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Malaysians should remember the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku, Razak and Hussein as under them, there was no question whatsoever that Malaysia is a liberal, democratic, multi-racial, secular state with Islam as the religion of Federation

Banker Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, the youngest son of our second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, has said that his father would be shocked 39 years after his death – 57 years after Merdeka and 51 years after Malaysia – that race and religion divide Malaysians even more today than during his time.

It is against this sombre backdrop of nation-building after five decades that we are gathered here to remember Tun Razak and his legacy to the country.

Last year, Malaysia was bedevilled by a host of disasters and misfortunes like Continue reading “Malaysians should remember the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku, Razak and Hussein as under them, there was no question whatsoever that Malaysia is a liberal, democratic, multi-racial, secular state with Islam as the religion of Federation”

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Cabinet should revisit the question why an emergency was not declared for the worst floods catastrophe in living memory, affecting millions of people, evacuated a quarter of a million people, cost 23 lives and caused losses running into billions of ringgit and give assurance an emergency would be declared for future disasters

Malaysians must be very disappointed that despite calls from many quarters, the Barisan Nasional Government had failed to declare a state of emergency, limited in place and time, over the worst floods catastrophe in living memory, affecting millions of people, evacuated a quarter of a million people, cost 23 lives and caused losses running into billions of ringgit.

It even created flood history in Malaysia in knocking out the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who subsequently claimed that he was also a flood victim – “confining him to bed for days” due to the infection with E. Coli bacteria while visiting flood-affected states.

Actually, Najib was a flood-victim twice over, as he was forced to cut short his vacation in Hawaii earlier, returning to Malaysia on a commercial flight, creating a mystery as to the whereabouts of the government official jet which had flown Najib Hawaii in the first place.

The Cabinet should revisit the question why an emergency was not declared for the worst floods catastrophe in living memory, and the Prime Minister should give an assurance that in future disasters of such magnitude, the Federal Government would not fail in its duty to declare a state of emergency to mobilise the entire national resources, particularly the 150,000-strong armed forces, to render the quickest help and relief to the disaster victims. Continue reading “Cabinet should revisit the question why an emergency was not declared for the worst floods catastrophe in living memory, affecting millions of people, evacuated a quarter of a million people, cost 23 lives and caused losses running into billions of ringgit and give assurance an emergency would be declared for future disasters”

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Paris: The world meets and marches in solidarity

Observer
14.1.2015

This is a message addressed to the Prime Minister written more in sorrow than anger. This is a plea.

A somber Sunday. I have just seen the CNN live telecast of the solidarity march.

A million and a half souls came together to condemn the barbaric murders in Paris earlier in week perpetuated by agents of terror associated with radical Islam, a minority of the billion plus followers of Islam.

The march drew leaders from across the globe. The scenes depicted heads of Government from across Europe; there were others from Asia and Africa. There were Muslim leaders – King Abdullah of Jordan; the Prime Minister X of Turkey; PM. Netanyahu of Israel; President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority marched with clasped hands.

The crowds waved flags of many nations – both Christian and Muslim. Islam clerics joined in the denunciation of the terrorists.

The scene portrayed an emotional outpouring of grief and defiance of the murderers who had not differentiated between Christian, Jew, or Muslim as the victims belonged to all three faiths.

As a Malaysian, I was overcome with shame and sadness, as there was no sign that my country was prepared to take a firm stand and join the vast majority in a united stand against those who preach and dispense terror and hate.

There was no Malaysian presence and not a single flag flew to signify that Malaysia was one with the rest of the world in sending a message to the forces of evil that murder and mayhem were not the answer to expressing feelings of being aggrieved. Continue reading “Paris: The world meets and marches in solidarity”

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My father would be shocked, says Nazir Razak

BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
14 January 2015

The youngest son of Malaysia’s second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak, who died on this day 39 years ago, has called for the setting up of a national consultative council to bring Malaysians together, just as his father did after the 1969 race riots.

Banker Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said this when asked by The Malaysian Insider (TMI) what message his father would convey if he could speak to Malaysians today.

“I think he would say that it is time to set up another national consultative council, like he did in 1970, to discuss critical issues around preserving harmony and fostering unity amongst Malaysians,” says Nazir. “I think he would be shocked that it is 2015 and race and religion divide Malaysians even more today than during his time.”

Nazir was replying to questions posed to him and his other brothers, Johari, Nizam and Nazim about their father as part of a series of articles TMI will be publishing over the next few days to mark the passing of Razak, who died of leukaemia in London in 1976, to the shock of the nation, at the young age of 54. Continue reading “My father would be shocked, says Nazir Razak”

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Call on Cabinet tomorrow to convene a special Parliamentary meeting end of this month to present a revised 2015 Budget

The Cabinet tomorrow should do what it should have done at its last Cabinet meeting for 2014 on Dec. 17 – to convene a Special meeting of Parliament this month to present a revised Budget 2015.

When the Budget 2015 was drawn up, it was based on the oil price assumption of US$100 (RM357) per barrel.

Since the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak presented Budget 2015 on Oct. 25, Brent crude prices had fallen from US$100 to a six year-low of US$47.36.

Oil and gas-related income is a backbone of the Malaysian economy as it currently accounts for 30% of the government’s total revenue.
With the plunge in crude oil prices, the Government is duty-bound to revise the 2015 Budget and seek parliamentary approval for revision of the 2015 Budget.

The Cabinet should decide on convening a Special Parliament before the end of January now that Prime Minister who is also Finance Minsiter has finally conceded today on the need to restructure the 2015 Budget. Continue reading “Call on Cabinet tomorrow to convene a special Parliamentary meeting end of this month to present a revised 2015 Budget”

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Muhyiddin’s faux pas claiming that extremism had never existed among Muslims in Malaysia is of the same class as Najib’s first praise and glorification of Islamic State terrorism

The Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin’s faux pas claiming that extremism had never existed among Muslims in Malaysia is of the same class as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s faux pas giving praise and glorification of Islamic State terrorism last June.

Muhyiddin’s latest faux pas join’s the DPM’s host of infamous “quotes” like “I am Malay first, Malaysian second” and “Malaysian youngsters are receiving better education than children in the United States, Britain and Germany”.

If there are no extremists among Muslims in Malaysia, how come the Bukit Aman Special Counter Terrorism Division had arrested 51 persons suspected of being Malaysian militants.

Furthermore, why have the number of Muslim Malaysians fighting for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq gone up from 39 to 59 since October? Continue reading “Muhyiddin’s faux pas claiming that extremism had never existed among Muslims in Malaysia is of the same class as Najib’s first praise and glorification of Islamic State terrorism”

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The latest in the quadrilateral Zahid-Phua-Shafee-Khalid tangle – Muhyiddin’s sudden interest rather fishy

Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has belatedly answered the question I posed last Thursday: “Was the Home Minister’s infamous letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), vouching for the integrity of an alleged Malaysian gambling kingpin Paul Phua standing trial in Las Vegas, Nevada in direct contradiction to the police’s earlier communication with FBI, discussed at the Cabinet meeting yesterday？”

Five days after I had asked the question, Muhyiddin said in Cyberjaya that the Cabinet was not aware of Zahid’s letter to the United States authorities on the alleged gambling kingpin Phua and that the Cabinet “did not discuss” the matter beforehand.

He said any further elaboration of the matter would come after he had studied the issue at hand.

He also said he was not aware of the differing versions being aired about Phua’s case by the latter’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar.

My goodness, what type of a Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers do we have in Malaysia! Continue reading “The latest in the quadrilateral Zahid-Phua-Shafee-Khalid tangle – Muhyiddin’s sudden interest rather fishy”

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After 40 years of nightmare of illegal immigrants in Sabah, time is well past “talking” and only action, action and action will do

A few days ago, the yet-to-receive Appointment Letter Chairman of the Working Committee of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS) Report, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said his committee was prepared to hear out the Opposition.

Pairin intended to appear very magnanimous but he has come across as very out-dated and even obsolete, for after 40 years of nightmare of illegal immigrants in Sabah, time is well past “talking” or “hearing out”, but action, action and only action to resolve the problem once-and-for-all will do.

All the solutions that could be conceived to resolve the problem of exponential increase in the population of Sabah as a result of the unchecked influx of illegal immigrants, and worse, their illegal and immoral enfranchisement as voters through Project I/C and such-like treasonous conspiracies, have been canvassed ad infinitum, even by Pairin himself and the PBS leaders, and it is the height of dishonesty and hypocrisy for anyone to pretend that they want to hear out some more views as to how the 40-year-old nightmare of illegal immigrants could be resolved.

Pairin knew that there is no shortage of solutions but only one thing is lacking, and he himself had diagnosed this problem when he appeared as a witness at the RCIIIS. This was noted in page 31 of the RCIIIS Report on Pairin’s testimony as follows: Continue reading “After 40 years of nightmare of illegal immigrants in Sabah, time is well past “talking” and only action, action and action will do”

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The 40-year-old nightmare of illegal immigrants in Sabah is one of the seven cardinal sins of UMNO/BN government betraying the rights and interests of the people

The 40-year-old nightmare of illegal immigrants in Sabah is one of the seven cardinal sins of the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government betraying the rights and interests of the people.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS) has gone full circle, from skepticism of the public when it was first announced to high hopes raised during the public hearings, and to dashed hopes, disbelief and even deeper skepticism when the RCIIIS Report was made public in Kota Kinabalu on 3rd December 2014.

The people of Sabah and Malaysia must not give up hope and must continue to demand action to end the influx of illegal immigrants, revoke identity cards issued illegally, ensure a clean and untainted electoral roll in Sabah and to punish those responsible for the Project I/C and other treasonous scams, acting unlawfully, whether through abuse of power or corruption, in the massive issuance of illegal identity cards to exercise the citizenship rights of voting in the electoral processes.

The debate on the 40-year-old nightmare of illegal immigrants in Sabah cannot come to an end with the RCIIIS Report, but should be taken to a new height of immediacy and urgency.

The publication of this booklet, “The RCIIIS: The Endless Merry-Go-Round”, which is a collection of media statements and speeches of DAP leaders in the first month of the release of the RCIIIS Report, is to ensure that the 40-year-old nightmare of the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah remain in the forefront of public debate and democratic struggle not only in Sabah but also in Malaysia. Continue reading “The 40-year-old nightmare of illegal immigrants in Sabah is one of the seven cardinal sins of UMNO/BN government betraying the rights and interests of the people”

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Hishammuddin is right that the terrorism attacks in Paris which finally left 20 dead can happen in Malaysia but why are the extremists in the country allowed to purvey their rhetoric and politics of hatred and intolerance unchecked?

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is right when he warned yesterday that the terrorism attack in Paris, which finally left 20 dead, can also happen in Malaysia.

Hishammuddin said he came back from Paris and London last month where he had discussion with their intelligence agencies and what happened was not something unexpected.

He said what happened in France should not be taken lightly as it is not impossible to face the same scenario in the country, and that Malaysia must beef up its security, especially in the Sabah coastal area.

It is most unfortunate that the Defence Minister is looking at the problem solely from the perspective of security intelligence, preparations and assets instead of why Malaysia is becoming increasingly prone to threats of terrorism, whether in the country or emanating from the country as evidenced by Malaysians rallying to Islamic State’s Caliphate cause despite mass murders and beheadings.

The Global Terrorism Index 2014 released by the Institute of Economic and Peace in November, where Malaysia climbed 42 places in the international terrorism indicator, citing religious extremism as the primary cause of terror attacks worldwide, should be a wake-up call that the peace, harmony and unity of Malaysia’s multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural polity is placed in jeopardy if nothing is done to check the rhetoric and politics of hatred, intolerance and extremism which had increasingly aggravated racial and religious polarization in recent years. Continue reading “Hishammuddin is right that the terrorism attacks in Paris which finally left 20 dead can happen in Malaysia but why are the extremists in the country allowed to purvey their rhetoric and politics of hatred and intolerance unchecked?”

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Call on Najib to reconsider a RCI into the 2014-2015 floods catastrophe as any investigation which excludes inquiry into the failures of National Security Council in making proper Floods Disaster Relief, Mitigation and Management Preparedness will only perpetuate denial syndrome and cover-up complex

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that Malaysian experts will be engaged by the Government to determine the cause of recent floods and how to mitigate them in future.

The Star report “Experts to be engaged to check floods” quoted Najib as saying yesterday at the official launch of Menara Razak at Universiti Tecknologi Malaysia (UTM): “The issue has been raised in the Cabinet and we have decided we must know the factors that cause the disaster.”
Najib said the Government believed there was sufficient local expertise to conduct the relevant studies.

He said: “We want our experts to guide the Government on what needs to be done both in terms of mitigation as well as sustainable development”.
I find Najib’s announcement most disappointing.

While I welcome an investigation into the worst flood disaster in living memory, the exclusion of the inquiry into the failures of the National Security Council (NSC) in making proper Floods Disaster Relief, Mitigation and Management Preparedness will only perpetuate the government’s denial syndrome and cover-up complex. Continue reading “Call on Najib to reconsider a RCI into the 2014-2015 floods catastrophe as any investigation which excludes inquiry into the failures of National Security Council in making proper Floods Disaster Relief, Mitigation and Management Preparedness will only perpetuate denial syndrome and cover-up complex”

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Was Zahid’s infamous letter to FBI discussed at Cabinet yesterday – more likely not, as all Ministers who stay in glass houses have learnt not to throw stones

Was the Home Minister’s infamous letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), vouching for the integrity of an alleged Malaysian gambling kingpin Paul Phua standing trial in Las Vegas, Nevada in direct contradiction to the police’s earlier communication with FBI, discussed at the Cabinet meeting yesterday？

It should be if the Ministers care for the interests and international reputation of the country and if the Malaysian system of governance had undergone a national transformation, upholding the principles of accountability and good governance.

After all, Ministers like ordinary Malaysians must be piqued to know why Zahid’s letter was withdrawn in the Nevada District Court in Las Vegas after Putrajaya objected to it being used in Paul Puah’s defence.

Zahid’s letter was clearly in defence of Phua. Who objected to it being used in open court proceedings? Zahid, the Attorney-General, the Police or the Prime Minister himself?

Could it be that Malaysian Ministers are a special batch of politicians who, like the traditional three monkeys, have eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and mouth that speaks not – who are completely uninterested as to what other Ministers are doing or saying, though they are bound by the principle of collective Ministerial responsibility? Continue reading “Was Zahid’s infamous letter to FBI discussed at Cabinet yesterday – more likely not, as all Ministers who stay in glass houses have learnt not to throw stones”

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Cabinet meeting yesterday a great disappointment as it did not address anyone of the five central issues I had highlighted in my email to Najib – in particular on emergency; Special Parliament and RCI on Flood Disaster Management Preparedness

The Cabinet yesterday, the first in three weeks since the worst floods catastrophe in living memory which has claimed at least 23 lives, evacuated a quarter of a million flood victim to relief centres, affected over a million people and caused losses to the tune of billions of ringgit, is a great disappointment and letdown.

It failed to address anyone of the five central issues of the floods catastrophe I had highlighted in my email to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Sunday, in particular on the declaration of a state of emergency to more efficiently and swiftly deal with the post-flood challenges and dangers, the convening of a Special Parliament and a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Floods Disaster Management Preparedness, apart from setting up a Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat Flood Action Council and the allocation of RM500 million as interest-free loans to the flood victims to start life and business anew, ranging from RM1,000 to RM250,000 loans.

When Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairman of the National Security Council, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was in Kelantan on Tuesday to chair the Kelantan post-flood co-ordination plan committee, he said the damage to public properties amounted to RM932.4 million, but the damage data reported by the various ministries and government agencies in the following cases have already exceeded RM1.6 billion, viz:

(i) Damaged school properties in Kelantan and other states – RM500 million;

(ii) Repair of damaged roads and slopes – RM434 million;

(iii) Repair of damaged railway stations and tracks – RM250 million;

(iv) Ministry of Local Government clean-up operations only in Kelantan: RM200 million;

(v) Ministry of Health repair to hospitals and clinics – RM270 million

(vi) Repair of damaged police stations – RM15 million.

Not all Ministries and government agencies have announced their damage assessments and the above are not the final estimates of the of repair needed to restore to the position pre-flood situation. Continue reading “Cabinet meeting yesterday a great disappointment as it did not address anyone of the five central issues I had highlighted in my email to Najib – in particular on emergency; Special Parliament and RCI on Flood Disaster Management Preparedness”

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Calls for strict audit that government had spent RM800 million on flood victims as Kelantan entitled to ask where the money had gone as it should get RM500 – RM600 million as the worst flood-stricken state

Today, accompanied by the former Bersih co-chairman and patron of Negara-Ku, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, DAP MPs Anthony Loke (Seremban), Liew Chin Tong (Kluang), DAP State Assembly members Lee Chin Chen (Ketari- Pahang), Wong May Ing (Pantai Remis) and DAP and social activists in four FWDs, with a container of essential supplies for Manek Urai, I made my third flood victims relief mission to Kelantan.

We left Kuala Lumpur at 5 am, first stop at Bentong for breakfast, arriving in Gua Musang before 10 am, where we were given a briefing by DAP and PAS Gua Musang leaders on the floods devastation in Gua Musang beginning on Winter Solstice (Dongzhi festival) on Dec. 22, 2014.

Gua Musang, which literally means “Cave of the Civet”, is the largest of the 10 districts in Kelantan and Gua Musang town had never experienced serious flooding before.

It therefore took the people in Gua Musang by complete surprise when Gua Musang, together with Kuala Krai (another district which had never suffered serious flooding before) became the two worst flood-stricken areas in the December 2014 floods catastrophe.

When we visited Gua Musang town, the people were busy valiantly trying to clean up their houses, shops and inns – a puny effort compared to the enormous ravages caused by the floods.

It was two weeks since Gua Musang had been stricken by the unprecedented floods catastrophe, with water as high as 10 to 12 ft, submerging the whole town but Gua Musang still looked forlorn and desolate.

From the slow pace of recovery that I saw in Gua Musang, the Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yaakob may be right when he said that Kelantan will need at least six months to fully recover from the devastation of the worst floods that hit the state in the past few weeks.

But six months to recover from the devastation of the floods catastrophe is too long and will impose great problems and grave burdens on the flood victims in Kelantan.

This is why there must be a total change of mindset of the Federal, state and local authorities to ensure that this recovery period is slashed from “at least six months” to two months, and why a declaration of state of emergency to centralize and mobilise all available resources to help the floods victims in Gua Musang and other parts of Kelantan to start life anew after the devastation of the floods is urgent and imperative.

During the worst of the floods catastrophe, an emergency is needed to save lives. In the post-flood scenario, an emergency is needed to restore living and ensure livelihood – to help the flood victims rebuild life and business anew in the shortest possible time. Continue reading “Calls for strict audit that government had spent RM800 million on flood victims as Kelantan entitled to ask where the money had gone as it should get RM500 – RM600 million as the worst flood-stricken state”

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PM gets a lesson in transparency

Amin Khairuddin| January 5, 2015
Free Malaysia Today

Blogger Shahbudin says Najib shouldn’t have acted like someone with something to hide.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak would have saved himself a lot of embarrassment if he had been open about his recent movements instead of behaving like a thief, Umno critic Shahbudin Husin writes in his latest blog entry.

Continuing with his series of caustic blog entries that comment on Najib’s unannounced Hawaiian holiday and the mystery of what happened to the private government jet after he cut short the golfing vacation, Shahbudin says it is odd that the Prime Minister apparently did not count on the Internet’s power to turn any Tom, Dick or Harry into a reporter when he himself has often spoken about that power.

He says the one lesson Najib must learn from the episode is that he, as a prime minister and very public figure, has to be transparent about everything in these times of instant information and open communication.

“If he had not left for his Hawaiian Christmas holiday in secret and had instead released information that he would be playing golf with Barack Obama, no one would have really cared when the picture of him golfing with the American President became widely distributed,” he writes.

“If he had returned in the same aircraft that took him to Hawaii when the flood situation had become frantic, no one would have really bothered to trace the whereabouts of the official plane.” Continue reading “PM gets a lesson in transparency”

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In the land of endless possibilities, priority for flood victims

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
5 January 2015

Apart from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, there are a lot of flood victims who are also down with E. Coli infection. Nothing surprising because this is flood waters we are talking about.

So let’s not be bothered if there are leaders down with an infection or suffer some hardship in relief operations for the worst floods to hit Malaysia in decades. At the very least, it is some discomfort before they get well.

The priority, really, should be on the flood victims. Continue reading “In the land of endless possibilities, priority for flood victims”

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Asking for urgent meeting with Najib before Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to present four-point proposal on the floods catastrophe for Cabinet adoption

I am seeking an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, before Wednesday with a four-point proposal for adoption by the Cabinet with regard to the floods catastrophe which had ravaged nine states in the past two weeks.

It would appear that the Cabinet had not met since Dec. 17, as the two  previous Wednedays had fallen on Christmas eve on Dec. 24 and New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31.

Although both these dates are not public holidays in Malaysia, it is the tradition that the Cabinet would not meet on these two dates as most Ministers would be overseas on vacations.

I believe that the Cabinet had also not met on Dec. 24 and 31 last year, as there had been no reports about Cabinet meetings on these two dates, which would be most unusual and extraordinary, as the country’s worst floods in decades had spanned both these dates.

However, I confess I am not privy to information as to whether the Cabinet had met on Dec. 24 and 31, and I am prepared to stand corrected if I am proved wrong. Continue reading “Asking for urgent meeting with Najib before Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to present four-point proposal on the floods catastrophe for Cabinet adoption”

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Raub MP says Najib is finished

FMT Reporters | January 3, 2015

Ariff Sabri says the devastation caused by the floods in Kuala Krai show the full extent of the “incompetence” of our PM and his government.

PETALING JAYA: DAP’s Ariff Sabri has said in no uncertain terms that Prime Minister Najib Razak had no political future left to speak of, the devastating floods the country has suffered having more or less shown the people the full extent of his incompetence and that of his administration.

In his latest blog entry, the MP for Raub said, “To me, Najib has no more future. The fate of UMNO and his own is already sealed by the next GE.”

He argued that Najib’s handling of the floods especially in Kelantan, the worst hit state, left much to be desired, adding, “Kuala Krai is indeed a watershed which showed the government’s incompetence in handling a national disaster.

Accusing Najib of taking things too lightly, Ariff said in a cynical tone, “Najib and his gang appear to think, they can respond to the flood with a jamboree mentality complete with his minions pointing to the water and saying or mocking us – look Tonto – this is water.”

He also put forth a “nagging” question: “With such extent and level of devastation that took place in many areas of Kelantan, why wasn’t a state of emergency declared?” Continue reading “Raub MP says Najib is finished”

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Call on Najib to declare state of emergency to mobilise the 150,000-strong armed forces to deal with worsening flood situation in some states and humongous post-flood challenges in others

It is still not too late for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to declare a state of emergency in the flood-stricken states.

A state of emergency in the flood-stricken states will make it easier and faster to mobilise all federal, state and local resources to deal firstly, with the worst flood disaster in recent decades (for some states, the flood situation could worsen in coming days); and secondly, the post-flood situation in states where although the worst flood situation are over with the receding of flood waters, new problems are beginning with the humongous and mind-blogging scale and scope of the post-flood challenges and dangers.

The Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yaakob has said that Kelantan will need at least six months to fully recover from the devastation of the worst floods that hit the state in the past few weeks.

Six months to recover from the devastation of the floods catastrophe is too long and will impose great problems and grave burdens on the flood victims in Kelantan.

Whether for Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak or any state for that matter, the period for the full recovery from the devastation of the floods catastrophe should be cut down from “at least six months” to two months, and this is why a state of emergency for the flood-stricken states should declared, to deal firstly with the floods disaster management, mitigation and relief during the floods catastrophe, and secondly, the post-flood challenges and dangers.

In fact, a state of emergency should be a normal part of the Standard Operating Procedure to deal with a major floods disaster. Continue reading “Call on Najib to declare state of emergency to mobilise the 150,000-strong armed forces to deal with worsening flood situation in some states and humongous post-flood challenges in others”

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Writing to Najib on three proposals: Defer GST, Double up RM500 million to RM1 billion allocation with interest-free loans to all victims to re-start business and declare state of emergency to deal worsening floods in Pahang and to enable flood victims to start life anew

Yesterday DAP sent multiple flood relief teams to flood-stricken areas in Kelantan and Pahang, comprising:

(i) Three containers of essential supplies to flood victims, two from Penang and one from Johore for Kuala Krai as part of the “Save Kuala Krai Convoy Mission”.

(ii) Some 250 “great Malaysian sons and daughters” from Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Johor who took part in the multiple flood relief mission of New Year’s Day 2015, comprising:

(a) over 20 FWDs from Penang (flagged off by Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng in Penang on New Year’s Day at 1.30 a.m.) driving 15 hours from Penang to Kuala Krai ferrying over 2,000 cartons of essential supplies from two containers and over 20 FWDs.

(b) Over 20 FWDs of supplies from Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan to Kuala Krai (this is the third relief mission to Kuala Krai led DAP National Organising Secretary Anthony Loke in five days).

(c) Three containers (one for Kuala Krai, one for Kota Bharu and another for Mentakab) together with 11 FWDs of emergency supplies from Johor DAP, led by 2MPs and 7 SAs. Continue reading “Writing to Najib on three proposals: Defer GST, Double up RM500 million to RM1 billion allocation with interest-free loans to all victims to re-start business and declare state of emergency to deal worsening floods in Pahang and to enable flood victims to start life anew”