Too many chiefs, too few Indians?

Malaysiakini: Too many chiefs, too few Indians?

Mariam Mokhtar
Aug 1, 11
11:19am

10 friends can read this story for free

When Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak promoted the MIC president, G Palanivel, to become a full minister, no one was shocked. It was typical of Najib's arrogance and lack of leadership to put politics over policies, material goods over meritocracy, enticement over engagement.
Whilst Palanivel's promotion served to highlight Najib's hubris, lack of focus and his deepening moral decline, it also showed his desperation to win the next general election. If policies won't work, then political manoeuvring will.
Isn't our Prime Minister's Department staffed with ministers who have come in through the back door or whom many consider bootlickers? Many will be familiar with the expression Too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
More importantly, the promotion does not make sense at a time when the government tells us to adopt austerity measures and that it, too, might go bankrupt.
Perhaps, Samy Vellu (left) could be stripped of his pseudo ministerial status, which must cost the taxpayer several millions, and redirect this allocation to Palanivel.
What is so extraordinary about Samy Vellu, our 'special envoy' who is given a ministerial rank? What does he know? Why is he paid over RM27,000 monthly and given! conveni ences and other allowances as well as a staff of six and an office in Plaza Sentral, Kuala Lumpur?
Why will Najib not take stock of the situation? His lack of scruples meant he resorted to his deal or no deal, RM5 million election gimmick, as in Sibu - his You help me, I help you moment of infamy.
When will Najib understand that the public purse does not belong to him? When will this product of a respected English public school and a graduate of an equally prestigious university realise that blackmail and bribery would not be condoned by his alma maters?
At the 65th MIC general assembly, Palanivel had urged Najib to reward hardworking Indians from the estates, and road and railway workers whose toil had helped build Malaysia. He wanted Najib to increase the budget allocation and form a special unit to help the Indian community.
He said, The Indian community is waiting for your good moves, sir, good announcements and good plans. If you can fulfill all the requirements that I have put forward... you can rest assured that the Indian votes will automatically return to Barisan Nasional.
Najib's response was: There must be an understanding. Can you all deliver for Barisan Nasional? You can deliver and we will deliver.
There are more questions raised by both Palanivel's and Najib's statements.
The most important being: What has BN and MIC done for the Indian community in the 54 years since independence?
Come every election, the Indians will be told that BN/MIC are the only parties for them. Then we hear that the MIC representative is hardly seen until the next election.
Facing a multitude of problems
The Indians face a multitude of problems such as the following: Not being issued with birth certificates or identity cards. Terrible conditions in Tamil schools. Tamil schools which! are not legally sited. A lack of proper burial sites or graveyards. Demolition of temples. Temples without land titles. High suicide rates. High dropout rates in school. High crime rates and gangsterism. High levels of domestic violence in families. High levels of poverty.
These are not new problems. They have been around since independence but what have the elected MIC politicians done about resolving them? How strong is their commitment?
In the 2010 census, Indians made up 7 percent of the 28 million population. The Ninth Malaysian Plan stated that Indians controlled 1.2 percent of the corporate wealth. Contrast this decline with TimeAsia's report of 1.5 percent in 2000 with corresponding figures for the Malays (19.4 percent) and Chinese (38.5 percent).
So is looking after 2 million Indians very difficult? Or are there more Indians than the official statistics claim? Moreover, are the allegations about elected MIC politicians lining their own coffers and ignoring the electorate to be believed?
So how does Palanivel (right in photo) attempt to woo the Indians? He is beginning to sound like Najib, who told an audience in Sepang after his return from a trip to the Vatican, ostensibly to improve ties between the Christians and Muslims in Malaysia, that he would only respect Christians if the Christians would respect him.
Both Palanivel and Najib have to realise that respect is earned, just as people's votes, have to be earned.
If the Indian vote is increasingly difficult for BN to command then perhaps it is the politicians who ought to realise that race can never be used to win votes.
Palanivel is wrong to say that the Indian votes will automatically return to Barisan Nasional. MIC does not represent all Indians.
For almost a month, Dr D Jeyakumar of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia has been detained without charge. Were there protests from MIC about this illegal detention? Palanivel may have demanded the release of the PSM 6, but he was only vocal in the days before they were freed.
If Palanivel thinks MIC is the champion of the Indians, he might want to do a lot of soul searching and footwork.
In Sungei Siput, some members of the community allege that during Samy Vellu's reign, the ex-MIC leader did very little to alleviate the suffering of the poor Indians in the community.
'Poverty did not exist in Sungei Siput'
When it came to election time, when freebies and food were in abundance at MIC functions, it was alleged that the ex-MIC leader would proudly boast that poverty did not exist in Sungei Siput.
He obviously did not do his homework or go on a walkabout. Families living on RM300 a month and living in dilapidated shacks were common. It was also alleged that anyone who dared contradict Samy Vellu with regard to poverty, would receive a visit from his thugs.
During the recent furore with the PSD scholarships, one poor Indian teenager in the area who scored 8 As was refused a scholarship to do medicine. She decided to ask an MIC politician for assistance to secure funds. He in turn, allegedly asked her, What's in it for me?
If Palanivel thinks the MIC can deliver the votes, he might want to reconsider his moves.
Actions always speak louder than words. But this advice should perhaps be heeded by Najib more than anyone else, for as we enter the fasting month of Ramadan, Najib might want to reflect on his deeds and his conduct.
How can he consider himself to be a true and pious Muslim when corruption is the order of the day in Umno/BN?

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In 'real-speak', this translates into t! hat she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

TAIB PAID OUT $5 MILLION TO ATTACK SARAWAK REPORT! INTERNATIONAL EXPOSE

. Sarawak Report

This illegal video promoting Taib on CNBCs World Business programme cost RM 800,000 !

Taib is paying a crooked, British-based PR company $5 million (RM15 million) a year to conduct an illegal global media campaign against Sarawak Report.

We can expose FBC Media, a TV production company which doubles as a strategic communications firm, for conducting an illicit scam over the past decade, secretly selling slots across a number of supposedly impartial TV news programmes to promote its international clients, includingNajib Razak andTaib Mahmud.

The practice, which is designed to deceive hundreds of millions of TV viewers, has netted the company tensof millions of dollars,providingcharacters like Taib Mahmud withpositive publicity on prime international TV shows. It is all paid for, of course,bytheir owntaxpayers, whom they are also seeking to dupe and impress.

Our evidencefurther shows that FBC Media are alsolinked tothe vicious online blogging campaigns in the US which have defamed both Anwar Ibrahim and Sarawak Report over the past months [see Sarawak ReportsDirty TricksCoverage].

Top global TV stations in trouble

BBC Worlds Develop or Die series, made by FBC Media. It concentrates on Malaysian palm oil and the peculiar claim that sustainable development is being used increasingly as a convenient argument by those in the richer world to protect their global ec! onomic d ominance! The programme does not declare FBC Medias financial payments from Malaysia and its oil palm industry.

Our in-depth investigation into the scandal implicates some of the worlds most prestigious broadcasting networks, including CNBC, CNN and even BBC World, which is supported by the British government.

All these stations have carried programmes madeby FBC Media, containingitems promoting their multi-million dollarPR clients.

Allowing characters like Taib Mahmud to buy positive coverage on editorial news shows is rightlybanned under broadcasting laws and it is those broadcasting companies themselves that holdultimate legalresponsibilityfor all the contentthey put out.

Asour storyhits the headlinesCNCB, CNN, BBC World and other carriers of FBC-made programmes willface some serious investigations by their licencing authorities, both in the UK (Ofcom) and in the United States (the Federal Communications Commission).

Are the natives eco-friendly? making fun of environmental critics of deforestation. But BBC Worlds Develop or Die series fails to mention that the natives are also protesting against deforestation!

A recommendation from Najib!

Sarawak Report has learnt that it was the Malaysian PM Najib Razak who recommended FBC medias multi-million dollar PR services to Taib Mahmud. Ourresearchhas revealed that Najib, former PM Badawi and a number of Malaysian companies,

including the palm oil giant Sime Darby are also clients of FBC, pouringtens of millions of ringgit of taxpayers money into corrupt PR campaigns in recent years.

This should go down well! FBC Chairman, Alan Friedman and Abdullah Badawi contemplate a bottle of wine in one of t! heir int erview slots on Italian TV

It was the General Secretary of the PKR opposition party,Saifuddin Nasutian,who revealed last yearthat Malaysian budget recordsshow that between 2008-2009 aloneamassiveRM57.68millionwas paid by the Prime Ministersoffice to FBC Media to conduct aGlobal Strategic Communications Campaign for the Malaysian government. RM29,337,650 was paid out in 2008 and RM28,350,000 in 2009.

The Malaysian Governments Supplementary Budget 2010. It speicifies an amount of RM28,350,000 to pay the cost of agreement to implement the project Global Strategic Communications Campaign between the Malaysian Government and FBC Media (UK) Limited for the year 2009.

Saifuddin Nasutian raised the matter in the Malaysian Parliament, referring to the engagement of FBC Media UK several times andquestioning the services that the company was providing in its Global Strategic Communications Campaign.

PKRs Saifuddin Nasution raises the matter of the FBC Media (UK) contract in the Malaysian Parliament last year

No denial hasbeen madeby FBC Mediaor the Malaysian government about the contract. Neither have they attempted to deny the sums that are officially registered in the government budget.

A further RM42 million was spent in 2010 on Public Affairs and Government Servicesand Strategic Communication, Public Relations and Press Outreach, according to the latest supplementary budget.

APCO Connection proves FBC contract with Malaysia

FBC Medias ties with the controversial American PR company APCOare also clearly proven. Official disclosure documents to the United States Gov! ernments how that FBC Media has paid a total of $70,000 to APCOover thepast twoyears to conduct a lobbying campaign in the United States on behalf of the Malaysian Government.

Such lobbying is clearlyjustpart of the services commissioned from FBC Media by BNs political leaders. The production/PR company cannot deny that theMalaysian government is alsofrequently featured across allits programmes.

Disclosure document to the US Senate and House of Representatives by APCO, which has been paid 70,000 dollars to lobby for the Malaysian Government by FBC Media

According to our insideinformation, Najibsuggested that Taib engage FBC Mediafor a similar campaignafter the Chief Minister was seen to have suffered a publicity crisis,following revelations in Sarawak Report about his extensive corruption.

Sources close to the Chief Minister have told us that the flamboyant American Chairman of FBC Media, Alan Friedman, personally visited Taib in Kuching at least twice at the start of the year and a contract was agreed that promised to transform the international image of the hitherto secretive Sarawak dictator.

FBCs Alan Friedman interviews Najib Razak one of ten set-piece features on the Malaysian PM over the past 2 years on CNBCs World Business programme.

Details of the crooked contract with Taib Mahmud

Sarawak Report now has detailed information about the exact proposals within Taibs FBC contract and the costs involved. Followingmeetings in January, Friedman promised Taib assistance in countering negative and false perceptions that have been spread at home and abroad and assuredthe Chief Minister that he has the tools and interna! tional e xperience to do just that.

It would appear that by toolsthe PR man was referring to his companys existingcontracts to produce editorial news programmes suchas CNBCs World Business,which is viewed bya purported 300 millionpeople across the world every week, as well as a number of other productions for BBC World and also outlet opportunities on CNN.

Taib would have been well aware that such tools are illegal.Click here for FBCs original website, which was pulled down straight after questions were asked of FBC last weekk by a UK newspaper. Or

[CLICKHEREfor a downloadable version.

Website boasting "placement options" for FBC Media's communications clients

The crookedcontractadvocatedthat the campaign should last for 3 years in total, butfor the first year aloneFBCs services have amounted toan enormous USD$ 5 million (RM 15 million), plus expenses. For this Friedman hasoffered a campaign across prime TV, online and printnews media platformsdesigned toconvince internationalviewers that the ChiefMinisters government of Sarawak has been beneficial in bringing developmentto the people of Sarawak.

FBC Camerman, Simon Yip, poses by the Chief Minister's Rolls Royce in Kuching along with other members of the film crew. Could they have been interviewing Taib Mahmud?

The FBC MediaChiefalso promised that the rampant logging and palm oilprogrammes, whichthe Chief Minister has carried out largely for his own enrichment, would be portrayed as sustainable development in this artificialnews coverage!

Within this contract Friedman is ! charging $270,000 (RM 800,000) for each set-piece TVdocumentary about Taib or Sarawakon one of hisprime TV shows. He is also charging to show the Chief Minister off at various world conferences at a cost of $193,000 (RM 570,000) per conference. Strangely, he also charges $110,000a month(RM 320,000 a month) to provide Airline inflight sponsorship, whereas it is in fact airlines that are supposed to buy programmes, not get paid for them!

Blogging

For a furthercharge of$55,000 a month (RM 162,000a month) the FBC Media contract alsooffers a separate campaign usingonline sites and special blogging in order toprovide a blanket of positive coverage about Taib and Sarawakin the Westernmedia.

The contract explains that this manufactured international recognition would then be bounced backinto the local press for people in Sarawak to see!

So, could the American-based attacks on Sarawak Report to be found inJosh Trevinos New Ledger blog, which are then be found reproduced in the look-alike siteSarawak Report(s),started in March 2011, be linked to this $55,000 a month contract? The evidence is there for all to see!

$55,000 a month for this stuff?

By this methodTaib and Friedman have attempted totake the taxpayersof Sarawaks own money to pull the wool over their eyes and to gull foreign news viewers into a false impression of his management of Sarawak!

Proof is in theoutput -CNBCs Deforestation in Sarawak claims that 80% of Sarawaks jungle has been kept untouched by Taib !

On March 25th, just a few weeks after the contract was signed, a major item appeared on CNBCs World Business programme called Deforestation in Sarawak! By any standards it is an outrageous and biased apology for Taib Mahmuds wrecking of the Borneo Jungle anda major exercise in Greenwash.

Taib himself is featured in a coached interview claiming that over 80% of the Borneo jungle is pristine and untouched! This contradictsthe general consensusthatonly about5% of the more inaccessible jungle areas remain untouched and, as Sarawakians know,Taibs crony timber companies are stilldoing their best to force theindigenous people out of the areas that are left.

The FBC reporter on Deforestation in Sarawak nevertheless further alleges that many tourists flock to Sarawak to see the wonderful protected jungle and claims that the onlyoil palm plantationthat has taken place has been on land already cleared for rubber plantations or other crops!

Anyone who knows anything about Sarawak knows that suchclaimsare lies and that a million hectares have been cleared foroil palm,a figure due to doubleover the next ten years.Taib himself has achievedvast wealthout ofdestroying the precious hardwood jungles of the state.

CNBC features this happy modern Penan. No mention of his tribespeople manning blockades against Taibs loggers!

Happy Penan

To add insult to injury Deforestation in Sarawak also features a happy Penan tribesman who nowenjoys a modern life in a city job. The programme makes no mention however of the fact that thousands of his fellow tribes-people have been desperately manning blockades against the loggers since the 1980s till this day, as they attempt to keep Taibs men from destroying their lands.

The filmalso makes no mention of the fact that hundreds of thousands more indigenous peoplehavelosts their lands and livelihoods to Taibsmillion hectares of oil palm plantations, logging and dams, for whichthey have received nothing in return. Nor that most of the interiorpopulationcontinue to be deniedtheir voting rights and 60,000 still do not even have their basic identity cards.

FBCs film again fails topoint out that Taibs so-called development programmes of the past 30 years have benefitted few beyond the members of the Chief Ministers fabulously wealthy family and business associates. Although Sarawak is Malaysias richest state in terms of natural resources, it is home tomany of the poorest people.

Objective endorsement?

Objective spokesman? FBC Media interviewed BNs Len Talif Salleh, who combined his role as Head of Forests with a Directorship of the logging company Pusaka KTS, the company which swindled Long Terawan of its land !

Instead,Deforestation in Sarawakfeatures a number of Taibs own employees, who pose as objective third party endorsers of the Chief Ministers policies. One of theseis his sturdy henchman,Len Taliff Saleh, who spoke as the supposedlyneutral Head of Forests in Sarawak, even though he had already at that stage taken up his new role as a BN candidate in the upcoming state election.

Anotherobjective endorser of Taib in the moviewas the Australain Brian Clarke, who is employed by Taib directly as a parkranger on his family playground, the Mulu Resort. Mulu is an area that wasforcibly snatched from the Berewan tribe and isnow owned by Taib and his familymembers.

UNESCO are currentlyofficiallyreviewingthe regionsstatus as a World Heritage Site, because of Taibs appalling environmental record in the region, yet none of this was mentioned by FBC.

Indeed, Deforestation in Sarawak is such a blatant PR vehicle for Taib Mahmud that evenFBC Mediawere clearly fearful of itfalling into the wrong hands!Immediately after broadcasting the show across its global outlets the production company took extraordinary steps to attempt to have it removed from the normal You Tube sites, where it generally advertises its World Business programme output. Other films featuring various other clients have been allowed to remain online, but Deforestation in Sarawak has been removed from just about every available portal!

Withdrawn! like FBCs website the film Deforestation in Sarawak has been taken off the web

Sarawak Report is happy to offer readers an opportunity to view it however by clicking on Deforestation in Sarawak.

More dodgy movies on BBC World

Local colour FBC Media filming One Square Mile for BBC World

The same FBC Media productioncr! ew that produced Deforestation in Sarawak alsomade afilm for the series One Square Mile on BBC World. This film once again provides a sympathetic portrayal of Taibs management of Sarawak.

Itfeaturesthe problems of local tribes-people, but givesthe impressionthat the governmenthas been working to help them. There is no mention of the alienation of their lands,logging or palm oil, which have left the people poor, while enriching Taib Mahmud.

If FBC Media had not received money from Taib, the item might be considered merely a case ofweakreporting.But the existence of the $5 million contract places matters in a very different light!

In the same recent periodthere has been a whole spate of FBC produced programmes for the BBC that haveattempted to subtly promote oil palm as an agent of development and to criticisepeople who raise issuesabout deforestation, mono-culture and corruption as ignorant, selfish outsiders.

One exampleis the seriesDevelop or Die, presented by the BBCs Zeinab Badawi,which provides a sympatheticplatform forthe Malaysian Palm Oil industry and features interviews with palm oil producer.Sime Darby.

Zeinab Badawi Presenting Develop or Die for BBC World

The seriessuggests that withoutthe continuing mass expansion of the controversial croppeople in countries like Malaysia would not develop and would therefore die.Thismay beone viewpoint, but FBC Mediablatantly faildeclare their own financial interest in the matter. Sarawak Report has receivedinside information that Sime Darby is one ofFBC MediasMalaysian business clients andthe companys boss, formerDeputy PM Musa Hitam,frequently appears in its productions.

With aanother series of Deve! lop or D ie currently in production, Sarawak Report challengesBBC World to investigate potential secret sponsorship behind their programmes promoting palm oil.

Plenty of positive messaging in BBC Worlds Third Eye show this July, thanks to FBC Media

Another recent case in point is the recent July episode of the monthlyThird Eye programme for BBC World, also made by FBC Media. Itfocusses again onpalm oil, arguing the case for Malaysias increasingly controversial plantation schemes, much of which isdestroying Sarawaks remaining jungle.

Once again the programme implies that millions could die unless palm oil plantations areallowed to expandand raises arguments against environmentalists, who have concerns about deforestation. Once again there is a failure by FBC to declare its links to the Malaysian government and itspro-palm oil policies.

Also, this same month ofJuly, another pro-Najib/BN show appeared on BBC World, with another edition of One Square Mile, again produced by FBC Media. Yet again itcontains the same positive messaging about Malaysias government policies.

Thanks to Najib our salary will go up soon! FBC Medias Square Mile programme on BBC World

Questions to answer for CNN

CNN is another of the placement options that FBC have beenpromoting for their strategic communications clients on their website, which was pulled down earlier today [Sarawak Report is able to link readers to a live copy of the original site-CLICK HERE].

Former CNN business presenter, John Defterios, who is a shareholder of the parent company FBC Group Limited and the companys President, also presents theCN! N curren t affairs and business programme Marketplace Middle East.

So how coincidental was it that earlier this month John Defterios conductedanexclusive interview with FBC Mediaclient Najib Razak during his official visit to London? The interview was broadcast on CNN and received widespread publicity back in Malaysia.

We inviteCNN to examine whetherthis too formed part of the Prime Ministers strategic communications contract with FBC, paid for by the Malaysian taxpayer?

CNNs exclusive interview this July with FBC Medias John Defterios ensured good publicity for Najibs London visit. It was publicised widely back in Malaysia!

Misleadingly, it wasthe FBC-linked blogger, Josh Trevino, who accusedthe opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of paying for publicity on CNN earlier this year! The Americanright-winger made the accusation in theblogNew Ledger, which is clearly paid for as part ofthe communications package commissioned by BN leaders.

This false accusation (denied by CNN)was then picked up and distributed among BN leaning blogs in Malaysia, on the basis that itwas news from the US. We challange New Ledger and those BN leaning blogs to now publicisehow it is in factNajib Razak who has been buying his slots on global TV shows.

Another appearance for Najib on Defterioss Marketplace Middle East on CNN

Revenue squeeze that may have opened the door to the corruption of global TV

BBC World i! s the co mmercial arm of the BBC. Like all global TV stations it has been subject to shrinking advertising revenues in a competititve market and it has been looking for innovative ways of paying for programming. The popular concept at the moment is so-called branded programmes, inwhich FBC claims to specialise.

In arecent interview BBC Worlds Head of Programmes, Paul Gibbs, acknowledged that the BBC has been seeking to use itsworldreputation as a trusted broadcaster to encourage third parties to invest in programmes:

Its the platform itself, explained Gibbs. Quite often our interest in any project can be enough to allow documentary makers to raise funding. The promise of a slot on BBC World News can be enough in order to realise the project, and because of the BBC traditional editorial values, our input on any project is incredibly valued. [Encore Magazine]

The rules state however, that such forms of sponsorship should never extend to so-called editorial content, where viewers are led to believe that the journalism is un-influenced by any form of bias. With FBC Medias documentaries that line seems to have been crossed and those traditional editorial values compromised.

Our broadcast platforms FBC demonstrate how they are prepared to abuse their production role on their own website

Likewise,CNBC has also expressed its interest in expanding branded programming. In fact their new Head of Branded Programming came straight fromFBC Media, where she had been their Business Development Director.

CNBC is owned by Americas NBC and is a global broadcaster. Its Europe branch comes under Britains Ofcom regulator, which specifically prohibits any sponsorship or brandi! ng of ed itorial programmes such as FBCs World Business programme.Sarawak Report is notifying Ofcom of these apparent breaches.

Promoting Najib

Najib meeting Khazkh Premier Nazarbayev at the World Islamic Economic Forum in June. Both are clients of FBC Media, who covered the conference on CNBC`s World Business programme

We understand that FBC Mediahave numerous clients bothin Malaysia and around the world.These clients are in many cases of the sortwho would normally find it hard to get sympathetic coverage from objective global media shows. Yet, through FBCtheyhave been able to pay for positive output, albeitat a very high price. .

Certainly FBCs World Business programme on CNBC has revisited Malaysia considerably more often over the past twelve months than would be expected given the number of its shows and Malaysias weight in the world economy. We have ascertained at least 11 occasions in just the past 18 months alone where PM Najib Razak has been featured positively in films on the show.

By contrast there has been zero political coverage of the neighbouringPhilippines over that period, just 2 interviews with theThai Prime Minister and 4 with the leader of Indonesia. Meanwhile, there have been a number of furtherfilmsalso been made to boost some of the key projects of Najib Razak in Malaysia.

A country that does feature frequently on World Business however, is far-flung Khazkhstan, which according to our information is another PR client of FBC Media.

We challenge FBC Medias Alan Friedman to deny that there is no connection betweenhis companysRM 57.69million contract with the Prime Minister of Malaysias office to provide a strategic global communicationscampaign and this output on the programme he makes for CNBC.

FBC Clients together in Astana this year Musa Hitam of Sime Darby, Najib and the Khazakhstan PM Karim Massimov

More questionmarks

It goes on.In March of this yearBBCs World Debate, hosted by Zeinab Badawi again featured Najib Razak in the context of theGlobal Movement for Justice Peace and Dignity, whichpromotes Malaysia as a moderate Muslim country.

Once again this show was produced for the BBCby FBC Media. At the same time FBCsWorld Business alsoran an item on the conference for CNBC.

The BBCs World Debate programme hosted by Zainab Badawi and produced by FBC Media at the Global Movement for Justice, Peace and Dignity in Instanbul this February!

Some of the many FBC Media programmes featuring Najib Razak on CNBCcan be accessed byClicking Here.

Fitting in the FirstFamily too!

It is well known that Najibs wife Rosmah rarely misses out on her own opportunities.Thus, FBC Media featured two wholefilms across two weeksdedicated to herFirst Lady Summitlast October.It included a lengthyset piece interview with her about her work in education. Rosmah is described as Malaysias First Lady throughout the programme in a clear slight towards the wife of the present King of Malaysia.

Set-piece inter! view wit h Rosma Mansour (Najibs wife) by FBC interviewer Eckart Sager

FBC Media, of course,alsocovered the controversial Kazakhstangathering of theWorld Islamic Economic Forumthis June.There has been much comment in Malaysiathat the marriage ofNajib and RosmahsdaughterNooryana Najwaand the son ofthe Presidentof Kazakhstan (who is also believed to be aclient of FBC Media) took place at the same timeas the conference.

Starring yet again on CNBCs World Business! Najib at the World Islamic Economic Forum, which was also addressed by FBCs Chairman Alan Friedman.

Allegedly, Najib and Rosmah spentconsiderable sumson transportingseveral Malaysian gueststo Astanaand entertaining them with their hosts as part of the conference, thereby saving a fortuneon their wedding expenses at the expense of the Malaysian taxpayer!

Alan Friedman himselfwas even a speaker at the conference, which wasnaturally featured on CNBCs World Business.

The programme which was aired this July can beviewed on Youtube.

A unique PR company that should have been caught out no excuse for broadcasters

Any of the broadcasters commissioning FBC should have been well-placed to see what just whatthe company is up to.The company makes no secret of merging two highly incompatible roles within its business model, on the one hand actingas a producer of editorial news and business programmes, whileat the same timepromotingitsservices as a provider of strategiccommunications servicesfor political and business figures.

On offer to clients like Abdullah Badawi< /p>

This blatant conflict of interest is alsomade clear on itspublic website (brought down today, but available HERE). The temptation to combine FBCs two keyincome streams by using the editorial news platforms, commissioned by such major companies as CNBC, CNN and the BBC to promoteFBCs top dollar clients is plain to see.

It therefore calls to question the judgement of a number of high-ranking TV executives.The apparent failure by the broadcasters involved to recognise whathas been going on is surely inexcusable.

Also available on theinternet is a copy ofFBC Medias own power point presentationfor potential new PR clients. This makes it perfectly clear how the companyhas beenillegally abusing its position. The company crows that it can provide a unique service, unlike any competitors, that guarantees editorial coverage on television in 100 countries.

Making clear that FBC controls blue-chip television editorial time-slots the company also guarantees controlled messaging for its clients andfurther guarantees that thosemessages are supported and endorsed by prestige third party ambassadors, in order to give the client an added credibiility in the eyes of the audience.

Guaranteed access to blue chip media shows! How FBC Media promotes itself to its clients

These services are illegal and such guarantees of editorial news coverage are not available to normal,honest Public Relations firms. That is of coursewhy multi-millionaire clients like Taib Mahmud and Najib Razakhave beenprepared to pay millions of dollars of taxpayers moneyto FBC! In the process they have corrupted the integrity of many of the Worlds top TV broadcasters.

Other media platforms?

Onits websiteFBC Media boasts to clients that its many platforms also includes Channel News Asia. So how about the series Global Investor that has been broadcast once a year for the past three years on either Channel News Asia or CNBC Asia? Each year ithas justfeatured Malaysia with positive coverage of Najib, Badawi and their pet projects.

Najib Razak Featured on Channel News Asia Global Investor programme, made by FBC Media

FBC Media also boasts links with the International Herald Tribune and Business Week. Malaysias Iskandar project was strangely present and promoted at this years European Leadership Forum, run by Business Week with FBCsJohn Defterios as Chairman. Meanwhile, who should FBCs Alan Friedman choose to interview for the International Herald Tribune, but Najib Razak?

Najib meets up with FBC Chairman Alan Friedman for his TV interview with the Herald Tribune

Damning evidence

Licencing organisations must now question how so many top broadcasters came to turn a blind eye to FBCs activities. Without doubt much of the answer lies in the decline of advertising revenue and the increasing pressure to cut budgets.

FBC operates by seducing commissioning editors into cceptingridiculouslycheapshows to help manage their budgets.Having got the slot,FBCsecretly finds finance from corrupt sponsorship.

However, in the case of CNBC we haveuncovered an evenmore damning arrangement. It appears from FBCs own publicl! y listed accounts, registered atCompanies House in the UK,that the top US broadcaster has been willing to allow FBC to provide the programme entirely for free, on the basis that it will cover its costs and make its profits from sponsorship alone!

FBCs Annual Report from 2005 explains the remodelling of World Business as a free programme for CNBC, financed by sponsorship!

Such arrangements are surely at the heart of corruption of the global TV news industry and the deception of millions of viewers of allegedly impartial news coverage across the globe.

The FBC in FBC Mediastands for Fact Based Communications. We question whetherfacts are as important to this company as the communications contracts they have secured.

TO SEE SOME OF THE FILMS PRODUCED BY FBC MEDIA FOR MALAYSIA CLICK HERE

KL Taxi

This is not the first time I am writing about KL taxi services. No need to compare with Singapore. Just compare with Jakarta Taxi and one can appreciate the difference in service professionalism and quality. Syed Hamid Albar of SPAD asks taxi drivers not to politicize the issue of taxi permits in KL. This was in reaction to the meeting between Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Taxi Drivers Associations and Opposition government leaders last week. It is a fact that the deplorable taxi service in KL today is due to poor government policy. The system was created with protectionism and monopoly in mind and clouded with complexities and lack of transparency.

To drive a cab in KL, one need to be of a good character, have a good knowledge of the roads, a decent financial capacity and a PSV permit. While it is good to have a system in place but a system that not objective does not help anyone. A cab driver told me once that he has to rent a cab from a company as well as renting a permit from a company. After number of years he can own the cab and if he has his own permit, he can continue driving the same cab. The issue is many cannot have permits and those who can have poor condition aged taxis. Some tried to get permits for 9 years from the authorities but failed. However the same failed person gets rent a permit from the cab company. What an irony as a person that says unfits to get a permit is able to drive a cab indirectly.

It does not make any sense to issue permits to companies. The companies rent them out but do not maintain the vehicles. Some vehicles are so bad but yet they are still on the road. Each cab driver pays about RM45 to the company daily. Thats equivalent to RM 82,125 for 5 years. The taxi cost of buying a cab with financing cost over 5 years is less that RM 40,000. That means the company becomes purely a middle man earning 100% profit over 5 years. Do they maintain the cab at their cost? The answer! is no. All maintenance is borne by the drivers. Where the value is added services provided by this cab companies.

In Singapore, Jakarta and Dubai, the cabs are maintained by companies. The driver rent a fully maintained car. The authorities monitor the documentation. In Malaysia, I see no reason why we cannot flood the markets with permits. No reason for anyone to rent a permit. Those who rent a permit should be given one on annual basis. On the ownership of cabs, the issue lies with enforcement of QC. Companies should not be allowed to rent out cabs without maintaining them. Their trade needs to be regulated.

Kelantan: Sederhana Dan Mendidik

KELANTAN: SEDERHANA DAN MENDIDIK
Prof Madya Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin
(sertai facebook DrMAZA.com dan twitter realDrMAZa)

Pada 30 hb Julai 2011 lepas saya menghadiri satu lagi jemputan satu program anjuran Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan bertajuk Bicara Selebriti. Ya, sudah beberapa kali saya dijemput ke Balai Islam, Kelantan untuk pelbagai wacana. Namun kali ini agak lain sedikit. Biasanya di pentas Balai Islam itu saya akan berbicara dan berdiskusi dengan tokoh-tokoh politik atau pemikir. Selalunya panas dan banyak emosi akan bangkit.

Namun kali ini agak santai dengan tajuk dan panel yang demikian rupa. Turut diundang selebriti Wardina Safiyyah dan guitaris terbilang saudara Sham Kamikaze. Turut menjadi panel tokoh dakwah yang dikenali ramai, sahabat baik saya yang lama tidak bertemu al-Fadhil Ustaz Hasrizal Jamil dan juga sahabat baik saya Amin Idris sebagai moderator.

Saya bukan tidak pernah sepentas dengan Wardina, hanya seminggu lepas saya dan beliau berforum di KUIS, Selangor yang turut dihadiri oleh Dato Sri Shahrizat Jalil. Beliau juga sahabat saya. Demikian Saudara Sham Kamikaze yang selalu juga ke rumah saya di Bukit Mertajam. Namun, untuk sepentas atas nama selebriti agak berat bagi saya. Saya bukanlah terkenal seperti mereka. Mereka selebriti, saya rakyat marhaen.

Ya, saya seorang rakyat biasa, yang kadang-kala terlibat mengulas isu-isu yang menjadi hak rakyat muslim merdeka untuk memperkatakannya. Cuma, saya juga mengulas banyak isu seni di sudut agama dan pemikiran serta menulis puisi dan lirik. Mungkin yang lebih sikit pernah jadi Mufti Perlis. Ramai juga artis-artis glamour merupakan sahabat baik saya. Namun, agak segan untuk duduk atas pentas atas nama selebriti. Apapun, saya kagum dengan kepimpinan Kerajaan Kelantan ya! ng menam pilkan kematangan mereka dalam mengadunkan isu-isu hiburan ini di negeri yang terkenal dengan banyak pusat pengajian agama.

Bahagian Saya

Dalam majlis itu, saya mengambil peranan membahaskan pandangan sarjana tentang nyanyian dan muzik. Saya tahu, bukan senang bagi pihak kerajaan negeri untuk membolehkan lahirnya sikap terbuka dalam kalangan mereka yang kuat agama mengenai isu ini. Apatah lagi di Kelantan yang banyak pondok-pondok tradisionalnya. Dalam masa yang sama, generasi muda inginkan hiburan dan mereka perlukan bimbingan.

Dalam majlis itu, saya jelaskan bahawa ada perbezaan pendapat dalam kalangan sarjana fekah mengenai persoalan nyanyian dan muzik. Dalam persoalan khilaf yang muktabar seperti ini, seseorang berhak memilih pandangan dia yakini dan tidak boleh memaksa orang lain meyakini apa yang dia yakini. Ertinya, setiap muslim berhak berpegang dengan pandangan yang dia rasa lebih rajih atau kukuh. Dia tidak boleh mewajibkan pandangan tersebut ke atas orang lain, jika mereka mentarjihkan pandangan yang berbeza. Ini khilaf yang diiktiraf atau khilaf mutabar. Tiada siapa yang berhak memaksa pilihannya ke atas orang lain. Maksudnya, jika ada yang mengharamkan muzik, maka tidak boleh dia memaksa pandangan yang sama ke atas mereka yang mengharuskannya. Demikian sebaliknya.

Bagi saya, saya selalu teringat Nabi s.a.w ketika membenarkan pertunjukkan permaianan perisai dan lembing dalam masjid, sehingga ramai yang menonton termasuk kaum wanita dan isteri Nabi s.a.w sendiri iaitu Aishah, baginda bersabda:

Agar Yahudi mengetahui bahawa dalam agama kita ada keluasan. Sesungguhnya aku diutuskan dengan agama yang lurus lagi mudah (Riwayat Ahmad, dinilai sahih oleh al-Albani).

Bahkan baginda s.a.w apabila hadir ke perkahwinan Ansar, baginda bersabda:

Wahai Aisyah! Mengapakah tiada bersama kamu hiburan? Orang Ansar sukakan hiburan(Riwayat al-Bukhari).

Lebih dari itu, kadang-kala baginda terlibat dalam membetulkan lirik, agar lebih bertepatan dengan ajaran Islam. Al-Rubaiyi binti Muawwiz menceritakan bahawa:

RasululLah s.a.w datang ke majlis perkahwinanku, lalu baginda duduk di tempat dudukku. Beberapa orang gadis memukul kompang dan menyanyikan lagu kesedihan mengenang bapa mereka yang terbunuh semasa peperangan Badar sehingga salah seorang mereka berkata: Di sisi kami ada nabi yang mengetahui apa yang akan berlaku pada hari esok. Baginda bersabda: Jangan engkau kata begitu, katalah apa yang engkau katakan sebelum itu (Riwayat al-Bukhari).

Demikian, Nabi s.a.w tidak melarang nyanyian gadis-gadis tersebut sekalipun lagu-lagu berlirik sedih yang dinyanyikan mengenai mereka yang terkorban. Cumanya apabila mereka menyebut lirik yang bercanggahan dengan kebenaran maka Nabi s.a.w. menegurnya. Dalam hadis ini Nabi s.a.w menegur ungkapan yang menyatakan baginda tahu apa yang akan terjadi pada esok hari. Hal ini tidak benar. Hanya Allah sahaja yang mengetahui perkara yang bakal berlaku.

Kelantan Contoh

Sebagai sebuah kerajaan, kepimpinan Kelantan telah mengambil jalan yang yang sederhana. Kelantan melalui program seperti ini- memberikan pendidikan secara langsung dan tidak langsung untuk activist muslim berinteraksi dengan dunia hiburan. Sekaligus mendekati anak-anak muda. Jalannya bukan memerangi hiburan, sebaliknya mencari ruang untuk dimanfaatkan; maka rakyat dapat berhibur secara terarah dan tidak melampai batas. Dengan itu Kelantan tidak menjadi kerajaan yang tidak bertanggungjawab yang membiarkan rakyat bebas lepas dengan hiburan tanpa bimbingan, tidak juga menjadi jumud sehingga mengharamkan segala bentuk hiburan; nyanyian, muzik dan filem! .

Gambar: Saya membaca puisi saya yang bertajuk Akan Ku Terus Ketuk PintuMU, Sham bermain gitarnya.

Demikianlah, apabila sesebuah kepimpinan itu ada wawasan yang jelas dan nurani yang inginkan rakyat berada dalam bimbingan yang betul. Segala gerakerja diselaraskan antara kehendak rakyat dan peraturan agama. Sikap yang matang lagi sederhana diperlukan oleh rakyat dan umat pada setiap ketika. Bukan masanya untuk mengharamkan itu dan ini tanpa memberikan alternative yang dapat membimbing rakyat yang pelbagai ragam dan kehendak. Janganlah pula jadi seperti kepimpinan yang hanya hendak memberikan keseronokan kerana inginkan sokongan mereka rakyat tanpa memikirkan kesan dan masa depan.

Cumanya, masih banyak perkara yang perlu dibuat. Kita perlukan pembikinan karya-karya seni dalam pelbagai bidang yang berkualiti dan mendidik. Ada gabungan antara unsuran hiburan dan bimbingan secara terancang. Ada ikatan antara seni dan kehidupan insani secara berkesan. Ini memerlukan satu perancangan jangka panjang dan pendek. Semoga Kelantan mampu melangkah lebih jauh.

Tahniah YB Baihaki Atiqullah

Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan tahniah kepada sahabat yang saya kasihi YB Ustaz Ahmad Baihaqi Atiqullah yang bertungkus lumus menjayakan program tersebut. Beliau anak tuan guru pondok Pasir Tumbuh, Tuan Guru Haji Atiqullah Yaakob. Latar belakang agamanya dan sikapnya yang terbuka patut menjadi contoh kepada banyak pihak. Beliau adalah salah satu bukti bahawa kepimpinan agama di Kelantan bersikap rasional dan meraikan perbezaan latar belakang rakyat. Sangkaan bahawa kepimpinan agama akan mengharamkan hiburan dan seni ke atas rakyat adalah tidak benar jika dikaitkan dengan kepimpinan Kelantan. YB Ahmad Baihaqi masih muda. Beliau dua tahun lebih muda dari saya. Sama-sama belajar di Jordan dahulu. Hari ini menjadi pemimpin yang makin matang. Apa ! yang mas ih perlu untuk semua insan, termasuk beliau adalah terus mendedahkan diri kepada maklumat yang pelbagai, aliran fikir yang semakin rencam dan mencari kesederhanaan di sebalik itu semua. Tahniah YB Baihaqi atas usaha membuka minda dan mencari alternative. Tahniah Kelantan!

Gambar: YB Baihaqi menyampai cenderahati kepada saya.

GE-13: Only one chance to vote out BN

By Kenny Gan | Malaysia Chronicle

Despite the popularity of Pakatan Rakyat the 13th general election is still a David vs. Goliah contest on an unlevel playing field where the incumbent has colossal advantages in media, money and machinery. BN controls all the levers of power including the most crucial one, the Election Commission and is not ashamed to use whatever means - fair or foul - to beat off the PR challenge, mostly foul.

Given the unevenness of the contest I venture to say that the 13th G.E. will be more of a contest on whether BN can regain its two-thirds majority rather than a frenzied fight for Putrajaya. The two most crucial states to the campaign, namely Sarawak and Sabah which together contribute 25% of the parliamentary seats still remain BNs fixed deposit to a large degree. In Sabah the illegal immigrants absorbed into the electoral rolls have undermined the right to self-determination of native Sabahans.

However all is not doom and gloom and there still remains a thin wedge of chance that PR can overcome the odds to unseat the juggernaut BN. It all hinges on that ever recurring political event in Umno a power struggle coupled with a serious underestimation of civil society by the corridors of power.

Pakatans Last Stand

But first of all, let us consider what happens if PR fails to unseat BN from Federal power. The signs are already clear that BN will take certain steps to ensure it will never have to face t! he threa t of losing power again. This will be achieved not by increasing BNs popularity but by underhanded methods to compromise the electoral process so that BN can rule without fear of losing power, short of a street revolution.

Already the Election Commission is in collusion with an enthusiastic BN to implement an opaque biometric verification system which will allow BN greater scope to cheat using phantom voters and illegal immigrants issued with MyKads. Co-incidentally or maybe not, the biometric data of 2 million foreign workers are being collected. This expensive system which is largely useless for preventing multiple voting is favoured instead of the much cheaper and simpler indelible ink which would put the brakes on phantom voters.

Even more ominous, the government is establishing Territorial Army companies in all 222 parliamentary constituencies and there are rumblings that they will eventually be given postal votes. When army companies are established by parliamentary constituencies instead of more appropriate criteria one can infer that their main purpose is not the defence of the country.

Both the biometric system and the Territorial army companies are not expected to be implemented in time for the 13th G.E. but will be firmly in place for the 14th G.E. We should also not forget that gerrymandering will be another BN weapon in the 14th G.E. as the present delineation of electoral boundaries is not expected to be completed in time for the 13th G.E.

What this means is that the 13th G.E. may well be the last window of opportunity left for the people to choose their government before the regime entrench itself through a severely compromised electoral system. The 13th G.E. will be Pakatan's last stand before Malaysia becomes a full-fledged dictatorship with false trappings of democracy.

Najibs Last Stand

But if the 13th GE is Pakatans last stand it is also Najibs last stand. The writing on the wall is clear. Get back BNs two-third majority or be pulled do! wn.
< br>Throughout most of Najibs troubled premiership he has been dogged with odd acts of sabotage by his subordinates especially with regards to his 1Malaysia concept. Things have come to a head now and it is no longer possible to ignore the rumblings of a power struggle in Umno.

Recent events point to this tumult in the corridors of power. The polices heavy oppression of the Bersih rally bordering on the ludicrous as if to enrage civil society, the flip-flop by Najib on the stadium offer to Bersih (probably forced by hardliners), the leakage to the media of Rosmahs RM24 million diamond ring, the formation of Amanah and Najibs cutting short his family holiday to rush back to Malaysia are symptoms of this struggle.

The unjust and illogical detention of the PSM-6 for frivolous reasons can only be intended to weaken Najib politically. Although they have released the damage has already been done. When a deputy Minister starts criticizing the handling of the Bersih rally the fight has shifted to the public arena.

The anti-Najib faction cannot allow him to win two-thirds majority in the next general election or his job will be safe. The conspirators have to weaken him politically and limit the extent of cheating in the polls to give PR a chance.

But they walk a fine line as there is a danger of overdoing things. The 13th G.E. is a David vs. Goliath battle but when two giants battle David may sneak in and run away with the crown.

Civil Society Strikes Back

On his first day as Prime Minister, Najib Razak said:

Economic progress and better education have directly resulted in the birth of a class of voters who are better informed, very demanding and highly critical. If we do not heed this message, their seething anger will become hatred and in the end this may cause them to abandon us altogether.

Unfortunately Najib did not follow his own advice nor did he impose this on his subordinates or the instruments of government. The intelligence of Malaysians are! being i nsulted on an almost daily basis as if our society exists in the time warp of the 1970s when access to information was limited and the word of the government was trusted. Whether it is the imaginative reasons manufactured to demonize the Bersih rally, Anwars shaky sodomy trial held together by a compliant judge or the speculative suicide verdict of the Teoh RCI, Malaysians are being treated as gullible simpletons.

Civil society is frustrated and infuriated at the governments lack of respect for them. The government is behaving like a dictatorship and not a democracy. They have taken their frustration to cyberspace and the social media and will find an outlet in the next general election. BN has completely lost the urban middle class. They have also lost the Chinese, the Indians, Christian, the fence sitters and the young voters.

But the people who talk down to others are themselves not smart enough to realize the effect they are causing. There is a sharp disconnect between state and society fostered no doubt by a sycophantic press which deprives the government of valuable feedback. The stage is set for a swing of anti-BN votes to PR by those who want an alternative to an abusive and corrupt government, any alternative as long as it is not BN.

Pakatans Strategies

However PR should not celebrate yet because it takes a lot to displace BN. It is not enough to be a little more popular than BN, it takes overwhelming support to overwhelm BNs cheating.

To level the playing field a little PR should push for implementation of at least three essential election reforms, namely proper conduct of postal votes, use of indelible ink and allowing all overseas Malaysians to vote.

There should not be any more public dissent within the group. PR must present a united front and a cohesive group. All arguments should be behind closed doors and no party or individual should go to the press to settle any argument.

For the first time ever the opposition front can claim to ! be able to displace BN with a high degree of credibility. This changes the dynamics completely from merely trying to be a strong opposition to being a government in waiting. PR is now able to make wide sweeping promises of what it intends to do it if it wins the election.

Promises such as reducing the price of oil and electricity to relieve the burden of the people can be made with good effect. Even BN traditional strongholds like Felda can be breached by promising a better deal for them. However populist measures such as distributing cash should not be made. The intelligence of Malaysians should be respected and the public knows what is sustainable and what is not.

The later the election is held the more favourable for PR with more young voters joining the rolls, more BN scandals emerging and the economy biting deeper. If it is to be held this year it will probably be November and we should know by October when Najib presents the budget. If an election budget is presented and should the Election Commission be as stubborn as it is now, Bersih 3.0 should be called and this time it should be held in every major town. The EC may still not act but it will deal BN a few body blows or even buy more time for PR if the election is postponed to next year.

The Peoples Last Stand

The 13th G.E. may be the one and only time that Malaysians have any chance of replacing BN with another government. Such a chance may never come again as the goalposts will be moved after the 13th G.E. It should be noted that the present level of cheating will not work if Malaysians come out in large numbers and vote against BN.

We should not waste any votes on so-called third force parties like MCLM, HRM and KITA. Such split voting will only help to BN retain its power. There is no such thing as a third force unless there is a two party system in place. Although the level of support for PR is high enough to be considered a two party system in theory this is only true if both parties respect the rules of d! emocracy . If the ruling party continues to oppress the opposition, abuse its power and corrupts all the institutions of democracy to perpetuate its rule while depending on a compromised election system to win, it is still a one party totalitarian rule in practice. A two party a system will only be in place if BN loses power at least once.

There are some who do not like BN but think that PR is not good enough to get their votes. They are missing the point because it is not about voting angels to parliament but creating a two party system. What can angels do in Parliament if BN is still the Federal power? MCLM which prides itself on selecting sterling candidates should answer this question. If PR does not perform we can easily vote them out but the same cannot be said of BN.

Another type of voters fear change and prefer to maintain the status quo. Better the devil you know than the devil you dont is their adage. But they fail to understand that the status quo cannot be maintained if BN continues to rule. There is only so much economic plunder and uncompetitive racial policies that one country can take. Economic decline has a way of accelerating exponentially. When we become a maid exporting country everybody will suffer except the Umnoputras.

The 13th general election represents a nexus of conducive factors which may just work together to push out BN. A united opposition, a power struggle in Umno, an alienated civil society and most important of all, an election system which isnt totally corrupted yet. This is not only Pakatans last stand but also the Peoples last stand against tyranny and economic mismanagement. The chance may never come again.

13th GE : Malaysians must grasp the possibility for the first time in nations history for change of government in Putrajaya

By Lim Kit Siang

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that UMNO must reform or it would be reformed.

From recent events, it is crystal clear that Umno and Barisan Nasional are incapable of reform and must be reformed by the people effecting a change of federal government from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat in the next general elections.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced the MIC President G. Palanivel as his second Indian Cabinet Minister implementing his notorious philosophy spelt out in the Sibu by-election of Gua tolong lu, lu tolong gua when the duty of any responsible government must be to serve all needy Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or political beliefs.

It is this cynical philosophy where essential public services are treated as a barter trade between the government and the people which is the root cause of the host of abuses of power and corruption afflicting the country destroying our national unity and international competitiveness.

This is one big difference between the Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya from the Najib government no Cabinet appointments or government decisions or projects based on Gua tolong lu, lu tolong gua but strictly on the basis of merit or need.

This evening, the Prime Minister was put in a spot over his signature 1Malaysia policy and slogan by a studen! t at the 5th Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit who asked Najib whether he was prepared to state he was Malaysian first and what he thought of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassins infamous remark of being Malay first and Malaysian next.

I remember very vividly Muhyiddins reply as it was in response to my challenge to all Cabinet Ministers in Parliament in March last year to declare their stand whether they are Malaysians first and their religion, region and socio-economic status second to demonstrate their full allegiance to Najibs 1Malaysia policy.

Najib dodged the students question on the ground that he did not want to give grounds for people to create divisions between him and his deputy.

This is a real cop-out, an evasion of the question which is even more significant than any direct answer as it revealed the total hollowness of Najibs 1Malaysia policy which has so far not gone beyond circus fanfare of 1Malaysia Tupperware, 1Malaysia T-shirt, 1Malaysia Burger, 1Malaysia Mineral Water and other gimmicry.

The real 1Malaysia was achieved on July 9 in the Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections as the weeks of mainstream media demonisation and police threats as well as the unjustified lockdown of Kuala Lumpur did not prevent the phenomenon of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, gender or sex coming together as one Malaysian people in the common cause of a Bersih Malaysia!

Najib should be celebrating the Berish 1Malaysia coming of age on July 9, but instead he and his Cabinet Ministers have not let up in their groundless and irresponsible attacks on Bersih 2.0 and Malaysians who support the cause of a Clean Malaysia.

The next general elections could be very near and may be held as early as October/November and all Malaysians must grasp the possibility for the first time in nations history for change of power in Putrajaya.

Before the Sarawak state general elections, many have forecast that Najib may hold the 13th general elections! before the Puasa month and could be in June or July.

However, after the poor Barisan Nasional performance in the April 16 Sarawak state polls, despite Barisan Nasional retaining its two-thirds majority in the state, talk of general elections veered to end of the year.

After the series of self-inflicted wounds following the gross mishandling of the 709 Bersih 2.0 rally, including the mala fide detention of the PSM6 under Emergency Ordinance, UMNO and Barisan Nasional self-confidence suffered grievous blows pushing forecasts of the possible polls date for the next general elections to next year.

However, when Najib cut short his overseas trip after his most embarrassing visits to London, the Vatican, Rome and Paris hounded by adverse international reactions to the high-handed government response to Bersih 2.0 rally the possibility of polls being held in October or November has again returned to the fore.

Be that as it may, regardless of when the next polls are held, whether in October/November this year or next year, Malaysians must be aware that the next general elections is going to be the most important one in the nations history as it is within the power of the voters to decide whether there should be a change of the national government in Putrajaya from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat.

UMNO and Barisan Nasional are incapable of reform as they could only be reformed by the people voting for a new Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya.

It is only with a new government in Putrajaya that there can be major policy changes in the country, as for instance in resolving the long-standing grievances of taxi drivers in the country by implementing a Permits for Taxi Drivers policy.

PKFZ land sold for higher than valuation....

The cabinet paid RM25 for per square feet (psf) to acquire land for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project in 1998 despite lower government evaluations, the Kuala Lumpur High Court was told today.

Teo Lee Lee, a retired valuer from the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) testified before judge Ahmadi Asnawi that the price paid for the land was higher than even a second estimation in which she revised an earlier valuation upward.

"I valued 400 acres of land at RM13.50 for per sq ft without the main access road and basic infrastructure.

"I gave a second value of RM17 per sq ft in the event the seller built the main access road and basic infrastructure," said Teo in reference to Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), which sold the land.

Among the considerations Teo said she had taken into account was that the 400 acres on a 99-year leasehold of which four years had lapsed. The retiree was testifying at the corruption trial involving former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik, which began today.

It is expected to hear the testimony of 40 witnesses.

Ling was charged on July 29 last year of cheating the government of Malaysia by misleading the cabinet on a land acquisition for the RM1.08-billion mega-distribution hub project in Port Klang.

Ling is alleged to have deceived the cabinet into agreeing to the terms of purchase between KDSB and PKA and giving its approval for the purchase.

He is said to have committed the deception with the knowledge that it could cause wrongful losses to the government and despite being bound by a fiduciary duty to protect the government.

The charge, under Section 418 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment or! fine or both upon conviction. Ling faces an alternative charge of similar cheating for deliberately concealing facts related to the project from the cabinet.

The charge, under Section 417 of the Penal Code, is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or fine or both upon conviction. Ling is alleged to have committed the offences between Sept 25, 2002, and Nov 6, 2002 at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister's Office at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya.

Ling has pleaded not guilty to both counts.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah and Manoj Kurup are appearing for the prosecution while Ling is represented by counsel Wong Kian Kheong.

source:malaysiakini

Kes tipu kabinet Dr Ling bermula hari ini

Government bought PKFZ land above market value, says witness

cheers.

Siapa Yang Bodoh?

RPK posted one of his usual Malay-bashing posts about 3 Malay men, 2 of them academicians in Melayu Bodoh.

I was rolling my eyes in my usual fashion when I realised it was taken from the idiot agency, Bernama.

And then I got to the end where it said this:

Another academician, Abd Ghapa Harun, Senior Lecturer at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's History, Political and Strategy Research Centre surmised that peace and harmony in the country could be sustained if the government readily responded to the issues that were being relentlessly harped on.

"For example, issues about corruption or the election - the government must respond to them immediately.

"Peace is not merely a demonstration-free situation. In a wider context, it is taking further measures to avoid confrontations including through dialogues and discussions before issues are blown out of proportion," he said.

I did a double-take. I went back to the beginning to check if it was still part of the Bernama article.

Lo and behold, it was! Bernama was actually reporting both sides of the story!

But when I got down to the comments section, I really started wondering who was 'bodoh' to begin with.

The Melayu or the Cina dan India who had obviously not read to the end but chose to hurl insults at all 3 Malay men mentioned.

Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #76

Chapter 9: Islam in Malay Life

Reform in Islam

The Quest For Answers

Present-day Muslims look askance at the sorry state in which the vast majority of our ummah live. Muslim nations, even those well endowed by Allah with abundant rich natural resources, live in abject poverty. Human rights abuses are the norm in many Islamic countries. As painfully noted by Abdullahi An-Naim, the vast majority of Muslims live at a superficial level of both Islam and modern civilization. Although we claim adherence to Islam and exhibit apparent commitment to its ritualistic formalities, we fail to appreciate and live up to its moral and spiritual essence. Likewise most Muslims benefit from modern civilization but have little appreciation of the values and ways of thinking that underlie and sustain those technologies and institutions. Further, many Muslims understanding of Western civilization is often reduced to the gaudy simplistic images propagated by Hollywood, and the seamier aspects highlighted by Muslim fundamentalists eager to denigrate the West.

Muslim leaders are no better. They smugly and gleefully gloat over the ills of the West without once pausing to look over the inadequacies of their own society. Meanwhile the West progresses while Islamic societies stagnate. Envy and jealousy are common human faults. As a result today there is considerable rage against the West among Muslims. The 9-11 Al Qaedas attacks on America are only the latest and most vicious manifestation of this ugly emotion. I suggest that Muslims emulate, not hate the West. The energies of Muslim leaders and scholars should instead be directed to picking the best out of the West for emulation. Condemning (or destroying) does not take any talent.

Bernard Lewiss critique of Islamic societies in What Went Wrong, suggests that contemporary Muslims in pondering their fate should stop asking the question, Who did this to us? and more usefully substitute, What did we do wrong? and, How d! o we rig ht it? That Lewis is not a Muslim does not in any way diminish the wisdom of his observation.

Muslims can begin to answer the What we did wrong? by first critically reexamining the sunnah and Sharia. Foremost we must remember that both are the creations of man and have qualities inherent in all such endeavors, including the possibility of errors and imperfections.

Only the Koran is perfect. Contrary to accepted wisdom, the sunnah is not the practices and sayings of the prophet, rather what some scholars interpret to be so. It is instructive that the collection of ahadith (plural for hadith) considered most authoritative is that of Imam Bukhari. But he was not even born until nearly two hundred years after the prophets death. It is equally instructive that he rejected thousands of purported sayings of the prophet (pbuh). The essential criterion he used was the lineage of the oral propagation (isnah), relying heavily on the piety and reputation of the transmitters. The assumption is that the pious would not willingly fabricate or embellish. May be not willingly or consciously, but our memory does play fools on us, regardless of our piety or wisdom. Being a mere mortal, we can expect errors on Bukharis part both in including the less-than-truthful ahadith as well as excluding some legitimate ones. Remember, only Allah is perfect.

Had Imam Bukhari and the early scholars not put as much effort on evaluating the theological pedigree of the transmitters and instead concentrated their intellectual energies on reconciling the purported sayings and practices of the prophet (pbuh) with the message of the Koran, their ensuing treatises might have been considerably different. Or perhaps Bukhari, knowing full well how entrenched some of the beliefs in the purported sayings and ways of the prophet (pbuh) were in the minds and culture of the Muslims then, dared not personally challenge the perceived wisdom. He knew only too well the fate that befell deviationists. Thus he ingeniously devi! sed the science of hadith by using his considerable intellect and prodigious memory to tracing the lineage and transmission of each hadith. With this science he found a neutral or objective way of dispensing with the more outrageous and embellished sunnah and ahadith. Were he to simply dismiss them through his own independent research and critical thinking, he would have been lynched. As it was, he had his share of denigration and banishment for daring to dispense with some of the more popularly accepted but obviously preposterous ahadith.

Today over a millennium later, there is no possible way of independently ascertaining the veracity of the lineage and pedigree of the sunnah. In the interpretation of the Koran, modern scholars pay as much attention to the occasion of the revelation as to the text, thus giving us a much richer and more perceptive reading. We should likewise do the same in interpreting the various ahadith, that is, examine the occasion of the purported sayings as well as analyzing their historical and sociological contexts.

Many scholars, past and present, have cautioned Muslims on attributing infallibility to the sunnah and Sharia. We should reserve that only for the Koran. Kassim Ahmad has suggested doing away completely with hadith. For that audacious position, his book was banned in Malaysia and he was branded an apostasy. So much for Muslim tolerance in Malaysia! I disagree with Kassim, but I find his views refreshing even though his analyses and reasoning are less than rigorous. We must have an open mind and treat the hadith and sunnah as historical and sociological vignettes in order to understand the Koran better.

To me the current debate on whether Malaysia should adopt the Sharia and whether it is an Islamic state is futile, nonproductive, and highly divisive. Such controversies are nothing more than wayang kulit (shadow play) or sandiwara (staged theater) between UMNO and PAS out to display their religious aroma. At least wayang kulit and sandiwara are ! entertai ning and help bring people together. The bigger question that has yet to be addressed and is being shunted aside in the preoccupation with trivia, is how to make the present laws and institutions conform to the ideals of the Koran.

Next:Islamization of Education

MALAYSIAN MONEY 3 BILLION YACHT !

According to the UKsMail newspaperan anonymous Malaysian businessman has purchased a yacht priced at 3 BILLION pounds. This amounts to nearly $5 BILLION dollars and indeedRM14.5 BILLION!

The purchaser of this record-busting toyis clearly reluctant to answer questions such as: How much tax have you paid?How much have you contributed to helping alleviate poverty? Or, indeed, how did you earn so much money in the first place? So, they have remained anonymous.

Platinum-lined walls! - but so what?

But, we can deduce that they have an amazing level of wealth and that they think an appropriate way to spend it istowards their occasional gratification when enjoying a yacht trip. Given the poverty of so many people in Malaysia and alsothe questions over how Malaysias natural wealth in terms of oil and timber have been requisitioned anddistributed, it is a shockingjudgement for a rich person to make.

Does this beat the wonders of nature and the Borneo Jungle?

If you want to enjoy anoccasional seapicnic does your boat really have to bea gold-plated, pl! atinum-l ine yacht ? Might there not be another more worthy recipient for such money and might it not be more gratifying to use such wealth to benefit your community?

Don't stray into pirate waters !

In this case, the multi-billionaire clearly thoughtnot. So, could those who arewell-known to be super-wealthy Malaysians start by denying that they are not the owners of this ridiculous extravagance, so that their fellow people can begin to work out who this utterly selfish and unhappy individual might be?

$4.5 billion gold-plated super-yacht