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Call for convening of all-party conference to condemn the Israeli attack on Freedom Flotilla, killing at least 15, on a humanitarian aid-and-medicine mission to Gaza

(Media Statement in Kota Kinabalu on Monday, 31st May 2010)

DAP calls for the convening of an all-party conference to condemn the Israeli attacks on Freedom Flotilla, killing at least 15, on a humanitarian aid-and-medicine mission to Gaza.

There can be no conceivable excuse for the use of lethal force by the Israelis against against the mercy mission to Gaza, which is a clear breach of international law on international waters.

It is most horrifying that Malaysian lives could be lost.

The all-party conference, which should be convened within 24 hours, should express the anger and outrage of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation at the atrocity committed by the Israeli forces against the unarmed Flotilla and civilians and demand an international tribunal for such crimes against humanity.

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Re: Idris Jala: M’sia must cut subsidies, debt by 2019 or risk bankruptcy

Letters
by Sara Wak

Dear YB Idris Jala and Koh Tsu Koon,

For the last many years, the BN Govt has been handing big ang pows to the rich Malays who are given APs, and it has been said by the BN Govt that this practice will go on until 2013 0r even 2014!

Why can’t the Govt control the issue of APs to people who want to import cars? The govt can collect RM30,000 to RM40,000 on each important cars. Why must the BN Govt decides to pass the right to collect these payments to only a handful of rich Malays?

How many APs are issued to these rich Malays a year ? Like what Rafidah did when she was minister , in giving APs and shares to her relatives?

The Malaysian Economy has deteriorated so much for the last decade because of all these handouts to the UMNO cronies. Malaysia was ahead of Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, and look at it now, it is even behind countries like Thailand, Vietnam and others in Asia !
Continue reading “Re: Idris Jala: M’sia must cut subsidies, debt by 2019 or risk bankruptcy”

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Is Najib backing off from support for NEM to become an even bigger Flip-Flop PM than Abdullah?

The meek and timid response of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the ferocious and incendiary rejection of the New Economic Model by the Perkasa-led Malay Consultative Council raises the question whether Najib is backing off from the NEM to become an even bigger Flip-Flop PM than his predecessor Tun Abdullah.

Najib’s statement that the NEM is not the Government’s “final stand” but merely the “trial balloons” of a group of experts making suggestions from the global market’s perspective is a greater commentary on Najib’s leadership qualities than on the NEM proposals.

The NEM was launched by Najib two months ago with great fanfare as a defining moment in the nation’s development path, to take the quantum leap from the nation’s decade-long economic stagnation and escape from the two-decade middle-income trap to become a developed high-income country – but it appears that it may end up more as a defining moment in the grave failings of the year-old Najib premiership.

Right from the very beginning, the NEM courageouslty admitted that Vision 2020 is not possible without economic, social and government transformation – and the NEM was presented as one of the four key pillars to unleash Malaysia’s growth potential, drive change, propel Malaysia to become a high income advanced nation with inclusiveness and sustainability and achieve Vision 2020.
Continue reading “Is Najib backing off from support for NEM to become an even bigger Flip-Flop PM than Abdullah?”

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Sibu by-election – the “Incredible Hulk” warning after the “Barbarians at the gate” speech

Malaysiakini commentator Terence Netto hit the nail on the head when he wrote a commentary entitled “S’wak BN shell-shocked by Sibu defeat“.

This explained the “Barbarians at the Gate” speech of SUPP Chairman, Datuk Dr. George Tan and the ensuring “Incredible Hulk” statement by Parti Rakyat Sarawak President Dato Sri Dr. James Masing, which is reproduced below.

When will the Barisan Nasional leaders particularly those from Sarawak come out of their denial syndrome and wake up to the true meaning and implications of the historic 516 verdict of the voters of Sibu in the Sibu by-election?

Don’t make Incredible Hulk angry, opposition told | The Borneo Post
May 26, 2010, Wednesday
Continue reading “Sibu by-election – the “Incredible Hulk” warning after the “Barbarians at the gate” speech”

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DAP: Pakatan perlu adakan kajian prestasi separuh penggal

Oleh G. Manimaran | The Malaysian Insider

KOTA BARU, 29 Mei — Pakatan Rakyat (PR), yang mencipta sejarah dengan menguasai lima kerajaan negeri dan menafikan Barisan Nasional (BN) majoriti dua pertiga di Parlimen dua tahun lalu, perlu mengadakan kajian separuh penggal prestasi mereka.

Justeru, idea agar diadakan kajian separuh penggal itu membabitkan prestasinya sejak Mac 2008 akan diutarakan pada mesyuarat kepimpinan PR
Selasa depan, kata Penasihat DAP Lim Kit Siang.

“Kami akan membincangkan idea agar diadakan kajian separuh penggal kerajaan negeri Pakatan Rakyat selepas dua tahun memerintah,” kata Lim pada sidang media bersama pemimpin-pemimpin PR di sini hari ini.

“Kita sudah memerintah selama dua tahun dan ada baiknya kita melakukan kajian separuh penggal ini… masa yang sesuai untuk menilai prestasi kerajaan negeri… pendekatan, cara… untuk melihat prestasi dari segi aspirasi, harapan rakyat,” kata beliau.
Continue reading “DAP: Pakatan perlu adakan kajian prestasi separuh penggal”

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Inspector-General of MACC: Have we gone mad?

By Tunku Abdul Aziz

The very idea that the headman of the MACC be accorded a status equivalent to that of the Inspector-General of Police was so hilarious that I, a grown man, was driven to sobbing uncontrollably before I doubled up, laughing my head off. I have, in my lifetime, been through many strange and unusual situations, but I must confess to a sense of incredulity that members of the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board headed by former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad were prepared to risk their collective reputation by putting this recommendation forward. It is absurdity personified.

The other recommendations, including the establishment of a statutory commission on appointments, and the need to have interrogation rooms equipped with CCTV cameras, must rank as among the most facile suggestions ever made by a group of people who lay claim to expert knowledge and experience of a level considered sufficient to justify their being appointed to the advisory board.

In the event, by their earth-shattering recommendations, they have confirmed what I have known all along: they know nothing about fighting corruption or, for that matter, the chief commissioner, if he had to be “advised” on what equipment was needed to be put in place to make the interrogation process more open and transparent, then he has no business to be there in the first place. I make no apology for using the word interrogation in relation to the methods adopted by the MACC when dealing with witnesses. The word interview is yet to be part of the MACC’s corruption fighting lexicon.
Continue reading “Inspector-General of MACC: Have we gone mad?”

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Vote BN for bankruptcy, warns Pakatan

Malaysian Insider
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
May 29, 2010

KOTA BARU, May 29 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders used dire forecasts of a gloomy future if there are no subsidy cuts to warn that voting for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election would lead the country to bankruptcy.

A government minister this week had predicted Malaysia could be bankrupt by 2019 if it does not begin to cut subsidies for petrol, electricity, food and other staples, which cost RM74 billion last year. But the Najib administration is waiting for public feedback before deciding on actual cuts.

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang said it was not subsidies but BN’s corruption and abuse of power that has led the country to current financial crisis.

“I cannot imagine if DAP, PKR or PAS had made the announcement that country will be bankrupt by 2019. If we did, Umno would have labelled us as anti-nationalist and traitors. We probably would have been locked up in ISA and given free food.

“Remember Vision 2020? We were supposed to become a developed nation by 2020 but unfortunately one year before 2020, we are already bankrupt,” he told a crowd last night in Tanah Merah, a two-hour drive from the Kelantan state capital.

Lim was one of many PR leaders in the state speaking at ceramahs ahead of the PKR convention this weekend. Continue reading “Vote BN for bankruptcy, warns Pakatan”

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Barring Sports Betting In Penang

Penang Wesak Day Message By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Komtar, George Town On 28.5.2010

Penang State Government Directs The Two Local Councils MPPP & MPSP To Exercise Section 101(v) Of The Local Government Act To Bar Sports Betting In Penang Given By BN To Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd.

In the spirit of peace and tranquility, I wish a very happy Wesak day to all Buddhists in Penang and Malaysia. On this auspices day, we are reminded of the teachings of Lord Buddha who among other things has preached enlightenment and tolerance. 

The Penang Government in conjunction with Wesak Day celebrations would like to express our intent to promote a healthier and more responsible lifestyle for Penang families. We are concerned at the excessively high number of draws -12 draws or special draws conducted weekly by the three gaming companies licensed by the BN government, which should be reduced. 

The Penang state government is not opposed to betting or gaming outlets in Penang. However we are concerned at the excessive number of draws and special draws being conducted by these licensed operators have placed a very heavy burden on many families. Many of the breadwinners feel obliged to ‘chase’ after each draw with all three operators resulting in substantial loss of income to the family and their children.
Continue reading “Barring Sports Betting In Penang”

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Najib’s qualification instead of endorsement of Idris Jala’s warning that Malaysia could become next Greece and go bankrupt unless it saves RM103 billion in next five years to reduce the nation’s huge debt proof of lack of political will to address subsidy syndrome

Four things stand out in yesterday’s Subsidy Rationalisation Lab Open Day of the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) where the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and CEO of Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), Datuk Seri Idris Jala made his presentation on the country’s proposed five-year subsidy rationalization roadmap.

Firstly, the absence of Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, the Minister in charge of the 1Malaysia GTP and Chairman of Pemandu. Why is he on leave in the United States on such an important event in the Government Transformation Programme or is he seriously considering, according to reports quoting Gerakan sources, relinquishing the post as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department after the humiliation in the last meeting of Parliament where he dared not stand up to vouch for what 1Malaysia stands for – that he is Malaysian first and Chinese second?

Secondly, Idris’ failure to address the root causes of the national economic crisis instead of just dealing with its symptoms.

Idris warned that unless Malaysians bite the bullet and wean off subsidies to save the government RM103 billion in five years to reduce the nation’s deficit and huge debt, Malaysia could become another Greece and go bankrupt in nine years.

Although Idris said the government would focus on big ticket items such as fuel, electricity and toll to achieve the savings, he failed to focus on the biggest ticket items – corruption, mismanagement, extravagance and lack and accountability.

When corruption, mismanagement, extravagance and lack of accountability cost the government from RM10 billion to RM28 billion a year, what credibility has the government to talk about slashing subsidies affecting the rakyat when it has nothing to show to end the rampant and worsening state of corruption, the gross abuses of power and public funds like indiscriminate issue of APs and various forms of “piratisation” in the name of privatization? Continue reading “Najib’s qualification instead of endorsement of Idris Jala’s warning that Malaysia could become next Greece and go bankrupt unless it saves RM103 billion in next five years to reduce the nation’s huge debt proof of lack of political will to address subsidy syndrome”

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Sibu result reflects growing Christian vote

Malaysian Insider
By Debra Chong
May 28, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — DAP’s surprise win in the recent Sibu by-election was the latest message being sent to the Najib administration that it needs to buckle down and deal with the “Allah” issue sooner rather than later.

The party made a special appeal to the Christian voters, citing the need to prevent Putrajaya from regulating the ways and language of worship for non-Muslims, after a landmark court ruling on Dec 31 that allowed the word “Allah” to be used by all.

The rise in a conscious Christian vote came after churches in Muslim-majority Malaysia reported a growth spurt, and leading the pack was the 82-year-old Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB), an evangelical movement that worships mainly in Bahasa Malaysia, the national language.

Its sphere of influence is growing fast, particularly among the Orang Asli tribes in the Malay peninsula, said the Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (CFM), an umbrella body that represents voices from both the orthodox churches and evangelical groups.

CFM general secretary Tan Kong Beng credits SIB’s growing appeal to “cultural affinities” between the local indigenous community and those from the Borneo interior. Continue reading “Sibu result reflects growing Christian vote”

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S’wak BN shell-shocked by Sibu defeat

Malaysiakini
Terence Netto | May 27, 10 1:31pm

COMMENT It’s now the turn of Sarawak’s BN leaders to display symptoms of election shell-shock.

Following DAP’s victory in the Sibu by-election, the trauma suffered by Sarawak’s BN chapter, hitherto so confident as the numerically superior component of federal BN’s safe electoral deposit in Borneo, displayed itself in unmistakable ways.

A couple of opposition representatives, hauled before the rights and privileges panel of the state assembly for misconduct at previous sittings, were last week meted out suspensions disproportionate to their reported misdemeanors.

No doubt, this can be attributed to Sarawak BN’s knee-jerk reaction to its defeat by DAP in a former safe haven. Continue reading “S’wak BN shell-shocked by Sibu defeat”

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DAP says cuts cannot be limited to subsidies

Malaysian Insider
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
May 27, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — DAP’s Tony Pua grudgingly admitted today that cutting subsidies could lower Malaysia’s debts, but he said the cuts will only be successful if leakages from graft and help for big corporations are plugged first.

“I feel that in general, the points raised were agreeable. But at the same time, these plans can only be put into motion if other conditions are first met.

“He (Datuk Seri Idris Jala) was quite naughty when he said that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) agreed with lowering subsidies. We agree to it but with conditions,” DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua said shortly after he attended a government open day on rationalizing cutting subsidies.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP told The Malaysian Insider that while the government has outlined ways in which to gradually lessen subsidies, other “main causes of debts” had not been carefully addressed.

According to Pua, the issue of subsidies was a small problem compared to the actual cause of Malaysia’s huge deficit problem. Continue reading “DAP says cuts cannot be limited to subsidies”

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‘Clueless’ SUPP comes under heavy DAP fire

Free Malaysia Today
Thu, 27 May 2010

KUCHING: The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), the oldest Chinese-led political party in the state, has come under blistering attack from the DAP for its lies.

DAP state assemblyman for Sentosa Chong Chieng Jen said SUPP should stop making excuses for its loss in Sibu and accept that it has lost touch with its voters.

“I am shocked. The SUPP is still clueless as to why it lost and Wong Soon Koh (SUPP Sibu chief) is making baseless and unbelievable accusations against the DAP, ” he said in a statement.

Chong was referring to comments by Wong, who is also State Finance Minister II, in his winding-up speech at the Sarawak State Assembly sitting on yesterday. Continue reading “‘Clueless’ SUPP comes under heavy DAP fire”

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Educational absurdity in Hulu Selangor

by Azly Rahman

“If we win this by-election, you can come to Kuala Lumpur the next day to look for me. I will write a personal letter to approve the money and it will be transferred to the school board’s account. If we lose, don’t have to come.” – Najib Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia

If these words quoted in Lim Kit Siang’s blog were uttered and they were true, we have reached the highest level of idiocy in charting the future of Malaysian education. How much shame must we parade in our desperation to win this or that election that is a theater of the absurd anyway?

The essential question is, how dare we use education – the only means for social and economic progress for ALL races – to bribe voters!

We hear all too often now that education is being prostitutionalized in the name of political gains. That gentle profession and a noble enterprise, from the Latin educare (drawing out the potentials) have been overused in election campaigns. From rice to roads, credit cards to cruises, youth facilities to new universities – all these have been used as political baits throughout our history. Continue reading “Educational absurdity in Hulu Selangor”

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Proposal for a Parliamentary Caucus on Crime and Security to help Hishammuddin and Police to restore to Malaysians their fundamental rights – safe neighbourhoods, safe streets, safe homes and safe schools

In the past two weeks, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein kept reminding the country that the street crime rate and the crime index have fallen by 39% and 15% respectively in the first quarter of the year, well beyond the 20% and 5% target set by the end of the year.

For the first quarter of last year 9,984 cases were reported while during the same period this year it went down to 6,158 cases.
Hishammuddin’s statement was repeated in a major local newspaper today.

There should be a sense of joy and relief that Malaysia is becoming a safer country, which is not only a fundamental right of Malaysian citizens and the most basic duty of any competent government in a civilized society, but also important in enhancing our international competitiveness to attract foreign investments so that Malaysia can take the quantum leap to escape the decade-long middle-income trap to become a developed high income country.

However, such a national sense of relief and joy is distinctly missing in public response and reaction to Hishammuddin’s repeated announcements in the past fortnight of a sharp drop of street crime rate and crime index in the first quarter of the year – to the extent that Hishamuddin’s announcement had to be repeated in a major national daily today.

Why is this so? Continue reading “Proposal for a Parliamentary Caucus on Crime and Security to help Hishammuddin and Police to restore to Malaysians their fundamental rights – safe neighbourhoods, safe streets, safe homes and safe schools”

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Musa Hitam should make public the full report of Sime Darby task force on the cost overruns of its energies and utilities division tomorrow

Sime Darby Chairman Tun Musa Hitam should make public the full report of the Sime Darby Task Force on the cost overruns of its energies and utilities division tomorrow and should not withhold any information from the Malaysian public, as they are the ultimate shareholders of the GLC conglomerate.

Sime Darby had earlier promised on its website that “all relevant disclosures” will be made with the world’s biggest-listed palm oil producer’s third quarter results tomorrow (May 27) but what Malaysians want is not a second-hand account but the full uncensored report of the Task Force on its energies and utilities division’s “difficulties and challenges, especially with regards to operational efficiency and project management”.

Malaysians want to know the bottom-line, in particular (i) whether Sime Darby has a history totalling some RM3.5 billion write-offs; if so, why and what is being done about it; and (ii) whether Sime Darby has incurred more than RM1 billion in cost overruns from carrying out a civil works contract for the Bakun hydroelectric project, with one estimate putting the total cost overruns at RM1.7 billion; and whether it is true that the government has agreed to reimburse around RM700 million to Sime Darby, leaving the group with around RM1 billion to deal with. Continue reading “Musa Hitam should make public the full report of Sime Darby task force on the cost overruns of its energies and utilities division tomorrow”

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Despite feverish attempts to refurbish the image of MACC on many fronts in recent days, it has not been able to improve one jot of public confidence …

The New Straits Times today carried the screaming front-page headline: “MACC steps in – probe under way into Sime Darby’s losses” but nobody is impressed, not least when less than a week earlier the MACC Deputy Commissisoner Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul said the commission will let Sime Darby complete its internal investigation first.

Shukri said: “If Sime Darby doesn’t have the experience on how to pinpoint corruption, they can ask for MACC’s help.”

He said MACC will open an investigation file into the financial affairs of the conglomerate GLC if any element of corruption is suspected in its massive billion-ringgit losses in its third quarter results.

What happened in the past week? Did Sime Darby ask for MACC’s help or did MACC discover “element of corruption” in the massive billion-ringgit losses in Sime Darby’s third-quarter?

Or is MACC just thirsting for cheap publicity and front-page headlines hoping to impress the Malaysian public with publicity stunts rather than professionalism and concrete results?

If billion-ringgit corporate losses are themselves justification for the MACC to open an investigation file, has MACC opened any investigation file into the mega-losses of the Bakun dam project – as it is reported to have incurred total cost overruns of RM1.7 billion?

And what about all the other billion-ringgit government, GLC or corporate losses? Continue reading “Despite feverish attempts to refurbish the image of MACC on many fronts in recent days, it has not been able to improve one jot of public confidence …”

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An inspirational story

Letters
by Justin Hong

I was 18 in 1997, I came home half completed my high school in England because my father was bankrupted. He was a contractor bankrupted because the licensee, Taib’s uncle defaulted on paying royalty to the Government. Pocketed all the money my father gave.

Together with 6 of my friends we went to Komat in Sama Jaya to look for jobs as they only required MCE; to help out the family.

The HR lady was an Iban, on our turn she refused to give us application forms and demanded our qualifications. Without even understanding us, we were turned away. On further enquiry from us, she said, the 250 posts were all filled. It was 10.25am and the application counter just opened at 9.30am. Asked the guard to show us out.

Komat repeated publication for the posts for another week. We went back again and again were rejected. This time she asked us to look for jobs in China. Continue reading “An inspirational story”

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Chorus of disapproval against UUCA .

Free Malaysia Today
Mon, 24 May 2010 16:29 . .By Ken Vin Lek

KUALA LUMPUR: Student NGO, Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia, today called for the University & University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) to be repealed with immediate effect.

The call comes in the wake of four University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) students who were charged under Section 15(5)(a) of the act for allegedly for taking party in political activites.

The four are Muhammad Hilman Idham, Muhamad Ismail Aminuddin, Azlin Shafina Mohamad Adzha and Woon King Chai, all political science students.

They were detained by police when they were in Hulu Selangor on April 22 to observe the by election campaign. The four were released after police found no evidence of mischief.

They now face disciplinary action and have been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing on June 3 at the UKM campus.

“Students, as one of the stakeholders of a university, should be given an opportunity to exercise academic freedom in the pursuit of knowledge and excellence,” said the NGO in a statement

“They should not be demonised and punished for exercising their inalienable right to pursue knowledge in their chosen fields.” Continue reading “Chorus of disapproval against UUCA .”

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Proton car prices in Saudi Arabia – raw deal for Malaysians

Letters
By an angry Malaysian

FROM ANGRY RAKYAT …..! TO OWNERS OF PROTON VEHICLES….VERY SAD !!!!
SO NOW YOU KNOW THE ACTUAL VALUE PRICE OF PROTON !!!! CHEAP METAL !!!

1 MALAYSIA SENTIASA DITIPU…
Kenapa Proton tak jual harga macam kat Arab Saudi ?
Apa istimewanya orang Arab?

Kata “Rakyat didahulukan”..
Kenapa orang Arab lebih diutamakan?

Haaaa..Jawapannya ialah..

Pemilik Proton di Malaysia semuanya dah kena tipu…Hahaha

Harga Persona kat Saudi = SR36,100
Harga Gen2 kat Saudi = SR33,600
Harga Waja kat Saudi = SR37,950

1 Saudi Riyal = RM0.94

Maknanya harga Persona kat Saudi = RM33,934 aje
Maknanya harga Proton Gen2 kat Saudi = RM32,256 aje
Maknanya harga Waja kat Saudi = RM35,673 aje

1 Malaysia bayar RM 66,799.97 untuk 1 Waja di Msia! RM31,126.97 lebih MAHAL! Continue reading “Proton car prices in Saudi Arabia – raw deal for Malaysians”