiders.
However, the Home Minister’s two running mates, incumbents Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, are believed to be trailing in the six-man race.
The trio is facing a stiff challenge from Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad and former Malacca chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.
The Malaysian Insider understands Ahmad Zahid has garnered pledges of support from about 130 divisions as he travels across the country in his quest to keep his party post. Some 146,000 grassroots delegates will vote for their leaders in the polls, as opposed to the 2,500 delegates that previously voted in the triennial elections. Read the rest of this entry »
In Malaysia, Mahathir’s rising son signals conservative shift
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Friday, 4 October 2013, 8:44 am
The Malay Mail Online
October 4, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — The chief minister of the rural Malaysian state of Kedah has a familiar face, even if he lacks the charisma, provocative rhetoric and razor-sharp political skills of his famous father.
Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir is the youngest son of Malaysia’s longest-serving leader, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, whose often authoritarian rule transformed the economy into a developing powerhouse while winning a reputation for cronyism and dubious “mega-projects”.
Ten years after his father stepped down, Mukhriz has stepped into a battle for the soul of the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) in a test of 88-year-old Mahathir senior’s still-powerful influence over the party.
If Mukhriz succeeds in snaring a coveted Umno vice presidential post later this month, unseating one of three seasoned cabinet ministers, it would be seen as a further blow to the flagging reform agenda of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The ruling coalition’s weak election victory in May undermined Najib’s attempts to forge more inclusive policies in racially diverse Malaysia, empowering Umno conservatives who want to strengthen policies favouring majority ethnic Malays.
The elder Mahathir remains a potent figure through his towering reputation and leverage within Umno. Victory in the party elections for the son would give rise to suspicion that he would act as a proxy for his father.
Both father, who has previously scorned political dynasties, and son have denied that. Neither responded to Reuters’ requests for interviews.
Nevertheless, Mukhriz Mahathir’s election to a top party post would be seen as bolstering the conservative wing of the party. Read the rest of this entry »
Soi Lek stays silent as party roiled by sacking of former port chief
By Ida Lim
The Malay Mail Online
October 4, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek refused last night to confirm or deny reports that former port boss Datuk Lee Hwa Beng had been sacked from MCA for inviting DAP political foe Lim Kit Siang to the launch of his whistleblowing book on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.
Last night the MCA president ran the gauntlet of reporters who had door-stopped him after an event in Petaling Jaya, and stayed silent amid a barrage of questions thrown at him over the reported sacking of Lee.
Lee, who was last week elected to be a national delegate to the Chinese party’s polls later this year, had taken to Twitter to broadcast his sacking earlier yesterday afternoon while the MCA central committee was holding a news conference.
“Just heard @drchuaSL just sacked me as an MCA member. Am honored as he see me as a threat once I was voted in as a national delegate,” the former Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairman wrote on his Twitter account @hwabeng.
“Was told I was sacked as MCA member 4 inviting @limkitsiang 2 launch my PKFZ bk.But why now?Must b when I was elected a nat delegate last wk,” he added in a series of tweets in reply to a bombardment of questions.
However, when contacted by The Malay Mail Online over the phone, Lee said there was “no letter, no notice” informing him of the sacking.
He declined to comment further until he found out the reason behind his sacking from the political party. Read the rest of this entry »
While Putrajaya spends, now Malaysian universities not even in Times rankings
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Thursday, 3 October 2013, 5:54 pm
by Elizabeth Zachariah
The Malaysian Insider
October 03, 2013
Although Putrajaya continues to spend billions on education, Malaysian universities are not benefitting from it. If it’s any indication, for the third year running Malaysian universities have failed to feature in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Meanwhile, universities in Thailand and Singapore continue to track higher as shown in the 2013-14 Times survey.
Last year alone Putrajaya allocated RM38.7 billion in its budget for education, with emphasis on improving quality and standards.
One of Putrajaya’s goals is also to make Malaysia an education hub for the region and attract some 200,000 students to local universities by 2020.
But these latest rankings show that for all the money spent and all of Putrajaya’s efforts, Malaysia’s institutions of higher learning are falling behind. Read the rest of this entry »
Former sports minister denies Khairy’s statement, says concert fee came from sponsors
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report on Thursday, 3 October 2013, 5:32 pm
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (18)
The Malaysian Insider
October 03, 2013
A day after Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin admitted that his ministry had paid RM1.6 million to bring three K-pop groups to Malaysia for a youth concert last year, his predecessor is insisting that the money did come from sponsors.
Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, in direct contradiction to Khairy’s statement, claimed the ministry had received RM20 million from domestic and foreign corporate sponsors for the event.
He said the money was banked into the National Sports Council’s account by the sponsors, which the auditor-general’s department had failed to take into account.
“The auditors only looked at the amount that came out of the ministry’s account,” he reportedly wrote in his Facebook posting, and called the department “culas” (not diligent).
“It was not taxpayers’ money that was wasted as alleged by the opposition based on the summary contained in the auditor-general’s report,” Ahmad Shabery added. Read the rest of this entry »
Memugar sokongan di negeri Melayu
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 3 October 2013, 10:34 am
A Shukur Harun
The Malaysian Insider
October 01, 2013
Kenyataan yang dibuat oleh Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng bahawa sokongan pengundi Melayu kepada Umno/BN dalam PRU yang lalu telah merosot di empat negeri, memberi makna yang besar kepada dinamika politik negara ini di masa depan.
Dalam ucapannya di Kongres Khas Kebangsaan DAP bagi pemilihan semula pucuk pimpinan parti itu di Petaling Jaya kelmarin, Lim menyatakan bahawa sokongan undi Melayu kepada Umno/BN telah merosot, iaitu lebih dari 3% di Terengganu dan Perlis sementara 1% di Pahang dan Pulau Pinang.
Ini berlaku, kata Lim, walaupun Umno/BN mempunyai sumber kewangan yang banyak, mengawal media, meniupkan semangat perkauman dan lain-lain, tetapi undinya tetap merosot.
Kenyataannya ini yang tentunya datang dari hasil kajian partinya membuktikan bahawa politik di negara ini sangat dinamik sifatnya. Ia tidak statis atau beku, tetapi pantas berubah. Oleh itu, siapapun, baik pemimpin dan pendukung parti politik dalam Pakatan Rakyat serta individu yang berminat politik memikirkan dinamika politik ini.
Walaupun perubahan di empat negeri itu kecil saja kelihatannya seperti yang disebut oleh Lim, tetapi sudah ada “gegaran” di kalangan pengundi Melayu walaupun bersekala kecil. Boleh jadi dalam PRU akan datang, “gegaran” itu akan bertambah besar. Read the rest of this entry »
The truth? Ministry did pay RM1.6 million for K-pop concert
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 4:07 pm
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (17)
by Rita Jong
The Malaysian Insider
October 2, 2013
The Youth and Sports Ministry spent RM1.6 million to bring in three South Korean pop groups for the National Youth Day celebrations last year, in contrast to the claim that the cost had been covered by sponsors.
The Auditor-General’s Report revealed yesterday that the money came from the government’s coffers.
The three K-pop groups – U-Kiss, Teen-Top and Dal Shabet – were brought in by Stadium First Sdn Bhd.
A ministry official had reportedly said then that the bill was paid by sponsors.
The report also found the ministry overspending RM1.11 million on promotion and publicity for the event. Read the rest of this entry »
Audit finds Registrar of Societies failing in duties
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report, DAP on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 3:39 pm
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (16)
by Koh Jun Lin
Malaysiakini
Oct 2, 2013
AUDIT REPORT In contrast with the crackdown on DAP by the Registrar of Societies’ (ROS), the Auditor-General’s Report 2012 has found that enforcement by the ROS lacking.
Among others, a check on its files kept in its Putrajaya, Penang, Johor and Pahang has shown that 90 societies have not submitted any report to the ROS, but no notice was issued against them.
This includes files of 17 of the 31 political parties included in the Putrajaya audit, and that of 150 non-political organisations from the three states. Read the rest of this entry »
599 potholes = bumpy landing at KK airport
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 11:17 am
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (15)
by Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Oct 2, 2013
AUDIT REPORT Malaysian motorists are not the ones who have to dodge potholes on a daily basis.
Pilots landing aircraft at Kota Kinabalu International Airport, the auditor-general has found, had to deal with 599 potholes in the runway and taxiway, until these were fixed.
Worse, a pilot quoted in the Auditor-General’s Report 2012 complained of difficulty in landing in poor weather, “especially in haze”, as the Instruments Landing System (ILS) has yet to be installed after being bought in June 2008.
The unnamed pilot, who flies with national carrier Malaysia Airlines, told the audit team that the ILS is required for all commercial airlines, and that its absence endangers passenger safety.
The Transport Ministry has countered that the ILS “does not affect the safety of aircraft operations” and that many airports in the world do not have such a system. Read the rest of this entry »
Ministry spends RM320,000 on FB and Twitter
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 11:08 am
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (14)
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013
AUDIT REPORT The auditor-general has questioned the Health Ministry’s payment of RM320,000 to two companies to enhance its social media presence by developing two Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The expenditure, during Liow Tiong Lai’s tenure as minister, comprises payment of RM199,068 to Eficaz Media Sdn to develop the first Facebook page for the anti-smoking ‘Tak Nak merokok’ campaign.
The second Facebook page and the Twitter account were developed by Astonish View Sdn Bhd for the ‘Kempen intervensi penyakit tidak berjangkit’ (intervention campaign for non-contagious diseases), costing RM120,500.
The 2012 Audit Report comments that the scope of the two jobs were almost identical and questioned why Astonish View was given RM120,500 to develop Facebook and Twitter, while Eficaz Media was allocated a higher sum to develop one Facebook page. Read the rest of this entry »
Stressed, starved livestock die in Sarawak
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report, Sarawak on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 9:45 am
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (13)
by Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Oct 2, 2013
Being a goat, sheep or a cow in the care of the Sarawak Agriculture Department can be a tenuous thing if the death rates at some special rearing stations are anything to go by.
Livestock deaths – due to stressed or starvation – at the department’s special rearing stations were as high as 74 percent, when the acceptable rate is between 5 to 10 percent, the Auditor-General’s Report 2012 states.
While only 26 percent of its goats survived in 2010, the Karabungan rearing station saw more than half of its cattle die the following year. The cattle survival rates improved remarkable the next year with only 12 of its 182 cows dead.
In Karabungan, the animals died from “falling into feeding troughs, weakness or stress, parasites, liver fluke (and) getting stuck in mud”. Read the rest of this entry »
Auditor-general raises stink over crappy toilet design
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 9:34 am
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (12)
by Nigel Aw
Malaysiakini
Oct 2, 2013
AUDIT REPORT If you suffer from unpleasant bowel movements and an uncontrollable urge to ease yourself at the Kota Setar district land office complex, then you would be in for a rude shock.
The 2012 Auditor-General’s report, which was released yesterday, revealed the difficulty a person desperate need to answer nature’s call would encounter.
One of the squat toilets in the building was oddly aligned to one side of the cubicle, leaving barely enough foot space.
From one side of the wall, there was merely a margin of 16cm to the toilet but it was 36cm from the other side of the wall.
In response to the auditors, the Kedah state secretariat explained that the toilet design could not be helped due to an error in the initial phase of laying underground pipes.
“Changes could not be made to avoid any leakages,” it said.
RS Iscon Corporation Sdn Bhd was appointed as the main contractor through open tender for the RM15.31 million complex commissioned by the state economic planning unit (Upen) of the Kedah state government.
The building was completed under the then Pakatan Rakyat-led state government though the project itself began under BN’s rule. Read the rest of this entry »
Discrepancy and inconsistency: Calls for withdrawal of PCA from Parliament
Posted by Kit in Crime, Human Rights, Parliament, Police on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 1:51 am
– Datuk Kuthbul Zaman Bukhari and Dr Denison Jayasooria
The Malaysian Insider
October 01, 2013
Proham has identified discrepancy and inconsistency between what is said and what is written in the proposed amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) and calls on the Federal Government to withdraw the bill from Parliament for further consultation and redrafting.
Proham hosted a discussion on the proposed amendments to the PCA yesterday. The review was undertaken by Datuk Kuthbul Zaman Bukhari who led the discussion –paragraph by paragraph.
We identified a number of major concerns and acknowledge that this proposed piece of legislation is a clear backward step away from human rights compliance. We are of the opinion that this is a major assault on human rights since Datuk Seri Najib Razak took office as Prime Minister. We also note that this is inconsistent with the promises he made when he took office as the Prime Minister and in the promises for democratic reform made during the general election (GE13).
We also note that there are major discrepancies and inconsistencies between the verbal statements and assurance made by the Prime Minister, Home Affairs Minister and other ministers and the actual text of the proposed amendments to the PCA. We are told verbally that this new legislation is not a return of the ISA, that this is focused only on criminal-violent gangs and that the decisions will be made by a judge. Read the rest of this entry »
Police lose weapons, Customs men lose shoes
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report, Police on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 1:38 am
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (11)
by Hafiz Yatim
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013
AUDIT REPORT The Auditor-General’s 2012 report reveals that the Royal Malaysian Police Force recorded a total of 309 missing items in the form of weapons, handcuffs and cars.
It also reported that the Royal Customs Department wasted a whopping RM600,000 on 7,659 pairs of shoes that were not according to specification and were then badly damaged during prolonged storage.
The items missing from the police force were recorded between 2010 and 2012, resulting in losses amounting to RM1.33 million. Read the rest of this entry »
RM73mil CIQ complex illegally built on private land
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 1:26 am
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (10)
by Nigel Aw
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013
AUDIT REPORT The RM73 million Malacca Customs and Immigration Quarantine Complex (CIQ) was illegally built on a private land, which eventually cost the Malacca government RM10.8 million, says the Auditor-General’s Report 2012.
The report pointed out that the federal project, which included a jetty, was to be built by Pesona Metro Sdn Bhd on a plot of 1.78 acres at the mouth of the Malacca River.
Melaka River CruiseHowever the building required four acres of land. So, with the help of state authorities, the state government in October 2010 approved an additional 2.22 acres of adjacent land to make up the difference.
The said land was in fact owned by Pembinaan Kota Laksamana (Melaka) Sdn Bhd, which then issued a trespassing notice against the project contractor.
Despite the legal warning, the federal government instructed the contractor to continue with its works, resulting in the land owner filing a lawsuit against the contractor. Read the rest of this entry »
Millions lost due to Works ministry failure to recoup money from terminated contractors
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, 1:07 am
Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (9)
by Rita Jong
The Malaysian Insider
October 01, 2013
The Public Works Department failed to recover RM15.77 million in performance bonds despite terminating 21 government projects.
The Auditor-General’s report which was made public today stated that the department fully recovered 30 performance bonds amounting to RM20.97 million, while only half of another 21 bonds totalling RM26.97 million were recovered.
The amount from the outstanding bonds that were yet to be recovered totalled RM15.77 million. Read the rest of this entry »
