Posted on

Malaysia’s foreign debt – Parliament Question

SOALAN:
Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur) minta PERDANA MENTERI menyatakan apakah tindakan yang telah diambil untuk memastikan bahawa Malaysia tidak akan mengikut jejak langkah Iceland dan Greece dan menjadi sebuah negara bankrap yang memerlukan penyelamatan dan masyarakat serantau atau antarabangsa.

JAWAPAN:
Tuan Yang di-Pertua,

  1. Untuk makluman Yang Berhormat, hutang negara adalah hutang luar negara yang terdiri daripada hutang luar jangka sederhana dan panjang bagi Kerajaan Persekutuan, Perusahaan Awam Bukan Kewangan (PABK) dan sektor swasta serta hutang jangka pendek sektor perbankan dan swasta. Peratusan hutang negara kepada Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) dan tahun 2004 hingga 2009 kekal terurus dengan purata 34.6% dan pecahannya adalah seperti berikut:

    Tahun Peratus hutang negara kepada KDNK
    2004 42.3
    2005 37.8
    2006 32.1
    2007 29.2
    2008 31.9
    2009 34.3

    2. Continue reading “Malaysia’s foreign debt – Parliament Question”

Posted on

Anwar denied right to counsel at panel hearing

By Clara Chooi | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — The Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee has summarily rejected Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s application to allow his counsel to attend his hearing on the APCO-Israel issue today.

Committee members Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) and R. Sivarasa (PKR-Subang) told a press conference in Parliament after the panel concluded its meeting that the decision was made after the votes were taken from the members.

“Anwar Ibrahim (picture) has been denied counsel. He cannot appear with counsel.

“The decision was made whereby I and Subang (Sivarasa) were against it while all four Barisan Nasional committee members were for it.

“The vote was not unanimous,” said Karpal.
Continue reading “Anwar denied right to counsel at panel hearing”

Posted on

Question on 1Malaysia rejected

Twitter @limkitsiang :

My Q 2PM how many Ministers regard themselves Msian 1st race 2nd rejected 4offending rule agnst asking 4opinion abstract hypothetical matter
Monday, June 07, 2010 9:40 AM

How sad. Despite all publicity abt 1Malaysia PM dare not answer Q how many Ministers believe in it as 2rgd themselves as Msians 1st race 2nd
Monday, June 07, 2010 9:45 AM

Posted on

Chin flays ‘ungrateful’ folk

By STEPHEN THEN | The Star

MIRI: The lack of gratitude shown by some urban voters in Sarawak towards the ruling government worries the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP).

SUPP organising secretary Datuk Seri Peter Chin said there were people who had forgotten what the Government had done for them and now they wanted to bring it down.

“Who gave them jobs? It was the Government. Who provided hundreds of millions of ringgit every year to build roads, houses, schools, health facilities, basic amenities like water and electricity for them?

“Was it the Opposition parties who did all these? Of course not. It was the ruling Government.

“SUPP feels very sad that these forgetful and ungrateful people do not look at the good things we have done for them,” he said at a Gawai Dayak gathering here on Saturday night.

Chin, who is Miri MP and Minister for Energy, Green Technology and Water, said the ‘’ungrateful people’’ blindly believed and supported the propaganda of Opposition parties.
Continue reading “Chin flays ‘ungrateful’ folk”

Posted on

Perkasa, Kampung Baru, and the Failure of Malay Leadership

By M. Bakri Musa

Squatting within view of KL’s gleaming skyscrapers like a blob of dung at the tip of a high-heeled boot is a collection of quaint kampung houses. To patronizing foreigners, those wooden houses on stilts in Kampung Baru are a welcomed relief to the concrete jungle of a modern metropolis. To its inhabitants, taken in by the curious and feigned interests of gawking tourists, Kampung Baru is their tropical urban Shangri-La.

To Malaysians however, it is nothing but your typical Third World slum. Kampung Baru assaults your sensibilities and senses, especially olfactory. Not that the rest of KL is pristine and sweet smelling!

Alas to Malays, Kampung Baru is an embarrassing and glaring reminder that beneath the bravado of Ketuanan Melayu we remain marginalized, despite over half a century of independence and a continuous succession of Malay sultans and prime ministers. Not to mention Article 153 protecting our “special” position!
Continue reading “Perkasa, Kampung Baru, and the Failure of Malay Leadership”

Posted on

Reshuffling the same dog-eared pack of cards

By Tunku Abdul Aziz

I am told on good authority that you cannot make good china with poor clay, and it is so obvious that we should know it instinctively. By the same token, I expect you cannot form an effective cabinet with general election rejects. Appointing them to cabinet posts in such large numbers through the Senate is not illegal, but is it ethical? Jesse Jackson in a speech to the 1992 National Democratic Convention reminded his audience that what was morally wrong would never be politically right. Najib, as our Prime Minister, would do well to ponder and reflect on the wisdom of this self-evident truth so that he would feel encouraged and inspired to bring moral and ethical principles to bear on the governance of this nation. I naturally hope that in the process, and with God’s help, he will find some time to dwell upon his many grave lapses that have brought his fitness for the highest political office in the land into serious question.

Some months ago I had occasion to allude to the fact that no prime minister in our country’s history had come into office, bent over not with the burden of leadership which would have been understandable, but in Najib’s case, it was his oversize baggage comprising a mix of potent allegations of impropriety ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. While some may be nothing more than coffee morning tittle-tattle among the leisure classes, and, therefore, to be treated with the contempt they deserve, one worrying aspect of Najib the man that refuses to evaporate into thin air is corruption.
Continue reading “Reshuffling the same dog-eared pack of cards”

Posted on

MIC, Maika deserve to be cursed for 10 generations

By P. Ramakrishnan | Aliran

More than 66,000 Indians, mostly poor and from the estates, invested RM103 million with high expectations of good returns. That was what they were promised, and they were enticed to rally around this Indian venture that was solely for the Indians. Many pawned their jewellery, others took loans or invested their entire life-savings to support this venture that was touted as a sure-win undertaking.

For almost 30 years, they waited in vain to enjoy the fruit of their investment. Many continued to service their loans and suffered. Others passed on, dejected and frustrated. There was no hope for them whatsoever and they stopped dreaming of the wealth that was promised them.

While the Maika shareholders suffered, the directors of Maika continued to be paid very well. They did not take a pay cut but enjoyed their full benefits.

Now, there is some kind of offer for these shareholders. They are now being offered RM0.80 for every RM1.00 they had invested. After waiting for almost 30 years, now they have to suffer not only a 20 per cent loss on their investment but also the purchasing power of whatever they receive now is a lot lower than it was 30 years ago. Instead of some gains, they are forced to suffer a further loss after 30 long years. What a tragic end to their dreams!
Continue reading “MIC, Maika deserve to be cursed for 10 generations”

Posted on

With 2 out 5 civil servants deemed corrupt by CUEPACS, the MACC is a big flop as it did not even arrest 0.1 per cent of the corrupt civil servants last year

Cuepacs President Omar Osman said in Temerloh last night that a total of 418,200 or 41 per cent of the 1.2 million civil servants in the country were suspected to be involved in corruption last year.

This is the Bernama report last night:

41 Per Cent Of Civil Servants Suspected Involved In Graft Last Year – Cuepacs

TEMERLOH, June 2 (Bernama) — A total of 418,200 or 41 per cent of the 1.2 million civil servants in the country were suspected to be involved in corruption last year, said Cuepacs president Omar Osman.

He said this was worrying and needed to be tackled urgently.

“To combat the scourge, Cuepacs will work closely with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission so that civil servants involved in corrupt activities can be brought to book,” he told reporters after opening the triennial general meeting of one of the affiliates of the umbrella union, here Wednesday.
Continue reading “With 2 out 5 civil servants deemed corrupt by CUEPACS, the MACC is a big flop as it did not even arrest 0.1 per cent of the corrupt civil servants last year”

Posted on

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

By Sara Wak

My Dear Ministers,

I think both of you must know what are the reasons why Malaysian economy has been on the fall for the last decade. Malaysia has a lot of oil and gas and the income was supposed to enable Malaysia survive for many years to come.

However, What PETRONAS has made since it was incorporated has evaporated into thin air, where the profits have been WRONGLY used by the Federal BN Government to support many failed business deals, such as The Bumiputra Finance scandal, the buy back of MAS shares from Tajuddin at RM8 a share when the market price was only RM3 a share, and many others such as Port Klang Free Zone, Parwaja Steel, etc etc.

There are just too many to name.

Perhaps you should read what Malaysians have been circulating among themselves on the article below in comparing Malaysia to Greece, which Dato Seri Idris Jala also used !
Continue reading “Idris Jala: M’sia must cut subsidies, debt by 2019 or risk bankruptcy”

Posted on

Two parliamentary questions on Najib’s three strategic initiatives to transform Malaysia but which have run aground

In the forthcoming parliamentary meeting beginning on Monday, I have given notice to pose two questions to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on his three strategic initiatives to transform Malaysia but which have run aground because of strong opposition mostly from Umno and its outsourced organizations like Perkasa.

These three initiatives of Najib are his three strategic pillars which make up his roadmap to achieving Vision 2020 – an high-income advanced nation with inclusiveness and sustainability by 2020:

  • 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now;

  • Government Transformation Programme; and

  • New Economic Model.

My two questions are to ask the Prime Minister:

Posted on

Chua still stuck in the past

By Stanley Koh
Free Malaysia Today

COMMENT Yesterday’s announcement of a Cabinet reshuffle tells us much about what went on in MCA President Dr Chua Soi Lek’s mind as he juggled with the names of party leaders to recommend for ministerial positions. The public can now judge whether he has been following the “philosophy of the humble ant” in leading the MCA, as he promised in his campaign for the presidency.

His political rivals are putting on a sober and subdued face while frantically sending out cryptic messages to their supporters, no doubt commenting on the Cabinet changes.

Has Chua been true to his election pledge to follow the doctrine of “no more yes men” and no more favouritism in party and government appointments? To put it another way, has he wisely picked credible and capable leaders?
Continue reading “Chua still stuck in the past”

Posted on

Rebuking Idris show Umno’s distaste for subsidy cuts

By Debra Chong
Malaysian Insider
June 03, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Datuk Seri Idris Jala’s plan to save Malaysia from going broke appears to be stillborn, as Umno’s constant attacks on the minister show that the Najib administration has no appetite for subsidy cuts.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also appears to have distanced himself from Idris’ proposal, after he told the Perkasa-led Malay Consultative Council meeting last week that proposals to save RM103 billion in subsidies were not yet finalised.

“Idris’ proposal is stillborn. I don’t think the Najib administration has the courage to carry out the cuts… not across the board and not as Idris planned it,” DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said.

Analysts contacted by The Malaysian Insider agreed. Continue reading “Rebuking Idris show Umno’s distaste for subsidy cuts”

Posted on

Unifi ‘backdoor’ allows hacking, spying

By Lee Wei Lian | The Malaysian Insider
June 02, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — Over 1,000 UniFi customers are exposed to a potential security risk of attacks from hackers and spying when using the high speed broadband service from Telekom Malaysia.

The security risk comes from a second administration account on routers that UniFi customers have to use.

The routers have the option for remote management enabled and customers were not informed and therefore unable to reset the password.

Security consultant Dinesh Nair, who has seen the second administration account, said that it appeared to be for maintenance purposes and allows Telekom Malaysia to troubleshoot UniFi problems remotely.

But he added that the password was “guessable” and with the remote management option turned on, it left the router vulnerable to unauthorised access and abuse such as forcing dropped connections and listening to the setting up of email passwords.

“It’s a security risk,” said Dinesh
Continue reading “Unifi ‘backdoor’ allows hacking, spying”

Posted on

Najib’s most difficult question in the forthcoming five-week parliamentary meeting – how many Cabinet Ministers are Malaysian first, race second in keeping with 1Malaysia policy?

I have posed what is probably the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s most difficult question in the forthcoming 22-day parliamentary meeting:

“How many Ministers in his Cabinet, naming them, regard himself/herself as Malaysian first, race second in keeping with the 1Malaysia policy”.

It will test Najib to the limit of his intellectual prowess and political acumen to answer this question, as he will have to be a David Copperfield political magician to try to “square the circle” in view of two diametrically polar positions:

  • The declaration of the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap that the goal of 1Malaysia is to create “a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second”; and

  • The declaration by the Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in December last year that he is Malay first, Malaysian second!

Continue reading “Najib’s most difficult question in the forthcoming five-week parliamentary meeting – how many Cabinet Ministers are Malaysian first, race second in keeping with 1Malaysia policy?”

Posted on

Najib Cabinet2 not only the most unrepresentative in nation’s history, but also very backward and inward-looking which does not inspire confidence that 1Malaysia and NEM are more than slogans

The Najib Cabinet2 is not only the most unrepresentative Cabinet in the nation’s history with the most number of unelected and unelectable Senators, but also very backward and inward-looking which does not inspire confidence that 1Malaysia and New Economic Model (NEM) are more than slogans.

The minor Cabinet reshuffle yesterday is the second blow in a week to Najib’s claims to reformist credentials – the first being the public humiliation and slap-in-the face the Prime Minister endured when he attended the congress of the Perkasa-led Malay Consultative Council on Saturday to be told of its rejection of NEM.

After the Prime Minister had talked so much about national political, economic, social and government transformation if Malaysia is not to miss the boat to escape the two-decade middle income trap and take the quantum leap to become a high-income advanced nation with inclusiveness and sustainability by 2020, one would have expected the Najib Cabinet2 to send out the message: “We are capable of change”!

But this is not the case. Instead of change and a breath of fresh air, Najib’s Cabinet2 is another game of musical chairs with old, tired and discredited political faces.
Continue reading “Najib Cabinet2 not only the most unrepresentative in nation’s history, but also very backward and inward-looking which does not inspire confidence that 1Malaysia and NEM are more than slogans”

Posted on

Malay Nationalists Trash Premier’s Economic Plan

Asia Sentinel
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak gets a cold reception

Just how difficult it will be to modify Malaysia’s affirmative action program for its majority ethnic Malays came clear over the weekend when some 1,500 members of the Malay Consultative Council summarily rejected Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s plans to replace it with what the premier calls the New Economic Model.

Najib was due to unveil his NEM, as he calls it, on June 10 in conjunction with the publication of the 10th Malaysia Plan. But so far no details have been released, with less than two weeks to go before its publication, and it is questionable what will be in it. The consultative council turned it down without bothering with the details.

Since he came into office as premier in April of 2009, Najib has been attempting to get Malays, who make up roughly 60 percent of the country’s 27 million people, to give up some of the perks that they have enjoyed since the New Economic Policy was promulgated in the wake of bloody 1969 riots that took the lives of hundreds of Malays and Chinese alike. Modifying the NEP, originally designed to remain in place only until 1990, has become the third rail of Malay politics.
Continue reading “Malay Nationalists Trash Premier’s Economic Plan”

Posted on

Pakatan invites PM to roundtable talk on Israeli attacks

By Clara Chooi | The Malaysian Insider | June 01, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has invited Datuk Seri Najib Razak and all parties across the political divide for a roundtable talk this Friday to jointly condemning Israel’s attack on the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla.

PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today issued the invitation to the prime minister, all Barisan Nasional and PR parties and all Islamic and non-Islamic NGOs to attend the talk, set to be held in Kampung Baru at 11.30am on Friday.

“We need to take a more serious stand in this issue and condemn this continuing violence,” he said after attending the PR secretariat meeting at the PKR headquarters here today.

Anwar added that following the roundtable talks, all invited parties would then march to the US embassy and submit a memorandum on behalf of all Malaysians, calling for an end to the violence.
Continue reading “Pakatan invites PM to roundtable talk on Israeli attacks”

Posted on

Kit Siang: A cabinet chock-full of senators

Kit Siang: A cabinet chock-full of senators
Malaysiakini | Jun 1, 10 7:59pm

Pakatan Rakyat leaders slammed Prime Minister Najib Razak for “setting the dubious record” of leading a cabinet with the most unelected representatives.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang challenged the Najib to compel the new senators-turned-deputy ministers to stand for elections to prove their level of support.

“Ask these new senators to stand for election so that they have the mandate of the people,” he told reporters after the Pakatan Rakyat supreme council meeting in Petaling Jaya today.

“We will have more by-elections and it will be good for the people, as in Sibu where the (federal government) poured tens of millions of ringgit and the PM visited twice in 10 days,” he said tongue-in-cheek.
Continue reading “Kit Siang: A cabinet chock-full of senators”

Posted on

No Kaamatan promotion at airports — Kit Siang

By Chok Sim Yee | The Borneo Post

KOTA KINABALU: Pesta Kaamatan (Harvest Festival) is one of the highlights in the Sabah annual calendar of events, but sadly, not much effort has been made to promote the cultural event, even at the main gateways to the state — the airports.

At least this was what Democratic Action Party (DAP) advisor Lim Kit Siang noticed when he arrived yesterday.

Claiming that there was not much effort done by the federal government to recognise and promote Pesta Kaamatan, he said this defeats the whole meaning of the 1Malaysia concept, which was the brainchild of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“Pesta Kaamatan is the most important celebration in Sabah but sadly, I do not see any Pesta Kaamatan-related decorations when I arrived at the airport,” he said, pointing out that it was the best place to promote the event as it is the first place to welcome incoming tourists, be it domestic or foreign.

He also questioned why Najib could not even spare some time to attend such an important programme.
Continue reading “No Kaamatan promotion at airports — Kit Siang”