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Did the Cabinet discuss the scandalous million-ringgit fee to Jean Todt as Malaysia’s tourism ambassador or are the Cabinet Ministers deaf to the nation-wide howls of outrage when this news came out

Did the Cabinet which met this morning discuss the scandalous million-ringgit fee to former Ferrari Formula One owner Jean Todt as Malaysia’s tourism ambassador or are the Cabinet Ministers totally cut off from the ground and deaf to the nation-wide howls of outrage when this news came out?

Did the Cabinet review the need and efficacy of the million-ringgit payment to Todt and whole concept of appointing million-ringgit tourism ambassadors?

Parti Keadilan Rakyat MP for Gombak, Azmin Ali has said that the RM1 million fee to Todt, which has been confirmed by the Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen, included an annual fee of RM593,000 and another RM388,000 to pay for Todt’s holidays in Malaysia.

How many tourist ambassadors ala-Todt have been appointed by the Tourism Ministry to date, and have they all been given million-ringgit fees? Who is actually the first tourism ambassador appointed by the Tourism Ministry?
Continue reading “Did the Cabinet discuss the scandalous million-ringgit fee to Jean Todt as Malaysia’s tourism ambassador or are the Cabinet Ministers deaf to the nation-wide howls of outrage when this news came out”

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Najib should present ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on various current Petronas issues

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should present a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on various current Petronas issues – a new CEO, his insistence to appoint defaulter Omar Mustapha as Petronas director, declining Petronas profits and most important of all, a new regime of Petronas accountability to Parliament.

Recently, what is making waves in Petronas and well-informed local circles and reported internationally, though completely swept under the carpet by the local mainstream media, is the repeated attempts by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to force the appointment of his aide, Omar Mustapha as director of Petronas.

The Singapore Straits Times has reported that the Petronas Board of Directors has rebuffed Najib’s attempt to foist the appointment of Omar for the second time this Wednesday, as the Board was directed by Najib to reconsider its decision last month rejecting Omar’s appointment.

The reason for the Petronas Board’s rejection of Omar as director is that Omar had defaulted on his scholarship loan agreement with Petronas two decades earlier. Omar did not complete the required number of years of service with the national oil corporation or a related government agency as stipulated in his scholarship agreement. Petronas also initiated legal proceedings against Omar in 2001.
Continue reading “Najib should present ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on various current Petronas issues”

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PKFZ scandal: Does Ong Tee Keat agree that the Speaker has put the cart before the horse in claiming that there is no point in tabling PwC report on PKFZ and appendices in Parliament without PAC report?

My three questions (No.82 to No. 84 on the 28th day in the current series) to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal today are:

Question No. 1: The Star today reported the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin as saying that the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report on the PKFZ scandal will only be tabled in Parliament together with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on PKFZ.

Pandikar said that without the PAC report, the PwC report on PKFZ would have no relevance if tabled.

The Speaker is putting the cart before the horse in claiming that there is no point in tabling the Pwc report on PKFZ and appendices in Parliament without the PAC report.

Does Ong agree that without the benefit of the PAC report, there is no point in tabling the PwC report and appendices on the PKFZ scandal in Parliament?
Continue reading “PKFZ scandal: Does Ong Tee Keat agree that the Speaker has put the cart before the horse in claiming that there is no point in tabling PwC report on PKFZ and appendices in Parliament without PAC report?”

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“You Are Not Qualified To Interpret my Religious Text”: How to Respond to Attempts to Close the Public Domain- Part 3

By Farish A. Noor

These days we often hear the accusation that someone or another is doing something nasty by interpreting a book or text out of context. The common refrain that follows goes something like this: “Who are you to interpret our holy book on your own without the guidance of our supreme religious elders who are so knowledgeable in scriptural knowledge that your own petty knowledge is like that of a gnat’s in comparison?” From this bombastic salvo there usually follows the same train of accusations and slander, which include the following: Muslim/Christian/Buddhist/Hindu feminists are simply reading and re-reading the holy scriptures with their own agendas in mind; that they are engaged in wilful and unregulated interpretation that goes against orthodoxy, etc.

Before we deal with the political nature and consequences of such accusations, let us return to the original premise and deconstruct it a bit. Continue reading ““You Are Not Qualified To Interpret my Religious Text”: How to Respond to Attempts to Close the Public Domain- Part 3”