Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng has to move out of his state official residence, Seri Teratai due to a termite infestation (actual picture on site shown). Due to the seriousness of the situation, the consultants have declared the building unsafe for occupancy until the infestation is eradicated and the repair works done.
Now, Gerakan Youth is screaming (murder) and jumping up and down because the Chief Minister have moved into a small bungalow in the mean time. They gave an ultimatum that he disclose the amount of rent which he is paying, the cost of renovation of the bungalow etc. etc. They even threatened that he should resign as the Chief Minister otherwise.
Now, if the state is paying for the rental and renovations, Gerakan Youth is well within their rights to scream for transparency, openness etc. However, the problem is, Guan Eng is paying for the rental from his own allowance! Does Guan Eng need to publicly report on how much he spends for his char koay teow for lunch paid for from his own pocket?
He gets a housing allowance of RM4,000 per month as part of his compensation package as the Chief Minister (unchanged from previous administrations). Any rental beyond RM4,000, Guan Eng will have to foot it himself!
This means that the Penang state government is not footing a single cent for the rental or renovation of the premises. What's more, whatever renovations is being done by the house owner and isn't even paid for by Guan Eng! So what's the problem?
Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, since being appointed as a backdoor Minister in the Prime Minister's Department has also rented his house in Kuala Lumpur (or is it owned?). Should he then need to disclose how much he is paying for rental, or how much he bought his house for?
How about if Gerakan start questioning its UMNO masters how much they are paying for their houses? Have they tried paying a visit to Toyoland which is about 10 times the size and 20 times the luxury? What a bunch of sorry losers.
Read more!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Gerakan Youth Needs Mental Rewiring
Muhyiddin Publicly Bribes Voters
On Saturday, Najib promised all Malaysians that he will "fight against corruption". On Sunday, his deputy offered a big bribe to the Manek Urai electorate. What great hypocrisy.
Yes, it is none other than the Deputy Prime Minister himself, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, attempted to bribe the electorate by the promise of a new RM10 million bridge, with the blatant condition that it'll only be granted if Barisan Nasional wins.
Muhyiddin, who is Umno deputy president, told the remote constituency's 12,293 voters that should they back Barisan Nasional on Tuesday, they would get a 300-metre bridge connecting Manek Urai Baru and Manek Urai Lama in Kuala Krai.It is an outright corrupt practice to offer monetary or financial inducements to a voter to influence his choice in the elections, and here we have the DPM himself offering the bribe, within a day of the Prime Minister himself promising to stamp out corruption. What great credibility.
“We can build it (the bridge), insya'allah, but there is a condition. It is easy - all you need to do is to 'pangkah' (vote), but you must vote for BN. If not, there would not be any new bridge. If you want the bridge, vote BN,” Muhyiddin said.
For those unaware, the Election Offences Act 1954 says:
10. The following persons shall be deemed guilty of the offence of bribery:And anyone committed the above election offence, he or she:
(c) every person who, before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement as aforesaid to or for any person in order to induce such person to procure or endeavour to procure the election of any person, or the vote of any elector or voter at any election;
(d) every person who, either before or during an election, upon or in consequence of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement, procures or engages,
promises or endeavours to procure, the election of any person, or the vote of any elector or voter at an election;
...shall be guilty of a corrupt practice, and shall, on conviction by a Sessions Court, be liable, in the case referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years and to a fine of not less than one thousand ringgit and not more than five thousand ringgit, and, in any other case, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit. Offences under paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be seizable offences within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code.Hence the punishment is obvious enough. Be fined up to RM5,000 or imprisoned for up to a year. But most significantly, the guilty party will be disqualified from public office, and be banned from contesting in an election for 5 years.
(2) Every person who is convicted of a corrupt practice shall, subject to any specific provision to the contrary in any written law relating to any election, by conviction become incapable of being registered or listed as an elector or of voting at any election or of being elected at any election, and if at that date he has been elected at any election, his seat shall be vacated from the date of such conviction: Provided that such disability shall cease on the expiry of five years from such conviction.
So, will Muhyiddin even be investigated for the above offences, much less charged and banned? Yes, I'm sure Najib can be trusted, he will do the right thing and he is a man of his words.
Read more!
Sinar Harian 'Gula-Gula' Cover
It's rare that we opposition politicians get on the front cover of a Malay newspaper, not unless of course we are being accused of being anti-Malay, anti-Consititution, anti... you get the idea. The last time I was on the cover of Utusan Malaysia, it was courtesy of Khairy Jamaluddin who accused me of "insulting the Malays" back in May 2007.
So I was a little surprised when I got a copy of Sinar Harian yesterday from Gobind with my big mug on the front page, juxtaposed against the "new" prime minister, no less! What's more, I think it was the only mainstream newspaper yesterday to have an "opposing" voice on its cover.
On the 100 days Najib premiership celebrations and policy announcements, he called his ofers "Hadiah", while I called it "Gula-gula".Ini hanya adalah 'gula-gula', bukanlah satu pengumuman yang besar seperti yang kita kehendaki selama ini. 'Gula-gula' ini tidak akan memberi kesan kepada PR.
Well, I certainly can't complain! (Except the fact that they flipped my face so that I'd be viewing right ;-))
Read more!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Najib's 100-Days Promises, What's New?
In brief, here are Najib's promises when he launched is 100-days in power celebrations:
- The prevention of crime;
- The fight against corruption;
- Access to quality education;
- The improvement of the living standards for the lower income group;
- Improvement of rural infrastructure;;
- Improvement of public transportation.
We had such high hopes when Pak Lah made the above promises, but we all fell flat on our faces. Anyone remember the "18 big fish"? Or the "All out war against crime"? Or the twice announced public transportation fund in 2006 and 2008 (with absolutely nothing to show)?
He has rightly placed the prevention of crime on top of the list. But he has shown that he is absolutely unwilling to reform the police force, for he is obligated to them to clamp down on all civil and political dissent. Najib was so engrossed in grabbing power in Perak, maximised the use of the police to suppress dissent, which resulted in crime rising massively in the state over the past 6 months.
We are faced with the greatest financial scandal in living memory with the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal. But til today, all we see is Najib washing his hands completely over the issue. Such a big scandal afflicting Malaysia, and yet, not a word from the Prime Minister. All he has mentioned about the subject so far is that the MCA president will deal with it. In other words, "Let Ong Tee Keat sink all by himself, I'm not going to get my hands dirty on this." How does that sit with his promise to "fight corruption"?
And public transportation? He must be joking. The most important move today is to consolidate all departments involved with transportation under 1 ministry/minister. And yet, when the Entrepreneurs & Cooperatives Ministry was dissolved under his cabinet reshuffle, the Commercial Vehicles and Licensing Board is transferred to the Prime Minister's office instead of the Transport Ministry. So we have the Prime Minister directly taking care of taxis and public buses, the Finance Ministry taking care of RapidKL buses, the transport ministry taking care of KTM and LRT, and the Works Ministry taking care of the road transport network. A complete recipe for disaster.
And as for quality of education? We've not seen any moves yet from the Najib's administration on this except to reverse the teaching of Maths and Science back from English to Malay. My views are expressed here.
I think Malaysians in general will do well not to have their expectations set too high, if they were to have any expectations at all. I'm certainly once bitten twice shy, and I never trust somebody who will use ruthless measures to suppress peaceful protests, clampdown media freedom and stifle dissent. At least for Pak Lah, he appeared to be more "liberal" with his management of opposing voices, whether intentional or otherwise.
Read more!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
No Space, No Arrests? Minister's Reply
It was late into the evening session when I got to read out my adjournment speech on the alleged lack of space to detain illegals in Petaling Jaya as highlighted by the local OCPD. The reply came at 9.49pm and it was certainly one not worth waiting for.
In summary, it was a list of denials and even highlighting the fact that the crime index has improved in Petaling Jaya with statistics for the first 5 months of the year.
They also emphasized that over the past 17 months, they have conducted 30 raids nationwide and successfully "catching" 281 illegals who were also criminals. Umm... I'm not sure if that's such a great number... less than 2 per month in the entire country (and that includes Sabah & Sarawak).
But if you bother to read the fairly long reply below, you'd notice that nowhere in his speech he denied the fact that there really isn't enough space to "keep" illegals who are detained in Petaling Jaya, which was the essence of my question.
Was the question deliberately avoided? Or who it just an oversight by whoever who prepared the speech? You be the judge.
Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri II [Tuan Jelaing anak Mersat]:
Saya mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Ahli Yang Berhormat Petaling Jaya Utara yang mengemukakan usul mengenai perkara ini.
Tuan Yang di-Pertua, dakwaan Ahli Yang Berhormat Petaling Jaya Utara bahawa Ketua Polis Daerah Petaling Jaya memberikan alasan kekurangan anggota dan tempat tahanan sebagai sebab pihak polis tidak mengambil tindakan ke atas pendatang asing yang melakukan kesalahan jenayah adalah kurang tepat. Ingin saya tegaskan bahawa kementerian dan pihak polis tidak pernah sekali-kali mempunyai dasar atau ketetapan sebegitu. Saya yakin pihak polis sentiasa komited dalam usaha membendung dan memerangi jenayah.
Namun tidak saya nafikan pihak polis mempunyai kekangan dari segi bilangan anggota terutamanya di bandar-bandar besar seperti di Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru dan Petaling Jaya di mana nisbah seorang anggota polis kepada bilangan penduduk adalah tinggi, namun pihak polis tidak pernah menggunakan alasan ini untuk tidak bertegas kepada mana-mana pihak yang melakukan kesalahan. Malahan operasi pencegahan jenayah yang dilakukan oleh pihak polis dibuat secara berterusan dan dipergiatkan dari semasa ke semasa.
Tuan Yang di-Pertua, sebagai contoh bilangan kes jenayah di daerah Petaling Jaya bagi tempoh Januari hingga Mei 2008 adalah sebanyak 4,675 kes manakala bagi tempoh yang sama pada tahun 2009 adalah sebanyak 4,053 kes iaitu penurunan sebanyak 622 kes atau 13.3%.
Dari segi penyelesaian kes pula, 44% berjaya diselesaikan bagi tempoh Januari hingga Mei 2009. selain itu pihak polis juga sentiasa mengambil tindakan tegas ke atas mana-mana pihak yang terlibat dengan jenayah termasuklah pendatang asing. Dalam hal ini, pihak polis mengadakan operasi-operasi bersepadu dengan kerjasama Jabatan Imigresen, RELA, Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan dan pihak berkuasa tempatan. Tuan Yang di-Pertua, pihak polis sentiasa memandang serius terhadap kes-kes jenayah yang melibatkan pendatang asing.
Sebagai bukti, bagi tahun 2008 sehingga bulan Mei 2009, sebanyak 30 operasi khas telah diadakan di mana seramai 281 orang pendatang asing yang terlibat dengan kes jenayah telah ditangkap. Usaha berterusan yang dilaksanakan oleh pihak polis menampakkan hasil berdasarkan kes jenayah yang melibatkan pendatang asing menurun daripada 111 kes bagi tempoh Januari hingga Mei 2008 kepada 84 kes bagi tempoh yang sama pada tahun 2009.
Tuan Yang di-Pertua, saya tidak bersetuju dengan dakwaan Yang Berhormat yang menyatakan bahawa pihak polis lebih memberikan tumpuan dalam menghalang parti pembangkang mengadakan ceramah-ceramah dan perhimpunan berbanding operasi pencegahan jenayah yang lain.
Sebagai agensi penguatkuasaan undang-undang yang profesional, polis perlu mengambil tindakan ke atas mana-mana pihak yang melanggar undang-undang termasuklah ceramah atau perhimpunan sekiranya ia dibuat tanpa permit polis yang boleh menjejaskan keselamatan dan ketenteraman awam. Dalam hal ini tidak timbul isu pihak polis mengamalkan pilih kasih dalam menguatkuasakan undang-undang. Tuan Yang di-Pertua, sebagai penutup, ingin saya maklumkan di Dewan yang mulia ini bahawa usaha mengurangkan kadar jenayah sentiasa menjadi keutamaan kementerian.
Kementerian melalui PDRM sentiasa proaktif dalam mengurangkan kadar jenayah sama ada yang melibatkan rakyat tempatan mahupun pendatang asing. Tindakan secara berterusan perlu dilakukan walaupun pihak polis menghadapi kekangan dari segi kekuatan anggota. Apa yang penting di sini ialah masyarakat boleh membantu pihak polis dalam mengurangkan kadar jenayah dengan menyalurkan maklumat dan laporan berkaitan dengannya. Sekian terima kasih.
Read more!
No Space, No Arrests?
I delivered an adjournment speech on the last day of Parliament (2nd July) with regards to the issue that there may not be enough places to "detain" illegal immigrants after they have been arrested in Petaling Jaya.
A residents' association organised dialogue which invited the OCPD had invited a question which asked why the police do not raid an illegal settlement located just across a small river from their houses since the source of crime of the area appears to be from there.
The Petaling Jaya OCPD had replied that they could conduct the raid. However, should they find any of them being illegals, they will have a problem "housing" them as there is a lack of space in the police lock ups etc.
Some of the residents obviously took offence at the statement and complained to me. They rightly pointed out that "the lack of space" should not be an excuse for the Police to avoid "raids" on illegal settlements. Hence I took up this question to the Minister of Home Affairs, as per the text below. The Minister's (disappointing) reply will be posted next.
Tuan yang dipertua,
Saya ingin menarik perhatian dewan kepada satu dialog polis dengan 150 orang penduduk di suatu kawasan perumahan di kawasan saya. Salah satu isu yang dikemukakan adalah masalah pendatang asing yang telah berlanjutan selama 10 tahun, yang disyaki punca utama kes jenayah seperti kes pencerobohan rumah, kecurian dan pencederaan yang semakin meningkat di kawasan perumahan mereka.
OCPD yang hadir diseru untuk mengambil tindakan segera untuk menangani masalah ini demi keselamatan para penduduk kawasan perumahan tersebut. Jawapan OCPD kepada para penduduk ialah pihak polis tidak dapat mengambil tindakan terhadap kes ini. Alasannya, jika pihak polis menyiasat dan menyerbu kawasan pendatang asing ini, dan selepas itu, mendapati bahawa kesemua adalah pendatang asing secara haram, pihak polis tidak mempunyai ruang yang mencukupi untuk menempatkan pendatang asing ini selepas mereka ditahan.
Alasan ini amat mengecewakan sekali, kerana ia mencerminkan sikap polis yang enggan berusaha untuk mengatasi isu keamanan yang dibangkitkan oleh rakyat. Terutama sekali kadar jenayah di Petaling Jaya adalah yang paling tinggi di negeri Selangor dari tahun 2000 hingga 2008. Dengan sikap OCPD ini yang tidak prihatin kepada kes jenayah yang dilaporkan, bolehkah kita berharap adanya perubahan baik terhadap kadar jenayah yang semakin meruncing di Petaling Jaya? Sikap ini hanya melanjutkan persepsi rakyat bahawa inilah bantuan polis yang sedia ada di negara kita, dan rakyat hanya boleh menerima sahaja keadaan keamanan yang sedia ada.
Soalan saya kepada Menteri Dalam Negeri, adakah jawapan “tidak cukup ruang” OCPD ini merupakan “standard response” pihak polis terhadap masalah pendatang asing? Apakah tindakan yang pihak tuan telah ambil bagi menangani masalah kadar jenayah yang disebabkan oleh influx pendatang asing yang berleluasa, dan masalah kekurangan ruang untuk menempatkan pendatang asing yang ditahan yang dijelaskan sebagai “bottleneck” bagi pihak polis untuk mengambil tindakan sepatutnya? Perlukah rakyat jelata “put up” dengan situasi ini, dan sentiasa hidup dalam rasa takut dan bimbang terhadap keselamatan mereka, atas kekurangan tindakan tegas dan cepat dari pihak tuan.
Pihak polis diraja Malaysia mempunyai lebih kurang 100,000 anggota untuk menghapuskan jenayah di negara kita. Mengapakah pihak polis mampu mengerahkan ribuan anggotanya secara cepat, cekap dan tegas untuk mengawasi dan menyekat ceramah-ceramah, majlis jamuan atau acara menyalakan lilin pihak pembangkang, yang langsung tidak mencabuli keamanan dan ketenteraman; tetapi keberkesanan dan efisiensi yang sama tidak dapat dilihat dalam usaha menangani masalah-masalah pendatang asing dan kadar jenayah yang meningkat? Bukankah usaha menghapuskan jenayah sepatutnya merupakan tugas utama yang perlu difokuskan oleh pihak polis?
Sekian, terima kasih.
Read more!
Crime Rate Soars in Perak
The Perak police have announced that crime rate has soared in Perak over the first 6 months. Now, why am I not surprised?
...cases involving robbery increased by 197 cases from 541 cases in the first six months of last year to 739 cases this year, a 36 per cent hike.With the Perak police being more interested to become the security forces for Barisan Nasional in protecting the power grab in Perak, as well as suppressing all forms of civil and peaceful actions by Pakatan Rakyat, it is unfortunate that the ultimate victims are the rakyat who are robbed twice over - once by BN, and another by free-roaming criminals.
Car theft from January to June this year went up from 55 for the whole of last year to 138 cases in the first six months alone this year, a jump of 150.91 per cent.
...snatching theft rose from 195 cases to 268 in the first half of the year, up 37.44 per cent.
And as usual, the Perak Chief Police Officer (CPO), Datuk Zulkefli Abdullah lays the blame on the people:
He was upset with the attitude of the people in the state, who did not provide information to the police about crimes in their area. He said the meet-the-people programmes at police stations held each Tuesday were not well received by the public.How about the fact that he has diverted thousands of police personnel to conduct unnecessary road blocks, to disrupt peaceful political dinners, to confiscate video recordings of police brutality, to shut down restaurants with patrons wearing black?
No, of course arresting men (and women) in black is of utmost importance compared to fighting rampant crime.
Read more!
Monday, July 06, 2009
Highway Buy Back: A Reply to Critics
Recently there has been a slate of reports by various investment banking research houses as well as the highway concessionaires themselves who have been criticising any proposed plans to buy back the highways from the concessionaires such as a Bernama news report on the 5th July, and a report by The Edge 4 weeks ago.
We have proposed that the Government should buy back all shares of PLUS Expressways Bhd which it does not already own and take over its existing asset backed liabilities for the approximate amount of RM15 billion. This amount and more, will be recovered from motorists using the North-South Highway by maintaining the existing toll rates for a period of six years. Should PLUS be acquired this year, by 2016, toll will no longer be required to be collected on PLUS owned highways.
We have also proposed that highways such as the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP) with reasonable expropriation clauses be acquired from the concessionaires as per the terms in the concession agreements. It is estimated that the cost of buying back LDP will only cost approximately RM1.4 billion, including liabilities to be assumed by the government.
Critics have panned the above proposals based on the following reasons.
Unfortunately, the arguments above only apply if the Government is not already spending more in terms of compensation to these highway companies. For example, toll compensation to PLUS amounted to RM655 million, RM698 million and RM731 million for 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. PLUS has 30 more years before the concession expires. Without even taking into consideration the direct toll collection from motorists, the Government's compensation amount over the next 30 years will exceed RM68 billion should the current toll rates be maintained, after taking into account the fact that PLUS is entitled to increase toll tariffs by 10% every 3 years.
Similarly for the LDP, assuming that toll rates are capped at RM1.60 and no traffic increase, it'll cost an estimated RM1.54 billion in compensation alone between now and the end of the concession in 2029. For both highways, it is clearly more economical for the Government to buy back these highways, allowing for more funds to be used for other projects, including those in East Malaysia.
This will also prove to be a fallacy. The outcome of the acquisition of these highways, will mean increased in billions of disposable income for millions of Malaysians as a result of toll savings. The stimulus impact of such an increase will certainly mean a boost in domestic consumption which will benefit our economy at a time when foreign investment contribution to our economy is falling rapidly. Extra funds in the pockets of millions of Malaysians will therefore have greater stimulus impact than the billions ending in the pockets of a few via the extraordinary profits made by these highway concessionaires.
Unlike Government borrowing for normal development and operational expenditure, the funding for these highway buy backs are tied directly to the cashflow of the highways. For example, the RM15 billion required to buy back PLUS will be repaid over 6 years via the free cashflow generated by maintaining toll at existing rates for the period of time. It will be easy for the Government to raise such funds with the security of the very stable cashflows. The nature of the borrowings will also mean that it will have no impact on the budget deficit.
Yes, indeed the Government will have to bear the burden of maintening the highways. However, the cost of these maintenance have often been exaggerated. For example, the maintenance cost of the North South Expressway amounts to RM200 million while that of the LDP is RM10 million per annum. These amounts are only a tiny proportion of the compensations which the Government is already paying to the highway concessionaires annually. Furthermore, by conducting open tenders towards the maintenance of these highways, we can expect the maintenance to cost even less.
Therefore, the DAP would like to reiterate our position to the Works and Finance Ministries, as well as the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to buy back PLUS Expressways via the stock market, as well as other highways by exercising the expropriation clauses within these agreements. The above proposals are the best options to ensure that Government funding is most effectively utilised, and the interest of the people are best protected.
Read more!
Friday, July 03, 2009
I Am Not Qualified
Heh... Shadow committees list for Pakatan Rakyat is out and all sorts of analysis is being made of the list (some quite funny, others full of conspiracy theories).
Of note is by one Prof Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, the Director of the Malay World and Civilisation Academy of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia who said (in Malaysiakini) that
"(DAP's Penang deputy chief minister II) P Ramasamy is placed in the International Relations Ministry. He has a political science background but his specialty is in labour politics.For Prof P Ramasamy, not only does he specialise in Labour politics, he has taken active part in resolving international conflicts in Sri Lanka as well as Aceh, helping with peace negotiations as well as drafting of constitutions. That's certainly more qualified that the current foreign minister, Datuk Anifah Aman who went to United States to talk about Altantuya.
"Tony Pua (DAP publicity secretary) may have studied in Oxford but that does not mean he knows much about the higher education system," he said.
As for me, yes, I did study at Oxford, and of course, that does not mean I know much about higher education. For that matter, it does not mean that I know much about anything at all, economics, finance, telecommunications, technology, transportation etc etc. So, really, I should just keep my mouth shut and let others who are experts over at the Barisan Nasional frontbench do the talking.
Do I sound incoherent? Probably. Top notch local academics like Shamsul Amri Baharuddin makes me feel stupid, and ashamed.
Read more!
Thursday, July 02, 2009
PKFZ: Full Support to Stop Payment
We would like to express our fullest support to the PKA for witholding the RM660 million payment to Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd with regards to the PKFZ project.
The DAP Secretary-General, Lim Guan Eng has requested for the Transport Ministry to stop payments to KDSB or any other parties, until the culprits responsible for the scandal are arrested and charged in court yesterday, and we are elated that the PKA has agreed with the suggestion made.
The Transport Minister must now expedite the investigations into the various wrong-doings, abuse of power, conflict of interest, criminal neglect as well as possible corruption in the handling and management of the PKFZ project.
Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat must now ensure that all 222 Members of Parliament receive the long-promised but still outstanding copies of the complete PKFZ audit report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) before the current parliamentary session ends on Thursday, 2nd July. The delay and failure of delivering these key and critical documents signals the reluctance of the Government to reveal the truth and nothing but the whole truth to the public to ensure that the wrong-doers are duly punished.
The Minister must also demonstrate his sincerity and ministerial responsibility by giving an full account of the various wrong-doings, abuse of power and other weaknesses as found by the Ministry to date to ensure that the Parliament as well as the overall Malaysian public is given full accountability of the PKFZ, instead of continuing to evade the very pertinent questions in the minds of the people at large.
Read more!
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Rais Yatim Stuck in Colonial Times
During the launch of the multi-billion ringgit High Speed Broadband project yesterday, the Minister of Information, Communication and Culture, Datuk Seri Rais Yatim had stated that
“We are being colonised. The outside world presents content to us. We should create our own identity with local content. We don’t want to be followers when building society.”The Minister could not have been more wrong in his statement. Over the past 50 years, after Malaysia's independence from our colonial British masters, Malaysia has been progressively “colonised” by UMNO and Barisan Nasional with its frequent and persistent use of colonial controls against dissent and communication, such as the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Printing, Publications and Presses Act (PPPA), the Universities and Universities Colleges Act (UUCA), the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the sedition Act and more. These are the exact tools of our British colonial masters, which have beenr retained and abused by UMNO and BN for their own political ends, with complete disregard for the interest of Malaysians at large.
On the other hand, Malaysians should be grateful to the Internet for it brought about a new era of seamless communications and openness which in essence, have de-colonise Malaysians from the iron grip of UMNO and BN. Malaysians must fully embrace the Internet for it has allowed us to “free our minds” from the repressive controls inherited from our British colonial masters.
The choice of Datuk Seri Rais Yatim as the Minister to take over the portfolio of both Information and Communications by the new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak must have been specifically intended to curtail the new freedom found by Malaysian which is channel through the Internet. He has remained one of the many dinosaurs left over from the Mahathir's administration who has failed to understand and grasp the nature of the Internet.
In this new Internet era, the more the Government seeks to curtail and inhibit discussion and communication via the worldwide web, the bigger the backlash it will have against the Government itself. Datuk Seri Rais Yatim is only further catalysing the demise of UMNO and Barisan Nasional by seeking to impose its archaic controls mechanisms in this new globalised era.
Read more!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Najib, Meritocracy, Quotas & The NEP
At a dinner organised by the MCA and the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ACCCIM), the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has not only announced a new “National Scholarship” category that will be based on merit, but more importantly he had also hinted at removing quotas in all economic sectors in Malaysia by admitting that “having quotas is not the right way and is not good for Bumiputeras”.
We fully supports all efforts to improve the economic livelihood of all poor bumiputeras and Malaysia, and believe that the quota system as has been implemented under BN's New Economic Policy (NEP) has failed the bumiputeras for it has promoted a rent-seeking culture, and entrenched cronyism and corruption among its politically connected beneficiaries.
Therefore, we are willing to provide full support to the Prime Minister to eliminate the inefficient and ineffective NEP quota system, and in its place promote meritocracy, not only for scholarships, but in all sectors including education and the economy. The policy on meritocracy should be complemented with an affirmative action policy based on needs, and not race.
However, the goodwill and sincerity of Najib's statement is put to question when on the very same evening, his Deputy Prime Minister, continued to stir Malay racial sentiments with the clarion call that “Umno will fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights” in his speech in Pagoh, Johor. Taken together with the Prime Minister's own persistence in Malay and Muslim unity talks with PAS, raises the question as to whether the Barisan Nasional government is continuing the policy of singing a different song to a different racial audience.
This divide and rule concept also clearly flies in the face of the 1Malaysia concept being preached by Najib, as UMNO continues to place Malay unity and Malay rights above everything else under its “ketuanan Melayu” concept where all other BN component parties and ethnic groups are subjugated to the authority of UMNO.
We would like to call upon the Prime Minister to put his words into action by delivering a Ministerial statement in Parliament to call for the removal of the quota-based New Economic Policy and to replace it with a New Economic Agenda which promotes meritocracy and a needs-based affirmative action policy to help all poor, regardless of race, creed or religion.
I'm sure Pakatan Rakyat will give the Prime Minister our full support in Parliament to ensure that such a New Economic Agenda bill is approved as the new economic paradigm for Malaysia. We believe that a just, fair and equitable economic foundation will serve the interest of all Malaysians and will be the best approach to improve the competitiveness, competence and livelihood of the bumiputeras.
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Forum: PKFZ Scandal - Still No Answers?
Despite the fact that the PKFZ scandal has bloated up to RM12.5 billion was exposed since February this year, the mystery of “Who's Dunnit?” remains completely unanswered.
Who - from the long list of current and ex-Minister of Transports, Port Klang Authority chairmans, and Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) chairpersons - is to be held responsible and accountable? Why has the blatant misuse of tax-payers monies not explained or revealed appropriately?
A concerted effort is being made to hide the truth. The Dewan Rakyat Speaker to immediately allow the full PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report to be to all MPs, the Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat escaped to the “prestigious” Paris Air Show returning only to give an 8-minute ministerial non-statement, the MACC's refusal to divulge their findings to the parliamentary public accounts committee (PAC), the refusal of the PAC to summon key witnesses like the former Transport Ministers, Tun Ling Liong Sik and Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy...
The seach to uncover the truth has hit a brickwall... should we let the matter rest?
We want you to come and share your sentiments at our forum:
RM12.5b PKFZ Scandal: No Competency, No Accountability & No Transparency!Panelists will include:
Date : 1st July 2009 (Wed)
Time : 8pm
Venue : Civic Hall, Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ)
- Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader
- Tony Pua, MP for Petaling Jaya Utara
- Charles Santiago, MP for Klang
- Ronnie Liu, ADUN for Pandamaran, Selangor State EXCO
- Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad, MP for Kuala Selangor
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Saturday, June 27, 2009
PKFZ: Questions for Attorney General
There will be a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Wednesday. We are meant to decide if we will summon the Attorney General (AG) to provide his opinions and views to the PAC with regards to the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal. There has been a reluctance by the PAC to summon the AG for one reason or other. The reluctance is to the extent that now, we have to submit our list of questions in advance, before deciding if the AG should even be summoned.
I've submitted my questions on Friday. I certainly hope that the AG will be summoned to answer the following questions which I'm certain are critical in uncovering the many wrongs in the administration and execution of the PKFZ project.
While I'm fully aware that the PAC has limited powers, but we should at the very least do our very responsible best to uncover the truth behind the largest financial misappropriation project costing up to RM12.5 billion in Malaysia.
1. Status surat sokongan daripada menteri-menteri pengangkutan
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a. Apakah status surat sokong daripada menteri-menteri pengangkutan Tun Ling Liong Sik dan Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy? Adakah ke-empat-empat surat tersebut merupakan surat jaminan daripada pihak kerajaan?
b. Adakah seseorang Menteri mempunyai kuasa untuk mengeluarkan surat sebegitu bagi pihak Kerajaan?
c. Jika surat-surat tersebut merupakan surat jaminan, adakah kerajaaan diwajibkan untuk memenuhi jaminan dalam surat-surat tersebut, terutamanya jika seseorang menteri tidak mempunyai hak mengeluarkan surat jaminan?
d. Adakah terdapat keadaan di mana pihak kerajaan tidak perlu memenuhi syarat jaminan dalam surat tersebut? Apakah akibatnya jika kerajaan tidak memberikan sokongan kewangan kepada Lembaga Pelabuhan Kelang (LPK)?
2. Penyalah-gunaan kuasa
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a. Apakah kesalahan dari segi undang-undang jika seseorang menteri (bukan kewangan) mengeluarkan sepohon surat jaminan bagi pihak kerajaan kepada pihak bank ataupun kontraktor? Apakah hukuman yang boleh dikenakan dari segi undang-undang Malaysia?
b. Adakah kesalahan (a) bertambah apabila surat jaminan diberi walaupun pihak audit negara telahpun kerap-kali memberi laporan bahawa status kewangan LPK adalah amat runcing?
c. Adakah ianya merupakan satu kesalahan jika seseorang pengurus menggunakan "seal" untuk menandatangani kontrak-kontrak bagi badan berkanun tanpa kebenaran daripada lembaga pengarah?
d. Adakah ianya merupakan satu kesalahan pengurusan LPK apabila mereka tidak mendapat kelulusan daripada Kabinet untuk membuat apa sahaja perbelanjaan yang melebihi RM100 juta, seperti yang diarahkan oleh Kabinet apabila projek Port Kelang Free Zone diluluskan?
e. Laporan audit PwC telahpun mengemukakan pelbagai kelemahan dari segi perundingan kontrak di mana kontrak pembangunan tidak menentukan secara teliti apa yang patut dan wajib diserahkan oleh pihak pembangun. Adakah ini merupakan sekurang-kurangnya "criminal negligence"?
f. Laporan audit PwC telah juga mengemukan pembayaran yang telah dibuat oleh pihak LPK untuk kerja pembangun yang tidak ditetapkan dalam kontrak. Adakah ini merupakan kesalahan?
g. Bagi soalan (d) dan (e) di atas, jika didapati ada kesalahan, siapakah yang bertanggungjawab ke atas kesalahan sebegitu - pengurus ataupun pengarah?
3. Pembelian Tanah PKFZ
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a. Adakah pihak peguam negara telah menyeru pihak Kabinet secara rasmi, supaya membeli tanah tersebut mengikut "Land Acquisition Act" sebab:
(i) Tanah tersebut mempunyai terlalu banyak 'encumbrances', termasuk 8 caj dan 5 kaveat, dan pihak Kuala Dimensi telahpun membuat gambaran yang salah? Adakah pemberian 'gambaran' yang tidak tepat ini boleh merupakan kes pemalsuan ataupun penipuan (fraudulent misrepresentation)?
(ii) Pembelian tanah tersebut tidak sesuai/patut dijalankan secara "willing buyer, willing seller" kerana pihak Kuala Dimensi tidak dapat mengagihkan tanah kepada kerajaan bebas daripada 'encumbrance'
b. Jika peguam negara telah mengambil pendirian (a), apakah sebab-sebabnya.
c. Apakah kerumitan yang akan tertimbul dengan pembelian tanah secara "willing buyer, willing seller", dan adakah ia akan/boleh mengakibatkan apa-apa kesalahan undang-undang?
4. Kontrak Pembangunan Kuala Dimensi
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a. Adakah terdapat klausa-klausa dalam perjanjian pembangunan (development contracts) di mana pihak kerajaan ataupun LPK mempunyai kuasa untuk menamatkan projek tersebut ataupun mengambil alih kerja-kerja daripada pihak pembangun?
5. Pengarah LPK dan PKFZ
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a. Apakah kuasa dan tanggungjawab ahli-ahli lembaga yang telah dilantik oleh kerajaan ke dalam lembaga pengarah dari segi undang-undang?
b. Adakah kecuaian dan kelalaian menjalani tugas mereka, yang mengakibatkan kerugian besar seperti PKFZ, merupakan satu kesalahan dari segi undang-undang?
c. Pernahkah pihak peguam negara mengambil tindakan terhadap pihak pengarah badan berkanun kerana sebab-sebab seperti di atas.
6. Langkah Peguam Negara
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a. Apakah langkah-langkah proaktif yang boleh diambil oleh pihak peguam negara untuk mempercepatkan pengurusan, siasatan dan tindakan dalam kes skandal PKFZ ini? Dan apakah halangan?
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Kicked Out of Parliament - Hansard
Here's the official Hansard version of what happened yesterday before I got kicked out. Judge for yourself whether I was even trying to be kicked out. The parliament Hansard is quoted verbatim, unabridged.
[I was standing waiting to be given the opportunity to seek clarification from Pasir Salak, who was speaking.]The way I was thrown out, if the Speakers all maintain the same position, at least 5 MPs will be thrown out each day, if not more. It was just ridiculous.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat PJ Utara apa berdiri ini? Kalau hendak berdiri lama-lama macam itu kat luar berdiri. Dia tidak bagi peluang Yang Berhormat.
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Dia tidak...
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Dia tidak bagi Yang Berhormat.
Dato' Haji Tajuddin Abdul Rahman [Pasir Salak]: Tuan Yang di-Pertua...
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat, dia punya floor Yang Berhormat. Saya bagi peluang dia bercakap.
Dato' Haji Tajuddin Abdul Rahman [Pasir Salak]: Tuan Yang di-Pertua...
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Saya berdiri di sini tunggu. Saya tidak bising!
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat hendak gaduh dengan saya kah macam mana ini? Saya suruh Yang Berhormat duduk ataupun keluar Duduk ataupun keluar Yang Berhormat? Dia tidak bagi peluang dengan Yang Berhormat untuk mencelah.
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Dia tidak kata tidak boleh!
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat, tadi kita sudah dengar Yang Berhormat Ipoh Timur bercakap Yang Berhormat.
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Saya tidak buat salah pun!
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat, dengar cakap saya Yang Berhormat!
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Saya tidak buat apa-apa!
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Duduk, duduk Yang Berhormat.
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Saya berdiri di sini sahaja. Saya tunggu dia bagi peluang!
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Peraturan dalam Dewan tak boleh berdiri macam itu Yang Berhormat.
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Dia tidak kata tidak boleh! Kalau tak boleh saya duduk. Kalau dia tidak kata tidak boleh saya berdiri minta jalan!
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Itulah..
Dato' Haji Tajuddin Abdul Rahman [Pasir Salak]: Duduk sekejaplah.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Dengar, dengar Yang Berhormat. Kalau saya suruh duduk Yang Berhormat kena duduk. Walaupun dia bagi, saya suruh duduk, duduk juga Yang Berhormat.
Seorang Ahli: Suruh dia keluar Tuan Yang di-Pertua! Lawan tauke pula.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat, duduk Yang Berhormat.
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: [Bercakap tanpa menggunakan pembesar suara]
[This is the part where he switched off my mike. I was telling the speaker that I will sit if he asks me to sit, but don't scold me for something which I did not do wrong, and he should be fair to me. I sat down after having said my piece.]
Dato' Haji Tajuddin Abdul Rahman [Pasir Salak]: Terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Kita kena berani dengar orang lain punya cakap juga Yang Berhormat.
[I immediately got pissed with the speaker's snide remarks, and stood up again]
Tuan Pua Kiam Wee [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Saya berani! Saya berani dengar, saya tidak buat bising.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat, saya minta Yang Berhormat keluar daripada Dewan sampai habis petang ini. Sila Yang Berhormat. Sila keluar Yang Berhormat.
[Dewan riuh]
If you want to see more, watch this Youtube clip of last year's session when Pasir Salak uttered "bloodily Bastard" at opposition MPs but this same speaker who suspended me, didn't even send him out for even half-a-day.
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