Month: June 2009

At the meeting of DAP MPs in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, I said that Malaysian politics is in the throes of great flux and even lightning change.

This has been borne out by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin pushing for Umno-Pas “unity government” talks, trying to expedite an Umno-Pas meeting “in the next few days, anytime, no problem”, even sugarcoating it by declaring that Umno “will not impose any conditions and we accept whatever terms set by PAS”.

If any political leader or observer had been asked before Muhyiddin’s overture in Kuala Krai yesterday whether the No. 1 or No. 2 Umno leader could have made such a public proposition to PAS, nobody would have answered in the positive.

So what game is Muhyiddin up to?

Muhyiddin’s political gambit is all the more intriguing as his latest mentor, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had on the same day expressed his disapproval of the proposed unity talks between Umno and PAS, saying he did not think that the country wants a government which is 100 per cent Malay.
Continue reading “Muhyiddin pushing for Umno-Pas unity government makes a total mockery of Najib’s 1Malaysia concept, undoing 52 years of Malaysian nation-building by five previous Prime Ministers”

My three questions (No.64 to No. 67 on the 22nd 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:

No. 1: In his blog from Paris, Transport Minister and MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has threatened to sue me for standing up for the public interest to get to the bottom of the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal. He is trying to put words into my mouth, claiming that he had been defamed. That is his business. He can do what he like, whether he wants to sue me or not.

The turnkey developer of PKFZ has also announced its intention to initiate a series of legal proceedings against Ong, the Port Klang Authority (PKA) Chairman, Datuk Lee Hwa Beng, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), newspapers and others over the PKFZ scandal.

The public interest to get into the bottom of the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal to find out how a RM1.1 billion scandal under Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr. Ling Liong Sik in 2002 could quadruple to RM4.6 billion under his successor, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy in 2007, again double to RM7.453 billion and heading towards the astronomical cost of RM12.453 billion under the watch of Ong as Transport Minister should not be blocked or buried by a pile of litigation suits.
Continue reading “Is Ong Tee Keat going to say in his Ministerial statement on Monday that he is taking legal action against me and therefore there is no need for him to give any accountability for the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?”

Letters

(This email is reproduced completely unedited, in its pristine atrocious English for two reasons: firstly, it seems to have become the standard Malaysian English; secondly, the subject of the spectre of endemic crime which haunts the daily lives of Malaysians refuses to be buried by the distraction of the atrocious English used, for the writer is able to communicate his genuine cry from his heart and to strike resonance among the Malaysian public.

(Both issues must be addressed: how to improve the command of English language among Malaysians, but even more important, how to start reducing crime to make Malaysia safe again for its citizens, tourists and investors. – Kit)

Greetings to all Member of Parliament,

I write this mail to you all for a reason of snatch thieves in KL has been rising more and more in front of my eyes. Here’s a few incident:

1. I was having my lunch at KL near Tune Hotel. After having my lunch, I was carrying my notebook on my hand and a motorcycle pass through me coming from behind attempt to steal my notebook, but they failed. Then they run away with their motorcycle as fast as they can to another road.

2. I was working on a roadshow at Taman Melawati around CIMB Bank area. My colleagues was walking around promoting something, and heard a voice of shout from a Malay lady and when my colleague saw her, her bag was already with the thief.

3. The incidents where pregnant lady was snatch and she lost her life. Continue reading “The spectre of crime in the daily lives of Malaysians”

Deputy Prime Minister and Umno Deputy President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is the latest political leader to perform the somersault – taking a diametrically opposite position from the one he had postured only a few days or even a few hours ago!

Speaking in Kuala Krai this morning, Muhyiddin said Umno wants talks on a unity government to be sped up and asks PAS leaders to forget past conflicts in the interest of the unity of Muslims in the country.

He said he wanted the talks to materialise because he feared that if the matter was allowed to drag on, it would create disunity among the Muslims.

He declared: “We will not impose any conditions and we accept whatever terms set by PAS. As far as I’m concerned, we have to be open.”

The Umno deputy president urged PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat to forget about the conflicts between PAS and Umno in the ‘70s, when both parties cooperated to form the Kelantan state government and the national government.
Continue reading “Muhyiddin the latest political leader to do the somersault to become the champion of “Umno-Pas unity government talks” and repudiate Najib’s 1Malaysia concept”

My three questions (No.61 to No. 63 on the 21st 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:

No. 1: Yesterday I had asked Ong to confirm authenticity of the exchange of letters which appeared on the website, http://pkfz.blogspot.com/, showing that on 10th May 2008, he had written to the Prime Minister seeking approval for RM1.2 billion payment as variation order for the PKFZ project to its turnkey developer, Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd (KDSN).

In his response from Paris in his blog, confirming the authenticity of the exchange of letters, Ong said that he was merely relaying the Port Klang Authority (PKA) board’s decision to the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri (now Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Ong said: “I was then into my ministerial job for less than two months and the PKA board’s decision was made even before my time. Besides, the PricewaterhouseCoopers had not even started their position review work.”
Continue reading “Did OTK regard the post of Transport Minister as just a postman or delivery boy for PKA without any ministerial responsibility to ensure that the RM1.2 billion variation order demanded by Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd for PKFZ was proper and legitimate?”

We have just ended the first week of Parliament and we see the Barisan Nasional in total defensive, unable to give a proper and satisfactory accounting of the many burning issues in the country resulting in the continuous erosion of public confidence in the credibility, integrity and legitimacy of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The 25-minute ruckus at the start of the first day in Parliament on 15th June following the swearing-in of the PAS MP for Bukit Gantang, Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin, when he shocked everyone with loud and righteous cries of “Hidup Rakyat. Bubar DUN” served one important purpose – to focus national attention on the most shameful episode in the 52-year history of Malaysian parliamentary history, the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak based on three “political frogs” who had to hide from the public for fear of popular condemnation for more than four-hand-a-half months!

I confess I was shocked when Nizar, in the podium of the House, shouted “Hidup Rakyat. Bubar DUN” with his raised fist, as I had not expected him to do that, but I was pleasantly shocked, as he had highlighted the deep-seated feelings of all Malaysians concerned about justice and democracy.
Continue reading “BN on the defensive in first week of Parliament”

By Tunku Abdul Aziz

It must have to do with the unusually hot weather we are experiencing that has brought about a touch of mid-summer madness among one or two senior members of PAS who have decided against their better judgment to break ranks to engage Umno in talks about the prospects of forming a national unity government. Otherwise why would reasonably sane people want to risk peer condemnation and denunciation by doing the unthinkable? This is the most charitable explanation I can offer.

We need a national unity government like we need a hole in the head. The thought of sleeping with the ethically debased and morally detestable Barisan Nasional government is simply too abhorrent to contemplate. Are we such reckless and irresponsible gluttons for punishment that in spite of having endured the Umno excesses in social, economic and political terms these last three decades, we are now asking for more of the same? That, believe it or not, is what we will get for our trouble. Umno will be more than happy to oblige.

They have nothing to lose and everything to benefit from our mindless gamble with our future. Why are some of us so eager to go to bed with a political party that has not one redeeming feature left to justify our risking our hard-earned reputation? Where are our much trumpeted principles of honesty and integrity? Are we no different, after all, from the Umno that we Continue reading “Unity government: A case of mid-summer madness”

Rais: No plan to register bloggers
By Husna Yusop and Giam Say Khoon | The Sun

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18, 2009) : The government has no plans to list or register bloggers and they are still free to post information on the internet, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said today.

“There are various processes of disseminating information these days. Whatever the authorities do, the websites are still free to post any information on the Internet.

“At the moment, we do not list or register bloggers operating on the Net. And, there is no plan to do that. However, to maintain harmony in society, they (bloggers) must follow the laws,” he told Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur).

Lim in his supplementary question said the plan to register bloggers, made by some quarters recently, was a backward move.

Last month, Rais was reported saying the proposal was good but required indepth study.

Lim also complained about the broadband service which he said can also be called “narrowband” or “snailband”.
Continue reading “Broadband is snailband”

Kit Siang’s car tyres punctured outside Parliament (Update)
By LEE YUK PENG | The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: A tyre of the car belonging to veteran Member of Parliament Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) parked at the MPs’ parking lot at Parliament building was delibrately punctured with a needle on Wednesday.

Lim, who raised the matter it at the Dewan Rakyat during the Question Time Thursday asked: “How can this act of sabotage happen at Parliament building?”

He said he planned to drive out for lunch at 1:15pm when he discovered that the rear left tyre had deflated.

An aide said he went to a nearby petrol station to inflate the tyre and returned to Parliament building after lunch.

However, he discovered the same tyre had deflated again at 4pm.
Continue reading “Act of sabotage”

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP Life Advisor

PM Najib wants more development for Johore and Malaysia by improving relationships with Singapore. His proposal to build a third bridge to link South East Johore with Changi of Singapore was meant to bring economic development for South East Johore and Singapore.

Umno insisted that selling land to Singapore was akin to giving up Malaysia’s sovereignty. This is ridiculous.

Umno should be aware that large quantities of sand and quarry stone have been sold to Singapore for many years. Yet we have not lost our sovereignty.

Umno must realise that the rural population of South Johore – in particular both South East and South West Johore are still quite poor Continue reading “Umno must abandon old politics and work together with Singapore to bring about prosperity and progress for Malaysia and Singapore”

By Farish A. Noor

If I were to tell someone that I don’t like Satay, loathe batik shirts and cant stand keroncong music, does it follow from that that I hate Malay culture in toto? Now one would have to be deliberately and consciously paralysingly stupid to believe that, by assuming that the rejection of some aspects of normative culture amounts to a total rejection of an entire culture as well. If that is the case with culture, then why cant we see that the same rule applies to talk of religion as well?

I raise this point because it has become ever so trendy in Malaysia these days to assume that any rejection, critical questioning or even debate over some normative aspects of religious epiphenomena amounts to a total rejection of the religion per se. This arises because of the unscrupulous manner in which some religiously-conservative individuals have erroneously equated the normative aspect of religiosity with the dogmatic aspect of religion in general. The two spheres, however, are distinct and should remain so.

This explains in part why groups such as Malaysia’s Sisters in Islam have been in the limelight for so many years, and why this group of Muslim feminists have been attacked again and again, and accused of being anti-Islamic. The fact however is that Sisters in Islam (SIS) Continue reading ““You Are Not Qualified To Talk My Religion”: How to Respond to Attempts to Close the Public Domain- Part 2”

My three questions (No.58 to No. 60 on the 20th 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:

No. 1. – A website, http://pkfz.blogspot.com/, has appeared which uploaded exchange of letters to show that on 10th May 2009, Ong had on 10th May 2008 as Transport Minister pressured the Prime Minister to approve RM1.2 billion payment as variation of costs for the PKFZ project to its turnkey developer, Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd and asked why this information was omitted in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit report on the PKFZ.

Ong should explain whether it is true that he had on 10th May 2008 as Transport Minister pressured the Prime Minister to approve RM1.2 billion payment as variation of costs for the PKFZ project and confirm the two letters uploaded on this website.
Continue reading “PKFZ scandal – Ong Tee Keat should explain whether it is true that he had on 10th May 2009 as Transport Minister pressured the Prime Minister to approve RM1.2 billion payment as variation of costs for PKFZ”

Today, a website on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, http://pkfz-scandal.org/ is launched as part of the effort to get to the bottom of the “scandal of scandals” in the nation’s history.

I am very disappointed with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) decision that its Chairman, Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid need not disqualify himself and step down from the PAC inquiry into the PKFZ scandal, despite a clear conflict of interest, as he was a Cabinet Minister from 2004 to 2008 when the Cabinet took many critical decisions resulting in the ballooning of the PKFZ scandal from RM1.1 billion in 2002 to RM4.6 billion in 2007 and now RM7.5 billion and heading towards the astronomical cost of RM12.5 billion.

I never suggested that Azmi has any personal interest in any PKFZ transaction but as a Minister involved in the decision-making process resulting in the PKFZ project becoming the “mother of all scandals”, he should be a witness appearing before the PAC to testify why he as a Minister had supported the Cabinet decision in July 2007 to bail out the PKFZ project at the astronomical cost of RM4.6 billion – when the Cabinet should know that it would mushroom further to RM7.5 billion and later RM12.5 billion instead of heading a PAC inquiry into it.
Continue reading “Website launched as part of the effort to get to the bottom of the “scandal of scandals” in the nation’s history”

By N H Chan

Gobbledegook

Most, if not all, laymen will find the written judgment of Augustine Paul FCJ – who eventually put in writing the judgment of the unanimous decision of the infamous five – most perplexing. I am not surprised. I find it unintelligible also – in fact, it is what the word “gobbledegook” means in the English language, “unintelligible language”.

In case you have forgotten

In case you have forgotten, I shall try to jolt your memory. The infamous five were Alauddin bin Dato’ Mohd Sheriff PCA, Arifin Zakaria CJM, Nik Hashim Nik Ab Rahman, Augustine Paul and Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudddin FCJJ. Their story exploded on the front page of the Star newspaper of Friday, 17 April 2009. It carried the startling and outrageous decision of the Federal Court. The headline proclaims, “Court: Siva does not have right to suspend seven”. The report reads:
Continue reading “The gobbledegook of Augustine Paul FCJ in the Federal Court’s decision of Zambry v Sivakumar”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s latest tango in the Umno-Pas “unity government” talks is highly suspect as its real motive is to split PAS and divide Pakatan Rakyat.

Najib said he believed Pas was sincere in wanting to form a unity government with Umno as proposed by its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Umno would not reject any co-operation that could bring benefit to the country.

Why has Najib suddenly warmed up to the idea of Umno-Pas “unity government” when only three days earlier the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Umno President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had poured cold water on it, dismissing the proposal as unlikely to become a reality with differences within Pas itself and the Pakatan Rakyat parties.

Muhyiddin even said that Umno was prepared to “to respond to the proposal if it was mutually beneficial but would not do so now. Until today, there is nothing concrete.” Continue reading “Najib’s latest tango in the UMNO-PAS “unity government” talks highly suspect as its real motive is to split PAS and divide Pakatan Rakyat”

MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat is most irresponsible in absconding overseas to avoid parliamentary accounting on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, which will result in his absence from this week’s Cabinet meeting and inability to ensure that the Cabinet rectify the continuing injustice of SPM top scorers denied Public Service Department (PSD) overseas scholarships.

During question time in Parliament yesterday, I had read out an email complaint from a 2008 SPM top-scorer who is ranked No. 7 in a premier school in Johore Bahru, Tan Hao Chong, who scored 11A1 and 1A21 in Chinese, who was not even offered a PSD scholarship in local public universities.

I read out his email in Parliament, viz:

“Immediately after SPM, I attended a seminar organized by MCA Youth in Johor Bahru and was excited to hear the announcement by Dato’ Wee that 20% ie 400 out of 2000 scholarship will be awarded to students with good results regardless of race, economic background, CCA and interviews. Obviously , this was not done. We are disappointed with MCA for failing to give us justice.

“The head of JPA promised to publish the results of successful applicants and until now nothing was announced.”

Continue reading “Ong Tee Keat in absconding overseas to avoid parliamentary accounting, which will result in absence from Cabinet meeting and inability to ensure that the Cabinet rectify the continuing injustice of SPM top scorers denied PSD overseas scholarships”

By Farish A. Noor

“You are not qualified to talk about Islam”. How many times have I heard and read that same line, again and again? And more often than not, the same sentence is uttered or written by precisely the sort of self-trained autodidact whose own knowledge of Islam came from whatever he or she read on the internet or some cassette he bought at the local market.

It has become rather commonplace for conservative Muslims – as well as conservative Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews – to claim monopoly over the discourse of Islam and to try their best to close off the space of public discourse on all matters religious for the sake of protecting the integrity and sanctity of that discourse. Or so we are told. But one can also argue that such attempts at restricting the participation and contribution of others in a discursive arena that is hotly contested is little more than a conventional and predictable attempt at censorship and the narrowing of the Muslim mind.

A recent case in point is the attempt to once again label the Muslim feminist movement Sisters in Islam of Malaysia as a group of ‘western-educated’ ‘liberal’ feminists who have no right to speak on matters Islamic. And once again we are in a paroxysm of anxiety as to how to deal with such accusations. Continue reading ““You Are Not Qualified To Talk About Islam”: How to Respond to Attempts to Close the Public Domain”

My three questions (No.52 to No. 54 on the 18th 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:

No. 1. – Where in France have you gone to, Tee Keat, that you dare not reveal to Parliament and the Malaysian public your actual programme of activities in Paris and your travel plans?

Is it because you know that if your overseas programme is made public, you will be nailed as an utterly irresponsible Minister who could run away from his first duty to account to Parliament on the “scandal of scandals”, the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal on the most ridiculous pretext of an overseas trip.

When was your Paris programme finalized. Didn’t you know in advance that the June meeting of Parliament would start yesterday and that the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal will be high on the parliamentary issues of priority?
Continue reading “Where in France have you gone to, Tee Keat, that you dare not announce your overseas programme and travel plans?”

@limkitsiang

06/16/2009 11:09 AM
From Nazri, 2,000 PSD foreign s’ships for 2008 SPM students – 1,100 bumiputeras and 900 non-bumiputeras. Cost RM659 million.

06/16/2009 10:44 AM
On why govt not spending more 4PSD s’ships 4topscorers when RM12.5 billion in PKFZ scandal can give places for >1,000 students,no answer.

06/16/2009 10:36 AM
Nazri trotted out standard govt line on this issue n refused 2respond when asked why list of 400 s’ships awarded on merit not made public.

06/16/2009 10:34 AM
I asked why there is still “annual begging season” 4top scholars 4PSD s’ships after 1Malaysia anncd by Najib, which must mean colour-blind?
Continue reading “Parliament twitter on the “annual begging season” for PSD s’ships by top-scorers”

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP Life Advisor

PM NAJIB MUST GIVE UP PLAYING OLD POLITICS OR HIS 1 MALAYSIA VISION WILL VANISH

One must admit that PM Najib has been trying very hard to push his vision of 1 Malaysia to gain the support of the people, but the people are not seen to resonate to his call. These are the reasons.

HE LACKS SINCERITY. He claims that he wants unity so that we are one people. The next moment he proceeded to Perak and engineered a coup de’tat to take over the PR state government. He has achieved it with the support and co-operation from royalty, the judiciary, the attorney chambers, the police, the election commission and the bureaucracy. Instead of unity, he has created disunity among the people.

HIS 1 MALAYSIA WAS INTENDED TO UNITE THE WHOLE NATION TO CONSIST OF ONE PEOLE, ONE NATION. However at the same time, he continues to support Umno’s policy of ketuanan Melayu. How is it possible for the people to be one people, when at the same time he allows a political party of which he is president to struggle for a divisive ketuanan Melayu policy?
Continue reading “Advice to PM Najib to adopt new politics”