Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Social Political Buzz & Bulls

Teflon Umno — Gomen Man

MARCH 23 — Today was closure for Prime Minister Najib Razak. Not for Malaysia and not for Shahrizat Jalil or her family, most recently known for their involvement in the National Feedlot Centre scandal.

Closure because Najib has been forced to publicly back Shahrizat as the Wanita Umno chief or face the possibility of some form of a revolt from the Wanita ranks.

This scenario was communicated to Putrajaya by Wanita Umno in not to subtle ways. So Shahrizat got to pick her "retirement" date from Cabinet and the assurance that she can remain as Wanita chief.

So today she was feted by her wing, the same wing which was clueless and probably thought that the NFC meant the National Feeding Committee when Shahrizat made light of the scandal at the Umno general assembly.

My advice to readers of The Malaysian Insider and other Malaysians is save your indignation for some other occasion. Surely you did not expect Najib to sack Shahrizat. He needs all the support he can get from his party, not only for the general elections but more so for the Umno elections.

In the eyes of most Malaysians, Shahrizat and her family will never be able to live down the NFC tag but in Wanita Umno, she is the queen bee. And much of that has to do with the lack of credible leaders in Wanita and Umno in general.

But I would not blame Najib too much. Remember Zakaria Deros, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, Jamaluddin Jarjis, Tengku Adnan Mansor, Ali Rustam, Isa Samad.

They all may have failed miserably in the court of public opinion but they are all thriving in Umno and most of them are occupying top positions.

In some ways, even the children of Umno leaders are exempt from the normal rule of law. Malaysiakini today reported that two police reports have been lodged against the son of Nazri Aziz for assaulting a security guard at a condo in Mont Kiara.

Do you think he will be charged for anything?

* Gomen Man reads The Malaysian Insider.

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

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Western Australia says no to Lynas waste

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 23, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — The Western Australian government, where Lynas Corp's rare earths mine is located, has said it will not accept waste from the firm's controversial refinery in Kuantan even if it is not radioactive.

Putrajaya said early this month Lynas, which plans to transport ore from Mount Weld in the Australian state, to its RM2.3 billion plant in Gebeng, had promised to send its residue abroad if it could not find a suitable waste disposal site in Malaysia.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had also said late last month the Sydney-based firm must find a way to ship the waste back to Australia, failing which no temporary operating licence (TOL) will be issued.

But Western Australia Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore told the state's legislative council that it would not allow the residue, which Lynas says it can treat to reduce its radioactivity, to be returned to its source.

"Yes, as Commonwealth legislation prohibits the importation by Australia of any waste product produced from offshore processing of any mineral resources purchased here," he said in a written response to Mining and Pastoral Region member Robin Chapple obtained by The Malaysian Insider.

Chapple, who is Greens spokesman for mines and petroleum, nuclear issues and waste management, had asked on Tuesday if waste from the Gebeng plant would be accepted if it was not radioactive after being treated.

Local nuclear regulators had said on March 1 Australia's refusal to accept radioactive waste should not affect Lynas' efforts to return residue from its rare earths plant to the source.

Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) director-general Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan said this was because the waste from the Gebeng refinery would not be radioactive once it was treated by Lynas.

The Australian miner has assured Malaysia that it will be able to reduce the concentration of radioactivity in the waste products so that the residue could be transformed into commercially viable aggregates, he noted.

AELB approved Lynas' TOL in January, subject to several conditions, despite continued protests from local residents, environmentalists and the federal opposition.

The Australian firm is planning to ship rare earths ore from its mine in Mount Weld to its Kuantan plant, where it will be processed into highly sought after rare earths metals.

Thousands of anti-Lynas protestors attended an opposition-backed rally by Himpunan Hijau last month in the largest protest yet against the rare earths plant that is expected to fire up later this year.

Critics of the refinery want Putrajaya to direct the nation's nuclear regulator to reverse its decision to approve Lynas' TOL, which will let the Australian miner embark on a two-year trial run.

They allege that Lynas has not given enough assurances on how it will handle the low-level radioactive waste that will be produced at the refinery.

The government has been under pressure from groups to shut down the rare earths project over safety fears, but Putrajaya has stood its ground on the project that was first earmarked for Terengganu.

Parliament earlier this week approved the formation of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the controversial rare earths refinery.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) subsequently announced a boycott of the panel, saying it has no power to decide the fate of the RM2.3 billion project.

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This entry was posted on Friday, 23 March 2012, 2:35 pm and is filed under Lynas. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.  

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Guan Eng: PM must halt Lynas plant construction

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 23, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak should immediately halt the construction of the Lynas refinery in Gebeng to prove his commitment to public safety, Lim Guan Eng said today.

Penang Chief Minister Lim accused the prime minister of contradicting himself during an interview with radio station 988FM yesterday, where Najib had said he would scrap the Lynas plant construction if there was scientific evidence to prove it was hazardous.

This, according to Lim, was different from what Najib had said last week — that the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the Lynas rare earths plant could not decide on whether the refinery would be built.

"Datuk Seri Najib Razak should publicly withdraw his March 17 remarks, order an immediate stop-work order on Lynas and declare the Barisan Nasional's government willingness to pay compensation of at least RM700 million which Lynas spent on building the plant," Lim said in a statement.

Putrajaya announced that it would set up the PSC on the Lynas plant in Kuantan, which has stoked fears of radiation pollution.

The committee was approved in the Dewan Rakyat this week amid opposition furore over the alleged lack of terms of reference and suspicion that the nine-man panel would be used to "whitewash" the issue.

PR lawmakers also questioned the point of the select committee given that Najib had already said the government will not be bound by the panel's findings.

They subsequently announced a boycott of the panel, saying it has no power to decide the fate of the RM2.3 billion project.

"For Datuk Seri Najib to change his tune to say that the PSC was a 'strong basis for us to make a decision' on Lynas is a flip-flop from his March 17 remarks.

"Clearly this change is the result of PR's boycott of the PSC. However such a flip-flop only raises more questions whether the prime minister is serious and sincere about following through on closing down Lynas in the face of evidence and proof of environmental damage and threats to public health and safety," Lim added.

The decision to set up the panel came after months of fierce opposition to the project from PR, civil society groups and the public.

Thousands of anti-Lynas protestors attended an opposition-backed rally by Himpunan Hijau last month in the largest protest yet against the refinery, which is expected to fire up later this year.

Critics allege that Lynas Corp has failed to give enough assurances on how it will handle the low-level radioactive waste that will be produced at the plant, 25km from Kuantan city centre.

But the Australian miner maintains that waste from the Gebeng plant will not be hazardous and can be easily recycled for commercial applications.

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This entry was posted on Friday, 23 March 2012, 5:24 pm and is filed under Lim Guan Eng, Lynas, Najib Razak. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.  

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‘Time for RCI on NRD’

PETALING JAYA: Tindak Malaysia, an NGO advocating electoral reforms, has called for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on the National Registration Department's (NRD) registry.

As the Election Commission (EC) relies on NRD's data for verification, Tindak Malaysia's representative PY Wong said it was pertinent that the scrutiny starts with the NRD database itself.

"If there are problems with the NRD's database, then it's safe to assume that EC's data is flawed as well," said Wong.

Earlier today, STAR Sabah chief Jefrrey Kitingan alleged that the NRD's mobile unit was giving away MyKads to foreigners in Semporna, Sabah. The MP for the constituency is Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal.

Legalised illegal immigrants are a big problem in Sabah but an issue that the Barisan Nasional government is hesitant to resolve as this group is now reportedly BN's "fixed deposit".

In Kuala Lumpur yesterday, PKR vice-president Fuziah Salleh said there was an influx of 18,568 new voters at the Pekan parliamentary constituency, where Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is the incumbent.

"In Kuantan, which is an urban area, there is an addition of about 5,000. But in Pekan, a rural seat, there is an addition of 18,568 voter," Fuziah reportedly said.

However, EC deputy commissioner Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said the influx could be attributed to the surge of economic activities in the area and people changing their voting address there.

Speaking to FMT, Wong said that it was time that an RCI was established to also study whether there is a possibleconflict of interest when the EC appoints civil servants as its staff.

"Look at one of EC's chief official, Christopher Wan. He used to head the Special Branch in Kuala Lumpur. What is a former Special Branch officer doing at the EC?

"In my view, not even staff of government-linked companies should be appointed as its registrar of electors. Get the manpower from the civil society movements committed to reforms," he said.

Time for international observers

Commenting on the sudden surge of over 18,000 voters in Pekan, Wong scoffed at Wan Ahmad's explanation on the matter, saying it was an attempt to defend the status quo.

"The new voters probably came from the Bermuda Triangle," Wong said in a jest.

Meanwhile, Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Wong Chin Huat said the Pekan issue is a good enough reason why international observers should be allowed in Malaysia.

He said the Pekan constituency had always posed a problem as it had a high number of postal voters and foreign workers.

"Our data shows that Pekan is one of the top places that attracts foreign workers. We can understand if they flock to urban areas but why would they want to go to a rural area like Pekan?" said Chin Huat.

When told of Wan Ahmad's justification, Chin Huat said the EC had a track record of spewing nonsense.

"If you want to convince the public, show us a breakdown of the 18,000 news voters. Give us a list of newly registered voters and those who changed their address to Pekan.

"Also, we urge the government not to hold the election without having electoral reforms first. Any election prior to that would result in us having an illegitimate government," said Chin Huat.

EC's reason justified

However, Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) secretary-general Shaharuddin Othman said Wan Ahmad's reasoning was justified.

"Pekan has an air force base. Probably, more officers got stationed there recently and that has caused the surge.

"And it's true the area is becoming an industrial hub. Proton is setting up a plant there and I believe there are talks to build a Volkswagen plant there as well," Shaharuddin said.

On why the need to station more army personnel in Pekan, he said the area was strategic as it was the closest to the Spratlys Island, a cluster of island being sought by many Southeast Asian countries and China.

"In the event of a conflict in the Spratlys, the air base in Pekan is the closest to the islands," he said.
He also said the Pekan electoral list could be obtained from the EC, for free, anytime.

"And the EC does publish new voters' list for a week before gazetting in order to allow objection from the public," Shaharuddin said.

However, he agreed that foreign observers and the local ones should be allowed to monitor the elections.

"If we want international credibility, then we must allow international observers," he said.

Also read:

Influx of 18,000 voters in Najib's Pekan

'Free' MyKads in Semporna? An electoral reforms group wants a probe on the National Registration Department database first 'because the EC relies on NRD for verification of its electoral list'.

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Stop Lynas, Guan Eng tells Najib

GEORGE TOWN: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should immediately stop Lynas operations and declare that the government would pay compensation of at least RM700 million to Lynas spent on construction of the plant.

DAP secretary-general and Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng also called on Najib to withdraw his remarks published by Bernama on March 17.

He said that Najib should walk his talk that his Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government would stop Lynas operations if it was scientifically proven to be harmful to public health and environment.

"The prime minister should issue a stop-work order on the rare earth plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

"He should show the government's willingness to pay compensation to prove his seriousness and sincerity," Lim said.

He added that he regretted Najib's criticism of DAP for opting out of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Lynas.

Lim clarified that the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat have opted out of the PSC, to be headed by Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin, in the interest of the public.

He said the DAP did not want to be part of BN's attempt to delude the public into thinking the Lynas plant was safe.

"The criticism is regrettable as it is not based on facts," the Penang chief minister said in his blog posting here today.

On March 17, Bernama quoted Najib as saying: "The PSC on the Lynas issue will not decide on the fate of the controversial rare earth plant."

Instead, the PSC was part of the government's engagement process to ensure the public understood the issues at hand so that "we can convince the groups who are still suspicious whether the project is safe or otherwise".

Lim said that Najib had said that he hoped the PSC would raise awareness on the project so that "we can achieve comfort in terms of better public acceptance".

He added that Najib's statement proved that the PSC was clearly a BN sham to deliver a "fait accompli" to endorse the Lynas plant and force public acceptance without any regard for safety.

"The DAP and Pakatan have refused to participate in the PSC to legitimatise what is essentially wrong and against public interest.

"By saying that the PSC would not decide on the fate of Lynas, he had reduced the PSC to irrelevance," Lim said.

He said that for Najib to change his tune now that "the PSC was a strong basis for us to make a decision" on Lynas, was a flip-flop from his remarks on March 17.

He added that the flip-flop raises questions on whether the prime minister was serious and sincere about closing down Lynas in the face of evidence of environmental damage and threats to public health and safety.

To prove his commitment and seriousness, he said Najib should publicly withdraw his March 17 remarks, issue an immediate stop-work order on Lynas and declare the BN's government willingness to pay compensation. The prime minister should issue a stop-work order on the rare earth plant, says the DAP secretary-general.

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Kalau Zakat pun Diorang Sapu, Duit Lain Apatah Lagi...

Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng’s Open Letter to Nick Curtis, CEO of Lynas

Explanation on why the Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng did not accept CEO of Lynas' Nick Curtis' invitation for discussion and update on the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Gebeng Pahang.

Open Letter to Nick Curtis (English)

Open Letter to Nick Curtis (Malay)

Recommended Reads:

Joint Statement from the UKM4

Adrian is a confused accountant who has a heart of a Care Bear, lived in the Smurf Village, while defending the Universe like a Thunder Cat. He has deep interest and passion in civil society and has been contributing to the society through various channels and social activities. His other interest includes music, football, dancing, singing and travelling. He is a proud Anak Bangsa Malaysia and he tweets @AdrianNCF.

Posted on 23 March 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.

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Piratization of KTMB


  • It was reported that government plans to privatize KTMB. The company today is a GLC which is a corporatize entity. It is a company with huge land bank outside KL. Most of its land bank in KL has been traded away at unreasonably low price back in in the mid and late 1990's. Today their largest land bank at Brickfields and Sentul is in private hands and has been developed. The new owners were smart enough on how to amplify the land value. It appears as if the government cannot do it or as it has no skills and brains to do so.
  • Why is it the government has to sell of and develop all its land bank? A few months ago I was told that MOH is finalizing the sale of IKU land in Bangsar with SP Setia. That is the last piece of low-density land there is in that area. Once it falls into private hands, it will be transformed to a high-density development. Is development is about quality of life of having more modern buildings? Today the government is talking about KTMB? What about tomorrow?
  • What exactly is wrong with KTMB? The way I see it, the politicians with lack of professional skills are running the show. The senior management of the company lacks helicopter view and the board consists of political appointee with limited independence. The government doesn't need to sell KTMB. What it need is a professional board with a strong CEO who can appreciate the big picture. With huge assets, raising money is least of the concern. It needs a strong business model. The rail line alone has value. Many operators can use. The demand for rail services is on the rise. Intra-city and intercity rail link is becoming more important in improving quality of life and movement of people. We need to change this government.
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PKR parti berbilang bangsa taiko yang racist

SURAT FMT: Dari Shen Yee Aun, melalui e-mel

Merujuk kepada laporan yang disiarkan oleh Malaysia Today baru-baru, kita lihat bagaimana sekumpulan ahli PKR  berbangsa India menyarankan supaya Karpal Singh bersara kerana melihat kepada usia Karpal Singh yang sudah tua.

Pertama, mereka tidak menghargai jasa dan perjuangan Karpal Singh yang sudah lama berjuang untuk pembangkang selama berdekad-dekad lamanya.

Kedua, mereka tidak menghormati golongan pemimpin veteran dalam Pakatan Rakyat.

Ketiga, kalau benar Karpal Singh sudah tua maka bukankah pemimpin seperti Nik Aziz, Anwar, Lim Kit Siang dan banyak lagi pemimpin tua dalam Pakatan Rakyat perlu berundur ?

Keadaan ini bertambah parah apabila ahli PKR cuba untuk memainkan isu perkauman dalam isu persengketaan antara Karpal Singh dan Ramasamy.

Mereka memanggil sidang akhbar di Petaling Jaya dan cuba untuk memecahkan perpaduan dalam kalangan masyarakat India sendiri.

"He may be a 'King' to the Sikh community, but not to the Indian community," said Saminathan, no doubt referring to the Bollywood hit film 'Singh is King' (2008), sebagaimana dilaporkan.

Pertama, bukankah selama ini Pakatan Rakyat menjerit kepimpinan tanpa mengira bangsa? Maknanya jika seseorang itu adalah pemimpin India maka pemimpin tersebut adalah pemimpin kepada Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan, Bidayu dan pelbagai lagi bangsa di Malaysia. Namun mengapa dalam isu ini wujud kenyataan seperti pemimpin Sikh bukan pemimpin kepada masyarakat India di negara kita?

Kedua, apakah pada hari ini PKR cuba untuk membezakan status quo sesama komuniti India sendiri? Kenyataan ahli PKR jauh lebih racist berbanding dengan Perkasa Ibrahim Ali kerana sekurang-kurangnya Ibrahim Ali racist terhadap bangsa lain tetapi kenyataan ahli PKR racist dalam komuniti mereka sendiri.

Ketiga , ahli-ahli PKR yang cuba untuk menghina masyarakat Sikh dengan perlambangan Bollywood Singh is King perlu meminta maaf kepada semua masyarakat Sikh di Malaysia.

Dalam isu ini juga apakah PKR cuba untuk menjadi Taiko dalam Pakatan Rakyat sehinnga ahli mereka sendiri berani bersuara untuk menyuruh Pengerusi DAP Malaysia untuk meletak jawatan?

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Nazri's son whacks a security guard...

The son of de facto law minister NazriAbdul Aziz was alleged to have assaulted a security supervisor at aplush condominium at Mont Kiara on Tuesday night.

Contacted today, Brickfields district police chief Wan Abdul Bari WanAbdul Khalid confirmed the that two police reports related to theincident had been lodged.

"The case has been classified under section 160 of the Penal Codecommitting affray," he said, declining to divulge details of the case.

NONEAcondominium management spokesperson confirmed that there had been aminor altercation between the security and the visitor, adding thatfurther comments should be directed to the police.

A source, familiar with the incident, told Malaysiakini that the alleged assault was captured on CCTV cameras.

Cover up pressure on

The individual added that the condominium management was now underpressure to cover up the incident because security firms depend on thefederal government to renew their licence.

Mohamad Nedim Mohd Nazri Aziz 
The minister's son is said to be Mohamad Nedim Mohd Nazri Aziz (right), who drove a Porsche sports car to the condominium. Followed by a luxury MPV, driven by his bodyguard.

The bodyguard had alighted from the luxury MPV to have his particularsrecorded on behalf of both vehicles, but the condominium guardsinsisted that both drivers do so separately.

An argument ensued, resulting in the supervisor being called in to mediate the si! tuation.

"The bodyguard claimed that the person in the Porsche was a 'Tengku(royalty)', but the supervisor explained that they had to register eachdriver because of the regulations set by the management," said thesource.


This apparently angered Nedim who alighted from his vehicle andallegedly choked the supervisor's neck before landing a punch on hishead.

"The supervisor could not fight back as he was being held by 


Nazri's calling card


The supervisor, in his 50s, suffered bruises. He lodged a police reportat the Jalan Travers police station the same night after undergoingchecks at a hospital.

Meanwhile, the source said Nedim's bodyguard had lodged a police report on his boss's behalf at the same police station.
 
He claimed to have handed over Nazri's (below) calling card from the Prime Minister's Department.

The bodyguard, said to have identified himself as Nedim's employee tothe police, admitted engaging in an altercation with the supervisor,because of the latter's rude behaviour.

He had allegedly told the police that the supervisor punched him first and later challenged him to a fight.

He also told the police that during the fracas, he floored thesupervisor with a kick to the guts, adding that the supervisor thensucker punched him in the face.



 Anak Nazri balun seorang Pegawai Keselamatan...

Anak Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Azizdidakwa menyerang seorang penyelia keselamatan ! di sebua h kondominiummewah di Mount Kiara pada malam Selasa lalu.

Ketua Polis DaerahPolis Brickfields, Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid ketika dihubungihari ini mengesahkan bahawa dua laporan polis berkaitan dengan kejadianitu telah dibuat.

"Kes diklasifikasikan mengikut Seksyen 160Kanun Keseksaan kerana terbabit dengan pergaduhan," katanya, yangkeberatan memberikan butiran lanjut kes itu.

Seorang jurucakappengurusan kondominium itu mengesahkan bahawa terdapat perbalahan kecilantara anggota keselamatan dan tetamu bangunan itu. Beliau engganmengulas lanjut dan berkata butiran kejadian perlu dirujuk kepada polis.

Menurut sumber, kejadian berkenaan sempat dirakamkan melalui kamera CCTV.

Mohamad Nedim Mohd Nazri Aziz 
Pengurusankondominium itu juga dikatakan sedang menghadapi tekanan supaya'menutup' kejadian itu kerana firma-firma keselamatan bergantung kepadakelulusan kerajaan persekutuan untuk memperbaharui lesen operasi mereka.

Padakejadian itu, anak menteri berkenaan Mohamad Nedim Mohd Nazri Aziz,yang memandu kereta sport Porsche ke kondominium teresebut. Beliaudiikuti oleh pengawal keselamatnnya yang memandu sebuah MPV mewah.

Pengawalperibadi itu dilaporkan turun dari kenderaannya untuk mendaftarbutir-butir peribadi bagi tetamu yang melawat bangunan itu tetapipengawal kondominium berkeras bahawa kedua-dua pemandu mesti berbuatdemikian secara berasingan.

Ini menyebabkan pertengkaran hangatdan penyelia keselamatan dipanggil bagi menyelesaikan masalah itutetapi perkara sebaliknya berlaku.


source:malaysiakini

Comments...
 
james1067 - Just put the ministers and s! ome of t heroyaltys children to shame. The ministers are only driven around intheir perdanas and have a bodyguard in the car. This Tengku drives aPorshe with a bodguard driving an MPV as an escort.

Anonymous - Nazri's son's owns a Porsche and hasbodyguards? My son graduated even earlier but only drives a Myvi...Moral of the story: If you want to own a Porsche, join "ALI BABA ANDTHE 40,000 THIEVES"

Ubah - Poor security guard, and the supervisor. Whoknows what will happen to them soon? They are just getting RM5 an hourto feed themselves and their family...

NADARAJAN RENGASAMY - That is why i prefer Malay leadersfrom PAS. They are humble and down to earth people. Most of the MalayPAS leaders and their children are well mannered. They dont smokecigar, drive a porche with body guards and assult others. Only the UMNOministers Children smoke Cigar, drive porche and assult others. This iswhat will call ABUSE of the 'hak keistimewaan orang melayu'. OrangMelayu di kampung hisap Curut, anak Nazri hisap Cigar. Orang MelayuKampung naik Proton, anak Nazri naik Porche. Orang Melaku Kampung Polistangkap, anak nazri polis protect.

cheers.
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Artistic Freedom and Zenos Frudakis

"Freedom" by Zenos Frudakis
Size: 20 feet long x 8 feet high
Medium: Bronze
Location: GSK World Headquarters, 16th and Vine Streets, Philadelphia, PA

Zenos' statement about his vision of the sculpture

Zenos Frudakis
I wanted to create a sculpture almost anyone, regardless of their background, could look at and instantly recognize that it is about the idea of struggling to break free. This sculpture is about the struggle for achievement of freedom through the creative process.

Although for me, this feeling sprang from a particular personal situation, I was conscious that it was a universal desire with almost everyone; that need to escape from some situation – be it an internal struggle or an adversarial circumstance, and to be free from it.

I began this work in a very traditional sculptural manner by creating a small model in clay called a macquette. The purpose of beginning in this manner is to capture the large action and major proportions of the figure within the overall design without any details to detract from the big idea. Another reason for not having details and for working on a small model only a few inches in height is that the small armature within it, holding the clay, is more easily manipulated, allowing for much greater flexibility in developing a concept. For example, an arm, a leg or a head can be pushed around without any concern for obliterating details, such as a nose or a finger.

The macquette is the original mass of clay where a concept is born and from which it grows and develops. This was important later when I enlarged the sculpture from several inches long to 20 feet long, and I retained in the larger work a sense that all the conceptual material, its forms, focus and development sprang from this rough idea. The work metamorphosized, in the way that we do.

Although there are four figures represented, the work is really one figure moving from left to right. The composition develops from left to right beginning with a kind of mummy/death like captive figure locked into its background. In the second frame, the figure, reminiscent of Michaelangelo's Rebellious Slave, begins to stir and struggle to escape. The figure in the third frame has torn himself from the wall that held him captive and is stepping out, reaching for freedom. In the fourth frame, the figure is entirely free, victorious, arms outstretched, completely away from the wall and from the grave space he left behind. He evokes an escape from his own mortality.

[Read the rest here.]

IN LOVING MEMORIAM

MY BELOVED MOTHER 
WHO WOULD HAVE TURNED 94 TODAY


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Artistic Freedom and Zenos Frudakis

"Freedom" by Zenos Frudakis
Size: 20 feet long x 8 feet high
Medium: Bronze
Location: GSK World Headquarters, 16th and Vine Streets, Philadelphia, PA

Zenos' statement about his vision of the sculpture

Zenos Frudakis
I wanted to create a sculpture almost anyone, regardless of their background, could look at and instantly recognize that it is about the idea of struggling to break free. This sculpture is about the struggle for achievement of freedom through the creative process.

Although for me, this feeling sprang from a particular personal situation, I was conscious that it was a universal desire with almost everyone; that need to escape from some situation – be it an internal struggle or an adversarial circumstance, and to be free from it.

I began this work in a very traditional sculptural manner by creating a small model in clay called a macquette. The purpose of beginning in this manner is to capture the large action and major proportions of the figure within the overall design without any details to detract from the big idea. Another reason for not having details and for working on a small model only a few inches in height is that the small armature within it, holding the clay, is more easily manipulated, allowing for much greater flexibility in developing a concept. For example, an arm, a leg or a head can be pushed around without any concern for obliterating details, such as a nose or a finger.

The macquette is the original mass of clay where a concept is born and from which it grows and develops. This was important later when I enlarged the sculpture from several inches long to 20 feet long, and I retained in the larger work a sense that all the conceptual material, its forms, focus and development sprang from this rough idea. The work metamorphosized, in the way that we do.

Although there are four figures represented, the work is really one figure moving from left to right. The composition develops from left to right beginning with a kind of mummy/death like captive figure locked into its background. In the second frame, the figure, reminiscent of Michaelangelo's Rebellious Slave, begins to stir and struggle to escape. The figure in the third frame has torn himself from the wall that held him captive and is stepping out, reaching for freedom. In the fourth frame, the figure is entirely free, victorious, arms outstretched, completely away from the wall and from the grave space he left behind. He evokes an escape from his own mortality.

[Read the rest here.]

IN LOVING MEMORIAM

MY BELOVED MOTHER 
WHO WOULD HAVE TURNED 94 TODAY


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Asylum deal with M’sia back on agenda

MELBOURNE: Australlia's new Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr said last night the proposed asylum seeker swap deal with Malaysia was back on the agenda as Parliament debates legislation to amend the Migration Act.

Independent MP Rob Oakeshott introduced a private members' bill last week in a bid to break the deadlock on the issue of asylum seekers and of legalising offshore processing.

Carr said the Australian government had been working with its counterparts in Malaysia, and that Putrajaya was prepared for a new deal to go ahead.

"Without the Malaysian solution, we are left with a half-baked, improvised, unwilling Indonesian solution," he told ABC TV's Lateline.

"Without the Malaysian solution, all the region is left with is… a burden placed on our Indonesian neighbour, a parlous position in the ports of Indonesia, people at risk at sea and a message going out that Australia can't control its borders in a way it would like.

"It's altogether unsatisfactory," Carr said.

"There is one political leader in Australia who's brought it about and that's (opposition leader) Tony Abbott, who chants the message, 'stop the boats', but has stopped the programme that would stop the boats."

The opposition says it will not support Oakeshott's legislation, describing it as "just the government's bill rebadged".

But Carr said opposition Liberal Party's plan to turn back boats carrying asylum seekers had not impressed the Indonesian government.

Carr met the Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa for talks last week.

"They're saying behind the scenes what they said publicly last Thursday. It won't work, it's unfair to them and it would be altogether unsatisfactory," Carr said.

- Bernama

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Asylum deal with M’sia back on agenda

MELBOURNE: Australlia's new Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr said last night the proposed asylum seeker swap deal with Malaysia was back on the agenda as Parliament debates legislation to amend the Migration Act.

Independent MP Rob Oakeshott introduced a private members' bill last week in a bid to break the deadlock on the issue of asylum seekers and of legalising offshore processing.

Carr said the Australian government had been working with its counterparts in Malaysia, and that Putrajaya was prepared for a new deal to go ahead.

"Without the Malaysian solution, we are left with a half-baked, improvised, unwilling Indonesian solution," he told ABC TV's Lateline.

"Without the Malaysian solution, all the region is left with is… a burden placed on our Indonesian neighbour, a parlous position in the ports of Indonesia, people at risk at sea and a message going out that Australia can't control its borders in a way it would like.

"It's altogether unsatisfactory," Carr said.

"There is one political leader in Australia who's brought it about and that's (opposition leader) Tony Abbott, who chants the message, 'stop the boats', but has stopped the programme that would stop the boats."

The opposition says it will not support Oakeshott's legislation, describing it as "just the government's bill rebadged".

But Carr said opposition Liberal Party's plan to turn back boats carrying asylum seekers had not impressed the Indonesian government.

Carr met the Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa for talks last week.

"They're saying behind the scenes what they said publicly last Thursday. It won't work, it's unfair to them and it would be altogether unsatisfactory," Carr said.

- Bernama

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Ucapan Menjunjung Kasih Titah Ucapan DYMM Sultan Selangor

Tuan Speaker,

Seri Setia mohon turut serta dalam perbahasan menjunjung kasih ke atas Titah Ucapan DYMM Tuanku.

Di dalam ucapan Baginda, Baginda telah mengingatkan agar kita semua berbahas secara rasional dan tertib, bukan emosi; mengutamakan rakyat, bukan parti dengan bertunjangkan Undang-Undang Tubuh Kerajaan Negeri dan Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Malangnya kita menyaksikan beberapa insiden politik fitnah dan samseng akhir-akhir ini yang bertentangan dengan semangat demokrasi. Media-media arus perdana memaparkan bahan-bahan lucah kepada anak-anak kita. Video-video lucah diedar dengan berkulitkan gambar Tuan Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat. Pemimpin-pemimpin pembangkang diserang oleh samseng.

Pagi tadi juga kita mendengar Sungai Pelek membangkitkan beberapa isu berkaitan SJKC. Pertama, kononnya peranan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam protes masyarakat Cina terhadap pencabulan terhadap SJKC pada 1987. Lupakah beliau, pada tahun itu, selaku Ketua Pemuda UMNO, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak telah memberi amaran untuk menghunus keris bermandikan darah Cina?

Juga adakah Sungai Pelek tidak sedar, kenyataan yang dirakamkan oleh video yang dibuat Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pada 15 Mei 2010 pada Pilihan Raya Kecil Sibu, bagi mengatasi masalah banjir di sana:

"Can we have deal or not? Can we have an understanding or not? You help me, I help you. It is quite simple."

Bayangkan, kenyataan sebegini dibuat oleh seorang Perdana Menteri dan Presiden Parti!

Datuk Seri Najib yang juga Pengerusi Perhubungan UMNO Selangor telah meletakkan Selangor sebagai negeri barisan hadapan untuk ditawan BN dalam Pilihan Raya Umum akan datang. Justeru tidak mengejutkan apabila kita melihat pelbagai perkara ajaib berlaku di dalam daftar pemilih Selangor.

Di kawasan Seri Setia misalnya, pengundi yang beralamat di Kampung Saujana, tanpa pengetahuan mereka telah dipindahkan ke DUN Kota Damansara dan Parlimen Subang. Malah, pendedahan terbaru mendapati YAB Ijok sendiri dipindahkan daripada mengundi di Kuala Selangor ke Parlimen Lembah Pantai!

Rakyat sudah bergerak ke hadapan, malangnya pemimpin BN dan kuncu-kuncu mereka nampaknya masih terperangkap di dalam politik usang dan mencabul demokrasi. Hairan sekali, apabila bab ini, pejuang yang mendakwa mempertahankan Melayu-Islam tak sentuh langsung pula. Mungkin mereka kena belajar adabul ikhtilaf.

Seri Setia juga mengambil maklum peringatan DYMM Tuanku tentang Tanah Rizab Melayu. Malang sekali, penyelewengan ini berlaku ketika zaman UMNO-Barisan Nasional yang hari ini menyerang Pakatan Rakyat menggadaikan hak Melayu. Malah usaha ini cuba diteruskan termasuk permohonan UMNO Bahagian Puchong yang diketuai Ketua Pembangkang Seri Serdang menjual sebidang tanah rizab Melayu kepada syarikat bukan Bumiputera Lagi Gemilang Sdn Bhd telah ditolak oleh YAB Ijok pada 25 Januari 2010.

Yang Berhormat-Yang Berhormat Sekalian,

Jika pada PRU-12 dahulu YB Sungai Panjang meletakkan objektif pembangkang sifar, namun rakyat dengan izin Allah s.w.t. telah membuktikan sebaliknya. KEADILAN, PAS dan DAP telah membentuk Kerajaan Negeri yang kini sudah mencapai usia empat tahun dan boleh berbangga dengan pelbagai pencapaian yang dibuat demi rakyat.

Kita semua maklum tentang Program Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor. Meskipun dasar-dasar seperti pemberian air percuma, Tabung Warisan Anak Selangor dan Skim Mesra Usia Emas diserang oleh BN, kerana pada hakikatnya dasar-dasar yang mengagihkan hasil negeri untuk rakyat tersebut tidak terbayang oleh kerajaan BN sebelum ini meskipun selepas 50 tahun memerintah, dasar ini telah diciplak oleh BN.

Pemberian bil elektrik percuma bawah RM20 dan Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia misalnya adalah gula-gula yang hanya dibuat selepas melihat impak program Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor. Bezanya, jika BR1M dibuat secara 'one-off' menjelang pilihan raya, MES diperkenalkan secara berterusan 100 hari selepas Kerajaan Pakatan dibentuk di Selangor.

Tidak beberapa lama dahulu, pimpinan BN sering menyatakan bahawa hanya mereka yang mampu membawa pembangunan. Hanya BN yang mampu mewakili masyarakat pelbagai kaum. Namun pencapaian Pakatan Rakyat, khususnya di Selangor, negeri paling maju dan majmuk di negara telah membuktikan momokan tersebut benar-benar meleset.

Menurut seorang sarjana, Dr Ooi Kee Beng:

"Daripada lima buah negeri yang dimenangi oleh Pakatan Rakyat pada Mac 2008, Selangor mempunyai nilai signifikan yang agak berbeza mengambil kira Selangor sebagai pusat perkembangan ekonomi, tumpuan demografik, pembangunan, hubungan antara kaum dan minat kepada politik. Pulau Pinang, Kedah dan Kelantan adalah negeri-negeri yang tidak menggambarkan ciri nasional… dan Perak tidak membawa makna ekonomi."

Lebih penting lagi, pencapaian di Selangor juga meliputi kejayaan institusi bukan material semata-mata sebagaimana dibuktikan dengan adanya Enakmen Kebebasan Maklumat dan penghidupan Jawatankuasa-Jawatankuasa Terpilih di Dewan khususnya SELCAT.

Tuan Speaker,

Seri Setia juga ingin membangkitkan beberapa isu-isu setempat di DUN Seri Setia. Isu sampah telah mendapat perhatian meluas daripada media-media arus perdana. Sebenarnya, banyak masalah ini diperbesar-besarkan dan Kerajaan Negeri sudah memulakan langkah-langkah untuk mengatasinya.

Namun tidak dinafikan masih ada masalah sedikit-sebanyak dalam isu sampah ini termasuk di DUN Seri Setia. Antara rungutan yang diperolehi oleh Seri Setia daripada Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan apabila saya menyampaikan aduan penduduk tentang masalah pungutan sampah ialah pusat pelupusan sampah tidak dibuka 24 jam sehari 7 hari seminggu.

Kesannya meskipun kontraktor mengutip sampah, mereka terpaksa menunggu masa lama untuk membuang sampah di pusat pelupusan. Bagi yang tidak bertanggungjawab, mereka membuang sampah di tempat-tempat lain. Saya berharap Kerajaan Negeri mengambil tindakan segera dalam hal ini.

Satu lagi isu ialah kesesakan lalulintas. Seri Setia berjiran dengan Subang Jaya dan menghadapi kesesakan yang serius khususnya di Lebuhraya Persekutuan dan Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong. Kawasan Seri Setia berhadapan dengan pembangunan baru seperti projek Paradigm, Icon City dan lain-lain lagi, serta pembangunan sedia ada.

Selepas Pakatan Rakyat mengambil alih, MBPJ telah memperkenalkan bas komuniti. Namun Seri Setia difahamkan penggunaan bas komuniti masih lagi belum mencapai tahap optimum.

Di dalam perbincangan Seri Setia dengan PKNS, mereka memaklumkan ada rancangan memperkenalkan sistem pengangkutan bas transit bersama pemaju-pemaju di beberapa kawasan di Petaling Jaya.

Justeru Seri Setia berharap Kerajaan Negeri menerusi PKNS dan MBPJ dapat bersama-sama menggabungkan syor mereka bersama agar dapat menambahbaik bas komuniti menjadi sistem bas awam di bawah Kerajaan Negeri bagi seluruh Petaling Jaya.

Yang Berhormat-Yang Berhormat Sekalian,

YM Tunku 'Abidin Tuanku Muhriz pernah menulis bahawa meskipun Malaysia merupakan satu-satunya negara persekutuan di rantau ini, namun pada realitinya semakin banyak kuasa ditumpukan pada Kerajaan Pusat berbanding dengan negara-negara jiran.

Justeru, amat bertepatan sekali untuk YAB Ijok dan Kerajaan Negeri secara konsisten membangkitkan isu menghidupkan semangat federalisme sebagaimana termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan negara.

Pembahagian kuasa-kuasa di dalam Perlembagaan antara senarai Persekutuan, senarai negeri dan senarai bersama menggambarkan keadaan negara sewaktu merdeka. Namun selepas lebih 50 tahun merdeka, sewajarnya semua pihak membincangkan semula senarai-senarai ini. Kuasa-kuasa seperti polis, pendidikan dan pengangkutan awam yang lazimnya diletakkan pada kerajaan tempatan atau negeri di negara-negara lain masih merupakan di dalam senarai Persekutuan di Malaysia.

Negara Jerman, misalnya, telah memperkenalkan devolusi pendidikan kepada kerajaan-kerajaan negeri pada tahun 2006. Kesannya, wujud persaingan antara negeri-negeri di Jerman untuk mengekalkan guru dan pelajar terbaik, sekaligus meningkatkan pelaburan dalam sektor pendidikan yang memberi manfaat kepada seluruh negara.

Antara syor YAB Ijok yang boleh digunapakai ialah penubuhan Suruhanjaya Pemberian Geran sebagaimana diamalkan di negara-negara persekutuan Komanwel yang lain seperti Australia dan Kanada. Penubuhan Suruhanjaya ini membolehkan agar setiap negeri menerima peruntukan yang adil daripada Kerajaan Pusat berdasarkan kedudukan ekonomi, bilangan penduduk, keluasan kawasan dan sebagainya.

DYMM Tuanku telah menyeru agar perbezaan pandangan politik tidak menghalang usaha-usaha murni untuk kebajikan seluruh rakyat Selangor. Namun amalan penubuhan Jawatankuasa Kemajuan Kampung Pusat (JKKKP) yang membayangi JKKK Kerajaan Negeri membuktikan kegagalan BN untuk berbuat demikan.

Seri Setia juga berharap pihak Pembangkang dapat turut sama menyokong usaha ini kerana apabila Pakatan Rakyat membentuk Kerajaan Pusat kelak, negeri-negeri BN juga tidak mahu didiskriminasikan sebagaimana negeri-negeri bukan BN sebelum ini.

Seri Setia mohon mencadang.

Sekian, terima kasih.

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Before being known as “Bapa Transformasi”, Najib must show he is not “Bapa U-Turn” first

By Lim Kit Siang

Less than 3 years into his term as the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak has already been showered with the accolade of "Bapa Transformasi" courtesy of his many transformation programs. The litany of acronyms associated with Najib is like a never-ending alphabet soup – GTP, ETP, PTP, NEM, NKEA, NKRA, NEAC, EPP, SRIs.

One almost needs a reference dictionary to keep track of them. But despite his many programs, he is still very, very far from being a transformative Prime Minister. And his many programs are still very, very far from being transformative.

On the eve of what will be the most tightly contested general election in our history, Najib has shown a greater willingness to make U-Turns when faced with tough decisions that would have made Malaysia into a more progressive, liberal and vibrant country.

His various transformation programs are nothing more than expensive tax funded PR exercises that masks the business and politics as usual way of doing things that is taking place behind the scenes within the corridors of Putrajaya and within UMNO's headquarters at PWTC.

Before Najib can earn the title of 'Bapa Transformasi', he needs to show that he is not 'Bapa U-Turn' first.

Najib's U-Turn on Religious Freedom in Malaysia makes a mockery of his 1 Malaysia Slogan

Lets start with the most tragic U-turns made by our Prime Minister. Najib made a total mockery of his 1 Malaysia slogan when he not only failed to respect the High Court ruling against the Home Ministry for bann! ing the Herald, a publication of the Catholic Church in Malaysia, for using the word Allah, he made matters worse by appearing to condone protests against this ruling.

The result was an unprecedented 10 attacks against churches (four in the Klang Valley, one in Taiping, two in Negeri Sembilan, one in Melaka, one in Johor, one in Miri), an attack against a Sikh temple (in KL) as well as one surau in Klang.

Najib could have done the right thing by not appealing against the decision of the High Court. Instead, he allowed his Attorney General to appeal this decision. Meanwhile, he tried to do damage control by contributing funds to the Metro Tabernacle church in Kajang, which was badly damaged by a petrol bomb.

This issue would raise its ugly head again in March 2011, just prior to the Sarawak state elections when custom officials refused to release 30,000 Indonesian bibles in Kuching and 5100 Indonesian bibles in Port Klang.

All this could have been prevented if Najib had not U-turned on his 1 Malaysia slogan but had respected the right of Christians, especially the native populations in Sabah and Sarawak, to use the word Allah, as they have done for generations.

Najib's meeting with the Pope and his push for a Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) are nothing but empty gestures if the basic religious freedoms of Malaysian Christians are not respected.

Najib's U-Turn on the New Economic Model shows that he is afraid of taking on groups like Perkasa in order to fundamentally transform our economy

Part 1 of the New Economic Model (NEM) was widely praised by a cross-section of society because it emphasized market friendly affirmative action programs that would target the bottom 40% of households, the large majority of whom are Bumiputera.

The move towards an income based affirmative action policy was a strategic departure from the race based affirmative action policy, which includes the 30% Bumiputera equity policy that has been a constant feature in past govern! ment pol icy documents.

One of the strategic initiatives required for this policy to be implemented was the establishment of an Equal Opportunities Commission to 'ensure fairness and address undue discrimination where occasional abuses by dominant groups are counter'.

Instead of supporting Part 1 of the NEM, Najib caved in to pressures from Perkasa and re-instated the language of the NEP in the 10th Malaysian Plan. The language of market friendly affirmative action policies was significantly watered down in the concluding part of the NEM.

More significantly, the Equal Opportunities Commission was shelved much to the disappointed of the late Dr Zainal Aznam Yusof, a member of the National Economic Advisory Council was drafted the NEM.

Where courage was required, Najib instead choose the path of cowardice.

If the proposals of the NEM were carried out in a comprehensive manner, our country would have been put on the path towards fundamental and necessary economic transformation.

Instead, what we have seen is the lack of political will and courage to do the economically necessary in favor of political expediency.

We have seen Najib making similar U-turns in favor of political expediency because he is scared of groups like Perkasa and also of elements within his own party, UMNO.

He failed to rein in the UMNO owned newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, which made baseless accusations against the opposition and civil society groups and individuals in order to create fear and feeling of ill-will among the Malays towards the non-Malays.

His wife, Datin Seri Rosmah, was also the guest of honor at a recent fund raising dinner for Perkasa, lending support to the accusation that Perkasa is an arm of UMNO.

This only goes to show that Najib will only be too glad to make further U-turns when any of these groups protest against economic policies which are in the interest of the country as a whole but not in their own narrow economic interests.

Najib's U-Turn! s on Eco nomic Policies makes a mockery of his statement that 'the era of government knows best is over"

Najib's predecessor Tun Abdullah Badawi made a mockery of the phrase 'Work with me, not for me'. Similarly, Najib is making a mockery of his often repeated phrase that 'the era of government knows best is over'. So many of his government policies contradict this philosophy that it would take the entire parliamentary session to list out and to debate. Here, I will just list a few for the attention of the Dewan.

The NEM outlines a strategy of government divestment in order to decrease the involvement of the government in the economy. But at the same time, we continue to see the establishment of new government agencies which are involved in significant sectors of the economy.

The most notable of these is 1MDB which has no property development experience or track record whatsoever but has been given the mandate to develop two major parcels of prime land in the heart of Kuala Lumpur – the site of the TUDM air base in Sungai Besi and a major plot of land between Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Sultan Ismail.

Why did Najib not parcel out these lots of land via open tender to the private sector instead of handing these lots over to a government agency? The sale of these plots via open tender would not only raise more revenue for the government but also allow different players from the private sector (including GLCs) which have more experience in property development to participate.

1MDB is not only looking at ventures in property development but is also interested in opportunities in the energy, tourism and agri business. Most recently, 1MDB paid RM8.5 billion to acquire the power assets of Tanjong Energy Sdn Bhd from Ananda Krishnan.

Another initiative announced by Najib is the establishment of the RM500 million government owned private equity fund called Ekuinas which has been tasked to take strategic stakes in certain companies in order to increase bumiputera part! icipatio n in the economy.

Again, it is not clear how another government agency can add value to the many already existing programs including many which are run by various government ministries can contribute to the goal of increasing bumiputera participation in the economy.

Yet another agency called TERAJU, endowed with RM2 billion in taxpayer funds, was established in order to promote even more Bumiputera participation in the economy. Again, one fails to see how another such agency can add further value to this objective beyond the purview of existing programs and organizations.

These are just a few examples of how Najib's actions are a U-turn of his statement that "the era of government knows best is over".

Najib's propensity to make U-Turns has also infected Senator Idris Jala who now says that Malaysia is no longer in danger of being bankrupt

Senator Idris Jala, who is the CEO of PEMANDU, infamously warned that Malaysia would be bankrupt by 2019 if the country did not deviate from its spending patterns and decrease its dependence on subsidies.

But in a recent column, he seems to think that these dangers have subsided since 'by all measures the Malaysian government finances are good'.

Sadly, even a consummate and apolitical professional like Idris Jala cannot run away from playing politics. The truth is that there are even more reasons today for us to worry about the state of the government finances compared to May 2010 when Idris first made his dire warning.

Our spending on subsidies have actually increased from RM23.1 billion in 2010 to RM32.8 billion in 2011. Our spending on sugar subsidies have actually doubled from RM262 million to RM567 million despite a fall in global sugar prices.

The government's operating expenditure was projected to grow at 18.9% from 2010 to 2011 compared to revenue growth of only 14.9% in the same period. This operating expenditure will grow even faster under the newly revised salary scheme which some re! ports in dicate will cost the government an additional RM6 billion per annum.

And all this does not even take into account the rise in contingent liabilities due to the bonds which have been issued by Prasarana for the LRT extension project and the bonds which will be issued by MRT Co for the massive MRT project, by far the largest public infrastructure project in our nation's history.

At the same time, our economy grew at 5.1% which is at the lower range of the 5% to 5.5% projected growth rate by the Ministry of Finance. This is below the 6% target set by PEMANDU.

A significant proportion of this growth was driven by increases in government spending and government activity. For example, final government consumption increased by 16.8% in 2011 compared to a 6.9% increase in private sector consumption.

During the same period, output of the government services sector grew by 11.6% compared to just 4.5% for the manufacturing sector and 6.8% for the entire services sector.

This kind of government sector led growth is obviously not sustainable in the long run since it is growth in the private sector that will contribute to economic growth and increased tax revenues.

In other words, our country's public finance outlook has worsened over the past 1 1/2 years without any noticeable improvement in the economic growth outlook of our country, the Economic Transformation Program (ETP) not withstanding.

One cannot help but wonder if Senator Jala has spent too much time with Prime Minister Najib and in doing so, has caught the U-Turn bug.
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Ignorance is not bliss, it is murder!

FMT LETTER: From Seethalakshmi Suppiah, via e-mail

I am writing in response to the article "Campaign to curb homosexuality" published yesterday. It is disheartening to see how the government is playing Pin social issues/problems on the LGBT community. This is not the first time we hear the government and "doctors" saying that being LGBT will bring rise to drug abuse, prostitution and HIV. There is just too much misinformation being fed to sit back and not say anything about it.

For starters the government did a good job in making it look like every LGBT person has a marijuana garden in their backyard. If the primary concern here is really drug abuse then maybe the government should look into curbing drug trafficking instead of trying to rehabilitate harmless people out of their sexual orientation. They should also look into making local drug rehabilitation centres more effective instead of a place where higher dosage of drugs is being handed out to inmates.

It is not known to me that a gay man or a lesbian woman would make frequent or any attempts to seek out a prostitute. It looks to me that they are trying to pin this on the transgendered community, hence as usual generalising an entire minority group. In my humble opinion, I do not buy into this notion, BUT hypothetically speaking and what they say is true, isn't it because of the lack of equal opportunity? Isn't it because they are ostracised by an ignorant society and an even more ignorant government? Isn't it because there is a demand and then a supply? So, aren't they yet again looking to "rehabilitate" the wrong set of people?

Anybody in their right mind knows that being homosexual or transgendered does not cause HIV/AIDS. People contract AIDS due to many reasons some of which include unprotected sex, sharing of needles and blood transfusion, sexual orientation is not one of them. I believe that the statistics show that heterosexuals make up the larger percentage of being HIV positive is it then fair to say that heterosexuality causes AIDS? My point is if you practise any of the above it makes you susceptible to HIV positive regardless of a person's sexual orientation.

People fail to see that every person has feelings and constantly being told that being who you are causes social ills and that it is not normal will most definitely cause a person to feel severely insecure. The more hatred is spewed the more difficult it gets to live a decent life and this here is the real problem – the lack of understanding and compassion. This is detrimental to any society and would have psychological effects on any person.

If the government really does indeed want to 'help' the LGBT community it should start with giving us a chance, then you would see that we are as capable and talented as our peers and that we can contribute so much values to society. If they really want to 'help' it should come from a space of love not hate, it should come from understanding not rejection.

The way I see it the reaction of the government is one fuelled by ignorance. Ignorance is not bliss, it is murder!

Also read: Campaign to curb homosexuality
Stop the homosexual witch-hunt

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Azmin dakwa Hasan Ali salah guna lebih RM800, 000

SEKITAR DUN S'GOR

SHAH ALAM: Adun Gombak Setia, Datuk Dr Hasan Ali didakwa menyalahguna wang kerajaan negeri mencecah lebih RM800, 000  untuk kegunaan program dan pengubahsuaian pejabat ketika menjadi exco kerajaan negeri Selangor,

Perkara itu didedahkan Azmin Ali (PKR-Bukit Antarabangsa) ketika membahaskan usul titah Sultan Selangor dalam sidang dewan undangan negeri hari ini.

Azmin mendakwa Hasan yang juga exco Hal Ehwal Agama Islam, Adat-adat Melayu, Infrastruktur dan Kemudahan Awam, ketika itu berbelanja lebih RM500 , 000 untuk pelbagai program di bawah Perbadanan Adat Istiadat Melayu (PADAT).

Beliau juga mendakwa Hasan menggunakan RM300, 000 untuk mengubahsuai pejabat exco.

"Saya mendapat maklumat awal kerana jabatan audit telah menjalankan siasatan menyeluruh. Ia fakta dan bukan tuduhan. Tindakan beliau (Hasan) tidak boleh dimaafkan.

"Pembaziran ini jika dikaitkan dengan perjuangan dibawa Hasan (Islam, Raja, Melayu). Islam mana yang dibawa jika guna wang rakyat dengan tidak berhemah?" katanya kepada pemberita di luar lobi bangunan Annex, bangunan SUK Selangor

`Exco tidak bertanggungjawab'

Azmin turut menuduh Hasan sebagai exco yang tidak bertanggungjawab apabila membelakangkan dasar kerajaan negeri untuk mengamalkan tender terbuka.

Dakwa Azmin tindakan sedemikian adalah percubaan sabotaj yang dilakukan Hasan terhadap kerajaan negeri.

"Beliau sebagi exco membelakangkan dasar kerajaan negeri dengan menghantar terus senarai kontraktor kepada Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) untuk melantik kontraktor menyelenggara jalan di Selangor.

"Perkara ini tidak dapat diterima kerana kerajaan negeri mempertahankan sistem tender terbuka dan telus. Sedangkan ada exco kanan sabotaj dasar ini. Maka tindakan tegas perlu di ambil seperti mana kenyataan saya sebelum beliau dipecat," katanya.

Mengulas mengenai kenyataan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak bahawa BN  yakin merampas Selangor, Azmin berkata ia amalan biasa yang dilakukan seperti yang terjadi di Perak.

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Minimum wage: A need for transparency — Moses Lee

MARCH 23 — The debate on a minimum wage has been hotly discussed in the media and clarity of the issue has been drastically lacking. One of the reasons for the lack of clarity is the objective and outcome of this policy do not match the expectations of the market, particularly small business owners and labour-intensive industries.

I am a supporter of a minimum wage. History is a clear indicator that a price mechanism is an extremely powerful tool in obtaining a desired outcome. However, the government must not forget that good economic management and setting the right policy expectations by the market are equally, if not more, important than just implementing a policy.

Based on what's reported in the media, the main purpose of a minimum wage is to increase welfare of the underpaid, create incentives to upgrade and move up the value-added chain. All these are extremely important for the progress of the country. However, what is the role of the government in maintaining good economic management and providing the right expectations?

My greatest concern is that this policy is implemented without the correct compensation to "losers" in the economy. It is obvious the main losers are all labour-intensive, relying on cheap labour. The overnight impact of a minimum wage will see profits dive and small businesses lose out. In fact, those working on small profit margins will have to shut down overnight.

These are painful truths of such price policies, i.e. minimum wage. However, they can be necessary to ensure that the overall country's welfare is increased.

My concern is now to the government. How does the government intend to appropriately compensate the losers in this policy? In Australia, for example, it was clear from the outset that the GST or carbon tax will be good to the overall economy, but costly to many segments of the economy. This expectation was clearly laid out to all affected. Those who lost out were properly compensated, either through direct monetary transfers or reduced taxes, ensuring they did not suffer an economic loss. All these were extremely transparent, well managed and the policy objectives were well achieved.

The problem we have currently in Malaysia is the lack of transparency, both in the implementation and the management of such policies. It can become unclear to the market whether this lack of clarity is due to poor economic policy and management, or insecurity on the government's behalf. This will undoubtedly create wrong expectations by all business sectors and households.

I would urge the government to provide a clear, transparent picture on this policy's management and expected outcomes. It is important to note that once this policy is implemented, many will be affected and there is very little room for turning back.

* Moses Lee is an associate lecturer in economics at the Australian National University, Canberra, 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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PKR eyes women supporters in Sabah

LAHAD DATU: PKR is all out to woo women voters in Sabah, saying that it is the only political party in the country that has 30% women participation at every level of the party's leadership.

Its national women's wing chief Zuraidah Kamaruddin said that the party is making extra efforts to draw out women voters especially in the east coast of Sabah where Barisan Nasional has a concentrated 'fixed deposit'.

PKR, she said, is bent on unseating the BN candidates here and in the government in the coming general election.

Zuraida said the mood in Sabah had changed and Sabahans are again showing signs of revolt against the status quo as in previous times when they had booted the government of the day.

"However our study has shown that the Malay women voters tend to be more meek and they worry about their husband, children and home.

"So we decided to visit the east coast area of Silam, Semporna, Tawau and Kalabakan to give them confidence and to tell them that PKR is here to uphold their rights and benefits,"

Zuraida, who is also Ampang MP, said PKR is the only political party in the country which has 30% of women participation in any decision making at every level.

"This is a clear indication of the party's sincerity to defend the rights of women in the country. The women today are more educated and smarter, we are planning to put up more women as candidates in the coming election," she said.

Taking a poke at Umno women's wing chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who is embroiled in the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal, she said her withdrawal from the cabinet shows she is not a leader to follow and "it is only logical for more women in the country to move to PKR."

Zuraida said with the many scandals surfacing, the BN has hit rock bottom in voters' minds. This mood, she said, was obvious in Sabah's east coast areas, which were no longer a BN stronghold.

She said PKR is considering including the Silam in its electoral focus.

In Peninsular Malaysia, she revealed that the amendments to the government pension scheme had made women voters, particularly those in the civil service, realise that the BN government had compromised on its earlier promises.

The PKR women's chief also criticised the Education Ministry for spying on teachers and categorizing them as either pro-BN or pro-opposition.

Zuraida was accompanied on her visit to the party's Silam, Kunak and Tawau offices by her deputy Noorsham Abu Samah and Sabah PKR women's wing chief, Lukia Indan.

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PKR parti berbilang bangsa taiko yang racist

SURAT FMT: Dari Shen Yee Aun, melalui e-mel

Merujuk kepada laporan yang disiarkan oleh Malaysia Today baru-baru, kita lihat bagaimana sekumpulan ahli PKR  berbangsa India menyarankan supaya Karpal Singh bersara kerana melihat kepada usia Karpal Singh yang sudah tua.

Pertama , mereka tidak menghargai jasa dan perjuangan Karpal Singh yang sudah lama berjuang untuk pembangkang selama berdekad-dekad lamanya.

Kedua, mereka tidak menghormati golongan pemimpin veteran dalam Pakatan Rakyat.

Ketiga , kalau benar Karpal Singh sudah tua maka bukankah pemimpin seperti Nik Aziz, Anwar, Lim Kit Siang dan banyak lagi pemimpin tua dalam Pakatan Rakyat perlu berundur ?

Keadaan ini bertambah parah apabila ahli PKR cuba untuk memainkan isu perkauman dalam isu persengketaan antara Karpal Singh dan Ramasamy.

Mereka memanggil sidang akhbar di Petaling Jaya dan cuba untuk memecahkan perpaduan dalam kalangan masyarakat India sendiri.

"He may be a 'King' to the Sikh community, but not to the Indian community," said Saminathan, no doubt referring to the Bollywood hit film 'Singh is King' (2008), sebagaimana dilaporkan.

Pertama, bukankah selama ini Pakatan Rakyat menjerit kepimpinan tanpa mengira bangsa? Maknanya jika seseorang itu adalah pemimpin India maka pemimpin tersebut adalah pemimpin kepada Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan, Bidayu dan pelbagai lagi bangsa di Malaysia. Namun mengapa dalam isu ini wujud kenyataan seperti pemimpin Sikh bukan pemimpin kepada masyarakat India di negara kita?

Kedua, apakah pada hari ini PKR cuba untuk membezakan status quo sesama komuniti India sendiri? Kenyataan ahli PKR jauh lebih racist berbanding dengan Perkasa Ibrahim Ali kerana sekurang-kurangnya Ibrahim Ali racist terhadap bangsa lain tetapi kenyataan ahli PKR racist dalam komuniti mereka sendiri.

Ketiga , ahli-ahli PKR yang cuba untuk menghina masyarakat Sikh dengan perlambangan Bollywood Singh is King perlu meminta maaf kepada semua masyarakat Sikh di Malaysia.

Dalam isu ini juga apakah PKR cuba untuk menjadi Taiko dalam Pakatan Rakyat sehinnga ahli mereka sendiri berani bersuara untuk menyuruh Pengerusi DAP Malaysia untuk meletak jawatan?

Pertama, apakah pada hari ini Anwar Ibrahim ingin membalas dendam terhadap Karpal Singh yang pernah suatu ketika dahulu pernah disuruh oleh Karpal Singh untuk meletak jawatan sebagai pemimpin umum Pakatan Rakyat kerana sudah menjadi liabiliti kepada Pakatan Rakyat sehingga anak buahnya menyuruh Karpal Singh meletak jawatan atas alasan yang sama?

Kedua, apakah pada hari ini PKR begitu berkuasa sehingga ahli mereka begitu berani sehingga berani untuk campur tangan dalam urusan parti DAP? Apakah pada hari PKR tidak menghormati kedaulatan parti DAP dalam Pakatan Rakyat?

Ketiga , bukankah dalam isu ini kepimpinan tertinggi PKR perlu mengambil tindakan disiplin terhadap ahli mereka yang bersikap kurang ajar terhadap pemimpin tertinggi DAP? Bukankah ahli-ahli PKR yang begitu biadap menentang seorang Pengerusi Parti DAP perlu meminta maaf kepadanya?

Konklusinya, apakah benar pada hari ini Pakatan Rakyat merupakan model perpaduan dan berbilang bangsa yang ideal apabila perkauman mereka sehingga memecahbelahkan erti perpaduan dalam komuniti sendiri dalam sesuatu masyarakat?

Also read: 'Singh is not king for Indians'
Karpal Singh now facing calls to quit from inside PKR

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Berapa ramai anak kecil harus mati kerana kecuaian ibu bapa?

Sudah 10  hari kanak-kanak malang Nurul Nadirah Abdullah, 5, disahkan mati dibakar rentung. Anak kecil yang juga dikenali sebagai Dirang dilaporkan hilang pada 1 Mac lalu ketika pergi seorang diri ke kedai untuk membeli mi segera dan telur atas arahan ibunya iaitu Roselyn Alan, 25 di Bandar Seri Alam, Pasir Gudang, Johor Bahru.

Komenter ini sengaja ditulis dan disiarkan selepas sebelas hari kematian Dirang yang disahkan oleh pihak Polis selepas keputusan ujian asid deoksiribonukleik (DNA) menemui padanan antara rangka tulang Dirang dengan sample darah Roselyn. Ini ialah kerana lazimnya sesuatu isu besar atau tragedi hanya akan diingati selama seminggu sahaja. Selepas itu isu atau perkara tersebut akan dilupakan ibarat tidak berlaku apa-apa.

Selepas mayat Dirang ditemui dalam keadaan menyayatkan hati, berita tersebut menjadi tajuk utama berita hampir kesemua media cetak, elektronik dan internet. Seluruh rakyat Malaysia mengucapkan takziah dan terkejut dengan kejadian yang menimpa Dirang.

Serentak dengan itu tidak ketinggalan pemimpin parti politik dan pemimpin yang bertaraf menteri, NGO dan pelbagai pihak lagi mengeluarkan kenyataan agar ibu bapa harus mendidik anak supaya menjaga diri, meminta masyarakat peka pada keadaan sekeliling dan meminta pihak polis meningkatkan kawalan dan rondaan.

Bagaimanapun kenyataan seperti ini dan segala macam hebahan, pandangan, komen, kritikan dan rasa panik ini bukanlah sesuatu yang baru dan bukanlah kali pertama berlaku. Sudah berapa kali tragedi seumpama ini telah berlaku?  Sudah berapa kali menteri yang berkenaan mengeluarkan kenyataan yang serupa? Segala ribut berhubung kejadian seperti ini hanya akan kedengaran untuk seminggu dua sahaja. Selepas itu semua pihak akan lupa berhubung insiden tersebut.

Kita imbas kembali beberapa kejadian yang berlaku sebelum ini:

Pada 21 Oktober 2000, mayat Norshuhada Burak, 6, ditemui dalam keadaan separuh bogel dipercayai diperkosa di dalam tong air di atas sebuah rumah di Selayang Baru.. Dia pergi ke kedai untuk membeli keropok.

Pada 17 Januari 2004, Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani, 10, dirogol, diliwat sebelum mayat beliau ditemui dalam keadaan bogel dan tersandar di dalam pondok pengawal stesen pencawang Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Kampung Pekajang, Gelang Patah, Johor. Kejadian berlaku ketika beliau pulang dari kedai dengan menaiki basikal.

Pada 20 Ogos 2007, selepas 27 hari gerakan mencari dilancarkan, mayat Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, 8, ditemui di dalam sebuah beg pakaian yang ditinggalkan di hadapan sebuah kedai di Petaling Jaya. Sebelum kejadian Nurul Jazlin pergi bersendirian ke pasar malam di Seksyen 1, Wangsa Maju.

Pada 9 Januari 2008, Sharlinie Mohd Nashar, 5, hilang ketika bermain bersama kakaknya di padang permainan berdekatan dengan rumahnya di Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya. Sehingga ke hari ini Sharlinie masih tidak ditemui.

Pada 5 Jun 2010, Nisha Chandramohan, 2, hilang ketika dibawa berjalan-jalan oleh ibu saudaranya yang mempunyai masalah mental di Taman Bukit Bendera, Mentakab, Pahang. Nisha juga tidak dapat dikesan sehingga ke hari ini.

Maka selepas 10 hari Dirang dibunuh dengan kejam, apakah langkah kerajaan untuk mengelak agar kejadian seperti ini tidak berulang? Jika sekadar nasihat agar ibu bapa harus lebih berhati-hati dan bertanggungjawab menjaga dan mengawasi anak-anak; sesiapa sahaja boleh berikan nasihat seperti itu.

Tindakan tegas ke atas ibu bapa cuai

Tidak bolehkah kerajaan serta kementerian mengambil satu langkah yang lebih proaktif dan jika perlu satu langkah yang lebih tegas dengan menguatkuasakan undang-undang yang lebih tegas untuk memastikan agar ibu bapa lebih peka dan bertanggungjawab terhadap pergerakan anak-anak mereka?

Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat; Menteri yang menjaga portfolio Undang-Undang, Pejabat Peguam Negara dan Polis DiRaja Malaysia harus merangka satu undang-undang atau memperbaiki undang-undang yang sedia ada untuk mengambil tindakan tegas jika terbukti kematian dan kehilangan anak-anak yang tidak berdosa ini disebabkan oleh kecuaian dan sikap tidak bertanggungjawab ibu bapa.

Jika perlu cuba pelajari model undang-undang dan penguatkuasaan apakah yang digunakan oleh negara-negara barat yang mempunyai penguatkuasaan undang-undang yang lebih tegas dalam isu ini.

Jika cukup bukti, malah jika mempunyai asas untuk didakwa sekalipun, satu atau dua ibu bapa harus didakwa. Sekurang-kurangnya menimbulkan rasa gerun di kalangan  ibu bapa yang masih tidak pernah mengambil iktibar dari kejadian-kejadian yang pernah berlaku sebelum ini.

Media harus berterus terang

Media juga harus berterus terang dengan fakta. Ini ialah kerana walaupun kronologi kejadian-kejadian yang menimpa kanak-kanak malang ini memberi petunjuk ianya berpunca daripada sikap lepas tangan dan cuai ibu bapa, tetapi media tempatan mengambil pendekatan untuk tidak menghukum ibu bapa yang kehilangan anak mereka.

Situasi ini boleh difahami dengan akal logik adalah kerana tidak mahu melukakan hati ibu bapa yang sudah pun merana kerana anak kesayangan mereka dirogol dan dibunuh dengan kejam.

Bagaimanapun sampai bila hati dan perasan ibu bapa harus dijaga oleh pihak media dan orang luar, sedangkan sindrom kurangnya pengawasan ibu bapa tidak mempunyai kesudahan. Yang terus menjadi mangsa ialah anak-anak yang tidak tahu apa-apa.

Dalam kes kematian Dirang hanya sebuah akhbar iaitu Harian Metro melaporkan elemen kecuaian Roselyn iaitu ibu kepada Dirang. Walaupun semua media melaporkan bahawa Roselyn menyuruh Dirang pergi seorang diri ke kedai untuk membeli mi segera dan telur, cuma Harian Metro sahaja yang mendedahkan bahawa Roselyn sibuk melayari Facebook ketika Dirang ke kedai. Akhbar tersebut juga melaporkan Roselyn hanya menyedari Dirang belum balik ke rumah selepas ditanya oleh suami beliau Lima Medeng.

Ibu bapa tidak mengambil iktibar

Tidak mustahil kejadian ini akan berlaku lagi. Asas untuk andaian ini ialah walaupun pembunuhan dan kehilangan kanak-kanak ini mengemparkan negara tetapi anda tidak perlu pergi jauh apakah ibu bapa sudah sedar tentang sikap kecuaian mereka.

Lihat anak-anak di kawasan kejiranan anda. Berapa ramai anak kecil yang masih di suruh pergi ke kedai berseorangan untuk membeli barang keperluan atau makanan ringan. Jika disuruh pergi adik beradik berdua sekali pun ianya tidak banyak membantu kerana kedua-duanya masih kecil.

Lihat pula di kawasan premis perniagaan, di hadapan bank dan di stesen minyak. Berapa ramai dan berapa kali kita boleh melihat bagaimana anak kecil ditinggalkan sementara di dalam kereta atau di atas motor sementara ibu bapa mereka berurusan sebentar di dalam premis perniagaan, bank atau stesen minyak.

Apa yang ingin dipersoalkan di sini ialah wajarkah kanak-kanak yang sekecil ini dibiarkan berseorangan pergi ke mana-mana tanpa ada orang dewasa yang menemani mereka? Penting sangatkah urusan itu hingga terpaksa membiarkan atau menyuruh mereka pergi? Alasan sesetengah ibu bapa yang menyatakan "Saya tak sangka ini akan berlaku, lagipun dekat, saya ingat selamat",  tidak boleh diterima.

Penjaga atau ibubapa tidak pernah mengambil iktibar dari kejadian-kejadian yang berlaku sebelum ini. Kejadian-kejadian bunuh dan rogol yang membabitkan kanak-kanak menjadi mangsa yang mendapat liputan luas dalam media sebelum ini sepatutnya menjadi iktibar kepada mereka.

Kalau kita kaji semula kejadian-kejadian yang pernah berlaku ke atas kanak-kanak yang tidak bersalah adalah berpunca dari sikap ibubapa sendiri. Lazimnya kejadian ini berlaku ketika kanak-kanak ini pergi ke kedai berseorangan diri.

Berlaku kerana ketentuan Tuhan?

Sudah sampai masanya Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan, Mufti dan Ulama menjelaskan dan mengeluarkan fatwa apakah kematian kanak-kanak ini sememangnya merupakan ketentuan dan kehendak Tuhan.

Acap kali kita mendengar bila berlaku kematian yang tragis seperti ini, ibu bapa dan ahli keluarga yang malang ini akan berkata mereka redha dengan ketentuan Ilahi  dan ini suratan takdir.

Sama ada sedar atau tidak, seolah-olah tuhan yang disalahkan dalam sesuatu insiden seperti ini yang mengakibatkan kematian.

Para Ulama dan Mufti harus mejelaskan apakah semua kematian adalah ketentuan tuhan sedangkan ada kematian itu boleh dielakkan dan mungkin kanak-kanak itu masih hidup jika ibu bapa tidak membiarkan anak mereka pergi berseorangan ke kedai.

Jika setiap kematian adalah kehendak Tuhan, apakah seseorang yang memandu secara merbahaya, memotong kenderaan di garisan berkembar, memotong kenderaan di selokoh tajam, tidak mematuhi lampu isyarat dan memandu dengan terlalu laju, tidak memakai tali pinggang keledar dan akhirnya terlibat dengan kemalangan dan meninggal dunia.

Apakah Tuhan hendak disalahkan dan memberi alasan bahawa itu kehendak Tuhan sedangkan pemandu itu yang mencari bala.

Bagaimanapun pula dalam situasi anak kecil berusia lima atau enam tahun ditinggalkan berseorangan di rumah, dapur gas telah dihidupkan untuk memasak air, beberapa peralatan elektrik juga telah sedia diaktifkan dan ibunya pergi ke kedai sebentar.

Katakan dalam tempoh 10-15 minit itu, anak ini bermain api di dapur gas dan akhirnya rumah itu terbakar dan anak itu juga menemui ajal, apakah sekali lagi tuhan hendak disalahkan dengan memberi alasan apa yang terjadi adalah ketentuan Tuhan?

Maka apakah dengan sikap ibu bapa menyuruh anak kecil pergi ke kedai atau ke pasar malam berseorangan, tidak mengawasi pergerakan mereka dan sekiranya anak itu diculik dan dibunuh, apakah kematian anak itu berpunca dari sikap ibu bapa atau sememang-memangnya kejadian itu adalah kehendak Tuhan.

Sikap memberikan alasan ianya takdir Tuhan apabila kejadian seperti ini berlaku, seolah-olah ibu bapa ini mencuci tangan dari kesalahan mereka dan cuba menutup kesilapan sendiri dengan menyalahkan Tuhan. Seolah-olah apa yang berlaku bukan bidang kuasa mereka sebaliknya ketentuan Tuhan.

Memanglah setiap kejadian yang menimpa adalah ketentuan Ilahi.tetapi kita diberikan akal fikiran yang waras apatah lagi tanggungjawab keatas mereka adalah berat.Tidak seharusnya kita mengambil jalan mudah. Janganlah kita jadikan istilah "Kalau dah nak terjadi kita tak boleh nak buat apa-apa" sebagai alasan.

Pandangan ini bukan untuk mencetus kontroversi tetapi untuk mendapatkan penjelasan. Kecuaian ibu bapa yang menyebabkan kematian anak-anak harus mempunyai titik noktah.

Pergi ke kedai tanggungjawab ibu bapa

Sebenarnya hal sebegini dapat dielakkan sekiranya kita tidak membiarkan mereka keluar sendirian. Setiap kali kes sebegini berlaku, biasanya orang ramai akan melepaskan kemarahan dengan kata-kata kesat terhadap si penjenayah. Tetapi penjenayah tidak akan berpeluang melakukan perkara yang kejam ini sekiranya kita sendiri tidak menyediakan ruang dan peluang itu.Saya tidak kata kanak-kanak ini 100 peratus selamat dari penjenayah tetapi sekurang-kurangnya ia dapat meminimumkan kejadian-kejadian seumpama ini.

Kes yang pernah berlaku di Johor tidak lama dahulu yang membabitkan seorang kanak-kanak perempuan yang pergi ke kedai berseorangan. Sesiapa yang pernah menonton visual lokasi kejadian tersebut di tv ketika Berita Perdana, terserlah lokasi tersebut berpotensi dan memang bahaya bukan untuk kanak-kanak sahaja malah anak gadis atau perempuan yang dewasa pun belum tentu selamat andaikata ada orang yang cuba menculik atau cuba melakukan sesuatu yang buruk.Ini ialah kerana laluan tersebut agak sunyi dari laluan orang ramai.

Begitu juga dengan satu kes yang pernah berlaku di Lembah Kelang yang pernah dilaporkan di akhbar tempatan di mana seorang ibu ketika bersama–sama ke surau untuk sembahyang Maghrib, membiarkan anak perempuannya yang masih kecil singgah membeli ais krim berseorangan dikedai yang berdekatan. Ibunya terus ke surau tanpa menunggu anaknya selesai membeli ais krim.Akhirnya kanak-kanak perempuan itu menjadi mangsa liwat seorang lelaki di sebuah rumah kosong yang berdekatan.

Ada juga ibu bapa kepada kanak-kanak malang ini mengeam di dalam akhbar bahawa orang ramai hanya tahu mencari salah ibu bapa terbabit sahaja kononnya tidak pandai menjaga anak.

Ini bukan menuduh mereka ini tidak pandai menjaga anak, tetapi ramai yang kecewa dengan cara mereka yang melepaskan anak mereka pergi bersendirian.Ada juga yang kata bahawa "kadang-kadang kita terlupa bahawa dalam keadaan kita berjaga-jaga, kejadian seperti itu tak mustahil boleh berlaku.

Memang betul tetapi harus diingat juga sekiranya kita telah berhati-hati kebarangkalian kejadian seperti ini berlaku boleh dikurangkan.

Kanak-kanak ini disuruh pergi ke kedai untuk membeli itu dan ini siap dengan senarai barang yang diperlukan oleh ibu bapa mereka. Adakah ini wajar?.Adakah ini kerja mereka? Tak bolehkah ibu bapa itu sendiri pergi? Bukankah itu kerja mereka? Memang anak-anak ini takkan membantah, malah mereka sangat suka kalau dapat pergi ke sana-sini.

Dan memang karenah anak-anak akan merajuk kalau tak dapat apa yang diingini. Di sinilah kesabaran dan kewarasan kita diuji.

Tulisan ini bukan untuk menyinggung hati banyak pihak. Apa yang dinyatakan disini bukan untuk menuding jari tetapi sekadar untuk direnungkan. Jadikanlah kejadian yang menimpa mereka sebelum ini sebagai panduan dalam kita menjalani kehidupan seharian.Sekiranya telah terjadi menangis airmata darah sekalipun tidak dapat mengembalikan nyawa mereka dan tentunya kita sendiri tidak dapat memaafkan kecuaian kita itu.

Walau sehebat mana pun kerajaan berkempen dan semantap manapun penguatkuasaan oleh pihak polis, tetapi sekiranya kita sebagai ibu bapa dan orang yang paling bertanggungjawab tidak berwaspada, kejadian seperti ini tidak mustahil akan berulang lagi. Pihak polis tidak mampu berada dan meronda disegenap ruang dipersekitaran kita pada setiap masa. Mereka mempunyai banyak lagi komitmen, tanggungjawab dan tugas-tugas yang penting.

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