Umno menjadi lemah kerana dedalu-dedalu didalamnya

Oleh
Aspan Alias
 | March 06, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

6 MAC — Ditempat-tempat dimana orang ramai duduk berborak, isu politik memang menjadi perkara yang wajib disebut, lebih-lebih lagi waktu kita menunggu pilihanraya yang hampir tiba ini. Bila pilihanraya, siapa yang akan menang dan kalah dan apakah isu yang mungkin menjadi bahan kempen oleh kedua-dua belah pihak yang menawarkan diri dan parti mereka nanti.

Tetapi isu orang Melayulah yang menjadi isu terbesar yang orang ramai selalu menyebutnya akhir-akhir ini. Isu memohon maaf Najib kepada orang ramai itu telah membawa isu baru pula. Ramai yang berpendapat apa yang dilakukan oleh Najib itu merupakan perkara yang merugikan Umno dari sudut politiknya. Adalah sukar untuk membuat tafsiran permohonan maaf secara terbuka Najib itu.

Walau bagaimanapun yang jelas sudah ramai pula yang beranggapan bahawa Najib tidak lagi “viable” sebagai pemimpin nombor satu negara dan sudah ada dikalangan orang-orang Umno sendiri berpendapat yang Najib sudah sampai ke penghujungnya, termasuklah dua orang pimpinan bahagian Umno yang bertemu dengan saya itu. “I think Najib should throw his towel now,” kata salah seorang dari pimpinan Umno itu.

Tetapi jika Najib hendak berhenti siapa yang akan mengambil alih? Adakah Muhyiddin menjadi pilihan untuk mengganti Najib? Salah seorang yang berjumpa saya itu bingkas menjawab, “Kalau Muhyiddin, tak payahlah. That will a bigger disaster,” kata seorang lagi.

Saya bertanya samada mereka berdua ini akan berusaha untuk menjadi calon seperti yang ramai-ramai itu. Mereka kata mereka tidak lagi berminat kerana sudah hilang semangat menghadapi keadaan serius dalam BN sekarang ini. Malahan mereka berkata yang niat mereka untuk berjumpa saya itu ialah untuk memulakan perbincangan untuk menyertai DAP kerana parti itu telah berjaya menunjukkan kemampuan untuk mentadbir secara baik seperti yang berlaku di Pulau Pinang.

Pulau Pinang seperti juga kerajaan negeri Selangor, telah terbukti ada perbezaan dengan pengalaman dibawah pemerintahan BN dahulu. Lagi pula kata mereka, selagi mereka berada didalam Umno selagi itulah mereka mendengar dan melihat isu buruk yang keterlaluan buruknya moralnya. “Saya tidak tahan melihat kita semua sentiasa dibayar untuk menyokong mereka. Saya yakin Umno sudah sampai garis penamat hayatnya. Buktinya jelas. Apabila pemimpin-pemimpinnya ke hulu ke hilir membayar dan membeli undi disana sini itulah petanda parti itu akan habis riwayatnya!,” kata salah seorang lagi.

Pandangan pemimpin Umno itu benar. Dimana-mana tamaddun besar dalam sejarah dunia ini pemerintahnya akan berakhir apabila budaya membeli, mengungut dan membohongi orang dibawah perintahnya. Dizaman Roman Empire yang begitu kuat dan stabil, Empire itu tersungkur selepas parkara-perkara yang disebut tadi berlaku kerana mempertahankan kuasa.

Bagi sesiapa yang berfikir dengan teliti dan tekun, ciri-ciri ini sudah berlaku dan berlarutan. Ianya bermula sejak pentadbiran post Hussein Onn dan sekarang sudah menjadi budaya yang sudah tidak dapat dileraikan lagi. Kalau ini berlarutan lagi maka yang kita tunggu hanyalah satu, iaitu kehancuran budaya dan akhlak kehidupan generasi kita yang akan datang.

Persoalannya sekarang bolehkah ianya dileraikan. Tahukah pentadbiran sekarang cara dan mampu untuk meleraikan budaya ini sedangkan mereka adalah pengamal tegar kepada budaya ini. Bolehkah BN membetulkan keadaan dengan memohon maaf dan berjanji untuk memberhentikan budaya ini. Tidak ada siapa yang mempunyai daya pemikiran boleh mempercayai janji-janji manis ini kerana rasuah itu sudah menjadi “addiction” kepada pemimpin-pemimpin BN khususnya Umno.

Kita tahu cara dan kaedah yang paling betul untuk penyelesaian terhadap budaya korup, salah gunakuasa, kemurungan sistem kehakiman dan “judiciary” negara dan berbagai-bagai lagi kemungkaran yang tidak dapat dikawal lagi ini. Caranya ialah untuk Najib dan seluruh kepimpinan dalam Umno itu meletakkan jawatan dan menjauhi kuasa yang mereka pernah menyalahlakukan itu.

Tetapi mahukah mereka berbuat demikian? Tentu mereka tahu kuasa itu adalah “ultimate” peribadi mereka dan bukannya untuk parti. Umno yang dikatakan parti yang baik itu telah dicemari dengan barisan pimpinan yang rasuah dan tidak berintregriti.

Umno itu ibarat pohon yang kuat tetapi oleh kerana terlalu banyak dedalu yang tumbuh dipohon itu, maka akhirnya pohon yang kuat juga akan akhirnya mati jika dedalu yang tumbuh mekar dipohon itu tidak dibuang.

Bagi diri saya sendiri, saya telah duduk kekal didalam Umno sebegitu lama kerana mengharapkan dedalu ini dicantas dan dibuang agar pohon itu (Umno) dapat kembali hidup subur. Tetapi hari demi hari, tahun demi tahun saya nampak dedalu itu bertambah membesar, maka saya mengambil keputusan untuk menyertai parti yang tidak ada dedalu ini tumbuh. Kata-kata saya kepada Umno ditempat dan negeri saya bertahun-tahun dahulu, ternyata menjadi kenyataan. Umno sudah tidak dapat diselamatkan lagi.

Dedalu-dedalu ini tumbuh dengan pesatnya sehinggakan pohon itu hampir mati dan tidak berbuah lagi. Bagi saya pohon yang disalut oleh tumbuhan dedalu tadi akan pasti mati, dan ianya tidak payah ditebang untuk membunuh pohon yang suatu ketika dahulu pohon yang kuat dan kukuh.

Dedalu-dedalu yang tumbuh dipohon rendang ini masih kekal, malahan bertambah membesar lagi. Saya hendak juga melihat bukti kalau ada pohon yang dihinggapi tumbuhan dedalu ini boleh hidup sampai bila-bila.

Bagi saya mana-mana pokok yang dihinggapi dedalu ini akan mati secara “natural” akhirnya. Kepada penyokong-penyokong Umno sama-samalah kita lihat apa yang akan terjadi kepada pohon (Umno) yang kian hari kian kurus kerana segala baja-baja pokok itu sudah disedut oleh dedalu yang hidup dan melekat kepada pokok yang suatu ketika dahulu merupakan pohon rendang tempat rakyat semua kaum khususnya orang Melayu berteduh.

Orang Melayu yang tekun berfikir merasa amat sedih kerana tempat mereka berteduh telah di ambilalih oleh dedalu yang hidup dipohon (Umno) sejak dua tiga dekad dahulu. Sekarang kita lihat Umno sedang berhempas pulas untuk mengambilalih kerajaan negeri Selangor selepas pilihanraya nanti. Rakyat Selangor mesti berfikir dengan tenang dan tekun, yang cuba hendak mengambilalih ini adalah dedalu yang hendak hidup dipohon rendang bernama Selangor itu.

Apa yang saya perkatakan ini tentunya akan mendapat tentangan dari penyokong pohon yang disaluti dedalu ini. Saya tidak kisah itu semua. Katalah apa-apa pun terhadap diri saya sekehendak hati. Yang penting bagi saya akhirnya nanti saya akan membuktikan kebenaran apa yang saya katakan ini. Semasa itu nanti menangis air mata darah pun tidak akan dapat menyelamatkan bangsa dan negara lagi.

Jika saya sudah tiada didunia ini dan apa yang saya katakan ini akan menjadi kenyataan, hadiahkan saya bacaan surah al-fatihah sekali seorang. Itu pun kalau ikhlas.

NB: Dedalu itu adalah sejenis tumbuhan yang tidak tumbuh ditanah. Dedalu ini tumbuh dipangkal dahan pokok-pokok yang rendang dan sentiasa duduk diatas sambil menumpang hidup dipohon yang rendang itu. Pohon rendang itu selalunya akan mati kerana dedalu yang menumpang hidup itu. Dalam bahasa saintifiknya dedalu ini adalah “parasite”. —
aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 March 2012, 3:55 pm and is filed under
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


A year for a shoe

By
Justice Seeker
 | March 08, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 8 — The Federal Court may have been justified in throwing the book and jailing imam Hoslan Husin, had they done so on the day of the offence.

Because what he did, by tossing his shoes at them, was contempt in the face of the court and the offended quorum of judges would have been within their rights to hear the case there and then.

But the judges and the judiciary did not want the humiliation to go any further (that is why mainstream newspapers were asked by the Palace of Justice not to report the incident), so they allowed Hoslan to leave court.

The problem was that there is such a thing as online media and the case was reported widely. With the news now in the public domain, the powers that be had to swing into action.

And today’s one-year sentence was the culmination of the indignation of the same quorum who were insulted last month.

Justice must be seen to be done, and in this case, I dare say it wasn’t. The Federal Court judges who were entitled to hear the contempt in the face of the court hearing on the same day should not have sat in judgement of Hoslan today.

Because they are “interested” parties. These are the same judges who allowed Hoslan to walk free then, suggesting that they did not feel slighted by his action.

Now, after reading the reports and probably being ridiculed over the incident by friends and foes, they surely are not disinterested parties or dispassionate.

The one-year jail sentence will give the impression that this was score-settling.

It was against the tenets of natural justice for this same quorum to hear this belated contempt of court hearing. They should have stood down.

Justice must be seen to be done. Always. It is even arguable that instead of knocking out Hoslan’s appeal on a technicality of being out of time, the judges should have exercised better judgement and given him some leeway because he was not represented by legal counsel and would not have known about legal technicalities.

But that was an opportunity to show common sense, and today was an opportunity missed to show the even hand of justice.

Note: You can bet that the docile mainstream press will report today’s case in full. This is the same press who did not report even a word of the written judgement from the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial!

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 March 2012, 4:31 pm and is filed under
Court
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Asian women: Same countries, different worlds

— Dr Noeleen Heyzer

The Malaysian Insider

Mar 08, 2012

MARCH 8 — We are in a race against time — with just three years left to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Many of our people, even in the same country, continue to live in different worlds. This is especially true for large numbers of Asian women, whose experience of development and growth remains starkly different from that of men — especially when compounded by disparities of ethnicity, caste, economic status, education and geographical location.

The best celebration of International Women’s Day this year will be a commitment to redouble our efforts in a final push on the MDGs to 2015 — because confronting gender inequality and advancing the empowerment of women holds the key to accelerating regional development and meeting the goals.

The power of the MDGs lies in their promise of a better world. Since their adoption by the member states of the United Nations in 2001, the eight goals have become universally recognised as important milestones in the pursuit of a more equitable future for all.

The new Asia-Pacific MDG Report 2011/12 makes it clear that addressing disparities in Asia and the Pacific, especially through narrowing gender gaps, holds the key to a big final push on the MDGs.

Published in February by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Development Programme and the Asian Development Bank, the report shows much progress. Our region has already made great strides by halving the incidence of poverty, reducing HIV prevalence, stopping the spread of tuberculosis, and halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water.

Major gaps still remain however across goals, across sub-regions, and especially within countries. One indicator of these challenges is the still-unacceptably low level of maternal health across the region. For too many Asian women, giving birth is one of the most dangerous experiences they can possibly have.

In 2008, with about 140 000 deaths, our region accounted for almost 40 per cent of maternal mortality in the developing world. In South Asia, for instance, maternal mortality ratios are almost 70 per cent higher than the world average and nine times those of Europe and Central Asia. With a number of multi-sectoral and very achievable development interventions however, we could have saved the lives of almost 150 000 women by 2015 in this one area alone.

Countries like China, Vietnam and Turkey are well on their way to joining Bhutan, Iran and the Maldives who have achieved the MDG target of reducing these deaths by three-quarters by 2015. More than 30 other Asia-Pacific countries, however, are unlikely to achieve the target unless we accelerate progress.

The positive news is that the countries currently off-track can reach the current target by reducing maternal deaths by only two to three per 100 000 live births annually for the next three years. Our ultimate aim, however, must remain the avoidance of all preventable deaths.

Similarly, around half of the off-track countries could reach the target of ensuring skilled birth attendance by simply increasing rates of attendance by three per cent per year — and 11 million women would benefit. The message is clear: the goals are achievable. We are so close to the finish line — it is time for one final big push to 2015.

A recurring theme of the report — the impact of social and economic disparities — is highlighted by the huge gaps within countries in access to and use of maternal health services, like antenatal care and skilled birth attendance. We must address the social determinants of health. The economic status of households, levels of educational attainment, and the decision-making autonomy of women consistently underpin these disparities — making these critical areas for effective policy interventions.

On the goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women, the countries of Asia and the Pacific have effectively eliminated gender disparities in primary, secondary and tertiary education but as many as 25 million children of primary-school age remain out of school — most of whom are girls. Women also tend to be under-represented in the sciences and engineering, even in those countries where the tertiary enrolment of women outnumbers that of men.

Contrary to what many believe these are not women’s issues alone. This inequality translates into increased poverty and lower human development for everyone — men and women alike. Lack of women’s participation in the labour market costs the Asia-Pacific region about US$89 billion (RM267 billion) annually.

Our shared responsibility, as the guardians of the MDGs, is to fulfil their promise by meeting the expectations which they have raised — of a world more free of poverty, hunger and disease, of people empowered by education, enjoying equality and a better quality of life.

We must ensure that the women of Asia and the Pacific are empowered to benefit from the promise of a better world. We must build a future in which basic needs become basic rights, where women develop their full potential and where progress for women is progress for all.

* As Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Dr Noeleen Heyzer is the most senior UN official in the region and the first woman ever appointed to this position. She led the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) for 14 years. The new Asia-Pacific Regional MDG Report 2011/12 can be downloaded at http://www.unescap.org/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 March 2012, 12:07 pm and is filed under
women
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Muhyiddin is the first person to come to mind when Najib talks about “Opponents of 1Malaysia are power-crazy and a cynical bunch”

The first person to come to anyone’s mind when reading the Star headline
“PM: Opponents of 1Malaysia are power-crazy and a cynical bunch
” is none other than the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

This was because it was Muhyiddin who was the first public personality to repudiate Najib’s 1Malaysia policy of creating “a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second” when he declared that he is “a Malay first and then only a Malaysian”.

I had said in my speech in Parliament on March 18, 2010 that the biggest enemy of 1Malaysia is not from outside Barisan Nasional but from inside UMNO and Barisan Nasional, and I have been proved right in the past two years.

Even the Prime Minister himself dare not openly berate or dissociate himself from Muhyiddin’s repudiation of 1Malaysia.

In July last year, when Najib was specifically asked by Malaysian students at the Malaysian Student Leaders’ Summit (MSLS) in Kuala Lumpur whether he was Malaysian first and what he thought of his deputy’s infamous remark of being “Malay first and Malaysian next”, Najib ducked the question, saying:

“I don’t want to respond in a way that will divide me from my deputy.

“1 Malaysia is our guiding philosophy. It does not matter what you say, just as long as you follow (the 1 Malaysia concept).”

In the March 2010 Parliament, I had observed that the Najib Cabinet was full of Ministers who were quite sceptical about the 1Malaysia concept treating it as nothing more than political theatre.

I specifically asked who were the Ministers in the Cabinet who had the 1Malaysia DNA as I could not see anyone, posing two 1Malaysia DNA tests for the Cabinet Ministers:

Is the Minister prepared to declare that the basis of 1Malaysia is “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” and not “ketuanan Melayu”?; and

Is he or she prepared to endorse the objective of 1Malaysia as defined by the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap launched in January 2010 to create a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, region or socio-economic status second by declaring that he or she is Malaysian first and ethnicity second?

We not only have the Deputy Prime Minister who very early in the day declared that he is “a Malay first and then only a Malaysian”, we have now another Cabinet Minister Datuk Idris Jala, who would have been the leading standard bearer of the 1Malaysia policy of “Malaysian first”, now recoiled from the concept, demanding to know instead: “Why must I be Malaysian first and Malay second?”

Najib is right that the opponents of 1Malaysia are “power crazy and a cynical bunch”, but they come from inside UMNO and Barisan Nasional, resulting in the worst racial and religious polarisation in the nation’s history under Najib’s premiership when race and religious relations should be at their best if 1Malaysia is a serious and meaningful Prime Ministerial policy instead of being an empty and hollow one.

This is why there had been immunity and impunity for extremists, whether in UMNO especially Utusan Malaysia, its official newspaper, or groups out-sourced by UMNO like Perkasa, who are given a field day to spout their incendiary lies and falsehoods to stoke racial hatred and religious tensions?

When MCA spread lies that a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS to establish an Islamic state, and UMNO spread lies that a vote for PAS is a vote for DAP to further anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers objectives, they not only expose the hypocritical and double-faced politics of Barisan Nasional, they also make a total mockery of Najib’s 1Malaysia policy.

Next month is the third anniversary of Najib’s premiership as well as his signature 1Malaysia policy.

How is he reining in the opponents of 1Malaysia inside UMNO and Barisan Nasional, from Muhyiddin to Cabinet Ministers and Barisan Nasional leaders, so as to get them all to declare that they fully support the 1Malaysia policy of “Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second” and to end all hypocritical, dishonest and double-faced politics and halt the worsening racial and religious polarisation in the country?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 March 2012, 2:20 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
Muhyiddin Yassin
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


‘Political persecution in Sarawak not new’

By
Joseph Tawie
 | March 8, 2012

Free Malaysia Today

KUCHING: Political persecution of opposition supporters by the Taib Mahmud administration is a norm in Sarawak, claims the state opposition DAP.

The only reason people are alert to it now is because one victim, Frusis Lebi, a farmer with deformed hands and legs, had come forward to expose such persecution.

Lebi’s government subsidies and welfare aid were revoked because he had openly supported the opposition in last April’s state election.

Said Sarawak DAP secretary general Chong Chien Jen: “There are many of them who have been politically persecuted for supporting and voting for the opposition when their subsidies, allowances, and projects have been withdrawn from them.

“The problem is that many of these victims are not prepared to come out and expose these blatant acts.”

Chong, who is Kota Sentosa assemblyman, was commenting on the widespread anger at the state Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Research and Marketing) Mong Dagang who had ordered that Lebi’s aid be revoked.

To further compound this ‘heinous’ act, Dagang’s political ‘boss’, James Masing who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president had, in defense of Dagang’s action advised voters to ‘follow a rule of life – jangan lawan towkay’ (don’t challenge the boss).

The comment has further fueled concerns here about the ‘arrogance’ of Sarawak BN leaders.

A leader in Taib’s Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) party, who declined to be named, described Dagang as ‘stupid’.

“Dagang is so stupid to write official letters using his ministry letterhead to the departments of agriculture and welfare.

“He should follow other BN leaders by merely whispering to heads of department, so that there will be no record of him giving official instruction,” said the leader, adding that Dagang had yet to learn the Barisan Nasional tactic.

‘Political tactic’

Meanwhile Dagang took great pains to justify his actions against Lebi.

In his 40-minute press conference in Sri Aman, Dagang who is PRS vice-president said it was “his democratic right to stop providing assistance” to handicapped Lebi.

“The decision was made as Frusis (Lebi) was an opposition supporter who turned his house into an operation room centre for the opposition during the state election.

“Frusis (Lebi) did not appreciate what had been given to him. It is wasting our money, all the tax payers’ money especially the Bukit Begunan constituency voters. They (voters) might be angry with me if they knew this.

“Everyone has the democratic right. I do too. I should be fair and help those who are more deserving compared to Frusis (Lebi),” Dagang said adding that Lebi had received much aid from the government compared to others.

Dagang said as an elected representative his duty was to fairness to all his constituents.

“I am elected to serve everyone especially those in Bukit Begunan, not just one person.

“I believe this could be a political tactic used by the opposition (DAP) for their advantage, but Frusis (Lebi) did not realise he was being used,” he said.

Who Lebi supports is irrelevant

But Chong has denied that the opposition was exploiting Lebi’s situation.

“What do you mean that he is being used by DAP? Actually he (Lebi) helped PKR in the campaign. He did not help DAP nor did he fly DAP flag.

“But whether he supported anyone it is irrelevant. He could (even) be hanging PAS flag. So what?

“You don’t have to cancel his subsidy based on the ground of his political affiliation,” he said, adding that DAP would try to raise funds to help Lebi pass through this difficult times.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 8 March 2012, 4:29 pm and is filed under
Sarawak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Chief Justice Ariffin Zakaria should intervene against the harsh and excessive one-year jail sentence imposed on imam Hoslan Hussein for throwing his shoes at the Federal Court judges

For the past few days, Malaysian sense of decency and propriety had been pulverised by a battery of blows which collectively signal that something is very rotten with the Najib administration which is marking its third anniversary next month, viz:

the one-year jail sentence by the Federal Court for contempt of court by imam Hoslan Hussein who flung his shoes at the three-man bench led by Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Zulkifli Ahmad Makinuddin on February 22;

Two years for the High Court judge to produce a 70-page judgment on the murder trial of Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was blown to bits with C4 explosives, which was totally unconcerned about the motive of the murder.

The denial of welfare aid and farming subsidies to disabled Sarawak farmer Frusis Lebi, 51, by Sarawak agriculture assistant minister Mong Dagang for supporting the opposition.

The unending revelations of the horrors of the RM250 million National Feedlot Centre “cow condo” scandal reaching far beyond the shores of Malaysia, with the latest allegations of purchase of properties not only in Singapore but also in Kazakhstan involving public funds specifically meant to promote greater beef self-sufficiency in the country.

Unconvincing denial by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that the RM2.2 billion 50km Kidex (Kinrara-Damansara Expressway) concession had not been awarded to UMNO-linked firms as a reward for helping to accomplish Najib’s undemocratic, illegal and unconstituional power grab in Perak toppling the elected Pakatan State Government led by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin.

Another RM840 million government bailout for former Malaysian Airlines (MAS) chairman Tajudin Ramli, sombre reminder that Malaysians today are still paying for the RM100 billion losses caused by the financial scandals which dogged the 22 years of the Mahathir premiership.

These are only a partial list of the host of abuses of power, corruption, cronyism, lack of accountability, blatant injustices and sheer absence of good governance despite all the high-falutin talk and sloganeering by Najib since becoming Prime Minister three years ago of “1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now” and all the transformation programmes whether Government Transformation Programme (GTP), Economic Transformation Programme (ETP:), Political Transformation Programme (PTP), etc.

Will the voices of concern and outrage on all these issues felt and expressed by Malaysians be heard and heeded by the Prime Minister and the powers-that-be?

For a start, will the Chief Justice of Malaysia Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria intervene against the harsh and excessive penalty of one-year jail sentence handed down by the Federal Court yesterday against imam Hoslan Hussein for his shoe-throwing, tempering justice with mercy especially as:

the shoe-throwing happened more than a fortnight ago on Feb. 22 and was no more a direct contempt of court;

punitive action now by the same three Federal Court judges when they did not take action against him on the day in question reeks of conflict-of-interest and being unduly harsh and excessive, especially when compared to punishments meted out to more heinous crimes like corruption involving important political personalities in government.

Furthermore, will Najib intervene both as Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional Chairman to end the political victimisation and discrimination against disabled Sarawak farmer Frusis Lebi by restoring to him all welfare aid and farming subsidies?

If not, the issue will be highlighted in Parliament which reconvenes next week.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 March 2012, 2:07 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
Corruption
,
Court
,
Financial Scandals
,
Judiciary
,
Muhyiddin Yassin
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Hambat penagih tegar rasuah mendekati perbendaharaan negeri Selangor

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

Mar 08, 2012

8 MAC — Selangor menjadi negeri idaman BN khususnya Umno. Setiap malam dan siang negeri Selangor menjadi bahan umpatan dan kritikan BN yang menggunakan TV3 mencaci dan menghina kepimpinan Selangor. Ini memang tidak menjadi kehairanan kerana Umno dan BN sedar yang Selangor merupakan negeri yang terkaya dinegara ini

Kekayaan negeri Selangor itu lah yang menyebabkan Umno tidak kering peluh mencari jalan dan berusaha untuk merampas kembali negeri ini. Memang sifat pemimpin Umno begitu. Dimana ada wang disitu mereka menyerang, seolah-olah kita hidup dizaman lampau; di mana negeri yang kaya, negeri itu akan diperangi mereka untuk mendapatkan harta rampasan jika menang peperangan itu.

Barulah tiga empat tahun ini rakyat Selangor hendak merasakan pentadbiran yang baik dan transperan, rasuah yang minima dan kecurian wang dan harta rakyat yang berbillion oleh pimpinan BN dahulu. Rakyat Selangor baru sahaja hendak merasakan situasi dalam mana Menteri Besarnya tidak membina rumah yang berharga RM25 juta walaupun MB semasa itu hanya dari keluarga yang biasa.

Baru tiga empat tahun inilah rakyat Selangor terhindar dari kecurian harta benda mereka yang berbillion ringgit seperti apa yang berlaku dalam kes PKFZ. Baru sekaranglah rakyat Selangor tahu bagaimana wang Yayasan Selangor kehilangan setengah billion ringgit semasa pentadbiran Umno dahulu.

Barulah sekarang rakyat dan kerajaan Selangor hendak merasakan sebuah kerajaan yang mempunyai bajet yang “surplus” sebanyak RM1.5 billion. Umno pernah saya labelkan sebagai sebuah parti “vandalism” yang tegar. Apa yang baik hendak dirosakkannya. Mana yang berduit dan banyak wang disitulah mereka berhempas pulas untuk merampasnya. MAS yang pernah menjadi sebuah syarikat penerbangan yang premium sekarang sudah diletakkan dibawah ketiak Air Asia.

Berbillion billion ringgit kerugian MAS semasa syarikat penerbangan itu diswastakan kepada Tajudin dahulu, dan kerajaan telah mengambilalih syarikat itu dengan harga yang sama semasa pengswastaan syarikat itu kepada Tajudin dahulu. Semua punah ranah oleh kepimpinan Umno semasa itu yang kini dianggap sebagai negarawan pula.

Proton diambilalih oleh kroni pemimpin yang sama kerana aset Proton yang berbelas billion nilainya bukan kerana hendak memperbaiki prestasi Proton. Harga belian kepada pegangan Khazanah sebanyak 42 peratus itu hanya dibayar dengan harga RM1.4 billion sahaja.

Peneroka FELDA sedang diambang penipuan pimpinan kerana FELDA itu kaya raya. Dimana-mana Umno hanya pandai merosakkan yang baik. Sekarang kerajaan negeri Selangor pula menjadi sasarannya, juga kerana Selangor mempunyai kekayaan yang paling besar dinegara ini.

Umno ini ibarat semut, dimana gula berada disitulah mereka berkerumun. Itulah sebabnya saya pernah memberikan cadangan supaya kita memilih parti yang pemimpinnya mempunyai air liur yang pekat sedikit. Kalau air liur pemimpin itu telalu cair seperti pemimpin Umno air liur itu akan senang meleleh jika nampak wang dan harta yang banyak.

BN sedang menggunakan media perdana seperti TV3 untuk melakukan segala kempen kotor mereka. Kalau mereka benar-benar dari pimpinan yang baik masakan rakyat Selangor menolak mereka dalam pilihanraya yang lalu. Sekarang ini pemimpin-pemimpin yang sama yang mencari kesalahan TS Khalid seperti orang mencari kutu didalam rambut.

Satu sahaja formula untuk memberikan penilaian untuk mengambil keputusan dalam pilihanraya yang akan datang; iaitu kita nilai berapa billion yang dirugikan wang rakyat oleh kerajaan BN dahulu. Bagi mereka yang berfikir ambil hanya satu isu sahaja, iaitu PKFZ yang melibatkan skandal yang sampai ketahap RM12 billion.

Bagi saya rakyat Selangor supaya tidak lagi mendekati pimpinan parti yang telah terbukti memporak perandakan rakyat Selangor dahulu. Tindakan rakyat Selangor memberikan mandat kepada kerajaan sekarang yang dipimpin oleh TS Khalid itu merupakan tindakan yang betul dan berpadanan.

Kesempatan ini saya memohon agar rakyat Selangor tidak lagi melakukan kesilapan dengan mengembalikan mandat kepada BN dalam pilihanraya yang akan datang ini. Malahan seluruh rakyat dinegeri-negeri lain yang dipimpin oleh BN mengikuti jejak langkah rakyat Selangor yang telah membuat keputusan yang tepat dalam pilihanraya yang lalu.

Apabila sudah membuat keputusan yang betul rakyat Selangor seharusnya menjaga mandat yang telah diberikan kepada kerajaan pimpinan TS Khalid ini dengan baik dan beramai-ramailah memberikan perlindungan dari diperah oleh pimpinan Umno yang rakus itu.

Menjaga harta benda kita adalah menjadi kewajipan kita semua dan itu adalah kerja yang sangat dituntut oleh agama dan adat kita. Sesungguhnya rakyat Selangor telah membuatkan pimpinan Umno meroyan dan tidak tahu hendak mengambilalih kuasa selain dari menggunakan ugutan, membeli undi melalui BRIM, menggunakan samseng dan berbagai-bagai lagi cara yang amat membosankan rakyat ramai.

Obsession Umno untuk mengambilalih Selangor ibarat penagih dadah yang sedang gian kerana dadah yang selalu diambilnya dahulu sudah tidak dapat diperolehi mereka lagi. Maka Umno sedang merasuk kesana kemari untuk mendapatkan “supply” yang sudah empat tahun tidak diperolehi mereka.

Kesinambungan mandat terhadap kerajaan PR sekarang ini merupakan kemestian supaya kita tidak lagi didekati oleh kumpulan yang sentiasa terintai-intai untuk memerah keringat rakyat negara dan Selangor khususnya.

Apabila sudah mendapat kebenaran jangan disia-siakan lagi. Apa yang rakyat Selangor perlu lakukan, ialah untuk membulatkan tekad untuk menjaga kepentingan negeri Selangor yang berdaulat ini.Dengan pengekalan mandat kepada kerajaan PR sekarang ini setidak-tidaknya dapat menghambat penagih tegar rasuah ini dari mendekati katung kerajaan negeri Selangor. — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 March 2012, 6:11 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Selangor
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The ‘ill-advised’  PM

– Gomen Man

The Malaysian Insider

Mar 10, 2012

MARCH 10 — I find it amusing that nothing that goes awry with policies or projects of this government is the fault of Prime Minister Najib Razak.

It is always someone else’s fault and the poor PM was “ill-advised”. The latest is that world-class sub-prime scheme called My First Home, where banks are supposed to provide 100 per cent financing for those earning RM3,000 and below.

Apparently, not one loan has been approved by the banks and the scheme is an abject failure. According to the National Homeowners Association, this was a ridiculous scheme and that the PM was ill-advised!

Really? He was ill-advised. Given the number of flip-flops, he does seem to be “ill-advised” more frequently than other leaders.

Najib’s supporters say that he was wrongly advised by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and the police on the “security threat” posed by Malaysians who marched for clean elections. Of course, this “ill-advised” defence was put forward only after the Bersih rally became an unmitigated disaster.

More recently, Najib scrapped civil service salary increases after approving them. Along the corridors of Putrajaya, the Public Service Department is being blamed for this blooper where senior civil servants were given huge pay increases while the lower rung received small increases.

Najib was worried that he would face an election backlash and that is why he scrapped the scheme, replacing it with another salary scheme.

If you follow his time as PM, there have been countless “ill-advised” schemes and ideas and every time somebody else was the culprit. Now according to The Malaysian Insider, the MAS-AirAsia share swap deal is being reconsidered by the same government which told us that this was the only option.

If the PM is constantly being “ill-advised”, I can only conclude that the Cabinet, civil service and Najib’s advisors are a pretty mediocre bunch. Or that our prime minister is not a diligent man and is prone to making too many

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 March 2012, 10:52 pm and is filed under
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Are Najib and Cabinet Ministers going to keep quiet about the serious allegations of corruption and subversion of the rule of law in 2007 involving the three topmost officers of the land, the AG, IGP and DG of ACA?

Today,
Malaysiakini
 followed up on the revelations and serious allegations by former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) Chief Datuk Ramli Yusuf during his 60th Leap Year birthday celebrations last month that he was a victim of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s  abuse of  his constitutional powers with new information on the “bizarre five-year-old case allegedly involving the country’s most powerful police officer, the attorney-general and an underworld figure”.

The question now is whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and Cabinet Ministers are  going to keep quiet about the serious allegations of corruption and subversion of the rule of law with regard to the case in 2007 involving the three topmost officers of the land, the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Anti-Corruption Agency (before it later became Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency).

Malaysiakini reporter Hafiz Yatim said Malaysiakin has possession of documents revealing the history of how a number of whistleblowers – whose information led to the arrest of the underworld figure in 2007 – were forced to implicate six police officers investigating the case.

The whistleblowers signed sworn statements claiming that they were turned over by a team of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) officers.

The six police officers were subsequently charged with fabricating evidence against the underworld kingpin, but were all  eventually acquitted, the last of them in mid-2011.

Najib should not only initiate proceedings for the establishment of a judicial tribunal into the serious allegations by the former CCID director that the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Gani Patail had grossly abused his powers in victimising him and other police officers concerned, but also into several bizarre train of  events in 2007, including separate  corruption reports being lodged against then Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Johari Baharum (who had by-passed the then Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and instructed Ramli to conduct investigations into the underworld kingpin), Musa himself as well as the then ACA director-general Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor – with police investigating the ACA director-general while ACA investigated the IGP, clearing each other!

Ramli has told Malaysiakini that he has new evidence regarding Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s black-eye incident and Malaysian Airlines (MAS) chairperson Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli, who is the beneficiary of another recent RM840 million government bail-out.

Public interests demand that there should be a no-holds-barred judicial inquiry not only to get to the bottom of the several bizarre train of events in 2007 at the topmost levels of government, including the serious allegations of abuse of power by the Attorney-General in undermining the rule of law and victimising Ramli and other police officers, but also into the new evidence regarding Anwar’s blackeye and Tajudin.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 March 2012, 3:08 pm and is filed under
Constitution
,
Corruption
,
Law & Order
,
Najib Razak
,
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Lynas: Why in Malaysia, not in Australia?

— Rama Ramanathan

The Malaysian Insider

Mar 11, 2012

MARCH 11 — Previously I said that the root cause of the Lynas controversy is our ‘need’ for things that need rare earths. These things include cellphones, disk drives and television sets. I also said that China supplies over 95 per cent of the world demand for rare earths, and that the Lynas plant could supply up to 35 per cent of world demand.

I added that the attitude of the government of Malaysia toward its citizens is less like that of the government of Australia and more like that of the government of China. Much of what I said was sparked by the observation that Lynas has chosen to do something which seems rather strange to those who remember tin mining.

Malaysia was at one time teeming with tin mines. The tin was dug up, processed into high purity ingots and shipped worldwide. We didn’t ship ore. We shipped tin. Similarly, we don’t ship what we harvest from oil palms. Instead, we convert the fresh fruit and bunches into products which we sell worldwide. Malaysia is a world leader not only in growing oil palm, but also in processing oil palm and it’s effluents.

So, why is Australia — a mining nation — not processing the ore into the final product?

I have a degree in mechanical engineering. I’ve worked in industry in the UK and in Malaysia. I’ve been responsible for factory design, construction and maintenance. I’ve been responsible for compliance with statutory requirements and corporate policies.

I’ve also been responsible for evaluating investment decisions. I have personal experience of reviewing tax benefits, extent of regulations, predictability of regulators, etc. when making investment decisions.

I have a generally good opinion of professionals, shareholders and regulators. I’ve yet to meet professionals whose goal in life is to harm others, but I know how corruptible we are: Bukit Merah is only one of many proofs of how low we can fall.

In response to my last piece on Lynas, someone commented that one key reason for Lynas coming to Malaysia is the shortage of water in Australia and the abundance of water in Malaysia. I tried to pursue that point, to see if I could convince myself of the logic.

I learned that the Lynas plant is expected to discharge upto 213 cubic metres of treated water per hour, into the Sungai Balok river. That’s a lot of water — which is subsidised by the taxes we pay.

According to a Malaysian government website, different states charge different rates.

For industrial usage, in 2009, Pahang charged RM1.45/cubic metre, while Johor charged RM 2.93/cubic metre. (In the Peninsula, the cheapest was Penang at RM 0.94)

If Pahang charges Lynas RM 1.45 per cubic metre, the annual water bill for Lynas would be about RM2.7 million. If the cost of treating the used water before discharge is the same, it will cost about RM5.4 million per year for water purchase and treatment.

How does this compare with the cost in Australia?

I’m no expert, so I’ll just pick a number which goes with what seems like an appropriate description. “Metropolitan non-residential water, 350 mm meter,” costs RM 5.48 per cubic metre: nearly four times more expensive than in Pahang (Gebeng) — assuming the Australian water authority agrees to supply the required volume.

If we again assume the cost of treatment before discharge is equal to the cost of purchase, the total cost of water purchase and treatment in Australia will be about RM20.5 million per year.

Is the cost of shipping concentrated ore from Mt Weld to Kuantan less than RM15 million per year? I have no idea. I do know the cost will vary due to fuel price escalation, and I do know shipping is subject to risks.

It’s hard to believe water drove the decision, but that’s what Lynas says.

According to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Lynas says it chose to locate in Gebeng because of 3 benefits: (1) proximity to Kuantan port, (2) availability of gas, water and ample chemical supplies, (3) availability of skilled workers.

Nothing is said of the regulatory environment, both with respect to the regulations and with respect to the enforcement agencies. Nothing is said of taxes. Nothing is said of the cost of land. Nothing is said of the cost of chemicals, transportation, etc.

I discuss the above because I am not an enemy of technology. I want the world to be able to enjoy the benefits of televisions, disk-drives and cellphones. I want jobs in Malaysia. I want Malaysia to be a refining influence in the world, to have great workplace practices.

I recognise that investment decisions are difficult — shareholders part with billions of dollars in order to fund projects like Lynas.

Engineers and analysts make assumptions, perform calculations, set up models. Supporting industries invest in upgrades to be able to meet the needs of the new player. Governments should not flip-flop on decisions.

The government of Malaysia now says that Lynas must “accept a return of any residue generated by its factory in Gebeng to its original source.” If this means return to Mt Weld, it’s outrageous that this wasn’t stipulated before Lynas bought the land and started construction. If we insist on this clause, will we have to compensate Lynas? Remember the aborted train project? Note: It is not lost upon me that ‘original source’ is a very debatable concept when it comes to sludge.

We are so convinced politicians are corrupt, we think the worst about everything. In fact, if you challenge people who support the Anything But Umno (ABU) movement with the corruptibility of the alternative to Umno, their response is “can it be worse?” I agree, it cannot be worse. But that doesn’t mean we stop thinking logically.

I return to the economic case for Lynas.

What is the cost of transporting bulk material from Mt Weld to Perth to Singapore to Kuantan to Gebeng? What additional cost would Lynas have incurred if it built the plant in Australia rather than in Malaysia? There are two components to this cost: (a) differences in design due to climate and regulations; (b) differences in building costs. What would be the additional operating costs with respect to materials and labour? What ‘inefficiencies’ will there be in Australia due to less-pliable Australian employees?

And, what does Malaysia get in return for the savings to be enjoyed by Lynas and the world through greater availability of rare earths?

What’s the benefit to the taxpayer?

I searched the MITI website in vain for the answer to my question. In my next post I will discuss the solid waste to be generated by Lynas.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 March 2012, 6:28 pm and is filed under
Lynas
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


SBPA Flip-flop a Blow to Transformation

By Kee Thuan Chye

Malaysian Digest

10 March 2012

Najib Razak has just committed another major flip-flop, showing once again that he is the most indecisive prime minister we have had so far.

He has cancelled the proposed revamp of the civil servants’ remuneration scheme and reverted to the old one, the Malaysian Remuneration System (SSM). So much for all his talk about reform.

The now-scrapped Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA) was mooted to reward civil servants with a pay rise but, more importantly, to keep them on their toes. Its key aim was to transform the civil service into an efficient, productive, competitive and high-performing entity. It was part of Najib’s transformation plans aimed at making Malaysia a high-income nation.

There was to be evaluation of the work of civil servants, and those who did not perform were to have faced the possibility of dismissal – under the SBPA’s Exit Policy. It would have helped to weed the chaff from the grain, to get rid of deadwood. And aptly too, since the civil service is bloated – with 1.4 million employees.

But the civil servants balked at this. They feared that their security of tenure, which they had become so pampered with, might be threatened.

Much more significant than that, those in the lower grades (up to Grade 54) were appalled to learn that under the new scheme, there would be a huge disparity between their salaries and those of the 2,600 officers in the higher grades – a disparity of more than 1,000%. In this case, their umbrage was justified.

Those in Grade 54 and below would receive increments of between 7% and 13%, while those in the upper levels, from Superscale C and above, would reportedly get increments of at least RM5,000.

It was also reported that some employees in the lower levels would be getting a pay rise of as little as RM1.70, whereas the Chief Secretary to the Government would have his salary upgraded to RM60,000 a month, and Staff Grade officers would end up getting about RM36,000 a month.

Naturally, a crisis arose from this. What was meant to be a boon for the civil servants turned out to be a bane for the Government.

The implementation of the SBPA, which was originally scheduled for Jan 1, had to be postponed. A task force was set up to resolve the matter. Representatives from the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) were invited to thrash it out with the Public Service Department.

Najib gave the task force three months to do what was needed. Towards the end of January, Cuepacs President Omar Osman threatened to pull out if three other Cuepacs officers were not appointed to the task force. On Feb 5, the Government acceded to his demand.

Then suddenly, on March 8, way before the three months was up, Najib announced that the SBPA would be scrapped.

Suddenly, Najib says, “this decision would be the best solution for the benefit of the entire civil service”. For the civil service, perhaps. But what about for the nation? What happened to his “transformation” plan to make the civil service more efficient, productive, competitive and high-performing – to meet the challenges of a dreamed-of high-income nation?

What he now says stinks of politicalspeak. And what he’s done appears to be a politically expedient move. The obvious indication is, he wants to call for the general election soon and he needs to ensure that the civil servants are happy, because they form a big and important segment of the voters. He wants the issue resolved earlier than the allotted time so that the civil servants can get their new salaries and arrears just before they go to the polling stations. Otherwise, why would he be in such a hurry to scrap the SBPA?

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin may deny that the decision was not made in connection with the general election, and he may deny that the scrapping of the SBPA amounted to a failure in policy implementation, but would we have expected him to say otherwise?

How can it not be a failure in policy implementation when the time allotted for the issue to be ironed out was not honoured? In other words, the policy was not given a chance.

Muhyiddin acknowledges that it was gradually discovered that the SBPA did not meet the pay rise and perks demands of the civil servants and therefore it had to be scrapped. Is he therefore admitting that the policy was faulty to begin with? If so, who is to be held responsible for not foreseeing the policy’s shortcomings if not the Government? Why did the Government issue a new scheme without thinking it through?

Another interesting question – is the new scheme meant to merely meet the demands of the civil servants, or is it to meet the needs of the nation?

And what is it ultimately – a faulty policy or a failure in implementation?

Whatever it is, this has to be the umpteenth flip-flop since Najib became Prime Minister. And it clearly shows that the Government is not steadfast on its policy decisions.

Any attempt to make the Government look good as a result of this cannot be convincing. Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah says the SBPA turnabout showed that the Government listened to the people. It somehow sounds like a joke – or, worse, a lie.

How could the Government be listening to the people when in the first place, it caused so much disgruntlement by issuing the SBPA?

One would like to think that Saifuddin had more integrity than to spin something like that, but when the general election is near, politicalspeak rules the day.

Perhaps the whole shebang was engineered such that Najib could come riding in like a knight and call the whole thing off – so it would look like he saved the day. That he was the saviour of the civil servants. So that his ratings would go higher. And the votes would pour in for Barisan Nasional.

But the people who would perceive him as the saviour of the situation would have to be people who are not well-informed or those who cannot think for themselves. To put it bluntly, they would have to be simple minds. And perhaps there are more simple minds in Malaysia than thinking ones – and the Government knows this to be a fact – so this strategy could work very well to Najib’s advantage.

But to those who can see through it, he is just another wishy-washy leader. So much for all his talk about “transformation”. So much for “People First, Performance Now”. The Prime Minster himself cannot even perform what he set out to do. He had neither the guts nor the political will.

At this rate, how will Malaysia ever move forward?

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the newly published book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 March 2012, 10:18 am and is filed under
Najib Razak
,
public service
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Shahrizat is no sacrificial lamb

By
Jacob Sinnathamby
 | March 12, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 12 — I find it shocking that even till the last, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak wanted the last stab to insult Malaysians.

At least we deserve some modicum of respect from the prime minister. Throughout the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), he and his government have insulted us with their indifference to the glaring fact that the BN government granted RM250 million to a family who were ill-equipped to run this feedlot business. Instead, they used the funds to buy properties and live comfortable lives.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s culpability starts and ends with several facts and assumptions including that her expenses were paid by the NFC and that it is likely that her connections allowed her family to get the contract.

It is impossible to believe that the decision makers ,who included Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Najib, gave the contract and the soft loan to greenhorns with no consideration to the fact that Shahrizat leads Wanita Umno.

But I dare say that Najib’s behaviour and response to this whole scandal has been poor, hardly becoming of someone whom we hope can be trusted to make tough and correct decisions.

Till today, he has not said anything worthwhile about the loss of taxpayers’ money. But yesterday’s comments take the prize of being inane.

He said that Shahrizat sacrificed herself for the good of government and party and that though she was not guilty of any offence, she was willing to quit Cabinet.

She did not sacrifice herself. She was forced out by an administration and political party that had run out of excuses and wayang kulit plays but yet did not have the guts to remove her.

And this is the problem with the PM. He did not remove her earlier because he did not want to upset Umno rank and file and he could not get her to go earlier because only those without skeletons in their closets can act with strength and clarity in difficult situations.

Till the last, Najib could not act decisively or in a principled manner in handling Shahrizat or the NFC.

Worse yet, he tried to put a spin on the political sacrifice made by Shahrizat.

That must have been part of the going away deal.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 March 2012, 3:25 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Shahrizat sacrificed herself, says Najib

By Shannon Teoh

The Malaysian Insider

Mar 11, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak commended Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil today for her decision to sacrifice herself and quit the Cabinet for the sake of the government and Umno.

The prime minister told reporters in Pekan this evening Shahrizat’s move to relinquish her women, family and community development portfolio when her senatorship ends on April 8 was the appropriate and right thing to do.

He said he appreciated the sacrifice made by Shahrizat and was thankful for her decision.

“Although there is no proof so far that she had committed any offence, because the NFC issue has drawn controversy and dispute, she was willing to withdraw from the government,” he told reporters, referring to the National Feedlot Centre.

Shahrizat had said earlier today she will resign as women, family and community minister next month but stay on as Wanita Umno chief after being dogged for over four-and-a-half months by the NFC scandal.

The former Lembah Pantai MP and her family were accused by the opposition of using a RM250 million federal loan meant for the project to pay for land, property and expenses unrelated to cattle farming.

The cattle-rearing company is headed by her husband, Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail, and their three children.

It was tapped to run the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan in 2006, when Shahrizat was in Cabinet.

The former Lembah Pantai MP previously resisted calls from within her own party, including by influential former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to quit, stressing that she was “only the wife” of Salleh and had nothing to do with the embattled entity.

NFCorp hit the national headlines after it made it into the Auditor-General’s Report last year for missing production targets.

Police recommended last month that the Attorney-General (A-G) charge NFCorp’s directors for criminal breach of trust, but the A-G has asked the police to conduct further investigations.

Shahrizat was appointed as women, community and family minister in 2001 and held the post until 2008, when she lost in the general election.

She was then appointed special advisor to the prime minister on women affairs and social development, before being reassuming her Cabinet portfolio a year later.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 March 2012, 12:04 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


What Will People Say?

By
M. Bakri Musa

When the late Tun Razak moved his family to Sri Taman, the Prime Minister’s official residence at that time, his children pleaded with him to have a swimming pool installed. The Tun, acutely aware of the costs to the public, would have none of it.

            “What will people say?” he told his children.

            Not that the Tun did not want to indulge his children or that he was being unduly stingy, rather he was conscious of the need to differentiate the personal from the official. Unlike many especially from the Third World, then as well as now, Tun Razak was the rare leader who did not consider the public treasury to be his. Even when there were grey areas, as with the swimming pool, he would err on the side of not burdening the public with the cost.

            It could be argued that since Sri Taman was government property, expenditures on improving it as with building the pool should be borne by the public. However, as the pool would benefit essentially only the prime minister’s family and invited guests, he acted with an abundance of prudence and probity in refusing to have the pool installed.

            There was another less obvious but more important reason for his not acceding to his children’s wishes. Malaysia of the 1960s was devoid of gleaming skyscrapers and towering condominiums. There were no modern suburbs with luxurious mansions sporting swimming pools in their backyards. Most Malays were still stuck in their kampongs leading subsistence living and sleeping under thatch roofs. Tun Razak was sensitive to that social environment; he after all had served as Minister for Rural Development. To kampong folks, a backyard pool would have been opulence on an especially grand scale. This more than the cost was probably what prompted the late Tun not to have the pool for his children.

            “What will people say?” As Muslims we are reminded to have taqwa at all times, an awareness of the presence of Allah. “Closer than your jugular vein,” as the Koran put it. If you have taqwa, aware that Allah is watching you all the time, that does tend to restrain you.

            “What will people say?” could be viewed as a secular version of taqwa, an internal compass to keep us along the straight path, away from temptations and ill deeds. For a leader, that would be a path that would meet the approval if not praise from his followers. The expression reflects the power of peer pressure, the universal human need for social approval. Yes, leaders need this too.

            There is a cautionary note however, especially for leaders. Pay too much attention to what people say and you reduce your leadership to a wet-finger-in-the-air mode. That is not a recipe for success, much less greatness. For others, as well as leaders, you risk being reduced to a pathetic fool, as per the fable of the old man, the boy, and the donkey.

            Leaders who pay too much heed to what their followers say risk pandering to their lowest common denominator, appealing to their baser and uglier instincts. That is the leadership of the Perkasa types, obsessed with “them” taking over “our” Tanah Melayu, and of chauvinistic leaders forever paranoid over losing their culture and language. In America this is demonstrated by the ugly spectacles of the current candidates in the Republican Party primaries.

Backyard Pool, Luxury Condos, Half-Million Ringgit Engagement Party

Our leaders today are a far cry from the caliber, competence, and integrity so publicly and unambiguously displayed by the late Tun Razak. We are being painfully reminded daily of these deficiencies, including and especially with his son, Najib Razak, the current Prime Minister.

            It did not escape citizens’ notice that when Tun Razak died, his estate, while not exactly destitute, was definitely not brimming with assets. The same could be said of his immediate predecessor, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and successor, Hussein Onn. Today, our ex-Prime Ministers live in mega mansions and travel the world in private luxury jets. I do not know who foot their bills. At least American ex-presidents make a show of earning their wealth through their exorbitant speaking fees.

            This brings me to Rafizi Ramli’s latest revelation: Najib’s recent half-a-million ringgit engagement party for his daughter allegedly paid for by the Prime Minister’s Office, meaning the public. Rafizi, who is Keadilan’s chief strategist, had earlier brought us the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFC) “cow-gate” scandal.

            Thus far Najib had issued only a general denial to Rafizi’s serious allegation. Significantly, Najib did it not through a formal press conference but through his Twitter site. He has yet to address the specifics. Perhaps Najib is waiting to consult his high-priced public relations consultants on how best to spin this.

            I agree with Rafizi that Najib has to level up with the Malaysian people. A general denial would not do it; it insults our intelligence. As Rafizi has clearly stated, Najib has to address the eight points raised by the allegation. Even if the lavish engagement party were to be paid for personally, I shudder to think what the actual wedding would cost. Malaysia’s self-styled “first couple” is competing with the Saudi royals with respect to gaudy extravagance and obscene opulence. The audacity and hypocrisy for Najib to then lecture the rakyats on the need to save and be financially prudent!

            As Rafizi rightly asserted, Najib has to show incontrovertible proof (as with copies of cancelled checks) that the funds came out of his personal accounts. That alone would not be enough; he would have to explain how he accumulated such wealth to be able to afford such extravagance. As alluded to earlier, he certainly did not inherit much wealth from his father, and Najib has been getting government paychecks all his adult life except for his brief tenure at Petronas. That too could be considered as a government paycheck.

            As for Rosmah, her father, like mine, was a Malay school teacher. And I knew exactly what my father’s wealth was when he died, and he was a man not given to extravagance. Rosmah has to show that she had been a particularly successful entrepreneur to acquire such wealth. Anything less and the rakyats would have a right to assume that those riches had been illicitly acquired.

            The sad part is that this obscene extravagance is but the latest show of unbridled rapacious greed in our leaders. Earlier there was that dentist and former Selangor’s Chief Minister with his million-dollar mansion that he bragged to have bought at half price through his “shrewd” bargaining. Then there was the sleepy head, Najib’s immediate predecessor, with his equally opulent mansion in Perth, Western Australia, and another one given to him locally.

            Diligent citizens like Rafizi Ramli could not have exposed these shenanigans without the help of honest fellow citizens, especially those on the “inside.” The rash of such recent exposés signals a significant development. Malaysians are now no longer afraid of their leader or the state. When that happens, many wonderful things follow. Look at Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

            With such sordid examples at the very top, no wonder lowly ministers and others too are in on the act. At least Women’s Minister Shahrizat had the decency to resign her cabinet post even though as she said, “I really have nothing to do with NFC except that I’m married to the chairman of NFC. But as a responsible member of the government, I feel the right thing for me to do is to step down.” Yes, she did indeed do the right and honorable thing in resigning.

            Will Najib do the same? As for the engagement party, it certainly cost much more than the proposed pool at Sri Taman. We will know what people say come the next elections. More important however, is what would Tun Razak say if he were alive today? The unevenness of the tiles at Tun Razak’s mausoleum at the National Mosque was the result of his rolling in his grave. —
www.bakrimusa.com

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 March 2012, 3:23 pm and is filed under
Bakri Musa
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Parliament skirts questions on Tajudin Ramli settlement

By
S Pathmawathy
 | 2:16PM Mar 13, 12

Malaysiakini

Four questions related to the out-of-court settlement between former Malaysia Airlines chairperson Tajudin Ramli and government-linked corporations (GLCs) were rejected by the Dewan Rakyat today on grounds that these are sub judice.

The questions were turned down on the reasoning that the matter could have an implication on other ongoing legal battles in the Court of Appeal and pending cases in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

tajudin ramli 1The questions were submitted by DAP MPs Lim Guan Eng (Bagan), Lim Lip Eng (Segambut), Jeff Ooi (Jelutong) and Tony Pua (Petaling Jaya Utara), and were interrelated to the government’s instructions in ordering the GLCs to end the long-drawn battle.

“These questions are important… we want to know the rationale and benefit to the rakyat by settling out of court the multi-million ringgit that Tajudin was ordered to pay by the High Court,” Guan Eng told a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

Last month, Tajudin came to a settlement with Pengurusan Danaharta Bhd (Danaharta) putting an end to a six-year dispute over millions of ringgit that Tajudin owed to the national asset management firm.

A settlement shrouded in secrecy

Guan Eng’s questions also demanded that the government reveals the claims before the court involving the two parties and losses incurred by Danaharta and MAS.

Meanwhile, Lip Eng called on the prime minister to explain in detail the savings or the losses to the government as a result of the out-of-court settlement.

The opposition, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International Malaysia and minority shareholders have hit out at the deal for being shrouded in secrecy.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had on Dec 7, 2009, ordered Tajudin to pay RM589.14 million plus two percent interest a year to Danaharta, which manages Tajudin’s unpaid loans, backdated to Jan 1, 2006. The same court had earlier dismissed Tajudin’s RM13.46 billion counter-claim.

However, Tajudin withdrew his lawsuit against Danaharta as well as numerous other litigants, including Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Naluri Corporation, Celcom (M) Bhd, Atlan Holding Bhd and CIMB Group.

Tajudin’s settlement resulted from a directive issued by the government in August last year, “advising” all related GLCs, including MAS, to drop their suits against him.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 March 2012, 7:33 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Parliament
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Putrajaya says ‘recycled’ projects part of ETP ‘ecosystem’

By
Shannon Teoh
 | March 13, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — Putrajaya today defended its move to “recycle” two projects to be included into its Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), insisting were part of the “whole ecosystem” to push Malaysia into a high-income economy.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk S. K. Devamany told Parliament that it was unfair to single out projects like the Karambunai Integrated Resort and the Tanjong Agas Industrial Park as they formed part of a cohesive plan along with other megaprojects.

“It is part of a whole ecosystem where incentives such as infrastructure is given to encourage both local and foreign private sectors to invest. It’s a damn good programme.

“In principle, an EPP must fulfil two conditions, which is to have a significant impact on gross national income between 2010 to 2020 and to go through several rounds of consultation with stakeholders,” he said in reply to Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang.

The DAP parliamentary leader had asked the government to state how many EPPs “are recycled projects predating the ETP,” citing the two projects and questioned how the programme launched in September 2010, represented a “bold new approach” to managing the economy.

The inclusion of the two projects under the ETP were criticised by think-tank Research for Social Advancement (Refsa) in its recent critique of the Najib administration’s much-vaunted economic plan.

The analysis said the Karambunai project was initially announced in October 2010 during Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s budget speech as a RM3 tourism project which more than tripled in value to RM9.6 billion when it was included in the fifth ETP update on April 19, 2011.

The RM8 billion Tanjong Agas park was also launched announced in February 2009, prior to the launch of the ETP.

But Devamany cited other projects such as the Johor Premium Outlet, the EduCity in Iskandar Malaysia and KPJ’s healthcare tourism as part of the ETP’s overall plan.

The ETP aims to more than double Malaysia’s per capita income from RM23,700 in 2009 to RM48,000 by 2020.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 March 2012, 7:31 pm and is filed under
Economics
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Shahrizat seorang sahajakah yang berhenti? Seorang lagi tu macam mana?

Oleh
Aspan Alias
 | March 13, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

13 MAC — Shahrizat Jalil mengambil keputusan untuk meletakkan jawatan hanya pada 8hb April nanti apabila penggal keahliannya di Dewan Senat tamat tempohnya. Perletakkan jawatan ini sepatutnya sudah diambilnya sebaik sahaja terbongkar salahlaku keluarganya menyalahgunakan wang pinjaman dari kerajaan untuk mengendalikan perniagaan NFC itu. Tetapi setidak-tidaknya beliau mengambil juga tindakan untuk melepaskan jawatan kabinet yang dipegangnya melalui pintu belakang itu.

Walaupun beliau pada mulanya berusaha untuk mengekalkan jawatan itu, tetapi etika politiknya yang nyata sangat menjengkelkan itu tidak berdaya beliau untuk mempertahankan jawatan yang amat beliau sayangi itu. Sesungguhnya itu sahaja jalan yang tinggal untuknya lakukan kerana kesalahan etikanya sangat menjelikkan kerana suaminya itu mendapat pinjaman semudah itu kerana kedudukan Shahrizat didalam kabinet negara.

Seperti yang saya nyatakan dahulu, jika Shahrizat itu hanya seorang bidan kampung, Salleh tidak mungkin mendapat pinjaman dengan menggunakan wang rakyat dengan semudah itu. Semua keistimewaan-keistimewaan yang didapati oleh ahli keluarga pemimpin ini telah banyak memerah wang dan harta rakyat. Tetapi Shahrizat ini malang sedikit kerana beliau tidak mempunyai kuasa dan pengaruh sepenuhnya.

Seandainya beliau seorang Perdana Menteri beliau tidak akan terpaksa meletakkan jawatan kerana ada kes-kes yang lebih besar dilakukan oleh pemimpin yang lebih besar dari Sharizat itu tidak diambil tindakan sehingga hari ini. Perbezaan diantara Shahrizat dan yang lain ialah Shahrizat tidak pandai menyorokkan perlakuan beliau dan keluarga beliau.

Jumlah yang melibatkan RM250 juta itu amat besar tetapi jumlah RM1.8 billion yang dipergunakan secara ‘direct’ dari wang rakyat untuk menyelamatkan perniagaan anak seorang pemimpin besar pada tahun 1998 dahulu tidak diambil tindakan sampai kehari ini. Sebab apa? Sebabnya ia dilakukan oleh seorang Perdana Menteri semasa itu. Banyak lagi perkara-perkara seperti ini dilakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin dalam BN selama ini dan ianya masih dilakukan mereka.

Masing-masing saling membantu diantara satu dengan lain untuk menutup ‘barang curi’ masing-masing kerana semuanya melakukan perkara-perkara yang sama. “Lu jaga gua, gua jaga lu’; itulah kaedahnya. Hanya kes Shahrizat ini diketahui oleh Ketua Audit Negara dan pihak pembangkang secara terperinci. Untuk memecahkan kegiatan ala ‘cartel’ dikalangan pimpinan BN inilah merupakan satu usaha yang amat susah kerana mereka mempunyai kuasa yang dipergunakan habis-habisan untuk mempertahankan salahlaku mereka ini.

Sekarang Shahrizat telah mengambil keputusan untuk meletakkan jawatan dari kerajaan kerana kesilapan dan kesalahan beliau. Apa yang kita tunggu sekarang ialah untuk melihat samada ada-kah tidak sifat ‘accountability’ dari pimpinan atasan yang memberikan kelulusan kepada projek biayaan kerajaan NFC ini. Kita hendak juga melihat samada Menteri yang bertanggungjawab meluluskan projek yang menjijikkan ini dahulu.. Menteri Pertanian semasa itu saya sudah lupa siapa dia… ada orang kata dia dah jadi Timbalan Perdana Menteri…

Adakah Menteri ini akan turut meletakkan jawatan kerana kalau mengikut etika kepimpinan negara maju, Menteri yang bertanggungjawab meluluskannya juga wajar meletakkan jawatan. Ini merupakan asas kepada semangat demokrasi yang beretika dan Menteri yang meluluskan projek ini semasa itu mesti mengambil ‘accountability’ kepada skandal kewangan yang dilakukan oleh NFC ini.

Menteri ini boleh memilih untuk tidak mengambil ‘accountability’ terhadap isu ini tetapi nanti janganlah hendak beretorik untuk menjadikan negara ini sebagai negara maju pula. Ini adalah isu besar jika benar kita hendak mencapai ketaraf negara maju. Negara maju yang berkembang pesat mesti diikuti dengan etika kepimpinan yang tinggi. Kalau tidak persepsi ramai yang menganggap Malaysia sebagai ‘Zimbabwe in different name’ itu tidak akan berjaya kita hakiskan.

Pada tahun 2007 yang lalu seorang menteri Britain yang buta penglihatannya bernama David Blunkett telah meletakkan jawatannya sebagai menteri dalam negeri kerana kesilapan kecil tetapi oleh kerana ia menjejaskan etika kepimpinannya maka beliau meletakkan jawatan dari menganggotai kabinet Britain.

Kesalahannya ialah kerana mempercepatkan proses permohonan teman wanitanya untuk mendapatkan permit kerja untuk orang gajinya. Itu sahaja kesalahannya. Tetapi itu jelas menjejaskan etika kepimpinan negara. Maka beliau mengambil masa hanya tiga empat hari sahaja untuk mengambil keputusan meletakkan jawatannya. Menteri Britain itu tidak mengambil masa berbulan-bulan utuk mengambil keputusan untuk berhenti seperti yang dilakukan oleh Shahrizat.

Dengan keputusan Shahrizat untuk berhenti itu ia bermakna Shahrizat mengakui kesalahannya. Jika Shahrizat mengaku kesilapan atau kesalahannya maka adalah ‘natural’ menteri yang bertanggungjawab meluluskan projek NFC ini juga mengambil langkah yang sama, iaitu berhenti sahaja dan mengikut langkah Shahrizat itu. Tetapi ini tidak mungkin berlaku kerana mereka tidak mahu menerima asas-asas perlu untuk menempah tempat untuk meletakkan negara kepada kategori negara maju kerana meletakkan jawatan kerana isu ini dianggap sebagai perkara yang tidak munasabah bagi mereka.

Begitulah tingginya etika kepimpinan negara maju dan jika kita mahu mengambil iktibar dari tindakan ahli jemaah kabinet Britain ini, itu merupakan permulaan untuk menjadikan negara ini sebagai negara maju dengan ketinggian etika kepimpinannya. Kalaulah apa yang dilakukan oleh pimpinan kita itu dilakukan di Britain kerajaan kita sudah lama dikuburkan oleh rakyat. Tetapi untungnya pimpinan rasuah kita ini ialah kerana rakyat telah dididik untuk menerima sahaja apa yang dilakukan oleh pimpinan yang tidak bertanggungjawab kepada rakyatnya.

Kerajaan negara-negara maju ini menjadikan etika kepimpinan sebagai elemen terpenting dalam pentadbiran kerajaan. Ini ialah kerana yang hendak dijaga mereka bukannya jawatan mereka tetapi untung nasib negara mereka pada masa-masa yang akan datang. Tetapi disini pimpinan kita lebih mementingkan kuasa sahaja, tidak kira samada mereka itu berguna kepada negara dalam jangka masa yang panjang.

Kalau tidak, tidaklah kita terdengar kata-kata seperti, “kita akan pertahankan Putrajaya dengan cara apa sekali pun” kata Najib pada suatu ketika dahulu. Kata-kata ini menonjolkan satu sikap yang amat negatif kepada sistem demokrasi negara. Sikap kuno ini lah yang menyebabkan negara kucar kacir, bukannya oleh sistem demokrasi itu sendiri.

Kepada BN demokrasi itu bermakna, kemenangan hanya hak mutlak BN, bukannya untuk mengikut selera rakyat yang mengundi. BN kini menggunakan kumpulan pengacau pula. Tugasnya hanyalah untuk mengganggu majlis-majlis pihak PR. Itu merupakan tanda-tanda ‘desperation’ yang ada didalam pemikiran pihak BN khususnya Umno.

Dua malam yang lepas saya menjadi penceramah jemputan bersama dengan TS Khalid Ibrahim di Seri Menanti dimana sekumpulan 20 orang penyokong UMNO mengganggu ceramah dan majlis itu tanpa segan dan silu selama 15 minit.

Berkat kesabaran pihak kami, mereka telah dapat diusir dari majlis itu. Dalam hati saya, tidak dapat saya menghilangkan persepsi dan keyakinan saya yang tindakan itu merupakan tindakan pihak pemerintah yang begitu fakir nilai kepimpinan mereka. Apabila sokongan merosot mereka mengambil tindakan yang tidak beradab dan bersopan.

Dari kumpulan inilah yang bergegar-gegar hendak jadikan negara kita negara maju tetapi tindakan kumpulan ini membayangkan yang kemajuan yang dijanjikan itu tidak mungkin tercapai sampai bila-bila. Segala pelan transformasi Najib hanya tinggal pelan sahaja. Ia tidak akan kemana…seperti dulu juga. —
aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 March 2012, 10:45 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Muhyiddin Yassin
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Lynas Corp’s absurd publicity stunts

— Iskandar Dzulkarnain

The Malaysian Insider

Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — Nick Curtis the CEO of Lynas Corp had expressed his interest to meet with the Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng during the latter’s visit to Australia on March 23. Lim has politely refused to meet up with the CEO until he has discussed with the Anti-Lynas group.

Instead, he has asked Curtis to meet up with the anti-Lynas group snubbing that he is the wrong person, while the CM of Pahang should be the right person to meet with Nick Curtis.

Undeterred, Lynas Corp in a statement to Bernama, said the invitation would be kept open and the company welcomed the opportunity to help Lim understand its investment in the rare earth plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

But the truth is, what can the Penang CM do to alleviate the current controversy surrounding the Lynas rare earth plant? Would his personal opinion or intervention buy over the thousands of critics who are against the existence of the Rare Earth Plant in Pahang State?

Isn’t it more appropriate to meet with Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Pakatan Rakyat who is against the controversial project based on allegations that the Australian miner has not given enough assurances on how it will handle the low-level radioactive waste that will be produced at the refinery?

Really, it would make more sense for the Lynas CEO to meet with the anti-Lynas group than the CM of Penang, as Penang has no say or jurisdiction towards the project in Pahang State.

The fact that AELB approved a TOL for Lynas to operate, even when a storage facility was yet to be unidentified has come as a shock to the people . Four government ministries has been roped in to help Lynas find a suitable storage site in the country is not only amusing but downright deploring. The statement by the international trade and industry minister that the radio active wastes will be disposed of overseas, even though it may break international laws is really not very assuring.

Talk of the low level radioactive wastes to be dumped into the Sungei Lembing mines has only served to infuriate the people even more.

Although I am sure most Malaysians would like to give Lynas the benefit of the doubt, Lynas Corp has failed miserably to convince Malaysians that the largest rare earth plant being built in Pahang would be a boon instead of a bane.

It has also sounded like the ‘death knell’ for tourism in the East Coast States famed for its long unspoilt sun drenched beaches.

Today, the Lynas plant is like a dark cloud hanging over Kuantan City and its inhabitants wallowing in despair at their unlucky and unforeseen future.

Properties prices have plummeted as alleged by the Kuantanese themselves and have agitated the city folks.

There is even loose talk in certain circles, that should there be a remote possibility of a terrorist attack, whether Lynas is able to handle a fall-out? Such is the extent of the fear and despair of Malaysians, especially the locals residing so near to the Rare Earth Plant, and Lynas has failed totally to address their concerns or to assure them that Lynas has the interests of the people at heart.

Besides, a ‘one page’ explanation on Facebook is a miserable attempt by Lynas Corp to allay the fears of the public. One would have thought that an internationally established corporation like Lynas would have a world class credible international marketing and publicity campaign, but obviously Lynas Corp is operating on a very tight budget.

Lynas cannot continue to hide behind the Malaysian government’s skirt in its operations, nor trying to insist on its statutory right to go full steam ahead with its controversial operations, unless it has the blessings of the people as their anti-Lynas stand will continue to plague the company.

All the controversy raised by former resin suppliers and engineers who reported of design flaws have served to rile Malaysian consumers into disbelieving whether the project is so safe as asserted by Lynas. It also has failed to comfort the people as to its extensive use of chemicals to process the rare earth, radon gas that will be emitted and escape into the atmosphere, and thorium that will be repacked, and stored in a zero emissions risk facility which is yet to be found?!

And you expect Malaysians to be comforted every time they go to sleep at night?

It must be understood that the stand against the plant is because of the people’s genuine concerns that the Lynas Project would affect their livelihood, assets and their future economic wellbeing, and unless Lynas can convince the people that it is operating within standard safety guidelines, the people will continue to oppose it.

It will not be prudent of Lynas to go against the wind, taking a stubborn stand and insisting their right to operate without taking into account first, the plight of the people who are fearful of the dark shadow that Lynas has loomed over them.

The time is past to talk about the technical aspects of the Lynas plant as the facts has been bared open on the internet for all to see and to those who want to do their research. What is most important now is for Lynas to come clean and smooth over all the objections and obstacles, reassuring the public that the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant is a totally fail-safe, zero risk facility that will benefit the locals in the long run, failing which they should pack their bags and leave town for good.

Already anti-Lynas groups have asked Singapore to refuse shipment of rare earth bound for Kuantan Port and if these is unresolved the demonstrations will continue, and sooner or later someone will get hurt.

Already, the controversy has proven to be a major embarrassment to the current government, and would be a factor in the coming polls.

If Lynas Corp continues to maintain that waste from its planned rare earth refinery in Gebeng will be non-hazardous, that our air will not be polluted and that the radioactive residue can be recycled for “commercial applications”, isn’t it time for Lynas to come out of its shell and start assuring the public with a mass publicity blitz and educational advertisements in front pages of the main stream media and television instead of trying to do a ‘lame publicity stunt’ to meet with an opposition leader who has no ties whatsoever to the Rare Earth Industry?!!!

And now as Lynas Corp continues to meet its timeline to open sometime in June, with its shares rebounding by 0.6 per cent it would be interesting to know what the future will hold for Malaysians and for Lynas Corp?!!

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 14 March 2012, 7:38 pm and is filed under
Lim Guan Eng
,
Lynas
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Lynas: What were the IAEA experts thinking on the plane home?

By
Rama Ramanathan
 | March 13, 2012

The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 13 — The written word doesn’t make faces. Technical reports don’t include snide remarks. International experts don’t publicly reveal some of what they’re really thinking. I wonder what the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts were really thinking when they said:

“The 1-2 tons bags of the rare earths concentrate will be transported by road from Mt Weld to Perth (or a nearby port) in 20 ton land-sea containers. From Perth, the containers will be moved on ships to Singapore. From Singapore, smaller vessels will move the containers to Kuantan. Up to Kuantan, the rare earths concentrate will be shipped as normal non-radioactive material, in accordance with international regulations. From Kuantan port, the containers will be trucked 15 km to the Lynas facility in Gebeng. Malaysian regulations require the concentrate to be treated as radioactive material.” [Adapted from IAEA International Review Mission (29 May – 03 June 2011) Report, page 27.]

Do you get it? According to international standards, the material can be handled like any soil. Then, when it lands in Malaysia, “it’s radioactive.” It’s like saying Australian apples are safe worldwide, but not in Malaysia.

This for me is the Lynas dilemma.

When businesses choose locations for factories, their engineers carefully study the regulations. If I had been on the Lynas-Gebeng project team, I would have said we must have rocks in our heads if we wanted to locate our plant in Malaysia. Malaysia’s atomic energy regulations are stricter than elsewhere!

Yet Lynas chose to build its plant in Malaysia.

The IAEA Review team had 5 IAEA staff members and five international experts. On their flight home in June 2011, these 10 people must’ve been wondering what they were going to say to their colleagues when they got home.

The fact is, the material being moved by road and sea is NOT radioactive according to international regulations. I suspect it’s required to be treated as radioactive when it lands in Malaysia because the Malaysian regulator, the AELB (Atomic Energy Licensing Board), is being cautious.

I understand the AELB’s caution. As a quality manager I often placed strict requirements on suppliers when they began to supply me: we both knew that based on data we would later review the requirements.  This is standard practice, even when the vendor has an excellent track record. If I was a member of the IAEA team, I might explain AELB’s “bizarre requirement” as a ‘we will tolerate no nonsense’ message to Lynas which has no track record.

The IAEA team offered another explanation. Their report reveals that the Malaysian regulations haven’t kept up with the times. The current Malaysian Transport Regulations are based on the 1985 IAEA Transport regulations, which were revised in 2009. Also, the Malaysianisation of the 1985 regulation failed to maintain the distinction between radioactive ‘material’ and ‘product.’  In the words of the report:

“[The] broad definition [in the Malaysian regulation] covers all material that surround us in everyday life even at background or trivial levels.” [page 28]

The report wryly recommends updating of the regulations.

I’ll move on to discuss the solid residues (‘product’), of which there are three streams: FGD (Flue Gas Desulphurization) residue, NUF (Neuralisation Underflow) residue and WLP (Water Leach Purification) residue. The following quote makes clear that in the opinion of international experts, the FGD and NUF residues — which make up about two thirds of all the residue — is not dangerous from the radioactive point of view:

“The radionuclide concentrations in the FGD and NUF residues are expected to be very low — similar to the average values in normal rocks and soil worldwide (and in Malaysia).” [page 17]

Experts don’t loosely use terms like ‘very low.’ The IAEA team is really saying “What lunacy! Why doesn’t the AELB just say these materials are not radioactive? Why did Lynas choose to build this plant in Malaysia?”

Yet Lynas chose to build its plant in Malaysia.

So, despite the fact that according to current Malaysian regulations everything is radioactive, is there some waste from Lynas which is truly a matter of concern, vis-à-vis radioactivity? [I am focusing on radioactive waste because this is the primary reason activists are giving for opposing the Lynas plant.]

The answer is a qualified yes; qualified, because it needs a context.

The context can be grasped from what students in Edinburgh used to say about people from Aberdeen, Scotland. We said Aberdonians glowed in the dark, because the background radiation in Aberdeen is about double the national average — because of all the naturally occurring granite, much of which was used to build homes. And we said Aberdonians who were vegans were more radioactive because they ate lots of beans to make up for the proteins they chose not to get from milk and cheese.  And beans are the most radioactive food you can eat.

Context matters. As the report puts it:

“The WLP contains relatively low concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides and the hazards are equally low.” [page 20]

Note the experts carefully said: ‘Relatively low.’ The imported concentrated ore has an activity level of 6 Bq/g (Becquerel per gram). The WLP residue is expected to have an activity level of 6.2 Bq/g (page 16). But, surprise! The WLP is treated as radioactive! [I suppose because it’s a man-made product, and thus subject to more variation than natural processes.]

As mentioned in the report, the WLP residue can be ‘recycled’: it may be possible to safely add it in small proportions to other materials, without compromising safety: I know this is hard to believe, especially after the ‘recycling’ antics of Asian Rare Earths in Bukit Merah. But those who live in a house built with WLP-added concrete may not be exposed to risks greater than say the Aberdonians. [Trials will be needed in order to develop and tweak the blending process.]

If the blending technology proves unworkable or if there is no market for the blended product, the WLP waste will have to be stored long-term.  This is why the IAEA team has asked the AELB to require Lynas to supply a comprehensive plan for managing the waste long-term – in case this option is necessary.

Yet, the AELB says it may require Lynas to return the residue to its source: is it going to become safer after it retraces the journey to Mt Weld?  Or is this prudence on the part of the AELB, and a strong incentive for Lynas to develop a reliable process to re-use the WLP waste? Or does the AELB now have cold feet? Or is the AELB bowing to political pressure?

This is what Lynas gets for choosing to build its plant in Malaysia.

I know there’s more to be considered, e.g. why give a temporary license, what about worker safety, why we need the IAEA to tell the AELB what to do, etc. My purpose is not to provide a full treatment of the Lynas issue, which I think exemplifies how high-handed and non-consultative our government is.

My purpose is to lament a painful truth.

We know Umno-BN must have benefited much from the Lynas project because Malaysians have benefited little, if at all. We know we can’t trust our government. We don’t believe AELB will do a good job of enforcement. We criticise international experts who don’t say what we want to hear.

This is the state of Malaysia after 54 years of Umno-BN rule.  Is this what the IAEA experts were thinking on their way home in June 2011?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 14 March 2012, 1:07 pm and is filed under
environment
,
Lynas
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.