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Why the difference of RM6.4 billion or RM9.85 billion in MITI and UNCTAD figures for 2006 FDIs

For the past two weeks, Malaysians had been fed with the news that good economic times are back, with the country drawing a record RM20.2 billion in foreign investment in manufacturing, a record 2006 trade volume breaching RM1 trillion, rocketing share prices, a strong ringgit and rising foreign reserves.

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had denied that an imminent general election is on the cards because of the slew of good economic news to generate a “feed good euphoria” reminiscent of the period before the 2004 general election.

Although the next general election will not be held in the next few months, everyone would expect the holding of early general elections in the next eight to 14 months before April 2008, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would regain his civil liberties including the right to stand for elections at the end of his five-year disqualification from the date of his prison release.

But are the good economic times back for the people of Malaysia? If so, a little-noticed announcement on Chinese New Year’s Day has sent out a very different message.

On February 18, 2007, Bernama reported that the government had scrapped its earlier plan to extend the textbook loan scheme to all school students, both at primary and secondary level, from next year. Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Noh Omar was quoted as saying that the move was scrapped as the ministry would incur an extra sum of over RM100 million yearly.

When the government has to cancel the textbook loan scheme for all students because it cannot afford the additional expenditure of RM100 million, it strains credibility to believe that the government and the country is aflush with funds.

Malaysians have been told in the past fortnight that the country is back on the global investment map, in reversal of the gloomy news in the past few months that Malaysia is in danger of dropping out from the radar of foreign investors because of increasing lack of international competitiveness, whether in efficiency of public service, quality of education, good governance, transparency and integrity. Continue reading “Why the difference of RM6.4 billion or RM9.85 billion in MITI and UNCTAD figures for 2006 FDIs”

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14 RM70,000 Ops Sikap XII watchtowers worth only half or less?

Works Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has denied the allegation of the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan that five of the 14 traffic watchtowers are unsafe for use — with one each in Selangor, Penang, Perak, Malacca and Negri Sembilan.

Sin Chew Daily reported with photograph on Thursday that the watchtower built at Tampin-Gemas Road 16km was so fragile and unsafe that it had been abandoned for the safety of the traffic policemen on duty.

It was first reported on 12th February 2007 (with photograph) that 14 manned watchtowers will be built in accident-prone stretches of federal, state and municipal roads for use durings Ops Sikap 12.

Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy had announced that the Cabinet had approved close to RM1 million to build the first 14 watchtowers in Peninsular Malaysia on roads where nine out of every 10 fatal accidents occur, and that each tower is expected to cost the Public Works Department about RM70,000.

On the same day, I received the following SMS from someone from the construction industry:

“Today’s NST page 8 prime news says 14 watch towers to cost government RM70k each is grossly over-priced. “

When I SMSed back to ask what would be the proper price range for such watchtowers, back came the reply:

“25 — 30k with transport and installation costing 5k a piece.” Continue reading “14 RM70,000 Ops Sikap XII watchtowers worth only half or less?”

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Snoop squads – remove Rosol as Terengganu Exco and Islam Hadhari Committe Chairman

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi went out of his way during his visit to Indonesia to “shoot down” a move by the Terengganu state government to set up a “snoop squad” or “informers” who would be rewarded for reporting “immoral activities”.

Stating his disapproval of such moves by religious authorities, Abdullah told them to stop policing the morals of Muslims and concentrate on tacking various urgent issues facing them.

The issue at stake is not so much about Terengganu state government attempting to set up a moral “snoop squad” or “informers”, but the credibility and legitimacy of the Prime Minister’s authority.

Why there is yet another attempt at moral policing, and this time under the auspices of the Terengganu Islam Hadhari Committee, despite the previous attempts in Malacca and Selangor to have either volunteer “snoop squads” or Mat Skodeng which were disbanded after the federal government had made known its disapproval as well as the international furore following the scandalous khalwat raid of an elderly American couple in Langkawi in Kedah?

From the statements given by the Terengganu Islam Hadhari Committee chairman, Datuk Rosol Wahid in the past two days, it is clear that the Terengganu state government or at least Rosol is not very convinced by Abdullah’s directive or reasons. Continue reading “Snoop squads – remove Rosol as Terengganu Exco and Islam Hadhari Committe Chairman”

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CJ Fairuz’s poor taste in equating Judicial Appointments Commission to “nudity”

The response of Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim likening proposal for an independent judicial commission on appointment and promotion of judges as akin to nudity rather than transparency is ill-advised, in poor taste and reflect badly on the office of Chief Justice.

Ahmad Fairuz may be unhappy with the proposal of an independent judicial commission to oversee the selection and promotion of judges, but he should realize that this proposal pre-dates his appointment to the top judicial post in the land and meant to enhance public confidence in the system of justice and in that context, there is nothing personal against any personal holder of the office.

Ahmad Fairuz should not have questioned the motives of those who had made the proposal, such as the Bar Council and several prominent lawyers, posing the rhetorical question:

“Are we to allow whoever has cases in court and who lost to decide on the fate of judges?”

He ignores the support of retired judges for the proposal.

While claiming to welcome any memorandum on the proposed independent judicial commission, Ahmad Fairuz made clear his opposition when he told the New Straits Times in Kota Baru after chairing a meeting with Kelantan judges yesterday:

“I started (as the Chief Justice) in 2003 with accountability and integrity. We have been transparent.

“But transparency should have its limits. Don’t tell me when we are transparent, we have to be nude. That is not transparency, that’s nudity.

“You want everything to be absolute? There is no such thing as absolute freedom or absolute transparency.

“That’s the way I look at things.”

In the first place, it is absolutely wrong and inapt to categorise the proposal of an independent Judicial Commission as an exercise in nudity rather than transparency, especially when this judicial reform had been adopted by other countries such as Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Secondly, the proposal for a Judicial Appointments Commission was not made only during Fairuz’s tenure as Chief Justice. Continue reading “CJ Fairuz’s poor taste in equating Judicial Appointments Commission to “nudity””

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HPAIR Conference 07 in Beijing

HPAIR CONFERENCES 2007

Email from Sri Ram Krishnan: “Wishing you a happy CNY. Hope all is well during this period. I need a small favour, again. HPAIR 07 (the conference which you helped me publicize last year) has just been finalised and I have forwarded the publicity flyer with this email. I would appreciate if you could put it up on your blog so that Malaysian students can be part of the two conferences again.

“Btw, last year we had quite a number of Msian students! Much better than 05..thanks partly to you and other bloggers out there!

“p.s : I am not the chairperson anymore but helping the organising committee at harvard and in china as much as I can. as usual, any questions out there regarding hpair can be forwarded to me. – Sriram Krishnan ”

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HPAIR CONFERENCES 2007
ACADEMIC CONFERENCE
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DATES: August 17-20, 2007
LOCATION: Beijing
WEBSITE: http://www.hpair2007.org/aconf/
FINAL APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 15th, 2007

The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) invites you to participate in our annual summer student conference in Asia.

HPAIR is a partnership between the students and faculty of Harvard University, offering a sustained academic program and a forum of exchange to facilitate discussion of the most important economic, political, and social issues relevant to the Asia-Pacific region.

HPAIR’s international conference has emerged as the largest annual Harvard event in Asia and the largest annual student conference in the Asia-Pacific region, attracting a wide variety of distinguished speakers and future leaders as Harvard’s student outpost in Asia. Past speakers at our conferences include former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, Singapore President S.R. Nathan, Secretary-General of ASEAN Ong Keng Yong, and former Japanese Finance Minister Heizo Takanaka.

Both delegates and papers are welcome! Applications for both are online and located at www.hpair2007.org/apply/

The theme will be Engaging Asia: Discourse and Dialogue
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WORKSHOP TOPICS
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Our HPAIR 2007 workshops will focus on the following six topics:
-Economic Growth in Asia and its Effects on Society -Comparative Notions of Leadership -Understanding Security Issues in East Asia -Inequality and Social Policy in Asia -Asia’s Information Society -Popular Culture in Asia Continue reading “HPAIR Conference 07 in Beijing”

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Police afflicted by “close-one-eye” syndrome

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan made a shocking confession when he spoke on “Crime and Changing Social Values in the Malaysian Society” during a seminar at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday — that the Police is afflicted by the “close-one-eye” syndrome.

Musa lamented that in the war against crime, the police are at times frustrated by some politicians who want the police to “keep one eye open and one eye closed”. (Sin Chew)

This is most shocking. Musa should not be lamenting about the “close-one-eye” syndrome in the police frustrating the campaign against crime. He should have declared as the Inspector-General of Police that he would no more tolerate such “close-one-eye” syndrome, whether caused by interfering politicians, corruption or rogue policemen.

Musa should have gone one step further — publicly name the police officials and the “interfering politicians” who had acted against the public interest in their “close-one-eye” conspiracy to frustrate the forces of law and order.

Both parties in the “close-one-eye” syndrome, whether the police or the interfering politicians, are breaking the law and committing serious offences in frustrating the police war against crime.

Musa’s lament proved that the Royal Police Commission entrusted with the task of making proposals to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional and world-class police service had been both a waste of time and public resources as well as a great letdown of public expectations — that some 21 months after the Royal Commission Report, public confidence have reached a new crisis point. Continue reading “Police afflicted by “close-one-eye” syndrome”

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RM69 mil London Sports Centre – proof of shambolic Abdullah government?

The bursting of the London High Performance Sports Training Centre balloon in less than a week raises concern whether the highly-regarded Abdullah administration had in three years degenerated into a shambolic and incompetent government.

Last Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Sports Development, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a new lease of life for the controversial London Sports Centre, originally slated to cost RM490 million until it ran into quite unanimous opposition in the country including from Members of Parliament from both sides of the House.

Najib assured that “no additional costs will be incurred” in turning the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) in Brickendonbury into a sports training centre as “we will be using existing facilities”.

Yet the cost for turning the TARRC into a sports training centre instead of a sports complex will be a walloping big bill of RM69 million for “refurbishments” – which will include building accommodation for athletes and upgrading the fields and equipment all to be ready by April.

However, a Sun exclusive “Sports centre plan stalled” by R. Nadeswaran reported that despite Najib’s announcement that the London training centre will be full operational by April, it is likely to be a non-starter.

This is because the East Herts Council, under whose jurisdiction the Brickendonbury centre falls, holds the position that issues covering planning and development encountered in previous applications remain relevant to new proposals to converting existing buildings to provide accommodation for athletes, installing a football pitch, and extending an existing swimming pool on the site.

The council’s communications officer Nick White told the Sun in an email response to queries that the Brickendonbury site is within the green belt, surrounded by protected woodland. Some of the buildings are listed. As all these will need to be taken into account when planning application comes in, the council expect it will be a couple of months before a planning application is submitted.

In view of the stand taken by the East Herts Council, it is unlikely even if planning permission is approved, renovations can be completed by April. Continue reading “RM69 mil London Sports Centre – proof of shambolic Abdullah government?”

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Anti-corruption just a PR problem?

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz gave a very novel explanation about the anti-corruption campaign of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi — saying that the government had done a lot to fight corruption but such information was not properly channeled to the public.

Speaking at the World Ethics and Transparency Forum on Monday, Nazri said a public relations blitz to outline the national drive against corruption and the promotion of integrity is in the offing.

He said the government did not have a good public relations unit to counter criticisms that not enough was being done to stamp out corruption and improve integrity.

If Nazri is right, then the only problem of Abdullah’s anti-corruption campaign is one of P.R rather than one of lack of political will, but Nazri would belong to a very tiny number of people who would resort to such a novel way to wish away the grave problem of corruption in the country.

How will Nazri explain Malaysia’s plunge of seven places from 37th to 44th position in the last three years during the Abdullah premiership from 2003 to 2006 in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) when the five-year National Integrity Plan launched by Abdullah in April 2004 had targeted improvement to at least 30th position in 2008? Can this shocking plunge in Malaysia’s TI CPI to 44th position (when Malaysia was ranked No. 23 in 1995) be attributed to poor PR? Continue reading “Anti-corruption just a PR problem?”

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Happy Chinese New Year – Stand up for reforms

This should be a meaningful and historic Chinese New Year as it coincides with the 50th Merdeka Anniversary of the nation and possibly with the 12th general election.

Let all Malaysians stand up categorically in the next general election to be held in the next eight to 14 months for national reforms to make Malaysia a world-class competitive nation with the hallmarks of excellence, meritocracy, accountability, transparency, integrity, democracy and justice for all.

These were the hopes and expectations of Malaysians in the past three years since the March 2004 general election but they have not been fulfilled. In many important areas, there were not only no new starts, the country had gone backwards.

The world will pass Malaysia by if the country cannot find the political will to change course to create world-class institutions especially Parliament, judiciary, electoral system, local governance, civil service, police, anti-corruption agency and universities; inculcate among the government and people a first-class mentality and mindset and produce towering Malaysians and not just leading personalities of one race or community.

Wishing all Chinese Malaysians as well as all Malaysians a Happy Chinese New Year.

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Site Down

Dear Readers,

Very bad news.

The blog (blog.limkitsiang.com) has been down for three days.

We have just received the following message from our US host server:

“We regret to inform you that during the transfer to the new data centre your account was erased by the data centre before we had time to back it up, we apologies for the inconvenience and all attempts to recover the data was unsuccessful.”

IT Support is checking what is irretrievable. Thank you for your support and many apologies for the inconvenience.

16th February 2007 (1700 hours)

Happy Chinese New Year.

[Update 16th February 2007 (2100 hrs) – While recovery attempts are being made for the original blog.limkitsiang.com, we will start off with a new blogsite in the meanwhile. This new blogsite (english.limkitsiang.com) directly linked to the previous site is still being tested. – Kit]