Worst of financial crisis is over?
Former U.S. presidential economic adviser: worst of financial crisis is over
Special Report: Boao Forum For Asia 2009
www.xinhuanet.com
BOAO, Hainan, April 19 (Xinhua) — The worst of the financial crisis is finished, and the world is entering the time when things will get gradually better, John Rutledge, a former U.S. presidential economic advisor, said here Sunday.
He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in China’s southern province of Hainan.
The recession in China has already “passed the bottom”, while the recession in the United States is “at the bottom”, he said while describing the current global economic condition.
“The capital markets around the world are recovering very nicely,” he said, adding that the real economy and paycheck have not yet hit the bottom, but “very near bottom”, and will most certainly be improve by the end of the year.
He is more optimistic about the prospect of China’s economy, as he is likely to raise the forecast of China’s economic growth rate in 2009 between 6 percent and 8 percent. Read the rest of this entry »
EC – prove it is not mouthpiece/tool of BN
The time has come for the Election Commission to demonstrate that it is not the mouthpiece or tool of the Barisan Nasional government but an independent, impartial and professional Election Commission as intended by the Constitution.
Election Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar was quoted in the Star today as saying that the time has come to amend existing laws to prevent abuse by political parties that force elected representatives to quit their parliamentary or state seats.
He said the move by a wakil rakyat to vacate a seat to fulfil a party’s agenda should be discouraged as the cost of holding by-elections had become a burden to the country. (Star)
It is most disappointing that since the appointment of Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusuf as the new Chairman for the Election Commission at the beginning of the year, the Election Commission has made decisions and taken actions which have further undermined public confidence in its independence, impartiality and professionalism – which is quite an “achievement” considering the canyon the Election Commission had plunged into in terms of public confidence under the former Chairman. Read the rest of this entry »
Saya Pun Melayu! Me Too!
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, UMNO on Monday, 20 April 2009, 9:05 am
by M. Bakri Musa
Book Review: Saya Pun Melayu (I Am Also A Malay)
Foreword by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
ZI Publications Sdn Bhd, Petaling Jaya, 2009. 312 pages. RM 35.00
The Annual UMNO General Assembly is also the season for the release of new books on local politics written in Malay. It must be a profitable venue and time, for the number of new titles keeps growing each year.
Foreigners may mistake this to reflect a healthy intellectual discourse, or at least a vigorous political debate. The reality however, is far different. With such titillating titles as “50 Dalil Mengapa XYZ Tidak Layak …” (Fifty Reason s Why XYZ Is Unfit For … ) and the promiscuous use of “half-past six English,” this “genre” poisons the political atmosphere, quite apart from degrading our national language.
As for content, these books are nothing more than warong kopi (coffee shop) gossips transcribed. Observers and political scientists hoping to gain an insight on Malaysian politics would do well to avoid these books. And they have. These books will never be cited in reputable publications or quoted by respected commentators.
Enter Zaid Ibrahim’s Saya Pun Melayu (I Am Also A Malay). It too was released to coincide with the recent UMNO General Assembly. There the similarity ends. This gem of a diamond sparkles with insights and wisdom. Like a diamond, this book too has innumerable multifaceted sharp edges that cut through rock-headed politicians. I would be insulting Zaid if I were to compare his thoughtful and well written book to the thrash that littered the hallways of Dewan Merdeka, where the recent Assembly took place. Read the rest of this entry »
Rampant crime in Taman Bunga Raya, Taman Desa Setapak & around the Wangsa Maju LRT station
Letters
by Undergraduate of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
I am a Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman student at the Kuala Lumpur campus in Setapak. I am writing this email to you to highlight to you on the rampant acts of crime happening in areas highly populated by students such as Taman Bunga Raya, which is located beside the Tunku Abdul Rahman College campus and the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman campus.
On Friday, 17 April 2009, 2 of my coursemates (1 male & 1 female) became victims of snatched theft and assault. Both of them were on their way to buy their breakfast at Taman Bunga Raya when four men on two motorcycles tried to rob the female student of her handphone but failed.
However, the robbers returned and attacked the female student with a parang. She sufferred injuries on her head, shoulder and finger. Luckily, there was a Good Samaritan that help to admit her at the Tawakal Hospital in Jalan Pahang. She required some 20 stitches as a result of her injuries.
Meanwhile, the robbers successfully snatched the handphone and wallet of the male student. Read the rest of this entry »
Khir Toyo – “I am actually a very simple man”
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Media on Sunday, 19 April 2009, 11:12 pm
[Marina Mahathir’s blog drew my attention to the Sunday Star reporter Shahanaaz Habib’s interview with former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Khir Toyo on the can of worms opened up by the Selangor Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) hearings on the financial scandals of Balkis (the former Selangor Elected Representatives Wives Welfare Association) and that the interview online has more in it than the one in the print version.
Marina is right, there is indeed more in the online interview with Khir who described himself as: “I’m actually a very simple man”. It is a must read (below)
Malaysians would be assured of a better future for themselves and future generations if they could be spared of such “simple men” and their ilk!
I agree with Marina when she asked: “I’m just wondering why the MACC hasn’t pulled him up for questioning yet. Or do they actually find his explanations plausible?”
Can we have an answer from the MACC Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, if he can spare a moment from his preoccupation with “car and cows”?
Shahanaaz deserves credit for a most extraordinarily insightful and revealing interview. I don’t think there has been another interview in the history of Malaysian journalism which has been so self-incriminating as well as exposing the hypocrisy, shallowness and pomposity of the person interviewed. Shabas. ] Read the rest of this entry »
BN not contesting Penanti by-election unconvincing unless Najib ends all “political games” and holds Perak state-wide polls
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 19 April 2009, 4:08 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is advocating that Umno and Barisan Nasional not contest the Penanti state by-election in Penang following the resignation of Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Mohamad Fairus Khairuddin as Penanti state assemblyman, giving as reasons that such a by-election was not in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution and a waste of public funds.
Led by the Gerakan “Super Minister” Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, who praised Najib for the “good idea for BN not to participate in a by-election caused by strategic intrigue or aimed at resolving Pakatan Rakyat’s internal predicament”, the other Barisan Nasional parties quickly competed to express support for Najib.
The only lone voice was MIC President, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu who said BN should contest in Penanti to safeguard its integrity, prestige and image as the BN should not be “frightened of the opposition”. Samy’s views must have panicked the other MIC leaders, causing the MIC secretary-general and Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam to openly declare support for Najib’s “no contest” idea to contain Samy’s “damage”.
The mainstream media also swung into action to support Najib by reporting that the five by-elections since the March general elections last year have cost Malaysian taxpayers RM33.4 million, comprising: Read the rest of this entry »
Did Najib direct or approve ban on private TV station reporting of Altantuya C4 murder case?
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 18 April 2009, 12:42 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should explain whether he had directed or approved the ban on four private television stations when reporting the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu C4 murder case.
Malaysiakini has reported that the four private TV stations, TV3, ntv7, 8TV and tv9, have been directed by their owner, Media Prima Berhad, closely linked to Umno, to observe four “don’ts” involving news reports relating to the murder case, including:
• No naming of political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and to ignore all news background related to him.
• No visuals showing Razak Baginda in previous trials and after his release .
• No reporting that Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor were linked to the case.
• No reporting of statements from those accusing Najib and Rosmah of being involved in the case.
Is such a ban the first fruit of Najib’s “new way forward” for the “new media”, a subject he addressed at the MPI-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards ceremony three days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister? Read the rest of this entry »
When the highest court in the land could bring down the Government of the day
by N H Chan
The front page of the Star newspaper of Friday, 17 April 2009 carries this startlingly outrageous decision of the Federal Court. The headline proclaims “Court: Siva does not have right to suspend seven”. The report reads:
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has unanimously ruled that Perak Assembly Speaker V Sivakumar does not have the power to suspend Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abd Kadir and six state executive council members from attending the assembly.
It granted a declaration that the seven assemblymen were entitled to take part in all the assembly sittings and to carry out their duties.
Court of Appeal president Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, who chaired a five-man panel yesterday, said the Speaker’s decision to suspend the seven applicants was ultra vires (outside the law) and invalid.
… The other judges were Chief Judge of Malaya Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court Judges Nik Hashim Nik Ab. Rahman, S Augustine Paul and Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin.
This is a perverse judgement of the Federal Court. It is perverse because it is a decision that was made in blatant defiance of Article 72 (1) of the Federal Constitution which says,”The validity of any proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of any State shall not be questioned in any court”. The judges of the Federal Court have failed the people and the government of this country when they chose to ignore the law of the Constitution of Malaysia. In other words the judges have refused to do justice according to law.
Read the rest of this entry »
Usurper Perak MB convening Assembly on 7th May – Federal Court decision against Perak Speaker defective, null and void
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Pakatan Rakyat, Perak on Friday, 17 April 2009, 1:49 pm
Following the Federal Court decision yesterday that the Perak State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar does not have the power to suspend the usurper Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six state executive council members from attending the assembly, Zambry is seeking to convene the Perak State Assembly on May 7.
However, the Federal Court decision yesterday is defective, null and void.
Firstly, it was not the Speaker who suspended Zambry and his six executive council members, but the Perak State Assembly Committee of Privileges on Feb. 18.
In striking out the purported suspension order of the Perak State Assembly Speaker, the Federal Court was striking out an order that does not exist – as the suspension order was that of the Committee of Privileges.
Zambry and his six exco members had sued the wrong party and as a result, has got a Federal Court order against the wrong party. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir playing for very high stakes – attacks “several unsavoury characters” in Najib Cabinet
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak on Friday, 17 April 2009, 12:06 pm
Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has opened fire on the Najib premiership, expressing his disappointment that Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Cabinet appointments include several “unsavoury characters”.
In his blog, Mahathir said the inclusion of these “unsavoury characters who had been accused of being corrupt while in the previous government” had negated any desire to rid Umno of blatantly corrupt politicians.
Mahathir said the Najib administration should be aware it has less than three years to regain the support of the public and that it had missed a good opportunity for regaining public backing for BN by “excluding dubious characters.”
Mahathir’s disapproval of the Najib Cabinet has intensified in a matter of days. Read the rest of this entry »
A Heartening Election – Indonesian voters turn away from religious extremism
by Sadanand Dhume
Wall Street Journal Asia
April 15, 2009
Against a backdrop of missile launches on the Korean peninsula and violent protests in Thailand those looking for a spot of calm in Asia may alight on an unlikely candidate: Indonesia. Largely peaceful parliamentary elections last week — the third consecutive free polls since the end of Gen. Suharto’s 32-year rule in 1998 — highlight the strides made by a country that not so long ago was in danger of becoming a byword for chaos and random violence, a Southeast Asian Nigeria or Bangladesh.
Most heartening of all has been the Indonesian electorate’s affirmation of its legendary moderation. The top three parties in the incoming parliament — President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party, former president Megawati Sukarnoputri’s left-leaning Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and Suharto’s former political machine, Golkar — are all nonsectarian. They stand for the country’s founding ideology, the live-and-let-live doctrine of Pancasila, and draw their supporters from each of the country’s five major faiths. Islam-based parties saw their cumulative vote-share shrink to about 20% from 38% five years ago. Mr. Yudhoyono, known as the “gentle general” for his military past and avuncular manner, is the overwhelming favorite to win July’s presidential election. Read the rest of this entry »
BN biggest “ethnic prison” – why Najib Cabinet failed 1st KPI over Utusan’s inflammatory “Bangkitlah Melayu” headline
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building on Thursday, 16 April 2009, 3:02 pm
Nobody doubts that if the Chinese and Tamil press had yesterday published on their front page the headlines “Chinese Arise” and “Indians Arise” respectively like Utusan Malaysia’s front-page headline “Bangkitlah Melayu”, followed by a report calling for greater unity among the race to face the other races, this will be a major and instant agenda in yesterday’s first meeting of the Najib Cabinet meeting followed by dire consequences for the Chinese and Tamil newspapers concerned.
No Minister will raise any objection that stern and immediate action be taken against the Chinese and Tamil papers for publishing such inflammatory and racist material, especially as it would be making a complete mockery of the overarching philosophy of the new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced only 12 days earlier.
Why then the double standards by the Najib Cabinet as the chauvinistic and inflammatory Utusan Malaysia front-page headline and report were not raised at all at yesterday’s meeting?
After the Cabinet meeting yesterday, Najib called on Malaysians to break away from being in an “ethnic prison” and to think as one. Read the rest of this entry »
Fairuz resigns, another by-election in Penanti
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, Penang Government on Thursday, 16 April 2009, 1:59 pm
Another by-election within 60 days, a second one in Penang, following the resignation of former Penang Deputy Chief Minister Fairuz Khairuddin from his Penanti seat.
A Star reporter was just on the line asking for my comments on Fairuz’ position and was surprised when I told him that MalaysianInsider and Malaysiankini have reported Fairuz’ resignation as state assemblyman.
Congrats OTK – the gall to accuse others “politically bankrupt” when MCA could garner at most 5 or 6% of the Chinese votes in Bukit Gantang by-election
Posted by Kit in MCA, Media, Muhyiddin Yassin on Thursday, 16 April 2009, 10:26 am
It is said that a politician who is cornered often make ferocious statements or wild allegations to cover up his weaknesses or mistakes.
This is what MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat did in the last two days in his blog postings, accusing me on Tuesday of being “politically bankrupt” and alleging yesterday that I am behind a mysterious conspiracy to lay a trap bent on using him “to pit a particular community against certain national leaders”.
Let me advise Tee Keat to sober up and not to be so paranoid, as he is acting like children who see shadows from the trees at night and imagine monsters from noises in the closet. Read the rest of this entry »
Indonesian Elections: Dreaming of Gajah Mada in a Modern Democracy
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor on Thursday, 16 April 2009, 5:28 am
By Farish A. Noor
While doing fieldwork on the island of Madura last week, I stopped for a while to do one of those necessary things we all need to do sooner or later: get a haircut. My colleague and fellow academic Toharudin and I stopped by a small, somewhat forlorn barber’s shop in Sumenep and set down on the rickety chairs as we were shaved and made to look semi-civilised at least.
In due course, the conversation with the barber turned to politics and the recent elections of 9th April. Pak Sulis, the barber, opined thus: “I am happy that the Partai Demokrat (Democratic Party) won the highest number of votes for the Parliamentary elections, and I hope SBY (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) will be elected as the President. He has done so much for the country: brought peace to Aceh, fought against corruption, and he needs another term to consolidate and build the country further. We need continuity now; the five years after the fall of Suharto were too traumatic for people like me.”
Pak Sulis’ opinion was matched by the electorate who gave the Partai Demokrat the highest number of votes and consequently seats at the recent elections. But what was interesting for me was how this man – who admitted that he was semi-literate and whose education stopped at the age of 11 – was more concerned about actual political results than empty rhetoric. Pak Sulis, like millions of ordinary Indonesians, want to see their democracy succeed. And to make their point the Indonesian people voted for the three main parties whose ideologies were secular, nationalist and development-oriented. All in all the sectarian nationalist parties and the Islamic parties that were seen as being religiously sectarian were ousted. Read the rest of this entry »
“1Malaysia” means “Arise Malaysians” or “Arise Malays”, “Arise Chinese”, “Arise Indians”,”Arise Kadazans”, “Arise Ibans”?
Posted by Kit in Media, nation building on Wednesday, 15 April 2009, 4:28 pm
Although the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” is the overarching philosophy of his premiership, the two following headlines of two newspapers today illustrate the two extremes of interpretation of his “1Malaysia”:
1. “Najib – I am Prime Minister of all communities. Urges people to break race barriers to foster unity.” – Sin Chew Daily headline (p 3) of Najib’s Vasakhi speech at Tait Khalsa Diwan in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
2. “Bangkitlah Melayu – Bersatu hadapi tuntuan kaum lain yang semakin terlaluan” – Utusan Malaysia front-page headline which carried the following three quotes on the front-page:
• “Dalam keadaan sekarang ini, orang Melayu berhadapan banyak cabaran semasa dan kita perlu mencari cara untuk memastikan kaum itu tidak berpecah-belah” – Syed Anuar Syed Mohamad, Timbalan Presiden Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Read the rest of this entry »
Bidayuh upset over exclusion
By Jacob Achoi | The Borneo Post
MPs from community feel a Bidayuh should be in the cabinet
KUCHING: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has derailed the One Malaysia concept when he excluded the Bidayuh from his cabinet, a Bidayuh MP said yesterday.
Dr James Dawos Mamit, the Mambong MP and Sarawak’s environmental advisor, said while there was no doubt that the prerogative to appoint members of his cabinet is Najib’s, by not appointing one from among the three Bidayuh MPs the prime minister had made the One Malaysia concept look like just mere rhetoric.
“To me, he (Najib) has derailed the concept of promoting One Malaysia … to promote unity and the concept of all races working together,” he said when met at Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) headquarters where he attended the Pesta Birumuh appreciation dinner Sunday.
“Whether it (One Malaysia) is mere rhetoric or not, I don’t know, but it does look like it is now,” Dawos stressed, adding that a One Malaysia could not happen if some communities, even how minority, was not given the chance for equitable participation in the business of running the country at the highest level of government. Read the rest of this entry »
When justice is not administered according to law
by N.H.Chan
The story unfolds with the application of three turncoat members of the Perak legislative assembly for a declaration that Speaker Sivakumar’s order, which was made in the legislative assembly, that their seats in the assembly have become vacant because they have resigned was illegal. Here is the report from the Sun newspaper, Thursday April 2 2009:
IPOH: The High Court yesterday dismissed the application by Perak State Assembly Speaker V Sivakumar to strike out an original summons brought by the three independent assemblymen, seeking a declaration that Sivakumar’s order to declare their assembly seats vacant was illegal.
Justice Datuk Balia Yusuf Wahi set April 8 to hear the suit by the assemblymen Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering), Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang) against the speaker.
He also dismissed an application by three former Pakatan Rakyat state executive Councillors . . . and three registered voters to intervene in the case, ruling that they are not interested parties as claimed.
Sivakumar had declared the three state seats vacant based on their pre-dated resignation letters as the three assemblymen were formerly from the ruling coalition. Their resignation from their parties caused the balance of power to shift to Barisan Nasional.
Sivakumar had informed the Election Commission (EC) to call for fresh elections for these three seats but the EC declined and said the seats were not vacant. The three assemblymen then referred their suit to the High Court here for a ruling that they had not vacated their seats as declared by Sivakumar.
I don’t have to tell you how to judge the judge. You must know by now how to do it if you have read my articles in the internet. You will know he is a bad judge if he behaves unfairly to one side as against the other. It is your perception as a member of the public that matters and not what the judge thinks of himself. A judge who does not appear to be fair is useless to the judicial process. As such he is a bad judge and is therefore unfit to sit on the bench. The other essential qualification of a judge is to administer justice according to law. That said, we can now judge this judge.
Article 72, Clause (1) ofthe Federal Constitution clearly states:
How many Ministers like Muhyiddin and Tee Keat who cannot pass UPSR as they do not know the meaning of “membalas budi”?
Posted by Kit in Muhyiddin Yassin on Wednesday, 15 April 2009, 9:43 am
What Malaysians want to know is how many Ministers in the 29-strong Najib Cabinet are like Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat who cannot pass UPSR (Ujian Penilian Sekolah Rendah) as they do not know the meaning of “membalas budi”.
Any ordinary Std. 3 or 4 primary school student would know the meaning of “membalas budi” or “mengenang budi” which would have been discussed in their moral education classes and it is inconceivable that a primary school student could pass the UPSR if he or she does not understand the meaning of this term.
It is most shocking therefore that the new Deputy Prime Minister who is also the new Education Minister is so “challenged” as to be unable to properly understand the meaning of this term. Even more shocking, the MCA President who is wont to flaunt his literary skills, also finds it difficult to fully understand this term and its implications which any primary student should know. Read the rest of this entry »
Muhyiddin’s remarks shows BN still does not get it
Posted by Kit in nation building, UMNO on Wednesday, 15 April 2009, 1:19 am
By Dr Toh Kin Woon
In MalaysianInsider
APRIL 14 – In a recent interview with the Malay language Mingguan Malaysia, our country’s newly minted Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, claimed that he was at a loss as to why the Chinese voters failed to support the Barisan Nasional in the recent by-elections for both the parliamentary seat of Bukit Gantang and the state constituency of Bukit Selambau, despite the BN pouring millions to the Chinese schools.
He further suggested that perhaps Malaysian Chinese wanted to play the role of kingmakers in elections.
I find these statements by the DPM distasteful and an insult, not just to the Malaysian Chinese community, but to all Malaysians.
This latest outburst also manifests either a total lack of understanding of the demands of the electorate of all ethnic groups on the part of Umno, or an inability on its part to respond with progressive measures, or both. Read the rest of this entry »
