Friday, December 09, 2011

Dap's little Napoleon

Winning the 2008 election in Penang for the Pakatan parties was really the easy part. But after nearly three years of their administration,Lim guan Eng now realiases that holding on to the price capture is replete with alot of unexpected difficulties. With the coming of the 13th General election coming soon, many incumbents are wary of their position. Some lucky assembly person elected during the last election are now worried they may no longer be Yang berhormats in the coming election. This fear has precipitated with alot of anxious incumbents finding ways to please their masters in order to be selected for the next election.
Deputy Chief minister Ramasamy's mistake was to prematurely name three indian candidates for the coming election. Why he did that perhaps is best only known to him. He however has denied making such a call and quite rightly was reprimanded by the haughty karpal Singh. But what strikes most ordinary Dap supporters is why make such a big deal when the Big election was just round the corner and such public display of mudslinging would not serve any one's purpose, especially Dap's. Naturally , UMNO's mainstream media T.V 3 when to town and reported every bit of mudslinging thrown by Sri Delima, assemblyman, RSN.Rayer.

Why did Rayer and Bagai Dalam assemblyman,A Thanasekharan joined in the fray when the matter could have been easily resolved by a gentle reprimand from  Karpal to Ramasamy? Now, it seems hell has broken lose and everyone has joined the bandwagon to say their piece. And all over a small matter that could have been quietly resolved. Dap and its members must realise that they are been watched carefully by the electorates to see whether they are worthy successors of the old B.N govt. If they fail to live up to expectations most likely they will return to their role as the opposition members.

The National feedlot Corporation debacle.

One wonders how a govt could approve a project to a serving minister's husband without being in breach of conflict of interest. The national feedlot Corporation (NFC) project was launched with the expectation of increasing the supply of beef but from the onset it was slated to be a failure for the simple reason it was given to a novice with no experience in the industry. For obvious reason, the project was not given to Mohd Salleh, the husband of Sharizat, because of his expertise in cow rearing but  more so because of Sharizat's position as UMNO' wanita chief.
The project value was not a paltry sum. Two hundred and fifty million (250) in the guise of a soft loan at 2% interest with no fixed repayment period was given to the husband of Sharizat. The matter only came to light when the Auditor-general reported that the project was in a 'mess'. The subsequent revelation by PKR's strategy director, rafizi Ramli that the money allocated for the cow project was being used to buy condos, mercedes car and land at Putrajaya.
When confronted with the allegations, her reply was that it was her husband's business and she had no interest in the project..
Malaysians have a right to know why taxpayers money given for a cow rearing project was used for other investments than the ones intended for.If at all, MACC should investigate whether any criminal breach of trusts was involved in the use of money for other purposes. In fact it was later revealed that  money was even spent on family holidays and the performing of the Haj.
Najib, as the leader of the govt should not sweep the matter under the carpet. He should order a proper investigation of how the loan was approved and given to Sharizat's family. Was she involved in the cabinet decision or was it solely the approval of the Agriculture Minister , the present Deputy Prime minister .The NationalFeedlot corp. debacle will bear the hallmark of the govt's badge of corruption, cronyism and a national shame for the govt that is seeking another term in office .

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Ulgy Truth about The Auditors-General Report.

Every year the auditor's -general report reveals the same massive losses in the various govt instituitions.Not surprisingly most if not all the losses are caused by incompetence,greed and dishonesty. For many years the ritual of the A-G's report only caused temporary outrage amongst the govt leaders from both side of the political divide. After the initial ripple of outrage, life continue as usual until the next A- G report next year. Nothing changes and the wastage of public funds continue unabated.

How do you explain the following?
1. Millions wasted in tourism projects overseas by Pempena.
2.26 million wasted in 7 years due to delay in campus.
3.$214 million army camp incomplete,but falling apart.
4.$165 Million for 'unused'baggage handling system.
5.$110 million of farmer's incentives not paid
6 Mara's $54 million allocation was utilised to purchase related items at 100% more than market price.Examples are as follows:
a. An oven at RM1,200 compared to the market price of RM419, for baking and pastry- making courses in Kelantan
b.Folding beds at RM500, against the market price of RM100
c.Two-burner gas cookers at RM200 each, rather than RM59.90
d.Hair clippers supplied at RM250 each, instead of RM79
e.A blender at RM140 instead of RM60

The above are only the tip of the ice berg. Wastage, incompetency and dishonsty covers practically the civil service and all govt linked instituitions.
The ordinary citizens have a right to ask the govt. when will this carnage of public funds stopped? The govt's debt is an all time high of $407 billion and no sign of declining. Meanwhile, the P.M and the DPM is handing out money to various constituencies like money has gone out of fashion, all for the express purpose of wining votes for the coming election. The way the country is managed only leads to one path and that is the path to destruction.

HAPPY DEEPAVALLI TO AL MY INDIAN READERS

Monday, October 24, 2011

Blue Wave Taking over Selangor?

DPM, Muhyiddin has been busy of late scouring five Selangor state constituencies and telling Selangorians they should vote back the B.N govt. But are Selangorians willing and ready to accept back the B.N Govt? Based on DPM evaluation and feed back the Blue wave is going to ensure B.N is returned to power.

But how far is this evaluation correct?Based from statistic given so far by the Selangor state govt the revenue till june this year have totalled $1.1 billion. A record in the history of Selangor. Never in its history under the B.N administration have they ever accumulated so much revenue.

Therefore it will be interesting to see whether Selangor will revert back to B.N in the next election as predicted by the DPM.

Why National Schools cannot be the Choice of All Malaysians

Khaiy Jamaludin has become one of the latest growing lists of proponents that a unitary or singular school sysytem would be an all encompassing solution to our current racial polarisation.. The introduction of a singular school system would means the abolition of vernacular schools.For some one of Khairy's educational background it is indeed sad that he could not even be unbiased in his evaluation of the dilemma facing our present education system which has caused ethnic division .
The question is why is Khairy only focusing his attention on vernacular schools? What about Mara schools , religious agama schools and even tertiary university level like UITM where the students strictly only cater exclusively for one race.?

Is Khairy implying that only vernacular schools are the sole cause of ethnic polarisation and that Mara schools, Religious Agama schools and tertiary university like UITM are exempted from any blame for the ethnic division? It is really sad that someone of Khairy's educational background can be so biased in his evaluation of the cause for such racial polarisation.

The simple and unpalatable truth is that ever since Tun Razak became the second P.M, we had the misfortune of having Education Ministers who could not understand why National schools could not become the choice of all Malaysians. All of them were incompetent or were not interested in finding out the truth. In the end we had education policies that were ad hoc and flip flop. Even till now there is no clear define policies whether we should adopt English as a medium of instructions.

However, tribute should be given to our first P.M, Tuanku Abdul Rahman. He did not tinker with our education system when we got our independence. He was a visionary leader who knew the importance of the English language. and during his tenure kebangsan schools flourished.. I was a product of that era . The schools were populated with 50% malays, 40% chinese and 10% indians. There was camaderie in all our activities and we accepted each other as Malaysians. We did not look through our differences through any racial or religious lens.We did not bring religion to schools. Religion was something personal where individually we practice our faith at home.Each of us accepted our cultural diversity and each of us respected our religious beliefs. During this time, vernacular schools suffered enrolment problems since majority of chinese and indians and malays all opted for National schools.For practical and financial reasons one by one vernacular schools was slowly decimated without any govt forced closure.

The schools during this era was composed of different ethnic compositions.There was mat sallehs, chinese, indians and malays and through their own cultural diversity we learned to accept diversity, tolerance and respect of each others religious beliefs. All these we didnt learned from our school curriculum but through our impressionable minds we were able to acquire from our various teachers of different origins.

Fast forward to present day, everything has changed for the worse. Religious practice of the islamic faith are conspicously introduced without care to the sensitivity of the other races.Prayers or doa are recited in classes and assembly. Almost 100% of the teachers were of one race and they were employed because of their religiousity rather than their abilty to teach.Female students were compelled by some schools to wear the malay baju Kurung and some were even forced to wear tudungs.During the fasting month of Ramadam, schools canteen were closed and non malays were forced to fast with the muslim students. Some schools even disallowed students to take food in the school canteen since they view it as a sign of disrespect to the muslims.

With all these various display of islamic introductions in National schools it is little wonder non malays were avoiding the National schools like plague. Khairy almost strike the right chord when he said,'the overtly Malay and Islamic character of national schools turn other ethnic communities away. ' But he glossed over this core issue which was the chief reason why chinese and indians turned their backs on National schools. It was often argued that the chinese wanted vernacualr schools because of the desire to preserve cultural heritage and language but this was only a mere excuse. Chinese enclaves from San Francisco to London did not see any chinese clamour for chinese language education. They were so willing to send their children to the english school system and in many cases even excel better than their english counterparts.

Khairy and the present Education Minister should examine National schools during Tuanku Abdul Rahman's era and the present era to see what has caused the change in the choice of National schools by non malays.They should not behave like ostrich burying their head in the sands and think that it was the existence of vernacular schools which had caused non malays not to choose National schools

Friday, September 23, 2011

Hudud Law if refined can be suited and acceptable to Non muslims.

Before rejecting outright the implementation of hudud law, Pakatan allies should try and find a solution acceptable to both muslims and non-muslims.If hudud laws can act as a form of deterrent to many of the crimes that we are currently facing today then many regardless of race and religion would welcome the timely intervention of laws that would deter crime.That law, the hudud law, which may sound medieval and ancient perhaps could be the answer to the lawlessness and corruption that we see in Malaysia.

Part of the hudud law which borders on morality however should not be applicable to the non muslims since their religion may not view it as serious to the extent that authorities should interfere in their practice. This include khalwat (close proximity) and adultery. The acceptance of such practice is not to say that it condones immorality but more because such sin if perpetuated by the individual is best left for him to be punished by God in the after life.

The common form of criminality such as murder, rape , theft corruption however can be applicable to everyone . Normal law abiding citizens of every race and religion would abhor such crimes and therefore should have no objections if harsh punishment is meted out to the perpetuators. There is no valid reason for any one to oppose such punishment even if it may involve the cruel form of hand chopping and head chopping.Such gruesome form of punishment may appear primitive but it certainly does serve a purpose of being a deterrent. Like in Saudi Arabia or in some Middle eastern country such form of punishment should even be publicly exhibited to have a more forceful impact.

Non-muslims who are law abiding citizens should not be afraid of the islamic laws if its implementation would ensure a safer and more peaceful environment to live in. However safeguards should also be in place that certain aspect of the religious laws that affect muslims should not be enforced on people of other faiths.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Hisham blamed MCA for not containing UMNO fallout.

It is rather sad that leaders like Hishammuddin lacks the intelligence to understand why MCA, MIC and Gerakan are weak.In the grand design of formulating policies it is undisputed that UMNO proposed and disposed of policies without even thinking how it may affect the parties in the coalition. A share of the blame must certainly be accorded to the weak leadership in the ranks of MCA, MIC and Gerakan which barely raised any objections in the formulation of policies which are detrimental to their communities interest.
Even basic policy of giving out scholarships based on race rather than on merit was not even defended by MCA, MIC and Gerakan and this policy alone deprived great numbers of qualified students to be awarded scholarships to do critical courses of their choice.Therefore it was not surprising how such foolish policy would affect the position of the other component parties whose affected members were mainly non malays. So how does UMNO in general and Hisham in particular blamed MCA for not containing UMNO's fallout?Obviously, it was UMNO's policy which caused the resentment towards MCA, MIC and Gerakan and they themselves were at great pains to even contain their own fallout with their own members and community.
Because of weak leaders in the component parties of MCA, MIC and Gerakan, UMNO leaders were able to ride rough shod over these parties and formulated policies which marginalised the other communities.But more importantly, UMNO policies also sadly marginalised the very community they had sworn to help and protect.Instead, UMNO's help was for their own family members and cronies where millions if not billions were siphoned out under the pretext of bailing out failed bumiputra's company. Layers of commission were factored in the development contracts meant to elevate the plight of the rural malays and in the end only token money were hardly left visible for any tangible development.The inevitable reality remains after 54 years of UMNO's rule, the malays had remained impoverished and had remained behind their non-malays counterpart.All these can be merely attributed to UMNO's leaders greed for power and money.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRITO ALL MY MUSLIM READERS


Monday, August 22, 2011

Three Malaysian Women are top Students In Australian Varsities

The news that three Malaysians were awarded top students in Australian varsities once again show the short sightedness of the govt's educational policy. Students who excelled in their studies cannot find place in local instituitions. Instead these students show that they can excel in foreign countries when given the opportunity to compete on merit.
When is our govt going to learn that the country is losing talent to foreign countries by ignoring and refusing to give places to our brightest students.Its about time the govt stop this discriminatory practice of allocating places to local instituition on the basis of race instead of merit.
Its too late to introduce policies such as Talent corp when they could have stopped the exodus of talents even before they leave our shores. All these because the govt is short sighted and racist by adopting a policy that only favours a certain community.

Najib must attend Court.

It will be a travesty of justice if Najib can be allowed to refuse to attend court to give evidence in the sodomy trial of Annuar Ibrahim. Once a subpoena is issued by the court and his refusal to attend can be interpreted as contempt of court.This can result in the court issuing a warrant of arrest. The P.M must realised that he has no immunity to refuse to attend as a witness once a subpoena is being issued. Unless his attorney set aside the subpoena which under the circumstances should not even be entertained because Saiful did had a meeting with him prior to the report been made.His role therefore in the prosecution of Annuar should be explored to determine if there was indeed a nefarious plot to trap Annuar.
All these can only be revealed if Najib, Musa and Rodwan is call to the witness stand.

Now, Every one cannot Fly any more.

Once upon a time , Air Asia's caption was that 'Now every one can fly.' But nowadays this no longer holds true. In the begining, Air Asia was really making a serious effort to enable everyone to fly the no frills airline. Fares were not only cheap for those who purchased their tickets in advance.There were no hidden costs and the total fares after taxes were cheap and really affordable to the man in the street.In fact if you were lucky enough the tickets you bought could even be cheaper than the cost of the ticket for the long haul bus ticket.
Not only were there cheap tickets but there were alot of extras that normal airline did not provide. Senor citizens above the age of 60 were given priority of boarding, you could select any seats of your choice,there was no such thing as fuel surcharge added to the cost of the ticket. In short there were no hidden cost for the final fares you pay.

But Air Asia , nowadays cannot boast of its caption of now' every one can fly ' because its concept has been totally altered. Now, its policy is to charge for everything. Senior Citizens no longer have the privelege of boarding first. If you want to board first you have to pay for Priority boarding. If you want to select your favourite seats you have to pay for it.When you think that is the end of it, you are hit with another cost. Its call processing fees for using credit card for your online booking. It seems that the credit card company commission is even pass to the passenger in the guise of processing Fees.

The moral of the story is that we should no longer be deceived by Air Asia slogan of 'Every one can fly'. Maybe its time travellers should revert back to our National Carrier MAS. At least there are no hidden cost and what you pay is transparent. And if you are a golfer the more reason why you should travel MAS because they dont charge you for your golf bags whereas Air Asia charges $50.00 for that extra luggage. And if you are a handicap person needing a wheel chair, please be aware that Air Asia charges $15.00 for using their wheel chair.
Lastly, MAS provides you the luxury of boarding and landing using an air bridge whereas with Air Asia you have to content with climbing up and down a gang way to board and disembark your flights.The reason? Because Air Asia can save paying the airport authorities for using the facility at the expense of discomfort to the paying customers.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Why Deport Bourdon?

Why was French civil rights lawyer Bourdon deported from Malaysia on the eve of giving a talk in support of fund raising at Petaling Jaya.?Bourdon was the civil rights lawyer acting on behalf of Suaram which had pursued the 'scorpene submarine ' case in the French court.
The only plausible reason for any one to draw a conclusion is that Najib and the govt had something to hide from public eyes. If Bourdon had uttered any defamatory words that are not true then there are adequate laws to prevent him from doing so. There is no neede to use draconian laws and high handed action of deporting Bourdon in a dramatic fashion .In the Penang fund raising function , Bourdon had only raised and mentioned issues that was already in the public domain. So why did Najib and Hishammuddin, the Home Minister pressed the panic button by deporting Bourdon?

The forthcoming hearing of the scorpene submarine case in the French court should provide an interesting insight as to the receipient of further commissions being paid to a mysterious person.A commission that far surpassed the earlier two commissions.That should prove interesting revealation for the Malaysian public.

Friday, July 01, 2011

Govt's illegal Act should be Documented

The current govt has abandoned the rule of Law and instead has implemented rules in accordance with their whims and fancy.How can they declare an assembly provided in the constituition as illegal?Their paranoid behaviour has even extended to the ridiculous pronoucement that wearing yellow shirts and campaigning for the people to attend the assembly is illegal.

Malaysians across all political divide must come to the realization that B.N's time is up. We cannot allow a govt that continue to abuse the process of law to remain in power for another term because that would prove fatal for our future generation. Let all Malaysians unite in the same resolve to change this govt by the use of ballot in the next General Election. Every vote that is cast to change the govt will be an enduring legacy for our future genearion.

Bersih's Peaceful assembly for Electoral Reforms.

The constituition provides for peaceful assembly. Then why is the govt so paranoid about the 9th July peaceful demonstration in support of electoral reforms?The answer can be found in the last Bersih's assembly clamouring for electoral reforms. After nearly two years the Election Commission has done little or nothing to the demands of Bersih for electoral reforms.The last Bersih's assmbly attracted about 50,000 demonstrators and they were repulsed by water canons by the police.The net effect of the brutal reaction by the police translated in votes for the opposition.And in the march 2008 election, B.N lost 5 states to the opposition and two thirds majority in parliament.

Fast forward, 2011, Bersih has again decided to take their cause to the street amidst the Home Minister declaring the proposed assembly as illegal.Using draconian laws which is contrary to the provisions of the constituition will not deter civic minded people from seeking peaceful recourse for changes which will ensure a democratic election of a govt that is voted by the people.Leaders who seek to hold on to power using public instituition to deny the people of their rights will find that history is not on their side.Recent upheavels in the countries of Tunesia, Bahrain, Libya,Egypt and Yemen will bear testimony to the fate of those despotic rulers.Some may continue to cling on to their seats of power by employing ruthless and draconian measures to suppress and deny the people their unalienable rights to a govt that is elected by the people .

The govt of Malaysia should take heed to what has transpired in the middle eastern countries and should listen to the cries of the people to implement transparent reforms in the various flaws perpetuated by the Election commission. Preventing ordinary rakyats from attending an assembly to express their dissatisfaction in the manner in which the Election Commission has performed its role is certainly not the receipe for reforms in the electoral process.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Scorpene Submarine 'kickbacks'

Suaram's French lawyers have informed the NGO that investigations by French prosectors have found evidence of commissions being paid.Payments of 114.96 million euros( Rm574.8 million)wass paid to Malaysian consulting company, Perimekar Sdn bhd,another 30 million euros ( RM150 million )to DCN's commercial network, Thales and another 2.5 million euros to an unknown recipient.
Initially in 2006,then Deputy Defence Minister Zainal Abidin Zin was quoted as saying that the commissions was paid 'voluntarily'( to Perimekar)by the French parties in the deal.In 2008, however, Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told parliament that the govt had indeed paid the 114.96 million euros to Perimekar and that it was for 'coordination services' and not for commission
According to Suaram, French investigations revealed that the amount paid was a form of kickbacks ' for the sole purpose of circumventing the OECD convention'

What is most interesting in this whole sordid episode is that Perimekar is a subsidiary K.S Ombak Laut sdn Bhd,and the major shareholder is the wife of Abdul Razak Baginda, a close confidante of the current Premier, Najib abdul Razak. Abdul Razak Baginda was acquited of the murder of translator, Altantuya Shariibuu and instead two bodyguards of Najib was charged and convicted for the murder of the Mongolian model cum translator.

When the case do go to open trial it will becoming interesting to see how Najib was involved in the scorpene kickbacks.This reason alone will prompt Najib to call for an early election to circumvent the revelation of the Scorpene kickbacks which undoubtedly will leave a trail leading to Najib's doorstep.

Sunday, May 08, 2011

Najib Should direct his warning to Utusan Malaysia.

When Najib warned to calm down and not exploit religious issues he should be directing his criticism at Utusan Malaysia.All malaysians with a bit of intelligence knows that the Utusan paper is trying its level best to stir up racial and religious emotions among the rural malays so that they will hopefully unite under UMNO's banner.Perhaps what disppoints and irks most Malaysians is the inabilty of the P.M to rein in Utusan's frequent foray in exploiting racial and religious sentiments amongst the malay populace.

What is even more disppointing is the double standard of the Home ministry in allowing Utusan to get away with such racial rhetorics which is bound to stir the emotions of the rural malays.With such leeway being given to the UMNO owned Utusan to print such fiery articles like the christians meeting to make christianity as the official Religion of the country and to appoint a christain Prime Minister, the govt is indirectly encouraging another may 13th incident.

The common perception by many political analyst is that the govt hopes to create another may 13th incident so that it can declare a state of emergency which will then allow the govt to rule under the emergency Act. Before that , it will have another 'operation lallang ' to rope in all the opposition members under the guise of security threats posed by them.

Perhaps that explains why Najib is maintaining an elegant silence while Utusan is running riot with its racial and religious publications.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Let History depict the truth.

Historical distortions of our history by belittling the contributions of non -malays and emphasizing the contributions of Islamic civilisation in the development of our country's early landscape is deplorable.
Perkasa's supreme council member Professor Dr. Ramlah Adam is guilty of asserting that the history books were 'well-balanced' and belittling the contributions of the non-malays.

Subsequently, as pointed by historian Dr. Ranjit singh Malhi,she recanted and admitted that the form 4 syllabus 'had placed alot of emphasis on Islamic civilsation and that the govt was working to revamp it'

The study of history should always depict the truth on how historical events unfold not embellishing it to seek glorification of one's race and religion.

Any intellectual who attempts to distort and dishonestly portrays fictitious historical events is guilty of an act bordering on intellectual dishonesty

A living example of the non-malays contribution to the country's development is even evident till today. Visit any cities in the west and east coast and one cannot escape the simple startling truth that non-malays occupy all the major towns and cities.Who therefore are responsible for developing the cities and towns?

In fact it would be hard pressed to even find a malay township even in the heartland of malay majority states like Kelantan and Trengganu. Perhaps Professor Ramlah Adam should take a trip from the coastal roads from Kelantan , Trengganu and Kuantan to the small township of Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan and witnessed for herself the unfortunate truth that malay kampongs still ocuupy vast tract of land which remained undevelop for almost since time immemorial.If Islamic civilsation had indeed played an important role in the early development of the Malaysian landscape then why are these malay land still undeveloped and mired in a state of poverty?

History in many ways have a tendency to reflect reality and such reality cannot be diminished by unwanton portrayals of lies and intellectual dishonesty by people like Professor Ramlah Adam.

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Why we dont need a RCI for the sex video tape.

It is quite acceptable for lawyers to have differing opinions about legal issues but when they have differing opinions because of vested interest then it is something else. I refer to two lawyers call for a Royal commission of Inquiry.Muhammad shafee's and Wee choo keong's call for an RCI has vested interest written all over it. The former is currently engaged by the Govt in the Teoh Beng Hock's RCI and the latter , Wee Choo Keong was a former member of PKR who left the party under acrimonious circumstances.Both have one thing in common. They are both certainly B.N friendly and certainly very anti-Annuar.So can we have any reliance on their opinion that we need to have a RCI for the sex tape? Of course not.

As mentioned by the Bar council President, an RCI is primarily set up for the purpose of enquiring into matters of national public importance involving public instituitions that affect life or welfare of citizens. What it certainly does not encompass is to pry and probe into the sex life of any public figure.

There are more important issues that involve public instituitions and public welfare and yet there is no inclination by the govt to have an RCI to investigate. So why should a sex tape involving an opposition figure have any priority?

Let us first have an RCI for the PKFZ fiasco, the Sime Darby billion loss, the millions in commission in the submarine deal, the murder of Altantuya and of course the Chua Soi Lek sex tape which by comparison have similar relevance if one decide to also have an RCI.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

UMNO's Hand in sex video

Slowly the truth is now emerging. The mysterious trio involved in the sex video are,businessman,Shazryl Eskay Abdullah,ex Malacca CM Rahim Thamby Chik and Perkasa Treasurer- General Shuib Lazim.
The common thread running through these three personalities is that they are UMNO loyalists true and true. Of course Shazryl is denying it. But just look at his background.A former Honarary Thai consul. You have to be some one close to the corridor of UMNO before you can even be an Honarary Thai consul.Shazryl is also currently embroiled in a legal suit regarding his role in obtaining the contract for the crooked bridge. Now, he admitted that it was only through his close connection to the govt that he was able to secure the project for Merong Mahawangsa. Lastly, Shuib is from Perkasa.Is it not that Perkasa is another face of UMNO? So what does this say about the conspiracy theory that UMNO and the present leadership were involved in this sex video.

This whole sordid episode has only made the ordinary people turn with revulsion. If the present leadership envisage for one moment that with the involvement of Annuar in another sexcapade the people will turn against him they are sadly mistaken. We feel sorry for Annuar and instead it has made us more resolute to support him till the end.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Bank Negara to explain illicit outflows soon

How long does Bank negara needs to reveal the extent of the illegal outflows which was disclosed by Principal Financial Integrity?If foreign parties can have access to those information which should in the first place be privy to Bank Negara then it certainly reflects very poorly on the competency of the central Bank. And to add salt to the wound the infantile excuse that they need time to collect the figures only further shows their inaptitude in managing the country's finance. This only implies that they were totally in the dark about the illicit outflows of funds because surely had they been aware there would not be any need for them to deny or substantiate the apparent leakages.

Its about time Bank Negara carry out a revamp by engaging professionals to man the Central Bank.The revamp can start with Zeti being given the boot. I think she is simply not equip to govern Bank Negara with due care and diligence.

Friday, February 25, 2011

M'sia under PAS will be like Egypt, says C.M

Ali Rastam, the C.M of Malacca has once again shot himself on his foot.Eygptians revolted against Mubarak's regime because of rampant corruption and cronyism which resulted in the mismanagement of the country's economy.Because of similar circumstances which Malaysia has experienced for the last 52 years , there is more likelihood of a revolt similar to Eygpt if B.N continues to govern Malaysia.Ali Rastam is therefore barking on the wrong tree when he said an Eygptian revolt was likely if PAS rule the country.

Corruption in every strata of our society has caused severe leakages of the country's coffers and this would gradually contribute to a fall in investment and unemployment.The fall in investment would be attributable to a decline in foreign investment leading to a fall in unemployment.Ali Rastam should pay heed to what is happening in Eygpt because it will be a mirror image of what is currently happening in Malaysia.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

10 Reasons why Malaysia will never be a Developed country in 2020

1. English Language Vs Bahasa Malaysia.

The English language is the lingua franca of commerce ,science and technology. Even India and lately China recognises this fact.When all countries are planing to introduce literacy in the english language we are downgrading its importance in favour of Bahasa Malaysia. While one may wish to display patriotism by sticking with Bahasa as the National language, disregarding the importance of english in our school curriculum is a serious mistake and flaw in our education system. Without a pool of english educated graduates we will never attract investors to come and invest here. Without foreign investment , our country will not progress to be a develop country.

2. Judiciary

Our country's judiciary has totally lost the confidence of foreign investors. They have made alot of decisions based on political expediency rather than on the rule of law.Not surprisingly, many investors have contractually chose to arbitrate in Singapore rather than have it in Malaysia. This is a slap in the face for our judiciary. How can a nation attain develop status when its judiciary has lost its integrity and can no longer command any respect and confidence from other countries?

3. Police

Before investors come to invest in a country, foremost in their minds are the security of the country. No investors would invest in a country where its investment would be in jeopardy because of uncertainties in the security of the country.The honesty, integrity and credibility of the police force in the country is of vital importance. Sadly, our police force do not enjoy any of those credentials. Of late a slew of corrupt, unsavoury aspect of the police force has catapulated them to infamy.Among other things were death in custody cases and police brutality and thuggery were frequently reported in the media. The public has reached a stage where they no longer trust the very people who were designated to protect them.So how do we progress to be a develop country when our security is in such an abysmal state of distress.?

4.Attorney-General Chambers.

Prosecution of any felony should be judicious and fair not based on political considerations.Of late the A-G department has instead carried out selective prosecution at the hint of placating the executive or even possibly at the direction of the executive. This practice have only further sullied the Attorney-General department A country where the A-G department has lost its independence can never progress towards a develop nation.

5. Brain Drain.

It was reported that in a space of 2 years, from 2007 to 2009, Malaysia lost nearly 500,000 skilled or graduates through migration.In any kind of migration it is always the skilled and the intellectually superior migrants that are easily given easy and free access to foreign develop countries. Many of those that migrated were, doctors, engineers, accountants , IT experts and other qualified personnel. Because of the nature of their expertise these migrants are assets to whichever host nation. Their gain is Malaysia's lost. To fill in the vacuum left by the country, we have an influx of unskilled workers from, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. These mostly low unskilled workers only degrade the type of population profile to that of an undevelop country and certainly not towards a develop country.

6. Corruption in the country.

Our corruption index have back pedalled for many years. Each year getting from bad to worse.As long as our politicians and civil servants are well schooled in the fine art of corruption, the less likelihood the chance for our country to progress to a develop country.

7. Extreme High Tax on Motor Vehicle.

While most countries enjoy the luxury of driving cars that are technologically superior , Malaysians are forced by circumstances to drive the locally inferior manufactured , Proton.The car is not only inferiorly fitted with obsolete parts but have been designated to be sold at the same price that could purchase a superior car of a foreign make.. An example is the Camry and Honda Accord that are sold overseas. This two cars are available at a cost of $60,000 in the U.S whereas it is sold here for $180,000. Because of three layers of tax, namely, excise tax, import tax and sales tax the same car is sold about three times that of the car in U.S. Obviously the intent is to ensure that such luxurious car is beyond the reach of ordinary man and the more important reason of protecting the local made Proton car.. Because of this selfish reason, Malaysians are destined to afford inferiror locally manufacrured Proton cars.A country that forces its people to drive such inferiror cars surely cannot expect its people to be a develop nation.

8. Meritocracy

A country that do not practice meritocracy cannot aspire to be a develop country. When incompetent people are slated in position of importance, wrong decision making can contribute towards a state of paralysis. Singapore is a classic example where head hunting for the right people to manage the important task of managing the country's various portfolio has led it to be a succesful develop country.It is a fallacy to assume that incompetent people can govern competently .This fallacy has contributed to the present state of paralysis.

9. Racial Discrimination.

In todays borderless world. any form of racial discrimination is viewed with abhorence.Not only is it repulsive but it is totally unaccepted in every civilise country. But instead our constituition even bears a mark of racial discriminatin that is instituitionalised.This 'Ketuanan Melayu' concept has only served as a wedge between the various races in a multi -racial society and has created a divisive environment.

10. Accountabilty and transparency

For a country to prosper towards a develop country, there is a dire need to administer the the country in a transparent and competent manner. Leakages in any form should be avoided at all cost and this can only be achieved by adopting procedures that are transparent and accountable. Without transparency and accountability, a country will suffer leakages that will eventually degrade the country's administration.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

DPM wants Lim Guan Eng To Be Fair To All

Our DPM who is a malay first and Malaysian second was reported to have told Lim Guan Eng that he wants him to be fair to all Malaysians regardless of race. How aptly put coming from this pathetic UMNO apologist. How fair is the govt to all the races in the states that is governed by B.N?
Dont have to bore you with the details. Just look at the following for starters.

1.Civil service 99% are of one race.
2. The army is of 99% of one race.
3.The judiciary consists of UMNO apologists with hardly any knowledge of the rule of Law.
4. Petronas, our National oil company is 100% managed by one race.
5 Needless to say , all contracts and Dealerships are given to one race
6. Tha Police are manned by 99% of one race
7. All govt linked companies employ CEO of one race
8. Govt contracts are only given eclusively to one race.
9. University and scholarships, 95% places of all critical courses are given to one race.
10. 70% of all ministerial Posts including the most important ones are given to one race.
The lists can go on and on. Too many to mmention all but DPM have the gall to ask LGE to be fair to all races. Frankly , we are a unique country. Perhaps the only country in the world where the govt suppresses and marginalise the miniority race while rendering absolute assistance to the majority race.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR OF THE RABBIT TO ALL MY READERS

Monday, January 24, 2011

KTM is still mired in the Past century

In Jan 2011, I decided to take a trip down memory lane.

I bought a ticket at the Seremban Railway station for a trip to Tumpat, Kelantan.

The last time I took a train was some 40 years ago, in the 1970s. At that time road transportation to Kelantan was poor. Some stretches had to use a ferry because there was no bridge.

If one wished to travel to Kelantan via the Bentong-Raub route, the road service ended in Kuala Lipis.

From there, the car was loaded into a railway carriage and then one had to travel as a passenger on the train and disembark at Kuala Krai.

At the Seremban Railway station, what I saw was totally unexpected.

After 40 years you would have thought things would be different.

For me it was as if time had stood still. Things around the station and the ticketing office had not changed.

Long queues stretched for a few metres waiting to buy their tickets while two other counters remain vacant.

A sign said the person in charge of selling inter-city tickets had gone for lunch at 12.30pm and would resume work at 2.00pm.

I was there at 1.00pm, which meant I and several others had to wait for an hour for the ticketing clerk to finish his lunch and resume his duties.

If there were inter-city trains coming in, we could only stare in dismay.

Meanwhile, there was still a long queue waiting to buy the Komuter tickets.

A Komuter train came ,stopped and left while passengers could only watched in frustration, stuck in the long slow queue.

Being unable to buy their ticket when the train came, they could only hope to get their tickets before the next train arrived.

On boarding the train for my journey to Kelantan I was in for another shock. Nothing in the cabin train which I had booked had changed from decades ago.

The inside of the cabin had seen better times and probably should have been sent to a museum.

The journey was anything but smooth. It was jerky and bumpy. It was something you least expected when travelling in the 21st century.

And if you were to compare the experience of travelling in a modern train service of Japan or even China, you wouldn't want to travel in a Malaysian train.

A journey that normally takes eight hours of leisurely driving by car took me more than 12 hours by train.

KTM needs to totally revamp its management from top to bottom if it really wants to improve its bottom line.

It cannot hope to plod along and hope to improve on its performance if the mentality and culture of running a railway corporation is still mired in the 20th century.

That Which is not Azan should not be broadcast

I wish to comment on some of the

bacaan (readings, recitations of Quranic passages), in addition to the azan, that is being broadcast through loudspeakers today, resulting in disturbance to the public. Such bacaan has confused non-Muslims who mistake them for being part of the azan (call to prayer).

Some are defending the practice of broadcasting the bacaan on the grounds that since it is the reciting of the Quran or zikir (devotional songs), such a practice ought to be held in high regard. They believe their uncompromising attitude in this matter represents 'the struggle to defend Islam'. I would like to comment on this as follows:

1. That which Islam instructs to amplify, is only the azan. Apart from this, there is no instruction to amplify anything else, to the point of causing disturbance to others.

In fact, such acts are forbidden by the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Furthermore, in Islam, care is taken regarding the tranquillity of others, with exceptions, if any that are permitted by Islamic law.

2. Although the readings of the Quran and zikir are excellent practices, we cannot force others to listen to our prayer recitations. Perhaps there are others who prefer to read their prayers themselves, or would like to recite during other times of the day. Or one may be ill, or may not be observing prayers at the time, for example a woman during her period, or non Muslims and so on.

3. Many non-Muslims are confused between the azan and readings of the Quran that do not constitute azan, that are being broadcast through loudspeakers.

They are under the belief that such recitations are instructed by Islam, and therefore get the wrong impression of Islam as a harmonious religion. Furthermore, the recitations are prolonged, while the actual call to prayer lasts no more than five minutes.

4. In truth, the Prophet himself forbade people from amplifying their readings of the Quran in mosques such that it would disturb others.

In the hadith of the Prophet, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said : "When the Prophet once prayed at the mosque, he heard someone reciting the Quran loudly while the Prophet was at the place of worship.

“The Prophet then lifted the curtains (between them) and said, “Listen ye who supplicate to his God, let not these of you cause disturbance to others. Do not raise your voice in reciting prayers, above that of the others.” (Recorded by Abu Daud).

In this hadith the Prophet forbade the raising of voices in reciting prayers in the mosques that may interfere with other’s prayers, or aggravate others. If this is so, what more amplifying through loudspeakers that may disturb those outside the mosque? There may be others with infants or who are ill, who may be disturbed.

A highly esteemed present-day scholar, Al-Sheikh Muhammad Salih al-Hadith Uthaimin commenting on this hadith once said: "We are witnessing today that which was described in the hadith (cited above). We are seeing those who are doing (what the Prophet describes) by conducting prayers using loudspeakers outside the mosque.

"If their actions cause grief to those around them, then they have sinned...they without doubt should avoid such actions that furthermore do not bring any benefit whatsoever, because one does not pray with those who are outside the mosque, but only with those who are within the mosque.

"So we remind our brothers, especially the imams in the mosque, not to practice this (using amplification). There may be those who have already prayed and have to sleep and rest, perhaps there are those who are ill who will be disturbed, or the mosque may be close to people’s homes....

"In conclusion, this problem (may have aggravated neighbourhoods or homes) but brings no benefit whatsoever (to the devotee)." (Ibn Uthaimin, Riyadh al-Salihin Syarh)

Imagine, this statement was issued by a distinguished and senior ulama in Saudi Arabia, a country whose population is completely Muslim. What more for a (multiracial) country like ours.

5. Ulama of the past have also spoken on this matter, that recitations (other than the azan) are forbidden because they can disturb the general public.

Al-Imam al-Hafizd Ibn Jauzi (died 597H) said: "Amongst the tricks of Satan are those who mix up the azan with reminders, praise and advice. They have turned the azan into something jumbled.

"The ulama disapproves of all that is added on top of the azan. Very often we learn of people who get up in the middle of the night and serve up reminders and advice on top of the minarets.

“There are those amongst them who read the Quran so loudly that they disrupt the sleep of others and disturbs those who are conducting night prayers. All these acts bring dishonour.” ( Ibn Jauzi, Talbis Iblis, 159, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah).

These prohibitions were made by ulama before loudspeakers were in existence; what more if they learn of the kind of loudspeakers we have today?

Therefore with this, Muslims ought to stop reciting through loudspeakers that may disturb those outside the mosque.

Adhering to this advice (not to use loudspeakers) is not a political issue at all, but merely following the instructions of the Prophet and at the same time preserving the image of Islam as harmonious.

Raising one’s voice in prayer does not add to one’s love towards Islam, but in fact creates misunderstanding amongst many quarters.

Mohd Asri zainul Abidin
The writer is former Perlis mufti. This letter was originally submitted in Malay.

Bank Negara's Failure To Detect Illicit Outflows.

Malaysia is on the precipice of a great fall. Looking at it one could surmise that it is almost beyond redemption. I say almost because there is still a flicker of hope. It will be a long journey but it must inevitably begin with a first step.

The shattering report by financial watchdog Global financial Integrity ( GFI) had shown that money flowing out of the country had triple from 2000 to 2008.In 2000, the report stated that rm$67.7 billion had exited the country and eight years later the figure had escalated to a massive rm $208 billion.
According to the report ,' significant governance issues affecting both the public and and private sectors have been playing a key role in the cross-border transfer of illicit capital from the country'
The above comments by GFI clearly depicts a very sombre situation face by the country's financial system. But what is even odd and surprising is the dormant and incompetent state of our central bank manned by a supposedly illustrous Governor in the guise of Zeti.Surely over a period of eight years the magnitude of such money outflow from the country would not have escape the attention of Bank Negara. One can only conclude that such massive outflow was done with Bank Negara's knowledge and that at some point in time they were complicit in the transfer of the funds. Otherwise it would be impossible for the central bank not to notice the movement of such substantial cross-border transfer of funds.
You dont have to be an economist to conclude that any massive transfer of funds out of the country would weaken the host country's currency because the funds exiting the country would have to be converted to another currency where it is destined. A cursory study of currency fluctuation would immediately indicate that substantial outflows would be to U.K, Australia and Singapore. That perhaps explain the perpetual strength of the Sing , the pounds and Australian dollars.

The continuation of such illicit outflows will have a severe impact on Malaysian's economy. In the long run, precious capital needed for investment will be suffocated by the illicit transfer of capital to develop countries. The net result is that the country's currency will be weakened and it's economy will remain perpetually trapped in a cycle of gradual decline.

In a nut shell, our country is facing a defining moment where its present course could be disatrous. Outflows in 2008 of $208 billion is a huge sum in any monetary terms when you compare Penang merely attracted only $12.2 billion to top the destination with the most foreign direct investment in 2009.What is there to celeberate when our top state merely attracted $12.2 billion in foreign investment but lost $208 billion in illicit outflows in 2008.

Whatever reason proffered by Bank Negara's reason for the illicit outflow, one thing remain certain. It has failed dismally in its job of monitoring the illicit outflow. Otherwise why was such massive outflows not mentioned and strategy deviced to tackle the outflow? And why was revelation of such outflows published and widely mentioned by a foreign financial watch dog (GFI)when it should have been our own central Bank making the disclosures?.

Bank Negara has always being a very poorly managed Instituition. Not only has it failed its duty to be the local watchdog for our local banks but in its survellance of monetary mangement in our econmy it has failed dismally.

It would therefore not be a surprise if illicit transfer are allowed to continue unabated, Malaysia's financial structure would collapse in the not too distant future.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

1Malaysia 'NGO' re-emerges with goodies in hand

It doesnt matter whether the NGOs did it on their own accord or whether unseen hands are orchestrating the giving of free goodies, Malaysians must regard this stupifying act with revulsion.Simply translated the act of giving goodies in order to secure votes is nothing short of blatant corruption.Malaysians of every political divide should view such practice as nothing short of vote buying.

If they are really NGOs as claimed, then they should not be seen as canvassing for the people to vote for the govt. This act alone nullifies their status as NGOs and in reality are supporters of the B.N govt under the guise of NGOs to deceive the voters.

In any case whether they are NGOs or B.N supporters such acts of corruption to influence the by-election should be viewed by the Election commission with utmost concern

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Widow filed court application to have 2nd Post-mortem

Why is it necesary for the widow of M Krishknan to apply to the court to have another post-mortem to be conducted? The death in custody case of Krishnan certainly raised suspicions that he did not die of natural causes. And if he did die of natural causes then why is the police so hesitant in allowing for the autopsy to take place by another pathologists?

In view of the numerous cases of death in custody, there is always a strong suspicion that prisoners in remand are tortured and assaulted in order to extract information and confession. Therefore it is the inherent right of next of kin or relatives to seek a second opinion as to the properble cause of death. There has been precedent cases where the initial post-mortem did not reveal the actual cause of death. In Kugan case it was the second autopsy report which led to the policeman being charged with the homicide.

It is rather sad and inconceivable why bereaved family members have to resort to make court application in order to satisfy themselves that the deceased in police custody case did not die as a result of police brutality.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

B.N will Turn Malaysia into another Greece.

It is ironic that Najib should accused Pakatan of turning Malaysia into another Greece should they implement the 100 day reform plan.It is common knowledge that B.N's current management of the country's fiscal and monetary policies will only expedite it to be another Greece.

Billions were spent on wasteful acquisiton of defence equipment which were not compatible with our needs.Najib as Defence Minister acquired two submarines costing a few billion and another $500 million to his friend Razak Baginda for providing what was termed as coordinating services.It would be more accurate to call those payments as corrupt commission paid without rendering any service at all.

Then what about the countless negotiated tenders for toll concessinaires and the countless infrastructure projects whose price were deliberately inflated to give the UMNO cronies a guranteed profit. In each and every of those projects layers and layers of extra profits were added to ensure that every one connected to the minister had a profitable cut on the project. With such prevalent practice endemic in every govt department and ministries, it would only be a matter of time that the nation's financial structure would collapse.

Najib is wrong. B.N would bankrupt our nation if they are allowed to continue for another term. Pakatan on the other hand has provided proof through the Penang Govt that with good governance devoid of corruption and with full transparency in its tender of projects, alot of wastage and corruption can be eliminated . This would result in savings for the govt and in turn would increase the nation's coffers. Malaysians must excercise great caution in electing our next govt. The future of our children in the next generation will depend on the wise choice we make and failure is no longer an option because it could invite dire consequences for our nation.