Selamat Hari Raya - Maaf Zahir dan Batin

Tomorrow, 1st October 2008, Muslims in Bolehland and all over the world will mark the end of the fasting Ramadhan month and celebrate Hari Raya Puasa.

As the traditional 'balik kampung' rush is now on, I would like to remind all road users to be considerate and careful when on the road. Get home to your loved ones safe to celebrate this joyous occasion with. Be late if need be but just get safely there. Think about them who are waiting and anticipating for your arrival. So do not arrive in the morgue inside a body bag. I am sure you do not want your loved ones to mourn their lose instead of enjoying this auspicious day.

So DRIVE SAFE!!!

Lets also take time to think about those that are less fortunate than we are. Some may not even have had new clothes, shoes or even proper food before for Raya. Let us keep them in our prayers and hope that the future will get brighter for them and may they continue to be strong and patient through these bleak times.

To Marina Lee Abdullah and family, we wish you a very Selamat Hari Raya. be patient and strong as RPK shall be free soon.

To Raja Petra Kamarudin, we wish you the best and a very Selamat Hari Raya too. We hope you are well and in good spirits. We pray for your safety and speedy release from the draconian ISA so you may be united again with your family and your loved ones, the Rakyat of Malaysia.

Not forgetting as well the civil officers such as the police, soldiers, medical doctors, staffs and presonels, fire fighters, rescue personels and many more who might have to spend this Raya on duty to help protect and serve us Rakyats. We will always be in debt to you for your sacrifices.

Lastly I would like to wish all my Muslim friend's a Selamat Hari Raya and to my readers I would like to 'pohon maaf' if the content of my blog has been insensitive and hurtful.

To one and all Muslims.....SELAMAT HARI RAYA!!!

p/s: To DSAAB, DSNTR, Datuk Syed Hamid Albar, UMNO and BN members, Selamat Hari Raya to you all as well but you guys are still crap!!! To Ahmad Ismail, hope you choke on your ketupat.....

Free RPK T-shirt are available for order now - show your support!!!

The T-shirt supporting the release of Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin will be available on the 3rd October, 2008 but is now open for order.

Two designs and and 1 of the designs are available in 3 colours. See below for sample.....


It's selling for RM20 per piece and if you order more than 50 pieces in a single order the T-shirt will be revised to RM15 per piece.

So show your support in the bid to free RPK and fight for the abolishment of the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA).

Let us all stand united together as we Malaysians always have!!!

Everton 0-2 Liverpool

This 2008/2009 season's Merseyside derby and yes, Liverpool wins and empathic it was.

Fernando'El Nino' Torres is back and this time with 2 beautiful goals. Just in time too with Chelsea match coming up next.

Aussie Tim Cahill didn't help the Everton cause much too by getting himself sent off for a reckless tackle on Alonso.

Torres is the man!!!

Beware of new car jacking method

I received this email from a friend recently. Since crime has been on the rise I thought it be good to share it with everyone --


Notice on car(not a joke)

Just last weekend on Friday night we parked in a public parking area. As we drove away I noticed a sticker on the rear window of the car. When I took it off after I got home, it was a receipt for petrol. Luckily my friend told me not to stop as it could be someone waiting for me to get out of the car.

Then we received this email yesterday: 'WARNING FROM POLICE BEWARE OF PAPER ON THE BACK WINDOW OF YOUR VEHICLE--NEW WAY TO DO CAR JACKINGS (NOT A JOKE)'..

You walk across the car parking , unlock your car and get inside. You start the engine and shift into Reverse. When you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into neutral, unlock your doors, and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view.

When you reach the back of your car, that is when the car jackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car. And guess what, ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car. So now the carjacker has your car, your home address, your money, and your keys. Your home and your whole identity are now compromised!

BEWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME THAT IS NOW BEING USED!!!

If you see a piece of paper stuck to your back window, just drive away. Remove the paper later. And be thankful that you read this e-mail. I hope you will forward this to friends and family, especially to women. A purse contains all kinds of personal information and identification documents, and you certainly do NOT want this to fall into the wrong hands.

Please pass this on.

Phases of the normal employee...

New employee You are listening to Stevie Wonder(It's your first day at work and all is fine and great)

After 3 months...

You are listening to HOUSE music (because you are so busy that you're not sure if you're coming or going)

After 6 months... You are listening to Heavy Metal (your days start at 0800 and end at 2000)

After 9 months... You are listening to Hip Hop (You become fat due to stress and now you suffer from constipation)

After a year...

You are listening to GANGSTA RAP (Your eyes start to twitch, you forget what a 'good hair day' feels like as you fall out of bed and live on caffeine!!)

And finally, after a second year...

You are listening to Techno and have gone a bit... well... crazy!

What they actually do in the UMNO Supreme Council meeting...

Always wondered what top notch UMNO leaders do when they convene for their super secretive behind closed door Supreme Council Meeting.....

Well, take a look at this.....

.....no wonder most of the time they end the session and come out commenting that no decision has been finalised yet and further discussion is needed.

How to ever get anything decided?? One can't wait to break off for lunch and go home have a quickie with his wife and the other, cause the meeting if not to discuss about him, couldn't be bothered and just sleep only. Maybe the latter had a late night humping his Mrs. that's why so sleepy la.

And what was the outcome of such a hyped up emergency so said nation and Government changing meeting??

Yup, you guessed it.....he (Badawi) is undecided and will only announce his decision Oct 9.

That 2 useless old farts and the stupid Supreme Council meeting is just a bloody waste of tax payers money!!!

Joke of the day...

The Malaysian Government announced that the retail price of fuel has been cut 10 cents effective yesterday, 25th September 2008.

The Government is still with the impression that with the coming Hari Raya just around the bend, this latest 10 cent reduction will help and ease the burden of the Rakyat.

Price of goods and services has already escalated, a direct effect from the 80 cents hike previously and the now pricey goods and services ain't gonna drop caused of the measely reduction in fuel. The retailers will be getting an even better margin now so they definately won't drop their prices. So how is it that this fuel price cut gonna ease the burden??!!!

So for every measely reduction in the fuel price, the Government will keep on blowing their crap horn saying "Fuel price cut to ease burden" as it never fails to appear everytime when any ministers are asked to comment.

Fyi you stupid C.B. kia Government suck ups, stop saying that bloody irritating line cause the amount of reduction just doesn't help at all!!!

'Well wishes' card for RPK

On Monday night, 22nd September 2008, Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin was served with an order of detention in Kamunting for 2 years under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

A man with nothing but the balls to put truths into writings on his blog is incarcerated using an act that was drawn up for communists and terrorists.

Starting today we mourn the demise of justice, freedom and rule of law in our country but let us get together, cheer and celebrate RPK, the man who dared to stand up and expose the truth regardless of his own well being.

To his wife, Marina Lee Abdullah and family, we wish you the best and may you be strong through these trying times. We pray that you all will be blessed with good health and may RPK be released soon.

So as of today onwards till the 12th of October (actual day that RPK was detained under the ISA), that day being the 1st full month of RPK detention, I shall send him a well wishes card. Those who want to do likewise may send your cards to;

Y.M. Raja Petra Kamarudin
Tempat Tahanan Perlindungan,
34009 Kamunting, Taiping,
Perak, Malaysia.

or you may sign mine by putting your name (nickname advised) and location (eg: city, town, state) on this blog or on FaceBook (just click on link) in the comment column. Feel free to add your personal message if you have any and I will compile them and mail it to RPK.

Lets show our support to RPK everybody by showing him our signatures that we have not forgotten about him.....

Freedom Writers

In light of the recent racial tension the nation has been going through after some idiotic statement made by some moronic individuals and all the never ending wars that are raging on in the world, a movie aired last night on HBO was a good and timely reality check.

The movie was aired last night on Astro's HBO channel 411 at 12 midnight and finished about 2am. The movie was released in 2007 with a a cast of superstars like Hillary Swank, Patrick 'McDreamy' Dempsey and Mario. The movie is based on a true story about how a teacher, Erin Gruwell and 150 teens used writing to change themselves and the world around them. The name of the movie.....

Freedom Writers

It's a movie about a group of outcasted teens who didn't want to be in school but was most probably there to get off the hostile gang infested streets and be safe to live to see another day.
As studying is not their main priority, hence their bad discipline and attitude not only towards the teachers but towards each other. Their new teacher, Erin Gruwell, who was a newbie educator herself, was resented because she was 'white'.

Watch the teacher's preserverance through adversities as ahe battles through the education board and system and the biasness of her fellow educators who dubbed these teens as " unteachable and high risk" students.

Watch as these teens who resent and hate anyone who was not of the same 'kind' as them. Take to heart as in the end, they understood that all human beings are equal regardless of colour, race, creed or religion. Once they wre enlightened it didn't matter whether they were white, black, American, African-American, Latin-American, Asian, male or female. Isn't that the way it should be.....The existence of prejudice that leads to resentment and hatred is because of the failure and laziness of each and everyone of us to even try to understand our fellow beings other than ourselves.

So pull out your Astro magazine and check the listing for the next screening and please do make time to watch it. Maybe make it the movie to watch on family night as it will be educational for kids as well.

It'll be 2 hours of very well invested time, I assure you that you won't regret it!!!

Advice : Go and have your toilet break before the movie starts and prepare ample drink for the movie is so good that you will not wanna leave your seat. Tissues are a must caused it'll send your through the emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows.

Trivia : At the hotel dinner for the kids, after their trip to the Holocaust Museum, all the Holocaust survivor character are played by actual Holocaust survivors!!!

More : The book with the same title, 'Freedom Writers', was published in 1999 and was written by the teacher, Erin Gruwell, is available for purchase. A website was even created so if after watching the movie and you are inspired and wanna know more, take part or even contribute to the cause, you may do so at http://freedomwritersfoundation.org

Divorce, custody and Pepsi Cola

A man and his wife were getting a divorce at a local court, but the custody of their children posed a problem.

The mother jumped to her feet and protested to the judge that since she had brought the children into this world, she should retain custody of them. The man also wanted custody of his children, so the judge asked for his side of the story.

After a long moment of silence, the man rose from his chair and replied: 'Judge, when I put a dollar into a vending machine, and a Pepsi comes out, does the Pepsi belong to me or to the machine?'

Don't laugh, he won!

Joke of the day...

A trader, Wan Abidin Zain, 45, lodged a police report against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The charge?? No, Wan Abidin didn't make a report on his crap hole being shafted by DSAI. Instead he lodged the police report on the grounds that DSAI has caused alarm in the country after claiming that he has enough MPs to topple the Federal Government.

"What Anwar is doing now is causing instability in the country. The people have given their verdict in the March 8 general election. He should wait for the next general election if he wants to form the Federal Government. He is not the country's saviour but a traitor." Wan Abidin said (The Star 20.09.2008)

He (Wan Abidin) even claimed that many were scared to go out or even send their children to school.

HAHAHA!!! Now that's just bloody LAME!!!

Doesn't his statement sounds like what the UMNO and BN cronnies has been saying all along. If the BN is trying to gather sympathy towards the Government, at least get this fellow to read a different new script. I wonder how much reimbursement he is getting for his report??!!!

Scared to go out or even send their children to school is dramatising at its best. So people are so afraid of this 61 year old politician who is trying to topple the present Federal Government peacefully within all constitutional laws of Malaysia till they would lodge a police report but they did not lodge a report cause they are not afraid of the racist slur made by a certain 'Datukshit Pig' that fanned the racial fire and could have boiled over into a full blown race war?!!!

To Wan Abidin Zain, the 'Kambing suruhan of the DSAAB Government', you've had your minutes of fame with your name published in the papers and all so now please.....SHUT UP!!!!!

8x8 concrete box...

Today, 19th September 2008, marks the 1st week anniversary of Raja Petra Kamaruddin's arrest on the 12th September 2008 under the ISA.

Marina Lee Abdullah, RPK's wife, and her 2 daughters were allowed to visis RPK on the 16th September 2008 at 11am. That is about 4 days after the arrest.

Here are some of what RPK had to say about his detention under the ISA as narrated by Marina;

• RPK has been sleeping on the floor on a wooden platform without any pillow or bedding and his cell is a windowless 8x8 concrete box.
• RPK id drawn and drained but still alert.
• RPK has lost weight and his sugar level has dropped from 8 to 4.
• RPK has not eaten much as the food supplied there is such that even his cats would refuse to eat it.
• RPK is very tired from the frequent interrogations.
• RPK said they will harrass him at all hours of the day and night.
• Sometimes they will just come to RPK's cell every half hourly, look into his cell by opening the loud clicking peep hole just to keep him awake.
• RPK has been interogated on all his articles and has been mocked for not living like a proper Muslim.

During Marina's whole visit, she and the husband was recorded by video the whole time. There was also the presents of 2 officers inside the visiting room.

It is saddening to hear that this true Malaysian is being treated like an armed and dangerous terrorist while under the ISA detention. It is hard to imagine the physcological emotion of Marina having to see her husband in such a state.

We should all give thanks and salute Marina for being brave and strong, willingfully, never complained or ever holding back RPK in his quest to fight for justice and rights of the Rakyat by opening our eyes and minds of this corrupted and racist present Government. Let us all mention Marina Lee Abdullah in our prayers.

The ISA as we now was drawn up during communist insurgent times and was only to be used against such terrorist or anyone who has intention to topple the Government by force. So what grounds does ISA have in detaining RPK as he is none of the above mentioned?!!

The call for the ISA to be abolished or ammended has once again fallen on the deaf ears of the Government led by DSAAB. Just a simple addition or clause is needed that the ISA should and can never be used on civillians.

As proven by the recent spate of arrests, the ISA is nothing but a constitutionally legal weapon of the Government that they may and will misuse and abuse its power to counter any individuals who are against them.

ISA.....the licensed power abusing Gestapo Mafia of the Government!!!

The truth behind the May 13 tragedy!!!

The expected and unavoidable day has dawned. On the 12th September 2008, Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin was arrested under the Internal Security Act or ISA.

Raja Petra's wife Marina Lee Abdullah said her blogger husband was arrested at 1.10pm at their residence in Sungai Buloh by a team of 10 police officers. She informed that Raja Petra and some 17 cds along with a computer was taken away at about 1.50pm but whereabouts of the detention was not known.

RPK was arrested under the ISA Section 73 (1) which deems him as a threat to national security, peace and public order further intensifies the 3 years party membership suspension of racial remarks loose tongue shotgun mouthed Datuk Ahmad Ismail as light weighted and pretty much nothing.

In light of this injustice by the corrupt and racist government of DSAAB, we hope and pray that RPK will be treated well and with dignity while under the ISA detention.

To madam Marina Lee Abdullah and all the family members of RPK, you are in our hearts and prayers. We hope that you will be strong in enduring these trying times.

The Government and UMNO led by DSAAB has become so obsess with the fear of the rapid rise in support for DSAI and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition that they are now resorting to the most dispicable and inhumane tactical move of all, playing the racial card. The recent Datuk Ahmad Ismail racist slur and the irresponsible behaviour of his supporters coupled by the DSAAB and UMNO Supreme Council so said to be 'stern action' against Ahmad further proves that racial politics does exist in the present Government.

Let us all remain calm, be rational and keep our emotions and statements in check. A repeat of that fateful bloody day of May 13 is not what we the modern, civilised Rakyat of Malaysia wants.
Let us not let the pea-brained DSAAB and his cronnies out smart us unlike the unfortunate relatives of ours in the past.

They say those who forget history are condemn and doomed to repeat its mistakes. History is something not to be forgotten and buried but should be made a lesson to us all so that we may refrain ourselves from the mistakes made by the ones before us.

In consideration to this, I bring to your attention an article by RPK. Please do read it and read it well. It is the truth of what actually conspired which led to that dark and bloody tragic day in Malaysian history.....13 May 1969;

In 1968, Umno fanned racial sentiments in a bid to 'unite' the Malays under its banner. Umno realised that the Malays were abandoning it in droves and it needed an issue to reunite the Malays. Further to that, the Prime Minister was being blamed for what Umno perceived as a loss of Malay support and the Young Turks in Umno wanted to also use this issue to pressure the Prime Minister into resigning.

Twenty years later, in 1988, Umno again went into turmoil with the emergence of Team A and Team B, which eventually split into Umno Baru and Semangat 46. Again, just like twenty years before that, the Malays had become disillusioned with the Umno leadership and there was a danger that Umno would suffer the same fate it did in 1969 if the general election was called.

The Umno leadership very cleverly got the Umno Youth and MCA Youth leaders to raise racial issues and bring the country to the brink of another ‘May 13’. This was when that infamous gathering at the TPCA padang in Kampong Baru was held and when Najib Tun Razak, the Umno Youth Leader, raised the keris and threatened to bathe it in Chinese blood.

Of course, this second ‘May 13’ never happened. What did happen instead was that Operasi Lalang was launched and more than 100 opposition leaders and activists were detained under the Internal Security Act. Najib and the MCA Youth Leader, Lee Kim Sai, however, were spared detention, although they were the two main players in the whole episode.

The ploy did not quite succeed though. In the 1990 general election, half the Malays swung to the opposition and Umno lost most of the Malay heartland to Semangat 46 and PAS.

Twenty years on and history is, again, being repeated. It appears like every twenty years Umno takes the country to the brink of a race riot in its effort to 'unite' the Malays and to ensure that it does not lose Malay support. And the 8 March 2008 general election, as well as the recent Permatang Pauh by-election, is proof that Umno has lost Malay support.

"The current situation is a repeat of 1969," said Umno in its brainstorming session held at the Umno headquarters to conduct a post-mortem of the election results. "Therefore, a 1969 'solution' will also be required."

This is very dangerous talk indeed. And Umno has been doing nothing but talking dangerously since March 2008, as evident in the recent episode in Penang. Maybe the culprit has since been punished. Yesterday, Umno’s Supreme Council decided to suspend Ahmad Ismail for a period of three years. But the damage has already been done and the suspension can’t turn back the clock. Racial sentiments have already been fanned and Malaysia, again, is being pushed to the brink of a race riot.

Malays, Chinese and Indians need to know how May 13 started. They must be made aware of what May 13 was really all about. They must be made to realise that the current sabre-rattling is nothing but the same ploy that Umno used back in 1968 and 1988 whenever it felt that it was losing Malay support. May 13 was not about race although it is being touted as so. May 13 was about ‘reuniting’ the Malays and about ousting the Prime Minister from office.

To forget history would be to repeat its mistakes. Let us not be taken in by Umno’s shadow-play (wayang kulit). They know they are rapidly losing power and they want to retain power through foul means by raising the spectre of May 13. Malaysians need to be matured and clever enough to reject this ploy. Umno can try, but whether it can succeed will all depend on whether we get suckered into this very dangerous race game.

Let me take you down memory lane and recap what I wrote nine years ago so that we may learn from this dark history and not repeat what went wrong. As follows is what I wrote in Harakah on 24 September 1999.

***********************************************************

A REPORTER’S ACCOUNT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN ON THE 13 MAY INCIDENT

The following statement is a factual account of the above-mentioned event given to me by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman (first Prime Minister of Malaysia) during an interview at his residence in Penang in 1972. I requested to discuss the above incident and was surprised when the appointment was given within three days.

His Secretary, a Chinese gentleman, allotted me one hour and advised me not to go into too much detail as this would tire the Tunku unnecessarily. In fact, the interview lasted three and a half hours. Because of the very surprising details provided to me, I think it would be best to report in a first-hand manner based on my notes written immediately after the interview.

"It was clear to me as well as the police that in the highly charged political atmosphere after the police were forced to kill a Chinese political party worker on May 4th, 1969, something was bound to happen to threaten law and order because of the resentment towards the Government by the KL Chinese on the eve of the general election. This was confirmed at this man’s funeral on the 9th May when the government faced the most hostile crowd it had ever seen.

Therefore, when the opposition parties applied for a police permit for a procession to celebrate their success in the results of the general election, I was adamant against it because the police were convinced that this would lead to trouble. I informed Tun Razak about this and he seemed to agree.

Now, without my knowledge and actually “behind my back”, there were certain political leaders in high positions who were working to force me to step down as a PM. I don’t want to go into details but if they had come to me and said so I would gladly have retired gracefully.

Unfortunately, they were apparently scheming and trying to decide on the best way to force me to resign. The occasion came when the question of the police permit was to be approved.

Tun Razak and Harun Idris, the MB of the state of Selangor, now felt that permission should be given, knowing fully well that there was a likelihood of trouble. I suppose they felt that when this happened they could then demand my resignation.

To this day I find it very hard to believe that Razak, whom I had known for so many years, would agree to work against me in this way. Actually he was in my house, as I was preparing to return to Kedah, and I overhead him speaking to Harun over the phone saying that he would be willing to approve the permit when I left. I really could not believe what I was hearing and preferred to think it was about some other permit. In any case, as the Deputy Prime Minister, in my absence from KL, he would be the Acting PM and would override my objection.

Accordingly, when I was in my home in Kedah, I heard over the radio that the permit had been approved.

It seems as though the expected trouble was anticipated and planned for by Harun and his UMNO Youth. After the humiliating insults hurled by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, and after the seeming loss of Malay political power to them, they were clearly ready for some retaliatory action.

After meeting in large numbers at Harun’s official residence in Jalan Raja Muda near Kampong Bahru, and hearing inflammatory speeches by Harun and other leaders, they prepared themselves by tying ribbon strips on their foreheads and set out to kill Chinese. The first hapless victims were two of them in a van opposite Harun’s house who were innocently watching the large gathering. Little did they know that they would be killed on the spot.

The rest is history. I am sorry but I must end this discussion now because it really pains me as the Father of Merdeka to have to relive those terrible moments. I have often wondered why God made me live long enough to have witnessed my beloved Malays and Chinese citizens killing each other."

This was a conspiracy at the highest level and nothing short of a power struggle, with the 'Young Turks' then forming the pressure group. To achieve their ends, they very cleverly used race to make the Malays rise and push the Tengku aside.

Today, they are doing it again. This is dangerous politics. It may backfire and, instead, it may make the Malays rise against the non-Malays, like what happened in 1969 -- a fire raging out of control with no fire extinguisher in sight.

We must never allow our country to be turned into a racial battlefield again. Let politics be issues concerning policies, civil rights, good governance and justice. Let us not allow anyone to bring race and religion into our politics lest we suffer the fate of many countries around us where mass murders of entire families are made in the name of ‘bangsa’ and ‘agama’.

Happy 45th Birthday Malaysia!!!

Today, 16th of September, is the anniversary date for the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.

It was back in 16th September 1963 that the states of Sabah and Sarawak was incepted and formed Malaysia.

To all the Rakyat of Malaysia.....

HAPPY 45TH MALAYSIA DAY!!!

Kudos!!!

Three cheers for De facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who condemned the government for the use of ISA against civillians.

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim explained that according to its drafter, the late Prof. R.H. Hickling, the ISA was originally drawn up and was only to be used on armed terrorist or those out to topple the government by force.

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim then really stuck his neck out against DSAAB and the Government by issuing this statement, "In this latest episode of ISA, we (the Government) have generated an impression of selective prosecution since no action was taken against the person who allegedly uttered seditious remarks (Ahad Ismail). We are saying that we are only acting against those who are disloyal to us."

Well said Datuk!!! You have our respects for having the balls to stand up against your crooked employer, the Government and DSAAB.

Joke of the day...

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar when askd to explain the rason behind the arrest of reporter Tan Hoon Cheng, said it was because Tan's life was under 'threat'.

Lame nya...

Ahmad Ismail's 3 years suspension - Is it a mere tap on the wrist or is it a slap in the face again for DSAAB...

As anticipation was high awaiting the outcome of the UMNO Supreme Council meeting deciding the fate of racist Datuk Ahmad Ismail, the decision though when it eventually came was every bit as dissappointing as the DSAAB leadership has been.

It was very much like an over hyped movie that you've waited long and patiently for. You queue up in line to get tickets to the first screening in order to have bragging rights that you were one of the first to have watched it, then on openning night you make all the neccessary arrangement up to the point of mapping your journey to the cineplex to avoid any traffic that may cause you to miss the openning credits. At last you are sitted just in time as the first credit begins to roll. With popcorns in your hands and a gleeful smile on your face you begin to focus all your attention and concentration to the movie. As the closing credits roll down you realise it was nothing more than a well marketed under budget movieand cliche filled drama with the same old boring story line.....What a RIP OFF!!!

And that is exactly what it was. After 3 hours of discussion the UMNO Supreme Council finally came to an agreement on the so said stern action against Ahmad as promised by DSAAB.

Here is the 'bargained' stern action that Ahmad got;

• Stripped off all post that is held by him for 3 years,
• Suspension of party membership rights for 3 years.

Amazingly it took 3 hours for a room supposedly filled with intellectual of great wisdom to come up with 2 very light weighted next to nothing action against Ahmad. For the crime of fanning racial tension with racist remarks, the punishment doesn't weight to the crime at all.

Ahmad himself must have been surprised and relieved of such a minimal punishment. Evidently from the almost immediate press conference held by Ahmad, with his ever cocky face still unremorseful and beaming with arrogance, continued his attack on Gerakan President, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon to step down and still showed defiance that he did no wrong and was justified in his "Chinese are immigrants and squatters in this country and deserve no rights".

Here are some disturbing observation;

1. Ahmad accepted the UMNO Supreme Council decision on him but remained unrepentful of his provocative, inflammatory and racist remarks and he will not apologise.
2. Ahmad declared that his 'suspension' would not stop him from being active in the party and hinted that if his division was smart enough and created a post for a division advisor, then constitutionally he has every right to hold that post.
3. Ahmad announced immediate plans to tour the country and explain to all UMNO divisions on the issue and declared "I promise one thing - I will make a comeback to UMNO".
4. Ahmad's immediate press conference held at the UMNO head quarters at PWTC, Kuala Lumpur straight after the UMNO Supreme Council meeting show that he is not a mere one man show 'Rambo' but clearly has powerful UMNO backing, evident as Ahmad's press conference was graced with the presence of UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor.
5. With the announcement of the near nothing discipline action, publicly announcing the 'advisor' loop hole for him to stay active in his party division and the very presence of the UMNO Secretary-General at his press conference makes one think whether all these was actually just an UMNO charade and there is 'more than meets the eye' on the 'pendatang' remark and the not so long ago "Babi balik Cina" Bar Council issue.....Hmm???
6. The suspiciously failure of the UMNO Supreme Council to take any action whatsoever against the 13 Penang UMNO division leaders who had supported Ahmad's stance over the justification of his racial slurs.
7. Even his 'Datukshit' was not stripped from him. The 'Datuk' title usually are awarded to individuals who have served the country well or have made the country proud may it be in politics, good governance, humanitarian efforts and sports achievements but now there is a new way of getting it, apart of course as we all know...buying it, is to be an UMNO member, then get elected as an MP and then make unity disruptive racial remarks.
8. As DSAAB has come out and state publicly many times that the racist remarks made by Ahmad was very provocative and inflammatory which is fanning racial tension and is jeopardising the peace and harmony on the nation, then how come the Homeland Ministry hasn't taken up charges of sedition under the ISA. With his unremorseful defiance and his continued racist mouth shooting off flares, isn't he now considered a threat to national security!!!

All in all, the action taken by the UMNO Supreme Council should be deemed satisfactory cause they can only take action against Ahmad within the law and boundaries of a political party but DSAAB as the head of our country has not taken any action against Ahmad on behalf of the Rakyat against Ahmad's racist slurs in accordance to our nation's laws. Further action by the police and Homeland Ministry should ensue. Failure to do so only would suggest that any person holding an MP post in the ruling coalition party is only bound by the rules and regulations of his/her party and exempted from the laws of Malaysia.

Fair to say that the seriousness of Ahmad's racist remarks has only been punished with a mere, gentle loving tap on the wrist by DSAAB. Day after day, issues after issues, DSAAB has shown that he is an incapable and weak in leading UMNO as president and leading Malaysia as Prime Minister.

The racist Ahmad issue and the action that was taken against him definately is more of 'another slap and egg' in the face of DSAAB. Maybe if DSAAB was to announced that;

• Ahmad will be stripped of his 'Datukshit', and
• further charges of sedition will be taken up against Ahmad under the ISA,

then maybe then he might have earned himself back a little respect from the Rakyat. As he has not, the pitiful DSAAB has instead etched himself in our nation's history and will be a folklore legend of many many years to come as the worst, weakest and most moronic Prime Minister ever to have graced the Commander-in-Chief post of this great country.

Kudos!!!

Three cheers to Datuk Harris Mohd Salleh for voicing out the need for Sabah and Sarawak to demand for more oil royalties from the federal government.

In The Borneo Post news article dated 7th September 2008, Datuk Harris has signalled for the east Malaysian states to pass a motion to demand an increase in oil royalties from 5% to 25% in the next state legislative assemblies.

It is quite a shock that our state's oil royalties are only 5%!!!

We definately deserve more than 10% if not 25% let alone the measely 5% that the government is giving back to us for our own oil. No wonder our states in the east is so under developed compared to our counterparts in the west. What have all the ministers been doing all this while by just accepting 5%??!!! What an embarrassment.....

Sarawak is about the size of the whole of the peninsular of Malaysia and while they get 95% of the royalties from the oil that we produce to develop themselves, they expect us to develop our state with the 5% that they pitifully leave for us.....how fair is that???

I wonder which mathematically damaged brained clown who iniatially agreed to this percentage. Even a fetus would know that 95% against 5% just ain't a fair split.

What's worst is that we have to pay the same retail price for fuel as our fellow countrymen in the west even though we are the ones producing oil.....

Tsu 'Immigrant' Koon vs. Ahmad 'Racist' Ismail

The racial tension now in Penang is almost at boiling point. The fact that now it is so much an issue of race no more about politics, tensions might boil over and threaten the peace and harmony of the nation. Police, FRUs and even the army has been put on standby to counter any civil uprising that might occur.

All these unhealthy tension is caused by just 1 insensitive man's remark, Datuk Ahmad Ismail saying that the Chinese were mere 'pendatang' or immigrant and squatters who does not deserve any rights in this country. The remark was made in a ceramah days before the Permatang Pauh by-election. No wonder the post election survey showed that most Chinese in that constituency did not even bother to turn up and cast their votes.

He has since refused to apologise for the remark and said it was 'taken out of context' by the members of the press who were present at his ceramah. DPM DSNTR was also present and has since came out publicly to apologise for the remarks of Ahmad. If it was really taken out of context by the members of the press then why did DSNTR with consent and agreement from DSAAB apologised??!!!

Gearakan President Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon has criticised and condemn Ahmad for his remarks and now it's a bitch fight between the two. There has been some 'bad blood' between the two in the past and that makes the bickering and hair pulling even more intense.

These are some of the jabs, hooks, upper cuts, bitch slaps and some below the belt punches thrown by both at each other in the past few days.....

Welcome to the bitch fight battle royale between Koh 'Tai Chi' Tsu Koon vs. Ahmad 'Silat' Ismail.....

The Datukshit Ahmad Ismail and posse corner -

• Asked Gerakan to get out of BN as they have caused nothing but chaos among component parties.Called for Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon's post of state BN chairman to be stripped and given to MCA.
• Accussed a few Gerakan leaders of exploiting and taking advantage of the issue.
• Made another very 'read between the lines' racist statement at a recent ceramah. He said that, "He (Tsu Koon) is a leader who is really good at Tai Chi but I would like to remind everyone not to forget that the Malays are equally good at Silat" -One would assume the use of the words 'Tai Chi' is to describe the Chinese immigrants and 'everyone' refers to a threat/warning to all those who are not Malay. How can he deny he is not racist when he issues such statements after the first one and why say 'not to forget that the Malays' when the issue in the first place was about discrimination of the Chinese as immigrants and not of the Malays!!! This coward racist pig is now trying to garner up courage to take the fight longer by stirring up sympathy and empathy from the Malay community by flaring up Malay sentiments so they will support him. Shameful how this sow making a mockery of the intelligence of his very own race.
• Insist that he will not apologise for his remark on August 23rd
• Another very racist 'read between the lines' remark of "We will not be pushed against the wall", with his supporters thumping tables and screaming "Hidup Melayu". -"We will not be pushed against the wall"?? Isn't it suppose to be just him?? The cockless cowardly pig can't fight his own battles and needs his mommy...BOOHOO!!! All respect to the Malays supporting him, please see the light that this sorry excuse of a racist arse is merely manipulating and using you to hopefully save his behind from being crucified.
• At the end of a press conference, his supporters took down a poster of Tan Sri Koh and tore it to pieces.
• When asked to comment on the action of his supporters, he said no such instructions was given and it was down by supporters from other divisions and not that of the Bukit Bendera. -Another shameless statement, to save his ass this time, he has hung out to dry the asses of the very people who supported him from other divisions. Is this the kind of snake you want as your MP??? .....Shameful!!!

Gerakan President Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon and poosse corner -

• Tsu Koon has asked the PM, BN and UMNO to sack Ahmad from all post and to apologise for his remarks.
• Penang Gerakan Has severed all ties with the state UMNO after the latest Ahmad attack on their President.
• Penang MCA said it was severing ties with the Bukit Bendera UMNO as well.
• Wanita Gerakan has urged the PM to sack and strip Ahmad of his post and Datukshit
• Penang BN Youth Chief resigns as a mark of support to his party and President.

I would personally like to thank the Datukshit Ahmad 'Racist pig' Ismail for openning our eyes that there are race politics and discrimination used in BN and UMNO. The Ahmad issue has also further exposed the weakness and flaws of the DSAAB leadership.

Parti Gerakan and MCA has at last shown some balls and severed ties with the Penang state UMNO. Maybe DSAAB and UMNO should follow suit and cut all ties with Ahmad. Having a trouble making racist pig amongst their ranks will do them no good at all.

Silence, is smart at times...

In a news article published in The Star on 08.09.2008, the UMNO Youth has questioned the "deafening silence" from the bar council, NGOs and bloggers over plans by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to woo Barisan Nasional MPs to crossover.

Its secretary, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, has come out to say that the people should tell DSAI that it is morally wrong to grab power.

Morals?!! Since when has there been any morals in politics let alone in UMNO or BN itself. The dumb dude has got no idea what he is talking about. Just saying things for the sake of talking then talking nonsence is not intelligent at all.

Under the BN ruled government led by UMNO, the people's rights to freedom of speech and expression, freedom of the press and media, rights to equally regardless of race or religion, has all been oppressed. Where is the moral in that???

DSAI and the people's desire to end such oppression is indeed the moral thing to do, you stupid brainless dim wit.

It is the un-moral thing to do what the BN party coalition members are doing, just staying put to gain personal wealth in DSAAB retarded, corrupted government as the Rakyat suffers and the country wilts away in mismanagement.

He then continued to say that if Sept 16 occurs, he won't be surprised to see if Barisan supporters took to the streets to challenge the legitamacy of the Pakatan Rakyat government formed through undemocratic means. Bloody double standard again isn't it. They can do this but others if even attempt to show dissatisfaction in the street will have to face the wrath of the ISA.

Undemocratic?? If Pakatan Rakyat secures enough numbers of defection, by means within the constitution and laws of Malaysia, then what is so undemocratic bout that??? There is a reason for such a clause in our democratic constitution and laws of our country. It is to safe guard the Rakyat and country against mismanaging governments.

But then it'll be all talk only as usual from the BN hypocrites cause if Sept 16 happens then they will not be the ruling party anymore in the government and they don't have the balls to do nuts. What these goons will do is take to the streets and walk over to the other side and join the Pakatan.

Remember...

A democratic country is where the government is a government "of laws and not of men"!!!

The Datukshit also commented that he was surprised at the silence of the United States who usually champions the importance of democracy to the world. Doesn't he remember that not too long ago it was his seniors that told the US to shut up. So now the US keeps quite and he mocks them for their silence???

There is also this comment by the Deputy Minister of Energy, Water and Telecommunications Datuk Joseph Salang saying that if Sept 16 occurs is likened to a 'political robbery'.

Eh...then what about the BN's robbery of our basic human rights, the rights to freedom of speech, the rights to equality opportunity for the Chinese and the Indians.....???

This DSAAB government along with all its existing component party MPs and ministers has just got to go. There are all nothing but a bunch of weak flip flop butt kissing jackasses.

There is an old saying....."If you ain't got anything smart to say then the intelligent thing to do is to just SHUT UP!!!"

The state with the best ministers in Malaysia...Sarawak!!!

Sarawak's ministers definately wins the award for best 'BN and DSAAB suck up and ass kissing ministers'. If and when DSAI becomes PM, then the award will be for best 'letting Anwar anal their asses ministers'.

These 'pengampu' ministers wouldn't mind it a little bit at all I'm sure. All they care about is their high paying salary position in the government and their 'Datukshit'. Then when Pakatan Rakyat takes over as the ruling party they will all frog leap over despite saying otherwise now. Their excuse.....they have to fight and take care of the people in their constituency so they need to maintain their position in the government. What a lot of bull but trust me, that's what this spineless ministers will do!!!

The minute they were asked whether they had signed the loyalty pledge crap, like well trained dogs, they all lineup with their tails wagging, drooling and tongue sticking out ready to lick DSAAB arse.

One lady minister even said that she sign the pledge immediately once it was presented to her. These ministers really don't deserve to have their position cause the well being, rights and welfare of the Rakyat were never in their minds at all. Those that sign the pledge without even a thought about it are still deaf and blind to the call of the Rakyat.

So if you read this article and see in the papers in the coming days that the Sarawak ministers come out and say that they did sign the pledge with the welfare of the Rakyat in their minds, you can tell them to shove it cause that is just all cock and bull talk...so predictable!!! If it really happens then they will lose all the respect and credibility that the Rakyat have for them, if there is any left anyway.

So sad cause Sarawak is not known for suck ups but famous for its resilient warrior fighting spirit. The ministers now should remember those old day warriors cause they are now the modern day warriors of the people of Sarawak. So ministers, if ever there was a doubt in your mind about the capabilities of the present government under the leadership of DSAAB, don't let your proud ancestors and people down and don't shame our proud heritage. Stand up, walk tall and fight for the rights and welfare of the people of Sarawak and in turn we will stand behind you, walk with you and respect you.....

"ENCANG SARAWAK ENCANG!!!"

Could be RPK's last article before ISA gets him...

Is Anwar Ibrahim unstoppable?

With the big margin he attained in the by-election, it does look as if Barisan Nasional (BN) will have a hard time stopping him. But then, as Anwar himself said, a week is a long time in politics, meaning that nothing is definite.

He is stoppable as a person, but I think what has happened to him is that he has become the focus of a lot of hope for Malaysians disillusioned with the BN system. Because he is a wily politician — or a chameleon, as critics like to say — he has been able to remake himself in the image of the reform movement that his arrest 10 years ago inspired and that developed more intensely than he could have expected. That movement has aligned itself with other oppositional forces and that new combined force now places him as its front man. In turn, he has become indispensable to that force.

Understood that way, Anwar does look unstoppable. The long-term way BN and the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) can take the wind out of his sail is to reform themselves radically, and in the process, change Malaysian politics to the extent that the polarised situation that makes someone such as Anwar so iconic disappear, or weaken. As long as BN refuses to change, the situation that created the strong opposition that adopts Anwar as its front man will continue.

His court case relating to a sodomy charge, starting on September 10, is a big worry for the opposition. A lot of resources will be focused on defending Anwar, and on weakening the prosecution's case, including proving that the charge against him is politically motivated.

What is Mr Abdullah's future?

History will perceive Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the accidental politician and will forgive him for many of his failures because of that. But for the moment, many Malaysians on both sides are simply exasperated by his weak leadership and his inability to adapt to changes. No one mistakes his reticence for astuteness any longer.

His time is up. He has to realise how critical reforms actually are to the future of the country.

If Anwar's attempt at toppling the government does not materialise, then the attention will turn to Umno's general assembly in December. Many Umno leaders are not willing to allow Abdullah to bide his time while they run the risk of being sidelined forever. One goes into politics to gain power, and if the power pyramid that one is part of is sinking, then at some point, one decides that it is every man for himself.

What about Umno's future?

One day quite soon, Malaysians will learn to see political coalitions as temporary solutions to imbalances in power, and not as monolithic and eternal beings that become a goal in themselves. There are no permanent allies and no permanent enemies.

It will be nearly impossible for Umno to regain its former glory. That glory depended on the BN model. Today, it is like the Kuomintang of Taiwan in the '80s. It must go through a radical change, and to do that, it may have to leave the seat of power for a while. Its members have to realise that Malaysia's wellbeing is not necessarily Umno's wellbeing.

Even if the party loses power, it can return, but in a new shape and in new alliances. The worst-case scenario is that Umno may go the way of the Communist Party in Yugoslavia and disappear. The fear then is that the country will disintegrate along with it. The best-case scenario is that politics in Malaysia will mature to the extent that political opponents no longer wish destruction on each other.

Losing will not be everything; winning will not be everything.

From now to September 16 and December, what are the signs to look for?

Abdullah presented his budget on August 29 and Parliament is now in recess until the fasting month of Ramadan is over. In the meantime, we have Wednesday to watch, when Anwar goes on trial. Should the sodomy charge be dropped, then BN admits that its tactic has backfired and it withdraws to fight another day. Should it stick, Anwar's camp will try its best to keep him out of jail.

Given how Anwar was treated the last time he was in detention, his closest supporters fear that some serious harm will come to him while in jail.

September 16 is the day to watch — Malaysia Day, the day 45 years ago when Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the federation. Anwar chose that day as a day of reckoning because it is very symbolic to the East Malaysians who feel let down by the federal government. He promises them a better deal, a simple enough strategy.

Even if Anwar cannot convince 30 BN Members of Parliament (MPs) to cross over to his side, he is expected to mark that day in a dramatic fashion. What he could do is perhaps to get some defectors to announce their intention publicly on September 16, and then hope for a snowball effect from there. He could also announce a defection by Umno MPs. Should nine of them defect, it would mean that Umno loses its majority within the ruling BN coalition. A bigger scoop would be to get a whole party to defect, threatening the existence of BN itself.

Also important to watch will be the Umno's division elections next month. What support Abdullah still has will become clearer from that. The main challenger to Abdullah within Umno, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, will also be gauging his own strength during that time.

If Anwar were to be Prime Minister, what kind of leader would he be?

His rhetoric seems to echo the wishes of a large segment of the Malaysian population at the moment, and that segment will be dictating what kind of PM he will be. Malaysia is suffering from a leadership problem at the moment, and many are putting a lot of hope in him.

Anwar has to balance the aims of the parties in his coalition, and we will see compromises being made. That is the reality in Malaysia. But I think a culture of dialogue will be developed under his watch and that will be a great achievement indeed. I think at least that can be accomplished by him.

Anwar can be expected to use a global economic focus to expedite institutional changes and minimise differences in the agendas of various parties. There is a lot of room for change, and with the political support he seems to enjoy, he should be able to do a good job. I think the new democratic atmosphere in Malaysia will see to that.

The writer is a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. He is the author of Lost in Transition: Malaysia under Abdullah and The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time.

*************************************************************

16 September 2008. That is Malaysia Day. That is also the day Anwar Ibrahim is supposed to take over the government. Today, some well-known personalities are joining Parti Keadilan Rakyat. From thereon, more are expected to follow, culminating in the final exodus of Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament.

Stay tuned for the announcements to follow.Many just can’t believe that Anwar will really take over on 16 September 2008.

Some just wish it were true. Some say it’s too good to be true. Others say Anwar is just playing poker. The sceptics say Anwar is laying the ground for a self-fulfilling prophecy. What is foremost in everyone’s mind is: is Anwar playing a high-stakes poker game or will this be a gunfight at the OK Corral?

At this point of time, Anwar can no longer just play poker. No one asked him to take over the government. No one set 16 September 2008 as the deadline. This was entirely Anwar’s own choice with no pressure or cohesion whatsoever on anyone’s part. It was Anwar who 'volunteered' the entire exercise. No one forced him into the situation.

Taking all this into consideration, there is no way Anwar can renege on his ‘promise’. To do so would result in a serious erosion of credibility. If Anwar fails to deliver his 16 September 2008 promise, he might as well disappear from the scene. If 16 September 2008 comes and goes as a non-event, Anwar too will become a non-event and will have to throw in the towel and call it quits.

Anwar is no novice. He is not an amateur politician. He is as seasoned as they come. And no seasoned politician like Anwar will commit Hara Kiri. And Hara Kiri it will be if Anwar turns around on 16 September 2008 and say, "I was just joking lah."

So my money is on 16 September 2008 happening. Not happening would mean the death knell of Anwar Ibrahim. And Anwar is not ready to die just yet. If Anwar fails to deliver, that would trigger the beginning of the end for Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

Parti Gerakan Rakyat is on the verge of leaving the ruling coalition. No, it is not going to join Pakatan Rakyat. It is going to remain as an ‘independent’ party. And from there it is going to re-build its lost fortunes and revert to what it used to be when it was first launched 40 years ago in 1968.

Gerakan is going to be a most attractive party once it leaves Barisan Nasional and it launches its 'remaking' exercise. Hell, even I might get attracted to it once it transforms into what it started out in 1968. Gerakan will of course need to attract not only many professionals but from amongst all the races as well. And if Anwar falls short on 16 September 2008, Gerakan will be there with open arms to receive all the disappointed ex-Anwaristas who no longer have any confidence that Anwar is true to his word.

So, the stakes are too high not to succeed. This is not a game. It is not even a high-stakes poker game. It is a fight to the finish. It is a winner-takes-all situation. It is a last-man-standing duel. It is a gunfight at the OK Corral. And only one walks away from such a fight. And that one will be Anwar. My money is on that happening. Hell, my freedom is on that as well.

Today, I received many phone calls from concerned friends who told me that the government is considering detaining me under the Internal Security Act ‘very soon’. If that does happen, then this could probably be the last article I write, at least until 16 September 2008. So I too need Anwar to succeed. If not I will be in Kamunting for quite some time to come and you will not hear from me over the next couple of years.

Yes, I too have placed, not only my money, but also my freedom on Anwar. And if Anwar fails to deliver his promise on 16 September 2008, not only he but I as well am headed for a fall. But I have confidence he will do it. And I have confidence that my stay in Kamunting will not be for two years but for a mere two weeks.

But if I am wrong…..well, then see you maybe in six or seven years time, because for sure Najib Tun Razak will not release me in 2010 when he becomes Prime Minister. What he would do, instead, would be to rollover my two-year detention another two years, and another two years, and another two years, until I am too old to think and write anymore.

Till we meet again, if we do meet again, take care and keep the flame burning. There is still a long fight ahead of us in bringing reforms to this beloved country of ours.

The racist pig follow up...

Ahmad - Why should I apologise

by Andrea Filmer (The Star 05.09.2008)

GEORGE TOWN: Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail has refused to apologise over his racist remark calling the Chinese community "immigrants who do not deserve equal rights".

"Why should I apologise? I didn’t do anything wrong. Those who do wrong should apologise but I haven’t done anything," Ahmad said when The Star met him outside his Bayan Baru office yesterday.

He, however, refused to comment on whether the press misquoted him.

Sounding calm and collected on the phone, he said a full statement on what transpired would be released after a Penang Umno liaison meeting tomorrow.

Man in the news: Ahmad gesturing as he replies to a question in Bayan Baru yesterday. He said he had been leading a sepak takraw team to a tournament in Bangkok.

He added that he would not say much at present, but wanted to clear up the issue of reporting to the police.

Police are currently investigating five reports lodged against Ahmad under the Sedition Act 1948 for uttering the remarks at a ceramah on the eve of the Permatang Pauh by-election.

He said there were reports of his going to the Bukit Mertajam police station on Wednesday night (to make a statement).

"I want to make it clear that I never told anyone or informed anyone that I would be there. It was their assumption," he said.

Ahmad recorded a statement at the police contingent headquarters in Penang Road at about 10pm the same night while pressmen from television, online and print media were waiting for him on the mainland.

Asked where he had been over the last few days, Ahmad confirmed that he had been leading a sepak takraw team to a tournament in Bangkok.

"My phone has been on and off, but a lot of my anak buah (supporters) have been calling me, so maybe that’s why it has been hard to get through," he said.

On the alleged misappropriation of funds involving now-defunct company Popular Profile Sdn Bhd (PPSB), Ahmad said he had resigned before any action was taken on the company.

"This issue has nothing to do with me. Action is taken on a company, not on a personal capacity. Moreover, I resigned from the company on Sept 1, 1998. What happened after that, I don’t know."

"The Chief Minister (Lim Guan Eng) shouldn’t be using his political muscle and power to attack me," he said, adding that he would not say more on the land deal until he had checked the details.

Lim had recently attacked Ahmad on a 1997 land deal involving PPSB, in which Ahmad had been a director. Lim alleged that the company had cheated the state of RM500,000 in a deal involving 4.2ha of industrial land in Bukit Minyak.

The racist pig has finally resurfaced. From his press release he has obviously shown no regrets and remorse over his racist remarks.

His Datukshit title should be stripped. Our nation got enough pigs as Datuks and we sure as hell don't need a racist one amongst them. He really is an embarrassment to his parents, family and all Malaysian.

This jerk definately must have attended the Biro Tata Negara seminar. Our country would do well without the two.....

The basics of Democracy...

The rule of law is a fundamental component of democratic society and is defined broadly as the principle that all members of society -- both citizens and rulers -- are bound by a set of clearly defined and universally accepted laws. In a democracy, the rule of law is manifested in an independent judiciary, a free press and a system of checks and balances on leaders through free elections and separation of powers among the branches of government.

• The government is bound by the law;

• All people are treated equally under the law; and

• The law recognizes that “in each person, there is a core of spirituality and dignity and humanity.”

A GOVERNMENT “OF LAWS AND NOT OF MEN”

Equal protection under the law is a fundamental component of the rule of law and ensures that all federal and state laws are applied to citizens equally, regardless of their race, religion, gender or minority status.

Civil liberty outlines the individual rights guaranteed to each citizen, including freedom of religion and freedom of speech. These rights have been a cornerstone of the rule of law because they protect citizens’ fundamental right to freedom and liberty.

One of the most widely recognized civil liberties is freedom of speech. It states that the government shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press.  This civil liberty plays an important role in the protection of the rule of law because the personal freedom to criticize one’s government openly and the freedom of the press to report on issues of public importance promote awareness of citizens’ rights and responsibilities and result in an informed and free society.

 

   

   

   

   

 

Did you know...

Democracy Thrives Around the World

Democracy is an ancient concept, dating back 2,500 years to the Athenian city-state.  But democratic ideals did not take root in the modern world until the late 18th century.  Since that time, this powerful system for social and political organization has spread around the globe and takes as many different forms as there are democratic countries.  One thing remains constant, however:

a respect for all citizens’ right to participate in decisions about how they are governed.

   

   

 

Joke of the day...

Malaysia share spot with St. Lucia in FIFA rankings -Borneo Post 04.09.2008

According to FIFA's latest ranking release, Malaysia is now ranked 161 in the world and shares the spot with St. Lucia. How sad is that. We can't even be solely ranked 161 in the world but still got to share it.

St. Lucia.....come on la, I mean with full respects to that country, but does anyone actually know where St. Lucia is?? Well, St. lucia from what I know it is an 'island' in the Caribbean. For its exact location I'd have to Google map it. Anyways, this isn't about St. Lucia, it is about Malaysia's national football team.

And that's what Malaysia is now in the footballing world.....nowhere!!!

In 1993 we were as high as 75th in the world. So what happened???

The government has still supported the nation's footballing cause with funds and modern facilities so what are we doing all the way down there??!!! We've got our own national football league, every state has got their own domestic league, schools have development programmes to nuture and identify young talents and potential.

Football in Malaysian sports always had the most yearly budget from the government to run its annual programmes but has not shown the results. We are not a young footballing nation but with all the esources and attention given to the national team, it has time and time again disappoint and embarrass us. Maybe it is time for the government to cut some of their budget and distribute it among other sports that has proven their worth. Sports such as bowling, squash, badminton and sports that have shown potential like cycling and archery.

That would be taxpayer's money well spent wouldn't it.....

Joke of the day...

Don't fear telling the truth, PM advises media - New Straits Times headlines on 04.09.2008

"The media should not be afraid to report truthfully as the credibility of a media institution was at stake. The media need not be apologetic in reporting the truth." -Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (New Straits Times 04.09.2008)

Yeah...yeah right, DSAAB just forgot to mention that the truth he was refering to is the truth the way he, BN and UMNO sees it.

Try to report anything other and risk permit or license to suspended or worst, revoked.

NST should have just print this as the headlines, more appropriate;

Don't fear telling the 'government spinned truth'.....

BTN - the racist course...

BTN’s racist and divisive indoctrination courses

Now that Najib has apologised to non-Malays for Ahmad’s statement, I would like to bring to the attention of Najib the pain endured by the young non-Malay JPA scholars who are required to go through a five-day Biro Tatanegara programme at certain camps in the country. To be fair, many moderate Malay students too cried and were hurt by some racist comments made by the instructors.

As part of the course, which is mandatory before they are sent overseas, all non-Malays are segrgated and given lectures on the history of the country and how the immigration of the Chinese and Indians had taken place. And finally how the Chinese and Indians were given citizenship. The Malays too had their own similar sessions.

The instructors blatantly told them that they should not question the rights and privileges of the Malays as the non-Malays should be thankful that they were given citizenship status and a place to stay on their soil. My daughter together with the other non-Malay students was shocked and went back to their dormitories depressed. And to the Malay students, the instructors told them to be aware of this fact and not to mix too freely with the non-Malays.

A Malay friend of my daughter came back crying to the dormitory saying that she could not take the racist position taken by the government authority. My daughter then began questioning the bumiputra policy and was disgusted with such blatant indoctrination. This incident has also made the students harbour anger and resentment. Their fear for the authorities and losing their scholarships made them keep their cool. I am not exaggerating here - ask all the JPA students to write in anonymously and you will know the truth.

These are young minds being polluted with racism. Tens of thousands of students have gone through this programme and more will be attending it in the future. So can you blame them when they exhibit their racist tendencies when in authority? How could the JPA allow such a syllabus for the cream of the nation, who will one day be entrusted to implement government policies fairly?

So, will Najib take responsibility for the racist syllabus and subsequently the racist remarks and apologise to the tens of thousands of students and parents who were hurt by such hurtful remarks? Of course knowing the BN government, it will deny this. Believe me, this is the ABSOLUTE truth.

My call to Najib is to immediately probe into this claim with the help of a multi-racial team of officers from Suhakam BUT please maintain the anonymity of the young children who have everything to lose. This blatant racism practised and preached by the Barisan Nasional government must stop immediately.

From an outraged Malaysian parent

 

   

   

   

   

 

The elusive racist pig...

This is how the racist pig Datuk Ahmad Ismail looks like. He really looks like one doesn't he...

Till now he has shown no remorse by not even attempting to make an apology over his very racial remarks.

So why should we 'non Malays' be considerate of him. He has not only disrespected us but also our ancestors so the next time he resurfaces from where ever crap filled worm hole he is hiding in, his so called 'non Malays' with no rights, should greet him with the universal 'up your obesed smelly racist pig crap hole ass' finger wave!!!

Shows us just what a man he is, dare to utter racist remarks but don't have the balls to face the public after that. So what do you call a pig with no balls - a sow.

Till now this bloody jackass racist sow is no where to be found. His assistant still has the audacity to say that the pig doesn't want to be disturbed and we should leave him alone. Of course he doesn't want to be found and disturbed, the pig knows what's coming.....the slaughter house!!!

After saying;

"The Chinese are immigrants who do not deserve equal rights in this country"

and simply just says he does not want to be disturbed.....I have only one thing to say to him.....

KNNCCB!!!

 

   

   

   

   

 

'A Life More Ordinary'

As soon as he met seven-year-old Emade Okungbowa in November 2003, Dr David Donovan sensed his life was about to change.

Emade, from Warri in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, had a congenital defect in her left foot that had made it grow to 45 centimetres long, leaving her the victim of constant verbal abuse and too ashamed to go to school. Local witch doctors thought slicing her foot with razor blades and stuffing pepper in the wounds was the best way to help her. As he looked down at the shy little girl, Donovan knew he had to do better than that.

Donovan was visiting the Delta with his wife Shirley after meeting Warri pastor Francis Waive at a church meeting. Waive had told the 42-year-old British GP about the poverty plaguing his homeland, where around seven million people lived in impoverished island communities with little sanitation and no hospitals. Initially overwhelmed by the suffering he found, Donovan realised that if he could help Emade, he would be alleviating at least some of the hardship – and might begin to find the fulfillment he was looking for.

After returning home to Cambridge, England, the following week, Donovan sent the child's pictures to Mr Fred Robinson, an orthopaedic surgeon at a private hospital. Robinson agreed to operate on her free of charge. The Donovans arranged for Emade and her father to come to stay with them while Robinson reshaped the foot and a few days later, wearing a cast, Emade flew home.

Knowing that Emade still faced terrible hardship back in the Niger Delta - Donovan paid a local doctor to monitor her progress and gave her a camp bed to ensure her foot stayed dry at night during the rainy season. The couple also arranged for her to attend a private school in Warri, the fees met out of their own pocket.

Donovan knew he wanted to do more for the people of the region. He and Shirley decided to sell their four-bedroom home to help set up a medical charity, New Foundations (newfoundations.org.uk). He also began working just three days a week, leaving him with more time for the charity, though much less secure financially.

With Pastor Waive's help, the Donovans created a floating medical service, with a doctor visiting ten islands in the Delta by boat twice a month. For the first time, 40,000 people had regular malaria clinics, access to drugs and health advice, and clean drinking water.

The Donovans have also opened a cataract clinic in Warri, built a 30-bed health centre and trained 12 local people to be health workers and midwives.

''It's a privilege to help these people who are full of potential but incapacitated by circumstance,'' says Donovan. ''We're empowering them and they've made us come alive.''

As for Emade, she's getting good grades at her new school and wants to be a doctor. She laughs and jokes with her friends – and is one of the fastest runners in her class. -Lisa Loveday

KEADILAN 2009 National Budget and Economy Policy Brief by Anwar Ibrahim

PARTI KEADILAN RAKYAT MALAYSIA2009 NATIONAL BUDGET AND ECONOMIC POLICY BRIEF

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KEADILAN) recognizes that for millions of Malaysian citizens the economic climate has become a troublesome one. Malaysians today face ongoing reduction in their purchasing power, job insecurities, increased fuel prices, low wages, and a high gap between the rich and poor. KEADILAN believes that Malaysia can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines and allow the BN government to pursue a ‘too-little-too-late approach’ to addressing these issues. That is why, on this day, KEADILAN is pushing forward one more step its positions on the Malaysian Economic Agenda, to relieve the burden on Malaysians struggling with record high inflation levels and dwindling economic prospects. Whereas the current government has failed to adequately assess or address these issues, KEADILAN will pursue the policies critical to reasserting Malaysia’s quality of life, economic strength and competitiveness in the global economy.

1.0 Summary:

The KEADILAN proposals on the budget and response to the current BN government’s Malaysia Budget 2009 are based on a new model of socio-economic development drawing on an analysis of some of the best performing economies in the world. This specifically includes understanding the successes of Taiwan, Korea and Ireland, and integrating the best practices of these economies with the enormous potential of Malaysia’s natural and human resources as well as the positive aspects of Malaysia’s past development plans.

When KEADILAN model is implemented, the gap between Malaysia and other developed countries in terms of economic performance and living standards must be narrowed, instead of growing as it has under the current government. KEADILAN’s policies will spur a rapidly growing economy that can effectively compete at the regional and global level as well as open up numerous opportunities for all Malaysians and for all scales of business at the individual and sector level. KEADILAN’s educational and human development reforms will bring about an improved educational system and knowledge based economy and enable Malaysia’s domestic businesses to meet the global challenge with a locally sourced and higher skilled labor force.

KEADILAN’s policy changes target attracting increased foreign and domestic investment and improving labour skills and productivity in the private and public sectors. Underlying this, and in contrast to Malaysia’s recent trends, KEADILAN is unwavering in its focus on the systemic foundations to ensure Malaysia’s success: fairness, transparency, accountability and good governance.

The key features of the KEADILAN Model include:
• Faster pace of economic liberalization
• Extensive investment in quality education
• Higher rate of investment in public-oriented infrastructure
• Integration with more developed ASEAN and East Asian countries
• Stronger role for the private sector
• Merit and need driven policies with a stronger safety net for poor
• Higher standards of governance and accountability In the near future, Pakatan Rakyat will publish and promote in greater detail the entire policy regime of its Malaysian Economic Agenda.

2.0 Response to Barisan Nasional (BN) Malysia 2009 National Budget:

2.1 BN Government’s Misrepresentation of the Current Situation – The BN government’s budget has been described in mainstream BN controlled government papers as a budget with 'something for everyone'. KEADILAN acknowledges that on the surface that seems to be the case, but much of it is illusory. Furthermore, this economic plan will clearly not produce the concrete results that BN has been promising Malaysians. Unfortunately, it follows the trend of previous years which resulted in gross examples of mismanagement, inefficiency and missed opportunities to take Malaysia and its people forward. Since this BN government came to power, they have repeatedly emphasized to Malaysians that their economy is becoming more resilient, that people are more prosperous, that standards of living have gone up, that the country has become more competitive, and that everyone has benefited equally from the country’s growth. Yet, KEADILAN believes that many citizens are aware that the reality of Malaysian achievement compared with other countries, particularly in the context of the country’s enormous potential in human and natural resources, is far from the BN government’s rosy rhetoric. KEADILAN believes that this was clearly demonstrated at the ballot box both in March and again in August of this year.

The realities of the current BN government’s mismanagement have been:
• Worsening socio-economic disparities
• Rising income inequalities
• Spiraling costs of living
• Growing urban and rural poverty undetected or underestimated by the Government’s unrealistic poverty line
• Endemic corruption
• Falling competitiveness and sluggish growth
• Rising cost of doing business

The above shortcomings do not touch on the key non-economic factors of quality of life, namely civil liberties, judicial independence, media freedom, race relations, religious tolerance, national unity, crime and security. While not addressed in this brief, these are all key issues whose resolution the current government has either mismanaged or manipulated for the sake of certain individuals to secure narrow interests against that of the greater public good.

2.2 Deteriorating Public Finances and Economic Sluggishness –

As the current government has neither been open nor honest about Malaysia’s current economic state and financial position, KEADILAN has outlined below several indicators which raise grave concerns amount financial and economic mismanagement under BN rule:

1. Operational expenditure in the 2009 National Budget has increased to RM154.2 billion, from RM128.8 billion in 2008, an alarming increase of almost 20%. This is close to a 100% increase or doubling from the RM80.5 billion in operating expenditure from 2004 when Abdullah Badawi first became Prime Minister. Of even greater concern is that the current operating budget is nearly a 200% increase from that in 2000.

2. Malaysia is suffering from sluggish domestic investment, despite not being short of domestic capital. Private fixed capital formation averaged less than half of total fixed capital formation. In addition, since the current government first entered office, Malaysian investment abroad (outward FDI) has risen dramatically: from less than 50% of inward FDI in 2004, to approximately equal to inward FDI in 2006, to now actually exceeding inward foreign investment. This is entirely uncharacteristic of any growing economy in the world, and raises grave concerns with KEADILAN about the policies driving Malaysian capital flight.

3. The economy grew 6.3 percent in the three months ended June from a year earlier, down from a 7.1 percent gain in the first quarter. Economic growth is forecast to ease to 5.7 percent this year and 5.4 percent in 2009, the weakest pace since 2005. The figures suggest potentially a growth of just 4% for Q4 2008. The government’s proposed budget will be unable to do the heavy lifting required of it in 2009. KEADILAN is concerned about the government’s irresponsible reliance on a global upturn in 2009 that could directly impact Malaysia’s economy and growth.

4. Inflation was at a 27-year high of 7.7 percent in June as a result of the government’s mismanagement of the petrol subsidy issue. There are signs that it is worsening. For July’s inflation rate Bank Negara’s Monthly Statistical Bulletin (Table VI.13), gives a figure of 8.5% incease in the CPI, with food rising 11.2%, non-food rising 7.2%, transport rising 22.7%l, and consumer non-durables rising 15.4%. While KEADILAN acknowledges that higher transport and food prices are working their way through the economy, the government continues to appear oblivious to this fact.

5. The fiscal deficit has risen from 3.2% in 2007 to 4.8% of GDP this year.

6. The KL composite index is down from 1,374 points to 1,163 year to year.

7. The KL market capitalization lost over RM200B, or almost 1/5th of its value, within one year.

8. The ringgit’s value has weakened against the major currencies. Against the US dollar, the RM recently completed its biggest monthly loss since the end of a peg against the dollar in 2005.

9. Recently, Malaysia's credit rating outlook was downgraded by Standard & Poor's to the fourth lowest investment grade, indicative of government mismanagement and excesses that are putting credit ratings and currency at risk.

10. Short-term (less than one year) federal debt, the bulk of it domestic has ballooned from RM21 billion at end Mar 2004 to RM51 billion at end Jun 2008, and total federal government debt has gone from RM192 billion at end Mar 2004 to RM285 billion at end Jun 2008. This is a cause for concern of worsening fiscal health.

2.3 Government Budget Initiatives are ‘Too Little, Too Late” -

The 2009 National Budget presented by the current government last week clearly appears to collect piecemeal proposals to allocate what have been described as ‘little goodies’ across all quarters – the poor, the middle class, the rich, the corporate sector, and civil servants. The plan lacks concerted vision, and is again indicative of the government’s failure to provide sound economic direction in a challenging global and domestic environment.

This analysis, however, does not focus on the small handouts and various fiscal ‘goodies’ which are fairly transparent in their purpose and overall ineffectuality. Instead, this brief is focused on analysing the substantive thrusts and programs, and assessing whether they can meet short term needs, while recognizing their medium and long term consequences.

2.3.1 Suspicious Public Transport Measures

The various initiatives finally focusing $35billion on public transportation are ostensibly to address the needs of Malaysia’s urban population, especially in Klang Valley and KL as well as Penang. But characteristic of this budget it is simply too little and too late.

This will not resolve the public transport woes of the country, not even for urban commuters. Given the current systemic flaws and the past track record of BN, building new infrastructure without good governance, proper execution and maintenance has resulted in large portions of funds going to waste, bribery and other leakages with the public transport issue largely left unresolved.

KEADILAN has two specific concerns on this issue:

First, the proposed Public Land Transportation Commission is a central federal body in the PM’s Department, although these projects are almost entirely local or regional issues. Until and unless power over public transport planning and design is devolved to state and local authorities, the problem cannot be properly solved.

Second, based on previous examples, there is a strong possibility of misguided centralized planning attempts and award of tenders and contracts to insider and favored companies such as Scombi which may lead to allegations of nepotism. To forestall this, KEADILAN emphasises the need for open competitive tenders, with special consideration given to genuine multi-racial partnerships in those tenders. In addition, KEADILAN has additional policy proposals for more productive public transportation initiatives it would pursue.

2.3.2 Failure to Strengthen the Safety Net

KEADILAN has for many years consistently criticized the meager safety net provided to Malaysia’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens. While the current government has finally taken heed to these concerns and deemed it advisable to raise the cut off point for welfare assistance and the increase in pensions for the lower levels, it is again 'too little, too late'. Besides being adjustments needed several years earlier, the proposed increases only appear to be intended to raise beneficiaries above the PLI (Poverty Line Income) established in 2004, and as published in the 9MP (Ch 16), adjusted by a mere 10%.

Of grave concern, and indicative or irresponsible policy, is that the beneficiaries of this initiative will still be below the nominal Poverty Line Income's for Peninsula Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah. Going by the overall CPI for the 3 regions, the adjustment from 2004 to 2008 should be closer to 120% than the 10% proposal. (As of mid-year 2008, CPI for PM was 113.4 [2005=100]. Seeing that the 60+% of the PLI is the food PLI, the actual adjustment should have been higher since the food weight in the CPI is around 31%). (See “Note on Safety Net for the Poor, KEADILAN 2009 Budget & Econ Policy Brief” for more details on this proposal)

KEADILAN has also been clear about its concerned regarding the importance of targeting Malaysia’s most vulnerable segments exposed to escalating inflation. The government has not only ignored this problem but by its flip-flopping over the fuel price increases has been the main culprit in the galloping inflation which has hit Malaysia and inevitably has most affected Malaysia’s poor.

2.3.3 Meaningless Corporate Sector Initiatives

While the 2009 National Budget has been touted in the mainstream government press as a "business friendly budget" ( Star, 30 Aug.), experts have already contradicted that notion. This can be seen in the two page coverage of responses by leading tax experts (from Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and KPMG) acting on behalf of the country’s top businesses and corporate clients. Their verdict was that this is a budget that whilst not penalizing business is going to do practically nothing to encourage business. The plan has not substantive initiatives to encourage business big or small, and no compelling proposals to improve Malaysia’s competitiveness in the context of the global economic slowdown.

It is not only the tax experts and business consultants that have lost faith in the government’s business policies. Clear evidence can be found in the government’s own data. From table 8.2, Investment in Approved Projects by Industry, it is seen that there has been a significant reduction in investment of almost all industries this year - most significantly in textiles and textile products; paper, printing and publication; and petroleum products; and electric and electronic products. KEADILAN is concerned that if this trend were allowed to continue, domestic and foreign investment would continue to avoid Malaysia due to the BN government’s continuing failure to develop attractive and meaningful policies, within the context of structural reform, reducing of business costs and to improvements in government response and operating efficiency. Without a clear investment and business oriented strategy, BN’s lack of planning would have serious implications for overall economic growth and private-sector employment.

2.3.4 Exaggerated Claims and Unsubstantiated Targets, Food Sector

KEADILAN is concerned that the BN government is exaggerating claims and misrepresenting statistics to create a ‘rosy’ picture of its achievements and the economic progress achieved under its administration. One example comes from the food production and padi sector, to which KEADILAN attaches great importance. Firstly BN 2009 National Budget refers to laying the foundations for achieving 86% self-sufficiency in rice by 2010, from 73% in 2008, through a variety of interventions. This implies an increase in domestic production of 18 % in 2 years, or a compound annual rate of increase of over 8% per year in the two years left. This is an implausible and unachievable target given that since 1980 to the present, despite billions spent on new irrigation system intensification, research, extension services, and allocations to agencies and padi based IADPs, Malaysia has not been able to achieve an annual rate of increase in national padi output even approaching 1%. The reality is that domestic rice production nationally has been flat.

KEADILAN proposes greater research invested to understand why some farmers are able to get yields of around 10 tonnes per hectare, amongst the highest in the world especially in the tropics, and transmit that knowledge and technique to all farmers. This does not require huge expenditure, nor an obsession with large-scale farming and the subsidies the government provides such large-scale farms. Instead it will benefit smaller, lower income farmers, almost all of whom are Malay. KEADILAN also proposes further investment to research improvement of hill rice yields in Sarawak and Sabah, as it is possible to obtain up to 5 tonnes per hectare. This not only will improve food security, but also incomes; it is also sustaining a form of agriculture that is often the most environmentally friendly for the terrain in question.

2.3.5 Opening the Door to Wider Corruption and Abuse

KEADILAN’s concerns do not stop with misleading targets. The concerns are with the BN’s historical practices of spending large sums of scarce public funds on a problem – without proper concern for prudent and responsible spending and a strong commitment to high execution standards and results that merit the expenditure. This has been clear across all the major sectors of government spending. In agriculture and padi we see that what is not specified in the 2009 National Budget document, but included in the lump sum allocations are a number of handout programs which are likely to have the following outcomes:

• Special yield enhancing inputs to be given free, whose efficacy in terms of yield increase is questioned by many parties, but which will enrich suppliers. Hence the scramble now for many UMNO and BN companies to get their products on the favoured list.

• Farm machinery handouts, again immediately benefiting a small group.

• Various production incentives in cash but in practice subject to significant abuse in implementation. For example: the yield increase bonus.

These KEADILAN concerns extend equally to many other sectors. For example, in Sarawak, there is a 20% allowance for Sarawak tenders, on top of the 10% allowance for bumiputera, i.e., a total of 30% allowance for those individuals and companies that can claim Sarawak bumiputera status. If the RM3 billion allocated to Sarawak for infrastructure is subject to this, it means that, RM1 billion will immediately have been siphoned into pockets of such companies as CMS and individuals directly associated with key BN political leaders and their families.

In conclusion, the current BN government’s 2009 Budget Proposals reflect on the large and small scale the same ineffectiveness and mismanagement that is undermining the basic resilience of the Malaysian economy. KEADILAN endorses a plan of constructive stewardship of the economy and of aggressive realization of policy to restore business and consumer confidence in the years ahead.

3.0 Key KEADILAN Policy Initiatives:

The policy initiatives that comprise KEADILAN’s Malaysian Economic Agenda, cover the full spectrum of social, political and economic development for Malaysia. The following are examples of specific policies which KEADILAN will put forth with specific impact on Malaysian economic growth.

3.1 STIMULATING INVESTMENT

Increasing both domestic and foreign investment, the key drivers for Malaysia’s productive growth, is a primary focus of KEADILAN’s policy proposals. Despite strong fundamentals in Malaysia that would be expected to lead to domestic investment and FDI – such as high domestic savings, high private consumption, and high domestic demand – yet FDI has underperformed for the region and even more domestic capital is flowing out of the country than investment is flowing in. KEADILAN believes there are fundamental regulatory and business environment factors which must be addressed to truly reach Malaysia’s goals of global competitiveness within the next decade and to make any significant changes to this situation.

First, KEADILAN recommends a shift away from the historic equity restrictions for approved investments, and that the FIC should be retasked to monitor the national distribution of equity under present policy. The foreign share of the national economy has reduced significantly since the NEP (and its consequent policies) and the FIC was introduced. The equity restrictions imposed by FIC are now seen as a barrier to investment while not materially assisting the growth of disadvantaged groups. For example, corporate transactions through mergers and acquisitions when they fall under the Guidelines of the FIC on Take-Overs and Mergers, have to restructure their ownership structure to comply with the NEP (now the NVP). Moving away from equity limitations at the enterprise level will stimulate investment (and FDI) while FIC can act as a facilitator and monitor for participation of disadvantaged groups in macro economic context using incentives to encourage participation rather than restrictive legislation.

Second, KEADILAN proposes that tariffs and other entry barriers need to be eliminated in order to negotiate trade agreements with other ASEAN countries, Japan, the EU and others. To sustain the competitive advantage against especially India, China and Singapore, Malaysia will need to upgrade the educational system to educate and attract high skilled labour in focus sectors, such as engineers, biochemists, industrialized farmers, etc.

3.2 PRODUCTIVE BUSINESS INCENTIVESKEADILAN believes that reduction in taxes and other levies to the business sector, in the proper environment, will result in increased investment and consequently job growth. Additionally, KEADILAN’s proposals are to focus on key sectors to maximize impact of tax-rebates on industries strategic to Malaysian growth and development. After opportunities to lower the overall business tax burdens, KEADILAN would then offer more sector- and productivity-driven incentives to increase investment in critical areas and companies. Examples of these policies are:

i. Tax rebates for those who export to a certain level (similar to Chinese initiative)

ii. Tax rebates or even direct subsidy to fuel efficient and labor intensive operations to help provide incentives for companies to migrate to more fuel efficient production methods and keeping people on the payroll.

3.3 REFORMING THE PUBLIC TENDER SYSTEM

One of the core pillars of the KEADILAN economic agenda is that all government contracts must be tendered in an open, competitive and transparent manner. Towards this end, the following policies will be implemented by KEADILAN as quickly as possible:

1. All qualified companies shall be provided with equal opportunities to secure Government supply contracts and projects.

2. To prevent destabilizing disruption to the current system, this policy shall be implemented on a gradual basis, commencing with projects or supply contracts sized above RM10 million for 2009.

3 In view of the challenges brought by globalization and to honor our international commitments to free trade, all tenders shall be made competitive, open and transparent by 2015.

KEADILAN projects that on the conservative assumption a 10% savings is achieved via the new tendering system, it will generate an absolute savings in excess of RM5 billion per annum as well as bring about quality improvements that are of a large magnitude.

3.4 DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENT OF THE FUEL PRICE

KEADILAN proposes to review the downward adjustment of fuel price so as to reduce growth constraint pressure brought about by the government’s mismanaged and excessive fuel price hike other inflationary factors in the economy. The downward adjustment will mean lower fuel costs for businesses which will enable them to expand production. Further growth will also come about as a result of the increase in disposable income of the average Malaysian arising from reduced energy related prices. The impact of the oil price adjustment will also result in a stimulation of consumer spending and help moderate the current slowdown in consumer credit growth.

With our proposed downward adjustment of the fuel price, our aim is to reduce inflation to less than 5 percent

3.5 STRATEGIC PUBLIC TRANSPORT INITIATIVES

KEADILAN considers public transportation infrastructure a priority for investment, but also formajor systemic reform. KEADILAN will improve the quality of the nation’s transportation infrastructure by optimizing the development expenditure for the sector. Key attention will be given to the 3 highly congested urban centres – the Klang Valley, Penang Island and Johor Bahru. A blueprint for a “Klang Valley Circle” rail network will also be developed to improve inter-suburban connectivity, by-passing the congested Kuala Lumpur city centre.

KEADILAN also supports a policy to strengthen and link up the public transportation network nationwide in a manner that revisits Malaysia’s “old” cities such as Ipoh, Seremban, Melaka, and Alor Star and links them with fast rail service. KEADILAN projects that just Singapore’s population of 3 million tourists, with income 4 to 5 times that of Malaysia, would be introduce to innumerable new tourism spending opportunities if from Singapore they can take a train to Melaka in 45 minutes or Ipoh in 1.5 hours. This inflow of high income individuals would have marked impact on local economies and foreign reservesIn addition, the interconnectivity of these cities will foster greater trade and information flows with affect domestic consumption and investment. Finally, improved rail transport opens the path to future re-developments of these older cities in the medium term with less infrastructure costs as compared to current investment in new city-creating mega projects. KEADILAN believes Malaysians must think of the public transportation network of the future in terms of the flow of people, investment and business -- not simple mega-projects for funds to be siphoned off from the economy.

3.6 CURBING PUBLIC EXPENDTURE ON MEGA-PROJECTS

Historically, the BN government has a notorious track record for wasteful and extravagant mega projects that cannot justify close scrutiny. In addition to the aborted RM1.13 billion crooked scenic bridge, a RM9 billion undersea cable-tracking project has also been proposed and there is now a proposal for a RM15.2 billion high speed broadband (HSBB) project to wire up 2.2 million so-called high economic impact premises.

Not many details have been released about the HSBB project since the plan was initially made known by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last September. If this latest example of a mega project is approved, the expenditure will cost the public approximately RM7,000 to wire each premise – a totally unjustifiable sum.

To prevent the likelihood of financially irresponsible mega projects burdening the public, KEADILAN proposes for the current budget year and the remainder of the 9th Malaysia Plan period to undertake a rigorous priority review of all proposed mega projects costing RM1B upwards and to assess their socio-economic viability, affordability and intended impact on national development. This review will be conducted as transparently as possible and will include the use of independent and credible professional bodies and individuals.

The strict adherence to higher standards of fiscal prudence by the KEADILAN government – beginning initially with mega projects and to be extended to all new projects - will prevent public funds from being wasted or hijacked by political cronies of the BN. It will also enable the savings to be channeled towards programmes bringing higher returns for the public, including those aimed at helping the low and middle income earners.

3.7 REFORMING THE CURRENT SYSTEM OF AWARD of AP’s

KEADILAN proposes as a part of our new source of revenue as well as to negate the rent-seeking culture, the approved permits (APs) currently issued for free by the Ministry of International Trade & Industry to a select pool of “businessman” shall be auctioned to the highest bidders. Based on an estimated 70,000 APs issued per annum and a conservative RM25,000 market price, the auction will provide an additional RM1.75 billion to the government coffers.

3.8 MEDIUM TERM PROPOSALS

KEADILAN’s medium term proposals are focused on the policies that KEADILAN believes must be changed as well as on the new policies that need to be put in place in order to raise the Malaysian economy to a higher level and to realize the full potential of Malaysia’s diverse human resources and geographical regions. These proposals are also based on the removal or liberalization of archaic or self defeating entry barriers that stand in the way of ensuring sustainability and improving growth in the various sectors to benefit all Malaysians. Finally, they are based on taking the country’s economy forward in meeting the unprecedented challenge from other regional and global players and in coping with the more uncertain and rapidly changing external economic environment.