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PM Najib using peashooter measures which are not sufficient to boost Malaysian economy

by Dr Chen Man Hin

The chief reason why PM Najib reform proposals are weak and timid is because he is unsure of getting full support from Umno. This was admitted as much when the PM speaking to Umno leaders recently called on them to change and accept liberalisation and reforms to win the support of the people.

The bulk of Umno is resistant to reforms and this was quite evident at the Umno general assembly last month, when the assemby ignored appeals to change and reform by PM Najib and ex PM Abdullah. The assembly was more interested in the debate on money politics. To have reforms meant they would have to give up cronyism and the wealth from government contracts.

Tunku Aziz, former world Transparency International leader said as much when he observed that Umno was still mired in corruption and cronyism and without their support, the vision of PM Najib’s 1Malaysia was ‘a cruel joke’ – a pipe dream of the Prime Minister, and not shared by Umno.

CAPITAL FINANCE LIBERALISATION MUST BE MEANINGFUL. Continue reading “PM Najib using peashooter measures which are not sufficient to boost Malaysian economy”

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Cabinet must send out clear signal tomorrow that it stands by its “common religion” decision on baby Prasana Diksa case – not to be defied with impunity

At its first meeting last Wednesday, the Najib Cabinet commendably took a policy decision as a result of the Indira Ghandi case, where her three children Tevi Darsiny 12, Karan Dinish 11 and year-old Prasana Diksa were converted by her husband K. Pathmanathan, now known as Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah without her consent.

The Cabinet decided that the civil marriage has to be settled by the civil court and the religion of their children be the common religion at the time their parents were married at civil law.

The Cabinet also decided that the year-old baby daughter, Prasana Diksa, forcibly taken away by the father for more than a month although she was still being breastfed by Indira, should be returned to the mother.

Nazri said that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic Affairs, Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom, had been tasked to resolve the Indira Ghandi case amicably and to return Prasana Diksa to the mother.

Last Friday, the Ipoh High Court also granted to Indira Ghandi an interim custody order for her three children, ordering Pathmanathan/Ridzuan to return Prasana to his wife and the police to provide assistance to Indira with regards to this.

However, a week after the Cabinet decision and 96 hours after the Ipoh High Court orders, Indira Ghandi, who had caused the Cabinet to come out with a policy decision to end controversial conversion cases which create not only gross injustices in trampling on parental rights and destroying family integrity but also cause deep divisions in our multi-racial and multi-religious nation, is still pining for her year-old baby girl as Pathmanathan/Ridzuan and Prasana seem to have disappeared altogether. Continue reading “Cabinet must send out clear signal tomorrow that it stands by its “common religion” decision on baby Prasana Diksa case – not to be defied with impunity”

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RM8 bil PKFZ scandal? – Cabinet tomorrow should overrule OTK’s “passing-the-buck” game and direct immediate release of PwC Report

The Cabinet tomorrow should overrule Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat’s “passing-the-buck” game and direct the immediate and full publication of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Report on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and to respond to the Edge cover report that the cost of PKFZ had escalated fourfold from the original RM1.8 billion to RM8 billion.

Ong should not try to distract public attention from the real issues about the PKFZ scandal by threatening that he would be “checking with his legal adviser and see if the article carried in the weekly was libellous”. (Star April 27, 2009)

Let him respond fully, frankly and forthrightly to two issues:

Firstly, why as the Transport Minister he had reneged on his promise made in April last year, as reported by Star (April 8, 2008) headlined: ”Ong to tell all on Port Klang Free Zone” quoting him:

“I wish to inform the rakyat about the true situation – whether it was actually squandered, not squandered, and whether it has gone to, as well as the breakdown of the budget.”
Continue reading “RM8 bil PKFZ scandal? – Cabinet tomorrow should overrule OTK’s “passing-the-buck” game and direct immediate release of PwC Report”