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Public forum – PEMANDU and the ETP: Truly Transformative or Business as Usual?

by Liew Chin Tong

Is the ETP truly transformative or is it just another expensive Public Relations exercise? The Rakyat has a right to know.

The government of Malaysia has invested a significant amount of resources and energy towards its Economic Transformation Program (ETP) which is currently being led by Senator Datuk Idris Jala , CEO of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU). According to a media report, RM66 million was paid to various consultants to establish PEMANDU. And this agency is not cheap to maintain. It’s eight directors have an average salary of RM30,000 a month each while an associate director each receive an average of RM23,300 per month. With this amount of taxpayer’s dollars being spent, the Rakyat has a right to know the concrete results which the ETP is supposed to deliver.

More important than how much PEMANDU costs is the ETP’s goal to transform Malaysia into a high income country. Here, PEMANDU has set very ambitious goals for itself – RM48,000 GNI per capita, 3.3 million new jobs, RM1.4 trillion in new investments, annual growth rate of 6% per annum, from now until 2020. In the eight ETP Updates announced by PEMANDU from October 2010 to November 2011, its transformation roadmap seems to be going on very well, with almost all of its targets achieved.

However, when the ETP is examined in greater detail, as was done in an ongoing series entitled “A Critique of the ETP” by the Research for Social Advancement (REFSA), we find that the ETP is not as transformative as it sounds. For example, we would have reached RM48,000 GNI per capita with or without the ETP. And reaching this target does not mean that we will be twice as rich in 2020 as we were in 2009. Continue reading “Public forum – PEMANDU and the ETP: Truly Transformative or Business as Usual?”

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Lupakan masalah masa lampau, kata Muhyiddin

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 05, 2012

5 MAC — Muhyiddin Yassin tidak bersetuju untuk bercakap tentang kesilapan dan kesalahan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang lampau. Katanya apa yang perlu dilakukan sekarang ialah untuk memandang kehadapan dan lupakan masalah lampau.

Beliau memberikan komen ini sebagai reaksi kepada permohonan maaf Najib Razak yang dibuatnya di Alor Setar dua hari yang lepas. Tindakan Najib berpatah sikap itu mendapat banyak reaksi ramai dan menjadi bahan perbualan disetiap tempat kita pergi. Di setengah tempat ianya menjadi bahan jenaka rakyat.

Seperti Najib, kata-kata Muhyiddn itu mempunyai satu ciri yang sama; iaitu mengakui yang BN telah banyak melakukan kesalahan dan kesilapan yang datang dari masalah kelemahan kepimpinan BN selama masa mereka membuat salah dan silap itu. Muhyiddin tidak mahu mengingati cerita lama yang telah membuatkan BN hampir tersungkur dihadapan mata rakyat. Continue reading “Lupakan masalah masa lampau, kata Muhyiddin”

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Courted today, cheated tomorrow

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 05, 2012

MARCH 5 — The second episode of “Lord Of The Rings” may come on (if Rais allows after reading this).

Watch the flip-flopping schizoid creature Gollum in action. One minute sweet-talking, next minute venomous and scheming. Gollum (aka Preciousss) only wants the Ring. Because the Ring confers power to protect the Evil One.
As Umno president, Najib has been flip-flopping from day one. His party has no winnable candidates.

That will explain all the forthcoming cheating at the polls of GE13. It will also explain all past moves and present manoeuvrings. If a party has to monopolise the mainstream media to obfuscate the rakyat and make use of a psych-op warfare unit to try and turn voters, you already know it is finished.

The Ring is to make sure Umno is returned to power so that we can get more cheap meat for the next five years?

Or for Felda settlers to sign off their fields, hearing sweet promises that those fields will never be taken away? After all, how can one move a fixed place? But never tell them that the ownership of the fixed place will change hands — for once in the market, who will own what will always be fleeting. That’s what markets are supposed to do. Continue reading “Courted today, cheated tomorrow”

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Halt Umno’s Horrific Hubris!

By Martin Jalleh

Umno has drastically “changed” into a haven of
Hired thugs, ruffians, rowdies and rogues,
Hoodlums, hell-bent on creating havoc,
Hecklers, harassers, haranguers, hustlers, and
Herds of goons, goblins and gangsters!

The Umnoputras have become increasingly
Haughty and superior low-life creatures,
Hardcore pornography producers and purveyors,
Hoaxsters, hackers and haters and
Head honchos of ugly, gutter politics! Continue reading “Halt Umno’s Horrific Hubris!”

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Najib’s apology for BN’s mistakes – a test of Najib’s authority and leadership as Prime Minister and UMNO President

“Najib apologies for BN’s past mistakes” (3/3/12)

“PM”s apology shows humility, says Muhyiddin” (4/3/12)

“Umno info chief: BN needs mandate to fix its mistakes” (4/3/12)

These three Malaysiakini headlines in 24 hours raise a thousand questions – whether the Prime Minister is genuine and sincere in extending an apology for Barisan Nasional’s past mistakes, what exactly are the mistakes Najib is apologising for but most poignant of all, Najib’s authority and leadership as Prime Minister and UMNO President. Continue reading “Najib’s apology for BN’s mistakes – a test of Najib’s authority and leadership as Prime Minister and UMNO President”

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Bagaimana hendak memaafkan mereka?

Oleh Aspan Alias | March 05, 2012
The Malaysian Insider

5 MAC — Kali ini saya menulis lagi tentang PM Najib kerana apa yang beliau perkatakan di Kedah itu amat pelik dan membuat saya begitu berminat untuk memberikan pandangan. Najib memohon maaf diatas kesilapan yang dilakukan oleh BN sehinggakan BN telah kalah dibanyak kawasan dan hilang sokongan 2/3 di Dewan Parlimen. Najib mengakui yang BN telah membuat banyak kesilapan terhadap rakyat sehinggakan rakyat hampir mendamparkan BN dalam pilihanraya yang lalu.

Dengan permohonan maaf itu ianya bermakna apa yang dikatakan oleh rakyat termasuk parti pembangkang selama ini yang BN itu adalah parti yang tidak senonoh adalah benar belaka. Sekarang Umno sudah mengakui kesalahan mereka maka adalah wajar parti itu sedar dan insaf dan janganlah menyalahkan parti-parti pembangkang bermula dari sekarang. Kita tidak tahu samada permohonan maaf itu adalah satu kesilapan “political language” bagi Umno, tetapi yang jelas Umno mengaku yang mereka merupakan pihak yang bersalah di dalam kemungkaran politik dan ekonomi yang dihadapi oleh negara kini.

Bagi saya memohon maaf ini tidak ada salahnya dan memang patut BN memohon maaf kepada rakyat kerana telah “menipu” rakyat sebegitu lama. Rakyat hanya dididik untuk menjadi masyarakat yang materialistik dan segala-galanya berkisar kepada wang ringgit. Baru dua hari yang lepas Najib telah melakukan kesalahan lagi dengan menjanjikan rakyat Kelantan yang segala masalah mereka akan selesai jika mengundi BN.
Continue reading “Bagaimana hendak memaafkan mereka?”

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Keadilan’s (and Malaysia’s) Shining Stars

By M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com

Great organizations have great leaders. Everyone recognizes that. Less appreciated is that to maintain its greatness an organization must actively nurture its next generation of leaders. Failure to do so would doom the organization.

The late Tun Razak was acutely aware of this crucial aspect of leadership. In his frequent visits to the districts he was always on the look out for talent. On spotting one, he would bring that promising individual back to headquarters for what we would call today “fast tracking.” Likewise Jack Welch, the legendary chief executive of GE. Whenever he toured the various units, he would ask those divisional heads to name two or three of their promising underlings. He would then ask those managers what they were doing to nurture the talents they had under their wings.

As a corollary to my observation, you can tell much about the potential for future greatness of an organization by looking at its next tier of leaders. It is for this reason that I am bullish on the future of Keadilan. The party is blessed with an abundance of young talent.
Continue reading “Keadilan’s (and Malaysia’s) Shining Stars”