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Tee Kiat has taken Malaysians for a ride in his long-awaited “tell all” report to the nation on the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal

I would not have used the strong and harsh language in response to the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat’s long-awaited “tell all” report on the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, like the doyen of Port Klang bloggers, Capt. Yusof Ahmad, former pilot superintendent of Klang Port Authority and pioneer general manager of West Port, who delivered this censure in his blog, Ancient Mariner:

“If this isnt treachery and deceit, then I dont know what is.”

Or another blogger, de minimis, who exclaimed tongue-in-cheek:

“I also hear that most hardware shops in the Klang Valley ran out of stock with white paint for the whitewash needed for the Minister’s Press Conference…”

There can be no doubt however that Ong had taken Malaysians for a ride in his long-awaited “tell all” report to the nation on the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal – as it told absolutely nothing from what he promised when he was appointed Transport Minister after the March 8 “political tsunami”. Continue reading “Tee Kiat has taken Malaysians for a ride in his long-awaited “tell all” report to the nation on the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal”

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Hukum hudud not Pakatan Rakyat policy

Media reports that PAS vice president Datuk Husam Musa has said that PAS will implement hudud if Pakatan Rakyat takes over the Federal Government has created a frenzy of reaction.

Hukum hudud is not Pakatan Rakyat policy and it is for Husam to clarify what he actually said.

DAP’s stand on the secular character of Malaysian nation and state as agreed in the social contract by our forefathers when Merdeka was achieved 51 years ago remains consistent and unchanged.

If unclarified, Husam’s statement would create unease, anxiety and opposition not only among the 11% of the Chinese voters in the critical Kuala Terengganu by-election on January 17 but also among both Malay and non-Malay voters whether in Terengganu or the rest of Malaysia.

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Which earlier – next Sarawak state election or 13th national election?

Which will be held earlier – the next Sarawak state general election or the 13th national general election?

The conventional wisdom will be the former as the Sarawak state general election is expected to be held in the next 12 to 18 months.

In the May 20, 2006 Sarawak state general election, the Sarawak Barisan Nasional suffered a major and unforgettable blow when its political hegemony in the Sarawak State Assembly was smashed with the loss of nine state assembly seats – six to the DAP.

After the “political tsunami” of March 8, 2008 general election, where five states in Peninsular Malaysia fell to Pakatan Rakyat and the Barisan Nasional lost for the first time its parliamentary two-thirds majority, the expectation and hunger for greater political change is thick in the air all over the country.

In the first six months after the March 8 general election, Sabah held the political centre-stage as the pivotal state to take the “political tsunami” to a higher level.

Although this has still to come to fruition, the political centre of gravity has shifted to Sarawak which is expected to go to the polls in the next 12 to 18 months – providing a critical test whether the political changes started in the May 2006 Sarawak state general election and expanded in the March 2008 national general election will culminate in a great political tsunami in the next Sarawak state general election with the toppling of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and the Sarawak Barisan Nasional state government. Continue reading “Which earlier – next Sarawak state election or 13th national election?”

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Abdullah’s sensible/commendable comments on nation-building – why not adopted in his heyday as PM?

In his interview with Sin Chew Daily in the past two days, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made the most sensible and commendable comments on nation-building in Malaysia.

The greatest pity is that he did not adopt them when he has the real power to influence the government and nation in his heyday as Prime Minister.

Firstly, in “Change Or Perish, Pak Lah Tells UMNO”, Sin Chew reported:

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Malays have changed their old thinking and value system, only that UMNO seems to have “forgotten” that the Malays have indeed changed.

He said the Malays have changed, but if UMNO remains unwilling to change, then the party will eventually head for destruction.

“UMNO has forgotten that the Malays have changed their own thinking and perspectives. It has forgotten that the Malays have changed their value system. The Malays are no longer what they used to be. They unreservedly express themselves. They even wave the DAP flags!” Continue reading “Abdullah’s sensible/commendable comments on nation-building – why not adopted in his heyday as PM?”

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IJN – No to privatization

by Dr. Chen Man Hin

When Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) – National Heart Institute – was launched in 1992, the Malaysian government promised that IJN would be a centre to serve all people with heart diseases, irrespective of race and with due care and treatment for the poor.

Assurance was given that heart patients would be treated fairly as in all government-run hospitals and that IJN would not be an exclusive hospital for the rich and well-to-do. People from all walks of life would be allowed to enjoy the facilities in the special heart hospital.

This aspiration of IJT to help poor heart cases is now shattered by the announcement that IJN would be handed to a private company, albeit the largest corporation in the country – Sime Darby. Continue reading “IJN – No to privatization”

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RM4.6b PKFZ scandal – OTK should answer five questions and not just rehash chronology of events

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Kiat should not dilly-dally or backtrack from his repeated promises eight months ago to “tell all” about the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

For instance, the Star report of April 8, 2008 headlined “Ong to tell all on Port Klang Free Zone” quoted him as saying:

“I wish to inform the rakyat about the true situation – whether it was actually squandered, not squandered, and where it has gone to, as well as the breakdown of the budget.”

Now, Ong is backpedaling from his promise, as he said yesterday that he would announce the chronology of events in the PKFZ issue but not into its financial aspects – allegedly because PricewaterhouseCoopers “is still finetuning its report on the financial aspects involving PKFZ as there are some formalities it needs to look through before concluding the report”.

This is a most extraordinary turn of events as more than a month ago, Ong had said publicly that the PricewaterhouseCoopers report into the PKFZ scandal was ready to be made public “soon”. Continue reading “RM4.6b PKFZ scandal – OTK should answer five questions and not just rehash chronology of events”

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100 dead and over 45,000 dengue cases this year – “conspiracy of silence” outrageous

I feel totally outraged at the conspiracy of silence involving the government headed by the Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai and even the media to play down the worst dengue epidemic in the country’s history which has to date claimed 100 lives and recorded over 45,000 dengue cases.

It came as a shock to me, as it must be to all Malaysians, that 100 lives have been lost to dengue in the first 50 weeks of this year.

No mainstream newspaper headlined or even reported this shocking news or that the country is facing the worst dengue epidemic in history, which has been confirmed by the latest dengue statistics by the Director, Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health, Datuk Dr. Hassan Abdul Rahman yesterday that dengue fever claimed two more victims last week, bringing the number of fatal cases in the country to 100.

Dr. Hassan did not give the latest total number of dengue cases in the country as on December 13, 2008 when they have also established a dubious new record of exceeding 45,000 cases – which is another shocker that the total number of dengue cases have crossed the 40,000 mark even before the full year is over.

Liow should explain why there is a conspiracy of silence to play down the worst dengue epidemic in the country when he should be spearheading a nation-wide anti-dengue public campaign to save lives by reducing avoidable deaths as well as mitigate considerable unnecessary sufferings? Continue reading “100 dead and over 45,000 dengue cases this year – “conspiracy of silence” outrageous”

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Complaint against Teluk Dalam Resort

Letters
by Eddie Paul C

(The following is a letter of complaint against Teluk Dalam Resort sent to the management by a Singaporean of his unhappy experiences but who has not received any reply after three weeks.)

Subject: RE: TELUK DALAM RESORT
Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:44:06 +0000

We had the opportumity to stay at your resort from 17-20 Nov 2008. We had booked our stay via telephone from Singapore for the Cempaka Bungalow through your staff Ms Fadzilla who did a good job to convince me to give a try to stay at your resort. We normally would stay at the Pangkor Island Beach Resort. Sadly to say that our stay at your resort was a horrible experience. We regretted very badly but it was an experience anyway.

Please let me enlighten you with our bad experiences during our stay as follow:

1. At the Check-In reception on our arrival on 17 Nov we were advised to take an additional bed at RM40.00 per night. We consented to it. Continue reading “Complaint against Teluk Dalam Resort”

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MACC/JAC Bills – don’t count chickens before they are hatched

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Abdullah should not count the chickens before they are hatched as he did yesterday following the passage of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bills when he indulged in the following hyperbole:

MACC – “They (foreign investors) will know there is no corruption or very little of it”; and

JAC – “we will bring back the confidence of the public in the judiciary”.

As I said during the debates on the MACC and JAC Bills, nobody in Government really believe

(i) that the MACC could check the rot of corruption in the country and catapult Malaysia into the stratosphere among the world’s ten or twenty least corrupt nations, with the MACC able to rival the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong or the Corrupt Practices Investigation Board (CPIB) in Singapore; and

(ii) that the JAC could fully restore national and international confidence in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary after two decades of erosion and devastation or even to prevent in future the repetition of controversial appointments like the Zaki Azmi appointment as Chief Justice. Continue reading “MACC/JAC Bills – don’t count chickens before they are hatched”

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JCA Bill cannot be supported – gives notice to vote againt SSB Bill

The year 2008 is coming to an end. I remember that I had described 2007 as an “annus horribilis” in my 2008 New Year message on 31st December last year.

Malaysians had heaved a sigh of relief at the end of 2007, a year which had opened with such great promise as it was to celebrate the 50th Merdeka anniversary of the nation.

But 2007 proved to be an “annus horribilis” (a horrible year) for Malaysians.

Despite the 50th Merdeka anniversary costing over RM100 million of taxpayers’ money in public celebrations, 2007 proved to be one of the most divisive and troubled year in the half-a-century of Malaysia’s nationhood as well as one of great disappointment as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi failed in his four-year report card to fulfill the great pledges of reform for which he was given the landslide historic 2004 general election victory in winning over 91 per cent of the parliamentary seats.

The result is the March 8 political tsunami in the last general election nine months ago and the belated promise by Abdullah to fulfill at least three reform pledges before he steps down as Prime Minister in March.

Yesterday, DAP and Pakatan Rakyat MPs supported the passage of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill with great reservations and considerable unhappiness, as nobody in government is really convinced that when the bill is implemented, the MACC can rival the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong or Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) or that Malaysia will catapult to be among the world’s ten or second least corrupt nations in the world from the lowly 47th place in the 2008 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index. Continue reading “JCA Bill cannot be supported – gives notice to vote againt SSB Bill”

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Why afraid of a Special Parliamentary Commitee on MACC?

Second Amendment to MACC Bill –

    Fasal 14:-

    Menggantikan “Jawatankuasa Khas Mengenai Rasuah” dengan “Jawatankuasa Parlimen Mengenai Rasuah” setiap kali perkataan-perkataan berkenaan muncul di dalam Rang Undang-undang

    [Replace “Special Committee on Corruption” with “Parliamentary Committee on Corruption” where it appears in the Bill.]

    Pindaan Fasal 14(2)

    MEMOTONG dan DIGANTIKAN dengan “Jawatankuasa Parlimen hendaklah terdiri daripada tujuh anggota yang hendaklah dilantik oleh Dewan-dewan Perwakilan yang menggambarkan perwakilan di Parlimen dan diketuai oleh seorang Ahli Parlimen Pembangkang, dan tiada seorang daripada mereka merupakan anggota pentadbiran

    [Clause 14(2) – DELETE and SUBSTITUTE: “The Parliamentary Committee shall consist of seven members to be appointed by the House of Representatives reflecting the representation in the House and headed by an Opposition Member of Parliament, none of whom shall be a member of the administration.] Continue reading “Why afraid of a Special Parliamentary Commitee on MACC?”

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MACC Bill – will it propel Malaysia to be among world’s 10 or 20 least corrupt nations in five years’ time?

First amendment:

    [Clause 5(6):

    DELETE the words after “an officer of the Commission” and SUBSTITUTE “and shall have all the powers of a Deputy Public Prosecutor under the Criminal Procedure Code.”]

Until removed by the Anti-Corruption Act 1997, the Director-General of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) had the powers of Deputy Public Prosecutor under the Criminal Procedure Code.

Thus, section 5(1) of the Anti-Corruption Agency Act 1982 states:

    “5(1) The Director-General of the Agency shall have all the powers of a Deputy Public Prosecutor under the Criminal Procedure Code and all the powers of an officer of the agency.”

These powers of the ACA Director-General as Deputy Public Prosecutor were not given just by the ACA Act 1982, but were also in the Biro Siasatan Negara Act 1973, which was repealed by the 1982 ACA Act in order to effect a change in the name of the Agency.

Section 376(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code provides that a Deputy Public Prosecutor “may exercise all or any of the rights and powers vested in or exercisable by the Public Prosecutor by or under this Code or any other written law except any rights or powers expressed to be exercisable by the Public Prosecutor personally.” Continue reading “MACC Bill – will it propel Malaysia to be among world’s 10 or 20 least corrupt nations in five years’ time?”

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Dare ACA or MACC answer like this?

    Q: How does the ICAC maintain its independence?

    A: We are independent. There is nothing to maintain.

This is from the Sunday Star interview with Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) deputy commissioner and head of operations Daniel Li to illustrate the difference between ICAC and Malaysia anti-corruption body, whether the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) or the soon-to-be MACC.

I quoted this Q & A in Parliament during the debate on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC).

I asked which Malaysian anti-corruption chief would dare to answer with such insouciance and categorical assurance without any hesitation or shadow of doubt about the independence of the Malaysian anti-corruption body? Continue reading “Dare ACA or MACC answer like this?”

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MACC and JAC Bills – postpone second reading from 4-6 weeks to allow fuller study/greater consensus by concerned stakeholders

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants to fulfill three reform pledges on anti-corruption, restore the independence of the judiciary and establish an efficient and professional world-class police service before he steps down from office next March.

Tomorrow, Parliament is slated to start debate on the first of two of these reforms, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill.

DAP, just like the other component parties in Pakatan Rakyat, would want to give as much support as possible to ensure the accomplishment of these three reforms. However, we cannot give blanket support or endorse proposals which are inimical to these reform objectives.

MPs saw the MACC and the JAC Bills only on Wednesday and there have been increasing concerns and reservations about the provisions in these two Bills as to whether they would be able to further the objectives of having a truly independent anti-corruption body to spearhead an all-out war against corruption and the restoration of the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary.

I have given notice to move five amendments to the MACC to provide greater fire-power in the battle against corruption, strengthen the independence of the MACC from the Executive and reinforce the oversight powers of Parliament. Continue reading “MACC and JAC Bills – postpone second reading from 4-6 weeks to allow fuller study/greater consensus by concerned stakeholders”

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5 amendments to MACC Bill to strengthen MACC’s independence from Executive and reinforce Parliamentary oversight

If Hong Kong’s Number Two graft fighter is to be believed about what he said with regard to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill, Malaysia is on the threshold of greatness – to join the ranks of the world’s 20 or even 10 least corrupt countries!

The local media have been inundated with reports of the short visit of the deputy commissioner and operations head of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Daniel Li on the invitation of the Anti-Corruption Agency, heaping praises on the MACC Bill which is to be debated in Parliament on Monday.

Praising the government’s commitment in fighting the scourge of corruption, Li said the MACC was equal or better than the ICAC after which it was modelled.

He said he found the MACC Bill to be very comprehensive and very focused.

He said: “The affected area that it covers is wider than what the ICAC is covering in Hong Kong.”

He praised the government for being “faster than us in Hong Kong” in terms of developing strategies to combat corruption, adding: Continue reading “5 amendments to MACC Bill to strengthen MACC’s independence from Executive and reinforce Parliamentary oversight”

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MACC – principles of indepencence and parliamentary accountability too watered down

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill is so watered down that the principles of its independence from the Prime Minister’s control and accountability/responsibility to Parliament can be quite tenuous and even fictitious.

The original intention to amend the Constitution to give the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission a constitutional status has been abandoned while there is no clear-cut provision to establish its responsibility and accountability to Parliament.

Five bodies will be set up under the MACC Bill to hold a close watch over the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure its independence, transparency and integrity, viz: Anti-Corruption Advisory Board; Special Committee on Corruption; Operations Review Panel; Corruption Prevention and Consultative Council; and a Complaints Committee.

However, all these five scrutinizing bodies, including the Special Committee on Corruption which is to comprise of Parliamentarians, are all beholden to the Prime Minister or the Executive, making nonsense of the principle of parliamentary responsibility of the MACC. Continue reading “MACC – principles of indepencence and parliamentary accountability too watered down”

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Malaysia in vortex of “Embassy Row” in Washington

Washington Times
Embassy Row
James Morrison
Thursday, December 11, 2008

MALAYSIAN CONTROVERSY

Malaysian political insiders are aghast over reports that a former ambassador to the United States is lobbying to regain his old position in Washington and hoping to win diplomatic approval quietly from the outgoing Bush administration to avoid scrutiny from the Obama White House.

Abdul Khalid Ghazzali, ambassador here from 1999 to 2006, left Washington under a cloud because of his connections to former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to corruption charges a few months before Mr. Ghazzali returned to Malaysia and resigned from the foreign service.

The controversy erupted in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, after the Web blog, Malaysia Today, recently reported that Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi planned to reappoint Mr. Ghazzali. Members of Parliament later raised questions about the reports. A spokesman for the Malaysian Embassy in Washington said the government has made “no formal announcement” about a new ambassador. Continue reading “Malaysia in vortex of “Embassy Row” in Washington”

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MACC and JAC Bills – both fall far short of expectations and promise of anti-corruption and judicial reforms

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) personally presented in Parliament for first reading yesterday by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi both fall far short of expectations and the promise of anti-corruption and judicial reforms.

The 15th anniversary today of the Highland Towers tragedy in 1993 which killed 48 people and over 1,000 people were made homeless, preceded five days ago by the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide disaster which killed four, with one missing while displacing some 5,000 people, should serve as wrenching reminders of the necessity for urgent and meaningful anti-corruption and judicial reforms.

Even the mainstream New Straits Times yesterday editorialized that “Everything from the loss of faith in national institutions, as measured in both the electoral vote and the rising crime rate, to the catastrophic failure of developed hill slopes seems at least partly attributable to the corrosion of corruption – of corners cut, blind eyes turned, and money paid for benefits unseen”.

The New Straits Times editorial could have cited as another recent example of the far-reaching consequences of the corrosion of rampant corruption – the road carnage in the express bus North-South Expressway (NSE) crash in Tangkak which killed 10 and injured 14 on Sunday. Continue reading “MACC and JAC Bills – both fall far short of expectations and promise of anti-corruption and judicial reforms”

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Ka Chuan – don’t be a second Samy Vellu

The Bukit Antarabangsa landslide disaster on Saturday, 6th December 2008, claiming five lives and dislocating 5,000 people after destroying 14 bungalows, is sheer criminal negligence after the Highland Towers tragedy 15 years ago on Friday, 11th December 1993.

It is sad and shocking testimony that the 48 who died in the Highland Towers tragedy 15 years ago had died in vain as the lessons had not been learnt by the relevant government authorities and parties.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi blamed developers and buyers when he lamented:

“Malaysians never want to learn from past experiences. They want good views while developers only seek to profit; but no one takes safety and soil stability into consideration”.

Conspicuously absent from Abdullah’s blame list are the various government agencies and authorities who should be even more culpable in giving approvals or closing an eye to dangerous hillside developments and in totally ignoring the lessons of the Highland Towers tragedy 15 years ago.

Subconsciously admitting that it was indefensible to exonerate the government from responsibility for the criminal negligence resulting in the Bukit Antarabangsa disaster, Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek complained that it was not fair to slam the Government for failing to act every time a disaster happens. Continue reading “Ka Chuan – don’t be a second Samy Vellu”

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Road carnage – disappeared from Abdullah’s radar screen in his last 100 days as PM

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is in his last 100 days as the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

His silence and indifference to the latest road carnage in the express bus North-South Expressway (NSE) crash in Tangkak which killed 10 and injured 14 on Sunday, taking place in his last 100 days as PM, is in sharp and sad contrast to his anger and outrage at the Jalan Kuala Lipis-Marapoh three-vehicle accident which killed 14 on 30th November 2003 during his first hundred days as PM.

This also signifies another major failure of Abdullah with regard to his First-Hundred-Days-as-PM pledges– to end the road carnage on Malaysian roads.

I can still remember Abdullah’s furious and emotional outbursts five Novembers ago, when he expressed his frustration and upset at the number of road fatalities recorded under Ops Sikap V, with 25 road deaths on the first day of Hari Raya and the death toll which rose to 104 in the first six days of Ops Sikap V. Continue reading “Road carnage – disappeared from Abdullah’s radar screen in his last 100 days as PM”