Sibu result reflects growing Christian vote
Malaysian Insider
By Debra Chong
May 28, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — DAP’s surprise win in the recent Sibu by-election was the latest message being sent to the Najib administration that it needs to buckle down and deal with the “Allah” issue sooner rather than later.
The party made a special appeal to the Christian voters, citing the need to prevent Putrajaya from regulating the ways and language of worship for non-Muslims, after a landmark court ruling on Dec 31 that allowed the word “Allah” to be used by all.
The rise in a conscious Christian vote came after churches in Muslim-majority Malaysia reported a growth spurt, and leading the pack was the 82-year-old Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB), an evangelical movement that worships mainly in Bahasa Malaysia, the national language.
Its sphere of influence is growing fast, particularly among the Orang Asli tribes in the Malay peninsula, said the Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (CFM), an umbrella body that represents voices from both the orthodox churches and evangelical groups.
CFM general secretary Tan Kong Beng credits SIB’s growing appeal to “cultural affinities” between the local indigenous community and those from the Borneo interior. Read the rest of this entry »
S’wak BN shell-shocked by Sibu defeat
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat, Sarawak on Friday, 28 May 2010, 6:05 am
Malaysiakini
Terence Netto | May 27, 10 1:31pm
COMMENT It’s now the turn of Sarawak’s BN leaders to display symptoms of election shell-shock.
Following DAP’s victory in the Sibu by-election, the trauma suffered by Sarawak’s BN chapter, hitherto so confident as the numerically superior component of federal BN’s safe electoral deposit in Borneo, displayed itself in unmistakable ways.
A couple of opposition representatives, hauled before the rights and privileges panel of the state assembly for misconduct at previous sittings, were last week meted out suspensions disproportionate to their reported misdemeanors.
No doubt, this can be attributed to Sarawak BN’s knee-jerk reaction to its defeat by DAP in a former safe haven. Read the rest of this entry »
DAP says cuts cannot be limited to subsidies
Malaysian Insider
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
May 27, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — DAP’s Tony Pua grudgingly admitted today that cutting subsidies could lower Malaysia’s debts, but he said the cuts will only be successful if leakages from graft and help for big corporations are plugged first.
“I feel that in general, the points raised were agreeable. But at the same time, these plans can only be put into motion if other conditions are first met.
“He (Datuk Seri Idris Jala) was quite naughty when he said that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) agreed with lowering subsidies. We agree to it but with conditions,” DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua said shortly after he attended a government open day on rationalizing cutting subsidies.
The Petaling Jaya Utara MP told The Malaysian Insider that while the government has outlined ways in which to gradually lessen subsidies, other “main causes of debts” had not been carefully addressed.
According to Pua, the issue of subsidies was a small problem compared to the actual cause of Malaysia’s huge deficit problem. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Clueless’ SUPP comes under heavy DAP fire
Free Malaysia Today
Thu, 27 May 2010
KUCHING: The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), the oldest Chinese-led political party in the state, has come under blistering attack from the DAP for its lies.
DAP state assemblyman for Sentosa Chong Chieng Jen said SUPP should stop making excuses for its loss in Sibu and accept that it has lost touch with its voters.
“I am shocked. The SUPP is still clueless as to why it lost and Wong Soon Koh (SUPP Sibu chief) is making baseless and unbelievable accusations against the DAP, ” he said in a statement.
Chong was referring to comments by Wong, who is also State Finance Minister II, in his winding-up speech at the Sarawak State Assembly sitting on yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »
Educational absurdity in Hulu Selangor
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Education, Election, Najib Razak on Thursday, 27 May 2010, 12:56 pm
by Azly Rahman
“If we win this by-election, you can come to Kuala Lumpur the next day to look for me. I will write a personal letter to approve the money and it will be transferred to the school board’s account. If we lose, don’t have to come.” – Najib Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia
If these words quoted in Lim Kit Siang’s blog were uttered and they were true, we have reached the highest level of idiocy in charting the future of Malaysian education. How much shame must we parade in our desperation to win this or that election that is a theater of the absurd anyway?
The essential question is, how dare we use education – the only means for social and economic progress for ALL races – to bribe voters!
We hear all too often now that education is being prostitutionalized in the name of political gains. That gentle profession and a noble enterprise, from the Latin educare (drawing out the potentials) have been overused in election campaigns. From rice to roads, credit cards to cruises, youth facilities to new universities – all these have been used as political baits throughout our history. Read the rest of this entry »
Proposal for a Parliamentary Caucus on Crime and Security to help Hishammuddin and Police to restore to Malaysians their fundamental rights – safe neighbourhoods, safe streets, safe homes and safe schools
Posted by Kit in Crime, Parliament, Police on Thursday, 27 May 2010, 11:57 am
In the past two weeks, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein kept reminding the country that the street crime rate and the crime index have fallen by 39% and 15% respectively in the first quarter of the year, well beyond the 20% and 5% target set by the end of the year.
For the first quarter of last year 9,984 cases were reported while during the same period this year it went down to 6,158 cases.
Hishammuddin’s statement was repeated in a major local newspaper today.
There should be a sense of joy and relief that Malaysia is becoming a safer country, which is not only a fundamental right of Malaysian citizens and the most basic duty of any competent government in a civilized society, but also important in enhancing our international competitiveness to attract foreign investments so that Malaysia can take the quantum leap to escape the decade-long middle-income trap to become a developed high income country.
However, such a national sense of relief and joy is distinctly missing in public response and reaction to Hishammuddin’s repeated announcements in the past fortnight of a sharp drop of street crime rate and crime index in the first quarter of the year – to the extent that Hishamuddin’s announcement had to be repeated in a major national daily today.
Why is this so? Read the rest of this entry »
Musa Hitam should make public the full report of Sime Darby task force on the cost overruns of its energies and utilities division tomorrow
Posted by Kit in Good Governance on Wednesday, 26 May 2010, 3:27 pm
Sime Darby Chairman Tun Musa Hitam should make public the full report of the Sime Darby Task Force on the cost overruns of its energies and utilities division tomorrow and should not withhold any information from the Malaysian public, as they are the ultimate shareholders of the GLC conglomerate.
Sime Darby had earlier promised on its website that “all relevant disclosures” will be made with the world’s biggest-listed palm oil producer’s third quarter results tomorrow (May 27) but what Malaysians want is not a second-hand account but the full uncensored report of the Task Force on its energies and utilities division’s “difficulties and challenges, especially with regards to operational efficiency and project management”.
Malaysians want to know the bottom-line, in particular (i) whether Sime Darby has a history totalling some RM3.5 billion write-offs; if so, why and what is being done about it; and (ii) whether Sime Darby has incurred more than RM1 billion in cost overruns from carrying out a civil works contract for the Bakun hydroelectric project, with one estimate putting the total cost overruns at RM1.7 billion; and whether it is true that the government has agreed to reimburse around RM700 million to Sime Darby, leaving the group with around RM1 billion to deal with. Read the rest of this entry »
Despite feverish attempts to refurbish the image of MACC on many fronts in recent days, it has not been able to improve one jot of public confidence …
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance on Wednesday, 26 May 2010, 1:03 pm
The New Straits Times today carried the screaming front-page headline: “MACC steps in – probe under way into Sime Darby’s losses” but nobody is impressed, not least when less than a week earlier the MACC Deputy Commissisoner Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul said the commission will let Sime Darby complete its internal investigation first.
Shukri said: “If Sime Darby doesn’t have the experience on how to pinpoint corruption, they can ask for MACC’s help.”
He said MACC will open an investigation file into the financial affairs of the conglomerate GLC if any element of corruption is suspected in its massive billion-ringgit losses in its third quarter results.
What happened in the past week? Did Sime Darby ask for MACC’s help or did MACC discover “element of corruption” in the massive billion-ringgit losses in Sime Darby’s third-quarter?
Or is MACC just thirsting for cheap publicity and front-page headlines hoping to impress the Malaysian public with publicity stunts rather than professionalism and concrete results?
If billion-ringgit corporate losses are themselves justification for the MACC to open an investigation file, has MACC opened any investigation file into the mega-losses of the Bakun dam project – as it is reported to have incurred total cost overruns of RM1.7 billion?
And what about all the other billion-ringgit government, GLC or corporate losses? Read the rest of this entry »
An inspirational story
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Wednesday, 26 May 2010, 8:54 am
Letters
by Justin Hong
I was 18 in 1997, I came home half completed my high school in England because my father was bankrupted. He was a contractor bankrupted because the licensee, Taib’s uncle defaulted on paying royalty to the Government. Pocketed all the money my father gave.
Together with 6 of my friends we went to Komat in Sama Jaya to look for jobs as they only required MCE; to help out the family.
The HR lady was an Iban, on our turn she refused to give us application forms and demanded our qualifications. Without even understanding us, we were turned away. On further enquiry from us, she said, the 250 posts were all filled. It was 10.25am and the application counter just opened at 9.30am. Asked the guard to show us out.
Komat repeated publication for the posts for another week. We went back again and again were rejected. This time she asked us to look for jobs in China. Read the rest of this entry »
Chorus of disapproval against UUCA .
Posted by Kit in DAP, university on Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 3:49 pm
Free Malaysia Today
Mon, 24 May 2010 16:29 . .By Ken Vin Lek
KUALA LUMPUR: Student NGO, Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia, today called for the University & University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) to be repealed with immediate effect.
The call comes in the wake of four University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) students who were charged under Section 15(5)(a) of the act for allegedly for taking party in political activites.
The four are Muhammad Hilman Idham, Muhamad Ismail Aminuddin, Azlin Shafina Mohamad Adzha and Woon King Chai, all political science students.
They were detained by police when they were in Hulu Selangor on April 22 to observe the by election campaign. The four were released after police found no evidence of mischief.
They now face disciplinary action and have been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing on June 3 at the UKM campus.
“Students, as one of the stakeholders of a university, should be given an opportunity to exercise academic freedom in the pursuit of knowledge and excellence,” said the NGO in a statement
“They should not be demonised and punished for exercising their inalienable right to pursue knowledge in their chosen fields.” Read the rest of this entry »
Proton car prices in Saudi Arabia – raw deal for Malaysians
Posted by Kit in Economics, globalisation, Transport on Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 3:05 pm
Letters
By an angry Malaysian
FROM ANGRY RAKYAT …..! TO OWNERS OF PROTON VEHICLES….VERY SAD !!!!
SO NOW YOU KNOW THE ACTUAL VALUE PRICE OF PROTON !!!! CHEAP METAL !!!
1 MALAYSIA SENTIASA DITIPU…
Kenapa Proton tak jual harga macam kat Arab Saudi ?
Apa istimewanya orang Arab?
Kata “Rakyat didahulukan”..
Kenapa orang Arab lebih diutamakan?
Haaaa..Jawapannya ialah..
Pemilik Proton di Malaysia semuanya dah kena tipu…Hahaha
Harga Persona kat Saudi = SR36,100
Harga Gen2 kat Saudi = SR33,600
Harga Waja kat Saudi = SR37,950
1 Saudi Riyal = RM0.94
Maknanya harga Persona kat Saudi = RM33,934 aje
Maknanya harga Proton Gen2 kat Saudi = RM32,256 aje
Maknanya harga Waja kat Saudi = RM35,673 aje
1 Malaysia bayar RM 66,799.97 untuk 1 Waja di Msia! RM31,126.97 lebih MAHAL! Read the rest of this entry »
Another case of police shooting death involving 18-yr old Mohd Afham – PR proposes to convene another Parliamentary Roundtable on fatal police shootings as well as to revisit Dzaiddin Royal Police Commission Report 2005
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament, Police on Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 11:36 am
Another case of police shooting death has surfaced – and I fully support the demand of the aggrieved mother Sapiah Elah, 52, from Simpang Waha Felda, Kota Tinggi for an independent commission to investigate into the fatal police shooting of her son on Mohd Afham Arin, 18, October 20 last year.
Sapiah said Mohd Afham was a good son who did not have any previous criminal record.
Mohd Afham, who was believed to be involved in snatch thefts, was riding the motorcycle with 19-year-old Mohd Firdaus Marsani as pillion rider, in Taman Johor Jaya after having dinner.
Mohd Firdaus, who also demanded justice in the case, refuted the police allegation that he had waved a machete at the policemen, thus forcing the policemen to shoot at them in self-defence.
He related yesterday that he and Mohd Afham were chased by three men on motorcycles. He said the three men were in plainclothes and did not show their authority cards, and out of fear Mohd Afham sped off towards Pasir Gudang with the three men giving chase. Read the rest of this entry »
The destruction of SMILES in the Land Below the Wind
Letters
by P.S. Nathan
I served as the Timbalan Pengarah Kesihatan (Pergigian) for Negeri Sabah from August 1987 to Nov 1990, In short I was posted from Johore to Sabah to take charge of the Dental Service there.
In 1985 a Survey of Dental Health of the School Children in Sabah was carried out, and I was part of that team that conducted that survey. My team covered mainly the East Coast area of Lahad Datu, Semporna and Padang Tunku area.I was also a member of the Committee that drafted the Survey report, and the Committee made Recommendations for the improvement of the Status of Dental Health of the School Children of Sabah.One of the main recomendations was that all Public Water Supplies should be Fluoridated.
In 1989 the then Sabah State Government took the most Unfortunate step of ‘discontinuing the Fluoridation of Public Water supplies in the State of Sabah’ Because “Water” was a state matter, the Ministry of Health could not do anything besides presenting the Report of the Special Committee of the World Health Organisation’ that did indeed recommend the “Fluridation (the optimisation of Fluoride levels) of the Public Water Supplies.That Special Committee of the World Health Organisation also noted that ‘Fluoridation of Public water supplies was the Most Cost-Effective Public Health Measure known to man’. Read the rest of this entry »
Quality, Quantity, and Equity in Malaysian Education #3
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 8:05 am
M. Bakri Musa
May 23rd, 2010
[Last of Three Parts]
[Part One discusses the crucial role of workers’ cognitive abilities (language skills, mathematical competency, and science literacy) rather than years of formal schooling in determining and contributing to a country’s economic development. The second part addresses issues of quality, quantity and equity in Malaysian education. In this last part, I recap the experiences elsewhere and the lessons we could usefully learn.]
Clinical Trials in Educational Initiatives
In addressing the issue of equity, we should not be content only with providing what we perceive to be “equal opportunities.” For if the results do not improve equity despite our intervention, then we must have the humility to examine our premise and be prepared to accept that what we thought of as “equal opportunities” are anything but that.
We may think that by making schools “free” we have leveled the playing friend and provided for “equal opportunity,” but if the results do not improve, then we must be prepared to re-examine our premise. It could be that the major constraint is not tuition fees but transportation and other costs. That was certainly the case when I was growing up. Thus to effectively level the playing field we should provide for transportation, especially for those living far away. American schools provide not only free transportation but also textbooks, another major cost item in education. For children of the poor, these schools also provide hot meals. Thus providing a truly “equal opportunity” entails spending more on the poor.
In educating children, we have to be aware of the Matthew effect, or accumulated advantage. This refers to the biblical verse, “For those who have, more will be given … ” (Matthew 25:29). When we provide “equal opportunity” to children on their first day of school, those who are already prepared (as having been to preschool or have parents with superior education) will gain considerably more than those who are not so advantaged, and this gap only widens with time. To effectively overcome this entails giving more to the disadvantaged, for if you continue with your “equal opportunity” you are effectively giving less to the disadvantaged.
The other pertinent observation is that the earlier this added help is given, the cheaper and more effective it would be. Meaning, it would be much cheaper and more effective to give extra help at the preschool than at first year in school; at primary than at secondary school, and at school than at university. James Heckman, the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economics, have written persuasively on the economic advantages of these early interventions, quite apart from the moral arguments. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan Rakyat leadership council will meet next month to chart a strategy to remove Sarawak and Sabah as the Barisan Nasional’s “fixed deposit” states
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, Sarawak on Monday, 24 May 2010, 8:47 am
The 308 political tsunami of the March 2008 general elections two years ago broke the myth of the invincibility of the Barisan Nasional as an unbeatable coalition, with the fall of Barisan Nasional in five states (although one was recovered by BN through illegal and unconstitutional means) and the removal of the hitherto unbroken BN two-thirds parliamentary majority.
The 516 Sibu Miracle, where the Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat made its debut and fielded the first PR candidate in Sarawak winning a seat which the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had described as a BN “fortress”, is a clear and unmistakable message of the deep-seated aspirations of Malaysians, including the people of Sarawak and Sabah, for change and the possibility of the 308 “political tsunami” being taken into its full flush nationally in the 13th General Elections.
Despite strenuous public denials by Barisan Nasional leaders, not only nationally but also in Sarawak and Sabah, there is no doubt that they are fully aware of the far-reaching implications of the Sibu by-election result – explaining the recent panicky reaction, both in statements and conduct, of top BN leaders in the two states.
The Pakatan Rakyat leadership council will meet next month to chart a strategy to remove Sarawak and Sabah as the Barisan Nasional’s “fixed deposit” states. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should haul up and reprimand SUPP President George Chan for his “barbarians at the gate” speech which makes a total mockery of the Prime Minister’s year-old 1Malaysia Policy
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Monday, 24 May 2010, 7:19 am
I am shocked to read today’s Sunday Star whose Sarawak edition carried the screaming front-page headline “Miri target” and report:
Miri target
By Stephen thenMIRI: “Outsiders” who have infiltrated the state to stir up problems among the people are now targeting Miri, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr. George Chan.
He warned the people yesterday that these “outsiders” with ulterior motives were trying to destroy Sarawakian values by planting the seeds of hatred and anger among the people.
The president of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) said the “outsiders” had already infiltrated the state and were trying to make inroads into Miri.
“These outsiders with their street culture have come to spoil the good nature of Sarawakians,” he said.
“They want to introduce their culture in Miri now. We Sarawakians are nice and peaceful people, but we are also very protective of our way of life. We will fight these ‘outsiders’ if we have to. I am warning them. Don’t make me angry.” Read the rest of this entry »
Why MACC “may” and not “shall” call Najib in for investigation over his infamous RM5 million “let’s make a deal” speech in the Sibu by-election?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Monday, 24 May 2010, 7:08 am
At the Cheras DAP Solidarity Dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night, I had posed the question – Why the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) dare not announce it will probe Datuk Seri Najib Razak if corruption is suspected in the Prime Minister’s infamous RM5million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election polling?
I posed this question as the New Straits Times had on Thursday carried the headline: “MACC; Sime probe if graft suspected” following nation-wide furore over the latest financial scandal in the country – the RM964 million Sime Darby losses from cost overruns from four projects in its Energy and Utilities Unit, in particular the Bakun Dam project.
I asked the MACC, why the double-standards in its reaction to these two cases, especially when there is ample evidence for investigation whether the Prime Minister had been guilty of corrupt practices in the recent Sibu by-election campaign particularly in his infamous RM5 million “deal” at Rejang Park, Sibu on the eve of Sibu by-election.
The YouTube video of Najib’s Rejang Park’s “let’s make a deal” speech, promising to allocate RM5 million for flood-mitigation in Rejang Park provided the BN candidate was elected, had been the hottest site for the past week.
Outrage and disbelief are the common reactions of Malaysians and even foreigners who saw the YouTube video, with Najib declaring in his own words: “If Robert Lau becomes the MP on Sunday, on Monday I will ask [for] the cheque to be prepared. Do we have a deal or not? We do! You want the RM5 million, I want Robert Lau to win.” Read the rest of this entry »
Sarawak for Change – The Sibu Declaration
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat, Sarawak on Sunday, 23 May 2010, 6:12 pm
(Adopted by DAP Sarawak State Committee on 23rd May 2010 In Sibu, Sarawak)
The Sibu Miracle on 16th May 2010 is the beginning of the awakening of Sarawak. From now on, no one will take us – the people of Sarawak – for granted. One small step in winning Sibu is one big step to winning power in Petrajaya, and a giant step forward to winning power in Putrajaya.Sarawak is rich. It has the largest land mass in Malaysia and an abundance of resources such as timber, land, palm oil, gold, oil and gas.
But the people of Sarawak are among the poorest in Malaysia because of low pay, poor employment opportunities and a business environment which is monopolised by a selected few.
It is the only state in Malaysia where one family – that of the Chief Minister’s – practically has complete power over the state’s entire economic and political activities.
It’s time that we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Let’s chart a new future for Sarawak and Malaysia.
GOOD GOVERNANCE = NO MORE TAIB Read the rest of this entry »
Reading between the lines in Sibu
By Pushparani Thilaganathan | FMT
COMMENT Plaza Inn, atop a coffeeshop in Sibu, is flanked by a ‘skyscraper’ and a string of nightclubs on the other end. Evenings are short and the streets are mostly deserted by 9pm.
Life is a straight road. Dawn breaks around 6am, shop shutters rise and the first whiff of brewing coffee reaches up to the hotel room if the windows are open.
If it rains, like it did most nights and some mornings, the mesh of scents is refreshing! Here, where churches are rampant, work is god and toil is truth.
There is no room for perceptions. Only impressions.
Read the rest of this entry »
DAP Sibu MP Wong Ho Leng will lead DAP policy debate on 10th Malaysia Plan in June Parliament to spell out the triple implications of the Sibu Miracle
Posted by Kit in Parliament, Sarawak on Sunday, 23 May 2010, 1:37 pm
For the past week, Sibu was on the lips of every Malaysian, igniting excitement and rekindling new hopes among Sarawakians and Malaysians that Sarawak and Malaysia are capable of far-reaching political changes in the near future.
The hard-fought DAP and Pakatan Rakyat victory in Sibu, where we turned around the 40%-60% odds on Nomination Day in the eight-day campaign to achieve a miraculous victory, has given to Sarawakians and Malaysians a glimpse of the possibility of New Politics and the replacement of the Barisan Nasional governments in Petrajaya and Putrajaya with Pakatan Rakyat governments in the next 12 to 24 months.
The seismic Sibu by-election victory, akin to a Sibu Miracle, has brought with it great challenges and responsibilities to the Sarawak DAP state leadership.
Forget about “rest” until the two great battles of the next Sarawak state general elections and the 13th General Elections are over.
Read the rest of this entry »
