Mahathir right on Isa but wrong on PR
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Monday, 28 September 2009, 2:32 pm
Umno’s choice for Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad as the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election appears quite set – and the latest indication is the “advice” by Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, asking former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad not to “interfere” and “embarrass” the Umno leadership with any more public statements on the question of by-election candidature. (Sin Chew)
Mahathir is right on Isa when he said that the issue is not just Bagan Pinang by-election but the next 13th general elections.
As Mahathir conceded, if Umno fields a candidate who is not clean, it might win in Bagan Pinang but would lose in other constituencies as the people throughout Malaysia want to know whether Umno is serious about eradicating money politics and corruption.
However, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak seems so desperate for a by-election victory in Peninsular Malaysia after seven consecutive by-election defeats after the political tsunami of the March 8 general elections last year that he is prepared to face the hazards warned by Mahathir.
Read the rest of this entry »
NSTP withdraws defamation suit
New Straits Press (Malaysia) Bhd today withdraws its 2001 defamation suit against DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning with a no costs consent order. Lim was represented by Karpal Singh and Sangeet Kaur Deo.
NST filed the defamation suit against Lim for defamatory words in response to a question from a Berita Harian reporter at a press conference in the Parliament lobby on May 17, 2001 on bumiputra quota and the annual controversy over local university intake.
NST alleged in its defamation suit filed in September 2001 that in their natural and ordinary meaning, or by way of innuendo, the offending words meant that the company was racist, unpatriotic and unfit to be Malaysian. Read the rest of this entry »
5 global fundamentals for a country to become high-income developed nation
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin on Monday, 28 September 2009, 7:58 am
by Dr. Chen Man Hin
Prime Minister Najib expressed his intention to make Malaysia a high income country, like the developed countries in Asia. America and Europe.
To reach that status, the per capita income (pci) of a malaysian citizen must be at least US$11,700. presently per capita income is $7500.
Malaysia pci was US500 at independence in 1957. It took 52 years to achieve $7500. can malaysia reach a pci of US 11700 in the year 2020 and fulfill the Vision 2020 dream of Tun Mahathir?
There are five fundamental conditions that Malaysia must possess in order to reach high income status: Read the rest of this entry »
Ops Sikap Degenerating Into “Oops! Silap!
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Transport on Monday, 28 September 2009, 7:53 am
by M. Bakri Musa
It is now a practice that with every festive season the authorities would go into high gear aimed at reducing the horrifically high rates of traffic accidents and fatalities. Judging by the results however, these initiatives are more show than substance. These “Ops Sikap” (a contraction for Operasi Sikap – Operation Attitude, as in changing the attitude of road users) are now more “Oops! Silap!” (Oops! I goofed!)
There has been no change to the dreadful trend since the series was stated over eight years ago. That should not surprise anyone. We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect to have different results. The surprise is that the authorities have not yet figured this out; this latest Ops Sikap essentially replicated what was done during previous twenty operations. There is minimal effort at learning from earlier experiences; the program lacks innovations.
This latest edition began on September 13 and just ended two weeks later today. It registered 238 fatalities. As with past years, the overwhelming victims were motorcyclists. Read the rest of this entry »
Dr. Teng, why don’t you stroke your own pen?
By Chan Lilian
I had wanted to write this but was caught up with house moving so I didn’t manage to hit while the iron is hot.
Few days ago, there is a report in Malaysiakini where Datuk Dr. Teng Hock Nan openly told media that CM Lim Guan Eng could have saved Kampung Buah Pala with a stroke of pen. I was very pissed with that sort of statement, coming from what was supposed to be one of the candidate vying for the Chief Minister position before the last general election.
Of course, it is open knowledge that I am a fan of CM Lim. But that’s not my main discontentment. It is not about Lim Guan Eng. It is about Penang.
The statement from Datuk Dr. Teng is deemed very mischievous and irresponsible. He, being a Penangite and also in Gerakan should have known that the Kampung Buah Pala issue had been turned into a racial issue. Therefore, if he is responsible and love peace and harmony in Penang, he would have kept his mouth shut instead of adding fuel to fire.
Read the rest of this entry »
Living in the shadow of Najib’s 1 Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Tunku Abdul Aziz on Saturday, 26 September 2009, 7:06 pm
by Tunku Abdul Aziz
Malaysian Insider26th September 2009
I was in Seoul last Monday to participate in the World Forum for Democratisation in Asia (Third Biennial Conference) on “Sustaining Democratisation in Asia: Challenges of Economic and Social Justice” with some 200 delegates from Asia and the United States.
The conference brought together people from diverse backgrounds and of all ages, to seek ways of strengthening, and arresting the rapidly declining state of democracy in their countries. These men and women, all with impeccable credentials as human rights advocates, shared many of the same democratic values that have inspired human beings through the ages, all over the world, to make great personal sacrifices against humanly impossible odds in the name of justice and freedom from the tyranny of state-sanctioned human rights abuses, such as we are subjected to in Malaysia regularly.
I spoke on the panel on “Citizen Participation and Political Accountability.” In the audience were participants from Indonesia, the US, India, Cambodia, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and Mongolia, among others.
I thought I was doing well, having made some rather important points on the need for citizens to take charge of their own destiny as freedom was far too important to be left to the tender mercies of politicians, many of whom were charlatans at best and untrustworthy to boot. I mentioned as an example how citizens’ active participation in the March 2008 general election in my country had succeeded in changing, albeit ever so slightly, the 50-year corrupt political landscape, a feat that was nothing short of miraculous given the corrupt and repressive environment against which they were fighting to change. Read the rest of this entry »
Stop Calling 103 on Maxis
Letters
by Bernard Tan
If you are using Maxis network and please be alert that now the new charges for making 103 (TM Directory) was increased from 30 cents to RM2.00 per call.(extra of RM1.70 almost 700% jump).
I just found out from my maxis statement dated 21/6/08 today and i rang up the Maxis 123 and been told the new rate was started lately only and since I’m not aware of this new adjustment and they willing to waive it for this month but next month will be charging me based on the new rate (RM2.00 per call to 103).
Shocking right? The best part is everyone knew how ‘good’ service our TM directory can provide?? Most the time i need to call at least 2-3 times to get the number i looking for mean that one number i need to pay RM4.00 to RM6.00…OMG. …equal to one meal already…
So please pass this news to your maxis friends to alert them the new charges.
Hope lives on in Malaysia: The Hassan Mat Yaacob story.
Posted by Kit in Augustine Anthony on Friday, 25 September 2009, 9:52 am
By Augustine Anthony
Rural folks have many land problems. The safest way to find lasting and meaningful solutions to their problems is to first eliminate all the politicians, bureaucrats and even the office boys who behave like lords of the lands, lording over many of these rural folks who lack confidence to confront them.
Those who had abused the existing laws, particularly the land acquisition legislations with utter disregard for the welfare of the affected people must never forget that their tryst with insidious tyranny has a half life that will soon end.
I say this with confidence not because of the many stirring speeches of great leaders and orators but inspired by the display of resilience by ordinary village folks who are now awakening to a belief system that they can stand up for their rights even as they journey to free themselves from a state of mind that had been shackled by a long train of abuses and usurpations.
One such inspiration is Hassan Mat Yaacob, a padi farmer who refuses to take ‘no for an answer’ to reclaim what was legitimately his.
Read the rest of this entry »
Is Malaysia heading for the worst Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranking and score in 15 years?
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Thursday, 24 September 2009, 1:34 pm
Is Malaysia heading for the worst Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking and score in 15 years, when the TI CPI 2009 is released next month?
When launching the country report in the TI Global Corruption Report (GCR) 2009 yesterday, Transparency International Malaysia president Datuk Paul Low said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and other “reforms” introduced by the government have so far been ineffective in fighting corruption.
These measures have not produced the desired results and so the public perception of corruption remains unchanged.
Pointing out that Malaysians are fed up with the status quo and the unbearable effects of corruption in the country, Low said the Global Corruption Barometer 2009 surveyed released in May showed that 70 per cent of Malaysians believe that the government is ineffective in fighting corruption.
In contrast, although Indonesia has a far worse position in the corruption perception index than Malaysia, 76% of its people believe their government is effective in fighting corruption.
Read the rest of this entry »
Fallacy to automatically equate Najib’s Hari Raya Open House crowd with support for his 1Malaysia slogan
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak on Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 12:29 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Cabinet Ministers’ Hari Raya Open House at Sri Perdana on the first day of the festivities on Sunday had a good crowd, but it is a fallacy to automatically equate Najib’s Hari Raya Open House crowd with support for his 1Malaysia slogan.
The mainstream media refer to a crowd of 50,000 to 60,000 for the Prime Minister’s Open House at Sri Perdana on Sunday.
If crowd numbers is a measure of public support for the incumbent Prime Minister’s policies and slogans, then how is one to interpret the crowd sizes of Hari Raya Open Houses of previous Prime Ministers, Tun Abdullah and Tun Mahathir?
A check with reports of past years will show the following crowd numbers cited in the mainstream media for Abdullah’s six Hari Raya Open Houses during his tenure as Prime Minister:
| 2003 | 70,000 | (NST 26.11.03) |
| 2004 | 200,000 | (NST/Malay Mail 16.11.04) |
| 2005 | 100,000 | (Malay Mail 5.11.05) |
| 2006 | 200,000 | (Berita Harian 26.10.06) |
| 2007 | 200,000 | (NST 15.10.07) |
| 2008 | 200,000 | (Harian Metro 3.10.08) |
Government of Malaysia Inc
Posted by Kit in Good Governance on Tuesday, 22 September 2009, 7:12 pm
KJ John
Malaysiakini
Sep 22, 09
I cannot agree with bloggers Art Harun and Lim Kit Siang more. Both have basically argued a similar concern; why is the government acting as if they privately own the country.
Yes, to their minds the chief secretary to the government and chief justice are both CEO appointments – one for the executive branch of the public services, and the other for the judicial services. Both are accused of “doing things as they like”, as if they are in a private corporation and answerable to no one outside of the “cabinet” as their board of directors.
Allow me to repeat their arguments for those who did not follow them. Read the rest of this entry »
Life is 2 short 2 vote UMNO
Posted by Kit in Hussein Hamid, UMNO on Tuesday, 22 September 2009, 1:07 pm
By Hussein Hamid
I use to view with amusement the goings on every year of the UMNO AGM at PWTC. The fight between Team A and Team B, spectacle of Mahathir crying on stage, the brandishing of the Kris, gag order, no gag order, contest no contest…the whole spectrum of human failings all there for us to see. But amusement is far from an appropriate response given the anger that I now feel at the way UMNO is still conducting itself despite the wake up call of the last General Election. UMNO has
enjoyed over fifty years of freedom in which they were left alone to do as they wish – to change, amend, and innovate whatever they choose to do to ensure Ketuanan Melayu and to deliver a united, peaceful and prosperous Malaysia with abundant opportunities for all citizens. They failed.
For the Malays who have staunchly supported UMNO and unfailingly given UMNO their votes it has been a challenging time. It used to be the opposition parties that has been looked upon by the Malays with detached amusement as these parties tried desperately to muster the non-Malay votes without much success. Those Malays who openly sided with these opposition parties were regarded as a traitor to the Malay cause. How times have changed.
The myth of UMNO as being the champion of the Malays has long been proven a farce. It might be a myth that UMNO still continues to encourage though we know that that UMNO accomplishments or lack thereof is there for all to see. If the integrity and ability of Singapore Leaders to govern their City State well is an inspiration to people the world over, and if that made UMNO leaders look like little man, then UMNO has only themselves to blame. Read the rest of this entry »
In The Spirit of Eid ul Fitra
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, ISA on Sunday, 20 September 2009, 11:30 am
By M. Bakri Musa
I applaud Prime Minister Najib Razak for releasing five more prisoners held under the unjust and abominable Internal Security Act (ISA). That he did it in the last Ashra (ten days) of Ramadan, and within days of Hari Raya, captures best the true spirit of Ramadan and the generosity of Eid ul Fitra.
Najib’s generous gesture illustrates another important point. Leaders do not need to resort to catchy slogans or grandiose gestures in order to demonstrate the greatness of our faith. His releasing the prisoners (this latest group of five, plus the earlier 13 set free on his assuming office and the 16 a few weeks later) did more to enhance the image of Islam than all the pontifications of his predecessor and self-styled Imam of Islam Hadhari, Abdullah Badawi. Abdullah’s frequent recitations of the ideals of Islam notwithstanding, he did not release a single prisoner during his tenure.
The only sour note to this latest action was the idiotic (what else is new?) comment by Home Minister Hishammuddin. He threatened “to fill Kamunting to the brim” if that was what it would take to protect the nation’s security. Despite his long years in government he has learned nothing; he still has the same perverted priorities.
Hishammuddin and others of his persuasion must be reminded over and over, for they are prone to forget, that the greatest threat to our nation’s security, and indeed our well being, remains our corrupt and ineffective institutions, including and especially the police and the anti-corruption commission. Both agencies are under Hishammuddin’s direct purview.
Read the rest of this entry »
How to make 1Malaysia motto a meaningful slogan instead of being the butt of ridicule, derision and contempt
Posted by Kit in nation building on Saturday, 19 September 2009, 4:08 pm
Happy Hari Raya Aidilfiltri to all Muslims in Malaysia.
As the first Hari Raya under new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, it should be an occasion for Malaysians regardless of faith, race or political beliefs to give real meaning to his 1Malaysia slogan so that it will not be short-lived and the butt of ridicule, derision and contempt like the slogans of previous premiers.
However, Najib’s praise for Utusan Malaysia for being “the voice of the people, especially the Malay community” could not have come at a worse time with a more disastrous consequence, when Utusan Malaysia had been most guilty in fanning racial and religious ill-will and misunderstanding in recent months.
Malaysia’s international competitiveness recently came under a cloud with two adverse global rankings – falling three places from 21st to 24th ranking in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2009-2010 and a drop of two places in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times from 21st to 23rd placing.
Why didn’t AG Gani prosecute previous Transport Ministers Ling and Chan for unlawfully issuing 4 Letters of Support causing the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, PKFZ on Saturday, 19 September 2009, 12:38 pm
Today’s media report top government leaders virtually falling upon one another in their competition to denounce and declare action being taken against fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Malaysia-Today website under the Official Secrets Act for leaking on the Internet an 18-page Treasury Memorandum to the Cabinet in June 2007 on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.
Led by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, those who had spoken of action under the Official Secrets Act include the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin, the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar and Director of Commercial Criminal Investigation Department, Datuk Koh Hong Sun.
However, none of them has shown any concern about the right to know of Malaysians about the hows and whys the taxpayers are being burdened with the “mother of all scandals” – the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal running through three Prime Ministers, three Finance Ministers and four Port Klang Authority Chairmen.
Najib said: “We will inform the people what we should concerning the case and we will do so later but that is no excuse to reveal cabinet papers.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Joining Formula 1 is glamorous but will not help to make Malaysia a high income developed country
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, Good Governance on Saturday, 19 September 2009, 12:33 pm
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life adviser
The other day PM Najib’s kitchen cabinet announced plans to make Malaysia a high income developed country. Two days later he announced Malaysia will become a F1 racing country to bring glory and prestige as a renowned automobile producer of world standards.
Proton is sucking up millions every year of taxpayers’ money to support the automobile industry, and now F1 will require spending a billion or more annually. It will increase the financial burden of the people.
Tun Mahathir supports the F1 initiative because it will bring publicity worth millions for Malaysia, as F1 races are splashed across the media. He forgets that it will also focus on the sorry state of the automobile industry headed by Proton.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysian Election and Army votes
Malaysian Election and Army votes I
by drrafick
1. With the Bagan Pinang by-election just around the corner there have been concerns voiced by Pakatan Rakyat and the Rakyat as to whether there will be manipulations by Barisan with regards to the Army Postal votes . Nearly 5000 postal votes from the Army will make a difference to the results of the by-elections and being a former serviceman, I know that their concern is not without merit. Allow me to share my experience of going through 3 elections while I was serving in the Army.
2. Soldier’s votes are very important to Barisan as we all know that their numbers are significant when they are located in high concentration areas. I am not sure how many remembered that Najib won narrowly in Pekan during the General Election that took place after Anwar was sacked from UMNO. In that year, Najib the number of postal votes that came from the Army and Air Force base in Batu 9 and Batu 10 Kuantan made all the difference to him winning.
3. During the same GE, Anuar Musa lost the Ketereh seat because the airman at the Gong Kedak, which is located at the border of Kelantan and Terengganu, chose to abstain from voting. The camp is unique as it is located right at the border of Kelantan and Terengganu. They live in Terengganu and they go to work by crossing the road which brings them into Kelantan. They votes goes into Anuar Musa area in Kelantan. I remember when his wife complained to me that the soldiers were ungrateful for not voting BN.
Read the rest of this entry »
Raja Petra’s Malaysia-Today website not accessible – any connection with disclosure of the PKFZ Cabinet documents?
Posted by Kit in IT, OSA, PKFZ, Raja Petra Kamaruddin on Friday, 18 September 2009, 2:28 pm
Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s Malaysia-Today website is not accessible.
Has it anything to do with the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) documents, including Cabinet papers, on the website in the past three days?
New Straits Times reported today that investigations have been ordered into Malaysia-Today’s disclosures of secret official government documents showing how the Port Klang Free Zone issue had spiraled into disaster.
The Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail was quoted as saying that if the document was genuine, action could be taken against the editor of the website under the Official Secrets Act.
The time has come for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to honour his pledge of public accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance which must include a commitment to freedom of information and respecting the right of Malaysians to information about the entire process as to how Malaysia could be landed with a RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal through three Prime Ministers, three Transport Ministers and four Port Klang Authority Chairmen.
Read the rest of this entry »
Were Umno’s Slippers Soleless, Mukhriz?
By G. Krishnan
Are you keeping track of the slippers being flung so far in the slipper spat that has ensued? I have to admit, a few more of these slippers and I might just lose track of who is partaking in it – not to mention the ‘quality’ of the slipper being flung, by whom, and in which direction!
Mahathir’s most recent confession that the hits he took to his image from the slippers hurled at him from several within Umno itself must surely be one of the unequivocal highlights of this slipper fight. I can only imagine the sheer embarrassment – not to mention utter shock – this must come to those Umno cronies after they apparently flexed their muscles and primed themselves to fling Sukumaran and the MIC with their own political slippers.
Of course this retort by Mahathir about Umno having done more to insult him than Sukumaran’s now famous ‘slipper garland’ comment triggered so many me images and phrases in my mind: Umno hypocrisy, the pot calling the kettle black, blowback, getting burnt, self-inflicted wound, and a stunt that backfired are but just some of the things that came to mind.
Read the rest of this entry »
Vrroooom….vrrooom
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Hussein Hamid on Friday, 18 September 2009, 5:00 am
By Hussein Hamid
It would seem that Malaysia is once again, in the words of our Prime Minister Najib, raising its “profile on the world stage” by having it’s own team in Formula One next year. The first thought that hit me was this – if BMW has decided to wind down its Formula One Team after just four seasons in order to focus the resources that had been expended on the company’s F1 program to the “development of new drive technologies and projects in the field of sustainability” why oh why must this fool rush in where angels fear to tread?
Here are the other headlines news that is relevant to this issue – relevant because it only serves to complicate matters and again confirm that the usual suspects are involved – Politics, ‘big business’ well known personalities and taking money from the Rakyat:
“This is where the cars will be designed, manufactured and tested. It will be ‘Made-in-Malaysia, by Malaysians’ and of course, the pit-stops will be run by Malaysians,” he said. Najib.
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