cyberprince

2007-12-03T06:03:00.000-08:00

An Open Letter To Malaysian Indians

http://escapefromindia.wordpress.com
December 3, 2007

I stand against any discrimination of any human being in any parts of the world. But when it comes to HINDRAF outrage in Malaysia there are some questions one should ask to Hindu Action Right Force officials. As an Indian, I believe ethnic Indians in Malaysia, still enjoy more rights than Indian citizens who is living in their own country. Since the living standards of Malaysia is far higher than India, I agree that Hindus in Malaysia need a better deal. As a community with migrant history, majority of Malaysian Indians are Hindus while it also include a minuscule Muslim, Christian and Sikh presence. The so called “Indian” heritage in Malaysia cannot be limited with Hindu minority in Malaysia.

Unlike Malaysia, discrimination against Indian citizens in India have a multitude of factors. One is the religion and the other is caste factor. After the British left in August 1947, the higher caste Hindu elite, effectively ruling the nation for the past sixty years. According to the Indian census of 2001, the total population was 1.028 billion. Hindus numbered 827 million or 80.5 %. About 25 per cent, or 24 million, of those Hindus belong to Scheduled Castes and Tribes. About 40 per cent, or 400 million, are “Other Backward Castes”. 15 per cent belonging to the three upper castes. Dominant group of Hindu nationalists come from the three upper castes who constitute about 10 per cent of the total Indian population but controle the civil service and economy. And thus the caste system virtually leaves lower caste Hindus to an oppressed minority.

Considering the media manipulation techniques, time line and nature of the hindu outrage in Malaysia, there are many reasons to believe that HINDRAF and Uthay Kumar is closely associated with RSS, a Hindu Taliban who already spoiled India’s social fabric with fascist propaganda accompanied with communal riots.

RSS is the Hindu-supremacist organization that has fueled a rise in anti-Dalit, anti-Muslim, anti-Christian and anti-Sikh violence. The former ruling party, the BJP is the political arm of the RSS and helped fascism to spread across civil, defence and educational steams of the society. The caste system and the fact that the government machinery is basically controlled by this Hindu-centric group means that violence against victims largely goes unpunished.Let us look at the statistics of Indian Muslims in India it self. Unlike Malaysian Hindus, Indian Muslims have not arrived from outside.

Recently, Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee report admitted that 138 Million Muslims across India are severely under-represented in government employment, including PSUs. Ironically, West Bengal, a communist ruled state reported 0 (zero) percent of Muslims in higher positions in its PSUs. A Muslim child attends school for three years and four months, compared to the national average of four years. Less than two percent of the students at the elite Indian Institutes of Technology comprise of the Muslim community. Malaysian Indians are not the original inhabitants of the country, Indian Muslims are from the same racial and ethnic groups as their compatriots. And still they face discrimination in the world’s largest democracy called India.

Let us not forget that, Malaysia’s ethnic Indians are mostly from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, an impoverished land lagging with illiteracy and feudalism. The poverty in Tamil Nadu which is mostly caused by traditional hindu caste system compelled them to move Sri Lanka, where they are now in war with their own hosts, Sinhalese. Do Tamil community in Malaysia want to do the same rebellion to their own host in Malaysia, the Malays? Indian workers form the third largest foreign work force in Malaysia, with 140,000 of them seeking out a living there. Most of this migrant workers are the relatives of Malaysian Indians who already hold a Malaysian Passport. Why do they bring them to Malaysia? Here are some Indian facts:

India accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s poor and its fiscal deficit is one of the highest in the world. Almost half of Indian women are still illiterate; about 40 million primary school-age children are not in school.

About 20 per cent, or 200 million, are religious minorities. Muslims constitutes 138 million or 13.4 per cent, Christians 24 million or 2.3 per cent, Sikhs 19 million or 2 per cent, Buddhists 8 million or 0.8 per cent and Jains 4 million or 0.4 per cent. “Others” numbered 6.6 million or 0.6 per cent. Christians provided education at all levels to other religious groups without prosyletisation. According to Tahir Mahmoud, an Indian Muslim journalist, “The 2.3 per cent Christians in the Indian population cater to 20 per cent of all primary education in India, 10 per cent of all the literacy and community health care, 25 per cent of all existing care of destitutes and orphans, 30 per cent of all the handicapped, lepers and AIDS patients etc”.

According to the National Human Rights Commission, as on 30th June 2004, there were 3,32,112 prisoners in Indian jails out of which 2,39,146 were under trial prisoners. That’s more than 70 per cent. India’s jails hold a disproportionate number of the country’s minority Muslims, a sign of discrimination and alienation from the Hindu majority.

Hindu upper caste men, who constitute just eight per cent of the total population of India, hold over 70 per cent of the key posts across newsrooms in the country. The so-called twice-born Hindu castes dominate 85 per cent key posts despite constituting just 16 per cent of the total population, while the intermediary castes a represent meagre three per cent.

The Hindu Other Backward Class groups, who are 34 per cent of the total population, have a share of just four per cent in the Indian newsrooms. Muslims, who constitute about 13 per cent of the population, control just 4 per cent top posts while Christians and Sikhs have a slightly better representation. But the worst scenario emerges in the case of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) : Based on CSDS study, 2006 India’s subordinate courts have a backlog of over 22 million cases while the 21 high courts and the Supreme Court have 3.5 million and 32,000 pending cases (2006) There were 13 judges for every million people. Merely 7.8% Muslim employees working in Judicial sector of 12 high-Muslim population states surveyed by Sachar Panel.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, India has the highest number of street children in the world. There are no exact numbers, but conservative estimates suggest that about 18 million children live and labor in the streets of India’s urban centers. Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta each have an estimated street-children population of over 100,000.

The level of child malnutrition in India is among the highest in the world, higher even than some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, says the report ‘Extent of Chronic Hunger and Malnutrition in India’ by the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food (2006)

When it comes to Human Rights issues in India, it is not ratified the Convention against Torture, its citizens do not have the opportunity to find recourse in remedies that are available under international law. The victims are trapped with the local Hindu caste system, which in every aspect militates against their rights. Many victims conclude that a justice system accessible to the poor of the land does not exist at all.

Do the ethnic Indians in Malaysia want to come back to India? I bet none of them will come back to this sinking ship called, India. Instead of asking for more rights they should come out of their caste system and narrowness. Let them learn to respect their hosts, the Malaysian people who provided better than their “Shining India”. Only such an attitude will bring them prosperity. Let them not forget the millions of impoverished Indian citizens living in their own country.

Remember that India cannot offer you food or job except some useless political support which merely aired in the media.

http://escapefromindia.wordpress.com
December 3, 2007

2007-10-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

Mr Lee Suffers A Case
Of Prolonged Gila Talak

A Kadir Jasin

THIS is addressed to Singaporeans. Malaysians and others are, of course, not prohibited from reading and responding, but the priority is to Singaporeans.

I mean those Singaporeans who are members and supporters of the People’s Action Party. Yes, those of you who gave 66.6 per cent of the votes to the PAP in last year’s general elections. Thank to your votes, the PAP won 45 out of 47 contested seats.

And those of you who are not members and supporters of the PAP. Yes I mean those of you who gave 33.3 per cent of the votes to the Oppositions. Thanks to your votes, the Oppositions won two out of 47 contested seats.

Even those who are neither members nor supporters of the PAP and the Opposition are also invited.

By this I mean the ordinary Singaporeans who loyally serve in the National Service and who believe that Malaysia is the number one threat.

The ordinary Singaporeans who enjoy crossing the congested Causeway to buy cheap petrol in Johor Baru – cheap by way of exchange rates as well as purchasing power parity (PPP).

And I am not discriminating against those fiendish Singapore drivers who charge down the North-South Highway in their super fast Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type C as if traffic rules and regulations don’t apply to them.

To them, I say thank you for visiting Johor Baru, which according their great Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was the “murder capital of the world”.

Thank you for visiting Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi. Temenggor Dam and Kuantan. Thank you for patronising the famous Port Klang "pork bone tea" aka bak kut teh restaurants.

Most of all, I am thanking you for not swallowing hook line and sinker what Mr Lee tells you about big bad Malaysia. Had they listened to him, they would not have come to Malaysia.

Malaysia may not practice the Singapore version of meritocracy. Then again, even in Singapore not everybody enjoys the same degree of equality. Some are more equal than others. But I won’t dwell into that because I know you know your country better.

I know you keep coming to Malaysia because you feel pretty much at home in Malaysia. The bak kut teh sellers are not the “favoured” Bumiputeras. They are the Teochews, Hokkiens and Cantonese. Of course they are Malaysian Teochews, Hokkiens and Cantonese.

Eating and selling pork are haram for the Muslims. So the Bumiputera, the majority of whom are Muslims, are automatically excluded from that business. So is gaming and alcoholic beverages.

Pig rearing, gambling and alcoholic beverages are important business activities in Malaysia. Pig farmers are so powerful that they could force the Malacca state authorities to back down.

Malaysian leaders may, from time to time, proclaim Malaysia to be an Islamic state. But that does not stop the government from issuing lucrative gambling franchises to Malaysian Chinese and Indians.

They are so big and successful that they are now setting up shops in Singapore. Soon you no longer have to travel to Genting to gamble. You can just have to walk across to Sentosa Island.

When you’re tired of racing your Mercedes S Class and BMW 6-Series on our highways and have had enough of the Klang bah kut teh, you know you can check into one of our many world-class hotels, which incidentally are very rarely owned by the “favoured” Bumiputera.

So why am I saying this and why am I being extremely nice to you? Because I want you be totally aware that not everything Mr Lee tells you about Malaysia is true.

Most off all, I want to assure you that whatever we do – good, bad or indifferent – is not intended to coax Mr Lee to rejoin Malaysia.

We have no intention of inviting Singapore back nor are we about to consider remarrying Singapore even if Mr Lee is suffering an extended case of “gila talak” – longing to be reunited with one’s former husband or wife.

After 42 years of divorce, we have grown fond of living without Mr Lee as our strange bedfellow. Two years of living Mr Lee is quite enough.

I am sure very few of you would want Singapore to be part of Malaysia again. Singapore is wealthy. It’s clean and is doing well. Why bother rejoining the poorer Malaysia?

Why should you want to lose the pleasure of going to a foreign country to buy cheap petrol, eat bah kut teh to your hearts’ contend and race your Mitsubishi Evolution X without the fear of losing your driving licences?

Please do me a favour. Please help Mr Lee overcome the “gila talak” syndrome and tell him to stop meddling in Malaysia's domestic affairs.

We don't need him to lecture us and he should accept the fact that he "lost" Malaysia way back in 1965.

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/index.php?itemid=9147

2007-10-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

Ahemm... (Now) 'I know
what you did last summer'

Jeff Ooi

December is summer for Australia, which lies in the southern hemisphere.

Last December, Johor -- the bastion of Umno -- had the worst floods since 1969, causing at least 17 deaths and damaging multi-million worth of laymen's properties and belongings.

Kota Tinggi, the constituency for Umno and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, was in deep waters coded Red Alert by the meteorological department.

Then, people were grumbling that our YBs were out of town, and the PM was engaged to open a nasi kandar shop in Perth, which was closed down swiftly months after.

The country was in remote control control mode, and Screenshots had a record of this.

Ten month had passed and only now do we know what our PM did last summer when Johor was in floods.

The testimony came from Datuk Seri Jean Todt, Datuk Michelle Yeoh's fiance, via The Star (Lifestyle, October 8, 2007):

“Sailing is something I need time for. Maybe in the future, I might go sailing in a boat. Last Christmas and during the New Year, I sailed on a boat with the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) in Australia and it was a great experience. I’m not an expert. I do follow the America’s Cup, but for me, racing cars is more exciting.”

From the mouth of Ferrari Boss... SOURCE: The Star (see PDF here)

Christmas 2006 and New Year Day 2007 coincided with the climax days of the Big Floods in Johor.

From money politics to moral politics, pardon the movie, now we know what you did last summer, Mr Prime Minister.

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/index.php?itemid=9088

2007-10-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

Branded Watch Shop Robber's
Photofit Released To Media

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- A photofit of the robber who robbed a watch shop selling branded watches on the first floor of Suria KL shopping complex at Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) on Friday was released to the media Sunday.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief SAC II Ku Chin Wah said the suspect in his late 30s, between five and six feet tall, thin, fair complexion with wrinkles, was clad in a dark blue shirt and white jeans.

"We release the photofit based on the footage of the closed-circuit television camera installed at KLCC.

"Findings of the suspect's thumbprints being analysed now will be known in a few days," he told reporters at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters.

Ku said the security guard who was shot in the stomach by the armed robber while making his escape after grabbing about 30 expensive watches was in stable condition at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

He said police were liaising with their Singapore counterpart in investigating the robbery as the robber's Hyundai Sonata getaway car bore a Singapore registration number plate.

Earlier, reporters were shown a CCTV footage of the suspect loitering around the outlet.

The footage showed the robber checking out the outlet's location from the escalator on the first floor before going down to the ground floor.

He then went up to the first floor and barged into the shop. The recording also showed the suspect walking briskly clutching a plastic bag with the loot.

It also showed a salesgirl chasing the robber.

In the 7pm heist, the robber had casually walked into the outlet on the pretext of a customer and told a salesgirl that he wanted to buy a Rolex watch.

He said he wanted to look at several trays of watches on display, each watch worth about RM20,000 to RM30,000.

However, most of the watches were recovered when the robber dropped 21 of them while running to his getaway car with an accomplice at the wheel.

Anyone with information on the robbery can contact the Dang Wangi district police headquarters at 03-20702222 or investigating officer ASP R. Anandan at 03-20766299 or 019-3227766 or SMS Ku at 012-8362224.

-- BERNAMA 14 Oktober 2007-10-15

Comment:

A Singapore Chinese involved in a robbery in Kuala Lumpur? This is interesting. Don’t you think so?

2007-10-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia

[http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/]

Article 32(1) of the Federal Constitution provides that there shall be a Supreme Head of the Federation to be called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. His Majesty shall take precedence over all persons in the Federation and shall not be liable to any proceedings whatsoever in any court except in the Special Court established under Part XV (Articles 182 and 183). The Constitution also provides that the Raja Permaisuri Agong shall take precedence next after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Present Agong: His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah

The Status and Powers of The Yang di-Pertuan Agong

Articles 32(1) and 32(2) of the Federal Constitution state that:

32. Supreme Head of the Federation, and his Consort

(1) There shall be a Supreme Head of the Federation, to be called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who shall take precedence over all persons in the Federation and shall not be liable to any proceedings whatsoever in any court except in the Special Court established under Part XV.

(2) The Consort of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (to be called the Raja Permaisuri Agong) shall take precedence next after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong over all other persons in the Federation.

Articles 182 and 183 of the Federal Constitution provide that:

182. The Special Court

(1) There shall be a court which shall be known as the Special Court and shall consist of the Chief Justice of the Federal Court, who shall be the Chairman, the Chief Judges of the High Courts, and two other persons who hold or have held office as judge of the Federal Court or High Court appointed by the Conference of Rulers.

(2) Any proceedings by or against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Ruler of a State in his personal capacity shall be brought in a Special Court established under Clause (1).

(3) The Special Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to try all offences committed in the Federation by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Ruler of a State and all civil cases by or against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Ruler of a State notwithstanding where the cause of action arose.

(4) The Special Court shall have the same jurisdiction and powers as are vested in the inferior courts, the High Court and the Federal Court by this Constitution or any federal law and shall have its registry in Kuala Lumpur.

(5) Until Parliament by law makes special provision to the contrary in respect of procedure (including the hearing of proceedings in camera) in civil or criminal cases and the law regulating evidence and proof in civil and criminal proceedings, the practice and procedure applicable in any proceedings in any inferior court, any High Court and the Federal Court shall apply in any proceedings in the Special Court.

(6) The proceedings in the Special Court shall be decided in accordance with the opinion of the majority of the members and its decision shall be final and conclusive and shall not be challenged or called in question in any court on any ground.

(7) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may, on the advice of the Chief Justice, make such rules as he may deem necessary or expedient to provide for the removal of any difficulty or anomaly whatsoever in any written law or in the carrying out of any function, the exercise of any power, the discharge of any duty, or the doing of any act, under any written law, that may be occasioned by this Article; and for that purpose such rules may make any modification, adaptation, alteration, change or amendment whatsoever to any written law.

183. No Action to be instituted against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or a Ruler except with the consent of the Attorney-General personally

No action, civil or criminal, shall be instituted against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Ruler of a State in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him in his personal capacity except with the consent of the Attorney-General personally.

The Position of The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (and the others in order of priority)

1. Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
2. Raja Permaisuri Agong.
3. Nine (9) Rulers and Acting Rulers.
4. Four (4) Yang Dipertua Negeri.
5. Former Raja Permaisuri Agong receiving Royal pension from the Federal Government.
6. Prime Minister.
7. Deputy Prime Minister.
7A. Courtesy - Heir Apparent (Tengku Mahkota/ Raja Muda).
8. Members of the Darjah Utama Seri Mahkota Negara (D.M.N.).
9. Members of the Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara (S.M.N.).
10. Members of the Seri Setia Mahkota (S.S.M.)
10A. Courtesy - 10A. The Four Dato Undang of Negeri Sembilan and Tengku Besar Tampin, Negeri Sembilan.
11. Chief Justice of the Federal Court.
12. President of the Senate.
13. Speaker of the House of Representatives.
14. Former Prime Ministers.
15. Former Deputy Prime Ministers.
16. Members of the Cabinet.
17. Secretary to the Cabinet Chief Secretary to the Government.
17A. Courtesy - Menteri Besar and Chief Ministers.
18. Attorney-General.
19. Chief of the Armed Forces Staff.
20. Inspector-General of Police.

Executive Functions (Article 39)

Although the Constitution (Article 39) accords the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with executive authority, subject to the provisions of any federal law and of the Second Schedule of the Constitution, Parliament may by law confer executive functions on other persons.

Except as otherwise provided for by the Constitution as regards his position and authority, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong usually acts in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or more specifically, of the Prime Minister, in the exercise of his functions. However, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is entitled to and at his request, any information concerning the government of the Federation which is available to the Cabinet.

Although the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is to act on the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister or after consultation with or on the recommendation of any person or body of persons (other than the Cabinet), His Majesty may act in his discretion in the performance of the three following functions, that is to say:

1. The appointment of a Prime Minister;

2. Consent or the withholding of consent to a request for the dissolution of Parliament;

3. The requisition of a meeting of the Conference of Rulers concerned solely with the privileges, position, honor and dignity of Their Royal Highnesses, and any actions at such a meeting.

The appointment of a person (a Member of Parliament) as the Prime Minister is based on his ability to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives. The appointment of members of the Cabinet and Deputy Ministers is made on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Articles 39 and 40 of the Federal Constitution state that:

39. Executive Authority of Federation

The executive authority of the Federation shall be vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and exercisable subject to the provision of any federal law and of the Second Schedule, by him or by the Cabinet or any Minister authorized by the Cabinet, but Parliament may by law confer executive functions on other persons.

40. Yang di-Pertuan Agong to act on advice

(1) In the exercise of his functions under this Constitution, or under federal law the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet, except as otherwise provided by this Constitution; but shall be entitled, at his request, to any information concerning the government which is available to the Cabinet.

(1A) In the exercise of his functions under this Constitution or federal law, where the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is to act in accordance with advice, on advice, or after considering advice, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall accept and act in accordance with that advice.

(2) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may act in his discretion in the performance of the following functions, that is to say:

(a) the appointment of a Prime Minister;

(b) the withholding of consent to a request for the dissolution of Parliament;

(c) the requisition of a meeting of the Conference of Rulers concerned solely with the privileges, position, honour and dignity of Their Royal Highnesses, and any action at such a meeting,

and in any other case mentioned in this Constitution.

(3) Federal law may make provision for requiring the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to act after consultation with or on the recommendation of any person or a body of persons other then the Cabinet to exercise any of his functions other than:

(a) functions exercisable in his discretion; and

(b) functions with respect to the exercise of which provision is made in any other Article."

Judicial Functions

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong also plays a significant role in the judiciary. It is the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint the Chief Justice of the Federal Court, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Judge of Malaya, the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, the judges of the Federal Court, the judges of the Court of Appeal and the judges of the High Courts on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Conference of Rulers. His Majesty may also appoint any person qualified as a judge of the High Court to be a Judicial Commissioner (who has the powers of a High Court judge) on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Federal Court (a transitional stage before being appointed as a High Court Judge.)

Apart from the abovementioned powers, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may also extend the tenure of office of a judge who has reached the age of 65 years. However, such extension shall not exceed six months after he has attained the age of 65 years. A judge of the Federal Court may resign his office at any time by writing under his hand addressed to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

On the matter of removing a judge from office, the Federal Constitution provides that the Prime Minister or the Chief Justice of the Federal Court after consulting the Prime Minister may make representations to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that a judge of the Federal Court ought to be removed from office on the grounds of breach of any provisions of the code of ethics or on the grounds of inability to discharge the functions of his office owing to infirmity of body or mind or any other cause. After receiving such representations the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint a tribunal and may on the recommendation of the tribunal remove the judge from office.

It should be noted that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is not vested with the authority to remove a judge from office of his own free will. Only after receiving representations made by the Prime Minister or the Chief Justice of the Federal Court and on the recommendation of the tribunal, may the Yang di-Pertuan Agong remove a judge from office.

However, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may act in his discretion to either accept or reject the recommendation of the tribunal to remove a judge or to allow the judge to continue in his office.

POWERS TO PROCLAIM EMERGENCY

His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong having been satisfied, in accordance with Article 150 of the Federal Constitution, that a grave state of emergency exists threatening the security, life, economy or public order in the Federation or in the States, may issue a Proclamation of Emergency.

Article 150 of the Constitution provides that:

150. Proclamation of Emergency

(1) If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof is threatened, he may issue a Proclamation of Emergency making therein a declaration to that effect.

(2) A Proclamation of Emergency under Clause (1) may be issued before the actual occurrence of the event which threatens the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that there is imminent danger of the occurrence of such event.

(2a) The power conferred on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by this Article shall include the power to issue different Proclamations on different grounds or in different circumstances, whether or not there is a Proclamation or Proclamations already issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Clause (1) and such Proclamation or Proclamations are in operation.

(2b) If at any time while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, except when both Houses of Parliament are sitting concurrently, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that certain circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action, he may promulgate such ordinances as circumstances appear to him to require.

(2c) An ordinance promulgated under Clause (2b) shall have the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament, and shall continue in full force and effect as if it is an Act of Parliament until it is revoked or annulled under Clause (3) or until it lapses under Clause (7); and the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to promulgate ordinances under Clause (2b) may be exercised in relation to any matter with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws, regardless of the legislative or other procedures required to be followed, or the proportion of the total votes required to be had, in either House of Parliament.

(3) A Proclamation of Emergency and any ordinance promulgated under Clause (2b) shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament and, if not sooner revoked, shall cease to have effect if resolutions are passed by both Houses annulling such Proclamation or ordinance, but without prejudice to anything previously done by virtue thereof or to the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to issue a new Proclamation under Clause (1) or promulgate any ordinance under Clause (2b).

(4) While a Proclamation of Emergency is in force the executive authority of the Federation shall, notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, extend to any matter within the legislative authority of a State and to the giving of directions to the Government of a State or to any officer of authority thereof.

(5) Subject to Clause (6a), while a Proclamation of Emergency is in force, Parliament may, notwithstanding anything in this Constitution make laws with respect to any matter, if it appears to Parliament that the law is required by reason of the emergency; and Article 79 shall not apply to a Bill for such a law or an amendment to such a Bill, nor shall any provision of this Constitution or of any written law which requires any consent or concurrence to the passing of a law or any consultation with respect thereto, or which restricts the coming into force of a law after it is passed or the presentation of a Bill to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for his assent.

(6) Subject to Clause (6a), no provision of any ordinance promulgated under this Article, and no provision of any Act of Parliament which is passed while a Proclamation of Emergency is in force and which declares that the law appears to Parliament to be required by reason of the emergency, shall be invalid on the ground of inconsistency with any provision of this Constitution.

(6a) Clause (5) shall not extend the powers of Parliament with respect to any matter of Islamic law or the custom of the Malays, or with respect to any matter of native law or customs in the State of Sabah or Sarawak; nor shall Clause (6) validate any provision inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution relating to any such matter or relating to religion, citizenship, or language.

(7) At the expiration of a period of six months beginning with the date on which a Proclamation of Emergency ceases to be in force, any ordinance promulgated in pursuance of the Proclamation and, to the extent that it could not have been validly made but for this Article, any law made while the Proclamation was in force, shall cease to have effect, except as to things done or omitted to be done before the expiration of that period.

(8) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution:

(a) the satisfaction of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong mentioned in Clause (1) and Clause (2b) shall be final and conclusive and shall not be challenged or called in question in any court on any ground; and

(b) no court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or determine any application, question or proceeding, in whatever form, on any ground, regarding the validity of

(i) a Proclamation under Clause (1) or of a declaration made in such Proclamation to the effect stated in Clause (1);

(ii) the continued operation of such Proclamation;

(iii) any ordinance promulgated under Clause (2b); or

(iv) the continuation in force of any such ordinance.

(9) For the purpose of this Article the Houses of Parliament shall be regarded as sitting only if the members of each House are respectively assembled together and carrying out the business of the House.

OTHER IMPORTANT DUTIES OF THE YANG DI-PERTUAN AGONG

Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces

His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the Supreme Commander Of the Armed Forces as provided for in Article 41 as follows:

41. Supreme command of the armed forces

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the Supreme Commander of the armed forces of the Federation.

Power of Pardon

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is also seen as the fountain of mercy. He is vested with the power to grant pardons and reprieves in respect of offences triable by court-martial and all offences committed in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan. This is provided for in Article 42 of the Federal Constitution.

The Special Position of the Malays and Natives of Sabah and Sarawak

One of the important duties of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. This is clearly stated in Article 153 (1) of the Federal Constitution as follows:

153. Reservation of quotas in respect of services, permits etc., for Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak

(1) It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/corridors.php?itemid=8423

2007-09-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Petition to The Agong

Malaysia Today is going to send a Peoples’ Petition (Petisyen Rakyat) to His Highness The Yang di-Pertuan Agong. I really do not need to go into the host of reasons for the dire need of this Peoples’ Petition. Amongst some of the issues which are of concern to the Malaysian people are:

1) The recent shooting of two people in Kuala Terengganu.

2) The reported gang clashes in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johore over the 50th Merdeka celebration holiday that resulted in a few deaths.

3) The Auditor-General’s report that revealed gross and blatant abuses and transgressions in the management of the peoples’ money involving billions of Ringgit.

4) The state of affairs in the Royal Malaysian Police where even the former IGP Tun Hanif Omar admitted that corruption is a serious problem.

5) The state of affairs in the judiciary where senior judges have been bypassed in many promotion exercises in favour of candidates with blemished records.

6) The breakdown of law and order and allegations by serving police officers, who have signed Statutory Declarations or Affidavits, that the organised crime syndicate is running the police force.

7) The dangerous and alarming racial and religious divide.

8) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s implication in the Oil-for Food scandal.
9) The need for electoral reforms as proven by the incidences of gerrymandering and phantom voters in the many general elections before this and which will continue and prevail in the next general election.

Our concern is not confined to just these nine issues above but suffice that these nine demonstrate the urgent need for this petition. The actual text of the petition will be properly worded to meet the protocol requirements of a letter that is addressed to The Agong but the spirit of the petition will encompass the above.

If you support this Peoples’ Petition, please sign it in the blog below. You need not add any comments. In fact, we do not need your comments. Just add your name to it. If you do not support it then no need to do anything.

(Those not registered in Malaysia Today but would like to sign the petition just send me an e-mailed at raja.petra.kamarudin@gmail.com with the message "Signed" and your name.)

2007-09-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

Mahathir Cheerful
After Successful
Coronary By-Pass Surgery

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's condition is improving after successfully undergoing a five-hour coronary by-pass operation at the National Heart Institute (IJN) on Monday.

The 81-year-old former prime minister regained consciousness yesterday but is still in the intensive care unit (ICU) for post-operative observation.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin who visited him this morning said Dr Mahathir's wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Ali, told him that her husband was looking cheerful.

"I only managed to speak to Dr Siti Hasmah outside. Tun (Mahathir) was resting in the ward. She also looked very cheerful and spirited.

"We will continue to pray for Tun's speedy recovery," he said.

It was the second by-pass surgery for Dr Mahathir after the first one on Jan 24 1989.

Meanwhile, an IJN statement here says that Dr Mahathir has made significant progress and has been breathing on his own without respiratory support since 2.10pm yesterday.

"He is fully conscious, alert and able to converse with his family members. He is currently undergoing intensive physiotherapy to optimise his respiratory functions.

"In addition, Dr Mahathir is also doing light exercises of his arms and legs. His vital parameters continue to be stable," it says.

However, he will remain warded at the ICU for continuous observation.

The statement says that Dr Mahathir has been started on a liquid diet since this morning and after 48 hours of close monitoring by doctors and nurses at the ICU, the IJN is satisfied with his progress.

However, visitors are still confined to immediate family members.

-- BERNAMA

2007-09-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

ATM Must Update Strategies
To Check Foreign Threats - Agong

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Thursday urged the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) to be sensitive to global challenges by updating and realigning its strategies.

He said failure by ATM in planning suitable strategies could expose the nation to threats from foreign elements.

"Threats against the nation do not only come in the form of military invasion but also via communication, social and culture," he said at a royal parade and presentation of appointment letters to 220 cadet officers at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional here today.

The Agong said in planning suitable strategies, the ATM personnel should be equipped not only with military know-how but also all disciplines of knowledge.

He said over-dependent on foreign powers had led to the collapse of several countries adding it should serve as a lesson to Malaysians who should strive to protect the sovereignty.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, ATM Chief, Jen Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Zainal and Chiefs of the Royal Malaysian Army, RMN and RMAF.

-- Bernama

2007-09-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

IJN Media Statement:
Mahathir Remains Stable

Institut Jantung Negara, 5 September, 2007: YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad remains stable following close overnight observation by doctors and nurses at the Intensive Care Unit of Institut Jantung Negara.

Doctors are happy with his rate of progress which is as expected in post-bypass surgery. All his vital parameters, thus far, are also stable as anticipated.

Tun Dr Mahathir is still however, within the crucial intensive observation period and will continue to be warded at the ICU.

IJN will continue to issue updates as and when there is significant change in Tun Dr Mahathir’s condition. Visitations continue to be confined to immediate family members only.

2007-09-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

Attention Now On Second Phase
Says Mukhriz

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- The attention now was on the second phase (post-surgery) for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's recovery and the family hoped it would go smoothly and safely, said his son Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Mukhriz, the fifth child of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 81, who underwent a successful second coronary bypass surgery at the National Heart Institute here Tuesday, said the doctors gave 48 hours for Dr Mahathir to regain consciousness and get past the critical stage.

"This recovery phase is a "lifeline" for dad, because anything can happen during this time. So we need to pray harder and give special care and attention for him to pass this second test.

"The doctors said my father's situation is stable and that his heartbeat and pulse are normal. Tun (dad) can regain consciousness any time, we will keep the media informed of developments from time to time," he told reporters when met at the hospital's lobby Tuesday night.

Mukhriz, 43, also said that his mother Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali was very thankful to all Malaysians for their prayers and well wishes that this surgery would go smoothly.

He said Siti Hasmah was deeply touched by the SMS messages and e-mails of support the family received from Malaysians of all walks of life.

"She was so delighted when I showed her the SMSs and e-mails. Our family is very thankful to everyone for their concern," said Mukhriz, who is also an Umno Youth executive council member and chairman of its International Relations and Non-governmental Organisations Bureau.

He added that the doctors would not allow anyone to visit Dr Mahathir during this period as he needed a lot of rest and had to be monitored closely.

Dr Mahathir underwent his first coronary bypass operation on Jan 24, 1989 at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

-- BERNAMA

2007-09-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

840-Million-Ringgit Rumour?

Many believe Malaysia Today thrives on rumours. Actually we don’t. Malaysia Today depends on Deep Throats and we trust only reliable Deep Throats. If we were to publish every unquantifiable report which the government would classify as rumours then there would be much more which Malaysia Today reports. For example, while we all know that Abdullah handed RM600 million to 191 Umno Divisions last year, and this is based on letters and Minutes of Meetings so this is no rumour, there is this story that Singapore gave Khairy Jamaluddin RM840 million which was handed to the Governor of Melaka so that he could buy off all the Cabinet Ministers and Members of the Umno Supreme Council.

Now, there are no documents to prove this other than the testimony of one high level Umno official who obtained this information from an operative of a foreign intelligence agency who followed the money trail from Singapore to Australia and which finally ended in Malaysia. The story related by this particular high level Umno official is as follows:

Tun Dr Mahathir had announced his resignation during the mid-2002 Umno General Assembly. Of course no one noticed the then Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi breaking out into a smile because most, if not all, were focused on Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz rushing to the podium screaming and breaking her high heel shoes in the process. Abdullah rapidly regained his composure and did what was expected of him -- demonstrate shock -- while quickly taking charge of the highly emotional situation. Mahathir was ushered into the backroom, and after a short lapse which left the 2,500 or so delegates in the hall in an utter state of confusion, Abdullah re-emerged to announce that the Umno Supreme Council had successfully persuaded Mahathir to delay his resignation until the following year.

Not long after that Mahathir went on leave for two months and this created concern that the two months break would enable him to reflect on his mistake of suddenly resigning and he might return home from his leave to announce he had changed his mind about resigning. To pre-empt the possibility that Mahathir may retract his resignation, the Umno Supreme Council and Cabinet Members needed to be bought off. But Abdullah did not have the money yet at that time to fund this. So Khairy was sent to Singapore to negotiate with the powers-that-be there to advance them the RM840 million that would be required to fund the operation. In return, Malaysia would help Singapore out of its predicament of shortage of land. Firstly, Malaysia would sell Singapore the sand it needs for the land reclamation exercise that will expand Singapore to two and a half times its present land area. Secondly, Singapore would annex part of Johor, though not directly like Province Wellesley was annexed to Penang, but indirectly by creating the South Johor Economic Region which in reality would be the North Singapore Economic Region; now of course called the Iskandar Development Region.

Armed with this RM840 million, says the high level Umno guy who claims he obtained the information from the foreign intelligence agency operative, the Cabinet Members and Umno Supreme Council Members were handsomely rewarded. The plan was, in the event Mahathir changes his mind about resigning, then a 2 September 1998 Anwar Ibrahim ouster would be executed. It seems, according to this same source, Daim Zainuddin himself was tasked with the job of delivering the message to Mahathir that he changes his mind at his own peril. At that point of time Mahathir realised that a very clever coup had been launched and it is clever in the sense that it is being made to look like it was Mahathir who bailed out and not that he is being pushed out.

Now do we understand why Mahathir is bitterly opposed to the sale of sand to Singapore, the IDR, and many more issues all related to Singapore? Mahathir realised too late that Singapore financed his exit and as repayment to Singapore Abdullah now has to do the bidding of this Island State.

As I said though, Malaysia Today can prove that Abdullah used RM600 million of the taxpayers’ money to bribe the 191 Umno Divisions to block Mahathir in the Umno General Assembly last year. The RM840 million from Singapore to buy off the Cabinet Members and Umno Supreme Council Members, however, is based on hearsay from a high level Umno official who in turn obtained this piece of information from a foreign intelligence agency operative. In the absence of tangible evidence, Malaysia Today would have no choice but to treat this story as just one more rumour amongst thousands of other rumours that Malaysia in inundated with. And in spite of the fact that in the end 90% of rumours are invariably proven as fact, we would like to retain the classification of this story as rumour until such a time it is proven otherwise.

Our Deep Throat assures me that this is no mere speculation or rumour and that he trusts this foreign intelligence agency operative friend of his whom he has known for decades. He further explains that they followed the money trail because at the time when it first surfaced in Australia the West was suffering from ‘911 Fever’ and were on the lookout for illegal funds being channelled to Al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist groups. Their first suspicion was that this was one such Islamic terrorist funding but when they followed the trail to Malaysia they discovered that the money went to Umno rather than Al Qaeda or other similar Islamic terrorist groups.

Chances are this story will eventually be filed in the 10% rumour-confirmed-rumour section. But then it may just be that in time this will be transferred to the 90% rumour-proven-fact category. I suppose time will tell. Anyway, it makes one wonder since Mahathir is up in arms about the Singapore issue and he suffered three heart attacks over the last one year because of this stress could it be that the Grand Old Man of Malaysian politics knows something the rest of us do not?

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/corridors.php?itemid=7793

2007-09-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

A Successful Bypass Surgery:
Tun Mahathir Now In ICU

MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Institut Jantung Negara, 4 September... YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad has successfully undergone coronary bypass surgery at the Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) today.

Currently Tun Dr Mahathir is warded at the Intensive Care Unit of the IJN where his condition will be observed for the next few days as is routine in post-bypass surgery. The next 48-hours is the crucial period in his post operative care and hence he will be under close observation in Intensive Care Unit by a team of doctors and nurses. Overnight, he will be fully sedated.

Earlier, Tun Dr Mahathir was taken into the Operation Theatre Complex at 8.45am where immediate family members were allowed to see him before he was brought into the Operating Theatre. The operation commenced at 9.40am and was completed at 3.05pm. He was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at 3.30pm.

Doctors are happy that the procedure progressed as anticipated and his vital parameters thus far are stable.

Tun Dr Mahathir was operated on by a panel of surgeons led by Tan Sri Dr Yahya Awang. The other members of the surgical team are Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the Mayo Clinic, Prof Dr Hartzell Schaff, Dato Dr Rozali Wathooth, Dato Dr Azhari Yakub, Dato Dr Venugopal Balchand and Dr Mohamed Ezani Mohd Taib.

The anaesthetic team led by Dato Dr Mohd Hassan Mohd Ariff included Dr Sharifah Suraya Syed Tahir, Dato Dr Syed Abdul Aziz Syed Zain and Dr Nor Azlina Abdul Jalil.

The panel of doctors is headed by IJN’s Medical Director, YBhg Dato Seri Dr. Robaayah Zambahari and includes consultant nephrologists Dato Dr Zaki Morad Mohd Zaher, Dr Ghazali Ahmad and consultant gastroenterologist, Dr S Ganeshanathan.

Tun Dr Mahathir had been admitted to Institut Jantung Negara on Sunday for the elective coronary bypass surgery.

IJN will continue to issue updates as and when there is significant change in Tun Dr Mahathir’s condition. Doctors have also advised against Tun Dr Mahathir receiving visitors apart from immediate family members.

2007-09-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Dr Mahathir Operated On At 9.30am
Says His Special Officer

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Bernama) -- Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad underwent his second coronary bypass surgery at the National Heart Institute (IJN) here at 9.30am today.

The operation by a team headed by his former cardiac surgeon, Tan Sri Dr Yahya Awang, is expected to take four to six hours, his special officer Sufi Yusoff told Bernama.

He said Dr Mahathir was wheeled into the operating theatre at 9am.Dr Mahathir, 81, underwent a coronary bypass operation at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital on Jan 24, 1989 following a heart attack.

Meanwhile, his daughter Marina in her blog, "RantingsbyMM", said the operation team would be assisted by Dr Hartzell Schaff, chief cardiac surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in the US."Dr Schaff has operated several times with Tan Sri Yahya at IJN before," said Marina.

She said that in December 2005, Dr Mahathir had a check-up by the IJN team led by its medical director, Datuk Seri Dr Robaayah Zambahari, who is currently heading the panel of doctors attending to Dr Mahathir, and the decision then was that he did not need surgery again."

However, after three episodes in fairly quick succession since, this decision was relooked at. Hence two weeks ago, he went in for some tests and an angiogram to determine the next course of action after which this decision to redo the bypass was made."

At 82 (Dr Mahathir will turn 82 on Dec 20), he is probably the oldest person to have a redo in Malaysia although Dr Schaff has done plenty in the US," she said.

Dr Mahathir, who retired in October 2003 after 22 years in office, was admitted to IJN on Aug 18 for a routine check-up and underwent comprehensive cardiac tests. He was discharged two days later.

On May 14, he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Langkawi Hospital after complaining of breathing difficulty and was flown to Kuala Lumpur for further treatment at IJN the following day.

Five days later, he was transferred out of IJN's Coronary Care Unit (CCU) to the Bunga Raya ward and discharged on May 24.On Feb 11, Dr Mahathir was admitted to IJN for a day after a bout of flu.

The former prime minister was admitted to the institute for mild myocardial infarction (mild heart attack) on Nov 9 2006 and discharged on Nov 14.In 1999, Dr Mahathir was admitted to IJN to rest and undergo full treatment for a lung infection which he suffered after returning from performing the haj.-- BERNAMA

2007-08-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

An Appeal To The Malay Rulers

Ibnu Hakeem

Ke Bawah Duli Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Raja Melayu,

All temporal power in the land is derived through the will of the people.

After 50 years of being sidelined, and with the country now being hijacked by the corrupt, the mentally inept, the sleepy, and the cowards, the Malay Rulers are at last being recognised as that other necessary arm of power sharing in our Constitutional Monarchy. We have always called ourselves a Constitutional Monarchy based on the Westminster model of Parliamentary Democracy. Only now are we beginning to appreciate the value of the Malay Rulers.

The power to rule the country is divided between the Executive, the Parliament, the Judiciary and, last but not the least, the Malay Rulers. Due to the skewed nature of our election results (caused by our skewed voting behaviour) the Parliament has become completely subservient to the Executive. These two combined have totally overwhelmed the Judiciary. The end result is that the Executive is supreme.

But all this is possible only and only with the connivance of the population. The population expresses its willingness in this connivance through the ballot box. It is the will of the people that gives the Executive complete rubber stamp authority over Parliament as well as the Judiciary.

Until now, the will of the people ignored the role of the Malay Rulers. Until now, of course. The populace now recognises that it has created a monster and the populace has little chance of getting rid of this monster that it has helped create. Hence the will of the people is changing.

The will of the people is now reverting to the Malay Rulers to save the people from the clutches of the mentally inept, the corrupt, the sleepy, and the cowards. The country is most certainly going down the toilet.

Bus drivers will not be driving buses for the Merdeka weekend and the Hari Raya holidays because too many are on drugs, have serious traffic violations, or even have criminal records. A corrupt system kept them driving buses right off the road. When people start dying in large numbers, the breakdown in the system comes into the open.

The tuition teachers are on strike because a corrupt and inept system which makes a mockery of the schools made it necessary for tuition centres. Now, with the tuition centres being shut down, who is going to teach the children?

The Police are caught between a rock and a hard place. They do not know whether to work for the good of the people or for the crooks and the gangsters.

The Prime Minister has made Australia his second home. He has also gone overseas 83 times (and counting) in just three years in power. The Prime Minister's favorite phrase is 'I dont know'.

The Ministers and the high and mighty are robbing the country blind. The Iskandar Corridor is a fake. The Northern Development Corridor is another fake. The Prime Minister's son, son in law and their cronies are set to make billions from land development in these areas.

Vast amounts of tax payers savings in EPF, SOCSO, Tabung Haji, LTAT and in the GLC's are being used to speculate on the Stock Market which is now crashing. The Prime Minister who is also the Minister of Finance says 'I dont know'.

The Government machinery only works when enough money is used to grease its rusting wheels. Hawker permits, building approvals, college accreditations, drivers licenses, lorry permits can all be had for a price. Pay and you shall get.

Murder cases can be totally and completely mishandled if you can pay enough money. The Judges and the Public Prosecutors can all be bought.

The country is going to the dogs. It is a question of time before there is complete break down of law and order.

The Malay Rulers cannot wait for the situation to worsen further. The Malay Rulers cannot wait for the people to get down on their knees and beg the Malay Rulers to save them.

The Executive has no power. Parliament has no power. The Judiciary has no power. Power resides only with the people. Power resides where the people decide to place it. Right now, the people are turning to the Malay Rulers to intervene to save the country. The people will empower the Malay Rulers. The Malay Rulers cannot ignore the people at this most crucial time.

The Malay Rulers have it in their power to dismiss the Executive. There are sufficient provisions in the Federal Constitution to allow the Malay Rulers to fire the Executive. If the Malay Rulers choose to exercise this authority, the people will support the Malay Rulers.

If the Malay Rulers do not intervene now, the population will suffer. The country will be thrown into chaos. If that happens, history will ultimately question the role of the Malay Rulers.

The Prime Minister is not a leader. He is a monyet. He has to be replaced and all his henchmen thrown out.

To be born into real leadership is not a privilege. It is a commitment, a duty, and an awesome responsibility. That shall be the Daulat. To save the nation is paramount. The Malay Rulers must act decisively now.

Daulat Tuanku.

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/letters.php?itemid=7598

2007-08-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

US Planning Sale

Of Precision Bombs
To Singapore

WASHINGTON: The US Defence Department said on Friday it was tentatively planning to sell Singapore up to 84 precision-guided bombs for its F-15 fighter fleet as part of a military package deal valued at up to USS200 million (RM700 million).

Singapore has requested up to 28 Guided Bomb Unit-10 and 56 GBU-12 precision-guided munitions along with 126.000 20mm practice round cartridges, crew training in the US and related items, the department told Congress.

"Singapore needs these munitions to support its F-15 aircraft," the Pentagon's Defence Security Co-operation Agency said in a notice required by law for a potential arms sale.

It said the bombs would give Singapore, a staunch supporter of the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, "a credible defence capability while avoiding the col-lateral damage associated with conventional gravity munitions".

Singapore would be able to "develop mission-ready and experienced aircrew" for Boeing Co F-15s through the latest phase of longstanding pilot training in the United States, the notice said.

The notice does not mean a deal has been concluded.

Congress retains the power to reject a proposed sale but rarely does so. — Reuters

The New Sunday Times 26 August 2007

2007-08-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Diana WAS Pregnant When She Died

Mark Reynolds in London and Ian Sparks in Paris

An investigative journalist, formerly of the reputable Paris Match magazine, claims to have uncovered the explosive proof from archives at the hospital where the Princess was taken after the crash on the night of August 31 1997.

The document has previously remained hidden for 10 years due to “ethical and privacy” concerns, according to respected investigative reporter Chris Lafaille.

The journalist makes the shocking claims in a new book called Diana, the Inquiry They Never Published to coincide with the tenth anniversary of her death later this month.

He said: “It is a near certainty Diana was nine to 10 weeks pregnant at the time she died, according to papers from the Paris Public Hospitals archives.

“The document dated August 31 1997 was sent to the then minister of the interior Jean-Pierre Chevenement, with copies to health minister Bernard Kouchner, foreign affairs minister Hubert Vedrine and Paris police chief Martine Monteil.”

He added: “It has never been claimed or proved to be a fake.”

The revelation would explain why the Princess was illegally embalmed in the hours after her death. The process, carried out contrary to French law, meant any potential pregnancy test results would have been rendered invalid.

The pregnancy claims address one of the key questions set out by the coroner to be answered at the inquest into Diana’s death, which is due to begin in October. Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker recently listed 20 key issues he intends to explore during up to six months of hearings.

www.express.co.uk/posts/view/17094/Diana-was-nine-weeks-pregnant-when-she-died

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=7054

2007-08-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

More Singaporeans Willing
To Let Docs Pull The Plug

SINGAPORE, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Singaporeans are becoming more receptive to the idea of signing living wills indicating that they do not want their lives artificially prolonged should they become unconscious while terminally ill, local media reported.

In the first half of this year, a total of 1,429 people signed the Advance Medical Directive (AMD) to indicate their wishes should they come to such a stage, reported The Straits Times.

In the past two years, 3,486 signed the AMD, as compared to 2,512, who did so over an eight-year period since 1997.

Most of the people who signed the will to let the doctor pull the plug are in their 40s, 50s and 60s, the report said.

Singapore Health Ministry launched a series of campaign since early this year encouraging Singaporeans to make an AMD.

The report quoted Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan as saying that "because you don't talk about it, by the time patients are dying or not able to express themselves, the burden is left to family members."

As part of the campaign, the ministry distributed booklets in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil to all hospitals and clinics to explain about AMD.

Inside the booklet are AMD forms and a prepaid envelope to make it easier for Singaporeans to send the forms to the registrar of AMDs.

According to the Health Ministry, AMD is voluntary and is not euthanasia or "mercy killing", explaining that euthanasia is a deliberate ending of the life of a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease by unnatural means, such as the administration of lethal chemicals.

"An AMD acts as advanced instruction for your doctor not to prolong your life with extraordinary life-sustaining treatment, and to let the dying process take its natural course when you become terminally ill and unconscious," said the ministry in its website.

Singaporeans aged 21 and above can make an AMD by filling up a form, sign it in the presence of two witnesses, one of them a doctor, and send it to the registrar of AMDs.

The AMD form is free but a person may have to pay the doctor whom he or she needs to consult before signing the AMD.

- BERNAMA

Comment:

I wonder if LKY supports this campaign. Singaporeans should find out about it. Or, is it not possible that even the Health Minister himself dare not and has not sign the AMD? In Malaysia, we have a description for such an act – cakap tak serupa bikin!!!

2007-08-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Najib Takes Two-Week Leave

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is on a two-week leave from today.

His Press officer Tengku Sarifuddin Tengku Ahmad said, Najib and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, would be overseas.

"Datuk Seri Najib and Datin Seri left KLIA (KL International Airport) at 10am today," he told Bernama here, adding that the date of Najib's arrival home would be announced later.

-- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com.

Comment: A few weeks ago Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and wife left the country in a “very mysterious manner”. And now, his deputy and wife, also left the country to an undisclosed destination. Even “the date of Najib's arrival home would be announced later.” This is rather strange, isn’t it? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-07-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

Malaysia Threatens
Detention-Without-Trial
For Bloggers

The Nation

Malaysia has warned web bloggers not to write on "sensitive issues" relating to religion or politics, threatening to arrest wrongdoers using a security law that allows detention without trial, official reports said Wednesday.

Minister in the Prime Minister's department, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, said the government would not hesitate to use the draconian Internal Security Act, as well as the Sedition Act, against irresponsible bloggers. Both laws allow for indefinite detention.

"I want to issue a warning that the time has come for us to take action against them (bloggers).

"We have the right and we will do it. We have been very patient," Mohamad Nazri was quoted as saying by the official Bernama agency.

Mohamad Nazri's comments, which came in parliament late Tuesday, were in response to several articles on a local blog which the government claims contained disparaging comments against the king as well as Islam, the country's official religion.

http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.shtml

2007-07-28T04:01:00.000-07:00

Malaysia Cracks Down
On bloggers, Faces Criticism

IT News, Australia

A press freedom watchdog has criticised Malaysia after police in the mainly Muslim nation grilled an Internet-based writer over postings the ruling party called an insult to Islam and a bid to stir racial tension.

Scathing Internet criticism has embarrassed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government several times this year, whether over complaints of corruption among senior officials or scurrilous talk about the private lives of others.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists was concerned over the eight-hour interrogation of the founder of the Web site Malaysia Today over a complaint by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) that leads the ruling coalition.

"We call upon the Malaysian authorities to immediately cease harassment of Internet journalist Raja Petra Kamarudin," Joel Simon, executive director of the panel, said in a statement.

"Any new laws tailored to censor the Internet would represent a significant step backward for press freedom in Malaysia."

Raja Petra saw the campaign against bloggers as a bid to keep complaints about corruption out of the public eye at a time of growing expectations that Abdullah's government could hold early general elections, as soon as early 2008.

"Bloggers are begining to get a very wide readership and a lot of the things authorities would like hidden no longer stay hidden, so they find they are losing a lot of credibility."

Raja Petra said he was questioned about reader comments posted on his Web site, rather than his articles on corruption among police and government officials.

"The bottom line is, what you post in the comments section may get me sent to jail under the Sedition Act," he said.

http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.shtml

2007-07-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

A Comedy Of Errors

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Yes, guilty as charged. I have stolen this line from Shakespeare. But I can’t help it. What better way to describe the eight hours I spent under interrogation at the Dang Wangi Police Station yesterday other than it was a comedy of errors? By the way, before I go on, I have received more than a thousand phone calls, SMSes and e-mails from well-wishers and supporters. I have not found the time to reply to each and everyone yet so I hope you will forgive me for my rudeness. I am certainly touched by the concern and the messages of support posted in Malaysia Today’s blogs. From the bottom of my heart, and with sincere humility, I thank you all and promise you that the fight for more freedom in Malaysia shall continue come hell or high water.

I received a call from the police at 8.00am yesterday that they want to record my statement on the police report lodged by an ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name. I saw the phone call coming and was not only expecting it but was hoping that they would summon me for interrogation so that I can expose this entire episode for the farce that it really is. In short, I pushed their hand with the ‘See you in hell Muhamad son of Muhamad’ article so that they would be forced to make their move on me.

They wanted me in at 10 but I told them I can only make it at 11. I wanted to update the website first in case my visit to Dang Wangi ends up a two-week stay.

According to the press reports, the police report made against me was with regards to an article I wrote on 11 July 2007 that they regard as insulting the Agong and Islam. By the way, in case you did not know, Malaysia does not have a king so please stop referring to the Agong as King. Agong does not translate to king. Agong means supreme and it merely means he is the Supreme Ruler of the nine rulers, a sort of ‘first amongst equals’ situation.

I brought along two shopping bags of four copies of the Quran in Arabic, English and Bahasa Malaysia, the Salasilah or family tree of the Selangor Sultanate, and an ‘approved’ version of Selangor’s history written by Buyung Adil. I could of course have also included Joginder Singh Jessy’s, DJ Tate’s and Winsted’s versions as well, but I thought the Buyung Adil version, which is in Bahasa Malaysia, would be less strenuous on the more simple-minded.

The police informed me that my interrogation was not about my article of 11 July 2007. In fact, on 11 July 2007, I never wrote any article. I did on 8 July though and again on 13 July, but never on 11 July. According to what the newspapers reported, I was alleged to have insulted the Agong and Islam, so the purpose of the two shopping bags of books was to debate Islam and the Agong with those who were about to interrogate me. But they did not want to talk about any of my articles. They only wanted to talk about some of the comments in the blogs posted by Malaysia Today’s readers.

I told the police I refuse to talk about the comments in the blogs. I did not write these comments so I refuse to talk about what I did not write. I only want to talk about what I wrote and defend myself against charges that I have insulted the Agong and Islam. But no, the police did not want to talk about my articles. They only wanted to talk about the comments in the blogs.

I told the police I still refuse to talk about the comments and if therefore they want to charge me for sedition under the Sedition Act then go ahead. I banged the table with my fist and shouted, “Charge me! Charge me now!” The police said that they do not wish to charge me yet but only to take my statement. I can refuse to reply if I wish or reply that I do not know anything. But they have no choice but to take my statement because a police report had been made against me.

It boggles the mind that they MUST take my statement barely two days after the police report against me was made whereas they do not feel they MUST do anything on the hundreds upon hundreds of other police reports made the last ten years or so since 1998. Take, as one example, the police report made by four Umno delegates to the Kubang Pasu AGM last year alleging that they were each bribed RM200 to not vote for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Malaysia Today published copies of these police reports. One of the Umno delegates who made the police report was subsequently beaten up in his house in front of his family. He made a second police report on the beating and even fingered those who had beaten him up because he knew them personally. Again, nothing was done. So this MUST take your statement once a police report has been made against you is as truthful as I am still a virgin.

When that ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name went to the Dang Wangi Police Station on Monday to lodge his police report, he did not have any details to support the allegation that Malaysia Today had insulted the Agong and Islam. He was told that the evidence to support this allegation must be attached to the police report. They then tried to get onto the internet to access Malaysia Today so that they could look for the evidence. But they did not know how to and could not find Malaysia Today.

They then enlisted the help of a journalist from one of the Chinese newspapers who was there covering the event. Through the good help of this Chinese reporter, they finally found Malaysia Today and went through the comments in the blogs to find the evidence that they needed to support the police report.

Malaysia Today was launched on 13 August 2004 and since then we have about 20,000 or so items with an estimated five million comments in the blogs. Looking for the evidence would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. We must note that at this point of time they had lodged a police report but lacked the evidence. They were now putting the cart before the horse. They now needed the evidence to support the police report.

They finally found about a dozen or so postings amongst five million that looked strong enough to prove that Malaysia Today has insulted the Agong and Islam. One was my own posting that said if you insult any race or religion then I would have no choice but to delete your posting and ban you from further posting comments in Malaysia Today. Another was by Indianputra who was appealing to Malaysia Today’s readers not to fight and argue as some people might take advantage of the squabbling and exploit it to divide the races. What we want is a peaceful country, argued Indianputra, so if we engage in a civil manner then we will be able to unite all the races. And so on and so forth. Basically, this was the evidence they were working on to prove that Malaysia Today insulted the Agong and Islam.

I asked the police whether these postings are insulting the Agong, insulting Islam, and are trying to divide the races, or whether they are actually the reverse. The face of the ASP interrogating me turned red as he tried to explain that he was just doing his job and that he was ordered to take my statement. I replied that the person who made the police report is a stupid person who can’t speak English. So what do you expect from someone like that? He can’t even understand comments that are appealing for national unity and instead interpret it as calling for racial strife.

“Do you know that that orang bodoh ran away with the Sultan’s daughter and then denied it?” I asked the police. They just smiled. “Well, I am going to reveal this to the world,” I continued. “I am going to publish the letter he wrote to the Sultan where he denied he had married the Sultan’s daughter whereas he had in fact already secretly married her in Thailand. You tengoklah. I akan balun si bodoh tu habis-habis.”

The police appeared amused at what I had to say although their only retort was, “Banyak maklumat kita dapat hari ini.”

They then wanted to know the identity of those who post comments in Malaysia Today’s blogs. I told them I do not know who they are but I do know that amongst them are 25 Umno cyber-troopers headed by Azalina and Norza.

“Azalina?” they asked.

“Yes, Azalina lesbian,” I replied.

“Oh, Azalina Othman.” Apparently they know who I meant by Azalina lesbian.

“I did not say Azalina Othman. I said Azalina lesbian. You are supposed to record everything I say the way I say it. That is what a cautioned statement under Section 112 is all about. Saya kata Azalina lesbian. Bukan Azalina Othman. You record what I say and I will sign the statement.”

The second police officer stopped typing and scratched his head with a sheepish grin on his face. “Okaylah, I don’t want you to get into any trouble. Drop the lesbian and change it to Othman.” The second officer continued typing while chuckling. He was certainly enjoying himself.

I pointed out a few IDs that belonged to the Umno cyber-troopers and the second officer recorded them down. “How do you know they are Umno cyber-troopers?” the first officer asked me.

“Because I have received information from inside Umno,” I replied.

“You have people planted in Umno?”

“Of course I do, and I bribe them to feed me information. I just slam RM1,000 onto the table and ask them to tell me everything and they sing like a canary. It is not that hard to buy information.”

The four police officers in the room smiled and shook their heads in disbelief. “Can we record this in your statement?”

“Of course you can. The reason I am telling you this is so that you can record it in my statement. I want it on record that Umno is attacking Malaysia Today with 25 cyber-troopers and they are the ones who are posting racial statements. Sometimes they even masquerade as Chinese and whack the Malays and Islam. Then other cyber-troopers would respond and whack the Chinese. The Umno cyber-troopers are the ones behind this racial and religious bashing in Malaysia Today. Then they make a police report alleging that Malaysia Today insults Islam and stirs racial sentiments.”

All this exchange was of course recorded as anything you say under Section 112 interrogation is recorded and you are made to sign the statement at the end of the interrogation. And you go to jail if you make a false statement.

At the end of the eight-hour interrogation, I asked them whether we are finished and they said yes. “Okay, now I want to make my additional statement,” I informed the police.

“Of course, we will ask you before we end whether you want to add anything more to your statement. That is the procedure.”

“Okay, now I will make that statement. Malaysia Today’s domain name is registered in the UK,” I told the police. When you click on the domain name malaysia-today.net you are sent to the server of the registered IP address in that domain name. Our server is in Singapore. But what you see is only the front page. Then you choose which item on the front page you want to read and you are sent to the blog. The blog sits in the US. When you post a comment it goes straight to the blog. For all intents and purposes, Malaysia Today is a foreign website and not a Malaysian website. We therefore do not come under Malaysian laws.”

“Let me put it another way,” I told the police. “Sodomy is a crime in Malaysia and you can get sent to jail for nine years for the crime of sodomy even if you are a Deputy Prime Minister. In England, men can marry men and you will even receive a congratulatory message from the British Prime Minister. So, sodomy is not a crime in the UK and you do not go to jail.”

“In short,” I summed up. “Your Sedition Act is valid only in Malaysia and not outside Malaysia. So you cannot impose Malaysia’s Sedition Act on Malaysia Today which resides outside Malaysia. I can actually tell you to go to hell and that I will not waste eight hours answering all your questions. But I do not want you to think I am sombong so I was prepared to spend eight hours with you answering all your questions as I know you have a job to do and it is not your fault.”

I knew this officer was under tremendous pressure because every half an hour he would receive a phone call from his OCPD as well as the IGP asking about the progress of the interrogation. The top bosses were monitoring the whole situation and my interrogation was not a routine one at all. One senior Chinese officer who sat there the entire duration without opening his mouth revealed his true role when the only time he spoke was to utter the statement that I am trying to topple the IGP. That was what the police really wanted. It was payback time for the revelations of the links between the IGP and the Chinese organised crime syndicate.

Umno, however, had other motives. It was not about Malaysia Today insulting the Agong or Islam. They did not even have any evidence of this until that Chinese reporter helped them get onto the internet and access Malaysia Today’s website. What they were perturbed about is my article in my column No Holds Barred on 8 July 2007 about the powers of the Agong.

If you read Article 150 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia -- which I have reproduced below -- you can see that the Agong has the power to remove the Prime Minister if the Agong perceives the Prime Minister as totally incompetent and a danger to the economic life and well-being of Malaysians. Of course, this has never been done before except in 1969 to address the problem of the May 13 race riots. But this does mean it cannot be done, just that it has never been done or done only once in 1969.

Note the key points in Article 150 such as:

1) If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied
2) That a grave emergency exists
3) Whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof is threatened
4) He may issue a Proclamation of Emergency making therein a declaration to that effect.
5) A Proclamation of Emergency may be issued before the actual occurrence of the event which threatens the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation
6) Except when both Houses of Parliament are sitting concurrently
7) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that certain circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action
8) He may promulgate such ordinances as circumstances appear to him to require.
9) The Houses of Parliament shall be regarded as sitting only if the members of each House are respectively assembled together

Now, Article 150 is very clear in that the Agong can interpret the situation as he sees it and take action that he thinks is befitting the situation. Basically, it is his opinion and only his opinion that rules and he can act based on his opinion.

When this article was first published on 8 July 2007, it sent shockwaves right through the fourth floor and right up to the fifth floor of the Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya. They suddenly realised that if the Agong perceives the Prime Minister as incompetent and a danger to this country, then the Agong can remove the Prime Minister and appoint anyone he so wishes to replace the Prime Minister. It need not be the Deputy Prime Minister or any of the Umno leaders. In theory, it can even be the Agong’s gardener if the Agong thinks he is better than the Prime Minister and the best man to lead this country.

And that was when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi decided to quietly sneak out of the country with his entire family. They suspected that this article of 8 July 2007 was not a coincidence but was instead a hint that the Agong may act within his powers under the Federal Constitution of Malaysia to sack the Prime Minister and replace him with someone better. The Prime Minister then summoned the IGP and the Director of the Special Branch to Australia to obtain feedback as to whether he is in danger of being ousted.

Earlier, Abdullah had announced the extension of the IGP's tenure on contract basis beyond 13 September 2007 when he is supposed to retire. Abdullah received a major blow yesterday during the Rulers' Conference when the Rulers expressed displeasure at Abdullah's announcement of this extension without first informing them about it. This was the Rulers' very strong message to Abdullah that they are not happy with the way he is running this country.

Abdullah is worried that Malaysia Today might be playing a role of ‘instigating’ the Rulers to sack him. They then sat down and came out with a plan to turn the Rulers against Malaysia Today by accusing Malaysia Today of insulting the Agong and Islam. They hope that by doing this the Rulers would get angry with Malaysia Today and be very grateful to Abdullah for putting Raja Petra in jail and in that same process protect and defend the image and dignity of the Rulers. In short, Abdullah wants the Rulers to think that Malaysia Today is their enemy while the Prime Minister is their friend. So, no need to sack Abdullah. Instead, put Raja Petra in jail. And with that Abdullah and his family can continue to live happily ever after as the First Family of Malaysia.

Abdullah is due back on 27 July 2007. According to his office, he may delay his return until the first week of August. Abdullah was hoping that by the time he returns on 27 July 2007, Raja Petra would be safely tucked away behind the high walls of the Sungai Buloh Prison and he can then request an audience with the Agong to inform the Agong how he defended the image and dignity of the Agong by punishing Raja Petra for the crime of insulting the Agong and Islam.

But they sent a fool to undertake the job of assassinating Raja Petra. This ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name botched the mission. Abdullah now has to rethink his strategy as well as the date of his return home. Would he still be walking in the corridors of power or would he have to stay in Australia and apply for PR status? Yes, we live in interesting times. A certain Datuk from Abdullah’s camp phoned me last night and I told this Datuk to inform his boss that Raja Petra is bent on destroying Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and ensure that all that remains of him is a pile of dust. An Uncle to the Agong phoned me two days ago and said “Bodoh betul Mat Taib!”

Round One: Raja Petra. But will I also win Round Two? I don’t know yet. We will have to wait and see. Time will of course tell. But what I do know, it is a fight to the death and I really do not care whether that will be me.

Article 150 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia

(1) If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof is threatened, he may issue a Proclamation of Emergency making therein a declaration to that effect.

(2) A Proclamation of Emergency under Clause (1) may be issued before the actual occurrence of the event which threatens the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that there is imminent danger of the occurrence of such event.

(2A) The power conferred on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by this Article shall include the power to issue different Proclamations on different grounds or in different circumstances, whether or not there is a Proclamation or Proclamations already issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Clause (1) and such Proclamation or Proclamations are in operation.

(2B) If at any time while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, except when both Houses of Parliament are sitting concurrently, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that certain circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action, he may promulgate such ordinances as circumstances appear to him to require.

(2C) An ordinance promulgated under Clause (2B) shall have the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament, and shall continue in full force and effect as if it is an Act of Parliament until it is revoked or annulled under Clause (3) or until it lapses under Clause (7); and the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to promulgate ordinances under Clause (2B) may be exercised in relation to any matter with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws regardless of the legislative or other procedures required to be followed, or the proportion of the total votes required to be had, in either House of Parliament.

(3) A Proclamation of Emergency and any ordinance promulgated under Clause (2B) shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament and, if not sooner revoked, shall cease to have effect if resolutions are passed by both Houses annulling such Proclamation or ordinance, but without prejudice to anything previously done by virtue thereof or to the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to issue a new Proclamation under Clause (1) or promulgate any ordinance under Clause (2B).

(4) While a Proclamation of Emergency is in force the executive authority of the Federation shall, notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, extent to any matter within the legislative authority of a State and to the giving of directions to the Government of a State or to any officer or authority thereof.

(5) Subject to Clause (6A), while a Proclamation of Emergency is in force, Parliament may, not-withstanding anything in this Constitution make laws with respect to any matter, if it appears to Parliament that the law is required by reason of the emergency; and Article 79 shall not apply to a Bill for such a law or an amendment to such a Bill, nor shall any provision of this Constitution or of any written law which requires any consent or concurrence to the passing of a law or any consultation with respect thereto, or which restricts the coming into force of a law after it is passed or the presentation of a Bill to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for his assent.

(6) Subject to Clause (6A), no provision of any ordinance promulgated under this Article, and no provision of any Act of Parliament which is passed while a Proclamation of Emergency is in force and which declares that the law appears to Parliament to be required by reason of the emergency, shall be invalid on the ground of inconsistency with any provision of this Constitution.

(6A) Clause (5) shall not extend the powers of Parliament with respect to any matter of Islamic law or the custom of the Malays, or with respect to any matter of native law or custom in the State of Sabah or Sarawak; nor shall Clause (6) validate any provision inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution relating to any such matter or relating to religion, citizenship, or language.

(7) At the expiration of a period of six months beginning with the date on which a Proclamation of Emergency ceases to be in force, any ordinance promulgated in pursuance of the Proclamation and, to the extent that it could not have been validly made but for this Article any law made while the Proclamation was in force, shall cease to have effect, except as to things done or omitted to be done before the expiration of that period.

(8) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution:
(a) the satisfaction of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong mentioned in Clause (1) and Clause (2B) shall be final and conclusive and shall not be challenged or called in question in any court on any ground; and
(b) no court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or determine any application, question or proceeding, in whatever form, on any ground, regarding the validity of-
(i) a Proclamation under Clauses (1) or of a declaration made in such Proclamation to the effect stated in Clause (1);
(ii) the continued operation of such Proclamation;
(iii) any ordinance promulgated under Clause (2B); or
(iv) the continuation in force of any such ordinance.

(9) For the purpose of this Article the Houses of Parliament shall be regarded as sitting only if the members of each House are respectively assembled together and carrying out the business of the House.

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/corridors.php?itemid=6773

2007-07-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

IDR - Whither Malaysia-Singapore Relations?

Datuk Rejal Arbee

Singapore’s Foreign Minister George Yeo has been quoted as saying the Iskandar Development Region “will be good for Johor. It will be good for Singapore. Both sides will benefit. The pie will grow faster and there will be plenty to be shared.”

But he qualified that this would only be on the basis of no borders between the two countries likening it to water flow which will find its own level whereby a lot of the economic growth in Singapore will spill over into the IDR, which will lower Singapore’s own costs.

The reality is there is a border and to Yeo because there is this fence “the water doesn’t flow completely and there is a certain pressure difference, but to the extent that there is connectivity and ferocity, that is good for both sides.”

He likened the benefits arising from the IDR as water flow. But we in Malaysia can only hope that it will not be just a one way flow like a river which always flows downstream.

But knowing the calculative Singaporeans they will surely do the arithmetics and will only commit if the sums favour them more. Thus in so far as Singapore’s investment in the IDR is concerned it is not just a river flow downstream to Johore but more like the tide which flows in and out. So with every investment it makes, there is the concomitant flow back to Singapore in terms of profit repatriation and other kind of outflows from the IDR to the island republic.

Even with this Yeo has qualified his statement that there would be ‘some practical problems’ which needed to be tackled at the first joint ministerial meeting in Johor Bahru. So what message is Singapore trying to make prior to the ministerial meeting? They want a free flow of Singaporeans into the IDR?

This was something which Johoreans had objected to resulting in the shelving of the proposal to allow Singaporeans freely into the IDR without the need for travel papers. Is Yeo now hinting at reinstating the proposal? But what is the reciprocity from Singapore?

So the flow that Yeo is talking about doesn’t seem to brush off onto other areas of relationship between Malaysia and the republic despite what he described as the better climate of relationship between the two nations now. "I believe with the present spirit of co-operation and goodwill, we should be able to do something to promote easier flow between the two sides, which would be good for the IDR," so said Yeo as reported by Channel News Asia which was picked up by Bernama.

However which ever way one looks at it, the flow is mostly one sided. The goodwill always comes from Malaysia with Singapore at times not reciprocating at all. Thus Malaysia continues to allow the free flow of Singapore cars into Johor despite the Cabinet deciding to impose a token levy which was not enforced. Malaysians driving into the republic have to pay to drive there.

Thus the republic won’t even allow Malaysians from the peninsula who had stopped working in Singapore to withdraw their money from the Central Provident Fund. It would not have cost the republic anything (the money is not even theirs) but would gain goodwill from the affected Malaysians. But of course in this case the flow would be towards Malaysia and the republic cannot be seen to give way to Malaysia lest we be ‘embolden’ to ask them for more as often charged by Lee Kuan Yew and company. Its simply unthinkable for them to be seen to give way to Malaysia.

So whither Malaysia-Singapore relations?

http://216.55.149.11/~kmu/

2007-07-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

Latest On RPK:

Webmaster Raja Petra Questioned For 8hrs

Malaysia Today owner Raja Petra Kamarudin spent eight hours at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters having his statement recorded over a police report lodged by Umno.

The Umno police report concerning articles and comments posted on his website alleged that Raja Petra had insulted the Yang diPertuan Agong and Islam.

“I was interrogated as a witness and questioned under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” Raja Petra, 57, told a press conference after his statement was recorded on Wednesday.

Raja Petra arrived at the Dang Wangi police station at 11am accompanied by his wife Marina Lee Abdullah, 50, and several family members and friends.

Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman spoke briefly with Raja Petra before the webmaster was brought to the CID office at 12.15pm.

Zulkarnain confirmed that Raja Petra was called in to record a statement under the Sedition Act. He declined to comment further.

In the police report lodged on Monday, Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib claimed the comments and remarks published on the website on July 11 had insulted the King, degraded Islam and could incite hatred and violence in Malaysia’s multi-racial society.

[By Andrew Sagayam, The Star]

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/newsncom.php?itemid=6759

2007-07-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

Mike Tyson Vs. M-Today
Or UMNO Vs. Bloggers?

The police report lodged yesterday by UMNO Information Chief, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib (Mike Tyson) against Raja Petra Kamarudin (Pet or RPK) and Malaysia Today is being widely perceived not as a straight forward case of Mike Tyson versus Raja Petra. The general perception is that it is a case of UMNO versus Malaysian bloggers in general. It is also generally viewed as a move to instill fear and anxiety within the community of Malaysian political bloggers.

In his report, Muhammad allegedly said that Malaysia Today had published “a series of comments and remarks that it deemed as insulting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, degrading Islam and inciting hatred and violence in Malaysia's multi-racial society.”

In reply to this accusation, RPK said in his latest article posted yesterday: “Many people from the media phoned me today to ask me my comments on the police report against Malaysia Today and me. Well, this is my response to that police report against Malaysia Today and me. I would just like to say: go to hell Muhamad the son of Muhamad. You are a disgrace to the Muhamad name. And let me tell you Muhamad the son of Muhamad: you should thank your lucky stars that this is 2007 and not 1907. If this was 1907 instead of 2007 I would challenge you to a duel. It would be a man-to-man, one-to-one duel. It would be a duel to the death with kerises.”

To read more of what RPK has written, please click on the following link: http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/holds.php?itemid=6714. To most people, RPK’s article is being considered as one write-up which will cause more damage to Muhammad’s credibility compared to Mohammad’s allegation against RPK.

Most local netcitizens have the perception that the latest move by UMNO may become a prelude to a possible crackdown on political bloggers in Malaysia. I don’t know how far this is true, but one thing may be possible - the police report made by Mohammad against RPK could be one of the many developments we might witness in the coming weeks or months.

Many Malaysians also believe that the move is not initiated by the government or its relevant ICT enforcement agencies. It is perceived as more of a move made by UMNO said to be aimed at creating fear and anxieties within the circle of Malaysian political bloggers in particular, and all other Malaysian bloggers in general.

In short, the police report against Malaysia Today and RPK is being considered by many as a case of UMNO versus Bloggers. And, ultimately, it is generally believed that UMNO, not the bloggers, is the one who is going to suffer the losses. It is so because the majority of bloggers in Malaysia are not like RPK, Datuk A Kadir Jasin, Datuk Rejal Arbee, Datuk Paduka Marina Mahathir, Ahirudin Attan, Jeff Ooi and I, who gentlemanly and voluntarily display our real identities in our respective blogs.

Instead, most Malaysian political bloggers are still blogging behind masks and secret identities. They are mostly professionals of various disciplines; including engineers, lawyers, financial analysts, journalists, medical doctors, academicians and politicians from both of the divides.

According to a bloggers’ on-line dirctory - http://sopo-sentral.blogspot.com - currently there are 500 political bloggers in Malaysia. And this number is proliferating by the day. True enough, majority of these bloggers are using secret identities.

UMNO and Muhammad can therefore do whatever that they think needs to be done to achieve their political ends and objectives. UMNO can take actions against bloggers of my kind, if it thinks that it is both necessary and timely. But, can UMNO stop those Zorro political bloggers from uploading their views and opinions about fairness, equality, transparency, truth and justice on to the cybersphere?

UMNO and Muhammad may be able, to a certain degree, to “gag” political bloggers who dare to expose their own names and identities. UMNO and Muhammad can do this through various ways and means - subtly, covertly, openly or officially. But, can they do the same to the Zorro category of political bloggers? I am sure the Zorros will hit back with a pace and manner which is more intense. I am very sure about this because the spirit of comradeship amongst the majority of Malaysian bloggers - irrespective of their of politics and ideologies - is very real, intact and sustainable. They will fight back with force and vigor. They will not easily surrender to threats and intimidations.

I am not the spokesman to the Malaysian bloggers in general. But, I am very sure of this comradeship because the majority of Malaysian bloggers are blogging from the bottom of their hearts in search of equality, fairness, truth, transparency and justice. They are not mercenaries like the ones allegedly under the stewardship of Azalina Othman. They are not paid a fixed monthly allowance believed to be within the range of RM1600 to RM2600 each. They do not blog for money. They write blogs voluntarily.

[I was told by an authoritative source yesterday that Azalina is currently said to have hired about 200 bloggers throughout the country. If we take an average monthly allowance of RM2,000 per blogger, this means that an amount of not less than RM400,000 is allegedly being spent on these mercenary cyber-troopers every month. A huge sum isn’t it? Whose money is it?]

Another significant point for UMNO to note is the strength of political bloggers in Malaysia. They have a big audience and followers. They also have big and wide cumulative daily hits. As of yesterday, Malaysia Today alone received almost four millions hits.

Taking all these into account, what Muhammad and UMNO has done to Malaysia Today and RPK, is being generally perceived as a counter productive effort. Many Malaysians believe that it creates backlash, it angers the majority of Malaysian bloggers and internet surfers, and it invites retaliations. It is also being perceived to even give more credence to the opposition in the forthcoming general election, said to be held in September 2007.

As a card carrying member of UMNO, I am definitely very concerned about this. But, does the party leadership have a similar view with me? If you do, please act accordingly in this case with your outmost wisdom and credibility.

In conclusion, I sincerely hope the party’s top leadership will seriously consider this humble opinion of mine for the sake of UMNO and the general well-beings of the the Malays. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-07-25T00:41:00.000-07:00

Latest On RPK Of Malaysia Today

Raja Petra Kamarudin has been summoned to the Dang Wangi Police Station, Jalan Staduim, at 11.00am today (25 July 2007) for his statement to be recorded with regards to the police report made by the Umno Information Chief. It is believed a second police report has also been made with regards to the article Raja Petra wrote called ‘See you in hell Muhamad son of Muhamad’.

http://rockybru.blogspot.com/

2007-07-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

Bumis Will Regress
Without NEP, Says Mahathir

Ethnic Malays have made poor use of the 36-year-old affirmative action policy and will regress economically if it is taken away, former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) gives Malays and other bumiputeras quota privileges over ethnic Chinese and Indians for government contracts, homes and company shares in a bid to redistribute wealth.

“The Malays have not responded to the efforts made by the government and because of that, the disparity remains,” said Tun Dr Mahathir in an interview.

“When you're coming up from behind to catch up, you have to run faster, you have to make more effort,” he added.

But without the NEP, the Malays will slip further behind and the country risked a return to racial violence, he warned.

-- BLOOMBERG

For detailed text please click the link be BLOOMBERG

http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.shtml

2007-07-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

Tun Mahathir & Tun Hasmah
A Couple Whom We Adore

By Jennifer Guan

We are gathered here this very day
in celebration of a couple dear
a couple who in love unite
are seldom cross and hardly fight.

To a couple who bring joy to all
and made it better day by day
may happiness surround the both of you
that is our wish for you.

For years you’ve lead our country
through sunny days and rainy ones too
leadership never failing, lending a hand to many
you’ve changed lives, becoming an inspiration.

The strength and courage you had to use everyday
regardless of what others might say
steadfast and determined, you lead our way
making sure that young people like us won’t go astray.

For every loving thing that you both
have done and continue to do
manifests the essence of which we are all apart
if angels on earth were to come true
I’m sure God must have given that duty to you.

For your love has left an imprint here
then so will we, the young ones, strive to keep it there
your words of wisdom will be in our thoughts
In what we do, in what we see
and in the decisions we make.

As we grow older things must change
but they don’t always have to end
even though its different now
the values you showed us, apply just the same
All we need is to remember what we’ve learnt
so that mistakes aren’t made again.

Being young and untainted
we know that we have much more to learn
to grow, to hope and to give
we’ll make this vow that though it’ll be hard
we’ll go on with a smile and play every card.

To give all we can, to help others
and most importantly to share the love
for we’ll ask for strength we don’t have
from the One above.

And for all that you’ve given us
in this home we share
we’ll remember to care, remember to feel
and no matter what happens
our home will heal.

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before
how there can never be enough words
to thank you for your deeds
we will pay you back in kinder deeds
by not forgetting what you both have given us
for appreciating the changes you’ve made
in such we are proud to have this place called home.

There are few who are so lucky
to have the things, the both of you do
companionship and friendship
and loving feelings too.

May this love you both share
for each other, and for the people of our homeland
shine like a beacon
a guide for all the rest.

Thus, we humbly wish these pleasures
will last forevermore
for we know that you will ever be
a couple whom we adore.

Putrajaya
July 11, 2007

Note:

The above poem was dedicated to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali. It was recited by Jennifer at the Tuns’ birthday luncheon in Putrajaya on July 11, 2007.

Jennifer, 19, is an active member of the Young Acheiver’s Club. She is now awaiting her A level results and hopes to pursue medicine.

She had visited Iraq to witness the plight of the children in that war-torn country. She had also represented the children of Malaysia for an international children media conference in Brazil. Apart from that, she has taken part in many charitable events and hopes to be able to continue to do so in the future.

2007-07-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

Quo Vadis National Interest
And Sovereignty In IDR?

Datuk Rejal Arbee

What is it with the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) that matters of national interests and national integrity can be compromised all for the sake of development? We seem to want to be so accommodative to the foreigners that national interests and sovereignty seems to have been thrown out of the window. So our own well being do not matter anymore in IDR?

The latest in a series of decisions that seem to favour foreigners is the requirement that local architecture firms wanting jobs in the IDR need to forge partnerships with a selected group of foreign architects already identified by Khazanah. Isn’t this a reversal of the normal requirement where a foreign company needing certain contracts have to get a local partner/s to ensure among others transfer of technology?

It looks like the IDR is indeed something very special. Is there any other country in the world which gives such preference to foreigners? It seems that Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) have protested this unprecedented requirement but to no avail.

And now some environmental groups have expressed fear of an ecological disaster waiting to happen to the Sungai Pulai estuary within the IDR because of the various industries being planned for the area including the building of the RM100 million 40ha man-made island at Tanjung Bin to be the site of a RM1.4 billion project aimed at making the country a regional petroleum hub.

The bunkering terminal near the tip of Johor’s southeastern coast near to the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), will be used to provide integrated services and uninterrupted bunkering to ships. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when officiating the ground-breaking ceremony for the reclamation works on Thursday (July 5) said the Asia Petroleum Hub will create opportunities in the maritime industry as well as promote the emergence of marine support activities.

Ecology

However ecological groups are now questioning the setting up of the various heavy and medium-sized industries in the Sungai Pulai estuary which is an estuarine river system having minimal freshwater influx from the upstream watershed. Thus the tidal ebbs and flows will not bring about the outflow of wastewater discharged by the various industries to be set up there into the sea but will be brought back by the high tides into the estuary.

The area will then become polluted and would affect the Merambong seagrass and other seagrass which support sensitive marine species like seahorses and dugong at the mouth of the Sungai Pulai. They are calling for a DEIA (Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment) for the area which could comprehensively assess the cumulative impact of the industries on the ecosystem of the area. This is needed because discharge by individual heavy and medium-sized industries might not individually cause an impact but the accumulative impact of all the industries together, that is the total pollution load, will create a major environmental disaster in the Sungai Pulai estuary.

So what gives for the IDR? Earlier moves were afoot that could compromise the sovereignty of the area beginning with the unprecedented proposal to allow free flow of Singaporeans into the region without any travel papers as if they are going into their own territory. It was only when the people were shocked with disbelief at such blatant ‘giveaway’ that the government was forced to back track and abandon any thought of providing the Singaporeans such unprecedented freedom of excess.

Then there is this decision by the Advisory Panel announced by one of its members, former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Musa Hitam that the Bumiputeras cannot expect any undue privileges provided by the NEP for jobs in the IDR. He said they could no longer depend on preferential or special treatment from the government to secure projects in the IDR but should instead take advantage of the opportunities provided. But the Bumiputera entities need to prove their worth to be considered.

Musa seem to blame the whole Bumiputera business community for the problem, when it was the government’s patronage system that had created it in the first place. And who are these Bumiputeras given the preferential treatment? Aren’t they the rent seekers, the types who have access or connections to those who can give out the largesse? They are the ones who on getting the contracts hawked them out to the non-Bumiputeras for peanuts. And to blame the Bumiputeras as a whole for this is a disgrace.

Excesses

The rent seekers should not only not be welcomed in the IDR but throughout the country. The NEP itself should not be blamed but those in positions of making the decisions should be blamed for the excesses. In any case the people needed to be reminded that the Bumiputera entities do not mean 100 percent Bumiputera owned since even partnerships where 49 percent of the equity owned by non-bumis are still considered as Bumi entities. What can be more accommodative than this?

The problem over awarding of projects is not really due to the policy’s shortcomings but how it was administered and implemented. It is good that the patronage system be done away with so that those not qualified not be awarded any contract. Conversely the qualified Bumiputeras including the genuine 51-49 partnership should not now be discriminated against especially in the IDR.

Unfortunately there are those in the corridors of power who do not see the positive side of the NEP. Thus moves are afoot to use the IDR to dismantle the NEP. But as stated by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad affirmative action if used judiciously could yield good results. If implemented correctly there would not be dissentions instead it could dissipate tensions arising from economic disparities between the races and even among the races. It is when nothing is done to overcome such disparities that tensions will arise and can compromise national stability.

It is bad enough that for the IDR, a joint ministerial committee between Singapore and Malaysia had been set up entrusted to plan and oversee development and progress of the region. It is as if without the island republic being made part of such a joint committee, Singaporeans will not want to invest there.

Thus the continued outcry among the people especially those who value national sovereignty and integrity over what is happening in the name of development of the IDR. The feeling is that Malaysia should be the sole deciding authority and not to share it with a foreign government for development in our sovereign area. Participation by the foreigners should also be on our terms.

Johoreans

The Johoreans especially including Umno politicians are still questioning why the nation’s sovereignty is being eroded bit by bit all for the sake of expediency of the IDR? The question of sovereignty is very sensitive to the Johoreans. This is understandable, maybe not to Lee Kuan Yew, the Singapore Minister Mentor considering that a number of places in Johore where there are the republic’s water treatment plants being regarded as if they are part of the republic’s territory. The places are all manned by Singaporeans and out of bounds to any others.

To make matters worse places like Pulau Batu Putih (which is only about 15 km off the Penggerang coast and more than 30 km away from Changi and subject to disputed claims by both countries and now before the International Court) and Pulau Pisang (about 100km up the Straits of Malacca opposite Pontian town) where there are lighthouses are still being manned by Singaporeans. In fact at one time the Singaporeans had the gall to even fly Singapore’s flag at the lighthouse in Pulau Pisang where there is no dispute of ownership. The question is why are the Singaporeans still manning the lighthouse especially in Pulau Pisang. Aren’t there Malaysian who can do the job? If not then who is manning the lighthouse in Tanjung Tuan (formerly Cape Rachado)?

And it seems the grand old man of the republic Harry Lee cannot stomach questions by Johore Umno about the possible erosion of sovereignty of the IDR. Thus his latest outburst equating people who questioned the special treatment afforded to the Singaporeans in the IDR as part of a movement to topple Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He even reminded Singapore companies intending to invest in the IDR not to expect privileged treatment from Malaysia just like the “generous treatment” accorded by China to investors from Hong Kong in Shenzhen province.

Lee Kuan Yew

”Singapore cannot expect the same treatment from Malaysia,” he said in a special interview with Berita Harian (Singapore) last week. Of course the republic should not expect such privileged treatment. After all Singapore is not a territory of Malaysia unlike Hong Kong which is a part of China.

Being the dictator that he was, where nobody in the island republic dared oppose whatever he said or did, he will see ghosts lurking wherever there are dissensions. He is just not used to opposition. To him whatever is shoved down the throat must be accepted, no questions asked. So he equates rumblings against what is going on in the IDR vis-à-vis questions over erosion of sovereignty and national integrity and especially coming from Johore Umno as moves to topple Pa Lah. How ingeneous.

Lee also said IDR could pose pressure to Singapore just like Shenzhen to Hong Kong where industries were being wooed out of Hong Kong into Shenzen. “This has left Hong Kong with only a few manufacturing plants and with high unemployment rate. Hong Kong’s economy is now dependent on the service sector….If Singapore loses many industries to IDR, we will face serious unemployment problem as not all factory workers can find jobs in the service sector,” so said Harry Lee.

What is his motive in saying all this? Is this not a veiled threat by him to eke out even more concessions from the IDR? Is the presence of “invisible fingers” of foreigners that are slowly, but surely, having influence on the leadership as one blogger put it still not enough?

http://www.mykmu.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5923

2007-07-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

Bravo Charles Morais!!

Malaysian Charles Morais
Acquiring More Hotels
In United States

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Bernama) -- The name Charles Morais may not yet ring a bell in Malaysia but the Ipoh-born entrepreneur is well on his way to becoming one of the leading hoteliers in the United States.

Spurred by the success that he has been notching up since he began acquiring hotels in the U.S. in 1999, his Atlanta-based Kronos Hotels and Resorts last month bought a portfolio of 16 more hotels with 3,100 rooms.

And with 26 hotels already under his chain, mainly in the East Central region of the U.S., Kronos Hotels has announced plans to acquire 12 other properties outside the U.S. by the end of the year, including two hotels in Morais' native country Malaysia.

Kronos Hotels Public Relations Manager Amira Shahnaz Ahmad Shahizan told Bernama from New York: " Morais wants to expand his hotel business in Malaysia, where he is now in the process of purchasing two new hotels which will be ready to open in 90 days".

Amira Shahnaz, herself a Malaysian and who works in Kronos Hotels' branch office in New York, said not only Morais wanted to expand his hotels to Malaysia but he would also promote Malaysian food and tourism worldwide.

-- BERNAMA

For detailed news please click:

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=271981

Comment:

Bravo Morais!! You are a proud son of Malaysia. Your success recipe should be shared with other Malaysians aspiring to become renowned global players as being envisaged by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his Vision 2020. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-07-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

Putrajaya 2 In Penang

Patrick Lim's Batu Kawan. Another new administrative capital?

That's the talk in the market. In Penang, at least. Patrick's Equine Capital has a huge landbank in Batu Kawan in the Prime Minister's home state, and is believed to have finally received the green light to turn it into a mega property development like nothing Penang has witnessed.

Lim, who is also known as Patrick Badawi for his perceived closeness to the PM, rose to prominence for being the Chosen One to develop Pulau Duyong in Terengganu and organize the Monsoon Cup, a pet event of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Equine and friends will benefit immensely from another mega project on Penang island, including the multi-billion ringgit 2nd Penang bridge. Equine also owns a quarter of the 239-acre Penang Turf Club, which has been earmarked to be Penang's new city centre. A Penang Towers Complex will be built. The redevelopment of the Penang Turf Club is estimated to generate a value of RM25 billion over 10 years, double that of the KLCC's!

The Batu Kawan project will be as grand as the Iskandar Development Region in Johor and is expected to offer foreigners the same NEP-free incentives. There'll also be a bullet train service that zips through it, I believe.

Question is, do we need another Administrative capital?

I am sure the financial journalists who are going to Penang for a briefing tomorrow on the country's latest mega-mega project will ask the tough questions but one thing's for sure, mega projects are well and alive.

http://rockybru.blogspot.com/
Monday, July 02, 2007

2007-06-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Lee Kuan Yew Made A Sweeping Allegation:
UMNO Leaders Trying To Topple Abdullah

Singapore’s Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, was quoted by Bernama today as saying that “UMNO leaders, particularly from Johore” were trying “to topple” Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

This is the full Bernama report from Singapore:

Don't Expect Special Treatment In IDR, Singaporean Investors Told

By Jackson Sawatan

SINGAPORE, June 30 (Bernama) -- Singapore companies intending to invest in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) cannot expect privileged treatment from Malaysia just like the "generous treatment" accorded by China to investors from Hong Kong in Shenzhen province, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said.

"Singapore cannot expect the same treatment from Malaysia," he said in a special interview with Berita Harian to mark the daily's 50th anniversary tomorrow.

Lee, still an influential figure in the Singapore cabinet, said Singapore companies must evaluate whether their presence are welcomed at IDR as there are protests from among Umno leaders, especially from Johor.

"On one side Pas is trying to topple the prime minister but when Umno leaders, particularly from Johor, are also doing the same, Singaporean investors must seriously ask themselves when this attitude will change and whether they welcome us in IDR," he said.

The IDR, straddling 2,217 sq km in south Johor, is a massive project undertaken by the Malaysian government, which many observers say will complement its ultra-modern neighbour Singapore, just like Shenzhen to Hong Kong.

Lee said IDR could pose pressure to Singapore just like Shenzhen to Hong Kong.

The Singapore founding father said Shenzhen was wooing industries from Hong Kong to the province and to nearby towns.

"This has left Hong Kong with only a few manufacturing plants and with high unemployment rate. Hong Kong's economy is now dependent on the service sector," he told Berita Harian, the sole Malay newspaper in the republic.

"If Singapore loses many industries to IDR, we will face serious unemployment problem as not all factory workers can find jobs in the service sector," he said.

He, however, said Singapore would support IDR as the two countries are bound to gain from the multi-billion ringgit project.

"From a wider perspective, we believe it is good for the two countries, with Malaysia savouring the spin-offs from Singapore's economic growth, and similarly Singapore," he said.

Internal politics and protests to Singaporeans investing in IDR are to exploit the issues and to erode support to Abdullah's leadership and the co-operation in the development region, he added.

-BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=270520
June 30, 2007 13:10 PM

Comment:

The allegation made by LKY is extremely serious. What is he up to this time? To create chaos in UMNO? To cause instability in Malaysia? To shut up IDR’s critics? Or, is it just a reversed psychological warfare aimed at putting a gag on Abdullah’s critics?

So, what is UMNO’s response to it? How is Abdullah’s administration going to treat such a statement? What is Wisma Putra’s reaction going to be? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-06-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

Playing With Numbers

Several weeks ago, RPK of http://www.malaysia-today.net/ had forewarned us to beware of 18 June 2007. I am not sure why he did that. But nothing had happened on that particular date.

A few days ago, a friend of mine asked me to watch these three dates – 7th July 2007, (7707), 17th July 2007 (17707) and 25th August 2007 (25807).

I did ask him: “what are the significance of these dates?”

He answered with a broad smile: “just watch these three dates closely, you will know why!!!”

Now I am very puzzled. What do these dates stand for? The possible dates for the general elections? It cannot be. Then what? Dooms day??

I already made several guesses. But, I still can’t find the answer. What am I supposed to do now? Just wait and see? Consult a soothsayer? Look for a fengsui master? Find a gypsy crystal-ball gazer?

I am helpless. Those three dates really bogged my mind. I am not an expert in guessing game. Nor am I good at playing with numbers. So, please help me. I don’t want to be caught by surprise, especially when plenty of surprises are now happening in this country.

Till then, let us remind ourselves - united we stand, divided we fall. And, as a Johorean, I am always reminded by the State motto: to God we submit. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-06-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Don't Meddle In
Malaysia's Domestic Affairs
Warns Najib

KUANTAN, June 23 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak expressed regret over the statement by the Ambassador and Head of the European Commission Delegation to Malaysia with regard to the New Economic Policy (NEP), saying that the envoy should not interfere in Malaysia's domestic affairs and policies.

Refuting the facts presented by the envoy, the Deputy Prime Minister said that as an ambassador accredited to this country, Thierry Rommel should play a role to forge closer relations between the two countries.

"Normally, an ambassador or envoy does not comment on the affairs of the country they are accredited to. This has been the practice because when we comment on the policies adopted by the country concerned, it means that we are interfering in the affairs of the host country," he told reporters after launching the national level Campaign On Early Intervention To Prevent Children's Disability, here.

Najib said this when asked to comment on Rommel's remarks on Thursday which were carried by foreign wire agencies.

A foreign wire report quoted Rommel as saying that the government was using the NEP as an excuse to practise "significant protectionism of its own market" and urged the Malaysian government to roll back its affirmative action policy for the Malays.

The foreign news reports had stated that the NEP gave a host of privileges in jobs, education, business and other areas to ethnic Malays.

As part of the NEP, all public-listed companies are required to allocate 30 per cent of their shares to the Malays. Companies without Malay directors or employees are excluded from lucrative government contracts, the report said.

On Malaysia's action or official protest against the statement, Najib said: "Wait first, I will seek the opinion of the Foreign Ministry."

"The role of an ambassador is to forge close relations between the country he represents and the host nation. In terms of diplomatic principles and practices, Rommel's remarks contradict the practice that we adopt.

"What was raised can certainly be disputed factually," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

-- BERNAMA
June 23, 2007

Comment:

Bravo Datuk Seri. We are proud of you. Really proud. But will you please explain to us why your boss, I mean the PM, agrees to do away with NEPism in Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in south Johore? Will you kindly find out for us, who influences him to do that? Temasek?

Secondly, how do you rationalize the role of the Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Singapore who lately seems to be acting as if he is the spokesman to that “little red dot” in the Equator? Since when does he works as a part-timer to his host government? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-06-19T23:33:00.001-07:00

The Plane, The Plane!
It’s Coming On 17.7.7

The RM 200 million Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) 319, purchased by Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad, for use by the Malaysian Prime Minister, is scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2007.

Sources told this blog today, the ground handling of the VVIP aircraft will be managed by a sendirian berhand company - not by the Malaysian Royal Air Force (RMAF).

It is believed that the company is linked to one the Prime Minister’s political secretaries through his son’s shareholding in the said company.

Two other shareholders of the company are said to be personalities allegedly being behind the sale of Sukhoi fleet to the RMAF. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-06-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome To Malaysia
Mr. Whoever You Are

A blogger friend of mine alerted me today of the news item below. He said I must voice out my concern about what the PM had said last night. I assured him, I will do it. But, before that, you have to read this:

Don't Restrict The Entry
Of Skilled Workers, Says PM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Malaysia should not "overly restrict" the entry of skilled workers particularly in strategic sectors as it could actually bring benefit to the country.

The Prime Minister said he believes the Malaysian working population will benefit from having greater interaction with foreign talent.

"Indeed, we can only improve ourselves if we work and learn with talented others," he said in his address "Looking Back, Forging Ahead: 50 Years of Business in Malaysia" at the Kuala Lumpur Business Club dinner, here.

To get the skilled workers, he said, Malaysia should facilitate skilled foreign students to stay on after graduating.

Abdullah said Malaysia must benefit from the globalised flow of human capital.

"I believe that Malaysian professionals can hold their own amongst the global talent pool and that they remain the employees of choice by businesses in Malaysia.

"This does not necessarily conflict with a policy of drawing more foreign knowledge workers to our shores," he said.

-- BERNAMA
June 14, 2007

A very happy news indeed. Foreign professionals, welcome to Malaysia, truly Asia. In the name of globalization, our beloved PM has just issued an order – Malaysia should not "overly restrict" the entry of skilled workers, particularly in strategic sectors as it could actually bring benefit to the country.

If you need my opinion, the best place for you is the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in south Johore. You can stay in Singapore and work in IDR. No problem. You can just use a smart card to daily commute to this sovereign land!

And, please don’t worry about us. We know that some of us [about a few thousands actually] are still unemployed. But, that is our problem. We Malaysians, especially the Malays, have our kampungs to go back to. There, we can plant kacang panjang or even jaga lembu, just like the cowboys in the early days of America.

Friends, Malaysians and countrymen. Please lend your loyalty and support to our PM. He is brilliant, extremely brilliant. His thinking is out-of-the-box, progressive and pragmatic. We must return him to power with a landslide victory in the coming general elections rumoured to be in August 2007. We need him for at least five more terms! – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-06-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

Alumni Objects
To UM's Relocation

PETALING JAYA, June 14 (Bernama) -- The Universiti Malaya Alumni Association has objected to any plan to relocate the university to allow its present site to be redeveloped by a private company.

Its president, Datuk Noordin Abdul Razak, said the university sat on a strategic location and was complemented by the presence of public transport services like buses and LRT which had greatly benefited the students.

He was responding to a newspaper report on Tuesday that a company had submitted a bid to develop the site and to relocate the university to Sepang.

The university management was surprised with the report and said that it would not let the university to be relocated.

- BERNAMA
June 14, 2007

Comment:

I am very happy to note that Datuk Noordin Abdul Razak and his UM’s Alumni Association had objected “to any plan to relocate the university to allow its present site to be redeveloped by a private company.”

Keep it up Datuk. Your alumni is the strongest bastion to protect the UM from this latest onslaught.

So, please be pro-active and always be on the alert. Who knows someone might just bulldoze the proposed move irrespective of objections by you and the alumni! – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-06-14T01:56:00.000-07:00

We Are Not Moving
Stresses UM Don

PETALING JAYA: Universiti Malaya (UM) has no plan to relocate to its campus, describing the present location as one of its strengths.

“UM would like to state categorically that it is not relocating from its current location nor is it in any negotiations with any parties to that effect,” said the university's International and Corporate Relations Office director Associate Prof Dr Khoo Boo Teong in a statement yesterday.

According to a news report on Tuesday, property developer GuocoLand (Malaysia) Bhd, controlled by Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, had made a bid for the UM grounds.

The report said that if the bid was approved, the development would complement GuocoLand's planned RM1.2bil Damansara City development project and the university would be relocated to Sepang, where the company has a landbank of 4,860ha.

A company source was quoted as saying that such a development was estimated to have a gross development value of RM10bil.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed also said it was “absolutely not true” that the university was relocating.

“UM's location is very historic. It is staying put,” he said after chairing the ministry's post-Cabinet meeting yesterday.

UM vice-chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim expressed shock.

“The university is a heritage. You can't just pluck it out and put it somewhere else. The university management will not allow it,” she said from London yesterday.

Nota: Kadang-kadang resistance tidak berupaya membendung barbarian yang sudah kecor air liur melihat piece de resistance.

The Star Thursday June 14, 2007

Comment:

Now, who should we believe? Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed? UM’s vice-chancellor, Datuk Rafiah Salim? UM’s International and Corporate Relations Office director, Associate Prof Dr Khoo Boo Teong? Or the recent report by bt@nstp.com.my which said “GUOCOLAND (Malaysia) Bhd, a property developer controlled by Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, has made a bid to relocate University Malaya from Petaling Jaya to Sepang.”? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-06-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

GuocoLand In Bid
To Develop UM Land?

GUOCOLAND (Malaysia) Bhd, a property developer controlled by Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, has made a bid to relocate University Malaya from Petaling Jaya to Sepang, sources said yesterday.

As part of the plan, GuocoLand will then own the land in Petaling Jaya and develop it into a commercial and residential township. The proposal is based on a private finance initiative.

A company source said such a development is estimated to have a gross development value of RM10 billion.

GuocoLand officials declined to comment on the plan.

If the bid is approved, the development in Petaling Jaya will complement GuocoLand's planned RM1.2 billion Damansara City development project.

The Damansara project is due to be launched this year.

Guocoland's share price rose by 30 sen or 10 per cent to close at a 10-year high of RM3.26 yesterday. The stock has gained 87.3 per cent over the last six trading days.

GuocoLand has a 4,860-hectare landbank in Sepang. Part of the land is being used by GuocoLand to develop the Pantai Sepang Putra project, where it plans to build seafront villas and waterfront bungalows.

A Hong Leong Group spokesperson also declined comment.

University Malaya, the country's oldest university, has its main campus that sprawls from the heart of Petaling Jaya right up to the footsteps of Bangsar. - bt@nstp.com.my

From Wikipedia:

The University of Malaya (or commonly abbreviated as UM) is the oldest university in Malaysia, and is situated on a 750 acre campus in southwest Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. It is widely recognised as the top university in Malaysia, and many prominent Malaysians are alumni of UM. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Malaya

Comment:

Are we going to allow this to happen? What will UM’s student bodies and alumni say about this?

2007-06-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

The Americans
Love Abdullah
[Wishes From US]

www.politica-net.blogspot.com

PUTRAJAYA: The United States Ambassador Christopher J. Lafleur congratulated Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on his wedding.

“On behalf of the American people, I wish both the Prime Minister and Jeanne Abdullah, as well as their families, all the best for a long and fulfilling future together. Tahniah (congratulations),” he said. – Bernama [The Star, Thursday June 7, 2007]

*Malaysian PM is so popular and powerful. The US government loves him. Never before has the US government send any personal greeting to a Malaysian Prime Minister. Right? What do you think? – POLITICA

2007-06-06T01:12:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister To Wed
Jeanne Abdullah Saturday

PUTRAJAYA, June 6 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will marry Jeanne Abdullah, 53, on Saturday, the Prime Minister's Office announced Wednesday.

The wedding will take place at the prime minister's official residence, Seri Perdana, here and will be attended by close relatives, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Jeanne was born in Kuala Lumpur on July 29 1953 and is the eldest of four siblings.

She was educated at Sekolah Menengah Assunta and has wide experience in administration and hotel management and has worked as supervisor of the official residence of the deputy prime minister and manager of the Seri Perdana Complex.

Jeanne has two daughters, Nadiah and Nadene.

Abdullah's wife, Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, died on Oct 20 2005 after a long battle with breast cancer.

Abdullah, 67, has two children, a son Kamaluddin and a daughter Nori, from his marriage of 40 years with Endon.

www.bernama.com

2007-06-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Asean System Can Be Used
To Manage Peace, Security
In Asia-Pacific: PM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 (Bernama) -- The Asean system of managing peace and security can be used to bring stability and predictability in the wider Asia-Pacific region, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Tuesday.

He said although the Asean system of managing peace and security needs to be further developed, there was similarity between Asean and the Asia-Pacific region when it comes to managing peace and security issues.

"The Asean experience could in fact serve us equally well in the wider Asia-Pacific region," he said in his keynote address at the Asia-Pacific Roundtable entitled "The Way to Mutual Security in the Asia-Pacific" organised by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS).

Abdullah said Asean had taken the bold step by recognising that its destiny lay with member states, realising that peace was possible without hegemony and security was attainable without maintaining preponderant power.

This had resulted in a system of managing peace and security embedded within a wider framework for cooperation embodied in Asean even though the system was by no means perfect.

"There is still some lingering lack of trust. Occasionally, there are strong disagreements. Sometimes, naval vessels are deployed to keep an eye on each other in disputed waters. Some still feel the need to be reassured of their security by having linkages with outside powers.

"All things considered, however, the framework within Asean has done a remarkable job. It has helped bring stability and predictability to the region," he said, adding that this has led to full reconciliation among all member states and across political divides, with confidence having improved tremendously.

Abdullah described war as having become unimaginable, many territorial disputes were being settled through peaceful negotiations or through judicial settlements, no major military build-ups with vestigial defence arrangements remained but they were essentially for exercise and training.

"The window of opportunity to make a similar choice is open to the countries of the Asia Pacific.

"I think the countries of Asean were able to make the right choice because their judgement was sober and sound. We did not exaggerate threats and we did not overreact to exaggerated threats. We saw the rivalry among the major powers and chose to distance ourselves from the rivalry," he said.

Abdullah said Asean had opted to engage with the major powers for mutual peace and prosperity, with priority for political and economic engagement even though it included the field of security.

"When we discuss security, we make sure that it is about security cooperation that engages all, and is for all. This kind of engagement has brought enormous benefits not only to Asean but also to the entire region," he said.

He said Asean retained its existing security arrangements and military alliances as they were already in place and there was no need to dismantle them but it did not seek to strengthen or widen its membership while, at the same time, it did not spend excessively on weaponry.

"We recognise that many of us lack capacity in so many areas, including defence capabilities. We do not therefore question or seek to deny to others what we think would have been proper even for ourselves," he said.

Therefore, Abdullah said, Asia-Pacific leaders could emulate the Asean spirit of enlightened rather than narrow interest as well as recognise that influence and strategic stature ensue much less from military preponderance than from economic weight, technological prowess and cultural appeal.

Abdullah also said that he does see the present situation in the region as a delicate one -- on the one hand, countries are strengthening the infrastructure for cooperation while, on the other, they seem to be allowing the preparation for confrontation to continue.

"But I would like to ask the question whether we are in fact giving sufficient attention to building peace while preparing, at the same time, for eventualities of conflict and of war.

"I am concerned whether we are inadvertently putting in place mechanisms that in fact invite the very instability and conflict that we want to prevent and manage," he said.

Therefore, Abdullah said, he believed the window of choice was still open in the Asia-Pacific region as "the concrete has not quite set to make the structure for managing regional security unalterable".

"I think we can do more, much more, to lay down a firm foundation for enduring peace, stability and prosperity in the region than we are doing now. The choice is ours," he said. - http://www.bernama.com

Comment:

Asean nowadays is not like before. Today, some Asean member countries are even willing to discard and disrespect the Asean “spirit of brotherhood and consensus” by participating in the so-called war-on-terror – a war being created by the US aimed at disrupting the Muslim worlds, killing their innocent population by the hundred of thousands, and forcing their society, politics and economy down to the drains.

So, Mr. Prime Minister Sir, do you really think at this point of time “the countries of Asean” who participated in the war-on-terror in Iraq are the ones “able to make the right choice because their judgement” is “sober and sound.”? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-06-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

May 13 Tragedy
A Coup D’etat?

Ruhanie Ahmad

The May 13 - a new book being written based on information purportedly obtained from the British Public Records Office, at the Kew Garden, London, is a gross misrepresentation of history.

Therefore, it is important for us to find out why such a book is being written at this very point of time and what are the motives behind it.

We have to ask these questions because Malaysia currently seems to be facing several onslaughts from certain quarters especially concerning the fact that Islam is the official religion of the country and also about the status, rights and privileges of the bumiputera as being instituted in the Federal Constitution.

The emergence of this new book - May 13 - in the market should therefore be examined whether or not it forms as part and parcel of such onslaughts. Or, is it just an isolated and uncoordinated move, but could still be construed as part of the same game?

More significantly, why is this book being published now - in the year when we are celebrating our 50th Independence celebration? Any specific reasons for this? Why is it not being written and published in 1999, soon after the public records which form the basis of the book were being declassified by the British authorities?

Why does the book claim that the May 13 riots of 1969 “were carefully planned and organized” by a group of people categorized as “the then emergent Malay capitalist class” to enable “a coup d’etat” and a regime change in Malaysia because the Prime Minister at that time, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, “represented the outdated Malay aristocracy”? Does it mean to imply that the bloody incidence was created to justify the formulation and the implementation of the New Economic Policy?

Subvert Solidarity

Why publish the book now when several super powers are seen to be most active in their efforts to establish hegemony and dominance in south east Asia since they launched the so-called war on terror against the Muslims and several Muslim countries in central and west Asia beginning 2001?

Is the book aimed at subverting the unity, solidarity and resilience of the multi-ethnic Malaysians in the face of the mounting subtle pressures from some neo-imperialist powers and its staunch allies in the region?

Is the book aimed at instigating certain quarters in Malaysia to revolt against the government through the general elections which is about one year away from now?

Does the writer intend to revive the old provocative slogan of “blood for blood” as being propagated by elements of the Communist United Front (CUF) on the polling day of the May 1969 general elections?

I know the writer of May 13. He was a one-term Malaysian member of parliament (DAP-Petaling Jaya) - from 1990 to 1995. I am familiar with his prejudices, political bias, attitude towards the government of Malaysia, perceptions about the west, statements about the New Economic Policy and remarks about the Malays and Bumiputera in general.

But, I am not sure if he is a friend of the imperialists, neo-imperialists or even their allies in this region. Neither do I know whether he is a communist sympathizer or not. But, how do we describe a writer who attempts to re-write the May 13 history in Malaysia purely and solely based on the perceptions of British diplomats in Malaysia who claimed to have put their ears “close to the ground” during the May 13 incidence; based on the accounts of a British journalist who claimed to be an eyewitness during the curfew; based on intelligence gathered by diplomats from Australia and New Zealand; based on the observations of white man diplomats stationed in Singapore and Indonesia; based on remarks by a Singapore leader who propagated the Malaysian Malaysia concept; as well as based on reports by a foreign magazine which was widely believed to have intimate association with the CIA?

Historical Data

If the writer is dead serious to write about his allegation that the 13 May 1969 incidence purportedly aimed at deposing Tunku Abdul Rahman as the prime minister in the early era of independent Malaysia, why only now he writes about it? Why does he totally ignore historical data, facts and figures found in Malaysia?

We may say that the writer wants to wait for the secret records about the May 13 in the British Public Records Office to be declassified so that he can have a full access to them. But, aren’t the records already being declassified in 1999? Then, why does he wait until eight years after the records were being declassified? Because the writer thinks now is the most opportune time to launch a pro-Chinese propaganda aimed at evoking a fresh anti-Malay feeling to a new height in Malaysia? Why, to eradicate what the writer believes as the dominance of the Malay power in this country?

So, what actually is the true and ultimate objective behind the publication of this book? To ridicule the wisdom of Malay leaders in handling a crisis like the May 13, 1969? To blame the Malaysian Armed Forces for allegedly being anti-Chinese? To amplify the prejudice of the British colonialists and neo-colonialists on the independent and sovereign Malaysia? To belittle Malaysis’s 50th Merdeka celebration? To further the interest of certain foreign powers, especially those who are allegedly buying into some Malaysian GLCs through proxies?

I tend to agree with the writer on one thing - the May 13 riots “were by no means a spontaneous outburst of racial violence in a multi-racial society.” However, I am in total disagreement with him that the riots “were carefully planned and organized and that they were an excuse for the new regime to declare an emergency to effect the regime change.”

Malaysian leaders are not like US President, J W Bush, who needed a 911 tragedy to launch pre-emptive wars on Afghanistan and Iraq which had blatantly killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and destroying the heritage of independent nations. As such, Malaysian leaders did not need to plan a bloodshed to formulate the New Economic Policy.

Violence

In the context of the May 13 1969 incidence in Malaysia, no democratic Malaysian leaders had ever chosen to resort to violence in order to obtain absolute powers in this country.

But, according to a white paper - The Path Of Violence To Absolute Power - being tabled in Parliament by Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, on 8 November, 1968, it was elements of the CUF which had planned to resort to violence in order to achieve an absolute power in Malaysia in 1970s.

That was why several elements of the CUF had decided to boycott the 1969 general elections. And, it was during the 1969 general elections that the CUF elements played its central roles to disrupt the parliamentary democracy in this country.

The National Operations Council cited one example of such disruption on May 10, 1969 - the polling day for the 1969 general elections. The disruption came in the form of a mass funeral procession. The police had earlier permitted the procession to be held on May 9, 1969. But, the CUF elements illegally held the procession on May 10, 1969, to coincide with the polling day.

The report said: “These (CUF) elements defied Police instruction and organized a large parade in which an estimated number of ten thousand persons took part and marched through the centre of Kuala Lumpur, flouting every Police instruction. They chanted Maoist slogans, sang “the East is Red”, and displayed portraits of Mao Tse-Tong and the Red Flag. The parade passed through the heart of Kuala Lumpur and tied up traffic in almost every major street in the city, and provoked Malay bystanders with shouts of “Malai si!” (Death to the Malays!) and “Hutang Darah bayar darah (Blood debt will be repaid with blood).”

I am very sure the writer of the May 13 knows about the above procession. But, I wonder if any records about the same procession are being kept by the British Public Records Office. I also wonder if the British Public Records Office keeps newspaper reports about the same procession and its related background information.

Instigation

Well, if the records are there, why does the writer choose to write that the May 13 riots “were carefully planned” coup d’etat? If the records are there, why does the writer put the blame on the Malaysian government for what had happened? Why does he put the blame on Tun Razak for being “in complete control from the start of the riots and with the emergency in place, had a free hand in planning the post-1969 political makeup with the backing of the armed forces”? Does he expect the Malaysian government to just keep quiet and see that the country being torn to pieces?

Anyway, this game of blaming the Malaysian government for what had happened in May 1969, as being voiced out by the writer of The May 13, is actually almost similar in tone to the voice of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) in June 1969.

A white paper - The Resurgence Of Armed Communist In West Malaysia - being tabled by Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman, in the Dewan Rakyat on October 1, 1971, stated that in June 1969, the CPM had issued one statement accusing “the Rahman-Razak complot to blatantly killing the people of Malaysia, especially the Chinese” to enable them enforce a “fascist military rule” in Malaysia. The CPM statement also urged Malaysians not to forget the “blood for blood” slogan and those responsible for the bloodshed, i.e. the so-called (Rahman-Razak complot).

So, do we trace any similarity about what is being stated in the above white paper with this book May 13 book? If you don’t, please refer to page 65 of the book and read this statement: “The 1969 riots were the works of Malay thugs orchestrated by politicians behind the coup d’etat.”

When the CPM accused that it was the so-called “Rahman-Razak complot” which was responsible for the 1969 bloodshed, the CPM said it with an intention to instigate Malaysians, especially the Chinese, to go on with its struggle against the Malaysian government.

So, when the writer of May 13 says that it was the so-called Malay thugs being backed by Malay politicians who started the bloodshed in 1969, what does he have in mind? Does he want to instigate another ethnic riot in Malaysia?

Historical Amnesia

At the same time, why writer does not say about the activities of the CUF, about the subversive activities of the communist elements in some of the opposition parties in 1969, about the provocations “death to the Malays” on May 10, 1969, and about the maoist elements who held illegal procession on the polling day of May 1969 general elections?

Yes, what about all those facts Mr. Kua Kia Soong? Don’t tell us that you are suffering from a very acute historical amnesia syndrome? Or, have you forgotten the meaning of a Malay saying that you learnt in Batu Pahat that “terlajak perahu boleh diundur, terlajak cakap parah padahnya”?
Mr. Kua Kia Soong, the May 13 incidence is not as what you have said - a coup d’etat. Neither it is as what you want to portray - being started by Malay thugs backed by politicians behind the so-called coup d’etat. The May 13 incidence was the creation the neo-imperialist, the chauvinist, the extremist and the communist elements in Malaysia.

2007-05-30T03:04:00.000-07:00

Federal Court Dismisses
Lina Joy's Appeal
To Drop Islam In IC

PUTRAJAYA, May 30 (Bernama) -- Azlina Jailani, the woman who converted to Christianity, today failed in her appeal to get the Federal Court to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to drop the word "Islam" from her identity card.

In a 2-1 majority decision, the court ruled that Azlina, 42, who changed her name to Lina Joy, should obtain a Syariah Court order confirming her apostasy before the department could delete the word.

Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said the NRD had the right to require Lina Joy to produce an order from the Syariah Court to confirm that she had renounced the Islamic religion if she wanted to delete the word "Islam" in her identity card.

Justice Ahmad Fairuz and Federal Court Judge Datuk Alauddin Mohd Sheriff rejected the appeal while the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Richard Malanjum gave a dissenting judgment.

Lina had appealed to the Federal Court after the Court to Appeal in a 2-1 majority decision on Sept 19, 2005, prevented her from deleting the word "Islam" from her identity card on the grounds that her renunciation of Islam had not been validated by the Syariah Court or any other lawful Islamic authorities.

She made the appeal to the Appeals Court after the High Court in April 2001 ruled that as a Muslim she could not renounce Islam and that the matter of renunciation must be decided by the Syariah Court.

Lina named the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Council, the government of Malaysia and NRD director-general Datuk Wan Ibrahim Wan Ahmad as the respondents in her appeal.

On Feb 2, 1997, she applied to the NRD to change her name to Lina Joy on the grounds that she had converted to Christianity but it was rejected on Aug 11, 1997.

Her second application to the NRD to change her name in Nov 1999, however, was approved but the new identity card issued listed her as a Muslim.

- BERNAMA May 30, 2007

‘Group Led Us To Renounce Islam’

Seven university undergraduates who had renounced Islam after being courted by an organised movement which used a non-governmental welfare organisation as a front.

The undergraduates gave similar accounts of how the movement, which was supposedly involved in welfare and community activities, offered help and cooperation to them.

The ‘welfare’ movement would impress on the undergraduates of the ‘negative’ aspects of Islam and how a certain religion was more ‘liberal’ and ‘forgiving’. Members of the movement offered money, treats and even love to make the mostly female students feel indebted and eventually convinced them to renounce Islam.

The seven undergraduates, however, admitted that they left Islam unwillingly.

He cited an example of an undergraduate of a university in the Klang Valley who felt indebted to the movement which paid for her studies and rent.

On weekends, Hanafi said the undergraduate was invited to participate in “welfare” activities and earned RM100 daily.

He said the movement raised certain issues to confuse the undergraduate about Islam and influenced her to leave Islam.

“After leaving Islam, she was asked to distribute religious brochures at Dataran Merdeka.

The Star, Monday, May 21, 2007

Swiss Against The Minaret

Minaret a symbol of aggressive Islam. The largest political party in Switzerland's parliament has begun a campaign to ban the building of minarets, saying the minaret is not necessarily a symbol of worship but a symbol of Islamic law.

"The move has shocked Switzerland's 350,000 Muslims, many of whom have been campaigning for decades for more recognition for their faith. In theory Switzerland is a secular state, whose constitution guarantees freedom of religious expression to all. In practice however mosques in Switzerland tend to be confined to disused warehouses and factories.
Across the country, there are only two small minarets, one in Zurich and one in Geneva, neither of which are permitted to make the call to prayer. In Switzerland's capital Berne, the largest mosque is a former underground car park."
[Read how the Swiss view Muslims here].

We think that the developed Western world is more tolerant to religious diversity. No way. But if the minaret is on the riyals and dinars - and Muslim sheikhs and oil-rich countries bank in billions of Euro and USD's worth in Swiss banks - I don't think the Swiss banks will be concerned.

http://rockybru.blogspot.com Tuesday, May 29, 2007

2007-05-25T03:11:00.000-07:00

Hsien Loong’s Misdemaenour
Abdullah Does The Cleaning?

I had posed a very straight forward and simple question is my recent posting - was it true that Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, had said in Langkawi last week, that the Malaysia-Singapore joint committee on Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johore, was consultative in nature?

I had written a lengthy article about this - There Was A Media Conspiracy On The Slip Of The Tongue Issue? – in www.roncyberprince.blogspot.com Sunday, May 20, 2007.

I wrote the article after I spotted irregularities in two Bernama reports on May 15, 2007, about the joint committee for IDR.

Here is the Bernama report on May 15, 2007, posted at 14:38 pm:

Malaysia-S'pore Agree On Committees To Oversee Joint Cooperation In IDR

By Noor Hayati Muda and Massita Ahmad

LANGKAWI, May 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to set up a ministerial-level committee on each side to oversee joint cooperation in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johor.

There will be consultative committees to work on areas such as easy access for investment, tourism and environment cooperation in IDR.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, said this in a joint news conference after a delegation meeting here today.

And, this is the Bernama report, on the same subject matter, on May 15, 2007, but posted at 19:47 pm:

Malaysia-Singapore Agree On Joint Committee To Oversee Cooperation In IDR

LANGKAWI, May 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to set up a ministerial-level joint committee to oversee some areas of cooperation between the two countries in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johor.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today the joint committee would be represented by a minister from each side.

"They will be supported by officials, and at any time that they feel that someone has to be invited to discuss, they can," he told reporters at the conclusion of a two-day unofficial meeting with his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, here.

Earlier, during a joint news conference, Abdullah and Lee announced the establishment of the committee which would be tasked to further discuss some of the decisions agreed upon by both leaders concerning cooperation in the IDR.

Without any explanation whatsoever, the Bernama report on May 15, 2007, 19:47 pm, had deleted this paragraph - There will be consultative committees to work on areas such as easy access for investment, tourism and environment cooperation in IDR. – which appeared in its earlier report at 14:38 pm.

The Bernama report posted at 19:47 pm had motivated me to find out the reason(s) behind the deletion of the words “consultative committee”. It was a futile effort. I could not get any answers from anywhere or anybody, except from one report from the NST.

Here is the report by the NST May 16, 2007:

Fruitful talks: Special panel to boost investments in Iskandar

By Wan Hamidi Hamid

LANGKAWI: A special ministerial committee will be formed by Malaysia and Singapore to focus solely on bringing in investments and facilitating business and tourism in southern Johor’s Iskandar Development Region.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the committee would comprise a minister from each country and other ministers will be invited to join in when related issues involving specific projects and programmes were involved.

He said it would be a general committee and not a consultative committee.

A consultative committee could imply the need to refer to each government in making decisions, which would be unfair to Malaysia, as Iskandar is a Malaysian project, and not a joint venture with another country.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Frontpage/20070516072227/Article/index_html

The above report prompted me to ask these questions: Why the two paragraphs in italic are not found in reports on the similar topic by Bernama, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and The Star? Who said those words then? The NST or Abdullah? If NST, why? If Abdullah, why the other papers and Bernama blacked out these important paragraphs?

I found replies to some of the above questions from Wan Hamidi’s column in the NST May 17, 2007.

Here is the report:

Rising to a new level of understanding
by Wan Hamidi Hamid.

…… Even Tuesday’s discussion in Langkawi created a small furore when Lee used the term "consultative committee" to describe a special ministerial committee between Malaysia and Singapore to help boost the IDR’s growth.

Abdullah cleared the air when he explained that the word "consultative" did not arise at all and it was just a joint committee for both sides of the Johor Strait to ensure the success of IDR.

To some people, "consultative" would mean the committee being answerable to both governments. This is ridiculous because IDR is Malaysian in its entirety and has nothing to do with Singapore. Having to consult Singapore would mean relinquishing sovereignty. This is not the case, of course. That’s why Lee was quick to explain that it was never meant to be a consultative committee and the Singapore media delegation had been informed of the little slip of the tongue.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/Columns/20070517075244/Article/index_html

Wan Hamidi’s column verifies that the words “consultative committee” were actually said by Lee Hsien Loong. But, they were later deleted. Why? Because it gave negative implications. Why? Because it definitely made people like me to question the integrity of IDR and IRDA. Why, because it implied that Malaysia surrendered its sovereignty to Singapore.

So, to borrow Wan Hamidi’s words, if “to some people, "consultative" would mean the committee being answerable to both governments,” and “having to consult Singapore would mean relinquishing sovereignty” of Malaysia, why did Lee Hsien Loong, as being reported by the NST “was quick to explain that it was never meant to be a consultative committee” only informed “ the Singapore media delegation” about “ the little slip of the tongue.”?

If Wan Hamidi knew and wrote in his column two days after the event about the so-called “little slip of the tongue”, why other Malaysian newspapers were silent about it? Why Wan Hamidi’s take about the matter was not reported by Bernama and other Malaysia press? Why Lee Hsien Loong only corrected himself through the Singapore press team in his delegation? Why Lee Hsien Loong did not issue official correction about “the little slip of the tongue” made by him in Langkawi to all newspapers?

In addition, why even the NST’s take that “Abdullah cleared the air when he explained that the word "consultative" did not arise at all and it was just a joint committee for both sides of the Johor Strait to ensure the success of IDR” is also not being reported by other Malaysian press?

I have to again raise the above questions because until today Lee Hsien Loong still keeps quiet about his “little slip of the tongue” incidence. Ironically, it is Abdullah who is now being questioned by the Press even while he is in Tokyo.

Here is an example of Abdullah’s statement while in Tokyo:

PM: No Meddling By Singapore

By Saodah Elias

TOKYO: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has brushed aside fears expressed by some quarters of Singapore meddling in the development of the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

He said the fears arose after Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong inadvertently used the word consultative committee at a press conference in Langkawi last week.

Abdullah and Lee had agreed to set up a special ministerial committee to discuss areas of co-operation including the usage of smartcard for easier travel between IDR and Singapore and the promotion of tourism. A minister will be appointed from each country to sit on the committee.

“That (Lee’s announcement) was a mistake, a slip of the tongue. I have clarified the matter,” he said in reply to a question by a Singapore journalist who had asked him to comment on reports that Johoreans were fearful of Singapore’s involvement in the project during the 13th Nikkei Conference here yesterday.

After that announcement, Abdullah said, the people of Johor were worried that it would mean that any decision that needed to be made with regards to the IDR would have to be referred to Singapore for approval.

“But that is not correct. That will never happen,” he added.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/25/nation/17834259&sec=nation

I really sympathize Abdullah. It was Lee Hsien Loong who made the boo-boo in Langkawi. But, why is it Abdullah to be the one who has to clear the air? Is this a typical Singapore diplomacy? Or, is it a new Malaysian diplomacy in the context of IDR? Does Malaysia has to stoop this low to please Singapore – the little red dot in the Equator – just because of IDR?

What has Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to say about this? Doesn’t the Wisma Putra think Lee Hsien Loong has to issue an official explanation about his “little slip of the tongue” issue to relief the burden of explanation from Abdullah? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

2,000 Indonesian Islands
May Disappear By 2030

YOGYAKARTA, May 23 (Bernama) -- Some 2000 islands in Indonesia may disappear by 2030 due to expected rise in the sea level, according to Yogyakarta Meteorology and Geophysics Office chief Jaya Murjaya.

"Up to 2030, the sea level will rise by eight to 29cm and engulf around 2,000 islands in Indonesia," he told a national geographic seminar at the Yogyakarta State University here today.

The disappearance of the islands and the rise in the sea level would also reduce the width of Indonesia`s land territory, the state news agency, Antara, quoted Jaya as saying.

He said accumulation of global warming in the atmosphere and thinning of the ozone layer would contribute to the rise in temperature on the earth's surface.

"According to research, illegal human activities have contributed to the rise in the earth`s temperature caused by an increase in the concentration of gas emissions," he said.

He said global warming would also change the system of air circulation not only on the earth`s surface but also in the atmosphere.

Global warming would cause the ice layers at the North and South poles to melt and this in turn would lead to a continuous rise in the sea level, he added.

- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com

2007-05-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

The Toyol Code 2007

UMNO Negeri Diarah
Gerakkan Jentera PRU

Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) menulis dalam kolumnya - The Corridors Of Power - di Malaysia Today, bahawa tidak lama lagi dijangka berlaku satu “ledakan besar” dalam politik Malaysia. Apakah “ledakan besar” itu, sama-samalah kita tunggu kedatangannya.

Hari ini, Toyol saya pula mengirimkan SMS berikut: PRU tak lama lagi. Surat arahan untuk menggerakkan jentera pilihan raya dikeluarkan (oleh Ibu Pejabat UMNO Malaysia?) kepada seluruh Badan Perhubungan UMNO Negeri, semalam (Isnin, 21Mei 2007).

You want to know more? Please read http://kuda-kepang.blogspot.com

2007-05-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

The Best Ever IAP Meeting?

On May 18, 2007, Bernama quoted Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying that the recent 10th MSC Malaysia International Advisory Panel (IAP) meeting in Putrajaya was “the best IAP meeting so far.”

The above statement implied that the previous IAP meetings during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration were of no match at all to the recent one being chaired by Abdullah. But, it should definitely make all Malaysians feel proud of their reigning prime minister.

However, Raja Petra Kamarudin's posting - The Circus Is In Town - in his Malaysia Today’s column, The Corridors Of Power, may make all of us think twice about how we perceive Abdullah’s performance at the recent IAP meeting.

This is what RPK has written on Abdullah at the IAP meeting.

The following is the testimony of a participant in the recent 10th MSC Malaysia International Advisory Panel (IAP) meeting at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

This is what that participant told Malaysia Today:

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Multimedia Super-corridor or MSC is not known by that name anymore. Senior Government staffers say that Abdullah Badawi wanted a new identity to be created to erase any links between the MSC and its founder, Tun Dr Mahathir. The Multimedia Super-corridor is now just called ‘MSC Malaysia’. On the more practical side, the change of name entailed the award of lucrative contracts to advertisers, printing new logos, new stationery and repainting vehicles and buildings. A massive amount of money changed hands.

Amidst all the shop-talk about IT, the Prime Minister interrupted the discussion to say that he knew a ‘Prince Mcqueen’ in Saudi Arabia. For the benefit of those who thought they may have misheard him, the Prime Minister repeated that he knew a ‘Prince Mcqueen in Saudi Arabia’. Who exactly is this ‘Prince Mcqueen’ and what relevance is it to the IAP meeting or to Malaysia’s MSC was not made clear by the PM.

Other than a hearing disorder, the Prime Minister also exhibited a reading disability. When an American IT expert spoke about the importance of ‘IT Support Centres’, the Prime Minister interrupted him and asked, “Did you say ‘Sport Centres’?” Earlier, when another American delegate spoke about ‘inflexion points’ (referring to life cycles in IT development), the Prime Minister cut him short with a ‘kedai kopi’ style ‘what?’

When a Japanese delegate spoke of the need for Malaysia to develop a ‘blue ocean’ strategy for the next phase of IT development, the Prime Minister interrupted him to say that he had seen a book about ‘blue ocean strategies’ and that he knew the author. He did not say if he had read the book though. When an American delegate made the same suggestion, that Malaysian IT should aim for a ‘moon shot’, meaning to really take IT development sky high, our Prime Minister again interrupted to ask, “What is a moon shot?”

When the discussion turned to broadband penetration, the digital divide and empowering rural communities through IT, the Prime Minister said that poor people in the Middle East and Africa did not own land. He said that in Malaysia this problem had been overcome through land development schemes like Felda where the poor were given free land to plant oil palm. For delegates who were puzzled about the relevance of land development at an IT conference, the Prime Minister wrapped up his intervention by pointing out that, “Oil palm is the tree and palm oil is the oil.” (I am not making this up okay?)

This summarises the two full days the Prime Minister wasted at the IAP. Malaysians can console themselves with knowing that he did not waste two full days elsewhere where he could have done some real damage - like in his office.

Earlier, while reading his opening speech from a script which he had obviously never seen before, the Prime Minister fumbled when he missed a line. Having lost the flow of the script, he started reading the same sentence again. He still fumbled and had to stop reading. Again he had to read the sentence from the beginning. He fumbled yet again and this time became visibly embarrassed. By his third attempt, the large conference hall had become deathly quiet and everyone was squirming in embarrassment as well. Finally, with everyone’s prayer and positive energy focused on the bungling Prime Minister, he was able to complete the sentence.

When he deviated from the prepared script, the Prime Minister made more bungling errors. He said the KLSE Composite Index had achieved its highest peak ‘five times’ in April this year. One would have thought that there could be only one highest peak. The Prime Minister then said that, before this, the KLSE reached its highest peak “13 years ago in 1993”. This is 2007. For those who were hard of hearing, the Prime Minister then repeated, almost in the same breath, that “the KLSE had reached its highest peak, exceeding 1,400 points, in 1994.” (Actually, the KLSE reached its highest peak in 1993 and it never went beyond 1,350 points). For those poor souls who were confused by these contradicting statements, the Prime Minister then said that the KLSE reached its highest peak on one specific day in 1995.

The Prime Minister then spoke loudly into the microphone. “The Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakob will know where the KLSE Composite Index is. Tan Sri Nor Mohamed can you please tell us?” demanded the Prime Minister. But Nor Mohamed Yakob was not able to answer because he was not in the conference hall. He was not attending the IAP meeting.

By the second day, without any real leads from Abdullah Badawi, the IAP delegates engaged in shop-talk directly across the floor, leaving the Prime Minister even further in the dark. The role of the Prime Minister of Malaysia as the Chairman of the IAP was reduced to picking out delegates who raised their hands to speak.

The IAP meeting is becoming a farce. Government people say despite the free travel, food and lodging, many invitees just refuse to attend the IAP. The likes of Bill Gates will not be seen anymore. The attendees are now mostly low key General Managers, Vice Presidents and small businessmen who absorbed the Prime Minister’s rapt inattention for two days.

Although over 200 so-called ‘recommendations’ were listed, no major resolutions were tabled. Nothing was decided upon. There are absolutely no action plans arising out of this IAP meeting. The entire IAP meeting was just a PR event, an opportunity to have their pictures taken and carefully crafted stories appear in the newspapers the following day, to be read by villagers throughout the country. Well we all know this already. The IAP members know it too. - http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/corridors.php?itemid=4805

I choose to republish the above account by RPK because according to Bernama May 18, 2007, this is what Abdullah had said about the recent IAP meeting:

PUTRAJAYA, May 18 (Bernama) -- Describing it as the best Multimedia Super Corridor International Advisory Panel (IAP) meeting thus far, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is pleased with its outcome today.

The prime minister said the 10th MSC Malaysia IAP meeting had deliberated on a wide range of subjects from knowledge infrastructure to developing global icons from Malaysia.

"This meeting, the best IAP meeting so far," he told reporters at the end of the meeting at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here. The meeting began yesterday. - www.bernama.com May 18, 2007.

Now, after we have read RPK’s account and also Abdullah’s statement, we are bound to ask: who is telling the truth about the recent IAP meeting? Abdullah or RPK? And, can we believe that the meeting was “the best IAP meeting so far"? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-22T00:58:00.000-07:00

Be Responsible
Maintain Harmony In Society
Zam Tells Bloggers

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Bernama) -- Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin Tuesday reminded bloggers of their responsibilities in maintaining harmony among Malaysia's multiracial society.

He said bloggers, being the so-called "citizen journalists", must not abuse the freedom given by the government and must be responsible in their writings and actions so as not to jeopardise the unity among the people.

"We do not consider them (bloggers) as a threat but we do not want to return to the era where we depend on rumours (for news)," he told reporters after launching the Malaysian Press Institute's (MPI) new logo here today.

Earlier in his speech, Zainuddin said media practitioners and bloggers had their own roles in developing the nation through their writings.

For that, he said, they must respect the status quo of the social contract which became the pillar of this nation.

"Lately, I found that most of the (political) bloggers have the tendency to question the basis of the social contract which had been agreed upon by our forefathers," he said.

Zainuddin said that about 20,000 out of the 11 million Internet users in the country were actively involved in political blogs.

http://www.bernama.com

2007-05-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Congratulation
TDM And RPK

I republish the article below in honor of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad because Malaysia’s “impressive development under his stewardship is undeniable”, and in honor of Malaysia’s most outstanding blogger, YM Raja Petra Kamarudin, for his brave, excellent, consistent and tremendous contribution to the development of cyber democracy in Malaysia. – Ruhanie Ahmad

Top 20 Asian Progressives

By Michael Backman
World Business

Other publications list Asia's most influential, or its most powerful or richest, but World Business is more forward-looking than that. We have spotlighted the individuals driving Asia forward - those that are helping to bring about rules-based civil societies, or who are advancing the cause of better governance, be it in business or government. One of the greatest guarantees of freedom is the free-flow of information, debate and commentary, and so our list includes several who are integral to promoting debate where governments of the region seek to restrict it. Included are several prominent bloggers who risk their livelihoods to bring to the people of Asia commentary and opinion that is a matter of course in the West.

We have included some of the region's prominent businesspeople, notable not only for their forward-looking approach but also for their philanthropy, which remains essential in Asia where governments for the most part lack sufficient resources to do all that should be done to take care of society's most vulnerable. And there are some prominent legislators: Asia is home to some of the world's most repressive regimes, but others, such as Vietnam's current leadership, have shown a preparedness to ditch ideology in favour of improving their people's welfare.

Some of the names will invite controversy: as administrator of Tibet, Hu Jintao was responsible for a crackdown in 1989 that saw hundreds of Tibetan protestors killed; Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad did not use his period of power to introduce greater transparency in government tendering or stamp out corruption in Malaysia's police force; and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known as Prachanda, leader of the Maoists in Nepal, led a bloody decade-long war against the Nepalese government. But it is our contention that these individuals are now helping to reform Asia, so that in future the region's citizens will enjoy greater freedoms than in the past.

1. HU JINTAO, CHINA

Hu Jintao is the eighth General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, and China's paramount leader and president. The general rule of thumb has become that each new Chinese leader is less hard-line than the last and Hu bears this out. He succeeded Jiang Zemin in 2002 and to date has shown himself to be cosmopolitan, worldly and technocratic. He speaks relatively unaccented Mandarin, unlike most of his predecessors, underlining his urbane image.

Hu rose through China's construction ministry, became involved in the Communist party and was introduced to a series of mentors who recognised his talent. He was appointed party chief of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1988, where he took a hard-line politically, instigating a crackdown in 1989 that saw the deaths of several hundred Tibetan activists. But at the same time, he liberalised cultural activities. This apparently paradoxical approach sums up his style: protect the Chinese state at all costs, but increase personal freedoms.

Since becoming president, one of Hu's priorities has been the development of China's poorer inner provinces to ensure a better distribution of the country's economic advancement. Transparency in government decision-making has also increased - China's news agency now publishes Politburo standing committee meeting details, and foreign journalists enjoy unprecedented access. Emphasis on GDP growth has lessened; instead, there is more concern with the quality of growth.

China's foreign policy, particularly its cultivation of links with African and South American states, illustrates that under Hu, China is becoming more of a commercial player on the world stage and less of a political strategist for its own sake.

2. RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN, MALAYSIA

Though more robust than that of Singapore, Malaysia's media is nonetheless tame. All significant media outlets are sympathetic to the government, there is little investigative journalism and discussion of many issues is discouraged. The newspapers focus endlessly on crime and lifestyle issues, and Malaysians tend to buy them for their job ads and to find out what's showing at the cinema. Increasingly, the serious reporting and commentary is done by bloggers, of which Raja Petra Kamarudin's www.malaysia-today.net is the best.

Petra, a nephew of a former king of Malaysia, founded Malaysia-today in 2004 and works on it full time. The site now gets an astonishing 1.8 million hits on an average day, making it much more popular than any Malaysian newspaper. Malaysia-today plays an enormously important role in its attempts to keep the government accountable. It reports on ministers' many business interests, nepotism and just about anything else that the government would prefer to keep quiet. Petra uses the site to denounce money politics, corruption and Malaysia's endless fascination with race and race-based politics. A popular, ongoing series is the Khairy Chronicles, which provides an account of the doings of the prime minister's young, unelected, but highly influential son-in-law.

Many reports have been made against Petra to the police, agents from Malaysia's Special Branch have questioned him on several occasions and his computers have been seized. Recently, he reported how the government intended to use a nominee company to borrow $50 billion, in order to avoid recording the loan as government borrowing. He has also reported on a particularly grisly murder that appeared to implicate senior government figures.

3. LOU JIWEI, CHINA

Lou Jiwei has been appointed to head the investment agency that will manage $200 billion of China's $1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, which have accrued from inwards foreign investment and export earnings. Finance minister Jin Renqing said in March that the new agency will use "international best practices" and that "we will try to maximise profits and returns on our management of foreign exchange, guided by the principles of safety and risk management". The agency will model itself on the Singapore government's Temasek Holdings, but will be twice its size.

Educated and cosmopolitan, Lou's reputation as a moderniser precedes his appointment to the agency. He has been at the forefront of reforming China's economy for more than two decades and is a well-regarded technocrat. He spearheaded the reform of China's financial services industry during his seven-year term as vice-minister of finance. A protege of the reformist premier Zhu Rongji, Lou was pivotal in redesigning China's tax system and drawing up plans for a domestic bond market as the deputy head of the Shanghai Commission for Economic Regulation.

A computer programmer turned economist, he has always been a low-key policy specialist and perhaps represents the best hope for China's troubled Communist party. As the party's devotion to Marxist and Maoist ideology has waned, talent in running China's increasingly sophisticated economy has become more important. Unlike many of his colleagues, Lou did not join the rallies in Shanghai's People's Park in 1989 in support of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. He prefers to use more official channels and consequently has been one of China's most effective reformers.

4. NARAYANA MURTHY, INDIA

Narayana Murthy founded global consulting and IT services giant Infosys Technologies in 1981. He and a handful of other software engineers, who saw IT outsourcing's potential, have almost single-handedly changed how the world thinks about India. In the space of one generation, the popular perception has changed from one of chronic poverty and over-population to one of technical sophistication and a country on the move. Of course, the reality lies somewhere in between, but this change in perception has been more important within India than outside, giving Indians a new confidence. Importantly, it has shown that India can compete on the world economic stage in a sector not assisted by government or hidden behind tariffs.

Murthy served as Infosys chairman for 20 years until 2002, and as executive chairman of the board and chief mentor from 2002 to 2006. The company expects revenues of more than $3 billion this year. He has been prominent in the fight in India for better corporate governance and was appointed chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of India's Committee on Corporate Governance in 2003,

He is a member of the advisory board of Harvard Business School's Corporate Governance initiative. He is also on the board of directors of INSEAD and is an independent director of DBS, Singapore's largest bank. In March, he became chairman of the Asia Business Council, and he joins Unilever's board this month as a non-executive director. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and honours, and in December 2005 was voted the seventh most admired CEO/chairman in a global study by the Economist Intelligence Unit. In March, he denied that he was interested in running for the presidency of India.

5. NGUYEN TAN DUNG, VIETNAM

Nguyen Tan Dung was appointed prime minister of Vietnam in June 2006 after the retirement of his predecessor, Phan Van Khai. At 57, he is the first Vietnamese communist leader to be born after the August Revolution in 1945 and is Vietnam's youngest prime minister. Like Khai, he is a reformer and a moderniser; he was appointed to carry on the economic reforms that have seen the economy grow at about 7% a year and permitted the country's admission to the WTO in 2006.

Dung is a technocrat and is economically literate, but he is not the only moderniser in the government. Nguyen Minh Triet, who was appointed president when Dung was appointed prime minister, is also a reformer. And the third member of the power triumvirate, communist party chief Nong Duc Manh, is another keen moderniser with a strong preference for privatising state-owned assets.

Dung was appointed one of five deputy prime ministers in 1997; a year later he was also made governor of Vietnam's central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam, where he pushed forward monetary reform and bank mergers, thus giving the country's financial system a more stable foundation. On becoming prime minister, he nominated fighting corruption and developing the Vietnamese economy in a sustainable way as two of his priorities. On one of his first overseas trips as prime minister, Dung met the Pope at the Vatican in January, the first Vietnamese leader to do so.

Dung is overseeing Vietnam's progress from a communist state to a more market-oriented country that is an active and mature participant on the world stage. He is firmly committed to carrying on the legacy of his recent predecessors - that of further openness and economic freedom.

6. MUHAMMAD YUNUS, BANGLADESH

Born in 1940, Muhammad Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank, which provides micro-credit loans to poor, would-be entrepreneurs who would otherwise be denied credit by the formal banking system. For his efforts, he and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Yunus is also the recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the World Food Prize and the Sydney Peace Prize.

Yunus graduated in economics from Dhaka University, later obtaining a PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University. He first became interested in what later became known as micro-credit during the 1974 Bangladesh famine. His first loan - from his own pocket - was for $27 to a woman who made bamboo furniture. He soon realised that very small loans could make a big difference to poor people who want to start or expand a small business.

In 1976, the Grameen Bank started to make loans to poor Bangladeshis. It has since lent more than $5.1 billion to 5.3 million borrowers. More than 96% of loans are to women: they are more impoverished and have also proven to be more diligent repayers than men. Repayment is encouraged by lending to informal groups whose members act as co-guarantors. The success of the Grameen model has inspired similar efforts throughout the developing world and there are now micro-credit institutions in more than 23 countries.

Yunus announced in February that public pressure to intervene in Bangladesh's violent and complex political arena had forced his decision to set up a new political party. The country has been ruled by a military-backed administration since 11 January, when the president declared a state of emergency and cancelled parliamentary elections.

7. MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, MALAYSIA

Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003, was perhaps Asia's most misunderstood leader. Mahathir had plenty of critics, but the country's impressive development under his stewardship is undeniable. Also undeniable is his popularity among Malaysia's minority ethnic groups, particularly the Chinese, who comprise about 30% of the population. Mahathir managed to persuade different ethnic groups to think of themselves as Malaysians, despite economic and education policies that favoured the majority Malay population at the expense of the commercially successful Chinese minority.

These policies helped to break the nexus between great wealth and (Chinese) ethnicity, thus making the Chinese less of a target politically in the event of unrest. Mahathir also kept a lid on Islamic fundamentalism, showing not just Malaysia but much of the Islamic world that economic progress and Islam can go hand in hand. Under Mahathir, the media and the judiciary lacked independence, but Malaysians enjoy far more political freedoms than the citizens of neighbouring Singapore.

Mahathir resigned as prime minister while still popular and at a time of his choosing. In retirement, he has emerged as a loud critic of the new administration, bringing to Malaysia a level of public debate that few would have thought possible. His regular interventions on policy issues have almost given Malaysia the strong opposition voice that it has not previously had.

He has attacked the government for not doing enough to tackle the widespread corruption, and has criticised the concessions given to foreign firms that invest in an economic zone in southern Malaysia. Even out of office, Mahathir continues to modernise his country.

8. LI KA SHING, HONG KONG

Sir Li Ka Shing has broken the mould. When most ethnic Chinese become big in business, it usually means they simply become even bigger traders of goods. But not Li. An immigrant from mainland China, he had his start making and selling plastic flowers. As he became more successful, he moved increasingly into providing services, albeit with infrastructure development - specifically, providing port services in Hong Kong, mainland China, India and elsewhere, and more recently becoming a worldwide force in telecommunications services.

By moving beyond the old cultural stereotype, Li has transformed his group of companies into one of Asia's first home-grown genuine multinationals. He is admired around the world rather than merely in Hong Kong as an astute investor, and along the way has made himself the world's ninth richest individual, with an estimated fortune of $23 billion. But he does not lead an extravagant lifestyle: the main indicator of his wealth and status is that he's rarely seen without a large contingent of bodyguards.

Cheung Kong Holdings emerged in the early 1970s; today, the group operates in 54 countries and employs 220,000 people. In 1979, Li acquired Hutchison Whampoa, which became the vehicle for his electricity generation, ports and telecommunications interests. Li was an early investor in telecoms group Orange, before selling out to Germany's Mannesmann Group in 2001 for a profit of more than $15 billion. In January 2007 Hutchison agreed to sell its 67% stake in Indian mobile phone operator Hutchison Essar to Vodafone for $9 billion.

Li has established the Li Ka Shing Foundation for charitable works and is a major donor to education and healthcare - he is believed to have given away more than $1 billion to date.

9. JAIME AUGUSTO ZOBEL DE AYALA, PHILIPPINES

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala is the head of the influential Ayala Group, one of the Philippines' biggest business groups. Zobel studied economics at Harvard and has an MBA from Harvard. He is an intellectual, has a truly global outlook and is a strong promoter of the principles of corporate governance in a country that sorely needs them.

Ayala has interests in real estate, water supply, automobile distribution, banking and food production, and has a reputation for being prudent and conservative. Zobel serves as chairman of the family holding company, Ayala Corporation, the group's mobile telephone operator Globe Telecom and the Bank of the Philippine Islands. He is also co-vice chairman of the Ayala Foundation, a leading corporate donor in the Philippines. The foundation has a US-based arm that encourages Filipinos to contribute to social development programmes in the Philippines.

The family's sound management practice is exemplary by Asian standards. It does not have private business interests that run parallel with its listed companies, and so it is free of the conflicts of interests that bedevil many Asian family-controlled conglomerates. All Ayala businesses are listed or belong to a parent company that is.

The family is of Spanish descent, but under Zobel it has moved to open its management ranks to Filipinos of any ethnicity. Family members are involved in the group's management only if they have the requisite professional skills. The group has raised its accounting practices to international standards, ahead of that mandated by the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Philippine GAAP.

10. SYED MOKHTAR AL-BUKHARY, MALAYSIA

Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary has built himself up from almost nothing to be one of Malaysia's richest men. He has developed port facilities and an airport in southern Malaysia, as well as amassing interests in property, hotels, power stations, rubber plantations, banking, retailing and construction. His companies are run by professional managers throughout, rather than family members.

He dislikes publicity and is remarkable by Malaysian corporate standards in not using his shareholders' money to buy a corporate jet, a helicopter or a fleet of Mercedes-Benz. He has no interest in personal aggrandisement. Instead, his great passion is his charitable foundation, the Al-Bukhary Foundation, into which he has poured millions to build mosques, schools and hospitals. The foundation has also built, stocked and runs the Islamic Art Museum in Kuala Lumpur, a world-class institution that puts Malaysia's National Museum to shame. A modern Muslim, he does not believe that women should cover their heads or faces and feels that Islam should return to what it was once known for: commerce and the arts.

In late 2006, his MMC Corporation, together with a local partner, won an extraordinary $30 billion infrastructure deal in Saudi Arabia to develop a new industrial and commercial city. It's a huge undertaking for any company, let alone a Malaysian one, and it represents how Al-Bukhary likes to do business. He is a strong promoter of Muslim cross-border investment and trading ties, in the same way that other commercial ethnic groups trade across borders.

Al-Bukhary is a breath of fresh air for corporate Malaysia and an inspiration to Muslims everywhere.

11. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO, INDONESIA

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected president of Indonesia in 2004. To some, his presidency has been disappointing, but then it could barely be anything else. Indonesia's problems are so enormous and intractable that the job is near-impossible. So why is Yudhoyono one of Asia's top progressives? Largely because of what he's not: he is not corrupt, prone to nepotism, administratively incompetent or an obsessive nationalist.

He has enormous personal integrity and has done a remarkable job in balancing Indonesia's many conflicting interests in this the world's largest Islamic country, but also one of its most ethnically diverse. A retired general, he is Indonesia's sixth president but the first to have been elected directly by voters. He is an English speaker, in contrast with his immediate predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri, a Jakarta housewife whose only political attribute was that her father had been president. Unlike other senior politicians' children, Yudhoyono's two sons are not in business. Each of ex-president Soeharto's six children started one or more conglomerates, all dependent on government favours and concessions.

Yudhoyono earned a reputation as one of the army's pro-reform officers in the last days of Soeharto's regime. In the aftermath of Soeharto's fall in 1998, Yudhoyono talked publicly about his ideas for reforming the role of the military and Indonesia more generally. His popularity rose, and he was made co-ordinating minister for politics and security. One of his first tasks was to remove the army from political life.

Yudhoyono's time as president has been plagued by natural disasters, including the 2004 tsunami. Nonetheless, he has negotiated a peace settlement with rebels in the province of Aceh, and cut fuel subsidies twice in 2005.

12. RATAN TATA, INDIA

Ratan Tata is India's most progressive businessman on several counts: he has expanded a family business into a well-run international conglomerate and has done so largely on behalf of charity - the principal owners of the Tata Group are a series of charities. The family's activities (it has given millions to research, environment projects and schools), like those of the rest of India's small Parsee community of which Tata is a member, have made it well-liked and admired, despite its wealth and ethnic minority status. The Parsees provide a valuable lesson to other rich business minorities on how to avoid persecution from an envious majority.

Tata joined the family business after graduating in architecture and structural engineering from Cornell University in 1962. In 1991, he took over as group chairman, ushering in a period of management rationalisation and greater investment in core activities that have allowed the group to expand to its current size - Tata Group has the largest capitalisation on the Mumbai stock exchange. The group bought Tetley Tea in 2000 for $421 million, the truck division of South Korea's Daewoo for $102 million in 2004 and, in January, Europe's Corus steel-making group for a massive $11.3 billion. Under Tata, the group has been at the forefront of India's push to become the world's biggest exporter of IT services.

Tata is on the board of India's central bank and is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. Among his other public and charitable roles, he also serves on the programme board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS initiative. Tata has shown India that its companies can be world class, and he is arguably the country's most important philanthropist.

13. WARREN LICHTENSTEIN, JAPAN/KOREA

A US citizen, Warren Lichtenstein is an activist investor and founder of Steel Partners, a New York-based hedge fund. The fund has stakes in more than 100 companies in the US, Japan and Korea. Lichtenstein is a demanding minority investor, who exercises shareholder rights to enforce disclosure and accountability from the companies in which he invests. Accordingly, he has been something of a shock to corporate Japan and Korea, in which minority shareholders are expected to know their place.

In Japan, many listed companies hold their AGMs on the same day to limit the number of meetings that investors in multiple companies can attend. Many companies have little interest in shareholder value and build up huge cash piles with no intention of returning funds to shareholders. This, and other sluggish practices, damages the reputation of the stock market and hinders the flow of new capital.

Lichtenstein targets cash-rich firms with market capitalisations well below net asset values, builds up a stake in them and then threatens a takeover unless they return their cash to shareholders. His targeting of several Japanese companies in 2003 impelled the boards of dozens of unrelated Japanese companies to pre-emptively increase their dividend payouts. In Korea, Lichtenstein teamed up with fellow fund manager Carl Icahn to launch a hostile takeover bid for South Korea's biggest tobacco company, KT&G. Hostile takeovers are almost unheard of in Korea and the move created an uproar, but KT&G agreed to return $2.9 billion to shareholders.

Lichtenstein's method of doing business has made him immensely wealthy, but he has also dramatically changed the behaviour of Japanese and Korean companies.

14. MAHESH, AJAY AND SHARAD AMALEAN, SRI LANKA

A Sri Lankan-based intimate apparel maker, the three Amalean brothers founded MAS Holdings in 1986. It is the largest supplier to Victoria's Secret and other customers include Gap, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Reebok. In March 2007, MAS announced plans to launch its own brand this August.

The company has 17 plants in eight countries and 35,000 employees. But what's remarkable about it is its home-grown corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. Women comprise more than 90% of MAS' employees and so the company established the Women Go Beyond programme to educate and empower its employees. A beauty, health and hygiene certificate is offered, and there are classes on reproductive health, domestic violence and traditional crafts. Nearby schools and hospitals are funded and scholarships are awarded.

MAS set up its plants in rural locations near villages so that women would not have to leave their families to find work, and all employees must be aged at least 18 (in contrast, Chinese factories can take on employees as young as 14). The company also invests in developing clear career paths: its Ready to Unleash programme aims to guide graduates into the company and on to management levels.

MAS has faced intense competition from China. The international Multi-Fibre Agreement, which ended in 2005, ensured that at least some of the West's clothing and textiles were sourced from smaller developing countries. Since then, the Amaleans have shown that it is possible to compete with sweatshops in China by emphasising their CSR programme, which has made MAS a more attractive source for retailers with ethical buying policies.

15. JARUVAN MAINTAKA, THAILAND

Born in 1947, Jaruvan Maintak is Thailand's auditor general and an iconic figure. A Catholic convert, she graduated from Thailand's Chulalongkorn University and later completed an MBA at Michigan State University. She joined the office of the auditor general and in 2001 was appointed by the Thai Senate to be the auditor general. The manner of the appointment was controversial, however, and she did not appear to be then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's first choice for the position.

Jaruvan embarked on a series of investigations that embarrassed the government and a legal challenge was made to her appointment, which was upheld. Many interpreted this move as an attempt to silence her rather than concerns about due process. She refused to step down, saying she would do so only if the king assented. The king withheld his assent, thus embarrassing Thaksin and his government.

The military coup in September 2006, which had the implicit backing of the king, abrogated the 1997 constitution and most of the state organisations it established. The auditor general's office was spared, however, and the new military government confirmed Jaruvan in her position.

The government made Jaruvan a member of its newly established Assets Examination Committee (AEC), tasked with investigating corruption involving projects approved by Thaksin's government. Jaruvan threatened to resign if its scope was not expanded to include all cases of alleged irregularity, including the personal wealth of former cabinet ministers.

The AEC has since commenced several high-profile investigations and Jaruvan has shown no fear. Her dogged determination has attracted many enemies, but she has set new standards of accountability in Thailand.

16. LEE KIN MUN (ALIAS MR BROWN), SINGAPORE

Singapore has some of the world's tightest media restrictions. Little genuine public debate is permitted and investigative journalism is largely non-existent. The role of the media is to report government announcements rather than to hold the government to account. And so Singaporeans are fed a bland diet of lifestyle articles, world news often slanted to show Singapore in a good light by way of comparison, and news about government policy. Not surprisingly, Singapore has one of the world's most active blogging communities. Genuine debate, opinion pieces and news appear on many Singapore-related websites.

Lee Kin Mun has become one of Singapore's most widely read and influential bloggers through his social and political commentary website, www.mrbrown.com. Lee also produces a satirical podcast called the Mr Brown Show, which averages 20,000 downloads a day. It is sophisticated and hugely funny - and a stark contrast to what is available on local government-controlled television.

Such is the popularity of Lee's blog that he was given a column in the government-controlled Today newspaper in a measure designed to demonstrate that the government could tolerate a measure of public debate. However, the experiment ended abruptly after Li wrote a column on rising living costs. A government official complained that Lee had distorted the truth and Singapore's prime minister claimed that Lee had made wild accusations.

Lee continues to publish and broadcast his satires and commentaries, providing Singaporeans with a vibrant and diversified media otherwise denied them.

17. ZETI AKHTAR AZIZ, MALAYSIA

The assertive and competent Zeti Akhtar Aziz was appointed governor of Malaysia's central bank in 2000. Her appointment demonstrated to the world that being a Muslim woman in an Islamic country was not incompatible with either holding a position of real power or with south-east Asian traditions. She had held previous positions with the bank, including deputy governor, chief economist and head of the economics department.

Zeti was instrumental in advising the government to unpeg the Malaysian ringgit from the US dollar, as she had been in advising the government about implementing the peg in the first place. Many might have disagreed with the government's decision to peg the ringgit in 1998 during Asia's economic crisis, but few could argue with the competency with which it was carried out - Malaysia's central bank is one of Asia's most technically able and least corrupt.

Zeti has been prominent in the development of Islamic finance in Malaysia and internationally, such that the country is emerging as an important centre for Islamic finance, both in its practice and in developing the regulatory framework to support it. She studied economics at the University of Malaya, obtained her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, and is published in the areas of monetary and financial economics, capital flows and macroeconomic management.

18. TARISA WATANAGASE, THAILAND

Tarisa Watanagase, the first female governor of the Bank of Thailand, the country's central bank, was appointed to the post in October 2006; she also sits on the seven-member monetary policy board that sets interest rates in Thailand. She has been with the bank for 31 years (with a break at the IMF from 1988 to 1990) and is widely respected in the finance community not only for her technical skills, but also for her reputation as a fighter for central bank independence.

The attempts of previous prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to undermine the independence of most key state institutions was one of the contributing factors in the military moving against him in September 2006. The interim military-backed government's appointment of Tarisa to head the central bank was a signal that it intended to adopt a hands-off approach. Similarly, it opted to reinstate the auditor general, who Thaksin had sought to remove, for similar reasons (see Jaruvan Maintaka).

Born in 1949, Tarisa gained a PhD in economics from Washington University. She joined the bank in 1975 and has had experience in each key division. Before her appointment to governor, she had been one of the bank's three deputy governors and another woman, Atchana Waiquamdee, was appointed to fill the vacancy created by Tarisa's appointment. The pair provide clear evidence of the prominent role that women are able to play in Asia.

19. DAVID WEBB, HONG KONG

David Webb runs one of the best websites devoted to corporate governance among listed companies anywhere - see www.webb-site.com. His commentaries on the misdeeds of many of Hong Kong's listed companies are exceptionally well written, and are devastating in their forensic and careful analysis. Unfair related-party transactions between listed and privately held companies are a particular target of his; a recent post, for example, looks at Chinese oil company CNOOC's attempt to force minority shareholders to approve more loans to a finance company set up by its state-owned parent.

Still relatively young, Webb is a former investment banker who moved to Hong Kong from London in 1991. He was corporate finance director of Barclays subsidiary BZW Asia, conducting equity issues and advisory mandates throughout Asia, until 1994, when he became in-house adviser to Wheelock, a local listed conglomerate, before retiring in 1998.

He made a small fortune from savvy stock investing and has devoted much of his time since to non-profit corporate governance advocacy work, most notably through his website, which has attracted a following among the investment community. He has become widely quoted on corporate governance issues in the Hong Kong and regional media. He holds small stakes in many companies in order to attend AGMs and hold directors accountable.

He was elected a non-executive director of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, which runs Hong Kong's stock exchange, in 2003. Some were concerned that this would compromise his independence, but his withering and typically humiliating website commentaries have continued.

20. PUSHPA KAMAL DAHAL (ALIAS PRACHANDA), NEPAL

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, is the leader of the Maoist Communist party of Nepal. Born into a Brahmin family in 1954, he studied agricultural science at a Nepalese university and was inspired by China's Cultural Revolution in the 1970s to become active in the communist movement in Nepal. He became leader of the Communist party in 1986 and after it splintered he emerged as the leader of the Communist party of Nepal (Maoist) in 1994. The party gave the government a list of 40 demands and threatened to declare war if the demands were not met. Between 1996 and 2006, the Maoists waged a bloody civil war, causing enormous damage to Nepal's rudimentary infrastructure and costing about 12,000 lives. Both sides were culpable and engaged in appalling human rights abuses.

In February 2005, Nepal's king sacked the elected government and took direct control of day-to-day affairs of state. In November 2005, Prachanda and an alliance of seven parties that had been elected to Nepal's parliament in 1999 released a 12-point plan for co-operation. Key to the plan was a commitment by all sides to a multi-party democracy, press freedom and human rights. A ceasefire was agreed and, at Prachanda's urging, the government of prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala stripped almost all powers and many assets from the king, a process that has occurred with surprising speed.

Prachanda's talks with the prime minister have resulted in an agreement that the Maoists will enter a multi-party interim government, a new constitution will be drafted and both sides will disarm under international supervision. Nepal now has its first chance of peace in more than a decade and the possibility of real political reform.

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/reports.php?itemid=4725

2007-05-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

There Was A Media Conspiracy
On The Slip Of The Tongue Issue?

On May 18, 2007, Malaysia National News Agency www.bernama.com carried two news item concerning IDR.

The first quoted Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk N. Parameswaran who described as baseless allegations that the formation of a joint Malaysia-Singapore committee to oversee the cooperation in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) would affect Malaysia's sovereignty.

The second one quoted Johore Menteri Besar, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, as saying that The Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) is the sole decision-making body on all issues pertaining to both domestic and foreign investments flowing into the region.

Please read the two news items below in full since they are related to what I am going to reveal to you about some strategic irregularities in a news item by www.bernama.com on May 15, 2007, regarding the setting up of a Malaysia- Singapore “ministerial-level joint committee to oversee some areas of cooperation between the two countries” in IDR.

S'pore Not Dictating On How To Manage IDR, Says Envoy

JOHOR BAHARU, May 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk N. Parameswaran today described as baseless allegations that the formation of a joint Malaysia-Singapore committee to oversee the cooperation in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) would affect Malaysia's sovereignty.

He said Singapore was not interested in meddling with Malaysia's internal affairs, more so dictating on how to manage the IDR.

"If there're those who have that kind of thinking, it means that they don't know the truth. There's no reason why the committee should get involved in Malaysia's affairs. And they (the committee) don't intend to do that," he told reporters after accompanying members of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce on a visit to the IDR here.

Parameswaran said the committee would only cooperate on technical matters. "Singapore hasn't expressed any intention to give ideas on the IDR. But we're ready to share our expertise, for example, in river clean-up with Malaysia," he said. - BERNAMA

IRDA Is Sole Decision-making Authority Over Investments In IDR

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 (Bernama) -- The Iskandar Regional Development Authority is the sole decision-making body on all issues pertaining to both domestic and foreign investments flowing into the region, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said Thursday.

"Be they local or foreign direct investments from all sources including Singapore, it is the IRDA which will have jurisdiction over issues pertaining to investments," he said.

Allaying concerns and some confusion that the proposed Malaysia-Singapore ministerial committee on Singapore's participation in IDR could lead to excessive focus on Singapore, he said the committee "is neither consultative nor has decision-making powers in its role."

On the contrary, the committee will be optimising the synergies of growth and investment in the region, he told Bernama when asked to respond to such concerns.

It would facilitate economic cooperation between the two countries in the development of the IDR, he added.- BERNAMA

Now, please read the following two news dispatches by www.bernama.com on the setting up of the Malaysia-Singapore “ministerial-level joint committee to oversee some areas of cooperation between the two countries” in IDR.

The first item was posted on the www.bernama.com news portal at 14.38 pm [2.38 pm] on Tuesday, May 15, 2003. I received this news item from an e-mail sent to me by a friend on the same day at 3.10 pm – exactly 32 minutes after the news was published on www.bernama.com.

Please pay special attention to the posting time, the heading of the news and also the paragraphs which I have highlighted in red.

You will know why after you finished reading the same news item posted on the screen of www.bernama.com on the same day but 19:47 pm [5.47 pm] – 3 hours and nine minutes later.

May 15, 2007 14:38 PM

Malaysia-S'pore Agree On Committees To Oversee Joint Cooperation In IDR

By Noor Hayati Muda and Massita Ahmad

LANGKAWI, May 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to set up a ministerial-level committee on each side to oversee joint cooperation in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johor.

There will be consultative committees to work on areas such as easy access for investment, tourism and environment cooperation in IDR.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, said this in a joint news conference after a delegation meeting here today.

"We have agreed to set up a special committee at ministerial level to discuss many issues. We will name the ministers soon," said Abdullah.

Meanwhile, Lee said the ministers in charge would be tasked to focus on ideas and proposals which both leaders had floated so far and turn them into something tangible and practical.

Elaborating on the easy access to IDR, Abdullah said that he and Lee wanted speedy access between IDR and Singapore.

"I have made a specific suggestion that we can have easy access for people who are travelling between Singapore and IDR, that will be good.

"We can have smart card for this purpose. That means we do away with the necessity of having to produce a passport and going through immigration which can take a long time," he said, adding that Lee had agreed on this.

The IDR was launched by Abdullah in November last year to boost the southern region of Malaysia. Meanwhile, Lee, who acknowledged the importance of the IDR to Malaysia, said Singapore has made an assessment of the IDR and decided that "it is fundamentally good for us".

"If this project takes off and succeeds, it will complement Singapore and between us, it will have a whole centre of vibrancy, activities, interest which will be good for tourism, manufacturing and services," he said.

He said this was good for people because there would be opportunities on both sides of the Johor strait.

Described the IDR as a "little spot" in Southeast Asia, he hoped that investors all around the region would take serious advantage of the opportunities that would be offered from the development.

This is their first media statement since Abdullah and Lee arrived here yesterday for the unofficial talks.

They said they also discussed Asean issues, particularly the Asean Charter which Malaysia has agreed to support Singapore in drafting.

"Asean needs a good document in order to strengthen its institution and set a clear directive for the organisation for its future, so that it can be effective and its co-operation can be strengthened," said Lee.

The leaders also touched on environmental issues in which Abdullah said Malaysia had agreed to allow Singapore to participate in environmental projects such as cleaning up rivers in southern Johor.

They also agreed to take the issue of aviation services further in future meetings. - BERNAMA

Next is the news item on the same subject matter found on www.bernama.com on May 15, 2007, at 5.47 pm.

Again, please give a special attention to the time of the posting, the heading and the paragraphs which I highlighted in red.

May 15, 2007 19:47 PM

Malaysia-Singapore Agree On Joint Committee To Oversee Cooperation In IDR

LANGKAWI, May 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to set up a ministerial-level joint committee to oversee some areas of cooperation between the two countries in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johor.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today the joint committee would be represented by a minister from each side.

"They will be supported by officials, and at any time that they feel that someone has to be invited to discuss, they can," he told reporters at the conclusion of a two-day unofficial meeting with his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, here.

Earlier, during a joint news conference, Abdullah and Lee announced the establishment of the committee which would be tasked to further discuss some of the decisions agreed upon by both leaders concerning cooperation in the IDR.

Asked to elaborate, Abdullah said one of the major concerns was that Malaysia wanted a speedy access between the IDR and Singapore.

"I think it's important that we have this easy access. The flow would be very good and it will expedite a lot of work, a lot of things we want to do...later on more and more people will be involved and I think it's only logical that such facility be made available," he said.

This could be done by introducing a smart card for those who are eligible, such as people who work in the IDR, he said.

However, he stressed that this smart card would be different from the Malaysian MyKad and would only be used in IDR.

Other concerns that the committee would look into included the promotion of tourism between the IDR and Singapore.

He, however, said the committee would not decide on investment coming from Singapore to the IDR.

The IDR was launched by Abdullah in November last year to boost the southern region of Malaysia.

In the joint news conference, Lee, who acknowledged the importance of the IDR to Malaysia, said Singapore had made an assessment of the IDR and decided that "it is fundamentally good for us".

"If this project takes off and succeeds, it will complement Singapore and between us, it will have a whole centre of vibrancy, activities, interest which will be good for tourism, manufacturing and services," he said.

He said this was good for people because there would be opportunities on both sides of the Johor strait.

Describing the IDR as a "little spot" in Southeast Asia, he hoped that investors all around the region would take serious advantage of the opportunities that would be offered from the development. -- BERNAMA

From the above two news dispatches, do you notice the difference in the heading and the missing byline as compared to the posting at 2.38 pm?

The heading for www.bernama.com 2.38 pm posting is: Malaysia-S'pore Agree On Committees To Oversee Joint Cooperation In IDR. The heading for 5.47 pm posting is: Malaysia-Singapore Agree On Joint Committee To Oversee Cooperation In IDR.

Do you also notice the missing paragraphs which I had highlighted in red in the posting done at 14:38 PM? To recap here are the missing paragraphs:

LANGKAWI, May 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to set up a ministerial-level committee on each side to oversee joint cooperation in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johor.

There will be consultative committees to work on areas such as easy access for investment, tourism and environment cooperation in IDR.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, said this in a joint news conference after a delegation meeting here today.

My questions here are: why changed the headings and why delete the above three paragraphs in red? You want to know why, please read the following item in The NST, May 16, 20007.

Fruitful talks: Special panel to boost investments in Iskandar

By : Wan Hamidi Hamid

LANGKAWI: A special ministerial committee will be formed by Malaysia and Singapore to focus solely on bringing in investments and facilitating business and tourism in southern Johor’s Iskandar Development Region.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the committee would comprise a minister from each country and other ministers will be invited to join in when related issues involving specific projects and programmes were involved.

He said it would be a general committee and not a consultative committee.

A consultative committee could imply the need to refer to each government in making decisions, which would be unfair to Malaysia, as Iskandar is a Malaysian project, and not a joint venture with another country.

Question: Why those two paragraphs in red above are not found in reports on the similar topic by Bernama, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and The Star? Who said those words then? The NST or Abdullah? If NST, why? If Abdullah, why the other papers and Bernama blacked out those important paragraphs?

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Frontpage/20070516072227/Article/index_html

You will know later why The NST had those paragraphs which I highlighted in red. Before that, please read excerpts about the same subject from Utusan Malaysia, below, and try to understand the paragraph in red.

LANGKAWI 15 Mei – Malaysia dan Singapura bersetuju menubuhkan sebuah jawatankuasa khas peringkat menteri khusus untuk Wilayah Pembangunan Iskandar (WPI) di Johor yang antara tugas awalnya adalah memperincikan penggunaan kad pintar bagi memudahkan pergerakan keluar masuk orang ramai dari republik itu ke wilayah berkenaan.

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/archive.asp?y=2007&dt=0516&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_03.htm

And, please also read this take from Berita Harian and understand the paragraph in red.

WPI: KL, Singapura tubuh jawatankuasa khas
Oleh Azmi Md Deros dan Johari Ibrahim

LANGKAWI: Malaysia dan Singapura bersetuju menubuhkan jawatankuasa khas peringkat menteri bagi memantau pelaksanaan dan memperhalusi sebarang cadangan berhubung kerjasama pembangunan di Wilayah Pembangunan Iskandar (WPI), selatan Johor.

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, berkata jawatankuasa itu akan diterajui sebuah kementerian supaya tidak membabitkan terlalu banyak pihak hingga menjejaskan kelancarannya.

http://www.bharian.com.my/m/BHarian/Wednesday/Mukadepan/20070515230445/Article/

And, read this excerpt from the Star, Wednesday, May 16, 2007, and why the paragraph in The NST “He said it would be a general committee and not a consultative committee. A consultative committee could imply the need to refer to each government in making decisions, which would be unfair to Malaysia, as Iskandar is a Malaysian project, and not a joint venture with another country.” are not being reported by The Star.

Singapore keen on helping to make IDR a huge success

By Mergawati Zulfakar

LANGKAWI: The warming of relations between Malaysia and Singapore in the last two years was given a further boost when the island republic’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pledged to support the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

In the first get-together of the Malaysian and Singaporean leaders, they agreed to set up a special ministerial committee to discuss areas of co-operation including the usage of smartcards for easier travel between IDR and Singapore and promotion of tourism.

A minister will be appointed from each country to sit on the committee.

“As far as investments are concerned, we have other bodies to decide on proposals from other countries. This special committee will not decide investment matters,” he said.

“On that basis, we need to work together because our co-operative interest far outweighs our competitive concerns and one of the major areas we can work on together is the IDR as it is a major project for Malaysia,” Lee said.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/16/nation/17741098&sec=nation

Now, you are about to get the answer as to why the two www.bernama.com postings on 15 May, 2007, had glaring irregularities and why The NST report on May 16, 2007, carried the paragraph saying “A consultative committee could imply the need to refer to each government in making decisions, which would be unfair to Malaysia, as Iskandar is a Malaysian project, and not a joint venture with another country.”

The answer is here, taken from The NST 17 May, 2007, with the heading Rising to a new level of understanding, writted by Wan Hamidi Hamid.

Even Tuesday’s discussion in Langkawi created a small furore when Lee used the term "consultative committee" to describe a special ministerial committee between Malaysia and Singapore to help boost the IDR’s growth.

Abdullah cleared the air when he explained that the word "consultative" did not arise at all and it was just a joint committee for both sides of the Johor Strait to ensure the success of IDR.

[Questions: When did Abdullah cleared the air? Why other papers and Bernama have not carried this explanation?]

To some people, "consultative" would mean the committee being answerable to both governments. This is ridiculous because IDR is Malaysian in its entirety and has nothing to do with Singapore. Having to consult Singapore would mean relinquishing sovereignty. This is not the case, of course. That’s why Lee was quick to explain that it was never meant to be a consultative committee and the Singapore media delegation had been informed of the little slip of the tongue.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/Columns/20070517075244/Article/index_html

So, the www.bernama.com posting on May 15, 2007, at 14:38 PM was correct after all. So, it was a fact when Bernama reporters, Noor Hayati Muda and Massita Ahmad, reported that “There will be consultative committees to work on areas such as easy access for investment, tourism and environment cooperation in IDR.”?

To the NST [not Wan Hamidi I hope] the use of the words “consultative committee” was a “little slip of the tongue” by Lee Hsien Loong. And “That’s why Lee was quick to explain that it was never meant to be a consultative committee and the Singapore media delegation had been informed of the little slip of the tongue.”

I would like to give Lee Hsien Loong the benefit of the doubt that it was really “a little slip of the tongue” when he used the words “consultative committee” for IDR. But, will this highly trained military general afford “a little slip of the mind” in any of his statements on diplomacy?

I am not going to dwell further about it here. Hopefully, Noor Hayati Muda and Massita Ahmad of Bernama who were being deprived of their byline in the 5.48 posting will volunteer to explain whether Lee Hsien Loong really had “a little slip of the tongue” on that day as being reported by Wan Hamidi Hamid in The NST on May 17, 2007.

Or, will Datuk Anwar Zaini, Chairman of Bernama, and Datuk Kalimullah Hassan, Deputy Chairman of NST, come forward to furnish Malaysians with their explanations on this “little slip of the toungue” issue?

I have to put this on record because I want our dear Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk N. Parameswaran “who described as baseless allegations that the formation of a joint Malaysia-Singapore committee to oversee the cooperation in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) would affect Malaysia's sovereignty.” to check his facts first before shooting his mouth unnecessarily!

So, fellow Malaysians, can we accept that Lee Hsien Loong really made “a little slip of the tongue” in Langkawi? Do we believe The NST report that Abdullah said that “it would be a general committee and not a consultative committee” because “a consultative committee could imply the need to refer to each government in making decisions, which would be unfair to Malaysia, as Iskandar is a Malaysian project, and not a joint venture with another country.”?

I leave it to you to decide. But, several questions still remain unanswered here. And, they are: Why http://www.bernama.com/ took three hours and nine minutes before it deleted the first posting which said “There will be consultative committees to work on areas such as easy access for investment, tourism and environment cooperation in IDR.”? Who ordered the deletion? Why The NST said: “Abdullah cleared the air when he explained that the word "consultative" did not arise at all and it was just a joint committee for both sides of the Johor Strait to ensure the success of IDR.”? And why did The NST report that Abdullah “said it would be a general committee and not a consultative committee” because “a consultative committee could imply the need to refer to each government in making decisions, which would be unfair to Malaysia, as Iskandar is a Malaysian project, and not a joint venture with another country.”?

But, the biggest question marks of all are: who is (are) behind all these irregularities? Is there a media conspiracy here? Is Datuk Seri Zam Maidin aware about this? And, what has he to say about this “little slip of the tongue” story? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-17T01:37:00.000-07:00

Joint Committee For IDR:
Shall We Have A Forum?

The latest reaction on IDR is from Renegix. He suggests that an independent group organizes a forum about FDI. It sounds like a good idea.

But who is going to be the organizer? Persatuan Anak-Anak Melayu Johor (PAMJ) which is based in Kuala Lumpur? How many people will turn up? Who will be the main speaker? Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad himself? Will Khairy Jamaluddin allows him to do so?

Well, may be you all can articulate this idea and suggest how to go about it. In the meantime, here is more from Renegix.

“Dy by day, I don’t know anymore how to say or react. I feel like I don’t want to come back anymore. But, that's the place where I have been born, making friends! And the same goes to all of us. And for sure, I will defend it! What had happened actually? Seems like yesterday Tun (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) stepped down as a Prime Minister, in a swift, lots have changed - the policies, projects, etc. Ya Allah, lindungilah negara kami. Pertahankanlah ia, amin!!! Why don’t you or some others organize a talk, forum or anything about this thing (WPI)?”

On second thought, may be it is an excellent move if my dear friend, Raja Petra Kamarudin of Malaysia Today, is willing to organize the suggested forum. What do you think? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Joint Committee For IDR
Getting Fierce Comments

Below are comments from two concerned Malaysians in response to my posting on the setting up of a Malaysia-Singapore joint “ministerial committee” for the Iskandar Developmnt Region (IDR) in southern Johore, which was already agreed upon by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad and Lee Hsien Loong, in their informal talks in Langkawi two days ago.

Muhammad Ilham:

“This move is just another in the long line of ridiculous decisions our Pak Lah has taken. Yes, I agree that Singapore can be a good and important player in the development of IDR. But, it doesn't mean that it has to be part of the committee that plans and executes decisions. It's as if Singapore and Malaysia are one country, not two different nations. Bit by bit, our sovereignty is being eroded. I want Singapore to be a major player in IDR, along with other interested nations. But, I want it to be on our terms, not theirs. I want Malaysia to be the sole deciding entity, not share the responsibility with Singapore. Want to relax NEP rules in certain sectors of IDR? I can accept. Indeed, I think it is a forward-thinking move, very progressive. Want to use smart-cards for easy entry? Sure, I can still accept. Again, that move is still acceptable and is very progressive. But to form a ministerial level committee to plan the IDR together, that is simply ridiculous. It is as ridiculous as the suggestion months ago, that people can cross into Malaysia from Singapore without going through any immigration control. Well, they backtracked on that suggestion due to fierce opposition from past leaders and grassroots' sentiments. Let's see if we can make this government backtrack on this proposed ministerial level committee.”

Lamandau:

“This is definitely an uncalled for decision. This also strengthens the suspicion that Singapore is having a strong grip on Malaysia for whatever reason(s). I can bet you, we are not getting anything from Singapore in return. Shabery Chik is not competent to give explanation (about this) because he is too junior and ignorant of the interplay of the two nations. What an answer he gave to the Parliament yesterday? May be he thought that all parliamentarians (MPs and Senators) are stupid. Why not he declares on behalf of PM that IDR is exclusively for Singapore only? Day by day stupid decisions are being made by our leaders expecting that the rakyat will swallow them! I have been commenting that the “invisible fingers” of foreigners are slowly, but surely, seen to have influenced our leaders. In no time, will Singapore station its security people as what happened in the water reservoir in Pulai, Johore?”

To access their full comments, please click the link below:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=29933783&postID=1879338811209176830

I have nothing else to add. Except that the voices above definitely represent the concerns of majority of the rakyat who choose to remain silent. Hopefully, Abdullah will read these comments and those from other blogs on the same subject matter. After that, please get the best advice on what needs to be done next. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

What Is The Hidden Rationale
Behind IDR Joint Committee?

Everyday, there is a new twist in the bilateral co-operation between Malaysia and Singapore, especially concerning the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johore.

The latest, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday agreed to the setting up a “ministerial-level joint committee” to “oversee areas of co-operation” in IDR.

Here are three main paragraphs of a news item about it by Bernama - the national news agency of Malaysia:

LANGKAWI, May 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to set up a ministerial-level joint committee to oversee some areas of cooperation between the two countries in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johor.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today the joint committee would be represented by a minister from each side.

“They will be supported by officials, and at any time that they feel that someone has to be invited to discuss, they can,” he told reporters at the conclusion of a two-day unofficial meeting with his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong. – Bernama

Next, here are some important links about IDR for background reading. They enable us to have a sufficient knowledge about this mega project:

http://www.irda.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=50

http://www.irda.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=41

http://www.irda.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=38

http://www.irda.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=50

http://www.irda.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=28

http://www.irda.com.my/pdf/cdp/3._Foreword%20and%20Acknowledgements.pdf

Now, here are my comments about IDR in the context of Abdullah’s statement made in Langkawi yesterday:

IDR is a mega project by Khazanah Nasional - an investment agency of the Malaysian government. Abdullah and Dato’ Abdullah Ghani Othman are IDR’s joint-chairman. IDR also has its own panel of advisers.

So why does the government need to set up a Malaysia-Singapore “ministerial-level joint committee to oversee some areas of cooperation between the two countries in IDR”?

IDR is not limited only to investors from Singapore. It is meant for all investors world wide. So, why only a joint committee with Singapore? Is IDR jointly owned by Singapore?

So what actually is the hidden rationale behind the setting up of this committee? To prove to the world that Malaysia now allows a foreign nation to directly interfere in the development of IDR?

Does the joint committee not giving the impression that Malaysians are not competent enough to manage and develop IDR? Does the government forget that Malaysia is an independent and sovereign nation?

Fellow bloggers and surfers in the Malaysian cybersphere definitely have more comments and questions about the same subject.

The government has to be accountable by furnishing Malaysians with the most satisfactory answers as to why such a joint committee needs to be formed. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

Update:
M’sian Workers To S’pore
Already Using Smart Cards

No long after I posted the story about the informal meeting between Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad and Lee Hsien Loong in Langkawi, Alex posted this:

Ron, for your information, tens of thousands Malaysian workers have already used smart cards to enter Singapore since five years ago.

Everyday thousands of Malaysians just insert their smart card into the slot, put our right thumbprint onto the scanner, in less than four seconds, the gate opens (if the thumb print matches pre-record thumbprint stored in the card.)

No immigration officer is in sight to check your passport. That is how Singapore clears tens of thousands of Malaysian workers and students everyday. Read here:

http://www.gemplus.com/pss/id_security/download/Singapore_Immigration_Visa.pdf

– Alex

Thank you Alex for updating me on the latest. And my apology to my readers on the unintentional error in my earlier posting. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

Abdullah-Hsien Loong
Talked About Nothing?

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad had an informal bilateral meeting with Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong in Langkawi today. They talked about nothing else except Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johore.

Both prime ministers agreed to the setting up of a Malaysia-Singapore ministerial committee to oversee joint cooperation in IDR.

They also agreed to the use of smart cards instead of passports to facilitate “easy access for people who are travelling between Singapore and IDR.”

Abdullah explained: “that means we do away with the necessity of having to produce a passport and going through immigration which can take a long time."

So, instead of a free access zone (FAZ) in IDR which was scrapped after being heavily criticized by the Malaysia public, including Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia today granted the use of smart cards to enter IDR from Singapore.

Malaysia is an independent and sovereign nation. If FAZ was being heavily criticized because it was construed as giving away Malaysia’s sovereignty to the foreign investors in IDR, what about the use of only smart cards to enter IDR - a territory of an independent and sovereign Malaysia?

Do we think Singapore will ever reciprocate Malaysia’s gesture by granting similar facility – using smart cards instead of passports - to thousands of Malaysians commuting everyday from Johor Bahru to work in Singapore?

So much about Abdullah-Hsien Loong’s informal talks. All about IDR. No discussions on the possible re-construction of the scenic bridge to replace the causeway in Johore Bahru. Nothing on the problem of CPF withdrawal by Peninsular Malaysia workers who had been working in Singapore. Nothing on the revised water agreement. Also nothing on the possible banning of granite and quarry dust exports to the island republic. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

Syed Hamid Still Keen
On Bridge Project

THE bridge project to replace the Causeway was scrapped more than a year ago but it is by no means forgotten.

There are senior Malaysian leaders who still want to see it built, and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar is one of them.

He told The Straits Times yesterday that, as a Johorean, he would like to see the bridge built.

“I think the Causeway is out of date, not in tune with times. We need the bridge. It is not as a gesture of goodwill (from Singapore), but it is good for both countries,” he said.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi announced last year that the project had been scrapped as Malaysia could not accept Singapore's requests for sand and the use of airspace in exchange for cooperation on the project.

The bridge - one of the outstanding bilateral issues between Singapore and Malaysia - is not on the agenda for next week's meeting between the two countries' prime ministers.

Nevertheless, there is speculation that it could be revived in the not-too-distant future.

This was sparked by comments from MP for Johor Baru Shahrir Samad several weeks ago.

He said he would not be surprised if Singapore initiated the revival of the project because of its benefits. These were his personal views.

The speculation was bolstered by a private- sector proposal for a high-speed train between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

“Definitely if you want to have a fast train, you need a bridge unless it goes underground. It is a private-sector initiative, I do not know (the details),” Datuk Seri Syed Hamid said.

“Whatever it is, we want the bridge.”

By Carolyn Hong
Malaysia Bureau Chief
The Straits Times

http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.shtml

Comment:

Please read my posting on this blog, Sunday, May 6, 2007, The JB-Spo’re Bridge: Is It A Plain Straight Or A Crooked Deal? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Update:
Granite Exports To Spo’re
More Companies Involved?

The on-going exports of granite and quarry dust to Singapore, believed to have started since two months ago, are being licensed by the government of Malaysia.

Sources told www.roncyberprince.blogspot.com here today, the exports were being carried out by more than three companies, including some which were linked to a few prominent listed entities in the country.

This blog had earlier reported that “granite and quarry dust totaling approximately about 1.8 million metric ton were allegedly being exported to Singapore since two about months ago.” [please read Tuesday, May 8, 2007 posting: Export Of Sand To Singapore Is Banned, Export Of Granite-Quarry Dust Allowed?]

The latest information now leads us to more questions as to why exports of granite and quarry dust [also known as granite chips] to Singapore are allowed by the Malaysian authorities while exports of sand to the same country are being banned since 1997?

Is it because the Malaysian licensing authority [in this case it is said to be the Ministry of International Trade and Industry] which issued the export permits does not categorize granite and quarry dust as materials used for land reclamation works?

Mika Angel-0, a regular surfer to this blog, said “the technical term” for materials used in land reclamation “is hydraulic fill. They can be marine sand, quarry dust or sand with the right silt and fines content, 30 per cent or less.”

He also said “if the [current] ban is [only] on a specified material, then that is the loop-hole that has to be closed, if not tightened.”

So, what is the government going to do now? Is it not the most opportune time for Malaysia to revise this technical term - hydraulic fill - so it will also cover granite and quarry dust used for land reclamation in Singapore?

Is the government going to continue its silence over this hydraulic fill issue and contributes to the enlargement of Singapore - double of its current size - in the next 20 to 30 years?

Is the government aware that Indonesian authorities are now reviewing the term hydraulic fill to cover even granite chip or quarry dust? More info about this please read here: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/176927.asp

Is the government ready to encounter marine border problems with Singapore in the distant future resulting from land reclamation works on the island republic which uses hydraulic fill from Malaysia?

For more background readings related to his posting please click here:

http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=356&Itemid=32

http://www.littlespeck.com/region/CForeign-SEA-030802.htm

http://www.littlespeck.com/content/development/CTrendsDev-070203.htm

http://www.aggregateresearch.com/caf/flyash/article.asp?id=10439

http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070304/070316-9.htm

- Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Export Of Sand To Singapore Is Banned
Export Of Granite-Quarry Dust Allowed?

Granite and quarry dust totaling approximately about 1.8 million metric ton were allegedly being exported to Singapore since two about months ago.

Three companies are said to be doing this export at a rate of 10,000 metric tons per day.

The granite and quarry dust are from one quarry in Negeri Sembilan. They are being transported by lorries to Port Dickson before being exported on barges using the Straits of Malacca.

This information was being communicated to me through telephone by a person who wanted to remain anonymous.

Before he called me today, the same person yesterday left a comment on my blog. Please click the link below to read his original comment in Bahasa Melayu.

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=29933783&postID=956324317298000394

The most salient points from his comment is that “at this very minute, an approximately 30,000 metric tons of granite and quarry dust are being shipped out to Singapore.”

I cannot do anything with such an incomplete information. Fortunately, he called me up today. He said he obtained my cellphone number from one of my old postings in www.kuda-kepang.blogspot.com

After introducing himself to me, he rattled out the above information.

He told me that he obtained the above information from one of his “inside men” working in a quarry in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

He said, he was aware that under normal circumstances, it was not illegal to export boulders and quarry dust to Singapore.

But, he asked, was it legal to export the same materials to Singapore when the Malaysian government had already banned export of sand to the island republic since some years ago, during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration?

After that, he repeated his point which he left on my blog – "it is inappropriate for the Malaysian government to export materials which will contribute to Singapore enlarging its land area to double it present size within the next 20 years."

He concluded by saying that if the Indonesian authorities had already banned the export of boulders and sand to Singapore, why was the Malaysia government allowing such an export while there was a pending ban since some years ago?

I left all those questions unanswered. But, I am still seeking clarifications from “my friends inside” if the existing ban on sand to Singapore also covers granite and quarry dust.

At the same time, I am also still waiting for answers from “my friends within” on the alleged move to export sand to Singapore from Malacca. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

The JB-Spo’re Bridge:
Is It A Plain Straight
Or A Crooked Deal?

Before anything else, I have to declare here that I labeled this article as rumors. I have to do this because I hate people branding me as one of those so-called unemployed liars allegedly ganging up to wreck Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad’s administration.

I hope Datuk Seri Zam Maidin takes a special notice of this declaration. Otherwise, he may categorize me as an unprofessional blogger in this country.

[This also depends on whether he knows what he is talking about since an intention to categorize bloggers into professional or unprofessional ones is actually a laughable matter!]

But, please allow me to explain it here. I did checked this rumor with two separate sources of mine in Kuala Lumpur. Both of them told me, this rumor may soon turn to become a reality.

The rumor is about the bridge project in Johor Bahru - the initially straight bridge, which later on became a crooked bridge, before it finally vanished into the thin air!

What about this bridge project? Abdullah has scrapped it anyway, almost one year ago. What is he going to do about it now? To build the bridge again?

If so, why? Does this mean that Abdullah submits to the mounting pressures from the people, especially the Johorians?

Or, does this also indicate that Singapore is now ready to talk again about the bridge issue in return to it getting some other better deals from Malaysia? If this is the case, are the deals going to be plain straight or crooked ones?

My sources said, the construction of “the bridge over troubled water” was expected to resume soon. How soon? Only God knows how soon!

But, one of the sources said, of late, several foreign experts had already gone to Johor Bahru to make site visits to the proposed construction area.

A few weeks ago, MP for Johor Bahru, Datuk Shahril Abdul Samad, made a statement that hinted the Malaysian government might re-visit the bridge project.

Shahril said, Singapore had once stated that it was ready to re-open discussion on the bridge project after 2007. [To read his full statement,please click below.]

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2007&dt=0423&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_04.htm

Abdullah’s government scrapped this bridge project on April 12, 2006. Background stories to the cancellation are very lengthy and plenty - full of contradictions, mysteries and controversies.

So, if the bridge project is to be implemented again, the Sultan of Johore will surely be one of the happiest persons to receive this news.

Next, is definitely Tun Dr.Mahathir Mohamad. Then, come the Johorians and other concerned Malaysians.

I hope, if this rumor is true, the Malaysia government will be transparent enough as allow the rakyat to share the reasons for the re-construction of the bridge - straight or crooked.

Malaysians need to be informed whether the proposed re-construction of the bridge is pegged with other deals with Singapore, including the possible export of sand, soil and granite to the island republic in the immediate future. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-04T02:41:00.000-07:00

Astro Revises Upward
Monthly Subscription Fees

PETALING JAYA, May 4 (Bernama) -- Multi-channel television operator Astro All Asia Networks Plc today announced revised monthly subscription fees, driven by rising programming costs.

The price revision of between RM5 and RM15, up by about 15 percent on the average, is effective immediately for new customers and from next month onwards for existing customers.

"The costs of programming particularly live sports coverage have increased significantly in excess of 20 percent," Astro TV's chief executive officer Rohana Rozhan said at a press conference here.

The last price increase of RM5 "across the board" was carried out in May 2004.

However, the latest price revision will see a lower entry level package at RM37.95, down from the current RM49.95. Customers now also have the flexibility of choosing two mini-packages instead of three previously.

On subscribers, Rohana said Astro would continue to drive for the same customer's growth of about 200,000 this year. As at Jan 31, 2007, Astro has 2.016 million subscribers, an increase of about 232,000 from the previous year, 70 percent of which are from the Malay population.

-- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com

Comment:

Does Astro need a prior approval from the government before it can revise the monthly subscription fees? What will the subscribers’ response to this increase? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-04T02:26:00.000-07:00

Blogger Ahirudin
Denies Defaming
NSTP, Four Others

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) -- Former executive editor of the Malay Mail, Ahirudin Attan, has denied that words contained in his Rocky's Bru blog refer to the New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad (NSTP) and four others.

He also denies that words in his blog are meant to defame the five who are suing him for defamation and malicious falsehood.

The five -- NSTP, its deputy chairman Datuk Kalimullah Hassan, chief executive officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar, group editor-in-chief Datuk Hishamuddin Aun and former group editor Brendan Pereira -- filed the suit against Ahirudin on Jan 4.

The suit pertained to certain articles and postings that had been published, or permitted to be published, by Ahirudin on his weblog. They claimed that the articles referred to them and were defamatory.

The blogger, in his statement of defence filed this afternoon at the Civil High Court Registry here, also said that the plaintiffs, in their amended statement of claim, did not state specifically the complete and whole details relating to the defamatory meaning.

On April 2, Justice Datuk Mohamed Hishamuddin Mohamed Yunus allowed Ahirudin to withdraw his application to strike out the defamation suit and ordered him to file his statement of defence before May 3.

He also fixed June 28 to hear the application by NSTP and the other four for an inter-parte injunction to require Ahirudin to remove certain articles from his weblog and restrain him from further publishing articles defamatory to them.

- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com

2007-05-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

NUJM Urges Government
To Acknowledge Blogging
As A New Media

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (Bernama) -- The National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJM) is urging the government to acknowledge the existence of internet citizen reporting and blogging as a new media for disseminating information.

Its president, Norila Mohd Daud said this online phenomenon had made great impact in the country as an alternative information source on current issues affecting the public.

"The usage of internet and the concept of the uncensored `borderless world' have made information more easily accessible to anyone. As such, any abuses committed by public officials can be immediately exposed on the internet," she said in a statement issued here, in conjunction with the International Press Freedom Day which falls tomorrow.

She said it was also in line with the government's mission in ensuring greater accountability and transparency, as well as improving its delivery system.

At the same time, she said that the growth of this new media channel had influenced mainstream media and changed the current journalism landscape.

"In view of this latest development, NUJM feels that the government should accord greater freedom to the local media by amending restrictive laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, and Official Secret Act (OSA)," she said.

NUJM, she said, was of the opinion that the enactment of a Freedom of Information Act could improve the flow of information between the government agencies, the media and the public.

-- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com

2007-05-02T00:29:00.000-07:00

Abdullah-Hsien Loong
Meeting In Mid-May
Without Fixed Agenda?

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said, no fixed agenda had been set for the four-eyed meeting between Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and his Singapore counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, in Langkawi on May 15 2007.

"It's up to the prime minister to decide on the issues to be raised in his meeting with Lee," he told Bernama in Kota Tinggi yesterday.

But, he added that though no fixed agenda has been set, issues on bilateral ties may be discussed during the talks.

Asked by Bernama on whether the two prime ministers would dwell on the outstanding issues between the two neighbours, Syed Hamid said, it was up to the two leaders.

Besides Lee, the Singapore delegation to the one-day meeting would comprise foreign, transport and defence ministers, among others.

Don’t we feel strange? Is it not very abnormal for two top leaders of two countries with numerous unsettled problems and pending issues to hold a meeting, although an informal one, without any fixed agenda?

Or, is it because Syed Hamid had said “the May 15 meeting comes at a time when bilateral ties” between Malaysia and Singapore “are at its best” that the two leaders decided to just dwell on any cock-and-bull issues that crossed their minds on that particular day?

May be, just may be, it is not a meeting, including an informal on, that is scheduled to take place in Langkawi on May 15 2007.

As being correctly said by Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Yeo, in Singapore Parliament on Monday, March 6 2007, “Mr Lee Hsien Loong will lead a delegation of ministers up north for a retreat with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his colleagues.”

So, is it a meeting or just a retreat where leaders of both countries just rub shoulders, play a few rounds of golf, enjoying the fresh air of Langkawi, and then they split with “feel good feelings” about each other?

But, fine. Datuk Seri Abdullah may raise many things to Hsein Loong while both of them are on the green. But everything is loose and informal in nature. Will they benefit the rakyat?

We still have about two more weeks before the retreat. Let us hope and pray that our leaders will be wise enough to exploit the retreat to the fullest advantage for Malaysia.

Here are some issues to be considered: pending negotiation to re-new Malaysia-Singapore Water Agreement; possible re-negotiation on the construction of a new bridge to replace the existing Causeway in Johore Bahru; payment of Peninsular Malaysia workers’ CPF now being postponed by Singapore.

Other possible issues are no more export of sand, soil and granite to the island republic; imposing levy on Singapore’s vehicles entering Malaysia; rampant encroachments on the Malaysian air-space by Singapore’s military aircrafts.

Three other issues which can also be brought up by Malaysia leaders are the alleged Singapore’s involvement in southern Thailand; the alleged Temasek Group’s buying of Malaysian GLCs shares through proxies; and Singapore’s potential investments in Iskandar Development Region.

So, agenda needs to be set. Issues must be identified and articulated according to priorities. Experts on Singapore affairs have to be mobilized.

The bottom line is that Malaysia must achieve something out of the retreat. And that something must be really worthwhile! - Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-05-01T03:34:00.000-07:00

Temasek To Conquer Several
Malaysian Corporate Giants?

Temasek Group is a very aggressive and proactive corporate entity, regionally and globally. The name is synonymous with Temasek Holdings. Its investments are very diversified – telecommunications and media, financial services, property, transportation and logistics, energy and resources, infrastructure, engineering and technology, as well as pharmaceuticals and biosciences.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temasek_Holdings, Temasek Holdings is the investment arm of the Singapore government. It is owned 100 per cent by the Ministry of Finance. Its Chief Executive, Ho Ching, appointed in 2002, is the wife of Singapore's Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Lee Hsien Loong.

But, http://www.temasekholdings.com.sg/about_temasek/corporate_profile.htm classifies Temasek Holdings as an Asia investment company headquartered in Singapore. It manages a diversified global portfolio of S$129 billion, principally in Singapore, Asia and the OECD economies.

A Malaysian blogger who nicknamed himself as Ketua Perusuh (http://ketuaperusuh.wordpress.com) posted on 30 April 2007 a story about Temasek Group and its shares ownerships in Telekom Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional.

He also made an allegation through his posting that Temasek Group was now in the process of buying shares of several other corporate entities, especially GLCs, in Malaysia.

Ketua Perusuh said, several quarters in Malaysia had opposed and dissented to the move. But, he alleged, the Prime Minister was adamant to such oppositions and dissents.

Instead, he alleged that ECM-Libra was now said to be acting as a proxy to Temasek Group in buying of shares from some corporate entities and GLCs.

I double checked the posting about Temasek Group’s share ownerships as being written by Ketua Perusuh.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temasek_Holdings it is confirmed that as of 2004, Temasek Group owns a five per cent shares in Telekom Malaysia. But there is no evidence of the group owning shares in Tenaga Nasional.

Instead, I discovered that as of 2004, Temasek Group also owns a 14.73 per cent shares in MPlant or Malaysia Plantataion. This ownership enables Temasek Group to own Malaysia's smallest bank - Alliance Bank.

From http://www.temasekholdings.com.sg/about_temasek/corporate_profile.htm I found out that as of October 2005, Temasek Group owns a five per cent stake in Southern Bank Berhad. As of March 2005, the group owns a 15 per cent shares in Malaysian Plantations Berhad. And as of March 2004, it holds a five percent shares in Telekom Malaysia. Again, there is no evidence of Temasek Group’s share ownership in Tenaga Nasional.

So, Ketua Perusuh may have made his allegation that Temasek Group owns shares in Tenaga Nasional based on information or evidence only privy to himself.

He may also make the allegation on an assumption that the group’s ownership in Tenaga Nasional is being held by its proxy in Malaysia.

May be this is why Ketua Perusuh had also posed a question at the end of his posting on whether in the near future Temasek Group would use ECM Libra as its proxy to acquire many more shares in several GLCs and corporate entities like Synergy Drive, CIMB Group, MIMB, AmInvestment, Kumpulan Felda, Kumpulan Tabung Haji and MISC.

Lastly, Ketua Perusuh claimed that Temasek Group’s was aggressively investing in most ASEAN nations, including Malaysia, to satisfy Singapore’s intention of controlling the geopolitics of the region through its economic activities.

I am not in a position to verify such a claim. It can be true or it can be false. It is entirely up to the wisdom of the respective countries in ASEAN to determine it.

The least they can do is to be very thorough and extremely cautious in giving their approvals to Temasek Group to invest in their own countries.

In the case of Malaysia, it is only appropriate for the government to track and monitor the investments of Temasek Group, from time to time, not as a deterrent to the free flow of foreign capital into this country, but to establish whether such investments can cause or affect our national sensitivities – politically, socially or economically.

[For more information and news about Temasek Group, please access the links below:]

http://www.temasekholdings.com.sg/about_temasek/corporate_profile.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temasek_Holdings

http://www.detikdaily.net/m3/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=419

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2005/08/476838/

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060309/biz.htm#1

http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/oct/18tema.htm

http://ketuaperusuh.wordpress.com 25.4.07

http://ketuaperusuh.wordpress.com 30.4.07

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/01/22/headlines/index.php?news=headlines_19718714.html

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/02/business/temasek.php

http://www.matrix-centro.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4732

- Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

BN Continues Winning Streak
Retains Ijok Seat
With Higher Majority

KUALA SELANGOR, April 28 (Bernama) -- The Barisan Nasional (BN) continued its winning streak, retaining the semi-urban Ijok state seat with an increased majority of 1,850 votes in today's keenly-fought by-election.

BN's K. Parthiban polled 5,884 votes while Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) received 4,034 votes in the straight fight. There were 134 spoilt votes.

The BN had earlier won four by-elections. They are in Kuala Berang (Terengganu), Permatang Pasir (Kelantan), Batu Talam (Pahang) and Machap (Melaka).

In today's by-election, which recorded the highest ever voter turnout in the the country's election history, a total of 10,049 or 81.88 per cent of the 12,272 electorate cast their ballots.

BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com

2007-04-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

Is The Tiny Red Dot
Really Very Special?

No man is an island. And no nation in the current era of globalization can exist in an absolute isolation. On the contrary, all nations are interdependent in one way or another. This is the dictum of reality that no one can deny - not even Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) with his kiasu principles of survival.

Therefore, it is of outmost importance for all nations to peacefully and harmoniously co-exist within their own geo-political and economic spheres - regionally and globally.

So, when LKY described Singapore as “a very special country” which needed a “top grade government” because otherwise the country would just become an insignificant island, he could actually have to stop just there.

LKY has all the rights to mention these words to his people. But, he does not have to say anything further. It is unnecessary for him to say “the biggest mistake any Singaporean can make is to believe that Singapore is an ordinary country and can behave like an ordinary country like Malaysia, like Indonesia, like Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark...,"

I am of this opinion because the above statement is too generalized, very provocative, definitely subjective, and of course debatable. It is reflective of an arrogance of the highest order.

I also consider such a statement as unpleasant because many people will ask, what extraordinary qualities does Singapore have to merit it being categorized as “a very special state”? And, what special qualities that Malaysia does not have to merit LKY generalizing it as “an ordinary state”?

The same goes with Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam or even the Philippines which were being singled out by LKY in the above statement as “ordinary” countries.

These nations have their strategic strengths and qualities. As members of ASEAN, these nations also have indirectly contributed to the progress of Singapore - at least through the maintenance of the principles of peace, freedom and neutrality in South East Asia.

In the case of Malaysia, how “ordinary” does LKY think about this country? Is Malaysia not the neighboring nation that supplies water to Singapore since times in memorial, without which the island republic may just end up living on re-cycled water?

Is Malaysia not the “rich hinterland” blessed with natural resources, agricultural commodities and petroleum products which fuel Singapore’s international trading activities?

Can Singapore actually become a “very special country with top grade government” if it only exists as a tiny red dot somewhere in the Pacific Ocean?

Can Singapore survive and progress as what it is today if, in not the distant future, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, for example, jointly decide to open up a canal cutting through the Ithmus of Kra in southern Thailand, as a short-cut for vessels transporting oil and gas from the Middle East to East Asia and the Pacific Rim?

Or, can Singapore’s financial industry prosper as what it is today if one of these days Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia decide to enact new laws forbidding their tycoons from depositing their wealth and money in Singapore banks?

The above are just a few of the numerous points I can raise in response to LKY’s statement saying that Singapore “is a very special country” whereas Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark are just “ordinary” ones.

I am not going to elaborate further on this because the debate will be endless, very lengthy, and diplomatically may be sticky.

For example, I can just point out one distinct characteristic of Singapore which I consider it as special – the subtlety of its policies to marginalize the Malays in the island republic.

I know that this observation is subjective, generalized and debatable. But, this is the very point I want to emphasize here – it is important to recognize and accept the fact that any statements made to compare one country’s “greatness” with other nations’ “nothingness” are subjective and susceptible of interpretations which can disrupt bilateral or multilateral relations between the countries in question.

I am very sure that LKY is very much aware about this. He is a respectable leader with excellent vision on nation building. He understands and advocates the significance and the principles of cordial diplomatic relations among nations.

This is clearly reflected in his memoirs From Third World To First: The Singapore Story 1965-2000. In this book, LKY dedicated 72 pages on how Singapore establishes and enhances its bilateral relations, regionally and internationally.

The Singapore’s mission to establish and enhance better diplomatic relations all over the world still continues until today. It is so because Singapore is now searching for more space, influence and dominance – politically and economically. The success of such a mission depends on friends and neighbors – especially the tolerant and considerate ones.

So, this why the recent statement by LKY, saying that Singapore is a “very special country” while some others, including most of its neighbors and friends in ASEAN and the Pacific are just “ordinary nations,” – though might had been said unintentionally - is actually a statement of unpleasant taste. Such a statement should not be repeated. Singapore needs good neighbors and friends forever more in its future quest for a better tomorrow! – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Political Conspiracy Against Najib
Originated From People In High Places?

Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak is the target of a concerted and coordinated political conspiracy aimed at getting him out of the government and Umno.

He has to believe this. He also has to accept the fact that the conspiracy is real. As of today, it is a public secret that a group of individuals is working, openly or covertly, to marginalize Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib either through a cabinet reshuffle or through the coming general elections.

I related the existence of this conspiracy to one of Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib’s runners who came to my office a few days ago. I told him that his boss had no other choice, but to accept the fact that a group of individuals was now working to sideline him from Umno and the national politics.

I also told him that his boss had to conduct an analysis as soon as possible of his political strength, networks, working groups and strategies.

I made the suggestion to enable Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib to re-strategize his move in order to defend his very own political survival and his very own political future.

I also made the suggestion so that Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib will make effort to re-identify his supporters and friends all over the country. This is of outmost importance because some leaders previously being categorized as the Najib’s inner circle, are now said to have crossed over to join the conspirators.

This is an indicator, although circumstantial, that the conspirators working against Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib are not only found in the opposition camp. They also exist within Umno.

So, Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib has to move very fast. Not to witch hunt the conspirators within Umno. But to be on the offensive through a carefully planned strategies. This is very vital and significant if he wants to maintain the status quo. Otherwise, just advise Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib to bid farewell to politics for good.

I started hinting about the existence of a conspiracy to topple Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib as early as in October 2006 through eight series of my Toyol Code 2006 postings being published by my blog: www.kuda-kepang.blogspot.com.

I had written the series based on numerous SMSs being sent to me by an insider who codenamed himself as the Toyol. He claimed that all information he passed to me were derived from a so-called blueprint for the coming general elections.

In the beginning, I was rather hesitant to publish the information which I had received from the Toyol. But, the Toyol himself later told me that nobody could harass me if I publish them. It was so, he said, because the blueprint was not being prepared by the government. It was being prepared by a group of individuals outside the government.

To guarantee me of the credibility of the information, the Toyol said, a copy of the blueprint - in the form of a CD - was already in the possession of his group. The CD was leaked out – in fact was being sold to the group – by an insider involved in the preparation of the blueprint.

So, in one of the Toyol Code 2006 series, I did issue a challenge to the group preparing the blueprint to prove to me that I was writing the series based on rumors. I did so because the Toyol told me that if anybody contested the credibility of my series, the contents of the CD would be uploaded to the internet. Until today, nobody picks up the challenge!

I am not going to repeat what I had said in the Toyol Code 2006. Those interested, please access www.kuda-kepang.blogspot.com. 13 October 2006, 14 October 2006, 16 October 2006, 19 October 2006, 27 October 2006, and 31 October 2006.

I am a card carrying member of Umno. I write this posting with no intention to put anybody at loggerhead. On the contrary, I am doing this to put an immediate stop to the conspiracy against Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib. I am doing this so that Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib will immediately act for the sake of his own future.

I am also posting this piece to tell the conspirators within Umno that a good number of concerned Umno members are already in the know of their identities. These members also know of the group's covert collaboration with certain personalities in the opposition parties.

Last but not least, I hope Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad will care to take notice of this posting and take the appropriate and necessary action to stop this conspiracy.

But, please allow me to put it on record that when I say this, I am not at all pleading to the Umno President or the Prime Minister to act for sake of Umno and Malaysia.

However, if his decision is otherwise, who is to be blamed and who is to be crucified, if somebody, from somewhere, will one of these days, say that the conspiracy against Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib is actually being originated by people in the high places in Malaysia? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Even The BN Backbenchers
Didn’t Get The True Answer?

The Sun yesterday reported that Deputy Minister In The Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Abdul Rahman Suliman, had slammed two members of the BN Backbenchers for doubting the country’s economic performance.

According to the Sun, two BN Backbenchers - Lau Yeng Peng [BN-Puchong] and Datuk Chor Chee Heung [BN-Alor Star] – “have questioned the government's economic indicators and expressed disappointment that the grassroots are not benefiting from domestic economic development.”

But, the doubts raised during parliamentary question time on Thursday, were met with a retort by Datuk Abdul Raman, who said: "Your question is twisted."

Abdul Raman said: "We give accurate information (on the economy) ... but there are still (people) who accuse the government of play-acting (bersandiwara)".

In a supplementary question in Parliament today, Lau asked how the government was dealing with the eroding confidence of the people on the economy, and the steps taken to convince the people that the economy was doing well.

Chor, in another supplementary question, said the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) has been implemented but "the grassroots are complaining that they don't gain anything from the projects".

"If (the economic development) is so good as you claimed in your answer, then why are the grassroots saying no (development)?" he asked.

"They say (domestic) consumption and businesses are low. I want to know why the impact (of the 9MP) has not gone down to the people?"

Questions being raised by MPs in the Dewan Rakyat are questions representing the “hearts and souls” of the people. The MPs, as elected representatives of the rakyat, have every right to know the truth about anything. After all, the Dewan Rakyat is accountable to the people. And, seeking the truth in the Dewan Rakyat is not a sin at all!

So, how on earth did Datuk Abdul Rahman get the idea that the two BN MPs were making accusations against the government, when in actual fact, they were only seeking the right answers to the current economic situation in Malaysia?

To me, this is a dangerous trend. If this continues, is it wrong if the rakyat will say that the slogan cemerlang, gemilang dan terbilang, as being propogated by the current leadership, is only an empty propaganda? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

Dr M Only Apologised
For Factual Errors - Sufi

"I would like to clarify a report “Dr M: Bloggers should always write the truth” (The Star, April 19, 2007), where it was reported that:

“Dr Mahathir also apologised to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for accusing him of owning a house in Perth, Australia.

“He said he got carried away when he mentioned it at a talk in Kulai, Johor, on March 29 and added it was based on a rumour.”

I would like to point out that at the press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation on Wednesday, April 18, 2007, what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had actually said in response to a question by Raja Petra Kamarudin of Malaysia Today was:

“Well, I shouldn’t have made that statement because I was stating something based on rumours that I heard.

“The rumours repeatedly said that the house belongs to him (Abdullah)... and then of course when you are carried away giving a speech like that ... and if you don’t censor yourself ... and you are not too careful about what you say ... so I said it.

“I’m sorry that I said something that was wrong and I stand to be corrected and ... I am very grateful that people have actually paid attention to my allegations and they found that the person who owns the house is not the PM, and is not his son, but is somebody else.”

It is quite evident from the transcription that Tun had apologised for the factual errors that he had made.

In this case, unfortunately what appeared in The Star’s report is therefore factually inaccurate." – Sufi Yusoff for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

2007-04-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

Can Malaysia And Indonesia
Become Major Asian Powers?

A Bernama news dispatch from Padang, Western Sumatera, today quoted an Indonesia historian, Des Alwi, as saying that “Indonesia and Malaysia are on the right track and period of time to collaborate and emerge as major powers of Asia.”

According to the news report, Des Alwi, 80, said that Malaysia and Indonesia had the strength and edge to achieve that.

"I am sure that if both countries were to collaborate with the strength and edge that they have, they can emerge as major economic and diplomatic powers," he said.

Des said that after having enjoyed 50 years of diplomatic relations, the time was now right for both Indonesia and Malaysia to look 50 years ahead and see how they can overcome obstacles impeding efforts to forge greater cooperation for mutual benefit.

I am glad to know that such an optimism exists. And I am also sure that such an optimism could be turned into a reality if Malaysia and Indonesia are willing to sincerely chart the strategy towards achieving it.

I hope the leadership of both nations will articulate this optimism in due time. The current geopolitical development and situation in South East Asia and the seemingly fragile co-operation within ASEAN today, especially when a certain particular member of the organization is allegedly interfering in another ASEAN member country’s internal affairs, should become one of the major motivations to making Malaysia and Indonesia as the major powers in South East Asia in the 21st century.

But, the pre-requisites to becoming a major power must be fulfilled. These include, far-sighted, able and stable leadership; steady economic and technological advancements; educated, and cultured citizens with excellent principles and values of life; sound practices of good governance; competitive, innovative, hard-working, knowledgeable, dedicated and disciplined workforce or human capital; pragmatic foreign policy conducive to foreign trade and foreign investment; and last but not the least, strong will power, enthusiasm and readiness to become global players. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Just Some Supplementary Questions
About The Mansion By The River.....

Who owns this mansion - 34, Bay View Terrace, Mosman Park, Perth, West Australia? Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on 29 March 2006, it belonged to Prime Minister, Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of the Prime Minister, said that the property belonged to his brother-in-law, Kamal Abdullah.

Both of them are wrong. Just a few days ago, news portal Malaysia Today revealed the truth (I am not sure if it is the absolute truth) that the property in question is registered under the name of one Wong Mun Yee @ Cindy Lim.

That is why Tun Dr Mahathir has to make an open and public apology. According to Bernama, the former Prime Minister today “apologized” to Datuk Seri Abdullah for stating the wrong fact about the ownership of the property.

But, several questions still lingers in my mind. Who is this Wong Mun Yee @ Cindy Lim? Is she not the wife of Patrick Lim? Is Patrick Lim not the high-profile businessman who is said to be one of the close buddies of Khairy - the Prime Minister’s son-in-law?

Well, if Khairy is the close buddy of Patrick Lim, why announced it to the whole world that the mansion in Mosmon Park was owned by Kamal and not Cindy Lim? Why did Khairy say that? What has Kamal have to say about that?

So, yes I am happy that Tun Dr. Mahathir had voluntarily apologized to the PM over this merry-go-round story about the mansion. But, is it not right for any of us as Malaysian, to keep on asking just this one question:

WHAT IF THE MANSION BEING PURCHASED BY CINDY LIM, THE WIF OF PATRICK LIM, IS ACTUALLY MEANT FOR KAMAL OR EVEN HIS FATHER TO STAY WHENEVER THEY DECIDE TO ENJOY THE IBRAHIM NASI KANDAR OR ENJOY THE SCENIC SUNSET BY THE SWAN RIVER IN PERTH, AUSTRALIA? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

A Canal Through The Ithmus Of Kra
Or A Kedah-Kelantan Land Bridge?

It is really a great move if Malaysia, not in the distant future, will have a “land bridge” from Kedah to Kelantan to transport oil from West Asia en-route to East Asia and countries along the Pacific Rim.

At both ends of the land bridge is a port in Kedah, where the crude oil will be unloaded and to be refined, before being transported to another port in Kelantan, where the refined oil will be re-loaded for shipments to the respective destinations.

Bernama today reported that Malaysia “is looking into a proposal to build a pipeline that will transport oil across the north of its peninsula, bypassing the piracy-prone Malacca Strait.”

The proposal involves the construction of two oil refineries and a 312-kilometre (194-mile) pipeline from northwestern Kedah to northeastern Kelantan.

Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib Razak, however said that “the project is still at proposal-stage. It has not been finalised yet. They are still looking at the details.”

According to Bernama, tankers will offload crude oil from the Middle East in Yan, Kedah, for refining. The oil will then be transported through pipelines across to Bachok in Kelantan, for distribution to countries in the Asian region, including China.

The pipeline will bypass the 960-kilometre Malacca Strait, which runs along Malaysia's western coast – one the busiest and most strategic waterways in the world..

An idea similar to the proposed project was developed during Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s premiership in mid 1990s. The project, aimed at prospering the economies of nothern Malaysia, nothern Indonesia (Sumatera side) and southern Thailand, was under the patronage of a growth triangle called IMT-GT or the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle.

According to the IMT-GT plan, the land bridge, or possibly a canal, was supposed to be built across the Ithmus of Kra in southern Thailand. Unfortunately, the plan was still not being implemented. However, it is still not sure if the IMT-GT proposal has been permanently scrapped.

Blogger Ketua Perusuh, who is a former senior fellow with ISIS, had recently published a two-parts article about this. He claimed that Singapore was not happy with the implementation of such a project. For further reading, Please access these links:

http://ketuaperusuh.wordpress.com/2007/04/02/segenting-kra-episod-1/
http://ketuaperusuh.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/segenting-kra-episod-2/

For historical background please click:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.thaipage.ch/aktuell/krakanal.php&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=7&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dthe%2Bithmus%2Bof%2Bkra%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

- Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Register By August For Eligibility
To Vote If Election Before December

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysians who have yet to register as voters have until August to do so to be eligible to vote in the next general election if it is to be held towards the end of the year.

Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said this was because it took three to four months before the names can be included in the electoral roll.

"After August, I cannot guarantee that the names can be included in the electoral roll if the election is held towards the end of the year," he told a press conference after launching a nationwide campaign to register new voters here, Monday.

Abdul Rashid said there were about 4.9 million Malaysians eligible to vote who had yet to register with the EC, of which 80 per cent are urban youths aged from 21 to 30 years.

Selangor had the highest number of people who had not registered to be voters at 745,515, followed by Johor at 583,000 and Perak 410,000.

Asked if the campaign was a hint that the election was very near, Abdul Rashid said: "It is all in the hands of the party in power. It reserves the right to call for an election anytime before its five-year term is up. We are preparing ourselves should it be called before the year is out."

The last general election was held in March 2004 and under the Westminster system practised here, the government need not call for one until March 2009.

[www.bernama.com]

Comment:

I did register myself as a voter in late 1970s. I voted in a general election (GE) for the first time in early 1980s. But you? What are guys going to do? What excuse do you have for not registering yourselves as voters soon after your 21st birthday? You don’t need to? Why? Because you are already feeling secured and comfortable? Are you sure?

But, when exactly is the 12th GE going to be held? July or August 2007? Or the latest, before April 2009? I asked this question since people are now speculating about it. Most of them said, the next GE may be in July 2007? Some others said, possibly in August 2007. Anyhow, my toyol [informer] said, the best bet is July or August 2007! What say you Mr. Prime Minister? – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-15T01:07:00.000-07:00

Tun Musa Hitam Is Best For C’wealth SG
Afifuddin or Toyad Are Best Alternatives

Tun Musa Hitam is today being quoted by the www.thstar.com.my that he declined to take up the post of Commonwealth Secretary-General based in London because “he had other work commitments and he wanted to spend time with his family.”

I hope Tun Musa’s decision is not final as yet. It is so because he is the only one in Malaysia who has had vast knowledge and experience in dealing with the Commonwealth.

Here are his track records: Chairman of the Malaysian Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in early 80s; Chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group to the Malawi general election in 1994; A members of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to look into violations of Commonwealth’s fundamental principles such as respect for democracy and human rights; The Malaysian Special Ambassador to the United Nations in middle 1980s.

But, if Tun Musa had really declined the offer for the post of a roving ambassador of the Commonwealth, the next appropriate candidate from Malaysia, to my mind, is Datuk Afifuddin Haji Omar, former Deputy Minister of Finance and currently a member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly.

Datuk Afifuddin has led the Malaysian CPA for many years and was also a committee member of the CPA International for three years. He is also a well-known figure within the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) and International Parliamentary Union (IPU). The only shortcoming is that Datuk Afifuddin has never held any full ministerial post.

This being the case, Malaysia is left with one more alternative - Datuk Leo Michael Toyad – former deputy Foreign Minister and former Minister of Tourism. Datuk Toyad is of similar caliber and experience in international organizations as Datuk Afifuddin, except that he has never represented Malaysian in the CPA international. His long years in the Foreign Ministry, however, is an asset worth considering. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-14T01:25:00.000-07:00

Is This The Design Of Economic Hitmen
To Weaken Malaysian Palm Oil Industry?

Several foreign-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were said to have claimed that oil palm plantations on peat soil in Sarawak produce excessive carbon dioxide and contribute to global warming.

thestar.com.my, carried an item on this today. The paper quoted Dr Lulie Melling, a senior research officer at the Sarawak State Agriculture Department, as saying that “we have data to prove that the allegations are false. Our research has shown that peat soil produces three times less than the normal emission of gas from other soils.”

Another officer, Lau Jau Uyo - the department’s soil management head - said that if the NGOs succeeded in their attempts to influence the United Nations and the European Union, it would have a negative effect on Malaysia, particularly Sarawak which had about a million hectares of oil palm plantations on peat soil.

These allegations will have grave impacts on our economy. The government of Malaysia has to be sensitive to such claims. If left without being rebutted, such claims may ruin Malaysia’s palm oil industry. If the government chooses to put a deaf ear to these claims, states like Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Pahang will be the great losers. Government agencies like Felda too will be jeopardized. In short, the chain-effects are endless.

In addition to efforts undertaken by the government to prove the allegations are baseless, thorough investigations also need to be carried out. The government has to uncover who are behind those NGOs? Are they not part of the tentacles of any international elements out to wreck Malaysian economy? Are there possibilities that such NGOs are being backed or are working in tandem with any international economic hitmen? [Note: for background reading, Confessions Of An Economic Hitman, a book by John Perkins, is recommended!] – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

Tun Dr. Ismail’s Hypothesis
On M’sia-S’pore Re-Merger

My late father admired Tun Dr. Ismail very much. He said to me one day, Tun Dr. Ismail was a very strict, disciplined and principled leader. Most Johoreans of my father’s generation loved Tun Dr. Ismail. They adored him although Tun Dr. Ismail was not one of Johore’s famous freedom fighters against the introduction of the Malayana Union rule in 1946. My father also once said to me that he had never had the chance to meet Tun Dr. Ismail in person. Nevertheless, Tun Dr. Ismail was his hero.

I came to know Tun Dr. Ismail through his photograph hanged on the wall of my family’s house in Batu Pahat, and through my father’s many conversations with his friends, normally at night, after he had finished conducting his tuition on basic English for my kampung’s youngsters preparing themselves to seek employment in Singapore in early 1960s.

Tun Dr. Ismail passed away while I was studying in England. On that day I happened to be at the Malaysia Hall, 46 Brynston Square, London. My friends and I were about to have our lunch at the dining hall. Suddenly, the was a slight commotion. Minutes after that, we were being informed by the Malaysia Hall’s warden, of Tun Dr. Ismail’s sudden departure.

The reactions of most of us were spontaneous. We were silent in disbelief for a few seconds. Then, most of us just shed tears. I recited al-Fatehah for him. Tears were running down my cheeks.

Articulate

In 1982 I began working as a press secretary to Tun Musa Hitam in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Jalan Dato’ Onn, Kuala Lumpur. And that was the time when I was first introduced to most of Tun Dr. Ismail’s doctrine on honesty, fairness, and disciplines.

In most of the Monday morning prayer session [briefing time] with Tun Musa, he had always reminded all of his personal staff, including me, to understand, articulate and emulate Tun Dr. Ismail’s sets of rules, disciplines, principles and values as a public servant.

Later on, especially after I was elected as a member of parliament [1990-2004], I had always remember Tun Musa’s and Tun Dr. Ismail’s doctrines on public service, especially on punctuality, dedication, honesty, patriotism, racial harmony, public order and national security.

During my years as an MP, I also took the opportunity to dig from the Parliament resource centre, Tun Dr. Ismail’s speeches as being recorded in the hansard [the verbatim report of Dewan Rakyat proceedings]. I had read several of Tun Dr. Ismail’s major speeches. I did this because I wanted to know more about the man, his thoughts and his principles on politics in multi-ethnic Malaysia. This, however, did not help me much with what I wanted to know about Tun Dr. Ismail.

Ysterday, Blogger Nuraina A Samad gave me a copy of the latest book on Tun Dr. Ismail – The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr. Ismail and His Time – written by Dr. Ooi Kee Beng. And, it is this book that gives me a really deep insights of Tun Dr. Ismail as a man, a father, a diplomat, a leader, and a statesman.

Diplomat

Now I know Tun Dr. Ismail’s politics better. I know he was a true Malaysian. He had no traces of racial prejudice. He had subscribed to the idea of creating a Malaysian Malaysia, though not similar to the one being advocated by the DAP, which originated from Lee Kuan Yew’s vision in early 1960s.

Now, I also know that Tun Dr. Ismail was a superb diplomat. He had excellent leadership ability, qualities and values. He had a far-sighted vision of Malaysia and its rakyat. He had a pragmatic views on how to restructure the Malaysian society which has a very diverse economic and educational backgrounds. He sacrificed his life for his motherland. He played major roles in the formation of Malaysia. And equally vital and significant roles during the separation of Singapore.

However, after reading Dr. Ooi’s book on Tun Dr. Ismail, I am now left with several strategic questions unanswered. These questions are about our future. These questions are based on several hypothesis left behind by Tun Dr. Ismail as being recorded in Dr. Ooi’s book, which I believe, are meant for us Malaysians to think, articulate and provide the answers, whenever we are ready to do so.

Hypothesis

First: In pages 159 and 160 of his book, Dr. Ooi quoted Tun Dr. Ismail’s letter to National Geograpic, dated 22 April 1966. One significant point being written by Tun Dr. Ismail in that particular letter is:

“Singapore and Malaysia are interdependent. Singapore has the finest port in the East and a large portion of her trade depends on Malaysia. At the moment both nations, comparatively speaking, are well off. If they can co-exist for some time, each understanding the other’s point of view, the time will come when they will merge again. It is better to wait for this to come because if they do not do so they will sink together instead of coming together.”

Let me repeat this significant point about the future Malaysia-Singapore relations: “IF THEY CAN CO-EXIST FOR SOME TIME, EACH UNDERSTANDING THE OTHER’S POINT OF VIEW, THE TIME WILL COME WHEN THEY WILL MERGE AGAIN. IT IS BETTER TO WAIT FOR THIS TO COME BECAUSE IF THEY DO NOT DO SO THEY WILL SINK TOGETHER INSTEAD OF COMING TOGETHER.”

And now, let us ask ourselves this question: Will Malaysia and Singapore “merge again” in years to come? Is it true, according to Tun Dr. Ismail, that “if they do not do so they will sink together instead of coming together”?

Second: Also in page 160, Dr. Ooi quoted Justice Tun Suffian about Tun Dr. Ismail’s view on Malaysian Malaysia:

Malaysian-Malaysia

“He was a realist, aware of the prejudices of every community. He agreed with Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s slogan “Malaysia for Malaysians”, but he did not agree that it could be done overnight, he knew that the inborn prejudice and resistance of millions have to be worn down patiently, that the millions from every community have to be convinced slowly, that they have to be persuaded steadily in the delicate process of uniting the various races in Malaysia.”

I view these two hypothesis of Tun Dr. Ismail are interrelated. These, therefore, should lead us to another question: Will the re-merger of Malaysia and Singapore become a reality after the slogan of “Malaysia for Malaysians” has been fully understood, agreed and accepted by all Malaysians in the future?

I will leave these two strategic questions to the people of Malaysia and Singapore to think and ponder. But, I also hope that these two questions will not be left unarticulated by leaders of both nations.

My personal opinion, however, is that the re-merger of Malaysia and Singapore, will possibly come true only if both nations and the rakyat are willing to look ahead to a better future and willing to free themselves from the present day’s prides and prejudices.

Discourse

So, Dr. Ooi, your book The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr. Ismail and His Time, is actually not only a must-read book to better the existing relations between Malaysia and Singapore. To me, your book should also be considered as an important document which can be used as a basis for further intellectual discourse about the future of both nations.

In conclusion, let us all think why Tun Dr. Ismail had said that if Malaysia and Singapore “can co-exist for some time, each understanding the other’s point of view, the time will come when they will merge again. It is better to wait for this to come because if they do not do so they will sink together instead of coming together.”

Tun Dr. Ismail had left us. He will not be able to further deliberate on this hypothesis. It is now up to us, you and I, Malaysians and Singaporeans, to understand the spirit, hope and aspiration hidden behind these words. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

Total Defence Poser

Total defence in national security, which has been implemented by several countries since the Cold War, is still at the concept and strategy stage in Malaysia.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that several inter-agency discussions held since the 1990s to study the implementation of its components had produced no concrete action.

“Perhaps the absence of threats, and the comfort and peace the people have enjoyed resulted in a lack of commitment towards total defence,” he said after launching the Workshop on Total Defence Concept and Implementation, co-organised by the Defence Ministry and National Security Division of the Prime Minister’s Department.

The objective of total defence, as implemented in countries such as Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Singapore, is to prevent war and defend the country, through a concerted effort by the private and public sector.

[ thestar.com 12.4.07]

Backgrounder:

This is the definition of Total Defence from Wilkipedia:

Total Defence is a concept introduced by the government of Singapore in 1984 to improve readiness in matters related to the defence and national security of Singapore, and is partly based on similar concepts in Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden. This concept rests on the notion that the defence of the country cannot rely only on the regular armed forces. Thus the concept declares that government agencies, private sector organisztions and all Singaporeans are to be involved in an effort to deal with security threats facing Singapore. It can be compared to the concept of total war.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Defence]

And this is the Singapore version:

Singapore's leaders defined Total Defence as the capability of the nation to deter or overcome aggression by maintaining small, well-equipped regular armed forces backed up by a large, well-trained military reserve and a civil sector that could be quickly mobilized to provide support to the armed forces. By 1989 Singapore had each of these components in place.

[http://www.photius.com/countries/singapore/national_security/singapore_national_security_total_defence_concep~1585.html]

Comment:

The Malaysian government has to make up her mind – to have or not to have a total defence policy. In my opinion, the geopolitical development in the 21st century, since the launching of the War On Terror (WOT), which was later being characterized by the ever increasing incidents of black operations or false-flag operations in several regions of South East Asia, warrants such a policy to be implemented in Malaysia without any further delay.

The Malaysian government must also remember that the US-led WOT is a press-button war without border, and is a war against phantom enemies, including the so-called Al-Qaeda bunch and/or its allies, all over the globe, especially in the Muslim world or Muslim regions in non-Muslim nations.

Yes, this type of war, as many renowned authors on geopolitics said, is mainly targeted to several failed states. But, the WOT can also be at our doorsteps or backyards as and when the world’s hyper-power thinks it is necessary.

The WOT can also be launched against any nation, at anytime, and without any specific and/or valid reasons. This war can happen when the big bullies club thinks that a particular nation is allegedly harboring Muslim radicals, Muslim militants or Muslim terrorists who are being construed as the enemies of the West.

Such is the present day reality. And, a total defence policy is of paramount importance to benchmark our nation’s readiness to face this reality.

So, no more procrastination please. As the Malay saying goes: let us get ready with our umbrella before the rain drops. Let this beloved soil be totally protected to avoid blood and tears being shed by the rakyat as a result of our own government’s prolonged complacency. – Ruhanie Ahmad

2007-04-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

The Cyberprince And I:
(A Mission Statement)

I created http://www.roncyberprince.blogspot.com/ as my special blogsphere for social and current affairs - particularly about politics and economics - according to my personal viewpoint as a private citizen of Malaysia.

This blog will also publish my personal journal - The Life Of A Kampung Boy - on a weekly basis, focusing on various topics, including my childhood during the British colonial era, my schooling days in the early independence period, my life as a student in England, my 10-year experience as a newspaper man, my turbulent days of 14 years as a member of parliament, as well as my present life as an active and independent blogger, striving to contribute to the development of the ever evolving cyber democracy in Malaysia.

I have to forewarn surfers to this blogsphre that English is not my mother tongue. I started learning English when I entered a lower secondary school at the age of 13, in 1961. Prior to that I was a pupil in a Malay medium primary school in a remote village of Batu Pahat, Johore. So, my proficiency in English might be of no match to yours. However, I also have quite a good command of Mandarin and spoken Javanese and Japanese.

I started blogging in mid-06. Currently I own three other blogs - two in Malay and one English. The first two are dedicated to socio-politics and economics. The one in English is about international geopolitics, particularly about the war on terror.

Please feel free to post your comments, viewpoints, thoughts and observations to this blogsphere. However, ethics and disciplines in writing are of great significance here. - Ruhanie Ahmad