Who to trust in Selangor water battle?

By Deborah Loh | The Nut Graph

ALARM bells were rung recently about an impending water crisis in Selangor. The federal government blames the state government for delaying the Pahang-Selangor raw water transferproject by refusing to let building of the Langat 2 water treatment plant begin. The Barisan Nasional (BN) government says this will result in a water crisis as early as 2014, with shortages to be felt from 2012.

It all comes back to data. And what seems to have been forgotten is that the figures for the project crisis that the federal government arrived at have been contested. A group of non-governmental organisations, the Coalition for Sustainable Water Management (CSWM), has since 2009 alleged that projected water demand is grossly inflated to justify the RM9 billion interstate water transfer project.

In 2009, CSWM called into question the National Water Resources Study 2000-2050, commissioned by the federal Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in 2000. This is the study the federal government is citing to support their argument for the water transfer project. CSWM’s objections are well documented, available online, and have been given to the federal government. Until today, however, Putrajaya hasn’t explained the questions raised by the coalition. Instead, the BN appears bent on pushing the project through.

But who is the consumer supposed to trust, then?

(Pic by Bongani | sxc.hu)

Inflated data?

The federal government should explain the methodology used in the National Water Resources Study. CSWM contends that the recommended method for estimating water demand was not used. This method is adapted from the 1989 Public Works Department (JKR) Design Criteria and Standards for Water Supply Systems, and is endorsed by the Malaysian Water Association (MWA).

Instead, the method used in the National Water Resources Study was to estimate water demand by taking into account several parameters such as future Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, per capita GDP, and manufacturing sector output growth.

CSWM says such a method involving macroeconomic indices involves “unsupported assumptions” in projecting water demand. For one, it does not take into account changes in development plans and unforeseen economic scenarios.

The MWA/JKR method also recommends 320 litres per capita per day (l/c/d) in urban areas as the guideline for estimating water consumption. This rate is calculated from overall water usage by commercial, industrial and domestic use, and includes an estimated loss of 25% due to non-revenue water loss.

However, the EPU’s National Water Resources Study method breaks down water usage by sectors to estimate demand. CWSM argues that making separate projections for domestic, commercial, industrial and non-revenue water results in larger overall figures when projecting demand.

Using the MWA/JKR method would have concluded a projected water demand of 147 l/c/d in the year 2020 for the whole state. The National Water Resources Study method, however, arrived at demand that ranged from 139 to 611 l/c/d for the industrial sector alone.

Using the National Water Resources Study, the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministryhas asserted that daily demand for water in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will reach 4,907 million litres. Without the interstate project and the Langat 2 plant, water supply will be 476 million litres short daily in 2014, the ministry claimed.

Khalid

Flaws

So is the EPU’s projected demand for water inflated or not? The Selangor government has different projections by which it claims the state has enough water without Pahang’s help until 2019. Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who said the state is looking at alternative water sources, has been challenged by Selangor Umnopoliticians to justify this position.

Additionally, Water and Energy Consumer Association of Malaysia(Wecam) secretary-general S Piarapakaran says Selangor’s estimate of sufficient supply until 2019 is only true if water demand grows at a rate of 1% a year from now until then. Citing figures from the Malaysian Industry Water Guide, he says water demand growth is expected to be about 3% yearly, based on the 3.4% demand figure between 2007 and 2008.

Piarapakaran (Courtesy of S Piarapakaran)

Piarapakaran, a water engineer, tells The Nut Graph in a phone interview that other flaws in the National Water Resources Study, if rectified, would project an even higher demand for water. Hence, he says there may even be an increased likelihood of a water shortagesooner rather than later.

Three key flaws in the study, he says, were firstly, failure to take into account the worst-case low water flow scenario, which was what happened during the 1997-1998 water crisis aggravated by the El Nino phenomenon. The second flaw was for the study to fix non-revenue water loss at around 20% when the actual rate of loss now is higher at over 30%. And thirdly, the study, in estimating population growth, did not consider the high number of foreign migrants, legal and illegal, living and working in the state.

“The National Water Resources Study as a 50-year study is questionable. When you plan for 50 years for something like water supply and demand, you need to be able to adjust for every five-year planning cycle. This doesn’t seem to have been the case,” Piarapakaran said.

But he also takes issue with CWSM’s assertion that deriving an average l/c/d demand estimate from lumping together sectoral consumption is a better measurement than a breaking down water usage by sector. Piarapakaran thinks it’s less accurate if an overall average figure is used, in the same way gross per capita income is not a true reflection of individual income.

Will there really be a water crisis?

Who is correct? Water supply is an emotive issue and many remember the dry years of 1997-1998. The delay in restructuring Selangor’s water industry, and now the Langat 2 treatment plant under the inter-tate water transfer project, has been politicised to stoke fears of a repeat crisis.

The quality of data and methodology is important, and state and federal governments, as well as water industry players, have to be transparent about what they put into their projections.Selangor is commissioning a new study on water demand.

Compounding the public’s confusion about whether there is an imminent water crisis in Selangor is the standoff between the federal and state governments over the restructuring of four private water concessions.

Pua

The restructuring of the state’s water industry is a first step towards averting a near-term crisis, says DAP publicity chief Tony Pua, who also worked on the restructuring plan. He argues that if the state can take over the four water concessionaires – Syabas, Splash, Puncak Niaga and Abbas – and manage a consolidated treatment and supply operation, progress to cut non-revenue water loss can be stepped up.

That’s not likely to happen anytime soon, however. Syabas, for example, claims that Selangor is preventing it from continuing maintenance of pipes pending completion of the restructuring. Pua disagrees, saying the company’s inability to conduct pipe repairs and replacements is due to its cash flow problems, which began even before the restructuring exercise.

“If Syabas wants to resolve its cash flow problems to continue maintenance, they either let thefederal government bail them out or accept the Selangor government’s RM5.71 billion takeover offer so the state can continue the work,” Pua tells The Nut Graph.

Right now, the battle over water in Selangor has become a battle of political wills and business interests. At the end of the day, consumers need to know if their tax money is being put to the best use to avert a water crisis. But in order for that to happen, greater transparency is needed on how studies are conducted, on water concession agreements, and on who stands to lose if the Pahang-Selangor water transfer project is delayed. For now, there seems little consumers can do or say to influence the outcome.

When will Najib and his Ministers wake up and realize that the twin crisis of human talents and investments confronting the country are more than a matter of economics?

By Lim Kit Siang,

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed is quoted in today’s press as saying that Talent Corporation has been tasked with attracting at least half of the 750,000 Malaysian professionals working overseas to come home as part of its efforts to draw the best brains in the world to Malaysia.

Speaking at the launching of the Public-Private Partnership’s websitewww.3pu.gov.my, he said seeking out the Malaysian diaspora for the top brains was necessary as the Government aimed to hit the target of RM115 billion per year in local and foreign investments to turn the country into a developed nation by 2020.

It is shocking that Nor Mohamed could come out with such an unrealistic and “tall order” not only because of the dismal failure of previous government “brain gain” policies but in the light of recent events when the unchecked escalation of the rhetoric of race and religion would have the effect of giving a major push to greater brain-drain from the country instead of pulling back talents from the Malaysian diaspora to return to serve the country.

It is time that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Ministers wake up and realize that the twin crisis of human talents and investments confronting the country are more than a matter of economics.

They cannot do better than to give serious thought to the article “FDI – more than economics” by Dennis Ignatius in the Star today.

Referring to the massive 81% plunge in foreign direct investments (FDI) in Malaysia in 2009 as compared to the previous year – FDI declined from RM23 billion in 2008 to a mere RM4.4 billion last year apart from a massive RM25.4 billion out flow of capital – Dennis wrote:

“Dismissing the significance of the precipitous decline in FDI might be politically convenient but it will not hide the arresting message that it sends: a serious loss of confidence in Malaysia and a sign of our decline.

Anyone closely monitoring developments in Malaysia, including foreign investors, cannot but conclude that our nation is now increasingly shaky in several areas. And they must also wonder, given recent events, if we are even up to the challenges we face.

Right now we are transfixed by the staggering RM12.5bil Port Klang Free Zone scandal.

What is really distressing is that such corruption and scandalous mismanagement of public finances keeps recurring with frightening regularity.

We seem to helplessly careen from one major scandal to another. It is a mess, a sordid mess, that must surely cause many foreign investors to simply shake their heads in disbelief and dismay.

And more than that, it tells the world that we still have not found the political will or the necessary institutional architecture to prevent such massive corruption from recurring.

It would be naïve to think that corruption on this scale will not impact investor confidence.

And, given our dismal record of bringing to justice the real kingfishers of corruption, not many believe that things are about to change.

Cumulative scandals affecting other national institutions, including the police and judiciary, have also steadily undermined the perception of Malaysia as a safe and competitive place for long term investments.

And then there is the increasingly strident and racially charged rhetoric that marks so much of what passes for political discourse in our country these days.

It may be just politics Malaysian style to some or a convenient, if morally bankrupt way, to garner support to others but it makes foreign investors, and many locals too, very jittery.
It is not for no reason that more and more Malaysians of all ethnic backgrounds are packing up and moving abroad.

According to the World Bank, the number of emigrants out of Malaysia rose from 9,576 in 1960 to almost 1.5 million in 2005. Over 300,000 left between March 2008 and August 2009 alone.
In this connection, I wonder how much of that US$8.4bil that left our shores last year was simply Malaysians moving their capital to safer shores.”

At the end of his article, Dennis pointed out that assurances by the government to take proactive measures to reverse the decline in FDI are not enough, as what is needed are actions which “go well beyond mere economics and fiscal measures” to reverse the decline.

Dennis concluded:

“What is also urgently needed is real and effective political leadership to tackle head on the corruption issue and the growing racial and religious divide.

The Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia policy, while constructive and desperately needed, unfortunately already suffers from a thousand cuts. Unless he is able to revive confidence in the Government’s ability to bring about its realisation, it will not help turn the tide of slumping investor confidence.

If we ever hope to raise the RM115bil worth of investments to achieve the goals of the 10th Malaysia Plan, we must act now.

And not with half-measures and half-hearted gestures but with credible policies and programmes backed by the necessary political will.

Bearing in mind the turbulent and uncertain global economic environment we are in, our very prosperity, if not survival, depends upon it.”

This prescription is not new. In fact, the New Economic Model cries out the same message.

But is Najib and his Cabinet capable of acting on this prescription with Malaysia at the crossroads?

DAP CEC Meeting Thursday Set To Be Stormy

By Alan Ting

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- The DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on Thursday is set to be a stormy affair.

The grapevine has it that some CEC members are said to be adamant in pushing for stronger action against Selangor exco Ronnie Liu over the controversial support letter issue.

Party sources said Liu's issue was not settled in the last CEC meeting held two weeks ago, and that there was growing uneasiness among some party members who wanted the matter dealt with again.

"I think, that is why the CEC is meeting again. It is very unusual to sit again, just in two weeks. I am surprised they did not term it an emergency meeting. I think they want some action to be taken," a party source told Bernama here Wednesday.

The party has been embroiled in an image-tarnishing controversy when Klang municipal councillor and Liu's ex-aide Tee Boon Hock was sacked over the misuse of DAP letterheads belonging to the chairman of the local government, research and development committee.

The party's disciplinary committee also severely reprimanded Liu for not managing his office, in accordance with public expectations.

A CEC meeting is normally held once a month.

However, some CEC members have played down the significance of the meeting tomorrow, as they said it was just a normal meeting borne out of necessity, particulary related to the political situation in the country.

"It's just a normal meeting, nothing special. Don't speculate, you might get it wrong," said DAP treasurer Fung Kui Lung when contacted.

The party's publicity chief, Tony Pua, said the notice for Thursday's meeting was sent out last week. He believed it might be related to the current political situation.

"I am not aware of any particular issue but normally, at such meetings, the members are free to raise any issue," he said.

DAP vice-chairman and disciplinary committee chairman Tan Kok Wai confirmed the meeting and said that Tee's case was likely to be discussed.

"It is only natural that we get to meet again as the 14-day grace period for Tee's appeal over the sacking will be over by then,' he said.

However, some of the CEC members also said they were expecting to face severe criticism from their own comrades during the meeting for discussing the Liu issue openly in media, and what transpired during the last CEC meeting.

"I think we are going to face criticism in the meeting. However, we are prepared and open to their criticism and views," said CEC member Jeff Ooi.

The Jelutung member of parliament, together with party advisor Chen Man Hin and Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim had spoken about the issue in the media, causing uneasiness among some leaders.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh has ordered a gag order on all party members over the issue as it was an internal matter that needed to be resolved within the party.

Stop feeding rats and racists

The Star
ALONG THE WATCHTOWER By M. VEERA PANDIYAN

Failure to act promptly and appropriately against racism will only encourage more racists in the country.

IN five days, we will mark 53 years of Merdeka but frankly, how many Malaysians are in the mood to celebrate? The political milieu is sickening; no thanks to the raving racists and their apologists who help fan the flames of hatred.

It is the season of the Hungry Ghosts when the gates of hell are supposedly cast open for the spirits of the dead to enter the realm of the living, according to believers.

The real scare, however, is not from any such spirits but from rats and the filthy folks among us who help the rodents spread leptospirosis.

The water-borne disease caused by bacteria in rats’ urine has already killed more than 10 people, the latest being a 17 year-old boy from Kedah who swam in a river.

Parks located near rivers and waterfalls have barred to members of the public who have also been warned against wanton dumping of rubbish (which the rats feed on) and wading in flood waters.

But while the threat that the rats pose can ne handled with medication, the other diseases that’s really gnawing at the very fabric of the country – the scourge of racism – is a far more difficult one to handle.

Over the past two decades, our leaders have shown their inability to mend old tears and prevent new frays. The latest flare-up involves two school heads.

The first principal, who is from SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putrain Kulai, Johor allegedly called the non-Malays penumpang (passengers) during a school assembly to launch Merdeka celebrations.

The headmaster of SMK Bukit Selambau in Kedah allegedly accused Chinese students of being insensitive to the Muslims for eating in the school compound during the month of Ramadan by telling them “to return to China” if they could not respect the cultures of others.

Politicians from both sides of the fence have called for disciplinary action if they are found to be guilty.

At the directive of Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom has set up a panel to probe the matter, although he initially said that it was a “misunderstanding”.

About 20 police reports have been lodged against Siti Inshah, who is currently on leave and the case is being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code for provocation, which carries a maximum imprisonment of two years, a fine, or both.

But the Kulai school principal is getting her fair share of support from a group of vocal bloggers who believe that she has done nothing wrong.

She’s also creating a stir on Facebook through a fan page with more than 1,900 people supporting her. A tit-for-tat page against her had more than 400 fans as of early Wednesday.

The strongest response from someone within the government has come from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. Kudos to him for saying that there should be “zero tolerance” for racist educators, irrespective of where they are from.

“If it had been my teacher, I would have smacked his (sic) face. You are a teacher and you are supposed to be teaching us right things but yet, you talk like this,” he was quoted as saying by a portal.

But as Nazri noted, the Government’s failure to respond quickly and appropriately on racism has only encouraged more of such acts.

However, how can it respond when many government servants and agencies are not sensitive to the feelings of the people and have little understanding of 1Malaysia concept.

As in the case of the rats, we need to stop feeding this source of national debility and discord.

A friend of mine who is known to be a dedicated teacher, underwent a course (it is compulsory as a prerequisite for upgrades in salary and promotions) in June and returned utterly devastated.

She said there was no emphasis on national unity throughout the course, only a sense of intimidation and being “put in her place” through the emphasis of “Ketuanan Melayu” and the unwritten social contract between the races.

In her email she wrote: “The epitome was in the last module where a video was screened with a tinge of racial slurs, depicting the fall of the Islamic empire and the building of churches, Hindraf, communist memorials in Chinese cemeteries and finally a Muslim extremist killing a child. There was a weeping voice-over asking: “What else do you want?”

What right-thinking Malaysians want is quite simple: mutual respect, a sense of fairness and acceptance that all of us belong to this blessed country.

> Associate Editor M. Veera Pandiyan likes this observation by H. G. Wells: Our true nationality is mankind.

Now sleepless in Seattle?

By Anil Netto,

Are you interested in mansions in the United States?

Check out the Sarawak Report here, which features a couple of exclusive tastefully appointed mansions in Seattle linked to the family of a familiar politician.

Day of violence hits Iraqi cities

Clearing up the effects of a car bomb in the city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, on Wednesday.

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Just after the United States completed its drawdown of combat brigades in Iraq, militants Wednesday launched a wave of bombings across the country, mostly targeting security forces.

At least 48 people died and at least 286 others were wounded in 13 cities. The locations included Baghdad, the capital, and large towns in the northern, western, and southern quadrants of the nation. The only region that appeared to be spared the onslaught was the three-province Kurdish autonomous region in the north.

Investigators don't yet know whether these strikes were coordinated, but a similar series of strikes that occurred in May bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda in Iraq. On that day, 85 people died and more than 300 others were wounded in coordinated shootings and bombings across six provinces.

"The fact that these events coincide with Ramadan only adds to extremists' desires to make a violent statement by murdering others and capturing the day's news," said Maj. Gen. Steve Lanza, the U.S. military spokesman in Iraq..

The latest attacks come as the number of U.S. troops in Iraq has now fallen below 50,000 -- the lowest level since the U.S-led invasion in 2003. The U.S.-led combat mission formally ends August 31, and the remainder of American troops will train, assist and advise the Iraqis.

But the American residual force -- comprising what is to be called Operation New Dawn on September 1 -- is combat-ready. While it has a different mission, it has the same capabilities as combat troops. If requested by the Iraqis, these soldiers can go into combat and can deploy these skills for self-defense.

All American troops are scheduled to pull out at the end of 2011, but the Iraqi government could request that some of them remain.

The departure of the U.S.-led combat mission is a seminal moment in a country that wants to see whether Iraqi police and soldiers can effectively handle the kind of insurgent activity that periodically erupts in this turbulent environment.

Overall violence in Iraq has declined considerably over the past two years compared with the height of the sectarian war between 2005 and 2007. But there has been a recent campaign of bombings and shootings in Baghdad targeting traffic police, Iraqi soldiers and local leaders, and tensions across the country have been exacerbated by a political crisis -- the failure of Iraqi lawmakers to form a government nearly six months after national elections.

"Today's attacks clearly involved planning by extremists, criminals and terrorists to take advantage of the ongoing frustrations of Iraqi people with the government impasse, as well as exploit the changing U.S. mission toward stability operations that takes effect Sept. 1," Lanza said.

Lanza also stressed that the Iraqi government needs to "form now."

Wednesday's attacks reflect the challenges the indigenous police and soldiers face. The deadliest strike occurred in the Wasit provincial capital of Kut, a city southeast of Baghdad. At least 20 people were killed and 90 others wounded when a car bomb targeted a police station.

A suicide car bomber hit a police station in northeast Baghdad, killing at least 15 people and wounding 57 others, the Interior Ministry said. The strike damaged the Qahira police station building and several buildings and houses nearby.

According to eyewitnesses at the scene of the Baghdad suicide attack at the police station, U.S. troops were there. Lt. Col. Eric Bloom, U.S. military spokesman for Baghdad, said American advisers and trainers and forensic support are available to Iraqi forces at their request. In this instance, an American adviser accompanied Iraqi forces, a practice that has been routine.

In Anbar province's capital of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, five people died and 13 were wounded when two car bombs exploded near a passport office. In Muqdadiya, in northern Diyala province, at least three people died and 18 others were wounded when a car bomb targeted an Iraqi police checkpoint.

A parked car bomb exploded in a busy street in the Allawi commercial area in central Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding seven others.

In the holy Shiite city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, a car bomb targeting a police station killed one person and wounded 30 others. A roadside bomb explosion in central Falluja, west of Baghdad, targeted an Iraqi army patrol, killing one Iraqi soldier and wounding eight people, including three soldiers. In Kirkuk, the tense ethnically diverse city in the north, a car bomb targeted a police patrol, killing one person and injuring eight others.

Other attacks left people seriously injured.

A car bomb exploded outside Dujail police station just north of Baghdad and wounded 20 people, including five police officers.

At least 13 people were wounded in Tikrit in a double roadside bomb attack that targeted an Iraqi Army patrol. They were five soldiers, six civilians and two policemen.

A bomb explosion outside a police station in central Basra in the country's south wounded 10 people. The chief of Facility Protection Services in Samarra was seriously hurt when two bombs went off in quick succession as his convoy passed by in the northern city. The service is in charge of providing security protection to government institutions.

In Baghdad, three roadside bombs exploded, and eight people were wounded, including three soldiers.

In Mosul, in the north, a suicide bomber driving a car tried to attack an Iraqi army security checkpoint but security forces shot and detonated the car. In the Diyala province town of Buhriz, in the north, bombs left outside five homes wounded at least four people, police said. Four policemen and an electoral commission official lived in the dwellings.

The violence underscores the anxiety in Iraq over the tenacity of the insurgents and the progress of the Iraqi security forces.

Lanza said that Iraqi security forces have shown "an enormous will and ability to take on extremists, criminals and terrorists" and are "fully committed and determined" to protect Iraqis.

"The ISF took a blow, but they are not on the ropes and will meet these challenges head on. They are not being pushed out of neighborhoods and are not giving up an inch of ground. When attacked, they take control of the situation and regain immediate security of the area."

Lanza said the military has reiterated "that attacks were likely to occur during this period" and that's "why our top priority in our ongoing role of advising, training and assisting the Iraqi security forces through 2011 is improving their overall operational capabilities."

"Rooting out these extremist, criminal and terrorist cells will remain a top priority for both our ongoing assistance mission and our support for partnered counter-terrorism operations in the months ahead," Lanza said. "There is still difficult work to be done here. This is why we are staying committed in Iraq with a significant military capability to advise, train and assist Iraqi security forces until our mission ends in December of 2011."

Analysts warn that the Iraqi conflict will be persistent for years. Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote last week that the conflict "is not over" and "is at as critical a stage as at any time since 2003." Iraq, he says, continues to grapple with a "serious insurgency," ethnic tension and great economic challenges.

"Regardless of the reasons for going to war, everything now depends on a successful transition to an effective and unified Iraqi government, and Iraqi security forces that can bring both security and stability to the average Iraqi. The creation of such an 'end state' will take a minimum of another five years, and probably ten," he wrote.

Racist UMNO Headmistress not sacked. Hindraf /HRP Johor lodges police report.

Students fear their school exam marks may be affected because of retaliation by the almost 100% Malay muslim school teachers.
(See police report Kulai 0082/6/10 dated 21/8/10 below)
S. Jayathas

‘Racist’ Kedah principal apologises to parents

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 – The Kedah principal who had allegedly uttered racist remarks to 10 students at a school in Bukit Selambau near Sungai Petani last week has apologised to their parents.

Kedah Education Department director Shahidan Abdul Rahman said today that the apology was made when the principal met the parents on Sunday.

Shahidan also refuted reports made in a Chinese newspaper that the principal had been transferred following the incident.

“Investigations are still ongoing and the principal is still working at the school,” he said.

The principal had been accused of racism for allegedly telling her Chinese pupils to “return to China”.

The Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Selambau head allegedly accused the Chinese pupils of being insensitive towards their Muslim peers by eating in the school compound during the fasting month of Ramadan last Friday, and ordered them to return to China if they could not respect the culture of other races.

Merbok MCA division secretary Chow Kok Leong, who received complaints from the parents, had claimed that the principal had also made similar remarks during the school’s morning assembly the next day.

There are about 80 non-Malay students at the school, which has an enrolment of 780.

But investigations are still pending for Johor principal Siti Inshah Mansor for a similar offence.

Last week, Siti sparked national outrage when her allegedly racist remarks were reported, following a failed initial attempt by the Education Ministry to placate parents.

The SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra principal had reportedly made the derogatory remarks during the launch of the school’s Merdeka celebrations.

“Chinese students are not needed here and can return to China or Foon Yew schools. For the Indian students, the prayer string tied around their neck and wrist makes them look like dogs because only dogs are tied like that,” Siti Inshah was quoted as saying in at least one police report.

The police are currently investigating the case under Section 504 of the Penal Code for provocation, which carries a maximum imprisonment of two years, a fine, or both.

A total of 20 complaints have been lodged with the authorities.

On Friday, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also directed Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom to set up a committee to investigate the matter.

Alimuddin had earlier said it was a misunderstanding that had already been resolved.

Why should Ronnie be sacked?

• 

The fate of veteran DAP leader Ronnie Liu hangs in the balance as the DAP central executive committee (CEC) meets on Thursday 26 August 2010 to deliberate on, among other things, the so-called Support Letters scandal implicating him.
Speculations are rife that the CEC meeting will likely be a stormy affair, with several relatively new members adamant in wanting Ronnie punished for what is simply a minor administrative blunder on the part of the Selangor state executive councillor, for which he had already been severely reprimanded publicly by the party disciplinary committee two weeks ago.
The upstart leaders, who are generally armchair political ideologists with no or very little grassroots support, are said to want to extract the pound of flesh from the popular grassroots party leader. It is expected that Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi Chuan Ann will lead the push for a stronger action, including sacking, against Ronnie, with the allegation that the senior party colleague had damaged the party image and must be made to pay heavily for it.
Contrary to the deceptive mainstream news reports, party founding elder Dr Chen Man Hin has not said anything about wanting Ronnie removed, but simply advised the besieged Pandamaran state assemblyman to act honestly according to his conscious. It is simply unfair to interpret and construe the party life advisor’s statement as convoking the leadership to punish Ronnie by suspension or expulsion.
The whole shameful episode exploded in public on Tuesday 27 July 2010 when The Star highlighted on its front page the case of a “rogue councillor” who allegedly used a state executive councillor’s official letterhead and seal by writing his own letters of support to obtain contracts for his cronies and a family member. It is claimed that the Klang municipal councillor, a DAP member, had secured contracts worth more than RM1 million for 20 companies from the council where he had been serving since July 2008.
The ensuing development of what is merely an administrative lapse on the part of the executive councillor, later identified as Ronnie, was exploited to fullest by the political rivals of the DAP, especially the MCA. The sad thing is that the nouveau riche within the DAP itself, the junior sanctimonious upstart leaders, also cashed in on the scandal bandwagon to get Ronnie’s influential and powerful wings clipped.
The argument of the DAP upstarts that since the party has punished the errant municipal councillor by sacking him, Ronnie should likewise be served with an expulsion order. Such a contention does not hold water as Ronnie is in fact a victim of a treacherous aide’s betrayer of trust, and not the contriver of the whole fiasco.
DAP national chairman Karpal Singh’s directive to party leaders and members to refrain from commenting on the issue is not without a good and valid reason. The veteran party elder does not want any of the careless desultory comments or statements to cause more damage to the party.
The DAP cannot afford the luxury of intra-party battles at this time, in view of the impending Battle for Putrajaya at the next general election, anticipated to held sometime in the middle of next year, or even earlier.
So, it would be judicious for whoever in the CEC who want to fix Ronnie to exercise some wisdom and foresight to consider the magnitude of removing the popular grassroots leader over a very insignificant minor shortcoming. The consequence and implication of such a drastic action now will bounce back to haunt the party at the Battle of Putrajaya.
See also: DAP must stand by Ronnie http://www.mysinchew.com/taxonomy/term/12

Disciplinary proceedings or witch hunt?

By Haris Ibrahim,

Media reports suggest that the 12 PKR Sabah divisional leaders who were issued notices to appear before the party’s national disciplinary committee in Kota Kinabalu yesterday were to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken in relation to the move to register a new political party, Parti Cinta Sabah, by ‘rebel’ PKR Sabah state leaders December last year.

If you check with lawyers who handle domestic inquiries, the first thing they will tell you is that most do not allow for legal representation of those summoned to show cause.

For this reason, it is imperative that the tribunal must act with utmost fairness to the indvidual or individuals charged.

Equally, the alleged impropriety which is the subject of the inquiry must be clear and unambiguous, should not be couched in convoluted language, and the charge to be answered should be specific and not free-ranging.

The individual called upon to show cause must clearly understand the charge, and should not be asked to answer the tribunal beyond the matter charged.

I welcome any practitioner of the law who specialises in the area of domestic inquiries to correct any error above or to further clarify what might be expected in a domestic inquiry such as the one the twelve PKR Sabah divisional leaders attended yesterday.

I now reproduce below, for the benefit of those who still do not subscribe to Malaysiakini, excerpts from a report last night on how the inquiry proceeded.

I’ve highlighted in red the parts of the report that I found to be telling.

Note, particularly, that the forum of 31st July, was some 7 months after the event the subject-matter of the charge and could not have had any bearing on the same.
_______________________________________________________________________________
A three-member national disciplinary committee of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat held an inquiry in Kota Kinabalu today, apparently to determine whether PKR’s Sabah strongman Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan masterminded the setting up of Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS)…
…A probe against Jeffrey (left) was the impression 12 party activists named in the PCS pro-tem line-up gathered during their individual grilling by the disciplinary panel…
…The inquiry committee, headed by Sharifah Halimah of the party’s Central Leadership Council (CLC), appeared to lose interest in the proceedings once they established early on that Jeffrey was not involved in the formation of PCS…
…The 12 included Daniel John Jambun, the deputy chair of the powerful KadazanDusunMurut Task Force who was the last to be grilled. His session with the inquiry committee, surprisingly lasted less than 10 minutes, unlike the others whose sessions lasted at least 30 minutes…
…The inquiry committee wanted the 12 on the carpet to explain the Common Interest Group Malaysia (CigMA) and the Borneo Heritage Foundation (BHF), two NGOs headed by Jeffrey.
They also queried why a July 31 Malaysia Agreement Forum in Kota Kinabalu was hosted by the two NGOs and not by PKR. It was explained that the forum was a non-political event meant to reach across the divide.
The inquiry committee, it is learnt, also delved into local issues and grievances within the party.

Umno leaders’ advice on racial remarks

By Ding Jo-Ann | The Nut Graph,

 

Alleged racist remarks against Chinese and Indian Malaysians: “Be calm”

“We want to get all our facts right before deciding on the next course of action as right now, the reactions are clouded by emotions.
“We must be fair and this can only be done if we have the right facts. There are so many differing details of what had actually transpired, including what she had said.
“Let the committee and the police conduct their investigations so that our decision will be the right one.”

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, appealing for calm with regard to the allegations of racist remarks by a Johor school principal. The principal has been told to go on leave pending investigations.
In another incident, a Kedah principal allegedly reprimanded non-Muslim Chinese Malaysian students for eating in the school compound during Ramadan and told them to go back to China. No Umno leader has condemned the incident as of 24 Aug. (Source: “Be calm, let panel probe into HM’s case”, New Straits Times, 20 Aug 2010)
Speaking up for Chinese Malaysian interests: “Don’t be offensive”

“Fighting for the interests of one’s race is one’s right but it should not be at the expense of the interests of other races.
“Umno fights for the interests of Malays but also takes into consideration the welfare of other races. As such, do not cause uneasiness and anger just because you want to defend the rights of others.”

Muhyiddin, commenting on MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek‘s remarks that the MCA would not be afraid of sharing the DAP’s view on Chinese Malaysian interests. Muhyiddin said any Barisan Nasional party could champion its own interests, but should not touch on the sensitivities of other component parties or races. He said this could lead to misunderstandings within the coalition. (Source: Muhyiddin: No offensive statements, please, Bernama as quoted in The Malay Mail, 16 Aug 2010)
Reducing bumiputera equity and discounts: “Take into consideration ‘reaction’ of others”

“… I hope everyone realises that those listening to what we are saying are citizens of the whole country.
“Hence, when we do anything, we must take into consideration the reaction of other races.”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, when asked to comment on Chua‘s call for the gradual reduction of the bumiputera equity requirement. Najib said such statements touched the nerves of Malay Malaysians as they felt their position in the economic sector was still weak and needed support through government policies.
Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim also said although Chua might have tailored his remark to suit his party’s political sentiment, Malay Malaysians, in particular, could not accept it. (Source: “Be sensitive to other races”, New Straits Times, 20 Aug 2010)
… and “don’t play with fire”

“So, I’m asking YB Tony Pua not to play with fire. Don’t even light a match.”

Umno information chief and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan. Ahmad Maslan was commenting on Petaling Jaya Utara Member of Parliament Tony Pua‘s suggestion for Selangor to scrap the 7% bumiputera discount for luxury properties in Selangor. (Source: Don’t play with fire, Ahmad Maslan warns Tony Pua, My Sinchew, 1 Aug 2010)

Eh, Tun dah lupa?

From Malaysian Insider
By Art Harun

Every year, during the first two or three days of fasting, I suffer from headaches. That is because my blood sugar level drops. Thank God this will go away after the third day of fasting.

Low blood sugar level may cause hypoglycemia. In some cases, symptoms of hypoglycemia include impaired judgment; irritability; belligerence; confusion; combativeness and rage. Thankfully, as far as I know, I don’t have those symptoms.

When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that meritocracy and “meritocrats” are racists, my first reaction was one of irritation. Then I was bemused. Later I was amused. And finally today I think it must have been the fasting month and the obvious low blood sugar level which was affecting him.

Meritocracy as I understand it is the act of rewarding or awarding an individual or a body of individuals or any entity with anything based on merit. Like awarding a student who has scored 13 As in SPM a place in the university. Or awarding X Sdn Bhd a contract to maintain a submarine because X Sdn Bhd has successfully maintained 15 other submarines before this without any problem at reasonable costs as compared to any other company who were bidding for the job.

Conversely, if someone becomes chief this or that just because he or she has good contact with the appointer, that is not meritocracy. It is also not meritocracy if a person obtains something just because he or she is of a particular race, religion or even has a particular sexual preference.

In the sporting arena, Datuk Nicole David has been a world champion for so long because she is so good at what she is doing that there is no other living creature who could be as good as her. Therefore, Datuk Nicole is a champion by virtue of meritocracy. God forbid that Tun Dr M thinks that the good Datuk is a racist or that the World Squash Championship people are!

The same thing with our badminton teams. We have won the Thomas Cup umpteen times just because we are the best. Are we racists or the organisers of the Thomas Cup racists?

The Spaniards recently won the World Cup because they played the best football. Are they or FIFA racists?

At King’s College, London University, students who top their class are given a Merit award on their post-graduate degree. That is because those students qualify for the said award by being top students. They are not given a Merit just because they are of a particular race or profess a particular religion. In other words, the students get the award based on merit. Is King’s College racist?

I believe Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar is the chief of Khazanah because he is really good at what he is doing. And he is appointed by the Prime Minister. The same goes with the new Petronas chief who replaced Tan Sri Hassan Marican. Recently, Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh was appointed as the new Sime Darby chief because it is said that he is the most suitable person to be the chief of Sime Darby. He has done a great job at Felda. Again, the PM must have had a hand in his appointment.

The PM also chooses all the members of his Cabinet. I am sure the PM appoints all the Cabinet members because the PM thinks those people are the most qualified people to be in the Cabinet. Thus we have people like Idris Jala and Amirsham in the Cabinet. These are proven people from the corporate sector.

Tun, is the PM racist then?

Dear Tun, allow me to say this. Malaysia could be a united nation, with a confident Malaysian society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, economically just and equitable, progressive and prosperous, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.

But we cannot be so until and unless we overcome the nine central strategic challenges. They are:

1. The challenge of establishing a united Malaysian nation with a sense of common and shared destiny. This must be a nation at peace with itself, territorially and ethnically integrated, living in harmony and full and fair partnership, made up of one “Bangsa Malaysia.”

2. The challenge of creating a psychologically liberated, secure, and developed Malaysian society with faith and confidence in itself, justifiably proud of what it is, of what it has accomplished, robust enough to face all manner of adversity. This Malaysian society must be distinguished by the pursuit of excellence, fully aware of all its potentials, psychologically subservient to none, and respected by the peoples of other nations.

3. The challenge of fostering and developing a mature democratic society, practising a form of mature consensual, community-oriented Malaysian democracy that can be a model for many developing countries.

4. The challenge of establishing a fully moral and ethical society.

5. The challenge of establishing a matured, liberal and tolerant society in which Malaysians of all colours and creeds are free to practise and profess their customs, cultures and religious beliefs and yet feeling that they belong to one nation.

6. The challenge of establishing a scientific and progressive society, a society that is innovative and forward-looking.

7. The challenge of establishing a fully caring society and a caring culture, a social system in which society will come before self, in which the welfare of the people will revolve not around the state or the individual but around a strong and resilient family system.

8. The challenge of ensuring an economically just society. This is a society in which there is a fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation, in which there is full partnership in economic progress. Such a society cannot be in place so long as there is the identification of race with economic function, and the identification of economic backwardness with race.

9. The challenge of establishing a prosperous society, with an economy that is fully competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.

Tun, with all due respect, we cannot run away from those challenges. We, as a nation and as a people, have to confront those challenges and by hook or by crook, overcome them in order to be a developed country.

What we are doing now is to forget those challenges. To assume that they are not there. To sweep them under the carpet and pretend that everything is okay when it is quite obviously not.

We are letting racism and communal interests rule the day. We are not working as one nor living as one. We are not even willing to attempt to do so. We have abandoned the ideals of this nation when this nation was at the brink of achieving independence. The ideals and aspirations of our forefathers have been betrayed, destroyed and consigned to our archives and treated as if they are not worth the paper they are written on.

Where is the nation at peace with itself, territorially and ethnically integrated, living in harmony and full and fair partnership, made up of one “Bangsa Malaysia” stated above?

Have we even attempted to achieve a psychologically liberated, secure, and developed Malaysian society with faith and confidence in itself? How are we to be liberated if days in and days out we keep reminding a particular race that they are weak; that they are not good enough to compete; that they always need crutches to walk; that they should unite lest they would be destroyed and various other negativism?

Have we even thought of establishing a matured, liberal and tolerant society in which Malaysians of all colours and creeds are free to practise and profess their customs, cultures and religious beliefs and yet feeling that they belong to one nation?

What liberalism are we talking about when some headmistress who outwardly is a Muslim allegedly spouted racial hatred to her students, describing non-Malays as mere passengers in a car who can be asked to leave the car anytime and anywhere? Yet some hot shot Minister dismissed that incident as isolated and almost irrelevant? What liberalism are we talking about when cartoon books are seized just because some people are lampooned in it; when radio DJs are sacked just because he dares to speak out on sensitive issues; when candle light bearing people congregating to propagate the abolishment of a draconian Act of Parliament were met with batons and riot police? What liberalism?

What about establishing a fully caring society and a caring culture, a social system in which society will come before self? Sorry, but I am suddenly enveloped by this uncontrollable need to laugh. What caring society are we talking about when there are ministers who suggested that baby dumpers should be sentenced to death knowing full well that those who do so are mere children who have acted irresponsibly by having unprotected sex?

What about ensuring an economically just society. This is a society in which there is a fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation, in which there is full partnership in economic progress? Have we even had a plan for this? Or are we in self denial mode still?

Have we realised that such a society cannot be in place so long as there is the identification of race with economic function, and the identification of economic backwardness with race?

I don’t think we have. Because all I can see now is the identification of everything under the sun with the colours of our skin.

By the way, before you dismiss those nine challenges which I had referred to above as being the unachievable ideals of an idealist, allow me to remind you dear Tun, in case you have forgotten, that those are the nine challenges that you YOURSELF have identified for all of us to overcome if we ever want to achieve the status of a developed nation by 2020 in your Vision 2020 speech.

Yes. It is you who have said all those. Not me. Not Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Not Lim Kit Siang. Not Anwar Ibrahim. It was you who said it.

What has happened since you espoused those ideals Tun? What has happened to your plan for a Bangsa Malaysia? It’s been hijacked by Harris Ibrahim, has it?

Mahathir Mohamad has qualms with the meritocrats now.
In addition, you also said the following:

1. Of the two prongs of the NEP no one is against the eradication of absolute poverty regardless of race, and irrespective of geographical location. All Malaysians, whether they live in the rural or the urban areas, whether they are in the south, north, east or west, must be moved above the line of absolute poverty.

2. This nation must be able to provide enough food on the table so that not a solitary Malaysian is subjected to the travesty of gross under-nourishment.

3. The second prong, that of removing the identification of race with major economic function is also acceptable except that somehow it is thought possible to achieve this without any shuffling of position. If we want to build an equitable society than we must accept some affirmative action. This will mean that in all the major and important sectors of employment, there should be a good mix of the ethnic groups that make up the Malaysian nation. By legitimate means we must ensure a fair balance with regard to the professions and all the major categories of employment. Certainly we must be as interested in quality and merit. But we must ensure the healthy development of a viable and robust Bumiputera commercial and industrial community.

4. A developed Malaysia should not have a society in which economic backwardness is identified with race.

Oh, what was it that you said about merit then? Yes, you said, “certainly we must be as interested in quality and merit.”

Interesting. And yet yesterday you said meritocracy and “meritocrats” are racists.

What gives?

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

A Malaysian Saga of Corruption Ignored

(Asia Sentinel) One of Mahathir's protégés evades charges, but his accusers are nearly capsized

On June 4, 1995, Tajudin Ramli, then one of Malaysia's brightest bumiputera, or native Malay stars, was named a Tan Sri, the country's second highest honor, by the country's reigning sultan. At the time he had been the managing director of Malaysian Airline System, Malaysia's nationally owned flag carrier, since July 1, 1994.

Like his friend the former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the then 49-year-old Tajudin was a native of Alor Setar in Kedah state. He would be the recipient of a long list of national honors including being president of the Malay Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia. He was regarded as a shining example of the bumi businessman that Mahathir wanted to foster to run the country and take the commanding heights of the economy back from the ethnic Chinese.

Unfortunately, according to a long list of whistle-blowers within the airline, he was also involved in looting it of tens of millions of dollars and very nearly putting it into bankruptcy, so that it had to be rescued by the government before he was forced out in 2001. It is a story that has taken years to emerge, and when officials recommended prosecution, they came under fire that nearly ruined their careers and almost put them in jail.

According to allegations in documents made public last week on Malaysia Today, the widely read website of fugitive gadfly Raja Petra Kamarudin, Tajudin colluded with three other MAS officers and directors through two nominee companies, one in Singapore and the other in Hong Kong, to establish a company called Advanced Cargo Logistics GmbH Germany, at Hahn Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, to provide ground-handling services for MAS.

According to a report filed in March of 2007, to then-Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by Ramli Yusuff, the director of Malaysia's Commercial Crime Investigation Department and an official who seems to have been singularly incorruptible, "Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli was in control of MAS from 1994 to 2001. When he left MAS in 2001, MAS had accumulated losses in excess of RM8 billion (US$2.54 billion). Many projects were made under very suspicious circumstances."

The ACL agreement, Ramli's report said, "was not an arms-length dealing." Evidence showed that all of the directors were closely connected to Tajudin, including Rizana Mohd Daud, Tajudin's sister-in-law, his brother, Bistamam Ramli, and companies owned by Tajudin or his family.

MAS suffered losses of approximately RM10-16 million per month from the moment the government-owned airline began to operate into the Frankfurt airport, according to Ramli's report. "As of November 2000, MAS had suffered RM174 millon in losses." To prevent the airline from going bankrupt, the MAS board closed the Hahn project, only to have ACL sue the airline for RM300 million for breach of contract on the basis that the contract obligated MAS to fly into Hahn for 10 years. Tajudin himself then sued various parties and the government of Malaysia for RM13.6 million.

Ramli recommended a series of charges against Tajudin, Wan Aishah Wan Hamzah, the former MAS director, and others for not declaring their interest in ACL.

"Since ACL is controlled by Tajudin's family companies, it is therefore presumed…that he has used his office and position as Executive Chairman of MAS to benefit ACL when MAS entered into (the agreements,)" the report continued. "This offence is punishable with mandatory imprisonment (up to) 20 years and a fine not less than five times the sum of gratification."

"CCID's investigation has disclosed that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Tajudin, Wan Aishah and (another official) for all of the above offenses." The case was then handed over to the Malaysian Anti-Corruptin Agency for investigation and possible prosecution.
What happened then was totally unexpected. Instead of preferring charges against Tajudin, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) went after Ramli Yusuff on three separate allegations, all widely reported in the media, that he had not declared his assets as required under Malaysian law despite the fact that he had declared them as required every year since he had been in office. He was also accused of misusing a Malaysian police airplane although on the flight in question he was on duty, in uniform, and escorted by other police officers. Malaysia's mainstream media, all of which are owned by component parties of the national ruling coalition, wrote that Ramli and his family possessed assets worth RM27 million. He was accused of abuse of power for allegedly forcing villagers in the Lahad Datu district of Sabah off their land to allow a company in which he had an interest to take it over.

Officials brought 75 witnesses to testify against Ramli in a Sessions Court in Kota Kinabalu. Ultimately, Ramli would face charges in three different courts as officials appealed his not guilty verdict before he was finally acquitted for good on Aug. 9. Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan, one of the country's top police officials, appeared in the Kota Kinabalu court to testify against Ramli, only to have Judge Supang Lian tell him that his "evidence was incredible and not to be believed."

Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail appealed the Kota Kinabalu ruling to the High Court but lost again before Judge Rahman Sebli, who acquitted Ramli. Finally, Ramli was acquitted earlier this month outright by Judge SM Komathy, for the third time without having to put on a defense.

Ramli, however, wasn't the only one to go before the courts. His lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, who was also the lawyer for the airline itself, prepared Ramli's defense against the criminal charges only to be arrested himself on charges of collaborating with Ramli. At one point, on a pretext that Rosli had mishandled a letter from the MACC, police officers invaded Rosli's office, arrested and handcuffed him, then kept him in a cell overnight, refusing him medical treatment for injuries to his wrists from the handcuffs. They also refused his request to file a report against the arresting officers.

Rosli went to court in January in a court specially created to handle MACC cases, only to have the case fizzle out when a prosecutor announced that neither Rosli nor Ramli had been charged for corruption and that Rosli wasn't a suspect for anything.

"One wonders why, in Allah's name, since Rosli was a witness, did the MACC not interview him nicely or ask for his cooperation?" asked blogger Din Merican. "Why did the MACC abuse, arrest and charge him if they needed his cooperation? Why did the MACC conspire with the mainstream media to widely publicize that Rosli was arrested and charged for hiding assts worth RM27 million? Why after doing all that, then did they on the first day of Rosli's trial the MACC meekly admitted that Rosli was just a witness? Is there something amiss?

For his part, Rosli has charged that the MACC, Bank Negara, the government of Malaysia and the three major newspapers owned by the political parties had conspired with those in power to damage him for his attempts to defend Ramli.

And for his part, Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli remains uninvestigated and uncharged, and a continuing example of bumiputera power at the top of Malaysia's political and social structure.

Acronym soup swamps Malaysia reform drive

Reuters
Global News Journal


Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak says he has embarked on a series of radical economic reforms. In reality it feels as if he has unleashed a barrage of incomprehensible acronyms on the unsuspecting public of this Southeast Asian nation.

The charge for economic reform is being led by the snappily named PEMANDU. As well as being the Malay word for “driver” it stands for the government’s Performance Management and Delivery Unit.

PEMANDU is in charge of formulating and implementing NKRAs (National Key Result Areas), MKRAs (Ministerial Key Result Areas) and getting “Big Results Fast”, according to its website, although it singularly failed to win political backing for a radical revamp of Malaysia’s costly subsidy regime.

It is also helping to formulate the 10th Malaysia Plan, 10MP for those in the know, a communist-era sounding 5-year plan that aims to help lift this middle income country to developed nation status by 2020.

PEMANDU is part of the GTP, the Government Transformation Programme, which also involves the SITF (Special Implementation Task Force). Throw in the NKEAs (National Key Economic Areas), another thinktank known as the EPU (Economic Planning Unit) and you haven’t reached the end of the alphabet spaghetti dreamed up by Malaysia’s civil servants…. There’s still the ETP. the NEP (sometimes good, sometimes bad) and the NEM (New Economic Model).

To be fair to Malaysia, it is not the only country in the world that is wallowing in economic acronyms, the U.S. gave the world TARP, a $700 billion bank bailout programme, and the even more mind-numbing ABCP MMMFLF (don’t ask), but it is fair to ask what Malaysians have got from all of this.

While it is true that Malaysia has had a “good” global downturn with economic growth of 10.1 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and 8.9 percent in the second quarter, it is also true that Najib hasn’t quite managed to transform Malaysia in the way he promised.

Najib told a conference run by investment bank Credit Suisse earlier this year that he “must execute or be executed”. He has also spoken of Malaysia’s economy being a “burning platform” based on low skill and low cost labour that is increasingly losing out to the likes of China, Indonesia and Vietnam in the race for investment and growth.

For all the rhetoric and the welcome mat being laid out for foreign banks and insurers by Najib, Malaysia still looks sickly compared with its peers.

Private investment is 12 percent of gross domestic product compared with 30 percent prior to the Asian crisis and is among the lowest in Asia, according to the World Bank. Productivity growth has halved to 3 percent since the 1998 Asian crisis and the World Bank says Malaysian firms innovate less than those in Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Foreign direct investment has fallen off a cliff since the glory days of the early 1990s when Malaysia accounted for 39.8 percent of Southeast Asia’s total, in part reflecting Malaysian companies investing overseas in faster growing economies like Indonesia. In 2009, according to UN data, Malaysia accounted for just 3.8 percent of the region’s total.

Najib’s reform momentum appears to be stalled, with liberalisation being attacked by conservative Malay groups who fear their special economic, social and political privileges are under threat.

Malaysians and the global investment community are now waiting for another stir of the acronym soup when the final details of the NEM and 10MP are unveiled in September as well as a public consultation run by PEMANDU.

Worryingly for the prime minister and his reform drive, local wags have started to mock his acronyms, dubbing NKRA “Najib Kerja, Rosmah Arah” (Najib works, Rosmah directs) in a pointed reference to Najib’s highly visible wife Rosmah Mansor.

Press Release: Malaysian Bar disappointed with the Court of Appeal’s decision on the Royal Commission of Enquiry's Report on the VK Lingam video clip

The Malaysian Bar is disappointed that the Court of Appeal, by a majority, has decided to grant the appeal by V K Lingam, Tun Ahmad Fairuz and Tun Eusoff Chin for leave to quash the Report by the Royal Commission of Enquiry on the “video clip incident” in whole or in parts.

A Royal Commission of Enquiry’s mandate entails the production of reports based on findings and recommendations. Hence, in essence, it cannot be a subject of legal challenge since the Royal Commission is not mandated to make decisions that can fall under the scope of judicial review. The Court inevitably refused or failed to consider the substantive arguments at the leave stage that the appellants surely had no arguable case.

The Bar urges the Honourable Attorney General to file an application for leave to appeal this decision at the Federal Court on this important question of law, which will have an impact on the success, effectiveness and credibility of future Royal Commissions. We look forward to the Federal Court to make the right decision.

At the same time, the Bar is shocked at the reprehensible threats made against certain individuals who were involved in exposing the “video clip incident” and were witnesses at the Royal Commission of Enquiry. We trust that the Royal Police Force will investigate these threats and provide adequate protection to these individuals immediately.

Meanwhile, the Bar continues with its disciplinary proceedings against V K Lingam.

 
Ragunath Kesavan
President
Malaysian Bar

Cheap land for Taib’s family?

The MP for Bandar Kuching has reportedly accused the Sarawak state government of alienating 269 acres of land near the Kuching airport to a private company at a “obscenely under-priced” rate.
Chong Chieng Jen alleged the alienation rate was RM291,000 per acre on average, according to a Malaysiakini report. “The market rate is between RM1.5 million and RM2 million per acre. Had the government gone for public tender, the state could have (earned) RM400 million to RM500 million,” the popular web portal quoted him as saying.
Monarda Sdn Bhd, a dormant company that has a paid-up capital of RM100, only paid about RM78 million for the three parcels of land, he said.
According to Malaysiakini, Monarda is headed by Taib’s eldest son Abu Bekir, who holds 52 shares. Other shareholders include Taib’s daughters Jamilah and Hanifah Hajar, and Taib’s daughter-in-law Anisa Hamidah Abdullah, who hold 12 shares each.

Malaysia ranked 37th? Let's look closer!

Firstly, can I say that Newsweek’s website for this is a total piece of crap. Higher tech is not necessarily better you idiots! Most important is ease of browsing and spreading info!

This post is sadly not as good as it could be, and i blame Newsweek :P
Nonetheless.
So, our friend Najib so proudly tweeted that we came in 37th in some poll on the 100 greatest countries. I thought the poll was worth a closer look.
For starters, let’s look at who beat us:
Israel, Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, Poland, Chile, Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Costa Rica, Latvia
So basically a whole bunch of ex communist bloc countries, Latin American countries well off the beaten path, and a BANKRUPT nation all polled ahead of us?
Still want to be proud?
A friend of mine, who prompted me to finally ‘forgive’ Newsweek long enough to write this, pointed out more:

* Surprisingly Kazakhstan is ranked #14 in education while Malaysia is #36.
* China and Vietnam have better health care than Malaysia’s #52 ranking
* Even Cuba beat us at “quality of life” coming in at #32 while we are at #48
* Mozambique comes in at #47 while Panama is #35 for “political environment” while we are ranked #54
Funny how ex-Eastern Bloc countries, freed from the “evils of communism” in the 1990′s, seems to be doing better than us who has had 53 years of independence. Duh!

Now, said friend had to go through a very painstaking process to gleam these details, which I can’t say I had the patience to.
What that means is that there must be many more…
.. oh screw it. I’m going to pick out one by one and list out at least notable countries that ranked higher than us in political environment. Suck it, Najib.
El Salvador, Indonesia, Peru, Dominican Republic, India, Mozambique, Mexico, Jamaica, Ghana, Brazil, Argentina, Botswana, Uruguay, Latvia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania, Panama, Croatia, UK, Hungary, South Africa, Chile, Greece, Costa Rica, Israel, Lithuania, Japan, Slovakia, Portugal.
Ok, I think that’s enough. So basically it’s like a a good chunk of Africa is better of politically than us?
Great jobla, Najib – you wanna prize?
ps- as Pratamad put it, in other news: Newsweek ranked worst ever ‘interactive inforgraphic’, hahaha :)
pps- check out Stephen Colbert, haha

The Colbert Report	Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Newsweek Ranks the World’s Best Countries
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News