Zahid talked about it here.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Non-Muslims who are converting to Islam may only have to inform their family after their conversion and not before, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
While I laud Zahid for having that "foresight"
Can he say the same for Muslims wanting OUT? In that they need not go to any courts but just inform their family of their conversion AFTER? And that he guarantee that they need not make any declaration nor be hounded by the Islamic body for doing so? Can it flow both ways?
I really love his idea but if only it works both ways.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Zahid on Conversion Notification
Of Balkis and Bunga Tanjung
While their husbands swindle the rakyat's money in the name of development and peace, their wives were busily swindling the rakyat's money in the name of welfare. There is a term for this... we are being screwed left right centre and back.
How much more blatant can the BN government be, I really do not know. First, Balkis transferred the funds out of their account to BAKTI 3 days after the election while it was stipulated that the President of Balkis must be the wife of the Menteri Besar, hence, whatever resolution passed after 8th of March should be considered null and void.. right? On top of that the accounts has yet to be audited!
And this joker called Toyo has the gall to tell people his wife has the right to dissolve Balkis and transfer their preciously scavenge funds from various institutions for safekeeping and future use in their luxurious escapades. Like Jeff Ooi says, its a case of Desperate Housewives!
While Bunga Tanjung their Penang counterpart may have learnt from the stupidity of Balkis has made a "legible donation" to BAKTI, while donating pittance to the needy. It really gets me wondering really.. or was it that they know they will lose the election after March 8, hence they had their meeting before the election... :).
On another matter, there is this certain Appeals Court Judge that sits in as an advisor to Bakti. The name is suspiciously familiar... I thought the name was mentioned in the now famous Lingamgate video? The name Datuk Helilah Yusof rings a bell?
Family Feud! The Samy-Toyo Affair
While before the General Election, these two blokes seem contented to play the samseng but since then....
Toyo: Its your fault!
Samy: Come on la dei! No! Its yours!
Then in strode the father, Abdullah: Shut up you two!
For me, whatever these two blokes say seems pretty hollow. Before election both were equally arrogant, in fact, after election both of them STILL as arrogant.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Toyo spills garb yet again!
Sometimes I wonder if Malaysiakini carry out interviews with political personalities to spice up our lives or to disemminate information to Average Joes like me.
The full text one can get it here. So pleas subscribe to Malaysiakini.
In Malaysia tis the season for finger pointing. Exactly after all catastrophe, you have some smarter than you alecs around pointing their dastardly finger at every other person except themselves for the disaster that hit them. Toyo is no different.
I almost puke with laughter when I read this
Former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said he knew it all along that Barisan Nasional (BN) would suffer heavy losses in the March 8 polls, long before the date arrived.In an interview, he revealed how he had learnt of the impending defeat.
Wow.. Toyo, you are now a soothsayer... so you are saying you know you are gonna be screwed? Thats why you spent the night of the election hived in your office shredding those important documents? But you were so arrogant to declare "zero opposition" so you were lying then to keep the confidence up?
However, as the ‘general’ of his ‘army’, he could not disclose his forebodings to his ‘troops’.“I started getting negative feelings when (former Finance Minister and Umno treasurer) Daim Zainuddin said five states would fall to the opposition. As Selangor Umno chief, I couldn’t say it out loud as it would have dampened the spirits of party members,” he said.
Ahhh..there you go... I cant tell otherwise people will lose morale so I must still give a Napoleon type speech even on the eve of the most embarassing defeat.
Khir pointed to the federal government’s arrogance and insensitivity to the needs of the people, even after he had sent up pleas to Umno president and premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.“Suggestions were made, but there was no reaction. Point taken, but where were the responses?” he said.
Err... what kind of pleas? And what kind of responses? Hello? Demolishing the temples! You told PM you are gonna do that? You dare say Kampung Berembang is not your doing? Are you saying that when you wanna screw your people you need to seek PM's advise? Why are you making the PM the scapegoat for the defeat? You are as guilty as others for the defeat. You were arrogant! You were boastful! You were downright despicable! That is why you lost!
Okay.. I have gotten the pin off my chest.
Change Lifestyle? Again?
This statement of urging the people to change lifestyle comes as easily from all our elected ministers. I remember once, this Najib asking us to change our lifestyle when petrol price was hiked. Easier said than done. Most Malaysians are down to the bone right now if you ask me. And now comes another statement of Change Lifestyle from our new Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, Sharir Samad.
I had quite a lot of respect for him..... before this
"Shahrir urged Malaysians to change their eating habits to cut the impact of rising rice prices. "We have to see changes in lifestyle among Malaysians to accommodate this economic situation," he said."
Now, what? Dont eat rice? What else can we eat that its price has not gone up? I feel like everything whether edible or not, the price has risen astronomically! Now if only our leaders have not screwed the country in the past, I think we Malaysians can definitely afford a couple of lifestyle changes.
IF only RM1=SGD1. Get my drift? Thats where we started off right? Today we are 60% poorer than we used to be, so if only... IF ONLY it is still at par, I think we can have a lot of flexibility and excesses in our lifestyle to adjust. Wont we? But NOOOOOO, we are RM2.30 = SGD1!!
Majority are already eating cheap rice. Any cheaper varieties around? Bread? Heck! Its more expensive than rice! Tell me Sharir! What is a cheaper alternative!?
Land Deals Galore D-Day
The day is today as previously promised by Lim Guan Eng, here, but so far I have yet to see any news on that matter.
While things are still simmering while I was away for the last few days, the fluid state of our country's politics have not abated at all.
While, Hishamuddin "apologises" for his keris antics, I really wonder if he meant it at all when he said,
"I am sorry if it had affected the non-Malays," he told reporters after attending a Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
At the same time, he also apologised to the Malays over his "failure to uphold the Malay symbol (keris)".
I am perplexed. Why would he apologize both sides? So he is saying he is sorry to Malays that he cannot raise it anymore because the Chinese/ Indians are pissed. Is he trying to stoke racial sentiments here?
Well, that aside, many people have talked about it, I am not about to start and rant what others have been saying.
My concern is on the land deals. While I await Guan Eng's revelation, out pops another one. This one is in Selangor. It involves MCA yet again! How much more land issue and misappropriation of funds issue will it take for Malaysians to say, ENOUGH!
Talking about issues, while I was away, there was also this swashbuckling act of the wife of the ex-MB of Selangor trying to stop other people from getting their hands on the RM10mil funds in BALKIS. Federal Government trying to threaten Penangnites into ditching PR Govt there by wanting to stop the 2nd Bridge project etc. Sigh!!!!
What is becoming of my country?
Friday, April 25, 2008
Khir Toyol's Rubish Talk
When one is the government, one signs concession agreements that benefits one party ONLY. I think one should not be proud of what one has done. In fact, one should be repentent and seek justice and assist the people to overcome the various difficulties.
But here we have one IDIOT who told the new Selangor State Government to be prepared to pay RM200 MILLION! to Grand Saga, the operator of Cheras-Kajang Toll.
THE Selangor government will have to ensure that highway concessionaire Grand Saga Sdn Bhd is paid RM200mil in compensation if it allows the access road in Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Kajang to be opened.
WHO SIGNED THE ONE SIDED CONTRACT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said when the road was first opened in 2005 the concessionaire had asked for RM200mil in compensation for loss of toll collection based on the formula in the concession agreement.
“That is why we decided that the toll-free access road should be closed as it would be unfair to use taxpayers money to pay such a huge sum,” he said at a press conference.
He said the state had asked the developer, Narajaya Sdn Bhd to pay the sum but the company too found the figure too high.
How can you now behave like an angel that you cannot use tax payer's money in such a way when you have signed a contract to benefit the concessionaire? I have refrained from using profanities in my blog but you Khir Toyo is the biggest blood sucking butt hole I have seen. And you now try to be an angel?On the integrated high-tech pig-rearing farm in Ladang Tumbuk, Dr Khir said, the state government should hold a public hearing to get the opinions of nearby villagers and pig rearers before carrying out the project.
He said the Barisan Nasional assemblymen would lend its support too if the government got at least two-thirds of the people and farmers to agree.
“Although it was proposed during our time, it is being implemented under the Pakatan Rakyat government and they need to convince the people it is for in their own good before they go on,” he said.
So, Khir, its not your approval? Come on, I have had enough bullshit coming out of this fler's mouth. It is alright for you to now ensure Pakatan keep their word. So what if Pakatan Rakyat REALLY keep their word on free water, reduced assessment etc. Does that mean then, that you will ADMIT that you are hopeless and have failed the people? Come on! Khir, show us you are a MAN! Will you admit it?And you are still not done with your pig issue? Why? Any more political mileage to be gained on this?
Something that Dr. M can relate to
I got this joke from a friend. Thanks Bob! This reminds me of The Old Man....
The moral of the story is worth the read for
'Old Dogs'.
OLD DOGS RULE
A wealthy old Gentleman decides to go on a hunting safari in Africa , taking his faithful, elderly Jack Russell terrier named Killer, along for the company.
One day the old Jack Russell starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.
The old Jack Russell thinks, 'Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!' Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles downto chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.
Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old Jack Russell exclaims loudly, 'Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?'
Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees.
'Whew!', says the leopard, 'That was close! That old Jack Russell nearly had me!'
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old Jack Russell sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.
The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, 'Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!
Now, the old Jack Russell sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, 'What am I going to do now?', but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old Jack Russell says...
'Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!'
Moral of this story:
Don't mess with the old dogs -- Age and Skill will always overcome
Youth and Treachery!
Bullshit and Brilliance only come with age and experience.
If you don't send this to five 'old' friends right away there will be five fewer people laughing in the world.
Of course, I am in no way insinuating that any of you are old, some are just more 'youthfully challenged.'
You did notice the large print size, didn't you?
Calling Anwar's Bluff?
Part 1 and Part 2
(source malaysiakini.com)
We have some serious reaction by our DPM in denying that DSAI can muster enough to make the new government, it is interesting to note this la...
If BN is so sure that no one will go frogging this season, why even bother to deny or send snoop squad all over to "spy" on some "unfaithful" members? Yet, Anwar's continued goading and statements of defection have caused a certain unease in BN.
While Ong Kian Ming has made some point in Part 2, that it will be better for PR to takeover a year or so down the road in view of economic uncertainties as well as more severe political fallout in BN, I would be of the opinion, instead of focussing on attacking the opponent when they are weak, PR should take a look at themselves if they have what it takes to govern the country.
On a personal note, I would like to see a change. Like many Malaysians, we believe any change will be better than no change as it is today as no government can do any more worse than what BN has done in the last 4 years.
But the question of the day really is, anyone willing to call his bluff? With the stakes getting higher by the day in all or nothing game, suddenly no one even dares to say, "CALL" let alone "SHOW HAND"! Geez.. I am no poker face and am not good at it.. let others comment la...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Liberation Day - 16th Sept 2008?
Well, it will be if DSAI has it his way. here.
Is this another teaser? Or is it a flop when he was reportedly saying he will take over as PM in 3 years? here.
DSAI has been throwing so many red herrings around that I even lost count of it. But I hope he maintains his integrity and ensure those that hop are not into it for position but to safeguard the country. Ok.. ok.. I know those are plain bullshit, there will definitely be something for them if they jump. Right? Sigh.. are there any honor left? Is jumping the most honorable thing to do?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Dr. M on Hardtalk
Gosh.. this old man is still very sharp. I really wonder how come he can have a lapse in memory during the Correct, correct, correct hearing.
The full transcript of the program can be found here. While many people would call it vintage Dr. M, I beg to differ. Personally he said nothing wrong because he spoke of the truth he wanted to believe in. But sadly its his version of the truth that many of us do not believe it to be.
Well, not for me to say, but read the transcript and we can come to our own conclusion if Dr. M has won the round or was it Stephen Sackur has managed to corner Dr. M with many hard hitting questions.
As per requested by one of my readers.. :)
(Full transcript of the inteview by Stephen Sackur-BBC Hardtalk with Tun Dr Mahathir)
BBC-HARDTALK INTERVIEW WITH TUN DR.MAHATHIR MOHAMAD.
recorded on 18th day of April, 2008 in London.
Stephen Sackur Introduction:
Last month marked a watershed in the politics of Malaysia. The ruling national front recorded its worst election results in five decades. It’s still in power but seriously weakened. My guest today personifies the power of the ruling party for 22 years.
He was Malaysia’s PM and one of the most outspoken leaders in the Muslim world. His critics called him a racist and a dictator. Has retirement mellowed Dr.Mahathir Mohamed?
Stephen Sackur: Dr Mohamad welcome to Hardtalk. Let’s start with that election result last month, has it marked the beginning of the end for Malaysia’s ruling party?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Not necessarily, unless no action is taken, of course it may result in that. But if proper action is taken, including of course the present Prime Minister leaving his seat of power, it may be possible to bring back the Barisan Nasional Front in order to become again a very strong ruling party.
Stephen Sackur: You’re saying that PM Abdullah Badawi has to be kicked out for the ruling party to recover?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well not so strong as that. He can step down. I stepped down in my time. It’s about time that he steps down because the result of the election shows clearly that many of the former followers, supporters of the Nasional Front had decided that they would work, vote for the Opposition even if they didn’t like the Opposition. They voted for the Opposition to send a message to the present government.
Stephen Sackur: Prime Minister Abdullah says that you have been one of the curses that have brought him down, because you’ve been sniping from the sidelines for the last two or three years.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: That may be so. I don’t see why I should not criticise wrongdoings by him.
Stephen Sackur: What wrongdoings?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well in the first place, the government promises to remove corruption and things like that, but the government is found to be corrupt.
Stephen Sackur: You are tearing your own party apart though, that is the problem. And that is what many people inside your party believe.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well sometimes it may be necessary. I told people that I’m a doctor. If I find one leg becoming gangrenous I remove it.
Stephen Sackur: Now he has said Prime Minister Abdullah, that he will go eventually, but is your message to him that he has no time, he must go now?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: He must go now, because he will take time to revive the party for the next election.
Stephen Sackur: Isn’t the truth of what we see in Malaysia today that the real discontent isn’t so much with Prime Minister Abdullah, it is with the system and the ideology that you bequeathed to your country?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well the system and the ideology have been there for the last 50 years. It’s worked very well we had always won elections, people always supported us and the country has done very well during that 50 years with that system.
Stephen Sackur : But the indications are and the opposition succeeded by saying to the public, we no longer want this racially defined system inside Malaysia. And it was the racial defined system that was the platform upon which you succeeded in running Malaysia for 22 years.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: I think that’s wishful thinking on the part of foreign critics. But the fact is that this election result was due to disaffection on the part of the ruling party’s supporters, with the present leadership.
Stephen Sackur : Well let me just quote you the words of the new head of Penang State and let’s not forget that these results saw five very big and wealthy states go to the Opposition. The new head of Penang State Mr Lim Guan Eng, he says ‘we want a new state administration that is free from corruption and cronyism, we are here to build a Penang State for all.’ You didn’t build a Malaysia for all did you?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: I did. If you look at Malaysia today. Everybody is enjoying, has enjoyed, a very good life. They have become very prosperous. Malaysia was one of the fastest growing countries in the world. If you look at the different races, you can find that they all benefited from that government. So it is of course, necessary for Opposition parties to make remarks like that.
Stephen Sackur : But they are not making it up are they? Let’s look at your new economic policy which you pursued for so long. It favours ethnic Malays, in so many different ways, from public sector appointments to university places, to advantageous acquisition of stocks, discounts on housing, I don’t know where to stop. There are so many different ways in which you ran an unequal system.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: No this was a policy which was initiated by my predecessors, it was necessary to...
Stephen Sackur : But you ran it for 22 years, you had ample opportunity to change it.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Yes I had ample opportunity to implement in a way that will correct imbalances that existed in Malaysia since the British days. And unless these imbalances are corrected there’s bound to be another race riot, as happened in 1969.
Stephen Sackur : But the point is that 80 thousand Indians for example, were on the streets protesting long and loud last November, because they are no longer prepared to live with the racial division that you set in the stone.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Why now? Why not during my time? They were quite free to demonstrate. Many of the people who disagreed with me demonstrated...
Stephen Sackur : But many of the people who disagreed with you, I’m afraid ended up in prison.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Who?
Stephen Sackur : Hundreds of them, read every Amnesty international and human rights watch report for the years in which you were in power..
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: The western press, the problem is that you make up these stories and then you take this as the truth, it’s not the truth. Tell me who are the hundreds of people who ended up in prison.
Stephen Sackur: I’ll discuss human rights a little bit later. I just want before we get distracted from this question of racism in Malaysia, I just want to put to you this final point: Anwar Ibrahim says that he is going to push and of course he your long time friend who became, your political enemy, he is going to push for a colour blind Malaysia where affirmative action is open to all who need help.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well this opportunism for him, now that he is out of the government, he was in the government for a long time, he never made any complaints, he never did anything to.
Stephen Sackur : He certainly made a complaint when you locked him up.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well that was not the reason why he was locked up, he was accused of sodomy, he was accused of abuse of power, he was tried in court, nine months and he was defended by nine lawyers and he was found guilty...
Stephen Sackur : Trumped up charges.. trumped up charges.. says not just Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International but I’ve been looking through the record, the Canadian government, the White House, the International Commission of Jurists, all of them expressed grave and deep concern with the way in which your judicial system treated Anwar Ibrahim.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Yes you’re free to say so but...
Stephen Sackur : I’m not saying it, I’m just quoting to you all the people who did say it.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: But what is the record of these countries? These people, these same countries arrested people without the law, and detained them in Guantanamo Bay and even in Britain here, you arrest people and detain them without any sanction by law.
Stephen Sackur : So does that make it okay that you did it for 22 years?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: We did it under the laws of the country, but it is not the way...
Stephen Sackur : You used the laws which went back to colonial times, the internal security act, emergency procedures, you feel satisfied to tell me that that was entirely legitimate?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: No we find that the situation in the country is very very fluid and it is very likely that there will be racial riots, unless we prevent precise people who are promoting racial hatred from talking about it.
Stephen Sackur : Put it this way, Dr Mahathir, you’ve had several years out of power now to consider your record and what you did, I wonder whether you are now ready to say that you regret what you did to Anwar Ibrahim?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Why should I regret? He was arrested under the laws of the country, he was tried in the courts of the country and he was sentenced by the court. If he was not wrong, I don’t think, no matter what you think about our judiciary, I don’t think he would have been sentenced to prison.
Stephen Sackur : It damaged your reputation though didn’t it?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well that’s something I have to accept.
Stephen Sackur : You may also find it comes back to haunt you? Anwar Ibrahim is now leading the opposition coalition. We are led to believe that there are certain MPs in the ruling party who may defect to him, in which case he could very soon be running the government. And he’s made it plain that he wants to have you answer for all of the things you do while you were in power.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well he’s welcome to do that if he becomes the Prime Minister of Malaysia, but if he wins over members of the ruling party to his side, it is the prime minister, the present leader who should be blamed, because he couldn’t even get the loyalty of his own members.
Stephen Sackur : It wasn’t the current prime minister who was in power when Anwar Ibrahim was savagely beaten during his time in detention?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Savagely beaten? I know he was slapped and he had a black eye which was very useful for election purpose...
Stephen Sackur : Why you think he hit himself maybe?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well I don’t know what happened..but the police the IGP admitted that he assaulted Anwar, but that wasn’t me that was the IGP.
Stephen Sackur : But how do you respond, if Anwar comes to power and he as he said on this programme and elsewhere, that he wants a full and thorough public inquiry into all of your, Dr Mahathir’s misdeeds, how will you respond to that?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: He is welcome to do so, but I hope that he finds people who are neutral, who are impartial, probably foreigners, because I don’t trust the people that they put after people they don’t like.
Stephen Sackur : Interesting that you say you don’t trust people who are currently or maybe in charge of any inquiry, do you trust the integrity of the Malaysian judiciary?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: I do, at times I do but...
Stephen Sackur : Is that because you appointed the judges?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: I didn’t appoint the judges, the judges were recommended by the Chief Justice and my duty is to check whether he has any records or not and after that he is presented to the king who will then appoint the judge...
Stephen Sackur : Dr Mahathir, you know as well as I do, that the hottest political topic in Malaysia today, is the state of the judiciary, the integrity of the judiciary and that a video has been playing in Malaysia for a long time now which shows a top lawyer talking to a top judge going back to 2001, in which the lawyer says to the judge ‘believe me in the end all of the positions going all the way to the supreme court are fixed by the politicians’, i.e. by you who were the prime minister at the time Dr Mahathir?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Did he say that? Did he mention my name?
Stephen Sackur : He didn’t mention your name he said this will be fixed, this goes through the political system. You ran the political system.
Mahathir Mohamad: I’m not so sure about that. But the fact is that this man had his video taken because they intended to blackmail him. He happens to be my lawyer, defending me at this moment for libel against Anwar and this tape came from Anwar. Anwar had these things recorded in order to blackmail the lawyer.
Stephen Sackur : But the point is the current government led by Prime Minister Abdullah who is nominally or despite what you have said on this programme, is of your party. Prime Minister Abdullah has now essentially apologised, he said both to the supreme court justice that you removed and to other judges that were suspended or removed during your time in power, he’s said sorry to them. He’s said that he wants to offer them monetary compensation
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Fine but it’s a political move. Something a man who is very unpopular at the moment, wanting to show that he’s going to do something right.
Stephen Sackur: And that Dr Mahathir is my point. The Malaysian people no longer want to live with the system you created. That’s why Prime Minister Abdullah is essentially dismantling the system that you created.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: No no no he’s not dismantling the system, he is making use of the system in a worse way. Nobody can say anything against him, he has newspapers which only reports about him and how great he is. And he was mislead by his own supporters, into believing that if he holds the election now, this is one and half years before the end of the term, he would win, he would have a clean sweep.
If you look at the records, he made statements that he would win the election, with zero for the Opposition.
Stephen Sackur: The more I listen to you talking about Prime Minister Abdullah, the more I wonder why did you choose him to be your successor?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well these people are very smart in hiding their true character. He was known as Mr Clean and I thought I would appoint a clean person to succeed me. Although he was not the one with the highest votes in my party. But I thought that he was older and I appointed him thinking that he’s not going to do anything very wrong. But this man gives priority to his family rather than to the country.
Stephen Sackur: So it was a fundamental lack of judgement on your part?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Yes I’ll admit that. But we all make mistakes. The British people voted in people like Blair, who told lies, so did the Americans. Lots of people make mistakes.
Stephen Sackur: We all make mistakes you say, was it also a mistake for you to define yourself so clearly, as anti-western and anti-democratic, in the sense that the West understands democracy?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: No that’s the problem, I am not anti-Western, I am against the bad things that were done by the Western countries.
Stephen Sackur: You’re not anti-western and yet in June 2003 before you left office, you said anglo-Saxon Europeans are essentially proponents and I’m quoting here: ‘proponents of war, sodomy and genocide.’
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Which is true, you must admit.
Stephen Sackur: But you’re not anti-western?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: I’m stating the fact. This is their character and I will continue to say so.
Stephen Sackur: So when you come here, you sit in the Hardtalk studio, in the heart of London, you regard yourself do you, as in one of the Headquarters of war, sodomy and genocide?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well I come here of course expecting to be lambasted by you, because that is the way you work.
Stephen Sackur: Well I’m not lambasting you at all. I’m trying to tease out whether you believe it was a mistake for you to use this sort of language. Because you clearly cut yourself off, from any sort of meaningful dialogue with the West when you use these words.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well the Europeans used to call us the lazy Malays, incompetent Malays, untrustworthy Malays, we couldn’t say a thing about you. So when I was in a position to say what we think about you, and I did and you don’t like it. When you said it to us you expect us to like it. We didn’t like it, but we had no way of making our voices heard.
Stephen Sackur: I am just wondering how you feel about democracy. Of course in the world since 9/11, the United States and the coalition of partners led by the United Kingdom, have talked a lot about spreading democracy, do you believe in democracy?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: If you look at the history of the west, they come up with all kinds of ideologies, they use it for sometime and then they found it defective and they dropped it and start on another. One day they are going to forget about democracy because in some countries democracy actually ended up with anarchy. And there were practically no governments. It’s not a system that can feed everybody. You must have a certain understanding of the limitations of democracy, in order to make it work.
Stephen Sackur: Is that why you were not a democrat, why you in the end did behave like a dictator?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well that is something that the West would like to say about me, I am a dictator.
Stephen Sackur: Well I’m just quoting your own words from 2002. You said it’s good governance people need, you said, feudal kings even dictators have provided and can provide good governments.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Well that’s very true, that is very true. The great civilisations of the past did not have democracies. And yet they became great. It’s not necessary that the system will work for everybody. But if we have a bad leader, even the democratic system will fail.
We must remember that it is a democratic country which dropped atomic bombs, killing 200 thousand people.
Stephen Sackur: How do you think the Malaysian public will respond to you saying, look you know what democracy isn’t the best system and in fact dictatorship can often work better.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: I went through five elections and I won all the elections with a majority...
Stephen Sackur: Without a free press, locking up many of your opponents
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: There you go again about locking up many of my opponents, who are they?
Stephen Sackur: I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, that I’ve studied the human rights watch reports, the Amnesty International reports, studies from the state department, from the Canadian government.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: These are biased reports, the first thing I did on becoming the prime minister in 1981, was to release political prisoners who were detained by my predecessors, 22 or them, including many members of the Opposition.
Stephen Sackur: Under the 1984 Press law which required newspapers to get a new licence every single year. It made it very easy for you to quieten them down, didn’t it?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: No it has always been there, the press law has been there...I didn’t do that...but the fact is that we have a multi-racial country and if we are not careful, there will be racial flare-ups. And you look at most of the countries with multi-racial population, they are never peaceful, even Northern Ireland, it took you such a long to stop the war in Northern Ireland.
Stephen Sackur: Talking of peace, you did worry about the stability of your country, didn’t you? That’s why you were very strong, very tough with Islamist extremism inside Malaysia.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Yes it is necessary.
Stephen Sackur: Well I just wonder in that case then why just before you left office, in October 2003, why did you tell the Islamic Summit Conference that and I’m quoting again a very famous speech, it’s a little bit long but “1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews,” you said. “We’re actually very strong. The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million but today Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.” You went on to say: “But the Jews have become arrogant. And arrogant people like angry people will make mistakes and there may be a window of opportunity for us.”
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: I’m stating facts, I am willing to say that again and again that this is what has happened.
Stephen Sackur: Anti-Semitic and racist that was called by many governments and people around the world.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Anti-Semitism is created by the Jews themselves. We cannot say anything. In fact journalists have been arrested for saying something against the holocaust and jailed for three years. Where is the freedom of press?
Stephen Sackur: So those words I quoted in your view, are not anti-Semitic?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: No they are not anti-Semitic? I am just quoting facts. The fact is that the United States obeys what Israel wants it to do.
Stephen Sackur: You call them facts, let’s leave that aside for the moment. I am trying to understand your logic. Here you are a man who says that your own country is potentially destabilised by Islamic extremism and then you go out in an Islamic Conference and you use words which could have been used by Osama bin Laden.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: There’s no contradiction, no contradiction at all. I don’t want Islamic terrorism any more than I want Jewish attacks against Israel, or American bombs on Baghdad. It is not incompatible.
Stephen Sackur: Do you feel confident that people still listen to your message?
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: I wouldn’t be able to say. Why should people worry about me?
Stephen Sackur: In Malaysia people say, and I’m talking about the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition: it’s time for you to be quiet.
Dr.Mahathir Mohamad: Why should I be quiet? You mean to say when they are doing something wrong, to my country and I should not say anything? I would be irresponsible if I were to do that.
Stephen Sackur: Dr Mahathir Mohamad thank you very much for being on Hardtalk.
Dr. Mahathir Mohamad: You’re welcome.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Ahh... Flip Flop... yet AGAIN?
Normally its the subordinate that toe the line set by the boss. This one we have the boss toe-ing the line set by the deputy. So has our DPM taken over the reins of the country's powers?
From Malaysiakini, it was quoted that, our PM said, “It is for the party to decide. It is up to Penang BN to do what they want as long as there is no clash in policy,” when asked to comment on the issue of Lee Kah Choon, former deputy secretary-general of Gerakan, who has accepted a director’s post in the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and InvestPenang.
He went on further to say "We leave this to the relevant party. For me, there is no need (to take action). I (would) say thank you," he said.
When asked whether Lee's decision would herald a "new era" in cooperation between BN and Pakatan, Abdullah said: "Perhaps this opens ways for cooperation."
Abdullah’s response today appeared to contradict his deputy Najib Abdul Razak who had told the press yesterday that Lee’s action was “against the spirit of Barisan Nasional”.Gee, can you see now? Who is the one to say "Its my fault?" Many would have expected Najib to come out and echo his boss's thoughts but.... NO!
However, Abdullah seemed to change his stand later today. According to a report by Bernama, Abdullah said Lee’s decision was "against the spirit of BN".
Abdullah told Bernama that Lee should rightfully have consulted his party first.
“I want to hear the views of Gerakan acting president on this matter. Any action against Lee would be left to the party,” he said.
The Bernama report appeared in its website four hours after the press conference.
So, now what? Najib follow Abdullah or Abdullah follow Najib or was Malaysiakini wrong and Bernama right or was Bernama spinning and Malaysiakini being right? Four hours to make a new spin? Lets see if this is the FASTEST FLIP FLOP yet beating that of the DAP fler? In terms of speed it flopped?
Damn! Why do I get the feeling that Abdullah has handed the country to Najib? Is Najib now the de-facto PM of Malaysia?
Our PM Awakens! Has he?
Has he? Well, I can certainly say that he has woken up from his slumber but will he stay awake? That is a different matter alltoghether.
I am now waiting if he would be announcing the setup of IPCMC? Well, back to the topic
He announced in quite rapid succession really on the reforms on judiciary and the formation of MCAC to replace the ACA. Many would approach these reforms with caution and I think we should as well. Many a times, an announcement on paper looks rosy enough but it will get bogged down with all the issues on implementation.
On 17th April 2008, our PM delivered his "Delivering Justice, Renewing Trust" speech at a dinner hosted by Bar Council, where the surviving judges and their representative attended on PM's request. Although the speech and desire was noted and applauded, many critics pointed out that there is no explicit apology for the six, I feel we can take cognizance of the fact that the ex-gratia payment was in someway an acknowledgment of fault. Moreover, it was not Abdullah's administration that has caused the decay in the judiciary but this administration was at great fault for not rectifying it at the earliest opportune moment.
But as Haris Ibrahim pointed out in his blog on some issues and concerns that I believed needs addressing as well. Especially on matters relating to Tan Sri Dato Zaki.
Yesterday, our PM announced that the ACA would be fully independent! ACA's workforce will be TRIPLED! Wow!! The agency will be given wide ranging powers and thus renamed MCAC!! Wow! Wow! But, my concern is will this be old wine in new skin? Is this just another rebranding PR exercise? Well, its still in its early days yet but at least we have seen something good coming out of BN being denied 2/3 in Parliament. Obviously, our PM is putting some plans in motion to diminish the barrage of issues to be brought up in the new Dewan Rakyat's session.
On another matter, this analysis from Malaysiakini.com is worth visiting,
Pak Lah should press 'nuclear button'
Ong Kian Ming and Oon Yeoh | Apr 21, 08 11:48am
www.malaysiakini.com
In the last year of a two-term US president, he is usually considered a lame duck president, referring to his inability to pass any significant legislation because of the lack of political capital.
We argue that if even if Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi manages to somehow survive beyond the December Umno general assembly, he would most likely be a lame duck prime minister for the rest of his term.
There is already mounting pressure on Abdullah to set a timetable for a succession plan with specific timelines and dates spelt out. Many of Umno’s top leaders have thrown their support behind Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Abdullah himself has come out to say that he would eventually pass on the reins to Najib. The question here is if Abdullah wants to serve out another full term (three to four years let’s say) before handing over that position to Najib or whether he will be pressured to set a much shorter deadline of between one to two years.
It is extremely unlikely that Abdullah can maintain the support of a majority of Umno leaders if he insists on staying the full term. Their support of Abdullah at the general assembly will be contingent on Abdullah setting a relatively short handover timetable. Abdullah, not noted for being confrontational, unlike his belligerent predecessor, will probably accede to such a request. Although he would prefer to have a full term as the PM, he will probably have to settle for much less.
Hence, we will be faced with the reality of a short-term PM who will have all the appendages of a lame duck. He has already lost political capital as a result of the disastrous 2008 election results. He faces an Umno grassroots that is rabidly against him and a leadership that is increasingly fractured and itching for a fight for the top post.
Most importantly, once he announces the succession timetable, many of the Umno leaders as well as Barisan Nasional component party leaders will be looking to Najib for leadership and direction rather than Abdullah. They would be looking to Najib to spell out how he will fight off Pakatan Rakyat, rebuild Umno and lead BN to a convincing victory in the next general elections.
Ministers, civil servants and business leaders will continue to pay lip service to Abdullah and give him due respect as a PM, but his ability to push through significant legislative measures or make certain appointments will be severely circumscribed. If Abdullah, with a 91% control of parliament could not follow through with his 2004 electoral promises, what can he realistically do with only 63% of parliamentary seats and five states under opposition control?
Many people will no doubt point out that his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad also had a long goodbye yet he was by no means a lame duck. The similarities are only superficial. Mahathir differed from Abdullah in two important respects.
Firstly, he managed to deflect Anwar’s challenge by safely winning more than two-thirds of parliamentary seats in 1999. Secondly, up until the last minute, there was uncertainty as to whether he would actually step down as PM and let Abdullah take over. Both these reasons ensured that Mahathir was not a lame duck although he had a succession timetable in place.
It would seem like Abdullah is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. If he doesn’t set a timetable, there will continue to be unrest within Umno. If he sets a timetable, he becomes a lame duck. In many ways, he’s damned if he does and he’s damned if he doesn’t.
Use the ‘nuclear’ option
Given this reality, it might be in Abdullah’s interest to leave a strong political legacy by exercising a ‘nuclear’ option. Imagine if he were to institute a series of far-ranging legislative reforms by co-opting the opposition MPs and using the strength of public opinion.
Why not abolish the ISA (Internal Security Act), reform the UUCA (Universities and Universiti Colleges Act), give the Election Commission actual independence, get rid of the PPPA (Printing Presses and Publications Act), and so on?
Surely there will be strong resistance from within his cabinet and Umno and probably within BN as well. But it would be hard for them to block such moves if Abdullah really goes all out for it and positions these actions as a response to the GE 2008 results.
No doubt this is political suicide for him but if his days as PM are already numbered, why not go out in a blaze of glory? In one fell swoop, he would be seen as a greater PM than even Mahathir and he would have the satisfaction of denying his nemesis Anwar Ibrahim the chance to be the man turn Malaysia into a true democracy.
Unfortunately, nothing about Abdullah tells us he will do anything remotely close to this. His much-hailed proposals for judicial reforms do not look impressive in the cold light of day. The setting up of a judicial commission still puts the ultimately authority to nominate judges in the hands of the PM.
In any event, this commission might take a long time to set up. An esteemed lawyer reminded us in a recent blog posting that it took seven years for Suhakam to be set up. Even then, it did not have any real teeth in influencing policy.
The radical legislative measures we suggested above could be carried out in a much shorter time frame. And for each of them, he can count on 82 opposition MPs backing it fully.
These are exactly the kind of reforms that everyone had hoped he would do the first time around. It’s now pretty late in the game now, and the window of opportunity is fast closing, but he can still do it if he wants to. Don’t hold your breath, though.
I really wonder if indeed our PM is pressing the nuclear button as we debate and contend over his seriousness and sincerity in carrying out these reforms but lets give him the benefit of the doubt. And yes, I do concur with the writer that it could be too little too late, but, I guess, its still better than nothing and also at least there is a start and that we can work on this for a more just and equitable Malaysia for all.
Monday, April 21, 2008
ERL - Express Rail Link out of your Pockets!
Until Citizen Nades uncovered the above story in The Sun today, not many of us know the "mechanics" of all these concession agreements. I was aghast nonetheless, to find out that I have been paying for the ERL whether I use it or not. For the records, Citizen Nades has it that international departures contribute RM6/= per person while domestic departures contribute RM2/= per person regardless if you depart from KLIA or LCCT. Basically they all "tak kira where you terbang from... as long as you terbang from these two airports, you DONATE to ERL."
On top of that, I am also confused as to why would Air Asia not operate out of KLIA. For a start, the airport tax differential between LCCT and KLIA isnt really that much and on top of that KLIA provides so much more ammenities and convenience to travellers especially ones to international destinations. Imagine walking... walking and more walking.. no walkalator.. no aircond passageways!! But I have also bumped into Jeff Ooi's article on his take on Francis Yeoh and his urgent train makes real sense now why YTL wants the train service to take off. Are there more draconian concession agreements to be signed??? After all isnt the ERL under YTL as well?
Judicial Reforms?
While many Malaysians from all walk of life lauded the PM for one of his best Public Relations stunt in the post election when he announced ex-Gratia payments to the six judges implicated in the 1988 judicial crisis. The very next day, DPM, Najib says the ex-gratia payment was not an apology.
To me, whether its a direct apology or not does not matter. The government has at last acknowledge the fact that these judges have been wronged. However, when PM announced that the judicial reforms would see an independent of a judicial appointments commission to identify and recommend suitable candidates for the judiciary to him, he stopped short of revoking the previous appointment of ex-UMNO legal advisor, Tan Sri Dato' Zaki bin Tun Azmi, who was appointed as judge in Sept 07, who has has been selected to be the President of Court of Appeal! Thus, no matter what reforms they institute today, its worthless unless they re-evaluate the selection of Zaki and may the appointment of the new President of Court of Appeal to be made by the Independent Judicial Commission!
So dear PM, please do not announce a good thing, when you already had it covered! Haris Ibrahim has a take on this here. I am an average joe, not a lawyer, but the way I see it, Zaki will have to make way for a total revamp of the entire judiciary.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Land Deals Galore!
With Penang land scam deals taking a breather, new news as well as damning evidence invloving MCA has surfaced in Perak. Evidence revealed today may have broad repercussion to MCA and BN not only in the states now under Pakatan Rakyat but will probably raise more questions in States now under BN.
MCA Perak embroiled in controversial land deal Stanley Koh | Apr 18, 08 11:43am
www.malaysiakini.com
Fresh revelations from a controversial land deal in Pasir Pinji, Perak are likely to cause further embarrassment for the MCA and raise further questions on alleged impropriety undertaken by the party’s state leadership led by Ong Ka Chuan. The controversy erupted following a recent news report that the new Pakatan Rakyat Perak government has cancelled a land application approval given by the previous administration to the MCA Ipoh Timur division on the grounds that there were elements of abuse in the approval.
According to the Perak Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, the a portion of the land located in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh, has been occupied by a soy factory operator since 1953. It was learnt that the Sin Yong Guan Food Industries Sdn Bhd soy factory belonged to a person named Kenny KS Yap who had unsuccessfully applied for the land a long time ago.
Details now emerge that the party division had intended to make a tidy profit from the land deal by selling the portion occupied by the soy factor to Yap. According to a reliable source, the chairperson of the Ipoh Timur division Chew Wai Khoon had applied for the 2.18 acres of land which included 0.92 ha of land occupied by the soy factory.
When the approval was given by the former state government, it is claimed that Chew had the intention to sell back the 0.92 ha back to the factory owner for the asking price of RM188,430.66.
Malaysian Joe says, ' Easy money mate... easy peasy.... just sell back and make a bundle'
Improper and immoral
Thong Fah Chong when contacted by Malaysiakini, one of the three signatories (appointed trustees of the Ipoh Timur division) deputy chairman of the division Thong Fah Chong confirmed that details of the deal.
He said that he had refused to sign the Sale and Purchase letter document (dated 24 March 2008) because he felt the land transaction was improper and immoral. “I refused to sign the letter (addressed to a lawyer) because I feel the land deal was against my principles of
morality,” he told Malaysiakini.
Thong, are there any good men left in MCA? I hope you are doing all these not because you have not benefitted. If you have done it with all the noble intentions.. I SALUTE YOU. Should'nt this be revealed long long long long time ago?
The other two trustees who signed the letter (bearing the name of the division) were Chew and division secretary Liew Ah Ming. When news on the approval by the former state administration leaked out just before the recent March 8 general election, the DAP had successfully exploited the land issue.
MCA detractors are also blaming MCA Perak chief and party secretary general Ong Ka Chuan for the loss of the Pasir Pinji state seat for giving approval for the land deal. Transport minister Ka Chuan is also the brother of party president Ong Ka Ting. Both of them are under pressure from an influential segment of party members over the party’s failures in the general election.
Ka Chuan’s role
Thong is also questioning Ka Chuan’s role in the land deal as he had “contributed RM100,000 cheque” as part payment for the land premium of RM387,262, Thong said that many party members can act as witnesses to the cheque contribution although Ka Chuan Ong since taken back the cheque.
“This land deal has added to the general feeling that there is something wrong with the leadership integrity. “This is also one reason why MCA Perak lost the Pasir Pinji state seat in the recent elections. “Party members in the state must now judge what type of leaders they should vote for in future,” Thong said. As for the soy factory owner, the new Perak state has asked him to submit a fresh application to the Land and Mines Department.
Justice being served? Well, I hope that we will put right as many things as possible that was made wrong in the last 40 odd years or so. It may not be easy but the new state governments are showing they are indeed the real deal for us, rakyat Malaysia.
Hidup Ketuanan Rakyat!
New MSM Boycott Initiatives
Most MSM till today are still behaving pre 8th of March. But suffice to say some have toned down on their bias-ness but one can still feel that they are still not as fair in their reporting.
None more so than the banning of Makkal Osai (here and here), reputedly to be the one Tamil daily that was quite extensive in the coverage of the opposition in the just concluded 12th General Election. While I give credit to our Prime Minister for his determination to now straighten the judiciary, either he is really brave and wanting to straighten the whole country before passing the baton or wilfully signing his own death warrant or as Zorro cheekily puts it, his crossover. Whatever it is, his actions today is to be lauded.
I cant say the same to members of his cabinet that has yet to grasp the idea that arrogance will get them no where. Some familiar names come to mind, Syed Hamid, Azalina, Khir Toyo and Ali Rustam for his boo boo blog. Errmm.. by the way his blog dari kacamata.... seems to have been deleted!
Malaysian Joe says, "Rusty, if cannot take criticism... dont be a blogger.. be a bugger!"
Hence, to bring the MSM to understand us, I am willing to listen to ideas on how we can further achieve the idea besides boycotting them. Knowing the fact that we are basically saving RM1.20 which in actual fact is the amount is mostly distributed to the newspaper vendors. No doubt that this exercise would pare down their circulation numbers, we would have to come up with more ideas as to make our voice heard... LOUDER and CLEARER. Apparently only the PM heard it.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Of Sports and Politics
Many times, sports has suffered due to politics. Although I am no fan of Chelsea, I find it hard that some people are politicking the issue of the two Israelites in the team, Avram Grant and Tal Ben Haim. I just wonder when these mofos will stop politicising everything that they cannot agree with.
The poor pigs were also politicized to the hilt! Today these bunch of mofos are protesting about Chelsea's visit to Malaysia. Let me repeat I am no fan of Chelsea and I still think these people's objectives for coming to our shores is more of marketing and publicity rather than improving the standard of football in our country. By right, they should not be allowed to wantonly milking money from their fans... but reality is, they need to for their popularity and survival. They needed to do it! And there are no rules saying that they cant. Their fans have been waiting to see their idols! Drogba, Terry, Ben Haim, Cech, Cole, Kalou, Essien etc.... I do not think its wrong either that they get their chance to see their idols in flesh.
But it is wrong to stop them from coming just because there are two Israelites in the team! If we are going to boycott everything Israel... boy.. trust me.. more than half the stuff in supermarkets should not be there in the first place... many many movies and songs that we cant watch nor listen to because somehow or rather they are connected to the Jews!
And these mofos are saying this? Will it be that if we allow these two Israelites to step on our ground we will be DAMNED for life? Have these two Israelites in any way have harmed your families? Have they done anything to you at all? For all you know, many of you have plunked yourselves in front of the idiot box week in week out rooting for these two Israelites to bring glory to the team you support! Come on... Rais, save sports.. take politics elsewhere.
I do not support Chelsea and I also think Avram Grant is a lousy coach, but I do support their right to come to Malaysia with the entire entourage.
Makkal Osai - Part II
Why Makkal Osai was banned?
Star carries the news here today.
According to Syed Hamid Albar, our dear Home Minister, the newspaper has breached some of its licensing guidelines. Yeah! The same Hamid that was telling hoards of lies on Hardtalk not too long ago on freedom of religion in Malaysia. If you all can still remember.
The Home Minister said every newspaper was reviewed on a yearly basis in terms of its contribution to society with regards to building a more united Malaysia and how "we should portray moving forward in creating more unity, understanding and goodwill."
He said there had been many complaints against Makkal Osai.
Syed Hamid said that because Malaysia was a multi-racial and multi-religious country, there were very sensitive issues, which necessitated the need for media guidelines.I was right! The government has not learnt the lesson of 8th March. Coming from the mouth of the horse, I really wonder who has been complaining. How come when we complained that the other MSM telling lies he did not go and BAN those flers?
Seriously, what is sensitive issue? Even Malays of PAS understands the need for a modern pig farm in Sepang! While an UMNO rent seeker who has fallen off the gravy train is foaming and seething with anger that his rights has been violated!
"We do not simply not renew a licence," he said, adding that the media should be careful in raising issues that were extremist or could cause misunderstandings.
Another open threat to not tell the truth? I really wonder since when is telling the truth a crime? So, I would have to tell our sleepy PM that some of his cabinet ministers are still carrying their bad habits of past into their present. And if he said he understood our message... well maybe he did but his goons especially this Hamid that makes Malaysia looks stupid on Hardtalk... had not gotten the message yet.
Malaysiakini carries the Bahasa Melayu version and its comments, here and here. Similarly echoing that the government has not heed the people's voice.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Anti Climax on Land Scam
I was waiting fervently for Lim Guan Eng to reveal the dirt of land scams in Penang. Yesterday he was quoted as saying he will reveal it today....
Darn! I was to be disappointed as he gave Abdul Rashid until the 28th of April to clarify the matter or else..... (here)
Why la... why give him until 28th? I want to see blood!!!! People demand to know the truth! I want to know the truth! Tell us and then ask him for his explanation not only to you but to the RAKYAT!
Update:
New Twist. Here he claimed he was misquoted. Hmmm.. seems that all BN leaders have been misquoted by their subservient MSM all the time. But reading it, he doesnt seem bothered really when he said he did not challenge Lim Guan Eng but merely challenging The Star:
When contacted, an angry Abdul Rashid claimed he was misquoted in the press.
“The media is playing with words to sell newspapers. I did not challenge Lim to prove that he invited me. I challenged The Star because it was The Star that claimed I was invited.
Then he went on to say the most incredulous thing:
“So now everybody wants me to respond. How can I when I don’t know anything? I don’t care about Lim’s deadline. Who is he to give me an ultimatum? So what? I did my work,” he said.
He said that if Lim wanted any clarifications, he could do so with the Land Office and relevant bodies.
3 arrogant statements in rapid succession. Oh... so you didnt know anything? Which planet were you on since 9th March eh Rashid? And you had the bloody gall to ask him just to seek clarification with Land Office when you were the one approving all those deals? Of course we want answers from you la moron! The onus to answer always lie with the person that signs off!
Average Joe says: Dah buat salah... mengaku sajalah...
It just gets me burning even more to see this issue exposed and the truth be told!
Abdul Rashid is the epitome of what BN has been... arrogant and greed.
Makkal Osai Banned!! Ops Lalang 2?
At the height of Ops Lalang 1, The Star was banned and numerous opposition politicians made Kamunting their home for some time.
Today in a breaking news from Malaysiakini, Makkal Osai BANNED.
It also reported that their General Manager, SM Periasamy, confirmed that the ministry issued the letter which stated that the daily's application 'will not be considered'.
The letter did not state any reasons for the rejection.
While Periasamy was quoted as saying he will appeal tomorrow.
Makkal Osai, whose office is located in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, has some 100 staff. Their fate remains unknown.
Now, talking about freer press and that the government has learnt their lesson that they lost due to their arrogance and suppression of freedom of information and all those garb. Today they decided to ban Makkal Osai which is supposedly close to Datuk Subramaniam, who has since made his peace with MIC head honcho cum comedian, Samy Vellu.
If they are being penalized for their wide coverage on HINDRAF and the opposition in the last election, this would prove once and for all that the current BN government has not learnt their lesson!
My thoughts goes out to the 100 employees who would suddenly find their rice bowl smashed into a million smithereens....
Come to think of it... who will be next eh?
Ladang Batu Tumbuk
Gosh... I didnt know there were such huge number of existing pig farms there!
Malaysiakini reported:
There has been an urgent need to re-organise and modernise the industry in line after the Nipah viral encephalitis epidemic in 1998-1999, especially since it affects the needs of some 48 percent of the population.The epidemic caused the loss of some RM450 million in foreign revenue and output of RM600 million worth of pigs annually. About 950 farms were forced to close, more than 60 percent of the pigs were culled, and infrastructure was destroyed. Some 100 people died from the virus, comprising farm workers, farmers, butchers and workers, while about 5,000 workers lost their jobs from the closure of the farms.
On that score alone, I think the value of having such a farming zone is worth it. Funny the article talks about lack of will during BN days in carrying out such a decision as some quarters view it as a taboo and disdain. Kudos then to the Selangor State Govt for acting decisively on the matter.
Now my hope is that they carry out the project transparently and above the board!
other articles:
Lagi Kisah Babi (Closure?)
Samy the Joker - Blame Edition
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Land Scam - Penang (D DAY!)
I wrote earlier a bit on the land scam in Penang. Obviously trawling MSM I found some news today. Former Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Abdul Rashid Abdullah has challenged Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to expose the alleged land discrepancy cases! This was highlighted in the star today.
“Lim should be specific about the alleged cases, such as the lot numbers, the location and details of the land owners. “He must back up his allegations with facts and figures,” he said in an interview last night.
But of course Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is not taking this lying down as he promised to disclose the details of land improprieties. This can be found here.
The dare:
“Initially I had not planned to expose the details yet, nor have I made any accusations because I wanted to give Abdul Rashid a chance to explain why premium discounts were given to certain quarters and why state land was alienated to some big companies.
“We are not out to get anyone but since he has challenged me to reveal the details, I will do so,” he said, adding that he definitely wanted to meet with the latter.
“If he (Abdul Rashid) claims not to know of any land improprieties, I will tell him and let him explain. Come and see me. Do not give the reason that I did not issue an official invitation.
“Today I am making an official invitation in the media for him to come. I hope he will cooperate,” he said, adding that it was very odd that Abdul Rashid had expected him to send an official invitation to clarify the matter.
Its funny taht Datuk Abdul Rashid said that he did not receive an invitation to discuss the matter and Guan Eng did the best thing... invitation via The Star. Now can he say he knows nothing about the invite? Furthermore, who is Abdul Rashid today? He should be happy he did not kena any supoena... summore say Guan Eng need to "invite" him for a discussion. In fact Average Joe says, he should initiate a meeting with the Chief Minister to clear the air.. and not the other way round!
Well done Guan Eng! I hope to hear more coming from you.
Abdul Rashid, go and clarify the matter. I am sure Penangnites and the entire Penang diaspora (me included) would like to know if you are as clean as you say you are or you are in fact otherwise.
Update 6.25pm
source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/
Skandal tanah dibongkar esok
Apr 15, 08 5:36pm
Butiran penyelewengan tanah yang menyebabkan Pulau Pinang kerugian berjuta-juta ringgit akan didedahkan esok, kata ketua menteri Lim Guan Eng hari ini.
Menjawab cabaran bekas timbalan ketua menteri Datuk Abdul Rashid Abdullah, Lim berkata ahli exco kerajaan negeri akan bermesyuarat esok sebelum memutuskan untuk membuat pendedahan itu. Abdul Rashid - yang juga mantan pengerusi Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Agama, Tanah dan Pembangunan Keusahawanan dan Koperasi - mencabar Lim agar membuktikan tuduhannya berhubung penyelewengan tanah bawah pentadbiran kerajaan BN.Abdul Rashid hari ini berkata Lim tidak wajar menuduh tanpa bukti kukuh.
"Pada mulanya saya tidak berniat mendedahkan butiran terperinci sekarang, saya tidak juga menuduh sesiapa kerana saya mahu memberi peluang kepada Abdul Rashid menjelaskan kenapa potongan (harga) premium diberikan kepada pihak-pihak tertentu dan kenapa tanah-tanah kerajaan negeri diperuntukkan kepada syarikat-syarikat besar," kata Lim di pejabatnya selepas menerima kunjungan Majlis Suku Cina Pulau Pinang. "Kami tidak bercadangkan mengenakan sesiapa tetapi kerana beliau mencabar saya untuk memberikan butiran terperinci, saya akan dedahkan."
Gonna be an explosive day tomorrow! Err... saya pantang dicabar? Bravo! At least he pantang dicabar with facts not just tok...