Tuesday, March 31, 2009

malaysiakini and COPS Mixing in POLITICS

Just exactly what is the PDRM trying to do?
With their already badly tarnished image, the latest of which being the KUGAN murder case, they now want the Opposition banned from raising Altantuya in the 3 by-elections.
They should just leave politics aside and concentrate on keeping the peace. Of course if speakers do raise really serious matters and people flout the laws, the police should take action.

Discussing a serious topic like the Perak state constitution should not be considered a crime. In fact the police themselves should study the laws properly before they make bigger fools of themselves.
Such an order is not within their authority as we proclaim the practice of free speech.
So are the speakers now going to describe the "sorry misadventures of a Mongolian tourist who got blown to bits?"

malaysiakini and the DUTY for a REFERENDUM on the NEW LEADERS

I wonder why the UMNO Deputy President is not eager to consider the by-elections as a referendum on the new leadership team in UMNO.
According to malaysiakini, Incoming No 2: Polls not a referendum on new boss Muhyiddin Yassin hopes the voters do not treat the events as an endorsement or rejection of the new team.
I find this rather surprising from such a veteran politician as in Malaysia, ordinary folks get so little opportunity to give some official feed-back to top leaders - a compliant MSM is one of the stumbling blocks and even BN monority party leaders get told very publicly they can just leave the coalition.
Also don't forget that Najib is getting the Prime Minister's job on a golden platter from Abdullah without even a contest in his own political party.
After the illegal power grab in Perak, a most unconstitutional and disgraceful episode by the ruling BN, it is only right that Perak voters tell them what they think by using the polls as a referendum.
No, it is not only their right - IT IS THEIR DUTY.

Monday, March 30, 2009

malaysiakini and WHY Abdullah Can DELAY LEAVING

The UMNO show has ended but that is only one part of the equation for Abdullah Badawi to decide when he should be leaving office.
After all, being the President of UMNO the political party does not automatically make one the Prime Minister of the nation; though that has been the normal practice as UMNO was the dominant party.
So it is not surprising that this malaysiakini article Pak Lah: Stop pestering me on handover date suggests the deed is not complete yet.

I suspect there are at least 2 elements to consider before we move to a more finalised date:
1.The outcome of the 3 by-elections to be held within the next 10 days. A disastrous showing by BN will cast serious doubts on the new leadership team.
2.The bargaining for Cabinet posts etc - he will lose all leverage once he steps down.

Friday, March 27, 2009

malaysiakini and WHAT UMNO Needs to DO for MALAYSIA

Finally after months of political intrigue, the UMNO General Assembly has been held and the torch passed to an old band of political leaders.
For one thing, both the President and Deputy President have been in cabinet for at least 30 odd years in total and one wonders what each of them did during all those years that Malaysia has been veering off track of becoming a developed nation.
Since independence, the leader of UMNO has been the Prime Minister of Malaysia but as they say:
"You can't keep doing the same thing over and over again to get different results".

Many people question this concept of UMNO always hogging the PM's post and since it is only part of the grander BN coalition, others too should have a say and that includes the other opposition MPs.
So the reaction to UMNO's meeting in malaysiakini is not surprising. 'Umno has lost touch with reality' .
Even the outgoing UMNO told the Assembly in his farewell that the old ways do not work anymore.
Let us see if the new leaders can bring Malaysia back from the brink. Since the nation is facing a nightmare economic scenario, I suggest both sides of the political divide to call a truce of sorts to work together for the next 12 months to save the nation's economy.
The government can take the lead by keeping the 3 by-elections clean and free and fair. That will be a good start to show the people that it is prepared to accept the verdict of the voters.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

malaysiakini has an EXCELLENT MENU for UMNO's CHANGE

Everyone's talking of change but talk is really cheap and only good for the TV viewers.
Change can really be painful and unwelcome. Let's read what one malaysiakini has to suggest in this article Umno will not and cannot change, period.
It is a stark message to all Malaysians that we need to take a more conscious effort to correct the political problems we have created over the past 30 odd years.
Part of the problem is that most Malaysians did not give a damn about what the political leaders did and now we really have a major crisis of government credibility.
The other part of the blame lies with the political leadership as we allowed corrupted people to stay and corrupt the whole system.
Instead of weeding out incompetent and corrupt leaders, often many bad decisions were always done on a collective basis so that over time, we end end with a Cabinet full of deadwood. Once the deadwood reaches a critical mass, the whole nation suffers.
I support the 2-party system so I hope UMNO can change; preferably in one or two terms in the Opposition. That is what Malaysia needs and that is what I hope Malaysians will fulfill. After all, political leadership is not about one's lineage but whether one can truly serve the people.

malaysiakini and CHANGE for UMNO?

It will be really good if indeed UMNO can change for the better as Malaysia will truly gain from such a remote event happening.
I am sure some betting folks will give you a 100 to 1 benefit that we will see UMNO reform itself to win the next general elections. That is a a free and fair election campaign where the government plays fair, without making use of taxpayers' funds and resources for campaigns.
What of the UMNO elections? The most interesting news from malaysiakini is Shahrizat wins Wanita chief postdefeating the strong and long-standing Rafidah Aziz. If the latter had been a man, she would have been a possible Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The word "change" was prominently used by so many candidates as it is a term made fashionable these days by Obama.
But change has so many connotations - change for the better or worse?
The next few weeks will tell and some bloggers are already predicting a clamp-down on government critics.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

An Interesting Letter in malaysiakini.....

Amid all the fanfare and universal calls for change in UMNO from worn-out leaders with strident messages, there is this interesting letter in malaysiakini Only by unity can we thrive .
I am sure that most ordinary Malaysians know that people of all races in the country mostly work well together; the problems only arise when we let the politicians dictate terms.
So I suggest we should all make a paradigm shift and make sure our MPs reflect our wishes in Parliament or we kick them out in the next General Elections.
For too long, Malaysians have been too complacent and we allowed the MPs to misbehave.

The letter is a little verbose but I think the conclusion is good. I quote:
"Please understand that only by unity can we thrive, the unity that is Malaysian irrespective of our thoughts and our diversified backgrounds. Only humanity alone will prevail because we are well- balanced and level-headed Malaysians and our leaders should not take us for a ride."

Many leaders have taken us for a ride for umpteen years. It is time we kicked them off the train.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

malaysiakini and POLITICS in Schools

We were always thought that schools were not the place for politics but this latest move by the Education Ministry seems to be against that principle.
According to malaysiakini Hisham bars Pakatan leaders from schools this action by the Education Minister is really uncalled for.
Unless the Pakatan leaders are guilty of unethical behaviour, this ban is unwarranted and unjustified.
After all, the schools are within the state that has an opposition government and such leaders need to officiate at school functions.
This is an absurd directive from the Education Ministry. Instead of sorting out their many problems of unqualified teachers, they are playing politics with schools.

malaysiakini and BANNING the HOME MINISTRY?


The Home Ministry is a rather clumsy organisation and I suspect they often exceed the powers that have been given to them.
Apart from threatening people with the ISA for using the word "ALLAH", they have now issued an order for Harakah, Suara Keadilan banned 3 months according to the malaysiakini article.
They accuse the newsletters of printing stories that fall under their criteria of "wrong and sensational reporting".
I wonder if any story that criticises the Home Ministry will be deemed suitable.
If the Home Ministry argues that promoting their political ideology is deemed OK, they should ask the Information Ministry to conduct televised debates so that viewers can get better information during the 3-month ban. Perhaps the Ministry is not aware that 3 important by-elections are being held soon?
Meanwhile, take a listen of this song that has been banned by the Selangor religious authorities.
It is interesting that this beautiful song entitled "Allah Peduli" translates into "God Cares" and I just wonder how any religious authority could ban a song with such a positive message. Also note that the clip is taken from RCTI, an Indonesian channel. I wonder why Indonesia with a 90% Muslim population has a more tolerant attitude towards other religions compared to Malaysia which probably has about 55% Muslims?

Thanks to You Tube

Monday, March 23, 2009

malaysiakini and the IMPERATIVE for States to CONTROL WATER

I agree with this malaysiakini article that reports the Selangor MB as stating Sultan in favour of S'gor controlling water assets.
Thus far the federal government has not been fair to the opposition states and has withheld development funds as if the voters of these states do not pay the federal government taxes in the form of company tax and individual taxes.
Therefore it is important for the states to keep control of vital assets such as water as it is an important source of revenue.
We have seen how the federal government cheated the Terengganu government of the oil royalties for years but now has given them back their dues after the BN won control of the state government.
This is the type of "flip-flop" politics that makes it important for states not to surrender their water resources.
The government of course can play a mediating role when states need to purchase water from outside.
If we are not vigilant, we could end up with another financial mill-stone like the NEH(Never Ending Highways)

Sunday, March 22, 2009

malaysiakini and NAJIB's Call for MASSIVE CHANGE....

According to this malaysiakini article, Najib calls for 'massive' change.
I agree entirely.
While he is wanting to make changes in UMNO, the party that has squandered almost 52 years of the nation's wealth, my take is that Malaysians should instead opt for the "massive change of government".
A few years in Opposition will give them a definite chance for the major reforms required and to offer a better set of new leaders.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

malaysiakini and a Message for SAWARAK Voters


Some people say that Hitler did not feel guilt over the extermination of 6 million Jews during the Second World War and most people who commit crime over a long period become used to it and their conscience is unperturbed.
So this article in malaysiakini is hardly surprising when Masing claims 'not guilty' over indigenous displacement .
I remember during the interview he was asked what could people do about wrong-doing and he replied that there was nothing wrong as no (police) action had been taken all these years. Of course we all know that the PDRM will not or cannot act against such powerful leaders.
After a little more determined effort from the gutsy Fauziah, he said that voters have a choice every 5 years.
So to the voters of Batang Ai - you can make the difference. Let your voice be heard throughout the state. How can you allow such a situation to continue?

Thanks to You Tube and alJazeera

Friday, March 20, 2009

malaysiakini Reports a DELAY by MMC

So the Kugan inquiry has been delayed untill April 17th which is another 4 weeks and the politically correct excuse is to enable the doctor in question to engage a lawyer; according to this malaysiakini article Hearing on Kugan's 'dubious' autopsy report put off.
It seems the MMC does not want the hearing to start before the 3 by-elections as unpleasant details may be disclosed.
While they are about it, the MMC should also ask those higher-up in the line of command to also engage lawyers for possible negligence or connivance.
I thought it should not require more than a week to source a competent lawyer?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

malaysiakini READERS Suggest UMNO Beyond the LAW?

Following the actions taken by the UMNO Disciplinary Board on "money politics", some malaysiakini readers are asking why no further is being taken for such corrupt practices apart from party disciplinary action as indicated by the readers' response in 'Why is Ali Rustam still Malacca CM?' .
We all know that corruption is a major ill in Malaysia and some people will claim that it is pervasive; involving all the major institutions like the police and even the Judiciary.
Maybe you have forgotten the aborted IPCMC and the Lingam tapes?
Let us see if the newly minted MACC will bare its claws or merely purr at the latest UMNO cases. But my advice? Don't hold your breath..

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

malaysiakini and UMNO's MONEY POLITICS

It seems that UMNO has serious problems of money politics or corruption according to this article in malaysiakini Ali Rustam calls for calm, to appeal decision.
I really do not know the extent of vote-buying in UMNO but it appears that preventing anyone from competing for top posts does create opportunities for vote-buying as candidates have to secure a qualifying number of nominations to contest.
It creates two levels of buying votes - first for nominations and then for the actual contest.
With such a system, the candidate with the biggest war chest can buy his way into power and the untold wealth of leadership.
I don't want to get into the details of this case but it appears that UMNO is operating beyond the laws of Malaysia as far as corruption is concerned. Instead of merely issuing warning letters and barring members, it would be good if their disciplinary committee had also stated that they were forwarding their evidence to the MACC and making a corruption report for further action.
In fact, the AG's office should be asking UMNO for the files so they investigate further.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The PERAK IMBROGLIO....only 7% Support the SULTAN'S DECISION

Based on the 131 readers who took the poll on my site, most readers do not agree with the decision made by the Sultan in not agreeing to let the people of Perak decide on the government they wanted.

You can read about the drama going on in Perak and it seems most of the work in Ipoh is centred on the "Democracy Tree" where the plaque was first vandalised and then totally removed as described in this malaysiakini article Ipoh council demolishes 'Pokok Demokrasi' plaque.

But here are the choices made:

38% or 50 readers chose "The Elections Commission Should Have Ordered the By-Elections"
31% or 40 readers chose "The BN is a THREAT to DEMOCRACY"
20% or 26 readers chose "This will HELP PAKATAN Win the Next General Elections"
7% or 9 readers chose "I Support the decision of the Sultan"
5% or 6 readers chose "Those FROGS Should Have Been Admonished by the Sultan"

malaysiakini and the SIN of Karpal Singh?

According to the malaysiakini article Karpal charged with sedition and I find this unsettling.
Unlike those irresponsible people who wrote insulting remarks about the Sultan, Karpal Singh merely voiced his opinion that the sultan had erred in law by dismissing the MB of Perak without following the proper legal requirements. As Karpal Singh is one of the senior law practioners in Malaysia, he is in fact duty bound to voice his concerns about the law in Malaysia.
This government action is really heavy-handed and smacks of an abuse of power. The use of the ISA in the "ALLAH" controversy is also another example of the type of government that was described in the novel "1984".

Monday, March 16, 2009

malaysiakini and LEARNING from PAKISTAN

They say one should not be so proud so as not to learn from others.
Pakistan is considered a developing nation and to most Malaysians, we tend to lump it together with Bengladesh from where we get thousands of migrant workers.
The picture is one of poverty and struggle for the masses especially since the nation has been under military rule for many years and the recent terrible slaughter of political leaders like Benazir Bhutto.
So Malaysians feel we are definitely better off than Pakistan.
But this latest news in malaysiakini that Pakistan reinstates sacked chief justice shows that the Pakistani people know that once the judiciary becomes corrupted, then the nation's rule of law collapses.
Maybe they observed how Malaysians all became dumb in the Judiciary crisis of 1988 and the subsequent problems that exist even today.
Let us hope that Pakistan is successful in creating a fair system for all so that we can learn from them.

malaysiakini and UMNO CORRUPTION

The malaysiakini article has an apt description Umno graft probes 'only tip of iceberg'.
Based on events during the past 4 years, Malaysians know that there are many problems facing the nation and part of the blame can be placed on own shoulders as we allowed the politicians to carry on for more than 50 years without proper checks and balances.
We have seen the deterioration in so many state institutions like the Judiciary, the police and the manner in which national policies like the NEP have been hijacked and "piratised" for the benefit of the connected cronies.
Things got so bad that we had to create the Royal Commission to investigate the police but the government has become so involved in corrupt practises that it could not even enforce the findings of the Royal Commission that saw the police rejecting the IPCMC.
Now we are still awaiting definite actions against the 4 VVIPs found wanting in integrity during the Lingam tapes inquiry - yet another public inquiry with lots of smoke and fire but no firemen to fight the blaze.
So excuse me for also having the uncomfortable feeling that this type of corruption action is just to appease the masses and not a definite change of heart.
Let the corruption continue as it will enable the voters to make a clear choice in the next general elections.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

malaysiakini and INSULTING the ROYALTY

The actions taken against bloggers has been swift as according to this malaysiakini report Six in court for insulting sultan, one fined RM10,000 but I wonder if such punishments will do anything to improve the level of affection of the subjects for the royalty.
I do not believe the royalty has been consulted if they wanted such actions to be taken by the state on their behalf. In any constitutional monarchy and even the days of long ago, the state can never make laws to make citizens love their royals.
There are also many cases in history where rulers and leaders were not really of a healthy disposition and their subjects suffered under their rule.
Yet we are making use of the laws for the Internet to punish citizens on a vague charge under section 233 (1)(a) of the Multimedia Communication Act 1998.
I daresay that if this case was decided by a jury, the case would probably not be successful. With the judiciary under suspicion especially with the Lingam tapes, more Malaysians will also wonder if this is yet another case of a mistaken judgement.

Friday, March 13, 2009

malaysiakini and the POLITICS of ENGLISH

Perhaps it is the manner in which English was foisted on our school-children just before TDM stepped down that has irked some people who resort to making this a political football.
It will even become an issue for the UMNO polls according to this malaysiakini article Language policy: Umno polls 'delay' compromise solution which could mean some back-tracking on the use of English.
I suppose the Education Ministry was waiting the results of the SPM and the STPM to analyse how well the students performed and how many used English.
I believe the ministry did the right thing to allow students to answer in either subject and the surprising thing is that the majority of students chose to answer in English.
The best thing now is for the ministry to give a detailed analysis of the results and whether students' performance was co-related to the teaching medium.
Our young children have shown they can adapt to challenges and it up to the adults to display a little more wisdom.
I have just two observations to make on the language issue - if English had not been made compulsory straight away but with a more gentle approach by TDM, this change would not have been possible.
Having said that, the MoE should take urgent steps to improve teaching facilities by posting more qualified teachers to rural areas and also improve the number of male teachers in primary schools.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

malaysiakini and the CREDIBILITY of the MACC

This newly-minted body is acting mighty strangely.
First of all it earned a name for itself ie "Malaysian Commission for Cows and Cars" after it announced in a press conference that they had sufficient evidence against the Selangor MB for corruption - that was a month ago and since then everything appears forgotten or they realise they made fools of themselves.
Or maybe they are having second thoughts about how to proceed with the case given more dirt being disclosed by the new Selangor government about past officials and their wives.
For example according to malaysiakini, it is possible that Khir Toyo may have breached Money Laundering Act.
So many people are skeptical about the latest MACC decision that both AG, IGP 'cleared' in black-eye case according to malaysiakini.
The manner in which the 3 retired judges conducted their so-called independent inquiry also merits some questions. It was all done in a cloak and dagger environment in that there were no open hearings for the public to know who was called to testify and what questions were asked. I guess "transparency" is not part of the MACC culture.
In other words, the MACC becomes another tool like the ISA, to quell opposition to government. If they are truly unbiased, why did they keep quiet all these months? It seems this newly minted body has already tarnished its new trappings.
I believe the BN is not capable of providing a fair government anymore and needs to learn how to reform in the Opposition bench and I urge all Malaysians to decide to put them there so they can remain part of a 2-party system.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

malaysiakini and DOUBTS about the RM60 BILLION PACKAGE

Let's face some hard facts. I don't believe the latest budget is going to prevent Malaysia from slipping into a recession as we are basically a world trading nation and have to ride or fall on the world's economy.
There was quite a good discussion on Bernama's "Hello Malaysia" in which one of the speakers mentioned that one problem with most of the spending the government does cannot be verified by independent bodies.
Of course we do have the Annual Horrible Reports of the Auditor-General but the basic theme is that government spends our monies freely with many leakages all over the place in terms of bad projects, questionable contracts and shoddy execution. I would hazard a guess that perhaps 35% of all spending is lost on such negligent and even criminal intent.
So this article in malaysiakini is not surprising. It asks the question Will the rakyat really benefit this time?.
Given that there is no reduction in income tax and no direct grants to the poor, it seems that this budget does little to address the problems of those who are struggling to make ends meet.
I would have given a special allowance of RM300 per month to those over 60 who do not pay income tax and also get no pension from the government.
Creating more jobs in the civil service is also not productive unless it helps to increase the numer of male teachers in school. I'm not being sexist here but I believe there are too few male teachers in primary schools.
My only take on the intake of more civil servants is that it is used to create a more healthy racial balance in the civil service.
As for the idea that compensating the toll companies is a benefit, the government should have used this opportunity to buy out PLUS and then freeze or even reduce toll charges. This move would have reduced a major cost factor for goods and services. I believe this would have also created much goodwill for the government as it will show a definite and serious intent to benefit taxpayers.
There was a call for cooperation from opposition parties and I wonder if it was a cynical appeal after the cloak and dagger operation that led to the downfall of the Perak government.
To me the global economy will recover in two to three years unless you believe in Armegeddon and what we need to do is to spend more effort to clean up major perceived weaknesses in our system like the Police and the Judiciary. If we can fix those, we will be better placed to take advantage of the uptrend.
I am sure the Opposition will be more willing to help in those areas.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

malaysiakini and MORE STIMULUS SPENDING

By now the penny has dropped on Bank Negara Malaysia that indeed we are headed are a recession; probably by the second or third quarter of 2009.
I last wrote about the first stimulus package here in November. Just like how the USA has thrown billions into their economic black hole, we too are going to spend lots of money caused by poor planning and wasteful projects.
malaysiakini has this article on how one leader describes the situation - Anwar: Global slump hitting our economy hard .
Why should anyone be surprised? Malaysia is one of the top trading companies of the world - the only surprise is that we had so many top leaders in economic denial.
Even 6 months ago we approved visas for another 70,000 foreign workers and now will cancell that according to this NST article Visas for 70,000 Bangladeshi workers to be revoked. I wonder why the visas were approved in the first place given the deteriorating global economic situation?
Was it to enable the recruiting agencies to earn their fees? What about those who have resigned from jobs in order to come to Malaysia?
I suggest the Manpower Ministry should be the proper authority to control such work permits with the Home Ministry merely checking the application for security matters.

Monday, March 9, 2009

malaysiakini and the March 8th ANNIVERSARY

March 8th marked the first aniversary of the 2008 electoral success of the PAKATAN RAK'YAT; capturing major state governments.
To me it marked a new watershed in politics as it has signalled the awakening of many citizens against the racist "divide and rule" politics of the ruling coalition.
malaysiakini has an article wherein Anwar hails new birth of nationalism.
To mark the occassion, my wife and I attended a PKR Cemarah in JB last night. We arrived early before the stipulated time of 7pm and found the hall quite empty. My wife was against going early as she thought they would follow "rubber time" but I told her I wanted to see how professional it was.
Sure enough nothing happened untill about 7:30pm and they showed a short clip honouring the PKR leader, Wan Azizah who gave up her seat for Anwar to contest.
The speakers were quite good, really.
We listened to William Leong, the PKR MP for Selayang and the newest MP PAS Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut.
The former gave a rather serious talk about how the BN has abused its powers to stay in control of the government. The later was more interactive and lively and received a good response from the crowd that was estimated at 300.
Going by yesterday's event, it seems the mood for change is still strong and Johor could well become the last battle-ground for UMNO before it plays a role as the opposition.
To me that would be a healthy development for Malaysian politics as it is only part of the necessary process to evolve as a 2-party system.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

malaysiakini REPORTS on MONEY POLITICS

With the UMNO meeting coming up soon, it is not surprising that people are carrying around bags of money to buy the votes of delegates for even the UMNO top leaders have admitted that "political corruption" is rampant.
So the news about this chappie, no less than an Umno minister's aide quizzed for graft should not shock anyone. The MSM also carried the story but strangely the name of the minister was not released.
It looks as if the MACC is not consistent here as in the "cows and car" alleged corruption of the Selangor MB, they really went to town with a press conference and all.
Is it I alone who thinks the MACC is quite biased?
Maybe that money-bag carrier was just going to place some bets at the nearby 4-D shop?

Friday, March 6, 2009

The FUNNY SIDE from malaysiakini

When I read the intro to this article, I was a little tickled.
At first I thought the Gerakan was proposing a CHILL to the heated tempers in Perak where the courts are being swamped with legal suits with most parties counter-suing each other.
But no, surprise of surprises, the Gerakan wants to "chill" the economy as described in this malaysiakini article A CHILL strategy from Gerakan.
Maybe the economy is so bad that it needs to be chilled or things will start to rot like the judiciary and the enforcement apparatus.
In Singapore the is the SPUR initiative to get people upgraded. I guess "spur" might be too incendiary a term in Perak's political hot-bed.

malaysiakini and the CULTURE of NEGLECT

Malaysia is quite famous for our "tiadapathy" culture especially with respect to maintenance of buildings and other state assets.
No doubt many departments have paid for expensive ISO audits and some even proudly display their certificates.
A few years back, I took a trip to Putrajaya- the buildings look grand from afar but once you take a closer look, the signs of neglect are everywhere.
We usually have a grand ceremony with dancing laser lights etc to open an expensive white elephant (like the JB's CIQ) but then suddenly realise that many things have not been planned for.
For a simple thing like the CIQ, it is quite easy to rectify - all one needs is lots of dinero like the RM5billion stimulus package proposed for operational expenses. What that means is that the government gets to spend more money on flying executive jets and the like. No don't expect any goodies like a RM500 cash voucher for poor families.
What is more disturbing and damaging in our culture of neglect is when our multi-billion ringgit submarines have to go to sea without a high level of maintenance as indicated in this malaysiakini letter A construction company for submarine rescue? .
Given the bloody story of the submarines with the ghost of Altantuuya lurking in our courts, those navy men must be really brave to operate the submarines without a high level of back-up service.
The way I see it, the services that this proposed company can provide is probably more for recovery of the equipment and dead sailors.
Besides, I thought the government has already paid millions of ringgit for such services at the time the submarines were purchased.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

malaysiakini and the SPECTRE of ANARCHY

If we read the articles coming from malaysiakini, the future looks rather bleak.
Apart from the global recession that will probably also put Malaysia into a recession by the middle of 2009, we are seeing our most important institutions come under threat from the power-hungry Executive.
All this did not happen overnight. The seeds of anarchy were planted years ago with the dismissal of the judges under TDM and today we can see the results with the Executive branch ruling and even corrupting all the other institutions like the judiciary, the law enforcers and the legislature.
Just read the articles in malaysiakini and one can only despair at how rotten the system has become.

Kugan's death: Probe police 'cover-up'In which the first post-mortem was a white wash of a death in police custody.
'I can prove Najib tried to bribe me'In which the man who is ordained to be the next PM is accused of corruption.
Cops to probe reps over 'under the tree' meet In which the cops will be wasting more time questioning the state legislators for holding a meeting outside after they sealed off the official building.

It is like a scene from another world like Zimbabwe but sadly it is happening right here in Malaysia.

LAMENTS of a DESPAIRING Nation from malaysiakini

malaysiakini was founded on the basis of telling the news like it is, not like what the government wants you to hear.
Although many newspapers also cover stories that are not too flattering, they do know how to toe the approved bias.
So if you want to hear what most ordinary folks are saying, the letters and feed-back from malaysiakini articles are a good source.
Today's feed-back from malaysiakini reflects the tone and sombre mood of the dejected voters who are seeing the 'Checks, balances have clearly failed' .
The main cause is that the Executive have become too powerful and is now controlling all the other levers of government; thereby imposing a major threat to democracy and the rule of law in Malaysia.
We are becoming a dictatorship within the nice cloak of democracy.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

malaysiakini and FAIRER Elections?

So the Elections Commission has decided to hold 3 by-elections on the same day; ie
7th April 2009 as described in this malaysiakini article Batang Ai by-election on April 7 .
Now if you observe the nomination date -the 29th of March that is a Sunday but polling date is for a Tuesday, a working day.
It appears that the EC is taking the easy way out by reducing the number of voters who will return to vote from outstation - ie the younger voters who are most likely to vote the opposition.
It seems that the EC always makes decisions that favour the ruling BN. Postal votes are not affected by a Tuesday poll but definitely some voters will not be bothered to travel for a Tuesday smack in the middle of a work week.
A Tuesday poll also creates havoc with thousands of school children who will be deprived of their schools while a Saturday or Sunday poll would not cause such a disruption. What is the view of the education authorities and the teachers?
Yesterday we witnessed the ugly scenario of the Executive bullying the Legislative and Judiciary branches so this latest ploy of the EC should not be surprising but a normal SOP.

malaysiakini and DEATHS in Malaysia


Yesterday, democracy was dealt a severe blow in Perak when the police and the courts made decisions that basically put the patient into the ICU. Yes the frail condition of democracy in Perak requires intensive care or the patient will not make it to the next general elections.
As this malaysiakini article shows, there is a glimmer of hope but many people think that may only be a false hope. Ball now in sultan's court .
The events in Perak are enthralling as most of us would not have read any of the articles of constitutional law and I suspect with the detailed phrasing and punctuation, many lawyers and even judges also may not fully understand the actual meaning and intent of the laws; especially since English fell from favour in the 70s.
The police showed an uneven hand by locking up the Assembly and obstructed the state assemblymen from gathering thereby preventing them from doing the duties they were elected to do.
In the case of 22-year old Kugan(see the video), it appears that the AG has been too slow in getting the officers charged. It also appears that the doctor who performed the first autopsy did not discharge his or her professional duties properly. It was definitely a case of not revealing the truth or misleading by claiming that death was caused by "water in the lungs".
We know there are criminal elements in the courts from the Lingam tapes and also Kugan's death shows police brutality, murder and cover-up by senior officers and related departments like the autopsy section. Isn't covering up a murder a chargeable offence?
So the critical state of the nation in Perak leaves us all disappointed and sad; especially when those who have the authoity act as if things will somehow muddle through.
Many Malaysians feel there is already anarchy in our institutions and if things are not put right, there could be anarchy on the streets.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

malaysiakini and PERAK'S ROLE in MALAYSIA'S BEST REALITY TV SHOW

Even as I write this Malaysia's best reality TV Show is unfolding.
Just imagine the scene - a locked up Government building, guarded by a cordon of riot police and backed up by the water cannons.
Who are they guarding against? The state legislators who want to attend an emergency session to clarify who should lead the state government.
You can read the malaysiakini article here.
Meanwhile a plethora of lawyers are pleading their case in the Ipoh high court and suits and counter-suits are being filed - I guess the lawyers are happy at being able to plead some cases in constitutional law.
That branch of the law was gathering dust in the libraries but the cases in Perak are worth a closer study.
Let us hope that the police do not act with their usual Rambo tactics but follow the rules of engagement fairly for all.
Maybe we should thank the sultan of Perak for the script of this reality TV show. At least long abandoned Perak is now in the full glare of publicity. As the former Lord President of the highest courts of Malaysia, he is well qualified to create the sublimely intricate legal problems that Perak is facing.

Monday, March 2, 2009

malaysiakini and THWARTING democracy in PERAK

I purposely wrote "democracy" without a capital letter for it looks as if some desperate people are going all out to prevent the sitting of the emergency session called by the Speaker as decribed in this malaysiakini article State building to be closed tomorrow.
Funnily enough, the NST has a similar story on the main URL but when you click the story, it says the URL is not available.
First they hijack the MB's post, now they want to quarantine the State building; do you think they will next hold the sultan to ransom?
Do they think the good people of Perak will let them carry on like this if state elections are held?
The cry for freedom in Perak is so loud that only the very desperate will not heed the call for justice.
Let us all pray for justice to prevail in Perak.

malaysiakini and BURYING Democracy in PERAK?

The political impasse of the 2 MBs in Perak continues and it would be a great lesson for all freedom-loving Malaysians to see if our democracy will be buried in Perak.
According to this malaysiakini article Perak speaker and secretary at odds over assembly sittingit appears that the secretary is trying to override the authority and power of the speaker who has called for an emergency session.
This is as ludricous as a company scretary trying to prevent a CEO of a company to make executive decisions.
Of course in the state assembly, the situation is somewhat different but I think there is a great gap between the duties of the secretary and the speaker. In most cases, if one cannot agree with the boss, one usually resigns in protest.
Already there has been too much federal interference in the state matters and it is damaging state-federal relations.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

malaysiakini and Banning ALLAH

Here we go again - ALLAH is being mocked when we allow ministers with petty minds to look after His Affairs.
Malaysia must be the only nation where the word "ALLAH" is being given a copyright; a God reserved only for Muslims.
We all know religion is the most sensitive topic and yet we get ministers who change their minds on whims and fancies.
If it was not a change of mind, then it is sheer arrogance and callousness when government gazettes can be made without proper vetting and scrutiny.
According to this malaysiakini article Another U-turn: Ban on 'Allah' in Christian publications remains.
This is what happens when people with pea-brains are made responsible for the affairs of heaven.
If we truly practise freedom of religion, we should allow anyone to convert into, or out of any religion. Of course religious leaders will protest but to me it is up to each individual to seek his own redemption and search for his own way to ALLAH.
The U-turn on tolls was another major case of a lack of any thinking but this religious U-turn smacks of sheer religious discrimination.