I came across this article by Madhatter and i thought i should share it with you
Source : M’Kini
By : Madhatter
I refer to the Malaysiakini report French daily reveals grisly details of Altantuya's death.
In light of the latest revelation by the French journalist whose report appears credible, the government must now conduct a royal commission into the Altantuya case because the image of the country has been seriously tarnished.
Why was the police report mentioned in the French journalist's article not used as evidence in the Altantuya case? Why did the attorney-general not appeal the acquittal of Abdul Razak Baginda? You don't need to be a crime writer to know that it all smells fishy.
Soon all will come to light and those who think they can get away with murder will not be able to sleep peacefully at night. They don't deserve to and they will be brought to account sooner or later.
The world is a small place and those who run away to other countries should be put on notice that they can't run and hide from the truth and their murderous deeds.
The Altantuya case will be the undoing of Malaysia because never in the history of the nation has our image been so badly tarnished by the murder of an innocent woman who - when you consider the size of the arms deals she was involved in - was merely asking for peanuts.
Was her life worth only RM 500,000? I don't think so and the real murderers of this woman must be punished. Najib Abdul Razak must be asked to step down immediately and be asked to explain the allegations. It is not the first time he has been implicated in the murder of Altantuya and it is not the first time too that he is allegedly involved in corrupt defence purchases dealings.
How can such a leader whose reputation is in question continue on to become the country's next prime minister? It would be terribly irresponsible of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Umno leaders to allow someone like Najib to pretend as if nothing is the matter and it is business as usual.
I'm positive more mud will be surface to make it totally unacceptable for Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor to occupy the country's most important household. We will be the laughing stock of the world and only an independent inquiry involving foreign experts will be able to clear Najib.
No one should be able to act above the law and attached to the Altantuya murder is a murky and corrupt defence deal. The French company ought to be made to come clean and disclose what commissions were paid and to whom.
If a company owned by Abdul Razak Baginda gets such a hefty commission and Najib was the one who approved the purchase being the then defence minister, it makes a mockery of the government's pretense at arresting corruption. Since the MACC itself has come under cloud and become a tool of the administration, a royal commission is the only viable recourse to unearth the truth.
Najib does not have the character required of the top job and if former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad sacked Anwar Ibrahim for a lesser 'crime', the floundering Abdullah can in a last act of courage show he has the moral backbone to sack his embroiled deputy.
But so far, it seems all who have come out with the truth including Raja Petra Kamaruddin have landed in hot soup and the real guilty ones escaped punishment.
No one should be deceived that the Umno-led administration is rotten as Dr Mahahtir once remarked. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself was implicated in the Iraq food-for-oil scandal.
Many allegations of corruption involving those in government including the latest by a PKR politician that he was offered RM50 million by Najib to conspire the downfall of the Pakatan government in Perak have all not been satisfactorily explained.
It is this failure of the police and the MACC to do their job properly that makes the whole lot of them reek of nauseating stench.
The rakyat must be determined to vote out politicians that have destroyed the country. They have corrupted justice and think they can get away with it. They must not be allowed to pour scorn on the rakyat because we have the ultimate power and not the sultans or the government which decide what is good for the country.
When all who are entrusted with taking care of our rights and welfare fail us, it is time to get rid of the whole lot of them.
Some day, there will be a reckoning and those who have abused their power now will not be able to cover up their rotten deeds any more. When a new and decent government is in charge, then they must remember the dark deeds of the political criminals and even if justice is late in coming, they will meet it face to face and feel their shame.
But for now, the rakyat must rally behind the underdogs, those politicians with conscience including an Umno politician like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who dares to speak his mind. His sincerity will be tested when he is prepared to back rhetoric with convincing action, like former Umno minister Zaid Ibrahim.
The rakyat must rise above politics because the future of the nation is at stake and whether you are a Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional supporter, surely you can't support any politician who is corrupt and has done so many wrongs to destroy the country.
Enough is enough and all those who continue to support criminal politicians will only end up ensuring that their children will be the next victims.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Was Kugan really a Suspected Car Thief...??
By YennaMike
Image Source : M'Kini
Reading the article about Kugan’s post mortem report both from MalaysiaKini and The Star news paper it makes me to ponder – with all these cover ups by our Police Department and Pathologists both under oath to serve public and uphold the law....was Kugan really a Suspected Car thief. ..!!. If a suspected car thief had to go through such severe punishment why wasn’t Abdul Razak Baginda and co. (suspected murderers of Altantuya)wasn’t given a similar treatment to spell out the truth. How about Mat Rempits, you don’t hear them getting arrested and beaten to death but instead public are the ones getting beaten by these Mat Rempits.
The World is already laughing at Malaysia by the way Altantuya’s case was handled not to mention the recent revelations by Arnaud Dubus in The French Liberation newspaper. Our Perak crisis which seems to have lots of imbalance by the way things are being conduct and don’t forget another controversial “correct....correct...correct...” case i.e. our own judiciary manipulation crisis – the Lingam’s Case.
I really feel sorry for Kugan’s family for being put to the test by all these accusations and ongoing legal battle. Her son might have been labelled as “suspected car thief”, but i’m proud that she is fighting for her son’s justice...again was Kugan really a Suspected Car Thief or is this another cover up by our Police Department to hide the truth...??
Image Source : M'Kini
Reading the article about Kugan’s post mortem report both from MalaysiaKini and The Star news paper it makes me to ponder – with all these cover ups by our Police Department and Pathologists both under oath to serve public and uphold the law....was Kugan really a Suspected Car thief. ..!!. If a suspected car thief had to go through such severe punishment why wasn’t Abdul Razak Baginda and co. (suspected murderers of Altantuya)wasn’t given a similar treatment to spell out the truth. How about Mat Rempits, you don’t hear them getting arrested and beaten to death but instead public are the ones getting beaten by these Mat Rempits.
The World is already laughing at Malaysia by the way Altantuya’s case was handled not to mention the recent revelations by Arnaud Dubus in The French Liberation newspaper. Our Perak crisis which seems to have lots of imbalance by the way things are being conduct and don’t forget another controversial “correct....correct...correct...” case i.e. our own judiciary manipulation crisis – the Lingam’s Case.
I really feel sorry for Kugan’s family for being put to the test by all these accusations and ongoing legal battle. Her son might have been labelled as “suspected car thief”, but i’m proud that she is fighting for her son’s justice...again was Kugan really a Suspected Car Thief or is this another cover up by our Police Department to hide the truth...??
Thursday, March 5, 2009
What's next for Perak - ISA Arrest...??
Finally the Police came up with an idea on how to intimidate the Representatives attended and passed 3 motions on Tuesday....he...he...he... “ illegal gathering “ pulak...!!!. Nice try but keep trying – well if it was an illegal gathering to pass 3 motions outside of the State Building since our “friends” decided to lock it up...wonder would it have been legal to have it inside the compound of the State Secretariat Building.
I guess this must be the first attempt to overrule or invalidate the 3 motions passed during the “Historical” pokok democracy meeting held in our Silver state. Eeemmm will this work – i’m a bit worried but keeping my fingers crossed since the strings are being pulled again and again by our Federal Government to seize power in Perak. I’m just pondering what are the average “Perakians” think about what’s going around in their State. I’m also wondering why MACC not questioning the 3 PKR reps who decided to switch over side but instead going after Speaker V.Sivakumar...eerrrmmm.
The legal battles have started with favouritism more towards the ruling party and we all know why. Once again i’m still wondering why we are not given the opportunity to our fellow “Perakian” to decide who they want as their Menteri Besar and state representatives.
Soon it will be the usual ISA Arrest...for reasons you know what....haiyaaa...!!!. Will democracy “shine” in our Silver State.....let’s wait and see.....
I guess this must be the first attempt to overrule or invalidate the 3 motions passed during the “Historical” pokok democracy meeting held in our Silver state. Eeemmm will this work – i’m a bit worried but keeping my fingers crossed since the strings are being pulled again and again by our Federal Government to seize power in Perak. I’m just pondering what are the average “Perakians” think about what’s going around in their State. I’m also wondering why MACC not questioning the 3 PKR reps who decided to switch over side but instead going after Speaker V.Sivakumar...eerrrmmm.
The legal battles have started with favouritism more towards the ruling party and we all know why. Once again i’m still wondering why we are not given the opportunity to our fellow “Perakian” to decide who they want as their Menteri Besar and state representatives.
Soon it will be the usual ISA Arrest...for reasons you know what....haiyaaa...!!!. Will democracy “shine” in our Silver State.....let’s wait and see.....
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
ANOTHER BRILLIANT CHAPTER IN MALAYSIAN BOOK OF POLITICS
By : YennaMike
Malaysia Boleh is the word we all hail from time to time to remind ourselves what we are made of. Over the years since this word was first hailed the “Positivity“ of this chant has lost its shine but it shined very well in the Silver state of Malaysia this morning.
Malaysia Boleh...yes we can have an Emergency State Meeting at the Car Park under a huge tree (pokok demokrasi) and managed to pass three motions – well done to those who supported this cause. This has proven that people who representing our fellow “Perakians” lived up to their voters expectations to show what they are made of not to mention Speaker V.Sivakumar who chaired the meeting despite the court cases filed against him.
Although many quarters are labelling this act as insulting the Sultan, in my own opinion it’s ‘rakyats’ representatives doing their best to be able to serve them and honour their term by the constitution and at the same time exercising their rights as elected representative to seek Sultan’s consent.
The “Rakyat” should be given their rights to choose who they want as their representatives. This political imbalance which will not settle down until an amicable solution is reached again my humble opinion is to let the “Rakyat” decide who they want as their representative and a motion should be passed to stop elected representatives from jumping “ship” until they complete their elected term to stop similar situation arising near future.
Malaysia Boleh is the word we all hail from time to time to remind ourselves what we are made of. Over the years since this word was first hailed the “Positivity“ of this chant has lost its shine but it shined very well in the Silver state of Malaysia this morning.
Malaysia Boleh...yes we can have an Emergency State Meeting at the Car Park under a huge tree (pokok demokrasi) and managed to pass three motions – well done to those who supported this cause. This has proven that people who representing our fellow “Perakians” lived up to their voters expectations to show what they are made of not to mention Speaker V.Sivakumar who chaired the meeting despite the court cases filed against him.
Although many quarters are labelling this act as insulting the Sultan, in my own opinion it’s ‘rakyats’ representatives doing their best to be able to serve them and honour their term by the constitution and at the same time exercising their rights as elected representative to seek Sultan’s consent.
The “Rakyat” should be given their rights to choose who they want as their representatives. This political imbalance which will not settle down until an amicable solution is reached again my humble opinion is to let the “Rakyat” decide who they want as their representative and a motion should be passed to stop elected representatives from jumping “ship” until they complete their elected term to stop similar situation arising near future.
Monday, October 6, 2008
HINDRAF PRESS STATEMENT ON DEMOLITION OF SRI MAHA KALIAMMAN TEMPLE AMPANG
Sorce : Makkalsakti.blogspot.com
Sat, 27/09/2008
135-3-A Jalan Toman 7
Kemayan Square 70200
Seremban.
PRESS STATEMENT
RE: DEMOLITION OF SRI MAHA KALIAMMAN TEMPLE AMPANG
DR XAVIER JAYAKUMAR OF PAKATAN EXCO LOST THE PLOT ON TEMPLE “NOT REGISTERED ACCORDING TO THEIR FORMAT”.
PAKATAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT FOLLOW THEIR PREDECESSORS
ATTITUDE OF MISLEADING THE PEOPLE ON “REGISTER” ISSUE.
IS PAKATAN GOVERNMENT WILLING TO LODGE POLICE REPORTS ON AMPANG JAYA MUNICIPAL COUNCIL??
HINDRAF is shocked with the statement made by Dr.Xavier Jayakumar which appears to echo that of the usual excuses given by BN and UMNO leaders that Temples are demolished because they are not “registered”.
We maintain our stand that there are no provisions currently under the Law to register the existence of a Temple and that this and all temples exist legally under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution. The issue of legality of a Temple does not exist at all and it is a duty of the Government to provide land and funds for places of worships belonging to any and all religious groups. The statement by Dr. Jayakumar that the Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple is not registered with the Selangor State Council and that it did not fulfil the “format” of registration is a joke and makes a mockery of the basic right to worship of every citizen. It appears the Pakatan Government is singing the same tune of the previous Barisan Government in misleading the community to believe that the temple committee was at fault for not registering the temple.
We challenge Dr Jayakumar and his Pakatan Government to produce the necessary provisions of the state Law that stipulated the necessity of the so-called “format”. To add insult to injury he had the audacity to say this is not a Temple but a shrine. Is he trying to indicate that it was okay to demolish a shrine? How less is a shrine than a temple?? The problem with these politicians is they do not give a dam about the feelings of
Hindus and the need to provide and gazette places of worships belonging to Hindus.
HINDRAF have specifically written to the 5 Pakatan led Governments to gazette all temples (which is directly under their purview) but till date they have not taken any positive steps to do the same and keep misleading the people in the same way BN did.
HINDRAF is taken aback with the statement that the MPAJ had ordered the demolition of the Temple without knowledge or directive of the state Government. If the statement of Dr.Xavier is true he should take the most responsible step by lodging police report and insist the police initiate criminal proceedings against MPAJ for their
Criminal act under the penal Code for defiling a place of worship.
The statement by Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin justifying the demolition of the temple on grounds of misunderstanding between MPAJ and temple management on renovation works and documentation is another mockery. Is it consistent with good Governance to demolish a place of worship should there be a “misunderstanding”. Would anyone in MPAJ dare demolish a mosque?
HINDRAF hereby calls on the Selangor Government to stop playing politics and mislead the people and immediately gazette all places of worships and provide land and funding for the purposes of erection of places of worships belonging to Hindus and non-Muslims.
P. Waytha Moorthy
Chairman
HINDRAF
Sat, 27/09/2008
135-3-A Jalan Toman 7
Kemayan Square 70200
Seremban.
PRESS STATEMENT
RE: DEMOLITION OF SRI MAHA KALIAMMAN TEMPLE AMPANG
DR XAVIER JAYAKUMAR OF PAKATAN EXCO LOST THE PLOT ON TEMPLE “NOT REGISTERED ACCORDING TO THEIR FORMAT”.
PAKATAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT FOLLOW THEIR PREDECESSORS
ATTITUDE OF MISLEADING THE PEOPLE ON “REGISTER” ISSUE.
IS PAKATAN GOVERNMENT WILLING TO LODGE POLICE REPORTS ON AMPANG JAYA MUNICIPAL COUNCIL??
HINDRAF is shocked with the statement made by Dr.Xavier Jayakumar which appears to echo that of the usual excuses given by BN and UMNO leaders that Temples are demolished because they are not “registered”.
We maintain our stand that there are no provisions currently under the Law to register the existence of a Temple and that this and all temples exist legally under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution. The issue of legality of a Temple does not exist at all and it is a duty of the Government to provide land and funds for places of worships belonging to any and all religious groups. The statement by Dr. Jayakumar that the Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple is not registered with the Selangor State Council and that it did not fulfil the “format” of registration is a joke and makes a mockery of the basic right to worship of every citizen. It appears the Pakatan Government is singing the same tune of the previous Barisan Government in misleading the community to believe that the temple committee was at fault for not registering the temple.
We challenge Dr Jayakumar and his Pakatan Government to produce the necessary provisions of the state Law that stipulated the necessity of the so-called “format”. To add insult to injury he had the audacity to say this is not a Temple but a shrine. Is he trying to indicate that it was okay to demolish a shrine? How less is a shrine than a temple?? The problem with these politicians is they do not give a dam about the feelings of
Hindus and the need to provide and gazette places of worships belonging to Hindus.
HINDRAF have specifically written to the 5 Pakatan led Governments to gazette all temples (which is directly under their purview) but till date they have not taken any positive steps to do the same and keep misleading the people in the same way BN did.
HINDRAF is taken aback with the statement that the MPAJ had ordered the demolition of the Temple without knowledge or directive of the state Government. If the statement of Dr.Xavier is true he should take the most responsible step by lodging police report and insist the police initiate criminal proceedings against MPAJ for their
Criminal act under the penal Code for defiling a place of worship.
The statement by Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin justifying the demolition of the temple on grounds of misunderstanding between MPAJ and temple management on renovation works and documentation is another mockery. Is it consistent with good Governance to demolish a place of worship should there be a “misunderstanding”. Would anyone in MPAJ dare demolish a mosque?
HINDRAF hereby calls on the Selangor Government to stop playing politics and mislead the people and immediately gazette all places of worships and provide land and funding for the purposes of erection of places of worships belonging to Hindus and non-Muslims.
P. Waytha Moorthy
Chairman
HINDRAF
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Something mising !!!!
This is hilarious...a friend of mine emailed this joke to me, no offense just joke okay...!!!
There was a saying that if you have other nationalities working as domestic help in your household, chances are the following goes missing (see below).
Get Viets, dogs missing
Get Bangla, girls missing
Get Indon, money, missing
Get Chinese, husband missing
Get African, wife missing
But now its worse... this pilihan raya betui-betui kepala pusing!
Get Najib, Mongolian missing
Get Toyo, temples missing
Get Samy, shares missing
Get Rustam, pigs missing
Get Zainudin, info missing
Get Nazri, truth missing
Get Hisham, keris missing
Get Soi Lek, Viagra missing
Get Dr M, memory missing
Get Ka Ting, do nothing, every 'ting' missing
Get Badawi, always sleeping and missing
Get Tsu Koon, LP missing
Get Kit Siang, chilli padi missing
Get Anwar, tilam missing
Alamak, betui-betui kepala pusing
GET KHAIRY JAMALUDDIN... MALAYSIA MISSING!
There was a saying that if you have other nationalities working as domestic help in your household, chances are the following goes missing (see below).
Get Viets, dogs missing
Get Bangla, girls missing
Get Indon, money, missing
Get Chinese, husband missing
Get African, wife missing
But now its worse... this pilihan raya betui-betui kepala pusing!
Get Najib, Mongolian missing
Get Toyo, temples missing
Get Samy, shares missing
Get Rustam, pigs missing
Get Zainudin, info missing
Get Nazri, truth missing
Get Hisham, keris missing
Get Soi Lek, Viagra missing
Get Dr M, memory missing
Get Ka Ting, do nothing, every 'ting' missing
Get Badawi, always sleeping and missing
Get Tsu Koon, LP missing
Get Kit Siang, chilli padi missing
Get Anwar, tilam missing
Alamak, betui-betui kepala pusing
GET KHAIRY JAMALUDDIN... MALAYSIA MISSING!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
PKR planned to announce by-election this week: Anwar
Source : M'Kini
PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who took refuge at the Turkish embassy amid threats and sodomy accusations, said his party had planned to announce a by-election in which he would be contesting.
Anwar said the sodomy allegations were aimed at derailing his political comeback, and came just as he was about to re-enter parliament through a by-election.
"This is their intention. You know we will announce a by-election this week. I will contest in the by-election, the police knew that," he said.
To force a by-election, PKR will need to ask one of its 31 parliamentarian to resign.
Alternatively, the party could be hoping that the court would this Friday declared the victory of Wanita Umno chief Rafidah Aziz in Kuala Kangsar invalid.
Businessman Ahmad Jamaluddin Abd Majid has filed an election petition challenging the results in the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat as Rafidah had failed to sign two out of three sets of her nomination papers in the March 8 general election.
He told AFP earlier today that he would not leave his sanctuary in the Turkish embassy until the government guarantees his safety.
"I need categorical assurance on my safety. You know I have previously been assaulted to near death," Anwar said, referring to a beating he received after being sacked as deputy premier and hit with sex and corruption charges in 1998.
"Sure, if they give me an assurance for my safety today I will leave the embassy today," he said in a phone interview from the mission in Kuala Lumpur.
Anwar fled there on Sunday at the invitation of the ambassador, saying he had been threatened and feared a government assassination plot after facing "fabricated" accusations that he sodomised a male aide.
"There's two reasons why I decided to come to the embassy. It's not just for my personal safety, it's also for the stability of the nation," he said, referring to expectations of major protests if he is arrested.
"I urge my supporters to be calm but firm. Enough is enough, we will fight it out."
After his sacking, a watershed event in Malaysian politics, Anwar was convicted on sodomy and corruption charges which landed him in jail for six years.
He was released in 2004 when the sex charge was overturned but the corruption conviction still stands, and prevented him from holding public office until mid-April.
He is now eligible to run for parliament and one of the parliamentarians in his PKR is expected to stand aside for him.
Still on track to seize power
Anwar, who has said since the March elections that he has the numbers to form a new government with the help of defecting lawmakers from the ruling coalition, said he was still on track to seize power.
"The momentum is still on, I will continue to monitor the progress. It has never been so good, they know that," he said of the government which is led by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Umno party.
"Umno members and MPs have promised to come out and campaign for me so they come out with these sexual allegations to stop me from securing power," he said.
Anwar said that after his experiences a decade ago, he had no faith in the "due process" of the law in Malaysia, and reiterated allegations that elements in the government had orchestrated the new charges.
"Certain people in the hierarchy are involved in these allegations. Evidence from photos shows this," he said, referring to images of his accuser posing with ministers and government aides which his party has aired.
"They have made fabrications in the court, do they want me to believe in due process?" he asked.
Anwar said that elements in the police who were involved in the original investigation against him were now acting to sideline him because they feared revenge if he becomes prime minister.
"If you want to fight a political battle, do it cleanly," he said.
Photos: Anwar with PKR leaders on hearing about the police report lodged by his aide, Saiful. (Source: Anwar's blog).
PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who took refuge at the Turkish embassy amid threats and sodomy accusations, said his party had planned to announce a by-election in which he would be contesting.
Anwar said the sodomy allegations were aimed at derailing his political comeback, and came just as he was about to re-enter parliament through a by-election.
"This is their intention. You know we will announce a by-election this week. I will contest in the by-election, the police knew that," he said.
To force a by-election, PKR will need to ask one of its 31 parliamentarian to resign.
Alternatively, the party could be hoping that the court would this Friday declared the victory of Wanita Umno chief Rafidah Aziz in Kuala Kangsar invalid.
Businessman Ahmad Jamaluddin Abd Majid has filed an election petition challenging the results in the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat as Rafidah had failed to sign two out of three sets of her nomination papers in the March 8 general election.
He told AFP earlier today that he would not leave his sanctuary in the Turkish embassy until the government guarantees his safety.
"I need categorical assurance on my safety. You know I have previously been assaulted to near death," Anwar said, referring to a beating he received after being sacked as deputy premier and hit with sex and corruption charges in 1998.
"Sure, if they give me an assurance for my safety today I will leave the embassy today," he said in a phone interview from the mission in Kuala Lumpur.
Anwar fled there on Sunday at the invitation of the ambassador, saying he had been threatened and feared a government assassination plot after facing "fabricated" accusations that he sodomised a male aide.
"There's two reasons why I decided to come to the embassy. It's not just for my personal safety, it's also for the stability of the nation," he said, referring to expectations of major protests if he is arrested.
"I urge my supporters to be calm but firm. Enough is enough, we will fight it out."
After his sacking, a watershed event in Malaysian politics, Anwar was convicted on sodomy and corruption charges which landed him in jail for six years.
He was released in 2004 when the sex charge was overturned but the corruption conviction still stands, and prevented him from holding public office until mid-April.
He is now eligible to run for parliament and one of the parliamentarians in his PKR is expected to stand aside for him.
Still on track to seize power
Anwar, who has said since the March elections that he has the numbers to form a new government with the help of defecting lawmakers from the ruling coalition, said he was still on track to seize power.
"The momentum is still on, I will continue to monitor the progress. It has never been so good, they know that," he said of the government which is led by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Umno party.
"Umno members and MPs have promised to come out and campaign for me so they come out with these sexual allegations to stop me from securing power," he said.
Anwar said that after his experiences a decade ago, he had no faith in the "due process" of the law in Malaysia, and reiterated allegations that elements in the government had orchestrated the new charges.
"Certain people in the hierarchy are involved in these allegations. Evidence from photos shows this," he said, referring to images of his accuser posing with ministers and government aides which his party has aired.
"They have made fabrications in the court, do they want me to believe in due process?" he asked.
Anwar said that elements in the police who were involved in the original investigation against him were now acting to sideline him because they feared revenge if he becomes prime minister.
"If you want to fight a political battle, do it cleanly," he said.
Photos: Anwar with PKR leaders on hearing about the police report lodged by his aide, Saiful. (Source: Anwar's blog).
Friday, June 20, 2008
My Blogger Friend Met a Serious Accident - Need Help (New Posts are Below This Message)
Updated on 11th July 2008, 2.00pm. Please find the revised donation details. Satish is still short of an approximately RM 3,460 to pay off the existing hospital bills. The details of those donated so far are as follows :-
Those who pledged to help, please do so. Thank you for your support to help our fellow blogger. Will keep you posted....
Dear Reader, i got this email from a fellow blogger. He needs help and hope you all can assist....For any info pls contact Ms. Saras at 012-7162884
June 4, 2008 By DS. GOPHEKAR RAAJ
Dear Reader,
I’ve just came to know that our friend Satish who blogs in Olaichuvadi has met with a serious accident on recent Monday in Kluang, Johor and he’s badly injured. Immediately upon receiving the message, I called up Saras and inquired. It seems he just undergo an operation today. The operation cost is around 7K. He’s from a very poor family background. I also called up his fiancee to find out how is his condition. According to her, he’s still unconscious and get ups time to time out of a sudden while screaming. He’s still in the accident trauma maybe. I’m putting this on MakalVoice is for the purpose of getting some financial support for my friend Satish from generous hearted people like you. Please donate according at your own mean and please pray to the almighty for his fast recovery. I’m going to bank in my pledge now and if can….I’ll keep you guys updated on how much have been collected from time to time by getting infos from his fiancee. Thanks in advance and please read the below message for more detail.
BLOGGER WHO WAS AMONG THE 7 ARRESTED IN PENANG INVOLVED IN A ACCIDENT AND NEEDS HELP !!!!
Dear friends,
Mr. Satish Kumar a blogger from Olaichuvadi was involved in an bad accident on the 2/6/08. He was one of the 7 who were arrested during the anti ISA campaign last month in Penang Gurney Drive when he was covering the event for his blog. He is also a Tamil school primary teacher.
Mr. Satish has no any supports and lives all by his own. He was hit and run by a vechicle in Kluang Johor while he was riding on his motorbike. He has serious injuries including multiple broken bones, Shoulder dislocated and a broken thigh bone. He was first admitted to the General Hospital, Kluang but the nurse there informed that he would only go through a check up next Monday and did not take it seriously. His condition was neglected by Kluang General hospital. Fearing on this, our team decided to transfer him to the Kluang Utama Specialist Centre. The operation has been completed at 3am this morning based on humanitarian grounds but need to pay. As for now the bill has been amounted to RM 7000. He badly needs financial support to carry on with the treatment and save his legs.
Kindly support by donating any amount that you are able to give. Below is the bank in no:-
Name : Satish Kumar
Account No : 108114004851
Bank : Maybank
For any info pls contact Ms. Saras at 012-7162884
Your help is much appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Leave Petronas goose alone, ask who ate golden eggs
By Syed Mohamed via M'kini
Petronas has been posting on the Internet since 2002 not only its profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow accounts, but also financial highlights and other details of how it performed in the oil and gas business. For the last couple of years, in view of rising oil prices and hence its profits, Petronas has also detailed out how its profits were distributed.
I have been in the oil and gas business since the early 80's, and I find its website a goldmine of information, beyond what is expected to be revealed even by public-listed companies. However, it may be difficult for those who have no prior working knowledge of the complexity and challenges of the oil and gas industry, to decipher from the information given as to how well Petronas is being run.
This in comparison to not only the other government-owned oil companies, but also the other oil majors of the world, and how much it has contributed (and will continue to do) to the national economy, provided its immense contributions are efficiently and prudently utilised by the government.
The revelations on the website show that so far, Petronas has given back to the nation more than any other GLC has ever done, leaving itself with just sufficient funds to continue to invest large sums every year to search for oil and gas globally (to add to the nation's oil and gas reserves), as well as to add value to its existing highly-integrated businesses in 33 countries.
So far, Petronas has managed to replenish more than it extracts in terms of its oil and gas reserves, both domestically and overseas, increasing its overseas reserves (in Africa, Central Asia, the Middle-east and South East Asia) to one-third of its total global reserves.
This means that it can continue to produce oil and gas for many years ahead, although it is expected that, by about 2014 or earlier, Malaysia itself, as a country, will be able to export less oil than it imports, due to increased domestic demands.
It is certainly not true that our oil wells will be dry by then, as some reports have erroneously suggested, as the current Malaysian oil reserves are equivalent to 22 years of the current extraction rate of 670,000 barrels per day.
For the 2007 financial year, Petronas declared dividends to the government totalling a staggering RM32 billion (half to be actually paid in the following financial year). For the two previous years, it paid RM13.1 billion and RM9.1 billion respectively.
I say its staggering because throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000's, its dividends to the government had reportedly been only about RM2 billion every year.
On top of that, for the same 2007 financial year, Petronas also paid to the government another total of RM32.3 billion in the form of taxes (RM21.8 b), royalties (RM8.5 b) and export duty (RM 2 b).
So what is the real issue? The real issue is, therefore, whether the BN government has been prudent and efficient in spending the many billions contributed by Petronas.
Please, people. Petronas cannot be faulted if its contribution is spent elsewhere instead of on petrol and diesel subsidies. Boycotting Petronas products would be like trying to kill Malaysia's one and only golden goose. Let's quarrel about the ‘golden eggs’ which are in the BN government hands, but leave the ‘goose’ to continue to lay more for years and years to come.
There may come a time - like during the 1997-1998 Southeast Asian financial meltdown - when Petronas financial muscle may once again be needed to come to our rescue.
The ball is in the BN government's court - to stop the alleged major leakages and wastage and then use the savings to subsidise fuel prices. This is what Anwar Ibrahim might be thinking of when he promised to reduce the petrol price if Pakatan Rakyat ever manages to take over the federal government.
Is Petronas efficiently run? You bet. Petronas is listed in Fortune 500 as amongst the world's 500 biggest companies. In terms of profitability, using the ‘profit before tax margin’ ratio, Petronas (at 41.4%) is at No1 position, by a long way, compared to all the oil majors and other government-owned oil companies of the world.
It is also in the No 1 position if the Return on Average Capital Employed (Roace) ratio is used. The figure achieved is an astounding 40.9%. Even when the Return on Total Assets ratio is used, at 25.9% it ranks at the top half amongst the government-owned oil companies and the oil majors of the world.
These three criteria show that Petronas is one of the most, if not the most (in certain aspects), efficiently managed of the large oil and gas companies of the world. Do we really want to know how many expensive banquets Petronas held in comparison with Esso, Shell, BP, Chevron, Caltex, Conoco, Gulf, Aramco, Statoil, Petrobras, Pertamina, etc?
Can Petronas reduce Malaysian petrol prices on its own? The answer is negative. Petronas' current total refining capacity is only 314,000 barrels of crude per day. From this amount, only about 150,000 barrels per day of petrol and diesel can be produced, the rest being LPG, petrochemical naphtha, kerosene/jet fuel and waxy residues.
The 150,000 barrels per day account for only 40% of the amount of petrol and diesel sold in Malaysia. The other 60% is supplied by foreign oil companies like Esso, Shell and Caltex. Esso and Shell have refineries in Port Dickson, whilst Caltex may be importing the products from its Singapore refinery and/or purchasing them from the Conoco share of the Melaka refinery outputs.
From the above, one can begin to understand why the petrol price control has to be through the subsidy route rather than through Petronas having to take an 'opportunity loss'. Unless Shell, Esso and Caltex are also willing to take 'opportunity losses', and by how much.
Petronas has been posting on the Internet since 2002 not only its profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow accounts, but also financial highlights and other details of how it performed in the oil and gas business. For the last couple of years, in view of rising oil prices and hence its profits, Petronas has also detailed out how its profits were distributed.
I have been in the oil and gas business since the early 80's, and I find its website a goldmine of information, beyond what is expected to be revealed even by public-listed companies. However, it may be difficult for those who have no prior working knowledge of the complexity and challenges of the oil and gas industry, to decipher from the information given as to how well Petronas is being run.
This in comparison to not only the other government-owned oil companies, but also the other oil majors of the world, and how much it has contributed (and will continue to do) to the national economy, provided its immense contributions are efficiently and prudently utilised by the government.
The revelations on the website show that so far, Petronas has given back to the nation more than any other GLC has ever done, leaving itself with just sufficient funds to continue to invest large sums every year to search for oil and gas globally (to add to the nation's oil and gas reserves), as well as to add value to its existing highly-integrated businesses in 33 countries.
So far, Petronas has managed to replenish more than it extracts in terms of its oil and gas reserves, both domestically and overseas, increasing its overseas reserves (in Africa, Central Asia, the Middle-east and South East Asia) to one-third of its total global reserves.
This means that it can continue to produce oil and gas for many years ahead, although it is expected that, by about 2014 or earlier, Malaysia itself, as a country, will be able to export less oil than it imports, due to increased domestic demands.
It is certainly not true that our oil wells will be dry by then, as some reports have erroneously suggested, as the current Malaysian oil reserves are equivalent to 22 years of the current extraction rate of 670,000 barrels per day.
For the 2007 financial year, Petronas declared dividends to the government totalling a staggering RM32 billion (half to be actually paid in the following financial year). For the two previous years, it paid RM13.1 billion and RM9.1 billion respectively.
I say its staggering because throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000's, its dividends to the government had reportedly been only about RM2 billion every year.
On top of that, for the same 2007 financial year, Petronas also paid to the government another total of RM32.3 billion in the form of taxes (RM21.8 b), royalties (RM8.5 b) and export duty (RM 2 b).
So what is the real issue? The real issue is, therefore, whether the BN government has been prudent and efficient in spending the many billions contributed by Petronas.
Please, people. Petronas cannot be faulted if its contribution is spent elsewhere instead of on petrol and diesel subsidies. Boycotting Petronas products would be like trying to kill Malaysia's one and only golden goose. Let's quarrel about the ‘golden eggs’ which are in the BN government hands, but leave the ‘goose’ to continue to lay more for years and years to come.
There may come a time - like during the 1997-1998 Southeast Asian financial meltdown - when Petronas financial muscle may once again be needed to come to our rescue.
The ball is in the BN government's court - to stop the alleged major leakages and wastage and then use the savings to subsidise fuel prices. This is what Anwar Ibrahim might be thinking of when he promised to reduce the petrol price if Pakatan Rakyat ever manages to take over the federal government.
Is Petronas efficiently run? You bet. Petronas is listed in Fortune 500 as amongst the world's 500 biggest companies. In terms of profitability, using the ‘profit before tax margin’ ratio, Petronas (at 41.4%) is at No1 position, by a long way, compared to all the oil majors and other government-owned oil companies of the world.
It is also in the No 1 position if the Return on Average Capital Employed (Roace) ratio is used. The figure achieved is an astounding 40.9%. Even when the Return on Total Assets ratio is used, at 25.9% it ranks at the top half amongst the government-owned oil companies and the oil majors of the world.
These three criteria show that Petronas is one of the most, if not the most (in certain aspects), efficiently managed of the large oil and gas companies of the world. Do we really want to know how many expensive banquets Petronas held in comparison with Esso, Shell, BP, Chevron, Caltex, Conoco, Gulf, Aramco, Statoil, Petrobras, Pertamina, etc?
Can Petronas reduce Malaysian petrol prices on its own? The answer is negative. Petronas' current total refining capacity is only 314,000 barrels of crude per day. From this amount, only about 150,000 barrels per day of petrol and diesel can be produced, the rest being LPG, petrochemical naphtha, kerosene/jet fuel and waxy residues.
The 150,000 barrels per day account for only 40% of the amount of petrol and diesel sold in Malaysia. The other 60% is supplied by foreign oil companies like Esso, Shell and Caltex. Esso and Shell have refineries in Port Dickson, whilst Caltex may be importing the products from its Singapore refinery and/or purchasing them from the Conoco share of the Melaka refinery outputs.
From the above, one can begin to understand why the petrol price control has to be through the subsidy route rather than through Petronas having to take an 'opportunity loss'. Unless Shell, Esso and Caltex are also willing to take 'opportunity losses', and by how much.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
SAPP MPs to move no-confidence vote...
Source : M'Kini
Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) today announced that it would move a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when Parliament resumes on Monday.
It is the first time in the history of the nation that a vote of no-confidence is to be moved against a prime minister.
"In the coming sitting of the Parliament session starting Monday, June 23, our MPs will support a vote of no confidence on the PM.
"Whether the motion will be tabled by our party MP or another MP will be decided in due course," said a press statement released today.Sapp has two parliamentarians - Dr Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) and Eric Enchin Majimbun (Sepanggar) - and four state assemblypersons.
Majimbun, who is currently overseas, has expressed his support for the party's decision by signing the press statement click here for full press statements from both MPs.
Four reasons
Chua, who was present at the party's 90-minute press conference in Kota Kinabalu, gave four reasons for backing the no-confidence vote.
They are:
No concrete actions have been taken on the issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah. "Our sovereignty is threatened," said Chua.
Sabah, being the poorest state, is greatly burdened by the sharp hike in petrol prices. The government has failed to provide "holistic economic solutions".
Sapp MPs would fail in their role as elected representatives as issues raised such as poor delivery systems, corruption, wastage of resources, lack of transparency and no sense of accountability are ignored.
People have lost confidence in the leadership of Abdullah. Sapp is of the opinion that if the top leadership can't perform, then Abdullah should make way for other able leader to take over.
Party president Yong Teck Lee said Sapp would not immediately quit the coalition led by Abdullah, but that its status would be reviewed at the end of the week.
He attacked BN's record in the impoverished state, saying that it had been subjected to unfair laws and excessive taxes.
"That is why we need an immediate declaration of no confidence in the PM and the government, to tell the BN government that we can no longer tolerate their insensitive attitude towards the Sabah issues that are real and serious," he said at the press conference held at the party headquarters at 2pm.In an immediate reaction, Abdullah said: "I have not been able to satisfy his (Yong's) personal greed."
According to Bernama, the embattled prime minister did not elaborate on the matter.
Decision on Friday?
Today's annoncement appeared to be the opening move by the BN component member which may see the Sabah-based party eventually leaving the coalition.
“Today is just the first step. There might not be any defections for now,” said a source.
A poll placed in Sapp's blog also indicated the general feelings on the ground at the moment. The poll asked members of the public whether the party should stay on in BN, leave the coalition but remain independent, or join Pakatan.At press time, there were 2,052 votes tallied, with 85 percent (1,749 votes) asking Sapp to join Pakatan. Another 242 (11 percent) want the party to leave BN and remain independent. Only 2 percent (61 votes) urged it to stay on with BN.
To a question of whether the party would be pulling out of BN, Yong said that he could only answer that question after the party's Supreme Council meeting this Friday."We will have a press conference on Friday June 20 to announce this matter of Sapp's membership in BN after our supreme council meeting," he said. Anwar needs 30 MPs
In recent weeks Sapp has been identified as the most likely party to leave BN and join forces with Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Rakyat.
Sapp is led by outspoken former chief minister Yong, who in recent months has questioned Abdullah's policies towards Sabah and the federal government's inability to solve the illegal migrants' problem in the state.
The party has two members of parliament and four representatives in the state assembly.
Political commentators point out that even if the party pulled out of BN to join Pakatan, the defection of the two MPs would not be sufficient to threaten Abdullah's BN.
Anwar needs 30 MPs to derail Abdullah and BN from power.
However, Sabah sources claim that other BN coalition partners would follow Sapp out of BN if the party sparks the exodus.
Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) today announced that it would move a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when Parliament resumes on Monday.
It is the first time in the history of the nation that a vote of no-confidence is to be moved against a prime minister.
"In the coming sitting of the Parliament session starting Monday, June 23, our MPs will support a vote of no confidence on the PM.
"Whether the motion will be tabled by our party MP or another MP will be decided in due course," said a press statement released today.Sapp has two parliamentarians - Dr Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) and Eric Enchin Majimbun (Sepanggar) - and four state assemblypersons.
Majimbun, who is currently overseas, has expressed his support for the party's decision by signing the press statement click here for full press statements from both MPs.
Four reasons
Chua, who was present at the party's 90-minute press conference in Kota Kinabalu, gave four reasons for backing the no-confidence vote.
They are:
No concrete actions have been taken on the issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah. "Our sovereignty is threatened," said Chua.
Sabah, being the poorest state, is greatly burdened by the sharp hike in petrol prices. The government has failed to provide "holistic economic solutions".
Sapp MPs would fail in their role as elected representatives as issues raised such as poor delivery systems, corruption, wastage of resources, lack of transparency and no sense of accountability are ignored.
People have lost confidence in the leadership of Abdullah. Sapp is of the opinion that if the top leadership can't perform, then Abdullah should make way for other able leader to take over.
Party president Yong Teck Lee said Sapp would not immediately quit the coalition led by Abdullah, but that its status would be reviewed at the end of the week.
He attacked BN's record in the impoverished state, saying that it had been subjected to unfair laws and excessive taxes.
"That is why we need an immediate declaration of no confidence in the PM and the government, to tell the BN government that we can no longer tolerate their insensitive attitude towards the Sabah issues that are real and serious," he said at the press conference held at the party headquarters at 2pm.In an immediate reaction, Abdullah said: "I have not been able to satisfy his (Yong's) personal greed."
According to Bernama, the embattled prime minister did not elaborate on the matter.
Decision on Friday?
Today's annoncement appeared to be the opening move by the BN component member which may see the Sabah-based party eventually leaving the coalition.
“Today is just the first step. There might not be any defections for now,” said a source.
A poll placed in Sapp's blog also indicated the general feelings on the ground at the moment. The poll asked members of the public whether the party should stay on in BN, leave the coalition but remain independent, or join Pakatan.At press time, there were 2,052 votes tallied, with 85 percent (1,749 votes) asking Sapp to join Pakatan. Another 242 (11 percent) want the party to leave BN and remain independent. Only 2 percent (61 votes) urged it to stay on with BN.
To a question of whether the party would be pulling out of BN, Yong said that he could only answer that question after the party's Supreme Council meeting this Friday."We will have a press conference on Friday June 20 to announce this matter of Sapp's membership in BN after our supreme council meeting," he said. Anwar needs 30 MPs
In recent weeks Sapp has been identified as the most likely party to leave BN and join forces with Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Rakyat.
Sapp is led by outspoken former chief minister Yong, who in recent months has questioned Abdullah's policies towards Sabah and the federal government's inability to solve the illegal migrants' problem in the state.
The party has two members of parliament and four representatives in the state assembly.
Political commentators point out that even if the party pulled out of BN to join Pakatan, the defection of the two MPs would not be sufficient to threaten Abdullah's BN.
Anwar needs 30 MPs to derail Abdullah and BN from power.
However, Sabah sources claim that other BN coalition partners would follow Sapp out of BN if the party sparks the exodus.
A big lie told repeatedly
By Dean Johns via M'Kini
I’ve mentioned this saying before, and no doubt will again, as it has become one of my favourite mantras against the mind-boggling barrage of mendacity we face every day from people bent on messing with our minds.
I first heard it said about advertising, a business notorious for its cynical not to say shameless disregard for veracity.
But as irritating as it may be to long-suffering consumers, stretching the truth about brands is nothing compared with filling citizens’ heads with nonsense about issues that affect their lives, livelihoods and liberties.
When employed by leaders to mislead their people, ‘bull**** baffles brains’ techniques chillingly recall Nazi ‘information’ chief Josef Goebbels’ secret of successful state propaganda, “a big lie, told repeatedly”.
And I’m repeatedly reminded of this by politicians who emulate Goebbels’ methods, from George Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard with their now long-debunked ‘Iraq weapons of mass destruction’ story to Robert Mugabe and his ridiculous claims that in contesting elections against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, he’s “fighting a war against the would-be re-colonisers of Zimbabwe”.
Currently the world’s most successful practitioners of the ‘bull**** baffles brains’ approach to government must surely be the paranoid, power-mad mandarins who have been bending the minds and dominating the existences of more than a billion citizens for almost 60 years in a totalitarian dictatorship posing as the ‘People’s’ Republic of China.
For almost as long, if on a comparatively minor scale, the Castro brothers of Cuba and the Kim dynasty in North Korea have also managed to imprison their people behind virtually impenetrable walls of ignorance, misinformation and flat-out lies.
And a close runner-up in long-running rule of the ruthless over the truthless has been Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (BN). Only now, after 50 years in power, has BN finally begun to be exposed as the clique of kleptocrats and incompetents it has long since become.
No thanks to the nation’s mainstream media for this long-overdue revelation, however, as they’re as busy baffling Malaysians’ minds with bull**** as ever they were. Even more so, in fact, considering some of their contributions to opposition and citizen calls for media freedom.
Wong Chun Wai, the chief group editor of Star has, as I pointed out in a previous column, made some shining statements in his blog, like “The freedom of expression is an essential part of democracy. A healthy democracy means a meaningful participation of Malaysians in the political process.”
Not a favour
But there’s little evidence of his newspaper practising what he preaches. Quite the opposite, to judge by the recent ‘Stray thoughts’ column in Star, in which New Media Editor A Asohan had the effrontery to accuse the Malaysian people of colluding in their brain-washing by the media.
“The media, the government..who else can we point a finger at here? How about you, the people of Malaysia? There is some truth to the saying that the media acts as a mirror on society, and that it can only reflect the ideals and aspirations of the society it serves.
“For 50 years, you folks kept returning to power, and almost always with a two-thirds majority, the parties that have enacted these laws (the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Official Secrets Act, Internal Security Act, Sedition Act and Communications and Multimedia Act). By doing so, you gave your tacit approval.”
Blaming the readers like this strikes me as a bit rich, considering that Star was one of the major movers in keeping the electors ignorant enough to keep voting for BN and its miserable media-repressive laws.
And as if his assault on the unwitting victims of his newspaper’s dereliction of its duty to the truth wasn’t sufficient, Asohan also heaped praise on Minster in the Prime Minister’s Department Zaid Ibrahim, for the latter’s “courageous” speech to journalists, bloggers and activists who gathered for the “walk for press freedom” two weeks ago.
Zaid had said: “Don’t blame the government for everything. What have you done to push for reforms? How many of you are willing to risk jail or unemployment for your principles?”
Another piece of arrant bull****, blaming journalists for “failing” to defy laws specifically designed to force them to prostitute their profession or pay the price.
Press freedom, let me remind Zaid - as if as an eminent or at least affluent lawyer he wasn’t already aware - is a right enshrined in the constitution, not a favour to be fought for. Nor, despite what he was so snidely implying, is there any shortage of people or organisations who’ve fought very hard indeed for the restoration of this right.
Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today, the Centre for Independent Journalism and countless journalists - and more recently bloggers - have fought tooth and nail for years for press freedom. They have received nothing but vilification, intimidation, persecution and prosecution for their pains, from the government of which Zaid is now part.
As for his assertion that if press-suppressing laws were to be reviewed or repealed, the media had better have something to replace these or else there would be “anarchy”, even Asohan thought it was a load of crap.
Where is the anarchy in the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and all the other nations whose citizens enjoy press freedom?
And don’t anyone try telling me the old BN fairy-tale that Malaysia’s a “special case” due to its “unique” need to maintain unity and harmony between its races and religions. There are lots of other nations whose populations are as diverse, and there’s no evidence that press freedom poses a threat to peaceful co-existence.
On the contrary, a free press is more likely to be a force for cohesion and tolerance, as people who are intelligently informed and enlightened are less prone to be racist and sectarian.
BN not only promotes such evils the better to ensure its own survival, but also contrives to combine them with cronyism and corruption.
But thanks to the free virtual media, BN’s bull**** isn’t baffling nearly so many brains these days, and, thanks to petrol and other price rises, there are even hopeful signs that it’s no longer altogether baffling the brainless.
I’ve mentioned this saying before, and no doubt will again, as it has become one of my favourite mantras against the mind-boggling barrage of mendacity we face every day from people bent on messing with our minds.
I first heard it said about advertising, a business notorious for its cynical not to say shameless disregard for veracity.
But as irritating as it may be to long-suffering consumers, stretching the truth about brands is nothing compared with filling citizens’ heads with nonsense about issues that affect their lives, livelihoods and liberties.
When employed by leaders to mislead their people, ‘bull**** baffles brains’ techniques chillingly recall Nazi ‘information’ chief Josef Goebbels’ secret of successful state propaganda, “a big lie, told repeatedly”.
And I’m repeatedly reminded of this by politicians who emulate Goebbels’ methods, from George Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard with their now long-debunked ‘Iraq weapons of mass destruction’ story to Robert Mugabe and his ridiculous claims that in contesting elections against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, he’s “fighting a war against the would-be re-colonisers of Zimbabwe”.
Currently the world’s most successful practitioners of the ‘bull**** baffles brains’ approach to government must surely be the paranoid, power-mad mandarins who have been bending the minds and dominating the existences of more than a billion citizens for almost 60 years in a totalitarian dictatorship posing as the ‘People’s’ Republic of China.
For almost as long, if on a comparatively minor scale, the Castro brothers of Cuba and the Kim dynasty in North Korea have also managed to imprison their people behind virtually impenetrable walls of ignorance, misinformation and flat-out lies.
And a close runner-up in long-running rule of the ruthless over the truthless has been Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (BN). Only now, after 50 years in power, has BN finally begun to be exposed as the clique of kleptocrats and incompetents it has long since become.
No thanks to the nation’s mainstream media for this long-overdue revelation, however, as they’re as busy baffling Malaysians’ minds with bull**** as ever they were. Even more so, in fact, considering some of their contributions to opposition and citizen calls for media freedom.
Wong Chun Wai, the chief group editor of Star has, as I pointed out in a previous column, made some shining statements in his blog, like “The freedom of expression is an essential part of democracy. A healthy democracy means a meaningful participation of Malaysians in the political process.”
Not a favour
But there’s little evidence of his newspaper practising what he preaches. Quite the opposite, to judge by the recent ‘Stray thoughts’ column in Star, in which New Media Editor A Asohan had the effrontery to accuse the Malaysian people of colluding in their brain-washing by the media.
“The media, the government..who else can we point a finger at here? How about you, the people of Malaysia? There is some truth to the saying that the media acts as a mirror on society, and that it can only reflect the ideals and aspirations of the society it serves.
“For 50 years, you folks kept returning to power, and almost always with a two-thirds majority, the parties that have enacted these laws (the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Official Secrets Act, Internal Security Act, Sedition Act and Communications and Multimedia Act). By doing so, you gave your tacit approval.”
Blaming the readers like this strikes me as a bit rich, considering that Star was one of the major movers in keeping the electors ignorant enough to keep voting for BN and its miserable media-repressive laws.
And as if his assault on the unwitting victims of his newspaper’s dereliction of its duty to the truth wasn’t sufficient, Asohan also heaped praise on Minster in the Prime Minister’s Department Zaid Ibrahim, for the latter’s “courageous” speech to journalists, bloggers and activists who gathered for the “walk for press freedom” two weeks ago.
Zaid had said: “Don’t blame the government for everything. What have you done to push for reforms? How many of you are willing to risk jail or unemployment for your principles?”
Another piece of arrant bull****, blaming journalists for “failing” to defy laws specifically designed to force them to prostitute their profession or pay the price.
Press freedom, let me remind Zaid - as if as an eminent or at least affluent lawyer he wasn’t already aware - is a right enshrined in the constitution, not a favour to be fought for. Nor, despite what he was so snidely implying, is there any shortage of people or organisations who’ve fought very hard indeed for the restoration of this right.
Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today, the Centre for Independent Journalism and countless journalists - and more recently bloggers - have fought tooth and nail for years for press freedom. They have received nothing but vilification, intimidation, persecution and prosecution for their pains, from the government of which Zaid is now part.
As for his assertion that if press-suppressing laws were to be reviewed or repealed, the media had better have something to replace these or else there would be “anarchy”, even Asohan thought it was a load of crap.
Where is the anarchy in the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and all the other nations whose citizens enjoy press freedom?
And don’t anyone try telling me the old BN fairy-tale that Malaysia’s a “special case” due to its “unique” need to maintain unity and harmony between its races and religions. There are lots of other nations whose populations are as diverse, and there’s no evidence that press freedom poses a threat to peaceful co-existence.
On the contrary, a free press is more likely to be a force for cohesion and tolerance, as people who are intelligently informed and enlightened are less prone to be racist and sectarian.
BN not only promotes such evils the better to ensure its own survival, but also contrives to combine them with cronyism and corruption.
But thanks to the free virtual media, BN’s bull**** isn’t baffling nearly so many brains these days, and, thanks to petrol and other price rises, there are even hopeful signs that it’s no longer altogether baffling the brainless.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Just a Friendly Reminder....
TODAY IS FRIDAY THE 13TH....HE...HE...HE....ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS....!!!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
WHAT IS NEVER MENTIONED IN Mainstream Media like NST, TheStar, Utusan, BH are these facts…
Via : Malaysian Voice blog...
Image : Via Makkal Sakti
Image : Via Makkal Sakti
YennaMike Says : I do agree with what the person have to say on his write up below an average British earns around GBP 2,000 a month = MYR 12,600, Hong Kong HKD 15,000 = MYR 6,300, Macau MOP 20,000 = MYR 8,200 and Malaysian MYR 1,500 = MYR 1,500 - now you do the maths...
Malaysian Per Capita Income USD 5000 VS Singaporean Per Capita Income USD 25000
Further The Star made a comparison of prices in Thailand , Singapore and Indonesia.
For Thailand it is quoted at RM3.90/liter, however are they aware that in Thailand new cars are cheaper than Malaysia by RM10,000? They pay only one life time for their driving license? No renewal fee after that? Also that goes for road tax as well? And do TheStar also aware that you can drive all the way from Hadtyai to
Bangkok on a six lane highway without paying any Tolls ??!!
Whereas here in Malaysia you have to pay yearly renewal for road tax , driving license and TOLLS, TOLLS, TOLLS!!!
For Singapore how can you quote RM 5.20 ? Please quote in Singapore Dollars because they are earning in Sing Dollars. You might as well say Europeans are paying RM10/liter. RM5.20/liter = Sing $ 2.20/liter, still cheaper than Malaysia in view of fact that Singapore is not a crude oil exporter. Are you saying that
you fill up petrol in Singapore by paying Ringgit?
In economy, dollar to dollar must be compared as apple to apple. Not comparing like durian in M'sia is much cheaper than durian in Japan!! Of course-lah, Japan is not durian producer!!! Comparing Malaysian durian with Thailand durian make more sense!!
For Indonesia we might say is cheaper there at RM2.07/liter but compare that to their level of income! Now, let us compare the price with OIL PRODUCING countries:
UAE – RM1.19/litre
Eygpt – RM1.03/litre
Bahrain – RM0.87/litre
Qatar – RM0.68/litre
Kuwait – RM0.67/litre
Saudi Arabia – RM0.38/litre
Iran – RM0.35/litre
Nigeria – RM0.32/litre
Turkmenistan – RM0.25/litre
Venezuela – RM0.16/litre
MALAYSIA – RM2.70/litre
RM 2.70!!! Individual perspective:
As of last month a Toyota Vios would 'cause a damage' of about RM 89,000. In the international market, a Toyota Vios is about USD 19,000 USD 19,000 = RM 62,700 (using the indicative rates of USD 1 = RM 3.30). That makes Malaysian Vios owners pay an extra RM 26,300.
This RM 26,300 should be cost of operations, profit and tax because the transportation costs have been factored in to the USD 19,000.
RM 26,300/ RM625 petrol rebate per year translates to a Vios being used for 42.08 years.
I do understand that the RM 625 is a rebate given by the government, but it also means that one has to use the Vios for 42.08 years just to make back the amount paid in taxes for the usage of a foreign car. Would anyone use any kind of car for that long?
Now with these numbers in front of us, does the subsidy sound like a subsidy or does it sound like a penalty? This just seems to be a heavy increment in our daily cost of living as we are not only charged with high car taxes but also with a drastic increase in fuel price.
With all the numbers listed out, I urge all Malaysians to join me in analyzing the situation further.
Car taxation is government profit, fuel sales is Petronas' (GLC) profit which also translates into government profit. The government may ridicule us Malaysians by saying look at the world market and fuel price world wide. Please, we are Malaysians, we fought of the British, had a international port in the early centuries (Malacca), home to a racially mixed nation and WE ARE NOT STUPID!!!
We know the international rates are above the USD 130/barrel. We understand the fact that the fuel prices are increasing worldwide and we also know that major scientist are still contradicting on why this phenomenon is happening. Some blame Bush and his plunders around the world and some blame climate change and there are others which say petroleum 'wells' are getting scarce.
Again we go back to numbers to be more straight fwd
1 barrel = 159 liters x RM2.70/liter = RM 429 or USD 134
On 1 hand, we are paying the full cost of 1 barrel of crude oil with RM2.70 per liter but on the other hand the crude oil only produces 46% of fuel.
Msia sells crude oil per barrel at USD130 buys back Fuel per barrel at USD134. And not forgetting, every barrel of fuel is produced with 2 barrels of crude oil.
1 barrel crude oil = produce 46% fuel (or half of crude oil), therefore 2 barrel crude oil = approximately 1 barrel fuel In other words, each time we sell 2 barrels of crude oil, equivalently we will buy back 1 barrel of fuel.
Financially;
Malaysia sell 2 barrel crude oil @ USD 130/barrel = USD 260 = RM 858 then, Malaysia will buy back fuel @ USD 134/barrel = RM 442/barrel. Thus, Malaysia earn net extra USD 126 = RM 416 for each 2 barrel of crude
sold/exported vs imported 1 barrel of fuel !!!
(USD 260-134 = USD 126 = RM416)
So where this extra USD 126/barrel income is channeled to by Malaysian Govt?
Another analysis:
1 barrel crude oil = 159 liters.
46-47% of a barrel of crude oil = fuel that we use in our vehicles.
46% of 159 = 73.14 liters.
@ RM 2.70/liter x 73.14 liter = RM197.48 of fuel per barrel of crude oil. This is only 46% of the barrel, mind you. Using RM 3.30 = USD 1, we get that a barrel of crude oil produces USD 59.84 worth of petrol fuel (46% of 1barrel). USD 59.84 of USD 130/barrel turns out to be 46% of a barrel as well.
Another 54% = bitumen, kerosene, and natural gases and so many more. And this makes a balance of USD 70.16 that has not been accounted for.
So this is where I got curious. Where is the subsidy if we are paying 46% of the price of a barrel of crude oil when the production of petrol/barrel of crude oil is still only 46%?
In actual fact, we still pay for this as they are charged in the forms of fuel surcharge by airlines and road taxes for the building of road (because they use the tar/bitumen) and many more excuse charging us but let us just leave all that out of our calculations.
As far as I know, only the politicians who live in Putrajaya and come for their Parliament meetings in Kuala Lumpur (approximately 60+ km) are the ones to gain as they claim their fuel and toll charges from the money of the RAKYAT's TAX.
It is so disappointing to see this happen time and time again to the Malaysian public, where they are deceived by the propaganda held by the politicians and the controls they have over the press.
Which stupid idiot economist equates rebates for rich or poor with the cc of the vehicles? An average office clerk may own a second hand 1300cc proton Iswara costing $7,000 (rebate = $625) while the Datuk's children can own a fleet of 10 new cars of BMW, Audi and Volvo all less than 2000cc costing $2 millions and get a total rebate of $625 x 10 = $6,250! Wow what kind of economists we are keeping in Malaysia…wonder which phD certificate that they bought from…
Misleading concept of Subsidy:
The word "subsidy" has been brandished by the BN government as if it has so generously helped the rakyat and in doing so incurred losses. This simple example will help to explain the fallacy:
Example:
Ahmad is a fisherman. He sells a fish to you at $10 which is below the market value of $15. Let's assume that he caught the fish from the abundance of the sea at little or no cost. Ahmad claims that since the market value of the fish is $15 and he sold you the fish for $10, he had subsidised you $5 and therefore made a loss of $5.
Question :
Did Ahmad actually make a profit of $10 or loss of $5 which he claimed is the subsidy?
Answer:
Ahmad makes a profit of $10 which is the difference of the selling price ($10) minus the cost price ($0 since the fish was caught from the abundance of the sea). There is no subsidy as claimed by Ahmad.
The BN government claims that it is a subsidy because the oil is kept and treated as somebody else's property (you know who). By right, the oil belongs to all citizens of the country and the government is a trustee for the citizens. So as in the above simple example, the BN government cannot claim that it has subsidised the citizen!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
HINDRAF: FATHER'S DAY ISA WISH.
Source : via Makkal Sakti
HINDRAF
135-3 JALAN TOMAN 7
KEMAYAN SQUARE
70200 SEREMBAN
Y.A.B. Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim
Selangor Menteri Besar
Selangor State Secretariat Office,
Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Tel: 03 5544 7013
40503 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Fax: 03 5519 0032
08/06/08
Y.A.B.Tan Sri,
Re: Father’s Day ISA wish.
Weekly courtesy Public Transport for ISA detainees families from
KL to Kemta, Taiping, Perak.
We refer to the above matter and your statement in Utusan Malaysia last week offering transport and travelling expenses to Kemta prison Kamunting and school children’s allowances.
May we propose that the Selangor state government provides a free courtesy bus service belonging to the Selangor State Government from K.L. to Kemta prison once every week until all ISA detainees are released. This bus service could take off from outside Malaysiakini office in Bangsar, KL at 7am on every Sunday and ISA detainee families to be dropped back at the same point on the return journey. The Y.A.B. Menteri Besar could officially flag of this bus service on a date to be fixed preferably on or in conjunction with Father’s Day shortly. The Gabungan Mansuhkan ISA could be the co-coordinator to inform and publicise this bus service to the ISA detainee families.
This would help further create public awareness to the atrocities of ISA detention without trial besides enhancing family support groups and fellowship among ISA detainee’s families. We would then be able to create a multi-racial ISA family. There would literally be an 8 hour weekly meeting of the ISA families in the bus itself “without the risk of being arrested for unlawful assembly”. Wives and children who have been cruelly separated from their fathers and husbands would be able to show their love, care and affection with courtesy of the Selangor State Government.
This bus service would go a long way in easing the burden of the already financially drained out ISA detainee’s families especially so in the light of the 41% increase in petrol prices announced by the ISA Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on 04/06/08.
Further this would also reduce the risk of a road traffic accident as what happened to the Kota Alam Shah State Assemblyman and ISA Detainee M.Manoharan’s wife and son who were injured in a road traffic accident last Sunday.
This proposal when approved would be the strongest ever Makkal Sakti “people power” support by the Selangor PKR, DAP and PAS State Government in putting to an end to the draconian ISA.
We seek your kind indulgence in this matter.
Thank you,
Yours faithfully,
P.Waytha Moorthy
(Chairman)
HINDRAF
135-3 JALAN TOMAN 7
KEMAYAN SQUARE
70200 SEREMBAN
Y.A.B. Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim
Selangor Menteri Besar
Selangor State Secretariat Office,
Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Tel: 03 5544 7013
40503 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Fax: 03 5519 0032
08/06/08
Y.A.B.Tan Sri,
Re: Father’s Day ISA wish.
Weekly courtesy Public Transport for ISA detainees families from
KL to Kemta, Taiping, Perak.
We refer to the above matter and your statement in Utusan Malaysia last week offering transport and travelling expenses to Kemta prison Kamunting and school children’s allowances.
May we propose that the Selangor state government provides a free courtesy bus service belonging to the Selangor State Government from K.L. to Kemta prison once every week until all ISA detainees are released. This bus service could take off from outside Malaysiakini office in Bangsar, KL at 7am on every Sunday and ISA detainee families to be dropped back at the same point on the return journey. The Y.A.B. Menteri Besar could officially flag of this bus service on a date to be fixed preferably on or in conjunction with Father’s Day shortly. The Gabungan Mansuhkan ISA could be the co-coordinator to inform and publicise this bus service to the ISA detainee families.
This would help further create public awareness to the atrocities of ISA detention without trial besides enhancing family support groups and fellowship among ISA detainee’s families. We would then be able to create a multi-racial ISA family. There would literally be an 8 hour weekly meeting of the ISA families in the bus itself “without the risk of being arrested for unlawful assembly”. Wives and children who have been cruelly separated from their fathers and husbands would be able to show their love, care and affection with courtesy of the Selangor State Government.
This bus service would go a long way in easing the burden of the already financially drained out ISA detainee’s families especially so in the light of the 41% increase in petrol prices announced by the ISA Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on 04/06/08.
Further this would also reduce the risk of a road traffic accident as what happened to the Kota Alam Shah State Assemblyman and ISA Detainee M.Manoharan’s wife and son who were injured in a road traffic accident last Sunday.
This proposal when approved would be the strongest ever Makkal Sakti “people power” support by the Selangor PKR, DAP and PAS State Government in putting to an end to the draconian ISA.
We seek your kind indulgence in this matter.
Thank you,
Yours faithfully,
P.Waytha Moorthy
(Chairman)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
161 Indian students received PSD Scholarship....
I read about this this morning and it seems we got extra 41 Indian students received PSD Scholarship this year to further thier studies overseas and thanking you PSD for giving these students an oppourtunity to pursue their studies.
From what i could recall a week ago, it was mentioned in the Star News Paper that a total number of 2,000 overseas PSD scholarship will be given out this year, which means Indians got 8.05% out of that share which looks good (thanks to Hindraf for that) and extra 41 given to Indian but what "they" did not mention is that the number of scholarship issued increased from 1800 to 2000.
Okay thats for International, how about the remaining 10,000 scholarship for the local Higher education studies...??
Now can PSD publish the names and results of those who received this scholarships...??. I personally would like to know that wheather my tax money is being spent on the right candidates....can you PSD....?. Just don't forget what PSD stands for, you still have to answer and service the PUBLIC....
From what i could recall a week ago, it was mentioned in the Star News Paper that a total number of 2,000 overseas PSD scholarship will be given out this year, which means Indians got 8.05% out of that share which looks good (thanks to Hindraf for that) and extra 41 given to Indian but what "they" did not mention is that the number of scholarship issued increased from 1800 to 2000.
Okay thats for International, how about the remaining 10,000 scholarship for the local Higher education studies...??
Now can PSD publish the names and results of those who received this scholarships...??. I personally would like to know that wheather my tax money is being spent on the right candidates....can you PSD....?. Just don't forget what PSD stands for, you still have to answer and service the PUBLIC....
Friday, June 6, 2008
Petition to Get Malaysian Prime Minister to Step Down. "Vote of No Confidence in Parliament"...??
Received this Petition Link from one of my Regular Reader / Visitor...thanks Radha. it's going to be a bumpy ride ahead for our PM, with or without Petrol in his car...!!!
Oil Price
Source : www.chedet.com
The price of crude oil has increased by 400 percent in the last three years. It follows that the price of products must increase, sooner or later. In other countries petrol prices had already increased. In the United Kingdom one litre of petrol sells for more than one pound sterling or RM7. In the United States it is about RM5.
That the price in neighbouring countries has gone up is shown by the rush to fill up by Thai and to a lesser extent Singapore vehicles.
The Government has now announced an increase in petrol price by 78 sen to RM2.70 per litre, an increase of more than 40 per cent.
I may be mistaken but there seems to be less vehicles on the road today. But obviously that is not all that will happen. All other consumer goods, services and luxury goods would increase in price.
The cost of living must go up. Put another way there will be inflation and the standard of living will go down.
Obviously our increase in petrol price is far less than in the United Kingdom or the United States. But our per capita income is about one-third of theirs. In purchasing power terms our increase is more than in the UK or the US.
The increase hurts but the pain is greater not just because of the increase percentage-wise is higher than in developed countries but because of the manner the increase is made.
A few days ago the Government decided to ban sale of petrol to foreign cars. It flipped. Now foreign cars can buy again. Flopped.
Knowing that in a few days it was going to raise the price and foreigners would be allowed to buy, why cannot the Government just wait instead of banning and unbanning.
But be that as it may what could the Government have done to lessen the burden on the people that results from the increase in petrol price.
In the first place the Government should not have floated the Ringgit. A floating rate creates uncertainties and we cannot gain anything from the strengthened Ringgit. Certainly the people have not experienced any increase in their purchasing power because of the appreciation in the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Ringgit.
Actually the Ringgit has increased by about 80 sen (from RM3.80 to RM3.08 to 1 US Dollar) per US Dollar, i.e. by more than 20 per cent. Had the Government retained the fixed rate system and increased the value of the Ringgit, say 10 per cent at a time, the cost of imports, in Ringgit terms can be monitored and reduced by 10 per cent. At 20 per cent appreciation the cost of imports should decrease by 20 per cent. But we know the prices of imported goods or services have not decreased at all. This means we are paying 20 per cent higher for our imports including the raw material and components for our industries.
Since oil prices are fixed in US Dollar, the increase in US Dollar prices of oil should also be mitigated by 20 per cent in Malaysian Ringgit.
But the Government wants to please the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and decided to float the Ringgit. As a result the strengthening of the Ringgit merely increased our cost of exports without giving our people the benefit of lower cost of imports.
This is not wisdom after the event. I had actually told a Government Minister not to float the Ringgit three years ago. But of course I am not an expert, certainly I know little about the international financial regimes.
I believe the people expect the increase of petrol price. But what they are angry about is the quantum and the suddenness. The Prime Minister was hinting at August but suddenly it came two months earlier, just after the ban on sale of petrol to foreigners.
If the increase had been more gradual, the people would not feel it so much. But of course this means that the Government would have to subsidise, though to a decreasing extent.
Can the Government subsidise? I am the “adviser” to Petronas but I know very little about it beyond what is published in its accounts. What I do know may not be very accurate but should be sufficient for me to draw certain conclusions.
Roughly Malaysia produces 650,000 barrels of crude per day. We consume 400,000 barrels leaving 250,000 barrels to be exported.
Three years ago the selling price of crude was about USD30 per barrel. Today it is USD130 – an increase of USD100. There is hardly any increase in the production cost so that the extra USD100 can be considered as pure profit.
Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us 250,000 x 100 x 365 x 3 = RM27,375,000,000 (twenty seven billion Ringgit).
But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the Government.
By all accounts the Government is flushed with money.
But besides petrol the prices of palm oil, rubber and tin have also increased by about 400 per cent. Plantation companies and banks now earn as much as RM3 billion in profits each. Taxes paid by them must have also increased greatly.
I feel sure that maintaining the subsidy and gradually decreasing it would not hurt the Government finances.
In the medium term ways and means must be found to reduce wasteful consumption and increase income. We may not be able to fix the minimum wage at a high level but certainly we can improve the minimum wage.
Actually our wages are high compared to some of our neighbours. The investors who come here are attracted not by cheap labour but by other factors, among which is the attitude of the Government towards the business community and the investors in particular.
From what I hear business friendliness is wanting in the present Government – so much so that even Malaysians are investing in other countries. There are rumblings about political affiliations influencing decisions. Generally Government politicians are said to be arrogant.
Malaysia is short of manpower. The labour intensive industries are not benefiting Malaysians. Foreign workers are remitting huge sums of money home.
The industrial policy must change so that high tech is promoted in order to give Malaysians higher wages to cope with rising costs of living.
The world is facing economic turmoil due to the depreciation of the US Dollar, the sub-prime loan crisis, rising oil and raw material prices, food shortages and the continued activities of the greedy hedge funds. The possibility of a US recession is real. In a way the US is already in recession. The world economy will be dragged down by it.
Malaysia will be affected by all these problems. I wonder whether the Government is prepared for this.
We cannot avoid all the negative effects but there must be ways to mitigate against them and to lessen the burden that must be borne by all Malaysians. I am sure the Government will not just pass all these problems to the people as the review of oil prices every month seem to suggest.
The price of crude oil has increased by 400 percent in the last three years. It follows that the price of products must increase, sooner or later. In other countries petrol prices had already increased. In the United Kingdom one litre of petrol sells for more than one pound sterling or RM7. In the United States it is about RM5.
That the price in neighbouring countries has gone up is shown by the rush to fill up by Thai and to a lesser extent Singapore vehicles.
The Government has now announced an increase in petrol price by 78 sen to RM2.70 per litre, an increase of more than 40 per cent.
I may be mistaken but there seems to be less vehicles on the road today. But obviously that is not all that will happen. All other consumer goods, services and luxury goods would increase in price.
The cost of living must go up. Put another way there will be inflation and the standard of living will go down.
Obviously our increase in petrol price is far less than in the United Kingdom or the United States. But our per capita income is about one-third of theirs. In purchasing power terms our increase is more than in the UK or the US.
The increase hurts but the pain is greater not just because of the increase percentage-wise is higher than in developed countries but because of the manner the increase is made.
A few days ago the Government decided to ban sale of petrol to foreign cars. It flipped. Now foreign cars can buy again. Flopped.
Knowing that in a few days it was going to raise the price and foreigners would be allowed to buy, why cannot the Government just wait instead of banning and unbanning.
But be that as it may what could the Government have done to lessen the burden on the people that results from the increase in petrol price.
In the first place the Government should not have floated the Ringgit. A floating rate creates uncertainties and we cannot gain anything from the strengthened Ringgit. Certainly the people have not experienced any increase in their purchasing power because of the appreciation in the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Ringgit.
Actually the Ringgit has increased by about 80 sen (from RM3.80 to RM3.08 to 1 US Dollar) per US Dollar, i.e. by more than 20 per cent. Had the Government retained the fixed rate system and increased the value of the Ringgit, say 10 per cent at a time, the cost of imports, in Ringgit terms can be monitored and reduced by 10 per cent. At 20 per cent appreciation the cost of imports should decrease by 20 per cent. But we know the prices of imported goods or services have not decreased at all. This means we are paying 20 per cent higher for our imports including the raw material and components for our industries.
Since oil prices are fixed in US Dollar, the increase in US Dollar prices of oil should also be mitigated by 20 per cent in Malaysian Ringgit.
But the Government wants to please the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and decided to float the Ringgit. As a result the strengthening of the Ringgit merely increased our cost of exports without giving our people the benefit of lower cost of imports.
This is not wisdom after the event. I had actually told a Government Minister not to float the Ringgit three years ago. But of course I am not an expert, certainly I know little about the international financial regimes.
I believe the people expect the increase of petrol price. But what they are angry about is the quantum and the suddenness. The Prime Minister was hinting at August but suddenly it came two months earlier, just after the ban on sale of petrol to foreigners.
If the increase had been more gradual, the people would not feel it so much. But of course this means that the Government would have to subsidise, though to a decreasing extent.
Can the Government subsidise? I am the “adviser” to Petronas but I know very little about it beyond what is published in its accounts. What I do know may not be very accurate but should be sufficient for me to draw certain conclusions.
Roughly Malaysia produces 650,000 barrels of crude per day. We consume 400,000 barrels leaving 250,000 barrels to be exported.
Three years ago the selling price of crude was about USD30 per barrel. Today it is USD130 – an increase of USD100. There is hardly any increase in the production cost so that the extra USD100 can be considered as pure profit.
Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us 250,000 x 100 x 365 x 3 = RM27,375,000,000 (twenty seven billion Ringgit).
But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the Government.
By all accounts the Government is flushed with money.
But besides petrol the prices of palm oil, rubber and tin have also increased by about 400 per cent. Plantation companies and banks now earn as much as RM3 billion in profits each. Taxes paid by them must have also increased greatly.
I feel sure that maintaining the subsidy and gradually decreasing it would not hurt the Government finances.
In the medium term ways and means must be found to reduce wasteful consumption and increase income. We may not be able to fix the minimum wage at a high level but certainly we can improve the minimum wage.
Actually our wages are high compared to some of our neighbours. The investors who come here are attracted not by cheap labour but by other factors, among which is the attitude of the Government towards the business community and the investors in particular.
From what I hear business friendliness is wanting in the present Government – so much so that even Malaysians are investing in other countries. There are rumblings about political affiliations influencing decisions. Generally Government politicians are said to be arrogant.
Malaysia is short of manpower. The labour intensive industries are not benefiting Malaysians. Foreign workers are remitting huge sums of money home.
The industrial policy must change so that high tech is promoted in order to give Malaysians higher wages to cope with rising costs of living.
The world is facing economic turmoil due to the depreciation of the US Dollar, the sub-prime loan crisis, rising oil and raw material prices, food shortages and the continued activities of the greedy hedge funds. The possibility of a US recession is real. In a way the US is already in recession. The world economy will be dragged down by it.
Malaysia will be affected by all these problems. I wonder whether the Government is prepared for this.
We cannot avoid all the negative effects but there must be ways to mitigate against them and to lessen the burden that must be borne by all Malaysians. I am sure the Government will not just pass all these problems to the people as the review of oil prices every month seem to suggest.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Expect fresh street protests...
Source : M'Kini
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is wishing that there will not be another round of public protests following the largest increase of fuel prices in history today.
"God willing, I hope Malaysians will not demonstrate over this," said the premier today, who had faced numerous demonstrations previously against similar hikes in fuel prices.
Fuel prices were raised on Feb 27, 2006 by 30 sen - the largest-ever increase at the time - which sparked waves after waves of demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur as well as one in Kuching.
Many of the demonstrations, which lasted for four months, were brutally broken up with tear gas and water cannons.
Another spate of increase on June 1, this time in electricity tariffs, sparked more demonstrations, including one dubbed ‘Bloody Sunday’, which ended with several demonstrators savagely beaten by riot police.
In the midst of all the demonstrations, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak committed a infamous faux pas by urging the public to “change their lifestyle” which was frequently lampooned during the demonstrations.
Likewise, Abdullah had blundered when he told the public not to question how government funds saved from the slashing of subsidies - reportedly RM4.4 billion - would be spent.
Anti-price hikes coalition to meet
Public anger was also fueled by the price hikes of consumer goods and services.
Immediately following the rise in fuel prices, traders began increasing prices of food and other essential goods prompting the Domestic Trade and Industry Ministry to keep tabs on prices.
The ministry also introduce a ‘Fleet Card’ system that would allow commercial vehicles to enjoy a 15-sen per liter fuel subsidy.
Activists behind the 2006 series of demonstrations are expected to reprise their roles following today’s increase in fuel prices.
The Coalition Protesting Against Fuel Hike, or Protes, - which is an alliance of NGOs and opposition parties - was responsible for most of the demonstrations.
It is learnt that the coalition will be meeting soon to discuss the organisation's next course of action.
Two demonstrations are expected tomorrow - one in Ipoh and another in Kuala Lumpur - according to a 10pm blog posting by DAP leader Lim Kit Siang.
In addition to organising demonstrations, Protes produced a booklet titled ‘Fuel Hike: Truth & Questions’ highlighting the coalition’s arguments against the fuel hike.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is wishing that there will not be another round of public protests following the largest increase of fuel prices in history today.
"God willing, I hope Malaysians will not demonstrate over this," said the premier today, who had faced numerous demonstrations previously against similar hikes in fuel prices.
Fuel prices were raised on Feb 27, 2006 by 30 sen - the largest-ever increase at the time - which sparked waves after waves of demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur as well as one in Kuching.
Many of the demonstrations, which lasted for four months, were brutally broken up with tear gas and water cannons.
Another spate of increase on June 1, this time in electricity tariffs, sparked more demonstrations, including one dubbed ‘Bloody Sunday’, which ended with several demonstrators savagely beaten by riot police.
In the midst of all the demonstrations, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak committed a infamous faux pas by urging the public to “change their lifestyle” which was frequently lampooned during the demonstrations.
Likewise, Abdullah had blundered when he told the public not to question how government funds saved from the slashing of subsidies - reportedly RM4.4 billion - would be spent.
Anti-price hikes coalition to meet
Public anger was also fueled by the price hikes of consumer goods and services.
Immediately following the rise in fuel prices, traders began increasing prices of food and other essential goods prompting the Domestic Trade and Industry Ministry to keep tabs on prices.
The ministry also introduce a ‘Fleet Card’ system that would allow commercial vehicles to enjoy a 15-sen per liter fuel subsidy.
Activists behind the 2006 series of demonstrations are expected to reprise their roles following today’s increase in fuel prices.
The Coalition Protesting Against Fuel Hike, or Protes, - which is an alliance of NGOs and opposition parties - was responsible for most of the demonstrations.
It is learnt that the coalition will be meeting soon to discuss the organisation's next course of action.
Two demonstrations are expected tomorrow - one in Ipoh and another in Kuala Lumpur - according to a 10pm blog posting by DAP leader Lim Kit Siang.
In addition to organising demonstrations, Protes produced a booklet titled ‘Fuel Hike: Truth & Questions’ highlighting the coalition’s arguments against the fuel hike.
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