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Rakyat atau Kerajaan yang perlu berjimat?

– Mohd Yusof Hadhari
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011

1 JUN — Sekarang kita semua perlu terus sedar bahawa penjimatan kini sudah menjadi wajib. Ia patut menjadi kata kunci kepada semua orang, bukan lagi kepada yang berpendapatan rendah sahaja. Kanapa saya berkata begitu. Harga gula sudah naik, harga minyak sudah berapa kali naik. Untuk harga barang yang lain harap tidak di naikan lagi, sekurang-kurangnya tidak dirasionalisasikan dalam masa terdekat. Harga petrol Ron95, diesel dan gas masih lagi bertahan, entah sampai bila subsidinya dapat diteruskan! Kita tunggu dan lihat.

Dan mulai kemarin (1 Jun), bagi pengguna elektrik antara 301kW dan 1000kW unit, tarifnya sudah dinaikan daripada 0.1 hingga 10 peratus, atau RM0.07 kepada RM30.30. Macam biasa, tenang semua. Harga gas asli di Malaysia masih lagi murah berbanding Negara jiran meskipun dengan kenaikan itu. Menurut kerajaan, sebelum atau selepas kenaikan, setelah dirasionalisasikan, harga di Negara ini masih murah jika di bandingkan dengan Thailand sebanyak RM18.23 setiap juta unit termal British (MMBtu). Indonesia RM21.04, Singapura RM43.32 dan Vietnam RM18.70.

Kerajaan kata kenaikan dalam bekalan gas ke sektor perindustrian adalah wajar, iaitu daripada RM15 setiap MMBtu kepada RM16.07 setiap MMBtu, jika dibandingkan dengan Negara serantau seperti Thailand (RM19.46), Indonesia (RM18.74) dan Singapura (RM113.45). Apa pun, yang jelas pengguna tidak akan selesa dengan sebarang kenaikan. Continue reading “Rakyat atau Kerajaan yang perlu berjimat?”

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Something to ponder before migrating

– From a doctor who stayed
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011

JUNE 1 — It has been illuminating reading the various stories of the people who left and the people who stayed. I personally feel it is the individual’s choice and I agree largely with the opinions of John Rahman. However, I do want to share a couple of angles from a physician’s perspective.

1. To all those who have migrated whose parents are still alive, please make provisions for them if they are left behind. Most people write about the opportunities they need to give to their children but rarely mention what happens to their parents when they migrate.

As a doctor, I see this every day. There are many elderly patients who are admitted to hospital and their children are all living abroad. It is very sad. Continue reading “Something to ponder before migrating”

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An insult to Islam?

Hafidz Baharom
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2011

JUNE 1 — First and foremost, having a Christian prime minister is not an insult to Islam, nor is allowing a nation to become secular or even Christian.

Take a look at Germany. Their president and chancellor belong to the Christian Democratic Union Party. Yet, Islam is still alive and well in their nation.

If that’s too much for you to imagine, take a look at Netherlands then. Ruled by a monarch and extremely secular, their prime minister is from the VVD and his deputy is from the Christian Democratic Appeal party. Yet still, Islam is there, alive and well enough to be the cause of Theo Van Gogh’s death.

Should Malaysia become a secular or Christian nation, it will not be Islam that is offended. It’s just people who obviously were not granted the brains, patience or even sensitivity to understand that the first basis of the religion itself is to find moderation.

If a Muslim does wrong, he or she is told to repent. If a non-Muslim says something wrong, we are told, through Islamic teaching, to educate them and find a peaceful solution. Continue reading “An insult to Islam?”

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Bigger landslide in the making

Stephanie Sta Maria | May 30, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

The situation in Bukit Antarabangsa is serious as the slope failures or shallow landslides are indications of an impending bigger landslide.

KUALA LUMPUR: Double landslides occurred side by side in Bukit Antarabangsa, Hulu Kelang, Selangor, 10 days ago but escaped public attention for both struck on the same day as the Hulu Langat tragedy.

As rescue personnel and the media rushed to the Madrasah Al-Taqwa Orphanage, business owners and employees watched mounds of wet earth sliding down the slope behind their commercial centre in Taman Ukay Perdana.

Unlike Hulu Langat, however, no property damages or injuries took place in the Bukit Antarabangsa incident.

The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) moved swiftly in dispatching a team from its hillslope division to begin immediate work in containing the situation and repairing the slope.

MPAJ is currently the only authority with an existing hillslope division which was formed after the 2008 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, which claimed five lives. Continue reading “Bigger landslide in the making”