Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Social Political Buzz & Bulls

‘Dead men’ drag Taib’s coal mines into spotlight

Twenty-eight years of complaining about pollution and destruction from coal mines in Sarawak have fallen on deaf ears because the mines are linked to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.

The death of four Chinese national miners in Sarawak last month has brought to light the shocking environmental devastation and safety issues facing 38 Iban longhouses in Abok and Silantik in Pantu area.

For the past 28 years, the residents of these longhouses have been complaining to the authorities about the pollution caused by coal mines in the area. No action has been taken.

According to them, their farm lands have been destroyed, their drinking water sources polluted and their personal safety threatened.

They have lodged reports against the miners but except for a cursory visit by the director of Mines and the State Resources Planning and Management Ministry's permanent secretary, nothing has happened.

Said a Kampung Abok spokesman Jacob Imang: "Following our complaints, the director of Mines and the ministry's permanent secretary visited the sites. We did not hear anything after that. Our complaints just stopped there."

"Besides affecting our farm lands and our health, the mines have also caused environmental destruction and pollution to rivers such as Sungai Sanjau and their ecosystems," he said.

According to Imang, the pollution is so bad that the Sanjau River which they are dependent on is "just dead".

Unknown to these villagers was the fact that the mines belong to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud's daughter, Zaleha, and his cronies.

Luckyhill Mining owns some 10 mines in Sarawak which employ about 200 Chinese nationals and fewer than 10 locals.

WTK and a Korean are major shareholders, and other small shareholders include Benedict Bujang Tembak, Zaleha Binti Mahmud (Taib's daughter), Halimah Abdullah (wife of former Commissioner of Police Hamdan Sirat) and Abang Abdul Karim Openg (Senior Minister Abang Johari's brother).

Explosives kept underground

Kampung Abok's plight came to light again after two explosions occurred in the mines on March 30, causing the deaths of four Chinese Nationals and injured nine others. (Their bodies were cremated on April 9).

"Now we are more concerned with our safety as the mines exploded in my land," Imang said, pointing out that the farmers are not allowed to till their land near the mines.

He was told that the explosives are kept in the underground tunnels.

Last month's explosion was a second incident. The first one happened in 1999.One person was killed.

The whole incident was hushed-up by the authorities, but the villagers knew that the decease's family was paid a paltry sum of RM7, 000 as compensation.

Imang, who is a retired school teacher, said: "Our safety should be of prime concern now. We are not safe now, we have never been safe.

"We urge the authorities to suspend the operations of the mines pending full investigations and find out the root cause of the problems.

"New measures should be taken to ensure our safety as well the safety of the workers from China," he said.

Suspend mining operations

On river pollution, Imang said that before the coal could be transported to Kuching, it had to be flushed by clean water from Sungai Sanjau.

"The mud, the coal debris and the poison are washed out to Sungai Sanjau. The water goes down to Pantu Bazaar where the water from the river is sucked into the Pantu Water plant and it is distributed to consumers in Pantu Bazaar, Lachau and nearby longhouses including Abok.

"I believe the number of people consuming water from this river is between 7,000 and 8,000," he said.

Imang also said the Luckyhill Mining had failed to pay compensation for their land now under the mines.

They promised to pay, but their promise remained unfulfilled until today, he said.

A Sarawak PKR vice-chairman See Chee How agreed that the mines be suspended pending full investigations.

"This is to ensure no more lives will be lost and to mitigate the impact on the environment.

"This is our main concern," he said, adding that Second Resource Planning and Management Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hassan should personally look into the matter.

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Preparing for natural disasters — Patrick Loh

APRIL 12 — I was a boy scout back in my school days. You see, my scout unit wears the '01' badge and to wear that badge with pride, we always strive to do better in what we do, if not the best. But more importantly, the whole regime prepped us, trained us and made us the living testament of Lord Baden-Powell's words.

"Be prepared". It is the Scout's motto that I live by.

So yet another earthquake struck near Aceh yesterday. Tsunami warnings were feeding the worldwide news channels while a stream of pictures made its way to the social networks. And as I looked at how Malaysians reacted towards the news, it suddenly dawned to me that…

"We are not prepared for this. We are not prepared if disaster strikes us now". I shuddered. My body convulses as that chill trickles down my spine.

It is dumbfounding because almost none of us is prepared for such event. Including me! But what if — just a big, big IF — disaster strikes us now, in Malaysia? "It will be chaotic," I said to myself while drawing a deep breath.

And if the disaster doesn't kill us, the chaos that ensues definitely will. I let out another sigh.

And instantaneously, images from the movies "The day after tomorrow" and "2012" races through my head. Both movies share the same trait on why we allowed disaster to happen – ignorance.

But the fact that the authorities ignore the early warnings, the fact that no government tell everyone the truth and the fact that we are not prepared for it, mean we will suffer.

And so I thought it is high time to put together a survival kit. In the evening, my wife and I decided to get ourselves prepared. Here's what we came up with:

1. Be mobile and ready. We must have our survival kit and other basic items in our bags ready to move away from the house. Also, we should carry our own backpack, just in case we are separated. Put everything we carry into waterproof bags (plastic bags are acceptable).

2. Sustenance for at least 72 hours. Prepare rations for at least 72 hours for each person. Get those ready-to-eat items like power bars as it is lightweight as well. Water varies according to individual consumption. Get ready-to-eat can food if weight permits. Remember the can opener.

3.  Other basic items. A mini First Aid kit is a must. So are a utility knife, tin meshes, fork, spoon and a cutting knife. We also needed a map and compass, matches and candles, a flashlight (with extra batteries), a 2-man camping tent, a sleeping bag, sufficient clothes and shoes, weatherproof clothing, medicine (including prescriptions), toiletries, water purification tablets, a whistle, several light/glow sticks, gloves, balaclava (or dust mask) and whatever that may be essential to keep us alive for 72 hours.

4.  Telecommunications. In a worst case scenario, the chances are that there will be no Internet connectivity, so my smart devices are pretty useless and anything that requires electricity to run is unusable. So I am getting a battery powered mini radio as during emergency, radio transmission will be used to get in contact for evacuation and any search and rescue.

5.  Rendezvous points. Agree on several particular places or locations to meet if disaster strikes while we are separated (i.e. while working).

Disasters are just happening too often of late; earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and in some other parts of the world, there are tornados, hurricanes, bushfires and many, many other natural disasters. All these can happen within seconds with little to no warning signs and has already caused so many lives to be lost and devastation.

And let's not quibble on whether Nostradamus was right or wrong. Let's not be ignorant anymore. For it is better that we get ourselves ready than not to see another day at all.

Equip yourself. I urge you. Be prepared!

* Patrick Loh 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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Will the new bursary system accelerate brain drain? — Lim Sue Goan

APRIL 12 — To put an end to the chaos of the issuance of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans and to prevent it from affecting the election preparation, the government has announced a new mechanism.

All 1,609 students who obtained 9A+ and above in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) in 2011 will be automatically offered Education Ministry bursaries for local pre-university courses.

These students will then be eligible for local or overseas scholarships for their tertiary studies if they meet the stipulated criteria.

In the past, the issuance of the Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships has been chaotic almost every year, with the most serious in 2011. Last year, some students scoring straight A+ did not get aid but some without straight A+ won scholarships and were recommended to study medicine overseas. Even worse, arrangements were made to send a straight A+ student to study in a teacher training institute that did not exist.

As a result, it triggered a war of words between Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. Nazri defended the PSD officials in charge while Wee described the performance-based system as a ridiculed system. The storm finally subsided after the Cabinet allowed 86 students who obtained 9A+ and above to get scholarships to study abroad.

There are always pros and cons. The new mechanism might be able to avoid public service officials' manipulation of the issuance of scholarships that might allow Pakatan Rakyat to attack the government.

The new mechanism might also solve other problems, like cases of scholarships winners being unable to obtain satisfactory results in their pre-university studies and failing to secure places in foreign universities.

However, the new mechanism may accelerate the brain-drain problem.

We all know that local and well-known private colleges offer scholarships, and all students scoring 9A+ and above are eligible to apply. Why would they care about the RM2,000 to RM5,000 one-off bursaries then?

Moreover, foreign and international universities also offer various attractive scholarships. In addition to free school fees, they also subsidise living expenses.

Students might wonder whether they can still get the scholarships after receiving the bursaries. Those with good results would rather choose to study overseas and I believe that Malaysian talents are very much welcomed by Singapore universities.

The government has spent huge resources on higher education over the years. Last year, the government offered a total of RM1.44 billion on scholarships for 4,000 students. This year, the amount climbed to RM2.12 billion. As of February this year, the PTPTN has also provided RM30 billion of loans for 1.4 million Bumiputera students, and RM13 billion for 470,000 non-Bumiputera students.

Education is a long-term and meaningful investment. National development needs talent but how much return has the government received from the investment so far? How many foreign scholarship winners have actually returned and served the country after completing their studies?

If the country lacks the environment to retain talent and has to cultivate these in foreign countries, then how are we going to achieve the high-income nation goal?

Education problems cannot be resolved with political approaches. A win-win solution is indeed good, but we should never sacrifice the country's interests and neglect the reality. — 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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Mansuh PTPTN? — Amin Ahmad

12 APRIL — Menjelang Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU-13), ramai pemimpin parti politik mula memancing sokongan dengan pelbagai idea dasar. Ini lumrah. Sekurang-kurangnya politik Malaysia lebih tertumpu kepada perdebatan idea dasar berbanding serangan peribadi. Itu kebaikan pertama yang dapat saya lihat seputar "debat" berkaitan pemansuhan pinjaman PTPTN.

Dulu ketika masih di universiti, seringkali terdengar mahasiswa memperolok PTPTN dengan panggilan PTPTipu. Sebab sebenar olokan tidak dapat dipastikan. Setakat yang didengari, rungutan sering dibuat kerana pinjaman lewat masuk dan kadar 4 peratus kos perkhidmatan untuk bayaran balik.

Sebagai pelajar dari kampung, tawaran untuk membuat pinjaman PTPTN semasa minggu orientasi pelajar itu tentulah satu alternatif paling mudah untuk diterima memandangkan yuran semester pertama itu mencecah RM2,000, dan itu tidak termasuk kos sara hidup. Kos ini mungkin jauh berbeza jika dibandingkan dengan pelajar yang menyambung pengajian di Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).

Selain itu, ada mahasiswa yang merungut kerana tidak mendapat pinjaman penuh disebabkan pendapatan keluarga melebihi tahap tertentu. Ada rakan yang saya ketahui hanya menerima suku daripada jumlah pinjaman tersebut tetapi sebahagian lain yang kaya mendapat pinjaman penuh.

Pendek kata, meskipun pinjaman PTPTN meringankan beban mahasiswa dan ibu bapa pelajar, ia tidak terlepas daripada beberapa kritikan. Namun, ia tidak begitu mendapat perhatian meski sesekali ada riak kecil isu berkaitannya dibincangkan.

Pemansuhan pinjaman PTPTN mendapat momentumnya selepas ia diumumkan oleh Anwar Ibrahim, Ketua Pembangkang di Dewan Rakyat. Sifat popular pada idea itu jelas mampu untuk menarik sokongan pengundi muda berkaitan, malah ibu bapa pelajar yang masih berada di atas pagar atau belum membuat keputusan lebih awal sebelum PRU-13.

Tidak hairanlah idea itu segera mendapat kritikan balas oleh Najib Razak, Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Kewangan serta Muhyiddin Yassin, Timbalan Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Pelajaran. Malah, Khaled Nordin selaku Menteri Pengajian Tinggi turut mengeluarkan komen berkaitannya.

Falsafah

Idea pemansuhan pinjaman PTPTN ini bukan baru. Saya fikir, berdasarkan perkembangan idea dasar yang dilontarkan, ia adalah sebahagian daripada kerangka besar Pakatan Rakyat untuk memperkenalkan dasar pendidikan percuma. Bagi mereka yang mengikuti perdebatan bersifat ideologi, ini adalah antara idea dasar yang sering ditimbulkan.

Meskipun ia tidak meluas, saya telah menjangka lambat-laun idea pendidikan percuma pasti akan muncul untuk perdebatan awam. Justeru, wajarlah kita memberi ruang untuk idea ini dibincangkan agar keputusan yang diambil mengambil kira kelestarian masa depan negara.

Kenyataan bahawa idea dasar ini sering ditemukan dalam debat bersifat ideologi menjelaskan bahawa ia mempunyai landasan falsafah tertentu. Bagi yang menyokong pendidikan percuma, antara hujah yang dikemukakan ialah idea dasar ini dapat meningkatkan tahap pemikiran dan kemahiran ramai, sekaligus akan memberi kesan kepada pembangunan dalam pelbagai aspek — fizikal dan bukan fizikal.

Meskipun Khairy Jamaluddin, Ahli Parlimen Rembau kelihatan tidak bersetuju dengan pemansuhan pinjaman PTPTN, dalam satu forum yang saya pengerusikan dulu, beliau ada menyebut bahawa subsidi pendidikan itu sebagai satu bentuk subsidi yang produktif kerana ia bersifat pelaburan positif.

Bagi yang menolaknya, hujah ekonomi disandarkan. Pendidikan percuma sebenarnya bukanlah percuma dalam pengertian tidak perlu dibayar atau tidak melibatkan kos. Ia bermaksud pihak tertentu perlu membayarnya. Justeru, ia akan membebankan pihak tertentu yang menanggung kos tersebut secara "paksa". Dalam kes ini, pihak yang membuat usul mencadangkan Petronas sebagai pembiayanya sementara Perdana Menteri membayangkan peningkatan kenaan cukai untuk berbuat demikian.

Perhitungan

Jelas, kedua-dua pandangan tidak dapat mengelak daripada perhitungan ekonomi. Usul untuk pemansuhan digerakkan oleh kepercayaan bahawa ia boleh dilakukan. Usul penolakan pula digerakkan oleh pertanyaan apakah wajar ia dimansuhkan.

Lontaran idea dasar oleh Anwar telah diperincikan oleh Rafizi Ramli, Pengarah Strategik Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). Jelas, beliau menunjukkan bahawa ada keupayaan memansuhkan pinjaman PTPTN.

Sehingga kini belum ada kritikan terhadap perincian yang dikemukakan ini kecuali pelbagai persoalan untuk menguji kemapanan idea dasar tersebut. Perdana Menteri mendakwa nilai bayaran semula kepada PTPTN ialah RM43 billion sementara Timbalan Perdana Menteri pula membayangkan wang Petronas akan kering. Selain mereka, ada juga ahli akademik dan ahli ekonomi yang memberi pandangan hampir sama.

Jawapan bagi kedua-dua maklum balas awal ini disentuh oleh Rafizi secara tidak langsung. Maka, apakah itu menjustifikasikan dasar pendidikan percuma yang mahu diadakan?

Semakan pencapaian semasa

Menurut Indeks Kesejahteraan Legatum, akses kepada pendidikan rendah di Malaysia adalah baik, iaitu sekitar 94 peratus. Bagaimanapun, hanya sekitar 68 peratus sahaja yang mengikuti pendidikan menengah. Jumlah ini menempatkan Malaysia di kedudukan ke-81 dalam pembolehubah ini.

Angka ini juga bermaksud satu per empat pelajar tercicir atau tidak menamatkan pendidikan menengah. Seterusnya sekitar 36 peratus lagi menyambung pengajian di peringkat tinggi, jumlah yang kecil berbanding negara OECD, lebih 50 peratus. Ia menempatkan Malaysia di kedudukan ke-59 dalam pembolehubah ini.

Dari segi peruntukan pula, data Program Pembangunan Bangsa Bersatu (UNDP) menunjukkan nisbah peratusan per Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) berkurangan. Bagaimanapun, menurut kenyataan Menteri Pengajian Tinggi, peruntukan pendidikan mencecah lebih RM20 billion dalam Belanjawan 2012. Legatum merumuskan bahawa kemasukan ke pengajian tinggi yang rendah mencerminkan bahawa tidak ramai pekerja berpengetahuan dan berkemahiran tinggi di Malaysia.

Ini bukanlah mewakili semua petunjuk yang ada berkaitan pendidikan, tetapi ia boleh memberi sedikit gambaran besar untuk membantu rumusan idea dasar yang boleh diambil.

Hujah perlu diteliti

Lazimnya, saya melihat idea dasar sebagai sesuatu yang sentiasa terbuka untuk didebatkan. Ia tak semestinya dilihat sebagai pertembungan betul atau salah semata-mata kerana selain itu ia juga boleh dilihat sebagai lebih baik atau kurang baik.

Saya kurang bersetuju apabila ada pihak yang berhujah bahawa negara boleh bankrap dengan pemansuhan pinjaman PTPTN dan pada masa yang sama menegaskan bahawa pengecualian bayaran pinjaman tersebut boleh diberi sekiranya mahasiswa mencapai prestasi kelas pertama. Untuk rekod, pengecualian sebanyak RM399 juta telah diberikan kepada 11,764 mahasiswa.

Ini sebenarnya hujah yang tidak perlu. Pertama, setakat pengetahuan saya, pensyarah tidak dibenarkan memberi kelulusan cemerlang atau menggagalkan terlalu ramai mahasiswa. Kedua, adakah mereka yang memakai hujah ini memaksudkan semakin ramai mahasiswa cemerlang, maka semakin bankraplah negara?

Saya fikir kita semua perlu belajar dan mengamalkan pemisahan kritikan terhadap idea dasar dan penentangan bersifat partisan. Jika ini gagal dibudayakan, istilah reformasi, transformasi, tajdid, islah dan sebagainya hanya akan menjadi slogan muluk.

Saya sendiri mempunyai beberapa pertanyaan tambahan kepada pembawa usul pemansuhan pinjaman PTPTN ini. Selain pinjaman PTPTN, saya sering mendengar pelbagai rancangan yang mahu dijalankan oleh Pakatan Rakyat di mana kantung Petronas juga dijadikan sandaran. Saya pohon agar semua perhitungan yang bersandar kepada kantung Petronas ini dibentang. Kedua, apakah memang kantung Petronas akan digunakan sampai bila-bila untuk tujuan ini?

Untuk membolehkan orang ramai menghakimi dengan telus persoalan ini, saya fikir sudah tiba masanya akaun Petronas dibentang kepada umum dan bukan hanya kepada Perdana Menteri. Ia boleh dibuat di Dewan Rakyat dan akses kepada dokumen boleh dimuat turun di laman web serta dijual melalui cetakan. Selain kemampuan membiayai pendidikan percuma, ramai yang ingin mengetahui banyak hal berkaitan syarikat minyak negara itu.

Alternatif lain

Menyentuh tentang Petronas, saya fikir perincian yang dikemukakan Rafizi agak menarik. Ini kerana sumbernya ialah syarikat milikan negara, bukan secara terus daripada pembayar cukai. Namun, berkaitan persoalan di atas, saya ingin juga bertanya adakah perancangan lain sebagai sokongan untuk membolehkan idea dasar pendidikan percuma itu?

Saya fikir begini: Oleh kerana ada yang menentang, dan dari pengalaman saya jarang terdengar mahasiswa atau ibu bapa pelajar mempertikai keperluan membayar semula pinjaman tersebut, maka pandangan itu jangan ditolak kerana ia mempunyai kebaikan tersendiri. Tanggungjawab yang mahu diambil dan memang sepatutnya diambil oleh masyarakat ini sebenarnya sesuatu yang amat diperlukan negara dalam menangani cabaran masa hadapan.

Saya fikir orang ramai masih boleh menerima usul yang lebih awal dikemukakan melalui Buku Jingga Pakatan Rakyat untuk menyediakan biasiswa berasaskan merit dan bantuan kewangan lain berasaskan keperluan dengan keutamaan kepada pelajar miskin dari kawasan luar bandar dan pedalaman. Dengan cara ini, lebihan tanggungan yang tidak perlu patut dialih kepada banyak sekolah dan murid yang memerlukan kualiti kemudahan pendidikan lebih baik, khususnya di Sabah dan di Sarawak.

Paling tidak, jika yuran pengajian tinggi mahu ditanggung melalui pemansuhan pinjaman PTPTN, bayaran balik perlu dibuat ialah pinjaman untuk menampung sara hidup sahaja. Yuran yang dikenakan oleh universiti juga perlu disemak semula. Sebelum ini ada mahasiswa tertentu mengatakan universiti mereka adalah hak kaum mereka sahaja, seolah-olah kaum mereka di universiti lain serta bebanan cukai kepada pelbagai kaum terkecuali daripada pertimbangan. Apakah mereka fikir mahasiswa yang mampu memandu kereta mewah ke kuliah di universiti itu lebih berhak membayar yuran murah berbanding mahasiswa yang terpaksa berlapar untuk meneruskan pengajian?

Saya juga bimbang apabila ramai yang membayangkan percambahan pusat pengajian tinggi swasta, atau yang lebih halus sedikit dinamakan pengkorporatan institut pengajian tinggi itu sebagai ancaman. Untuk saya, ini mesti diraikan.

Kita harus sedar bahawa kewujudan institusi ini bukanlah percuma kerana mereka menyumbang kepada cukai, bayaran premium tanah dan sebagainya — termasuk penambahan peluang pengajian tinggi di samping bayaran gaji lumayan untuk kakitangan akademik dan pentadbirannya.

Jumlah pelaburan besar itu mungkin perlu mengambil masa lebih 10 tahun, malah mungkin sehingga 30 tahun untuk mendapat pulangan. Lebih parah jika mereka gagal mencapai satu tahap kualiti yang mendorong ramai pelajar ingin menyertainya, ia boleh bankrap!

Institusi swasta mesti dilihat sebagai rakan, bahkan pemacu pembangunan negara. Apa yang patut dilakukan oleh mana-mana kerajaan ialah memberi insentif pengecualian cukai kepada pelabur dalam bidang pendidikan, pelajar dan ibu-bapa yang membiayai sendiri pengajian baik di institusi awam mahupun swasta dan bank atau mana-mana syarikat yang menaja mereka.

Selain itu, mana-mana kerajaan wajar mempermudahkan penubuhan Yayasan oleh orang ramai (selain kerajaan) di mana sesiapa yang meyakini gerak kerja yayasan berkenaan boleh diberi pengecualian cukai melalui sumbangan dana pendidikan kepada yayasan berkenaan untuk diagihkan kepada pelajar atau mahasiswa yang layak. Yakinlah, ramai yang mahu memberikan sesuatu kepada masyarakat tetapi sering merasakan banyak peraturan dan campur tangan oleh kerajaan yang menyekat.

Sebenarnya, tidak ada pendidikan percuma kerana tetap ada kos dalam apa juga pilihan — sama ada PTPTN akan dimansuh atau tidak. Yang berbeza ialah siapa yang menanggungnya. Tugas kerajaan sebenarnya bukanlah mengumpul hasil sebanyak-banyaknya, tetapi memudahkan masyarakat melakukan sesuatu secara sukarela berasaskan keadilan.

* Amin Ahmad, 30 ialah Felo di Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas)

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

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Lynas issue: Not learning from bitter experience — Richard Pendragon

APRIL 12 — Every Malaysian should know that Australia has a land mass 58 times bigger than peninsular Malaysia. But the Australian government and people have not permitted rare earth processing to take place on Australian soil.

With a population that is vigilant and a government that answers to the people, Australia dares not permit a rare earth plant because the health and environmental risks are too high. Why does Malaysia – a country with less scientific and engineering expertise – think it is all right to go ahead with the plant?

The USA has closed most of its mines, and so has China. In inner Mongolia, vast tracts of lands and thousands of square kilometres have been rendered hazardous, with toxic runoffs destroying everything in their path, and with high radioactivity, tainting and polluting precious water supplies.

This chain reaction will continue for thousands of years.

It is a scene that Chinese officials do not want the world to see. Several villages close to rare earth plants have already been relocated because of pollution.

Malaysia is now planning to build the world's largest rare earth plant. This is truly madness of the highest order. We must remember the Chernobyl meltdown which was not supposed to have happened and similarly too the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in Japan.

Peninsular Malaysia would be dead meat if any unexpected catastrophe happens.

Bukit Merah

The history of the rare earth industry in Malaysia is little known to most Malaysians. Most Malaysians in fact think that the Lynas project in Pahang is the first time Malaysia has been associated with this industry.

Few Malaysians actually know that there was a rare earth plant in Bukit Merah, Perak, which has been closed some 10 or more years ago, following a ruling by the High Court of Malaysia that the company involved was in negligence, and that the radioactive waste generated by the plant was dangerous and had to be removed and secured in a safe place away from people for hundreds of years.

The evidence of the hazardous legacy of this rare earth plant is still present in our midst as a reminder to every one of the risks involved. All you need is to take a trip to Bukit Merah and you will see the existence of a restricted site where the toxic radioactive waste has been stored in specially engineered concrete cells, and entombed deeply in a repository, to prevent any leakage of radiation from the radioactive waste for the next few hundred years.

The company that was involved in the rare earth plant was called Asian Rare Earth Sdn Bhd (ARE). This was a joint venture established between Mitsubishi Chemical Corp (MCC) of Japan, Beh Minerals Sdn Bhd, the local partner and the government, through Tabung Haji in the early nineties.

ARE was based in Menglembu, Ipoh and the joint venture was founded on the basis that the local partner  would supply the raw materials (tailings from the many tin mines in Perak) and MCC would provide the technology and expertise to extract the rare earth minerals, by a cracking process.

In this cracking process, along with the extraction of rare earth minerals such as Monazite, Xenotime, Zircon, Yttrium etc, a waste product called thorium hydroxide is produced and this substance is radioactive.

Experts brought in to present evidence in support of the court hearing against ARE testified that prolonged exposure to radiation leaked from the radioactive waste materials from ARE's rare earth plant would be harmful to the health of the residents living in the Menglembu area, where the plant was located.

ARE was subsequently closed and wound up.

The shareholders of the company had to engage a highly specialised radioactive waste management consultancy firm from the US, called Dames and Moore, to relocate, treat and dispose of the radioactive waste from the dump site in Menglembu to a safe repository. The cost of the whole exercise ran into hundreds of millions of US dollars to contain radiation leak from the radioactive waste.

Meanwhile local residents have blamed the ARE refinery for the high numbers of birth defects and leukaemia cases within the last five years in a community of 11,000 — after many years of local history with no leukaemia cases. Seven of the leukemia victims have died.

Some of the surviving residents of Bukit Merah are still plagued with severe health problems. Until this very day, the Malaysian authorities refuse to acknowledge that the radioactive waste was responsible for the sudden escalation of health problems among the residents

Today, the government is the official custodian of this repository in Bukit Merah. This site in Bukit Merah is declared as a restricted and dangerous dump site for radioactive materials but a curtain of official silence has descended on it.

Learning from Bukit Merah

Has the government not learnt from Bukit Merah or will corporate profits, lack of transparency and accountability, and cronyism trump responsible and ethical governance?

The Lynas project is likely to be a replay of the ARE fiasco but on a much larger scale. The Lynas project involves the shipment of rare earth raw materials from Australia to Malaysia, and the extraction of the rare earth minerals in the rare earth plant in Gebeng. The cracking process to extract the rare earth minerals will similarly produce thorium hydroxide.

Little attention has been paid to the containment process of this hazardous radioactive waste which will be generated once the Rare Earth Plant comes into production. Notwithstanding the high risks nature of the Lynas project, there are few benefits that Malaysia could gain by having such a hazardous project on our shores.

Lynas and its crony local contractors and shareholders will be the major beneficiary from such a project. They will be able to export the rare earth minerals at a huge profit and enjoy a 20-year tax holiday since the project is approved and supported by the Malaysian government.

At the same time they will leave behind a whole lot of radioactive waste on Malaysian soil, free from the stringent environmental scrutiny and monitoring found in developed countries.

Apart from creating a handful of jobs in the Gebeng area, the only people who stand to benefit from this project other than Lynas owners and shareholders, are the people who build the cracking plant in Gebeng and those who supply chemicals to the plant for the cracking process.

Who are these stakeholders and why have they continued to remain in the dark and unaccountable?

Malaysians must ask the question: "Why did the Government approve the Lynas project?" It does not seem to make any sense when:

The Malaysian court under the same government has ruled that the rare earth plant, in the case of ARE, is regarded as hazardous. The evidence is there to be seen by everyone in Bukit Merah where the repository is located. "

The benefits gained by Malaysia from the Lynas investment are very little relative to the risks involved. Whilst the profits of the project go to Lynas (untaxed) and the few Malaysian companies that are involved in the construction of and the provision of supplies to the Gebeng rare earth plant, the radioactive waste will remain in Malaysian soil for hundreds of years.

The argument that with proper containment, the risks will be rendered harmless, does not hold. Containment, as we know and have seen, is only as good as when there is no accident. Look at Chernobyl and Fukushima. These nuclear reactors are all supposed to have adequate and radiation leak-proof containment features approved by so called international experts.

All Malaysians must ask the government why the Lynas project was approved in spite of the history of ARE and the lack of economic justification of how this project could benefit Malaysians relative to its high and unacceptable risks.

All Malaysians must stand together and demand the closure of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP).

Unacceptable risks of thorium

"No monetary returns of whatever Foreign Direct Investment and its spinoffs can outweigh possible radiation and/or other health risks, which can wreak harm on our citizens, perhaps for as long as the half-lives of some of the extremely toxic radionuclide waste products —which in some cases might be 'forever'!"

Dr David KL Quek, President, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), May 26, 2011

One of the most contentious issues with the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant is the thorium (Th) by-product. Exposure to Thorium can cause cancer posing serious risks to workers at the LAMP and surrounding communities. Studies have shown that inhaling thorium dust causes an increased risk of developing lung cancer, and cancer of the pancreas. Bone cancer risk is also increased because thorium may be stored in bone. Thorium has a half life of 14 billion years and is easily transported and spread through wind and water.

Lynas will be processing 10 times the amount of ore compared to the ARE. Despite Lynas' public proclamation of "Zero Harm" commitment there is no foolproof containment measures for such toxic residue for workers onsite at the LAMP. It should be noted that the ores that Chinese miners were exposed to in Bayun Obo Rare-Earth and Iron Mine contained 400 ppm of thorium. The rare earth oxide concentrates that will be arriving shortly at Kuantan port will have 1600 ppm of thorium. The US Public Health Service (1990) reports that the natural background level in soil is typically 6 ppm of thorium.

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

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So, what happened to separation of powers? — Justice Seeker

APRIL 12 — In reaching her decision on the Lynas matter, High Court judge Rohana Yusof obviously was not interested in the separation of powers or the raison d'etre of a court system which is the attainment of justice.

I just read her reasons for not giving the residents leave to challenge the Atomic Energy Licensing Board's decision to give Lynas a temporary operating licence to run its controversial plant in Gebeng.

She said that as a parliamentary select committee and the minister of science and innovation were handling two separate hearings, it would not be proper for the courts to give the 10 residents their opportunity for judicial review.

Rohana then went on to say that it would not be proper to circumvent Parliament and the minister. Really?

She was also concerned that there could be "confusion and embarrassment" if the court's decision was different from the ministers.

Once again, really?

Surely it is not the court's concern whether in seeking justice and truth, embarrassment befalls anyone. The nature of an adversarial system is that in any matter, there is a winner and a loser. The court's only objective is to ensure that justice is served and not to put up illusory argument of Parliament proceedings and some ministerial review taking precedence over judicial review.

It is frustrating when the small man cannot even get his foot into the courtroom to make substantive arguments against AELB's decision to give Lynas a TOL. Maybe Rohana does not know that the select committee only comprises BN reps and it is the BN government which approved the Lynas project.

Also, Maximus Ongkili is in BN.

Is it even reasonable to expect that the anti-Lynas lobby will get a fair hearing from the select committee or Ongkili?

And now they have been deprived of taking their case to court. The threshold for a leave application is really low and it is a shame when courts deny Malaysians their right to judicial review in a matter of national interest.

Just as an aside, the Parliament Speaker routinely says sub judice to block any discussion of matters which may embarrass the government and now a judge is saying that it is not appropriate to hear a case because Parliament is discussing the matter.

What a wonderful tandem. My advice to Putrajaya is that beware of making people angry and frustrated.

* Justice Seeker 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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Bahagian 4 - Apakah Melayu dan Malaysia Berada Dalam Galaxi Gutenberg Baru?

[Bahagian ini panjang - 6 ms]

Ekonomi adalah perkara asas yang bukan boleh kita serahkan bulat-bulat kepada umarak (pentadbir) seperti yang sebilangan ulama Pas mahu melakukan. Mereka beromongan mengenai undang-undang syariat dan akidah sementara keperihalan pembangunan, agihan pendapatan, perkarangan kewangan, mata wang, fiskal, dagangan dan sebagainya, yang terletak pada bidang muamalat dan tadbir manzil, oleh mereka dipertanggungjawabkan kepada umarak.

Sikap sepertinya mungkin sesuai dengan negara pertanian. Meskipun perolehan industri Malaysia telah susut berbanding pendapatan daripada sumber-sumber utama, Malaysia bukan sebuah negara pertanian lagi.

Model ekonomi yang dipilih, justeru, adalah kewajipan utama bagi pemimpin, yakni Perdana Menteri, kerana beliaulah yang menentukan model dan seterusnya, susunan ekonomi dan masyarakat. Model pilihannya menentukan apakah negara akan maju atau tidak, apakah pembangunan/kemajuan yang diutarakan sustainable atau tidak, dan apakah masyarakatnya adil atau tidak.

Pada zaman Tun Abdul Razak sebilangan intelligensia negara termasuk mahasiswa mirip ke arah Sweden dan New Zealand sebagai model negara, ekonomi dan sosial untuk masa depan Malaysia. Kedua-duanya adalah Welfare State, muamalat yang kurang diminati Dr Mahathir Mohammad yang kemudian berkuasa sepanjang 22 tahun.

Jepun dipertimbangkan akan tetapi model ekonomi yang kemudian oleh Dr Mahathir dipilih itu kurang diminati kerana masyarakat Malaysia, khusus Melayu an Bumiputera, tak mungkin dibandingkan dengan masyarakat Jepun yang telah menyusun Zaibatsu mulai zaman Edo dan bila Revolusi Industri mencabar, Jepun segera berubah ke arah negara yang moden melalui Restorasi Meiji 1867/68 dan seterusnya membina serangkai Zaibatsu supaya menjadi benteng ekonomi dan pembangunan industrinya.

Pada masa yang sama Tanah Melayu berada dalam zaman yang oleh Haji Abdullah Hukum dinamakan 'Zaman Keris dan Pemuras', satu persaingan untuk sumber bijih tima! h dan em as diantara pakatan-pakatan Melayu-Cina yang berperang dan membuka lorong British berkuasa melalui Sistem Residen mulai 1874.

Zaibatsu adalah seumpama hawala, yakni rangkaian kewangan yang membawa biaya da dana dagangan dan industri berpusat pada sebuah keluarga ningrat atau ghazi (warlord) dan bergerak seperti penjaringan yang saling bergantungan, contohnya yang satu menjadi pembekal kepada yang lain dalam industri-industri dan dagangan yang diceburi.

Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Yasuda semuanya berasal sebagai Zaibatsu.

Setelah tewas dalam Perang Dunia Kedua, pemerintah Amerika kurang senang dengan sistem ini kerana iannya mudah beroleh kuasa monopoli disamping kurang mengimpot barang-barang intermediate. Jepun membuat sendiri apa yang boleh dibuat olehnya.

Maka sebilangan Zaibatsu dihapuskan sementara Jepun berkalih kepada sosialisme seketika sebelum merombakkan Zaibatsu supaya melahirkan Keiretsu.

Keiretsu sama saja darihal perangkaiannya dengan Zaibatsu akan tetapi berpusat pada sebuah bank dan rangkaiannya tersusun secara vertical dan horizontal.

Mahathir terokai jalan Keiretsu. Itu contoh Jepun.

Korea Selatan yang sosialis melahirkan Chaebol, yakni seumpama Keiretsu yang dana asasnya adalah pinjaman kerajaan dan bukan berpusat pada sebuah bank.

Contoh inipun Mahathir ikuti. Malahan, beliau cuba apa saja asalkan beroleh untung dan dapat membangun dengan sepintas petir, atau lebih cepat, yakni buat hari ini siap semalam, jika boleh.

Bersama Taiwan dan Singapura, Korea Selatan ketika itu sudahpun muncul sebagai salah sebuah Harimau Asia. Banyak negara memilih jalan Pandang Ke Timur pada masa itu dan Mahathir konsisten, bahkan beliau menuju terus ke arah Japan Incorporated dengan wawasan Malaysia Incorporated yang sampai sekarang beliau mahu mengejari.

Pulau Shakalin

Namun, ramai pemerhati kurang senanghati. Melayu, Bumiputera dan lain-lain kaum Malaysia tidak punyai sejarah dan semangat Jepun, b! angsa Ti mur bertubuh kecil yang membuka mata dunia apabila berjaya menewaskan tentera laut Rusia di perairan Shakalin tanggal 1906.

Kata mereka Mahathir dah lupa ke diri. Tanpa sebarang asas perpaduan fikiran yang kukuh dan dengan terdapat sembilan orang Raja yang di antara mereka tidak pun mampu bersetuju sehubungan bila nak mula berpuasa dan nak berhariraya, bangsa Melayu tak akan mampu mempelopori perubahan segagah yang telah dicapaikan Jepun dan Korea Selatan.

Kemajuan seperti yang mereka mencapai memerlukan nasionalisme dan perpaduan fikiran yang mantap dan kental. Maka di Malaysia sebilangan pemikir terus menyeru supaya negara amalkan sosialisme Buruh dulu dan ikut cara Jepun dan Korea Selatan kemudian.

Mahathir, kata mereka, harus kenang taraf pelajaran Melayu dan Bumiputera sebelum melaju macam peluru untuk merombak Melayu dan Malaysia.

Persekolahan Melayu hanya bermula pada abad ke 20! Sandaran dasarnya pula adalah untuk mengajar 'supaya anak-anak petani dan nelayan [Melayu] akan menjadi petani dan nelayan yang lebih baik.'

Sehingga dasar pendidikan dapat ditempah sendiri melalui Laporan Razak 1956, itulah dia dasar pendidikan yang terhidang untuk anak-anak bangsa Melayu di Tanah Melayu.

Pada sidebar Blog ini terdapat gambar dua buah sekolah. Sekolah Changkat Larang dekat Batu Gajah, Perak, didirikan pada tahun 1948. Bangunannya hanyalah bumbung, tiang dan lantai. Guru-guru sukarelawan.

Sampai tahun 1975 bangunan sekolah Melayu seperti itu masih banyak pada kampung-kampung di Terengganu.

Maka kita perlu bertanya apakah perubahan budaya boleh disegerakan dalam konteks sebuah masyarakat Melayu dan Bumiputera yang terbiar seperti itu?

Pada Hikayat Pelayaran Abdullah kita punyai gambaran taraf dan kualiti hidup kelumpuk-kelumpuk Melayu, khusus di Pantai Timur. Pada hakikatnya gambaran itu tidak banyak berubah pada abad ke 20 sebelum kemerdekaan meskipun sebuah jalanraya telah dibina yang menghubung Kuala Lumpur,Ku! antan, K uala Terengganu dan Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

Bolehkah kita percaya anak-anak bangsa yang hanya mampu beroleh persekolahan yang sedaif itu akan berjaya merombakkan cara hidup dan kesederan (consciousness) mereka dalam tempuh 30 tahun, ataupun dalam masa 70 tahun jika tidak didahului dengan perubahan serta amalan ideologi yang sesuai? Jika boleh, mana contohnya?

Persekolahan yang membolehkan anak Melayu memanjat sampai ke peringkat atas (tertiary) adalah melalui persekolahan Inggeris atau persekolahan Pondok, yakni persekolahan Arab yang oleh Tok Kenali hendak dijadikan persekolahan tiga bahasa - Melayu, Arab dan Inggeris akan tetapi tidak mendapat sambutan.

Pada rantauan tahun 1927, yakni sewaktu mobil pertama (jenama Austin) sampai ke Pasir Mas, Kelantan, terdapat beberapa orang Melayu di sana yang memberikan kereta itu rumput untuk makan, menurut ceritanya. Itu satu lukisan taraf budaya dan informasi pada zamannya di daerah tersebut yang merupakan bandar kecil.

Pada tahun 1977 di Dabong, Kelantan, para penduduk, sewaktu mera'ikan kunjungan Menteri Kewangan, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, memainkan muzik berentak dengan mengetuk kayu yang dipaku pada buah-buah kelapa kosong.

Itu dia kilasan taraf budaya sebilangan Melayu pada tahun tersebut.

Di sebilangan Rumah Panjang Sarawak masih terdapat tengkorak-tengkorak moyang dibunuh yang dijamu kuih-muih. Itu dia kilasan budaya sebilangan Bumiputera Malaysia sampai sekarang.

Maka Tun Razak memilih untuk mendakap ideologi Buruh (Labor) dulu dan sementara itu, segera memberikan pendidikan terbaik mungkin untuk anak-anak bangsa dan merombakkan masyarakat dengan membuka peluang sampai ke aras tertinggi untuk Melayu dan Bumiputera khasnya dan lain-lain kaum pada yang am.

Melalui rancangan Felda pula segolongan Melayu dan Bumiputera yang menjadi peneroka ditanam perlahan-lahan dengan aturcara dan etika kerja berkelumpuk dan seterusnya ideologi Buruh evolusioner, bukan revolusioner.

Tun Razak me! naruh ha rapannya pada Pemuda Umno dan di Morib tahun 1975 beliau menanam penglihatan dan pendekatannya. Malang sekali, pemergian beliau ditempah ilahi berjadual lebih kurang setahun lagi.

Tampil Dr Mahathir pada tahun 1981. Darihal pendidikan anak-anak bangsa Mahathir pantas. Oleh beliau dikirim lebih kurang 20,000 pelajar ke seberang laut setiap tahun mulanya untuk mempelajari segala bidang yang diperlukan, di antaranya bidang hidrokarban yang sekarang bergemerlapan dalam parti Pas macam Bintang-Bintang Ketika Di Langit Hijau.

Mahathir berjaya. Syabas bradder!

Pada dada pertiwi Dr Mahathir buka peluang istimewa bagi anak bangsa pada semua universiti-universiti awam sementara yang bukan Bumiputera beroleh ruang pada universiti-universiti swasta. Ini perlu dilakukan.

Mahathir, yang jadi PM pada tahun 1981, ada sekitar sembilan tahun saja sebelum genap masa untuk memajukan Melayu dan Bumiputera menurut lunas-lunas Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB) agar Malaysia mungkin menerokai satu rupa bangsa.

Walau demikian, lazimnya orang ramai kurang percaya Mahathir akan menuju ke arah melahirkan anak semua bangsa di Malaysia kerana jiwa nasionalis Melayu pada beliau terus pekat, satu sikap politik yang praktikal dalam konteks pelbagaian kaum, kongsi kuasa dan ceriterawara sejarah.

Lawan Masa

Kita berlumba melawan masa. DEB terhad pada 1990. Itu satu kesilapan yang Mahathir cuba ubah dengan membawa Just Faalan dan Rais Saniman supaya kaji keperihalannya dan mereka syor supaya DEB diteruskan sepanjang 10 tahun lagi, yakni sampai 2000.

Itu tak menjadi satu solusi. Masa tambahan tentu sekali bukan solusi untuk satu keperluan pembaharuan budaya dan mind-set dalam kontek kemajuan teknologi yang hebat. Keperihalan pembangunan masyarakat sisa penjajah yang terbiar bukan boleh disamakan dengan bolasepak yang mungkin berguna baginya masa tambahan.

Teknologi digital dan ICT yang menggabung berbagai media, dengan ada Internet pula, menempah satu l! agi gala xi baru sepertimana ciptaan Mesin Cetak Bergerak oleh Gutenberg pada tahun 1440 telah merombakkan dunia dengan membolehkan percambahan informasi dan pandangan (opinion) yang menghakiskan monopoli Gereja di Barat sehingga membawa kepada perpisahan Gereja dan Negara.

Sekulerisme membebaskan pemikiran Barat dan sekularisme, bukan agama, adalah tenaga yang memajukan budaya saintifik dan teknologi ke arah kemajuan industri dan semua bidang sains dan humanis seperti pendidikan, kesihatan, pengangkutan, peningkatan dan agihan pendapatan dan taraf hidup yang kita menyaksikan.

Pemikiran sekularisme itulah juga yang menjadikan hak asasi manusia dan kebebasan civil sebagai keunggulan-keunggulan akhlak dan keunggulan-keunggulan beliau (ideals of youths) dalam kandungan masyarakat demokeratik yang diperjuangan zaman berzaman ke arah mencapai keadilan sosial dan masyarakat dunia yang egaliter.

Ianya adalah keunggulan belia, the ideals of youths, yang terus terbawa daripada Revolusi Amerika dan Persancis sampai sekarang dan bernyala sebagai Arab Spring di masa ini.

Hembusan berbau kesturi ini berlaku di dalam dunia yang sama sekali tidak adil darihal agihan pendapatan, hartabenda, kemudahan dan agihan makanan.

Kualiti pemakanan binatang belaan di Barat adalah berpuluh kali lebih baik daripada kualiti pemakanan bagi lebih dua bilion manusia daripada tujuh bilion yang bernyawa pada bumi di masa ini.

Mahathir terdampar pada ketidakadilan sosial (social inequality) di dunia yang beliau sendiri kerap membantah. Mahathir, kerana beliau memburu perubahan yang laju macam ribut, telah memilih untuk merumuskan kuasa dengan mendirikan elita yang kaya di bawah takluknya sendiri.

Beliau ambil langkah-langkah yang menggeram untuk menyiku sistem perpisahan kuasa Montesqueue, yakni perpisahan di antara kuasa eksekutif, perundangan dan kehakiman, satu langkah yang melawan arus kerana dengan kemajuan ICT yang menjadi kuala pertemuan di antara berbagai teknologi yang te! rmuat da lam multimedia dan dengan Internet, yang paling utama dalam kesedaran atau consciousness para penggunanya adalah kebebasan (liberty), ketelusan (transparency) kerajaan dan kerahsiaan peribadi (anonymity) kerana alat-alat komunikasi digital ini tidak memberi sebarang ruang rahsia dan privasi peribadi.

Mahathir melawan arus yang beliau sendiri menempah di Malaysia dan tahu selok-beloknya. Mahathir telah membawa ke mari pakar-pakar dunia komunikasi maklumat dan mereka membantu beliau, barangkali kerana beliau, sebagai seorang pemikir yang saintifik, mudah menanggap raksaksa teknologi yang membangun dan yang membawa galaxi Gutenberg baru dan yang bakal membawa perombakan budaya dan geopolitik lebih besar daripada perombakan yang berlaku akibat Revolusi Industri dan ciptaan kapal tenaga wap.

Mahathir tentu tahu tapi Mahathir buat juga.

Tanpa sebarang ideologi sekuler yang asas dan yang membolehkan perpaduan secara yang melampaui perbatasan keturunan bangsa dan agama, Mahathir kesudahannya tertiarap di hadapan gelombang yang jauh lebih besar daripada 1001 avatar Mahathir.

Kontrektor Berwibawa

Di antara langkah paling dikesali yang oleh Mahathir diorak adalah sehubungan Kontrektor Berwibawa, yakni satu program untuk kontrektor terpilih menjadi cepat kaya dan yang terletak di bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri.

Mahathir menggunakan skim ini untuk mendapatkan sebilangan kontrektor yang dijadikan kaya melalui 'kontrek nego' ('negotiated tender') dan seterusnya sebilangan di antara mereka, juga oleh Mahathir, digalakkan bergerak di dalam Umno sebagai member-member elita kaya.

Mereka beli undi dari peringat cawangan sampai ke peringkat bahagian. Mereka tabur wang sampai ke peringkat Majlis Tertinggi, membuat Timbalan Presiden Umno dulu, Pak Ghafar Baba, pernah berkata ' ...kalau begini kenapa tidak lelong saja kerusi PM?'.

Mereka ini hampir semua adalah kontrektor Ali-Baba. Yang bukan Ali-Baba hanyalah beberapa kerat saj! a, kuran g 15 daripada jumlah lebih 300 yang berjaya menjadi kaya.

Mahathir adalah strongman. Orang Umno segan padanya dan kerana itu mereka sorok-sorok perbuatan "money politics" yang tidak jauh larinya daripada jual-beli undi, atau rasuah.

Apabila Mahathir gugur dan Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yang dulu dikenali ramai sebagai 'Pak Lah' menjadi Presiden, pada pilihan Majlis Tertinggi Umno tahun 2004 transaksi undi perwakilan telah jadi macam pasaran jam tangan palsu di Chow Kit, bebas dan terbuka.

Umno jahanam akibatya. Sudahlah tak ada ideologi asas, inikan pula sudah samasekali tidak ada amanah dan tak ada perasaan malu memecah amanah bangsa.

Kata beberapa orang tokoh yang menjadi ahli Majlis Tertinggi parti kebangsaan Melayu itu, perbuatan membeli-belah undi perwakilan 'bukan rasuah' kerana ianya berlaku sesama ahli-ahli parti itu, bermakna Umno telah menjadi hak elita kaya yang rasuah kerana bukan semua ahli-ahli Majlis Tertinggi terlibat dalam amalan buruk itu.

Perbuatan sepertinya tetap bongkak. Mereka samasekali tidak pedulikan nilai dan pertimbangan masyarakat, kelabu mata semata-mata kerana Umno telah menjadi saluran kekayaan kerana Malaysia sudah menjadi telaga emas untuk pihak berkuasa meskipun masih jauh daripada tangga Negara Maju yang Korea Selatan telah mencapai dalam tempuh 16 tahun saja.

Hasilnya Umno tidak lagi bahtera perjuangan yang unggul, tidak lagi perjuangan yang menjiwai semangat kemerdekaan dan perjuangan untuk mengisikan kemerdekaan itu dengan pembangunan, kemajuan, kemakmuran yang adil supaya mampu melahirkan sebuah bangsa berbudaya baik yang berupaya berdiri sama tinggi duduk sama rendah dengan semua bangsa-bangsa di dunia.

Pendekata, Umno sudah hampir tidak relevan kepada perjuangan bangsa dan negara. Umno kurang relevan kepada belia dan khususnya bagi mereka yang termuat dalam galaxi Gutenberg baru, Umno sama sekali tidak membayangkan perjuangan ke arah mencapaikan keuggulan-keunggulan belia sedunia, the ide! als of y ouths the world over.

Umno perlu ditempah semula, reinvention dan rebranding.

Satu Malaysia PM Najib dah kena dengan masanya. Yang perlu disoal adalah mampukah Transformasi Najib Tun Razak menghidupkan Umno dan BN sebagai pelopor perjuangan bangsa-bangsa Malaysia dalam perkarangan Galaxi Gutenberg baru yang bersifat global? Atau apakah Najib hanya mampu menempah kemenangan tipis seperti March 2008 dan berikutannya menghanyut.

Johor pun bukannya milik Umno yang tak tercabar kali ini. - a. ghani ismail, 12 April 2012.



(Bersambung)
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Loss of investment and other damages suffered due to dealing with SEDC Perak

http://www.pknp-perak.gov.my/index.php?ch=2&pg=297&ac=471&bb=3136&tpt=admin

If it is not any of the departments' job, whose is it then? SEDC had refused to respond to any forms of communications since the lease came into effect.

Vladislav Kuta

"It is not our job, it is the job of the journalist and press. We are just visiting."

The words uttered by an officer from the Pejabat Tanah Daerah Lenggong today when they arrived with an official government car and his 'rombongan' to visit the old Ladang Teh Lenggong site that had been partially turned into a monoculture eucalyptus plantation. The contractors of this plantation had been encroaching on up to 10 acres of a sustainable agriculture and living education center established by a European national since 2008. This encroachment had been occurring repeatedly for more than 12 months with destruction of crops and soil contamination with chemical herbicides. After 18 police reports and multiple reports lodged at the Land Office over the span of 1 year, they finally arrived to utter those words without inspecting the encroached land.

After submitting a proposal for this education project, SEDC had offered land to start the education center and subsequently a lease was signed for partial lots in Lenggong which was designated for proposed long-term development of an 'organic valley'. At that point, SEDC was not the legal owner of the land however they said it is a 'formality' to transfer the ownership. The legal landowner was Perbadanan Pembangunan Pertanian Negeri Perak. Attempts to secure investors and bank loans were rejected because of this land ownership discrepancy. Until today, SEDC is still not the owner but it merely has the authority to be the landowner by way of a state order in 2003 to surrender all ownership rights owned by state agencies to one body - the SEDC.

Significant vandalization and squatter problems had been present prior to the start of project, changes in land acreage by SEDC was done during lease terms and for one year, the contractors of a project approved by SEDC had been repeatedly destroying the land and assaulting people of this education center. Every relevant government agency ha! d been contacted - Forestry Department, the Police, Land Office, Department of Environment, Lenggong State Assemblyman, Perak State Exco, the common landowner which is the Perak State Economic Development Corporation. And similar responses come almost in unison from them all, "It is not our job."

If it is not any of the departments' job, whose is it then? SEDC had refused to respond to any forms of communications since the lease came into effect. From their negligence and the non-action of all other relevant authorities, losses of RM500,000 had been incurred. Now SEDC has decided to terminate the lease agreement based on unpaid rentals. Payments of these rentals had been suspended after all options to resolve these problems plaguing the ability to run the project as a going concern had been exhausted. Even when outstanding rentals are prepared to be paid, they had refused to communicate and respond. All they had responded was to refund the project lease deposit and have their lawyer write a letter to deny all allegations of the disputes in the contract.

It looks like it is also not their job.

Dear Malaysian Government, whose job is it then?

----------------------------------------------------------------

Please check out the videos below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK78JotBdEA  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhizYqeu8Mo&feature=channel

 
I signed a contract with SEDC Perak and there has been many discrepancies.
 
1. Contract starts and charges lease fees prior to the signing of agreement.

2. SEDC is not and was not a legal owner of the land, we have been assured that it is "just" a formality, yet when we approached our investors and banks for loans, we were told such contract holds no validity. It ha! s made i t very difficult to start and sustain our project. Till today, land is registered under PPPNP.

3. Contract signed is discriminatory. It refuses any rights to the leaseholder and states that it can be terminated without compensation even though I have complied with the nature of the project as stated in the contract. Foreign investment is to be guaranteed by Malaysia-Czech International Treaty of Protection of Investment.

4. Discrepancy in acreage - our contract states that we are leasing 39.6 acres, yet on plans issued by SEDC, area has been shrunk to 37.5 acres. We haven't been notified, nor it is reflected in the lease fees or the contract.

5. Prior to signing of agreement, we have requested change of terms of the contract such as duration and reduction in rent. We were told that this contract is only temporary and will be revised three months after commencement of the project. No revision has been made. 

6. At the time of commencement of the project, site has been vandalized, and there were squatters who prevented us from using of the land and caused further material damages such as burned car, 6 killed dogs, intimidation with shotgun and other incidents. This has been highlighted to SEDC, yet they didn't provide any assistance nor acted to get the squaters out.

7. Neighboring project and its contractors has caused land encroachment, illegal logging and clearing, erosion and crop destructions on 10 acres of our lease land had been occurring for 1 year repeatedly. This caused us loss of income of RM350.000 due to crops destroyed, chemical sprayed and contaminating our organic soil and affecting our crops. Constant encroachment also cost time and loss of opportunity to carry out our daily education activities and causing threat of safety to our guests from the open burning and hostile workers. This safety threat affected the number of visitors to the farm causing! us loss of income for continuously 1 year.

8. Since signing of the contract SEDC has refuse to communicate with us. No reply to letters, emails, even the properly arranged meeting with Dato Samsuddin through his PA in advance, I have been refused to meet Dato although I have been in the hall of his office and he was present.
         
9. Contractors' actions have resulted in massive erosion, landslides and deteoriation of water quality. Soil and hill assessment clearly indicates future landslides which endangers the Lenggong town due to mud flow caused by landslides blocking a river and coming down with large amounts of mud.   

10. Development site under Pei Cheong Timber at Ladang the does not have the necessary approval from DOE, nor does it have a logging licence. Yet, it hopes to haul logged timber to process in a 10 km distant factory without paying royalties and duties to State.

11. SEDC has served us a termination notice to our agreement, so the contractor can move all timber without witnesses to their factory.

12. Reason given for termination of agreement is stated as not paying the agreed rental. We have suspended payments to SEDC after we have exhausted our options in resolving the above stated discrepancies, because otherwise we are criminally liable of mismanagement of company funds. We have provided a clear indication of our dedication to settle. A copy of the Bank Draft in SEDC's name fully covering the outstanding rental has been sent to SEDC with a request for an amicable solution. No response from SEDC has been received. 

So far, our investment in Malaysia is around 500.000 RM.
 
Please, visit our project website at: www.permacultureperak.com  or www.facebook.com/SaveTheAvatarTree 

We are non-profit research, education and self-development centre funded privately from overseas and by Knowledge Value Consultancy. 

Please, help our project to survive.

 

Read More @ Source



More » Bonology.com | Barisan Nasional (BN) | Sociopolitics Plus | 大马社会政治

Will Perhilitan ever turn over a new leaf?

FMT LETTER, From Sean Whyte, via e-mail

During the past twelve months we have filed over 30 illustrated reports with the NRE and Perhilitan, detailing illegal wildlife trading and cruelty to animals in zoos. Most remain uninvestigated.

The good news is, in some of the worst cases Perhilitan has acted against zoos such as Johor and Saleng by confiscating animals and in the case of Saleng closing down the zoo – not before time.

None of which would have happened without massive public pressure being exerted on Perhilitan. Mind you, Perhilitan still show great affection and leniency towards A'famosa, the golf resort-cum-zoo which, inflicted over a period of some 12 months some of the worst cruelty on orangutans we have ever seen.

The bad news is, Perhilitan rarely prosecutes anyone for anything. We have first-hand reports of offenders paying regional Perhilitan officers not to prosecute them, but back at head office no one wants to know.

We see and report on protected species of wildlife openly on sale in pet shops. Perhilitan does nothing.

We report such issues directly to minister Douglas Embas and as far as we know and all the evidence suggests, he does nothing about them either.

We even report the NRE and Perhilitan to MACC. They make promises on which they never, ever, deliver. So much for an anti-corruption office.

Despite repeated requests from a myriad of NGO's, the minister, NRE and Perhilitan all still refuse to answer probing but entirely legitimate questions over their handling of the case against Anson Wong. Rightly or wrongly, but it's hard to imagine any other motive, their silence implies they have something they want to hide. They appear to think by saying nothing, their critics will go away; they could not be more wrong.

Prime Minister Najib is aware of all this but chooses to turn both a blind eye and a deaf ear to it.

Nowadays we copy all our reports concerning illegal wildlife on sale in Malaysia, to Interpol, the international police agency. It's only a question of time before whoever in Malaysian government is protecting Anson Wong and his cohorts, feels the long arm of the law when he or she travels through another country. That day can't come soon enough.

Sean Whyte is the CEO of Nature Alert

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Loss of investment and other damages suffered due to dealing with SEDC Perak

http://www.pknp-perak.gov.my/index.php?ch=2&pg=297&ac=471&bb=3136&tpt=admin

If it is not any of the departments' job, whose is it then? SEDC had refused to respond to any forms of communications since the lease came into effect.

Vladislav Kuta

"It is not our job, it is the job of the journalist and press. We are just visiting."

The words uttered by an officer from the Pejabat Tanah Daerah Lenggong today when they arrived with an official government car and his 'rombongan' to visit the old Ladang Teh Lenggong site that had been partially turned into a monoculture eucalyptus plantation. The contractors of this plantation had been encroaching on up to 10 acres of a sustainable agriculture and living education center established by a European national since 2008. This encroachment had been occurring repeatedly for more than 12 months with destruction of crops and soil contamination with chemical herbicides. After 18 police reports and multiple reports lodged at the Land Office over the span of 1 year, they finally arrived to utter those words without inspecting the encroached land.

After submitting a proposal for this education project, SEDC had offered land to start the education center and subsequently a lease was signed for partial lots in Lenggong which was designated for proposed long-term development of an 'organic valley'. At that point, SEDC was not the legal owner of the land however they said it is a 'formality' to transfer the ownership. The legal landowner was Perbadanan Pembangunan Pertanian Negeri Perak. Attempts to secure investors and bank loans were rejected because of this land ownership discrepancy. Until today, SEDC is still not the owner but it merely has the authority to be the landowner by way of a state order in 2003 to surrender all ownership rights owned by state agencies to one body - the SEDC.

Significant vandalization and squatter problems had been present prior to the start of project, changes in land acreage by SEDC was done during lease terms and for one year, the contractors of a project approved by SEDC had been repeatedly destroying the land and assaulting people of this education center. Every relevant government agency ha! d been contacted - Forestry Department, the Police, Land Office, Department of Environment, Lenggong State Assemblyman, Perak State Exco, the common landowner which is the Perak State Economic Development Corporation. And similar responses come almost in unison from them all, "It is not our job."

If it is not any of the departments' job, whose is it then? SEDC had refused to respond to any forms of communications since the lease came into effect. From their negligence and the non-action of all other relevant authorities, losses of RM500,000 had been incurred. Now SEDC has decided to terminate the lease agreement based on unpaid rentals. Payments of these rentals had been suspended after all options to resolve these problems plaguing the ability to run the project as a going concern had been exhausted. Even when outstanding rentals are prepared to be paid, they had refused to communicate and respond. All they had responded was to refund the project lease deposit and have their lawyer write a letter to deny all allegations of the disputes in the contract.

It looks like it is also not their job.

Dear Malaysian Government, whose job is it then?

----------------------------------------------------------------

Please check out the videos below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK78JotBdEA  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhizYqeu8Mo&feature=channel

 
I signed a contract with SEDC Perak and there has been many discrepancies.
 
1. Contract starts and charges lease fees prior to the signing of agreement.

2. SEDC is not and was not a legal owner of the land, we have been assured that it is "just" a formality, yet when we approached our investors and banks for loans, we were told such contract holds no validity. It ha! s made i t very difficult to start and sustain our project. Till today, land is registered under PPPNP.

3. Contract signed is discriminatory. It refuses any rights to the leaseholder and states that it can be terminated without compensation even though I have complied with the nature of the project as stated in the contract. Foreign investment is to be guaranteed by Malaysia-Czech International Treaty of Protection of Investment.

4. Discrepancy in acreage - our contract states that we are leasing 39.6 acres, yet on plans issued by SEDC, area has been shrunk to 37.5 acres. We haven't been notified, nor it is reflected in the lease fees or the contract.

5. Prior to signing of agreement, we have requested change of terms of the contract such as duration and reduction in rent. We were told that this contract is only temporary and will be revised three months after commencement of the project. No revision has been made. 

6. At the time of commencement of the project, site has been vandalized, and there were squatters who prevented us from using of the land and caused further material damages such as burned car, 6 killed dogs, intimidation with shotgun and other incidents. This has been highlighted to SEDC, yet they didn't provide any assistance nor acted to get the squaters out.

7. Neighboring project and its contractors has caused land encroachment, illegal logging and clearing, erosion and crop destructions on 10 acres of our lease land had been occurring for 1 year repeatedly. This caused us loss of income of RM350.000 due to crops destroyed, chemical sprayed and contaminating our organic soil and affecting our crops. Constant encroachment also cost time and loss of opportunity to carry out our daily education activities and causing threat of safety to our guests from the open burning and hostile workers. This safety threat affected the number of visitors to the farm causing! us loss of income for continuously 1 year.

8. Since signing of the contract SEDC has refuse to communicate with us. No reply to letters, emails, even the properly arranged meeting with Dato Samsuddin through his PA in advance, I have been refused to meet Dato although I have been in the hall of his office and he was present.
         
9. Contractors' actions have resulted in massive erosion, landslides and deteoriation of water quality. Soil and hill assessment clearly indicates future landslides which endangers the Lenggong town due to mud flow caused by landslides blocking a river and coming down with large amounts of mud.   

10. Development site under Pei Cheong Timber at Ladang the does not have the necessary approval from DOE, nor does it have a logging licence. Yet, it hopes to haul logged timber to process in a 10 km distant factory without paying royalties and duties to State.

11. SEDC has served us a termination notice to our agreement, so the contractor can move all timber without witnesses to their factory.

12. Reason given for termination of agreement is stated as not paying the agreed rental. We have suspended payments to SEDC after we have exhausted our options in resolving the above stated discrepancies, because otherwise we are criminally liable of mismanagement of company funds. We have provided a clear indication of our dedication to settle. A copy of the Bank Draft in SEDC's name fully covering the outstanding rental has been sent to SEDC with a request for an amicable solution. No response from SEDC has been received. 

So far, our investment in Malaysia is around 500.000 RM.
 
Please, visit our project website at: www.permacultureperak.com  or www.facebook.com/SaveTheAvatarTree 

We are non-profit research, education and self-development centre funded privately from overseas and by Knowledge Value Consultancy. 

Please, help our project to survive.

 

Read More @ Source



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No place for unprofessional figures in PHEB

FMT LETTER, From MC Pitchay, via e-mail

One must understand that the Penang Hindu Endowments Board is a very distinguished statutory body.

I believe that from the history of the distinguished statute known as Hindu Endowments Ordinance, the title "commissioner" came about from the high ranking authority from the British Colonial Government of the Straits Settlement Of Penang and Malacca.

Therefore, my humble request to the Chief Minister of Penang is that not to appoint any unscrupulous person and non-performing politicians who only aim to warm their seats, earn personal gains and fame without contributing to the society as commissioners of the PHEB.

One must understand that the PHEB is not a political platform to gain name, fame and publicity.

I believe that those who are appointed as commissioners of PHEB, should possess effective leadership qualities, social commitment, dedication and must be a professional.

They must be able to pioneer good ideas, input and must work pro actively as a team collectively to bring development and benefits and advancement to PHEB.

My humble request to the Chief Minister of Penang is that please decide carefully as to the appointment of commissioner as appointing unprofessional figures like lorry drivers, chairman of village heads of political party and others may tantamount to disgrace and disrespect to the parliament in the highest order.

I believe that the Chief Minister should be courageous and bold to make decision and please do not allow others to poke their nose in the state administration as the people of Penang has high regards and respect for CM's good leadership qualities.

Please do not allow any leaders to belittle the commissioners by uttering words "must be dropped as they are cronies of Prof Rama" as these commissioners were statutorily appointed by the ruler of the state and these commissioners have equally sacrificed their time, deposited much work, effort, input, ideas and committed themselves unconditionally without any expectation in kind or money to enhance revenue, good name and attain historical achievements to the Penang Hindu Endowments Board.

Leaders of the same political party should play an effective role to render good service to the people and give good advise to other comrades and not merely throw baseless, unfair, unreasonable, frivolous, vexatious, unevidenced and unjustified allegations against others.

Leaders who belittle others are indeed belittling themselves as they are branded as trouble makers within the political party.

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UKRC dinasihat bayar premium atas tanah 5.27 ekar

SHAH ALAM: Kerajaan negeri Selangor menasihatkan Kelab Rekreasi Ulu Klang (UKRC) agar membayar premium mengikut kadar semasa atas tanah seluas 5.27 ekar di Hulu Kelang yang digunakannya selama ini.

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim menerangkan bahawa ini kerana tanah itu masih milik kerajaan negeri dan kelab itu telah menggunakan premis berkenaan tanpa membayar sewa atau cukai pintu sejak tahun 1950an lagi.

Dalam satu sidang media di sini petang tadi, beliau memberitahu UKRC telah memohon hak milik tanah tersebut dan kerajaan negeri telah menubuhkan sebuah jawatankuasa khas bagi menyiasat perkara ini.

Katanya, jawatankuasa yang dianggotai empat orang itu termasuk Orang Besar Daerah Gombak, Dato' Paduka Raja Wan Mahmood Pawan

Teh mengesyorkan agar UKRC diberi hak milik kepada tapak bangunan kerana ia memberi faedah kepada ahli.

"Kerajaan negeri telah menasihati UKRC supaya mengutamakan kepentingan orang ramai dan membina dewan baru dengan menggunakan wang premium yang dibayar kelab itu nanti untuk kegunaan penduduk setempat, termasuk bukan ahli UKRC.

"Jawatankuasa tersebut mahu tanah itu dikekalkan kepada orang ramai dan kerajaan negeri bercadang untuk menggunakan budi bicaranya memberi tapak bangunan kepada UKRC dengan mengenakan bayaran premium mengikut harga semasa.

Kajian awal


Menurutnya, Jawatankuasa tersebut telah membuat kajian awal dengan mengadakan pendengaran awam dan mengemukakan penemuan serta syor kepada pentadbiran negeri untuk tindakan selanjutnya.

Antara yang dipanggil memberi keterangan termasuk ahli UKRC, pegawai kerajaan khususnya dari Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ) dan orang awam.

Dalam satu laporan yang telah diserahkan kepada kerajaan negeri pada 15 Mac 2012, jawatankuasa itu mendapati UKRC ada membuat permohonan untuk mendapat hak milik terhadap tanah lapang kepada pemungut Hasil Tanah Kuala Lumpur pada 14 Februari 1958.

Tetapi hanya diluluskan sebagai tanah lapang untuk Kelab Dewan Masyarakat (Club Community Hall) pada 12 Julai 1958.

Jawatankuasa juga telah diberitahu bahawa nama asal UKRC ialah Dewan Masyarakat dan Kelab Rekreasi Kuala Ampang sebelum menukar nama kepada UKRC untuk diwartakan pada 6 November 2001 dan menggugurkan nama Dewan Masyarakat.

Sejak itu UKRC mengenakan bayaran masuk dan yuran keahlian serta tidak membenarkan orang awam menggunakan premis tersebut tanpa kebenaran khas.

Jawatankuasa siasatan berpendapat bahawa tanah itu diwartakan sebagai tanah lapang pada 19 Oktober 2004 dan menjadi bukti tambahan tanah itu tidak pernah dikeluarkan hak milik kepada UKRC atau mana-mana pihak.

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Tanah rakyat terlepas ke tangan orang lain

JOHOR BARU: Pembangunan tanah akan menjadi fokus manifesto Pakatan Rakyat Johor dalam menghadapi pilihan raya umum ke 23, kata PAS negeri.

Timbalan Pesuruhjaya PAS negeri, Zulkifli Ahmad mendakwa dasar tanah BN sekarang banyak penyelewengan sehingga menimbulkan kemarahan di kalangan rakyat.

"Program pembangunan tanah kerajaan negeri sekarang gagal, rakyat menjadi mangsa. Rakyat yang sudah berpuluh tahun meneroka dan menduduki tanah tetapi tidak diberi hak milik.

"Sebaliknya kerajaan negeri memberi 110 lot tanah kepada Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) untuk pembangunan di kawasan Iskadar Malaysia.

"Tanah penduduk terlepas ke tangan orang lain." kata Zulkifli.

Suara rakyat Johor

Menurutnya,  rungutan ini disuarakan rakyat Johor semasa program anjuran PAS di Johor Baru baru-baru ini.

Katanya, Pakatan Rakyat akan mengubah polisi yang menekan rakyat apabila memerintah Johor kelak.

"Tanah adalah di bawah kerajaan negeri dan kita tidak mahu rakyat Johor menjadi mangsa.

"Kerajaan negeri menetapkan 40 peratus untuk projek  perumahan mesti disediakan untuk kos rendah tetapi tidak dipatuhi," tambah beliau.
Zulkifli berkata,  satu perhimpunan akan diadakan di Angsana, Johor Baru bagi menyatakan tidak puas hati rakyat dalam isu pembangunan tanah.

Katanya, perhimpunan tersebut akan diadakan 5 Mei depan.

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Musa denies business links with Michael Chia

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman today said corruption allegations made against him by whistleblower website Sarawak Report was an act of defamation and conspiracy by certain quarters with the agenda to topple the Barisan Nasional government.

"I deny all these allegations. I wish to put it on record once again that I have no business association whatsoever with an individual named Michael Chia," he said today.

Musa said these allegations were trumped up by his political opponents dan desperate individuals who would resort to anything to gain political mileage.

"It is unfortunate that there are people out there who will keep using recycled allegations to get to the top when election is near.

"The people of Sabah can decide for themselves based on my track record. Not faceless and nameless people who use blogs to serve their political interest," he added.

Musa said he would give full cooperation to the authorities if needed but in the meantime his responsibility was to ensure the wellbeing and development of Sabah.

He said he did not wish to waste his time entertaining these frivolous allegations, adding that his main priority was to serve the people of Sabah and to administer the state.

Caught with money

Last week Sarawak Report published leaked Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) documents that revealed Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail allegedly shelving files and refusing to prosecute Musa and his brother Anifah over allegations that the Sabah chief minister had corruptly issued timber licences to his brother worth tens of millions of ringgit.

Investigations were prompted after Musa's "agent" Michael Chia was arrested in Hong Kong in 2008 and MACC investigations later unearthed details of the secret timber concessions within the family and Gani's close ties to the Aman family.

Chia was detained by the Hong Kong authorities at the Hong Kong International Airport for alleged money trafficking. He was caught trying to smuggle out of Hong Kong some S$ 16 million (RM40 million).

Apparently when he was caught, Chia told the Hong Kong authorities that the money was for Musa.

Also read:

Aman-gate: 'Charge in court, or we bring to public court'

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Rosmah Mansor calon “winnable” UMNO/BN di kerusi Putrajaya...

Maka atas dasar itulah, pada 16 Januari 2011 saya menyiarkan rencana bertajuk "Perdana Menteri Wanita: Kenapa Isteri PM Tak Boleh?" dalam blog ini yang antara lain merujuk kepada kemungkinan Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor bertanding pilihan raya dan menjadi Perdana Menteri.

Saya juga menyebut banyak contoh lain di mana isteri atau anak pemimpin negara seperti Evita Peron, Khalida Zia, Benazir Bhutto, Corazon Aquino, Megawati Sukarno Putri dan ramai lagi berganding bahu atau mengambil alih panji-panji suami atau bapa mereka sebagai pemimpin negara.

Memandangkan pilihan raya umum akan diadakan tidak lama lagi, mungkin baik kalau kita timbangkan semula kemungkinan Rosmah "memformalisekan" kedudukannya sebagai seorang yang berpengaruh dalam pentadbiran negara dengan bertanding pilihan raya.

Apa salahnya beliau bertanding sebagai salah seorang calon "winnable" Barisan Nasional dalam PRU nanti kerana politik dinasti dan keluarga bukan asing bagi Malaysia. Wan Azizah bertukar kerusi dengan Anwar dan anak mereka, Nurul Izzah, juga Ahli Parlimen. Betty Chew, isteri Lim Guan Eng, Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, adalah Adun DAP bagi kerusi Kota Laksamana, Melaka.



Jadi apa salahnya pasangan wakil rakyat Mohd Najib-Rosmah?

Lagipun, cakap-cakap rasmi, separuh rasmi dan kedai kopi memberikan kredit yang tinggi kepada Rosmah bukan sahaja kerana kepintaran dan pendidikan beliau yang tinggi, tetapi juga kerana kreativiti, ketegasan dan keberanian.


Kalau tidak pintar masakan beliau diterima masuk ke sekolah elit Tunku Kursiah, mendapat ijazah sarjana muda Sosiologi dan Antropologi dari Universiti Malaya dan sarjana Sosiologi dan Pertanian dari Louisiana State University, Amerika Syarikat.

Pengalaman kerja beliau juga luas — pernah menjadi eksekutif di Bank Pertanian (sekarang Bank Agro) dan sebagai pengurus pembangunan perniagaan syarikat hartanah Island and Peninsular Bhd.

Mungkin beliau boleh mengepalai senarai calon "winnable" Barisan Nasional yang Mohd Najib uar-uarkan itu. Kalau tidak di Negeri Sembilan, negeri kelahirannya, Rosmah boleh bertanding di kerusi selamat Putrajaya bagi menggantikan Teuku (Tengku Aceh) Adnan Mansor.
 

Apabila beliau dipilih sebagai wakil rakyat, maka adillah dan patutlah bagi sesiapa pun untuk memuji dan menyanjung atau mengkritik dan mengutuk beliau. Dan layaklah beliau menerima peruntukan rasmi untuk projek-projek beliau. Wallahualam. — kadirjasin.blogspot.com

(Petikan di atas adalah sebahagian daripada rencana yang aku cedok daripada blog 'The Scribe A Kadir Jasin' untuk kita renung bersama akan serba kemungkinannya dalam dunia politik Malaysia yang penuh dengan penipuan dan lintang pukang angkara perbuatan SPR yang pro-UMNO)  Baca rencan penuh! nya di < a href="http://kadirjasin.blogspot.com/2012/04/politik-dinasti-semakin-ketara.html">sini.

Memanglah di Putrajaya,Rosmah tak payah pergi kempen pun. Letak saja gambar2  cincin Rosmah disekitar prescint, dah sure menang besar! 

Apakah Tengku(celup) Adnan Mansor bakal menanggis tak berlagu....

Sekadar bertanding di Putrajaya tak payahlah heboh seantero dunia yang dia tu calon "winnable". 

Kalau nak tahu sama ada Rosmah atau Tengku(celup) Mansor "winnable" atau tidak minta depa turun ke Lembah Pantai atau Seputeh...



Umno's dilemma in picking 'winnable' candidates...

A winnable candidate must be someone who is acceptable to the majority of voters in a constituency and also by the party machinery as well, said Prime Minister Najib Razak.
 

Najib explained that if the party machinery rejects someone who has the ability or track record, that person will not succeed and in the end the party will lose both the seat and power.

"If we as party members are not open minded and insist that a person must be a candidate based on party hierarchy even though our candidate might not win, then what'll happen is that our candidate will fail," he said to Bernama during an exclusive interview in conjunction with the upcoming 2011 Umno General Assembly, here today.

The Umno president emphasised the importance of everyone in the par! ty to un derstand what was meant by 'winnable candidate', which would be highlighted during the elections.

"Otherwise it'll be tough to succeed. If the winnable candidate is put forth by a group within a certain division without considering the wishes of the majority of voters, that candidate would also not succeed," said Najib.

Difficult to please everyone


He admitted that it was difficult to please everyone, especially at the Umno divisional level, but said "the winnable candidate formula was to give each contested seat the best chance to win."

However, he said the selection of candidates was not finalised yet and the evaluation would be made objectively and not just subjectively.

"This is most important. The candidate we select should not be someone we like personally but someone who can be accepted by a majority of voters in the said area. That's what we must do," he elaborated.

He said the question of deciding on a candidate was very challenging and difficult and it was impossible for the party to please everyone.

"In my 35 years of experience in politics, it has never happened in an election," he added.

"But whatever decisions the party makes, ultimately we have to accept the party's decision as a party member, even if it's not to our liking," he said.

If the party loses, it means we'll lose power


He described his many experiences where people loyal to the party accepted the party's decisions even though they did not like it, which finally led to the candidate winning.

"On the other hand if they continue to object and say whatever happens, I want to contest. That means they're not loyal to the party and the candidate loses, which means the party loses. They should realise that when the party loses it means we'll lose power," he! asserte d.

Najib also admitted that even at the divisional level party members did not see eye-to-eye on the best candidate and said that what they needed was party discipline.

"Meaning, when it's time to make the decision on candidate selection, it should be accepted, supported and defended by each member of the party," he said.

It was vital to consider the criteria for candidate selection following the 2008 general election which saw BN and Umno losing five states and it was a lesson that should never be forgotten, said Najib. - Bernama


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