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Parliament twitter on the “annual begging season” for PSD s’ships by top-scorers

@limkitsiang

06/16/2009 11:09 AM
From Nazri, 2,000 PSD foreign s’ships for 2008 SPM students – 1,100 bumiputeras and 900 non-bumiputeras. Cost RM659 million.

06/16/2009 10:44 AM
On why govt not spending more 4PSD s’ships 4topscorers when RM12.5 billion in PKFZ scandal can give places for >1,000 students,no answer.

06/16/2009 10:36 AM
Nazri trotted out standard govt line on this issue n refused 2respond when asked why list of 400 s’ships awarded on merit not made public.

06/16/2009 10:34 AM
I asked why there is still “annual begging season” 4top scholars 4PSD s’ships after 1Malaysia anncd by Najib, which must mean colour-blind?
Continue reading “Parliament twitter on the “annual begging season” for PSD s’ships by top-scorers”

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PKFZ scandal – Speaker rejects urgent motion for Royal Commission of Inquiry

The Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin today rejected my emergency motion in Parliament to debate the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry as not urgent on three spurious grounds that:

(i) the Port Klang Authority (PKA) has set up a task force and two committees as follow-up to the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report on the PKFZ;

(ii) a copy of the PwC report has been submitted to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC); and

(iii) the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is conducting investigations on the PKFZ.

My motion read:

“That the House gives leave to MP for Ipoh Timor YB Lim Kit Siang to adjourn the House under S.O. 18 (1) to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance – the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal. Continue reading “PKFZ scandal – Speaker rejects urgent motion for Royal Commission of Inquiry”

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Pandemonium in the house

This is from @limkitsiang (twitter).

06/15/2009 02:02 PM
7 pr mps suspended 4 2days- nizar ngeh koo ham nga kor ming mahfuz mohd hatta dzulkifli gopalakrishnan 4 bubar dun band

06/15/2009 12:47 PM
Press conference Parliament lobby with Anwar, Seng Giaw, Dzulkifli n PR MPs: 3 more PKFZ questions 2OTK, Suspension of Nizar n 6 PR MPs etc

06/15/2009 12:20 PM
speaker pandikar rejects my urgent motion on pkfz scandal on ground it is not urgent n pwc rept submitted 2macc/pac
Continue reading “Pandemonium in the house”

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Did Ong Tee Keat get specific approval from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be on the run from Parliament this week to avoid parliamentary accounting on the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?

My three questions (No.49 to No. 51 on the 17th day in the current series) to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal today are:

No. 1. – Did Ong get specific approval from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be on the run from Parliament this week to avoid parliamentary accounting on the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal, when everybody knows that this will be top on the parliamentary agenda?

Furthermore, Ong should know that last Thursday I had given notice to the Speaker of Parliament, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin that I will move a motion of urgent definite public importance when Parliament reconvenes today on the PKFZ scandal calling for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry.

Or was Ong so cocksure that my motion for an urgent debate on the PKFZ scandal today would be rejected by the Speaker that he could just go off overseas, when his first duty as Transport Minister is to be accountable to Parliament for his Ministerial duties and not to scoot off overseas under one pretext or another, like his predecessor Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy in November 2007! Continue reading “Did Ong Tee Keat get specific approval from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be on the run from Parliament this week to avoid parliamentary accounting on the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?”

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PSD scholarships – MCA has again failed to give justice

Letters
by Tan Hao Chong

I am a 2008 SPM student ranked top 7th in a premier school at Johor Bahru (S.M.K. Sultan Ismail) .I scored 11A1 and 1A2 in Chinese in SPM. I applied for JPA and was rejected after appeal. I was not even offered for local institutions. I am active in co-curricular activities and I believe I have done well in my interview.

The rejects had brought many sleepless nights for me and my parents. What is most sad is that students of poorer results were randomly selected in an attempt to confuse the public. My mum took the matter to the Sin Chew Press and Nanyang Press. Thanks to the papers the matter was brought to the attention of many.

I am writing to you as going to Mr. Lim is our only and last hope for justice now. Continue reading “PSD scholarships – MCA has again failed to give justice”

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Twitter history in Parliament tomorrow

This is from @limkitsiang (twitter).

06/14/2009 09:06 PM
Latest info – My urgent motion tmr 2debate PKFZ scandal in Parliament tmr will be rejected. Reason? MACC investigating! Totally outrageous!

06/14/2009 07:01 PM
Will Ong Tee Keat appear in Parliament tmr? Will the PwC audit report together with all appendices be tabled 4all MPs tmr or more delays?

06/14/2009 06:58 PM
1st item of Parliament business tmr – my emergency motion for Royal Commission Inquiry into RM12.5b PKFZ scandal – will Speaker allow it?
Continue reading “Twitter history in Parliament tomorrow”

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Will Ong Tee Keat drop everything in France and take the first flight back to discharge his paramount duty as Minister – to fully account to Parliament on the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?

My three questions (No.46 to No. 48 on the 16th day in the current series) to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal today are:

No. 1. – I commend Ong for the prompt answer to my third question yesterday, viz: “As Parliament is periodically asked to approve allocations for the multi-billion ringgit bailout of PKFZ, is Ong ensuring that every MP gets a copy of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit report of PKFZ, together with the appendices, to ensure that there could be an informed debate and discussion of the issue in Parliament?”

The government portal on the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal, www.pkfznews.com.my, announced today that “All MPs to have a copy of the PwC report, including the appendices”.

I am glad that Ong had changed his mind. At the two-day Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday (June 10/11), Ong had refused to revoke his directive to the Port Klang Authority (PKA) Chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng restricting the access of PAC members to the four-inch high appendices only during the PAC meeting.

This is a most ridiculous and unacceptable directive totally contrary to all concept of accountability and transparency as well as the important principle of responsibility to Parliament. Continue reading “Will Ong Tee Keat drop everything in France and take the first flight back to discharge his paramount duty as Minister – to fully account to Parliament on the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?”

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PwC report on RM12.5b PKFZ and appencices – OTK should ensure every MP gets a set

My three questions (No.43 to No. 45 on the 15th day in the current series) to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal today are:

No. 1. – Will Ong cancel his overseas trip to be in Parliament to account for the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal instead of emulating his predecessor as Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy who ran away overseas to avoid parliamentary accounting on the PKFZ in November 2007?

No. 2 – Former MCA President and Transport Minister Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik has said he is prepared to be summoned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to assist in the investigations into the PKFZ scandal. Does he agree that Liong Sik should not only co-operate with the MACC but also the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to get to the bottom of the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal? Continue reading “PwC report on RM12.5b PKFZ and appencices – OTK should ensure every MP gets a set”

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PKFZ scandal – OTK should cancel overseas trip and not emulate Kong Choy to run overseas to avoid parliamentary accounting

On Thursday, I gave notice to Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin that I will move an emergency motion in Parliament on Monday to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

The notice under S.O. (18)(2) to move a motion of urgent definite public importance in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday, 15th June 2009, is as follows:

“That the House gives leave to MP for Ipoh Timor YB Lim Kit Siang to adjourn the House under S.O. 18 (1) to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance – the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

“The PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) audit report into the PKFZ made public on May 28, 2009 was most unsatisfactory as its terms of reference were restricted to “a position review” instead of wide-ranging inquiry as to how a RM1.1 billion scandal in 2002 under Tun Ling Liong Sik as Transport Minister, could more than quadruple to RM4.6 billion under Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy as Transport Minister in 2007 and now further doubled to RM7.453 billion and heading towards the figure of RM12.5 billion under the present Transport Minister!

“Although the Prime Minister had on 29th May publicly directed the Transport Minister to answer every question raised by any party on the PwC report on PKFZ, and I had been posing three questions a day on the PKFZ since 30th May, no satisfactory answers had been forthcoming from the Transport Minister.
Continue reading “PKFZ scandal – OTK should cancel overseas trip and not emulate Kong Choy to run overseas to avoid parliamentary accounting”

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PAC inquiry into PKFZ scandal – Azmi Khalid should disqualify himself

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid announced after the PAC meeting this morning that the PAC would not summon four key personalities in the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, viz: the two former Transport Ministers, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik and Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, former Port Klang Authority (PKA) Chairman and currently Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung and the former PKFZ general manager O.C.Phang.

This is a most extraordinary decision despite requests by Pakatan Rakyat MPs on the PAC for the four to be summoned to appear before the PAC.

Azmi Khalid should disqualify himself and step aside in the PAC inquiry into the PKFZ scandal because of conflict of interest as he was Minister in the Cabinet which decided on the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout in July 2007. Continue reading “PAC inquiry into PKFZ scandal – Azmi Khalid should disqualify himself”

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Why is Ong Tee Keat afraid of a Selangor Exco member sitting on the PKA Board and insist on having his own appointee representing Selangor State Govt?

My three questions (No.37 to No. 39 on the 13th day in the current series) to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal today are:

1. In his blog from Beijing on 3rd June 2009, Ong wrote:

“At this very moment, professional experts and entrepreneurs have been roped in to provide their views and expertise on how to bring PKFZ back on track for which it was originally conceived.

“ We are not sitting still and playing rhetoric. In the weeks and months ahead, my Ministry and PKA will put in place a series of action plans to lessen the pain on taxpayers.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) submitted its “position review” report of the Port Klang Free Zone (PFKZ) on 3rd February 2009, which means Ong had more than four months to digest it.

Can he explain what he had done in these four months apart from “sitting still and playing rhetoric” to “put in place a series of action plans to lessen the pain on taxpayers” with regard to the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal and why he needs four months just to announce a blue-ribboned Task Force to make some more studies in the next two months to make recommendations “for follow-up actions” to be taken by the Government? Isn’t this a colossal waste of four months after the PwC report on PKFZ? Continue reading “Why is Ong Tee Keat afraid of a Selangor Exco member sitting on the PKA Board and insist on having his own appointee representing Selangor State Govt?”

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Ong Tee Keat should be cited for parliamentary contempt in refusing to release the appendices of the PcW audit report on PKFZ scandal to PAC members, allowing them access only during PAC meeting

Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat should be cited for parliamentary contempt for refusing to release the appendices of the PricewaterhouseCoopers audit report on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal to Public Accounts Committee (PAC) members, allowing them access only during the PAC meeting.

It was Ong, in an oblique response to my queries, blogged from Beijing on 3rd June that he had instructed the Port Klang Authority (PKA) to submit 14 copies of the PwC audit report, “as well as the appendices”, to members of the PAC “as soon as possible”.

However, the PAC members were informed this morning that the 14 sets of appendices were only available for them during PAC meetings and not meant for them to take back for detailed study.

Such a ridiculous directive restricting access of the PwC Report appendices to PAC members during PAC meetings makes a total mockery of parliamentary responsibility and accountability of both the Transport Minister as well as PKA and should be deplored in the strongest possible terms.
Continue reading “Ong Tee Keat should be cited for parliamentary contempt in refusing to release the appendices of the PcW audit report on PKFZ scandal to PAC members, allowing them access only during PAC meeting”

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Confidence motion in Parliament June 15 – another reason why Najib needs it

There is another reason why the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should seek a motion of confidence when Parliament reconvenes on June 15 to secure a clear-cut mandate to establish credibility, integrity and legitimacy of his premiership.

This is to secure parliamentary sanction for his “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan.

Najib said yesterday that the 1Malaysia concept does not deviate from the essence of the Federal Constitution, express or implied.

He said it is not a new concept or formula and that its ultimate objective is national unity, which was the primary vision of previous administrators translated into various forms over the last five decades.

But is Najib prepared to ascertain why his 1Malaysia concept had generated so much division and discord among Malaysians, which was not the case with, for instance, the Bangsa Malaysia concept introduced by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad when proclaiming the Vision 2020 in 1991?

In fact, the very need for Najib to come up with a 1Malaysia slogan is eloquent testimony of the failure of Malaysian nation-building efforts in the past five decades to create one united Malaysian nation. Continue reading “Confidence motion in Parliament June 15 – another reason why Najib needs it”

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Questions – will OTK present Ministerial statement on PwC report to Parliament followed by parliamentary debate on RM12.5 billion PKFZ Rip-off?

Acting on the public commitment of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that every question on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) Rip-off will be answered by the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, my three questions today to Ong (No. 22 to 24 of the series) are short, simple and straightforward,viz:

1. It is five days since I had asked for a set of the three-and-a-half high annexure of 20 appendices to the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PcW) audit report into the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) Rip-off, which are not accessible to the public except in the library of the Port Klang Authority (PKA) library.

Of course, if I can get a set of these documents for fuller study, I might have more ammunition to grill Ong and the PKA Chairman, Datuk Lee Hwa Beng about the PKFZ “mother of all scandals”, but this is what accountability, transparency and good governance is all about, isn’t it?

When will Ong declare whether he is going to direct the PKA Chairman to give me a set of the appendices or come out with a refusal publicly, without running away from the question? Continue reading “Questions – will OTK present Ministerial statement on PwC report to Parliament followed by parliamentary debate on RM12.5 billion PKFZ Rip-off?”

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Najib should seek a vote of confidence as the first item of June meeting of Parliament starting on June 15

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s win in the Penanti by-election is nothing to boast about as it cannot be used as a yardstick to gauge the popularity of any political parties.

He told reporters at the 20th Asean-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit on Jeju Island that Mansor Othman’s win was “not exciting” as the voter turnout was less than 50 per cent and “a win against independent candidates is not an absolute win…something that one can be proud of”.

This is really sour grapes by Najib, who should be ashamed of himself that the UMNO and Barisan Nasional that he leads dare not contest in Penanti, for fear that it would be his third consecutive by-election defeat in the Peninsular since becoming Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional’s fifth consecutive defeat since the March 8 political tsunami in last year’s general election.

The Penanti by-election results are very telling. Although Umno sponsored one independent candidate and Gerakan sponsored another Independent candidate, all three independent candidates lost their deposits – although the Gerakan-sponsored candidate beat the Umno-sponsored candidate by 102 votes!
Continue reading “Najib should seek a vote of confidence as the first item of June meeting of Parliament starting on June 15”

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Aung San Suu Kyi – AIPMC calls for ASEAN suspension of Myanmar and to consider sanctions option

[The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar (AIPMC) after a meeting in Bangkok on Monday night (25th May 2009) issued the following statement]

ASEAN MPs call on tougher ASEAN actions on Myanmar including Suspension

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) calls on ASEAN to suspend Myanmar’s membership in the regional bloc if the country’s military regime continues to detain its democracy leader, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s unjust current six-year house arrest is due to expire on 27 May 2009, but the regime has brought on further trumped-up charges against her and is likely to detain her for a further three to five years. Continue reading “Aung San Suu Kyi – AIPMC calls for ASEAN suspension of Myanmar and to consider sanctions option”

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2 reasons why Wong Foon Meng’s appointment as Senate President not appropriate

MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat disclosed that Senate Deputy President Datuk Wong Foon Meng will assume duties as Senate President from 6th July 2009 when the six-year term of incumbent Tan Sri Dr. Hamid Pawanteh expires.

The appointment of Wong as the MCA nominee for Senate President is a surprise for two reasons:

Firstly, it is against parliamentary convention and practice for a front-line party official to be appointed to positions like Speaker of Dewan Rakyat or President of Dewan Negara – which is why the present Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia resigned his post as divisional Umno Chairman on his appointment to chair the Dewan Rakyat. Is Wong going to resign as MCA Secretary-General?

Secondly, Wong will be appointed only to serve a mini-term of eight short months from July 6, 2009 as Senate President as he is a second-term Senator whose term expires on 12th April 2010 and there will not be a third reappointment.

In contrast, the present Senate President Dr. Hamid was appointed Senator on 7.7.2003 to serve two full terms totaling six years as Senate President. Continue reading “2 reasons why Wong Foon Meng’s appointment as Senate President not appropriate”

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JPA s’ships – can Najib Cabinet end the “oppression, injustice” suffered by the nation’s top scorers or is it even worse than the “half-past six” Abdullah Cabinet?

I have been on the twitter for a week and earlier today, I sent out this tweet: “6A1s get PSD eng s’ship – 13, 14 A1s no s’ships: why our Cabinet Ministers allow such nonsense yr in yr out. Sack the whole useless lot!”

This follows the latest revelation by the Deputy Education Minister, Wee Ka Siong, about the PSD scholarships scandal this year – of the case of a student with 6A1 and 4A2 who obtained a scholarship to study engineering while students with 13A1s and 14A1s are given places to do matriculation instead of being awarded with scholarships.
The PSD scholarship uproar this year is all the more inexcusable, for three reasons:

  • It is a tragedy for nation-building after 52 years of nationhood;
  • It has torn to shreds the new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s motto of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”.
  • It is a breach of the solemn promise made by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz in Parliament in March this year about the end of the annual national travail at this period of the year of the nation’s top SPM scorers being victims of an unfair and discriminatory PSD scholarship selection system.

Continue reading “JPA s’ships – can Najib Cabinet end the “oppression, injustice” suffered by the nation’s top scorers or is it even worse than the “half-past six” Abdullah Cabinet?”

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MP Gobind’s one-year suspension without pay/privileges – will Federal Court be guilty of selective justice?

DAP MP for Puchong Gobind Singh Deo will initiate legal proceedings tomorrow morning to challenge his one-year suspension as Member of Parliament without parliamentary pay and privileges for his outburst against the then Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu C4 murder case.

The one-year suspension of Gobind Singh Deo on March 16, 2009 was a blatant case of abuse of Barisan Nasional majority in Parliament, subjecting Gobind to double jeopardy with a very harsh second punishment although he had earlier been punished by the Deputy Speaker, Datuk Ronald Kiandee with a one-day suspension.

The right and proper thing would have been to refer Gobind to the Committee of Privileges instead of using the UMNO/BN brute majority to summarily punish Gobind by suspending him as an MP without pay and privileges.

When Parliament should have invoked its powers to deal summarily with violations of parliamentary privileges like the obstruction and menacing by Selangor UMNO Youth goons of DAP MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh from carrying out his parliamentary duties in the parliamentary precincts on Feb. 26, 2009 when this is very clearly provided for under the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952, the Barisan Nasional-majority Parliament failed to do so. Continue reading “MP Gobind’s one-year suspension without pay/privileges – will Federal Court be guilty of selective justice?”