1-AP
by Charlie
Letter
An ad in UK says :
Toyota Estima Emina 2.4 Latest Edition.
5 Doors, Automatic, MPV, Petrol, 49,000 miles, Pearl White, 02 Reg year 2002, Air Conditioning, Anti-Lock Braking System, Central Locking, Compact Disc Player, 8 Seats, Electric Mirrors, Electric Windows, Adjustable Seat Height, Adjustable Steering Column, Air Bag, Alarm,
DAP: MP allocations better spent on scholarships
Posted by Kit in DAP, Education, Finance, Good Governance on Saturday, 3 July 2010, 9:53 pm
Malaysiakini
Humayun Kabir
Jul 3, 10
The DAP has slammed the additional project allocations to parliamentary constituencies totalling RM111 million, saying the money would be better spent on more scholarships to deserving students, our future assets.
Party supremo Lim Kit Siang lashed out at the BN government for squandering precious public funds for their personal political agenda instead of helping needy students.
He said more non-Malay students who deserve scholarships are not getting the opportunities, describing Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s 1Malaysia policy as hypocritical.
Lim praised party national vice chief M Kula Segaran – who is helping Indians secure Public Services Department (PSD) scholarships – for championing the rights of his community. Read the rest of this entry »
What 1Malaysia is Najib talking about when there is a recrudescence of most baseless, irresponsible, vicious and racist-charged allegations to provoke racial fear and confrontation?
“1:40 Malay Non-Malay ratio of newly registered voters” is the latest example of a recrudescence of the most baseless, irresponsible, vicious and racist-charged allegations to provoke racial fear and confrontation which is completely inimical to the 1Malaysia policy proclaimed by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak since assuming the highest office in the land in April last year.
This allegation by the UMNO Youth Voter Registration Bureau was made the front-page screaming headline by Berita Harian on Monday (28th June 2010). It is a downright lie.
What is most shocking and irresponsible is that this lie was given endorsement by the Election Commission Deputy Chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar who was quoted by Berita Harian the next day (Tuesday 29th June 2010) as saying:
“Maka, apabila ketiga-tiga parti pembangkang itu agresif menarik pengundi baru mendaftar, memang betul kajian Umno yang nisbah pengundi baru Melayu yang mendaftar lebih kecil berbanding bukan Melayu kerana memang itu trendnya,” katanya kepada Berita Harian semalam.
Read the rest of this entry »
Whole country shocked into eerie silence by Najib’s marriage of NEW and NEP, but we must object strongly
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, Economics, Najib Razak on Saturday, 3 July 2010, 1:13 pm
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor
WE ARE SHOCKED BY PM ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE BUMI 30% QUOTA WOULD CONTINUE, BUT WE MUST OBJECT STRONGLY FOR THE SAKE OF OUR COUNTRY, THE POOR AND OUR CHILDREN
The proposal by Najib that the 30% bumiputra corporate equity would be maintained together with the NEM. Surprisingly the astounding marriage of two conflicting policies has not raised much reaction.
Are the people so shocked that they have lost their power of speech or writing at the amazing reversal of Najib’s crusade for reforms when he became Prime Minister, to become also a promoter of cronyism and rent seeking policies.
There seems to be absolute silence in Parliament from the honourable members, when they should be debating vigorously on the reckless decision of the Prime Minister to discard the recommendations of the NEM commission to dump rent seeking policies promoted by the NEP, which caused the economy to stagnate for 40 years, from the time it was introduced in 1971.
Read the rest of this entry »
Turning MACC into a law unto itself
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Tunku Abdul Aziz on Saturday, 3 July 2010, 9:50 am
By Tunku Abdul Aziz
A certain member of Parliament heading an MACC committee has suggested that MACC should not only be given more money, as if the tens of millions of ringgit of government funds already dished out are still insufficient, but also the power to prosecute cases investigated by that organisation itself. A monstrous idea even if the MACC had a reputation for the highest professional integrity which, of course, it hasn’t. The fact of the matter is that this much touted independent corruption fighting outfit modelled on the Hong Kong ICAC continues to be regarded with a degree of disdain.
The MAC does not enjoy the cachet and the public trust and confidence of the Malaysian public. Only corrupt politicians and public servants have complete trust in the MACC, but, sadly, for all the wrong reasons. Someone somewhere has to have his head examined for even thinking of making the MACC a law unto itself. Has the YB concerned not heard of the need for a system of checks and balances or the vital necessity of avoiding a conflict of interest situation in the conduct of public affairs as a means of reducing corruption? The whole harebrained suggestion is akin to allowing the Attorney-General to double as a judge in a case he has decided as AG to prosecute! He may well relish the idea, but will justice be served in the process? Or perhaps we don’t care.
Read the rest of this entry »
Home Ministry’s suspension of PKR organ Suara Keadilan – sign of double-pincer movement of clampdown on dissent and triumph of hardliners and extremist screaming of Suara Perkasa?
Action speaks louder than words.
Today, the headline is: “Home Ministry suspends Suara Keadilan’s permit”
But three days ago, Suara Perkasa made its debut with the screaming headline: “Arrest Ka Siong under ISA”.
This raises the question whether the suspension of Suara Keadilan heralds a new political development in the Barisan Nasional with a double-pincer movement of clampdown against dissent coupled and the triumph of hardliners like the immunity enjoyed by the extremist and rightwing Perkasa to incite communal disaffection.
Read the rest of this entry »
Hi Sabahans in Klang Valley – Lets meet in PJ on Sunday 2 pm
The meeting of Sabahans in the Klang Valley will be held this Sunday (July 4, 2010) at 2 pm at the Petaling Jaya Community Library Hall (next to Assunta Hospital, Petaling Jaya) (see map) to discuss the problems and needs, grievances and frustrations of Sabahans particularly those stranded in the Klang Valley.
The idea of a meeting of Sabahans in Klang Valley is the upshot of recent visits by DAP MPs/SAs to various parts of Sabah in the past months including Kota Belud, Tuaran, Keningau, Tambunan, Sepanggar, Donggongon and Kampong Inobong in Penampang, Tawau, Merotai, Kalabakan, Pitas and Kota Marudu.
Wherever DAP MPs/SAs Hiew King Cheu (Kota Kinabalu), Teo Nie Ching (Serdang), Lim Lip Eng (Segambut), Jimmy Wong (DAP Sabah state Assemblymen for Sri Tanjong) and I went in Sabah, there was concern about the plight of Sabahans stranded in the Klang Valley, particularly following media reports early this year of homeless Sabahans who had to scavenge for food from garbage bins outside restaurants in the Klang Valley. Read the rest of this entry »
Finland makes broadband a ‘legal right’
Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen.
From 1 July every Finn will have the right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection.
Finland has vowed to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015.
In the UK the government has promised a minimum connection of at least 2Mbps to all homes by 2012 but has stopped short of enshrining this as a right in law.
The Finnish deal means that from 1 July all telecommunications companies will be obliged to provide all residents with broadband lines that can run at a minimum 1Mbps speed.
Broadband commitment
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #21
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Thursday, 1 July 2010, 2:22 pm
By M. Bakri Musa
Chapter 3: Lessons From The Past
The Reformers’ Charter Oath of Five Articles
Just three months after being restored, the reformers, through the emperor, made a historic proclamation called The Charter Oath of Five Articles. It promised:
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Public discussion of all matters;
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The participation of all classes, high and low, in the administration of the state;
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Freedom of all persons to pursue their own calling;
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Abandoning the evil customs of the past and to rely on the just laws of Nature;
MACC cancels London interview with PI Bala
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Wednesday, 30 June 2010, 7:26 pm
By Aidila Razak | Malaysiakini
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will not record the statement of private investigator P Balasubramaniam in London after all.
Instead, it will submit questions to his lawyers and request that the witness responds in the form of an affidavit, MACC deputy commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull told a press conference today.
“We will write to the witness’ lawyers tomorrow to inform them of the decision, and to submit the questions,” he said.
He said that the decision was made upon advice from the attorney-general’s chambers, after considering the Eric Chia case where a witness statement recorded overseas was not allowed to be tendered as evidence in the corruption trial.
According to MACC Legal and Prosecution Director Abdul Razak Musa, the decision not to record Balasubramaniam’s statement was also influenced by decisions on Thai pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand’s testimony in the Teoh Beng Hock inquest.
Read the rest of this entry »
Can Malaysia escape a trap of its own making?
By Peter Drysdale | East Asia Forum
Malaysia’s recently presented New Economic Model is, on paper, a hugely ambitious strategy for changing the country’s economic and social direction and, hopefully, its economic and political fortunes.
The government of Prime Minister Najib seems inclined to embrace its principles and try to forge a new direction in Malaysian economic and social policy. In the 1980s Malaysia was among the brightest stars in the Southeast Asian economy, with growth around 8 per cent a year and a huge transformation away from its comfortable plantation and minerals past towards a new industrial future, driven by foreign investment and rapidly growing exports of consumer electronics to regional and global markets. Mahathir reigned supreme, dispensing patronage and securing UMNO’s political base under the camouflage of the long-established New Economic Policy, put in place after the racial disturbances of the late 1960s to lift up the bumiputera Malay population and in the process embedding race-based politics into the fabric of political culture.
Read the rest of this entry »
PKFZ: ‘Gov’t will pay RM700mil to bondholders’
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, PKFZ on Tuesday, 29 June 2010, 3:29 pm
By Christine Chan | Malaysiakini
Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri has given an assurance that the government will pay what is due to the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) bondholders.
“We have a commitment to the bondholders, therefore we have to fulfill it,” he told the House today, when winding up matters relating to the ministry in the 10th Malaysia Plan.
He was replying Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) who had asked whether Port Klang Authority (PKA) would make any payments to PKFZ turnkey contractor Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), given the legal dispute between them.
PKA is due to pay RM723 million to the bondholders tomorrow, akthough it has taken KDSB to court for alleged overcharging.
The Internal Revenue Board (IRB), Lim noted further, has also asked PKA to pay RM328 million owed by KDSB in alleged backdated taxes.
Read the rest of this entry »
Court orders water documents revealed
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Judiciary on Monday, 28 June 2010, 9:19 pm
Malaysiakini
Hafiz Yatim
Jun 28, 10
The federal government has seven days to disclose the contents of the audit report and water concession agreement entered between it, the Selangor government and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas).
This follows a landmark ruling at the High Court today allowing the documents – which were classified by the government as being under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) – to be made public.
The decision was made by judicial commissioner Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who ruled the government’s refusal to disclose the reports did not consider the expectation of members of the public who are adversely affected by the decision. Read the rest of this entry »
Gambling: It’s in Malaysia’s genes
by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
Centre for Policy Initiatives
27 June 2010
Life as a gamble
The cabinet decision not to issue a sports betting licence to Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd is the right one but it was made for the wrong reasons. According to prime minister Najib Razak, the reason for not legalizing sports betting was “the impact it will have from the perspective of religion and politics.”
To get a proper perspective of the issue, it is necessary to get off the religious and political high horse and acknowledge that we are a nation that loves the occasional flutter. And also let us admit that there’s nothing wrong with gambling so long as it is not taken to extreme lengths and becomes a pathological, compulsive or destructive habit.
In a sense, all of life and the various decisions that we make are gambles. Although it may be too much to say that we all have gambling in our genes, scientists have been debating on the extent to which gambling is a manifestation of human behavior for a long time – at least during the last 200 years or so. Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO’s Opportunistic Ulama
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Islamic state, UMNO on Monday, 28 June 2010, 9:04 am
by M. Bakri Musa
Like his predecessors Abdullah Badawi and Dr. Mahathir, Prime Minister Najib Razak endlessly proclaims Malaysia to be an Islamic state. Now with 40 young ulama joining the party, Najib must feel that his assertion to be the truth. He could not be more wrong.
Yes, ulama play a central role in an Islamic state. In his book, The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, Noah Feldman attributed the longevity and eminence of earlier Islamic states to the critical role of the ulama and scholars.
The Islamic governing principle is simple. Rulers are to govern according to God’s law, as stated in the Quran and elaborated in the hadith (sayings and practices of Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w.). The central tenet is, “Command good and forbid evil!” As long as the ruler fulfills this obligation, his power and authority are legitimate and deemed divinely-sanctioned.
It was a tribute to their political skills and intellectual prowess that those early scholars were able to formulate from the Quran and hadith a set of laws – the Shari’a – that today still governs the everyday lives of Muslims, even those not living in Islamic states. At its time the Shari’a represented a quantum leap in the recognition of basic human dignity and rights. As Feldman noted, “For most of its history, Islamic law offered the most liberal and humane legal principles available anywhere in the world.”
The central precept of the Shari’a is that all, rulers and the ruled alike, are governed by it. No one, not even the sultan, is exempted. That is the rule of law at its core.
The ulama’s other major contribution was that they exerted the necessary checks and balances on the powers of the rulers. It was the scholars, not the rulers, who determined what was “good” or “evil.” A ruler had to abide by the decisions of the ulama, for not doing so would mean deviating from God’s law, a sure route towards de-legitimatizing the ruler’s authority.
These two central elements (fidelity to the rule of law and institutionalized checks and balances on the powers of the rulers by the ulama) accounted for the remarkable success and endurance of those early Islamic states. Read the rest of this entry »
Would new Transport Minister support Port Klang Authority in withholding the next payment of RM772 million to KDSB turnkey contractor for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ)?
Would the new Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Kang Cho Ha support Port Klang Authority (PKA) in withholding the next payment of RM772 million next month to Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd. (KDSB) the turnkey contractor to Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ)?
In September 2007, I was given the schedule of repayments by PKA to KDSB for RM4.6 billion from 2007 to 2017 in connection with bonds raised by KDSB and which plunged the country into the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal.
The schedule of repayments as reported to Parliament by the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Finance Ministry, Datuk Seri Dr. Helmi bin Yahya stipulates the following repayments to KDSB:
Year Amount (millions)
2007 RM510
2008 RM660
2009 RM660
2010 RM772
2011 RM487
2012 RM733
2013 RM170
2014 RM170
2015 RM170
2016 RM170
2017 RM179
Total` RM4,681
PKA has repaid KDSB RM1.83 billion from 2007 to 2009 and is scheduled to repay the RM772 million due this year in four parts between June 30 to July 31. Read the rest of this entry »
Political Parties Race To Register New And Young Voters
Bernama
June 27, 2010
By Alan Ting
KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Bernama) — With more than four million eligible voters yet to be registered, political parties are now in a hurry to get them on the electoral rolls ahead of the next general election due in 2013.
Most of them are young Malaysians who have reached 21 years and are eligible to become voters but many have not done so as they usually do not bother to register.
Malaysia currently has 11 million registered voters out of a population of about 27 million.
Political analyst Ong Kian Ming said overall, between 25 and 30 per cent of Malaysian voters are expected to be below 35 years old by the next general election.
“This is significant when one considers the larger number of unregistered but eligible voters in Malaysia. There would also be two million Malaysians who would be eligible to vote for the first time in the next elections.
“This is in addition to the four million eligible voters, many believed to be under 30 years old, who did not register in time for the March 8, 2008 polls. In total, we are talking about six million potential voters who are most likely, to be opinionated, Internet-savvy and idealistic,” he added. Read the rest of this entry »
Sports betting: Guan Eng wants MCA, MIC to apologise
Posted by Kit in DAP, Lim Guan Eng, MCA, Najib Razak on Saturday, 26 June 2010, 5:55 pm
FreeMalaysiaToday
Sat, 26 Jun 2010
By Hawkeye
GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is demanding an apology from MCA and MIC over the latter’s apparent move to roundly criticised him over Penang’s contentious decision to ban sports betting.
The retraction by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had liberated Pakatan Rakyat which had earlier condemned the move to legalise sports betting and took action when Penang and Selangor ban any gaming outlets from offering betting packages.
He said that he together with Pakatan became victims of baseless and wild accusations when Penang was the first state to ban sports betting.
With Najib’s decision, “it is only fair that the detractors such as MCA and MIC apologise to the Penang government including me”, Lim said. Read the rest of this entry »
First, DPM Muhyiddin should tell us what is going wrong in our education system?
by N K Khoo
Many Malaysia generations are made guinea pigs by our flip-flopping
education policies after independence such as teaching medium from
English to Malay, 3M, bahasa Malaysia to bahasa Melayu, teaching maths
and science in English and vice versa, SRP to UPSR, grading system,
etc.
The trend is when a new education minister clinches to this important
post, they will propose new policies hastily. No doubt change is
constant for us to keep abreast the outside world. But we have to know
the problem first before proposing a change of policy or solution.
I have a question to DPM Muhyiddin and his Education Ministry, what
are the actual problems in our education system before you simply
throw a proposal (a bomb!) to public members. Read the rest of this entry »
