Al Jazeera : Is it time for change in Malaysia?

IMHO, Chandra Muzaffar has no credibility to be on the show's panel.  He is definitely a Anwar-hate centric person.  If he knew that Anwar's fiscal policy would damage the nation's economy when the latter was the finance minister & that the latter was equally corrupt, why then did he join Anwar's party the moment it was formed and then readily accepted the party's nomination as MP candidate for the Bandar Tun Razak constituency in the 1999 GE?  The last question posed to him by the moderator was about Najib's economic policy.  His response was tethering and he immediately switched to attacking Anwar.  It is even more telling that he became so defensive when Dr Ong Kian Ming starts to speak?  A canary now sings a different tune. For once, I have but to say that Khairy Jamaluddin would have been a better speaker to represent BN on the panel, not a turn-coat like Chandra Muzaffar.

CERAMAH CORNER : Ambiga Sreenevasan

The following took place in Kota Damansara on April 13 2013. A truly inspiring speech from Ambiga.

 

The new mandore of Barisan Nasional

For a long while now, Waythamoorthy, the chieftain of Hindraf has been needling the Indian representatives in Pakatan Rakyat calling them "mandores".  Now on the sly, he has gone on to sign an MOU with Najib and if this was not bad enough, he has called on all Indians to return the two-third majority to the BN.  His brother, P Uthayakumar was apparently livid at such a u-turn by Waythamoorthy, and in response urged the Indians to support Pakatan Rakyat instead.

I wonder what kind of understanding that has been reached between Waythamoorthy and Najib.  I have studied the 18 points and if Najib was to concede to Waythamoorthy's demand, it is akin to raising the status of the Indians to that of the Malays, which UMNO will no doubt find it terribly offensive.  Perhaps this could be one of the last few desperate moves of Najib - concede now and renegade on the agreement later.  After all, it is only a memorandum of understanding which is not enforceable.  If UMNO could do it to Chin Peng and SUQUI, what is stopping UMNO from doing it again, this time on Waythamoorthy and gang. 

One of the demands was that Hindraf should be given 7 parliamentary seats and 10 state seats to contest in the coming GE.  By inking the MOU, did Najib agree to this demand when the BN candidate list has already been released days ago.  Even without amending the list, many BN members are already unhappy that they were not included or have been moved to another location to contest.  So how is Waythamoorthy going to fit into Najib's larger scheme of things, I wonder?

And so, the fragmentation of the Indian community continues.

Ladies and gentlemen, hail the new MANDORE of BN ........

Why 30 cabinet ministers need to be voted out

After months of speculation and waiting, Prime Minister Najib finally dissolved Parliament  in a live broadcast to the nation in the presence of his entire Cabinet.

Since Najib has already set a string of new records in Malaysian history including by presiding over the longest-serving administration in the country without an electoral mandate and allowing the Negeri Sembilan state assembly to automatically dissolve, I put forward to the Malaysian voters to help Najib set another record of being the first BN Prime Minister that will lose an election in the upcoming 13th general election.

To help Najib along, I give reasons for Malaysian voters to vote out every single Cabinet Minister who was with Najib this morning, if they are selected to run as a candidate.

1. Chor Chee Heung, Minister of Housing and Local Government, MP of Alor Setar

• Vote him out for making the ludicrous statement that that I was hopping from one constituency to another in order to obtain more than one pension when in reality, an MP is only entitled to ONE pension regardless of the number of constituencies has represented in his life.
• Vote him out for not declaring the huge conflict of interest when he was both Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairman as well as a non-independent director of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd’s sister company, Wijaya, for a period of 4 months.

2. Idris Jala, CEO of Pemandu and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator

• For performance deception and the massaging of statistics in order to show that the ETP and GTP have ‘achieved’ their stated KPIs to mask their total failure to transform the government or the economy

3. Jamil Khir bin Baharom (B), Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator

• For spending RM63,650 in zakat funds for pay for his legal costs incurred when Anwar Ibrahim named him and two senior officials from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) as respondents in his 2010 qazaf application in the Syariah Court

4. Raja Nong Chik, Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well Being, Senator

• For borrowing RM1.5b from EPF to build low-cost housing instead of using government funding, as it should be, and for saying that low-income voters should have no problems to repay loans at a 6.5% interest rate

5. Anifah Bin Aman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, MP of Kimanis

• For not clearing his name in his purported role in a RM400 million timber logging concession scandal involving companies owned by him and his nephew, Hairul Aman

6. Kong Cho Ha, Minister of Transport, MP for Lumut

• For approving the implementation of the RM800 million Automatic Enforcement System (AES)
• For not going after those responsible for the PKFZ scandal but instead attempting to cover up for some of the parties involved and to approve payment to KDSB bondholders despite objections from the previous Port Klang Authority (PKA) board headed by Lee Hwa Beng

7. Ahmad Husni bin Mohamad Hanadzlah, Minister of Finance (II), MP of Tambun

• For making the outrageous lie that Pakatan’s Manifesto will increase the government deficit to 11.5% whereas in actual fact, Pakatan’s 2013 Alternative Budget projects for a 3.5% budget deficit which is less than BN’s projected deficit of 4.0%

8. Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism, MP for Bera

• For spending an extra RM200 million on sugar subsidies in 2011 for the benefit of MSM Holdings and Tradewinds (which is controlled by Tan Sri Syed Moktar Al Bukhary) when global sugar prices during this period had dropped

9. S. Subramaniam, Minister of Human Resource, MP for Segamat

• For failing to uniformly implement the minimum wage policy of RM900 a month for Peninsular Malaysia and RM800 a month for Sabah and Sarawak four months after the deadline for its implementation

10. Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Minister of Youth and Sports, MP for Kemaman

• For failing to deliver a gold medal for Malaysia despite spending RM20 million for the “Road to London 2012” programme

11. Liow Tiong Lai, Minister of Health, MP for Bentong

• For lying and denying that police had fired tear gas and water cannons into the Tung Shin Maternity Hospital during the 9th July 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally
• For not playing his part in advocating for the temporary operating license of the LYNAS plant to be revoked so as to protect the health and well-being of the people of Kuantan and the surrounding areas

12. Shaziman bin Abu Mansor, Minister of Works, MP for Tampin

• For not rectifying the problem that led to the roof collapse of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Terengganu in 2009 which led to the roof collapsing again in 2013

13. Dr. Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi, Minister of Defence, MP for Bagan Datok

• For his total lack of transparency and sincerity dealing with the RM6.7 billion Scorpene submarine scandal, including RM574 million that was paid to Perimekar Sdn Bhd for coordination services, a company owned by Razak Baginda, a known close associate of Prime Minister Najib.

14. Noh Omar, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, MP of Tanjong Karang

• For awarding RM165m worth of contracts to unqualified companies to supply paddy seeds
• For obtaining 30 acres worth of land at a heavily discounted rate in his home constituency and renting this land out for prawn farming

15. Ng Yen Yen, Minister of Tourism, MP of Raub

• For spending RM1.8 million on a facebook campaign to promote tourism in Malaysia that resulted in far fewer page likes than a free campaign to protest against the spending of this RM1.8 million!
• For failing to stand up for the residents in Raub in the Bukit Koman gold mine cyanide poisoning case.

[Fortunately for her, she is not on Najib's winnable list and therefore will not be contesting this time round].

16. Douglas Uggah Emas, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, MP of Betong

• For failing to protect the land rights of the native population in Sarawak as they are being displaced by palm oil plantations, dams and logging

17. Peter Chin, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, MP of Miri

• For failing to resolve the water disagreement issue in Selangor and for siding with the interest of the private companies rather than the interest of the people
• For failing to revoke the operating license of LYNAS despite its failure to present any definitive waste disposal plan for the radioactive residue arising from its operation

18. Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, MP of Kota Marudu; &

19. Mohd Shafie bin Haji Apdal, Minister of Rural & Regional Development, MP of Semporna; &

20. Bernard Dompok, Minister of Plantation Industries & Commodities, MP of Penampang

• For failing to even beginning to address and solve the problem of illegal immigrants who have gotten ICs in Sabah and the presence of these immigrants in the electoral roll in large numbers

21. Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister of International Trade & Industry, MP of Jeli

• For failing to fight for the rights of the people in Kelantan to ask for oil royalty to be paid to the state government of Kelantan instead of to the federal government

22. Mohamed Khaled bin Nordin, Minister of Higher Education, MP of Pasir Gudang

• For failing, during his tenure, to place any Malaysian university among the top 200 universities in the world according to the widely recognized university rankings

23. Nor Mohamed bin Yakcop, Minister in the PM’s Department, MP of Tasek Gelugor

• For failing to clear the air in terms of his role in the RM5.7 billion forex losses in Bank Negara under a unit which he was in charge of

24. Dr. Rais Yatim, Minister of Information, Communication & Culture, MP of Jelebu

• For making a mockery of freedom of the press and freedom of information by offering the opposition parties only 10 minutes worth of airtime during the upcoming general election knowing full well that pro-BN ‘news’ on mainstream television channels almost whenever news items are featured.

[Another one who is not on Najib's winnable list and therefore will not be contesting this time round].

25. Hishamuddin bin Tun Hussein, Minister of Home Affairs, MP of Sembrong

• For clamping down harshly and unjustly against the Bersih 2 and Bersih 3 gatherings in 2011 and 2012 respectively
• For his ineptitude in the handling of the Lahad Datu invasion by foreign terrorists
• For not doing all within his power to clamp down on political violence especially against the opposition
• For using the Registrar of Societies to go after NGOs like Suaram who are standing up for truth and justice

26. Mohamed Nazri bin Abdul Aziz, Minister in the PM’s Department, MP of Padang Rengas

• For failing to deliver on almost all of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Electoral Reform

27. Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, Minister in the PM’s Department, Senator

• For defending the surreptitious showing of the controversial and incendiary film, Tanda Putera, to select groups of Malaysians, despite his position as the Minister in charge of National Unity within the PM’s department
• For going back on his word to not become a ‘back door’ Minister should he be defeated in the 2008 general elections,

[Yet another one who is not on Najib's winnable list and therefore will not be contesting this time round].

28. Palanivel Govindasamy, Minister in the PM’s Department, Senator

• For miserably failing to speak up on and resolve issues of importance to the Indian community especially on the issue of statelessness, displaced estate workers, and police brutality.

29. Muhyiddin bin Mohd Yassin, Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister, MP of Pagoh

• For being the worst Education Minister in the nation’s history when he presided over the drop in Malaysia’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study ranking from 20th in 2007 to 26th in 2011 in Math and from 21st in 2007 to 32nd in 2011.
• For his acceptance of an honorary doctorate from an online university which was awarded an RM23 million contract to train Physical Education (PE) teachers in Malaysia
• For his inability to present a Finalized version of the National Education Blueprint (NEB)

30. Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Minister of Finance, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Prime Minister, MP of Pekan

• For his failure to deliver on his promises of a genuine transformation, for the better, in the government, in the economy and in the political landscape of the country
• For his hypocrisy and inconsistency in promoting 1Malaysia on the one hand and allowing racial sentiments and fears to be promoted through organizations like Perkasa and media outlets like Utusan and TV3
• For being the 1st Prime Minister in Malaysia to hold the Women’s Ministry portfolio thereby demonstrating that he has no trust in other women leaders within the BN to manage this portfolio as a Minster
• For his failure to address the serious problem of ‘grand corruption in Malaysia

I agree with the statements made by Dr. Mahathir and Tun Daim recently which stated that many Cabinet ministers were ‘deadwood’ and ‘half past six’ Ministers. But I would go even further. As my list of reasons show, there is cause for us to vote out every single of these Ministers, if they are chosen as candidates in the upcoming 13th general election.

But there is only one full proof way to ensure that none of these individuals will have a chance to be a Minister even if they are elected as MPs in their respective constituencies – which is to vote out BN at the federal level and replace it with a Pakatan Rakyat government. Only then can we ensure that all these ‘deadwood’ and ‘half past six’ Ministers can be replaced. I call on all Malaysians to play a part in the upcoming 13th general election which will be the mother of all elections in Malaysia’s history.

[Lim Kit Siang]

A bad omen indeed

Now, we certainly do not need any feng shui master to tell us which way BN is heading come GE13,

The new face of PAS?

This is Wan Aishah Wan Ariffin of Aishah and The Fan Club, a New Zealand group which was very popular way back in the late 80s.  They stormed the Malaysian music scene with their debut hit "Sensation".  One of the members of the group is Paul Moss, who later became one of the judges for Malaysian Idol and 8TV's One In A Million singing contest.



Aishah will represent PAS in the coming GE for the Jempol parliamentary seat which was previously held by Rais Yatim but has since been dropped from the BN's list of "winnable" candidates.  She will take on the former Mentri Besar of Negri Sembilan, Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, who is currently Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) chairperson.

The people of Bangsar stood up to City Hall

The residents of Lucky Garden Bangsar put up flags of Bersih and PKR at the roundabout but were promptly removed by DBKL. However the residents took all the removed flags and replanted them after confronting the enforcement officers informing the latter that there was NO obstruction to traffic. Further more, Nong Chik 's banners which were larger in size were displayed all over Bangsar without the necessary permit. Blatant abuse of power. Now the enforcement officers are getting a taste of people power from the good people of Lucky Garden. Never before have we seen such unity ... awesome solidarity!!! The incident took place on April 14 2013 at the Bulatan Ara Kiri, Lucky Garden. Who would have sent DBKL's staff to do this dirty work? Your guess is as good as mine.