Be careful Salleh Said Keruak. Remember the saying, "Hell knoweth no fury like a woman scorned".

 Marina slams Salleh and ‘idiots running countries’

 Marina Mahathir has fired back at federal minister Salleh Said Keruak for mentioning an old rumour about her “eloping with an Indian man” and how it affected the stock market.

In a Twitter response yesterday to Salleh’s blog article, Marina, the only daughter of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said:

“Dear Salleh, people eloping, especially when untrue, don’t affect the market. VIPs stealing billions do. Idiots running countries, even more so.”

In another Twitter remark later, she clarified that she meant “rich politicians” when she said “VIPs”.
Sabah Umno leader Salleh Said Keruak had sniped at Dr Mahathir by saying that the rumour had caused a fall on stock markets in Malaysia and Singapore.

On his blog, Salleh, who is communications minister, has been defending Umno president and Prime Minister Najib Razak against Dr Mahathir’s year-long campaign to unseat the prime minister, using reports about the financial affairs and massive debts of the government’s investment arm 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Dr Mahathir left Umno in February to lead a “Save Malaysia” campaign to force Najib out of office and has in turn faced a barrage of criticism about his actions and policies in his 22 years in office.
Salleh said political rhetoric and rumours, and not financial analyses, could spark Doomsday speculation, and said most of these “soothsayers” were Malaysians opposed to Najib.

Among other critics, the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang has kept up a stream of comments that Malaysia was on a slippery slope headed towards a “failed state”, using falls on the stock exchange and the weakened state of the ringgit as examples.

Salleh, in his article “Malaysia’s economy: Facts never lie” said time and again Malaysians had reacted to rumours and panicked even if the rumour had no bearing on the economy. “If fundamentals were taken into consideration, share prices would be within single-digit PE ratios (or at the most less than 20) and not in the triple digit or close to triple digit ratio,” he had said.

[Source: FMT]

3 reasons why foreigners find it difficult to learn Mandarin Chinese

Foreigners are not the only ones who find it difficult to learn Mandarin Chinese.  Even me, a person of Chinese origin, seem to be suffering from a mental block on the language.

I spent the first two years of my primary schooling in a Chinese school.  The results were a zilch, and a big one at that.  I was so relieved that when it came to my third year, I was sent to an English school.  Later on, in Form 4, I decided to enrol myself in a Mandarin class under the POL system.  After four months, I was told by my 'lao tzu' not to attend class anymore.  I admit, I am totally hopeless and I simply can't seem to remove the mental block in my head.  Strangely, I don't find it difficult to learn Japanese.  After all they use almost the same characters as Mandarin which is known as 'Kanji'.  Thank God, at least I am able to write my Chinese name in Mandarin.  I can see now my ancestors shaking their heads in Heaven.

So, Michael (Phelps), you are not alone.

It is time this Joceline Tan is shown the door. She has gone one article too far and deserves a slap on the face.

The following is an email despatched by the Chief Minister of Penang, YB Lim Guan Eng, to The Star Publications.
 
In the past 4 months, the BN-controlled print and broadcasting media had gone into overdrive with their systematic campaign of character assassination against me by hurling unfounded allegations of corruption involving the sale by open tender of 1 acre of Taman Manggis land. Despite nightly TV reports and acres of newsprint on Taman Manggis land, no corruption charge was filed against me relating to Taman Manggis.

Instead corruption charges were filed against me on another unrelated matter where Ms Phang, the seller of my house, was alleged to benefit from having her land rezoned from agriculture to housing. To date Ms Phang’s land remained zoned as agriculture, following the rejection of her application by the local authority. Clearly, BN intends to create history by finding me guilty of corruption even though Ms Phang did not gain any benefit. On the other hand, BN considers those who have benefited with billions of US dollars in their personal bank accounts innocent and not guilty of corruption.

Such dirty tricks continue with more false allegations on other matters. I have instructed my lawyers to send a legal notice of demand for defamation against “The Star” and its columnist Joceline Tan for its false and misleading report today, “Snap Election for Penang?”. BN-controlled media like The Star had persistently demonised and continued their character assassination against me after 2 trumped-up charges of corruption were filed against me by the Attorney-General on 30 June 2016.

Whilst there is nothing new with these repeated attempts to disrupt party unity and the Penang state government with serial lies, this column by Joceline Tan clearly “crossed the red line” and was made in bad faith to smear my reputation and image with fresh and baseless allegations of impropriety.

This is not the first time that Joceline Tan and The Star had defamed me. I had filed a defamation suit against her and The Star in 2012, which was finally resolved when an apology was published in The Star on 27 October 2013 that states, “The Star fully and unconditionally withdraws the false contents and extends to YAB Lim Guan Eng unreservedly its sincere apologies for any embarrassment caused to him.”

Lim Guan Eng is secretary-general of the DAP and chief minister of Penang.

Uh oh, this is not good, not good at all.

FINALLY: US NAVY DEPLOYS STRIKE GROUP TO SOUTH CHINA SEA TO CONFRONT CHINA

The United States Navy has deployed a naval fleet equipped with most advanced weapons in South China Sea in what is considered a show of force as tensions rise over China's construction of artificial lands  and militarization of the area.

Quoting US military officials, the Navy Times reported that the aircraft carrier, John C Stennis; the destroyers, Chung-Hoon and Stockdale; cruisers Antietam and Mobile Bay along with the Blue Ridge, command ship of the Japan-based 7th fleet, set off recently for the South China Sea, where Beijing has installed surface-to-air missiles and built an airstrip on reclaimed area.

For rest of article, read HERE.

By the way, Malaysia has also lay claim to these islands.  Why the deafening silence?

The Netherlands take a stand on Islamisation in the country. Closing the gates now after the horses have bolted?

Shahrir Samad to quit poltics. A loss to us???

After more than 40 years in politics, Umno veteran Shahrir Samad is thinking of calling it quits.

Asked if he will contest in the next elections and stay active in politics, Shahrir said: “I hope not.”

“You think this is my only life?” he added when asked what he would do if he wasn’t a politician.

“I cannot be like Lim Kit Siang, go on and on,” he quipped.

Speaking to reporters in the Parliament lobby today, the Johor Baru MP said he wants to make way for young leaders.

“My pledge is that you must trust the young. If you cannot show that, then what’s the point of talking,” he said.

Shahrir said the fact that his former political secretary Khaled Nordin is now the Johor menteri besar is a testament of his own track record and what the young can achieve.

The 66-year-old first notable role in politics was when he became former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam’s political secretary in 1973.

Shahrir then contested and won the Johor Baru parliamentary seat in 1978.

He briefly served as Domestic Trade and Consumerism Minister from 2008, but resigned in 2009 after failing to get a spot on Umno’s supreme council.

Zakir Naik on the run?

Listen to this video about this preacher as India dares him to return to his home country for a showdown.


View video.