PAS & UMNO: Do you think we should make love?

Malay NGOs urged to make stand on unity

(Bernama) -- Malay non-governmental organisations (NGO) should make their stand whether to support or oppose the proposal that Umno and PAS discuss Malay unity.

Kelantan Umno liaison deputy chairman Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein said this should also be done by ulamas, professionals, universities and associations.

They could make their stand via resolutions at forums and conventions so that leaders from the two parties could consider them.

Awang Adek who is also Umno supreme council member said this was necessary as only a handful of Malay NGOs were bold enough to make their stand.

"Malay unity and future of the race must not be left solely in the hands of party leaders," the Finance Deputy Minister said at a meeting with Umno veterans here today.

In Butterworth, Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan said Umno-PAS unity would not only benefit the Malays but also the other races.

"Fighting among the Malays will create disunity. It will not benefit anyone and will only stunt the economy.

"The Malays have to stop fighting and be united to focus on the economy for the benefit of the people and country," he said after launching Bagan Umno 'Juara Rakyat' programme here today.

Ahmad said Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties did not object to Umno-PAS unity talks as it would help strengthen the party.

"Only Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP are against Malay unity as they fear that Umno and PAS will become united," the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department added.

Related References: -

1. News for Umno and PAS discuss Malay unity

   Malay NGOs Urged To Make Stand On Malay Unity‎ - 5 hours ago ... to support or oppose the proposal that Umno and PAS discuss Malay unity. ... "Malay unity and future of the race must not be left solely in the hands of ... Bernama - 5 related articles »

2. BERNAMA - Umno Open To Malay Unity Talks With PAS But Without ...

   18 Jul 2010 ... KOTA KINABALU, July 18 (Bernama) -- Umno is open to having discussions with PAS on Malay unity but such talks must be held without any ...
   www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newspolitic.php?id=514554 - Cached

3. Malay unity: Dissolve, Perkasa tells Umno, PAS - Malaysiakini

   - [ Translate this page ]
   22 Jul 2010 ... Malay rights advocates Perkasa says Umno and PAS should dissolve and form a new party to achieve their much coveted Malay unity. ... Parliament Should DiscussFDI Slide | Khoo Kay Peng · Fed's water figures 'serve only ...
   www.malaysiakini.com/news/138109 - Malaysia - Cached

4. Voice stand on PAS-Umno unity, Malay NGOs told - The Malaysian Insider

   25 Jul 2010 ... Voice stand on PAS-Umno unity, Malay NGOs told. ... stand whether to support or oppose the proposal that Umno and PAS discuss Malay unity. ...
   www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/.../voice-stand-on-pas-umno-unity-malay-ngos-told/

5. PAS, Umno reject new Malay party proposal - The Malaysian Insider

   23 Jul 2010 ... “We will focus on unity, but Umno and PAS will not be dissolved. ... that he had met with leaders from both parties to discuss the matter. ...
   themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/.../pas-umno-reject-new-malay-party-proposal/ - Cached

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6. Pas and Umno only 'testing the waters,' say political analysts ...

   23 Jul 2010 ... He said the Malay-based Umno and the Islamist Pas held ... Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Umno was prepared to discuss with PAS on forging cooperation for the sake of Malay unity. ...
   www.mmail.com.my/.../44144-pas-and-umno-only-testing-waters-say-political-analysts -Cached

7. PAS Youth chief warms up to Umno's offer for cooperation

   22 Jul 2010 ... However Nasrudin said the PAS-Umno unity must be based on Islam. ... that the party was open to discussions over the issue of Malay unity ...
   thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/22/nation/...sec... - Cached

8. Najib: Umno open to unity talks with PAS

   19 Jul 2010 ... (Bernama) - Umno is open to having discussions with PAS on Malay unity but such talks must be held without any preconditions, Prime Minister ...
   www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?...umno...unity...pas... - Cached

9. Opportunity to forge cooperation will pass if Umno, PAS not ...

   19 Jul 2010 ... KUALA LUMPUR, Monday 19 July 2010 (Bernama) -- Umno ... opportunity forUmno and PAS to forge cooperation in the name of Malay unity will pass if ... "Sincerity is vital if we want discuss about the future of the ummah. ...
   www.mysinchew.com/node/42031 - Cached

10. National Express Malaysia: Who wants PAS-Umno unity?

    21 Jul 2010 ... (Source: Malaysia mudah asal dasar Islam jika PAS, Umno bersatu, UtusanMalaysia, 11 July 2010). For Muslim unity ...
    national-express-malaysia.blogspot.com/.../who-wants-pas-umno-unity.html - Cached

11. Muhyiddin: Umno Ready to Meet PAS on Forging Cooperation ...

    14 Jul 2010 ... "The question of unity among Malays is not something that is not good, ...could be achieved if there was unity between PAS and Umno. ...
    malaysiandigest.com/.../5784-muhyiddin-umno-ready-to-meet-pas-on-forging-cooperation.html - Malaysia - Cached

Not only politicians but investors draw battle lines in Malaysia

The WIR data is chilling given that Minister in Prime Ministers Department Idris Jala had earlier warned that Malaysia could go bankrupt by 2019, if the government was not allowed to embark on a subsidy-slashing program to reduce debt.

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

The worst is still far from over for Malaysia, which recorded an 81 percent plunge in foreign direct investment last year as investors bet that Prime Minister Najib Razak will not be able to steer his country to safe shores.

From their point of view, Malaysia is beginning to look more like Thailand each day. They dont think Najib is in control at Umno anymore and they are worried about the next handover of power, PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

The second-line Umno leaders like Muhyiddin, Hishammuddin are not inspiring. Then the type of politicking displayed by people like Khir Toyo and Ibrahim Ali frighten investors even more. And thats why they bail out. And Im not talking about foreign investors but also Malaysians themselves. Both categories are running away.

Najib has to call for a general election latest by March 2013, but pundits beleive it will happen before October 2011.

Sore thumb amongst ASEAN nations
Indeed, Malaysia was the only country in the region to record negative FDI in 2009. According to the World Foreign Investment Report 2010 released by the United Nations on Friday, Malaysia received only US$1.38 billion.

This is even less than Philippines US$1.95 billion and pales in comparison with Singapores US$16 billion. Only Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Timor-Leste received less than Malaysia.

The WIR data is chilling given that Minister in Prime Ministers Department Idris Jala had earlier warned that Malaysia could go bankrupt by 20! 19, if t he government was not allowed to embark on a subsidy-slashing program to reduce debt.

But experts and opposition politicians have dismissed Idris arguments as masking the real problems, arguing that the reasons for the economic downfall was due to endemic corruption, a weak political and administrative system.

In particular, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has lashed out at Najib, who is also Finance Minister, for offering piecemeal solutions rather an integrated and structural revamp."Burdening the people on the pretext of reducing deficit and using 'government savings' to fund government excesses must be stopped immediately," said Anwar.

He warned that subsidy cuts, which would trigger prices hikes, should only be used as a means to cut the national deficit. However, Malaysias national debt has soared to record high and the fiscal deficit was 7 percent of GDP last year, he pointed out.

DAP chief economist Tony Pua was also unconvinced by Najib's five-year plan unveiled last month. This aims to bring the deficit down to 5.3 percent this year, and reduce government debt as a proportion of GDP to 49.9 per cent in 2015 compared to 52.9 per cent in 2010.

What was previously unimaginable, that we may one day be compared to countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar, is now a real possibility, said Tony, pointing to the WIR data.

The government cannot use the excuse of global financial crisis as the reason for the precipitous drop in FDI as we have performed the worst compared to all other countries big and small in the region.

READ MORE HERE

Letter & Opinion From Joe Public

Mahathir: Power sharing? WTF is that?

The farce that is the BN's power-sharing system

Representation does not mean power sharing. Power sharing had become a farce under the BN system. The component parties were castrated despite their numbers in Parliament and the appointment of their leaders to various less important Ministries. They had become a rubber stamp for Umno and their impotence gave Umno a free hand to institute racist policies which sideline their communities. As a twist to the phony line that a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS, a vote for MCA, MIC or Gerakan is truly a vote for Umno.

By Kenny Gan, Malaysia Chronicle

I cannot recall when the law requiring developers to give 7%-10% discount for houses to bumiputra purchasers irrespective of financial status was implemented. It has been there as long as I can remember and may pre-date Mahathir’s ascension to prime minister.

But the concept of streaming bumiputra and non-bumiputra students into matriculation and STPM was certainly implemented during Mahathir’s time. With this ruling non-Malays were forced to take a longer and more difficult path to public universities save for a token 10% given the opportunity to do matriculation.

During Mahathir’s reign no new Chinese and Tamil schools were allowed to be built despite the expanding population. If a new Chinese school was built one had to close down. This so-called relocation was widely trumped by MCA as a grand achievement that they had managed to wrangle a bigger Chinese school from the authorities. During this period places in public universities for non-Malays were very limited and private colleges had yet to exist so many parents disadvantaged by race scrimped and save to send their children to overseas universities. A proposal by Chinese businessmen to build a privately funded Merdeka University to overcome the shortage was vehemently disallowed. As recently as before the 2008 general election scholarships were allocated between bumiputra and non-bumiputra in a 90%:10% ratio.

How did these blatantly racist policies come about? Cheaper houses based on race as the sole criteria smacks of apartheid and denying fair educational opportunities to the minority citizens is shameful and damaging to the nation. They are probably illegal under the Constitution which promises fair treatment for all races save that reasonable allocation be made for Malays in the civil service, university places and scholarships.

One should note that during the implementation of these racist policies BN’s hold on Malaysia was at its strongest while the opposition was weak and fragmented. But didn’t the Chinese and Indians have their own parties to protect their rights in a race based political system? What has happened to their watch that such unfair policies could be pushed through without as much as a whimper of protest?

But the component parties had become subservient to Umno. A towering example of how useless they had become surfaced during Abdullah Badawi’s first term which incidentally represented the best ever electoral performance of BN with unprecedented numbers of MCA, MIC and Gerakan representatives elected to Parliament. All the non-Malay Ministers wanted to submit a collective memo to the prime minister to respectfully request that Umno tone down its racial rhetoric which was hurting their parties’ standing. When Umno Youth learned of this it launched a verbal assault and the memo was promptly withdrawn.

Notwithstanding the fact that sending a pleading memo to one’s own colleagues in government shows up painfully that they are not really part of the government, this incident serves to underscore how powerless MCA, MIC and Gerakan are when their leaders could be bullied into submission by Umno’s youth wing. To drive home the point further an MIC MP who expressed disappointment in parliament over the rough treatment meted out to Hindraf was forced to apologize and withdraw his remarks by his own party under dire threats of disciplinary action.

Hence we come to the inescapable conclusion that representation does not mean power sharing. Power sharing had become a farce under the BN system. The component parties were castrated despite their numbers in Parliament and the appointment of their leaders to various less important Ministries. They had become a rubber stamp for Umno and their impotence gave Umno a free hand to institute racist policies which sideline their communities. As a twist to the phony line that a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS, a vote for MCA, MIC or Gerakan is truly a vote for Umno.

Fast forward to the post 2008 general election we can see that Umno would not dare to push through any blatantly racist policies now due to a strong opposition in parliament and their fear of losing minority votes to a united opposition. What is keeping Umno in check is not the castrated component parties but the rise of Pakatan Rakyat.

There are fewer elected representatives from MCA, MIC and Gerakan in parliament or state assemblies now but lo and behold, the treatment of minority races has improved. New Chinese and Tamil schools are allowed to be built and they are given grants left and right, the ratio of scholarships for minority races has been increased and study loans for non-Malays are easier to obtain. New non-Muslim places of worship which were previously almost impossible to get approval are now permitted. Wonder of wonders, a Chinese senior citizen friend of mine even managed to get a taxi license. Of course there is still a long way to go with respect to fair treatment of all races but it is clear that the electoral success of Chinese and Indian race based parties in BN has nothing to do with it.

BN’s power sharing farce is the inevitable result of the structural flaws of a race based coalition. A coalition of race based parties is a delicate balancing act in which the strong must limit its strength in order not to appear to be too dominant. When voters see that the parties which represent their ethnic groups have been neutered they will desert the coalition in droves. But Umno has lost the art of maintaining this delicate balance after the real power sharing days of Tunku Abdul Rahman. As of now we still hear of Umno warlords declaring that the solution to their electoral woes is to strengthen Umno, blissfully unaware that Umno’s strength is the problem.

Read more at: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/2010/07/farce-that-is-bns-power-sharing-system.html#more

Seeing it from the perspective as a Malay (not Mamak)

Cakap Cakap...as a Malay this is what I think...

Now what are the Malays left with? What choice do we have? Do we vote UMNO to power again and have another fifty years of hope? Hope that another generation of Malays will not be let down by UMMO like their father were? We have spent fifty years of our life with UMNO. Fifty years of our life that we will never get back! UMNO stands for failure - for the Malays and for all those who call Malaysia their home.

By Steadyaku47

We Malays have a contract with UMNO. The terms of the contract are simple. We vote you in. You take care of us. The same the Chinese had with MCA and the Indians with MIC. Typical of contracts amongst friends it was sealed with no more then a handshake and a belief that we will not let each other down. Over the years there have been times when we Malays have questioned the commitment of UMNO to keep their side of the bargain but always we have kept faith with some UMNO leaders – Tunku, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein. Fifty years down the road and six Prime Ministers later what do we have? The edge of extinction for Ketuanan Malays that was promised to us by UMNO. Thank God the Malays evolved. UMNO did not!

Now what are the Malays left with? What choice do we have? Do we vote UMNO to power again and have another fifty years of hope? Hope that another generation of Malays will not be let down by UMMO like their father were? We have spent fifty years of our life with UMNO. Fifty years of our life that we will never get back! UMNO stands for failure - for the Malays and for all those who call Malaysia their home.

UMNO is in a dilemma. They must have the Malay votes to remain in power. UMNO’s battle cry to the Malays is Ketuanan Melayu! And yet they know that 1Malaysia is a concept whose time has come and within 1Malaysia, the Ketuanan Melayu concept is simple untenable. There is no place for Ketuanan Melayu in 1 Malaysia.

The plight of the Malays has always been the same for the past twelve elections and it will be the same for the next twelve elections to come. It is this. We need to look within ourselves to better ourselves. Outside assist – whether in the form of Bumiputra status or privileges given to the Malays to improve their lives can only be of value if the Malays help themselves. That is the same for any race for any people. Now after fifty years we Malays understand that we are our own worst enemies – not the Chinese, not the Indians not the other races. We have learned to live with the other races as they have learned to live with us. The promise of a tomorrow without UMNO for the Malays is more attractive then one with UMNO.

UMNO will leave government still justifying their inability to ensure Ketuanan Melayu because of time constrain! They have come to office promising the Malays much. Then once in power they have promised much more but ended up destroying what opportunity the Malays had to succeed under Ketuanan Melayu in the name of saving it. The failure of UMNO is not only in their broken promises and of unmet goals promised to the Malays. All politicians makes promises they cannot keep, but UMNO stands out for abandoning the Malays in order to put themselves first.

The immediate challenge for the Malays will not come from the other races. It has never come from the other races.

Read more at: http://steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com/2010/07/cakap-cakapas-malay-this-is-what-i.html

DAP: Malaysia is now lower than Filipino maids ...!

For the first time ever in history, Malaysia attracted less investment than the Philippines

Malaysia's precipitous drop in inward foreign direct investments and an increase in outward foreign direct investments mark a complete lack of confidence in Malaysia's economy

Tony Pua

The recent release of World Foreign Investment Report (WIR) 2010 by United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD) provided a picture that is nothing short of grim and ugly for the Malaysian economy especially in its attractiveness as a local and foreign investment destination. While the headline 81% drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) from US$7.32 billion to US$1.38 billion can be brushed of as a 'blip' due to a global financial and economic crisis in 2008-2009, a more in-depth study reveals that it was certainly not a one-off.

Our country's leadership should instead heed the loud alarm bells the data presented to prevent our economy from drifting aimless to a point of no return. The UNCTAD WIR 2010 data revealed five firsts for Malaysia:

1. For the first time ever in history, Malaysia attracted less investment than the Philippines

Malaysia has lost out to Thailand in FDI for the very first time in 1998 while Indonesia exceeded us recently for the first time in 2005. Vietnam on the other hand, beat us in FDI for the very first time the year before, in 2008. While we have come to accept Thailand, Vietnam and even Indonesia as having gained competitiveness against Malaysia in recent years, we are suffering ignominy of attracting lower FDI compared to the Philippines for the first time ever in history. The Philippines attracted US$1.95 billion in FDI compared to Malaysia's US$1.38 billion.

Among Southeast Asian nations, we are now only attracting more FDI than Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Timor-Leste. And for the first time ever, what was previously unimaginable that we may one day be compared to countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar is now a real possibility.

2. Compared to the previous year 2008, Malaysia suffered by far the biggest decline of FDI in Southeast Asia



The global financial crisis has resulted in sharp declines in FDI for many countries in this region, especially given the region's reliance on investments from the United States and Europe. However, the Government cannot use the excuse of the crisis as the reason for the precipitous drop in FDI as we have performed the worst compared to all other countries big and small in the region.

While many of our regional competitiors suffered declines in FDI last year, none of them came close to what we experience. Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia's FDI declined by 30.4%, 44.1% and 44.7% respectively, those figures are by far healthier when compared to Malaysia's 81.1% drop. This was despite the fact that Thailand was facing a year-long political upheaval while Vietnam was mired in a currency crisis.

On the other hand, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Myanmar still managed to register positive growth although for Singapore, the bulk of its decline in FDI was registered in 2008 which accentuated its improvement in FDI in 2009.

3. Malaysia was the only country in Southeast Asia to have register a net negative Foreign Direct Investment Flow

The WIR 2010 presented data for both the amount of FDI a country receives as well as the amount of FDI which originates from a country that was invested overseas. Out of all the countries in the region in 2009, Malaysia was the only country where our outflow of FDI amounting to US$8.04 billion is substantially greater than the FDI of US$1.38 billion received. All the other countries in the region had a net positive FDI flow in 2009.

4. For the first time ever, cumulative Outward FDI Stock exceeded cumulative FDI Inward Stock

For the first time ever the amount of foreign direct investment flowing out of Malaysia accumulated over time amounting to US$75.62 billion, or the “Outward FDI Stock” has exceeded our cumulative foreign direct investment coming into the country, which amounted to US$74.64 billion.


The trend of both local and foreign investors voting with their feet to seek greener pastures overseas is unmistakable when we look at the fact that Malaysia has been suffering from increased trend of FDI outflow over the past decade, as show in the chart above.

The above chart shows clearly that not only are foreign investors unwilling to invest in Malaysia, our own local investors as well as foreign investors who are already in the country have a total lack of confidence in the ability of our economy to generate an attractive return to their investments. Our net FDI flows have declined from US$2.56 billion in 2004 and US$1.09 billion (2005), to a net negative US$0.02 billion (2006), negative US$2.7 billion (2007) and negative US$7.67 billion in 2008.

The figures show clearly that there is money to be invested, they are just not investing in Malayisa. The investors now see improved and better opportunities in the region and abroad even during the times of crisis.

5. Barring a “blip” in 2001 when we attracted only US$0.55 billion in FDI, this is the first time we've attracted less than US$2 billion in FDI over the past 20 years



Looking at the FDI data over the past 20 years, Malaysia has shown an inability to grow its FDI while our neighbours are generally trending upwards in their ability to attract FDI. This is a reflection of our stagnating competitiveness while our neighbours continue to consistently increase theirs.

Finally, when we compare ourselves against our regional peers, it is a picture of increasing bleakness. Despite outperforming Thailand consistent in the 1990s and before, the last time we exceeded them in FDI was back in the year 2000, which means they have already beaten us for 9 consecutive years.

While Indonesia beat us once in 2005, they've now repeated the feat 2 years in a row in 2008 and 2009. ASEAN rising star, Vietnam has also done the same by attracting more FDI compared to Malaysia over 2008-2009. This is shown in the comparative chart below.



What New Economic Model?

While the proposed “New Economic Model” (NEM) by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has correctly identified some of the fundamental problems with our economy which has led to our fall from grace, as well as proposing some key measures to restructure our economy, he has repeatedly backtracked from the NEM and shown little political appetite to implement the critical policies which will lead to improvements and greater competitiveness in our economy.

Datuk Seri Najib has since described and relegated the NEM to merely a “trial balloon” and backtracked from his commitment that affirmative action will be implemented by needs and not by race by reinstating the 30% bumiputera quota target in the 10th Malaysia Plan. The recent spate of privatisation projects have also not seen any political will on the part of the Government to implement open, transparent and competitive tenders, including the RM628 million construction of Malaysia's largest exhibition and convention centre, the development of the 3,000 acres of prime land in Sungai Buloh as well as the proposed major redevelopment of the old Sungai Besi airport into the KL Financial Centre.

Even the highly anticipated RM46 billion Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project for the Klang Valley looks all but awarded to a Gamuda-MMC consortium without any open competitive tenders.

What is worse, despite Datuk Seri Najib's repeatedly insisted that the era where “the government knows best” is over, his administration continues to crowd out private investments by direct awarding mega-projects to government-linked entities such as the Sg Buloh land to an Employee Provident Fund joint venture with the Government or the Sg Besi airport redevelopment to the 1Malaysia Development Fund.

Without these necessary and critical changes to the Government's economic policies, the Malaysian economy will only continue to drift away from the radar of both local and foreign investors as our Ministers continue to indulge in their daydream of glory and success, while our neighbours will steadily and consistently improve their economies beyond our reach.

(Source data available upon request from Tony Pua - tonypua@yahoo.com or 0162220086)

Diva: Masayu with Friends On Sexy Bikini

Masayu Anastasia was born January 19, 1984. She is known as as a model, actress and soap opera movie. With her friend appeared to use a bikini on the beach, looking sexy and exciting.

Diva: AWEK TUDUNG MUSLIMAH CUN

zina dan kes buang bayi berleluasa bukan kerana web lucah di internet tetapi adalah kerana banyak filem malaysia mengenai "cinta remaja berahi" dan ini mempengaruhi remaja untuk bercinta dan terjerumus ke lembah zina.

More photos Awek Tudung Melayu Boleh

BCIU: Rosmah Who?

Business Council Mum Over Rosmah Ad

From The Nutt Graph

By Jacqueline Ann Surin and Koh Lay Chin

The Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), which conferred the prime minister’s wife an award in New York in April, has remained mum about whether it was the party which placed a congratulatory advertisement in the New York Times (NYT) for her.

BCIU president Peter J Tichansky did not respond to e-mail queries to confirm that the council paid for the NYT ad that congratulated Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor for receiving the inaugural and little-known International Peace and Harmony Award.

The Nut Graph sent two e-mail enquiries to Tichansky to ask him to confirm who had actually paid for the award. The first e-mail was sent on 2 June after Tichansky wrote to us to express regret that a “well-intended gesture of welcome and congratulations honoring Malaysia’s First Lady” as the award recipient may have become a “political issue”.

The second e-mail to Tichansky was sent on 15 June after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced in Parliament on that day that BCIU was the organisation that placed the ad. Najib’s statement in Parliament was the first time the government publicly denied that it had paid for the ad. Throughout The Nut Graph’s reporting of the issue, the Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to our queries despite being given several opportunities to comment over a period of one month.

The NYT had originally told The Nut Graph that the ad, signed off “from family and friends in USA and Malaysia” was placed by “an ad agency on behalf of the Malaysian government.”

Eighteen days later, the NYT said it had made a mistake. But it would not reveal who actually took out the ad nor clarify how executive director for community affairs and media relations, Diane McNulty, could have made such a mistake. Instead, NYT’s director of public relations, Abbe Serphos, repeated that the ad was signed by “Family and friends in the USA and Malaysia”. Only when pressed did she reply: “In our internal systems the ad was reserved as a Government of Malaysia ad, but in fact the ad was not placed by the Government of Malaysia.”

Tichansky has not responded to either e-mail from The Nut Graph. In addition, Tichansky also did not respond to questions about when the award was conceived and by whom, what criteria were used in conceptualising the award, who the other nominees for the award were, and how Rosmah qualified for it.

In his first and only e-mail to us on 2 June, Tichansky had reiterated BCIU’s “respect for [Rosmah’s] humanitarian and charity work”, saying she was a “deserving recipient of BCIU’s award”.

Tichansky (source: BCIU.org)

After Najib’s statement in Parliament, Tichansky did not answer why the BCIU would sign off the ad as “family and friends [of Rosmah] in USA and Malaysia” instead of representing itself in the ad. He also did not answer the question as to how the BCIU could represent Rosmah’s family and friends.

The NYT has declined to disclose how much the ad cost. However, according to some estimates, full-page ads taken out in the NYT suggests that the cost of such advertisements ranges from US$180,000 to US$230,000. This amounts to between RM580,000 and RM740,000 for a one-page ad.

The congratulatory ad for Rosmah which appeared on 16 April 2010 was a two-page colour spread that would have cost far more.

It remains unclear why a US-based business council would pay for such an ad.

“Joh”, the receptionist

Apart from the BCIU, another party that is apparently involved in the ad has also remained mum about unanswered questions arising from the ad and the NYT’s retraction.

Henry Thomas Jones of Laurus Group DC, a “small public relations firm”, sent an e-mail on 7 June accusing The Nut Graph of blowing up a “trivial matter” and being unprofessional.

The Nut Graph had written to Jones on 3 June to ask what his involvement in the award and the ad was after he had surprisingly copied us on an e-mail to Tichansky. In that e-mail, sent on 1 June, Jones had responded to Tichansky’s e-mail to us which defended Rosmah as the award recipient. Jones told Tichansky: “This is great. Thank you! Please send, and I’ll forward to Joh.”

Obama meets Najib (© Pete Souza, The White House | Flickr)

The Nut Graph then wrote to Jones, who is known to have worked in a powerful lobbying company and is a seasoned political campaigner, to ask him if Laurus Group, DC was the one that ordered and paid for the ad congratulating Rosmah. We also asked if he was involved in lobbying for Najib’s meeting with President Barack Obama and for Rosmah to be conferred an award.

Additionally, we asked him who “Joh” was, and whether it was a particular individual whose name has been circulating among the New York-based media, and among local business and political circles. Jones did not reply.

However, after our 7 June report on the NYT’s mistake, Jones’s apparent involvement, and the mysterious “Joh”, Jones wrote a scathing e-mail that said:

“‘Joh’ … is my receptionist, Jo. When typing on the iPhone, it is not uncommon for me to misspell words. In this instance, I added an ‘h’. My firm provides occasional PRO BONO services to the Business Council for International Understanding.

“It is unfortunate that such a trivial matter, a misspelling in an internal communication, gives rise for your publication to generate unsubstantiated allegations, and then to publish the same. From an American perspective, I find The Nut Graph‘s standards for publication to be less than professional.”

Despite being asked to clarify in an e-mail we sent on 8 June, Jones did not reveal his receptionist’s full name and contact details. He also did not explain why a receptionist in his firm would need to be copied on a correspondence between him and his client.

He did not specify what about The Nut Graph’s reporting on 7 June constituted “unsubstantiated allegations”.

New York party

Robert De Niro (© Petr Novák| Wiki Commons)

Apart from the NYT ad, Rosmah and Najib were also feted on 16 April at the five-star St Regis Hotel in New York where the award ceremony was held.

The star-studded event was emceed by Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx and attended by Hollywood glitterati including Oscar-winning Robert De Niro and Charlize Theron, and Emmy Rossum. Performances by Grammy-award nominee Leona Lewis, and the Harlem Boys Choir were also held. A rendition of We Are the World led by Foxx and sung by De Niro, Theron and others ended the night.

Various blog postings and Tweets on the event talk about how well Foxx warmed the party up. One blogger, who attended the event, wrote that Foxx performed a “flirty” karaoke version of You’ve Got a Friend with Rosmah, and danced with Najib.

CBS News reporter Kaylee Hartung also tweeted and posted photos of the event saying: “When has a foreign dignitary been honored in this way? Amazing. Jamie Foxx has [the] whole room on their feet.”

According to one Twitter posting by a DJ, known as DJ Irie, who parties with Hollywood stars, Foxx and Rosmah rehearsed for their duet before the party.

According to online reports, the party was co-hosted by BCIU and the United States Sports Academy. No information was available about how much the entire event cost.

What faith? WTF is that ...?Sorry, I'm an Atheist.

Inter-faith panel is as good as dead, how about Dr Koh, Gerakan?

The Cabinet's Special Committee to Promote Inter-Religious Harmony and Understanding (SCPIRHU) was initiated by Prime Minister Najib Razak and put under the charge of Dr Koh Tsu Koon, but it is now all but defunct and as good as dead.

This is because some extremist groups who participated in the committee had objected to the use of the term "inter-religious". Their reasoning is that their religion is greater than the other faiths and therefore they should not sit equally with the other faiths.

Besides objecting to the panel's terms, they also wanted Dr Koh, who is the minister in charge of national unity and currently supervising the SCPIRHU to be replacee by Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom, the minister in charge of Islamic affairs.

It looks like Dr Koh, who is also the Gerakan president, is powerless in his efforts to ensure the success of the SCPIRHU because of these extremists' views.

The first meeting was held on April 4 and the subsequent meetings were called off due to the boycott by the leaders of these extremist groups, who demanded Dr Koh be removed and the panel's terms and role be changed.

Apart from that, lawmakers from the BN coalition, particularly those from Umno, were also not supportive of such an inter-faith panel, fearing that they will be labeled less-religious if they showed support.

It means the supremacists are still refusing to back down but are insisting that their stature should be higher than the others.

We want to ask Dr Koh and Gerakan, if none of your BN coalition partners are supportive of your efforts to build a better Malaysia and to promote the idea of a fair and equal society, why are you still in the BN fold?

It is only too obvious they dislike you, they even condemn you, their sideline you and they made you a Senator and a Minister - but it is just for show. And everybody knows it. You are powerless and you do not even have a say in planning your own national unity.


You cannot perform effectively because you are only a "Minister without Portfolio". Your national unity unit is just window-dressing. Please stop being in denial mode. It is embarrassing not just to you, but to the rest of Malaysia who have to watch your humiliation and Gerakan's.

Please wake up and look at the real situation. If you refuse to take the bull by the horns, both Gerakan and you will remain irrelevant forever.

No One Wants To Fuck With Pathetic UMNO

As PAS issues another snub, Umno asks NGOs for help

As Umno leaders continued to pressure PAS to ‘discuss’ unity by asking Malay NGOs to support their request, PAS leaders reiterated their commitment to the Pakatan Rakyat.

“Every one of us is entitled to an opinion about Malay unity, so Umno can ask NGOs, Perkasa, or whoever. But it will not change the fact that PAS will not leave Pakatan," PAS legal adviser Hanipa Maidin told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Umno is just trying to put PAS in a difficult spot and making us unpopular with the Malays. It has made the PAS top leadership so annoyed,they have already decreed no discussions at all.”

Ulamak, professionals, academicians urged to join in

The latest Umno leaders to hop on the by-now slowing bandwagon was Kelantan deputy liaison chief Dr Awang Adek Hussein and Umno national information chief Ahmad Maslan.

Awang, who is also deputy finance minister, urged Malay religious teachers or ulamak, professionals, universities and associations to join in.

“Malay unity and future of the race must not be left solely in the hands of party leaders,” Bernama quoted Awang as saying.

Going to Putrajaya with PKR and DAP

In Butterworth, Ahmad Maslan told reporters Umno-PAS unity would not only benefit the Malays but also the other races.

“Fighting among the Malays will create disunity. It will not benefit anyone and will only stunt the economy. The Malays have to stop fighting and be united to focus on the economy for the benefit of the people and country. Only PKR and DAP are against Malay unity as they fear that Umno and PAS will become united,” he said.

But PAS leaders did not see it that way.

“It only underscores how desperate Umno is. By now, it has become evident to the whole country that Umno knows it will lose without PAS. But PAS is going to Putrajaya with PKR and DAP not Umno,” Mahfuz Omar, PAS vice president, told Malaysia Chronicle.

Chegu Bard: Don't sweep Saiful's alleged affair under the carpet

Saiful Fucks Prosecutor ... !

PKR leader Badrul Hisham Shahrin has urged the Attorney General not to ignore recent accusations that a member of the prosecution team in the sodomy trial against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was having an affair with the complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

“We do not wish to drag up the issue but it is no point for the authorities to pretend nothing happened. They must not be afraid to probe the allegations because, if true, there will be a very unfair conflict of interest against Anwar Ibrahim,” Badrul told Malaysia Chronicle.. The PKR supreme council member is also popularly known as Chegu Bard.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders including Anwar’s defense team has urged Prime Minister Najib Razak not to gag the media or prevent the authorities from investigating the matter.

PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah too has warned of the possibility of a mistrial if it is found that Saiful was indeed having intimate relations with a lady Federal Counsel on the prosecuting team.

Earlier this week, top blogger Raja Petra Kamarauddin had broken the story and even named the lady. So far, neither Saiful nor his friend has issued any public comment.

The trial, dubbed Sodomy II, will resume on August 2. It is unclear if Anwar’s legal team will wait until then to ask the court to initiate an investigation, or if they will do it earlier.

Anwar, the 62-year-old PKR adviser, was accused of sodomizing Saiful at Unit 11-5-1 of the Desa Damansara Condominium in Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

He has denied the charges and accused Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor of collaborating with Saiful to frame him and derail his political comeback.

A former star Finance Minister, Anwar was riding high when ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad slapped sodomy charges against him in 1998. Despite fighting the case and saying the accusations were trumped-up charges to stop his political rise, Anwar was sacked and jailed.

It was only in 2004, after Mahathir had retired, that he was acquitted and freed. In 2008, soon after Anwar announced he would contest the Permatang Pauh by-election, he found himself accused of sodomy again. Despite the negative publicity, he won by a landslide and returned to Parliament as Opposition Leader.

Investors are pissed off with Najib

Not only politicians but investors draw battle lines in Malaysia

The worst is still far from over for Malaysia, which recorded an 81 percent plunge in foreign direct investment last year as investors bet that Prime Minister Najib Razak will not be able to steer his country to safe shores.


“From their point of view, Malaysia is beginning to look more like Thailand each day. They don’t think Najib is in control at Umno anymore and they are worried about the next handover of power,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“The second-line Umno leaders like Muhyiddin, Hishammuddin are not inspiring. Then the type of politicking displayed by people like Khir Toyo and Ibrahim Ali frighten investors even more. And that’s why they bail out. And I’m not talking about foreign investors but also Malaysians themselves. Both categories are running away.”

Najib has to call for a general election latest by March 2013, but pundits beleive it will happen before October 2011.

Sore thumb amongst ASEAN nations

Indeed, Malaysia was the only country in the region to record negative FDI in 2009. According to the World Foreign Investment Report 2010 released by the United Nations on Friday, Malaysia received only US$1.38 billion.

This is even less than Philippines’ US$1.95 billion and pales in comparison with Singapore’s US$16 billion. Only Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Timor-Leste received less than Malaysia.

The WIR data is chilling given that Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala had earlier warned that Malaysia could go bankrupt by 2019, if the government was not allowed to embark on a subsidy-slashing program to reduce debt.

But experts and opposition politicians have dismissed Idris’ arguments as masking the real problems, arguing that the reasons for the economic downfall was due to endemic corruption, a weak political and administrative system.

In particular, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has lashed out at Najib, who is also Finance Minister, for offering piecemeal solutions rather an integrated and structural revamp."Burdening the people on the pretext of reducing deficit and using 'government savings' to fund government excesses must be stopped immediately," said Anwar.

He warned that subsidy cuts, which would trigger prices hikes, should only be used as a means to cut the national deficit. However, Malaysia’s national debt has soared to record high and the fiscal deficit was 7 percent of GDP last year, he pointed out.

DAP chief economist Tony Pua was also unconvinced by Najib's five-year plan unveiled last month. This aims to bring the deficit down to 5.3 percent this year, and reduce government debt as a proportion of GDP to 49.9 per cent in 2015 compared to 52.9 per cent in 2010.

“What was previously unimaginable, that we may one day be compared to countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar, is now a real possibility,” said Tony, pointing to the WIR data.

“The government cannot use the excuse of global financial crisis as the reason for the precipitous drop in FDI as we have performed the worst compared to all other countries big and small in the region.”

Najib's roadshows failed to inspire

The WIR data also showed that despite its current problems Thailand recorded a 30.4 per cent drop, Vietnam 44.1 per cent and Indonesia 44.7 per cent.

The other ASEAN nations Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Myanmar managed to register positive FDI growth despite stiff challenge from East Asian dragons like China and Hong Kong.

Earlier this month, Anwar had suggested 4 key measures to bolster public and investor confidence. These include the immediate announcement of drastic reforms for a transparent government procurement system; restructure of gas subsidies for Independent Power Producers; vigilant management of Government-Linked Companies and government agencies and lastly, stepping up efforts to combat corruption and to stop political meddling in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Attorney-General's Chambers.

“It is not a mystery at all why we did so badly. Investors fear not the Pakatan Rakyat but Umno and BN. They are afraid Umno might instigate or trigger a political stalemate if they lose at the next General Election. Bear in mind some Umno leaders have hinted they would fight to the end not to lose political power,” Tian said.

“We also have to look at the performance of Najib as Finance Minister. He has done poorly and should relinquish the post to someone more capable immediately. So far, his New Economic Model has disappointed and the weak FDI numbers are another testament to his inability to draw in funds despite numerous expensive road shows. He spends too much money on frivolous thing like public relations and media advertisements to boost his image and on the political front - too much time on negative politicking.”

Chinaman tells Najib ...

A Letter to PM Najib from a Chinese Malaysian Resident In USA

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia
admin@portal.gov.my

Dear Prime Minister,

We refer to the letter below from a Chinese Malaysian for your information.
Would you like to comment, please?
We look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours respectfully,
Eddie Hwang
President
Unity Party WA
UnityPartyWA@westnet.com.au
www.unitywa.org
Ph/Fax: 61 893681884
Date: 02-Dec-2009.


I am a female Chinese Malaysian, living in the Washington DC area in the United States. I have read many of the letters that often talk about foreign countries when the writers have no real knowledge of actually living in those countries.

Many draw conclusions about what those countries are like after hearing from someone else or by reading and hearing about them in the media or after four years in a college town in those countries.

I finished STPM with outstanding results from the prestigious St George's Girls School in Penang. Did I get a university place from the Malaysian government? Nothing. With near perfect scores, I had nothing, while my Malay friends were getting offers to go overseas.

Even those with 2As got into university. I was so depressed. I was my parent's last hope for getting the family out of poverty and at 18, I thought I had failed my parents.

Today, I understand it was the Malaysian Government that had failed me and my family because of its discriminatory policies.

Fortunately, I did not give up and immediately did research at the Malaysian American Commission on Education Exchange (MACEE) to find a university in the US that would accept me and provide all the finances. My family and friends thought I was crazy, being the youngest of nine children of a very poor carpenter. Anything that required a fee was out of our reach.

Based on merit and my extracurricular activities of community service in secondary school, I received full tuition scholarship, work study, and grants to cover the four years at a highly competitive US university.

Often, I took 21 credits each semester, 15 credits each term while working 20 hours each week and maintaining a 3.5 CGPA. A couple of semesters, I also received division scholarships and worked as a TA (teaching assistant) on top of everything else.

For the work study, I worked as a custodian (yes, cleaning toilets), carpet layer, computer lab assistant, grounds keeping, librarian, painter, tour guide, etc. If you understand the US credit system, you will understand this is a heavy load.

Why did I do it? This is because I learnt as a young child from my parents that hard work is an opportunity, to give my best in everything, and to take pride in the work I do. I walked away with a double major and a minor with honours but most of all a great lesson in humility and a great respect for those who are forced to labour in so-called 'blue collar' positions.

Those of you who think you know all about Australia, US, or the West, think again. Unless you have really lived in these countries, i.e. paid a mortgage, paid taxes, taken part in elections, you do not understand the level of commitment and hard work it takes to be successful in these countries, not just for immigrants but for people who have lived here for generations.

These people are where they are today because of hard work. (Of course, I am not saying everyone in the US is hardworking... There is always the lazy lot that lives off of someone else's hard work. Fortunately, they are the minority.)

Every single person, anywhere, should have the opportunity to succeed if they want to put in the effort and be accountable for their own actions. In the end, they should be able to reap what they sow.

It is bearable that opportunities are limited depending on how well-off financially one's family is but when higher education opportunities are race-based, like it is in Malaysia, it is downright cruel for those who see education as the only way out of poverty.

If you want to say discrimination is here in the US, yes, of course it is. Can you name a country where it doesn't happen? But let me tell you one thing - if you go looking for it, you will find it.
But in Malaysia, you don't have to go look for it because it seeks you out, slaps you in your face every which way you turn, and is sanctioned by law!

Here in the US, my children have the same opportunity to go to school and learn just like their black, white, and immigrant friends. At school, they eat the same food, play the same games, are taught the same classes and when they are 18, they will still have the same opportunities. Would I want to bring my children back to Malaysia ?

So they can suffer the state-sanctioned discrimination as the non-Malays have had for over 50 years?

The injustice the non-Malay have to suffer in frightening silence is the most damaging problem one has to face throughout one's life. You just have to look at the mighty government structures which completely favours only one race, the Umno Malay.

The Chinese and Indians are treated no better than the illegal Indonesians.

Racism and corruption are openly practised by the Malay politicians everywhere, Courts, schools/Uni, police, govt offices, contracts, GLC, NEP, ISA, local government.

It's so powerful and intimidating that you walk with fear and keep your mouth shut on anything and everything political.

Religion is taboo unless you talk good about Islam.

As for being a slave in the foreign country, I am a happy 'slave' earning a good income as an IT project manager.

I work five days a week; can talk bad about the president when I want to; argue about politics, race and religion openly; gather with more than 50 friends and family when I want (no permit needed) and I don't worry about the police pulling me over because they say I ran the light when I didn't.

Have we seen the light at the end of the tunnel yet (Anwar Ibrahim)?

Or is it the head light of an oncoming Umno train ?

Lets hope its the former for the sake of all fair-minded Malaysians.