Looking For Some Jantans
Posted by Kit in nation building on Sunday, 8 April 2007, 9:46 am
Looking For Some Jantans
M. Bakri Musa
Saddam Hussein did not by himself destroy Iraq; likewise Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe. These leaders did not become tyrants overnight. They became monsters only because of the inactions and silence of their followers. No one had the gumption to restrain them; there were no jantans (alpha males).
These leaders began with the best of intentions and noblest of motives. The seed of their (and consequently also their country’s) destruction was sown when their early strays were not corrected. The lack of jantans emboldened these leaders, enabling their suppressed evilness to surface. Once they morphed into monsters, they could no longer be restrained; they simply devoured everything in their path.
In apportioning blame for the evils perpetrated by these monsters, the culpability of those “enablers” must also be properly accounted for. They too must be held responsible even though many have already paid dearly with their life. Read the rest of this entry »
Abdullah’s “all-out war against crime” – for real or just empty rhetoric?
The printed media yesterday carried screaming front-page headlines on the latest call of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi: viz: “FIGHT AGAINST CRIME: PRIME MINISTER DECLARES… ALL-OUT WAR” (New Straits Times), “Wage war on crime” (Star) and “ABDULLAH wants… All-out war on crime, terror” (The Sun).
Speaking at a special assembly at the Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Abdullah called on the police to battle crime and terrorism at all cost, in the same way their predecessors had successfully fought the communist threat in the past.
He said: “There will be no compromise in wiping out criminals and terrorists.
“We must battle them as aggressively as the police personnel who served in the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) during the communist era had fought to keep the peace and harmony of the country. There was no compromise by these policemen.”
As Abdullah’s call for an “all-out war against crime” came more than eight years after he was first appointed the Minister responsible for Police and more than three years as Prime Minister — the common response not only of ordinary Malaysians and MPs, but also the Police and Cabinet Ministers must be whether this is for real or just empty rhetoric?
Abdullah was first appointed Home Minister on 9th January 1999 by the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who relinquished the Home Affairs portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle forced by national and international furore over Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s “black-eye” outrage, paving the way for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry which identified the then Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor as the perpetrator of the foul attack on Anwar in the Bukit Aman police lockup less than a month after being sacked as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.
When he became Prime Minister on Oct. 31, 2003, Abdullah pledged that one of his top priorities would be to reduce crime to restore to Malaysians their fundamental right to be free from crime and the fear of crime, whether in the streets, public places or the privacy of their homes? Today, Malaysians feel even more unsafe from crime than when he became Prime Minister. Read the rest of this entry »
My Invitation to the Oxford Roundtable
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, culture, globalisation on Saturday, 7 April 2007, 9:49 am
My invitation to The Oxford Roundtable
Azly Rahman
I received an invitation to be a member/participant of a roundtable on cultural diversity held at Britain’s oldest institution of higher education, Oxford University. I was nominated to be part of the group of selected 40 individuals from the American higher education system who will be discussing issues of race, ethnicity, poverty and religious intolerance in this hundreds of-years-old institution that has produced important Western scientists, philosophers, inventors and religious leaders.
I wish to thank that person/institution that nominated me. Through a series of notes I wish to share my thought on what I learned from the experience. I will also share visual data of what I will manage to capture. Here are some thoughts I will be bringing to the institution that symbolizes the intellectual epicenter of the British Empire.
Culture and transformation
I will be presenting thoughts on the idea of cultural change as it is impacted by globalisation and the rapidisation of technology. “Culture” has become an important debate in an age wherein boundaries continue to shift and peoples began to claim their rights as citizens of the country they are in, and the meaning of democracy is beginning to be understood. Culture, to me is not merely about the house we inhabit or merely the tools we use, but a combination of both and more than this, it is about the way we enrich the sense of humanism we embody.
I am reminded by what the Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset said, “Man does not have nature… what he has is history.” This seems to be a notion of humanity worth exploring if our belief about human evolution takes into consideration how human beings take what is available from nature and transform the resources into tools and institutions, and then turn institutions into tools that will transform human beings into classes of people who have the power to turn less powerful others into machines or automatons who have lost their soul to the spirit of the machine. Read the rest of this entry »
Public U – end obsession with commercial baubles at int. exhibitions
The Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapha Mohamad should slash drastically participation of Malaysian public universities at the 35th Geneva International Exhibition on Inventions April 18-22 to end the obsession with commercial baubles which completely distracts from the search for international academic and research excellence.
I had in the past criticized public universities, particularly University of Malaya and Universiti Sains Malaysia, for their distorted sense of priorities in surrendering their prestigious slots in international best-university rankings and finding comfort instead in easy-to-get gold, silver and bronze medals in foreign exchibitions like the Geneva International Exhibition on Inventions, Products and Services.
Although the Barisan Nasional MP for Ayer Hitam, Dr. Wee Ka Siong, spoke up in Parliament last week against the millions forked out by public universities for these commercial medals with little academic merit, this issue had been blogged by Tony Pua, Economic Adviser to DAP Secretary-General, on 25th November 2005, where he wrote:
My concern is that there appears to be a very unhealthy trend to seek trade fairs glory amongst Malaysian universities and academics. Earlier this year, Universiti Malaya (UM) proudly announced it’s “fantastic” achievements at the 33rd International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques & Products in Geneva, securing 33 medals comprising of 19 Golds, 11 Silvers and 3 Bronzes.
My question is, are trade fairs the best places to “judge” the quality of a university or an academic’s research, publication or inventions? With all due respect to “trade fairs”, the objectives of such fairs are typically not to judge the quality of one’s works but to actually create a “meeting place” between the “inventors” and the potential buyers or investors.
As the world’s best 100 or 200 universities do not have to participate in the Geneva International Exhibition on Inventions, why are Malaysian public universities splashing millions of ringgit every year for these commercial baubles when the money should be better spent in the pursuit of academic and research quality and excellence? Read the rest of this entry »
Two reasons why Samy Vellu went berserk in Parliament yesterday
Posted by Kit in Election, Parliament on Friday, 6 April 2007, 2:51 pm
A question many MPs, reporters and observers have been asking is why the Works Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu went berserk in Parliament yesterday when there was no cause or provocation whatsoever.
In his answer during question time, Samy Vellu had lamented that his Ministry was only a “tool” of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), which was the final decision-maker on tolls and concessions but his Ministry was made to be the scapegoat for all toll hikes.
In my supplementary question I had followed up logically on Samy Vellu’s complaint, saying that if the Works Ministry was a mere “tool” of the EPU and not the deciding authority on tolls and concessions, then the Minister in charge of EPU should be in Parliament to answer questions on the subject and not Samy Vellu — and that person would be the Prime Minister who has authority over EPU but who is absent from Parliament most of the time This is fully in accordance with the principles of Ministerial responsibility and parliamentary responsibility.
At this innocent and valid question, Samy Vellu blew his top, screaming that I had gone “150% out of topic”, that I was “playing political games” and being a very irresponsible Opposition, that he had never heard of a country where the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers and Deputy Ministers had to attend Parliament sittings “from morning till night”!
I also have not heard of a country where the PM, DPM, ministers and deputy ministers have to attend Parliament “from morning till night”. This was just a red herring by Samy Vellu as I had never raised it as an issue.
Nobody is asking for a PM, DPM, Ministers and Deputy Ministers who are in Parliament “morning and night”, but we also do not want a PM, DPM, Ministers and Deputy Ministers who abdicate and abscond from their parliamentary responsibilities to answer and accountable to MPs for the policies and failures of their Ministries.
Samy Vellu had panicked somewhat for he had given an answer which had invited a supplementary question which had raised the issue of the poor parliamentary attendance record of the Prime Minister, who is shaping up to be the worst of all five Prime Ministers in attending to his parliamentary duties — becoming not only an absentee Prime Minister but also absentee Finance Minister and absentee Internal Security Minister during parliamentary meetings. Read the rest of this entry »
Another high-profile corruption allegation – Sarawak CM re 1.1 billion yen timber export kickbacks
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Friday, 6 April 2007, 12:05 pm
I have today sent an urgent letter to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to personally reply in Parliament on Monday in the winding-up on the Royal Address debate on high-profile corruption allegations in his administration.
I also drew his attention to the Japan Times report last Thursday, which I described as “the latest instance of more and more adverse international reports about corruption in Malaysia, such as the adverse rankings given to the country by the corruption surveys of the Transparency International and the Political and Economic Risks Consultancy (PERC)” which warrant urgent action by Abdullah to salvage his reform agenda and pledge, in particular to make ant-corruption campaign the top priority of his administration.
The Japan Times report of March 29, 2007 referred to 1.1 billion yen (RM32 million) timber export kickbacks involving companies connected to Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Taib Mahmud and his family.
The Japan Times report is reproduced as follows:
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wood carriers allegedly hid 1.1 billion yen income
Kyodo NewsNine Japanese shipping companies that transport lumber from Sarawak, Malaysia, allegedly failed to report some 1.1 billion yen of income in total during a period of up to seven years through last March, sources said Wednesday, alleging the money constituted kickbacks to Sarawak officials via a Hong Kong agent.
Such tax irregularities have occurred as the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau determined the companies’ remuneration payments to Regent Star, a Hong Kong agent, which has a connection with Chief Minister of Sarawak Taib Mahmud and his family, were rebates, not legitimate expenses, the sources said.
Although the Hong Kong agency did very little in the way of substantive work, the shipping companies are believed to have used rebates as a lubricant to facilitate their lumber trade, the sources added. Read the rest of this entry »
The people of Machap must vote for a change
Posted by Kit in Election, nation building on Friday, 6 April 2007, 8:39 am
The People of Machap Must vote for a change
by Richard Teo
The Machap by-election will be an important milestone for the chinese community.It will determine, after 50 years of BN rule whether the chinese community will opt for a change or remain and continue to be marginalised by the present govt.
The choice for the people of Machap is a simple one.After 50 years where do we go from here? The present govt seem to have lost its direction and no longer have the capabilty to lead this multi-culture, multi-race and multi-religious nation where its people of different origin can live in peace and harmony.
Instead of fostering goodwill among its people the govt has implemented divisive racial policies that have polarised the different races. Its affirmative race based policy has benefited only one community and discriminated the rest.
Even its race based affirmative policy has been hijacked to benefit only a few elite UMNO members. After 50 years the Malay rural heartland of kelantan, Trengganu, Pahang, Perlis,Kedah and Johore still remain impoverished.
Corruption has creeped into every level of our daily lives. Corrupt politicians and civil servants are so prevalent that the system is powerless to act on them. Our political masters are reluctant to bring the culprits to justice because they are just as tainted with corruption. Read the rest of this entry »
Blogs on no police station in Johore willing to accept report involving royalty
Yesterday, I handed to the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Johari Baharun and the Deputy Speaker Datuk Lim Si Cheng a set four blogs on the problem of no police station in Johore willing to accept a police report because of the involvement of a member of the Johore royalty.
When Johari was winding up the debate on behalf of the Internal Security Ministry in the Royal Address debate on Wednesday, he had given assurance that the police would accept reports lodged by the public and act on them.
I pointed out that one of the blemishes of the police performance highlighted by the Royal Police Commission was the refusal of the police to accept reports from the public, often sending them off on a “wild goose chase” from one police station to another.
This problem was supposed to have been resolved once and for all, but it is clearly not the case — as there is not only the problem of police not acting on police reports, there is also the problem of the police refusing to accept reports.
New Straits Times on Monday had one such report: “9 police reports, no action: IGP wants answers”, where the Inspector-General of Police had vowed to ensure a thorough investigation into the allegation of forgery against a Malaysian Everest climber.
The problem of police refusing to accept reports was highlighted in the blogosphere, starting with mSTAR Online. No police station in Johore was prepared to accept the po9lice report because it involved a member of the Johore royalty — and the complainant was forced to lodge a report in Bukit Aman. Read the rest of this entry »
Highway police extortion
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Thursday, 5 April 2007, 2:56 pm
Received the following email on the despair and anger of a law-abiding and productive Malaysian professional:
I would like to relate an incident that happened to me and my family on the North-South Highway as we were driving back from Kuala Lumpur to Penang on Monday 2 April 2007. This incident had left me with a feeling of disbelief, anger and fear.
My wife, our 2-year old son and I had just completed an extended week-end trip to Kuala Lumpur. I was driving and we started our journey from Kuala Lumpur at about 7.40 pm. As we approached the Tapah rest area, there was a police roadblock, maybe about 100 metres before the exit to the rest area. This is now 10.15 pm.
I slowed down my car as we got closer, the highway had been partially closed to become a single lane. A policeman who was holding a clipboard or file or some papers appeared to look at it and then at my car. He then indicated to me to move to the roadside.
I duly moved forward and to the left of the highway. A few seconds later, another male policeman came to my car on my side. My car window had already been wound down. He asked for my driver’s license which I handed to him. He took it and appeared to copy down some particulars. I was still inside my car, I have no clue as to what he was actually doing, nor could I see his identification.
Police: Nak ke mana? [Where are you going?]
Me: Balik Penang. [Going back to Penang.]
Very soon after, he mumbled something. As I could not hear him clearly, I asked him to repeat.
Police: Nak selesai sekarang atau nak hantar? [Want to settle now or want it
(summon) sent?]
Me: Pasal apa? [What is it about?]
Police: Bawa laju, 123, Trolak. [Speeding, 123(kmph), Trolak]
Me: Tak mungkin. [Not possible.]
I was convinced, 100% sure and confident that I did not on the entire journey from Kuala Lumpur to Tapah exceed 110 kmph. I was absolutely alert and I had consciously driven conservatively that evening especially with a young child on board. Read the rest of this entry »
Why public universities will never improve
Why Public Malaysian Universities will Never Improve
by ex-researcher
I used to work in a Malaysian university holding a professorial post on contract. I could not be confirmed because I do not have a SPM (more later). I worked in research dealing with stem cells but left after 3 years despite the offer of renewal for another 2 years. I am a Malaysian Chinese who spent nearly 20 years overseas in some of the big name universities in Australia and the UK.
After observing the system from the inside I can tell you that Malaysian universities will never improve, and whatever improvement you see will not last. I will set out my reasons in a concise manner. Read the rest of this entry »
The floods of Taman TTDI Jaya Shah Alam
Posted by Kit in Good Governance on Wednesday, 4 April 2007, 5:54 pm
THE FLOODS OF TAMAN TTDI JAYA SHAH ALAM
by Z. IBRAHIM
For those who moved into the neighborhood of Taman TTDI Jaya in the “planned” city of Shah Alam 15 years ago, little did they realize that it would be a non-ending nightmare of recurrent flooding.
The trust they had in the developers and all those promises that the land had been adequately raised to sustain a 100-year rain forecast obviously in retrospect was nothing more then a “con” to entice innocent house buyers to part with their hard-earned money to buy these homes. Worse affected were the shop-owners who today have to face floods almost on a monthly basis. How is this possible?
Despite all the technical explanations by the developers, DID, MBSA and the Menteri Besar himself it appears plain to anyone with common sense that the area indeed is topographically the lowest point in the entire locality and water undoubtedly whether from the area itself or drainage upstream from KL would indeed overflow and stagnate at this Taman.
After the horrific floods of last year, the State government came up with an interim plan to raise the river bunds to prevent overflowing but the floods keep coming with even greater speed.
You see, despite knowing that this place is already flood prone, the area between TTDI Jaya, Bukit Jelutong and the TUDM air force base has been stripped bare to make way for industrial development.
The entire area does not possess proper drains and even a kid will tell you the massive run off during heavy rain will of course pool at this housing estate located beneath — Taman TTDI Jaya.
But this common sense appears to have slipped through the minds of authorities who allowed this massive land clearing without a thought to parents, the infirm, children, businesses and schools who occupy this housing estate. Read the rest of this entry »
First his wife and then his daughter taken away…
Siti Fatimah was born in 1978 to an Indian Muslim couple. She was brought up by her grandmother who is a practising Hindu. She sees herself as a Hindu and declared herself as one on 21 Mar 2001 through a statutory declaration. She changed her name to Revathi Masoosai.
She is married to Suresh a/l Veerappan, a Malaysian Indian Hindu on 10 March 2004, against her family’s opposition. They could not register their marriage because of her religion.
She gave birth to a daughter on 19 December 2005 at the Malacca General Hospital. Two days later, just about when she was packing to go home, three men and a woman who introduced themselves as officials from Malacca Islamic Office came to ask her to hand over her daughter to them. She refused.
She was not able to register her daughter as a Hindu. In fact she had difficulty in getting her a birth certificate. She had to change her Muslim name to Hindu name in her identity card.
In January this year, Revathi was taken into custody and taken to Pusat Pemulihan Akidah di Ulu Yam, Selangor, for rehabilitation for 100 days. Her rehabilitation will be due by 18 April but her detention can be extended.
During her detention, Suresh and his mother took care of his daughter. On March 26, Suresh was told his daughter, now 15 months old, was taken away by a group of people which consisted of a policeman, a lawyer and Revathi’s mother. He lodged a police report the same day, stating that he had no knowledge of the whereabouts of his daughter. Read the rest of this entry »
“Babi” invective in Parliament – sad reflection on failure of 50 yrs of nation-building
Posted by Kit in nation building, Parliament on Wednesday, 4 April 2007, 3:43 pm
The “babi” invective by an UMNO MP in Parliament yesterday is a most sad and shocking reflection that 50 years after Merdeka, there are Umno political leaders who are still very deeply-ingrained in communal thinking and prejudices, making them poor models of a Bangsa Malaysia.
I admit that I had lost my cool when I was badgered and heckled the whole afternoon yesterday when I had sought clarifications during the Ministerial winding-up of the debate on the Royal Address.
The badgering from Barisan Nasional MPs had started when I sought clarification from the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on integrity issues concerning the award of contracts in the national service training programme, the mega-commission scandals in defence purchases such as US$100 million for Sukhoi jets from Russia and US$120 million for submarine from France and it continued when I had sought clarification from the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Johari Baharun, whether on the serious corruption allegations which had been made against the Deputy Minister in the “freedom for sale” scandal, the most basic failure in police reform when police still refused to accept police reports or the issue of abuse of detention-without-trial powers under the Emergency Ordinance.
When BN MPs from Umno, MCA and Gerakan continued to try to drown out my attempts to seek clarification from Johari, I lost my patience and told BN MPs who did not want to listen to the clarifications which were public interest issues to “mampus” and leave the House. Read the rest of this entry »
Cross listing of Malaysian Corporations in foreign stock exchanges
CROSS LISTING OF MALAYSIAN CORPORATIONS IN FOREIGN STOCK EXCHANGES
by Dr. Chen Man Hin
Perlis Palm Oil Berhad, a subsidiary of Perlis Plantation Berhad is in the process of being merged with Wilmar Corporation a Singapore listed corporation. The move seems to have created anxiety in the business community.
There are fears that a large corporation being absorbed by a foreign company may bode ill for the country as capital is being taken out, and is of bad omen.
Concern has also been expressed that corporate mogul, Tan Sri Robert Kuok is pulling his business conglomerate out of Malaysia. This may mean the beginning of an exodus of capital from the country. There is no basis for such speculation.
The fact is that cross listing of corporations is a common international practice adopted by world class companies, which for strategic reasons often choose to list their companies in the stock exchanges of different countries.
Examples are Hong Kong Shanghai Bank which is listed in Hong Kong, London and New York. So also with China Life a giant insurer in China, is listed on Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai, also Infosys a well known Indian IT corporation is listed both in India and New York. Read the rest of this entry »
Week-long special prayers by non-Muslims – Cabinet should retrieve and discuss memorandum by nine Ministers
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Religion on Tuesday, 3 April 2007, 3:39 pm
The Cabinet tomorrow should give serious attention to the week-long special prayers by non-Muslim religions, retrieve the memorandum by nine of ten non-Muslim Ministers in January last year and place on top of its agenda the rising anxieties and fears of non-Muslim Malaysians about their religious rights and sensitivities.
It is a cry of despair and desperation when the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has to resort to the special prayers campaign to press their plight over their anxieties and fears over growing encroachments of religious freedoms and rights in plural Malaysia, although freedom of religion is entrenched in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.
It is also a signal that more and more Malaysians are losing hope and confidence in the ability of the courts to play its role as the bulwark of the constitutional freedoms and liberties of Malaysians entrenched in the Constitution.
This is why the MCCBCHST, almost giving up hope in human intervention in the name of justice, fair play and the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion, is forced to the last resort, in the words of the MCCBCHST president Chee Peck Kiat, of seeking “divine help to to impress upon the leaders of the government and judiciary to uphold the Federal Constitution”.
Chee said: “The only resolution I can think of to the issue is (engaging in) prayers so that the leadership and the judges will be more enlightened (and be moved by their) moral conscience to interpret the Constitution in accordance to what is in it rather than interpreting it according to (their religious beliefs).”
All the Cabinet Ministers should feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves that they have driven the MCCBCHST to seek “divine help” instead of “human intervention” in order to resolve the worsening constitutional crisis over freedom of religion, because of their indifference, neglect or sheer cowardice from addressing and resolving the issues involved. Read the rest of this entry »
April 12 Machap by-election – three scenarios
The 9,623 voters of Machap has the historic opportunity to make the April 12 by-election the most important and meaningful by-election in 50 years of national independence by voting solidly for justice, integrity, good governance, democracy and fair play for all Malaysians — by voting for the DAP candidate Liou Chen Kuang.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak described Machap as “a BN stronghold” when announcing the Barisan Nasional candidate Lai Meng Chong yesterday while the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam is so supremely confident about the support of the Machap voters that he had declared that he would ensure that the DAP candidate would lose his deposit in the by-election.
There can be three scenarios on polling day on April 12.
First scenario – a landslide victory for the Barisan Nasional and a shattering defeat for the DAP, with Mohd Ali Rustam achieving his declared objective of ensuring that the DAP candidate loses his deposit in the by-election. Read the rest of this entry »
Corruption allegations against Zulkipli and Johari – table White Paper in Parliament
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Tuesday, 3 April 2007, 6:35 am
The inability of the Prime Minister to announce the new Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general is proof that Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor would have been given a fourth extension as ACA chief if not for the serious corruption allegations made against him by former Sabah ACA director and whistleblower Mohamad Ramli Abdul Manan.
I would have been the first to welcome Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s statement that the new ACA director-general would be announced as soon as possible if the delay to immediately fill the vacancy following the termination of Zulkipli’s contract last Saturday is because the Prime Minister is adopting a new and more consultative process for the appointment of key posts like the ACA chief such as consulting the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity and representative stakeholder organizations and NGOs concerned about national integrity..
However, there are no signs that the delay in the appointment of a new ACA chief is because the Prime Minister is adopting a more transparent and consultative process in the appointment process but because he was caught totally off-guard and unprepared to fill the post as it has become completely untenable to extend Zulkipli’s term when Zulkipli had plunged the ACA and the country into the greatest integrity crisis in the nation’s history.
Although Zulkipli had claimed that his appointment on secondment as ACA director-general and extension of his contract three times showed that the Prime Minister had confidence in him, Zulkipli’s repeated extension as ACA chief will probably go down as one of the biggest failures of Abdullah’s premiership — when a new ACA director-general should have been selected when Zulkipli’s appointment first ended under his premiership on March 31, 2004.
How could Abdullah be serious about his pledge when he became Prime Minister and during the 2004 general election to make anti-corruption the top priority of his administration and a major difference with the previous Mahathir administration when he leaves untouched the person who had headed the ACA with such lacklustre record for the last two years of the 22-year Mahathir premiership? Read the rest of this entry »
Machap by-election – Abdullah/Najib must clear their name over integrity charges by former PM/DPM
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election on Monday, 2 April 2007, 3:32 pm
Deputy Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that the Information Ministry would counter all issues, including personal matters of national, state and local leaders, raised by the Opposition in the run-up to the Machap by-election.
In the past few decades, Barisan Nasional had been guilty of blatantly abusing government machinery, resources and funds for political party and personal gain but they had always denied it, trying to camouflage such abuses and political corruption under a fig-leaf of propriety and legitimacy.
But another unhealthy and dangerous precedent has been set, when the Deputy Information Minister blatantly flaunt the abuses of the Information Ministry to serve the Barisan Nasional campaign needs in the Machap by-election — bringing the integrity and morality of the ruling government to a new low at a time when the nation is celebrating 50 years of independence.
However, I agree with Zahid that serious allegations which had been made about abuses of power, malpractices and integrity against top government leaders should be answered in the Machap by-election.
In this connection, I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to clear their name over the charges made separately by the former Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister affecting their integrity in the Machap by-election.
At the public forum organised by Umno Kulai Besar branch on Thursday, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad raised the issue of integrity of his successor when he said: “Some leaders, they boast, oh my son is rich… They talk about their AUD25 million home. That’s RM60 million. So strange, to have such a big house ..”
There can be no doubt that Mahathir was referring to Abdullah who must fully clarify the former Prime Minister’s questions about his integrity. Read the rest of this entry »
Scrapped Klang Private Hospital
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Health on Monday, 2 April 2007, 1:19 pm
SCRAPPED KLANG PRIVATE HOSPITAL
Z. IBRAHIM
I read with interest Datuk Seri Mohamad Khir Toyo’s decision to stop the construction by an international conglomerate to build a RM400 million hospital in Teluk Gadung Klang. “Plans for Klang hospital scrapped” (NST March 30, 2007).
Apparently the MB was “advised” to do so by his political comrade in arms and Klang Municipal Council (MPK) councilor Datuk Teh Kim Poo on questionable scientific grounds that “”It would be bad feng shui for his neighborhood, himself included and that they feel the value of their homes will drop.”
Because of this superstition and without a proper debate by the MPK itself, yet again Mr. Teh Kim Poh appears to have single-handedly, this time shooed away a significant portion of this country’s FDI which would have given many Malaysians in the Klang area work in the proposed 14-storey hospital on a 2.5hectare area. The cowboyish antics of Klang Municipal councilors never seem to amaze Malaysians.
His belief in the supernatural forces apart, Mr Teh Kim Poh had no such coyness when he bulldozed his way into building a “Perpaduan” building with open air pit toilets on a children’s playground right in front of residents’ house at Southern Park, Klang three years ago despite all protests by residents affected with these plans. Read the rest of this entry »
First by-election job for Malacca CM — extend Kampung Permai Machap Umboo NV leasehold titles from 60 to 99 yrs
I made my first visit to Machap – which is to have a by-election – yesterday and spoke to enthusiastic villagers at the DAP dinner-ceramah at Kampong Permai Machap Umboo New Village.
Before my trip, I had received an email from “anak permai” writing on behalf of “The Villagers of Kampung Permai Machap Umboo” asking me to raise a long-standing injustice to the people in the new village — the issue of 60-year leasehold titles when it should be for 99 years.
As I had promised to “anak permai” in my email reply, I raised the issue at my first opportunity when during my visit yesterday, calling on the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam to resolve the issue before by-election polling day on April 12. This is the email from “anak permai”: Read the rest of this entry »
