Saturday, March 30, 2013

CERAMAH CORNER: Dato Dr Tan Kee Kwong




"In 1999, Dr Mahathir appointed me as Deputy Minister and among my duties was to look after Felda. Felda Sahabat (the settlement in which the intruders had camped) was just jungle then. Now, 240,000 acres or one-and-a-half times the size of Singapore, it is a township with about 30,000 people. But the border with the Philippines is just 10 minutes away. Whether legal or not, they have been coming in and out for the past 30 years at least. Why has this problem been allowed to flare up and so near to the election?
"Why did these so-called intruders, out of 200 about 30 had heavy equipment - grenade launchers, M16 heavy machine guns. Why didn't we involve our soldiers from the start? Are these real intruders or not? If someone doesn't drink water for 5 days, he will die. If Najib appointed me as the police chief, I would ask the marine police to block the seas. I would call my VAT69 SWAT team to make another circle. Then I would form another line of armored cars, put in my bazookas and heavy artillery. I would then use my helicopters to drop down leaflets - please surrender, we don't want to kill anyone, we give you 3 days to lay down your arms. Then turn off the electric power and water and don't allow anyone to walk in and out. But what did we do? We just used our own planes to drop 500lb bombs on our own land ... did I hear someone say 'stupid!'. That's right. We bomb other people's country, not our own country!"

Tun Daim Zainuddin and his take on English


Tun Daim is to be lauded for his stand on making English a compulsory subject in schools. 
“Without English, we are dead, especially the Malays. The Malays must realise, without English they cannot compete. We must insist on English as a second language.” 
One only has to tune into China’s CCTV [Astro Channel 509], its global English language television, to realise how important English is to China and its progress. How did this country, which could only speak the language of Communism not too long ago, overtake a country like ours which was at one time schooled in Queen’s English? Perhaps we should learn from China how to teach English instead of trying to speak Beijing Mandarin. 

The ballot is stronger than the bullet

When someone breaks into your home, steals your money and harms your family before escaping, your reaction would be to call the police to apprehend the criminals to bring them to justice. So, when the government steals from you, why is it that many of us do nothing?
A classic story of irresponsible and ignorant Malaysians is told in an article published in The Star on March 25, called “GE-13: Malaysians who choose not to vote”.
The article quoted a young musician called Izal Azlee, who was disillusioned by recent happenings in Malaysia. The 28-year-old said that it would make no difference for whom he voted.
Using the availability of pirated goods, in every state, as example, he doubted the state government’s ability to resolve bigger and more complex issues like corruption, because the state authorities were ineffective in dealing with piracy problems.
He said, “………Whatever they implement, even though there are laws, people will still do whatever they want to do.”
Our politicians escape punishment because we, the rakyat allowed them. When the workings of our administration are shrouded in secrecy and politicians get away with corruption, rape and murder, it gives the man in the street the confidence to commit the same crimes.
The lack of enforcement which allows problems of piracy and corruption to persist is compounded because we also, contribute to the problem. We refuse to pay for the genuine product and so, create a demand for pirated goods. When we are caught purchasing illegal items, we bribe someone to set us free. Piracy is a multi-million dollar industry, which many allege is “protected’ by some people in office.
Izal may not fit the stereotypical “apathetic” or “apolitical” person, as claimed by the article, but he is also selfish and ignorant. Izal said that he might vote only if the issues had a direct impact on his daily life.
Does Izal not realise that in his everyday life, from the transport problems he faces, to the increase in cost of his teh-tarik is attributable to the failings of government? Perhaps, when he finds the police knocking on his door and he is arrested, on trumped up charges, he may feel compelled to cast a vote. By then, it may be too late.
Other causes of Izal’s disillusionment were the goodies being distributed and the potholes being repaired just before the election. He said that after the election, things would return to normal, until the next election, in four years time.
If Malaysians refused to accept the goodies, then politicians would stop offering them. At many ceramah attended by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, food offerings have caused a near stampede, especially in economically deprived areas.
Najib’s look of smug satisfaction would be wiped off his face, if no one rushed forward to receive his bribes. We create the demand, so Najib will continue to supply.
Rakyat money wasted as bribes

We should insist that our money, the taxpayers’ money, should not be wasted on these bribes, which are supplied at an over-inflated price by crony companies. Rather, the money should be channelled into the community – to mend roads, improve housing and medical services.
The MP servicing the area should be made to do his work. We tend to forget that MPs are our servants and are not there to “give” us food items or RM500 vouchers which we, the taxpayers paid for.
The Star article quoted another disenchanted person, photographer Lai Voon Loong who claimed that there was hardly any difference between BN and Pakatan Rakyat politicians. He described politicians as “power hungry, money grabbing and untrustworthy megalomaniacs”, with BN telling the rakyat to be thankful for what they have done and Pakatan saying that all the problems are BN’s fault.
Lai said, “I wish there were more Mahatma Gandhis in this world. He is someone I will definitely vote for.” (sic.)
Lai will be disappointed because there are very few people like Gandhi around. Lai, is of course, wrong to abstain from voting.
Take for instance the plight of the marginalised Indians that was recently highlighted by Hindraf. Despite 56 years of BN rule, the MIC, the Indian component party of BN, has failed to help the Indian community. How much longer do they need?
When the Hindraf blueprint was rejected by both BN and Pakatan, and Pakatan refused to accede to Hindraf’s demands for 18 parliamentary and state seats, P Waythamoorthy warned that he might advise his followers to abstain from voting in GE-13.
Why is Waythamoorthy cosying up to BN, after they have failed the Indian community for 56 years? What makes Waythamoorthy think Najib will “janji di-tepati”, now? Why is Hindraf confusing the Indians, at a crucial time in our elections, when a two party system is almost a reality? Are Najib and Waythamoorthy both desperate for power?
If our politicians lack integrity, it is because we allowed them. In a democracy, we, the rakyat, have the power to make or break politicians. If they are corrupt, then they should be punished.
In a company, anyone who steals is sacked. If someone assaults you, they are punished. Why is the same treatment not meted out to politicians who steal or murder?
When you refrain from voting, you are giving the politician carte blanche to do as he pleases.

Every vote counts


You are wrong to think that you are punishing both BN and Pakatan if you do not vote. The only person you punish is yourself.
If you do not use your vote, an illegal immigrant will.
There are so many illegal immigrants and ghost voters, it is as though the entire voting population of Singapore were drafted in to vote for BN.
If Najib was confident of winning, why hasn’t he called the election? If Najib was assured of victory, why is Dr Mahathir Mohamad acting like the de-facto PM and why has the former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, suddenly appeared, to bad-mouth Opposition Leader, Anwar Ibrahim?
Do not be misled by BN’s claims that the winning of five states by Pakatan is proof that BN did not cheat in GE-12.
If BN had not cheated, more if not all states would have been won by the opposition.
BN is desperate and will cheat in GE-13. Too much is at stake.
Malaysia’s future is in your hands. Abraham Lincoln once said, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet”.
You may not know it, but every vote counts and your vote may help lift Malaysia out of the quagmire. By voting, you may defeat BN and save your country for yourself and your children.
Your country needs your vote!
(Source: Mariam Mokhtar)

Friday, March 29, 2013

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Save Selangor? From what????

When I read this news report in the Malaysiakini, I almost had a fit.  Perkasa want to save Selangor and a gathering to this effect will be held on April 6.  The question is, save Selangor from what?  Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and his team has been doing a fine job, despite all the constraints posed by the federal government, for the last five years, that I believe we, all right thinking Selangorians [or Penangites] should be thinking about saving Selangor [or Penang] from the likes of Perkasa and BN instead.  Haven't they done enough damage to the state coffers during the time they were managing the state?



Malaysians, do your duty at the ballot box.  Both states worked hard to create that kind of surplus which we have never seen before and we are not about to let those grubby hands of the BN to siphon them away.

Pakatan's 'Art of War' : Battleground - Johore

Now that DAP parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang is to contest in the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat, Pakatan Rakyat will have shift its resources to help him and its other candidates in Johor, a Malay-dominated BN stronghold.

NONEAs the birthplace of Umno, the nation’s longest and strongest political party, Johor has unique electoral characteristics, including voter distribution and a political culture, that have made it a safe haven for many BN leaders.

The key to capturing the state will lie in Pakatan’s ability to find multi-ethnic support among voters, a prolonged weakness that the coalition has been struggling to overcome.

A glance at the 15 parliamentary constituencies that Lim has identified as winnable seats reveals that Pakatan is building its battle line to connect constituencies in the south, centre and north of the state.
The seats are Bakri, Segamat, Muar, Labis and Ledang in the north; Kluang, Batu Pahat and Sembrong in the centre; and Tebrau, Pasir Gudang, Johor Bahru, Pulai, Gelang Patah, Kulai and Tanjung Piai in the south.

azlan

These seats are located at either side of the North-South Expressway which is constructed along the west coast of Johor. Most comprise mixed constituencies in urban and semi-urban areas.

NONELim's candidacy could create a ripple effect into the surrounding urban constituencies in southern Johor, including Johor Baru, Kulai, Pulai, Tebrau, Pasir Gudang, and even to nearby suburbs like Tanjung Piai.

The challenge for Pakatan will be to extend its targeted “political storm” to constituencies in the centre and north of the state.

It will have to deal with the fact that, in Johor, there is no seat where Chinese Malaysians make up more than 70 percent of the voters, unlike in several other parts of the country.

Twelve of the 15 seats consist of 40 percent Chinese voters - of these the parliamentary constituency of Kulai has the highest percentage at 58 percent, followed by Bakri, Kluang, Gelang Patah and Kulai with more than 50 percent.

Liew Chin Tong, the DAP strategist who will move from Bukit Bendera in Penang to Johor, had predicted that - should Pakatan get 35 percent Malay, 80 percent Chinese and 50 percent Indian support in Johor - 20 parliamentary constituencies will fall like dominoes.

Rainbow team

If Pakatan does not field a credible line up of multi-ethnic candidates, the DAP will not be able to achieve the “political storm" on its own. Generally, Malays in Johor are conservative nationalists who view the DAP as a Chinese party.

It is learnt that Pakatan is mobilising more high-profile leaders to contest in Johor, particularly from PKR and PAS which will be tasked with winning Malay support.

azlanPAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub and former army chief Gen (Rtd) Md Hashim Hussein, who joined PKR on March 6, are expected to contest in Pulai and Johor Baru respectively.

PKR is likely to send another retired army deputy chief, Lt-Gen (Rtd) Abdul Ghafir Abdul Hamid, to contest Pasir Gudang.

Johor PKR chief and former MCA strongman Chua Jui Meng, who has been out of the public eye since March 18 - when Lim was announced at the Gelang Patah candidate - is tipped to contest Segamat despite his disgruntlement with the seat allocation.

PAS is expected to field a Chinese and an Indian candidates in Johor, in part to ward off the MCA claim that it is an ‘extremist’ party.

The proposed 'rainbow team’ is expected to pose a strong challenge to BN led by Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Gani Othman.

Pakatan's analysis has shown that Malay support for it in previous elections has been abysmal, with only 10-20 percent in certain Malay-majority constituencies.

NONEThe Tenang by-election in January 2011, for example, proved that PAS had failed to make inroads into Felda settlements in spite of the efforts of its NGO, Anak, led by Mazlan Aliman (right) who is from Johor.

PAS has since focused its campaign on the second and third generations of Felda settlers, hoping that these better educated young voters can help to offset the political affiliation of their parents.

Pakatan will still need to push up Chinese support to between 70 and 80 percent.

In the 2008 general election, the MCA had won seven, or half, of the parliamentary seats it contested in Johor, despite strong anti-establishment sentiments against BN parties in other parts of the country.

To win the Chinese support, Pakatan will have to get through to guilds and associations which have provided solid support for the BN.

It is learnt that Pakatan is trying to get help from former left-wing political activists generally known as lao zuo (the old left), who are currently involved in the Chinese education movement. They enjoy a good reputation among local Chinese communities.

Battle for new voters


Pakatan is further pinning its hopes on young voters who are working in Johor Baru and Singapore to return to their hometowns to ‘vote for change’. The coalition believes that it has higher support among those exposed to alternative information via cyberspace.

The Pakatan analysis has found that many of them had not registered as voters or did not vote in 2008. However, the unexpected “political tsunami” may lead them to show more enthusiasm this time around.

The 20-40 percent increase in new voters in the parliamentary seats will not necessarily be unfavourable to the BN.

NONEFor instance, Sembrong, now held by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, has more than 8,000 new voters, or 25 percent more than in 2008. About 70 percent were registered via political parties, most likely Umno, as Pakatan’s machinery is weak in this rural seat.

There are internal problems that Pakatan must overcome in Johor - the weak grassroots organisation of PKR and PAS; unhappiness among PKR and DAP local leaders over the fielding of 'parachutists' in their constituencies; and seat allocations decided by the central leadership of each party.

A successful battle in Johor will not only help open Pakatan to open the door to Putrajaya, but will also be a litmus test for its credibility as a multi-ethnic electoral force capable of breaking the BN’s dominance of Malaysia's middle ground.

[Source: Mkini]

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Najib's alphabet soup

Najib has coined a blizzard and probably the world’s biggest collection of alphabet soups as a substitute for government policies and action, comprising unpronounceable and impossible-to-remember acronyms like GTP, ETP, PTP, NKRA, NKEA, EPP, NEM, GMM, etc. (Can all cabinet ministers remember what all these acronyms stand for?)

Economic Management During Political Transition



Date : March 12 2013
Venue : The Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Keynote address by YB Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim

Malaysians face many uncertainties as they prepare for the nation's most challenging elections yet. It is becoming more and more evident that Barisan Nasional's grip over the country is the weakest it has ever been throughout its 55-year history.

Regardless of whether it survives GE-13, the mood is such that Malaysian politics will never be the same again. The regime will now have to deal with a younger, more dynamic and daring generation of voters, the complete opposite of the demographic it has been most used to dictating over the many decades it's been in power.

And if the opposition Pakatan Rakyat were to wrest power, a key question that remains unresolved in all this is the fate of Malaysia's economy throughout this wave of transition. Taking into consideration the fact that finance and trade has been for so long driven primarily by a one party system, democratizing the economy will be a priority. How can we ensure that economic policies remain inclusive? What are the values and objectives that will guide the transition? Will the free market be Malaysia's destiny?

Malaysia has the potential to reflect deeply and meaningfully on these questions because of the unique and advantageous regional context it's in. The fall of authoritarian regimes in Indonesia and the Philippines in recent history shows that there may be a wealth of lessons Malaysia can learn from its neighbours. Should liberalization be the default solution to mend the inefficiencies of authoritarian economic rule? Or can more robust and just welfare oriented policies be put in place?

It is to reflect on these questions and more that Penang Institute, Institut Rakyat and the Islamic Renaissance Front have come together to organize a seminar on "Economic Management During Political Transition: Experiences from East Asia and Eastern Europe".

Monday, March 25, 2013

CERAMAH CORNER : Cynthia Gabriel

Najib, you can run but you cannot hide
 

Najib quoting Deng Xiaoping


Hello, IGP, is this a feudal nation?

Feudal or not, but this is certainly a nation where some people in authority suffer from amnesia at their convenience.

Responding to calls that in the light of the confession by the senior lawyer who prepared the second SD for PI Bala, and which was exposed at the recent AGM of the Bar Council, the Altantuya case should be reopened, the IGP said he would not re-open the case unless “new evidence” was produced.

If the confession is not new evidence, what is it? If the confession is true, then it would surely affect the verdict passed at the trial and surely that justifies a review of the case. Is it “pantang” to review a criminal case where two lives are waiting to be snuffed out?

Doesn’t criminal justice require that no stone should be left unturned in discovering the truth before sentence is passed, the more so when it involves the death penalty? Isn’t it a requirement that evidence must show beyond doubt the guilt of the accused? Isn’t it the foundation of criminal justice that if a reasonable doubt is cast on the guilt of the accused, the benefit of the doubt must be given to the accused?

The IGP seems to have forgotten about a murder that took place in the Petaling Jaya area in 1979, when he was a 26 year old police officer in the Criminal Investigation Department of the IPD Krian. This murder case was very sensational as no direct evidence was found and the accused was convicted on the strength of circumstantial evidence. It was a trial by jury and the accused was sentenced to death.

However, a few days after the sentencing, a witness who had given evidence at the trial, and which had carried weight with the jury, came forward and confessed that he had given false evidence.
That confession was new evidence. The case was re-opened. The accused who had been sentenced to death was freed and the person who had given the false evidence was imprisoned instead. This was the case of the murder of Jean Perera Sinnappa. And this is not the only such case in the world. From time to time we read of cases where miscarriage of justice had been discovered, sometimes decades later, and the condemned freed.

Now two of the IGP’s own officers are waiting in death row. New evidence has surfaced in the form of the confession, but he is not interested in seeing to it that justice is done to these two officers. He would rather see his officers dead, based on a judgment where the court said motive was not relevant in this case!

These officers have families and children (as was said of the Sabah intruders). Have their wives and children no right to expect our justice system to leave no stone unturned to get to the truth of the matter? Why? Is it because some big names are mentioned?

In convicting them, the court had come up with a novelty of an argument that MOTIVE was irrelevant. Where in the annals of criminal justice is motive irrelevant when someone is accused of having killed a person(s)?

The guilt or otherwise depends on the accused’s Mens Rea, i.e state of mind. Was the killing the result of the killer’s own mind’s intention to kill?

In the case of the two of the IGP’s police officers’ who are waiting to be hanged, what reason did they have to have intended to kill the lady whom they do not seem to have known. Does the IGP have a clear conscience over this?

It’s a wonder how the IGP could be so disinterested in establishing why the two of his officers had done what they did. And since the C4 explosives are not part of the police arsenal but that of the armed forces, how did they come into possession of that substance? Is his stand good for the morale of the lower ranking police officers? What is he trying to prove – that a decision made, right or wrong, must stand and be executed like in the days of the Feudal Lords?

Based on our very own precedent case of Jean Perera Sinnappa, the Altantuya case must be re-opened in the name of justice for the two police officers waiting to be hanged. I am sure that Islamic Moral values or those of any other culture do not condone the closing of an eye to any evidence that might go to show that the condemned were not guilty of what they were accused of.

[Source: The MI]

Sunday, March 24, 2013

CERAMAH CORNER : Tony Pua

When We Takeover Putrajaya, Najib Will Be Brought To France, Guilty Will Be Put In Jail
 

Pork, ham or bacon, it is okay with the Chinese

I just cannot understand these demonstrators, especially those linked to UMNO or pro-UMNO NGOs.  Why is it whenever they hold a protest especially against any Chinese member of the Opposition parties, they have a tendency of displaying banners that carry the words "Makan Babi" or "Cina Babi" printed on them, or making verbal abuses using the same two words.  Little did their little minds know that, actually, the Chinese don't feel insulted, not at all, as pork happens to be a food enjoyed by them.  The same can be said about the Europeans who enjoy eating ham or bacon.

However, it will only become an insult to a Muslim should the two words be directed at them because such a meat is considered "haram".  Imagine Najib is visiting one of the constituents which is predominantly Chinese.  As he arrives, there is a group of demonstrators with banners telling Najib to "Makan babi".  Now that is insensitive and insulting. The same goes to our Hindu friends should I insult them by saying "Makan lembu".

Sometimes, it is better for them to look like fools than to open their mouths and have all doubts removed.

These fellas need better copywriters for their banners