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Four Nations, Four Lessons

By N. GREGORY MANKIW
The New York Times
October 22, 2011

AS the economy languishes, politicians and pundits are debating what to do next. When we look around the world, it’s hard to find positive role models. But as we search for answers, it is useful to keep in mind those fates that we would like to avoid.

The recent economic histories of four nations are noteworthy: France, Greece, Japan and Zimbabwe. Each illustrates a kind of policy mistake that could, if we are not careful, presage the future of the United States economy. Think of them as the four horsemen of the economic apocalypse.

Let’s start with Zimbabwe. If there were an award for the world’s worst economic policy, it might well have won it several times over the past decade. In particular, in 2008 and 2009, it experienced truly spectacular hyperinflation. Prices rose so fast that the central bank eventually printed 100 trillion-dollar notes for people to carry. The nation has since abandoned using its own currency, but you can still buy one of those notes as a novelty item for about $5 (American, that is).

Some may find it hard to imagine that the United States would ever go down this route. Continue reading “Four Nations, Four Lessons”

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Is Muhyiddin fit to continue as Education Minister when he could violate a student’s child rights just to serve a blatant and dishonest political agenda?

I am indeed shocked and outraged by Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement yesterday that Lim Guan Eng’s denying sexual harassment claims against his son (my grandson) was inadequate.

Let the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and every Cabinet Minister declare whether they agree with Muhyiddin or not – which will also be a measure of the quality of Cabinet Ministers Malaysians have.

The school principal concerned has denied that there was ever such an incident of sexual harassment involving my grandson. The Penang State Education Director Ahmad Tarmizi Kamaruddin also said yesterday that his department found no evidence to back the allegations in several blogs.

The alleged victim Anya Corke, who is a 21-year-old Woman Grand Chessmaster in her third year in Wellesley College in the United States have rubbished the allegation, as she had not been in Malaysia for seven years and does not know Guan Eng or my grandson.

Can Muhyiddin explain what is “inadequate” when there is the total and unequivocal denial and rebuttal of the most irresponsible, diabolical and devilish allegation which could be hurled against an innocent 16-year-old student solely for the accusers to score political points against Guan Eng? Continue reading “Is Muhyiddin fit to continue as Education Minister when he could violate a student’s child rights just to serve a blatant and dishonest political agenda?”

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The stupidest comment of ’em all

Comment by Thomas Lee Seng Hock

I am simply amazed and stunned that a person of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s status can come out with such a stupid comment on the case of Lim Guan Eng’s son.

The Deputy Prime Minister cum Education Minister has remarked that Guan Eng’s denial of the sexual harassment claims against his son was “inadequate”.

Muhyiddin told the media on Saturday 22 October 2011 that if the Penang chief minister “thinks it is important to correct the information, then he has to come up with a strong statement; mere denial is not enough.”

Either Muhyiddin cannot read or he is not so intelligent to understand what the media have been reporting during the last few days. Not only has the principal of the school where the alleged incident was said to have committed come out to refute the lies by the Umno bloggers, but the so-called victim whose photograph was used by the unethical and uncouth Umno people has also issued a strong statement refuting their wicked lies.
Continue reading “The stupidest comment of ’em all”