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RCI on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah – another example of yet another broken promise by the BN?

DAP Sabah kicked off a series of Janji Ditepati public hearings starting in Kota Kinabalu on Monday to seek feedback from the people of Sabah and see if the promises made by the BN during its 49 year rule have indeed been fulfilled or if the government’s Merdeka slogan is yet another in a long series of broken promises by the BN to the people of Sabah.

The last time a series of such public hearings were held was in 1962 when the Commission of Enquiry for North Borneo and Sarawak (better known as the Cobbold Commission) sought public feedback in Sabah and Sarawak for a period of 2 ½ months. Indeed, the Cobbold Commission, which was appointed in January 1962, took five months to complete and was submitted to the British on the 21st of June 1962. The final report was released on the 1st of August, 1962. The Commission was chaired by the former Governor of the Bank of England, Lord Cameron Cobbold, with a four member Commission namely Wong Pow Nee, Chief Minister of Penang, Mohammed Ghazali Shafie, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaya, Anthony Abell, former Governor of Sarawak and David Watherston, former Chief Secretary of Malaya.

In contrast, it took Najib 6 months to announce the members of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah and to come up with the Terms of Reference. And even the Terms of Reference may have been delayed further if not for the departure of two prominent BN Members of Parliament from Sabah. Three weeks later, concerned Sabahans are still waiting for any signs of life that the RCI has started work. Continue reading “RCI on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah – another example of yet another broken promise by the BN?”

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LKS sends 1st tweet to Najib and Open Cyber Message to Sabah Ministers

Tweets @limkitsiang:

Sep 05, 7:43am
@NajibRazak 1st time twt PM 4Cabinet agenda 2day include Y RCIII Sabah x started work 7mths after Cabinet decision – mana “Janji Ditepati”?

Sep 05, 8:03am
Open Cyber Msg 2SabahMinisters -PTI top issue @ DAPSabah “Janji Ditepati” PublicHearings in KK Ranau Donggongon.Do raise in Cabinet 2day (1)

Sep 05, 8:08am
Esp Y instrument of apptmt x yet issued 2RCI members 3weeks after PM’s announcement; whether/when RCIII Sabah will hold public hearings (2)

Sep 05, 8:16am
Y RCIII Sabah still in sleepmode 7months after Cabinet decision 2set it up when Cobbold Commission 1962 completed its work in 5mths? (3)

Sep 05, 8:21am
Urge Sabah Ministers Bernard Maximus Shafie Anifah 2raise RCIII Sabah issue in Cabinet 2day – followup 2my 1st twt 2PM on same issue. (4)

Sep 05, 8:25am
Sabah Ministers shd make post-Cabinet stmts 2day 2answer many questions on RCIII Sabah. Also Sabah Ministers shd all have twitter a/cs (5)
Continue reading “LKS sends 1st tweet to Najib and Open Cyber Message to Sabah Ministers”

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Second Open Letter to Soi Lek

By Kee Thuan Chye | Tuesday, 04 September 2012 13:07
Malaysian Digest

Dear Soi Lek,

I last wrote an open letter to you that was published in this same website on Jan 12, 2011.

In it, you may recall, I said that being a highly educated person with the ability to think, you should consider renouncing race-based politics for the good of the nation.

I also wondered if the MCA still had any dignity left for continuing to be a part of Barisan Nasional (BN).

Since then, you have said or done nothing to indicate that you will change.
Continue reading “Second Open Letter to Soi Lek”

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‘Janji Ditepati’ Public hearings in Sabah successful kickoff in Kota Kinabalu

Tweets @limkitsiang:

Sep 03, 7:16pm
In KotaKinabalu 4kickoff of Sabah DAP “Janji Ditepati” 1st round of Public Hearings 2hear public views whether Sabahans agree with BN theme

Sep 03, 8:40pm
Congrats SabahDAP 4organising “Janji Ditepati” Public Hearing State tour as “substitute” 4RCI on 49yrs of Sabah in Msia proposed by DAP b4

Sep 03, 8:45pm
TanSri Simon Sipaun, whom I had proposed as RCI Chmn, speaking. He said Sabah is now Darul PTI as ilegals have long outnumbered Sabahans

Sep 03, 8:50pm
Simon speak abt poverty in when this shld not happen as Sabah very rich state with oil n other resources. Estimate poverty rate >30% inSabah
Continue reading “‘Janji Ditepati’ Public hearings in Sabah successful kickoff in Kota Kinabalu”

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1MDB’s RM2.3b acquisition of Genting Sanyen – Questions

By Sentinel

Several months ago, 1MDB had won the bid to acquire Tanjong Energy from Ananda Krishnan for a consideration in excess of RM 8 billion. One weekend in August, rumours swirled regarding a new major acquisition by 1MDB in the power sector.

The “rumours” became reality when an announcement by Bursa said that 1MDB had agreed to acquire a unit of Genting Energy for RM 2.3 billion. That unit of Genting Energy was Genting Sanyen, one of the first generation IPPs with a capacity of 720MW and which came into operation in 1995. The power purchase agreement (PPA) with TNB will expire in 2016. Separately, Genting made a parallel announcement regarding the divestment, adding that it will book a extraordinary gain of RM 1.9 billion from the sale.

Any person with some commercial sense will realise that the book value of the Genting asset in question is only RM 400 million. The PPA has 4 more years to run, after which the asset will be worth nothing more than scrap metal. Even if TNB decides to extend the term of the PPA, it will be on TNB’s terms, and not on Genting’s terms because the alternative to Genting is scrap value of the plant. So why would 1MDB pay RM 2.3 billion for the asset ? Can it recover the RM 2.3 billion in the 4 years remaining of the PPA? Continue reading “1MDB’s RM2.3b acquisition of Genting Sanyen – Questions”

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Cocky BN needs to repent

Jeswan Kaur | September 3, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Before fingers are pointed at Pakatan for doing a bad job, it will do BN good to take a good look at itself and realise how how bad a track record it has.

COMMENT

Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s former longest-serving prime minister, wants the rakyat to vote for Barisan Nasional come the 13th general election. His reason is that the federal government under the Barisan Nasional was all ears and had changed many laws and policies to bring a better future for the people.

Thanks but no thanks, Mahathir; had BN been listening, there would have been no reason for the “Bersih” saga to take place.

If all was well at the polls, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or Bersih, would not have taken to the streets, not one or twice but thrice.

And did the BN government listen then? No!

Why then must the rakyat vote BN back into power, if all BN does is to “monopolise” its existence and hoodwink the people into believing that it cares? Continue reading “Cocky BN needs to repent”

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Choosing sides

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 03, 2012

SEPT 3 —Malaysians will indeed have to choose. Stand on the side of the oppressors or the oppressed. Support the deceiver or the deceived. Support the corrupt and endorse the looting and the pillage of this country. All done in the name of Agama, Bangsa dan Negara. Everything is justifiable because the perpetrators are Malays and forgetting the victims are in the majority also Malays. Pardon the government in shortchanging the FELDA settlers, giving them a measly 2.5 per cent of the FGVH shares while the bulk of the shares are hijacked by people who have no connection at all with FELDA. Pardon Umno because even though it allocates 2.5 per cent to settlers and 3 per cent to FELDA employees, all is done in the name of the Malays.

Ignore the fact that the LCCT is going to cost close to RM6 billion instead of RM500 million if facilities for a low-cost airline are built northwards of the current KLIA instead of agreeing that the facilities be built on soft ground as proposed by the MAB? Are people in the MAB making hay while the sun shines?

We keep quiet because it’s done by the current government which fights for Agama, Bangsa dan Negara.

Then, does that mean the agama of Umno endorses corruption, pillage and looting? Does that also mean that bangsa permits Umno to do all the transgressions? And does that mean agama and bangsa of the Malays excuse the murder of a Mongolian because she is after all just a prostitute? And finally because it is done in the name and on behalf of negara which Umno claims absolute ownership of, all of the above are excusable?

The recent spate of advertisements where various people say I chose Malaysia and I choose to vote are nothing more than the vilest self-serving propaganda. They are also self-congratulating. They seem to suggest that those who support the government choose to show the support through the voting process and those who do not appear to be shown as people who want to change government through undemocratic means. Continue reading “Choosing sides”

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‘Janji Demokrasi’ the Real Merdeka Event

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysiakini
Sept 2, 2012

The occasion could not have been better chosen or timed: The eve of the country’s 55th Merdeka anniversary, two hours before countdown.

The venue could not have been more appropriate: Dataran Merdeka,where the countdown to Merdeka is held every year to commemorate the very first countdown to independence in 1957.

The theme could not have been more telling: ‘JanjiDemokrasi’, a response to the Government’s Merdeka theme, ‘Janji Ditepati’. Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate) A.Samad Said to read his impassioned poem with its powerful ending:

Kita laungkan jerit senyaringnya: “Janji Demokrasi!”

sehingglah janji itu turut menjeritnya sendiri!

(We cry with all our hearts: “The promise of democracy!”

until the promise itself joins in and cries out togetherwith us!)

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein predicted few people would turn up. But, as usual, he was wrong. They came by the thousands – some counted tens of thousands – dressed in yellow, as requested by the organisers. Continue reading “‘Janji Demokrasi’ the Real Merdeka Event”

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Dataran gathering gave me new hope

By Christine SK Lai
Free Malaysia Today
September 2, 2012

I have started questioning, and what I see in my beloved land saddens me.

COMMENT

Why on earth would thousands of people come out of their homes to join thousands of other strangers on the streets, risking possible arrest in an assembly declared illegal?

Why would many still dress up in yellow, knowing full well this would immediately ‘mark’ them out as easy targets amongst the crowd, should provocation break out?

I am talking about the ordinary Malays, Chinese, Indians and others, some coming from out-of-state, who spilled over Dataran Merdeka and its surrounding areas on Aug 30, 2012, from 10pm onwards.

There was no colourful parade to cheer, no fiery VIP ‘leaders’ making ‘ra-ra-ra’ rousing speeches, no big-time performance to be entertained by, and hey, no free food! No one paid them anything to come. Many probably had to battle after-work traffic jams to turn up.

Many, like us, would also have suffered the darn inconvenience of having to go on a merry-go-round chase, rushing to catch the last LRT home after the event (we were told as we tried to board at Pasar Seni that only Masjid Jamek was open). Continue reading “Dataran gathering gave me new hope”

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Stop political corruption: Stop party-hopping

by P Ramakrishnan
Aliran
2 September 2012

What must not be tolerated is the betrayal of voters who had cast their votes in favour of a candidate who then decides to party-hop after winning, says P Ramakrishnan in supporting anti-party-hopping legislation.

It isdifficult to justify why anyone would want to oppose an anti-party-hopping legislation that holds out hope for morality in politics. Any sane person should welcome this move so that elected representatives who betray their electors cannot go scot-free. These renegades cannot ignore the mandate of the voters who elected them.

The proposed legislation by the Penang State government does not prevent anyonefrom leaving their current party. They are free to go and join any party and associate themselves with whatever party they choose to keep company. There isno law to prevent them from jumping ship!

All that an anti-party-hopping legislation seeks to do is to force a by-election so that the voters who had been betrayed could be given the opportunity to decide once again whether they still want renegades or defectors to continue as their elected representatives. Those who initially elected the renegades must have the right to decide whether they still want them as their elected representative. Continue reading “Stop political corruption: Stop party-hopping”

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BN’s amateur politicking

— Lokman Zahid
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 02, 2012

SEPT 2 — Malaysia celebrated its 55th Merdeka Day two days ago but its politicians remain mired in a childish mindset that is best left at the kampung level. Come on, aren’t we supposed to be marching towards a developed nation status by 2020?

So why do we still have issues about a long-forgotten flag or that there are attempts to make Malaysia a republic? Who even remembers the flag and who in their right mind think that Malaysia can ever be a republic except the siege-mentality and scare-mongering of the folks in Barisan Nasional (BN).

The sad fact is that on the occasion of the 55th independence day anniversary celebrations, Najib Razak as prime minister had the opportunity to unite the country and speak like a statesman, the same way that Lee Hsien Loong did on August 9 at the National Day Rally in Singapore.

The Singapore Prime Minister cautioned Singaporeans against xenophobia and becoming lazy Singaporeans. After all, that tiny red dot south of the border is almost already the world’s richest country by per capita. He did not warn those who voted for the Opposition in the last elections, unlike our dear Najib.

In contrast, the BN government used this year’s National Day to divide the people, urging Malaysians to protect their “independence” from the Opposition. What kind of government does that? One that is bankrupt of ideas. Continue reading “BN’s amateur politicking”

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Internet blackout day: Politicisation of online activism?

— Damien D. Cheong and Yeap Su Yin
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 02, 2012

SEPT 2 — An internet blackout day was declared in Malaysia on 14 August 2012.

This was in protest against Section 114A of the recently-amended Evidence Act, which enables the authorities to act firmly against individuals who post defamatory, inflammatory and/or seditious content on the Internet.

The law not only holds the user/blogger potentially accountable for the offending post(s) but also any individual or organisation connected to the objectionable website or blog such as a person who: owns, administers or edits the website; is registered with the network service provider; and is in custody or control of the computer at the time the offence was committed.

These new amendments have alarmed many netizens and civil society groups because of the legislation’s wide scope and the heavy onus placed on the accused to prove his or her innocence. Many individuals have interpreted these amendments as an attempt by the Malaysian government to stifle internet freedom. The Stop 114A campaign was spearheaded by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), a civil society group, but it soon attracted support from several prominent civil society organisations, bloggers and opposition parties.

In the wake of Internet Blackout Day, the Najib administration promised to re-evaluate Section 114A, with the prime minister assuring the public that ‘Whatever we do, we must put the people first’. While this outcome may be interpreted as a success for online activism in Malaysia, the question this raises is whether such online activism can truly create an impact on its own or whether it needs support from opposition parties and political notables to do so. Continue reading “Internet blackout day: Politicisation of online activism?”

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Change of national flag Jalur Gemilang never a Pakatan Rakyat agenda and never discussed or raised in any PR meeting

When the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday personally led three senior UMNO Ministers to attack the Pakatan Rakyat with the canard that PR wanted to replace the national flag Jalur Gemilang, it was more than anything else a reflection of their sense of desperation about UMNO/Barisan Nasional prospects in the impending 13th General Election than respect for the truth.

I do not believe that with all the police and intelligence resources at their command, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein could be unaware that there is completely no basis whatsoever in the canard that Pakatan Rakyat wanted to change the national flag.

The change of the national flag is never a Pakatan Rakyat agenda and has never been discussed or raised in any Pakatan Rakyat meeting.

This was why I had yesterday twittered in response to the allegation that PR wanted to change the national flag:

“Never came across such scatter-brained idea before. UMNO/BN dirty-tricks dept very busy”

Continue reading “Change of national flag Jalur Gemilang never a Pakatan Rakyat agenda and never discussed or raised in any PR meeting”

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Arguing for a secular state

By Ahmad Farouk Musa
Free Malaysia Today
August 23, 2012

The question is would discriminatory policies noted in classical texts of Islamic state be acceptable in the modern era.

COMMENT

To many Muslims and especially the Islamists, the term secular is a very repugnant term and this abhorrence to anything secular stems mainly from the previously bitter experience of secularism in Turkey that had led to the dissolution of the Ottoman Caliphate, the last Caliphate in the Muslim world.

The fall of the Ottoman Caliphate led to some Muslim scholars to push for a new entity known as an Islamic state. The concept of an Islamic state was not known in the Islamic world before that. The main proponent for an Islamic state was none other than Muhammad Rashid Redha, a great Muslim reformer in the early 20th century. The main intention of Redha was to stem the onslaught of Western imperialism.

History has shown that while secularism was born in the West, its values spread across the world in many different continents and societies. According to Louay Safi, a scholar at the International Institute of Islamic Thought, secularism denotes a set of notions and values whose aim is to ensure that the state is neither engaged in promoting specific religious beliefs and values, nor uses its powers and offices to persecute religion.

To prevent state officials from using their political authority to impose a narrow set of religious attitudes and values on the larger society, and to foreclose the possibility of using religious symbols to agitate one religious community against another, a separation must be made between political authorities from religious affiliation. Continue reading “Arguing for a secular state”

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China’s Growing Economic Crisis

By William Pesek
Bloomberg
Aug 30, 2012

Policy makers around the world have long envied China’s ability to get big things done. A huge 4 trillion-yuan ($630 billion) stimulus plan as the global economy cratered in 2008? No problem. Marshaling banks to lend trillions more? Check. Enacting sweeping regulatory changes at a moment’s notice? You bet.

Ahhh, the good old days. Now, a once-in-a-decade leadership shift is getting in the way of the stimulus-happy policies to which investors became accustomed. The nimbleness that helped China steer around the worst of the global crisis is confronting political paralysis of the kind more often seen in Japan, Europe and the U.S. The upshot is that China’s 7.6 percent growth rate may fall more in the next 12 months than anyone expects. Continue reading “China’s Growing Economic Crisis”

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Puluhan juta wang dibelanjakan, Jalur Gemilang tidak juga berkibar

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 01, 2012

1 SEPT — Semalam genap 55 tahun negara kita merdeka dan begitu rapi persediaan yang diuruskan untuk merayakan Hari Kemerdekaan ini oleh kerajaan. Perayaan ini merupakan satu perayaan yang termahal sekali dan itu tidak mengapalah kerana memang sudah menjadi budaya kita berbelanja berlebih-lebihan untuk perayaan. Wang yang dibelanjakan pun bukannya duit siapa tetapi duit rakyat yang membayar cukai dengan keringat dan darah mereka.

Perayaan mengingati Hari Kemerdekaan di negara kita merupakan perayaan yang terboros sekali. Setahun yang lepas saya sempat melihat majlis ulang tahun negara Australia melalui kaca TV yang saya sudah lupa dari saluran mana. Tetapi Australia merayakan secara “simple” tetapi meriah. Majlis itu yang berlangsung dalam kurang dari dua jam hanya mendengar ucapan Perdana Menteri yang ringkas. Tidak ada bas disewa oleh kerajaan untuk mengangkut orang ramai dengan elaun kehadiran sebanyak RM30, baju-T dan sebagainya.

Semua Ahli Jemaah Kabinetnya hanya duduk di atas barisan kerusi yang “simple” dan mudah dan kita boleh tahu mereka tidak menggunakan wang rakyat yang begitu banyak untuk merayakan hari kebangsaan mereka. Sebaliknya kita di sini membelanjakan wang rakyat berpuluh-puluh juta untuk merayakan Hari Kebangsaan kita. Tetapi tak mengapa juga rakyat kita kebanyakannya tidak kisah harta benda mereka diperkosa seperti ini dan ada yang masih memberikan sokongan pihak yang membelanjakan wang mereka dengan boros itu.

Tetapi selain daripada memberikan komen tentang pembaziran ini saya ingin memberikan pemerhatian saya terhadap perayaan Hari Kebangsaan kita yang saya nampak tidak mendapat sambutan rakyat. Banyak publisiti yang kita dengar dan lihat tentang seruan untuk menaikkan Jalur Gemilang, tetapi di mana-mana kita pergi orang ramai tidak nampak Jalur Gemilang dikibarkan di premis-premis perniagaan dan rumah-rumah kediaman rakyat yang ramai. Continue reading “Puluhan juta wang dibelanjakan, Jalur Gemilang tidak juga berkibar”