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MCA leaders as great a focus as Najib in the 2010 Budget presentation in Parliament

MCA leaders were as great a focus as the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in yesterday’s 2010 Budget presentation in Parliament – the visibly uncomfortable MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and the forlorn MCA Deputy President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

This was a departure from the Budget Day in Parliament in previous years when the budget for the new year had no competitors for attention and would be the cynosure of all eyes and ears.

This distraction is highly pertinent to the relevance of theme of Najib’s first Budget, viz: “2010 Budget – 1Malaysia, Together We Prosper”.

The question that immediately comes to mind is how there can be a 1Malaysia Budget when it is founded on such shaky foundations like “1MCA”, with all top MCA leaders totally discredited after treating the MCA Central Committee members, over 2,300 MCA delegates, the Chinese community and the Malaysian people as “suckers”.
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Three MCA factions of Ong, Liow and Chua re-assembled as “1MCA” under Najib’s “1Malaysia” dictate with RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal as the greatest casualty as it has disappeared from the radar of the MCA leaders

The three MCA factions of Ong Tee Keat, Liow Tiong Lai and Chua Soi Lek have re-assembled as “1MCA” under the dictate of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s “1Malaysia” but the “mother of all scandals”, the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal is the greatest casualty as it has disappeared from the radar of the MCA leaders.

When the Ong faction split asunder at the MCA central committee meeting of Oct. 14 following Ong’s refusal to resign as MCA President despite the passing of a motion of no confidence in his leadership at the Oct. 10 MCA extraordinary general meeting (EGM), Ong wrote in his blog to justify his decision:

“I still have a long list of unfinished business involving Party and public interests, like the direct election of the MCA presidency and the Port Klang Free Zone issue. It is my wish to see such issues be addressed without any abrupt disruption.”
Continue reading “Three MCA factions of Ong, Liow and Chua re-assembled as “1MCA” under Najib’s “1Malaysia” dictate with RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal as the greatest casualty as it has disappeared from the radar of the MCA leaders”

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THE CIVIL SERVICE – a Malaysian perspective.

By Hussein Hamid

The Civil Service assist the business of Government with the ruling party of the day. The Civil Service has in the past recruited its employees based on the principle of selection on merit and on the basis of fair and open competition. With the British the key element of the Civil Service is its political impartiality. The Civil Service administrative impartiality in Malaysia has been brought into question by UMNO’s distinctive approach to Public Administration. We need to examine what is the nature and impact of political involvement by the political elites on the Civil Service of our country.

When we first got our independence the Politician makes the policy and the Civil Servant execute it. There was no corruption and everything was accountable and transparent. To buy a small item one must have a quotation. The more expensive item has to be tendered out and the development project was carried out by the JKR.

But things slowly began to change, as UMNO wanted politically a committed Civil Service because they perceived that Party allegiance is important to those who were going to implement their policies. UMNO embarked on a strategy to enhance their control over the Civil Servants to ensure bureaucratic compliance with their way of doing things e.g. the award of tenders to preferred contractors and cronies, divide and rule of the people based on race, selective prosecution of the opposition, a Police Force that will do their biddings etc etc.
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Parliament should repay Karpal and Fong Po Kuan for illegally withholding their parliamentary remuneration when they were previously suspended from Parliament respectively in 2004 and 2001

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge, Justice Mohd Ariff Mohd Yusoff today ruled that it has no jurisdiction to challenge the 12-month suspension of DAP MP for Puchong, Gobind Singh Deo from Parliament, but ordered Parliament to pay Gobind his parliamentary remuneration as it does not have powers to withhold it.

Gobind was suspended for 12 months from Parliament without remuneration in March this year when he linked the then Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak with the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Parliament should repay DAP MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh and DAP MP for Batu Gajah Fong Po Kuan for illegally withholding their parliamentary remuneration when they were previously suspended from Parliament respectively in 2004 and 2001.

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First week of budget meeting of Parliament does not show that Najib has the political will to effect the far-reaching changes he promised in his “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan

Apart from the announcement that Sept. 16 will be a public holiday from next year, the first week of the budget meeting of Parliament does not show that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has the political will to effect the far-reaching changes he promised in his “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan.

This week has turned into a week of horrors, not least, the annual horror tales of the bottomless pit of government extravagance, waste, abuse of power and corruption in the 2008 Auditor-General’s Reports, which caused nation-wide shock and outrage for a few days, which will then be forgotten until a year later when another new round of revelations of government financial excesses and abuses are exposed.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has come out with a very guarded response stating that it is studying the Auditor-General’s Report 2008 to see if there are elements of corruption, misconduct and abuse of power in the management of public funds.
Continue reading “First week of budget meeting of Parliament does not show that Najib has the political will to effect the far-reaching changes he promised in his “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan”

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Porntip expert testimony at TBH Inquest

Twitter

10/21/2009 11:57 AM
inquest adjourned till 2pm

10/21/2009 11:37 AM
Coroner taking over questioning of Porntip after Selangor govt counsel Malik Imtiaz

10/21/2009 11:26 AM
In Porntip’s opinion cause of TBH death is 20 percent suicide 80 percent homicide

10/21/2009 11:22 AM
TeohBengHock inquest Thai Porntip expert testimony TBH injury compatible with manual strangulation TBH landed on his feet while unconscious

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Planned International Internet Bandwidth for HSBB

Lim Kit Siang [Ipoh Timur] minta Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan menyatakan beberapakah jalur lebar Internet antarabangsa yang akan ditambah mengikut perancangan oleh TM untuk menampung HSBB dan penggunaan Internet Streamyx bagi setiap suku tahun (quarterly) mulai 2009 sehingga 2014.

Jawapan:

Untuk makluman, perancangan penambahan kapasiti jalur lebar pihak TM dibuat secara tahunan dan bukan mengikut suku tahun. Sehingga 2 Jun 2009, jumlah kapasiti jalur lebar Internet antarabangsa adalah sebanyak 112.0Gbps. Bagi tahun 2009, kapasiti jalur lebar Internet antarabangsa yang dirancang adalah sebanyak 149.4 Gbps dan dijangka meningkat kepada 715.0 Gbps pada tahun 2013.

Jumlah anggaran perancangan kapasiti jalur lebar Internet yang akan ditambah untuk menampung keperluan perkhidmatan TM mengikut tahun adalah seperti berikut : Continue reading “Planned International Internet Bandwidth for HSBB”

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International Internet Bandwidth

Updated with data from 1992-2004 (from independent source)

Parliament Q & A:

Lim Kit Siang [Ipoh Timur] minta Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi, dan Kebudayaan menyatakan dalam jadual dari tahun 1994 sehingga 2009, berapakah kapasiti jalur lebar Internet Antarabangsa (International Internet Bandwidth) yang dipunyai oleh Malaysia mengikut syarikat yang
memilikinya.

Jawapan :

Kapasiti jalur lebar Internet antarabangsa secara umumnya dimiliki oleh konsortium-konsortium anatarabangsa. Kapasiti antarabangsa ini disampaikan melalui 12 kabel dasar laut yang disambungkan melalui stesen-stesen pendaratan kabel di Malaysia. Telekom Malaysia (TM) selaku penyedia perkhidmatan Internet terbesar di Malaysia merupakan pengguna dan antara pemegang ekuiti utama di dalam konsortium terbabit.

Syarikat-syarikat lain sama ada tidak mempunyai sebarang pegangan, atau menpunyai pegangan yang amat kecil di dalam konsortium yang membekalkan kapasiti jalur lebar Internet antarabangsa.
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The New God of UMNO

By M. Bakri Musa

In his celebrated novel Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan (RSJ – Spikes Throughout the Pathway), Shahnon Ahmad chronicles the seemingly endless traps of poverty endured by a kampong family. Or in his elegant words, “bencana-bencana yang tidak bisa langsai selagi jantung berdegup [dan] nadi berdenyut … ” (never ending cycle of calamities endured as long as your heart beats and pulse throbs). Shahnon asserts that the pain could only be felt by those willing to reflect on and empathize with the struggles of our pap-pak tani (peasant farmers).

This thought haunts me as I reflect on the hoopla surrounding the recent UMNO General Assembly. The soaring rhetoric of “1-Malaysia” and of reform is a universe away from the world inhabited by RSJ’s main character, Lahuma. The irony strikes hard as the Lahumas are the very people UMNO professes to champion.

The biting irony does not end there. Many of the Assembly participants, including the high-flying ones, are only a generation or two away from the deprivations so painfully detailed in RSJ. Those agonizing memories must have been seared into them by their parents and grandparents. That should motivate anyone to do something to alleviate the debilitating poverty still experienced by so many today.
Continue reading “The New God of UMNO”

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Beng Hock’s bank account: It’s you, MACC, that’s broke

By Helen Ang | Oct 16, 09 5:21pm | Malaysiakini

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Ean Yong furious Teoh’s bank account revealed.

I’ve always wondered who it is that frequent five-star shopping malls like the Pavilion or browse in those posh bungalow boutiques. Now I know it’s not Teoh Beng Hock. He was a lot like me, an ordinary wage earner.

We learn from the MACC that Beng Hock had slim savings amounting to RM3,611.36. Counsel for MACC at the inquest, Abdul Razak Musa inferred this to support his contention that Beng Hock was in dire need of money to get married at short notice…to what purpose this insinuation by the authorities, I do not know.

But here is a case of Razak being unfamiliar with Chinese urban lifestyle. Of all the Chinese weddings I know of, every single one has made a profit from the reception dinner. The ‘ang pow’ collection, more often than not, generously exceeds the cost of the banquet. After paying the restaurant bill, the bride and groom hosts usually have change left over.
Continue reading “Beng Hock’s bank account: It’s you, MACC, that’s broke”

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Najib speaks with forked tongue

By Kee Thuan Chye | Malaysiakini

Najib Razak contradicted himself in his speech last Thursday at the Umno General Assembly. He spoke of the all-embracing 1Malaysia concept on one hand and of the need to retain the New Economic Policy (NEP) on the other. The Native Americans in old cowboy movies might have said that he spoke with a forked tongue.

How can you have the NEP and at the same time say that we are all 1Malaysia? The NEP is exclusive to a particular group of people, and such exclusivity sets them apart. There is no 1Malaysia; there are 2Malaysias.

Does Najib not see that or is his 1Malaysia idea merely PR spin or marketing hype?

This central contradiction is what makes many non-Malays sceptical of what he is touting. The only non-Malays who will buy it are those who are not discerning enough or who are easily bought.
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Malaysia, a land of growth no more

By Panglima Garang | Oct 1, 09 12:20pm | Malaysiakini

When I was at the KLIA airport recently bidding farewell to my family, the lingering thought in my mind was “Am I making a mistake leaving this country?”

The answer was just another question, “What good is there left in this country?”

I am not leaving Malaysia because I found something better. I am a bit tired of the social and economic mismanagement of Malaysia and racially anchored policies. I am already successful in Malaysia by any measure.

At the last count, I was in the top 1percent income bracket. I graduated from USM and joined the civil service just like any other Malaysian Indian did in the 1980s. I studied law at my own expense and time with numerous challenges just like many other Malaysian Indians did.

I awaited the first promotion you can get in civil service i.e. Senior Time scale A12.
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Change that does not short-change the nation

By Augustine Anthony

The Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Menteri Besar(s) are prisoners of our archaic system of governance that will turn even the most honest man into a political beast. How sad, indeed.

The system of governance is akin to a vehicle. If you give Lewis Hamilton a 1965 Morris Minor do not expect him to win the Formula One race against our local hero who sits in the latest McLaren-Mercedes car but I am also mindful of the saying that if you give a trainer a horse he might train it to be a race horse but if he is given a mule, do not expect the coveted Kentucky Derby roses.

The politicians are screaming for change. Echoes of these screams for better race relations, a system free of corruption, a nation nurtured with sound education inculcating a knowledge based society and equal opportunities for all but sensitive enough to the welfare of the poor are some of the tantalizing themes often heard everywhere but a theme devoid of tenacity may never clear the path for a national illumination.
Continue reading “Change that does not short-change the nation”

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Proton should respond to the shocking report from New Zealand where Proton Jumbuck turned in worst crash test ute performance and adjudged not fit for the road

Updated with video

The Proton management should respond to the shocking report from New Zealand where Proton Jumbuck turned in the worst crash test ute performance and adjudged not fit for the road.

The two-door Jumbuck utility vehicle (ute) was given dismal safety ratings by independent crash test organisation Ancap (Australasian New Car Assessment Programme) in New Zealand, awarded the lowest possible one-star rating after its performance in frontal offset and side impact crash tests.

Ancap scores vehicles from zero to five stars, depending on the safety features and protection of the driver and passengers.

The ute’s cabin was severely deformed in the 64km/h offset crash test. It offered poor head protection for the driver and passenger, and poor leg protection for the driver.
Continue reading “Proton should respond to the shocking report from New Zealand where Proton Jumbuck turned in worst crash test ute performance and adjudged not fit for the road”

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Deepavali greetings – triumph of good over evil to ensure unity, equality, justice and harmony among Malaysians regardless of race or religion

Happy Deepavali to Hindu Malaysians and all Malaysians.

Deepavali is celebrated this year in the midst of the great fanfare of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan – which is in fact an admission of the failure of the 52-year nation building policy to create unity, equality, justice and harmony out of the diverse Malaysian citizenry, regardless of race, religion and culture.

This is the time for serious reflection how to go beyond sloganeering to end the disunity, discrimination and marginalization in Malaysia for the past half-century so that every Malaysian, regardless of race, religion or culture can find common pride as citizens of this country.

Makkal Sakti for the triumph of good over evil to ensure unity, equality, justice and harmony among Malaysians regardless of race, religion or culture.

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Tee Keat clings on, Liow is No 2 and MCA heads for implosion

By Lee Wei Lian and Leslie Lau
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai was appointed deputy president of MCA today after a heated central committee meeting that saw him at loggerheads with party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat who says he will now call for another EGM.

Ong also refused to resign as party president today despite losing a confidence vote last week.

The party president will now use his powers to call for another EGM to decide if the party should have fresh elections.
Continue reading “Tee Keat clings on, Liow is No 2 and MCA heads for implosion”

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Are Najib, Muhyiddin and Umno leaders prepared to pledge that they are “Malaysian first, Malay second” in keeping with the 1Malaysia slogan?

The 1Malaysia logo dominated the Umno General Assembly and 1Malaysia is clearly the fad of the day in the speeches of the Umno President, Umno Deputy President and the leaders of Umno Youth, Wanita Umno and Puteri Umno.

But are all the Umno leaders, including the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin really serious and fully committed to the 1Malaysia slogan as the overarching national philosophy in nation-building?

Without having to go into details, the first test of whether Najib, Muhyiddin and the Umno leaders are serious about 1Malaysia policy is whether they are prepared to set the example of being “Malaysian first, Malay second” for everyone to be Malaysian first and Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban second?

Although the proof of the pudding is in the eating, there is no need to get to the eating stage even.
Continue reading “Are Najib, Muhyiddin and Umno leaders prepared to pledge that they are “Malaysian first, Malay second” in keeping with the 1Malaysia slogan?”

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Will History be kind to Najib?

By Hussein Hamid

Thirty years from now when Historians write about the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia – what will they write about The Most Honourable Najib Tun Razak? Will they write of your contributions in making Malaysia a land of equality and opportunity for its entire people or will they write of your part in hastening the demise of UMNO? Will history tell of your time as Prime Minister as being a time of revival and the getting of wisdom for UMNO or will it tell of how UMNO under your watch managed to sink deeper into the abyss of corruption, greed and deception started by Mahathir? What will the historians write?

First they will write of the forced resignation of Abdullah Badawi half way into his second term as Prime Minister. They will comment on the part that Mahathir played in the removal of the very man that he himself appointed as his Deputy earlier. There will be mention of Mahathir’s former two Deputies, Musa and Anwar that was removed by Mahathir and Mahathir’s relentless pursuit of Anwar through a Judiciary that did his biddings. Those who read what is written can make their own judgement of the circumstances that led to these events. Those with hindsight of past events will make their own judgement of Mahathir tenure as Prime Minister. But that is another story to tell.
Continue reading “Will History be kind to Najib?”

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My question on RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal for first day of Parliament on Monday has been kicked off to seven weeks later to Dec 3

My question on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal for the first day of the budget session of Parliament on Monday, 19th October 2009 has been kicked off to seven weeks later to December 3 at the tail-end of the meeting, as if the PKFZ scandal is a trivial and inconsequential matter.

DAP MP for Segambut, Lim Lip Eng, had also submitted a question on the PKFZ scandal for the first day of Parliament on Monday, and his question had also be knocked off to Dec. 1, 2009.

I had slated to ask the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament on Monday “the outcome of 2007 Cabinet decision commissioning the Chief Secretary, Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department to look into various aspects of irregularities in the Port Klang Free Zone scandal, including unlawful issue of four Letters of Support”.

Why is the Prime Minister not ready to answer this question on Monday?
Continue reading “My question on RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal for first day of Parliament on Monday has been kicked off to seven weeks later to Dec 3”