Sunday, May 30, 2010

Oh What An Infighting!

It's just like pirates squabbling over one another for one booty and MIC present infighting - the GAS (Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu) as a climax of an story act. As the saying goes, you cut one man, and another will come out in its place. For instance, if there are a few CWC members that do not agree with the direction of the party, Samy will sack them off, more or less it's like thinking that a person goes against the leadership, while many know that the leadership is flawed.

Obviously, even the secretary-general is not spared from Samy. Samy would throw them off. He wanted to try being like Mahathir, whoever takes over, e.g Palanviel to carry over his legacy and plans that have been laid out. MIC in the shape of Samy's image, I suppose?

There's the timeline of today's GAS gathering that was kind of washout. Not many people were there, but those who were there were whacking and bashing Samy Vellu in and out. Just like what I use to recall during my childhood days in Ipoh - the newspaper man, Mr. Maniam called him like my late grandfather do "a bloody bastard"

Yes, Mugilan should not stop there. He wants to go around and get 500 thousand signatures to say Samy Vellu is irrelevant, enough and should be out. So be it. Please go ahead at all means. But from the bird's eye view, I can see infighting in the Barisan Nasional coalition. Who says that BN is omnipotent? Dulu dan selamanya? I think the mantra doesn't fit the situation right now, ain't it? 

If the drama drags on, it's fighting ala pirate style - fighting over a booty.!

Is NEM Hitting The Wall Again?

Mainstream media portrays Barisan Nasional as omnipotent while portraying the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat as feeble and easy to break up, with loose cannons inside. But nothing in the world is omnipotent and we have seen problems within the main coalition, particularly on a splinter cell GAS organizing a rally to hit and whack Samy Vellu to kingdom come. I just want to wait on how the outcome would be tomorrow.

1Malaysia is also facing resistance from Najib's own party that goes for the Malay Supremacy slogan. Obviously Najib would rather have the best of both worlds, but in this situation, Najib is squeezed into choosing one side - either the common platform of all races or the Ketuanan side. It is actually a lose-lose situation / catch 22 situation for him, similar to how people say he's stuck between sticking to Mahathir or Bik Mama. 

Perkasa and the other Malay-based NGOs have made the statement that they are not agreeable to Najib's NEM - new economic model - considered it a threat, so I believe that there's the political block in this thing. NEM is hitting the block since, it is meant for everyone, fair share of the pie, with no preferential treatement, while Malay NGOs view that as something that will strip their Malay rights as they called it to be. I just only need to recall Ibrahim Katak screaming as something to say that Malay rights have eroded or something. 

If these Malay NGOs cranked up the pressure on Najib, chances are NEM will never get off from square one. And just like MIC's current internal squabbling, United Malays National Organisation could have problems brewing with dilemma in handling Perkasa's demands and so forth. New Economic Policy has gone beyond the 20-year target span and instead, it has extended to its 40-year span, which at this time, world economy knows nothing about this NEP thing that these beggars are so fondly calling upon. 

It will be likely to be another whammy for Najib -squeezed in both fronts.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Footing The Bill For Debt and By-Elections Via Football Betting

Now this is interesting. Previously I mentioned that the bill for Barisan Nasional in the Hulu-Selangor election was astronomical, close to $100 million, in which obviously has clearly falls under the various things in the Election Offenses Act that so much that Kamalanathan can be disqualified and result can be declared null. With so many promises that people, Malay voters in particular bought it, now where is BN going live up to their promises of various projects and so forth?

The answer is Vincent Tan's football betting license. You don't need to go deep, but think of many reasons as possible.

The portion of money - millions out of betting will be paid to finance the projects and so portion to clear the debts of $360++ billion. If they cannot have enough money to finance their promises, the voters in both places will felt cheated. And like I said, there's the mistake of voting the wrong party. 

Penang and Selangor are the states that immediately said no to betting. This will have problem for BN.


That's the answer. Speaking of which, you might want to read this book 'FAILED STATES' by Chomsky, as Malaysia has the makings and directions towards it.

How I wish if I become an interim PM and whack those assholes out.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Removing Subsidy Is What Economic Hitmen Would Ask!

Let me make it clear that removing subsidies from essential items and so forth is what the economic hitmen would do: to cheat nations out of trillions of dollars. As of this time, Malaysia is having a debt that almost consume the current amount of reserves that Bank Negara has recorded right until of end of last month. That's why, there are some things like the football betting licenses or land exchange in Singapore are more or less the quick-buck measures to save Malaysia from ending up like Greece.

Apart from how the money from the Petronas earnings / royalty there are some mega companies in Malaysia that seems to reap tons of profits out of sales and yet increasing the price of say an item / service with the excuse of cost overruns. Thus, rather than Idris Jala saying that "End subsidies and become another Greece", there should be another title to work on this problem. The title itself simply shows intimidation. And to claim that BN takes care of people doesn't seem to get reflected here. There is an impression that trust is getting betrayed, although it doesn't speak much in form of actions.

The most radical way of reducing this case is to peg the US Dollar to the pre-1997 crisis rate of 2.5. In this case, given of the amount of imports after conversion to ringgit, we can save approximately 30% of the subsidy bill that is present. Letting the dollar being decided by the market forces at this time is unsustainable. The dollar has to be devalued, while the other basket of currencies has to be revalued to pre-crisis values. A statistics chart of the currency in 1997 before July is still available for check at the Bank Negara online archives.

Yesterday, PEMANDU has been sending survey SMSes to everyone on what is the best timetable to gradual removal of subsidies. Obviously people would go for 5 years. It's better than facing the shock as in June 2008 where Abdullah Badawi decided to reduce fuel subsidy by 70% out of a standard RM 1. It seems that there is still some confusion on whether the government's stand that there's a 30 sen subsidy per liter of petrol contradicting with ex-Minister Shahrir Samad saying that there is no more subsidy for petrol. I don't really believe that it is a survey but more leaning to a public relations matter.

If the government and Khazanah can take over the highways from PLUS and other concessionaires, it is also a way to channel money from users to them. IPP power reserves can be halved as to save more money required to pay to the providers. And so does other realistic measures that are better than reducing subsidies altogether.

I was wondering how the New Economic Agenda that PR and Anwar Ibrahim were talking about for more. than a year or two can fit into the solving of this economic problem there. Previously Najib used to say that "Our economy is strong." But the situation seems to say otherwise. It's like cheating the people out there. I just want what Anwar's NEA document mantra can do in this.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Proofs That A Court Cannot Simply Refuse!

Free Malaysia Today yesterday mentioned of Zaid initiating the proceedings to nullify the results of the Hulu Selangor by-election. And obviously during the course of action, Zaid once said that there are tons of evidence to points to vote-buying and election malpractices that happened during the by-election. 

Two things that I know about include how a voter found out that his name got struck out as he was told that he voted earlier on (someone hijacked his name). Another is on how Orang Asli voters were intimidated into not voting for the Opposition and so forth.

Obviously, many people are naysayers, as according to the Your Say column in Malaysiakini on this subject, many anticipated the case will be thrown out on many various excuses, technical in particular. A kangaroo court outcome in particular. An interesting thing about this upcoming case that the panel of judges will be picked by the CJ himself. 

No harm done in putting up legal avenues first. Malik Imtiaz said here:

"In our view, this is a very important case, it's an opportunity for the court to make a decision and say what exactly is termed 'free and fair' elections."

Since there are many proofs showing up soon, it is almost impossible for the court to backtrack and say otherwise. If many people find that the court backtracks, they will be booed whatsoever, because the tons of evidence to support the violation of act committed by the BN mob are simply turned away with no valid excuses.
I just reviewed part 3 of RPK's video in London, and this fits the bill. It's about the simple excuses that the court made when they face Pete and his team of lawyers over the ISA appeal made by Home Ministry by then Syed Hamid Albar. And of course, even in his grave, Augustine Paul gets chastised everywhere for his misdeeds and his misconduct. I wonder he still gets chastised in "Purgatory"?

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

At BUM 2010

Desi came to me and said me and Benny are the only two persons that showed up for the fourth time in the row. And there was an extra t-shirt tucked into the pack that I took away. I was so excited that I felt that coming here and paying sixty bucks was a way to get out from the work stress there. 

There was a group called EPIC (core members from 18-25) that showed up there as to tell the people here what they do and what they are planning to do..getting a regisration of 2 million young voters out there. If I am not mistaken, I recalled one or two names from somewhere else out there. 

Going for a quick run through for that day, the first guest, Selangor's MB Khalid Ibrahim gave memories of his Ijok by-election and whatever government policies that Selangor was running about. It was at this time that I got a statistic booklet of Selangor featuring statistics of 2008 and 2009.



The Allah issue was a heated discussion on the floor featuring speakers like Khalid Samad, Haris, Zaid and Akram Shah and of course most of them agreed that the issue has been exaggerated and blown out of proportion by political parties. And obviously there is the chastisement of people who don't really understand from reading the Quran bible and blabbering about the Allah thing - I guess three of four speakers would say that.

But the third session lacked the crowd puller. Nades or Zaini Hassan. If either one of the men showed up, then there would be barrage of questions coming in from every quarter there. 

As for Raja Nong Chik, the guy is one of those ministers that seems to pull of something impressive of having Facebook and twitter for people feedback as suggestions / check and balance. This is one of those ministers that has a civil servant background that keeps on the job - no slack style. Maybe I'd check out his FB to see how the guy handles things later...
I let the pics (with thanks ) speak for the rest of the event. But this year, I didn't get the lamb. Had to give a miss really for Benjamin.

So Who's Getting Ridiculed?

Having revealed all the videos from Pete's London talk, one of the things that I summarized from that talk is that there are couple of characters in Malaysia that talked big but got ridiculed in end. The one prime example that fits the bill is obviously Musa Hassan himself. He thinks it is a tag and bag job of going into London and take Pete back to Malaysia to be tried. But extradition in UK is near impossible unless there's a solid reason or proof to say he's a terrorist. To say that the wanted person is in politically crimes is something that they will laugh upon.

I was wondering earlier on where the cops say he was in Melbourne, then in London, but then, they didn't look thoroughly there throughout the streets there. Could it be that Scotland Yard might be suspicious why some men from other countries wandering around like a vagrant as to lie low?

Hahaha...it's just things spinning in my head that's all.

I was thinking, when Pete showed himself up for the talk, there was one thing I can seem to think about. Which is that the police didn't really get a confirmation of his location at the first skim. And when this happened, in the end, it's Musa Hassan that gets ridiculed. Well, sort of...and in the talk, there's more ridicule of Najib and Bik Mama with one of the line: "There need not be phone call or phone call from someone’s wife"

Obviously, deep witin the territory of the corridors of power, people are in panic for there is something loose out there that threatens to bring the tower called BN down.

Ah...I just love the ridiculement and the chastisement. It's pretty fun at times, if at the right time.

Pic above by Danny Lim from London (with credit)

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Another By-Election In Kerdau?

Kerdau is a traditional BN territory in the vicinity of Kuala Krau in Pahang and well, it seems there could be another by-election, which can give headaches to the both BN and PR fronts. From what it was said that the present assemblyman for Kerdau is having a relapse of coma at the national heart institute in Kuala Lumpur.

If the worst case scenario happens, expect number 12 in by-elections and I can see another tough challenge by the opposition since it is a classic rural-Malay seat challenge in which there needs tough convincing for them to tgo for a change. Read more here.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Amah, There's Your Mistake.

This piece from FMT is a perfect continuation from where we left off about the Indian community about the RM 33 salary per month for rubber tapping.

According to the story, Vasugi Singaram has raised her problems to the government to close to 30 years on lack of basic amenities in her village. Until today, her problems were not solved.


"I have raised the matter [to the government] since 1982, but to this day I have never been given any electricity," said Vasugi, who has been forced to rely on coconut oil and candles for her lighting.
BN candidate Kamalanathan visited the area with a promise of 'taking care of everything' but as of today, there has been no response or comment in reply by the supposedly MP:

"During the [Hulu Selangor] by-election, we received a visit from [MP] P Kamalanathan, who told us that our needs would be met, and that everything would be taken care of," said Vasugi. Since then, there has been no word from the MP. "I used to have water, but now I don't."

And it ends with this:


"We love the BN government, but how can we keep on loving it when they treat us like this?"

Amah, there's your mistake. You have picked the wrong person. You can make a choice to break out of the conventions if you know that you are not getting what you want despite repeated calls many times. Vasugi has the chance of ending 30 years of wait by making the other choice, but in the end decided against it. Now, it is a little late to voice frustrations.

She could have done that right choice and thing on 25 April 2010 but took the wrong one.

And there's the consequence. One of them.


Amah, there's your mistake.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

BUM 4th Edition 2010 - Be There!

As you may know, the fourth edition of Bloggers United Malaysia will be on this Saturday at Lakeview Club Subang Jaya. I believe that this round, things have gone up due to good response from last year's edition, with more people invited and the schedule expanded from morning until night. 

A few interesting subjects will be covered on the event including:

1. Allah from various perspectives
2. Selangor's Internet drive
3. Mainstream media coverage
4. Engaging people with internet
5. Blogging to bridge religious divide.

Well, I've never missed out the first three editions, and given a very interesting coverage, there, I'm gonna be there.

Hopefully, there's still a chance for guys out there to join the event!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Paying The Penalty For The Wrong Choice

There was an interesting article on Free Malaysia Today where it focuses on an Indian settlement located within the parliamentary location of Hulu Selangor. Even if it's after the election, and this is the first situation that they are facing.

I'll let you people be the judge by reading this.

I also have my two cents on this. It seems that the people are not taking the lesson from Silau estate where in the similar circumstance, they were treated to fanfare, promises and so on during the one week campaign period in exchange for their vote. In the end, even if they give their vote, they still are back in square one. They didn't get any change. So much for promises that never walk the talk.

Would it be any change if they had pick the other person to do the job as MP? From info I gather from a friend who's an associate of him, he would do it. And that article might never have been written at all. Again, I did a trip to Kerling estate one day before polling and I can get the same feeling as what happened in Silau.

Who is actually to be blamed for the woes there?

It's the side effects of temptation and enticement of a lot of money.
I believe this is definitely the penalty paid for making the wrong choice, living to regret it so. Somehow, there would be people out there watching how Kamalanathan is doing after 25 April 2010......let's just watch.


Monday, May 17, 2010

Sibu By-Election Reveals Real Character of Each Group

I was monitoring the counting of votes yesterday in Sibu by-election and of course after the smoke is clear, it clearly defines the state of mind and character of each of main players involved.

1. Muhyiddin left before counting is over back to KL. He knows it's a sure lose thing and he's been put out to dry by Najib, representing him in Sibu.
2. Today, Malaysiakini said that Najib is mulling over whether to give his promise of $5 million to the Rejang Park flood mitigation plan. This was contradicting Muhyiddin's statement that they still will give $5 million as to fulfill our commitments. There seems to be a contrast of statements between two men.
3. There seem to be attempts to vote manipulate the final box of postal votes by the EC as to give a final shot for BN to win, but of course, vigilance by polling agents from PR ensures that no foul play is involved.
4. Both candidates Robert and Richard are seem to be shaking hands in competition, but when BN loses, no bigwigs dared to show up to congratulate the opponent parties.
5. Ominous rumors of how Fat Mama is reacting to the loss shows the kind of 'retribution' intended on those 'BN unbelievers', if you get my meaning.
6. Perkasa starts bashing the Chinese saying they are responsible for BN's loss. MCA of course hits back. There's the backing up of claim that Chinese are enemies Malays and vice-versa as mentioned behind by MCA and UMNO.
7. A reason also explained that the result indicates 'Selamatkan Sarawak Dari Keluarga Taib Mahmud'.

I don't need to point out but except to say that of all the instances of character revelation that spills out after the election thing, the one that shows the most of the real self is Barisan itself. Anyhow, if you decide to go for the change for a better Malaysia we do have a price to pay and a possibility of federal refusing funding over opposition territories (more correctly, enemy territories). Take Penang as example.

Alright, you already have a David vs Goliath story, now back to work people.


Saturday, May 15, 2010

It's Predictable!

It's easy to figure out whether that person is quitting the party or not by this sequence of events:

1. Deny that such thing exists.
2. Ominous rumours from third-party that this politician has personal problems.
3. Someone ex-from the party says that there will be one or two people from the party that will jump ship.
4. Sometime later on, the man who is about to quit nods in affirmation by releasing a press statement.
The latest trend, happens to Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong, a few days ago.

His departure was already predicted sometime back ago. Two weeks before the general election he once said that despite being a small size party in MDP, he was contesting on a PKR ticket. This means that he's not entirely bound by the PKR laws, just I see that not many people know what is really MDP apart from the big three of Pakatan Rakyat.

What was written in the press statement is only part of the entire picture of why he decides to quit. There were whispers around that claim that Wee has an affair with two mistresses, sired an illegitimate child and this has found the attention of UMNO. Indeed UMNO has caught him by the balls and threatened to expose the scandal. 

Could this quote from Pete alludes and fills the other half of the puzzle?
“Wee Choo Keong’s problem is more complicating. It involves two mistresses and one who has just given birth and Umno has threatened to expose this scandal. He also has this RM35 million legal problem with Ambank and if this can be settled ‘out of court’ then Wee will certainly become another ‘independent’ Member of Parliament.”
A friend of mine did mention of possibility of Wee's problems and jackpot....he got it right. That was way past few months prior to yesterday that is. 
It's predicatble really.

How Long Are We Going To Be Cheated Again? Another 50 years?

If there's one lesson that I learned from the May 13 incident is that every citizen in Malaysia got cheated and lied by politicians of Parti Perikatan who claims the loss of power from the 1969 election results which swings to the Opposition way. Tunku would have been angry for actions by certain people, mostly from United Malays National Organisation have been responsible for instigating the riots.

My late grandfather was obviously disappointed and angry that his ex-colleague and friend, the late Datuk Harun Idris was primarily responsible (on the ground) for inciting that in Kampung Baru. In that period, politicians fed people, particularly their own kind with bullshit - things that seem nonsense. Everyone was told the perfect lie. Rich chinese whack them...powerful Malay politicians giving the poor chinese hardship etc..

That was pure bullshit. Kita telah dibohong pada masa itu. Now, not anymore.

The common myth that is spoken is often said as "Kalau kita tidak bersatu, orang Cina akan membunuh kita." The obvious argument is seen as the number of people winning are more non-Malays vs Malays, more opposition vs Parti Perikatan

The riot was not racial per se. It was sparked off by the poor Malays being told by Malay politicians that the rich Chinese caused them the economic suffering, and the poor Chinese being told by Chinese politicians that the powerful Malays in the government caused them their hardship.

The riot was triggered off by the then massive suffering of many poor Malays and poor Chinese, both having reached the extreme intolerable level of economic and financial hardship. The intense manipulative racial stroking by irresponsible politicians of the already tense environment during the campaign for the May 10 general election detonated the already ticking racial timebomb.

The other day, Zaid Ibrahim, while campaigning in Sibu said that United Malays National Organisation in particular (out of Barisan Nasional) perceived opposition lawmakers as enemies, not as colleagues whoare supposed to help people in fulfilling their promises. This is the siege mentality that has never seen in other more mature countries practicing democracy, e.g Britain. If they see a rival politician, they would use whatever tools and things to put him out. For example, having the court to get a conviction of a PR MP over past crimes with penalties enough to have him / her lose the present parliamentary seat.

Britain's election results have definitely shown how important is to treat your opponents with respect. The Liberals have become a perfect example of having the third force crucial in forming a government.

Whatever news that the TV and the newspapers give is not entirely accurate. It is partially a lie meant to get people believe that opposition are enemies, what they do are right and etc. Look at how silent Robert Jr has been recently in Sibu campaign, hoping that the big machinery from the peninsular would come there just to help out. Can that tell you of a potential Longkang MP?

IMO, if you keep voting for BN, it shows that you are still willing to be cheated by them. No basic needs in villages in Sibu, no basic amenities etc..they were not addressed or they were ignored. I thought Sarawak is the richest country in Malaysia given of its natural resources?

If Sarawak is poor now, who's to blame really?

Coming back to May 13 rememberance, I just thought that if people are smart enough, they could have seen the ploy that BN politicians do keep in power. A lot of money, people's money approximately $200 million were poured into both by-elections. The thing is, I didn't give you permission of you to use my money. I want my money back!

Grow up, smart up, wise up to the bullshit. I am sad that there are youths today that are kaki bodeks who don't even know the thing.

As Hisham Rais said, "Selamatkan Sarawak Dari Keluarga Taib Mahmud"

Thursday, May 13, 2010

How Are The People Going To Respect The Police With Their Current Perceived Behavior?

Youths Being Instigated To Hate Cops- CPO

SHAH ALAM: There seems to be a concerted effort by certain quarters to get children and youths to hate the police, Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar claimed.

He alleged that posting on Facebook and comments on certain blogs indicated that there were irresponsible people urging youths to criticise, hate and defy the police.

"Here we are trying our very best to build bridges with the public and getting them to assist us in crime prevention, but on the other hand, there are people out there instigating youths, especially teenagers, to hate us," he said when contacted Wednesday.

DCP Khalid said parents must teach their children to respect and not break the law.

He said parents must be responsible for their children's actions and must know who they were with and what they were doing at all times.

He also said parents and guardians should not neglect their responsibility or shift the blame on others if something were to happen.

"Although we have been criticised and attacked by all quarters, I want to assure the public that we will not let such attacks demoralise us.

"We have a job to do and it is our responsibility to ensure peace and security continues to prevail at all times," he added.

DCP Khalid also slammed an online news portal for distorting his statement about not wanting to apologise to the family of Aminulrasyid Amzah, the 14-year-old student who was fatally shot by police on April 26.

He said at no time did the police accuse Amimulrasyid of being a suspected criminal.

He said what his officers had stated at the time of the incident was that the policemen in the patrol car acted in the manner they did because they thought the people in the car they were chasing were suspected to be criminals.

"How were we to know at that time of the chase that the people in the car who defied orders from our men to stop were 14-year-old boys?

"My men acted because they thought only criminals would behave in such a manner," he said, adding that he saw no reason why he should apologise to the family when there was no direct reference made to Aminulrasyid or his friend Azamuddin Omar, who was also in the car.

He said at no time did he state to the portal's reporter that they gave chase to the schoolboys who were suspected criminals.

"As I have said, how could we have known at that time they were schoolboys?" he added. - The Star 12 May 2010

Whatever Khalid Bakar said about inciting youngsters to hate the police is not entirely correct. And he is shooting at the wrong target. The big part of the blame should be on the police itself, not the public. The police though enforced the rules, at times have indeed crossed the fine line that defines good cop and bad cop. There are a few bad apples in the force that when they commit those acts beyond their limits, gives overall perception to the public that the entire police force has gone wrong with those things.

No need to elaborate further that people's current perception of 'hate the cops's' simply stems out of several case scenarios like:

1. Apparent murder of people during interrogation / lockup (3rd degree interrogation)
2. Police simply going in to arrest people that carries no objects of violence that gather simply the presence simply states that it violates Section 27(5) of the Police Act
3. Lawyers are not sparred. Whoever ordered the arrest in Brickfields was at fault.
4. If it's a NGO or Pakatan that organizes a gathering, they were seen coming down like hawks whereas if there is a gathering organized by those connected to BN are given a loose around. It gives the feeling of having those from the mob exclusive license.
5. Crime rates are still at a margin not acceptable

No force in the world, even the police force is omnipotent. That is why the IPCMC could have been implemented back in 2005 having been recommended to do a necessary check of balance in the police force. Abdullah Badawi tried to do it, but many of the warlords, particularly those from the Mahathir camp opposed to this idea. Even Musa also opposed to this idea simply because the act is believed to restrict the capabilities and duties that a policeman can render. Instead, those good men and women in the force who sees the real problems and evils are instead cast out into frozen storage

And right now, whatever happens is simply the penalty that Musa and others faced for ignorance and refusing to accept the stark reality of having something to check their control.

So it is actually wrong to say that youngsters are being incited by certain quarters to hate the police. Wrong. What the police do and it is their conduct to the public on the field that the youngsters see will give them the perception of whether they respect the force or they will say podah whenever they see a man in the blue uniform. People and those below the mid-age are nowadays not stupid, (unless you get cheated and dibodohkan of course) to see what goes beyond the uniform.

How can people respect police when they perceived an unacceptable / unprofessional behavior of the policemen?

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

He Could Have Been Disqualified, Right?

Election Offenses Act 1954 Article 19:

19. (1) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, no sum shall be paid and no expense shall be incurred by a candidate at an election or by his election agent, after the date of publication of the notice of the election in the Gazette, during or after an election, on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of such election, in excess of—
  • (a) two hundred thousand ringgit in the case of an election to the Dewan Rakyat;
  • (b) one hundred thousand ringgit in the case of an election to a Legislative Assembly;
  • (c) ten thousand ringgit in the case of an election to a local authority other than a local council;
  • (d) three thousand ringgit in the case of an election to a local council:
Provided that paragraphs (c) and (d) shall have no application in Sabah and Sarawak.
(2) Any candidate or election agent who knowingly acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an illegal practice.


In Hulu Selangor the amount of expenses for Kamalanathan's win alone by the BN machinery was pretty astronomical of RM100 million plus ang pow money, with only one objective: to win back at all costs. Of course, this violates the cap spending limit a candidate will allow and if this is played fairly, Kamal would have been disqualified, and BN will be charged for violating the act. And there is either a rematch or declare Zaid Ibrahim the winner.

But I don't think so and the EC is not turning an eye towards it. I have a notion that there are some people in the agency that is possessing party membership card - of the mob group - hey, it's the feeling that why there is no action at all. Or the guys are living in fear that the employers, the Barisan Nasional could be after their asses if they try to play straight and fair.

But let's look back at the Sibu by-election. 246 families, with ang pow of RM 600 each, which means that Robert Lau Jr's spending cap is already 75% to full, at RM 153000. But this does not include the other expenses to be incurred, right? With 4 more days to go before polling day, if we see more news items of BN splashing this and that, it means that by default and involuntarily, Robert Jr has violated Section 19 of this act and could have been disqualified, leaving the fight between DAP and the independent man.

But UMNO is desparate already. If I am reckoning right, They are telling EC, like puppets to turn away from the law for the sake of winning like a child's game..

****
Barisan approves RM600 each for 246 families

SIBU: Barisan Nasional approved an immediate one-off allocation of RM600 for each of the 246 families living in an under-developed region in Sungai Igan, some 30 mins by road from Sibu town.

Sarawak Chief Minister and State Barisan chairman Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said the financial assistance was from the federal government.

''The Prime Minister has just informed me that he has approved RM600 as assistance for each of the 246 families from all the 12 longhouses in this kampung.

''The Barisan Nasional is concerned about all people regardless of where they are living. Over the past 20 years, I have been visiting longhouses in the state, but still it is not possible for me to visit everyone of them.

''There is a lot of work still to do and the longhouse people must continue to remain loyal to Barisan,'' he told the folks of Rumah Daniel, Tanjung Penasu located along Sungai Igan, a sub-urban district not far from the town centre.

Taib said the Government does not help people based on consideration of race, religion or locality. He said in the eyes of Barisan, all people are equal and deserve equal treatment.

However, those who are weaker needs more help, he stressed.

''Our commitment is to help everybody so that they will one day be able to enjoy the same standard of life, whether they are from the rural areas or the urban areas,'' he said.

Taib also promised the people of other longhouses there that he would give them generator sets if they did not have any electricity supply as yet.

He, however, told them that the state government did not have enough funds to allocate to every settlements and that these development funds need to be channeled in stages.

During his visit, the longhouse elders told Taib that their settlements are badly affected by floods every year.

The roads there were in bad shape and needed repair and upgrading urgently, they said, adding that other basic amenities like water supply and electricity were still lacking in some more interior pockets.


Monday, May 10, 2010

The Next Four Letter Word For Malaysians Is Not F**K But..

Greece just got bailed out from their financial crisis. I have been telling people that this is the work of slack politicians who run the nation and as well as the economic hitmen who have been cheating Greece money out of its pocket. And recently MEAC committee member Professor Danny Quah warned that Malaysia will end up like Greece if no radical steps are taken.

As of last month the Central Bank's official record of reserves stood at $391 billion ringgit or $122 billion USD. Which means that the amount of reserves is only approximately 1/5th of the reserves that Singapore has in hand. The current debts last recorded is at $338 billion ringgit and if there are still Ketuanan Melayu rhetorics, then Malaysia will go bankrupt, and the fault is not on Anwar Ibrahim as what Najib said back in New Year's eve 2007.

Anyhow, read the analysis of why Greece gets bankrupt and you see that it's similar to Malaysia right now. Forget about NEP and those Perkasa ramblings. Those things is not going to work in this time round.

Bureaucracy: Greece's bureaucracy is famous in the whole of Europe ! To open a cafe or pub there are 25 processes to go through !! This is a country of rules and regulations.

Bloated civil service: There are 1.05 milliion civil servants (excluding police and armed forces) . The population of Greece is only 10 million !! More than 10% are govt servants !! Salary increases every year and benefit for civil servants in Greece is one of the best in Europe !! More and more money is needed to upkeep this bloated civil servants . The retirement age is 62 yrs old.

Corruption: Greece is the most corrupted nation in the Eurozone. Citizens pay "under table " money to:
admit into a public hospital
# pass a driving licence
# to enter public service
# renovate your business premises or your home
# avoid income tax
Every govt project is awarded to political cronies and at hugely inflated prices ! Transparency International compared the prices of the construction costs of stadiums built for the Athens Olympics recently with similar structures in China --500% more expensive than the Chinese , compared to Los Angeles and Sydney -- 50 % more expensive !!! All these with tax payers money ! and borrowings !!!

Tax evasion: Officially 80% of its citizens are supposed to pay tax but only 37% are doing so. Big businessmen and corporations have refined tax evasion to a fine art ( or have the tax men taken some coffee money ? )

No transparency in governance: The politicians and bureaucrats falsified economic data and painted a rosy and manageable picture while the economy was rotting away .

Unabated borrowings: Meanwhile, the politicians and bureaucrats continue to issue govt bonds to keep afloat, series after series. They were trying to cover up the financial mess they have created creating one big hole to cover up the previous !!

Lacking political will power to reform: To keep hold on to political power, politicians are prepared to lie, commit economic and political fraud. If reforms were taken some five years ago , the country need not go bankrupt and its citizens need not suffer so much. Political expediency and greed to political power over-rides everything and hence Greece is now a bankrupt country. Luckily, it is part of the European Union and its currency is EUROs, otherwise Greeks will have to eat grass to survive !!

Laid back attitude: Tourism is THE ONLY industry in Greece and over the years the Greeks have had an easy time. Many flocked to see the historical sites. enjoy summer vacation on the islands. But they forgot that not many tourists will returned after visiting the sites --there are so many other tourists attractions in the world, maybe more exotic and perhaps cheaper !! So once tourism vanes and couple with higher costs of living --the Greeks could not and refused to adapt and transform --still partying and having a nice time -- maybe the Greek Gods will bless them !!! Greece have no natural resources, no electronics industry , no R & D --no anything !! They were so laid back --cannot see what is coming and crashing down on them. Even now, the civil servants refused to take a pay cut -- the world owes them a living !!

Poignant Conclusion:
The producer of the documentary had hired a raxi driver to go around while doing this documentary. The taxi driver had studied economics for 4 years in US and this was his parting words:
"My biggest mistake was returning 15 years ago, I should have stayed back in US. My nationalist instinct made me returned. The politicians screwed me. I loved my country but my country did not love me !!!!

Friends, I can see a lot of similarity in Malaysia. I need not go into boring details, it is there for all to realise. Unless we transform politically and economically, sadly this day will surely come . It is not IF, but WHEN !!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

It's The Publicity Craving Thing!


Look, everyone knows that this is a two-page spread ad on the New York Times. That ad alone costs approximately $2 million USD alone and it was pointed out that an associate company in relation with Rosmah was footing the bill, not taxpayer's money as first perceived.

I'm not looking into the money thing but I see how Rosmah craves for publicity craving thing unlike the previous wives of Prime Ministers. But Constitution definition, the Raja Permaisuri is actually First Lady, not PM's wife.

How many occasions in papers and various media have we been seeing about Rosmah all the time? More than the number of times than I can imagine of.

Publicity craving as if she's damn great or so.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

First, Korek Korek Korek. Now...Tak Tahu..Tak Tahu

If you are cornered, you would definitely try to delay and lie to escape your ass.

Previously, if V. K Lingam says his trademark "Correct correct correct," then wait no longer for Lingam's successor is Kevin Morais who now says "Tak tahu...tak tahu."

Having going through how Rosli Dahlan was unlawfully arrested, I surmised that Morais was the one who instigated the entire matter. The first mistake that Morais did was not to respond to the letter in which the victim unable to take appropriate action to the supposed response. The real reason why Rosli was arrested was simply because to show that a simpleton do not cross a person walking the corridors of power. Ramli Yusuff (ex CCID chief )was in fact proven, with help of Rosli as his attorney to be a victim of conspiracy setup by bigots including crime bosses.

There was a saying by a famous judge that the simple "I don't know" thing means you are likely to be lying in your teeth and by the end of the first day of trial, the MACC's building of case against Rosli is felling down like a straw and they just get whacked and lost outright. Enough to tell the judge that the prosecution failed to prove their case and enough to toss it out. And of course this forces change of tactics, dragging the trial to mid June due to prosecutor's absence.

Sure, this trial will never get to see the light in the papers because it is also considered additional damage to the MACC's reputation and there's fires to be doused in form of public relations exercise. If such event leaks out to foreign press, worse still. And in this case, the MACC has indeed would conceed at least two goals if this is a football match.

But netizens do know that this man known as Mr. Tak Tahu is a sleeping bedfellow with someone with same sex. And we now know all the bullshit that is put on the helpless Rosli.

Same was what the judge in Sabah called Musa Hassan as a liar, the presiding judge on this case should call Kevin Morais a liar too. Pants burning. End of sentence. And others can add up to it. If V.K Lingam's catchphrase has become a sensational ring tone, then why not this guy if we're tired with Lingam's?

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Is It Real, To Cover Up Again To Save Their Asses?

SHAH ALAM: British forensics expert Professor Dr Peter Vanezis testified at the coroner’s court yesterday that political aide Teoh Beng Hock was not unconscious when he plunged to his death.

Dr Vanezis, when cross-examined by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) legal affairs department head Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, said the distribution of injuries indicated that Teoh was fully conscious and orientated at the time.

“None of the injuries show that he was killed by other means and thrown out of the window,” said Dr Vanezis, who was engaged by the MACC when a second post-mortem was carried out in November.

Teoh, 30, the political secretary to Selangor executive council member Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead a day after he was taken to the state MACC office in Plaza Masalam here for questioning on July 15 last year over alleged irregularities in the disbursement of development funds.

Dr Vanezis said some of the injuries also indicated that Teoh had tried to break his fall by landing on his feet first with his hands out.

He said this was the natural reflex of a live person falling from height.

He said studies had shown that even those committing suicide by falling

from height had the same kind of reflex defensive injuries.

Dr Vanezis testifed that there was no evidence Teoh was manually strangled prior to his death plunge.

“The bruising of the neck region is part of the overall pattern of injury from the fall. The larynx and hyoid bone were intact,” he said, adding that there were no ligature marks, nail scratches or fingertip bruises there.

On the tear around the anal region, he said these were caused by pelvic injuries sustained in the fall.

Dr Vanezis said they resulted from the “free downward and upward movement of the sacrum (the triangular bone at the base of the spine) and coccyx (tailbone) which entirely dislocated from the ilium (the largest bone in the pelvis)”.

His testimony debunks renowned Thai forensic pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand’s contention that Teoh may have been manually strangled and was unconscious before his death.

Dr Pornthip had described the said lacerations as penetrative injuries.

Dr Vanezis told coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas that the photographs and post-mortem examinations refuted Dr Pornthip’s views.

He also refuted her suggestion that one of Teoh’s shoes, which had come off his feet, could have been thrown out of the window.

Dr Vanezis said a more logical explanation was that the shoe had come off on impact.

On whether Teoh had been shoved out of the window, he said he could not say yes categorically but thought it unlikely from the evidence.

Dr Vanezis did not comment on whether or not Teoh had been intimidated, resulting in his fall, saying “it is outside my area of expertise”.

Meanwhile, Teoh’s family counsel Gobind Singh Deo and lawyer appointed by the Selangor state government Malik Imtiaz Sarwar informed the coroner that they would only be addressing two issues: the injuries to Teoh’s neck and how his body impacted the ground.

The inquest resumes today.

The coroner will also rule on the family’s application to cite Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz for contempt for calling Dr Pornthip a liar. - The Star, 27 April 2010

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

Teoh Lee Lan, the sister of the late political aide Teoh Beng Hock said that the family of the Beng Hock is disappointed with the final report produced by Dr Peter Vanezis, a renowned British pathologist who was hired by the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission). She told reporters that Dr Vaneizis’ report was ‘unprofessional and unethical’ and that the family did not accept his finding that Beng Hock was fully conscious when he fell down from Plaza Masalam. She said “He’s not correct as a professional. As a professional, I think anything you put in your final report should be fact based, not hearsay. Dr Vanezis’s decision not to probe deeper by asking questions of the MACC officials who had briefed him on the events leading to the fall reflected poorly on his credibility. He said he’s not a detective. But how can he just accept what they say like this?” - 27 April 2010

******

This was what was reported on the both sides of the coin in the case of Beng Hock's death. But what was never mentioned was the thing called "The Real Peter Vaneizis". It can be a little scary, but this e-mail comes from a little bird and somehow it shows the side of the doctor. Reading that, I felt like it's going to be another cover up to spare further embarassment of the MACC. Remember, the MACC's reputation has taken a severe beating since July 2009 and the beating still goes on with the organization's failure to go after the big fishes.

I immediately remembered of an anonymous letter that was circulated with the MACC's head. If the doctor's statement has proven to be inaccurate, then perhaps the letter means it is real.

But anyhow, is it real that this is to cover up again and spare further embarassment for MACC? Obviously this piece will never hit the newsstands in Malaysia.

Subject: : The True Dr. Vanezis

The pathologist in the Teoh Beng Hock case.

Read with an open mind!

Vanezis was Regius Professor in Forensics at Glasgow U between 1994 and 2000 something. And Glasgow is the preferred choice for training of both UKM and Health Ministry would-be-pathologists for various reasons then.

Glasgow was cheap although a dreary city. There was a substantial Kampong Melayu at Otago Street and around Kelvingrove park.

There was a largely friendly Paki community. And for Malaysian scholarship holders there was Vanezis. To be a recognized pathologist in Malaysia you must
first pass your MRCPath and then do a substantial attachment with someone famous like Vanezis. But in true Ketuanan style, a shortcut m ust be found. Glasgow was one of those few places that ran an Msc Forensic Pathology course.

KKM and UKM sent their pathologists there and they come back and get it gazetted as a specialist qualification. As a policy maker (Jusa C and above), you can make your own rules, and get the government to recognize your qualifications. Simple huh. So Vanezis, has a constant flow of students, dungu that they maybe. But dungus pay £9000 a year for two years for an MSc course. The money flows to Glasgow U who are happy with Vanezis and our dungu pathologist are also happy because they get to come back home to be called forensic pathologists with a
fat pay and no on calls. But wait.

There is more money to be made. Dungu pathologists screw up or because they are half baked they dont know how to cover their asses or the govt’s asses. What to do? No problem. Call boss to come lahh. Sure come one. Otherwise constant supply of dungu students will stop. Somemore paying him buisness/first class air ticket with fat fees. He will not only come. But will use his reputation and clean up our mess.

So there you are, Peter Vanezis, the cikgu for our dumbo, unethical, cheats who got their pathology degrees via the back door – they have nothing to worry
about. Their cikgu is here to clean up the mess.

I am surprised the PR fellas never did their homework. Vanezis was never and will never be an independant pathologist like Pornthip is.

The MACC should have
called in an independent pathologist from the US under
whom all our pathologists didn’t train with.

Vanezis, sold himself today. His colleagues in the UK will know about this. > He is finished!


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Coolies, Machais


Pic by Mob1900

1. Do as what Big Brother says (even if that is morally wrong)
2. Shut your mouth and say nothing against the stance.
3. Whack the opposition and Anwar till they drop.
4. You are not out until you are politically killed and stripped.

I suppose this is the perception of those who know very well people who view at politicians particularly those who don't really like BN as they are now. Well, this comes in light of how Ezam Noor and Palanviel were given senatorships. The timing alone can't fool people, unless you choose to be stupid.

Consider the timing in Hulu Selangor - Ezam comes in and whacks Anwar with boxes in ceramahs, Palanviel is moved aside and given position as compensation for being dropped. BN wins in Hulu Selangor. Both are involved. Ezam in middle, and Palanviel at start. Any idiot can really figure it out.

Do you see these are the machais we once talk about? The classic case of machai / coolies?

There you have it. You can talk about all these things, but the timing is enough to tell the story. Period.

On Sibu

Looking at the breakdown of voter count, 2/3rds of the voters are mainly Chinese while Malays form the minority portion of 10 percent. This means that the upcoming by-election is not going to be like Hulu Selangor where a bit more than half of the voter count are Malays and that vote forms the part of the block of Kamalanathan's win over there.

Sibu, shall I say will be somewhat similar in terms of contest in areas like Ipoh Timur, Pandan and other parliamentary areas that are mostly consisted of non-Malay voters. Based on the statistics, I see that the fight will be pretty similar to Pandan, with the exception that the Chinese voters choice at that time are split between Robert Lau Sr and Ho Leng.

But in Ipoh Timur, the number of Chinese voters there are 20% more or 4/5ths of the total voters there, but the common thing that shares between voting in Sibu and Ipoh Timur is that the Chinese voters don't buy easily into goodies by either parties like those other people races as seen in Hulu Selangor recently. It is acknowledged that voters will examine more on what the candidate can deliver over taking the bait from ang pows. Remember, things in the Borneo are not the same as in Peninsular.

I see this is Ho Leng's rematch of the seat, that's where he is based and obviously the choice was a natural given of how close he is with the community there. Again, the closest I can compare of this upcoming by-election is like in Pandan. A mixed community there, with one top MCA man (Superman OTK) and the MTUC president, it was hot fight with OTK squeezing out with a 3000 vote majority. But from some people in Pandan that I once met, I was told that some of the majority votes come from those friends, relatives and powerful connectors in business in Pandan that are close to OTK. Thus, I can see a similar pattern that could happen in this fight with votes of support for Robert Lau Jr.

In the last two elections there, 2004 and 2008, Robert Sr won with a majority range of 3200 and 3300. If the DAP can instead show better ways and how to top over existing policies like NEM, and in other words improving all existing systems instead of whacking BN, then it could be a chance to get additional support.

I once remembered of stories of the press featuring police involvement in Ops Kenyalang where mobsters in the city are captured and jailed. Let's expect of possible intimidation to voters to vote for BN by people who fear that DAP winning could jeopardize their positions in the place as well.

The kingmakers of this fight are not the Malays but those natives of Sarawak. Like in Batang Ai, whoever they vote is depending on whether they can get assurances from the candidates of getting what they needed. And base on the past statistics with factors taking into consideration, I can say Robert Jr, could come in slightly head ahead by the approximate margin of majority as in Hulu Selangor, not because of liking BN, but more or less out of sympathy, reputation, family connection and respect of Robert Sr. This would be more or less like in Bagan Pinang or Permatang Pauh or in places where the candidate is more popular than the party.

"You must choose between the two - the owner or the master of one side or the dependent and coolie on the other" - Excerpt 1915 - Charles Brooke's final meeting with the chiefs of the Council

So here's the dilemma. With that line in mind, is Sibu continuing to bend to the mob or choose to establish their own sub-camp, stand up as dictated in the 20 point agreement to the formation of Malaysia? It's like being the owner or being the coolie of BN.



Nik Aziz's Great One Line Quote

During the days before the Hulu Selangor by-election, Nik Aziz was not allowed to deliver a ceramah in mosque, on JAIS's directive that only those given permission can do so. And then later, the Sultan of Selangor famously said that if you don't agree, please leave.

Then comes the big bullet from Nik Aziz, in which one line was pretty interesting:

"Jenis bodoh susah nak ajar", note that the word bodoh is on dungus who think they are smart alek on whatever they claim to be good at.

Now that's one good line to "tibai" from Nik Aziz..:D

Even Hisham Rais was saying one word...."BODOH"

No, I find it was something to laugh about because those things reveal who the imbeciles are.

It's Just Like The Indian Movies!


Word is Samy Vellu is not very happy with Palanviel being appointed senator. I see it as a deal for compromising over the by-election, but Samy sees it as a threat to his legacy that is the MIC.

Of course, much has been elaborated in this FMT article but in this case, it's nice to see Palanviel and Samy slugging and fighting again. And this really reminds me of those Tamil movies. You can name a few, like Mudhalvan, and Sivaji The Boss with both men fighting to the death, except that this death that we're talking about is political death, political assassination.

I say that it's more than 30 years in helm and Samy remains the only man in the Mahathir years to remain. All the others like Ling, Lim and others have made way for young blood but not him. But I could see the fighting that is coming is going to make MIC going from bad to worse and it could make the win of Hulu Selangor useless.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Not A Feat But A Joting

I mentioned that I had to abort a day field trip to Kuala Kubu last week. I only went through Kerling Estate and I can say "Abandon All Ye Hope" for PR in winning there. But then, I got call back to work because of having to prepare a two-day presentation by a prominent local client.

I didn't really have a choice but to come and work. I was insisting of leaving that night at around 7.30 to attend my cousin's engagement and the next day coming facing the problem of foregoing weekend enjoyment and work until 11 p.m. At times I was wondering how lucky others are when they get to enjoy good time off. I was also in mind wondering whether this violates the 10 commandments of violating Sundays.

The real not so feat was breaking my own record of staying that long. In fact, I didn't go back home on Monday night. I ended up finishing work until 4.30 a.m and had a nap in the conference room until 7.30 a.m...Previously, my record was until 1.30 a.m in which I managed to go home for some sleep.

When I recall that, I thought of Markus - a kid around my age, active in UNICEF but tragically found dead days after. The one thing I knew was that he had been working under the same condition like this over the last few days with lack of sleep and rest. That's in fact very bad for health and I wonder there should be control for each person as not to go beyond the maximum permissive.

I was thinking, well, whoever asks this is a little loon and crazy of doing that, but in the daily meetings after that, there has been some criticism of having things cropped up in last minute that needs to be done, something that was never anticipated earlier in planning. Maybe there the problem of deadlines set that went awry. But somehow, whatever we did ended up with an advance follow-up of interest on what we did...pretty satisfying by the end of Tuesday.

Yes, Please Quit.

"We can pull them off the streets if that's what you want." - Musa Hassan

Obviously a response to the criticism of the police in light of the 15-year old boy shooting incident. How could an Inspector General of Police said that when people know how bad the police has been in the public eyes over the last few years? They have to answer themselves a few questions of why they would go for the small fish but not the big fish.

1.Why would you go for those who felt the right to dissent whereas there still criminal scum, thugs, killers and so forth elsewhere that they didn't catch?
2. Why were the police prioritizing themselves wrongly?
3. Why were the allocation of personnel are more on non-essential departments like logistics, finance, whereas there is a much need in criminal investigation, narcotics?
4. And finally, why were some of the best cops were moved cold storage?

These are some of the questions that Musa will have to think and answer before going and swinging at the critics at that above. I don't recall neither his excellent predecessors like Hanif or Bakri Omar said that. Only him. I suppose that is the result of manipulating and screwing the whole police system. The latter point - some cops moving to cold storage is something that he should not have done.

This means that he should quit immediately. And the extension period that was given to him was a waste in the end.

Eventually, though not published to the press, most of us know what are the things that he do which goes against the law. No wonder he is one of those opponents of the IPCMC commission that does the checks against the police force. No force and organization in the world is omnipotent. I guess that's why Pete is one of Musa's hated persons that he was so bent of sending him off the jail because of the expose.

We do know of somethings like:

1. Obvious connections to the underworld
2. Moving officers to cold storage in attempt to cover misdeeds.
3. MACC Negeri Sembilan caught him with secret stash of money in his home.
4. Acknowledging that of infiltration of Israeli intelligence into PDRM.

Indeed the Chinese press was setup to send the false story to cover #2.

Obviously I think it's better for him to quit immediately and spare us the embarssment.

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