Lip service laced with poison
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Media, Najib Razak on Sunday, 11 September 2011, 6:09 pm
— Douglas Tan
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 11, 2011
SEPT 11 — Ever since I was young, my father has taught me that when you tell lies, it is far more difficult to remain consistent. You have to tell a lie to cover up the original lie, and you also have to remember what the original lie was in the first place.
I believe that once you enter into politics, you should know that the truth always catches up on you, and when you begin to flip-flop, people will hold it against you.
Right now, consumers across the nation using pre paid mobiles will experience a six per cent government tax now charged directly to them. The BN government cried out that the telcos should absorb the cost, but as a government supposedly committed to putting the people first, passing the buck back to the finance ministry agreement places their sincerity to actively manage our cost of living into serious question.
During the whole Bersih fiasco, Najib had promised a stadium for the rally to be held, despite the fact that Bersih is an outlawed entity that happened to have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Read the rest of this entry »
Nazir: Transform or risk Middle East-style upheaval
Posted by Kit in Good Governance on Sunday, 11 September 2011, 2:05 pm
By Aidila Razak
Sep 10, 11 | Malaysiakini
The time for opaque deals and unflinching public support is over for Asian governments, and failing to realize this could lead the region down the path of the Middle East.
Saying this at the Malaysia-China Trade Investment International Conference 2011 in Serdang today, CIMB chief executive Nazir Abdul Razak said this is because today the world demands transparency from governments.
“Faced with such an awesome game-changer, governments, especially in the East find that they can no longer operate under the hierarchal paradigms of the past, where decisions are made behind closed doors and executed with unquestioning public support.
“Governments here will have to adopt greater openness, more debate and increased transparency,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Penang’s economy buzzing again
By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
Sep 10, 2011 in http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/
GEORGETOWN (Penang): On a small table in the office of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng sit half a dozen gold-coloured cats.
They were gifts, and a reminder of his much-cherished Cat principles – Competency, Accountability and Transparency.
Mr Lim, now in his fourth year leading one of Malaysia’s wealthiest states, is convinced that those principles have guided the recent revival of Penang’s fortunes.
He has much to shout about. Under the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government, Penang received the lion’s share of foreign investments in Malaysia last year, for the first time in the country’s history. It also had the third-highest number of tourists, and raked in two-thirds of the country’s earnings in medical tourism. Read the rest of this entry »
Constitutional question: Judges let natives down
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Judiciary, Sarawak on Saturday, 10 September 2011, 12:58 pm
by Hafiz Yatim
Malaysiakini
Sep 9, 11
A law professor said Chief Justice Zaki Azmi and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum, could have abdicated their oath of office by their refusal to interpret the question of law posed to them.
The question posed before the court was “whether section 5(3) and (4) of the Sarawak Land Code relating to the extinguishment of native customary rights are ultra vires Article 5 (Right to life) and Article 13 (right to property) of the Federal Constitution.”
Islamic International University professor Abdul Aziz Bari said by refusing to deal with the constitutionality issue, the Federal court has abdicated its duty.
“Under the Federal Constitution, the Federal Court which is the highest court of the land is essentially the constitutional court of the country; the main tribunal whose major duty is to take care of the constitution,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Anything But Umno
Posted by Kit in Corruption, UMNO on Saturday, 10 September 2011, 12:46 pm
— Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 10, 2011
SEPT 10 — Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK), the blogger, is right. We don’t know if Pakatan Rakyat will be able to govern our beloved country responsibly or walk the talk.
But we do know that they will not be worse than the plundering and blundering hordes of Umno. I say Umno and not BN because in reality the BN component parties such as the MCA, MIC, etc are subsidiaries of Umno. They may have a different flag, motto and even president but their mission statement is to be subservient to Umno.
The elections are around the corner. How do we know that? Simple, the clamour for allocations and funds is getting louder in Umno. Soon, we will be asked to make a choice and by my reckoning the choice is clear: Anything But Umno.
Just let us examine what these Umno types have done to our country. I have no doubt that the likes of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Dr Ismail, Hussein Onn, Tan Siew Sin were men of integrity and served the rakyat. Read the rest of this entry »
Judicial independence and justice
Lim Sue Goan
The Malaysian Insider
September 09, 2011
SEPT 9 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent visit to the Palace of Justice has triggered a dispute as some claimed that the visit could jeopardise the independence of the judiciary. However, I am more interested in the remarks made by retiring Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi.
He said that the government had allocated RM130 million to upgrade court facilities and it was normal for the prime minister to see how the money was spent. Also, the more people the more transparent it was and there was nothing to be kept in the dark. It would not affect judges’ independent judgment.
The judiciary needs money to operate and the bill is paid by the government. Then how could we be sure that the judiciary would not lose its independence for government funding?
Judiciary independence is a universal value. According to the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held in Milan from August 26 to September 6, 1985, “it is the duty of each Member State to provide adequate resources to enable the judiciary to properly perform its functions”.
Most countries and regions such as the US, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan separated the expenses of the judiciary and included it in the central budget. Many countries also have a court expense budget which is planned by a court expense budget committee formed by courts or judges. There are also judges who participate in a court expense budget team and the Finance Ministry has no right to delete or seize a court expense budget and funding. Read the rest of this entry »
The haze and the malaise
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, UMNO on Friday, 9 September 2011, 3:21 pm
Ethnic politics makes Malaysia’s transition to a contested democracy fraught and ugly
Sep 10th 2011
Banyan | The Economist
SKYSCRAPERS and lampposts in Kuala Lumpur are still festooned with flags left over from independence day festivities at the end of August. Fittingly, this week they were shrouded in the annual “haze” of smog from forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Malaysia’s politicians are not in the mood to celebrate nationhood and unity. Rather, with an election in the offing, everything is a chance for political point-scoring.
That includes independence itself. One huge banner in the centre of the capital shows the country’s six prime ministers since the British left in 1957, with the incumbent, Najib Razak, in the foreground, gazing into a visionary future. All six hailed from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which has led the “Barisan Nasional” (BN) coalition government ever since 1957. Some opposition politicians now complain that the official narrative of Malaysia’s history ignores the role of non-UMNO freedom fighters. Since the most recent general election, in March 2008, the opposition has had a real chance of winning power. For the first time since independence in 1957, the BN lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament that allowed it to amend the constitution on its own. No longer a one-coalition state, the opposition argues, Malaysia has to rethink its own history.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysian procurement system riddled with corruption, says US cable
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Defence, Good Governance on Friday, 9 September 2011, 10:15 am
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 09, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — The seedy and allegedly corrupt side of Malaysia’s defence procurement has been laid bare in a US embassy cable, with startling revelations on how Umno politicians, agents, civil servants and military officials receive 30 per cent “commission” on deals.
In a note on the opaque procurement system here revealed by whistleblower site Wikileaks, the US embassy noted that American companies operating here had three main complaints about the system: the lack of transparency, outright corruption, and Bumiputera requirements.
The undated cable sent during the Abdullah administration between 2004 and 2009 also noted that many government tenders do not follow procurement rules.
A US aerospace executive told the US embassy here defence deals were done through shadowy agreements with no tendering process. For example, the then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s (picture) sister-in-law arranged a US$400 million (RM1.2 billion) contract to buy military cargo aircraft from Airbus.
The deal was announced following Abdullah’s return from a trip to France. Read the rest of this entry »
Putrajaya says ‘good faith’ shown despite lack of MRT land guarantee
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Transport on Thursday, 8 September 2011, 10:14 pm
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 08, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — The government today insisted that it had shown “good faith”, contrary to opposition accusation, by agreeing to meet and negotiate with Jalan Sultan traders.
The traders’ lots are under risk of being forced-acquisitioned for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project. The government has refused to guarantee the return the land to traders once the project is completed, which the opposition says is insincere.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar brushed off the accusations today, and maintained that the government had shown “good faith’ by agreeing to discuss and meet with affected Jalan Sultan traders.
“(Although) we cannot give our guarantee, we have shown our good faith in negotiating with them and looking into that possibility,” he said.
“I think we have been fair, looked into all sides, after we have acquired there is a next process . A process of application, legal process…stratum titles. It’s good we never give empty promises. But we have made possibility for engagement, we are very sincere about this,” Syed Hamid (picture) told reporters here. Read the rest of this entry »
The making of a hero out of our own stupidity
By Mohd Arshad Raji
September 5, 2011
I received this distressing email from a colleague regarding the death of Bernama’s cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor who was shot while on UMNO Putra’s humanitarian mission in famine stricken Somalia. For those Malaysian soldiers that had served Somalia during the troubled period of the early 90’s would know the dangers fronting them, and UMNO Putra’s humanitarian mission in that god forsaken failed state is to my mind a total waste of time and effort. Noramfaizul’s death was in vain and there is no denying this, and to declare Noramfaizul’s a hero now is the making of UMNO Putra’s own stupidity. Read the rest of this entry »
No MRT land return guarantee shows bad faith, says DAP
By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 07, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — DAP has accused Putrajaya of bad faith for not guaranteeing the return of land acquired for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project even while admitting that the wholesale acquisition was done for the sake of convenience.
DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said expediency was no reason to abuse the law and jeopardise landowners’ rights, particularly since the National Land Code 1965 had been amended in 1990 to allow underground land to be acquired without affecting surface property.
The “convoluted” explanation from the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) yesterday justifying the government’s decision to acquire land in toto in spite of these existing legal provisions showed that acquisition was little more than a land grab, he alleged.
“All the various untenable excuses being raised leads only to a single possible conclusion — the land acquisition exercises proposed in Chinatown, Bukit Bintang and other prime locations are nothing but poorly masked attempts at profiteering and land grab,” Pua said in a statement today.
“They are in breach of the spirit of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 where the government is only to acquire private land, and only that which is necessary for public use and benefit, and not for profit.” Read the rest of this entry »
Setting the record straight on land acquisition for the MY Rapid Transit project
— Mohd Nur Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 06, 2011
SEPT 6 — The Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) would like to refer to the various reports, opinions and views which have been published and aired recently concerning land acquisition for the MY Rapid Transit project. We are concerned that some of these views are being put forth based on inaccurate, incomplete and a lack of understanding of the issues and facts.
Before acting on such views, we would like to encourage the public to examine first the intentions of the parties in making misleading views as they may be designed to confuse and aggravate the situation or incite fear among those whose land are affected by the project.
We hope to set the record straight on matters concerning land acquisition. At the same time, we wish to clarify the many inaccurate interpretations that have emerged concerning the solution for the property owners along Jalan Sultan in Kuala Lumpur. Read the rest of this entry »
Military personnel’s husband registered as female voter
G Vinod | September 6, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
The DAP has detected 22 more cases of discrepancies in postal votes in Negri Sembilan.
KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP detected 22 more cases of discrepancies involving fresh postal voters registered at an army camp at the Rasah parliamentary constituency in Negri Sembilan.
One that stands out is a female military personnel, Yuzina Nodin, who had registered her spouse also as a female postal voter with an almost similar name, Yuniza Nodin.
“I never knew the Malaysian army allowed same-sex marriages. This is a joke,” DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke said at a press conference at the party’s headquarters here today. Read the rest of this entry »
Lim: M’sia will have been governed by Pakatan if…
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah on Tuesday, 6 September 2011, 5:44 pm
Monday, September 05, 2011
Daily Express Sabah
KEMABONG: DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang said if Sabah and Sarawak followed the political tsunami in 2008, Malaysia will have been governed by the Pakatan Rakyat now.
Speaking at the Kampung Kalibatang Lama about 40km from here, Lim believed that the participation of many people in the interior with the opposition showed that it is gaining momentum and prepared to give the Barisan Nasional (BN) a run for their money.
He said during the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Sabah was the richest state in the country but now it was being labeled as the poorest.
“That is why we want to take out the present government. We want the people power to clean them up,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
MACC and constituency funds
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Tuesday, 6 September 2011, 4:17 pm
By Ronald Benjamin | September 06, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
SEPT 6 — The use of constituency funds as an election tool by the BN government to induce support should be investigated immediately by the MACC. Since the Election Commission has said that it is helpless, the MACC should step forward and investigate such a blatant act, which is the mother of all corruption.
The hesitancy to take action in a proactive manner against money politics would project the MACC as being impotent and unable to morally, proactively and culturally define its role as a watchdog capable of creating a climate of accountability where powerful politicians with government positions would not be able to get away with bribing voters.
There are two critical reasons for the MACC to act. Firstly, the coming general election is going to be the dirtiest in history. Winning at all cost has been Prime Minister Najib Razak’s aim and this has been well recorded in his speeches and actions.
Read the rest of this entry »
Is Proton a ‘Malaysian’ car?
Posted by Kit in nation building, Transport on Tuesday, 6 September 2011, 12:25 pm
By KJ John | Aug 30, 11
Malaysiakini
Ahmad Talib is a mainstream media personality having served as the former managing editor of the NST. I first met him when I gave a lecture at the Ministry of Information about the National IT Agenda.
Ahmad Talib wrote a recent column where he talked about a conversation he had with Proton CEO Syed Zainal about the story of a Proton taxi-cab which Syed Zainal took from KLIA to go home.
During the trip, twice the taxi driver did not open the power windows to pay his toll but instead opened the entire door. When asked why, the driver complained that he was told that if he used the power window too often, it could easily get spoilt. Therefore, he chose to do it the more difficult way.
Read the rest of this entry »
Failure to listen cost a life
by Mergawati Zulfakar
The Star
September 6, 2011
COMMENT
There was sound advice from an advance team that the Somalia aid mission should be put on hold. However, it is said that the advice was not heeded. Now, a family, friends and colleagues mourn a wasteful loss.
JUST three days before the Putera 1Malaysia Club Malaysian volunteers left for Somalia on Aug 28, a seven-member reconnaissance team comprising government officials, a high-ranking military officer and media members arrived in Mogadishu.
Their objective was to check the security situation and secure the safety of Malaysians from the Somalis for the humanitarian mission.
Media members were also included as they were supposed to give feedback how best their colleagues could do their job when they arrive in Somalia.
The recce team’s verdict?
It was a risky trip. Read the rest of this entry »
Historical Reconstruction Again?
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor, History on Monday, 5 September 2011, 9:56 pm
By Farish A Noor
5 September 2011
And so, for reasons that are both complex and irritating, the past is being dragged into the present yet again; while we Malaysians bury our heads in the sand and neglect the future. By now most of us will be familiar with yet another controversy-in-a-teacup that has grabbed the headlines: namely the question of whether the events that took place during the attack on the police outpost in Bukit Kepong ought to be remembered as a historic event in the Malayan struggle for independence.
Unfortunately for all parties concerned it seems that the issue has been hijacked by politics and politicians yet again, as is wont to happen in Malaysia on a daily basis almost. More worrying still is how the manifold aspects of this event have been taken up selectively by different parties and actors to further their own arguments, while neglecting to look at the wider context against which the event took place. It is almost impossible to be truly objective when it comes to the writing and reading of history, and perhaps we can do away with that pretense. But for now perhaps some marginal notes on the matter might come in useful to clear the air a bit. Read the rest of this entry »
Recognising history would make Umno irrelevant
By Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | September 5, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Umno hasn’t got leadership. My take on that statement is that it is the damnest indictment on Prime Minsiter Najib Tun Razak’s leadership.
Umno is now reduced to the stature of a beggar – scrounging at the supposed faux pas committed by PAS deputy president Mat Sabu.
What has Mat Sabu actually said that caused so much consternation?
Mat Sabu mentioned the name of Mat Indera, the Batu Pahat Malay born in Peserai who led the attack on the police barrack at Bukit Kepong.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #81
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Monday, 5 September 2011, 2:50 pm
Chapter 9: Islam in Malay Life
Reform in Islam
Islamic Financial Intermediaries (Cont’d)
IFIs thrived in the first few centuries of Islam not because those early Islamic thinkers had found a magic way to dispense with the cost of funds and returns on investments, rather they used different terms (or more crudely said, put a different spin on the issue) to circumvent interests payments and earnings.
The modern version of Islamic banks was resurrected only in the last few decades. Despite its recent rebirth, its popularity has soared both in Islamic and non-Islamic countries. This recent history should serve as a ready caution. The system has not been tested. The system of auditing, accounting, and regulating has not been standardized. What I fear most is that should Islamic banks fail in an economic crisis, it would not only aggravate the situation but also set back people’s trust in them. That in turn would severely shake Muslim’s trust in their religion.
Read the rest of this entry »
