Signs of Malaysia on the verge of vicious cycle of a failed state spreading to more aspects of national life
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Police on Thursday, 4 June 2009, 2:22 pm
Yesterday, I said that the collapse of the roof of the RM300 million 50,000-capacity Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak within a year of completion is symptomatic of a society in serious disrepair and Malaysia at the verge of a vicious cycle of a failed state.
Five years ago, when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister, he struck a national chord of resonance when he spoke of the goal to transform Malaysia from a nation of “first-world infrastructure, third-world mentality” to one which is “first-world infrastructure, first-world mentality”.
Under another Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Malaysia is now in danger of regressing to become a nation of “Third-World Infrastructure, Fourth-World Mentality”!
Such signs of a grave breakdown of Malaysia threatening to reduce the country to a fourth-world status instead of the Vision 2020 aspiration of a fully developed nation is everywhere to be seen, almost every day, not only in the maintenance culture but in the attitudes and commitments to the fundamental principles and values which distinguishes a country from a fully-developed one and from those that are not.
Read the rest of this entry »
Cabinet meeting yesterday a double-disappointment on university education – PSD S’ships and USM Apex Uni fiasco
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, university on Thursday, 4 June 2009, 11:40 am
The Cabinet meeting yesterday was a double disappointment on university education particularly to the young generation of Malaysians which must be rectified in a special Cabinet meeting on university intake as well as PSD scholarships for SPM students with 12As.
I am very disappointed that my call for a colour-blind JPA scholarship system has not been heeded by the Cabinet. Clearly, the Cabinet Ministers themselves have yet to fully understand the meaning of 1Malaysia which the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has adopted as the slogan of his administration.
Furthermore, my specific proposal to resolve this year’s public ruckus over the unfair and discriminatory award of JPA selection of foreign degree scholarships has also not been acted upon.
I had proposed that all students with SPM 9A1s and above should be awarded PSD scholarships – which would mean an increased allocation of RM300 million for JPA scholarships budget from RM700 million to RM1 billion this year.
Read the rest of this entry »
Has Malaysia lost the battle to become a developed nation and entered the cycle to become a failed state?
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Law & Order, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 3 June 2009, 11:56 am
The collapse of the roof of the RM300 million 50,000-capacity Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak within a year of completion provoked disbelief, shock and outrage with a whole spectrum of unflattering comments and reactions.
One reaction is that the shocking collapse of the RM300 million stadium within a year of completion is a disaster waiting to happen. An engineer, A. Mohamed who often jogged in the area, has told the media that he had noticed that the space frame which held the roof was getting bent out of shape but his efforts to warn government agencies and the media of the stadium defects were ignored.
Another is that the collapse is the inevitable consequence of a system which gives premium to “know who” than “know how”, the curse of Umno cronyism hiding under the guise of New Economic Policy. Will the Umno cronies responsible for the infamous collapse of the RM300 million stadium roof within a year of completion be exposed and fully penalized?
I was told this morning that the collapse of the Gong Badak Stadium symbolizes the collapse of the “1Malaysia” slogan of Datuk Seri Najib Razak marking his second month as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Read the rest of this entry »
PKFZ – submission of PwC report to MACC just OTK’s PR gimmick?
This is the fifth consecutive day of three daily questions to the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) Rip-off, in response to the public announcement and invitation by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that he had directed Ong “to provide answers on every question raised by any party” on the PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC)’s audit report on the PKFZ.
Although Ong had responded valiantly to Najib’s directive with the bravado statement that he was honoured with Najib’s trust in him, the MCA President had let down the Prime Minister badly in failing to answer adequately and satisfactorily a single one of the 12 questions I had posed in the past four days on the PKFZ.
I do not know whether Najib will have to end Ong’s misery by coming out publicly to withdraw his public invitation and directive to Ong to “provide answers on every question raised by any party” on the PwC’s report on PKFZ, but until then I propose to continue with the three daily questions to Ong on the PKFZ.
When the PwC audit report on the PKFZ was released publicly last Thursday, Ong secured a lot of publicity by directing the Port Klang Authority Chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng to submit a copy of the report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC).
My first question to Ong today is whether the submission of PwC PKFZ audit report to MACC wasn’t just PR (public relations) gimmick when Ong knew that the four previous police/ACA reports by Selangor DAP leader Ronnie Liu on PKFZ had come to nothing and when he himself as MCA President was not prepared to take action against the MCA deputy finance minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung? Read the rest of this entry »
Axe MARA and JPA scholarships for ACCA abroad
Letters
by a Malay accountant in London
Dear Uncle Lim
I am called to write to you following your post (Have MARA run out of funds…) on your blog.
First of all, I admit that the whole scholarship system is flawed and needs to be overhauled. Scholarships should be awarded on merit, and if at all, certainly not to rich students. However, asking for such a radical change from a half-past-six administration with no balls is almost futile, or as we Malays say, ‘anjing menyalak bukit’.
My letter today is to focus in prioritisation of issues within the existing framework. Today, I would like to focus on MARA and JPA scholarship for professional courses.
http://www.jpa.gov.my/perkhidmatan-teras/latihantajaan/pinjaman-luar-negara/
http://www.mara.gov.my/web/guest/kursus_ditaja
With all due respect, I firmly believe that these schemes are a total waste of taxpayers’ money, especially in the recession. I will outline my reasons, with focus on the ACCA programme. Read the rest of this entry »
Have MARA run out of funds leaving hundreds stranded without their bumiputera student loans – and how can such a financial scandal happen?
Posted by Kit in Good Governance on Tuesday, 2 June 2009, 3:55 pm
Has MARA run out of funds leaving hundreds stranded without their bumiputera student loans – and how can such a financial scandal happen?
I have received the following email from a Malay student in a private college:
“I am 21. My father left the family in 1995 and since then my mother has been taking care of the family by herself. I have two other elder sisters, all of whom are working now. My mother was a teacher but now she is retired. She is taking care of the family by herself with the pension she receives every month.
“I studied in … School and later at International Islamic College (IPTS), taking a diploma in computer science. I was a self-sponsored student in IIC.
“I was supported by my mother since she could afford it back then but I had to keep to a really tight budget. Although we were in a quite a difficult financial situation back then, I didn’t waste any time and studied hard.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should seek a vote of confidence as the first item of June meeting of Parliament starting on June 15
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Parliament on Tuesday, 2 June 2009, 3:19 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s win in the Penanti by-election is nothing to boast about as it cannot be used as a yardstick to gauge the popularity of any political parties.
He told reporters at the 20th Asean-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit on Jeju Island that Mansor Othman’s win was “not exciting” as the voter turnout was less than 50 per cent and “a win against independent candidates is not an absolute win…something that one can be proud of”.
This is really sour grapes by Najib, who should be ashamed of himself that the UMNO and Barisan Nasional that he leads dare not contest in Penanti, for fear that it would be his third consecutive by-election defeat in the Peninsular since becoming Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional’s fifth consecutive defeat since the March 8 political tsunami in last year’s general election.
The Penanti by-election results are very telling. Although Umno sponsored one independent candidate and Gerakan sponsored another Independent candidate, all three independent candidates lost their deposits – although the Gerakan-sponsored candidate beat the Umno-sponsored candidate by 102 votes!
Read the rest of this entry »
Cabinet assurance needed – all 4,574 student-victims of USM foul-up will be given places in other public universities
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Tuesday, 2 June 2009, 12:15 pm
From the statement of the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Khaled from Yemen and my discussion with the Higher Education Department director-general Datuk Prof Radin Umar Radin Sohadi, no concrete assurance is forthcoming that the 4,574 student-victims of USM Apex University student intake fiasco will definitely be given places in other public universities.
Although Khaled described the foul-up by the country’s only apex university as serious and directed that an independent committee be set up to investigate the matter, he has no assurances for the 4,574 student victims.
All Khaled said was that students who were rejected by USM will get another bite of the cherry, as they will be considered for placements in other public universities by the University Admissions Unit (UPU).
This is scarce consolation for the 4,574 students who went through emotional havoc over the USM foul-up.
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Why was Ong Tee Keat so irresponsible to talk about PKFZ may cost less than RM4.6 billion when PwC reported that the PKFZ “white elephant” had escalated to RM7.5 billion and may cost another RM5 billion to total RM12.5 billion?
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, PKFZ on Tuesday, 2 June 2009, 11:30 am
Silence, sense-surround silence, thundering silence from Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, MCA President and Transport Minister, to my daily three questions on the PricewaterhouseCoopers audit report on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) Rip-Off despite the open and public directive by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to Ong “to provide answers on every question raised by any party” on PwC’s PKFZ report.
Am I surprised? I am not.
However, as there is standing instruction by the Prime Minister to Ong to answer every question on the PKFZ “mother of all scandals” by anyone, I will continue with my daily three question to the Transport Minister, this being the fourth consecutive “3 questions a day”.
My first question today to Ong is why he was being downright irresponsible when he said in Penang yesterday that “outlays for the controversial Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project could end up being less than RM4.6 billion” (“PKFZ could cost less than RM4.6b” – New Straits Times June 2, 2009) by engaging legal experts and consultants to recover the “overcharging” reported by PcW.
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‘Political Crisis . . . What’s next?’
Posted by Kit in Announcement on Monday, 1 June 2009, 8:37 pm
DAP Ipoh Barat proudly present English Speaking Dinner on “Political Crisis . . . What’s next?”
Date : 11 June 2009, Thursday
Time : 7pm – 11pm
Venue : Florex Restaurant Ipoh
Ticket : RM 100
For tickets kindly contact : P. Sugumaran 017-5677276
Streamyx in Malaysia really sucks
On Saturday, I blogged “Streamyx in Penang sucks. What do you say?”
There were 32 responses.
Conclusion – Streamyx in Malaysia really sucks.
Until recently, Streamyx service in Green Lane area in Penang had been fairly reliable. But not now, as disruptions have become quite common.
What do you say when not only Streamyx went down, Maxis 3G and Celcom 3G were also down, all at the same time, in the same place and for quite a period!
I do not know how often this happens in Penang as I am all over the country most of the time.
But from responses, Malaysians have universal internet complaints rather than universal internet service.
Other countries are leapfrogging into super-fast broadband networks while Malaysia is still bogged down with super-slow broadband service. Read the rest of this entry »
Policy changes to be made to expand and strengthen Malaysian-China relationship
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, Foreign on Monday, 1 June 2009, 5:41 pm
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP Life advisor
From a poor communist country has been transformed into the fourth richest country in the world after USA, Japan and Germany, the man who started the phenomenal change was Deng Xiao Peng who introduced liberal and modernisation policies.
Although it still keep its communist ideology, China now intend to be friends with the whole world. She has won friends with the West, the developed countries and has given large financial handouts to the poor countries of the world. Her diplomacy offensive as a friend of the world has won tremendous appeal.
Malaysia ostensibly also adopt a policy of being a friend to the whole world, and PM Najib’s visit to China tomorrow is meant to expand and strengthen Malaysia-China relationship.
Read the rest of this entry »
Higher Education Minister should ensure that new university intake by UPU to be announced on June 19 provide places for the 4,574 student-victims of the USM Apex University fiasco
The fiasco of 4,574 students being wrongly informed that they had obtained places at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) cannot be a worse start for USM as the Apex University – a bungle and blunder which should not have happened at all and completely inexcusable.
In keeping with its status as an Apex University, USM was for the first time exercising the freedom to choose the best students before the University Admission Unit’s (UPU) selection of students for the other public universities.
But the USM chancellory yesterday was the venue for emotional havoc for hundreds of students and their parents when they found that they had been wrongly informed about being accepted as students in USM, with lost tempers and heart-rending scenes of tears and frustration.
Read the rest of this entry »
PKFZ questions – why Transport Ministry should not cut losses instead of continuing to throw good money after bad to create a RM12.5 billion PKFZ “white elephant”?
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, PKFZ on Monday, 1 June 2009, 11:55 am
In less than two days, MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has forgotten the directive of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to “provide answers on every question raised by any party” on the PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) audit report on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) and has started to be abusive and refused to answer the many queries raised by the Malaysian public in the past three days.
Ong even refused to answer the six questions I have posed on the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal in the past two days, but I will pose another three questions today, as this is what the Prime Minister had promised – that he had directed Ong to respond to “every question raised by any party” on the PKFZ.
Ong seems to be “on the run” from these questions, like his predecessor as Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy in November 2007. Why is this?
At the media conference at Port Klang Authority (PKA) on Friday, after a DAP team had spent five hours leafing through the three-and-a-half-inch high documentary annexure to the PwC audit report on PKFZ, containing 20 appendices, I had asked the government to consider the option to cut losses in PKFZ instead of continuing to incur further losses in view of the PWC warning that the cost of the ill-advised project could skyrocket by another RM5 billion to reach the astronomical total of RM12.453 billion.
Read the rest of this entry »
Abolish Overseas Undergraduate Scholarships
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education on Monday, 1 June 2009, 8:42 am
by M. Bakri Musa
Every year at this time the nation goes through its regular spasms of indignation over perceived unfair distribution of scholarships for studies abroad for those with the Sijil Persekutuan Malaysia (SPM). This being Malaysia, such controversies inevitably and quickly acquire ugly racial overtones, no matter how ‘objective’ or ‘sophisticated’ the arguments put forth.
I suggest that we abolish all public scholarships for undergraduate studies abroad. That would at least remove yet another source of racial disagreement. The fewer such contentious issues we have, the better it would be for Malaysia.
Public scholarships for studies abroad should only be given to those pursuing higher degrees. As for the handful of our brightest who secured undergraduate slots at the world’s most competitive universities, rest assured that there will be no shortage of sponsors outside of government if these students were truly in need of financial aid.
Whatever money left over after funding those pursuing higher degrees abroad should then be diverted to strengthening our local universities, which desperately need the support.
A candidate with only the SPM regardless of the number of A’s obtained could secure a place only at a third-rate institution in America. We do not need to send our students there. Even when on the rare occasions that they do end up at a respectable university, these students have to spend a semester or two doing preparatory courses (essentially Sixth Form). Read the rest of this entry »
Mansor the new Penang Deputy Chief Minister
The Penanti by-election in Penang is no contest.
PKR Mansor Othman winning with a historic majority, unofficially 5559 votes, in a historic low turnout of 46.15 per cent or 7,100 people out of 15,384 voters.
All three Independent candidates lose their deposits.
Mansor is the new Penang Deputy Chief Minister. He will be sworn in on Wednesday.
Don’t tell Najib the truth or risk charge of sedition/criminal defamation!
Posted by Kit in DAP, Human Rights, Najib Razak, Police on Sunday, 31 May 2009, 10:21 am
I believe the overwhelming majority of the people, in Perak and Malaysia, agree with what I said at the Guar Perahu ceramah – that Najib must bear the greatest responsibility for the protracted Perak political and constitutional crisis, set off by Najib’s unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak, which has now broadened into a larger national crisis of confidence of key national institutions, like police, election commission, MACC, civil service, judiciary, whose credibility, legitimacy and integrity have been compromised in serving Najib’s political agenda.
Are there enough court houses for the police to prosecute the overwhelming majority of Malaysians who think alike with me and are there enough prisons for them if they are convicted of the serious offences of sedition and criminal defamation of the Prime Minister?
What really surprised me is not that the police are investigating a police report lodged against me for sedition and criminal defamation, but that the police report was lodged by the police itself.
Chief Inspector Pang Meng Tuck lodged the police report against me because, as the police recording officer for the PKR Penanti by-election ceramah in Guar Perahu, Kubang Semang on Sunday, 24th May 2009, he was of the view that my speech defamed the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and was seditious. Read the rest of this entry »
PKFZ “mother of all scandals” – 2nd set of 3 questions for OTK: agree to RCI to nab all culprits?
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, PKFZ on Sunday, 31 May 2009, 7:49 am
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced on Friday that he had directed Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to “provide answers on every question raised by any party” involving the PricewaterhouseCooper audit report on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).
I am still waiting for Ong’s full response to my first three questions on Malaysia’s “Mother of All Scandals” – the RM12.5 billion PKFZ Rip-Off.
Ong should end his linguistic games and boldly admit that he had failed the public pledge he made in his first month as Transport Minister to “tell all” about the PKFZ scandal, that he would not condone or protect wrongdoers responsible for the PKFZ “Mother of All Scandals” , even though they were former top leaders, whether MC A or Barisan Nasional. Read the rest of this entry »
Are there enough courts and prisons?
This has never happened before. I could not finish the blog “Speaking the truth is sedition and criminal defamation in Najib’s Malaysia” as I was just too tired to continue.
Had a series of very hectic days recently, not only with multiple issues but having to regularly triangulate three places, Petaling Jaya, Ipoh and Penang – not to mention having to cover Malacca and Bangkok as well.
Thought I would get a short nap before completing the blog. Instead I slept like a log of wood for nearly four hours.
There are already 24 comments on the unfinished blog. Instead of finishing it, I am writing a new blog.
What really surprised me is not that the police are investigating a police report lodged against me for sedition and criminal defamation, but that the police report was lodged by the police itself. Read the rest of this entry »
Speaking the truth is sedition and criminal defamation in Najib’s Malaysia
ASP Norazizi bin Saad took a statement from me following a police report lodged by Chief Inspector Pang Meng Tuck, CID, Seberang Perai Tengah Police, on 25th May 2009 that my Penanti ceramah speech at Guar Perahu, Kubang Semang on Sunday night (24th May) was sedition and criminal defamation against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
In my speech, I had blamed Najib as being responsible for Perak political and constitutional crisis because of an unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab, resulting in the expansion of the crisis of confidence, with one national institution after another, such as the Police, Election Commission, MACC, civil service, judiciary compromising their credibility and legitimacy as they just serve Najib’s political agenda.
In Najib’s Malaysia, speaking the truth has become sedition and criminal defamation. Darkness is descending on Malaysia. Malaysians must not be cowed.
What is shocking is that this police report against me for sedition and criminal defamation did not come from some members of the public, but by the Police itself. Insp. Pang’s report was on the directive of senior police officers, ASP Subramaniam Sanaassy and ACP Nasir Salleh.
(continue at Are there enough courts and prisons?)
