Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Social Political Buzz & Bulls

Why Davos is ignoring Occupy — Felix Salmon

JAN 27 — If you're Europe, and your struggling people are called "Greeks", and your rich people are called "Germans", then the World Economic Forum will spend pretty much limitless amounts of time and effort on attempts to understand the dynamics between the two and (doomed) plans to try to prevent it from turning into a fully-blown crisis.

On the other hand, if you're a country — the US, say — and your struggling people call themselves "the 99 per cent" while your rich people are called "Davos delegates", then your fundamental asymmetries will be studiously ignored — and, indeed, encouraged.

I went to one session on executive compensation yesterday, which was filled with global CEOs of various stripes. And a couple of questions that Lance Knobel would like to ask were, amazingly, raised: should there be some kind of cap on CEO compensation? Maybe in terms of the ratio between the CEO's pay and that of the average employee? The answer came swiftly and unanimously: no.

The problem of CEO compensation, it turns out, is not really a problem at all: if you look at most companies, the amount they spend on executive compensation is not really a big part of their revenues. Of course there shouldn't be any kind of regulation. And capping pay only makes sense if you cap corporate size, and no one wants to do that.

That said, there is one outstanding problem with CEO pay: The time when you most need executive talent is not when things are going great, but rather when things are going badly. And often, in that case, compensation structures linked to stock options and the like turn out to be largely worthless. We're good at paying CEOs in good times, but we should probably come up with ways of paying them more in bad times, too. After all, that's when they really prove their mettle.

That panel really helped me understand the general Davos attitude towards Occupy. The delegates here don't feel threatened by it, so much as they just feel a bit indignant at how misguided it is. Obviously, in a big inchoate sense, inequality is a problem. And maybe Occupy is a manifestation of that problem. But the Davos crowd is not even close to listening carefully to what Occupy has to say: they're evidence of the problem, but they're not remotely helpful when it comes to solutions.

As Knobel says, "an organisation that is at heart a grouping of the world's largest corporations isn't necessarily in the best position to improve the state of the world, particularly in an era of the Arab Spring and Occupy". It's another way in which Davos feels past its prime. It's not helping to change the big world problems, in Europe: the best it can do is identify them. And it's utterly divorced from the movements which really might make a difference.

But hey, at least the skiing is good this year. — Reuters

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

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UMNO/APCO KEDAH LAYAK JADI MODEL BERAS SAJA!!!

Madrasah Salihiah.Puak Umno Dah Sengap Ka?

Sebelum nie bukan main kecoh puak-puak ni yang menghentam keputusan majlis  fatwa negeri kedah?Tapi mana puak-puak ni? Masih ada lagi ka yang dok nak berjihad?ataupun dah dapat duit UMNO/APCO bagi sengap balik dok ngan anak bini?Isu nie aku sokong kerajaan negeri kedah atas kebijaksanaan bagi mematahkan terus usaha-usaha jahat puak-puak penentang terutamanya UMNO/APCO kedah yang ketiadaan modal bagi menghadapi PRU13 nanti..Mana Mat Basyah yang baru ni bukan main kemaih-kemain..Kerajaan negeri buat kebaikan untuk rakyat dan negeri tapi puak-puak ni pulak bikin onar.Puak-puak ni yakin UMNO/APCO boleh rampas kedah agaknya dari PR tapi insyallah aku yakin kedah akan kekal dibawah pentadbiran PR...Bukan aku seorang saja yang puji kebijaksaan PR dalam memerintah kedah.Tapi Tuanku agong pun memuji kebijaksanan nie...Ok..Bagi mematahkan serangan yang dibuat oleh Puak-puak UMNO/APCO nie.


 
Menteri Besar Kedah, Datuk Seri Diraja Azizan Razak menunjukkan pelan cadangan surau baru di Aman Central, yang bakal menggantikan Madrasah Salihiah.
 
Surau itu bakal dibuka 24 jam walaupun kompleks membeli belah itu tidak dibuka 24 jam.
 
Surau berkeluasan 4,800 kaki yang mampu memuatkan 400 jemaah akan dibina di aras bawah oleh pemaju, Belleview Sdn Bhd, bagi menggantikan madrasah yang diroboh.
 
Sebelum Timbalan Pengerusi UMNO/APCO Kedah,  Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, mencabar kerajaan negeri Kedah menunjukkan pelan cadangan surau bagi menggantikan Madrasah Salihiah.

"Saya hairan kenapa asyik bercakap pasal nak roboh surau tetapi tidak diuar-uarkan akan dibina surau baru yang lebih luas dan selesa.


"Sejumlah RM4.8 juta disumbangkan pemaju kepada Majlis Agama Islam Kedah (Maik) untuk bina surau ini, selain RM1.4 juta yang telah dibayar, menjadikan keseluruhan RM6 juta," kata Azizan kepada media selepas meraikan masyarakat Cina sempena sambutan Tahun Baru Cina, di Seri Mentaloon.


Menurutnya, Maik telah pun mengenal pasti enam tapak di sekitar Alor Setar untuk dipilih bagi menggantikan tanah wakaf baru madrasah itu.


Menurut Azizan selain berhasrat membangunkan negeri ini, projek berkenaan Aman! Centra l bakal menyediakan peluang pekerjaan kepada lebih 2,000 orang.
"Selain kompleks beli belah, sebuah hotel lima bintang akan dibina berdekatan dalam usaha kita merancakkan pertumbuhan ekonomi di kawasan sekitar. Kita mahu ubah kawasan ini menjadi seperti Orchard Road di Singapura.



  Mana Mat Basyah??Sejak jadi Model beras ni senyap sepi nampaknya..Kahkahkah. -SK


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Boob gourd from Vietnam

Baby born with no blood


Miracle baby Oliver Morgan was born withlout any blood.l Pic from www.thesun.co.uk
Miracle baby Oliver Morgan was born withlout any blood.l Pic from www.thesun.co.uk
Miracle baby Oliver Morgan was brought back from the dead — after being born with no blood in his body.

A rare condition drained his tiny frame of virtually every drop while in the womb.
When he was delivered he looked pale and stillborn — and doctors were unable to find a heartbeat for an astonishing 25 MINUTES.
But battling Oliver survived against all odds after being given oxygen, gentle heart massage and a lifesaving blood! transfu sion.
Medics fought back tears when his heart monitor let out the first tell-tale beep.
Oliver is now a happy, healthy 15-month-old toddler to mum Katy and dad Jeff.
Publishing executive Katy, 36, from Maidstone, Kent, said yesterday: "Oliver's birth was so traumatic that I haven't been able to bring myself to tell his story till now.
"He was born dead with no blood in his body — but now he's sitting here smiling at me.
"The doctors literally brought him back to life and I will never be able to thank them enough for this wonderful gift."
Happy family: (from left) Jeff, Jack, Oliver and Katy Morgan. Pic from www.thesun.co.uk
Happy family: (from left) Jeff, Jack, Oliver and Katy Morgan. Pic from www.thesun.co.uk
Oliver almost bled to death after a rare condition called Vasa Previa formed an extra vein in his mum's womb.
It burst — and Katy woke up covered in blood 37½ weeks into her pregnancy.
She was rushed to Maidstone General Hospital and was shocked to discover it had all come from her baby.
Oliver was born by emergency Caesarian weighing 6lb 1oz at 5.12am. After attempts to resuscitate him he was given a blood transfusion pumped into the still-attached umbilical cord.
And at 5.37am the first heartbeat was detected and grew stronger as he was given more blood.
Katy — who was anaesthetised and unaware of the drama — said: "Doctors said it was one of the most amazing recoveries they'd ever seen.
"Oliver had no blood, no heartbeat and looked stillborn — but somehow they got him back.
"But there were huge fears he had suffered brain damage after being starved of oxygen for so long."
Oliver was taken to a special care baby unit where doctors decided to lower his body temperature to save his brain from damage.
He was placed inside a tiny coat which chilled him to 33°C to make blood flow away from his skin and to his brain and heart so they would heal more efficiently.
After three nail-biting days, consultants began raising his temperature to the normal 37°C by half a degree a day.
At the same time, milk expressed by his mum was pumped directly into his stomach.
And after just 11 days Oliver was well enough to be taken home to start family life with his mum, salesman dad Jeff, 42, and seven-year-old brother Jack.
Oliver's traumatic fight for life was not the only shock for mum Katy — she had been told she was expecting a GIRL after a series of ultrasound scans during her otherwise-normal pregnancy.
She said: "I had a baby shower and was g! iven £3 00 worth of pink clothes and toys by friends and family. Thankfully I kept all the receipts!"
The proud mum added: "Ollie's just started walking and his favourite game is now hide and seek. It is wearing me out chasing him around the house!
"It's hard to believe, looking back at what he's been through — but Ollie's now a bright, happy boy with his whole life ahead of him.
"He's a walking tribute to the doctors who worked miracles — and he's a right little battler." - www.thesun.co.uk
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Tabung Haji rampas ribuan hektar tanah adat

PETALING JAYA: PKR mengecam tindakan Tabung Haji Plantations Sdn Bhd, anak syarikat Lembaga Tabung Haji bermaharajalela dengan merampas beribu-ribu hektar tanah adat (NCR) milik pribumi Sarawak di Krian yang terletak dalam daerah Saratok, Bahagian Betong.

Penyelaras PKR Parlimen Pasir Salak, Abdul Razak Ismail berkata, tanah-tanah NCR tersebut merupakan kawasan hutan rayau, bercucuk
tanam dan kawasan sungai menangkap ikan bagi masyarakat Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau dan lain-lain kaum pribumi Sarawak.

"Tanah-tanah itu sekarang ini telah diterokai oleh Tabung Haji Plantations dengan pembukaan ladang kelapa sawit secara besar-besaran," katanya kepada FMT hari ini.

Katanya, antara tanah NCR dikenalpasti telah dan sedang diterokai oleh Tabung Haji Plantations ialah kawasan Selambong-Jengara-Sedan (Lot 410, Block 18, Awik-Krian Land District), Sungai Gruyu, Saratok (Lot 3, Block 16, Awik-Krian Land District) melibatkan tanah hutan seluas 1,270 hektar dan tanah di Jalan Pusa-Sessang, Roban (Lot 121, Block 19, Kalaka Land District) seluas 1,520 hektar.

"Dari segi moralnya adalah tidak wajar Tabung Haji, sebagai sebuah agensi kerajaan yang mengendalikan urusan jemaah haji ke Tanah Suci Mekah menggunakan keuntungan dari hasil pelaburan dalam sektor perladangan melalui Tabung Haji Plantations.

"Tetapi pada hakikatnya sumber tersebut diperolehi melalui cara penindasan dengan merampas tanah milik orang lain, ujar Abdul Razak.

Razak bersama Exco Selangor dan juga Adun Taman Sri Andalas, Dr Xavier Jayakumar dan 30 petugas parti dari Selangor terlibat berkempen selama lebih sebulan dalam pilihan raya negeri Sarawak April lalu di Dun Krian yang dimenangi oleh Ali Biju.

Sementara itu, Ali Biju berkata, masyarakat pribumi tidak hanya berpeluk tubuh terhadap perampasan tanah adat mereka.

Sebaliknya mereka telah membawa kes tersebut ke mahkamah dan kes mereka dikendalikan oleh peguam dan juga Adun PKR-Ba'kelalan, Baru Bian dan John Antau.

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DPM shoots down RCI on Feedlot

PUTRAJAYA: The government will not set up a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate the scandal-plagued National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp).

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said today police investigation and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe into the RM250-million publicly-funded cattle rearing project should be enough.

He added that the RCI demands were only a political gimmick of the opposition.

"Maybe the opposition wants to see the programme fail, so that it can claim it's right," he told a press conference here, adding that Putrajaya had also hired an audit to look into the matter.

He also rebutted allegations of corruption, saying that the project needed only "some improvements" to invigorate it.

Earlier, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang called on Malaysians to pool their efforts and pressure the government into setting up a RCI on the matter.

He specifically targeted Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Muhyiddin and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, saying they should be held responsible for this "grand conspiracy" of a scandal.

The NFCorp fiasco was first highlighted in the 2010 Auditor-General's report. An English daily had described it as a "mess" although the A-G had later denied using the term, saying the project merely had weaknesses and needed improvements.

Opposition parties, particularly PKR, then began a series of exposé linking Shahrizat's to allegations of abusing state funds meant for the project.

The party claimed that at least RM27 million was used for land and property purchases as well as expenses unrelated to cattle farming by Shahrizat, the Wanita Umno chief, and her family.

PKR also alleged that Shahrizat's family had used nearly RM600,000 from NFCorp's funds to settle their credit card bills in 2009.

NFCorp immediately issued a denial and maintained that the credit card expenses were solely for business purposes.

The assault on Shahrizat and her family members was led by PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli and its Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin. Both have since been sued by the minister over the claims.

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Pakatan states won’t surrender land to FGV

KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor will not hand over Felda land to Felda Global Ventures (FGV) which is aiming for listing. That's the stand taken by the Felda Settlers' Children's Association (Anak).

Anak president Mazlan Aliman said the three Pakatan Rakyat-led states will not sign an agreement to surrender their Felda land to FGV.

"All three Pakatan-led states will not be signing this agreement to hand over the land to FGV.

"We will be meeting all the state menteris besar soon to convey our stand, " he said.

State land matters come under the menteri Besar and FGV will have to meet the three menteris besar to obtain ownership of the land.

According to Mazlan, both Kedah and Kelantan have agreed with their stand and Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has been informed of Anak's decision.

He said the PAS central committee had met on the issue last month and decided against signing the agreement.

Maslan also said Anak will hold a series of roadshows called, "Gerakan Selamat Felda", to convey the association's stand.

Anak has been at the forefront fighing to secure settler's rights and revealing wrongdoings in the land authority.

It was one of the first stakeholders that opposed the listing of FGV.

FGV listing on track for April

In recent months, questions raised by the opposition and independent analysts on the real benefits to settlers have gone unanswered.

According to Centre for Policy Initiatives director Lim Teck Ghee, at stake are not simply concerns of how well the offering will be received by investors but also the initial public offering (IPO) pricing and other market-related issues.

"This is not your ordinary listing exercise aimed at reconciling the interests of a small group of initial shareholders with those of other new parties.

"Neither is it a question of how much gains the initial settlers and shareholders can make from this listing exercise.

"There are over 240,000 members of Koperasi Permodalan Felda. Together with their immediate and other dependent family members, Felda settlers and their children number several millions of our citizens.

"This very large group has formed the backbone of our agricultural community, " he said.

But FGV appears unfazed by the growing groundswell against its decision.

Early this month, FGV president and chief executive officer, Sabri Ahmad, said that plans to list the company on Bursa Malaysia in April 2012 was on track.

He said FGV was firm in its mission to get the listing done within this time-frame.

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Najib is made Optimus Prime by Michael’s Decepticons — Sakmongkol AK47

JAN 27 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak was crowned the "Father of Moderation and Transformation" by the World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF), which said the prime minister's "fair and just leadership" had benefited the Chinese community "tremendously". WCEF chairman Datuk Michael Yeoh said in his speech at the conferment ceremony today.

This was the major news item of the day. WCEF is a gathering of Chinese hongs and towkays eager to seek business favours from the PM. How does Michael Yeoh come by his assessment?

Among others, Yeoh praised Najib's 1 Malaysia platform, his administration's decision to increase allocation to Chinese schools and the introduction of tax exemptions for churches and temples, saying the initiatives were proof of the prime minister's commitment to "fairness and justice".

Fuyoh! I had to pinch myself. Never have I heard such outpouring of boot-licking averments which Michael sought to prove by stating the material I placed in italics above.

Let me steal the thunder from Michael's shameless sycophantic offerings.

Two weeks ago, I sat down with Dr Richard Cockett, SEA correspondent for The Economist. Also present was Wan Saiful Wan Jan, head of IDEAS. Richard posted the question to me as to whether Najib will succeed in his transformation ideas.

He will not succeed, I said. But let me say some nice things about Najib. Najib is a personable fellow and if you get close enough to him, you will have to be a black-hearted person NOT to like him. But that is as far as I can go. He is a nice and a personable fellow.

He has his heart at the right place, but as I wrote some time back, he is a political invertebrate. He doesn't have the political will and personal strength to push through his programmes. I was ready to concede later that Najib, on account of his exterior rhetoric, may indeed have a backbone but still, I find difficulty to locate where on his anatomy.

Take the case of his New Economic Model. Nowadays we hardly hear about it. At the 2011 Umno General Assembly, Najib did not even mention it. Instead he devoted much of his speech sounding very combative and full of vehemence. What he has done was to actually retrograde to Umno cavemen politics. You disagree with us, we bash you in the heads with our swing sticks.

Ask yourself. How will Najib, for instance, push through his economic agenda? Answer: He will revert to the tested ways of selecting cronies, of giving direct negotiated projects masked by seemingly transparent methods to the chosen few. Those chosen few too will be recommended by the Man who can walk on water. He will continue with the patronage system instead of pushing his transforming ideas through.

The only transforming sensation that Najib will achieve is perhaps playing with his Transformers toys and watching the film starring Shia LaBeouf. His eyes will probably focus more on Megan Fox.

At the 2010 Umno General Assembly, for instance, all his big ideas were rejected and thwarted by Umno delegates, obviously mirroring the general objection to Najib's adventurist ideas which were his alone and, most probably, scripted by expensively paid consultants. His idea of 1 Malaysia with the hazy notions of inclusiveness and outward readiness to "We must pool our collective talents in the interests of our nation so that together, we will win out." Fulamak!

That to be read as: we must pakat pakat to swipe clean the country's wealth and make hay while the sun shines. We will carry out the agenda of guatolonglu-lutolonggua win-win policies.

The delegates at that assembly immediately rejected Najib's 1 Malaysia by insisting on Malay-first policies on everything. So what 1 Malaysia is Najib talking about?

His plans to transform the economy and especially that of the Malay economy through his NEM founded on the equally hazy notions of affirmative policies based on free market economics and affirmative policies based on merits were met with howls from delegates insisting on the continuation of NEP-like policies.

In the end, Najib could only muster his last trump card — to claim that after all he is the son of Tun Razak. That, no one can dispute. Genetically he is, but culturally, he isn't. He doesn't have the leadership qualities of Tun Razak.

How can he push his liberalist economic agenda through a mindset accustomed to patronage? Will the Umno warlords, who have only known survival through the patronage system of Umno, allow some anointed successor, albeit the son of Tun Razak, dismantle a system that has provided them with succour? That would be suicidal.

Najib will be sacrificed rather than allow a system that has spawn hordes of tenderpreneurs being replaced by an adventurist Najib Razak with a blasphemous idea.

In short, Najib faces a brick wall and he has nowhere to go. Either he faces the Umno firing squad or capitulate. At the 2011 Umno assembly, he has done that exactly — retreated shamelessly. That gutless and shameless position was effectively masked by his recalcitrant and combative rhetoric.

How will he push his transformation programmes through a sea of stubborn tenderpreneurs and obstinate rent-seekers?

So in answer to Richard Cockett, Najib can't transform. He can only dream of becoming Optimus Prime. — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. He was Pulau Manis assemblyman (2004-2008).

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

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Ensure reforms are put in place — Lim Sue Goan

JAN 27 — Politicians have greatly praised the Chinese during the Lunar New Year. In particular, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed's remarks have inspired me.

In an interview with the Sin Chew Daily, Mustapa said that many Chinese businessmen still believe that economic and business policies in the country have always given protection to the Malays and are unfair to the Chinese, and the stereotype was from when the New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced in the 1970s.

In fact, the concern should not lie only on the Chinese impression of the policies, but also the views of all races, foreign investors and international society. After all, economic openness and liberalisation will ultimately benefit the country and the people, instead of a single racial group.

The implication of his remarks is that the country has been moving towards a free and open market, while various transformation plans have brought some results. Let's look into a few events to verify the effectiveness of the transformation plans.

The country and the people have subsidised the national car ever since Proton was launched to the market in 1985. To protect the national car, imported vehicles are taxed 100 per cent, causing a heavy burden to the people over the past 20 years. A total of 105,519 people declared bankruptcy from 2005 until September last year, of whom 25 per cent was due to car loan default.

DRB-Hicom recently bought Proton. How could a private enterprise enjoy the government's subsidies? The automotive market remains closed and how should the stereotype be removed?

The asset declarations made by the Penang state government has triggered a controversy on whether the federal government should follow suit. BN leaders are opposed to it, claiming that it could harm them and their families while causing false accusations and blame.

However, asset declaration is not something new in many countries. The US started to implement the asset declaration system since 1978, revealing that about 11 per cent of lawmakers belong to the super-rich category.

In Taiwan, the Sunshine Law requires public officials of all levels to declare their assets online.

Why are Malaysian politicians having so many worries? Their worries of robbery and kidnapping are actually public security problems and should not be used as an excuse.

They refuse even to declare their assets, not to mention about implementing the Government Transformation Plan (GTP).

The Home Ministry also set February 15 as the latest deadline for the legalisation process in the 6P amnesty programme, which was originally scheduled on January 10.

Prior to this, the government said with certainty that the deadline would not be extended but the people still guessed it would be. Unfortunately, the people have again guessed it right. The authority has extended the deadline a few times, causing a delay in legalising eligible illegal foreign workers while tarnishing the government's credibility.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak introduced government, political and economic plans to help the country out of the middle-income status but if only some areas are opened up and some minor changes are made, while major policies, thinking and work culture remain as status quo, major progress can hardly be achieved.

To fight for swing votes and create a feel-good atmosphere, the government must ensure that the reforms are put in place or nothing will be achieved. — mysinchew.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

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'Kambing hitam' lembu kondo hadapi 2 tuduhan menipu...

NONE Shamsubahrin Ismail, yang sebelum ini didakwa menipu pengerusi Perbadanan Fidlot Kebangsaan, hari ini mengaku tidak bersalah terhadap dua tuduhan berasingan menipu, yang tidak berkaitan dengan kontroversi NFC.

Ahli perniagaan berusia 45 itu, didakwa di Hospital Tunku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang, di mana dia sedang menjalani rawatan bagi komplikasi kesihatan.

Pertama, dia didakwa mengikut Seksyen 420 Kanun Keseksaan dengan tuduhan menipu seorang pemandu teksi dengan membuatnya melabur RM90,000 dalam syarikat yang tidak wujud.

Shamsubahrin (kiri - duduk di katil) berdepan dengan hukuman tidak kurang setahun dan tidak lebih daripada 10 tahun penjara dan sebatan, jika sabit kesalahan. Dia juga boleh dihukum denda jika sabit kesalahan. Ikat jamin ditetapkan sebanyak RM9,000 dan kes itu ditetapkan untuk sebutan pada 27 Februari.

Menurut peguamnya, N Surendran, Shamsubahrin ditangkap semula pada 19 Januari selepas keluarganya membayar ikatjamin sebanyak RM300,000 tiga minggu selepas dia didakwa menipu pengerusi NFCorp, Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail sebanyak RM1.755 juta.

Sebelum itu, Surendran, yang juga naib presiden PKR, memberitahu pemberita bahawa tertuduh mempunyai maklumat mengenai NFC dan berjanji akan membuat lagi pendedahan. Turut hadir ialah ahli jawatankuasa PKR pusat Latheefa Koya, yang berkata pihak prihatin terhadap keselamatan ahli perniagaan itu.

Tuduhan kedua


Tidak sampai 45 minit kemudian, pada jam 11 pagi, Shamsubahrin dikenakan satu lagi pertuduhan menipu, apabila seora! ng lagi majistret dari mahkamah Shah Alam, Noor Kamilah Aziz, tiba di hospital.

Shamsubahrin didakwa mengikut Seksyen 417 Kanun Keseksaan dengan tuduhan tidak menyediakan seorang pembantu rumah kepada seorang individu, yang telah membayar RM13,000.

Dia berdepan dengan hukuman maksimum lima tahun penjara, jika sabit kesalahan. Shamsubahrin tidak mengaku bersalah dan majistret menetapkan ikatjamin sebanyak RM2,000, dengan tarikh sebutan ditetapkan pada 1 Mac.



Shamsubahrin faces two fresh cheating charges

Shamsubahrin Ismail, who was previously accused of cheating National Feedlot Corporation's chairperson, today claimed trial to two separate charges of cheating, unrelated to the controversial NFC. The businessman, 45, was charged at the Tunku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang where he is warded with health complications.
 

His was first charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code with cheating a taxi driver by making the latter invest RM90,000 in a non-existent company. Shamsubahrin (left in photo) faces no less than a year and no more than 10 years imprisonment and whipping, upon conviction. He can also be fined if found guilty. Bail was set at RM9,000 and the case was set for mention on Feb 27.

According to his lawyer N Surendran, Shamsubahrin was re-arrested on Jan 19 after his family managed to post bail of RM300,000 three weeks after he was charged with cheating
NFC chairperson Mohamad Salleh Ismail of RM1.755 million.

Surendran, who is also PKR vice president, told reporters earlier that the accused has information about NFC and promised further exposes. Also p! resent w as PKR central committee member Latheefa Koya, who said that the party is concerned over the safety of the businessman.

Slapped with another cheating charge

Barely 45 minutes later, Shamsubahrin was slapped with another cheating charge at 11am, with another magistrate from the Shah Alam court, Noor Kamilah Aziz, appearing at the hospital. Shamsubahrin is accused under under Section 417 of the Penal Code with not providing a maid to an individual, after the latter had paid RM13,000.

He faces a maximum sentence of five years' jail, upon conviction. Shamsubahrin claimed trial and the magistrate set bail at RM2,000, with the mention date fixed for March 1.


NONESurendran(left) had described the latest charges as ridiculous, as both charges are more like civil cases rather than criminal offences.

"I want an answer from the attorney-general on why the prosecution power been abused," queried Surendran
.

Surendran alleged there were serious attempts from someone higher-up to shut Shamsubahrin's mouth and cover up the NFC issues.


On the basis for such  PKR claims, Surendran said he could tell from the manner that Shamsubahrin was charged at the hospital, and from the continued charges his client faces.


Shamsubahrin, who had been silent for a month after his arrest, is now lodging a report and revealing information to the police, said Surendran.  Latheefa added that the party will for cal! l a pres s conference by next Monday morning pertaining to the shocking expose. However, it is not sure if Shamsubahrin will join the expose press conference then.


Latheefa also said Shamsubahrin is having diffulty in raising the RM11,000 bail, as his account has been frozen and his family are in debt to raise bail from previous charges.


"It's is dificult for him and his family to raise the bail. If he is able to settle the bail, he should be with us (on Monday), it's not a problem," said Latheefa.


It is learnt that the hospital has currently ran out of beds, so he might later end up back in Sungai Buloh prison, said Latheefa.
This is an all out attempt to keep Shamsubahrin busy, by digging up all the old cases so that he would not speak, she added.

source:malaysiakini

cheers.

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Banner roadshow Hasan Ali diturunkan

PETALING JAYA: Sekretariat Mobilisasi Umat (SMU) mengencam tindakan ahli Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPkj) yang menurunkan 10 banner Roadshow Masa Depan Politik Malaysia yang memaparkan wajah bekas Exco Selangor, Datuk Dr Hasan Ali pagi ini.

Roadshow itu yang dijangka diadakan pada 31 Jan 2012, Selasa, 9.00 malam di Balai Pahlawan, Padang Seksyen 2, Bandar Baru Bangi didakwa disabotaj oleh ahli Exco kerajaan negeri.

Pengerusi SMU Norman Toha berkata hak kebebasan rakyat untuk bersuara telah disekat oleh Menteri Besar. Sekatan ini dibuat berpilih- pilih.

"Kalau iklan banner Pakatan, walaupun tiada lesen tidak akan mereka turunkan tetapi kalau banner milik gerakan rakyat seperti Roadshow anjuran bersama SMU, mereka turunkan," katanya dalam satu kenyataan media.

Norman menyoal, "dimanakah keadilan untuk rakyat Selangor yang ingin bebas dari fahaman politik ektrem kepartian?

"Kami menuntut agar kesemua banner rakyat yang bernilai RM1,500 itu dipulangkan kepada kami sebagai penganjur bersama Roadshow tersebut," katanya.

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Kuasa Ketiga : Hasan Ali mimpi di siang hari

SHAH ALAM: Kenyataan bekas Exco Selangor, Datuk Dr Hasan Ali bahawa kewujudan kuasa ketiga yang sedang dibina untuk menarik sokongan masyarakat dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang disifatkan sebagai 'mimpi disiang hari'.

Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor Dr Abdul Rani Osman menyifatkan sedemikian sambil berkata Hasan Ali terperangkap dengan soalan yang diajukan kepada beliau ketika program Bual Bicara Soal Jawab di TV3, Rabu lalu.

Dr Rani yang turut mengikuti siaran program itu mempersoalkan golongan mana dimaksudkan Hasan Ali untuk menyertai gelombang kuasa ketiga tersebut.

"Saya tanya siapa wakil yang dimaksudkan itu? Adakah ia ulama sedangkan beliau (Hasan Ali) sebelum ini kata ulama adalah profesional.

"Beliau terperangkap dengan soalan ni. Lagipun banyak soalan yang tidak dijawab. Bagaimana beliau nak bentuk kuasa ketiga jika tiada komponen?

"Andaian beliau ini umpama mimpi di siang hari. Jika benar nak wujudkan kuasa ketiga maka perlu bertindak untuk tegur mana-mana parti.

"Tegurlah PAS, Umno, kenapa tidak kes NFC juga? Tapi kuasa ketiga ini akan condong dan akhirnya membawa kepada gerakan Umno," katanya ketika diaju soalan berhubung kuasa ketiga oleh bekas exco agama kerajaan negeri itu.

Hasan yang juga ahli dewan negeri Gombak Setia, melalui program itu berkata usaha melalui gerakan kuasa ketiga itu sudah dimulakan oleh teman-teman yang tidak dinyatakan secara umum.

Beliau juga berkata kuasa ketiga itu nanti akan bergabung dengan wakil rakyat bebas yang lain sambil menawarkan manifesto bersama walaupun tidak wujud sebarang parti sendiri.

Kempen KTS tidak masuk akal

Sementara itu, ditanya pemberita mengenai tindakan Kelab Taat Suami (KTS) yang menjadikan Rasulullah SAW sebagai 'Tokoh Seks Suci Islam' dalam kempen Maulidur Rasul mereka, Abdul Rani berkata,

"Saya minta Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (Mais) mainkan peranan untuk memantau aktiviti kelab terbabit kerana kempen itu tidak masuk akal malah kerajaan negeri Selangor juga tidak bersetuju dengan kempen sedemikian.

"Ia tidak masuk akal, kita pandai-pandai meletakkan Rasulullah SAW sebagai imej sedemikian. Harap Mais dapat main peranan," katanya.

Ketua Muslimat PAS negeri, Wan Hasrina Wan Hassan pula menyindir Hasan Ali dengan berkata dari sudut akidah ia memang sesuai bagi beliau (Hasan Ali) untuk menghentam KTS dan bukannya PAS.

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ABU bukan organisasi dan tidak ada ketua, ABU bukan sokongan bersifat cek kosong

Kenyataan Terbuka
27 Januari 2012

ABU MILIK RAKYAT

Seminggu ini ABU atau Asalkan Bukan Umno telah menjadi perhatian. Bermula dengan insiden serangan bersifat perkauman terhadap Ceramah ABU di Dewan MBSA, Seksyen 30, Kg Jalan Kebun, Shah Alam sehinggalah kenyataan terbuka oleh S.Jayathas yang selepas itu diketahui bertindak atas arahan P. Utayakumar yang merupakan pimpinan Hindraf yang telah menubuhkan sebuah parti politik yang dikenali sebagai Parti Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia.

Ditegaskan sejak awal ABU bukan sebuah organisasi atau jauh lagi sebagai sebuah pertubuhan bukan kerajaan. ABU ialah mewakili sentimen rakyat yang kecewa dan sedar dengan hakikat banyak masalah negara ini berpunca dari sebuah parti yang dicipta oleh penjajah iaitu United Malay National organisation (Umno). Seingat kami sentimen ABU ini mula wujud sekitar tahun 1998 selepas pemecatan DSAI dan kemudian diporpularkan oleh Hishamuddin Rais melalui blog Tukar Tiubnya.

Namun bermula beberapa bulan lepas beberapa organisasi seperti SAMM, SABM, PSM, PRM dan banyak lagi juga tidak ketinggalan beberapa organisasi mahasiswa serta aktivis-aktivis masyarakat yang bergerak sendirian telah bergabung dan bersetuju menghidupkan kempen ABU untuk menjadikan ia sentimen nasional dalam menyatukan kekuatan rakyat demi menumbangkan Umno dan Barisan nasional khususnya dalam PRU akan datang.

Kempen ABU ini menggariskan 3 perkara kenapa perlu rakyat menolak Umno iaitu
  • Isu sentimen perkauman melampau yang dibawa oleh Umno telah menggagalkan penyatuan rakyat juga sebagai senjata untuk mengalihkan isu apabila satu isu besar muncul dalam negara.
  • Isu Lynas diangkat kerana isu ini menunjukkan ketidak pedulian Umno terhadap suara rakyat sanggup memperjudikan nyawa rakyat demi projek menguntungkan pihak tertentu. Isu ini juga berkait rapat dengan pembaziran, rasuah yang menghilangkan hasil petroleum negara sehingga ! negara t erpaksa mencari industri tenaga baru bagi menggantikan petroleum.
  • Isu harga barang yang melampau dan jelas regim gagal mengawal
Isu - isu ini diangkat kerana ia isu yang dekat dan mudah difahami oleh rakyat. Isu ini juga bersifat fundimental dan dikongsi oleh semua gerakan progresif. Maka dengan isu ini diharapkan dapat menyatukan semua gerakan progresif dan secara tidak lansung mengenepikan isu perbezaan yang tidak menguntungkan gerakan. Selain itu isu seperti keadilan asas dan sistem perundangan juga menjadi tumpuan.

Telah dipersetujui ABU tidak akan punya struktur tetapi hanya penggerak terdiri dari organisasi atau individu sekutu yang bersama dengan sentimen ABU. Maka tidak ada ketua cuma yang ada kemungkinan penyelaras berdasarkan keperluan program.

Menyentuh mengenai Hindraf yang kononya menarik sokongan dari ABU dan kemudian dinafikan oleh Penyelaras Kebangsaannya Sambulinggam dan pimpinan dalam buangannya Waythamoorthy yang menyatakan Hindraf terus bersama ABU dan semua pihak yang menentang Umno dan Barisan Nasional. Menurut mereka kenyataan tidak bersama ABU itu cuma pendapat peribadi Uthayakumar.

Bagi SAMM yang menjadi sekutu bersama ABU kami tidak berminat dengan apa yang jadi dalam mana - mana organisasi. Tanpa atau bersama Hindraf, sentimen ABU akan terus bergerak dan terlekat dihati rakyat. Namun kami amat mengalukan Hindraf atau mana - mana organisasi atau individu yang berkongsi sentimen ini dan bergerak bersama kerana penyatuan kekuatan merupakan kelebihan dalam gerakan menumbangkan regim yang ditunjangi Umno.

Terbaru juga komen Wan Farel, Penyelaras Segmentasi Mahasiswa dalam isu melibatkan KUIN di Kedah yang sedikit dilihat menyerang Menteri Besar PR Kedah yang kemungkinan dilihat agak kontradik dengan kempen ABU yang didokong SAMM. SAMM secara penuh menyokong kenyataan Wan Farel dan menganggap ia pendirian SAMM secara rasmi.

Perlu ditegaskan do! kongan S AMM terhadap ABU bukan 'cek kosong' kepada yang melawan Umno. Sokongan dan sentimen ABU berdasarkan prinsip. ABU ialah sentimen kesedaran rakyat yang ingin melihat Umno tumbang kerana keangkuhan mereka dipuncak kuasa. Namun jika mana - mana pihak khususnya yang baru berkuasa sedikit melakukan perkara yang sama maka sewajarnya ditolak.

ABu ialah milik rakyat. ABU bukan cerita siapa nak jadi YB tetapi penyatuan kuasa rakyat melawan Umno. ABU ialah menefestasi dalam PRU akan datang Umno bukan sekadar berdepan dengan Pakatan Rakyat sebagai lawan politik tetapi akan berdepan sentimen rakyat ; Asalkan Bukan Umno.

che'GuBard
Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia
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Poll Results! Has PusatRakyatLB Achieved These Things?

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We asked, you voted, and here are the results!

What should the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism & Human Rights (MCCHR) [aka the LoyarBurok Rakyat Centre (LRC)] do to better Malaysia?

  • All of the above (24%, 126 Votes)
  • Organise & activate communities (16%, 81 Votes)
  • Train young activists (14%, 73 Votes)
  • Voter education & campaign for Lord Bobo (13%, 67 Votes)
  • Litigate constitutional law & human rights cases (12%, 62 Votes)
  • Research, law reform and advocacy (8%, 41 Votes)
  • Open a restaurant (7%, 36 Votes)
  • Nothing (3%, 16 Votes)
  • Publish the LoyarBurok Rakyat Reports (LRR) (3%, 15 Votes)
  • Sell clothes, bags & other merchandise (0%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 521

Loading ... Loading ...

So, how do you think the multi-named PusatRakyatLB / LB Rakyat Centre / Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights / MCCHR has been doing so far? Any suggestions for 2012 activities? Let us know in the comments section below!

Recommended Reads:

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Connect The Dots: The Adventures Of Bupu The Kanci...

Your Action: UndiMsia! On Says.my Social Good Camp...

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The collective persona of Lord Bobo's minions (yes, all the cheeky monkeys and monkettes). Haven't you heard? LoyarBurokking is a lifestyle. Join us, and your life will never be the same again. Because it's fun.

Posted on 27 January 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.

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We want development, minus corruption

FMT LETTER

From Anas Zubedy, via e-mail

First, why is corruption bad for business and society? Because it does not promote the best use of economic resources and guarantees that the wrong person gets the job. Productivity means using the least resources to produce the most results. Corruption gets in the way of productivity as more resources than necessary are spent.

When the wrong person gets the job, the final product or service is never at its best; and sometimes they are not even up to par. What Malaysians need is well planned, sustainable development. We want modern services and a better standard of living; we want up-to-date medical facilities at par with the world's best, available to every Malaysian. We desire strong and efficient infrastructure and support systems for a superior quality of life.

We want good schools, roads, hospitals, offices, shops and homes. We want institutions of higher learning where our children can thrive and when they graduate, we want growth that ensures they have secure jobs with increasing incomes. We want progress and we are entitled to want to move forward towards a brighter future for everyone.

We are not against building bridges and big infrastructure projects – what we are wary about is hearing about the equally big corruption that comes along with them. We want progress, but we do not want the corruption that comes with it, corruption that saps our budgets and the integrity of our people and nation.

When bribes are paid, when someone who should not get the job gets it because of corruption, everyone loses, even the very people that got the bribe and the work. The one who gets the bribe does not learn how to get his work done through proper means, the one that takes the work does not do their job well because there is no need for them to.

When there is dishonesty and corruption anywhere in our nation, every Malaysian loses. And we do not want to put up with it any more. Enough is enough, please!

As for the individuals, you and I, we must know that while society can create institutions, legal frameworks, rules and laws to deter corruption, the last line of defense lies squarely on the individual, on us.

In our strategy to combat corruption we must focus on ourselves too. We must convince each individual that we all stand to lose and that corruption will ruin all in the end. Let's tell our leaders that we want development minus corruption while at the same time promise ourselves that we too will not succumb to it, even if just to run away from getting a police summons.

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Manglish or Bahasa rojak. How can?

Mariam Mokhtar | January 27, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

The inexcusable translation in our government departments is not just a question of lack of professionalism and education but, more importantly, of attitude, especially of those at the top.

Throughout Malaysia's arms spending history, the government has forked out billions on defence procurement while millions more have allegedly been used for commissions and backhanders.

And yet the defence ministry does not see fit to apportion a tiny fraction of its massive budget on the services of a translator.

It cannot be a lack of funds or a scarcity of translators. Is it an aversion which started after one high-profile translator connected to a particular defence purchase met an untimely end?

When the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) posted its error-riddled translation on its English website to describe the dress code appropriate for staff, it received extraordinary attention on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The translations ranged from the painful sounding "Clothes that poke eye" to the more serious safety connotation of the "Malaysian Government take drastic measures to increase the level of any national security threat".

Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi admitted that his ministry had utilised the free Google online translator. He subsequently ordered the site to be removed temporarily. It is easy to blame Google.

The buck should stop with him, the minister. Was he being penny-wise, pound-foolish or is this merely lack of attention to detail? Military budgets are not just about buying the big toys. What use is the equipment if no one can translate the repair manuals for our service engineers?

It is not sufficient for Zahid to confirm that future translations will be done manually. Shouldn't the Cabinet be looking to overhaul the whole education system and specifically the manner in which students treat their education and the learning of English? Nationalist sentiments should not override global aspirations.

Malaysia's seemingly bottomless military budget has been spent on armaments and other defence hardware including the purchase of two Scorpene submarines at RM7.3 billion. The Scorpene deal allegedly included RM570 million on "coordination and support" services, a euphemism for "commission", to a little-known company called Perimekar.

In the Scorpene scandal, which is now being fought in the French courts, a Mongolian model-cum- translator, Altantuya Shaaribuu, who was said to be fluent in Russian, English, Chinese and French, was later found murdered in a jungle in Shah Alam.

What about training and repair manuals?

Are the problems in Mindef the tip of the iceberg? Can Zahid reassure us that none of his men have used the free online Google translator to translate defence training or repair manuals from some foreign language to Bahasa?

The frequent waste of military hardware from crashing planes to defective equipment, has resulted in heavy loss of lives and expensive machines. The wide array of armaments from different countries, contribute towards complications in maintenance, poor operational effectiveness, stocking issues and compatibility between different systems. Could the translated manuals have posed a problem, too?

One former member of the armed forces confided, "The MiG manuals were translated from Hindi to BM. We bought the jets from Russia. MiG jets are built under licence in India for the Indian air force. The Russians must have found it easier to get the Hindi version translated instead."

It isn't just cyberspace where government bodies are maligned. Perak enters the New Year with the much-touted Visit Perak Year (VPY) 2012.

In 2011, the patience of hoteliers, travel agents and ordinary Perakians including politicians was tested when many claimed that very few people knew what VPY 2012 involved.

The state is hoping to receive in excess of three million visitors, both foreign and local tourists. Despite that, many tourist sites were not prepared for VPY 2012.

The 'Ipoh Tree' saga

In October 2011, a local Ipoh community paper, highlighted the glaring problems in the proficiency of English of the staff working at the Perak Tourist Information Centre (Pusat Pelancongan Perak) near the Ipoh Padang.

According to the paper, the Perak Tourism Information Centre, which is an extension of the Ipoh City Council's tourism department, had an embarrassing description of the Ipoh Tree, emblazoned beneath a photograph of the tree, on display at the centre.

The full text which the paper reportedly found at the centre is reproduced here:

"The words 'Ipoh' makes us memorize to Ipoh Tree. Epu or Upas Tree (Antiaris Toxicarial). It can be found in many areas surrounding Ipoh City old time ago. Introduction about Ipoh tree as a place can get it from "Perak And The Malays" book author by J.F. Mcnair in 1979.

"This tree is grouping under 'nettle' species and can growth up until hundred feet's tall. The primitive using the Ipoh Tree's liquid to make a poison dart to use in their weapon. This tree also can be found in Borneo Sumatera, India and Philippine. Now days Ipoh Tree can be founded at Railway Station and D.R. Seenivasagam Park."

Even primary school students will consider the above description, which is littered with errors, to be gibberish.

If people think that it does not matter that such things happen in a provincial city like Ipoh, then how about the gaffe which occurred when Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and his entourage visited Putrajaya? The banner flying at the welcoming ceremony was printed in inaccurate Chinese.

Or how about the court interpreter, Ting Chin Kin, who translated Teoh Beng Hock's supposed suicide note using Google Translate?

Just like in the Mindef mess, the inexcusable translation in our government departments is not just a question of lack of professionalism and education but, more importantly, of the attitude, especially of those at the top. Incompetent officials appear to hold sway in the Malaysian civil service and Cabinet.

The top echelons should dispense with their "tidak-apa" attitude, and lead by example. If they demanded good results and accuracy, then perhaps, people might feel less inclined to say that the two important languages in Malaysia are Manglish and Malay.

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This entry was posted on Friday, 27 January 2012, 1:26 pm and is filed under Defence, English, Mariam Mokhtar. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.  

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Manglish or Bahasa rojak. How can?

Mariam Mokhtar | January 27, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

The inexcusable translation in our government departments is not just a question of lack of professionalism and education but, more importantly, of attitude, especially of those at the top.

Throughout Malaysia's arms spending history, the government has forked out billions on defence procurement while millions more have allegedly been used for commissions and backhanders.

And yet the defence ministry does not see fit to apportion a tiny fraction of its massive budget on the services of a translator.

It cannot be a lack of funds or a scarcity of translators. Is it an aversion which started after one high-profile translator connected to a particular defence purchase met an untimely end?

When the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) posted its error-riddled translation on its English website to describe the dress code appropriate for staff, it received extraordinary attention on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The translations ranged from the painful sounding "Clothes that poke eye" to the more serious safety connotation of the "Malaysian Government take drastic measures to increase the level of any national security threat".

Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi admitted that his ministry had utilised the free Google online translator. He subsequently ordered the site to be removed temporarily. It is easy to blame Google.

The buck should stop with him, the minister. Was he being penny-wise, pound-foolish or is this merely lack of attention to detail? Military budgets are not just about buying the big toys. What use is the equipment if no one can translate the repair manuals for our service engineers?

It is not sufficient for Zahid to confirm that future translations will be done manually. Shouldn't the Cabinet be looking to overhaul the whole education system and specifically the manner in which students treat their education and the learning of English? Nationalist sentiments should not override global aspirations.

Malaysia's seemingly bottomless military budget has been spent on armaments and other defence hardware including the purchase of two Scorpene submarines at RM7.3 billion. The Scorpene deal allegedly included RM570 million on "coordination and support" services, a euphemism for "commission", to a little-known company called Perimekar.

In the Scorpene scandal, which is now being fought in the French courts, a Mongolian model-cum- translator, Altantuya Shaaribuu, who was said to be fluent in Russian, English, Chinese and French, was later found murdered in a jungle in Shah Alam.

What about training and repair manuals?

Are the problems in Mindef the tip of the iceberg? Can Zahid reassure us that none of his men have used the free online Google translator to translate defence training or repair manuals from some foreign language to Bahasa?

The frequent waste of military hardware from crashing planes to defective equipment, has resulted in heavy loss of lives and expensive machines. The wide array of armaments from different countries, contribute towards complications in maintenance, poor operational effectiveness, stocking issues and compatibility between different systems. Could the translated manuals have posed a problem, too?

One former member of the armed forces confided, "The MiG manuals were translated from Hindi to BM. We bought the jets from Russia. MiG jets are built under licence in India for the Indian air force. The Russians must have found it easier to get the Hindi version translated instead."

It isn't just cyberspace where government bodies are maligned. Perak enters the New Year with the much-touted Visit Perak Year (VPY) 2012.

In 2011, the patience of hoteliers, travel agents and ordinary Perakians including politicians was tested when many claimed that very few people knew what VPY 2012 involved.

The state is hoping to receive in excess of three million visitors, both foreign and local tourists. Despite that, many tourist sites were not prepared for VPY 2012.

The 'Ipoh Tree' saga

In October 2011, a local Ipoh community paper, highlighted the glaring problems in the proficiency of English of the staff working at the Perak Tourist Information Centre (Pusat Pelancongan Perak) near the Ipoh Padang.

According to the paper, the Perak Tourism Information Centre, which is an extension of the Ipoh City Council's tourism department, had an embarrassing description of the Ipoh Tree, emblazoned beneath a photograph of the tree, on display at the centre.

The full text which the paper reportedly found at the centre is reproduced here:

"The words 'Ipoh' makes us memorize to Ipoh Tree. Epu or Upas Tree (Antiaris Toxicarial). It can be found in many areas surrounding Ipoh City old time ago. Introduction about Ipoh tree as a place can get it from "Perak And The Malays" book author by J.F. Mcnair in 1979.

"This tree is grouping under 'nettle' species and can growth up until hundred feet's tall. The primitive using the Ipoh Tree's liquid to make a poison dart to use in their weapon. This tree also can be found in Borneo Sumatera, India and Philippine. Now days Ipoh Tree can be founded at Railway Station and D.R. Seenivasagam Park."

Even primary school students will consider the above description, which is littered with errors, to be gibberish.

If people think that it does not matter that such things happen in a provincial city like Ipoh, then how about the gaffe which occurred when Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and his entourage visited Putrajaya? The banner flying at the welcoming ceremony was printed in inaccurate Chinese.

Or how about the court interpreter, Ting Chin Kin, who translated Teoh Beng Hock's supposed suicide note using Google Translate?

Just like in the Mindef mess, the inexcusable translation in our government departments is not just a question of lack of professionalism and education but, more importantly, of the attitude, especially of those at the top. Incompetent officials appear to hold sway in the Malaysian civil service and Cabinet.

The top echelons should dispense with their "tidak-apa" attitude, and lead by example. If they demanded good results and accuracy, then perhaps, people might feel less inclined to say that the two important languages in Malaysia are Manglish and Malay.

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This entry was posted on Friday, 27 January 2012, 1:26 pm and is filed under Defence, English, Mariam Mokhtar. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.  

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DAP no better than BN

George K

There has been a lot of hot air over the so-called declaration of assests by the DAP state government in Penang. Many people have come out to praise DAP secreatr-general Lim Guan Eng, who is the Penang chief minister, for being very transparent and accountable. Is he?

First of all, why didn't Lim and his exco members reveal their monthly income? Take Lim's case, for example. I think he takes home more than a RM100,000 each month. He gets allowances as MP for Bagan, state assemblyman for Air Putih, big fat pay as chief minister, and his wife Betty also gets an allowance as state assemblyperson for Malacca. On top of that, which are all tax-free, Lim gets free housing, transport allowance, car and driver, and also big fat allowances as board member of various state corporations such as Penang Development Corporation, InvestPenang, etc.

Similarly, other DAP leaders like Teresa Kok gets allowances as MP, state assemblyperson, and big fat pay as senior executive councillor, plus also big fat allowance as board member of various state corporations and government-linked companies. She also gets free housing, transport allowance, car and driver.

These DAP leaders often accuse the Barisan Nasional as corrupt. They are no better, being so greedy. I am sure Lim's children are receiving big fat ang pows from those who want favours from him. Is he prepared to declare all the ang pows he and his children receive, and from whom?

Lim and his DAP are always critising Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib's wife Rosmah for showing off as First Lady Of Malaysia (FLOM). Lim's wife is no better, being labelled FLOP (First Lady Of Penang). It seems she is increasingly becoming more visible and vocal in Penang, and demanding to be invited as guest-of-honour at almost all high society functions in Penang. Tongues are wagging about FLOP, who will cause her husband to be ousted in Penang.

Tun Ling Liong Sik used to say that DAP is NATO -- No Action, Talk Only. He is right. And I think DAP stands for "Demand Ang Pows".



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Race and Malaysian ‘exceptionalism’ — Clive Kessler

JAN 27 — "The world has admitted that multiracial Malaysia grew faster than other developing nations that did not have the problem of race to consider," Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has recently remarked ("Dr M: Scrapping race-based policies will lead to chaos", The Malaysian Insider, January 26).

Yet most nations and national communities these days are culturally pluralistic, not monolithic. Those, such as Japan, that are largely homogeneous are the exceptions, not the norm.

So, on the claimed grounds of its diversity, Malaysia is no exception.

If Malaysia is exceptional, it is not because — like so many other modern nations — it is culturally pluralistic and socially diverse but because official government policy has been erected upon the idea that such diversity is not simply ineradicable but both abnormal and dangerous.

Government in Malaysia stands upon the "enshrining" of the idea of the fundamental, inescapable and eternal political salience of that diversity — and, however benign the intentions of its greatest statesmen may be, upon its necessarily "sectional" and hence ultimately divisive official management.

If Malaysia has a "race problem" it is not because of a malign historical fate but because Malaysian governments have offered and justified themselves over the years since independence as the authoritative manager of racial divisions and antagonisms.

The Malaysian government has always presented itself as the wise manager, and as the sole available broker and arbiter, of a basic dichotomy which it says it wishes to overcome but upon which, and upon whose continuing power, it remains dependent.

That is its political basis and rationale.

This idea of the fundamental nature of such cultural differences and of their inescapably conflictual character has been established and elevated as the "ultimate political truth." It is the central doctrine, or credo, of the reigning "national political theology."

Malaysia, as it is now established and has been managed, especially since 1970, rests upon, presumes and requires that particular form of "racial" difference, separation and antagonism which the government yet continually pleads it wishes to overcome.

A strange, contradictory, even silly idea, really.

It is a silly idea precisely because it is contradictory — and no coherent, sustainable policy may be built upon an evident contradiction.

But where would BN be without it?

The question answers itself.

Yes, Malaysia does have an unusual "racial" problem.

Malaysia's is decidedly a "racial" problem — provided one recognises, as modern social theory does, that "race" denotes not mundane cultural diversity and social pluralism themselves but their antagonistic political, ideological and doctrinal "sanctification" as the ultimate or core human reality.

To see that human diversity as irreconcilable, and as the basis of inevitable antagonism rather than as a source of creativity and engagement and hope, is a political choice.

It is a fact, or the dubious gift, not of insuperable past events but of contemporary and continuing human choice, of ideological and political preferences.

* Clive Kessler is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

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Imej PAS Selangor tercalar? — Ahmad Lutfi Othman

27 JAN — Seolah-olah ada kocakan dalam Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor sejurus pelantikan Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi sebagai anggota Exco Kerajaan Negeri, bagi menggantikan Dr Hasan Ali. Sekurang-kurangnya itulah yang mahu dipersepsikan media milik Umno. Sebagai negeri yang paling dihajati untuk direbut semula, dengan apa jua cara oleh Najib Razak, setiap peluang akan dimanipulasi sepenuhnya.

Selaku musuh tradisi Umno sejak berzaman, apatah lagi dalam pilihan raya umum ke-13 nanti PAS dilihat faktor paling penting dan kritikal untuk memudahkan laluan Pakatan ke Putrajaya, maka usaha menjauhkan pengundi Melayu-Islam dengan PAS dikira dapat mempertahankan survival Umno-BN.

Portfolio Dr Ahmad Yunus — ADUN muda yang berminat melakukan kerja amal dan tidak terpalit dengan sebarang isu kontroversi — berkaitan adat Melayu, belia dan sukan, dikatakan hanya menggambarkan bahawa PAS tidak begitu dipandang penting oleh rakan-rakannya dalam Pakatan di negeri termaju itu, khususnya KeADILan.

Beberapa akhbar mengulas bahawa apabila tiga portfolio penting, yakni agama, kemudahan awam dan infrastruktur, disandang Menteri Besar, ia hanya menunjukkan satu mesej jelas: PAS telah dipinggirkan.

Bekas Naib Presiden PAS, Ustaz Nakhaie Ahmad tiba-tiba kerap ditemubual sebuah stesen TV secara sinis berkata, Parti Islam itu hanya diperlukan untuk mengumpulkan orang ramai bagi tujuan politik sekutunya. Sudah tentu ia bermotif negatif, untuk membangkitkan rasa tidak senang penyokong PAS akar umbi, seolah-olah mereka yang komited dengan perjuangan itu sekadar menjadi alat atau perkakas KeADILan dan DAP.

Menerusi Internet, pelbagai komentar dilontarkan. Ada yang bersetuju portfolio agama diserahkan kepada Abd Khalid Ibrahim, terutama untuk menyelesaikan pelbagai "kekusutan" yang timbul dalam institusi tertentu. "Kerumitan" di peringkat yang sensitif itu memerlukan tokoh berprofil tinggi, seperti Menteri Besar, bagi menanganinya secara cermat dan berhemat.

Namun tidak kurang pula posting yang memperlekehkan PAS, dengan memainkan sentimen bahawa imejnya sebagai Parti Islam tercalar teruk. "Bukankah aktivis PAS selama ini yang menggerakkan institusi masjid dan surau? Memang tiada tokoh ulama daripada kalangan ADUN PAS, seperti juga Hasan Ali dulu pun bukan ustaz, tetapi PAS itu sendiri mengumpulkan ramai ilmuan dan pencinta Islam," salah satu tulisan dipetik.

Saya turut menerima SMS, yang menyokong penuh kenyataan sarjana sains politik, Dr Mohammad Agus Yusof yang menyifatkan portfolio agama dan adat Melayu sebagai "saling berkaitan seperti kembar siam, dan tidak sepatutnya dipisahkan".

Malah, ada yang mencadangkan portfolio kemudahan awam dan infrastruktur kekal di bawah Exco PAS, dengan mempelbagaikan bidang kuasa seorang lagi Exco daripada PAS, Iskandar A. Samad, yang kini mengendalikan perumahan, pengurusan bangunan dan setinggan.

Sememangnya keputusan mutlak di tangan Menteri Besar. Beliau diyakini melihat senario ini secara keseluruhan; selain memperkemas struktur dan jentera pentadbiran, juga sebagai persiapan terakhir menghadapi PRU13. Tentulah jika ia dilihat boleh membawa mudarat kepada PAS — sekurang-kurangnya daripada segi persepsi orang ramai — itu hanya satu kebetulan yang menyedihkan.

Saya tidak percaya isu portfolio yang disandang Dr Ahmad Yunus itu membawa kesulitan besar kepada PAS. Penjelasan awal yang diberikan, antara lain oleh Timbalan Presiden, Mohamad Sabu dan Ketua Penerangan, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, dapat menjernihkan. Mainan musuh akhirnya akan tertolak begitu sahaja.

Kenyataan Iskandar, yang juga Timbalan Pesuruhjaya PAS Negeri, bagi penyokong parti lebih melegakan. Katanya, keputusan mengambil alih portfolio agama itu hanya sementara. Ia akan diserahkan semula kepada Exco PAS dalam masa yang sesuai.

Bagaimanapun, Saifullah Zulkifli, Ketua Penerangan AMK Selangor menyimpulkan: "Umno-BN sering menggunakan isu agama seperti isu kuil, isu murtad, isu pentauliahan dan sebagainya sebagai modal dangkal untuk menyerang kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat. Justeru adalah wajar aspek-aspek yang melibatkan portfolio agama ini diberi perhatian khusus kepada pimpinan tertinggi kerajaan negeri."

"Minta saudara Lutfi jelaskan, apakah Pakatan Rakyat di negeri-negeri yang dikuasainya, mengadakan rundingan terlebih dahulu sebelum apa-apa keputusan besar dibuat? Bukankah itu amalan yang baik, menandakan parti yang menguasai kerajaan? Saya difahamkan, kalau benar memang menyedihkan, hanya Perak di bawah Nizar Jamaluddin dahulu yang melaksanakan amalan itu. Saya bukan merujuk kepada Selangor sahaja, tetapi juga Kedah dan Pulau Pinang juga," seorang anak muda, bekas pemimpin pelajar, menghantar emel kepada saya.

Selain itu, ada juga yang menghargai situasi tokoh No. 1 PAS Negeri, Dr Rani Osman yang tidak dilantik Exco. "Ya, tidak semestinya PJ akan jadi Exco, 'kan? Banyak tugas lain, demi kepentingan rakyat dan menjamin urusan kerajaan tidak menyeleweng, boleh dilakukannya. Seperti juga Ketua KeADILan Selangor, Azmin Ali tidak memegang sebarang jawatan strategik dalam kerajaan," saya menerima panggilan telefon seorang pembaca Harakah.

Apa pun, saya lebih teruja dengan  SMS seorang pemimpin Umno Selangor: "Dr Ahmad Yunus punya masa depan cerah. Tapi lebih penting, baru orang sedar, dalam PAS rupanya ramai profesional hebat, termasuk doktor perubatan. Yang dipecat doktor, penggantinya juga doktor. Hebat lagi bila ketiga-tiga calon yang disebut ganti Hasan Ali semuanya doktor. Ini cabaran besar kepada Umno, yang juga mesti sediakan profesional dan tokoh muda dalam PRU13 nanti."

Dalam pada itu, ADUN Bangi, Dr Shafie Abu Bakar, yang juga  Pembantu Exco Hal Ehwal Agama Selangor, yakin segala urusan berkaitan hal ehwal agama di Selangor akan lebih licin selepas portfolio itu dipegang sendiri  Menteri Besar. Katanya, dengan kelebihan yang ada pada Khalid, ia akan memudahkan "banyak benda" termasuk dalam urusan dengan Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (MAIS) dan Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS).

Harakahdaily melaporkan, ditanya beban tugas selepas pertukaran ketuanya, Dr Shafie berkata, beliau yakin kerjanya sebagai pembantu exco agama akan lebih berat di bawah Khalid. "Oleh kerana dia sibuk dengan pelbagai tugas, mungkin peranan (exco agama) ini banyak diturunkan kepada saya. Barangkali saya akan lebih banyak menjalankan tugas yang sepatutnya dijalankan Menteri Besar kerana masa dia tak banyak," katanya yang juga Pengerusi Perbadanan Adat Melayu dan Warisan Selangor (Padat).

Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam, Khalid Samad, yang juga Timbalan Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor pula menyifatkan  tindakan Menteri Besar itu sebagai langkah untuk memastikan Umno-BN tidak akan menggunakan portfolio berkenaan sebagai sasaran mudah.

Tambahnya, Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi, adalah "orang baru" yang belum berpengalaman menguruskan portfolio tersebut.

"Portfolio hal ehwal Islam itu merupakan lubuk Umno BN untuk menyerang PAS, jadi tindakan yang dibuat MB adalah tindakan  wajar," jelas Khalid ketika dihubungi The Malaysian Insider. Tambahnya, tindakan menteri besar itu juga bertepatan pada masanya memandangkan tempoh untuk menghadapi pilihanraya yang semakin hampir.

Manakala seorang rakan lain, yang sering saya ajak bicara tentang cabaran sengit PAS di Selangor, mengingatkan: "Di kawasan Parlimen Sabak Bernam, Sungai Besar, Tanjung Karang dan Kuala Selangor, PAS bertanding 5 kerusi DUN dan 3 Parlimen, tetapi pemimpin negeri dan pusat jarang datang. Aktiviti dan ceramah sekali sekala sedangkan Umno terus dengan program sukan, karaoke tiap minggu, begitu juga ceramah agama. PAS tertinggal jauh ...."

Saya tidak pasti apakah rungutan sahabat saya itu berasas atau setakat berkongsi rasa ... Namun ia menyedarkan saya bahawa laluan PAS sebagai "pengganti Umno", dalam konteks pengundi Melayu, masih berliku tajam.

Sebenarnya, jika diikutkan hati, saya lebih suka untuk mengulas isu pengisytiharan harta dan aset milik menteri dan keluarga mereka kepada Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), dan bukan hanya kepada Perdana Menteri. Lebih menarik, respons Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Nazri Aziz  terhadap cadangan Pengerusi Lembaga Penasihat panel SPRM, Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh itu.

"Jika kita umumkan butiran (pengisytiharan aset) itu kepada orang ramai, ini akan membahayakan individu berkenaan," kata Nazri. Ha ha ha ... — harakahdaily.net

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

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