Pengiraan Detik 61 Hari ke PRU13 – Terima kasih Najib dan Psy, sebagai tanggungjawab patriotik rakyat Malaysia perlu bertanya mengapa Malaysia gagal memenuhi potensi kita menerajui negara-negara global dalam semua bidang usaha 56 tahun selepas Merdeka

Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak  berkata Pakatan Rakyat cemburu dengan Barisan Nasional yang berjaya menjemput dahulu bintang “Gangnam Style Korea” Psy kerana perkara itu menggagalkan rancangan Setiausaha Agung DAP Lim Guan Eng untuk menjemput Psy ke acara di bawah nama Pakatan Rakyat.

Sama ada Najib begitu mudah tertipu untuk percaya desas-desus sedemikian sedangkan DAP dan Pakatan Rakyat tidak mempunyai jutaan ringgit untuk ditaburkan sepertimana yang UMNO/BN lakukan menjelang Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 yang akhirnya akan dibayar oleh pembayar cukai, Perdana Menteri tidak sepatutnya menyangka semua rakyat Malaysia begitu mudah tertipu dan percaya pada hikayatnya yang sukar dipercayai.

Mengimbau kembali hikayatnya yang sukar dipercayai pada ulangtahun UMNO ke-66 di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil pada 11 Mei, 2012, apabila beliau membuat dakwaan tak masuk akal bahawa Bersih 3.0 “mahu melawan…mahu menendang polis…jika tidak cerita mereka tidak akan keluar di CNN, Al-Jazeera, BBC”. selepas menfitnah “duduk bantah” Bersih 3.0 di Dataran Merdeka yang diadakan dua minggu sebelum ulangtahun UMNO sebagai “cubaan rampasan kuasa oleh Oposisi untuk menggulingkan kerajaan”  dengan “garam dan botol air mineral”!

Pada ulangtahun ke-66 UMNO Najib mendakwa bahawa beliau sungguh sukacita dengan sokongan dan “mood baik” yang ditunjukkan pada sambutan itu hingga beliau bersedia untuk menghadap Yang di Pertuan Agong bagi membubarkan Parlimen keesokkan harinya.

Akan tetapi sembilan bulan kemudian, dan kurang sebulan lagi sebelum ulangtahun kelima peristiwa bersejarah pilihan raya Malaysia – tsunami politik 308 pada pilihan raya umum 8 Mac, 2008 – Najib masih lagi teragak-agak bila mahu adakan PRU13.

Tiada siapa pun patut “cemburu” dengan dakwaan “rampasan kuasa” terhadap Psy dan Gangnam Style. Malah, negara sepatutnya berterima kasih kepada Najib dan Psy, kerana rakyat Malaysia sudah mula bertanya mengapa Malaysia gagal untuk memenuhi potensi kita menjadi peneraju negara-negara global dalam semua bidang usaha 56 tahun selepas Merdeka

Di manakah Malaysia akan berada hari ini jika kita membangun seiring dengan Korea Selatan, tanpa memintas atau dipintas oleh Korea Selatan setengah abad lalu sejak Merdeka pada 1957, ketika Korea Selatan begitu miskin dan mundur memandangkan ia hanya ada setengah daripada pendapatan per kapita kita?

Dalam setengah abad dari 1960 hingga 2012, KDNK per kapita Korea Selatan meningkat 148.5 kali gandar daripada US$155 ke US$23,021. Bagaimanakah KDNK per kapita Malaysia pada 2012 sekiranya meningkat 148.5 kali ganda daripada US$299 pada tahun 1960 berbanding 35 kali ganda yang berlaku sekarang?

Dengan peningkatan 148.5 kali ganda, KDNK per kapita Malaysia pada 2012 ialah US$44,401!

Menurut data International Monetary Fund, Malaysia dengan KDNK per kapita US$44,401 pada 2012 akan menjadi negara 18 terkaya – di dalam kumpulan terkemuka dunia ditemani negara-negara berikut:

Tahun – 2012

Negara

KDNK per kapita

1

Luxembourg

105,720

2

Qatar

100,378

3

Norway

99,316

4

Switzerland

77,840

5

Australia

67,983

6

UAE

65,377

7

Denmark

55,448

8

Sweden

54,879

9

Canada

50,826

10

Singapore

49,936

11

United States

49,802

12

Japan

46,896

13

Austria

46,330

14

Kuwait

46,142

15

Netherlands

45,942

16

Finland

 45,545

17

Ireland

44,781

Dengan KDNK per kapita US$44,401 pada 2012, Malaysia bukan sahaja jauh mengatasi Korea Selatan yang cuma US$23,021, tetapi juga mengatasi Belgium, Jerman, Iceland,  Perancis, Brunei, United Kingdom, New Zealand dan  Hong Kong yang KDNK per kapita mereka pada 2012 seperti berikut:

Belgium

43,175

Germany

41,168

Iceland

41,151

France

40,690

Brunei

38,801

UK

38,591

New Zealand

37,401

Hong Kong

35,961

Bagaimana Korea Selatan berjaya ketika kita gaga – Korea Selatan mengubah dirinya dalam setengah abad daripada negara miskin dan lebih mundur berbanding Malaysia, dengan hanya separuh pendapatan per kapita menjadi dua hingga tiga kali lebih kaya daripada Malaysia – dengan kemajuan hebat di dalam semua bidang usaha baik pembangunan modal insan, teknologi malah dalam bidang budaya, seperti mana yang digambarkan dalam fenomena Psy dan Gangnam Style?

Hari ini, saya menerima e-mel panjang daripada seorang rakyat Malaysia yang geram meluahkan kekecewaannya terhadap peluang Malaysia yang terlepas dalam  era “lost decade”. Beliau menulis:

 “Fast forward to the 2000s, a mere one generation or so and the difference is starling. Korea have well known multinational companies such as Hyundai Motor, Samsung Electronics, LG.

“Hyundai Motor started about 2-3 years earlier than Proton, and is now a world force in automobile with competitive models. Kia started much later than Proton. What has become of Proton?

“Korea economic model is conglomerate driven, supported by the government. Taiwan economical model is small and medium size industry, driven more by entrepreneurs on their own with limited support from the government.

“Now Taiwan is a leader in the electronic industry with well known names such as Acer, HTC, Taiwan Semiconductor, ViewSonic, and the world largest electronic contract manufacturer Foxconn and so forth.”

Kita berterima kasih kepada Najib dan Psy untuk “Gangnam Style” pada hari kedua Rumah Terbuka Tahun Baru Cina di Pulau Pinang pada 11 Feb.

Biar seluruh rakyat Malaysia bergembira dan berseronok dengan Psy dan Gangnam Style – tetapi terima kasih kepada Najib dan Psy, sebagai tanggungjawab patriotik rakyat Malaysia, perlulah merenungkan soalan: Mengapa Malaysia merosot begitu jauh di belakang, bukan sahaja Korea Selatan tetapi juga seluruh dunia, seedangkan kita memulakan langkah kenegaraan kita pada 1957 dan pembentukan Malaysia pada 1963 dengan  harapan besar?

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/09/61-day-countdown-to-13ge-thanks-to-najib-and-psy-malaysians-as-patriotic-duty-must-ask-why-malaysia-failed-to-live-up-to-our-potential-to-be-a-leading-global-nation-in-all-fields-of-huma/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 14 February 2013, 3:16 pm and is filed under
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Pengiran Detik 57 Hari ke PRU13 – dua pengajran buat Najib daripada sandiwara RM3.5 juta perembahan Gangnam Style Psy Pulau Pinang

Saya akui bahawa saya masih belum menonton iklan Tahun Baru Cina Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak berlakon sebagai pemain gendang tarian singa walaupun ikan itu sudah disiarkan selama lima hari.

Hanya selepas membaca artikel Kee Thuan Chye di
Malaysiakini
 bertajuk “
The PM is Demeaning Himself
” barulah saya mencarinya di YouTube untuk meihat sendiri sama ada komen Kee itu mempunyai asasnya, dan saya harus katakan Kee tepat pada sasaran.

Saya menyemak kesahihan kritikan tentang tulisan salah perkataan Cina “吉” (sebagaimana Najib telah menggunakan Ah Jib Gor sebagai nama Cinanya) dengan garisan horizontal di atas lebih pendek berbanding yang di bawah yang membawa makna kecelakaan untuk Ah Jib Gor.

Kee betul.

Jelas tiada strategis politik dan perhubungan awam terbaik berkhidmat untuk Najib, walaupun duit merupakan masalah paling kecil untuk UMNO/Barisan Nasional, melihat kepada duit yang ditaburkan Najib dan UMNO/Barisan Nasional mengalir seperti air di seluruh negara sepanjang bulan-bulan lalu, termasuklah jutaan ringit untuk mengnjurkan pesta Gangnam Style Psy di Pulau Pinang pada hari kedua Tahun Baru Cina.

Tetapi jelas duit tidak dapat membeli segalanya.

Saya melintasi tapak Sekolah Han Chiang pagi ini, dan kelihatan seperti tanah terbiar dengan timbunan sampah. Duit boleh membawa bintang K-pop Korea dan rombongan Gangnam Style dengan penerbangm 20 jam terus dari Brazil ke Pulau Pinang, tetapi tidak mampu mengembalikan tapak Sekolah Han Chiang kepada keadaan bersih dan baik meskipun 48 jam selepas kemusnahan yang dilakukan majlis Tahun Baru Cina Najib.

Ini merupakan pengajaran yang mahal buat Najib dan UMNO/BN bahawa terdapat benda yang tidak boleh dibeli dengan wang – seperti cinta, kesetiaan, patriotisme dan tentu sekali, undi!

Atau Najib tidak akan mengalami aib di majlis Tahun Baru Cina BN di Pulau Pinang dengan video satu minit yang berterusan tersebar yang mana lebih ramai rakyat Malaysia menonton sendiri pemandangan yang tidak dapat dilupakan apabila Perdana Menteri dijawab dengan tiga kali laungan “Ya” ketika ditanya “Are you ready for Psy?” diikuti dengan tiga kali laungan “Tidak” ketika ditanya: “Are you ready for BN?”

Sebenarnya, klip video kedua malapetaka “Gangnam Style Psy”  Tahun Baru Cina Najib di Pulau Pinang kini sedang tersebar luas, video tujuh minit yang memaparkan detik memalukan Najib dan mantan Perdana Menteri, Tun Abdullah terkandas di atas pentas menanti bintang Korea itu menyertai mereka menggaul Yee San, akan tetapi mereka terpaksa meninggalkan pentas apabila Psy menolak untuk menyertai Najib di dalam acara Yee San itu.

Najib telah twit mengatakan persembahan Psy dan rombongan Gangnam Style yang menelan belanja RM3.5 juta, tidak melibatkan duit rakyat.

Terdapat dua pengajaran untuk Najib dan tukang putar politiknya:

Pertama sekali, mereka tidak sepatutnya begitu naif menganggap rakyat Malaysia begitu mudah ditipu bahawa penampilan Psy di Pulau Pinang, diterbangkan terus selama 20 jam dari Brazil akhirnya tidak akan dibayar oleh pembayar cukai Malaysia dalam apa jua bentuk. Disebabkan inilah penaja kemunculan Psy disembunyikan, walaupun identiti sebenar penaja itu adalah rahsia umum.

Kedua, terdapat perkara yang tidak boleh dibeli dengan wang – seperti tiga “Ya” untuk tiga kali soalan Najib sama ada mereka bersedia untuk BN, atau lebih penting, undi bagi Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 untuk menentukan sama ada buat pertama kalinya dalam negara sepanjang 55 tahun akan berlakunya perubahan Kerajaan Persekutuan dan untuk kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat menggantikan Barisan Nasional di Putrajaya.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/13/57-day-countdown-to-13-ge-two-lessons-for-najib-from-the-rm3-5-million-farce-of-the-penang-performance-of-psys-gangnam-style/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 14 February 2013, 3:33 pm and is filed under
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Will the Share Market Rise or Fall if there is a Pakatan Victory?

By Koon Yew Yin

Quote from an angry Internet reader

If [the] market plunge(s), it will rise up again but if a country goes bankrupt, it is gone forever. I don’t know why you can’t get it in your brain unless your brain is always thinking of sex with your mistress.

During the last few weeks there have been increasing predictions from Barisan leaders emphasising that there will be a sharp fall in the share market should there be a Pakatan Rakyat victory.

The latest prediction by MCA leader Chua Soi Lek in a party event at Kepong argues that Malaysia will witness a “‘huge financial disaster if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power in the 13th general election”.

This type of electioneering tactic aimed at frightening the electorate is dangerous and irresponsible. How can the MCA president be so confident as to openly declare that our stock market will drop to 500 points within a week if the opposition wins power?

Challenge to Dr. Chua Soi Lek

Let us subject his prediction to closer analysis. Firstly, it is not clear whether he stated that the KLCI will drop by 500 points or drop to 500 points.  Whichever is the correct version, his claim implies that anything from one to two thirds of the total share value of the KLCI will be wiped out due to the election result.

Now if this were to happen, the drop will be unprecedented in the history of share markets anywhere in the world. So far as I am aware, no modern national stock exchange has had such a sharp fall as a result of a national election outcome and I am sure it will not happen in Malaysia.

I am willing to place a big bet with Dr. Chua that his fears of a 500 point are unfounded and baseless.  The loser of the bet will have to donate an agreed sum of money to the other person’s preferred charity.   I hope he will agree to this and prove to be a man of his word.

Will the market rise on a BN victory

Not only should we discount the possibility of a sharp fall, but we should also – on the basis of stock market behavior elsewhere in the world – not assume that the Malaysian share market will automatically rise as the result of a Barisan victory. For example, on November 7th, immediately after Obama, the incumbent Democrat president was returned to power, the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted as much as 369 points, or 2.8 per cent, in the first two hours of trading. It recovered in the afternoon, but ended down 313, its biggest point drop for more than a year.

Various analysts that I have talked with have made the point that Chua Soi Lek is not a stock market expert. They argue that in trying to exaggerate the prospect of a market meltdown, Dr. Chua is contradicting the Barisan’s argument that the economy is fundamentally sound and resilient.

At the same time, these analysts anticipate that there could be a market fall in the KLCI even if the Barisan is returned to power. They base this prediction on several factors:

the BN through its control of EPF and other major government and government-linked investors has been supporting the market and propping up UMNO-linked counters such as Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) which is struggling to hold on to its initial public offer price of RM4.55.  Without this pre-election support aimed at placating the Felda settlers and gaining their vote, FGV will definitely be trading below the IPO price.

The European and American economies are still going through a phase of recovery. Although there has been an inflow of foreign funds into the Malaysian market, there could just as quickly be a reversal of financial flows.

Prediction of market rise with Pakatan victory

What is likely to happen should there be a Pakatan victory? My prediction is that there will be a rise in the share market should there be no attempt at violence or a coup d’etat by the losers.  This is because of the following factors:

The Malaysian economy has been under-performing all these years while under BN rule. The attached table shows the growth of GDP per capita of South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia from 1980 to 2011.  From the table we can see the gap has arisen between these countries and Malaysia in this measurement of the wealth of nations.  Should we continue under BN rule, our economy is likely to continue to under-perform and our stock market will continue to stagnate not only in the short term after the elections but for the long term.

Foreign investors who have long been underweight in the Malaysian market due to Mahathir’s Disastrous Economic Model built around mega projects, crony capitalists as key players, and other distortionary policies will be attracted back into the market. As recently as in 2011, Bank of America Merrill Lynch noted that Malaysia remained a “big underweight” for investors in emerging markets. An underweight call is a recommendation for investors to reduce their investments in a particular security, asset class or, in this case, country. Malaysia also slipped from 14th place to dead last among the 15 countries studied by the investment bank, despite the roll out of big ticket Economic Transformation Programme projects.

There are other indicators that the market will not take fright but will rally on account of a Pakatan victory. As pointed out by an SME investor, they include:

The fact that the opposition states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan have attracted more investment that the ten BN states by accounting for RM25 billion in investments comprising 53 per cent of Malaysia’s total investments of RM47.2 billion in 2010.

If a major sell-down occurs in the Bursa as a result of a Pakatan victory, the nation’s economic institutions such as EPF, PNB, Khazanah and other GLCs would support the market.

PAS has administered Kelantan for more than 20 years, and Kedah for five years. These two PAS state administrations have neither acquired nor appropriated property, assets or businesses belonging to non-Muslims.

Proposals for a sustainable market rise

Although I am optimistic that the market will rise on account of a Pakatan victory, it is necessary for the new government to act decisively when it comes to power.  I would like to propose the following measures to ensure that the post-elections market rise is sustainable:

To form a business council with captains of the leading industries to find ways for economic improvement and expansion

MACC directly under Parliament to look at illicit money outflows and recovery of the monies

Investigate the way Petronas sells our national oil and to verify the rumour that it has a long term contract with a company which buys it at much lower than current prices.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 14 February 2013, 12:14 pm and is filed under
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Winners and losers in the Psy show

by Tan Zhong Yan

Malaysiakini

Feb 13, 2013

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and BN would surely have regretted inviting South Korean pop star Psy to the Penang state BN Chinese New Year open house.

The one-minute video which has gone viral in the cyberspace says it all – Yes for Psy! No for BN!

Winners

Psy

Well, Psy is clearly the winner. Getting millions of ringgit just to perform for 15 minutes is definitely worth it despite the fact that he had to fly from Brazil which took 20 hours.

The people

Those who went to the open house would surely enjoy themselves getting to see Psy performing his famous ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’ for free as it was sponsored by person(s) unknown.

Hopefully that is true. If not, the people will be the greatest losers if it was paid with tax payers’ money.

Losers

PM Najib and BN

Those who turned up were mainly for Psy and the numbers were also much lower than was expected. I wonder what the difference would have been if Psy was not invited?

Even with Psy’s presence, the numbers of people were almost the same as five years back at DAP’s ceramah at Han Chiang College where no superstar like Psy were invited.

It’s even more pathetic when the crowd replied “Yes!” when Najib asked “Are you ready for Psy?” but “No!” when Najib asked “Are you ready for BN?”

PM Najib was just embarrassing himself by asking that question.

He was either over-confident or thinking that the crowd would not realise after he changed the question from “Are you ready for Psy?” to “Are you ready for BN?”

I am not sure whether Najib heard the “No” from the crowd but he will definitely get a clearer answer in the coming general election which will be held in a few months.

The question now that the people are keen to know the answer, is who is/are the sponsor(s) and exactly how much was spent for the open house and for inviting Psy.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 14 February 2013, 11:56 pm and is filed under
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Yet another time — Never Straight Times

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 14 February 2013, 9:59 am and is filed under
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22 questions for Dr M, again

P Gunasegaram

Malaysiakini

Feb 14, 2013

QUESTION TIME
 I became a journalist at the Business Times, then a standalone newspaper, in 1978.

Three years later in 1981 Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister of Malaysia, its fourth, succeeding Hussein Onn.

I have followed his career quite closely since and frankly I am not impressed. He started off with promise – and promised a lot – but fulfilled none if any.

In fact I would go so far as to say that he was positively the worst prime minister this country has ever had.

Through destruction of institutions such as an independent judiciary, running roughshod over civil servants, bringing his brand of power, patronage and poor economics into decision making, and making use of oppressive laws he used an iron fist to rule and in the process brought more harm to this country than any other person alive or dead.

Much of the problems of Malaysia can be traced back to him and he has made it difficult for his successors to make major changes going forward, much of which would involve unwinding processes and linkages he had put in place before.

Mahathir, after he stepped down, questioned decisions taken by his successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

True to form, he never stopped intervening and systematically undermining Abdullah’s tenure by making disparaging comments and organising dissent against him.

Now he has admitted inflating voter rolls in Sabah during his tenure by giving citizenship to illegal migrants, justifying this by the independence agreement of 1957 which granted citizenship to migrant Chinese and Indians who came here during British rule.

And he has controversially called for the Barisan Nasional to be given two thirds majority in Parliament so that they can revoke the citizenship of Bersih leader Ambiga Sreenevasan, the clear implication being you can change the constitution of the country to take away citizenship of anyone at will, and presumably those who were given citizenship in 1957 and their descendants.

Questions to ponder on

In June 2006, three years after Mahathir stepped down, I wrote an article for The Edge, the weekly business newspaper where I worked then, titled ’22 questions for Mahathir’.

This basically questioned Mahathir’s leadership by asking 22 groups of questions for each of 22 years he held power as prime minister.

Considering all that Mahathir has said recently, here’s a list of those 22 questions to ponder again – but the original unedited ones which were slightly different and with minor revisions to take into account recent developments.

You can judge for yourself what kind of prime minister he was and what kind of weight we should put on what he says.

1. On clean government.
 You came to power in 1981 and introduced the slogan ‘bersih, cekap dan amanah’ (clean, efficient and trustworthy) the following year. What did you do to further that?

Did you make the Anti-Corruption Agency more independent and effective? Did you ensure that the police did their job properly and reduce corruption in their ranks?

Did you ensure that ministers and chief ministers did not have income beyond their legal means?

Did you make the judicial system more effective? Did you do things transparently?

How many big guns were prosecuted for corruption offences during your long tenure? What happened to ‘bersih cekap dan amanah.?

Tempurung of a different order

2. Press freedom.
 While your heavy criticism of the government under Abdullah and your ranting and ravings now get plenty of coverage in the local media, during your time criticisms against you by two former prime ministers – Tunku Abdul Rahman and Hussein Onn – were muted in the mainstream newspapers.

The other, Abdul Razak Hussein, current prime minister Najib Razak’s father, had passed away then. Editors in Umno-linked newspapers, too, were removed during your time for not toeing the line.

What have you done to advance the cause of responsible press freedom? Is it a concept you believe in at all?

3. Proton.
 You went ahead with the national car project in 1983 despite a number of experts disagreeing with you, especially with respect to lack of economies of scale.

Why, especially when Proton’s profit over the last 28 years came out of vastly higher prices that the Malaysian public pays, resulting in considerable hardship, especially to the poorer people who could not afford cars?

More lately, Proton has been taken over by one of your close associates Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s DRB-Hicom. DRB-Hicom’s lack of expertise and economies of scale in car production promises continued high prices for Proton cars which no doubt you will support as Proton adviser.

4. Heavy industries.
 Why did you push into heavy industries such as steel and cement in the eighties, ignoring studies which suggested developing resource-based industries instead?

They caused major problems and billions of ringgit in losses. The steel industry continues to be protected largely because of moves that you allowed during your tenure as prime minister.

Consequences of thoughtless action

5. Population.
 Why did you encourage a population of 70 million for Malaysia and change the name of the National Family Planning Board to the National Population Development Board?

How do you expect poor people to take care of five, six or more children? What kind of quality can they provide to their children?

Is this not now reflected in rural poverty and widening income gaps between the rich and the poor?

6. Immigration.
 Why did you allow hordes of people to immigrate, mainly from Indonesia, in such an unregulated way such that there are as many or more illegal immigrants than legal ones, now accounting for some two million or more people?

Did you not realise that this will cause serious social problems and depress the cost of Malaysian labour? Why did you give citizenship to thousands of them to tilt the balance of voting in Sabah? Where were your moral standards?

7. On his first deputy.
 Some five years after you came to power, there were serious rifts between you and your deputy Musa Hitam. What was the cause of these problems and is it because you were heavy-handed and did not consult your ministers?

8. On the first serious Umno split.
 When Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Musa took on you and Ghafar Baba at the Umno general assembly of 1987, it caused a serious split in Umno with you winning by a very narrow margin (761 to 718).

Why did you not seek to heal the rift in Umno post the elections? Instead you purged Umno and its successor Umno Baru of those who opposed you causing an unprecedented split in Malay unity.

In 1987 were you not the leader with the least amount of support that Umno had ever had? Were you not directly or indirectly responsible for the most serious split in Malay unity?

9. Operation Lalang.
 Why did you have to resort to this move in October 1987, when you used wide powers of detention under the Internal Security Act to detain over 100 people, close down four newspapers and cause a wave of fear throughout the country?

Was it to consolidate your tenuous hold on power then by using an oppressive law? You could have used your position as Barisan Nasional leader to defuse the racial tensions at the time over the appointment of non-Chinese educated headmasters to Chinese schools.

Ghost entity ruling the roost

10. Umno Baru.
 You are of course aware that Umno’s correct name now is Umno Baru because the old Umno was declared illegal by the courts in 1988.

Why did you not take steps to legalise Umno? Is it because the formation of a new Umno Baru made it easier to keep out members who opposed you?

And why did you amend rules to make it extremely difficult to challenge the incumbent president and deputy president?

Was it to forestall any more challenges to you? Didn’t Umno Baru become less democratic as a result? Did you put in place measures to prolong your rule?

11. Judiciary.
 What was your motive in taking action in 1988 to remove the Chief Justice and several Supreme Court judges from their positions under allegations of judicial misconduct, a move which was heavily criticised by the Bar Council and other bodies?

Is it because you needed more compliant judges whose rulings will not threaten your position of power in a number of cases in court?

Was this the first step in dismantling the judiciary’s role as a check and balance against the legislature and the executive?

What have you to say to repeated assertions by many, including prominent ex-Chief Justices, who maintain that this led to the erosion of judicial independence and perceived abuse of power?

Why did you not take any action against a Chief Justice who had taken a holiday abroad with some lawyers?

Responsible for education decline?

12. Education.
You presided over the education system at an important part of its transformation first as education minister in the seventies, then as prime minister.

Would it be correct to surmise therefore that you were responsible for its decline during those years?

Why did you not spend more money and resources to ensure that our education system was excellent and continued to improve but instead spent billions on other showpiece projects?

13. Former finance miniister Daim Zainuddin.
 Why did you give this one man so much power, allowing him to decide on the award of virtually all government projects and tenders, and other projects?

14. Cronyism and patronage.
 Did you not encourage cronyism and patronage by dishing out major projects to a few within the inner circle, and especially connected to Daim?

People such as Halim Saad (the Renong group – toll roads, telecommunications etc), Tajudin Ramli (mobile telephone TRI group and Malaysia Airlines), Amin Shah Omar (the failed PSC Industries – multi-billion ringgit naval dockyard contracts), Ting Pek Khiing (Ekran – the Bakun Dam) to mention just a few? Why did you not use open tenders and auctions?

15. Privatisation.
 Why did you allow privatisation to take place in such a manner that the most profitable parts of government operation were given away to cronies?

Toll roads had guaranteed toll increases and compensation in the event traffic projections were not met. Independent power producers had contracts that guaranteed them profits at the expense Tenaga Nasional.

No pals in politics holds true

16. Ghafar Baba.
 Although Ghafar had the highest number of votes among vice-presidents when Hussein Onn became prime minister in 1976, you, who got the lowest number of votes, were chosen as Hussein’s deputy.

Yet when you called upon Ghafar to be your deputy in 1987, he obliged, helping you to win the Umno presidency.

But you did little to back him up when he was challenged for the deputy presidency in 1993 by Anwar Ibrahim. Can we say that you stabbed him in the back?

17. Anwar Ibrahim.
 Did you move against him because he was a threat to your position in 1998?

Did you use the entire government machinery at your disposal to get him sentenced under trumped up charges of sodomy? Do you think he got a fair trial? Don’t you think the country suffered terribly because of this power struggle involving the two of you?

18. Bank Negara losses.
 How could you tacitly encourage the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia to engage in speculative trades, using as an excuse the need to protect foreign exchange reserves?

Bank Negara lost some RM32 billion in 1993, according to some accounts, as a result of taking positions in the foreign exchange market. In current prices, using an average inflation rate of 3.2% a year, that amounts to nearly RM60 billion!

19. KL International Airport.
 Was it really necessary to spend RM10 billion on a showpiece airport at Sepang when the Subang airport could have been so easily extended?

The airport was operating way below capacity for years and it probably is today, 14 years later, judging by its emptiness at some times during the day. The RM130 million low-cost terminal carries more passengers that the main terminal!

20. Putrajaya.
 What is the justification for spending RM20 billion on a grandiose government city at a time when office space was available in Kuala Lumpur? Could not the money be put to better use such as improving educational resources?

21. Government-linked companies (GLCs).
 Why did you not make efforts to improve the performance of GLCs?

Why did you allow funds such as the Employees Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen to take up dubious investments to basically help cronies out of their problems?

These have led to billions of ringgit in losses to these funds. Thankfully, there has been improvements in these areas after you left.

22. Don’t you
think you owe it to the nation and the people to offer explanations over your 22-year tenure which is replete with examples of incompetence, corruption and cronyism, mismanagement and misallocation in the billions of ringgit and which has set the country back years?

Don’t you think, more than anyone else, you deserve to be branded as a traitor to this country for grossly abusing your position as prime minister?

——————————————————————————–

P GUNASEGARAM is founding editor of business news portal KiniBiz, a joint-venture with Malaysiakini. He sees democracy as a systems of laws, institutions, checks and balances to ensure everyone’s rights, not just elections every five years or so.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 February 2013, 7:28 pm and is filed under
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55-Day Countdown to 13 GE – Najib should clarify whether he left the stage at Penang BN CNY bash for fear of his life and whether Psy’s life was also threatened

This is no joke or laughing matter. The people of Penang and Malaysia are entitled to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Why did the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah and Cabinet Ministers leave the stage at the Barisan Nasional Chinese New Year bash on Monday after waiting forlornly  and in vain for over five minutes for Korean K-pop sensation Psy to join them for the “toss yee san” ceremony.

Najib should clarify whether he left the stage at the Penang BN CNY bash for fear of his life and whether Psy’s life was also threatened.

Initially, the Penang Gerakan Youth chief Oh Tong Keong had as good as blamed the MCA Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen for causing the yee san fiasco, resulting in shame and indignity to the nation when the Prime Minister, former Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers were publicly embarrassed waiting for five minutes  in vain for Psy to join them.

Oh told the press, as reported by Malaysiakini reporters Lee Way Loon and Low Chia Ming in
“No Psy, BN left red-faced during yee sang toss”
 that “a minister” (and everybody knew the Minister referred to is Ng Yen Yen) had told the emcee “ad hoc”  to invite Psy to toss yee sang, without informing the organising committee ahead of time, who were unable to brief the  South Korean pop star of  the yee san programme.

But this initial version of the yee san fiasco was  contradicted and overruled by the Penang Barisan Nasional chief Teng Chang Yeow who came out with a new version, rubbishing the claim that Ng Yen Yen’s “ad hoc” instruction to the emcee had caused the fiasco by alleging that an attempt on Psy’s life had  forced Najib to leave the stage.

Teng went further and alleged that there was also an attempt on Najib’s life!

This is a very flippant and irresponsible approach to grave issues of security for the country’s Prime Minister and for a VVIP – the Korean superstar.

If these two allegations are  true, why were they revealed only four days after the event – when BN leaders were desperately trying to cover up the public relations and political disasters of the BN’s RM3.5 million Psy and Gangnam Style appearance at their Penang CNY programme?

BN leaders should not underestimate the intelligence of the Malaysian men and women in the street, as illustrated by the following
reactions on Malaysiakini
:

“
CiViC
: Thank you Penang BN chief Teng Chang Yeow. If not for your stupid statement, I wouldn’t have searched for the
embarrassing video
 on YouTube showing BN repeatedly inviting K-Pop singer Psy to come up on stage for the ‘lo shang’ during the Chinese New Year concert in Penang.

Teng, if there was a threat to Psy’s life, the emcee wouldn’t have called for him time and again to appear.

Just&Fair4All
: The would-be assassin must either be insane or plain stupid to attempt to kill Psy in front of thousands of people and in the presence of the PM and other dignitaries, many of whom were accompanied by their bodyguards.

Secondly, if Psy life’s was in such grave danger, how come right after the show, he and his entourage visited a Korean restaurant on their own without police protection.

Thirdly, if the police really have news that someone was going to assassinate Psy, do you think they would allow Psy to walk around town on his own? What if really something were to happen to the internationally famous artist?

Geronimo
: This is really, really pathetic to come with such an excuse as to why Psy did not want to ‘lo shang’ with the BN leaders.

Let’s admit it. It was a public relation exercise that went atrociously bad resulting in a slap on Najib’s face. So to save face, they have to come out with lame excuse like this to win sympathy from the public.

Hah Thiam Khean
: BN is too incompetent to be an event organiser, too incompetent to concoct a coherent lie to cover up their incompetence, but it wants us to believe they are competent enough to run the country? Are we even living on the same planet?”

The Penang State Police Chief Deputy Comm Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said that the police had imposed tight security measures when Psy arrived at the Penang International Airport at 6.15 a.m. on Monday, but from Teng’s version, it would appear that the organisers were only told that security was an issue just during the “toss yee san” ceremony, resulting in the “yee san” fiasco.

Who is telling the truth?

May be there should be a public inquiry as to what actually happened at the “toss yee san” ceremony, why the Prime Minister, former Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers suffered the shame and indignity of having to wait forlornly and in vain for the Korean superstar to join them in the ceremony on stage.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/16/pengiraan-detik-55-hari-ke-pru13-najib-perlu-memperjelas-sama-ada-beliau-meninggalkan-pentas-di-pesta-tahun-baru-cina-bn-pulau-pinang-kerana-bimbangkan-keselamatannya-dan-sama-ada-nyawa-psy/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 February 2013, 4:42 pm and is filed under
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Fear factor and Mahathir

by K. Siladass

The fear factor has finally caught up with Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The fact that Dato Ambiga Sreenevasan, a former President of the Bar Council and currently the co-chairman of Bersih Movement, has been making constructive suggestions for the clean and proper conduct of the forthcoming general elections is well known. Mahathir, alike all his cronies and supporters fearing that the wind of change in the thought process of the Malaysians is actually blowing, had begun to make frantic undemocratic demands-one among them is the call for the revocation of Ambiga’s citizenship. Does this remind of Idi Amin of Uganda?

Has Ambiga said anything that would constitute as an attempt to overthrow the government? Hardly so. All her comments, suggestions, criticisms were objectively aimed at improving the standards of the voting procedure. Any citizen could make suggestions so long it is not contrary to law. Neither she nor Bersih advocate the transformation of illegal immigrants to legal immigrants with voting rights. It is those who violated the Country’s citizenship, immigration and election law, who should be dealt with according to law.

It is also hardly correct to assume that Ambiga alone had formulated all the comments, suggestions and criticisms; instead, she represents a movement and her expressions are those of the movement, hence, would it not be appropriate that all those who are linked with her and the Bersih Movement should receive like treatment? All who support the Bersih Movement should have their citizenship revoked. If this sounds very puerile, then, why single out Ambiga? When we are talking about democracy and democratic government we are indeed talking of Government by discussion. This does not mean discussion only amongst ruling party members but must also include the views from the public, of which the opposition and civic movements are a part.

From the Mahathir’s outburst it could be discerned that he and his followers are unable to match up with reasonable, rational and sensible argument, and argument has always been the core principle in democracy.

Calling for the revocation of Ambiga’s citizenship seems to indicate that Mahathir had become barren with ideas to resist her criticisms and of her movement. Thus, the attempt to seal her lips. How often can the voice of the people be muzzled? For how long must the Malaysians suffer the ignominious treatment by Mahathir and his supporters? Should not the law take care of this type of people whose main aim is to widen the polarity among the various races?

Mahathir also laments that the present Federal Constitution does not contain provisions to revoke the citizenship of those who speak against the Government. He, therefore, calls for an amendment to the Federal Constitution. Here comes the real threat; for any amendment to the Constitution could only materialize if two-third majority is there.

Malaysians would recall how the ruling party under the leadership of Mahathir with two-third majority had amended the Federal Constitution resulting in grave injustice to families where one spouse elected to convert to Islam leaving the non-Muslim spouse with no justice or remedy at all. Those who were affected by the amendment to Article 121 of the Federal Constitution are still languishing in infinite agony. The silence maintained by those who could find an end to their suffering is indeed baffling.

The judiciary is in a predicament as far as the cases of conversion are concerned, because the civil courts, at the mention of Islamic element, drop the case as if it is a hot brick. In other words, abdicate from their constitutional duty as judges.

Malaysian voters should abandon the idea of two-third majority for good, for it had caused tremendous harm. Two-third majority means absolute power and absolute power corrupts absolutely is the famous nineteenth century advice by Lord Acton. Earlier, in eighteenth century William Pitt speaking in the House of Lords said: “Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.”

If Malaysians are wary of the ruling party it is because of the painful experience they had to endure during the Mahathir’s tenure as  premier. It is that wrath  which his successors had inherited. And by constantly making statements about the superiority of one race and the inferior position of the minorities, Mahathir is indeed losing BN’s fight.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 February 2013, 11:42 am and is filed under
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Foot in the mouth?

Zan Azlee

The Malaysian Insider

Feb 15, 2013

FEB 15 — Sometimes, people get their feet stuck deep in their mouths that it is impossible to pull them back out. Sad for them, but good for me, since I get something to write about.

The first case I would like to discuss is one that I’m sure everyone reading this column would be very familiar with — Sharifah Zohra Jabeen.

Here is a woman who is obviously not very smart trying to make it look and sound like she’s smart. Look what happened now. She’s gone into hiding out of embarrassment.

And she still hasn’t responded to my challenge in a previous article to debate her on a topic of her choice. I guess she’s scared that she’ll get her other foot stuck in her mouth too.

The second case is something that happened very recently, and that is, the response that Penang BN chief Teng Chang Yeow gave regarding K-pop artist Psy.

Again, most people would be familiar with the recent performance that the Gangnam-style Psy gave in Penang during Chinese New Year.

Yes, it’s true that the crowd yelled “Yes!” when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked them if they were ready for Psy.

And yes, it is true that the crowd yelled “No!” when he asked them if they were ready for BN (although I can’t confirm how many did).

Then there are the rumours that said Psy declined to come out to “low sang” with the prime minister because he was just there to perform.

This would be pretty embarrassing for Najib if it were true. But it remained as a rumour, so many didn’t give much thought about it. They just focused on the “No!” story.

But, of course, Teng had to show us his yoga prowess and prove that he is flexible enough to bend his body so his foot could enter his mouth.

Here’s what he did — Teng told the media that Psy’s life was in danger as there was an attempt on his life. Hence, they had to secure the area and that was the reason he didn’t come out.

Excuse me, but… hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

And then there is something former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday which also caught my attention.

He said that young people are too obsessed with change and that they believe that a change in government would change their lives for the better.

Dr Mahathir went on to say that before, when there was not much development in the country, people would appreciate even the slightest transformation.

But now, the youth in Malaysia, who were born after so much development such as in education and job opportunities have been achieved, don’t appreciate this.

He said that the youth were too caught up with the issue of freedom and felt that there was not enough of it in the country regarding many matters.

Wait a minute. It may be true that the youth today did not experience growing up in a country that was not as developed and prosperous as today.

And that is exactly why the youth are not demanding for a change in the issues that existed before their time. They want a change based on what they are experiencing.

If (and this is a big if) matters such as education and employment opportunities are not major issues today, why would the youth ask for a change there?

The issue of the day is mainly freedom (and this is just one of many major issues), and hence, they are demanding a change there.

People want change when things aren’t in good shape. They want to change in order to improve. And so, of course, they will harp on the issues that need improvement.

They have seen a government that has been in power their entire lives in Malaysia. Come to think of it, no one has ever seen a different government.

There have been so many things that have needed changing and have been ignored, so many demands and wants that have fallen on deaf and self-serving ears.

So can you blame the youth to think that a change can only happen if there was a change in government? I definitely can’t.

And if people like these continue to put their feet in their mouths, it just provides more reason for the youth in the country (or anyone, for that matter) to want a change.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 February 2013, 12:16 pm and is filed under
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Gross Encounters of the Zin Kind

By
Kee Thuan Chye

Malaysian Digest

I was greeted first thing this morning by an SMS from a dear old friend. It read: “Saudara XXX [my friend’s name in full],
Selamat Menyambut Hari Lahir. Happy Birthday. Ikhlas dari DS Ir Mohd Zin Mohamed, Kordinator BN Selangor. Sayangi Selangor, Yakini BN.
”

At first, I wondered why my friend had forwarded me this SMS. Then when I saw the four-letter word he had appended at the end of it, I understood. He was sharing with me his disgust at the greeting from Mohd Zin.

This coordinator of Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) who is campaigning to win the state from Pakatan Rakyat at the soon-to-be-held general election has been sending out many such messages to a whole lot of people ever since last year. However, they have become such an annoyance that the recipients invariably express nothing but disgust each time they receive such messages.

Some of my other friends have also been complaining to me about Mohd Zin’s barrage of not only SMSes but postcards and letters as well. And social media is full of curses against him and his unsavoury proselytising efforts to the BN cause.

Most recipients know that all this is being done for a blatant political purpose, which means the gesture is not one of goodwill. Nor is it imbued with sincerity. Many even say that no other country in the world practises this kind of tactic to solicit votes.

They are greatly concerned that Selangor BN has easy access to their private particulars, like their birthdate and mobile number. And even the constituencies they’ll be voting at – for these are also included in the postcards and letters. Who has been supplying Selangor BN all this information?

And why should the electoral constituencies be included when the purpose is supposedly to send a festive greeting? Why run it with the tagline “Yakini BN” (Have Faith in BN), right beside the BN dacingsymbol, at the top of the letter?

Another question on people’s minds is: Who is paying for all these proselytising efforts? Is the rakyat’s money being used?

I’d like to think that since this is a BN initiative, the expenses should be borne by BN. I’d also like to think that BN has tons of money so paying for it should not be a problem. I certainly hope this is the case.

My own children received a Chinese New Year letter last week wishing them Gong Xi Fa Cai and attempting to indoctrinate them about BN’s transformation programme. One side of the letter is in Chinese, the other in Malay. The letter is signed by BN chief Najib Razak and carries a picture of him. But the people behind it are Selangor BN, going by the contact details provided at the bottom.

This is the third or fourth time my children have received such a letter. The first one was in conjunction with Malaysia Day last August. Then, the contents of the letter were aimed at emphasising our so-called “non-confrontational culture” in order to persuade the recipient to eschew street protests.

What that letter said was hogwash because if ours was truly a non-confrontational culture, Umno would not have led the massive street rallies to protest against the Malayan Union in 1946. The letter was an obvious attempt at brainwashing.

The same is true of the Chinese New Year letter. Acknowledging that there are people who are still sceptical about BN’s economic and political transformation programme, it tries to persuade the recipient to accept the idea that such a programme will take time and effort to be realised. Hence the need for long-term stability in government. In other words, vote for BN.

Each letter was accompanied by ang-pow packets also bearing Najib’s picture. I was horrified and bemused at the same time when I saw them. Which Chinese person would put money into these packets to give to others if they know that face represents a ruling party that is corrupt? Most would just throw the packets away!

I must be right – BN does have tons of money, perhaps too much since it’s spending it so foolishly.

I, too, received a Chinese New Year message. Like my friend’s birthday greeting, it came from Mohd Zin.

Before that, I got one from him in December wishing me Merry Christmas. It wasn’t the first and it gave me a creepy feeling. So I posted a comment on his Facebook page telling him in no uncertain terms to stop bothering my family and me.

Another friend of mine reacted similarly but not at him when she got a birthday greeting last year. She forwarded it to me instead, with a curse on the people who had sent it. She was livid that BN had nothing better to do than to track people’s birthdays and to stoop to such a low tactic to try and win their votes.

Then there was the occasion when a Malay friend of mine received a racist SMS in Malay which read: “Congratulations! You are a registered voter for the Subang parliamentary constituency. Please fulfil your responsibility by ensuring that Malays continue to rule. BN IS THE CHOICE OF THE YOUTH.”

This SMS was, however, anonymous. But what’s intriguing is that the sender knew my friend was registered to vote for the Subang parliamentary seat.

My friend sent back an appropriate reply also in Malay: “It’s not important to the devout whether the ruling party is Malay or non-Malay. Leaders who are free from corruption and hypocrisy will be the choice of those who have faith. God willing, I shall fulfil my responsibility of ensuring that we are ruled by a government that is caring and trustworthy. BN/Umno is the choice of obstinately stupid people regardless of age. Salam Bersih!”

Another friend who had been blasted with a wider range of propaganda wrote me an e-mail full of ire and concern:

“My mother and I recently made a day trip back to Ipoh by train and throughout our journey, we were appalled and disgusted to see how the trains and every platform pillar from KL to Ipoh bore images of that megalomaniac Najib. Even the discount card that’s going to be issued to those earning less than RM3,000 will bear Najib’s image. Only dictators have the need for this amount of propaganda.

“When we reached home that day, we found in our mailbox full-colour letters and small calendars individually addressed to us – again bearing Najib’s image. The letters had our voter information and referred us to the Selangor BN website. While I am planning to use the letter with Najib’s image to pick up my dog’s poop, there are a number of burning questions on my mind: How much is being spent to clutter our mailboxes with BN propaganda? Who’s paying for this? Let’s not forget that postage costs have gone up. Is the ruling coalition using federal funds for political campaigning? Are limits imposed on how much can be spent?

“Is there an avenue where complaints can be made regarding the excessive propaganda in the media? I pay to subscribe to satellite TV and am forced to put up with propaganda videos interrupting the TV shows I’m watching. All of it is in the same insipid vein of the ‘Cinta IT’ rubbish that aired on RTM, forcing me to switch channels when it is aired.

“Is anyone keeping tabs on how much taxpayers’ funds are being spent on generating the incessant propaganda we are being bombarded with? If Ng Yen Yen can spend RM1.8 million on creating six Facebook pages, how much is being paid to create these propaganda video spots as well as for broadcast airtime, in addition to the mobile and billboard advertising, not forgetting the ubiquitous banners bearing images of BN figures?

“I sent a complaint to MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) about the invasion of privacy but did not get any response. Not even the usual canned response.”

Our reactions – my friends’ and mine – reflect our annoyance and our concerns. Mohd Zin and his cohorts need to be warned that the more they irritate us, the more we will be swayed against their cause. And this may actually work against them.

To borrow from a recent analogy, the more they ask, “Are you ready for BN?”, the more loudly they will hear the resounding reply – “No!”

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians, and the latest volume, Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 February 2013, 12:35 pm and is filed under
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OMG! There was an attempt on Psy’s Life!

By
Stan CH Lee

thedrawingisonthewall.blogspot.ca

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 February 2013, 11:53 am and is filed under
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Psy-tastic Tales!

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Friday, 15 February 2013, 4:58 pm and is filed under
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54-Day Countdown to 13 GE –  Najib should announce three ang pows at Dong Zong CNY Open House tomorrow: full recognition of UEC, approval for four Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and review of National Education Blueprint

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should announce three ang pows at the Dong Zong Chinese New Year Open House tomorrow, namely:

* Full government recognition of Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) as one of the academic qualifications for entry into national higher learning institutions, public services and teaching academies;

* Government approval for four Chinese independent secondary schools in Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Segamat and Johore Baru;

* Review of the National Education Blueprint to give full recognition of mother-tongue education in the mainstream of the national education system, including:

1.	Increase in the number of Chinese and Tamil primary schools dependent on the needs of parents to send their children to Chinese and Tamil primary schools in order to ensure the right of students to receive mother-tongue education; and

2.	Fair and just capital allocations for development expenditures of Chinese and Tamil primary schools and the provision of adequate trained teachers; and

3.	Assist Malaysian independent Chinese secondary schools in financing, teacher-training, curricula design, amenities, etc and to allow them to relocate, set up branches and put up new premises.

DAP and Pakatan Rakyat are committed to the full recognition of UEC and if Najib fails to make such an announcement tomorrow, then it will be one of the priority policy announcements of a new  Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya after the 13GE.

It will be a great disappointment and just not good enough if the Prime Minister comes to the Dong Zong CNY Open House with promises of recognition or agreement in principle to recognize the UEC, when the UEC is recognised world-wide as of high academic standards for all educational and employment purposes.

Malaysians will be very wary of such announcements after the infamous Su Qiu fiasco three general elections ago, where the Cabinet agreed “in principle” before the 1999 general election to the 83-point Su Qui Appeals, but which was disowned by the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mahathir Mohamad, who after the general elections accused the Su Qiu supporters of wanting to cause racial disunity and  “not much different from the  communists or Al-Maunah”.

A racial confrontation was engineered after the 1999 General Elections when Mahathir alleged that the Cabinet was forced to accept Su Qui “in principle”  and that UMNO/BN were  “threatened then as elections were just round the corner”.

Mahathir said: “That’s why they came up with the memorandum, as a threat to the Barisan Nasional, and that if we didn’t  entertain their request they would tell the Chinese not to support us.  This was deliberate and the timing was well-planned. What could we do then?”

In the confrontation, the Suqiu or Malaysian Chinese Organisations Election Appeals Committee were pressured to withdraw seven of the Suqiu Appeals.

In fact, in his appearance at the Dong Zong CNY Open House tomorrow, Najib should apologise for the hypocrisy and insincerity of the Barisan Nasional Cabinet agreement “in principle” of the 83-point Suqiu Appeals on Sept. 22, 1999, but which UMNO and all the Barisan Nasional component parties, including MCA, Gerakan and SUPP reneged after the 1999 general elections.

What assurance can Najib give that there would be repetition of the Su Qiu fiascos in future?

(Speech at the Perak Pakatan Rakyat Open House in Ipoh on Saturday, 16th February 2013 at 11 am)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 16 February 2013, 4:02 pm and is filed under
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Pengiraan Detik 55 Hari ke PRU13 – Najib perlu memperjelas sama ada beliau meninggalkan pentas di pesta Tahun Baru Cina BN Pulau Pinang kerana bimbangkan keselamatannya dan sama ada nyawa Psy turut terancam

Ini  bukan jenaka atau gurauan. Orang Pulau Pinang dan rakyat Malaysia berhak mengetahui kebenaran, tiada yang tidak benar melainkan yang benar.

Mengapa Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Abdullah dan Menteri Kabinet meninggalkan pentas pada pesta Tahun Baru Cina Barisan Nasional pada hari Isnin selepas menunggu hampa di atas pentas selama lima minit untuk bintang K-pop Korea Psy menyertai mereka untuk upacara “menggaul yee sang”.

Najib perlu memperjelaskan sama ada beliau meninggalkan pentas di pesta Tahun Baru C ina BN Pulau Pinang kerana bimbangkan nyawanya dan sama ada nyawa Psy turut terancam.

Pada mulanya, Ketua Pemuda Gerakan Oh Tong Keong elok menyalahkan Menteri Pelancongan MCA, Datuk Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen menjadi punca kemelut yee sang, menyebabkan tercemar maruah negara apabila Perdana Menteri, mantan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kabinet dimalukan di hadapan umum dengan sia-sia menunggu selama lima minit untuk Psy menyertai mereka.

Oh memberitahu akhbar, sebagaimana yang dilaporkan wartawan Malaysiakini Lee Way Loon dan Low Chia Ming dalam
“No Psy, BN left red-faced during yee sang toss”
 bahawa “seorang menteri” (dan semua orang tahu Menteri itu merujuk kepada Ng Yen Yen) telah memberitahu pengacara secara mengejut untuk menjemput Psy bagi tujuan menggaul yee sang, tanpa memaklumkan jawatankuasa penganjur terlebih dahulu, yang tidak dapat memaklumkan bintang pop Korea Selatan tentang program yee sang.

Akan tetapi versi asal kemelut yee sang ini bercanggah dan ditolak oleh pengerusi Barisan Nasional Pulau Pinang Teng Chang Yeow yang muncul dengan versi baru, membakulsampahkan dakwaan bahawa Ng Yen Yen memberi arahan secara mengejut kepada pengacara lalu menyebabkan berlakunya kucar-kacir dengan mendakwa Najib terpaksa turun pentas kerana terdapat cubaan mengancam nyawa Psy.

Teng  pergi lebih jauh dengan dakwaan terdapat juga cubaan mengancam nyawa Najib juga!

Ini benar-benar tindakan sambil lewa dan tidak bertanggungjawab terhadap isu keselamatan Perdana Menteri negara ini dan terhadap VVIP – bintang Korea itu.

Sekiranya kedua-dua dakwaan ini benar, mengapa ia dikeluarkan hanya empat hari selepas acara itu – ketika pemimpin BN terdesak cuba untuk menutup kemusnahan perhubungan awam dan politik kemunculan RM3.5 juta Psy dan Gangnam Style BN di program Tahun Baru Cina Pulau Pinang?

Pemimpin BN tidak sepatutnya memandang rendah kebijaksanaan rakyat Malaysia, seperti yang tergambar pada
reaksi di Malaysiakini
:

“
CiViC
: Thank you Penang BN chief Teng Chang Yeow. If not for your stupid statement, I wouldn’t have searched for the
embarrassing video
 on YouTube showing BN repeatedly inviting K-Pop singer Psy to come up on stage for the ‘lo shang’ during the Chinese New Year concert in Penang.

Teng, if there was a threat to Psy’s life, the emcee wouldn’t have called for him time and again to appear.

Just&Fair4All
: The would-be assassin must either be insane or plain stupid to attempt to kill Psy in front of thousands of people and in the presence of the PM and other dignitaries, many of whom were accompanied by their bodyguards.

Secondly, if Psy life’s was in such grave danger, how come right after the show, he and his entourage visited a Korean restaurant on their own without police protection.

Thirdly, if the police really have news that someone was going to assassinate Psy, do you think they would allow Psy to walk around town on his own? What if really something were to happen to the internationally famous artist?

Geronimo
: This is really, really pathetic to come with such an excuse as to why Psy did not want to ‘lo shang’ with the BN leaders.

Let’s admit it. It was a public relation exercise that went atrociously bad resulting in a slap on Najib’s face. So to save face, they have to come out with lame excuse like this to win sympathy from the public.

Hah Thiam Khean
: BN is too incompetent to be an event organiser, too incompetent to concoct a coherent lie to cover up their incompetence, but it wants us to believe they are competent enough to run the country? Are we even living on the same planet?”

Ketua Polis Pulau Pinang Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi mengatakan bahawa pihak polis telah mengenakan langkah-langkah keselamatan yang ketat  ketika Psy tiba do Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang pada Isnin, 6.15 a.m, akan tetapi daripada versi Teng, kelihatan seperti penganjur hanya diberitahu bahawa terdapat isu keselamatan hanya ketika  upacara “menggaul yee sang”, menyebabkan berlakunya kemelut “yee sang” itu.

Siapa yang bercakap benar?

Mungkin perlunya satu siasatan awam apa yang sebenarnya berlaku sewaktu upacara “menggaul yee sang”, mengapa Perdana Menteri, mantan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kabinet terpaksa melalui detik memalukan dan penghinaan kerana perlu menunggu dengan hampa bintang Korea itu menyertai mereka di dalam upacara atas pentas.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/15/55-day-countdown-to-13-ge-najib-should-clarify-whether-he-left-the-stage-at-penang-bn-cny-bash-for-fear-of-his-life-and-whether-psys-life-was-also-threatened/

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 16 February 2013, 2:30 pm and is filed under
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53-Day Countdown to 13GE: Xenophon’s 15-hr detention and deportation – international confirmation that BN govt “authoritarian” and Najib a “false democrat”

In the run-up to the 13th General Elections, Malaysians are seeing the full flowering of the Greek saying, “Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad”.

Last month, former and longest-serving Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir flaunted his treasonous deeds in the “citizenship-for-votes” scams in Sabah in Project M and Project IC in the eighties and nineties, resulting in  true Sabahans becoming a minority in their own land –  and who added insult to injury when he alleged that Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman had given one  million citizenship to “unqualified” non-Malays before Merdeka.

As if not enough damage had been done, Mahathir has compounded it by advocating a two-thirds parliamentary majority for Barisan Nasional so as to be able to revoke the citizenship of Bersih co-chairperson S. Ambiga for her patriotic campaign for free, fair and clean elections.

Last week, as if the three resounding “Yes for Psy, Noes for BN” at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Penang Chinese New Year bash featuring Korean K-Pop superstar and the indignity of the Prime Minister, former Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers waiting on stage forlornly and in vain for Psy to join them for a “yee san toss” were not embarrassments enough, four days after the event and without an iota of evidence, Penang Barisan Nasional leaders spun the tale that there had been attempts on the  lives of Psy and the Prime Minister. At least, Najib had the sense so far to keep mum on the tall tale.

The latest evidence of the workings of the Greek saying, “Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad” is the 15-hour detention and deportation of Australian Senator, furnishing a national and international confirmation that the Barisan Nasional government of Malaysia is “authoritarian” and Najib a “false democrat”.

The claim by the Immigration director-general Datuk Alias Ahmad that Xenophon is on the Immigration “blacklist” because he had tarnished the country’s image, such as calling the Malaysian government “authoritarian” in handling the Bersih 3.0 rally for free and fair elections last April, is most puerile and infantile, as on this basis, Malaysians would be persona non grata to many countries that they had criticized with former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir as  the Top  Malaysian who could not  travel to the most number of Western countries!

But what takes the cake is the deplorable and most questionable endorsement of Xenophon’s detention and deportation by the Election Commission, whose deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said it was unjust to judge the fairness of the 13GE based on Xenophon’s expulsion.

Apart from highlighting its utter  lack of independence and impartiality, the Election Commission cannot be more wrong.

The “authoritarian” and undemocratic expulsion of Xenophon has now put the whole question of the integrity of the electoral process, whether the 13GE will be free, fair and clean, on the international radar.

The whole world are now asking – what has the Election Commission and the UMNO/BN government got to hide that they are so afraid of independent foreign observers to the 13GE as having to strain foreign relations and brave international condemnation and opprobrium as to detain and deport Xenophon?

The world is also waiting and  watching whether Najib is indeed the “false democrat” as depicted by Mark Mackinnon, the award-winning journalist of the Canadian The Globe and Mail in his article of June 8, 2012, in particular with reference to his definition of a “false democrat” who is one who “hold elections but have no intention of giving up power” and whose “serious political rivals are jailed and their parties are outlawed on legal technicalities”.

The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday that DAP had not submitted its party election returns within 60 days as required by law and the Registrar of Societies will start investigations into the DAP.

Yesterday, I had in my tweet asked: “What will Hishammuddin do as Home Minister if DAP can prove that DAP has submitted elections returns  to 2ROS b4 CNY?”

May be Hishammuddin and Najib are seriously thinking of declaring DAP illegal and unlawful because they are desperate about the UMNO/BN prospects in the 13GE, despite all the boasts that they can win big in a free and fair elections, even regaining two-thirds parliamentary majority and retake the present Pakatan Rakyat states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan.

Let them ponder the Greek saying: “Those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad”.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/18/pengiraan-detik-53-hari-ke-pru13-penahanan-dan-pengusiran-15-jam-xenophon-pengesahan-antarabangsa-terhadap-autoritarian-kerajaan-bn-dan-najib-seorang-demokrat-pal/

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 February 2013, 9:43 am and is filed under
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Dr M, on media and lies

 — The Malaysian Insider

Feb 17, 2013

FEB 17 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wrote today about the media – and how governments were able to exercise control through licensing and laws.

But then came the alternative media, or rather online media, he wrote, ironically, on his blog which is online.

“In the alternative media just about anyone can put anything they like to say on the internet directly, with no managers, editors or sub-editors changing any of the contents. The freedom is almost total. This is the essence of democracy?” he says.

Thank you, Dr Mahathir. Your views are always welcome because thanks to you, we are here. Without your foresight, the internet would have taken its time to come to Malaysia.

But your hindsight is another thing. You speak of the alternative media where anyone can put anything, without checks and balances.

Perhaps you are speaking about bloggers. Or those in the print and television media who put out news without verification or even a comment from the other side.

Take for example the recent cases of Utusan Malaysia and TV3, both controlled by your party Umno. Their editors have admitted they don’t verify claims, paraphrase comments and will even lie to make their party look good.

Contrast that with news portals like Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider.

We have editors and sub-editors and reporters who are asked to check and counter-check and verify reports in real-time, unlike print which has a 24-hour news cycle and television where the prime time news bulletins is broadcast at 8pm.

And we have made mistakes and have been sued. But we have apologised when mistakes are made and have also gone to court.

Because, no matter the medium, there are some of us in the media who are professional and have integrity. We write facts, not fiction.

And we are only as good as our next byline.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 February 2013, 9:41 pm and is filed under
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Parliament and Sabah State Assembly should meet in urgent sessions if Home Minister Hishammuddin is incapable of protecting the sovereignty of Sabah and Malaysia and the rights and safety of Sabahans

Parliament and the Sabah State Assembly should meet in urgent sessions if the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, is incapable of protecting the sovereignty of Sabah and Malaysia and the rights and safety of Sabahans.

Malaysiakini
 has quoted the Sunday report of
Philippine Daily Inquirer
today  that despite the Malaysian authorities declaring an end to negotiations with more than 100 armed Filipinos who landed in Sabah early this week and saying they will be deported, the group’s leader insists that they will stay put.

Jamalul Kiram III, who claims to be ruler of the now defunct Sulu Sultanate, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that he authorised the ‘incursion’ and that his men would remain in Lahad Datu as long as needed.

Jamalul said the group, led by his younger brother crown prince Agbimuddin Kiram, would remain in Sabah for “as long as necessary” in their bid to reclaim the state, which was formerly a territory of the Sulu Sultanate.

“I sent my brother to Sabah in the name of peace and in the exercise of our historic, ancestral and sovereign right over Sabah,” Jamalul, who is in Manila, is quoted as saying by the Philippine national daily.

“It is upon us, the leaders of Sulu, to claim back what is ours,” he added

The Philippine Daily Inquirer also quoted Agbimuddin as saying that his group, holed up in a village in Lahad Datu, is equipped with an assortment of weapons, including M-14, M-16, M203, Baby Armalite and no one could make them leave unless his elder broher Jamalul decreed that they do so.

Agbimuddin added that more men, supporters of the Sulu Sultanate, were expected to join them in Sabah soon.

This report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer has made nonsense of the statements by the Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Salleh Mat Rasid and the Sabah police chief Comm Datuk Hamza Taib that negotiations were over with the more than 100 Filipino gunmen holed up at the seaside village of Tanduo in Lahad Datu and that the Malaysian authorities were ready to deport the armed group back to southern Philippines.

It has also put the Home Minister in a very bad light as the patience and confidence of Sabahans and Malaysians in Hishamuddin’s ability to resolve the stand-off at Lahat Datu speedily and in a peaceful manner have run very thin, especially as the Home Minister seems more interested and pre-occupied in playing political games in the run-up to the 13th general elections than fully focussed on security issues affecting the people and the nation, like:

•	Trying to give credence to the “tall tale” that the lives of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Korean K-pop superstar Psy were threatened during the Barisan Nasional Chinese New Year bash in Penang on Monday, when there is no iota of evidence or ounce of truth;

•	Defending the outrageous detention and deportation of Australian Senator Nick Xenophon for taking up the cause of fair and clean elections in Malaysia and attracting world-wide condemnation; and

•	Disseminating lies  about the DAP not having submitted party election returns to the Registrar of Societies when this had been done before the Chinese New Year, raising questions whether he is  preparing the grounds for the UMNO/BN government to declare DAP as an illegal and unlawful political party.

If Hishammuddin is incapable of single-mindedly focussing on resolving the stand-off with the armed Filipino group in Lahad Datu in a speedy and peaceful manner, he should let others who are capable of giving proper priority to national security issues as distinct from concocting politically-inspired controversies to do the job.

It will be most unfortunate if Hishammuddin is associated in the minds of Malaysians, particularly Sabahans, with the saying: “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/18/parlimen-dan-dewan-undangan-negeri-sabah-perlu-bersidang-dalam-satu-sidang-tergempar-sekirannya-menteri-dalam-negeri-hishamuddin-tidak-mampu-memelihara-kedaulatan-sabah-dan-malaysia-serta-hak-dan-kese/

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 February 2013, 6:15 pm and is filed under
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RoS confirms it received DAP’s report; apologises for confusion

By CHRISTOPHER TAN and PATRICK LEE

The Star

February 17, 2013

PETALING JAYA: The Registrar of Societies (RoS) confirmed Sunday that it had received the DAP’s Dec 15 Central Executive Committee’s polls report on Feb 8, ahead of the Feb 15 deadline it had set for the party.

“Here I would like to clarify that my previous statement was based on information that was not updated and this has led to confusion,” Registrar Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman said in a statement late Sunday.

“RoS apologises to all parties concerned over this mistake,” he said.

The investigations into DAP’s CEC polls was ongoing and would be finalised as soon as possible, he said.

On Saturday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein was reported as saying that he was told that DAP had failed to submit the report on time and, therefore, RoS would begin its investigations.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 February 2013, 10:04 pm and is filed under
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Xenophobic Malaysia

— The Malaysian Insider

Feb 16, 2013

FEB 16 — According to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, there is nothing political about denying entry to and expelling Australian Senator Nick Xenophon today.

That it was an immigration issue and done according to the law, he said.

But Immigration Director-General Datuk Alias Ahmad said Xenophon was barred entry under Section 8(3) of the Immigration Act as a “prohibited immigrant” because he called the Malaysian government “authoritarian” in handling the Bersih 3.0 rally for free and fair elections last April.

“He tarnished the image of the country,” Alias told The Malaysian Insider.

So, we stop people from entering the country because they say bad things about our government? That isn’t political? That is law?

You know what that is? That’s shameful. And it makes us look like fools and frustrates the government’s efforts to open up and show it has nothing to fear with greater democratisation.

Wasn’t it Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who sought to repeal security laws and press laws that hinder freedom of expression and restrict the movement of government critics?

Why do we have a Home Ministry that decides it can stop people from entering the country because they criticised its handling of a rally a year ago?

Why do we have such thin-skinned and shallow-thinking people in the Cabinet and the civil service? Why are there xenophobes in the government, one that wants to be progressive and transformative?

Every step forward taken by the Najib administration seems to be crippled into a half step backward by such actions like today’s barring of Xenophon from entering Malaysia.

It is like a perverse pleasure to shoot oneself in the foot just to prove you can still walk or hobble despite your injuries. The government now risks international criticism for the short-sighted move of barring Xenophon today for comments made last year.

Shutting the door on Xenophon will just prove that he is right about the Malaysian government being “authoritarian”. That is the greater tragedy of a government that wants to prove it runs a great democracy.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 17 February 2013, 6:54 pm and is filed under
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52-Day Countdown to 13GE: The 13 GE is not only referendum on Najib’s four-year “non-transformation” but also on Mahathir’s 22-year authoritarian and corrupt policies

Will Parliament be dissolved this month for the 13th General Elections next month?

The bet is that the answer will be in the positive, setting the stage for the longest-delayed dissolution of Parliament in the nation’s history by the longest unelected Prime Minister in what is likely to be the dirtiest and most expensive Malaysian general elections!

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is out on the hustings throughout the country campaigning for his political life, but there is one person in UMNO/Barisan Nasional who is out-campaigning Najib – and he is former and longest-serving Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

The 13 General Elections is important and critical for Najib – but it is even more important and critical for Mahathir, as it is not only a referendum on Najib’s four-year “non-transformation” but also on Mahathir’s 22-year authoritarian and corrupt policies.

Actually, for Mahathir, his future is also at stake in the 13GE – as it would determine whether he could continue to be the kingmaker of Umno/BN politics, as now single-handedly calling the shots in UMNO/BN after he successfully forced the retirement of  Tun Abdullah as Prime Minister after the “political tsunami” of the 2008 general elections.

Mahathir’s power and influence now writ larger than that of Najib the Prime Minister.

Malaysia has had six Prime Ministers in the past 56 years but no one in UMNO/BN had dared to tell any incumbent Prime Minister that he would have to step down from office if he could not win with a stronger mandate than in  the previous polls – as Mahathir has openly done at the 15th Malaysia Strategic Outlook Conference on 31st January where he said that Najib should give way to Deputy Umno president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin if BN only scores a slim majority in the elections.

Najib is under probation and the “principal” who would decide Najib’s future is Mahathir – just as the latter had ended the tenure of the previous Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah, who failed to live up to Mahathir’s expectations!

Almost everyday, Mahathir is not only out-campaigning Najib but laying down policies for Najib and the UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders as in the following samples in the past ten days:

Don’t bite hand that feeds you, Dr. M tell settlers (Mkini) – 18.2.13

Dr M: No need to heed Canberra censure over Xenophon expulsion (TMI)  – 18.2.13

Dr M: Unbridled freedom of alternative media harmful (Bernama) -18.2.13

 Dr. M: Only a few Chinese extremists back govt change (China Press) – 15.2.13

Mahathir: Malaysia’s debt level still at ‘healthy’ position (Bernama) – 15.2.13

Boosting Proton’s image core of turnaround plan, says Dr M (Bernama) – 15.2.13

Don’t be obsessed with changing govt, says Dr M (Bernama) – 13.2.13

Dr M: Amend constitution to strip Ambiga’s citizenship (Mkini) – 9.2.13

Mahathir has even attempted to salvage Najib from the Prime Minister’s disastrous  “Three Yes for Psy, Three Noes for BN” outing at the Penang Chinese New Year Open House after spending RM3.5 million to import the Korean K-Pop super star Psy and “Gangnam Style”, claiming that they were all from “doctored video clips” on You Tube.

Mahathir said:

A short video clip recently showed the PM asking the audience in Penang whether they were ready for the BN. They were loud cries of “No” from the crowd.

Now it has been found that this was engineered by bringing a group into the crowd, equipping them with video camera and microphones. When the PM asked “are you ready for BN” this group shouted “No” in response. It seem that the whole audience shouted “No”. Actually only the special group shouted “No” into their microphones. The “Yes from the big crowd was not recorded and not included in the video on You Tube.

Immediately this particular recording was put on You Tube and it went viral even though the video recording by others showing the crowd raising their hands and saying “Yes” was later put on You Tube, many do not bother to see it. They continue to believe in the fake video clips.

Mahathir probably thinks that the 2013 generation of Malaysians is as gullible as the Malaysians during his 22 years as Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003 but he is going to be sadly mistaken.

Malaysians must thank Najib for inviting Psy and Gangnam Style to Penang, for it has focused one important question for Malaysians –why South Korea had developed so phenomenally at the expense of Malaysia when 56 years ago, Malaysia was twice as rich and developed as South Korea but today South Korea is two to three times richer and more advanced than Malaysia and ahead of Malaysia in all fields of human endeavour?

There is another question Malaysians should ask – who is the Malaysian who should bear the greatest responsibility for Malaysia losing out so badly to South Korea in the international competitiveness stakes  covering the whole gamut of human achievement whether economic progress, educational advancement, human resource development, technological prowess, arts and sports?

In 1980, a  year before Mahathir started on his 22-year premiership, Malaysia with US$1,769 was still ahead of South Korea with US$1,689  in GDP (nominal) per capita in US dollars.

But beginning from 1981, when Mahathir took over as the fourth Prime Minister, Malaysia fell inexorably year-after-year behind South Korea, until Malaysia GDP per capita was only one-third that of South Korea when Mahathir stepped down as Prime Minister 22 years later in 2003!

The following table shows the comparative datafor GDP per capita  for the two countries during the 22 years of Mahathir premiership:

KDNK (nominal)  Per Kapita (dalam dolar AS)

Year

Malaysia

South Korea

1980

1,769

1,689

1981

1,763

1,870

1982

1,842

1,971

1983

2,012

2,154

1984

2,221

2,350

1985

1,978

2,414

1986

1,711

2,760

1987

1,901

3,445

1988

2,033

4,571

1989

2,186

5,565

1990

2,374

6,308

1991

2,649

7,289

1992

3,102

7,730

1993

3,413

8,422

1994

3,698

9,757

1995

4,295

11,779

1996

4,752

12,587

1997

4,601

11,587

1998

3,232

7,724

1999

3,455

9,906

2000

3,992

11,347

2001

3,846

10,655

2002

4,078

12,094

2003

4,352

13,451

Let Mahathir, the Malaysian who must bear the greatest responsibility for Malaysia losing out so badly to South Korea, explain why in his 22 years as Prime Minister he had  allowed  South Korea not only to overtake Malaysia in the international competitiveness stakes but to leave Malaysia so far behind.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/19/pengiraan-detik-52-hari-ke-pru13-pru13-bukan-saja-pungutan-suara-terhadap-empat-tahun-tanpa-transformasi-najib-tetapi-juga-22-tahun-dasar-korup-mahathir/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 February 2013, 5:29 pm and is filed under
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A “Tribute” to Tun

by Andrew Cheng

A Doctor In The House wry and sly,

The Malay Dilemma you feign to cry,

Soon after the tragedy in May 69,

Rising from the ashes you became mighty and high,

A good 22 years you reign in style,

Shedding crocodile tears when time to say good bye.

A crooked man with a crooked mind,

Wanted a crooked bridge, the rational hard to find,

Billions vanished without any trace or sign,

Plundering the country is never a crime,

Corruption, cronyism and racialism, all are fine,

Leaving this beloved Bolehland way far behind.

Ketuanan Melayu, Hidup Melayu is your battle cry,

You scream all these to cover your deception and lie(s),

Many saw these but pretend to be blind,

Mercy upon those who do not toe your line,

Know not why you lose your memory when in a bind,

Another intelligent devil like you we hope not to find.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 February 2013, 2:55 pm and is filed under
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Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah perlu bersidang dalam satu sidang tergempar sekirannya Menteri Dalam Negeri Hishamuddin tidak mampu memelihara kedaulatan Sabah dan Malaysia serta hak dan keselamatan rakyat Sabah

Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah perlu bersidang dalam satu sidang tergempar sekirannya Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin tidak mampu memelihara kedaulatan Sabah dan Malaysia serta hak dan keselamatan rakyat Sabah

Malaysiakini
 telah memetik laporan Ahad
Philippine Daily Inquirer
  hari ini bahawa meskipun penguasa Malaysia mengisytiharkan berakhirnya rundingan dengan lebih daripada 100 orang rakyat Filipina bersenjata yang mendarat di Sabah awal minggu ini dan berkata mereka akan dihantar pulang, ketua kumpulan itu bertegas mereka tidak akan berganjak.

Jamalul Kiram III, yang mendakwa sebagai waris kepada Kesultanan Sulu yang sudah tidak wujud lagi, memberitahu Philippine Daily Inquirer bahawa dia membenarkan ‘serangan’ itu dan orang-orangnya akan kekal di Lahad Datu selagi mana perlu.

Jamalul berkata kumpulan itu, yang diketuai adiknya tengku mahkota Agbimuddin Kiram, akan kekal di Sabah “selagi mana perlu” dalam tuntutan mereka untuk mendapatkan semula negeri itu, yang dahulunya kawasan jajahan Kesultanan Sulu.

“Saya menghantar adik saya ke Sabah atas nama keamanan dan  melaksanakan hak sejarah, nenek moyang dan kedaulatan terhadap Sabah,” Jamalul, yang berada di Manila, dipetik berkata seperti mana yang dilaporkan akhbar Filipina.

“Adalah hak kami, pemimpin Sulu, untuk menuntut semula apa yang merupakan milik kami,” tambahnya.

Philippine Daily Inquirer
  turut dipetik berkata Agbimuddin berkata bahawa kumpulannya, yang berada di dalam sebuah kampung di Lahad Datu, lengkap bersenjata, termasuklah M-14, M-16, M203, Baby Armalite dan tiada siapa dapat membuatkan mereka berganjak melainkan abangnya Jamalul mengarahkan mereka melakukan sedemikian.

Agbimuddin menambah bahawa lebih ramai lagi, penyokong Kesultanan Sulu, dijangka menyertai mereka di Sabah tidak lama lagi.

Ini dilaporkan di dalam Philippine Daily Inquirer  telah menjadikan kenyataan Pengarah Keselamatan Dalam Negeri dan Ketenteraman Awam Bukit Aman Datuk Salleh Mat Rasid dan Ketua Pesuruhjaya Polis Sabah Datuk Hamza Taib bahawa rundingan telah tamat dengan 100 orang Filipina bersenjata berada di perkampungan tepi laut Tanduo di Lahad Datu dan penguasa Malaysia bersedia untuk menghantar pulang kumpulan bersenjata itu kembali ke selatan Filipina tidak masuk akal.

Ia juga telah memburukkan nama Kementerian Dalam Negeri memandangkan kesabaran dan keyakinan rakyat Sabah dan Malaysia terhadap kemampuan Hishamuddin untuk menyelesaikan kebuntuan di Lahad Datu dengan segera dan aman semakin tipis, terutamanya Menteri Dalam Negeri lebih berminat dan sibuk bermain politik menjelang Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 berbanding fokus terhadap isu keselamatan melibatkan rakyat dan negara, seperti:

Cuba mengiyakan “kisah yang sukar dipercayai” bahawa nyawa Perdana Menteri  Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan bintang K-Pop Korea Psy diancam ketika pesta Tahun Baru Cina Barisan Nasional di Pulau Pinang pada Isnin lalu, sedangkan tiada bukti atau sekulmit kebenaran pun;

Mempertahankan penahanan dan pengusiran Senator Australia Nick Xenophon kerana memperjuangkan pilihan raya bersih dan adil di Malaysia dan mengundang kutukan seluruh dunia; dan

Menyebarkan penipuan tentang DAP tidak menghantar keputusan pilihan raya parti kepada Jabatan Pendaftaran Pertubuhan walhal ia telah diserahkan sebelum Tahun Baru Cina, menimbulkan persoalan sama ada dia sedang mempersiapkan alasan untuk kerajaan UMNO/BN mengisytiharkan DAP sebagai parti politik yang haram dan tidak sah.

Sekiranya Hishammuddin tidak mampu memberikan tumpuan menyelesaikan kebuntuan dengan pasukan bersenjata berbangsa Filipina di Lahad Datu dengan kadar segera dan aman, beliau sepatutnya biar orang lain yang lebih mampu memberikan keutamaan sewajarnya kepada isu keselamatan negara  bukannya mencipta kontroversi politik untuk melakukan tugas itu.

Adalah amat malang jika Hishammuddin di dalam fikiran rakyat Malaysia, terutamanya rakyat Sabah dikaitkan dengan ungkapan: “Nero sedang main-main sementara Rome terbakar”.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/17/parliament-and-sabah-state-assembly-should-meet-in-urgent-sessions-if-home-minister-hishammuddin-is-incapable-of-protecting-the-sovereignty-of-sabah-and-malaysia-and-the-rights-and-safety-of-sabahans/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 February 2013, 11:25 am and is filed under
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Pengiraan Detik 53 Hari ke PRU13: Penahanan dan pengusiran 15 jam Xenophon – pengesahan antarabangsa terhadap “autoritarian” kerajaan BN dan Najib seorang “demokrat palsu”

Menjelang Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13, rakyat Malaysia melihat sesuatu yang seperti sebuah ungkapan Yunani yang menyebut, “Sesiapa yang tuhan mahu hancurkan mereka akan dijadikan gila terlebih dahulu”.

Bulan lepas, mantan Perdana Menteri yang paling lama berkhidmat, Tun Dr. Mahathir menunjukkan perbuatan khianatnya dalam penipuan “kewarganegaraan untuk undi” di Sabah dalam Projek M dan Projek IC di awal tahun lapan puluhan dan sembilan puluhan, menyebabkan rakyat Sabah sebenar menjadi minoriti di tanah mereka sendiri – dan turut memburukkan lagi keadaan dengan menuduh Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman sebelum Merdeka telah memberikan satu juta kewarganegaraan kepada bukan Melayu yang “tidak layak”.

Seolah-olah tidak cukup kerosakan yang telah dilakukan, Mahathir memburukkan lagi dengan meminta diberikan majoriti dua pertiga kepada Barisan Nasional supaya mampu melucutkan kewarganegaraan pengerusi bersama Bersih S. Ambiga disebabkan kempen patriotik beliau untuk pilihan raya bebas, bersih dan adil.

Minggu lepas, sekiranya tiga laungan “Ya untuk Psy, Tidak untuk BN” di pesta Tahun Baru Cina Pulau Pinang Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak menampilkan bintang K-Pop Korea dan penghinaan terhadap Perdana Menteri, mantan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kabinet menunggu dengan sia-sia kemunculan Psy menyertai mereka “menggaul yee sang”  tidak cukup memalukan, empat hari selepas acara itu tanpa satu bukti pun, pemimpin Barisan Nasional Pulau Pinang putar kisah itu kononnya terdapat cubaan membahayakan nyawa Psy dan Perdana Menteri. Sekurang-kurangnya, Najib masih waras untuk mendiamkan diri terhadap semua kisah bohong itu.

Bukti terbaru yang menggambarkan ungkapan Yunani, “Sesiapa yang tuhan mahu hancurkan mereka akan dijadikan gila terlebih dahulu” adalah penahanan dan pengusiran 15 jam Senator Australia, melengkapkan pengesahan dalam negara dan antarabangsa bahawa kerajaan Malaysia yang diperintah Barisan Nasional adalah “autoritarian” dan Najib seorang “demokrat palsu”.

Dakwaan oleh ketua pengarah Imigresen Datuk Alias Ahmad bahawa Xenophon berada di dalam “senarai hitam” imigresen kerana beliau telah mencemarkan imej negara, dengan menggelar kerajaan Malaysia “autoritarian” dalam menguruskan perhimpunan untuk pilihan raya bebas dan adil Bersih 3.0 April lalu, adalah amat kebudak-budakan, kerana jika atas alasan itu, rakyat Malaysia tentu menjadi persona non grata di banyak negara yang telah mereka kritik dengan mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Mahathir berada di senarai teratas rakyat Malaysia yang tidak boleh melawat kebanyakkan negara Barat!

Tetapi apa yang paling melampau adalah sokongan yang boleh dipersoalkan dan amat dikesali berkenaan penahanan dan pengusiran Xenophon oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya, apabila timbalan pengerusinya Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar berkata adalah tidak adil untuk menghakimi keadilan PRU13 berdasarkan pengusiran Xenophon.

Selain menonjolkan kurangnya kebebasan dan tidak berat sebelah, Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya tidak mungkin lebih salah daripada itu.

Pengusiran Xenophon yang tidak demokratik dan bersifat “autoritarian” kini telah meletakkan persoalan intergriti proses pilihan raya, sama ada PRU13 akan  bebas, adil dan bersih di bawah perhatian antarabangsa.

Seluruh dunia sekarang bertanya – apa yang mahu disembunyikan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya dan kerajaan UMNO/BN begitu takut kepada pemerhati bebas PRU13 dari luar negara sehingga perlu menimbulkan ketegangan hubungan luar dan kutukan antarabangsa serta kecaman berkenaan penahanan dan pengusiran Xenophon?

Dunia juga menanti dan melihat sama ada Najib benar-benar “demokrat palsu” seperti mana yang digambarkan oleh Mark Mackinnon, wartawan Canadian The Globe dan Mail di dalam artikelnya bertarikh 8 Jun, 2012, terutamanya merujuk kepada takrifan “demokrat palsu” beliau adalah seseorang yang “mengadakan pilihan raya tetapi tidak mempunyai niat untuk melepaskan kuasa” dan seseorang yang “musuh politiknya dipenjara dan parti mereka diharamkan melalui hal-hal teknikal perundangan”.

Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein semalam mengatakan DAP belum menghantar keputusan pilihan raya parti dalam tempoh 60 hari seperti yang diminta undang-undang dan Jabatan Pendaftaran Pertubuhan boleh mula menyiasat DAP.

Semalam, saya telah twit dan bertanya: “Apa yang akan Hishamuddin lakukan sebagai Menteri Dalam Negeri sekiranya DAP telah buktikan bahawa DAP telah menghantar keputusan pilihan raya parti kepada Jabatan Pendaftaran Pertubuhan sebelum Tahun Baru Cina?

Mungkin Hishammuddin dan Najib benar-benar mahu mengharamkan DAP kerana mereka terdesak mengenangkan peluang UMNO/BN dalam PRU13, meskipun cakap besar bahawa mereka mampu menang besar di dalam pilihan raya yang bebas dan adil, malah mendapatkan semula majoriti dua pertiga parlimen dan merampas kembali negeri-negeri Pakatan Rakyat seperti Pulau Pinang, Selangor, dan Kelantan.

Biar mereka renungkan ungkapan Yunani: “Sesiapa yang tuhan mahu hancurkan mereka akan dijadikan gila terlebih dahulu”.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/17/53-day-countdown-to-13ge-xenophons-15-hr-detention-and-deportation-international-confirmation-that-bn-govt-authoritarian-and-najib-a-false-democrat/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 February 2013, 11:20 am and is filed under
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