Christian leader wants Putrajaya tested over Alkitab vows

The Malaysian Insider

Jun 15, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — The leader of the country’s evangelical churches has asked Christians to hold the government accountable to its promises during the recent Sarawak elections by importing more Malay bibles.

“Go and import more Bibles and see if the [Home Ministry] stops us. Print the Bibles and see if the [Home Ministry] harasses us again. Being polite and positive does not mean we are naive,” National Evangelical Christian Fellowship chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng wrote in the umbrella body’s quarterly newsletter published this week.

The import of the Alkitab — as the Malay-language bible is called — is among a laundry list of Christian woes that have piled up over the years

“The government has said they want to work towards the religious aspirations of all. Find out what that means. Can our Bibles be declassified as they are now considered ‘prejudicial to the security of the country’? Be proactive. Saying ‘thank you’ does not mean we have accepted the 10-point resolution in totality,” wrote Rev Eu.

He pointed out that ultimately “we all want the same thing — religious freedom we all enjoyed when Tunku shouted the first Merdeka.”

“Let’s do another common sense thing. Hold our government accountable. If the offer was indeed an election ploy, the government can expect to face an angrier and more unforgiving electorate. So, the sensible thing to do is to prepare for the next GE today!”

Faced with an unyielding Christian community ahead of the April 16 Sarawak election, Datuk Seri Idris Jala, on behalf of the government, offered a 10-point solution to the Alkitab impasse, which allowed the bible to be freely distributed across the country in all languages.

Jala, who is from Sarawak, offered a new list of suggestions to put an end to the month-long stand-off in a bid to head-off a possible backlash against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition by Christians who make up half the population in the state. However, the government insisted that the front cover of Malay-language bibles in the peninsula be marked with a cross and the words “Christian Publication.”

This was despite a pending appeal by the government over the High Court’s decision to allow non-Muslims to use the term Allah in their printed publications.

But Malay group Pembela has threatened to challenge the legality of the “Idris Jala Formula”.

The controversy was sparked by the seizure of over 35,000 Malay language bibles by the home ministry.

Following the recent controversy over Utusan Malaysia’s Christian Malaysia claims, Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali also threatened Christians that he would wage a crusade or holy war should they proceed with what he said was their agenda to usurp Islam.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 3:58 pm and is filed under
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Cyber channels for GE13

By
Oon Yeoh

Jun 14, 11 | MalaysiaKini

I clicked with interest on an article on this website titled Umno needs better ‘cyber warfare unit’. I was hoping to gain some insight into cyber strategies the party has in mind for the next general election, which seems to be looming.

But alas, it was just an Umno vice-president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, saying that the party needed to create a more systematic and efficient online unit to counter the opposition’s message and to get the party’s message to its target audience.

That much is obvious. The government’s online strategy seems to be non-existent, or incoherent at best. Then again, the same can be said of the opposition.

Yet, if you ask people from either side, they will tell you, “Yes, the Internet is important. Yes, cyber-warfare plays an important role in galvanising votes. Yes, we realise the need for a sound mobile strategy.”

Since I believe it’s vitally important that both sides are able to make their case effectively and efficiently to the voting public, I’m going to do an act of national service here and give free of charge – well, almost free: they have to have a Malaysiakini subscription – some cyber strategies that both the government and the opposition can use.

Website as central hub

Each party needs to have its own website of course, but when it comes to the general election, people vote along coalition lines. As such it’s important for each coalition to have a central hub in the form of a website.

Leading up to the election, such a site should carry statements by political leaders on the hot issues of the day. People should be able to go to this website for authoritative information on the government or the opposition’s official stance on various issues, especially contentious ones.

Quite often we hear politicians complain that they were misquoted or that their comments were taken out of context. Well, set the record straight by publishing on the official website of your coalition.

During the campaign period, this central hub should be the place where people go to find out where the various ceramah are being held. In the last election, such information was often obtained through word of mouth.

Sometimes, last-minute changes cause people to miss out on good speakers. This should easily be resolved by publishing a comprehensive list of ceramah sessions and political rallies.

Many companies and people underestimate the importance of creating a mobile website. The reason why a mobile site is so important is that full-blown websites, which are designed to be viewed on a computer screen, take forever to load on a mobile phone and the user interface is all wrong.

When you have a mobile site, it’s much smaller in terms of data and the navigation is designed for a small screen. Have a look at Malaysiakini’s mobile site and see the difference between it and the full-blown website.

Mobile Apps

The app culture has hit Malaysian shores. Most people who have smart phones would have downloaded some apps onto their phones, especially if they own an iPhone (though android phones are catching up fast too).

Apps are very versatile and can be used to deliver multimedia content in a more seamless and efficient way than can be done on the web. Apps can also be programmed to download and store content on the phone so that it can be consumed offline as well.

Tablet Apps

Tablets are the hot new thing, with iPads leading the way. But many new android tablets are also coming into the market this year. While phone-based apps will generally work on tablets as well, the experience is far from satisfactory.

To really make full use of the tablet platform, dedicated tablet apps need to be built. Like phone apps, tablet apps have the kind of versatility that allows you to deliver all kinds of content efficiently to the target user. Through the use of clever apps, your tablet could be a virtual TV, a radio and newspaper.

Podcast

Podcasts are audio clips that can be synced directly to iPods. They are quite popular in the US but have not yet taken off in a big way here. Perhaps this is because local content is lacking.

The number of podcast downloads at BFM 89.9, a company I used to do some consultancy for, however, is very encouraging. It shows that when you produce good local content, people will download it so they can listen to it at their convenience.

I don’t know why local politicians have not made more use of this medium. Leaders from both sides can literally have their own radio shows, so to speak. It won’t be live but available on demand. They can say what they want and have it delivered directly to their target audience.

The great thing about podcasts is that the files are not big and heavy like video clips. So, you don’t need high speed broadband to download them. Any broadband or wireless access would work fine.

Video

In the US, political parties will run short commercials, dubbed “attack ads”, which do exactly what you expect them to do. They are designed to counter and attack your opponent’s views.

While TV commercials here are expensive and not to mention, TV is a regulated industry in this country, there’s always YouTube, which allows you to create your own YouTube channel. The clips can be embedded onto websites.

If you want to have live streaming of your events or perhaps town-hall style meetings, you can always use UStream, which like YouTube, is also free and embeddable.

The above suggestions are merely a starting point. Of course a lot more can be done but it’s a good starting point and frankly, if either coalition can even do what I’ve listed above, it will already go a long way towards helping voters make an informed decision when they vote in the next general election.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 11:44 am and is filed under
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DAP masterminding UMNO for more than four decades?

UMNO’s Utusan Malaysia has today concocted a new wild allegation – accusing DAP of masterminding PAS’ welfare state agenda as a cover for the DAP’s Malaysian Malaysia concept.

Based on Utusan’s  latest wild accusation, I am wondering whether to confess that DAP had been masterminding UMNO for more than four decades.

Let me put it straight to Utusan Malaysia – do you want DAP to confess that we have been masterminding UMNO for more than four decades? If so, I am prepared to give Utusan the “scoop of the century” of how the DAP had been masterminding UMNO for more than four decades.

The allegation was made today by Utusan Assistant Chief Editor Datuk Zaini Hassan in his  “Cuit” column: “Negara kebajikan, negara Islam dan ‘Malaysian Malaysia’”.

If Utusan’s Assistant Chief Editor is serious about his allegation that DAP has masterminded PAS’ welfare state adopted at the recent Muktamar PAS, he should have the political acumen to discern that the DAP had in fact been masterminding the UMNO for more than for decades.

With his very “creative” political antennae, there is no way the Utusan Asst Chief Editor could have missed the tell-tale signs of the DAP’s masterminding the UMNO leadership for more than four decades, viz:

– Public confession by Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that the welfare state concept which he said was “now only being championed by PAS had  for long been practiced by the BN government”’;

– Public confession by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that “the concept of welfare state mooted by the Islamist party was not new and has always been the objective of the current administration”, stressing that the country has always been a welfare state.

May be the Utusan editors should consult their political bosses in Umno (although I am not sure who are Utusan’s real Umno political bosses as Najib seemed to have lost all control in the setting of editorial policy in Utusan) whether DAP should come out with such a confession that DAP had been masterminding UMNO for more than four decades.

I await for Utusan and UMNO’s reply.

* Media Conference Statement in Parliament

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 12:51 pm and is filed under
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From Keris to Christian

By Zunar

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 2:58 pm and is filed under
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Guan Eng: RM13b bloated spending shows IPPs protected

By
Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

Jun 15, 2011

Lim: The only losers are 27 million ordinary consumers who are not IPPs.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — The Najib administration’s attempt to increase its 2011 budget by RM13 billion is proof of its failure to control spending even after slashing subsidies on daily essentials, DAP’s Lim Guan Eng said today.

The Penang Chief Minister blamed Barisan Nasional’s (BN) “bad governance” for the increasing cost of living in Malaysia, adding that the public was now experiencing “the worst of both worlds”.

“By reducing subsidies, there are inflationary pressure causing prices to rise and hurting the poor. And yet, cuts do not improve efficiency and competitiveness nor cut down budget expenditure as the IPPs (independent power producers) are still allowed to enjoy gas subsidies.

“The only losers are 27 million ordinary consumers who are not IPPs,” he said in a statement today.

Putrajaya tabled a RM13,186,713,000 supplementary supply bill in Parliament yesterday, seeking additional spending in the first half of this year. The amount is an 8 per cent addition to Budget 2011’s RM162,805,323,000, which was tabled last year.

Of the RM13 billion, the biggest amount is for the Treasury (RM6 billion). A total of RM1.5 billion goes to the Education Ministry while RM1 billion is for the Health Ministry.

Lim continued the expound on the opposition’s call on the the federal government to review its agreements with IPPs, which are said to enjoy annual subsidies of up to RM19 billion.

Despite widespread criticism, the government recently slashed subsidies for sugar and diesel for nine categories of commercial vehicles and increased electricity tariffs.

“The people are paying the penalty for BN’s failure to control spending when drastic subsidy cuts of sugar, electricity, natural gas and diesel have not brought about any improvements in our budget deficit,” Lim complained.

He added that the continued failure to cut IPP subsidies has only succeeded in increasing the public’s growing disenchantment with the Najib administration, which is said poised to face a general election very soon.

Petronas, said Lim, was forced to extend about RM131.3 billion in gas subsidies up to the end of 2010 and this only benefitted the IPPs.

The IPPs, he added, also benefit from a guaranteed buyer through its compulsory Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed by TNB.

“Normally TNB would not be raising electricity tariffs with such huge subsidies. But the RM5.4 billion subsidies enjoyed by TNB were offset as they are forced to purchase power they do not need at high prices that only profits IPPs,” Lim explained.

As a result, he said, Malaysia’s power reserve margin is the highest in the world at 52.6 per cent.

“Perhaps BN needs a strong reminder whether it is the IPPs or ordinary Malaysians that determine the direction and destiny of the country,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 6:10 pm and is filed under
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Let’s see who’s bigger, Perkasa dares Bersih

By
 Shannon Teoh

June 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Claiming the support of 36 NGOs, Perkasa threw down the gauntlet last night to organisers of the Bersih gathering to see who could rally more support when the two groups face off in the federal capital on July 9.

The Malay rights group said that it had no choice but to take to the streets to counter election watchdogs Bersih because “if we don’t, then the world will think that they have the support of all Malaysians.”

“Wait for July 9, then we will see who has more,” Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali told reporters after chairing a roundtable meeting with representatives from various NGOs.

The Pasir Mas MP insisted the 37 NGOs including Perkasa was not trying to “create chaos” as alleged by critics but simply wanting to show that “we are rakyat as well.”

“The Bersih gathering has a hidden political agenda to cause chaos. There is no justification to gather hundreds of thousands simply to ask for free and fair elections when the Election Commission has already answered.

Please don’t assume we are trying to create chaos. That makes no sense at all. Our stand is simple. They march, we march. They cancel, we cancel. We don’t want them to say they are doing this in the name of the rakyat. We are also the rakyat,” he said.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties and activists are gearing up to march next month in the second such rally by Bersih, the first being in 2007 when up to 50,000 were reported to have gathered in the capital, with many being dispersed by water cannons and tear gas fired by the police.

PAS has promised to bring 300,000 protestors this year in hopes that it will galvanise support for the opposition in the general election expected within the year.

The 2007 rally was said to play a big role in bringing record gains for the opposition electoral pact in Election 2008, where it swept five state governments and won 82 parliamentary seats.

Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia has urged Malaysians to boycott the protest and quoted Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s warning that “it will be chaotic when those for and against the street demonstration clash”.

Ibrahim also echoed Utusan Malaysia’s claim that Bersih was being led by those who are anti-Islam.

Saying that Bersih chief and former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreevanasan has been pushing for an interfaith council and supported Lina Joy’s apostasy, Ibrahim called for PAS to withdraw its support for the rally.

Perkasa also announced that it will launch the Anti-Bersih Movement on June 19, when it expects more NGOs to join its ranks.

Also present at today’s roundtable were former PKR lawmakers Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim and Datuk Zulkifli Noordin who are now independent MPs.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 10:47 am and is filed under
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Malaysia bracing for Anonymous onslaught, says IGP

June 15, 2011 |
 Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Malaysia has beefed up security ahead of a threatened hacking attack of its official government website by internet vigilante group Anonymous for government acts of censorship and will track down the activists, the police chief said today.

In an attack codenamed “Operation Malaysia”, Anonymous said it would target the Malaysian government’s online portal malaysia.gov.my from 3.30pm local time to teach the country a lesson for censoring whistle-blower site WikiLeaks.

“We have received word of this threat. There are many agencies involved in this and we will get to the bottom of this,” Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar told Reuters.

“Investigation needs to be done and we need to protect our systems at the same time.”

Malaysia could be the latest in a cyber-war waged by the activists, who gained prominence when they temporarily crippled the websites of MasterCard and Paypal that cut off financial services to Wikileaks.

The loosely affiliated hacking group has also attacked websites in Syria, Tunisia, Egypt and India.

In another posting on pastebin.com, Anonymous said Malaysia’s censorship of films and television shows and its blocking of file-sharing websites amounted to a denial of basic human rights.

“The Internet is here for freedom, without fear of government interference,” the group said in a posting. “We fear that if you make further decisions to take away human freedom. We are obligated to act fast and have no mercy.”

In 2009, Malaysia planned to set up an Internet filter, similar to China’s Green Dam project. But like the project in China, authorities quickly backed down following an outcry from the opposition and foreign investors.

A vibrant Internet culture has contributed to political challenges facing the Malaysian government, which tightly controls mainstream media and has used sedition laws and imprisonment without trial to prosecute bloggers.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 10:40 am and is filed under
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RM63.9m spent on consultants and ETP, GTP open days

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

The Malaysian Insider

 Jun 15, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — A total of RM63.9 million was spent to hire consultants for Pemandu and to organise three open days for Government Transformation Plan (GTP) and Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) initiatives, the government said today.

Minister in the prime minister’s department Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon said that the government had paid RM36.3 million to various consultants, while RM27.6 million was used for the open days in Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, and Kota Kinabalu last year.

In two written replies to DAP’s Liew Chin Tong, Koh said that the costs were justified as they were far lower than the allocated budget.

Koh said that Pemandu had appointed seven consultancy firms to execute government labs as well as prepare reports for showcasing purposes and press kits.

“The expenditure for consultants for eight National Key Result Area (NKRA) labs from September to October 2009 cost RM6.3 million, (and) it was managed wholly by the consultants.

“For 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) labs from May to June 2010, RM16 million (was spent) and for 12 other labs from January to November 2010 (the cost was) RM14 million, half of which Pemandu officers had conducted on their own.

“Whereas for six SRL (Strategic Reform Initiatives) that were organised from February to April 2011, they were completely managed by Pemandu officers, without the involvement of consultants,” said Koh.

Koh said that other governments around the world also engaged consultants and sought expert advice to provide guidelines and aid to the government to improve its performance.

Liew had also asked the government to state the publicity costs for the launch of, road shows and advertisements for the GTP and ETP programmes.

For the GTP programmes, Koh said the total cost of the open day, which took place over three days in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, came up to RM5.4 million.

“Meanwhile, for communications and publicity, RM9.7 million (was spent), so in total, it was RM15.1 million,” he said.

He explained that RM5.44 billion had been allocated for GTP programmes last year and that the amount spent was less than 0.28 per cent of total allocations.

“It is also far less than the cost of communications spent by the private sector. It should be noted that six key result areas under the NKRA for 2010 achieved 93 per cent in performance and by spending RM4.31 billion, or only 80 per cent of the budget,” he said.

Koh said that the government had spent RM12.5 million for its ETP programmes — RM5.7 million for the launch and open day that took place over three days, as well as RM6.8 million for communications.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 10:23 pm and is filed under
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Sarbaini kin reject inquest, demand RCI

By
Syed Mu’az Syed Putra

June 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — The family of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed has rejected Putrajaya’s decision to hold an inquest into his death and are insisting instead on a royal commission of inquiry (RCI).

The inquest, to be presided over by Coroner Aizatul Akmal Maharani, was set for July 4 to 15 at the magistrate’s court here.

Sarbaini’s son, Shahril Ahmad, told The Malaysian Insider that his family preferred the RCI as it would be harder to determine the cause of his father’s death through an inquest and that this would delay the pursuance of justice.

“That is really the purpose of holding the inquest… we want an answer on the incident and we feel an RCI would be more accurate.

“If you hold an inquest, it looks like it will just be a waste of time… and it may just become like Teoh Beng Hock’s case — after the inquest, an RCI is called… so it is better to just hold an RCI straightaway,” he said.

In the inquest of political aide Teoh Beng Hock, who also died while under the supervision of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the coroner ruled out both suicide and homicide, and returned an open verdict.

Sarbaini, 56, was found dead on the badminton court of the MACC building at Jalan Cochrane around 10.20am on April 6, barely two hours after walking in.

His death occurred when Teoh’s RCI was still ongoing and delivered a huge blow to the anti-graft body’s already-battered credibility.

“An RCI is our best option. Who suggested holding the inquest? It was so sudden and the family did not even know about it. An RCI can bring those responsible to face justice… those who will sit on the panel will be credible individuals,” said Shahril.

Prior to this, Sarbaini’s family had also called on the police to explore the latest allegations made by blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin before calling for an inquest.

Raja Petra, in a post on his Malaysia Today website on Monday, claimed the police had conducted a thorough check on Sarbaini’s assets and found no unusual or extraordinary wealth.

Raja Petra also accused MACC of trying to tarnish Sarbaini’s name following his death.

When asked about Raja Petra’s claims, Shahril said it was likely true as his father had never possessed such “extraordinary wealth” as accused.

“He lived like everyone else,” he said.

In Parliament yesterday, a motion by the opposition calling for Sarbaini’s death to be debated in the House was rejected by Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee, who ruled that the matter was not “urgent”.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 11:28 am and is filed under
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The failure of our institutions

By
Art Harun

June 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 15 — When Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) opened a Twitter account some months ago, I was actually pleasantly surprised that it chose to follow my Twitter account. I promptly decided to return the compliment by following MACC on Twitter.

From then on, I could read MACC’s instant reports of the Teoh Beng Hock royal commission of inquiry (RCI) proceedings on Twitter. I must say it was a good initiative by MACC. Kudos to whoever that was in MACC who decided to utilise the social-networking facility by engaging the cyber-society through Twitter.

During the height of the Sarawak election campaign, I decided that it was about time that I had a two-way communication with MACC over Twitter. Conscious of the fact that the biggest election issue for that election was the alleged wealth — which were not rebutted and categorically denied — of Taib Mahmud and his family members, I decided to tickle MACC’s feet with a question.

My question to MACC over Twitter was “why doesn’t MACC investigate the wealth of Taib Mahmud?”

I did that because from what I gathered over various reports — which I must say were unconfirmed but were not met by firm denials — Taib Mahmud and his family members own vast properties in Sarawak, Canada and other countries.

The wealth imputed to him and his family would, if proven to be true, far exceed the amount of his salaries, allowances, bonuses and perks as a chief minister, even if it is assumed that he spent all those income on acquiring properties and nothing else throughout his tenure as the chief minister of Sarawak.

To my simple mind, surely Taib Mahmud has a lot to explain on how he managed to acquire such vast properties during his tenure as the chief minister. If he said that he was a good businessman who manages to accumulate such wealth, then the next question would be where he found the time to undertake such businesses when he should really be managing Sarawak on full time basis.

So I asked MACC the above question on Twitter.

The reply which I got from MACC was disappointing, to say the least. It was either a sign that MACC did not fully understand its functions as an agency or was reflective of an institution which exists just as a Christmas decoration on a very colourful street in GagaLand.

The reply was “We need proof, we will investigate only when there is proof.” Or something to that effect.

And so I shot back, “Isn’t the function of investigation to find proof?”

I did not get any reply to that one till today.

My public engagement with MACC thus met with an early termination.

MACC perhaps does not really understand what its functions as an investigative agency are. May I put it in simple terms?

When there is any report of alleged corruption or abuse of power, MACC is supposed to investigate. If the reports are clear enough, MACC does not even have to wait for the public to lodge a report. Any of its officers can lodge a report to start the ball rolling.

MACC does not wait for proof. MACC is supposed to find the proof by investigating into the matter. The purpose of investigation is to get proof. If there are proof, there is no real necessity for an investigation. Get it, MACC?

In any event, the real purpose of an investigation is not to get proof. It is to get information and evidence. It is not for MACC to prove anything at all. When MACC completes the investigation, it has to compile all the information and evidence and send it to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The AGC is then supposed to decide whether all the information and evidence gathered by MACC constitute sufficient proof to prosecute the person being investigated. It is not, then, for MACC to prove anything. The burden of proving guilt is on the AGC if and when it decides to prosecute.

Get it, MACC? Or do you want me to spell that out in Bahasa Melayu?

Last week I read that MACC was to investigate Taib Mahmud. Good for you, MACC. Have you got the proof now, may I ask? Or you have finally understood what you were supposed to do now, eh?

While I am at it, may I suggest that MACC does all its interrogation, erm, sorry, interviews on the ground in glass room complete with working CCTV systems and manned 24 hours so that no interviewee could commit suicide in your premises again, please? (Someone suggested that MACC’s officer might commit suicide during this investigation! LOL!).

Although I was on leave for the last two weeks, it did not also escape me that testimonies were given in Court that the former mentri besar of Selangor, Khir Toyo, bought a piece of land worth RM6.5 million for just RM3.5 million from a businessman who has businesses in Selangor and more particularly with Selangor state agencies. Those state agencies, needless to say, were answerable to Khir Toyo. I think he even held the position of chairman of some of them.

Khir Toyo, according to later testimonies, paid a whopping RM6 million for renovation work on that property, turning the already huge mansion into a Balinese- style mansion. If that was not enough to make us, ordinary Malaysians, choke in our own puke, he even paid those 6.5 million smackeroons in CASH!

Let us do some simple mathematics, shall we?

Khir Toyo was the MB of Selangor for eight years. Assuming his income as an MB and as chairman of the various state agencies was RM100,000 a month, his total income for the whole eight-year tenure would be RM9.6 million.

Now, assuming he did not spend a single sen from that RM9.6 million to buy anything for his obedient wife or to buy some tempe, which he admittedly consumed to preserve his youthful look, he would still be short of RM400,000 to be able to pay for a total sum of RM10 million that he spent in acquiring the property and building the mansion.

This brings into question the collective wisdom of MACC in preferring a charge for fraudulently acquiring the land instead of for abuse of power against Khir Toyo. The former carries a maximum sentence of only two years’ imprisonment while the latter carries a much heftier sentence.

Perhaps MACC has its own reasons for doing as they did and we, the people, can only hope that the reasons are purely one of practicality and is grounded on legal basis rather than some political motivations or external factors.

But one cannot fail to note that Anwar Ibrahim was previously charged for abuse of power for reasons much flimsier than the one in the Khir Toyo case.

It is in a situation such as this that public accountability is paramount. MACC suffers from an almost hallucinated state of belief that it is operating at a very standard and is, for all intent and purposes, above board, in particular, above political pressure.

The public, however, does not suffer from such grandiose delusion. In 2011, the people demand accountability from public institutions, even more so from such an important institution which lies at the heart of proper governance.

It is in cases such as this that MACC’s action is open to scrutiny by the people who are increasingly aware of their rights. When there are actions which are smack of double standard, the public would be quick to judge. It is therefore MACC’s duty to account for its action.

Meanwhile, the police force is or appears to be a leviathan of some sorts.

Buried and tainted in a litany of unspeakable  abuses of force and power, for which the force has not even attempted to own up, let alone unequivocally apologise, the police force is an institution that has lost almost all of its credibility in the eyes of the public.

From the time of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when the police force was used as a carriage donkey for whatever Machiavellian schemes he set out to undertake (I may be insulting Machiavelli here), the police force has times and again failed to rise up above political patronisation and meet public expectations.

It has carried mattresses into courts; provided dodgy DNA  analysis and result as testimony; allegedly summarily executed hundreds of alleged criminals (for which there have been no more than flimsy denials that they were acting in self defence as an explanation); arrested people who were just carrying some candles by the streets; and the lawyers who were going to see their clients.

The list goes on and on. In recent memory, we have the mysterious death of A. Kugan; the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old schoolboy, Aminurasyid Amzah; and recently the killing of three young men, which, according to the pathologist report, took place in seemingly “execution” fashion.

The most recent is the story of a bank manager who spent three days in a lockup for not wearing a seatbelt, as reported by Malaysiakini. Even if we take the police’s story as accurate and true, that the bank manager did say “Lu apa kuasa mahu ambil gua punya lesen dan IC?” to the police officer and that, in the mind of the police constituted an obstruction of a government officer from discharging his duties, what was the necessity to arrest and obtain a remand order to keep him in a lock up for three days?

What further investigations were necessary for the police to undertake? If the bank manager had said that and the police had opined that that constituted an offence as alleged, couldn’t the police prepare an investigation paper there and then, and pass it to the AG’s Chambers for further action? What was there to be investigated further which would warrant three days in lockup?

It was as clear as daylight (without the seasonal haze, of course) that the police’s action was unwarranted and an abuse of power. It was the police force acting as complainant, investigator, prosecutor, judge and executioner.

Again, like the MACC, the police force is an essential institution in the machination of governance in any state, modern or quasi-modern. Even during the Malacca Sultanate, the office of the Temenggong (equivalent to the office of the Inspector-General of Police) was taken seriously by the none other than the Sultan himself.

Sultan Allaudin Riayat Shah, for example, realising that crime rate was creeping up, took it upon himself to do the Temenggong’s job one night just to show that the Temenggong was more than a little slack in his KPI rating.

It is thus paramount that the police force should rise up to the  challenge and demands of the people — as opposed to the State’s — and start proving that it is an institution worthy of the trust and respect of the people which it so craves.

There is no reward, in terms of trust and respect, for the police to so often beat its own chest and proclaim that it is the best there is; that it protects and serves to protect and that the crime rates have so decreased that it is not safe for an old woman to walk on the street with a handbag and a mobile phone at 11 at night.

It is in the action and in the accountability for such action that the police force is judged by the people. The numbers in the KPI do not count as far as the people are concerned.

Nothing else would satisfy the insatiable cravings of the people for a police force which is trustworthy, efficient and dependable than a thorough cleaning up of the force; an above and across the board approach towards the performance of its functions; the proper usage of its powers and exercise of its jurisdiction as  well as a more “human” communication skills.

Yesterday also saw the shocking news in Singapore’s The Straits Times about our Immigration boys abusing two women from Singapore who were arrested for allegedly entering Malaysia illegally. This is the kind of moronic, if not Neanderthal-isque approach by our front-line agency, in so far as foreign visitors are concerned, which puts Malaysia firmly on the list of GagaLand.

How we seem to treat refugees and illegal immigrants seem to be the highlight of international concerns all this while. And to think that we are now desirous to enter into a people-swapping agreement with Australia!

Elsewhere, we have news that Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Omar Hassan Bashir of Sudan have been invited to an economic forum at Putrajaya.

Who is the bright spark who actually invited these two international miscreants to Malaysia — to attend an economic forum at that? What can the participants of the forum learn from these two that they cannot learn from Daim Zainuddin or Nor Mohd Yackop?

Mugabe has succeeded in transforming Zimbabwe into an iconic state in the annual award of Inflation magazine. Bashir, on the other hand, has a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court hanging over his head. And yet we invited them to an economic forum in Putrajaya.

Of course, Mugabe has been rumoured to be in Malaysia seeking medical attention in not so distant a past. He is a good acquaintance, if not friend, of Dr Mahathir.

Nothing could supersede that news, in terms of sheer shock and awe, than the evening revelation yesterday, that the Ministry of Tourism had spent a whopping RM1.8 million to build and launch six Facebook pages, as reported by The Malaysian Insider.

Fifty million people around the world spent only five minutes of their time, some electricity and broadband charges to open their FB account. I started this blog with nothing other than my two hands and two fingers and a bit of processing power left in my head after more than 20 years appearing in our Courts. And yes, our Ministry of Tourism spent ONE POINT EIGHT MILLION bucks to open an FB page.

If MACC could work overtime to investigate the alleged misuse of funds to the tune of several thousand ringgit by DAP — which led to Teoh Beng Hock’s death — I am sure MACC would display the same kind of enthusiasm in pursuing this utter crap.

The expenses could be well justified for all we know, but investigate we must.

Otherwise, we would continue to fail. — art-harun.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 11:32 am and is filed under
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The human face of enterprise

By
KJ John

Jun 14, 11 | The Malaysian Insider

I disagree with Pas president Abdul Hadi Awang about his welfare state idea or ideal. Socialism had the same ideal and idea; but, it is now almost dead. Cuba is its last frontier and is closing down soon. Some others have called the same type of ideal, ‘capitalism with a human face’.

That is much better but not good enough. Capitalism presumes that ‘money is the root of all motivation and life’. But the scriptures say that the love of money is the root of all such evil. I prefer to call such an idea or ideal ‘the human face of enterprise.’

Why cannot man apply enterprise or initiative towards creating good values for all of life? Such enterprise must first subscribe to good universal values, and then create a process which offers a value offering which will transform the quality of human life. When such a creative process is productised into a full value innovation, people are willing to pay money, or even barter for it, and to exchange their personal offering for the new value proposition.

Let me give a simple example. Thomas Edison is said to have experimented on hundreds of ideas but we remember him only for the light bulb. But his light bulb was an excellent value proposition, which came to be ‘productised’ as the light bulb and then it was commercially reproduced. It gave light and revelation to a dark world lit only by fire.

Today, humans cannot live without the light bulb. In fact, many live only by the light of Edison’s bulb and forget an even greater light of wisdom and knowledge. The ultimate author of all these remains the only omnipotent one.

Ustaz Hadi’s welfare state ideal is thus flawed because it is premised upon the state and seems to ignore the enterprise from the individual. The welfare state is a proven abject failure and it is well-established that it is creativity and innovation of personal enterprise that moves groups and communities, not institutionalised systems, whether you call it the government, the state, or the community, or even any religious group.

The sum is greater than the parts

Teams are distinctly different. Unlike larger compliant groups, teams of individuals, like a flock of birds flying in formation, somehow learn to move in a coordinated fashion and their productivity is greater the sum of the parts; in short, there is synergy in such teams.

Well-organised and directed teams can become high performers and demonstrate their excellence. The recent Barcelona team victory over Manchester United spoke this message. A good philharmonic orchestra is another good example of the sum being greater than the parts.

Good teams require good leadership and an equally good followership as part and parcel of the organisational culture. I said leadership and followership but did not talk about personalities or cultic leaders and followers. Leadership theories are wrong when they just make one person the cult hero of leadership models and the failure of one single individual becomes the failure of followership, and teams. It is never that simple.

No man or woman is an island; work in modern settings can never be done by individuals alone without groups as natural coalitions that come together in organisational settings to achieve goals and targets. The missing ingredient in all excellent organisations is therefore good leadership and equally good supervisorship.

Supervision is truly that: they are persons who have a clearer goal and role clarity sharing their extraordinary vision about what needs to happen. When vision gets translated and further executed well; we get excellence.

Ustaz Hadi therefore needs to talk about how to motivate all Malaysians, and not just Muslims, to become not just enterprising but also to do so with a human face of concern for the “other”. The poor neighbor must also become their human concern from enterprise. That is not welfare or charity but love of the ‘other’ for a greater good. That good is often more than altruism and is religious in fervor. Most call it true spirituality, but it needs to transcend religion.

Therefore, it is not unsurprising that PM Najib Abdul Razak also talked about Umno already being a welfare club, too. But, let us be honest: after 50 years leadership of Umno, the welfare nature of their enterprise is not any more obvious. Umno has lost that older value of a leadership for national transformation and has today become the symbol of “how to get rich quick through Umno!”

How else can a simple unbranded and unimpressive dentist pay cash of RM6 million for house renovations, Balinese style? And the Internal Revenue Board was not even watching or asking questions!

GEM – a forgotten model of growth

Malaysia has a gem-like model of growth and development but which has been forgotten. It was called the Growth with Equity Model or GEM. It was what made us the envy of the world at one time. For no other known nation of the world had transformed an entire agricultural community into the ICT and engineering sector within one generation.

Malaysia did; and Felda was the most obvious and shining example of such a visible growth and development agenda of Malaysia’s GEM. Rubber and palm oil were the industrial enterprise drivers of that value proposition.

But, those were the days when teachers were grassroots leaders in Umno in Malaysia. Today, rather unfortunately, they are led by businessmen who believe that everything and everybody can be bought, or, at least have a price. How wrong they are.

Therefore, we get a clown as a state leader who is allowed to make cash payments for the “services rendered”. No wonder there was also the other fellow who was caught with millions in cash but got away because he could not read or speak English in Australia; so much for Malaysian education.

I would advise Ustaz Hadi to think through and develop the model a little more clearly, as his presumed model did not work in Kelantan or Trengganu either.

In fact, if you follow the new PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu’s (right) logic, Penang with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s CAT model may be a better value offering of the traditional communitarian ideal of helping one start at the level of the individual but end with up skilling the enterprise capability and capacity of the individual.

Lim drives that agenda as an individual with a mission and a passion. He is an accountant by training and a banker who knows these three words well. Moreover, his greatest value is that he loves his neighbor and was willing to go to jail for other people’s vision.

Come on Malaysia, just learn to read, understand and appreciate true development history in our own backyard and we will value our own self-image and creative power without the need to make others feel small. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “there is enough food in the world to feed all the poor, but there is not enough to feed human greed!” May God bless Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 11:59 am and is filed under
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The silliness of claiming ownership over wrongs

By
Sakmongkol AK47

June 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 15 — The problem with Umno goons is that they want to claim ownership on some indefensible issue. This is silly, because people will start viewing Umno as an organisation that stands on the side of abuse, of corruption, of mis-governance and as a party that practises discretionary and arbitrary laws.

Umno is fast becoming a dirty four-letter word.

When someone criticises the scandalous payments to independent power producers (IPPs), their criticisms were taken as attacks on Umno? So what does Umno support?

Umno supports some dubious arrangements to pay the IPPS horrendous prices when the same can be produced cheaper by TNB? Umno stands for cavorting with the robber barons of today?

The Anandas, the YTLS, the Berjayas, the Genting Lims — all friends of Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Dr Mahathir isn’t infallible.

Why should Umno claim ownership over malpractices or claim ownership of possible corrupt practices? They should disown these, not own up to them.

This kind of stupidity will cost Umno dearly in later years. Umno should NOT take attacks on policies and on some issues of public concerns as attacks against the Malays or a Malay government. Perkasa doesn’t speak for the Malays. It’s not the only voice. Ibrahim Ali is no more Malay than I am and I am no less Malay than Ibrahim Ali.

Here is the problem with the IPP issue. People are questioning why the government finds it easy to withdraw subsidies from ordinary people but not those paid to IPPs. This double standard raises the concern that the government protects the IPPs, coincidentally mostly created during Dr Mahathir’s watch.

People can argue that IPPs get subsidies so that they can charge the public lower. Otherwise they will charge the public higher rates. The next real question is, if IPPs have contracts agreed by the Mahathir administration that protect them from price fluctuations, why were they given preferential treatment? Why protect them from price fluctuations?

Essentially, IPPs are protected from fuel price fluctuations. If the government cuts fuel subsidy, then the cost will be passed to the IPPs, who in turn will pass it on to Tenaga, who will then need to raise electricity tariffs. So, in a sense, IPPs do not really benefit from the fuel subsidies.

The real issue is not why not take away subsidies from IPPs, but rather why Tenaga and the government then agreed to the price Tenaga must pay to these IPPs and the “take or pay” conditions.

The robber barons are holding the government to ransom and Dr Mahathir, who was the PM then, agreed to be squeezed by the balls.

Isn’t Tenaga capable of generating electricity at a much lower cost than the IPPs (economy of scale, lower cost of capital, etc)?

I read somewhere that some think tankers say that subsidies cause IPPS to be inefficient. Nope, I think subsidy causes not the IPPs but Tenaga to be inefficient or cause Tenaga to operate at sub-optimal level.

Tenaga is forced to cater for daily peak and off peak demands and the broader economic cycles which means that Tenaga will have to shut off its own lower cost power stations when demand goes down because those IPPs are on a “take or pay” contract.

Why should we be forced to pay the rates in the first place? Because we are forced to do so, it would suggest that really, those responsible at that time, the bankers and the IPPS are screwing us big time. How so?

IPPS get financing from banks, right? Banks will finance only if IPPs generate higher ROIs. They must generate higher ROIs than those used and accustomed to by Tenaga anyway. How do the IPPs ensure higher ROIs? Only by securing guarantees from the Malaysian government.

So when the Anandas, the Genting people, the Berjaya People, the Habibs, the YTLs came before the PM then, they said in unison, “we can’t get financing boss IF we can’t get higher rates”.

So the boss said “OK, you charge higher rates, which we guarantee in agreements which can’t be revealed forever”.

So they answered, “Orite boss, we are in business!”

As an Umno man, I am telling my friends in the party to stop having to support these wrongs; wrongs are wrongs — no matter the architect.

Don’t think we can forever be in power. Can you imagine if another party forms the government, they create a Truth Commission as done by Mandela? Then all dubious contracts and projects will be subject to real forensic investigations which will make many people testicles-less.

So, stop claiming ownership over wrongs committed. That wasn’t the reason Umno came into being. — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. He was Pulau Manis assemblyman (2004-2008).

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 10:51 am and is filed under
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Why are dinosaurs championing the arts?

By
Erna Mahyuni

Jun 15, 2011

JUNE 15 — As anyone in the arts will tell you, the government has consistently failed both the arts and its practitioners.

Take the recent debacle involving Artistes Day 2011, where Bernama reported Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim bemoaning the lacklustre response of arts practitioners.

Bernama had initially reported the celebration cost RM100 million, when in actual fact it had only cost RM97,800. DAP was only too happy to use the issue for political traction when, frankly, the party couldn’t give a toss about the arts either. Posturing on both sides and who benefits? It definitely isn’t the arts.

Now, some of you would probably start the usual hue-and-cry about where the money could have been better spent on non-arts related expenditure. Schools, roads, healthcare and the like. I respectfully disagree.

The arts have, in recent years, become but the poor cousin to science and technology. We push our children ever forward on the march to some “knowledge economy”, hoping they’ll end up in high-paying jobs we can boast to our neighbours about.

Sadly, in this country, the people we elect to promote and preserve the arts clearly do not understand what they are doing. With all due respect to Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, Artistes Day is a sheer waste of money.

What about funding bodies like Aswara that provide the much needed training for artistes?

The finest actors in Britain and the United Kingdom are trained actors, who went to university to study the nuances of their craft. Unfortunately in Malaysia, most actors in television and film are trained on-the-job and not very well, at that.

Besides the blatant misuse of funds clearly earmarked to improve the industry, government interference in creative expression is also a problem.

Stop telling artists what they can and cannot be creative about. The very nature of creativity requires freedom and what theatre practitioners call a “safe space.” Malaysia is certainly not a safe space.

Before a play can even be put on stage, the script has to be vetted by, of all people, the local council. If it were up to the government it seems, theatre would be filled with nothing but inoffensive, politically correct tripe.

We are not allowed to create anything offensive, too sensitive, potentially harmful to Islamic religious beliefs, anti-government… we might as well live in fish bowls.

Whether song, dance, film, documentaries, theatre, visual arts, the creative field and the arts deserve respect and acknowledgement. The people who preserve our legacies and history through various mediums are doing us a service and those who have talent in those fields are no less vital in the workforce.

Without the arts, life would not be worth living. The arts celebrate beauty and the higher instincts of mankind. Do we really want to live in a world filled only with accountants, engineers and doctors?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 11:15 am and is filed under
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Why Is Perkasa Against Bersih?

By
Kee Thuan Chye
 | 14 June 2011

Malaysian Digest

MANY people have come to regard Ibrahim Ali as a clown, including Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz. One hopes Ibrahim was just talking like a clown when he recently announced that his organization, Perkasa, would oppose the planned Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 by staging a counter-demonstration. “That means,” as he himself says, “on that day, there will be confrontation.”

This is militant talk. This is a threat to cause violence. And to add fuel to it, Ibrahim has pledged that in the event of a clash, “I will fight to the end”.

But why would Perkasa want to oppose the Bersih 2.0 rally? The rally has nothing to do with race – it is not demonstrating against Malay supremacy, which Perkasa was set up to defend. The rally is calling for electoral and institutional reform. It is calling for the electoral roll to be cleaned up, postal voting to be reformed, indelible ink to be used at elections, all political parties to be given free and fair access to the media, automatic voter registration, a minimum of 21 days for the campaign period, the strengthening of public institutions, a stop to corruption, and a stop to dirty politics.

Is Perkasa against free and fair elections? Is it against calling for a stop to corruption?

Ibrahim explains: A big demonstration like the Bersih rally, which expects to draw about 100,000 protestors, will cause chaos. It could be like the protests in the Middle East.

Ibrahim thinks people will throw stones, burn cars, and injuries will result like in Tunisia.

History has shown that this was not the case during the last Bersih rally in 2007. About 40,000 people were estimated to have taken part then, but it was an entirely peaceful rally, except when the police fired water cannons and hurled tear gas at the protestors. No one was out to throw stones or burn cars.

This time around, the rally is expected to be peaceful as well, aimed at creating awareness among Malaysians of the need for electoral reform. If no one intervened, including the police, if the permit was granted and the police kept vigil merely to pre-empt untoward incidents, there should be no harm done.

So, what Ibrahim has predicted is unfounded. Besides, his reference to Tunisia is ironic. The protests there actually brought down an unpopular and repressive regime. Is such a positive cause, like Bersih 2.0’s, to be spoken of in negative terms?

In fact, what will cause chaos is the clash that could result if Perkasa and the other NGOs he proposes to co-opt take to the streets at the same time to oppose the Bersih 2.0 rally. What he is proposing to do is the real danger. But Ibrahim knows he can get away with expressing it because he has always been untouched in the past. Many have been the times when he said things that could have caused him to be charged with sedition, but never has he been called to account for them. Last month, he said he would launch a jihad against Malaysian Christians if they tried to usurp the position of Islam, and before that, he had said other things that incited hatred against non-Malays.

It may be that the Government takes no action against him because it considers him a clown, or even a paper tiger. Or it may be that he is actually helping the Government by opposing the Bersih 2.0 rally because the ruling party seemingly does not endorse the idea of free and fair elections. After all, the 2007 rally was partly instrumental in its loss of its two-thirds majority. The ruling party would no doubt be worried that another such rally could dim its prospects at the next general election.

Whatever the reason or reasons, in the context of Ibrahim’s current pronouncement, it looks bad for the Government. Speculation has already been rife that Perkasa is actually affiliated to Umno, that it is the organization to which Umno has outsourced the job of defending Ketuanan Melayu so that Umno is not seen to be racist; now, with Perkasa going outside of its prescribed agenda and raison d’etre as an organization to oppose Bersih 2.0, it appears to be another Government stooge.

In politics, perception often takes ascendancy over reality, so even if is not true that Perkasa is affiliated to Umno, the perception that it is has now been confirmed.

Ibrahim says he is stopping the Bersih 2.0 rally in the name of democracy. This is based on his reasoning that “there are people who do not agree with this rally”. Well, fine. The people who do not agree have a right to express it publicly too. But by the same token, Bersih 2.0 has a right to stage its rally, so stopping it is actually anti-democratic.

He reportedly goes on to say that he is not worried by the expected Bersih 2.0 turnout of 100,000 people because most Malaysians will not accept the movement’s demands. If he’s not worried, then why bother to oppose it? He reasons that since Malaysia has a population of 27 million people, even if Bersih 2.0 were to bring 300,000 to the rally, there would still be 26 million plus who would not agree with it. His mathematics is okay, but his reasoning is clearly faulty and hopelessly warped.

Nazri may be right after all in calling Ibrahim Ali a clown. But even so, if there is a movement going on to campaign for reform, clowns should not be allowed to spoil the party. Especially if they are clowns who might start an unwanted fire.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 3:00 pm and is filed under
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Yen Yen, explain ‘Curi-curi’ M’sia

Tarani Palani

Free Malaysia Today

June 15, 2011

If the minister fails to provide a proper explanation for the RM1.8 million ‘splurge’, an opposition MP warns that netizens may bay for her blood.

KUALA LUMPUR: Due to the growing discontent, an opposition leader urged Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen to explain why RM1.8 million was spent on six Facebook pages to promote Malaysia.

Speaking in Parliament, DAP’s Rasah MP Anthony Loke said there was palpable discontent against the amount spent when it could have been attained at almost no cost.

Loke highlighted two Facebook pages regarding the matter, the “1 million Malaysians say no to RM1.8 million” and “Curi-curi wang Malaysia”, the latter being a twist of the ministry’s famous tagline “Cuti-cuti Malaysia”.

“These are very creative. Within 18 hours the ‘Curi-Curi wang Malaysia’ page already has 11,380 ‘likes’ – already half of the Tourism Malaysia’s Facebook site. And it is free!” he told reporters.

The Citrawarna 1Malaysia Facebook page attracted a total of 20,292 Facebook “likes” since its launch on May 21 this year.

A quick check by FMT revealed that “Curi-Curi wang Malaysia” currently had 14, 232 “likes” whereas “1 million Malaysians say no to RM1.8 million” had 749 “likes”.

Loke said the online community was upset that taxpayers’ money was being splurged on things that could have been done for free.

Yesterday, Deputy Tourism Minister James Dawos Mamit told Parliament that his ministry spent close to RM1.8 million to create six Tourism Malaysia Facebook applications.

He had justified the cost, saying: “This covers the creative works, concepts and ideas, design, flash programming, coding, testing and debugging, uploading and launching of applications, system server development and maintenance, development of database from the contest, campaign management and monitoring as well as online advertisements and fan recruitment on Facebook and Google.”

However, Loke had rubbished this, arguing that DAP created similar Facebook fan pages and flash applications at no cost.

‘Another splurge campaign’

During this afternoon’s press conference, the Rasah MP said: “No one can explain the situation except Yen Yen herself.”

He also warned that if the minister did not provide an adequate response, then there could be online campaigns calling for her resignation.

Loke also criticised Ng for not coming to Parliament to “face him or the media” to explain the matter.

“Rather, she has given a statement to MCA’s mouthpiece, the Star. She said that the costs were important as the tourism sector was one of the main revenue earners for the country,” he said.

“We agree that the tourism industry is important but why spend so much on something that can be gotten for free,” asked Loke.

According to the Star report, Ng said the RM1,758,432 allocation by the ministry to develop its Facebook page professionally was part of its social media campaign.

She added that it was a small amount compared to that spent by other countries in the region.

However, Loke said the contract awarded to Impact Creations should be suspended immediately and the money given to the company returned.

Impact Creations was engaged to run an advertising campaign to promote domestic tourism among younger Malaysians who were more tech-savvy.

Loke also said that the latest development would dent Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s effort to engage the online community.

Najib, he added, had been active in engaging the online community but Ng was jeopardising this effort.

DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, who was also at the press conference, said this was another splurge campaign by the government.

“RM27 million was spent on the youth gathering for three days and now this… (it just shows) there is more unrestrained and uncontrolled expenditure (now),” he said.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, 6:05 pm and is filed under
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‘Selfish’ Dayak politicians stifling community’s growth

Joseph Tawie | June 15, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

A blogger has warned Dayaks that BN’s money politics will “devour the community” and eventually make them non-existent
.

KUCHING: A well known native activist has slammed Dayak politicians in Sarawak, describing them as ‘shallow and selfish’ leaders who were willing to compromise the community’s culture and intergrity.

Blogger John Brian, who is also an academician, alleged that Dayak politicians were more interested in enriching themselves than looking out for the brethrens.

“Many Dayaks prefer to be BN candidates so that they not only can win easily, but can also enrich themselves faster.

“Helping the people who have elected them is not their agenda, as they are more concerned of enriching themselves.

“This type of politics is shallow and selfish. It has also spread to their supporters who are hoping to get some contracts from their elected representatives.

“Tuai Rumah (longhouse chiefs) and other community leaders are also hoping to get something from their YBs,” said Brian who contested and lost in the Merluan constituency in the April 16 state election. Brian stood on a PKR ticket.

Expressing these views on his DayakBaru blog, Brian said the Dayak community’s integrity had been severely comprised by money politics.

“Money politics has become the Dayaks’ culture. It will stifle the real purpose of politics – that of helping the community.

“There were many incidents of money politics during the recent election. Some Dayaks even sold their votes for RM20 and RM100.

“They are selling their rights, their souls and their children’s future,” Brian said.

Fearing BN

He said because of money politics, some headmen feared losing their positions as community leaders and followed what the BN candidates told them to do.

“One such ‘advice’ was for the headmen to disallow any opposition politician to enter their longhouses during the campaign.

“If they were found out, they would lose not only their positions and allowance of RM450, but also would not receive any minor rural development projects and financial grants.

“Disallowing any opposition politician from entering the longhouse is against the Iban culture in particular.

“This will not only undermine our adat, but also will create further disunity in the longhouse.

“For all you know the opposition politicians have many relatives in the longhouse, and I am sure they do not like their relative (politician) to be treated in such manner.

“Many longhouses are breaking up because of this politics which is encouraged by the Barisan Nasional,” alleged Brian.

He called on the younger generation of Dayaks who understand politics better than their elders to come forward and try to bring change in the mindset of the rural people.

“We must explain to them the meaning of politics and the value of their votes and to keep away from money politics,” he said.

He described BN’s money politics as an “evil that will devour the Dayak community into non-entity.”

“We must do it now since the parliamentary election is coming,” he said, adding that the coming election is very critical to the community

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2011, 6:09 am and is filed under
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At least 41 websites hacked, no data compromised

Jun 16, 11 |
MalaysiaKini

At least 41 government websites were hacked into overnight but no personal or financial data were compromised, officials said today, as the Malaysia becomes the latest target of a cyber-war waged by the activists.

In the attacks, 51 websites were hit and at least 41 of these sites were disrupted, industry regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said.

The attacks, which began shortly before midnight yesterday, follow a warning by Internet vigilante group Anonymous, which said it would attack the government’s official portal to punish it for censoring WikiLeaks, the website that aims to expose governments and corporations by leaking secret documents.

hacked parliament”Our monitoring of the situation showed that there was a reduced level of attacks by 4am this morning and upon further evaluation, so far, we gauge that there has been little impact on Malaysian users as a result,” the communications commission said in a statement.

It did not name the sites which were attacked but targets included the government’s online portal www.malaysia.gov.my, and the webpages of the fire and emergency services department www.bomba.gov.my and the land public transport commission www.spad.gov.my.

NONEInspector-general of police Ismail Omar told Reuters no personal or financial data had so far been stolen but the authorities were trying to determine the extent of the attacks.

It was not immediately clear if the attacks were launched by Anonymous or other hackers.

Anonymous is a grouping of global activists lobbying for Internet freedom who frequently try to shut down the websites of businesses and other organisations that they oppose.

IT defence team pathetic

The activists gained prominence when they temporarily crippled the websites of MasterCard and Paypal that cut off financial services to WikiLeaks.

A spate of cyber attacks on multinational firms and institutions, from the US Central Intelligence Agency to Citigroup to the International Monetary Fund, has raised concerns that governments and the private sector may struggle to defend themselves against hackers.

In an earlier Internet posting, Anonymous said Malaysia’s censorship of films and television shows and its blocking of file-sharing websites amounted to a denial of human rights.

The communication commission last week banned 10 file-sharing sites and ordered Internet service providers such as Telekom Malaysia and Maxis to block access.

The restrictions have outraged ordinary Malaysians, and several people took to Twitter on Thursday to express support for the cyber attacks.

“Now to count how many sites have gotten whacked so far,” said a tweet posted by Rhyden. “I knew the government’s IT defence team was pathetic.”

The country has a vibrant Internet culture that has gained a mass following in an environment where the mainstream media is tightly controlled. The government has in the past charged bloggers with sedition, often detaining suspects for long periods without trial.

– Reuters

——————————

Gov’t portals paralysed by Anonymous hackers group

By
Kuek Ser Kuang Keng

Jun 16, 11 | MalaysiaKini

Since late yesterday, at least 10 websites of government agencies had been inaccessible due to an attack by hackers, in retaliation for the government’s earlier decision to block file-sharing websites.

hacked parliamentLast night the hackers, who call themselves Anonymous, published a list of 18 government websites which had been allegedly hit by DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack or switched off by the website administrator.

A check by Malaysiakini at 7am today found that at least nine websites, including the flagship portal of Malaysia government MyGovernment (www.malaysia.gov.my), were still down.

Others were Sabah tourism, Asean connect, the Fire and Rescue Department, the Treasury, Parliament, Jobs Malaysia, the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry, and the National Sports Council.

The official website of the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) was also reported to have been defaced last night.

Acccording to netizens who published a screen capture of the hacked website, the original footer had been replaced with a statement protesting the earlier blockade of websites.

hacked malaysia government“Greetings, Malaysia, We have seen the censorship taken by the Malaysian government, blocking sites like The Pirate Bay, and WikiLeaks. Malaysia is one of the world’s strictest governments, even blocking out movies, and television shows.

“These acts of censorship are inexcusable. You are taking away a basic human right. The Internet is here for freedom, without fear of government interference. Do not think that no one else notices,” read the statement.

It also said that the attack is a “sign, a warning, and an opportunity to listen to ideas above your own” and the hackers “are obligated to act fast and have no mercy”.

However the CIDB website had recovered by 7am.

hacked sabah tourismLast week, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had announced that 10 websites including Pirate Bay and Megaupload had been blocked for infringing copyright laws.

Subsequently the hackers uploaded a short clip on video-sharing website YouTube, threatening to attack government websites from today in retaliation over the ban.

Yesterday, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim said the hackers “had got the wrong end of the stick”.

“They have misunderstood our good intentions. There is no cyber censorship in Malaysia unless crimes have been committed,” he said.

——————————

Rais: Anonymous hackers group misread gov’t aims

By
Aidila Razak

Jun 15, 11 | MalaysiaKini

Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim today expressed dismay that the government’s move to combat cyber crimes has received negative reactions.

NONE Commenting on a June 12 hacking threat following a government ban of 10 filesharing websites, Rais (left in picture) said the hackers “got the wrong end of the stick”.

“They have misunderstood our good intentions. There is no cyber censorship in Malaysia unless crimes have been committed,” he said.

The hackers, who call themselves Anonymous, have threatened to attack government websites from today in retaliation over the ban.

The ‘hacktivists’ had in an online posting threatened to attack the Malaysian government as it is “one of the world’s worst (in terms of internet censorship)”.

“It is unfair for them to just attack us. The goodwill of the world ought to prevail,” Rais said.

Asked if the government will take action against Anonymous, he said: “If their identity is known.”

Recently, 32 people claiming to be members of Anonymous were reportedly arrested for waging an attack on Turkish government websites for the same reason.

‘No appeal to date’

Maintaining that the blocking of the 10 top filesharing websites is not censorship, Rais said the government “did not expect” the attack but is preparing for it nevertheless.

azlan”The measures (taken) are confidential (but) the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit are taking the necessary action,” he said.

Met on the sidelines of the the World Bloggers and Social Media Summit in Kuala Lumpur this morning, Rais also revealed that this is not the first time the government has faced such threats.

He reiterated that the websites blocked can appeal to MCMC if they feel they have been unjustly banned, but no appeal has been received to date.

Last week, the MCMC had announced that 10 websites including Pirate Bay and Megaupload have been blocked as they infringe copyright laws.

Users, however lament that companies pay such websites premium fees to send high resolution files like commissioned digital artwork electronically.

NONEIn his opening speech at the summit earlier, Rais stressed on the importance of blogging responsibly.

“There are thousands of (bloggers) but how many have training in journalism and the ethics of good writing?

“What we need are good (bloggers), not symbols of attack on certain quarters.”

The minister has been on the receiving end of cyber-attacks, including on microblogging site Twitter where he was the butt of the #yorais jokes.

He has taken legal action against several bloggers who have linked him to a sexual crime, which he denies.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2011, 11:20 am and is filed under
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And they think we are stupid

By
Othman Wahab

June 16, 2011  | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 16 — Ibrahim Ali thinks he is a brilliant strategist and Umno is confident that it is onto something and Khalid Abu Bakar, the deputy inspector-general of police for Umno, performed just like a politician did.

Of course, I am referring to the moves to stop civic-minded Malaysians from gathering on July 9 and protesting about election shortcomings. The Bersih 2 rally is now not likely to happen, with police threatening tough action (they can’t nab criminals but they can bully tax payers. That is what happens when an institution becomes politicised).

As pointed out by Raja Petra Kamarudin, blogger extraordinaire, the government is worried at the prospect of huge turnout, concerned that momentum could build towards coming polls. They are also worried about the impact of Arab uprising here, despite protestations by the government that Malaysia is not like Egypt.

The shadow puppetry started when Umno Youth lodged a few police reports and then the conscience of Umno, Ibrahim Ali threatened to crush the gathering and hold his own march. All this puppetry was necessary to create imagery of confrontation and chaos so that the police would be justified in some tough talking.

So then the government would say that it is neutral about the gatherings and would leave it to the police. This is exactly what happened.

Hishammuddin Hussein, the home minister for Umno, said that the matter should be left to the authorities.

Khalid Abu Bakar says no permits will be given to either Bersih or Perkasa/Umno. On the face of it, he is fair. But we are not stupid; we have seen this theatre before.

For “national security” and “concern over the livelihood of traders” (never mind that cost of living is more of a threat to traders than a peaceful gathering) the police were always going to ban Bersih 2. But they wanted to appear even-handed, so the theatre of Ibrahim staging his protest was performed.

The man is the ultimate Umno loyalist.

Their machinations are so amateurish, but they think they are sophisticated. This surely is a sign of the times: When the ruled are few steps ahead of the ruling class.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2011, 10:16 am and is filed under
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DAP and Dayak Think Tank

By:
Dr. John Brian Anthony

16 June 2011 | Dayakbaru.com

The idea of Dayak Think Tank is not new but the “will and positive” action by DAP to want to make it happen is new. No Dayak Based party in BN would want to form a Dayak Think Tank for fear of because accused of a narrow agenda for Dayak, basically they do not want be branded as Dayak Racialist party. Other then that, the BN component Dayak based parties shouted on top of their voice that they are championing Dayak interest. But the evidence of their effort to cahmpion Dayak interest is not there.

A Dayak Think Tank is therefor very important. Tan Sri William Mawan talked about such initiative in private. But without the proper ground work and finance and leadership effort how will that happen. it is left at empty talk and nothing more. Educated and society active Dayak took their journey to promote change. without proper platform they adopted PKR and hopefully they choose DAP too in time to come.

Did PRS and SPDP and PBB make any move to form a Dayak think Tank. NO! Why? The Dayak leaders think that they already know all the Dayak problems. the current BN Dayak leaders also see Dayak Think Tank members as a threat to their position. It might also be that they do not want a Think Tank because the Think Tank will produce recommendation that they are not able to propose or implement to the big brother UMNO from Malaya.

Evidence of BN non performance:

1. Dayak Business Development allocation is NEVER provided for. This fun d is targeting small Dayak business and grow them. It also target to encourage Dayak to actively participate into business. No Dayak based party in BN ever talk about such an initiative.

2. Dayak Education Fund was discussed at length. Former PBDS even collected money for the purpose of setting up a Dayak Education Fund. But the initiative never work and the fund never sustain itself. Dayak are the only people in Sarawak without an Education Foundation to call its own. The Dayak component parties of BN never push for this idea and leave everything to Sarawak Foundation to help the Dayak student “IF” there are any left to be given to Dayak.The Sarawak Foundation record is NEVER shared with the public but from public knowledge not many Dayak benefited from the Foundation.

3. The advancement and enhancement of dayak ADAT

This matter is left to the Chief minister’s Office and the Dayak Adat Department to look after. There are three courts that is recognized by the Federal Constitution and one of them is the Native Court. Where is this Native court building and organization now? It has not shown any progress and develop into a more comprehensive structure and more serious application. There is no evidence that any of the BN Dayak based is component party is pursuing this important aspect of Dayak rights.

4. Eradication of Poverty among Dayak.

BN introduce e-kasih, a pathetic approach toward giving the Dayak needy fishes. even then, the Minister Fatimah noted that a large amount has not been given out. In my interaction with the longhouses I found many that deserve the e-kasih assistance but was not given. it is either the YB elected for the area did not do a good job or the government servant responsible for its implementation is slower then snail in implementing the program. Did any Dayak leaders from BN Dayak based component party monitor and follow up Governmen t program to eradicate poverty. If YES what is the report like.

The Government did not give the Dayak the fishing rod for them to fish.Where is the land title? Where is the small holding? Where is the financial assistance? Where is the technical and technological assistance? Where is the supply chain support assistance for oil palm and rubber planting. The Dayak are left on their own.

Instead what the Government did was to implement BIG land development scheme in their effort to claim that they have done something to help the Dayak improve their income. How can you claim success when the structure of rural economics is not being provided by the government. Most rural areas do not have basic road and very poor health facilities. Yet the Government continue to harp on SCORE to help. In what way will SCORE help – providing jobs to build dams? After that, where will the job come from when there is no investment in the infra-structure of the Dayak areas.

Evidence of lack of jobs and opportunities among Dayak as a result of BN failure

Why do you think that close to 100,000 able bodied Dayak move to Malaya to find job? The  answer is simple. the Sarawak Government fail to provide productive job from them. In fact, the Sarawak asked the Dayak to compete with foreign labor for job in the oil palm JV plantation in order to earn RM$ 12.00 per day.

The Sarawak government has destroyed the forest and pollute the rivers and even limit the Dayak from farming by giving away the NCR land to their cronies for plantation. Being poor is never nice. How do you send your children to school? How do you feed your parents and family? How do you move forward when the facilities and resources has been rob from the rakyat by the government.

Conclusion

The Dayak Think Tank can propose a framework for change that DAP can adopt. The Dayak agenda can be included so that it will fit into the element of setting up political base, identifying resources that can be develop to deliver the agenda, creating environment to allow Dayak buy-in of DAP political philosophy, creating process for Dayak engagement during election and long term civil society engagement  to push for Dayak agenda within the DAP political struggle context and even put forward proposal for what is it for the Dayak that the DAP will agree in principle should the Dayak swing their support from BN to DAP?

In the journey of the Dayak struggle to “BERUBAH” we expect prudent and careful thinking. We need to put the community wisdom forward to ensure our survival. BN provide us with the false promise of development for Dayak but instead create Dayak elite that has very little positive impact on Dayak development and progress.

Change WE Must and Aram Berubah.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2011, 12:32 pm and is filed under
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Economic Development Reverses Brain Drain

By
M. Bakri Musa

A recent World Bank Report concludes that Malaysia risks jeopardizing its economic development if it does not ameliorate its “brain drain” problem.  The Bank singles out the country’s affirmative action program as a major contributor to the problem.

            Brain drain, as the Bank rightly acknowledges, is a universal problem.  For the Bank to conclude as it did, it must present comparative international data showing that Malaysia’s problem is worse off than those without similar affirmative action programs.  Alas, this is precisely the glaring deficiency of the report, its lack of comparative data.

            The Report nonetheless contains a wealth of valuable data.  However, as the information sage Edward Tufte observed, nature’s laws are causal; they reveal themselves by comparison and difference.  This absence of comparisons makes the report’s conclusion not credible.

            The Bank has it backwards.  Brain drain does not impact economic development rather the other way around.  Have a robust economy and then watch talent – and not just native ones – flocking in.  We saw this with Japan of the 1960s, South Korea in the 1980s, and Ireland in the 1990s.  Ireland is a particularly pertinent example.  Today with its economy sputtering, Ireland is again suffering a brain drain.

            There is no indication that Malaysia’s problem is worse off than that of China, India, or Singapore.  On the contrary those countries may suffer even worse, and they do not have any domestic affirmative action program, except for a perfunctory one for India’s “untouchables.”

            In California there are more émigrés from Singapore than from Malaysia.  Nearly all my college mates in Canada in the 1960s who were from Singapore are now émigrés.  Considering the republic’s much smaller population, we can infer that it has a bigger brain drain problem.  Heck, even its former head of state emigrated!  Yet that does not impact its economic development.

            China suffered through massive “brain drain” for the past few decades; it still does.  Yet it continues registering spectacular economic growth.  Only now with greater opportunities as a consequence of that growth is China seeing an improvement to its brain drain problem.

            Despite that, China now has a new problem.  According to a China Merchant Bank’s report, those Chinese with assets in excess 100 million yuan, a stunning 27 percent have already emigrated while another 47 are considering it.  In Malaysia, at least according to the World Bank Report, only the smart Chinese are emigrating; the rich ones stay put.  I let readers conclude who really are the smart ones!

Snared by the Race Trap

The Report’s other major disappointment is its less-than-rigorous teasing out the race factor in its analyses.  Consequently its authors, like many commentators both native and foreign, get unnecessarily entangled with the nation’s sensitive race issue.  No surprise then that the report succeeded only in unleashing suppressed chauvinism and resurrecting ugly stereotypes.

            Consider its findings that the overwhelming majority of emigrants are Chinese and those with tertiary qualifications from or recognized by foreign (specifically Western) institutions.  Only those not attuned to the Malaysian scene would miss the redundancy to that statement.

            To tease out the delicate race factor, you must present data that show Malays with similar qualifications as non-Malays do not emigrate, at least not in comparable proportions.  The Bank does not have that data.

            Anecdotal evidence may indicate otherwise.  When I visit American campuses, the one frequent question posed to me by Malay students is:  How do I get to stay back?  Most Malays are on scholarships and tightly bound to their contracts.  Emigration is not an option for at least ten years; that alone would skew the figures, race-wise.

            The West is a magnet for the talented.  Outstanding athletes and artists excepted, talent to the West means those conversant in English and have qualifications issued by its institutions.  In Malaysia that means non-Malays.  They may hate Malaysia’s affirmative action program but that is not enough for them to emigrate to Australia or America; they have to have the needed qualifications.

            Now if Malaysian Chinese were to emigrate to China and Indians to India, then that would really indicate something rotten in Malaysia.  I do not see that happening – as yet.  This salient fact indicates that the “pull” of the West far exceeds the “push” out of Malaysia.  In China and India however, the “push” factor is overwhelming, reflecting their general economic status and not because of any domestic social policies a la affirmative action.  There the prime consideration is to get out; regardless whether you are among the rich, talented or the unskilled, hence the all too frequent tragedies of their poor citizens caught in abandoned rusty trawlers on the beaches of the Pacific and Atlantic.

            The Bank noted that Malaysia’s brain drain is worse only within the last decade, a period that coincides with Malaysia’s less-than-robust economic performance.  Affirmative action however, has been a fixture for over half a century.  If it were to be the reason for emigration, as claimed by the Bank, then we would expect the rate to be constant all these years.

            There are many good reasons to jettison the current corrupt and ineffective affirmative action program, but hoping that it will solve our brain drain problem is, well, just hope.

            Surprisingly, the Report’s many nuggets of information escape comments both by the report’s writers as well as by the mob of commentators.  The latter is no surprise as any issue that parallels (or seem to) the racial divide inevitably invites such Pavlovian race-tinged responses.  That the report’s writers who are experts would fall into the same trap is a surprise.

            Consider the report’s findings that fewer than 10 percent of its respondents (Malaysians who emigrated) spoke our national language.  If you were born and raised in Malaysia you have to be literally an idiot or a hermit not to know our national language, as it is widely spoken.  Both idiots and hermits have their place, but they are not regarded with esteem in any workplace.

            Their lack of fluency in Malay reflects their commitment to Malaysia.  To them Malaysia is only a staging ground, to prepare themselves for subsequent migration to greener pastures.  There is nothing wrong with that; it is only human.  The error is in imputing evil motives on those they leave behind and who have kindly provided them their launching pad.  They should be grateful, not spiteful to Malaysia.  The quota lines (yes, America has quotas too!) for green cards for those from China and India are closer to infinity; not so for those Malaysian-born.

Focus on Retaining Talent

It is futile to tailor your policies in the hope of attracting people who have long ago decided to emigrate.  Instead, the emphasis should be on two areas.  One, treat your present personnel so well that they would not even consider leaving.  Two, attract talents worldwide without regards to whether they are Malaysians, former Malaysians, or complete foreigners.  The market for talent is truly global; there is no place for nostalgia, insularity, or misguided notions of nationalism.

            Contrary to popular perception, pay is not the only consideration, but a decent one would help smooth out the many other frustrations, including those of affirmative action.  Once you treat your current talent well, word will quickly spread out and you will be inundated with enquiries.

            Stop tinkering with the tax code or hiring expensive foreign consultants to produce yet another thick report that would soon be forgotten.  Disband the costly Talent Corporation; it is just another bureaucracy whose budget for foreign travel rivals that of the Foreign Ministry.  Divert those funds to compensate the highly talented you have at home.

            You do not have to match exactly the global pay rates to attract talent.  A modest increase in the current pay scale in the range of 30 to 50 percent would go a long way in encouraging Malaysians to stay put.  We all know the variables of purchasing power and the cost of as well as standard of living even within a country.  If you make US$100K and live in San Francisco you may be lucky to afford a one-bedroom condo.  In Wyoming you could live in a “McMansion.”  For that same pay, in Malaysia you could live in a real mansion, with maids, drivers and gardeners to boot.  Salaries in Singapore may be considerably higher but try finding a house with a yard for your children to play.  Yes, you can readily afford a car so you can drive around the island in half an afternoon.

            Focus on attracting talent from wherever; practice meritocracy on a global scale.  All things being equal, I would choose talent already in Malaysia.  You cannot beat local knowledge and perspective.  My next choice will be a complete foreigner; I prefer that over a Malaysian émigré, especially one who cannot speak our national language.

            My rationale is simple.  The one trait I value most in an employee is curiosity, for with it comes the eagerness to learn.  The complete foreigner has demonstrated his adventuresome by wanting to work in a foreign country.  He considers that a challenge; his learning curve will be steep.  He is also enthused about his new assignment.  A Malaysian who cannot speak our national language clearly shows his lack of interest in his surroundings.  He is not even curious enough to learn a language that is widely spoken.  An uncurious worker is rarely an asset.

            A returning émigré also carries with him his old baggage; he may find it difficult or unwilling to re-adjust.  When faced with a problem his only response would be, “Back in old England …. ”  If he were to be reprimanded by a superior who is other than his own kind, he would more likely dredge up his old prejudices.

            Malaysia should not have any hang-ups about recruiting talented foreigners.  Its priority however, should be on retaining the talents it already has and on producing more.  Not too long ago Malaysia commissioned the same World Bank to review our universities on improving their performance.  Few could recall that report now.

            Najib has a penchant for employing legends of foreign consultants.  Unlike his predecessor Abdullah, Najib at least reads those reports.  However, if you do not have handle on a problem to begin with, calling in the various experts would only confuse you.  Consider this World Bank report.  Just a month after its release, the Bank published another study, “Eight Questions About Brain Drain,” prepared by yet another set of its experts.  This second report essentially questions the findings of the earlier one.  Dismiss these expensive consultants and divert the money to reward the talents you already have.

            The executive talent of a leader is inversely related to his penchant for calling in consultants.  Meaning, the more inept he is, the more likely he is to call in various experts.  Najib reaffirms my conviction.  If he is not already befuddled, this latest World Bank Report would do it for him.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2011, 11:20 am and is filed under
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Government portal down, 27 others defaced

By
Shannon Teoh

June 16, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — Operation Malaysia launched by the international hacker group known as Anonymous has succeeded in not just bringing down the official website of the Malaysian government, but also spawned attacks on at least 27 other websites.

These include at least five other government sites such as the webpages of the information ministry, the fire and emergency services department and the land public transport commission.

As of 8.30am, malaysia.gov.my remained inaccessible, while other hackers appear to have taken it upon themselves to target sites like Sabah’s tourism website (sabahtourism.com) and the Tour Malaysia travel guide (tourmalaysia.com.my).

On the Sabah Tourism webpage, hackers claimed to have extracted the details of more than 3,400 of the site’s users and posted the particulars of 392 accounts.

However, Sabah Tourism has regained control of the site but has since taken it offline.

Tour Malaysia remains defaced by a group called Dragon Force. Visitors to the site were greeted by a heavy metal song title “Through The Fire And The Flames” and messages criticising the government’s move to block certain websites.

Anonymous had warned earlier this week of an attack on the official website of the Malaysian government in an act of protest against Internet censorship.

According to a statement posted on the Pastebin website, the group named the recent move to block file sharing sites like Pirate Bay and whistleblowers WikiLeaks as “inexcusable” acts of censorship which took away “basic human rights.”

“For rules were meant to be broken. And corruption was meant to be washed away and forgiven. Now we will wash your corruption away so be prepared,” the group said.

The so-called “hacktivists” earlier announced that the attack targeting www.malaysia.gov.my — known as “Operation Malaysia” — would take place today at 3.30am local time.

Anonymous has taken credit for other attacks such as in December 2010 in response to pressure against WikiLeaks to stop the controversial website from publishing classified United States diplomatic cables.

In retaliation, it brought down MasterCard and Visa’s websites and staged attacks on other online commerce sites perceived to be anti-WikiLeaks such as Amazon and PayPal.

The planned attack comes despite this week’s arrest of 32 suspects in Turkey after the group also cited censorship for attacks on government sites there.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2011, 9:58 am and is filed under
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