Dear Senator Murugiah
Dr Mohamed Rafick Khan President (Protem) Persatuan Pemilik Hartanah Terb! engkalai Malaysia (VICTIMS)
See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Social Political Buzz & Bulls
Open letter to Senator Murugiah , Deputy Minister in PM Department
See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?
Guess this Personality with Octo Pauls Help
July 21, 2010
Have a Good Guess: Consult Octo Paul if you must
Do you know this guy? I am told that he is a Malaysian Islamic cleric who has many things to say about corruption and good Muslim code of conduct. But of this I am sure: he is not PAS member. He is on a crusade to build trust and confidence.Din Merican
Letter & Opinion From Joe Public
Gadis Cun Perawan
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Pretty Cewek-Cewek Gadis ABG Masih Perawan
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Guess the Personality with Octo Pauls Help
July 21, 2010
Have a Good Guess: Consult Octo Paul if you must
Do you know this guy? I am told that he is a Malaysian Islamic cleric who has many things to say about corruption and good Muslim code of conduct.Din Merican
See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?
Building Trust and Confidence
July 21, 2010
Building Trust and Confidence
by W. Scott Thompson @www.nst.com.my
Rebuilding Trust and Confidence
A FRIEND of mine asked the other day whether the Philippines could ever make it back to the fast-track status it held in the 1950s. Though it was tempting to say that maybe we should look at present trends before pronouncing, there was a better answer.
Change, and rapid change at that, is always possible. People and nations and recall that Sigmund Freud said were much the same in the way we move can go forward and backward with alarming, or blissful, ease.
Here in Manila, all one can talk about is the seemingly tiny but tremendous change that the daring new president, Noy Aquino, sparked through his inaugural address, simply assuring his compatriots that thered be no more wang-wang no more car sirens, not of mayors or senators but not even the president. So his troops stop at red lights and the security people jump out to avoid ambush and hes already been way late for a meeting as a result.
But what a signal this sent! It says everything about how he sees and will use the presidency: not as a way of running roughshod over contending interests and building his financial fortune, but working together to build commonalities. So we think the Philippines is going up. It happened overnight.
Kenya is a country that went down very quickly. It was always the fast-growing and stable East African country that could be relied upon internationally. But a lousy corrupt dictator, who finally let go eight years ago, left power to an unstable coalition; too rapid demographic changes (too many young unemployed men) among other things and a graspy new presiden! t led to all but a civil war with hundreds of thousands dislodged. One suspects that only if United States President Barack Obama goes to his fathers homeland and puts his immense prestige behind an honest election next year can Kenya get back on track.
One wants to know how Mexico got so unhinged so quickly by drug lords; its virtually a war just south of the Rio Grande River that forms the border between Texas and Mexico. But for too long, the elite in Mexico saw government as a financial trough. There never was much concern for the country. The drug lords moved into that empty space.
It seems that states lose confidence in their ability to prosper; like a sick body, bad change agents can enter quickly. But then, the right medicine comes along like Aquino here in Manila. Hes wearing a trust rating of 88 per cent, far higher than his mother ever commanded, or anyone else for that matter.
People change as quickly as states. My friend Raffy Alunan, who used to be secretary of the interior and local government in Manila, and now heads a foundation, started something in Facebook about depression, noting how the famous novelist William Styron moved in and out of it. Its one of those self-fulfilling prophecy diseases, where the very act of acknowledging it is the first (and largest) step out of the black hole. Since depression is an internally consistent explanation of failure, admission that one is in such a vicious cycle allows one to move out of it just as with states, whose greedy elite dont want to admit to the problem. Depending on its seriousness, medication, hospitalisation might be needed, certainly the help of friends. With states, the problem is larger.
On the personal score, I once got sadly fooled and made the biggest mistake of my life as a friend. A distinguished friend of mine, Dennis Roger Hansen, had explained precisely this, that he knew hed been depressed when Id last seen him at a Christmas party, and had got out! of it; and wanted to borrow my beach house to lock in some of the new good feeling. He killed himself on arrival; Id missed the signal. A best-seller, Remembering Denny, was written about this.
Ive wondered all my life what the mechanism is by which peoples and countries move into the fast lane or decide to stay in their black hole. Obviously, with both, there are medications if the problem is biological or structural. Maybe Prozac for a person, perhaps an International Monetary Fund restructuring programme for the state.
But I think theres a larger middle ground for both people and states, where such severe correction isnt needed. A good leader comes along and reminds people of their own national self-worth and they decide to build on it. Virtuous economic policies ensue. People make sacrifices for the common good. Growth builds on growth. A seriously depressed person can also suddenly realise that he or she has value.
We now know so much more about depression, a good thing since, depending on your sources, maybe a 10th or even a fifth of everyone has some signs of it. A politician in California 50 years ago set up a state-wide school programme for boosting self-esteem in the stages he thought it might really have impact, among the young. It would be interesting to see if, in the interim, it has made any difference.
One might think that Palestinians, after 43 years of occupation, would have given up, their lives regulated and constrained like their food and medical supplies. But apart from their own agenda of setting things right with Israel, they have their own national myths and history that keep them going and looking to a better future.
I hope that medical and development specialists can unlock the mechanisms, in the next generation, by which we decide to stay out of personal and national black holes. Ask yourself if one of your friends needs reassurance of his or her value. And ask elites everywhere if their state is ! on the virtuous path or just in the national black hole.
The writer is emeritus professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
Letter & Opinion From Joe Public
Khairy calls Perkasa a Chicken Den meant for Political Prostitues
Perkasa caught in 'no chicken, no egg' paradox, says Khairy
KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 (Harakahdaily) - UMNO Youth head Khairy Jamaludin (right) said Malay right wing group Perkasa belonged to an orthodox school of thought trapped in an economic paradox "with no chicken let alone an egg".
Writing in his column in financial weekly The Edge, Khairy said this contrasted with his own method which he described as "reformist".
“(Perkasa chief) Ibrahim (Ali) represents the orthodox school, while I bat for the reformists.
"In a nutshell, he believes that there should be more of the same old affirmative action and I want radical changes to policy instruments that have in part failed in their objective of creating a competitive bumiputera commercial and industrial community (BCIC),” wrote Khairy.
Khairy had recently traded insults over this issue with two Kelantan-based politicians Ibrahim and former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Ibrahim had called for Khairy’s resignation as the UMNO Youth chief claiming the latter was a disgrace to the Malay race, while Razaleigh said Perkasa was filling a leadership void in the current UMNO youth movement.
Stagnant Malay wealth despite boom
Khairy wrotes that he has no problem with Ibrahim and Perkasa’s objectives in fighting for Malay interests.
“Let me say this clearly; fundamentally, I do not have an issue with the objectives of Ibrahim and his associates. I too want to see an economically developed bumiputera community.
But our paths diverge on how we go about achieving these aims,” he said, adding that Perkasa had failed to acknowledge the fact that even during the economic boom when the New Economic Policy was in place, there was a stagnation in bumiputera corporate equity and a deterioration of inter-ethnic income.
“From 1990 to 1999, despite high growth rates for most of that decade, bumiputera corporate ownership fell from 19.3% to 19.1%. In terms of inter-ethnic income inequality, between 1987 and 1997, when growth rates were at 10.1%, the ratio of average Chinese to bumiputera household income went up to 1.83 from 1.65 in 1987.
"This in itself illustrates that the existing policy instruments did not work as they should have, otherwise we would have hit the magical 30% corporate equity target and seen greater income parity long ago,” he explained.
Khairy also said he could not understand the formula used by Perkasa to divide the country’s wealth into two – 67% for the bumiputeras and 33% for the non-bumiputeras.
“I fail to see how an economy with a fixed distributive outcome based on ethnicity can be competitive and drive growth, something which everyone has agreed is needed for redistribution.
"So the orthodox school immediately gets itself caught in an economic paradox with no chicken let alone an egg,” he stressed.
According to Khairy, although NEP helped the rise of bumiputera professionals, the policy had been plagued with serious leakages through the transfer of equity ownership in the special bumiputera share allocation schemes which saw only RM 2 billions out of RM 54 billions worth of shares allocated remaining in bumiputera hands.
“That is a clear indictment that this policy instrument needs to be consigned to the policy trash can of history,” he added.
Khairy: Why I f**** Ibrahim Ali?
In case you missed it, I have been embroiled in a war of words with the Member of Parliament for Pasir Mas, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, lately. What began with my criticism of his unfounded attack on my MCA counterpart's remarks about government scholarships quickly descended into an admittedly juvenile rally of name-calling and petty insults.
But sometimes, in politics, a brusque and unrefined approach is a necessity, especially when dealing with individuals who embody the uncouth and only understand the language of confrontation. But beyond the derogatory labels we gave one another, my spat with Ibrahim goes to the core of the modern Malay dilemma that is at the epicentre of our nation's survival.
As far as the future of the Malay economy is concerned, Ibrahim represents the orthodox school, while I bat for the reformists. In a nutshell, he believes that there should be more of the same old affirmative action and I want radical changes to policy instruments that have in part failed in their objective of creating a competitive bumiputera commercial and industrial community (BCIC). He has also gone about his business in a rather nasty manner with rhetoric that, to me, falls foul of the inclusiveness inherent in 1Malaysia. Predictably, however, for emotional and political reasons, many have jumped on his orthodox bandwagon that will only perpetuate the Malay siege mentality characterised by mediocrity and dependency.
Let me say this clearly; fundamentally, I do not have an issue with the objectives of Ibrahim and his associates. I too want to see an economically developed bumiputera community. They are correct in frequently quoting the Yale law professor Amy Chua, who has written about the politically and socially destabilising effects of economies that have market dominant minorities. I also want to see a reduction in income disparity, especially across ethnic lines since racial identity markers result in potentially combustible groupthink.
But our paths diverge on how we go about achieving these aims. I have examined in some detail the resolutions adopted by both Perkasa and the Majlis Perundingan Melayu (MPM), which are both led by Ibrahim. These are well-meaning if somewhat misguided documents that attempt to defend the Malay community from the New Economic Model that they perceive relies too much on the market and therefore will eventually result in Malays falling further behind economically. Among the specific measures the resolutions demand are for the nation’s wealth to be divided according to demographic representation, the continuation of ethnic quotas in strategic sectors and that the government not abolish quotas for open approved permits (APs) for used cars given to bumiputera companies.
The entire tenor of the resolutions is very much an extension of what there already is – quotas, government intervention and enforcing the bumiputera agenda across the entire economy. On the plus side, the resolutions recognise a wider benchmark for bumiputera economic success that goes beyond corporate equity ownership (the sacred 30% target of the New Economic Policy) and includes income, real estate and intellectual property.
Notwithstanding, the more all-encompassing view of economic advancement, the resolutions do not examine the fundamental flaws inherent in the existing affirmative action programme. They call for an intensification of same old policy instruments that are no longer, and probably never really were, effective. For instance, the resolutions speak of the need to continue the strategy of growth and distribution – in simple terms, enlarging the cake and giving more of the extra bits to the bumiputera community.
They fail to acknowledge the fact that the period during which growth was at its highest also saw a stagnation in bumiputera corporate equity and a deterioration of inter-ethnic income. From 1990 to 1999, despite high growth rates for most of that decade, bumiputera corporate ownership fell from 19.3% to 19.1%. In terms of inter-ethnic income inequality, between 1987 and 1997, when growth rates were at 10.1%, the ratio of average Chinese to bumiputera household income went up to 1.83 from 1.65 in 1987. This in itself illustrates that the existing policy instruments did not work as they should have, otherwise we would have hit the magical 30% corporate equity target and seen greater income parity long ago.
The only thing that I agree with the orthodox school is that you need growth to redistribute wealth and opportunities. Otherwise you would be robbing Ah Chong to pay Ali, which is clearly not what anyone wants. But how do you possibly get an economy to grow when you have already pre-determined a distributive outcome the way Ibrahim’s resolutions do? How can we promote economic growth and attract investments when a stated aim of the orthodox school’s resolutions is to divide the country’s wealth into two – 67% for the bumiputera community and 33% for the non-bumiputeras. The last economic system that tried to determine distributive outcome in such a manner ended with the demolition of the Berlin Wall, notwithstanding a couple of holdouts, that surely we don’t want to model ourselves after.
I fail to see how an economy with a fixed distributive outcome based on ethnicity can be competitive and drive growth, something which everyone has agreed is needed for redistribution. So the orthodox school immediately gets itself caught in an economic paradox with no chicken let alone an egg. If they have accepted that there must be growth before we can improve income inequality between ethnic groups, they must also accept that any suggestion that will prevent such growth from taking place is a non-starter.
Moving on from this brief critique of the orthodox position, it is important for the reformist approach to explain what changes in policy instruments are needed to achieve both aims of growth and redistributive justice. Let’s take the most obvious failure – corporate equity ownership. Under the original affirmative action programme, corporate equity was seen as an important measure of economic advancement. It roughly translated into a desire to see the BCIC own a sizable portion of the private sector, which would then translate itself to greater income and job creation for other bumiputeras. It also presented itself as a chance for ordinary bumiputera individuals with low incomes to own part of the nation’s private sector through trust funds like the various Amanah Saham schemes. The trust fund managers would pool money and use it to buy controlling stakes in big companies and in turn nurture bumiputera management to run these corporations.
To be sure, not all of this has been a failure. In fact, the emergence of many qualified and highly competitive bumiputera professionals is the direct result of this approach. Also many ordinary bumiputera (and later non-bumiputera) investors have received steady returns from their various Amanah Saham investment schemes.
However, the big issue here is whether or not a genuine BCIC has been created through the transfer of equity ownership. It is well known that the policy instrument of choice for this were special bumiputera share allocation schemes popularly referred to as pink forms. And it is equally well known that many recipients of the discounted shares had no intention of hanging onto their corporate ownership and expanding their investment organically. Rather, they flipped their stocks at the first available moment – usually after having secured some back-to-back arrangement with a non-bumiputera partner.
It wasn’t clear how rampant this practice was and how large the “leakage” it caused until Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself stated recently that out of RM54 billion worth of shares allocated to bumiputera investors, only RM2 billion remains in their hands. That is a clear indictment that this policy instrument needs to be consigned to the policy trash can of history.
So what takes its place? What can help create a strong and competitive BCIC and yet adhere to the tenets of being market-friendly, transparent and merit-based? Well, an innovation in this regard would be something like private equity fund Ekuiti Nasional Bhd and similar investment agencies. Their brief is not to create new shares for bumiputera investors just so that there can be nominal corporate ownership but rather to invest in bumiputera companies that require capital to take their businesses to the next level. They may be looking to list or are already publicly traded, like Tanjong Offshore Bhd. In short, this policy instrument assists those who deserve help based on potential, ability and merit.
There are many other examples which I will highlight in my next column on proposed and also fresh policy instruments which can do what Ibrahim and his friends want – which is to see an economically competitive BCIC – without scaring anyone off and dragging the nation’s economy down with a pre-determined distributive outcome.
I want to end this column by recommending a book to Ibrahim. Since he is so fond of quoting from Amy Chua’s World on Fire, I suggest he expand his literary horizon ever so slightly by reading her other book, Day of Empire. In that publication, Chua charts the rise and fall of dominant powers throughout history, from imperial Rome, the Mongol and British empires to present-day America.
The common traits she identifies as key to the initial success of these powers are tolerance, inclusiveness and embracing differences of ethnic and cultural origin in these empires. While some of these differences were exploited, Chua concludes that these civilisations flourished because they were able to get the best out of all their diverse subjects in a tolerant environment. Chua goes on to say that these powers collapsed because of intolerance and an insistence on racial superiority or purity. I think even Ibrahim can draw the obvious conclusion from this.
Writing in his column in financial weekly The Edge, Khairy said this contrasted with his own method which he described as "reformist".
“(Perkasa chief) Ibrahim (Ali) represents the orthodox school, while I bat for the reformists.
"In a nutshell, he believes that there should be more of the same old affirmative action and I want radical changes to policy instruments that have in part failed in their objective of creating a competitive bumiputera commercial and industrial community (BCIC),” wrote Khairy.
Khairy had recently traded insults over this issue with two Kelantan-based politicians Ibrahim and former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Ibrahim had called for Khairy’s resignation as the UMNO Youth chief claiming the latter was a disgrace to the Malay race, while Razaleigh said Perkasa was filling a leadership void in the current UMNO youth movement.
Stagnant Malay wealth despite boom
Khairy wrotes that he has no problem with Ibrahim and Perkasa’s objectives in fighting for Malay interests.
“Let me say this clearly; fundamentally, I do not have an issue with the objectives of Ibrahim and his associates. I too want to see an economically developed bumiputera community.
But our paths diverge on how we go about achieving these aims,” he said, adding that Perkasa had failed to acknowledge the fact that even during the economic boom when the New Economic Policy was in place, there was a stagnation in bumiputera corporate equity and a deterioration of inter-ethnic income.
“From 1990 to 1999, despite high growth rates for most of that decade, bumiputera corporate ownership fell from 19.3% to 19.1%. In terms of inter-ethnic income inequality, between 1987 and 1997, when growth rates were at 10.1%, the ratio of average Chinese to bumiputera household income went up to 1.83 from 1.65 in 1987.
"This in itself illustrates that the existing policy instruments did not work as they should have, otherwise we would have hit the magical 30% corporate equity target and seen greater income parity long ago,” he explained.
Khairy also said he could not understand the formula used by Perkasa to divide the country’s wealth into two – 67% for the bumiputeras and 33% for the non-bumiputeras.
“I fail to see how an economy with a fixed distributive outcome based on ethnicity can be competitive and drive growth, something which everyone has agreed is needed for redistribution.
"So the orthodox school immediately gets itself caught in an economic paradox with no chicken let alone an egg,” he stressed.
According to Khairy, although NEP helped the rise of bumiputera professionals, the policy had been plagued with serious leakages through the transfer of equity ownership in the special bumiputera share allocation schemes which saw only RM 2 billions out of RM 54 billions worth of shares allocated remaining in bumiputera hands.
“That is a clear indictment that this policy instrument needs to be consigned to the policy trash can of history,” he added.
Khairy: Why I f**** Ibrahim Ali?
In case you missed it, I have been embroiled in a war of words with the Member of Parliament for Pasir Mas, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, lately. What began with my criticism of his unfounded attack on my MCA counterpart's remarks about government scholarships quickly descended into an admittedly juvenile rally of name-calling and petty insults.
But sometimes, in politics, a brusque and unrefined approach is a necessity, especially when dealing with individuals who embody the uncouth and only understand the language of confrontation. But beyond the derogatory labels we gave one another, my spat with Ibrahim goes to the core of the modern Malay dilemma that is at the epicentre of our nation's survival.
As far as the future of the Malay economy is concerned, Ibrahim represents the orthodox school, while I bat for the reformists. In a nutshell, he believes that there should be more of the same old affirmative action and I want radical changes to policy instruments that have in part failed in their objective of creating a competitive bumiputera commercial and industrial community (BCIC). He has also gone about his business in a rather nasty manner with rhetoric that, to me, falls foul of the inclusiveness inherent in 1Malaysia. Predictably, however, for emotional and political reasons, many have jumped on his orthodox bandwagon that will only perpetuate the Malay siege mentality characterised by mediocrity and dependency.
Let me say this clearly; fundamentally, I do not have an issue with the objectives of Ibrahim and his associates. I too want to see an economically developed bumiputera community. They are correct in frequently quoting the Yale law professor Amy Chua, who has written about the politically and socially destabilising effects of economies that have market dominant minorities. I also want to see a reduction in income disparity, especially across ethnic lines since racial identity markers result in potentially combustible groupthink.
But our paths diverge on how we go about achieving these aims. I have examined in some detail the resolutions adopted by both Perkasa and the Majlis Perundingan Melayu (MPM), which are both led by Ibrahim. These are well-meaning if somewhat misguided documents that attempt to defend the Malay community from the New Economic Model that they perceive relies too much on the market and therefore will eventually result in Malays falling further behind economically. Among the specific measures the resolutions demand are for the nation’s wealth to be divided according to demographic representation, the continuation of ethnic quotas in strategic sectors and that the government not abolish quotas for open approved permits (APs) for used cars given to bumiputera companies.
The entire tenor of the resolutions is very much an extension of what there already is – quotas, government intervention and enforcing the bumiputera agenda across the entire economy. On the plus side, the resolutions recognise a wider benchmark for bumiputera economic success that goes beyond corporate equity ownership (the sacred 30% target of the New Economic Policy) and includes income, real estate and intellectual property.
Notwithstanding, the more all-encompassing view of economic advancement, the resolutions do not examine the fundamental flaws inherent in the existing affirmative action programme. They call for an intensification of same old policy instruments that are no longer, and probably never really were, effective. For instance, the resolutions speak of the need to continue the strategy of growth and distribution – in simple terms, enlarging the cake and giving more of the extra bits to the bumiputera community.
They fail to acknowledge the fact that the period during which growth was at its highest also saw a stagnation in bumiputera corporate equity and a deterioration of inter-ethnic income. From 1990 to 1999, despite high growth rates for most of that decade, bumiputera corporate ownership fell from 19.3% to 19.1%. In terms of inter-ethnic income inequality, between 1987 and 1997, when growth rates were at 10.1%, the ratio of average Chinese to bumiputera household income went up to 1.83 from 1.65 in 1987. This in itself illustrates that the existing policy instruments did not work as they should have, otherwise we would have hit the magical 30% corporate equity target and seen greater income parity long ago.
The only thing that I agree with the orthodox school is that you need growth to redistribute wealth and opportunities. Otherwise you would be robbing Ah Chong to pay Ali, which is clearly not what anyone wants. But how do you possibly get an economy to grow when you have already pre-determined a distributive outcome the way Ibrahim’s resolutions do? How can we promote economic growth and attract investments when a stated aim of the orthodox school’s resolutions is to divide the country’s wealth into two – 67% for the bumiputera community and 33% for the non-bumiputeras. The last economic system that tried to determine distributive outcome in such a manner ended with the demolition of the Berlin Wall, notwithstanding a couple of holdouts, that surely we don’t want to model ourselves after.
I fail to see how an economy with a fixed distributive outcome based on ethnicity can be competitive and drive growth, something which everyone has agreed is needed for redistribution. So the orthodox school immediately gets itself caught in an economic paradox with no chicken let alone an egg. If they have accepted that there must be growth before we can improve income inequality between ethnic groups, they must also accept that any suggestion that will prevent such growth from taking place is a non-starter.
Moving on from this brief critique of the orthodox position, it is important for the reformist approach to explain what changes in policy instruments are needed to achieve both aims of growth and redistributive justice. Let’s take the most obvious failure – corporate equity ownership. Under the original affirmative action programme, corporate equity was seen as an important measure of economic advancement. It roughly translated into a desire to see the BCIC own a sizable portion of the private sector, which would then translate itself to greater income and job creation for other bumiputeras. It also presented itself as a chance for ordinary bumiputera individuals with low incomes to own part of the nation’s private sector through trust funds like the various Amanah Saham schemes. The trust fund managers would pool money and use it to buy controlling stakes in big companies and in turn nurture bumiputera management to run these corporations.
To be sure, not all of this has been a failure. In fact, the emergence of many qualified and highly competitive bumiputera professionals is the direct result of this approach. Also many ordinary bumiputera (and later non-bumiputera) investors have received steady returns from their various Amanah Saham investment schemes.
However, the big issue here is whether or not a genuine BCIC has been created through the transfer of equity ownership. It is well known that the policy instrument of choice for this were special bumiputera share allocation schemes popularly referred to as pink forms. And it is equally well known that many recipients of the discounted shares had no intention of hanging onto their corporate ownership and expanding their investment organically. Rather, they flipped their stocks at the first available moment – usually after having secured some back-to-back arrangement with a non-bumiputera partner.
It wasn’t clear how rampant this practice was and how large the “leakage” it caused until Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself stated recently that out of RM54 billion worth of shares allocated to bumiputera investors, only RM2 billion remains in their hands. That is a clear indictment that this policy instrument needs to be consigned to the policy trash can of history.
So what takes its place? What can help create a strong and competitive BCIC and yet adhere to the tenets of being market-friendly, transparent and merit-based? Well, an innovation in this regard would be something like private equity fund Ekuiti Nasional Bhd and similar investment agencies. Their brief is not to create new shares for bumiputera investors just so that there can be nominal corporate ownership but rather to invest in bumiputera companies that require capital to take their businesses to the next level. They may be looking to list or are already publicly traded, like Tanjong Offshore Bhd. In short, this policy instrument assists those who deserve help based on potential, ability and merit.
There are many other examples which I will highlight in my next column on proposed and also fresh policy instruments which can do what Ibrahim and his friends want – which is to see an economically competitive BCIC – without scaring anyone off and dragging the nation’s economy down with a pre-determined distributive outcome.
I want to end this column by recommending a book to Ibrahim. Since he is so fond of quoting from Amy Chua’s World on Fire, I suggest he expand his literary horizon ever so slightly by reading her other book, Day of Empire. In that publication, Chua charts the rise and fall of dominant powers throughout history, from imperial Rome, the Mongol and British empires to present-day America.
The common traits she identifies as key to the initial success of these powers are tolerance, inclusiveness and embracing differences of ethnic and cultural origin in these empires. While some of these differences were exploited, Chua concludes that these civilisations flourished because they were able to get the best out of all their diverse subjects in a tolerant environment. Chua goes on to say that these powers collapsed because of intolerance and an insistence on racial superiority or purity. I think even Ibrahim can draw the obvious conclusion from this.
Lee Kuan Yew: Have a purpose driven life and finish well
July 21, 2010
Lee Kuan Yew On Getting the Best out of Life.
The human being needs a challenge, and my advice to every person in Singapore and elsewhere: Keep yourself interested, have a challenge. If youre not interested in the world and the world is not interested in you, the biggest punishment a man can receive is total isolation in a dungeon, black and complete withdrawal of all stimuli, thats real torture.
MY CONCERN today is, what is it I can tell you which can add to your knowledge about ageing and what ageing societies can do. You know more about this subject than I do. A lot of it is out in the media, Internet and books. So I thought the best way would be to take a personal standpoint and tell you how I approach this question of ageing.
If I cast my mind back, I can see turning points in my physical and mental health. You know, when youre young, I didnt bother, assumed good health was God-given and would always be there.
When I was about 57 that was I was about 34, we were competing in elections, and I was really fond of drinking beer and smoking. And after the election campaign, in Victoria Memorial Hall we had won the election, the City Council election I couldnt thank the voters because I had lost my voice. Id been smoking furiously. Id take a packet of 10 to deceive myself, but Id run through the packet just sitting on the stage, watching the crowd, getting the feeling, the mood before I speak.
In other words, there were three speeches a night. Three speeches a night, 30 cigarettes, a lot of beer after that, and the voice was gone. I remember I had a case in Kuching, Sarawak . So I took the flight and Ifelt awful. I had to make up my mind whether I was going to be an effective campaigner and a lawyer, in which case I cannot destroy my voice, and I cant go ! on. So < strong>I stopped smoking. It was a tremendous deprivation because I was addicted to it. And I used to wake up dreamingthe nightmare was I resumed smoking.
But I made a choice and said, if I continue this, I will not be able to do my job. I didnt know anything about cancer of the throat, or oesophagus or the lungs, etc. But it turned out it had many other deleterious effects. Strangely enough after that, I became very allergic, hyper-allergic to smoking, so much so that I would plead with my Cabinet ministers not to smoke in the Cabinet room. You want to smoke, please go out, because I am allergic.
Then one day I was at the home of my colleague, Mr Rajaratnam, meeting foreign correspondents including some from the London Times and they took a picture of me and I had a big belly like that (puts his hands in front of his belly), a beer belly. I felt no, no, this will not do. So I started playing more golf, hit hundreds of balls on the practice tee. But this didnt go down. There was only one way it could go down: consume less, burn up more.
Another turning point came when -this was 1976, after the general election I was feeling tired. I was breathing deeply at the Istana, on the lawns.
My daughter, who at that time just graduating as a doctor, said: What are you trying to do? I said: I feel an effort to breathe in more oxygen. She said: Dont play golf. Run. Aerobics.. So she gave me a book , quite a famous book and, then, very current in America on how you score aerobic points swimming, running, whatever it is, cycling.
I looked at it sceptically. I wasnt very keen on running. I was keen on golf. So I said, Lets try. So in-between golf shots while playing on my own, sometimes nine holes at the Istana, I would try and walk fast between shots. Then I began to run between shots. And I felt better. After a while, I said: Okay, after my golf, I run. And after a few years, I said: Golf takes so long. Th! e runnin g takes 15 minutes. Lets cut out the golf and lets run.
I think the most important thing in ageing is you got to understand yourself. And the knowledge now is all there. When I was growing up, the knowledge wasnt there. I had to get the knowledge from friends, from doctors.
But perhaps the most important bit of knowledge that the doctor gave me was one day, when I said: Look, Im feeling slower and sluggish. So he gave me a medical encyclopaedia and he turned the pages to ageing. I read it up and it was illuminating. A lot of it was difficult jargon but I just skimmed through to get the gist of it.
As you grow, you reach 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and then, thereafter, you are on a gradual slope down physically. Mentally, you carry on and on and on until I dont know what age, but mathematicians will tell you that they know their best output is when theyre in their 20s and 30s when your mental energy is powerful and you havent lost many neurons. Thats what they tell me.
So, as you acquire more knowledge, you then craft a programme for yourself to maximise what you have. Its just common sense. I never planned to live till 85 or 84.! I just didnt think about it. I said: Well, my mother died when she was 74, she had a stroke.. My father died when he was 94.
But I saw him, and he lived a long life, well, maybe it was his DNA. But more than that, he swam every day and he kept himself busy.. He was working for the Shell company. He was in charge, he was a superintendent of an oil depot.
When he retired, he started becoming a salesman. So people used to tell me: Your father is selling watches at BP de Silva. My father was then living with me. But it kept him busy. He had that routine: He meets people, he sells watches, he buys and sells all kinds of semi-precious stones, he circulates coins. And he keeps going. But at 87, 88, he fell, going down the steps from his room to the dining room, broke his arm, three months incapacitated.
Thereafter, he ! couldnt go back to swimming. Then he became wheelchair-bound. Then it became a problem because my house was constructed that way. So my brother whos a doctor and had a flat (one-level) house took him in. And he lived on till 94. But towards the end, he had gradual loss of mental powers.
So my calculations, Im somewhere between 74 and 94. And Ive reached the halfway point now. But have I? Well, 1996 when I was 73, I was cycling and I felt tightening on the neck. Oh, I must retire today. So I stopped. Next day, I returned to the bicycle. After five minutes it became worse. So I said, no, no, this is something serious, its got to do with the blood vessels. Rung up my doctor, who said, Come tomorrow. Went tomorrow, he checked me, and said: Come back tomorrow for an angiogram.
I said: Whats that ? He said: Well pump something in and well see whether the coronary arteries are cleared or blocked. I was going to go home. But an MP who was a cardiologist happened to be around, so he came in and said: What are you doing here? I said: Ive got this. He said: Dont go home. You stay here tonight. Ive sent patients home and they never came back. Just stay here. Theyll put you on the monitor. Theyll watch your heart. And if anything, an emergency arises, they will take you straight to the theatre. You go home. Youve got no such monitor. You may never come back.
So I stayed there. Pumped in the dye, yes it was blocked, the left circumflex, not the critical, lead one. So thats lucky for me. Two weeks later, I was walking around, I felt its coming back. Yes it has come back, it had occluded. So this time they said: Well put in a stent.
Im one of the first few in Singapore to have the stent, so it was a brand new operation. Fortunately, the man who invented the stent was out here selling his stent. He was from San Jose, La Jolla something or the other. So my doctor got hold of him and he supervised the operation. He said put the stent in. My doctor did the operation, he just watched it all and then thats t! hat. Tha t was before all this problem about lining the stent to make sure that it doesnt occlude and create a disturbance.
So at each stage, I learnt something more about myself and I stored that. I said: Oh, this is now a danger point. So all right, cut out fats, change diet, went to see a specialist in Boston , Massachusetts General Hospital . He said: Take statins. I said: Whats that? He said: (They) help to reduce your cholesterol. My doctors were concerned. They said: You dont need it. Your cholesterol levels are okay. Two years later, more medical evidence came out. So the doctors said: Take statins.
Had there been no angioplasty, had I not known that something was up and I cycled on, I might have gone at 74 like my mother. So I missed that decline. So next deadline: my fathers fall at 87.
Im very careful now because sometimes when I turn around too fast, I feel as if Im going to get off balance. So my daughter, a neurologist, she took me to the NNI, theres this nerve conduction test, put electrodes here and there.
The transmission of the messages between the feet and the brain has slowed down. So all the exercise, everything, effort put in, Im fit, I swim, I cycle. But I cant prevent this losing of conductivity of the nerves and this transmission. So just go slow.
So when I climb up the steps, I have no problem. When I go down the steps, I need to be sure that Ive got something I can hang on to, just in case. So its a constant process of adjustment. But I think the most important single lesson I learnt in life was that if you isolate yourself, youre done for. The human being is a social animal he needs stimuli, he needs to meet people, to catch up with the world.
I dont much like travel but I travel very frequently despite the jetlag, because I get to meet people of great interest to me, who will help me in my work as chairman of our GIC. So I know, Im on several boards of banks, international advisory boards of banks, of oil companies and! so on. And I meet them and I get to understand whats happening in the world, what has changed since I was here one month ago, one year ago. I go to India , I go to China .
And that stimuli brings me to the world of today. Im not living in the world, when I was active, more active 20, 30 years ago. So I tell my wife. She woke up late today. I said: Never mind, you come along by 12 oclock. I go first.
If you sit back because part of the ending part of the encyclopaedia which I read was very depressing as you get old, you withdraw from everything and then all you will have is your bedroom and the photographs and the furniture that you know, and thats your world. So if youve got to go to hospital, the doctor advises you to bring some photographs so that youll know youre not lost in a different world, that this is like your bedroom.
Im determined that I will not, as long as I can, to be reduced, to have my horizons closed on me like that. It is the stimuli, it is the constant interaction with people across the world that keeps me aware and alive to whats going on and what we can do to adjust to this different world.
In other words, you must have an interest in life. If you believe that at 55, youre retiring, youre going to read books, play golf and drink wine, then I think youre done for. So statistically they will show you that all the people who retire and lead sedentary lives, the pensioners die off very quickly.
So we now have a social problem with medical sciences, new procedures, new drugs, many more people are going to live long lives.. If the mindset is that when I reach retirement age 62, Im old, I cant work anymore, I dont have to work, I just sit back, now is the time Ill enjoy life, I think youre making the biggest mistake of your life. After one month, or after two months, even if you go travelling with nothing to do, with no purpose in life, you will just degrade, youll go to seed.
The human being needs a challenge, and my advice to every person in Si! ngapore and elsewhere: Keep yourself interested, have a challenge. If youre not interested in the world and the world is not interested in you, the biggest punishment a man can receive is total isolation in a dungeon, black and complete withdrawal of all stimuli, thats real torture.
So when I read that people believe, Singaporeans say: Oh, 62 Im retiring. I say to them: You really want to die quickly? If you want to see sunrise tomorrow or sunset, you must have a reason, you must have the stimuli to keep going..
Have a purpose driven life and finish well, my friends.
Letter & Opinion From Joe Public
Najib Monopolizing Petronas Gas Stations
According to New Age Liberal Chinese Newsportal - The Rock News, all Petronas Gas Stations will have CIMB as their SOLE Service Provider for all credit and debit transactions!
Petronas used to be serviced by Maybank which is owned by PNB (Permodalan Nasional Berhad). And CIMB is own by Bajib's brother, Nazir Razak, who is also one of the richest tycoons in Malaysia.
According to two English media based out Korea, President Obama has queried and warned Najib about the intimate relationship between CIMB and his family. Most important of all, President Obama demand clarifications from Najib why is CIMB involved with armed sales transactions to both international pariahs - the Military Junta of Myanmar and the Communist North Korea of Kim Jong Il?
According to CIMB 2008 Annual report, Nazir Razak owns 28,253,261 shares and in page 41, it stateds very clearly that his wife, Azalina also own 400,000 shares. That essentially makes CIMB a family busines of the Razak empire.
And with the monopolization of Petronas for all financial transactions, the Razak family can only be expected to become colossally rich beyond imagination ... God save our ass!
We are fucking poor ... Malaysian Insider
How poor are we, really?
KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — The government likes to boast that Malaysia has almost erased poverty. It is the one unchallenged success that is shouted out again and again to show how far we have come since Merdeka.
The line is familiar: “In 1970, 49.7 per cent of households were living in poverty. Now it is only 3.8 per cent.” Or out of 6.2 million households, only 228,400 can be classified as poor.
These 228,400 are households that earn an average of RM800 a month and below.
Is RM800 a fair cut-off point? Because it effectively means that if a household of four earns RM900, RM1,000, or even RM1,500 a month, they cannot be considered poor.
If that is the case, then why are there more and more media reports of families complaining that they cannot make ends meet even when they earn RM2,000? How did the government calculate and decide that RM800 is the poverty line?
Jayanath Appudurai, who writes extensively on poverty for the Centre for Policy Initiatives, believes that the government’s calculations are unrealistic.
Here, he argues that we need a new standard to measure poverty — one that more accurately represents the cost of food, clothing, rent and other basic necessities, and how much it takes for an average family of four to keep themselves afloat in today’s Malaysia.
Jayanath’s assessment is based on government data in its 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) report released in June, and the New Economic Model (NEM) that was out in April.The Poverty Income Level (PLI) is defined as:
“An income that is necessary to buy a group of foods that would meet the nutritional needs of the members of a household. The income is also to meet other basic necessities such as clothing, rent, fuel and utilities, transport and communications, medical expenses, education and recreation.”
Plainly speaking, the PLI is how much money in a month a Malaysian household needs to meet these eight components.
Though the Government calculates different PLIs for Malaysia’s three regions, the total average PLI is RM800.For this demonstration, Jayanath uses the Peninsula PLI of RM763.
A household living in the peninsula is considered poor only if its monthly income is below RM763.
“The government claims that it uses a World Bank standard to measure PLI. But they do not reveal the actual methodology of how they arrive at RM763,” says Jeyanath.
The World Bank standard, Jayanath says, recommends that medium-income countries should calculate PLI based on US$2 (RM6.20) per individual per day. Meaning one person would need US$2 per day in order to meet both food and non-food necessities.
If that figure were used for Malaysia, a theoretical household of 4.4 people would then need RM858 a month to not be declared poor.
The government considers a household as comprising an average of 4.4 members, says Jayanath. (Total number of households divided by total population = 4.4).The PLI of RM763, therefore, is translated into a daily income of RM25.45 that a household needs to meet the eight components such as food, rent, clothing and fuel.
“Or, that if a member of a household earns RM5.80 a day, they cannot be considered poor. Since, according to the government, you are able to live on RM5.80 a day.
In other words Jayanath explains:
“RM5.80 is supposed to pay for three meals, transport costs, rent, recreation and the other components for ONE person in ONE day. Tell me, can a Malaysian in the Peninsula even buy three meals a day on RM5.80?
“In fact, I’d challenge our government ministers to try that,” said Jayanath.
Jayanath says countries such as Britain and Australia calculate PLIs based on the median income of its households. The median income is a country’s total income divided by half.The PLI is two-thirds of the median income.
In Malaysia the median income is RM2,830. Using this method, the PLI would then be RM1,886.
In effect, this translates into RM14.20 per day for an individual to meet all their eight needs.
“Compared to RM5.80, is not RM14.20 a more realistic figure in terms of how much one needs per day in Malaysia?”
A former finance minister had once said, repeatedly, that if we were to revise how we measure poverty, our poverty rate would not be the vaunted 3.8 per cent. He is right, technically.
Jayanath’s calculations would put Malaysia’s poverty rate at somewhere between 31 to 32 per cent.“Our poverty level looks good on paper but woefully ignores reality. We are so obsessed with selling this story that we are a success.”
Statistics are supposed to accurately measure our economic environment, so that in this case, pin-point policies to deal with poverty can be crafted.
The government has begun scaling back subsidies so that it would only benefit those their meant for — the poor.
How is it supposed to do this if we cannot even accurately measure who the poor are?
SOS ! Petronas is being siphoned off at lighting speed
(Kuala Lumpur, 20 FuckYeahMalaysia) An anonymous Insider of Petronas tipped us off that our government and their crony consulting firms are using the so called re-engagement or re-employment culture to siphon money out of the national coffer!
Wake up, people, especially the Malays. Like it or not, you and family are being raped under the broad daylight! Sorry, I can't help you, unless you make me the PM, but there is problem -- Gua tarak potong and gua tak mahu potong pasal gua ingat foreskin yu manyak cute.
Retired But Remain On Board ... A National Rip Off
According to the tipster, the government appointed their cronies basically senior officers who have retired to become their so call consultants and let them earn fat pay to the tune of tens of thousands on top of colossal perks and allowance, and also let them get project at crazily inflated price in an attempt to siphon Petronas as soon as possible.
Obviously corruption is nothing new in Malaysia, but at the rate they are doing to Petronas seems to suggest UMNO is not very confident to staying on power for long. Such exploitations seem to suggest they trying to milk as much as possible before the time is up. You know, the "One For The Road" sort of things.
This is worrisome to those who genuinely care for our society. And as such, the Good Samaritan Tipster decided to come forward to expose the scam going at Petronas, our jewel corporation that reports to no one but the PM.
This is beyond corruption, this is blatant exploitation of our resources.
Wake up, people, especially the Malays. Like it or not, you and family are being raped under the broad daylight! Sorry, I can't help you, unless you make me the PM, but there is problem -- Gua tarak potong and gua tak mahu potong pasal gua ingat foreskin yu manyak cute.
PAS asks UMNO The Desperado to bow down to them instead
Is UMNO doing so badly? We gotta these UMNOputri ... Enjoy!
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Julai (Harakahdaily)- Ketua Pemuda PAS, Nasrudin Hassan mengajak Umno menyertai Pakatan Rakyat jika benar ingin memperjuangkan perpaduan di negara ini dan bukannya PAS bersama-sama Umno dalam Barisan Nasional.
Ia berbeza sama sekali dengan nada laporan yang dibuat Utusan di muka depan akhbar Umno itu hari ini yang membayangkan seolah-olah Ketua Pemuida PAS itu setuju bersatu dengan Umno dalam BN.
Dalam laporannya hari ini, Utusan telah memetik tulisan Nasrudin itu dan melaporkannya dengan tajuk "Umno, PAS perlu pelan damai".
Namun akhbar itu sangat tidak beretika apabila memetik tulisan Nasrudin tetapi menukar istilah yang digunakan Nasrudin.
(Gambar: Ada niat jahat dalam laporan akhbar ini apabila menukar petikan asal dengan petikan yang direka dan diubah suai..lihat gambar atas (Utusan) dan gambar bawah (tulisan dalam blog Nasrudin)
Dalam laporannya, Utusan menggunakan istilah Nasrudin mengajak Umno menyertai Pakatan Pembangkang tetapi yang digunakan Nasrudin adalah Pakatan Rakyat.
"Maka, apalah salahnya jika kini UMNO pula mengambil giliran dan langkah serupa seperti dulunya PAS pernah menyertai Perikatan demi penyatuan melayu Islam di era Tun Abdul Razak [ Lagi pun pemimpin UMNO kini yang beria - ia benar mahukan penyatuan ] .
"Kini di era YAB Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak pulalah menghulur tangan, sanggup dan sedia bersama PAS menyertai Pakatan Rakyat memperjuangkan Islam dan bangsa melayu Islam agar kita dapat membina sebuah negara yang aman, makmur, sejahtera, adil, telus, saksama tanpa sebarang pertelagahan atau persengketaan yang merugikan ummat Islam dan bangsa Melayu itu sendiri.
"Kerana saya melihat masa depan negara adalah bersama dengan Pakatan Rakyat dan seluruh parti yang ikhlas serta jujur membangunkan negara berasaskan nilai keadilan dan kesejahteraan yang diajar oleh Islam," tulis Nasrudin dalam blognya namun diputar belit oleh Utusan.
Sebelum ini, Naib Presiden PAS, Salahudin Ayub juga bersetuju, jika benar Umno mahukan perpaduan, Umno perlu menyertai Pakatan Rakyat bersama PAS, PKR dan DAP.
Ini kerana, PAS pernah berpengalaman menyertai BN dan ditendang keluar oleh parti assobiyah Melayu itu.
Sementara itu, Ketua Pemuda Umno, Khairy Jamaludin menyifatkan laporan Utusan hari ini sebagai lambang Umno terlalu 'desparate' (terlalu terdesak).
"Saya rasa cukuplah dengan usaha & artikel perpaduan UMNO-PAS. Cerita pg1 Utusan hari ini nampak macam kita desperate sangat," kata Khairy dalam laman komuniti Twitternya.
(Gambar: Laporan muka depan Utusan yang disifatkan terdesak oleh Khairy)
Pandangan Khairy disokong oleh AJK PAS Pusat, Datuk Seri Muhamad Nizar Jamaludin ketika membalas twitter Khairy itu.
"mbnizar @Khairykj : Dear YB, u are definitely right. It looks too bad for UMNO. Y PAS? Y not other malays in PKR,sab/sar,ngo etc.spt hidung tak..."
(YB, awak sangat tepat. Ia dilihat terlalu buruk untuk Umno. Kenapa PAS? Kenapa tidak Melayu dalam PKR, Sabah/Sarawak, NGO dll. Seperti hidung tak...")
Sementara itu, pelbagai pihak melihat, apa yang dibuat oleh Umno dan medianya sekarang dalam isu perpaduan ini adalah strategi serampang dua mata.
Jika PAS menolak kerjasama dengan Umno bermakna PAS jahat di mata orang Malayu yang tidak memahami isu ini kerana menolak usaha ke arah perpaduan.
Namun begitu, jika PAS menerima atau positif dengan ajakan Umno bermakna PAS sudah khianati rakan-rakannya dalam Pakatan Rakyat dan akan menyebabkan orang bukan Melayu khasnya akan menolak PAS.
Atas dasar itu, alasan yang terbaik kini adalah menerima perpaduan yang diminta Umno tetapi bersama-sama dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang dilihat lebih adil kerana tidak ada lebih besar dalam Pakatan Rakyat. Ia berbeza dengan susunan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang meletakkan Umno adalah abang besar dan yang lain-lain adalah pengikut sahaja.
PAS ups the ante, invites Umno to join Pakatan Rakyat
PAS has upped the ante, calling on Umno to join the Pakatan Rakyat if it was sincere about wanting to strengthen Malay unity and defend the position of Islam in the country.
“If Prime Minister Najib Razak really believes that to achieve Malay and Muslim unity, PAS and Umno have to merge, then we invite Umno to join Pakatan Rakyat. We ask them to prove their sincerity,” Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli told Malaysia Chronicle.
“But we don’t understand why should Malays be disunited just because they have two big political parties to service them? They should actually be happier because then PAS and Umno will have to keep on their toes and ensure that they really put the people’s interest first.”
Ulterior intentions
Last week, both Najib and his deputy Muhyiddin made their by-now regular invitation to PAS to either “officially or unofficially” hold dialogue for the sake of unity.
But pundits see the Umno move as a devious plot. They see the nationalist party as using scare-mongering tactics with racist overtones to fire up Malay support and destabilize Pakatan.
“So pathetic to hear the daily plea for PAS's help from a certain Malay party. And PAS keep saying ‘No thanks’,” PKR FT chief Zaid Ibrahim twitted.
Umno now eyeing DAP
Indeed, Umno has been accused of being so “desperate”, it is believed to have asked Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria to play a middle-man’s role in arranging a meeting.
That sparked a tirade against the Perak religious head, who has often been a thorn in the flesh for PAS because he openly sides Umno in his sermons.
“It is not appropriate for Harussani to act that way.It is also no use for Umno to remain in BN with the MCA and MIC, which are no longer functional,” said PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub.
There is also talk that Umno was now targeting DAP to replace MCA in the BN.
“Umno is desperate. They will try anything just to stay in power,” said PKR strategic director Tian Chua.
“If Prime Minister Najib Razak really believes that to achieve Malay and Muslim unity, PAS and Umno have to merge, then we invite Umno to join Pakatan Rakyat. We ask them to prove their sincerity,” Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli told Malaysia Chronicle.
“But we don’t understand why should Malays be disunited just because they have two big political parties to service them? They should actually be happier because then PAS and Umno will have to keep on their toes and ensure that they really put the people’s interest first.”
Ulterior intentions
Last week, both Najib and his deputy Muhyiddin made their by-now regular invitation to PAS to either “officially or unofficially” hold dialogue for the sake of unity.
But pundits see the Umno move as a devious plot. They see the nationalist party as using scare-mongering tactics with racist overtones to fire up Malay support and destabilize Pakatan.
“So pathetic to hear the daily plea for PAS's help from a certain Malay party. And PAS keep saying ‘No thanks’,” PKR FT chief Zaid Ibrahim twitted.
Umno now eyeing DAP
Indeed, Umno has been accused of being so “desperate”, it is believed to have asked Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria to play a middle-man’s role in arranging a meeting.
That sparked a tirade against the Perak religious head, who has often been a thorn in the flesh for PAS because he openly sides Umno in his sermons.
“It is not appropriate for Harussani to act that way.It is also no use for Umno to remain in BN with the MCA and MIC, which are no longer functional,” said PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub.
There is also talk that Umno was now targeting DAP to replace MCA in the BN.
“Umno is desperate. They will try anything just to stay in power,” said PKR strategic director Tian Chua.
Ketua Pemuda PAS Nasrudin ajak Umno sertai Pakatan Rakyat
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Julai (Harakahdaily)- Ketua Pemuda PAS, Nasrudin Hassan mengajak Umno menyertai Pakatan Rakyat jika benar ingin memperjuangkan perpaduan di negara ini dan bukannya PAS bersama-sama Umno dalam Barisan Nasional.Ia berbeza sama sekali dengan nada laporan yang dibuat Utusan di muka depan akhbar Umno itu hari ini yang membayangkan seolah-olah Ketua Pemuida PAS itu setuju bersatu dengan Umno dalam BN.
Dalam laporannya hari ini, Utusan telah memetik tulisan Nasrudin itu dan melaporkannya dengan tajuk "Umno, PAS perlu pelan damai".
Namun akhbar itu sangat tidak beretika apabila memetik tulisan Nasrudin tetapi menukar istilah yang digunakan Nasrudin.
(Gambar: Ada niat jahat dalam laporan akhbar ini apabila menukar petikan asal dengan petikan yang direka dan diubah suai..lihat gambar atas (Utusan) dan gambar bawah (tulisan dalam blog Nasrudin)
Dalam laporannya, Utusan menggunakan istilah Nasrudin mengajak Umno menyertai Pakatan Pembangkang tetapi yang digunakan Nasrudin adalah Pakatan Rakyat.
"Kini di era YAB Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak pulalah menghulur tangan, sanggup dan sedia bersama PAS menyertai Pakatan Rakyat memperjuangkan Islam dan bangsa melayu Islam agar kita dapat membina sebuah negara yang aman, makmur, sejahtera, adil, telus, saksama tanpa sebarang pertelagahan atau persengketaan yang merugikan ummat Islam dan bangsa Melayu itu sendiri.
"Kerana saya melihat masa depan negara adalah bersama dengan Pakatan Rakyat dan seluruh parti yang ikhlas serta jujur membangunkan negara berasaskan nilai keadilan dan kesejahteraan yang diajar oleh Islam," tulis Nasrudin dalam blognya namun diputar belit oleh Utusan.
Sebelum ini, Naib Presiden PAS, Salahudin Ayub juga bersetuju, jika benar Umno mahukan perpaduan, Umno perlu menyertai Pakatan Rakyat bersama PAS, PKR dan DAP.
Ini kerana, PAS pernah berpengalaman menyertai BN dan ditendang keluar oleh parti assobiyah Melayu itu.
"Saya rasa cukuplah dengan usaha & artikel perpaduan UMNO-PAS. Cerita pg1 Utusan hari ini nampak macam kita desperate sangat," kata Khairy dalam laman komuniti Twitternya.
(Gambar: Laporan muka depan Utusan yang disifatkan terdesak oleh Khairy)
Pandangan Khairy disokong oleh AJK PAS Pusat, Datuk Seri Muhamad Nizar Jamaludin ketika membalas twitter Khairy itu.
"mbnizar @Khairykj : Dear YB, u are definitely right. It looks too bad for UMNO. Y PAS? Y not other malays in PKR,sab/sar,ngo etc.spt hidung tak..."
(YB, awak sangat tepat. Ia dilihat terlalu buruk untuk Umno. Kenapa PAS? Kenapa tidak Melayu dalam PKR, Sabah/Sarawak, NGO dll. Seperti hidung tak...")
Sementara itu, pelbagai pihak melihat, apa yang dibuat oleh Umno dan medianya sekarang dalam isu perpaduan ini adalah strategi serampang dua mata.
Jika PAS menolak kerjasama dengan Umno bermakna PAS jahat di mata orang Malayu yang tidak memahami isu ini kerana menolak usaha ke arah perpaduan.
Namun begitu, jika PAS menerima atau positif dengan ajakan Umno bermakna PAS sudah khianati rakan-rakannya dalam Pakatan Rakyat dan akan menyebabkan orang bukan Melayu khasnya akan menolak PAS.
Atas dasar itu, alasan yang terbaik kini adalah menerima perpaduan yang diminta Umno tetapi bersama-sama dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang dilihat lebih adil kerana tidak ada lebih besar dalam Pakatan Rakyat. Ia berbeza dengan susunan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang meletakkan Umno adalah abang besar dan yang lain-lain adalah pengikut sahaja.
Najib, Please Confirm This News
You have asked Nanyang Siangpao to report this to the Chinese Community. But we never see this news anywhere else except on FuckYeahMalaysia and perhaps only Merderka Review. What is this supposed to be?
Editor' Notes: This is a real News
A Chinese Bull?
We will take it it's a bull if there is no further confirmation from you within the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, let's enjoy a real sexy dance by fans of Diego Maradonna ... Samba Viva Latina!
30% Bumiputra Quota Scrapped
TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010
"30% bumiputera quota shares has been eliminated" said Minister of the Prime Minister Nor Mohamed YAKCOP in an exclusive interview with Nanyang Siang Pau, which is published today.
Editor' Notes: This is a real News
(FuckYeahMalaysia) July 19, 2010 - In the interview, the Minister for leading the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and the Public and Private Partnership Unit is asserting that the government had to make adjustments in order to see the quota of 30% shares for indigenous from the macro perspective.
The Government hopes that the indigenous population which account for 60% of Malaysian populace, will be able to garner at least a 30% of the economy pie as a whole, but this doesn't mean it must subject to each and every individual listed company as it is now.
"We are not strict to the extend that every business such as barber shops, also must have 30% of native share. We look at this issue with a macro view. We hope after our country achieves the status of a developed nation, the indigenous population, which accounts for 60% of the population will have at least 30 % share of the national wealth "said Nor Mohamed YAKCOP.
However, he said the government statement in the New Economic Model / Model Ekonomi Baru (MEB) that affirmative policies will not be abolished, which leads to the misconception that listed companies must comply with the conditions of offering 30% share to the indigenous people which unfortunately only benefit the well connected elites at the moment.
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced an open policy to foreign investment in June 2009, including ease of control, and provide access to listed companies that do not have to comply with the quota of 30% for the indigenous people.
However, there are still many Chinese traders who do not understand this policy, thus maintaining the status of private limited companies because of fears that companies need to meet the quota of 30% of indigenous if the changed status of listed companies, according to the report of Nanyang Siang Pau.
"We are not strict to the extend that every business such as barber shops, also must have 30% of native share. We look at this issue with a macro view. We hope after our country achieves the status of a developed nation, the indigenous population, which accounts for 60% of the population will have at least 30 % share of the national wealth "said Nor Mohamed YAKCOP.
However, he said the government statement in the New Economic Model / Model Ekonomi Baru (MEB) that affirmative policies will not be abolished, which leads to the misconception that listed companies must comply with the conditions of offering 30% share to the indigenous people which unfortunately only benefit the well connected elites at the moment.
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced an open policy to foreign investment in June 2009, including ease of control, and provide access to listed companies that do not have to comply with the quota of 30% for the indigenous people.
However, there are still many Chinese traders who do not understand this policy, thus maintaining the status of private limited companies because of fears that companies need to meet the quota of 30% of indigenous if the changed status of listed companies, according to the report of Nanyang Siang Pau.
From now on, the private Chinese businesses should seriously look at listing the business because we have scrapped the 30% requirement, which we see is a must for the nation to move forward.
Glorious to People Power
Syukur Ketua Pemuda Nafi Laporan Utusan/Berita Hairan
NOTA EDITOR: Syukur Ketua Pemuda menafikan laporan Utusan Meloya dan Berita Hairan. Ini membuktikan maklumat saya, bahawa UMNO mahu menghidupkan kembali agenda PERPADUAN MELAYU kerana mereka sudah tidak yakin dengan sokongan bukan Melayu. Mereka juga menggunaka juak mereka, Haramsani.
Peristiwa ini sepatutnya menjadi pengajaran kepada pimpinan PAS bahawa UMNO dalam keadaan desperado. Mereka perlukan PAS untuk menyelamatkan mereka dari lubang yang mereka telah gali.
Nasrudin ajak Umno sertai Pakatan Rakyat
Harakahdaily
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Julai: Ketua Pemuda PAS, Nasrudin Hassan mengajak Umno menyertai Pakatan Rakyat jika benar ingin memperjuangkan perpaduan di negara ini dan bukannya PAS bersama-sama Umno dalam Barisan Nasional.
Ia berbeza sama sekali dengan nada laporan yang dibuat Utusan di muka depan akhbar Umno itu hari ini yang membayangkan seolah-olah Ketua Pemuida PAS itu setuju bersatu dengan Umno dalam BN.
Dalam laporannya hari ini, Utusan telah memetik tulisan Nasrudin itu dan melaporkannya dengan tajuk "Umno, PAS perlu pelan damai".
Namun akhbar itu sangat tidak beretika apabila memetik tulisan Nasrudin tetapi menukar istilah yang digunakan Nasrudin.
(Gambar: Ada niat jahat dalam laporan akhbar ini apabila menukar petikan asal dengan petikan yang direka dan diubah suai..lihat gambar atas (Utusan) dan gambar bawah (tulisan dalam blog Nasrudin)
Dalam laporannya, Utusan menggunakan istilah Nasrudin mengajak Umno menyertai Pakatan Pembangkang tetapi yang digunakan Nasrudin adalah Pakatan Rakyat.
"Maka, apalah salahnya jika kini UMNO pula mengambil giliran dan langkah serupa seperti dulunya PAS pernah menyertai Perikatan demi penyatuan melayu Islam di era Tun Abdul Razak [ Lagi pun pemimpin UMNO kini yang beria - ia benar mahukan penyatuan ] .
"Kini di era YAB Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak pulalah menghulur tangan, sanggup dan sedia bersama PAS menyertai Pakatan Rakyat memperjuangkan Islam dan bangsa melayu Islam a! gar kita dapat membina sebuah negara yang aman, makmur, sejahtera, adil, telus, saksama tanpa sebarang pertelagahan atau persengketaan yang merugikan ummat Islam dan bangsa Melayu itu sendiri.
"Kerana saya melihat masa depan negara adalah bersama dengan Pakatan Rakyat dan seluruh parti yang ikhlas serta jujur membangunkan negara berasaskan nilai keadilan dan kesejahteraan yang diajar oleh Islam," tulis Nasrudin dalam blognya namun diputar belit oleh Utusan.
Sebelum ini, Naib Presiden PAS, Salahudin Ayub juga bersetuju, jika benar Umno mahukan perpaduan, Umno perlu menyertai Pakatan Rakyat bersama PAS, PKR dan DAP.
Ini kerana, PAS pernah berpengalaman menyertai BN dan ditendang keluar oleh parti assobiyah Melayu itu.
Sementara itu, Ketua Pemuda Umno, Khairy Jamaludin menyifatkan laporan Utusan hari ini sebagai lambang Umno terlalu 'desparate' (terlalu terdesak).
"Saya rasa cukuplah dengan usaha & artikel perpaduan UMNO-PAS. Cerita pg1 Utusan hari ini nampak macam kita desperate sangat," kata Khairy dalam laman komuniti Twitternya.
(Gambar: Laporan muka depan Utusan yang disifatkan terdesak oleh Khairy)
Pandangan Khairy disokong oleh AJK PAS Pusat, Datuk Seri Muhamad Nizar Jamaludin ketika membalas twitter Khairy itu.
"mbnizar @Khairykj : Dear YB, u are definitely right. It looks too bad for UMNO. Y PAS? Y not other malays in PKR,sab/sar,ngo etc.spt hidung tak..."
(YB, awak sangat tepat. Ia dilihat terlalu buruk untuk Umno. Kenapa PAS? Kenapa tidak Melayu dalam PKR, Sabah/Sarawak, NGO dll. Seperti hidung tak...")
Sementara itu, pelbagai pihak melihat, apa yang dibuat oleh Umno dan medianya sekarang dalam isu perpaduan ini adalah strategi serampang dua mata.
Jika PAS menolak kerjasama dengan Umno bermakna PAS jahat di mata orang Malayu yang tidak memahami isu ini kerana menolak usaha ke arah perpaduan.
Namun begitu, jika PAS menerima atau positif dengan ajakan Umno bermakna PAS sudah khianati rakan-rakannya dalam Pakat! an Rakya t dan akan menyebabkan orang bukan Melayu khasnya akan menolak PAS.
Atas dasar itu, alasan yang terbaik kini adalah menerima perpaduan yang diminta Umno tetapi bersama-sama dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang dilihat lebih adil kerana tidak ada lebih besar dalam Pakatan Rakyat. Ia berbeza dengan susunan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang meletakkan Umno adalah abang besar dan yang lain-lain adalah pengikut sahaja.
Penafian: Pihak Harakahdaily tidak bertanggungjawab terhadap sebarang kehilangan atau kerosaka
Letter & Opinion From Joe Public
Peristiwa ini sepatutnya menjadi pengajaran kepada pimpinan PAS bahawa UMNO dalam keadaan desperado. Mereka perlukan PAS untuk menyelamatkan mereka dari lubang yang mereka telah gali.
Nasrudin ajak Umno sertai Pakatan Rakyat
Harakahdaily
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Julai: Ketua Pemuda PAS, Nasrudin Hassan mengajak Umno menyertai Pakatan Rakyat jika benar ingin memperjuangkan perpaduan di negara ini dan bukannya PAS bersama-sama Umno dalam Barisan Nasional.
Ia berbeza sama sekali dengan nada laporan yang dibuat Utusan di muka depan akhbar Umno itu hari ini yang membayangkan seolah-olah Ketua Pemuida PAS itu setuju bersatu dengan Umno dalam BN.
Dalam laporannya hari ini, Utusan telah memetik tulisan Nasrudin itu dan melaporkannya dengan tajuk "Umno, PAS perlu pelan damai".
Namun akhbar itu sangat tidak beretika apabila memetik tulisan Nasrudin tetapi menukar istilah yang digunakan Nasrudin.
(Gambar: Ada niat jahat dalam laporan akhbar ini apabila menukar petikan asal dengan petikan yang direka dan diubah suai..lihat gambar atas (Utusan) dan gambar bawah (tulisan dalam blog Nasrudin)
Dalam laporannya, Utusan menggunakan istilah Nasrudin mengajak Umno menyertai Pakatan Pembangkang tetapi yang digunakan Nasrudin adalah Pakatan Rakyat.
"Maka, apalah salahnya jika kini UMNO pula mengambil giliran dan langkah serupa seperti dulunya PAS pernah menyertai Perikatan demi penyatuan melayu Islam di era Tun Abdul Razak [ Lagi pun pemimpin UMNO kini yang beria - ia benar mahukan penyatuan ] .
"Kini di era YAB Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak pulalah menghulur tangan, sanggup dan sedia bersama PAS menyertai Pakatan Rakyat memperjuangkan Islam dan bangsa melayu Islam a! gar kita dapat membina sebuah negara yang aman, makmur, sejahtera, adil, telus, saksama tanpa sebarang pertelagahan atau persengketaan yang merugikan ummat Islam dan bangsa Melayu itu sendiri.
"Kerana saya melihat masa depan negara adalah bersama dengan Pakatan Rakyat dan seluruh parti yang ikhlas serta jujur membangunkan negara berasaskan nilai keadilan dan kesejahteraan yang diajar oleh Islam," tulis Nasrudin dalam blognya namun diputar belit oleh Utusan.
Sebelum ini, Naib Presiden PAS, Salahudin Ayub juga bersetuju, jika benar Umno mahukan perpaduan, Umno perlu menyertai Pakatan Rakyat bersama PAS, PKR dan DAP.
Ini kerana, PAS pernah berpengalaman menyertai BN dan ditendang keluar oleh parti assobiyah Melayu itu.
Sementara itu, Ketua Pemuda Umno, Khairy Jamaludin menyifatkan laporan Utusan hari ini sebagai lambang Umno terlalu 'desparate' (terlalu terdesak).
"Saya rasa cukuplah dengan usaha & artikel perpaduan UMNO-PAS. Cerita pg1 Utusan hari ini nampak macam kita desperate sangat," kata Khairy dalam laman komuniti Twitternya.
(Gambar: Laporan muka depan Utusan yang disifatkan terdesak oleh Khairy)
Pandangan Khairy disokong oleh AJK PAS Pusat, Datuk Seri Muhamad Nizar Jamaludin ketika membalas twitter Khairy itu.
"mbnizar @Khairykj : Dear YB, u are definitely right. It looks too bad for UMNO. Y PAS? Y not other malays in PKR,sab/sar,ngo etc.spt hidung tak..."
(YB, awak sangat tepat. Ia dilihat terlalu buruk untuk Umno. Kenapa PAS? Kenapa tidak Melayu dalam PKR, Sabah/Sarawak, NGO dll. Seperti hidung tak...")
Sementara itu, pelbagai pihak melihat, apa yang dibuat oleh Umno dan medianya sekarang dalam isu perpaduan ini adalah strategi serampang dua mata.
Jika PAS menolak kerjasama dengan Umno bermakna PAS jahat di mata orang Malayu yang tidak memahami isu ini kerana menolak usaha ke arah perpaduan.
Namun begitu, jika PAS menerima atau positif dengan ajakan Umno bermakna PAS sudah khianati rakan-rakannya dalam Pakat! an Rakya t dan akan menyebabkan orang bukan Melayu khasnya akan menolak PAS.
Atas dasar itu, alasan yang terbaik kini adalah menerima perpaduan yang diminta Umno tetapi bersama-sama dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang dilihat lebih adil kerana tidak ada lebih besar dalam Pakatan Rakyat. Ia berbeza dengan susunan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang meletakkan Umno adalah abang besar dan yang lain-lain adalah pengikut sahaja.
Penafian: Pihak Harakahdaily tidak bertanggungjawab terhadap sebarang kehilangan atau kerosaka
Letter & Opinion From Joe Public
Najib mulls PAC revamp of MACC, police to revive public trust
Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia ChronicleA proposal is being put together for Prime Minister Najib Razak to approve to get the Parliamentary Accounts Committee to review the role and powers of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the police force.
According to government sources, the proposal is not coming from the Pakatan Rakyat but from BN itself mostly Umno. The reason to get going and to be seen to get going with badly-needed reforms before the 13th General Election. National polls are mostly like to happen sometime in the latter half of 2011 after the Sarawak state elections.
According to the sources, Najib knows a rough ride is in store but reckons that he still has enough time to bounce back if he finally starts. Now.
Situation has worsened
When he took over from Abdullah Badawi in April last year, he had proposed a multitude of reforms, so much so, he was accused to plagiarizing Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahims election manifesto.
But in the past months, the political situation in Malaysia has worsened, alarming civil society leaders who fear for the future of democracy and social equality in the country that has been government by Umno for the past 53 years.
Most visible was a series of incidents in the past fortnight including the Home Ministrys attempt to ban the newspapers and media of opposition parties PKR and DAP. And if not for the fear that a worse counter-reaction will be triggered, the ministry would have also banned Harakah, the hugely popular newspaper owned by PAS.
The MACC also came in for its share of public brickbats after refusing at the last minute to go to London to record a statement from a private investigator, P Balasubramaniam, in connection with a murder and corruption probe that could implicate Najib, his wife Rosmah and their friend Razak Baginda.
Even the RMAF has disappointed. Just days ! ago, mil itary intelligence officers were accused of torturing a former sergeant and trying to extort a false confession for the theft of two fighter-jet engines.
Closing an eye and tacit approval
But corruption and abuses of power are no strangers in Malaysian lifestyle and systems. Always just below the surface, the poison has been left unchecked to the extent that some culprits even deem themselves to have received tacit approval from past premiers such as Mahathir Mohamad and Badawi. This is because the pair is perceived to have done next to nothing to stop the abuses.
Even so, it is under Najibs watch that a record number of government misdeeds have finally broken out into the open. The timing may have been coincidental, as after the Lingam Tape revelation that helped propel Pakatan to its stunning 2008 electoral success, Malaysians have been less hesitant to speak up.
The shocking police brutality that resulted in the deaths of Kugan Ananthan, Aminulrasyid and a host of others were also the proverbial straws that broke the camels back. So too was the suspicious death of Teoh Beng Hocks after MACC interrogation, the scandalous losses and cash depletion at government-linked firms Sime Daby and Felda.
All these cases have bolstered the Pakatans battle cry for reform and the Najib administration knows it has its work cut out to repair its image, and more importantly, to revive voter confidence in Najibs leadership. He is himself plagued by personal scandal. The unpopularity of his wife Rosmah has also taken a huge toll on his flagging support.
Who to go after first
Indeed, the MACC and police have been glaring in their inaction over a bunch of Umno-BN leaders accused of massive corruption such as Selangors Khir Toyo, Rafidah Aziz, Nor Mohamnd Yakcop, Musa Aman, Taib Mahmud, Muhyiddin Yassin and even Najib himself.
But what good is this latest PAC proposal? Even though, a core feature is to empower the MACC head with powers of prosecution without havi! ng to go through the Attorney-General, there are fears it will turn out to be another Najib smokescreen and public relations whitewash.
After all, Pakatan leaders had pushed hard for this check-and-balance when the MACC Bill was first tabled by Badawi in early 2009. Their protests were overruled, and pundits had then blamed crooked Umno leaders for lobbying against it so that they could protect themselves from future prosecution.
Why then is the Najib administration reviving plans to boost transparency in the two enforcement agencies?
You have to give Najib a chance, he cannot do everything at one go. It has only been slightly over a year. He needs to get Umno to accept the changes. They dont support him in everything, you know, said the source.
Even if he gets the green light, who should he prosecute first, Khir Toyo, Rafidah, himself? The list is so long and one thing, even though the opposition has hurled so many accusations at him, what proof is there? The idea and focus now is to regain public confidence and the first step is to get the rules and framework right. Then when the government starts to go after the big fishes, people will believe he can do things.
Fair enough, it sounds. Indeed the list of recalcitrant Umno-BN leaders is so extensive, it would be a headache even for the Pakatan to chase if they wrested the federal government.
Most Malaysians too understand that it takes time to effect change, but they worry that this is just another publicity ploy planned by Najib's minders. Sadly, he has relied too much on form rather substance in the past year. Public relations has become his trademark and it is hard for his countrymen to take him seriously.
But this time, he will really have to exit if he lets them down again.
See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?
Peneroka FELDA DIjadikan Hamba Hutang oleh UMNO
NOTA EDITOR: Syukur kepada Allah SWT kerana Senator Syed Husin Ali telah memberikan kepada kita gambaran sebenar bagaimana peneroka-peneroka FELDA dijadikan hamba hutang oleh UMNOCO.
Patutlah majlis ceramah di JEMPOL ini telah turut dihadiri oleh sahabat-sahabat kita dari Polis Diraja Malaysia. Akibatnya, ramai peneroka-peneroka telah tidak jadi untuk menghadziri majlis tersebut.
Setiap Peneroka dipotong gaji mereka atas alasan "penanaman semula". Biasanya pohon getah dan kelapa sawit hanya akan memberi hasil selama 20 tahun. Selepas 20 tahun, proses penanaman semula terpaksa dilakukan.
Sepanjang 20 tahun itu, gaji peneroka FELDA itu dipotong. Namun, sewaktu penanaman semula, FELDA akan mendahulukan wang mereka untuk proses penanaman semula. Apabila tanaman mula membuahkan hasil, maka FELDA akan datang semula dengan senarai hutang yang para peneroka wajib jelaskan. PAdahal, gaji peneroka telah dipotong siap2 untuk proses penanaman semula ini.
Kaedah ini dipanggil "loop" ataupun "bulatan". Kaedah ini memastikan peneroka FELDA akan terus dibelenggu hutang dengan FELDA. DAn setiap kali pilihanraya, FELDA akan menggunakan alasan ini untuk mengaut sokongan padu dari peneroka bagi memenangkan UMNOCO dan BN.
Dan yang lebih memalukan adalah apabila Ahmad Mazlan boleh mengaku FELDA menggunakan wang simpanan FELDA sebanyak RM2 billion untuk proses penanaman semula. PAdahal, wang tersebut adalah wang yang datang dari saku peneroka sendiri.
Apapun kita buat, ingat satu perkara:
FELDA ADALAH BUKTI UMNO MAKAN MELAYU
(Hairan, mengapa syarikat "Plantation" lain yang bukan dibawah penguasaan UMNO untung besar, tapi SIme Darby dan FELDA menuju bangkrap????)
Cry out for justice, Felda settlers told
Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:50 By Zefry Dahalan
JEMPOL: Settlers will be in debt to the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) for generations unless it changes the way it finances the replanting of crops, ac! cording to PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali.
The way Syed Husin sees it, the current loop system of re-seeding is outrageously unfair: a settler pays a monthly amount to the re-seeding fund, but when the time comes for re-seeding his plot, Felda charges him again for the costs.
"I urge Felda settlers to raise their voices and pressure the authority for justice, he said last weekend at the launching of seven PKR branches at Felda Palong 9, which is in the Jempol area.
There was a menacing police presence at the event and the scholar-politician questioned their purpose.
Jempol police chief Supt Mohd Sabri Muhamad led about 50 policemen of various ranks in the show of force.
Ibrahim Yusof, the information chief for Negri Sembilan PKR, said many Felda settlers who wanted to attend the function turned back when they saw policemen checking MyKads and recording settlers personal particulars in a book.
"The presence of such a large number of policemen is to create fear among the Felda settlers and to prevent them from attending todays function, Syed Husin said to roars of agreement among the 100-odd settlers present.
"If not for them, I'm sure the crowd would have been much larger.
How the loop system works
According to Syed Husin, this is how the loop system works: When a Felda settler starts producing rubber or palm fruits, Felda starts making monthly deductions from his income for the re-seeding fund, for fertilisers and weed killers, and for various other costs.
Usually a rubber tree or oil palm gives it yields for 20 years. After that, the re-seeding begins.
"What happens here is that Felda bears the entire cost of re-seeding and then comes up with a list of debts that the settler must settle once the new crop starts producing.
Syed Husin challenged the deputy minister in charge of Felda, Ahmad Maslan, to explain why he declared in Parliament recently that the authority had spent RM2 billion for re-seeding when the c! ost was actually borne by the settlers.
He promised his audience that Pakatan Rakyat, if it were to achieve federal power, would ensure justice to Felda settlers.
"We will make sure the Felda settlers are debt-free, he said.
See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?
Patutlah majlis ceramah di JEMPOL ini telah turut dihadiri oleh sahabat-sahabat kita dari Polis Diraja Malaysia. Akibatnya, ramai peneroka-peneroka telah tidak jadi untuk menghadziri majlis tersebut.
Setiap Peneroka dipotong gaji mereka atas alasan "penanaman semula". Biasanya pohon getah dan kelapa sawit hanya akan memberi hasil selama 20 tahun. Selepas 20 tahun, proses penanaman semula terpaksa dilakukan.
Sepanjang 20 tahun itu, gaji peneroka FELDA itu dipotong. Namun, sewaktu penanaman semula, FELDA akan mendahulukan wang mereka untuk proses penanaman semula. Apabila tanaman mula membuahkan hasil, maka FELDA akan datang semula dengan senarai hutang yang para peneroka wajib jelaskan. PAdahal, gaji peneroka telah dipotong siap2 untuk proses penanaman semula ini.
Kaedah ini dipanggil "loop" ataupun "bulatan". Kaedah ini memastikan peneroka FELDA akan terus dibelenggu hutang dengan FELDA. DAn setiap kali pilihanraya, FELDA akan menggunakan alasan ini untuk mengaut sokongan padu dari peneroka bagi memenangkan UMNOCO dan BN.
Dan yang lebih memalukan adalah apabila Ahmad Mazlan boleh mengaku FELDA menggunakan wang simpanan FELDA sebanyak RM2 billion untuk proses penanaman semula. PAdahal, wang tersebut adalah wang yang datang dari saku peneroka sendiri.
Apapun kita buat, ingat satu perkara:
FELDA ADALAH BUKTI UMNO MAKAN MELAYU
(Hairan, mengapa syarikat "Plantation" lain yang bukan dibawah penguasaan UMNO untung besar, tapi SIme Darby dan FELDA menuju bangkrap????)
Cry out for justice, Felda settlers told
Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:50 By Zefry Dahalan
JEMPOL: Settlers will be in debt to the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) for generations unless it changes the way it finances the replanting of crops, ac! cording to PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali.
The way Syed Husin sees it, the current loop system of re-seeding is outrageously unfair: a settler pays a monthly amount to the re-seeding fund, but when the time comes for re-seeding his plot, Felda charges him again for the costs.
"I urge Felda settlers to raise their voices and pressure the authority for justice, he said last weekend at the launching of seven PKR branches at Felda Palong 9, which is in the Jempol area.
There was a menacing police presence at the event and the scholar-politician questioned their purpose.
Jempol police chief Supt Mohd Sabri Muhamad led about 50 policemen of various ranks in the show of force.
Ibrahim Yusof, the information chief for Negri Sembilan PKR, said many Felda settlers who wanted to attend the function turned back when they saw policemen checking MyKads and recording settlers personal particulars in a book.
"The presence of such a large number of policemen is to create fear among the Felda settlers and to prevent them from attending todays function, Syed Husin said to roars of agreement among the 100-odd settlers present.
"If not for them, I'm sure the crowd would have been much larger.
How the loop system works
According to Syed Husin, this is how the loop system works: When a Felda settler starts producing rubber or palm fruits, Felda starts making monthly deductions from his income for the re-seeding fund, for fertilisers and weed killers, and for various other costs.
Usually a rubber tree or oil palm gives it yields for 20 years. After that, the re-seeding begins.
"What happens here is that Felda bears the entire cost of re-seeding and then comes up with a list of debts that the settler must settle once the new crop starts producing.
Syed Husin challenged the deputy minister in charge of Felda, Ahmad Maslan, to explain why he declared in Parliament recently that the authority had spent RM2 billion for re-seeding when the c! ost was actually borne by the settlers.
He promised his audience that Pakatan Rakyat, if it were to achieve federal power, would ensure justice to Felda settlers.
"We will make sure the Felda settlers are debt-free, he said.
See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?
