Najib marks his first anniversary as PM by setting the bad example of BN abuses of power in the forthcoming Hulu Selangor by-election
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 4 April 2010, 2:42 pm
Datuk Seri Najib Razak has established a new precedent in marking his first anniversary as Prime Minister by setting the bad example of Barisan Nasional abuses of power in the forthcoming Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election.
Najib visited Hulu Selangor yesterday and announced a new RM32 million housing project, involving 250 units, on a 14ha site at Soeharto Felda.
I support government housing projects for Felda settlers to uplift their living standards but as a Prime Minister who had listed fighting corruption as one of his six priority areas, Najib should be very circumspect in his actions to ensure that he is not guilty of political and electoral corruption in using government funds and promises of specific development projects to win votes in the Hulu Selangor by-election.
This is the first example.
During his visit in Hulu Selangor yesterday, Najib had to “buy insurance” to manufacture a very enthusiastic and rousing public reception – by bringing along 120 students who played the role as his band of “cheerleaders”, puncturing the Prime Minister’s walkabouts with shouts of 1Malaysia.
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Mainstream media were also full of superlative praises for Abdullah in his first year as PM – what happened to him?
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak on Sunday, 4 April 2010, 11:38 am
Today marks the first anniversary of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the sixth Prime Minister with all the mainstream media singing peans of praise for his first year as Prime Minister.
The mainstream media were also full of superlative praises for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his first year as Prime Minister – but what has happened to him?
It will be better for Najib and the country if the Prime Minister is more anchored to reality and realize that after his first 12 months as Prime Minister, nothing much as changed apart from a surfeit of sloganeering.
In less than a year, Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan and concept has been torn to smithereens by his own Cabinet and the question now is whether the second pillar of his premiership, the New Economic Mode (NEM), would suffer the same fate as his 1Malaysia slogan.
How different is the NEM from NEP – New Economic Policy – which has landed the country in a middle-income trap, with the Malaysian economy suffering stagnation while other countries have either caught up or overtaken us in the league of economic development?
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The father, the son and the fighting spirit
Malaysian blogs
Extract from“Does it matter if you are Malaysian first or Chinese first or manusia first?”
“The Obnoxious 5xmom”
It doesn’t help that our Chief Minister is super laser tongue and he just have to go on and on to refute BN’s politicians. It is made worse when UMNO leaders are so used to our previous, gracefully silent Chief Minister who will smile his way through even the most humiliating moments. They forget that now, they have the father, the son and the fighting spirit to bite on their tails over the slightest thing.
The best is, if you ask the CM some provocative questions, it will get him to blast BN even more. Sometimes, I enjoy being a CJ because it is fun to ask things to get him to say what I have in mind but don’t have the power or the immunity to say it. So, put in some tricky questions and tadaaa….it is yet another world vs Lim Guan Eng drama.
Frankly, I never think of myself as a Chinese first or Malaysian first. But if leaders like our DPM said it loud and then, supported by the PM who quoted the constitution that they think it is alright to put their race before the nationality, then, we have to be worried. They have that superior air around them and that makes the rest of us, the dan lain-lain manusia to be second grade, or even third grade. It is unacceptable, don’t you think so?
It is not about dismissing who they are. It is about how secured and comforted we, the citizens, feel under their leadership. I don’t think I like what the DPM had uttered. No no. Time for all of us to think carefully where we stand. Read the rest of this entry »
Gerakan National Central Committee should convene emergency meeting to give ultimatum to Koh Tsu Koon to declare he is “Malaysian first and Chinese second” or be removed as Gerakan President
Posted by Kit in Gerakan, nation building, UMNO on Saturday, 3 April 2010, 10:44 am
The Gerakan Youth Secretary-General Dominic Lau had rightly come out with a public position criticizing Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for his declaration that he is “a Malay first and then only a Malaysian”, asking him to be Deputy Prime Minister for all Malaysians and not just for the Malays; cautioning him to be mindful of the fact and reality that Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious society and warning him not to forget the lessons of the March 8 “political tsunami” in the 2008 general elections where the people have made clear that they wanted a government for all Malaysians and not just for anyone ethnic group. (Chinese Malaysiakini 3.4.10)
This statement by the Gerakan Youth Secretary-General shows that there are still people at least in Gerakan Youth who have not completely lost their sense of idealism and national service in politics, especially as Gerakan national leaders like the previous Gerakan President Tun Dr. Lim Keng Yaik had repeatedly declared that Gerakan’s mission is nothing less than to achieve a Malaysian Malaysia.
The Gerakan National Central Committee should follow up on this statement by the Gerakan Youth Secretary-General to convene an emergency meeting to give an ultimatum to the Minister for 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon to declare that he is “Malaysian first and Chinese second” or be removed as Gerakan President.
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Koh Tsu Koon under thumb of Umno – cannot and dare not declare “Malaysian first Chinese second” (Video)
Posted by Kit in Gerakan, Parliament, UMNO on Saturday, 3 April 2010, 10:44 am
Part 1
Why are Malays poor? Blame it on Umno!
By P. Ramakrishnan
APRIL 2 — Of late, the pressure is building up to convey the impression that the Malays are poor because of the non-Malays. It is trumpeted that the non-Malays are enriching themselves at the expense of the Malays.
This erroneous and mischievous line of argument is deliberately pushed to achieve two objectives: One, to get the Malays riled up and to create hatred for the non-Malays as the source and cause of Malay poverty. Two, this is a ploy to consolidate the position of these hate-mongers so that they can be accepted as the defenders of the race and champions who would deliver the Malays from their wretched situation.
But these extremist elements do not reveal how they have benefited from the policies of Umno that were meant for the welfare of the majority poor Malays. They do not reveal how the benefits have gone to the crony corporate figures and the well connected political elite irrespective of their ethnicity.
They do not disclose how billions of ringgit had been squandered to rescue the failed ventures of their elite group. They do not disclose how billions were pumped into Bank Rakyat and Bank Bumiputera to sustain them. They do not disclose why Mirzan Mahathir’s floundering and debt-laden shipping empire had to be bailed out with our national wealth. They do not disclose why Tajudin Ramli’s stake in MAS was bought over for RM8 per MAS share when the market price was only RM3.62.
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A Blueprint for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Friday, 2 April 2010, 2:53 pm
Opinion Asia | The Wall Street Journal
Prime Minister Najib Razak sounds a reform note, but will he follow through?
The times they are a-changin’ in Malaysia. A few years ago it was inconceivable that a Malaysian premier would express dissatisfaction with the “rent-seeking and patronage” inherent in the country’s four-decade-old affirmative action policies and call for a more “transparent” system based on merit and need. Former strongman Mahathir Mohamad used to label people with such ideas “extremists.”
Yet today Dr. Mahathir, who has thrown his lot in with nativist groups like Perkasa, looks extreme. Prime Minister Najib Razak, by contrast, is reflecting the popular will. In announcing what he dubbed a “New Economic Model” Tuesday, Mr. Najib is responding to the obvious: His country’s extensive system of hiring rules, investment quotas and various other perquisites for the majority ethnic Malays drives away capital and labor and entrenches corruption and poverty.
It’s a story investors already understand. For the past few years, foreign direct investment in Malaysia has slowed to a trickle in an economy that used to be one of Southeast Asia’s dynamos. On a net basis, money is flowing out of the country. Part of this trend has to do with state-owned oil behemoth Petronas’s investments abroad. But it also reflects that many Malaysian companies don’t repatriate capital because they see fewer decent investment opportunities at home. The same goes for foreign investors.
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Najib’s first anniversary marked with his 1Malaysia signature theme in complete tatters – will the NEM go the same way as 1Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Parliament on Friday, 2 April 2010, 1:17 pm
Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s first anniversary as sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia is marked with his 1Malaysia signature theme in complete tatters, raising the question whether the other pillar of his premiership, New Economic Model unveiled three days ago will go the same way as his 1Malaysia slogan.
When Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar made an arbitrary last-minute rejection of my amendment to the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address late last night, provoking a collective protest walk-out of the Chambers by Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament from PAS, PKR and DAP, it was not only a black-letter day for parliamentary democracy but also for Najib’s 1Malaysia concept and slogan.
I had moved the amendment motion for the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap to monitor and report on its progress and development at the conclusion of my speech in the debate on the Royal Address two weeks ago on March 18, and it was seconded by the PAS MP for Kuala Krai Dr. Mohd Hatta bin Mohd Ramli and had been accepted by the Chair.
It is against all parliamentary precedents and practices for the amendment motion, which had been properly moved, seconded and accepted two weeks ago, to be suddenly rejected at the last-minute just before voting on the specious ground that it had nothing to do with the Royal Address.
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NEM and NEP – Only One Letter Different!
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Economics, Najib Razak on Friday, 2 April 2010, 11:42 am
By M. Bakri Musa
With threatening clouds overhead, there are no prizes for predicting the flood, only for designing or building the ark. The recently-released New Economic Model (NEM) Report draws our attention (not that we need it!) to the darkening Malaysian skies, and then goes on advising us to build an ark.
That is as far as the report goes. There are no hints on whether the clouds would bring a tropical drenching or just a midday sprinkle. There are also no suggestions on the type of vessel we should build. A barge, yacht or a sampan will all keep us afloat, but beyond that they serve vastly different purposes, not to mention their enormously varying costs. And if the forecast calls for only a light sprinkle, then a simple umbrella would do; no need to expend scant resources on an unneeded ark.
We are told that following “public input,” another report will be released by June, in time for its recommendations to be incorporated into the Tenth Malaysia Plan and the 2011 Budget. This second report, we are further assured, will contain specific policy prescriptions – the ark design, as it were.
The current report is silent on how this “public input” would come about. Before deluding ourselves that we could participate in robust public debates, let me intrude a cautionary note. Acknowledging that there will be opposition, the report urges the government to take “prompt action when resistance is encountered.”
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Najib Stalls on his New Economic Policy
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Friday, 2 April 2010, 5:00 am
Asia Sentinel
Fleshing it out is probably impossible
As expected, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak unveiled his New Economic Model in an 8,000 word speech on March 30 to a national investor conference in Kuala Lumpur. And, as expected, despite the hype and favorable news stories in the international press, it contained virtually nothing of substance. The speech can be found here.
Najib remains caught between the need to eliminate costly subsidies enshrined in 40 years of economic policy that benefit ethnic Malays and the fact that eliminating them would alienate a major part of his United Malays Political Organization political base.
His pledge in the speech to eliminate rent-seeking is fraught with political danger, since UMNO has largely been built on party cadres who have made fortunes on government contracts or other arrangements. As Lim Kit Siang, the leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party, pointed out to Asia Sentinel, Najib’s promise to end rent-seeking was almost an exact echo of speeches by his predecessor, former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was unable to make any progress whatsoever in the face of implacable opposition from UMNO cronies.
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Challenge to all the other 17 UMNO Ministers and other BN Ministers to stand up and be counted to declare whether they are Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans second or the reverse
Posted by Kit in Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, nation building on Thursday, 1 April 2010, 12:28 pm
In response to my challenge on the four acid tests of whether he really supports Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin declared he is “Malay first” and then only a Malaysian.
He said: “I am Malay first! But being Malay does not mean you are not Malaysian. It is not a race issue.”
Again accusing me of trying to drive a wedge between him and Najib, he said:
“The question of 1 Malaysia should not be brought up. When a leader talks about the interest of his own race, it does not mean he doesn’t support 1 Malaysia. 1 Malaysia is based on the Constitution.
“How can I say I’m Malaysian first and Malay second? All the Malays will shun me and say that it is not proper.
“There is nothing wrong in leaders fighting for their own race. Don’t tell me Kit Siang does not fight for the Chinese?”
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #8
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Thursday, 1 April 2010, 10:03 am
By M Bakri Musa
Chapter 2: Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress
Geography As Destiny
It is easy to understand and accept the premise that geography plays a major role in deciding the fate of a nation. Intuitively one can readily see that the Arabs are fabulously wealthy because of their vast oil deposits. Economists have long clung to the idea of comparative advantage afforded by the luck of geography. Portugal’s Mediterranean climate enables it to produce cheaper and better wines than Britain. The easy availability of coal in Britain on the other hand, made possible the steam revolution.
Access to navigable waterways and oceans confer immense advantages. For this reason Malacca was a center of vigorous Malay civilization for a long time. Through international commerce and the consequent intermixing of various cultures, Islam entered and became established in the Malay world through that port city.
Yet like many ideas that seem right, geography cannot be the full answer. There are too many exceptions of countries doing well despite seemingly no natural resources or favorable geographic factors. Hong Kong and Singapore are two oft-cited examples. But even here one cannot ignore geography entirely. Read the rest of this entry »
Muhyiddin should resign as DPM if he is not prepared to declare that in accordance with 1Malaysia goal, he is Malaysian first and Malay second
Posted by Kit in Muhyiddin Yassin, nation building, Parliament on Wednesday, 31 March 2010, 10:57 am
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in Parliament yesterday in his reply as Education Minister that he supported the Prime Minister’s message of 1Malaysia and instead accused me of trying to drive a wedge between Datuk Seri Najib Razak and him.
Muhyiddin said:
“Ipoh Timur has questioned my commitment to the concept of 1 Malaysia. For Ipoh Timur’s information, 1 Malaysia, which was created by the prime minister, is a pure idea aimed at strengthening racial unity which has been the basis of our strength as a nation.
“Unity reflected by 1 Malaysia is not a form of assimilation where one’s identity is erased and replaced with one identity. It is also not a concept which rejects the special rights of the Malays as propagated by Ipoh Timur through the concept of Malaysian Malaysia and lately Middle Malaysia.
“My relationship with the prime minister is very close and 1 Malaysia has the support of the nation. The allegations made are aimed at weakening Barisan Nasional. I am confident that Barisan Nasional lawmakers clearly understand the concept of 1 Malaysia.”
DR M, Father of the Regressing Malay
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Martin Jalleh on Wednesday, 31 March 2010, 10:57 am
Mahathir forgets easily (II)
By Martin Jalleh
Recently, Bolehland’s Statesman Dr Mahathir (Dr M) launched Perkasa, a right-wing Malay group, (some consider it as an ultra-fanatical wing of Umno) at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
The former premier was the replacement for the much wiser Sultan of Selangor who turned down Perkasa’s invitation. The Malay CEOs of government-linked companies (GLCs) also declined.
Dr M and his wife were greeted with a silat performance, strains of traditional music and a huge replica of a keris which stood out on the side of the stage. In the midst of speeches were shouts of “Hidup Perkasa”.
Dr M said that the Malays’ faith in Umno has weakened since it’s disastrous performance in the 2008 general elections. The BN government was weak and all this was due to the then weak leader! He inferred that the Malays needed a strong voice like Perkasa.
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Najib’s NEM has not been able to come out of the long shadow cast by the Perkasa inaugural congress
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 30 March 2010, 4:11 pm
The general consensus is that the New Economic Model announced by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak pledging long-promised economic reforms is singularly short of details as to convince Malaysians that there is the political will to match words with deeds.
Even more serious, Najib’s unveiling of the New Economic Model has not been able to come out of the long shadow cast by the Perkasa inaugural congress spouting neo-NEP Malay communalism as it was attended by several Umno Deputy Ministers.
DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng asked yesterday why RM52 billion worth of shares of public-listed companies allocated for bumiputeras under the New Economic Policy were no longer in their hands.
Raja Petra Kamaruddin has estimated in his portal Malaysia-Today that the real cost of the New Economic Policy may be the colossal figure of RM500 billion, saying that this could be a low estimate.
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Dr M, The Father of Re-Colonisation
Mahathir forgets easily (I)
By Martin Jalleh
Recently, Dr Mahathir (Dr M) reminded the younger generation, who will one day lead the nation, not to be taken in by the subtle tactics of foreigners who want to bring about neo-colonialism in the country.
He said that “foreign forces would take advantage on the basis of globalisation and liberalisation to fulfil their agenda. We are now “faced with various challenges from abroad…(and) threats from blog sites”.
He was speaking at the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Statesman Discussion organised by the Special Affairs Department (Jasa) of the Ministry of Information Communication and Culture (Bernama, 27.03.10).
It was one amongst the many of Dr M’s anti-re-colonisation rhetoric. Once when he was in power (in reality, he still is!) he declared that the rakyat must ensure that the BN “is returned to power with a big majority in the next general election so that the nation will be ruled by a strong Government capable of standing against any attempt by foreign powers to re-colonise the country”.
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Where are RM52 billion Bumi shares, asks Guan Eng
Posted by Kit in Economics, Lim Guan Eng on Monday, 29 March 2010, 7:25 pm
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng wants the government to investigate why RM52 billion worth of shares in public listed companies allocated for Bumiputeras under affirmative action policies were no longer in their hands.
He told reporters in Parliament today that the fact that the shares were no longer in the hands of Bumiputeras was an act of betrayal.
The Penang Chief Minister suggested a Royal Commission be set up to investigate such leakages.
He said that out of RM54 billion in shares allocated for Bumiputeras, only RM2 billion were still in their hands.
“According to a Bernama report, the Prime Minister had been quoted as saying that of the RM54 billion in shares allocated, only RM2 billion worth of shares were left in the hands of Bumiputeras,” said Lim.
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Private or public wings are but a fallacy
Letter by JT
It appears that yet again, CAP’s SM Idris has decided to go on a frolic of his own. This time by stating that Private Wings in Government Hospitals are the wrong things to do. Sometimes one really have to suspect if this guy truly knows what he is talking about or goes about criticizing everything and anything sundry just to occupy his time. There are only three components to a hospital bill: 1) Doctor’s fees 2) Hospital charges (Bed, Nursing, Utilities, Investigations, etc) and 3) Consumables (Medicines, gloves, catheters, stents, etc).
This government has been benevolent enough in providing and perhaps in the case of Sabah trying to provide, items 2 and 3 but cannot match up to 1. Idris wants equitable healthcare for everyone. When he says equitable what does he mean? If he means placing a few GTN tablets under the tongue for a heart attack, or placing a plaster of Paris cast for a broken tibia, or delivering the 3rd child in a mother with no co-morbidities, or putting up a drip for a dehydrated patient or placing a few stitches on a wound caused by the neighbor’s dog, that’s fine. This government would have no problems accommodating them.
But if he is talking about plating/nailing every fracture of a victim of a high speed polytraumatized patient, reconstructing all the facial bones in an accident victim, or doing a bypass for a coronary patient with recurrent pain or ballooning and placing an emergency stent in a patient with a heart attack or doing a liver transplant in a patient with liver cirrhosis, then Idris must surely know that even all of Malaysia’s Read the rest of this entry »
Perkasa, GLCs and the New Economic Model
by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
During the recent Perkasa inaugural meeting, Ibrahim Ali expressed his displeasure with Malay heads of government-linked companies (GLCs) for not attending his Malay rights group inaugural congress. He also criticised the GLC heads for being interested in personal interests instead of the interests of the Malay community.
Introducing a note of intimidation, he warned that Perkasa will monitor the GLCs. According to him, “we will scrutinise the GLCs. We are not only looking at their performance but also the role they play in helping Malay entrepreneurs.”
The rebuff is indicative of a rejection of the Perkasa agenda by the Malay captains of industry who recognize the negative implications of the policies being espoused. It is also salutary that apart from Mukhriz no other member of the Government took part in the gathering of the ultras.
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The Labu and Labi Team of Najib and Muhyiddin
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Monday, 29 March 2010, 10:38 am
By M. Bakri Musa
[First of Four Parts]
The dynamics between Prime Minister Najib Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin is one of rivalry. They compete rather than complement each other. They give every indication to be the least productive and most dysfunctional ‘team,’ if I can stretch that term. Their relationship has awful feng shui and exudes bad karma.
They are politics’ Labu and Labi, the bumbling hired hands in P. Ramlee’s comedy movie of the same name, who spent their time fantasizing about their employer’s daughter while neglecting their chores.
Alas, leading the nation is anything but a comedic act; it is an awesome responsibility. Najib and Muhyiddin however, are treating their position as they would a trophy wife; with Najib consumed with displaying it while Muhyiddin is busy licking at the chops barely concealing his own desires.
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