Proton/Mercedes fiasco – Big Ears’ Dilemma with Terengganu’s “one ear in, one ear out” defiance
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Corruption, Good Governance on Sunday, 27 July 2008, 5:07 pm
“Defiant act – Exco men use Merc despite Cabinet order” – this is the screaming front-page headline in today’s Sunday Star on the latest twist in the Proton Perdana/Mercedes Kompressor fiasco, viz:
JOHOR BARU: At least four of Terengganu’s eight state executive council members are using newly purchased Mercedes-Benz E200 Kompressor cars despite a Cabinet directive against doing so.
Several of them were seen travelling in the cars to official functions and meetings.
Those who were seen taking rides in the car said they were waiting for Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said to make an announcement at Wednesday’s state executive council meeting on when to give up the cars.
Terengganu Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Za’abar Mohd Adib attended the Malaysian Flora Fest here yesterday in his gleaming new black Mercedes-Benz.
What is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who prides in having “Big Ears”, going to do in the face of the “One ear in, one ear out” defiance of the Terengganu State Government?
Is he going to crack the whip to impose discipline or is he going to close his eyes and ears and pretend such defiance does not exist? Read the rest of this entry »
Abdullah buying time with 2010 quit plans
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sunday, 27 July 2008, 3:01 pm
From the Economist Intelligence Unit
JULY 26 – Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s July 10 announcement that he plans to step down by mid-2010 seems an attempt by the prime minister to buy time – both for his own (probably doomed) leadership and for his party, Umno.
By sacrificing the second half of his current five-year term, the prime minister may hope not only to save the first half, and thus to stay in the leadership for two more years, but also to reduce internal feuding that is undermining the government’s stability.
Abdullah’s move comes as pressure continues to mount on him to step down to take responsibility for the political crisis as well as for rising inflation. This pressure is coming both from within the highly factional Umno – where some elements regard Abdullah as an increasing liability to the party or see his problems as an opportunity to make their own power bids – and from the parliamentary opposition, which has been emboldened by its gains in the March 2008 general election.
Although the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, of which Umno is the dominant member, comfortably won the election, the loss of its two-thirds majority for the first time in nearly 40 years was a humiliating setback. Read the rest of this entry »
PM has turned Terengganu Perdana/Mercedes controversy into pure fiasco
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Corruption, Good Governance on Saturday, 26 July 2008, 12:34 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has transformed the Terengganu Proton Perdana V6 Executive/Mercedes E200 Kompressor controversy into a pure fiasco.
What is the solution? The 14 RM245,000 Mercedes E200 Kompressors purchased by the Terengganu government for RM3.43 million are to be used only by VVIPs – “foreign dignitaries” for “major functions” – while the State Excos must continue to use the fleet of 16 RM130,000 Proton Perdana V6 Executives bought in 2004.
Reason? This is from Abdullah’s own words, explaining the Cabinet decision: “Since the cars have been bought and to sell them would only result in a loss, all of them must be used for state guests or dignitaries.
”This is the decision, nothing more, nothing less.”
Wouldn’t this ridiculous and laughable solution result in greater losses to the public coffers?
Who are the VVIPs or “foreign dignitaries for major functions” who would qualify to be chaperoned around the state in the 14 Mercedes E200 Kompressors? Read the rest of this entry »
One “black eye” after another – Hamid’s special briefing to diplomats on Anwar “a big flop”
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim on Friday, 25 July 2008, 4:27 pm
The special briefing on Wednesday by Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to 96 foreign diplomats on government action and police investigations into the sodomy allegations against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is clearly a big flop, with the caustic criticism by the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice within 24 hours with her call for transparency and the rule of law into the new allegations against Anwar.
Rice rejected the earlier claim by her Malaysian counterpart, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim that the United States was meddling in Malaysia’s internal affairs by raising concern over Anwar’s arrest.
She said the United States would continue to speak on cases involving human rights and politics although it did so “in a spirit of respect for Malaysia”.
She stressed that the United States “doesn’t recognise this very firm barrier that it is simply internal affairs when a case of this kind comes up, but we are going to continue to work with Malaysia”. Read the rest of this entry »
Third World Reality Beneath Malaysia’s First World Veneer
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa on Friday, 25 July 2008, 3:24 pm
Book Review: Beyond the Veneer: Malaysia’s Struggle For Dignity and Direction
(Ioannis Gatsiounis : Monsoon Books, Singapore. 2008 : 273 pages Indexed : US $15.95)
By: Bakri Musa
Soon after Abdullah Badawi led his Barisan Nasional coalition to a landslide electoral victory in 2004, I wrote a blistering critique of his leadership. He had hoodwinked voters, I wrote, with his slick “feel good” campaign, and that sooner or later Malaysians would see through his emptiness. I had the piece previewed by my friend and frequent collaborator Din Merican. He suggested that I hold back and instead give Abdullah a chance. I did.
Little did I know that at about the same time (October 2004) an American journalist in Malaysia, Ioannis Gatsiounis, had written for Asia Times an essay titled, “Abdullah’s Honeymoon is Over in Malaysia.” Although more restrained in tone, nonetheless as judged by the title, he revealed a similar lack of enthusiasm for Abdullah as a leader. His “soft but firm” leadership, Gatsiounis wrote, “has shown … to be more soft than firm.”
That kind of perceptiveness is rare for a foreign observer, or a local one for that matter. Today, as judged by the current headlines, Gatsiounis’s judgment of Abdullah has become the common wisdom. Read the rest of this entry »
PAS: Caught between Old and New
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor, PAS on Thursday, 24 July 2008, 12:06 am
By Farish A. Noor
Now that the cat is out of the bag and the whole of Malaysia knows that there have been secret backroom dealings between UMNO and PAS; ostensibly to bring the two parties together in the name of Malay-Muslim communal solidarity, we need to pause a while and look at the political factors at work.
I highlight the political factors at work here for frankly, I see little of Islam or Islamic ethics at work in this latest round of UMNO-PAS dialogue. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Abdullah gave blessing for a one-race, one-religion Selangor state govt after March 8, 2008?
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, nation building on Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 3:22 pm
Former Selangor Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamad Khir Toyo thought he was doing the state, people and nation a great service when he tried to mid-wife a UMNO-PAS Selangor State Government after the March 8 general election.
He wrote on his blog that he arranged for a muzakarah between PAS leaders and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after the general election and offered PAS the mentri besar post, deputy mentri besar post as well as four executive councilors in a PAS-UMNO coalition government in Selangor to champion Malay interests.
There is some discrepancy in Khir’s account from that of Selangor PAS leader and MP for Shah Alam, Abdul Khalid Samad, who had attended the muzarakah, with the latter recounting that Khir wanted the Deputy Mentri Besar post although Khir claimed that he was willing to be left out of the state government line-up if that would encourage PAS to accept the “power-sharing”. Read the rest of this entry »
Stop harassing Anwar for DNA
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin on Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 1:04 pm
by Dr. Chen Man Hin
THE POLICE SHOULD STOP HARSSING ANWAR FOR A BLOOD SAMPLE, AS HE HAD GIVEN SEVERAL DNA SAMPLES BETWEEN 1998 AND 2004.
It is unfair and mischievous to put the blame on Anwar as he is justified in refusing to give further samples. It is not Anwar who is un-coperative. It is the police forensics who are at fault, and insisting on further blood samples when he had already given many times over between 1998 and 2004.
The onus of providing an DNA sample is on the police as it has ample DNA samples of Anwar in its possession.
From the experience of police forensics in other countries, DNA samples collected are well preserved for many many years, and do not get ‘old’ as claimed by PM Abdullah.
The police forensics have misled the prime minister.
The home minister and the police should not try to pull over the eyes of the people. By claiming that Anwar’s DNA samples are old, they are making themselves the laughing stock of the whole world.
Why DNA samples do not grow old. There are many living examples:- Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO-PAS “Malay Unity” talks
Posted by Kit in nation building, PAS, UMNO on Tuesday, 22 July 2008, 2:04 pm
The Federal Government spent RM100 million for the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations last year. For what?
It should be to celebrate half-a-century of nationhood to build a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual nation where our diversity is the strongest national asset and to chart out the path to achieve the Vision 2020 objective of a Bangsa Malaysia in the remaining 13 years.
But Malaysian nation-building has gone backwards and the Vision 2020 objective of a “Bangsa Malaysia” is increasingly frowned upon as a misplaced target.
The recent revelation by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that there has been three Umno-PAS talks to address issues of Muslim and Malay unity since the March 8, 2008 general election has raised to the fore the question why the pre-eminent issue bothering the Prime Minister is still that of Malay unity rather than Malaysian unity. Read the rest of this entry »
That Boring Yet Necessary thing called Governance
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor on Tuesday, 22 July 2008, 12:28 am
By Farish A. Noor
For two weeks now, this political scientist has been sidetracked from his work on transnational religio-political movements by the controversy that has erupted in Malaysia as a result of the accusations of sodomy levelled against former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. This is not the first time I have been way-laid in the line of duty; for scandals, controversies and conspiracy theories have the rather nasty habit of popping up when you least expect it in the Asian region.
Now this comes as an unwelcome change for me as I have spent half my life in Europe and the last seven years in Germany. Allow me to make a very simple (and admittedly general) comparison here: Politics in Germany, like much of Western Europe, tends to be dull, dull, dull. Politicians have less colourful lives than their Asian counterparts and it would be the event of the century if a senior German politician was caught with his pants down or accused of sodomy of all things.
Indeed, one of the outstanding features of German politics – particularly on the level of local governance – is how dreadfully boring it is. It also happens to be painfully serious, and as someone who has seen local government at work in Germany I can tell you that it can put even the most imaginative among us to sleep in nary a second. Read the rest of this entry »
Teo Seng Koon – Remember him?
Very few Malaysians will know who is Teo Seng Koon. His name came up after the world’s No. 1 squash player Nicol David, 25, became the youngest Datuk when she was honoured by the Yang di Pertua Negri of Penang Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas and former men’s badminton doubles ace Ng Boon Bee, 70, was made a Datuk in conjunction with the 86th birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja’afar.
Seng Koon, 90, is the surviving member of the country’s first Thomas Cup team, which included legends Wong Peng Soon and Ong Poh Lim and created history by winning the inaugural Thomas Cup in 1948, beating Denmark 8-1.
The very fit and sprightly nonagenarian turned up at the media conference convened by DAP MP for Ipoh Barat, M. Kulasegaran as we believe that the country should give proper recognition to sportsmen and sportswomen who have made great contribution to the country, like Seng Koon.
Seng Koon, who played doubles, told reporters that it took the Thomas Cup players three weeks to make the trip to the United Kindom by sea in 1948.
Seng Koon was formerly the Ipoh bureau chief of the defunct Echo.
Malaysia more uncompetitive since the March 8 “political tsunami”
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sunday, 20 July 2008, 6:55 pm
(Speech at the opening of the Tasek Dalam DAP Branch, Ipoh on Sunday, 20th July 2008 at 12 noon)
The International Trade and Industry Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday that his ministry will be looking into attracting investors who are pulling out from China because of high costs there.
Muhyiddin is being too optimistic when he should know that Malaysia has become even more uncompetitive in the past four-and-a-half months since the March 8 “political tsunami” because of the political weakness of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi which has resulted in his failure to deliver his numerous long-overdue reform pledges.
This is one important reason why despite the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) on Friday plunged to its lowest level since the end of 2006!
After the recent general election, Abdullah had assured Malaysians that he had finally heard their voices and would begin to implement reforms to regain public confidence in his administration.
Nearly five months have passed and apart from rhetoric, very little has been delivered by Abdullah. Read the rest of this entry »
With whom will the army stroll?
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman on Saturday, 19 July 2008, 6:14 pm
by Azly Rahman
No man is an island, entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were:
any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind,
and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.
– John Donne, English poet
We do not need an emergency rule unless we are still living in 1969. Those days are over. Majlis Gerakan Negara (MAGERAN) is history. This is a time for the natural state of things to unfold. A time to let a hundred flowers bloom. The semiotics of structural violence must not be paraded in front of Malaysians who now know how to protest peacefully.
They know what a totalitarian regime means. They now know what separation of powers means. They want to see an urgent evolution of this philosophy. Only those in danger of losing power want to maintain hegemony and will use the ideological state apparatuses to maintain power. Machiavellians included.
Emergency rules are for nations in desperation. For dictators facing an imminent and violent political death. For despots who refuse to detach themselves from power. For governments that allow prime ministers to rule for as long as they like. Ours is not. We do not have dictators. We have democracy yearning to break free.
Suharto, Idi Amin, Shah Reza Pahlavi, Somoza, Noriega, and Marcos were are all tyrants. Some fell from grace because of the greed of their women. Typical Marie Antoinette syndrome. Read the rest of this entry »
Hamid Albar the greatest national security threat
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Police on Friday, 18 July 2008, 1:20 pm
Datuk Seri Syed Albar is a major security threat if the Home Minister is so gullible as to launch a massive three-day 1,600-personnel police operation to lock down Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley causing great financial losses and inconveniencing hundreds of thousands of people based on “rubbish” intelligence about a non-existent high-level Pakatan Rakyat leadership meeting, two speeches, two blogs and two SMS.
Hamid had promised Parliament on Tuesday to retract his allegation that DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Kepong, Dr. Tan Seng Giaw and I had attended a top leadership meeting of Pakatan Rakyat at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat headquarters on July 9 to plot a mass demonstration in or at Parliament last Monday to justify the deployment of 1,600 police personnel to create a three-day gridlock of the Federal capital and the Klang Valley.
Why is Hamid so conspicuously silent about his promise in Parliament in the past three days?
Is he still checking on whether he had been taken for a ride by his dishonest informers who had concocted such tall tale about a fictitious meeting of top Pakatan Rakyat leaders on July 9, purportedly attended by Guan Eng, Seng Giaw and myself – when it is just a pack of lies?
Hamid said yesterday that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should not worry about giving his DNA samples if he were interested to seek the truth behind the sodomy allegations against him. Read the rest of this entry »
Police Black Eyes
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Police on Thursday, 17 July 2008, 12:32 pm
Anwar Ibrahim has been released on police bail this morning.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi promised that there will not be another “black eye” trauma for Anwar as happened ten years ago.
However, the police has received a “black eye” of its own making, in its highly-provocative, unprofessional and unjustifiable arrest of Anwar by police commandos in balaclava at 12.55 pm yesterday – when the former deputy prime minister had already promised to report to the police at 2 pm.
This is the second self-administered police black-eye within a week – the other being the completely unjustified three-day 1,600-personnel police operation to lock down the Federal Capital and the Klang Valley to thwart a massive demonstration in Parliament on Monday when there was not a single protestor – causing great and unnecessary inconvenience and hardships to hundreds of thousands of people, plunging public confidence in the efficiency, competence and professionalism of the police to an all-time low. Read the rest of this entry »
Another Trial for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Farish Noor on Thursday, 17 July 2008, 10:15 am
By Farish A. Noor
The trials and tribulations of Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim continue, and history seems to be repeating itself time and again in the country. Ten years after the infamous trial where he was accused of sexual misconduct and abuse of power, Anwar Ibrahim is once again being investigated for charges of sexual misconduct with a man who was a member of his party, the People’s Justice Party (PKR) of Malaysia.
On 16th July Anwar was arrested just after he had given his testimony before the country’s Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), and on his way to give yet another testimony at the Police Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. A deadline had been set at 2.00 pm for him to show up at the police office, and though he was already on his way there he was apprehended near his home before the deadline had expired.
Anwar has since been arrested under the laws of section 377a of the Malaysian constitution that stipulates that ‘abnormal sex’ is a crime. Yet Malaysians have grown somewhat weary of the use of this law as the last time it was put to work was in 1998, when Anwar was also accused on ‘abnormal sex’. The trial that followed his arrest in 1998 was a shambolic affair that brought low the reputation of the Malaysian judiciary and security services; and the icing on the cake was the assault on Anwar that led to him being produced in court with bruises on his face and the infamous black eye that has been captured for posterity by the world’s media. Malaysia’s legal institutions suffered the biggest blow to their credibility as the court case that followed was scrutinised in detail by Malaysia-watchers the world over. Read the rest of this entry »
University of Malaya medical student intake
Posted by Kit in university on Thursday, 17 July 2008, 12:40 am
Letters
by cat
A Background Introduction
Entering the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur is still the prized aspiration of many doctor-wannabes. The medical degree conferred by UM is the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) which is the title awarded by universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Other local public universities like University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) confer medical degrees in the acronym of MD which stands for doctor of medicine (Latin: Medicinæ Doctor).
Contrary to the common but erroneous perception among pre-university students, there is no difference between the MBBS and MD medical degrees.
Up till 2001, University Malaya along with other local universities practised an intake of medical students based on a quota system. Under the quota system, the ratio of medical students was in the order of 6:3:1 that is, 60% of places for bumiputeras, 30% for Chinese Malaysians and 10% for Indian Malaysian students. Bumiputera students comprised both Malays and the non-Malay bumiputeras from Sabah and Sarawak.
Anwar detained by police overnight
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Police on Wednesday, 16 July 2008, 11:26 pm
Anwar Ibrahim has been denied bail and is being detained by the police overnight, purportedly so that the police could take a “further statement”.
This is a most ridiculous reason, as Anwar had been questioned for five hours today before he was taken to Kuala Lumpur hospital for two hours.
The Prime Minister and the Police should be aware that world attention is focused on Anwar’s detention and if there is any ill-treatment of Anwar as happened ten years ago, there will be no place for anyone, regardless of station, to hide.
Anwar’s arrest – police provocative, untrustworthy and unprofessional
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Police on Wednesday, 16 July 2008, 5:37 pm
In arresting Anwar Ibrahim outside his Bukit Segambut home just before 1 pm today, the police are being most provocative, unprofessional and untrustworthy.
Anwar had already undertaken to report to the police at 2 p.m after he had given his statement to the Anti-Corruption Agency in the morning, and to spring such an arrest well before 2 pm outside his house has deepened public concerns and fears that the police cannot be independent, professional, responsible and trustworthy in handling the latest Anwar case. Read the rest of this entry »
Next CJ – not affected by “Judicial reforms”
De facto Law Minister, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has just confirmed that the appointment of the next Chief Justice will not be affected by any judicial reform currently in the pipeline.
I posed this question during the winding-up of the debate on the Judges’ Remuneration (Amendment) Bill 2008.
The Chief Justice, Tun Abdul Hamid will retire on 18th October 2008.
I pointed out that as it does not appear that the much-hyped judicial reform, including the establishment of a Judicial Appoinments Commission, will be presented to Parliament before October although Zaid had earlier promised that the legislative proposals would be presented in the current meeting of Parliament, the appointment of the next Chief Justice will be by the present process.
When Zaid agreed, I remarked that the country seems set to have the first UMNO Chief Justice in the nation’s history.
I had earlier expressed my concern that the government is back-tracking on its promise of judicial reforms.
