PM, MACC, AG and IGP must respond to demands by environmental groups and activists from Malaysia, Europe and Australia for the arrest/criminal prosecution of Sarawak CM and 13 family members for massive graft/plundering of Sarawak’s rich natural resources
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Tuesday, 13 December 2011, 3:23 pm
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police must respond to the public demands by environmental groups and activisits from Malaysia, Europe and Australia for the arrest and criminal prosecution of Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and his 13 family members for massive graft and plundering of Sarawak’s rich natural resources.
Seventeen non-government organisations and activists, including Greenpeace, the Swiss-based Bruno Manser, Europe-based forest advocate group FERN, the Borneo Resources Institute and the Japan Tropical Forest Action Network, today released a letter to the MACC, the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police urging the immediate arrest of Taib, alleging crimes including illegal appropriation of public funds and land, abuse of office, fraud, money-laundering “and conspiracy to form a criminal organisation”.
The 10-page letter includes 16 exhibits that document the accusations against the Taib and his immediate family members, alleging that they have a stake in 332 Malaysian and 85 foreign companies worth several billion US dollars.
The letter which alleged Taib family stakes in 14 large Malaysian companies alone exceed RM4.6 billion or US$1.46 b illion, said:
“We allege that only the systematic breach of the law and the use of illegal methods has enabled Taib and his family members to acquire such massive corporate assets.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Call of Democracy
By Allan C. F. Goh
Patriots, stand up and be counted,
In the quest for real nationhood.
Let us not be fooled or courted
By glitz-mirages of falsehood.
Politics of chicanery
Must be objected with courage.
Exploitative machinery
Needs rejection with damning rage!
Unfounded incarceration
Of rightful civil liberty
Must be unshackled with gumption
With honourable decency.
Read the rest of this entry »
Christians used as ‘pawns’ for votes, say church leaders
By Clara Chooi | December 13, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Many Christians feel victimised and are convinced they are being used as political pawns to win Muslim votes in the next general election, a number of church leaders have said.
The church leaders told the New York Times in a report published today that there was generally a feeling of Christian-bashing among the community which makes up less than 10 per cent of the population and consists of most major denominations.
“I think Christians are generally feeling that there is kind of a Christian-bashing going on,” Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) vice-president Rev Thomas Philips told the newspaper.
The report pointed out that recent events had worsened religious tension here, particularly after the controversial August 3 raid on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pengucapan bebal disana sini
By Sakmongkol 47 | December 12, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
12 DIS — Dalam dua minggu ini, saya ingat saya sudah mendengar semua kenyataan tolol dan bebal dalam negara kita. Rupa2 nya saya salah. Tiba2 senator Ezam Mohd Nor mengeluarkan suatu kenyataan yang mengatasi kebebalan kenyataan2 yang sudah2.
Mula saya ingat Muhyiddin Yassin sudah tebiat bila menakutkan orang Melayu mengenai ancaman keatas Melayu oleh bangsa lain. Setelah itu, ketua penerangan Umno mengukuhkan lagi rasa cemas pemimpin parti yang kian tenat bila menyatakan pandangan bebal yang sama. Jika DAP dan orang Cina memerintah negara habis lah orang Melayu, habis lah Islam dan habislah Raja2 Melayu.
Sana sini orang bercakap. Adakah pemimpin Umno sudah jadi bingung? DAP yang bukan Kristian mahu mengkristiankan orang Melayu? Yang sepatutnya di soalkan orang Melayu ialah mengapa terjadi nya murtad di kalangan orang Melayu? Adakah kebajikan mereka tidak di jaga oleh pihak yang berwajib? Mengapa aqidah mereka teruk sedangkan masyarakat Melayu di lemaskan dengan 1,001 program keIslaman?
Read the rest of this entry »
Kalau Malaysia jadi seperti Singapura, apa yang Ezam takutkan?
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Tuesday, 13 December 2011, 10:08 am
By Aspan Alias | December 13, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
13 DIS — Senator Ezam Mohd Nor berkata kalau PR memerintah PR akan dipengaruhi DAP dan Malaysia akan menjadi seperti Singapura. Apa maksud beliau susah hendak difahami dan itu tidak menjadi hal, kerana Umno memangnya sebuah parti yang pemimpin-pemimpinnya selalu bercakap yang susah hendak difahami oleh orang ramai. Apa yang tidak eloknya di Singapura itu mungkin Ezam sahaja yang tahu.
Apa yang Ezam takut jika Malaysia menjadi seperti Singapura? Adakah Ezam takut Malaysia tidak lagi kaya rasuah seperti di Singapura? Adakah Ezam takut Malaysia akan menjadi negara maju jika negara ini menjadi seperti Singapura? Adakah Ezam takut jika Malaysia menjadi negara yang mempunyai kepimpinan yang beretika dan pemimpin-pemimpinnya tidak berlumba-lumba untuk menakluki segala harta kekayaan negara?
Atau mungkin kah Ezam takut jika Malaysia menjadi seperti Singapura pemimpin-pemimpinnya terpaksa menjadi pemimpin-pemimpin yang berdisiplin dan penuh dengan etika kerja yang tinggi? Elok bertanya kepada Ezam, adakah beliau akan merasa kerugian jika tidak ada lagi pemimpin-pemimpin kerajaan yang menggunakan pengaruh dan kuasa untuk mendapatkan pinjaman kerajaan dalam jumlah ratusan juta ringgit?
Read the rest of this entry »
Parallels between Russia and M’sia
Posted by Kit in Elections, Foreign, Mahathir, Mariam Mokhtar, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 13 December 2011, 10:06 am
By Mariam Mokhtar | Dec 12, 2011
Malaysiakini
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received the brunt of the wrath of former KGB spy and ex-president Vladimir Putin, when he blamed her for encouraging Russian street protests.
When BN cranks up its dirty tricks, will Clinton risk the fragile relationship of trade and investment with the Malaysian government by telling its people to take to the streets, as she did in Russia?
Premier Putin’s desire to return to power as president next year, with the United Russia party ‘winning’ the elections, reminds us of Umno wanting to prolong its 54 years of power. The parallels between Malaysia and Russia are too many to ignore.
With reports of ballot box-stuffing and ‘carousel voting’ fueling their anger, Russians took to the streets to protest. Carousel voting is when people are driven from polling-station to polling-station to vote time and time again.
Read the rest of this entry »
Chameleon politics
— Tan Teck Huat
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 12, 2011
DEC 12 — If anyone wants to know the chameleon nature of the Najib government or perhaps even the prime minister, you just have to look at the government’s attitude towards Singapore.
On one hand, Najib talks about closer ties with Singapore and his upcoming retreat with Lee Hsien Loong, where some great announcement is going to be made about a joint announcement in Iskandar.
We are supposed to be good pals after years of difficult ties. But before anyone starts celebrating, there is Najib’s good friend, Senator Ezam Noor, warning undergraduates that the DAP is bent on turning Malaysia into Singapore!
Let there be no illusion about Ezam’s close connection to the establishment. A political maverick like Ezam can only be accepted back into the system and be appointed as a senator only with the blessings of the prime minister. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #92
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Monday, 12 December 2011, 2:45 pm
Chapter11: Embracing Free Enterprise
Malaysian Capitalism
Moral Arguments For Free Trade
Daniel Griswold of the conservative Cato Institute in Washington, DC, argues that free trade is morally right, quite apart from the benefits that accrue upon the participants. Free trade respects individual dignity and sovereignty. When one engages in honest work, one has the basic right to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor. No authority has the power to forbid someone from exchanging the fruits of that labor with something else produced by another person, whether that person is in the next village or across the globe. Ibn Khaldun first expressed these views in the 14th Century. Protectionism is just another form of stealing; taking from one group of people (consumers) and giving the spoils to another (usually domestic producers and others who are politically powerful).
Free trade also encourages individuals to cultivate moral virtues. To be successful in trade, one must be reliable and provide the goods and services that are needed and at a price that is affordable. Rewards go to those who are trustworthy, reliable, and deliver on their promises. These are the same qualities that are regarded as virtues in any religion. For Muslims, it is instructive that Muhammad (pbuh) was a trustworthy merchant who brought great profits to his employer before he received his prophethood.
Read the rest of this entry »
Essential national intellectual capital: What is needed more, a genius or two, or good academic institutions?
Posted by Kit in Brain drain, Education, university on Monday, 12 December 2011, 11:06 am
— Clive Kessler
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 12, 2011
DEC 12 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has recognised that a country’s intellectual capital is its primary asset.
Its “brainpower”, he understands, is the major determinant of its international standing, of its prospects of achieving success and prosperity (Melissa Chi, “PM says intellectual capital determines success of a country”, The Malaysian Insider, December 10, 2011).
So far, so good.
But it is wishful thinking to imagine that all can be saved and made good by the production, in isolation — in a cultural and intellectual vacuum — of a couple of world-class geniuses.
There are many small countries that, against the odds, have surprisingly produced the odd “world-beater.”
But unless these intellectual giants inhabit what may be called a “culturally hospitable environment” in their own countries (and provided, too, that they do not become part of the great international “brain drain”), little will come of their achievements. Read the rest of this entry »
A single spark starts the prairie fire?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, UMNO on Monday, 12 December 2011, 9:39 am
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 11, 2011
DEC 11 — Dengar cerita CEO NFC (suami Sharizat) dpt gaji 100k sebulan, anak sulung (age 31) dpt gaji 45k sebulan, anak kedua (age 27)dpt 35k sebulan, anak ketiga (age 25) dpt 35k sebulan. Jika ini betul, ia sesungguhnya memalukan. Ambil duit rakyat buat bayar gaji besar.
Anak saya pun graduate juga. UPSR, PMR, SPM dapat semua A. Umur 24 tahun. Kerja swasta. Dia pun work hard. Balik kerja paling awal jam 9 malam. Kadang2 sampai 1 pagi. Gaji dia RM2,700/sebulan. Adakah anak saya akan sokong BN/Umno kalau begini keadaannya? Saya dah tahu jawapannya. Umno tak boleh kelentong orang cerdik. Umno is not capable of changing, not with the current leaders.
When more than 50 per cent of our working population is earning less than RM2k/month, tak tahu malu ke mereka-mereka ini. Merompak siang dan malam, 7 hari seminggu. Perompak Ali Baba P. Ramli pun ada cuti hujung minggu.
8 December 2011 15:12
Even if we refuse to admit it, the above is an outpouring of bitterness. Although Umno people will wish it’s confined, it’s personal anecdotes such as this that strikes fear in Umno. Maybe it’s already that single initial spark that has ignited the prairie fire.
Shahrizat Jalil can huff and puff and weave her tales as her mythical namesake did in 1,001 Nights. While she can fool Umno delegates by employing attack as the best form of defence, her actions are only an exercise in futility. For her, the writing is already on the wall. Whatever she does will not extinguish her blackened image. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno/BN no joy for babies
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption, Education, UMNO on Sunday, 11 December 2011, 12:32 pm
Dean Johns | Dec 7, 2011
Malaysiakini
I’ve always had a soft spot for babies, and thus have found the fathering and nurturing of several in the course of my somewhat chequered marital career to be life-enhancing experiences.
So I was far from surprised that, of all the lovely people I was privileged to meet at the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia dinner in KL last Saturday night, the new acquaintance I found most utterly enchanting was the youngest ‘member’ or at least attendee, a three-year-old aptly named Joy.
There were two reasons why my heart went out to this delightful little sprite. Firstly, her spirit of frolic and fun that inspired me to play so many silly games with her that I ended up limp with exhaustion and soaking with sweat, while she was still as fresh as the proverbial daisy and ready for more.
And secondly, she reminded me of my own similarly joyful daughter Sammie, whose birth in Malaysia 16 years ago transformed me from an appalled but passive expatriate observer of the local political scene to an outraged critic of the evils I saw her as having to face if she stayed in Umno/BN’s Bolehland.
Happily she’s been spared most of such problems, thanks first to the efforts of her mother, maternal grandparents and some very good teachers in Malaysia, and also her subsequent relocation into the admittedly far-from-perfect but at least somewhat more progressive Australian educational system. Read the rest of this entry »
Nationwide protests under way in Russia
Aljazeera
10 December 2011
Moscow rally against “poll fraud” by ruling party attracts tens of thousands, with protests in many other cities.Last Modified: 10
Protests in Russia are taking place against Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule amid signs of swelling anger over a poll won by his ruling United Russia party with the alleged help of widescale fraud.
More than 20,000 people have already gathered on a square across the river from the Kremlin on Saturday, after receiving permission from the Kremlin for the event.
Authorities had detained about 1,600 activists over the past few days who had joined unsanctioned rallies against the December 4 vote.
The opposition is also organising rallies in at least 14 other major cities in a rare outpouring of mistrust in a system put in place by Putin when he first became president in 2000.
Protests have already begun elsewhere, with several hundred marching in Vladivostok, seven timezones to the east of Moscow.
A 30,000-strong demonstration would be the largest to hit the Russian capital in 20 years, in what some see as the first warning bell for the former foreign agent and his secretive inner circle of security chiefs. Read the rest of this entry »
Friends
by Allan C.F. Goh
Friends, I am glad to have found you,
Who have added much to life’s hue.
Our friendship remains in my core;
It’s getting richer, more and more.
The sun may rise and set each day,
Friendships never set nor delay.
You are there with extended hand,
When I am down in troubled land. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno Baru at a crossroads again
Posted by Kit in Corruption, DAP, UMNO on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 7:35 pm
— Nur Jazlan Mohamed
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 10, 2011
DEC 10 — The recently concluded Umno General Assembly came and went and offered little in terms of the new manifesto of the party. The public were disappointed with the lack of new policy initiatives. Many Umno delegates who had to sit through many stale and uninspiring speeches were left with little enthusiasm to return to their respective constituencies to rally their fellow members in preparation for the impending 13th General Election soon.
The uninspiring lack of ideas put forward by the members best describes the state of the party at the moment. Umno has the largest base of members and voters of any political party in the country. It is the party that claims to have the most support from the Malay population which is the largest ethnic group and expected to be about sixty per cent of the population by 2020.
But as a party that claims to represent the majority race in the country , it doesn’t seem to able to break away from the “Malay under siege mentality” rethoric it has used since the fight for independence to attract support from the public. The party is frozen in time and is paralysed to steer the nation through a more challenging future.
The party has failed to offer new ideas to attract the young Malays to support its idealogy which in recent years has drifted more to the right. The Prime Minister, Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, through the concept of One Malaysia has tried to bring Umno back to the centre space of national politics where race and religious tolerance is at equilibrium. Read the rest of this entry »
Human Rights Day 2011
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Human Rights on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 7:10 pm
Message from Aliran
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 10, 2011
DEC 10 — This year has been a memorable year for Malaysians in our struggle for democracy and recognition of human rights in our country.
The July 9 rally for clean, free and fair elections was an event all generations of Malaysians will cherish in history. It was the day ordinary Malaysians showed courage and grit in opposing violence and repression by sections of riot police armed with tear-gas and water cannon.
Besides the brave leaders of the Bersih 2.0 movement led by former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan and leaders of Pakatan Rakyat and civil society groups who came out in support of the movement, ordinary Malaysians including elderly, disabled persons and youth braved tear gas and water cannon to demand that elections be clean, free and fair.
The run-up to the July 9 rally was equally dramatic and tortuous with the unjustified arrests of Parti Sosialis Malaysia activists. The PSM 30 were initially accused of waging war against the King for no apparent reason. Six of them, all key members including Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, were later detained under the Emergency Ordinance. It was perhaps too much for reasonable and fair-minded members of the public to swallow. Thankfully, the EO 6 are now free and all charges have been dropped against the PSM 30. Read the rest of this entry »
Not too late for Najib to heed opposition to Peaceful Assembly Bill, withhold it from Senate and set up instead a PSC to conduct full consultation on Bill
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak on Saturday, 10 December 2011, 4:09 pm
After the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s boast and claim during Malaysia Day celebrations this year to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”, Malaysia should stand tall today to celebrate the International Human Rights Day.
But this is not the case.
Just like yesterday’s International Anti-Corruption Day, the Malaysian Government is quite sheepish and quite guilty-conscious about the event.
Result: no word or message by Najib whether on International Anti-Corruption Day or International Human Rights Day! Read the rest of this entry »
Civil service as Umno’s fixed deposit or game buster
— Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
CPI
9th December 2011
Commentary
The new civil service remuneration scheme recently announced by the government provides civil servants pay rises of between seven and 13 per cent. Coming just before the elections expected soon, it is clearly intended to influence the outcome of the elections. Umno leaders see members of the civil service not only as their fixed deposit but also as the key game changer in the elections.
Will the generous pay rise make a difference in voting patterns of civil servants in the country? At first glance, it appears a politically astute move given the disproportionate weight of civil servants in the voting population and the high voting rate that has been associated with this segment of voters.
If we add up the 1.2 million civil servants and family members and assume that there is an average of three to four voters per civil servant household, this provides a total of between four to five million voters out of the 12 million registered voters. The fact that over 80 per cent of civil servants are Malays means that whichever party can win over the Malay civil service vote will take over the reins of political power in the country.
Will this group of voters fall for what appears to be an extra large carrot being dangled in front of them? Already the mainstream papers are carrying the mandatory follow up reports of how appreciative the teachers, police and other government staff are with this government recognition of their contribution to the country’s development and progress through the new salary scheme. This, together with the earlier sustained bashing of DAP Tony Pua’s suggestion that the number of civil servants be reduced, appears to have given a decisive edge in the battle for civil service votes to Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN). Read the rest of this entry »
Russians fight Twitter and Facebook battles over Putin election
Miriam Elder in Moscow
guardian.co.uk
Friday 9 December 2011
Protests against president’s party escalate across social media with flood of automated counterattacks and alleged hacking
Protest against Vladimir Putin United party over elections have escalated across social media, including Twitter and Facebook, with a flood of automated counterattacks.
Russians have flooded Facebook and Twitter as they organise unprecedented protests against Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. But they are not alone. Thousands of Twitter accounts appear to have been created with the sole purpose of drowning out opposition voices by flooding the service’s hashtag search function.
The automated attacks have dumped a blizzard of meaningless tweets with hashtags such as #Navalny, on which tweets about Alexei Navalny are collated, making it impossible to follow the flow of news about the arrested opposition leader. Many of the so-called “Twitter bots” have now been shut down. Read the rest of this entry »
“Big results” delivered by anti-corruption NKRA in past 32 months are all negative
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak on Friday, 9 December 2011, 12:53 pm
Today is International Anti-Corruption Day – a day designated by the United Nations General Assembly on 31st October 2003 when it adopted the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister in April 2009 and announced the first of his 1Malaysia Transformation Plans – the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) – top priority was given to the war against corruption, which was listed as one of the seven NKRAs (National Key Result Areas).
What has Malaysia got to show on the anti-corruption front on the 8th International Anti-Corruption Day, bearing in mind Najib’s assurance that GTP is aimed at delivering big results fast in the public service that were most important to the people.
What are the “big results” on the anti-corruption NKRA that had been delivered in the past 32 months of the Najib administration? Read the rest of this entry »
A conversation at the hospital
Posted by Kit in Education, English, nation building, Zairil Khir Johari on Thursday, 8 December 2011, 4:33 pm
By Zairil Khir Johari | 7 December, 2011
The Rocket
The most noticeable difference in experience between a private and a public hospital is the fact that in the former, the waiting room is air-conditioned. Other than that, the unavailability of parking lots, infinitesimal queue numbers and staff members adept at ignoring your eye contact are all characteristic of Malaysian hospitals, no matter how much you pay.
“Sometimes I wonder why we pay more for such service?”
I turned towards the source of the unsolicited comment. He was middle-aged, middle-class and probably undergoing a mid-life crisis judging from the way his hair was carefully combed to cover a bald patch. I smiled.
“My wife is here for a check-up,” he said, glancing in the direction of a neatly-dressed lady with an exasperated expression that said there he goes again.
Read the rest of this entry »
