Soi Lek MCA president, Liow deputy president
Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek is the new MCA president.
The former MCA deputy president polled 901 votes. His nearest challenger was Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, who received 833 votes while incumbent party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat garnered 578 votes.
In the straight fight for the deputy presidency, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai won over Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha. Liow received 1,171 votes to Kong’s 1,106 votes. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir has come full circle – from an ultra back again to an ultra repudiating Bangsa Malaysia and Vision 2020
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, nation building on Saturday, 27 March 2010, 5:33 pm
Two events held almost simultaneously today highlighted the two facets in the battle for the hearts and minds of Malaysians – the launching of neo-NEP Perkasa by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at PWTC and the launching of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s book “I, too, am a Malay” (Chinese edition) by Dr. Chen Man Hin in Subang Jaya.
Almost at the same time that the former Prime Minister was awarded the Bintang Perkasa Pribumi Negara after launching Perkasa, Dr. Chen formally launched Zaid book.
What a sharp contrast in the imageries evoked in the two events – the launching of Zaid’s book invoking an inclusive and all-embracing hopes of all Malaysians for a progressive, prosperous common future regardless of race, religion or region with the launching of Perkasa anchored in a hankering for the past, oblivious of 52-years of nation-building, even dismissive of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept, all to allow Umno-putras to perpetuate the abuses of NEP by exploiting the name of bumiputras.
As the press have contacted me for my reactions to the Perkasa launch and its inflammatory speeches, this is my preliminary response until I have full access to the speeches concerned.
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Shattering an old time myth
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin on Saturday, 27 March 2010, 11:30 am
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser
THE UNIQUE SUCCESS STORY OF ZAID IBRAHIM HAS SHATTERRED OLD MALAY MYTHS
I am deeply honoured to be asked by Zaid Ibrahim to sponsor the launching of the Mandarin version of his book ‘I TOO AM MALAY’
The book narrates the story of a series of unique achievements by Zaid Ibrahim, which make very interesting reading.
Basically, he was a poor kampong boy from Kelantan. His father moved around on a bicycle as there was no family car. At Kota Bahru he enrolled first at the Sultan Ismail primary school, joined the Sultan Ismail college at the age of 13. He was an avid reader and he knew how to choose his schools.
Next he chose to study at English College in Johore Bahru, a big jump from Kota Bahru. He chose the college because it was the ‘best college’ and had a mixture of students of different races, and besides it was near to Singapore where the action was.
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1Malaysia clinic: is the Health Ministry above the law?
Letter
By RS
It is distressing to learn from Dr. T. Jayabalan, the health adviser to the Consumers Association of Penang that medical assistants are giving out prescriptions for the wrong medicines or prescribing medicines which they are not allowed to prescribe and they have also been found to have wrongfully diagnosed patients at a study conducted at Kampar, Perak. And feedback thus far, from the MOH regarding the validity of MCs (Medical Certificates) issued by 1Malaysia Clinics have been unsatisfactory. The explanation issued by the Health Ministry’s Medical Practice Division officer, Dr Noraini Baba, stating that according to an internal MOH circular, MAs are allowed to issue MCs seems to suggest that she either doesn’t know the law or thinks she can actually circumvent a law through a department circular.
But perhaps CAP too should share of the blame for this vague situation. The last time they made so much noise, it resulted in ignorant officers at the Health Ministry rushing to pass an reckless legislation called the Private Healthcare, Facilities and Services Act (PHFSA) which was conjured up in the dark corners of the Health Ministry and stamped with the Official Secrets Act (OSA) effectively excluding the stake holders from taking part in the discussions. The Act is surely unconstitutional.
A doctor today with an Annual Practicing Certificate (APC) is legal under the Medical Act 1971 but becomes illegal if his premise is unregistered under the PHFSA 2006. But a Hospital Assistant (HA) working in a presumably legal PHFSA premise, 1Malaysia Clinic, becomes immediately illegal Read the rest of this entry »
Broadband Shock to Most Malaysians
Letters
By Ganesh
Yet again, Malaysians are misled with false promises. For months there was so much hype to the Government’s initiative to provide cheaper, affordable and yet very fast broadband.
Yesterday, it came as a shock to Malaysians that the so called affordable and fast broadband service starts at RM149 and ranges up to RM249. To many Malaysians, this sum is a huge commitment. Many were expecting prices from RM50 onwards.
To make matters worse, the Star reported today that in Singapore, one could get 1Gbps for RM200. Mind you, RM200 to a Singaporean is small money. Don’t just convert, see the GDP per capita. Most Singaporeans are earning 5 times more than Malaysians as Malaysia has one of the lowest GDP per capita in the region.
Thus RM200 for a 1Gbps line is small change to a Singaporean. But our mere 5Mbps at RM149 is big money to the average Malaysian. To some, its money to feed the whole family for a whole week. Read the rest of this entry »
Is Musa currying favour with the Prime Minister hoping to override Hishammuddin and get another year’s extension as IGP?
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Police on Friday, 26 March 2010, 12:10 pm
The Inspector-General Tan Sri Musa Hassan has acted with unusual alacrity when he announced in less than 24 hours that the police will investigate claims made by the independent Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin in Parliament on Wednesday that he was asked to implicate the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor in the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibu.
This is in complete contrast with the foot-dragging and procrastination that top police leadership would indulge in when police reports are lodged against prominent government leaders from Umno and Barisan Nasional.
What is especially extraordinary with Musa’s high-speed response is that no police report had yet been lodged over Zulkifli’s allegation – a pre-condition always insisted on by the police before there could be any police investigation.
As MPs enjoy parliamentary privilege, they have immunity for what they say in Parliament, which bars not only prosecution but also being subject to police investigations for their parliamentary speeches – unless this is waived by the MP concerned or the MP repeated his allegation outside the precincts of Parliament as lodging a police report.
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NEM and the spirit of the individual
The government has just announced that the New Economic Model (NEM) slated to be the catalyst for Malaysia to put on track the elusive target of Vision 2020, will be unveiled to the public on March 30.
The Mother of all Embarrassment to the Malay polity is that despite all of the plans and policies implemented since Independence till today, the success rate of Malay involvement and participation in the wealth creation and distribution theatres (the main target of these plans) as been so dismally low; from one percent in 1959 to a most ridiculous three percent to date, plus 16 percent achieved by trusts and funds, making a paltry 19 percent. This is sacrilege, a huge blow to the Malay mertabat!
Would NEM be another failure? Surely Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (right), the NEM architect, would not want that.
As a country we have all of the fundamentals and essential features for economic progress and development not to fail. I’d list some of them.
i. The availability of land and raw materials
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Malaysia’s shame
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim on Friday, 26 March 2010, 7:52 am
Financial Times
24.3.2010
Malaysia presents itself as a modern, successful and democratic nation. Many western leaders have hailed the country as an example of moderate, tolerant Islam – at ease with itself and with the non-Muslim world. Malaysia does indeed have much to be proud of. But the trial of Anwar Ibrahim, which is due to restart this week, is a massive blot on the country’s reputation for tolerance and political pluralism.
Mr Anwar is a vital figure in the Malaysian opposition. The coalition of opposition forces he leads represents the most potent challenge to the ruling National Front coalition in many years. But Mr Anwar, a married man with six children, is on trial for sodomy. He has already served six years in solitary confinement on charges of sodomy and abuse of power – although the sodomy charges were later over-turned by the courts, leading to Mr Anwar’s release in 2004. If he is convicted this time, he could face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The first thing to say is that – even allowing for cultural and religious sensitivities – Malaysia should be embarrassed that it is threatening to send a man to prison for consensual sex with another adult. But there are also considerable doubts about the case against Mr Anwar. The evidence against him is thin and the political context is very clear.
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Challenge to Hishammuddin to have opinion poll on Home Ministry website whether the prominent media photo of him and IGP as best of pals are genuine or just “for show”
Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein gave an immediate response to my press conference in Parliament yesterday, when I had commented on the photograph of him and the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan “making up” which was given prominent coverage in all the media as mere show.
I said the two must not take Malaysians as four or five-year-old children who are gullible and would believe the photo-shoot as proof that all was well between the Home Minister and the Inspector-General of Police, as if what happened over the past few days and their statements never existed!!
I called on Hishammuddin and Musa not to have any “cover up” and to address the real issues concerned.
Hishammuddin accused me of exploiting the “purported rift” between him and the Inspector-General of Police, even saying that it was “not easy” for the Home Minister and the Inspector-General of Police “to act out things”.
I challenge Hishammuddin to have an opinion poll on the Home Ministry website whether the media photo of him and IGP as best of pals are genuine or just “for show”.
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Farce and fiasco of 24-hr resignation of Titi Tinggi Assemblyman exposes total breakdown of authority of MCA leadership
Posted by Kit in Election, MCA, State Assembly, UMNO on Thursday, 25 March 2010, 11:49 am
The farce and fiasco of the 24-hour resignation of the MCA Perlis Assemblyman for Titi Tinggi, Yip Sun Onn, exposes the total breakdown of authority of the MCA leadership.
There was none from anyone of the Three Kingdom camps of the MCA leadership who could reach and influence Yip, which had to be done by the Umno leaders, involving not only the Perlis Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr. Md Isa Sabu, the Perlis Speaker Datuk Yazid Mat but also the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
No wonder Yazid as the Speaker made the most eloquent remark last evening to the Malaysian Insider reporter “I am very tired. I think what I said is enough. The seat is not vacant” when refusing to further comment on Yip’s case apart from confirming that he had received an SMS from Yip informing him of his retraction.
Poor Yazid and the Perlis UMNO Mentri Besar, who appeared to bear the fullest brunt on the pressures arising from Yip’s letter of resignation – when it should be the MCA leaders but who appeared to be completely impotent in the matter.
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Meeting of Sabahans in the Klang Valley at PJ Civics Centre on April 18 at 2pm
Together with DAP MPs Hiew King Cheu (Kota Kinabalu), Teo Nie Ching (Serdang) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut), and DAP Sabah State Assemblyman for Sri Tanjong Jimmy Wong, I made two visits to various parts of Sabah in the past month – Kota Kinabalu, Kota Belud, Tuaran, Keningau, Tambunan, Sepanggar, Donggongon and Kampong Inobong, Penampang for first-hand information about the neglect of socio-economic development and the frustrations of the people of Sabah.
Wherever we went, we encountered concerns 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.
Sabahans back home were shocked that Sabah youths, who had gone to the national capital to seek greener pastures, were roaming the streets and relying on food served by NGOs and on leftovers in dustbins for an additional meal.
Various reasons have been given for their homeless status and these include being cheated by unscrupulous agents who brought them to Kuala Lumpur and abandoned them to cope with the bright lights on the city.
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #7
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Thursday, 25 March 2010, 8:36 am
By M Bakri Musa
Chapter 2: Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress
Biology in Human History
It is also easy to fall for the trap of biologic determinism. In surveying the globe today, the most advanced nations are in Western Europe: America, and Australia. These are, to use a familiar term, White man’s countries. Meanwhile the whole of tropical Africa is backward and primitive. The most obvious difference is the skin color of their inhabitants. Skin color thus becomes the most identifiable and ready surrogate indicator of ability. As skin color is biologically determined, it therefore follows that these other abilities must also be so determined.
The Japanese take comfort in their light skin color to give them the confidence to compete with Caucasians. In the days of apartheid South Africa, the Japanese were genuinely flattered when given the status of “Honorary Whites.” They had “made it,” at least in their own eyes as well as to the racist South Africans.
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With 10 days to his full-year as PM, Najib has lengthened his list of “dubious firsts” – this time, interfering with Perlis Speaker’s duties to act on the resignation of MCA Titi Tinggi Assemblyman
Posted by Kit in Election, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 24 March 2010, 3:49 pm
With only 10 days to go to complete his full year as Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has lengthened his list of “dubious firsts” – this time, interfering with the Perlis Speaker’s duties to act on the resignation of the MCA Titi Tinggi Assemblyman Yip Sun Onn.
This week saw the Najib premiership chalking up two “dubious firsts” apart from the many in his 11+ months as Prime Minister – the other being the public spat between the Inspector-General of Police and the Home Minister, with the head of police making the very serious allegation in a newspaper interview of a “third party” undermining his authority in the police, by giving directives to the police personnel behind his back, saying that the third party could be “politicians” or “certain individuals”.
Although both the Home Minister and the IGP had appeared jointly for a sudden photo-shoot yesterday to claim that relations between them had never been better, expecting Malaysians to be so simple-minded as to be taken in by their play-acting and to believe that the public spat between the two had never happened, the episode had gravely shaken public confidence not only in the Home Minister and the Inspector-General of Police, but raised fundamental questions about the cohesiveness and sense of purpose of the Najib premiership.
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Najib should give Liow Tiong Lai an ultimatum to resolve the Sabah health crisis or be sacked
I am shocked and outraged by a letter I have received from a serving medical officer of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu about the deplorable conditions of the hospital complexes in Sabah particularly Kota Kinabalu which had been likened to Vietnam refugee camp.
Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had been Health Minister for more than two years and despite repeated complaints, he had turned a complete deaf ear and blind eye to the prolonged healthcare crisis and the deplorable hospital conditions in Sabah particularly in Kota Kinabalu.
The serving doctor in QEH wrote of the horrors suffered by the sick in Kota Kinabalu where they are subjected to “a wicked game of musical chairs” shunted around various hospital centres according to their changing healthcare needs as “there is not a single centre that can address a patient as a whole”.
The medical maze, which has brought total chaos to healthcare services in Sabah, includes the state’s only referral centre, Queen Elizabeth Hosptal and nearby centres like Hospital Bukit Padang the mental institution, Hospital Likas, the makeshift hospital in Lingzhi Museum in Kepayan and Umno’s favourite Sabah Medical Centre (SMC). Read the rest of this entry »
Class divisions in access to healthcare — what about Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Health on Wednesday, 24 March 2010, 9:19 am
By Azly Rahman
‘Why can’t all Americans have the same access to healthcare to those enjoyed by members of Congress?’ is a popular question on the ObamaCare debate.
At the time of writing I am following the debate over universal healthcare for all Americans. If the US$1 trillion Bill passes, it will help insure 32 million Americans that do not have access to healthcare.
This is another controversial issue in the tradition of Democrats and Republicans. This is a good case study of one of the enduring issues of an advanced capitalist state.
I know friends who do not have health insurance and who question the human rights dimension of it – right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, endowed by the Creator who insist that ‘all men are created equal’ and cautioned by the Enlightenment thinker Jean Jacques Rousseau that “… everything is good in the hands of the Author of Things and everything degenerates in the hands of Man”.
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Does Perkasa Get the Hint?
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, UMNO on Wednesday, 24 March 2010, 5:00 am
by Kee Thuan Chye
The Sultan of Selangor has done the right thing in withdrawing from his earlier agreement to open the inaugural general meeting of Pertubuhan Peribumi Perkasa Negara (Perkasa) on March 27. Although the reason given is that the Sultan does not want to be seen to be supporting a politician, namely, Ibrahim Ali, who heads the NGO, the more important implication is that right-wing organisations, even though they are championing Malay rights, have to be “tolerant and respect other races” and operate within existing laws.
Such a message is timely, especially since the country seems more divided than ever along racial lines. After the 2008 general election, Umno and certain individuals have been playing on racial sentiments to win back the Malays who had voted against the party, by warning them that the race is under threat. This has provided the impetus for organisations like Perkasa to garner support and step up right-wing activism.
If Ibrahim Ali is to be believed, Perkasa is attracting new members every day. He expects a gathering of 10,000 at the March 27 general meeting, which is pretty phenomenal for an organisation that is only one and a half years old. He has since gone on to form the Majlis Perunding NGO Melayu, a consultative council comprising 80 or so NGOs pledging to defend Malay rights, the institution of the Malay rulers and Islam.
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The difficult trials of Anwar Ibrahim
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday, 23 March 2010, 8:38 pm
By Gideon Rachman | Financial Times
Published: March 23 2010 02:00 | Last updated: March 23 2010 02:00
Gideon Rachman: I met Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the Malaysian opposition, in the ornate surroundings of the Landmark Hotel in London last week. He was remarkably relaxed for a man who is due to be put on trial, on charges of sodomy next week, which is a crime in Malaysia punishable with a long jail term. If convicted, this would be a return to a prison cell for Anwar. He was arrested in the late 1990s and served six years in solitary confinement on previous charges of sodomy (later over-turned) and corruption.
Yet for a man about to undergo a humiliating and dangerous ordeal, Anwar seemed in remarkably good form: relaxed, cracking jokes and outwardly convinced that he would beat the rap. I asked him how he could be so laid-back, given the trial that he was about to face. He replied coolly: “It’s not that I’m oblivious to it, or unaffected by it, but you have to just get on with life.” He knows that he can survive prison and he has the support of a staunch and politically-engaged wife and six daughters.
I first met Anwar in 1992, when he was Malaysian finance minister. At the time, the going was good, both for Anwar and for Malaysia. The country was booming and the young finance minister was widely regarded as the favoured protégé and heir apparent of Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s long-serving and autocratic prime minister.
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Once Perlis Speaker has confirmed receipt of Titi Tinggi Assemblyman Yip Sun Onn’s resignation, it cannot be retracted or it could be challenged in a court of law
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Election, State Assembly on Tuesday, 23 March 2010, 5:12 pm
It’s a political bombshell – the resignation of Titi Tinggi Assemblyman from Perlis, Yip Sun Onn after he was removed from the state executive council and replaced with Indera Kayangan assemblyman Dr. Por Choo Chor last Friday because of MCA’s “Three Kingdom” factional infighting.
But it is also a legal bombshell – for once Perlis Speaker, Yazid Mat has confirmed receipt of Yip’s letter of resignation (which he has done to more than one media), Yip’s letter of resignation cannot be retracted or it could be challenged in a court of law.
Various parties, including the Speaker, the Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Isa Sabu and the Perlis MCA Chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, are trying to persuade Yip to reconsider his resignation – as reported by various printed and online media.
But this is too late. Once Yip’s resignation letter had been received by the Speaker, it cannot be retracted and if Yip tries to do so, his status as State Assemblyman could be challenged in a court of law, as Yip would be an unlawful State Assemblyman from the date of his resignation and the Speaker would be acting unlawfully in allowing the resignation letter to be retracted.
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‘Third force’ claim demands PM’s intervention, says DAP
Tweet @limkitsiang :
Had Parliament press conference calling 4PM 2intervene 2end unprecedented crack between Home Minister n IGP surfaced publicly last few days
03/23/2010 11:50 AM
Told Hishammuddin ending his pc b4 me that crack between IGP n him has 2b ended Jokingly he said he would kiss up w IGP on Police Day (1)
03/23/2010 12:01 PM
How nice if 1st crack top security ldrship cld be easily resolved with a kiss! IGP’s allegation of ‘3rd party’ directing police most serious
03/23/2010 12:08 PM
‘Third force’ claim demands PM’s intervention, says DAP
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | The Malaysian Insider
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Rumah Sakit Yang Sakit
An Open Letter to Health Minister
Dear Yang Berkhidmat Liow Tiong Lai,
Mr. Wong, an elderly man presented at Hospital Likas because of severe breathlessness and was found to have severe pneumonia on chest x-ray.
He was then admitted to the High Dependency Unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) 30 minutes away for treatment.
He improved after six days and was then transferred to the normal ward for further recuperation.
A bed was urgently needed one day later and the frail Mr. Wong was then shipped off to Hospital Bukit Padang for ‘rehabilitation’.
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