Saturday, June 30, 2007

LKY: Umno leaders trying to topple Pak Lah

with updates, Sunday 01 July:
AKJ in his blog The Scribe urges Umno members to be weary. LKY "... is creating suspicion among Umno leaders. He appears to be pitting the Johor Umno against the President."
Shar at OBE says he looks forward to Wisma Putra's response to the "Little Emperor".
Ron in Gerbang Ruhanie wonders if LKY was staging a reverse psychology warfare against Malaysians who oppose IDR.
SKThew has a posting, "Let the War begins".

We are still waiting for the first Umno leader/member to comment on LKY's remarks.

Original posting:
"On one side Pas is trying to topple the prime minister but when Umno leaders, particularly from Johor, are also doing the same, Singaporean investors must seriously ask themselves when this attitude will change and whether they welcome us in IDR." - Lee Kuan Yew.
Yes, Singapore's Minister Mentor is hitting out at us again. Not just at Johor but at Malaysia.

Despite all that the Abdullah Administration has done to woo the Singaporeans to the Iskandar Development Region, including forming a joint-ministerial committee, Kuan Yew is not impressed. In fact, he's told his people not to expect privileged treatment from Malaysia like the "generous treatment" accorded by China to investors from Hong Kong in Shenzhen province.
"Singapore cannot expect the same treatment form Malaysia."
That''s fine by me, but he didn't stop there. He went on to tell Singapore companies to evaluate whether their presence is welcomed at IDR as there are protests from among Umno leaders, especially from Johor.
"On one side Pas is trying to topple the prime minister but when Umno leaders, especially from Johor, are also doing the same, Singaporean investors must seriously ask themselves when this attitude will change and whether they welcome us in IDR," he saide in an interview with Singapore's Berita Harian. [Read the Bernama report here and the latest AP report dated 1 July 2007 here]
This is a very serious allegation. LKY is saying that Umno leaders, particularly from Johor, are trying to topple the Prime Minister. The PM is Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

This is a very serious allegation, indeed.

56 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:42 pm

    who are these johoreans? spinning galore in the coming?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rocky!
    May be LKY knows more than us plebeian in Malaysia! But if you ask me our Prime Minister should resign since he cannot even chaired an important meeting such as the Supreme Council meeting where at the very last minute he asked his deputy to do it, at that point in time the PM was in the country! Ask anyone on the street let alone Umno members, Pak Lah is not well liked, he is a virtual prisoner of his own "people" who ask him to stay in the wing until the time comes when a pretender to the throne will make an attempt to take power, well the onus is on the word "pretender" you can pretend!
    To wrest power, well let me tell you something Najib is not a little boy! He is quite a veteran and he does have few tricks still left up his sleeve! Najib is the right person to govern some 26million people in this country and capable to revive the country's economy plus he does not sleep and let others do the job for him!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:25 pm

    Hi Rocky,

    This is what berita harian reported:

    Mengenai bantahan sesetengah pihak terhadap penyertaan Singapura dalam IDR, terutamanya ahli politik Malaysia, seperti PAS dan Umno, Encik Lee berkata:

    "Adalah satu perkara bagi parti Pas cuba menjatuhkan Perdana Menteri, tetapi apabila pemimpin Umno, terutama dari Johor, turut bertindak serupa, pelabur dari Singapura mesti bertanya secara serius bila sikap itu akan berubah, dan sama ada mereka megalu-alukan pelaburan kami di IDR," ujarnya.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:34 pm

    Let's see...hm, well, there's a certain education minister who is a 1st cousin to another minister. Now, the other minister is not a Johorean...huh? Hang on! You mean, the conspirators have spread throughout the whole of Malaysia?

    Bro, you tell LKY this: He's behind time!

    Hehe - Amir

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:46 pm

    Yes, many UMNO members at grassroot level in Johor are very unhappy with PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's decisions, especially involving Johor and Johoreans lately. Unfortunately, this gross "Jaga Boss" syndrome within UMNO limits the feedback bottom up. So they just bicker amongst themselves.

    Decisions such as the abrupt cancellation of the Scenic Bridge project and summarily blamed the Johoreans for it. Then the SJER, repackaged as Iskandar Development Region, being shoved down the throat of Johor without much consultation and even information at grassroot level. On top of that, the, using the IDR as an "experiment" to systematically dismantled the New Economic Policy (NEP).

    Johor has the highest UMNO membership; 500,000 and its UMNO most fortified political stronghold.

    Of course the way PM Abdullah allowed the country to be insulted and "toyed" by Lee Kuan Yew (most recent being the statement about Malaysian Chinese being marginalised and Johor Bahru is 'infested' with crime!) is something Johorean UMNO stalwart unable to stommach.

    Now, LKY is the one "waking up" PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and telling him that his actions has been unwelcomed' amongst the 'unhappy; Johoreans. Even if it is true, its an insult to the Malaysian Malay politics, where you get a retired has been from across the longkang to ask you to "wake up and smell the smelly dead rat"!

    Personally, I hope the Johorean UMNO will come out in the open and strongly defy the UMNO President. Former UMNO President Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad urged UMNO members to "not fear pre-mature leadership changes within UMNO", at Johor Bahru on 10 Feb 2007, his first political engagement since his 8 Nov 2006 "mild heart attack".

    Afterall, Johor Bahru is the birth place of UMNO.

    Dulu, Kini dan Selamanya

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sdr Rocky,

    Masalah dengan LKY ialah dia mengukur, menilai dan menghukum semua pihak dan semua negara melalui kaca mata beliau sebagai “maharaja” Singapura di mana Singapura bersamaan PAP bersamaan LKY – Singapore equals PAP equals LKY.

    Jadi dia tidak boleh menerima hakikat atau faham apabila di Malaysia sesetengah pembesar Umno yang ada ciri kepemimpinan dan keberanian tidak bersetuju dengan Presiden parti dan Perdana Menteri.

    Apakah ini berupa sokongan ikhlas LKY kepada Abdullah dan IDR atau cara LKY menakut-nakutkan pelabur Singapura daripada melabur di Malaysia? Atau satu percubaan melaga-lagakan para pembesar Umno?

    Terima kasih.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lee Kuan Yew he he he

    Lim Kiat Siang ho ho ho

    Lee Lam Thai hu hu hu

    Pak Lah.....

    Ada benda disebalik naik gaji...

    Strateji TDM nak guling kerajaan sebab tak puas hati. ha ha ZAM kena tutup mulut, lalu kena ikut ke rusia.

    Rocky's Bru tau itu wau!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Satu lagi.

    Saya tidak setuju dengan komen datuk kadir jasin

    Lee Kuan Yew walau dah nak mampus, tapi dia adalah mentor kepada PM Singapure.

    Siapa berani....

    Hulubalang LKY termasuk Lim Kiat Siang ada....

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous12:34 am

    Found this story in Bernama. Lee Kuan Yew's name is nowhere here. I repeat! Lee Kuan Yew is NOT one of the Singapore gengsters. -- Bilal

    KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan today disclosed the existence of organised crime in this country involving Taiwanese and Indonesian nationals.

    He said Singapore gangsters were also involved in the criminal activities.

    Musa said the foreign groups were in close contact with organised crime in Malaysia.

    "Malaysia is too open, anyone can come in," he said when asked to comment on the activities of gangsters from countries besides Singapore in this country.

    During his one-day visit to Johor recently, Musa revealed the activities of Singaporean gangsters in the state, involved in illegal money lending, VCD piracy, drugs and prostitution.

    The Singaporean group was one of seven known to be carrying out activities in Johor. They were believed to be protected by several influential persons.

    Musa said the police had arrested some of the gang members, but refused to reveal how many.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous1:03 am

    Bro,

    LKY's statement was not uttered without design.
    It fits in the whole plan to make sure that it is for Singapore and for Singapore to gain a foothold.
    He has to say it in sync with Singapore's agenda.
    All this thing about Johor being a terrible place is to discredit Ghani who was opposed to the IDR.
    IDR cannot afford any opposition.
    LKY is making sure of that.
    This is a Singapore agenda, bro.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous1:28 am

    I think everybody is trying to topple AAB becos they are fed up with SIL who has big dreams. If they topple AAB.,SIL will be out of business. With AAB around SIL can only get stronger..

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous2:54 am

    Hey rocky dude, I do respect u but LKY is just reminding Spore investors to be cautious. Policies in Msia changes just like the weather. So? I dont think anything is wrong with LKY comments. If you ask me, PAP has done a great job in Spore. Anyone can step into the country and see it for themselves. Sore losers ca say whatever they like, but smart people prevails. Thas a fact of life

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous3:00 am

    Itu sebab anaknya Husein Loong membuat lawatan tidak resmi bertemu di Langkawi.Apa yang dibincangkan diatas cruise tidak dpt diketahui.Ianya bukan berkaitan pelaburan dan bukan juga disebabkan buah durian. Yang pasti, meminta bantuan asing untuk untuk mendapatkan maklumat risikan hal dalam negeri adalah sesuatu yang membimbangkan dan merbahaya.

    ReplyDelete
  14. So, there is no love lost for Mr Harry Lee in as far as Malaysia is concerned, eh?

    And now he is telling us about something he thought we already do not know? Or perhaps we all do not know about it? Do we?

    However, I tend to disbelieve this latest "cock-a-mimie" story from this arrogant old man for going by the current trend, I for onw do not think that our prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is a pushover, not for a head of the government who is presiding over an almost three-fourth majority in the Dewan Rakyat and sitting on a cradle of a strong rakyat-friendly government.

    Mr Abdullah is so strong that even one of Asia's former strongmen Dr Mahathir Mohamad could not stage, at least a mind revolution to counter the former.

    I do not believe there is anybody with such a strong will even stronger than Dr Mahathir who could upstage Abdullah, or even could think in his or her mind to do so.

    Abdullah is not one taking things for granted although many thought he was. He is never to leave things to chance or even thinking about leaving it to chance.

    If the former premier could not have done it, who among the Johor Umno circle with balls to lead the assault? Who has the ability or even the idea to so do? Guts?

    Who among them have the will to shoulder it when there was almost no longer any Orang Umno (not Ahli Umno) in Johor as they were reduced to simply being a member, very much akin to ahli Persatuan Pinggan Mangkuk Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan (there is such an association, located along Jalan Pudu and facing the KL Police HQ) or even Ahli Persatuan Pengemar Burung Merbok Kedah/Perlis.

    Today, Abdullah is very much comfortable and secured in his position and set to lead us into the next general election and thenafter for he has proclaimed that he is no one-term prime minister as some out there thought of him to be.

    He is so comfortable that he need not worry about any coup or any such act of treason among the Umno rank and files so much so that he could afford to leave the country very often and over a long period.

    Abdullah knew that he is so unprecedently strong that he was not in the mood to talk about new battle strategies to retain the third-fourth majority for he has high self-confidence that after four years of his primiership the rakyat will be willing to vote him in big time, again! Thats why I said he is never known to take things for granted.

    If ever I could ask Mr Harry Lee, who among the Umno members in Johor have the guts to table a motion for a vote no confidence against a sitting Umno president at an extra-ordinary general meeting? Or for that matter have the balls to table a similar motion in the Dewan Rakyat to dismiss a prime minister by way of block voting over a two-third majority among the MPs?

    These are only two best possibilities to get rid of the president and the prime minister and I do not think of anybody with such courage, let alone the sorry Johor Umno members, to throw the gauntlet.

    I would say, mana ada? Tarak sape berani lah. Thats why Abdullah is still the prime minister. The best Malaysians could do is to whine and gripe about it but when it comes to translate it into action, the idea will always, as had been proven time and again, fizzled out as fast as it came to the mind.

    To Johor Umno members -- doing it is a waste of time, even thinking about doing it is a waste of time.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous4:35 am

    .

    Dpm is a shirker. He is a great flip flopper. Flip and flop at a wink of an eye.


    Now he is a ruthless crook – waiting to happen or has happened.


    Another leadership by example.
    COURTESY OF NEP.

    oA

    .

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous9:02 am

    Rocky,

    LKY is merely warning S'poreans of the risks that he perceived. Why should there be any hidden agendas?

    Does it make you more Malaysian or your blog more popular by raising suspicions on every LKY's statements? I see it as paranoia.

    Anyway, it is the M'sian Government who invites the S'poreans to invest in IDR. It is their money that we need to spur growth in Johor. It is a fair deal. Why starts spinning tales about them taking advantage of us or eating up our space/land even before the project picks up. If we are not so confident of our capabilities in competing with them or safeguarding our own interest, just scrap the whole project.

    The fact of the matter is that we need them. Look at our dwindling FDI. Look at our failure to secure FTA with US and possibly EU.

    Ghani is a racist and xenophobic. And probably has more than enough to retire. Think of all those poor Malays who have to struggle with rising costs. Why they are swayed by Ghani beats me. Lack of education could be one of the reasons.

    With the IDR coming up and would only pick up if S'pore comes in( deny it if you want), JB would prosper. Investors would pester for better law and order. Hopefully it will turn into a real safe and prosperous place that Ghani himself can't even recognise.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous9:49 am

    anon@2:54am:

    Hey Dude,
    PAP has been great for Singapore. We all know that. You'd have to be an idiot not to know. And that, dude, aint the issue.
    PAP can go on keeping its people disciplined, making sure they toe the line with very severe punishment if they don't like making them pay hefty fines and we all know SIngaporeans dont like payin fines. ANd LKY/PAP can go on making sure dissent is quelled and suppressed, keep them singaporeans happy, give them an opiate so they dont think politics, make 'em happy.
    yeah.. eveybody knows that, dude.

    And LKY, can go on doing that to Singapore.
    Not to Malaysia and Malaysians, dude.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Rocky!
    LKY thought he had AAB under control when he placed his agents to influence policy making within the Malaysian government!
    Well, credit must be given when its due, many of the Umno leaders are not as stupid as they look, especially from Johore! AAB is slowly being checked and soon to be check-mate! LKY's plans for greater Singapore which will include southern Johore appears to be in jeopardy!
    When I wrote Israeli government sent agent provocateuer into Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem to create mayhem, and I said Singapore is doing the same in Johore and the rest of Malaysia, some Singapore agent posted in your blogsite that you, Rocky, published saying I was far fetched, actually it is not far fetch it is an ongoing process and tactic by Singapore "gangsters" to do so! Actually they are not "gangster" they are from S'pore special unit trained especially to infiltrate M'sia to cause problem, serious problem, I just hope our police force have stronger resolve to counter this, I think IGP Musa can do it!
    BTW! this S'pore "gangster" is also active in Balik Pulau, Penang. I am glad Miri and Sibu especially have been or in a process of being cleansed from S'pore "Gangster"!

    Have a nice future Malaysians!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Emperor Harry Lee warning 'probationary' Emperor Abdoolla Amart Budawee that the UMNO Jedi's are up to something.

    They must work together and watch each other's back or else the UMNO Jedi will grow into a rebellion even the Imperial army of clones storm troopers cannot defeat.

    They already have the Dark Sith Lord Riong Kali to do the 'witchhunting','demonizing' and control the 'minds' of the subjects.

    ReplyDelete
  20. With such a warning from LKY to potential Spore investors, I think IDR is now on precarious ground unless...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:47 am

    Anon 4:35am or oA or whatever you call yourself!

    If Najib is a product of the NEP, then I say we have 37 more years of NEP. I'd rather have 1,000 Najibs than a faceless, cowardly Anon like you! If you want to call someone a crook, reveal yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Announcement and action
    It has to tango together
    What I see is a belly dancing
    Enthralling the audience

    Clap your hands
    Give your best
    The belly dancer shakes
    Every button falling down
    Where is the action then?

    Satisfaction to the ears
    Shares go up spread by rumors
    Money is made no substance
    The economy wavers one day to the next

    IDR to mend “potholes”
    Panjang did a better job
    Without asking from nowhere

    IDR lies in shadow
    Asking investors mend rules of game
    The beneficiaries refuse to acknowledge
    No money to be made

    Every cake
    How good are you with a carving knife?
    To let natives feel satisfied

    For every plan to succeed
    The people involve should be in the loop
    From the beginning till the finalized plan
    Otherwise this is what we seen
    Spies, agents of destruction, who’s bullying
    All because of money
    Every one wants a piece of cake

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous11:04 am

    Hi Rocky.

    Keep up the good work. Sdr Lee Kuan Yew`s analogy of generous treatment by China to investors in Shenzen province is interesting. Hong Kong has gone back to China now.Thus China doing everything possible for the Hong Kong investors is understandable.Same country two systems only.Regards.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous11:28 am

    Pasquale,

    So what about all those crimes comitted by illegal immigrants? Are they also secret agents & infiltrators from Indonesia? When it comes to international relations, we always say Singapore this, Singapore that. True, Singapore is rather uppity with a siege mentality, but we also have another neighbour of +200M people that tried to 'ganyang' us in the 60s, and every year we have to put up with their Gudang Garam smoke choking the sky. We also have lots of dispute & disagreement with Indonesia, but out of reverence to our bigger Abang Besar, we back down and decide to target Kiasuland instead.

    Prefer Djarums instead...

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous11:50 am

    Estelle, Anon - This Jedi do not understand democrasy and do not know how loved and good AAB is.

    MUstang - I agree we shd all be like Spore. Lets have Spore join back into Msia. We have a samarata system. After all, lets be done with these Malays. The orang asli come first. So we Chinese that come only in hordes in their tocang in 19th Century shd have as much right as Malays who only come in late BC. (THank you idiot anthropologist for giving us the fairy tales for legitimacy). We have already sabo them MAlays till their policy can't work to help them. Now we can dictate them and follow ejactly like Spore.

    Look at Spore. Lets follow them Democrasy is not abt the right to speak and choose a leader. It is also not abt fair play but loyalty and subserveniance to the wished of such divine leader as AAB and LKY.

    AAB is a popular leader. His slogans and media blitz spoke of the truth. He is clean, competent, well informed and acknowledge of the reality. He is popular becasue peopel truly love him.

    Believe me, he is Mr Nice Guy and Mr Clean. His hand is not as soiled as the claws of any khinzir in a sty.

    The way I see LKY's comment is his way of securing better deal for Singapore. Off course, he has the interest of the Malays, UMNO, JOhor and Malaysia in mind. He is a fair man and loves the MAlay people very much. He has always puts their interest up front before the Chinese. Malay people are more successful than Chinese. Not fair.

    LKY will never forget that it was by the good heart of Tunku ABdul RAhman to accept Spore in Malaysia (temporarily) that they were able to secure independence from the Brit. He knows how to repay debt and kindness.

    He just do not want to forget Suzhou - CONNED by his owned breathen. Just like any CHinamen, he woudl prefer to deal with Malay for they are easier to deal with, easier to compromise, overly accomodative, and are concern abt the community, country than themselves these days. If Suzhou repeat itself, it does not serve Spore and M'sia any benefit.

    On that note, why not our Government seek Sngapore's money. Our FDI dried up despite AAB's has brilliant, clear and concise economic plan. Only Singapore appreciate it. With Singapore in, we do not have to quarel over issues of water, air spacec, sand and everything else. We can allow all these and they will be like our own.

    They can easily enter Malasyia. We do not have to enter Spore, after all barang2 very expensive.

    IT is Thailand and Indon's loss for not trying to be close. It is only our benefit to have a great leader like AAB, who is soft spoken and able to tame Spore.

    IDR, if any care to study it, is a great and brilliant plan. People would develop a city organically from economic activity and as economy gets more vibrant, only then urbanisation grows into urban centre, towns, citeis and so on.

    AAB is brilliant becasue he does not waste time. He just build a Metropolis and not worry abt the economy. Lets be real after all, city is abt property, building and facilities. All the business and servicees will clsoe shop when city grow.

    Why do we worry that there is no economic activities?

    That is why he wants to close up proton, run MAS to the ground, maybe demolish highways, KLCC, Penang bridge and all this superstucture and infrastuture legacy of TDM,... it is a waste of people's money. Better build cities and megapolis straight away.

    IF no people come, we can convert it into the biggest haven for hobo, mat rempit and drug addicts.

    Its a brilliant idea of Pak Lah to make IDR a city for cheaps for Sporean to send kids to International School, Univercities. Have leisure facilities for them to live in. High class and beutiful properties to buy. ICT hub which is not hub but just get all of JB connected. Build port that we conveniently can sabo by blocking it from. Good for IDr so that we can save money and people than later invading it. We just invade them economically.

    UMNO leaders shd shut up. SOmeone said Najib got something up his sleave. No lah. Najib will go lah. His former boss do not like him and already he sabo TDM with announcement on Kubang Pasu. HE is already in our pocket and very close to us. BUt we do not want him anymore.

    His wife control his left balls. HIs right balls is kept and used by RAzak Baginda when he ducked ALtantuya. When she was blown, Najib's right balls ws blown together.

    His followers like JJ and Nazri already left him. When Denan removed from MB Pahang post, he is mince meat.

    Pasquale, your boss is finished. Bow to KJ, the divine crown prince!

    HIdup LKY! HIdup AAB! HIdup KJ!

    *** If anyone, including Pasquale, believe all these, than do see my link.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous11:56 am

    Isn't this an open secret? Save for the fact that no one says it officially.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous1:02 pm

    tiu na seng zhong yan,

    yr link reaches brumley's blog. i don't see the connexion.?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Brighteyes!

    We can cope with illegal immigrants especially from Indonesia because they are our cousins, the crime they committed in negligible for cari makan compared to evil hegemonic intention of the reddotter, never confused yourself again with the real issue, if you are a Malay, you are a bleeding heart #$%$#@^ liberal, if you are a non-Malay Malaysians please show your support for the country and no snide remarks necessary!

    ReplyDelete
  29. People I will only say this once and I will not repeat my self again so listen very very carefully!

    Dato'Seri Najib Tun Razak will be the next Prime Minister sooner than you expect and can imagine! When that happens I already know who are the people who did not like him for no reason!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous1:20 pm

    LKY is merely warning the sporeans. More than fair after all didn't Mohd Rahmay said amok comes from Malays and don't play play.

    As for johor trying to topple Pak Lah. what is wrong with that. Pak Lah is not a prophet or LKY. and the way I see it, better he goes as we are suffering due to his poor leadership and his advisers and SIL. The faster the better.We do practise democracy unlike Singapore.

    God please be kind to Malaysia and give us a good leader like the late TDI. Anyone from Johor?

    the 1st rocky

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous1:26 pm

    Hi Anonymous@9.02am

    Your reasoning seems alright if we take it from a purely business point of view. In IDR’s case, it is also a question of territorial issues that must be considered.

    UMNO Johor (equals to Johor Malays) had already lost their prized territory that is Singapore. It is perfectly right for them to be wary that with the influx of foreigners at IDR, how much it will compromise land ownership. They do not want lo lose another piece of their state.

    What's the use of being very prosperous but in the end you lose your country/state?

    A bit of patriotism will explain UMNO Johor's predicament and worries.

    logika.

    ReplyDelete
  32. LKY spoke of Hong Kong and Shenzen as if they were two separate entities governed by distinctly different political masters.

    To equate IDR and RDC on the same terms is rather pathetic, especially coming from an old cunning fox 'lugging around unresolved issues'.

    On the other hand, did we not hear our own leaders using similar attributes as RDC's to push forward IDR.

    If LKY had confined his comments purely on mutually beneficial commercial returns, it would have been 'business as usual' with RDC. But when he factored in the non-support from Johor UMNO, it is a clear example of what the JMC will entail in future.

    Is AAB still blind to this 'gross interference' from his friendly neighbor?

    This is also what you get when you put all your eggs (or was it durians) in one basket.

    I've mentioned this before - Are we broke as a nation and RDC is the only source of FDI for the IDR projects? Besides a of ideas on how to proceed with nation-building.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous3:15 pm

    I pray the rich flora and soon to be extinct fauna in Johor area is accounted for its untold riches,especially when destroyed for this IDR development.WhoEver the investor foreign or otherwise.
    Let's not become like China where local govt bulldoze everything whether people like it or not..initially some economic success BUT ,now,today ENVIRONMENT PROBLEMS LOOMING. REMEMBER,WE ALSO HAVE TO PROTECT OUR BIGFOOT STILL LIVING IN JOHOR JUNGLES. All this MONEY CANT BUY ONE!! HERITAGE MAH!

    SASQUATCH

    ReplyDelete
  34. Tun woulnd't be too bothered about all this..after all Kedah won the FA Cup last night..hehe..Hidup Hijau Kuning!

    -The Man Who Sold The World-

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous4:11 pm

    I think this IDR idea originally came from no other than LKY himself. After what they had done to BATAM. The good opportunity came after TDM handed power to PL. KJ the SIL of PL was known to be so pro-Singpore as so many of his friends (global Friends??) were based there. This IDR idea was tasked on KJ to be pass over to the sleepy PL. Unashamedly, PL announced IDR as his without really knowing the details. There were no proper and real planning, procedures and so on...... That's why it got a lot of objections from the Johor govt in the early stages, the Sultan of Johor and rakyat ... and so on. That's why it leans so much more towards Singpore although it claims to open investment world-wide etc. And that's why now the original planner LKY got so upset and is warning KJ the messenger and the sleepy PL to wakeup.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous4:40 pm

    The IDR project is a good dream which will not come true. It is a copy-cat one country two systems with ill moral intention. BN government knows very well that the ills of the country is caused by NEP, and yet it is not willing to throw away the crutches it used to retain power. It hopes to have the cake and eat it.

    The IDR project hopes to retain NEP for the rest of the country, until all the non-Malays have left everywehre in the country either to get into IDR or overseas. AAB thought that he had the bright ideas to group all the non-Malays votes in IDR which might just account for a few MP seats that BN can afford to lose. With that migration to a specil zone within the country, BN government hopes to reap all the benefits that a country minus NEP could achieve, and at the same time make use of the increased earnings, to finance the rest of the country. AAB would further hope that the price level of foods and services outside IDR would remain low so that the people out there with the special benefits would be allowed to retire happily the moment they attain adulthood.

    I am happy that LKY is giving warning to Singaporeans not to invest in IDR. If IDR succeed, so will NEP remain in Malaysia minus IDR. I wish the end of NEP, and so I wish IDR would fail.

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  37. Dang! Typo.....

    Besides a dearth of ideas on how to..

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  38. Anonymous5:15 pm

    ""We can cope with illegal immigrants especially from Indonesia because they are our cousins, the crime they committed in negligible for cari makan compared to evil hegemonic intention of the reddotter,"""


    Pasquale,

    Of course! Skin color, so thats all that matters. Because Indonesia is of the correct color (and they're bigger too!), we will always back down & be subservient whenever we have a political/economic dispute with them. And we'll sit back and tolerate crimes by illegal immigrants while talking about Singaporean secret agents running around JB & stealing hubcaps off Protons. Anyway, the next time you get robbed at parang-point (I hope not), remember... they're just "cari makan". Right?

    I support Malaysia, not a bunch of privledged Umnoputras angry & jealous at Kiasuland because that little red dot of 75% Chinamen can do relatively better than us socioeconomicly, after some 42 years.

    LKY & the PAP are still a bunch of autocratic elitists, though...

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous5:33 pm

    Then again, you cannot deny the fact that there are some UMNO leaders who expressed their reservation about the IDR and the joint Singapore-Malaysia committee. What LKY said is just a reflection of the political situation in Malaysia. You did not address that aspect.

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  40. Anonymous6:07 pm

    Sdr Rocky

    I am not sure exactly what LKY said, but reading a report in the Spore Sunday Times today about his interview with Berita Harian, he was quoted as follows:

    "We always have ups and downs in relations with Malaysia and Indonesia. There will always be groups in Malaysia and Indonesia who expect Singaporeans and their Government to be as accomodating as their ethnic Chinese citizens. When we observe an agreement already reached and do not accept the changes they want, they accuse us of not being sensitive to their feelings...Singaporeans have got used to these ups and downs over many years. They will not be rattled. Singapore will stick to international law and all agreements we have with other countries, and work patiently for better relations with our neighbours".

    Hmm...difficult to find fault with anything there. Can you?

    Also, in the Sunday Times report, there was nothing about LKY having said anything about elements in Johor Umno trying to topple Pak Lah.

    What he was reported to having said: "The chorus of protest voices sours up grassroots support for the leaders, and for cooperation projects with Singapore which benefit their own countries. It is non-stop politicking to deny any credit to the Abdullah Badawi or SBY governments".

    And in referring to Johor Umno, LKY said that investors in Singapore need to take note when Umno leaders, especially from Johor, hit out in the same vein (as PAS did; LKY quoted extensively from the June 12 issue of 'Harakah').

    (Would you have even thought that the Spore govt keeps tabs on what is being reported in 'Harakah'?).

    What he was reported to have said: "Potential investors from Singapore must seriously ask themselves when these attitudes will change, and how welcome their investments will be".

    All very above board.

    And his concluding remarks in the Berita Harian interview:

    "But we believe that, from a broader perspective, it is better for both countries that Malaysia benefits from Singapore's economic growth, and vice versa. Hence Singapore supports the IDR, on a win-win basis".

    Note that Singaporean investors have plenty of choices where to invest in. The IDR isn't the only game in town.

    Thus, SingTel has just bought a 30% stake in Pakistan's Warid Telecom for US$758 million.

    And Spore Airlines and its parent, Temasek Holdings, are negotiating to buy a 25% stake in China Eastern Airlines (the 3rd largest airline in China) for a reported US$930 million.

    Also, the Msian govt must surely be aware that Indonesia has announced plans to make the whole of Batam a Free Trade Zone in order to attract foreign direct investment.

    Foreign investors and fund managers based in Spore and the region pay attention when LKY speaks. It is when that attention is transformed into action with regard to deciding whether to invest in Malaysia or not that the Malaysian govt on its part has to take note. And, hopefully, be pro-active, instead of being merely re-active.

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  41. Dear Anon 5:33pm,

    Yes, some Umno members did oppose the IDR and still do. But most of them did it in Umno fashion - not openly.

    But that does not mean they want to topple their party President. If we are accused of wanting to topple the PM every time we disagree with or oppose to his ideas, what lah.

    Perhaps that's how LKY views opposition in his republis: if you don't agree with his ideas and his views, it means you are out to topple him.

    Thank you.

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  42. Dear Skilgannon,

    Thanks for yr observation. I'd better reproduce Bernama's piece here just in case ... [the remarks I cited are in para 4]

    Don't Expect Special Treatment In IDR, Singaporean Investors Told
    General
    June 30, 2007 13:10 PM
    By Jackson Sawatan

    SINGAPORE, June 30 (Bernama) -- Singapore companies intending to invest in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) cannot expect privileged treatment from Malaysia just like the "generous treatment" accorded by China to investors from Hong Kong in Shenzhen province, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said.

    "Singapore cannot expect the same treatment from Malaysia," he said in a special interview with Berita Harian to mark the daily's 50th anniversary tomorrow.

    Lee, still an influential figure in the Singapore cabinet, said Singapore companies must evaluate whether their presence are welcomed at IDR as there are protests from among Umno leaders, especially from Johor.

    "On one side Pas is trying to topple the prime minister but when Umno leaders, particularly from Johor, are also doing the same, Singaporean investors must seriously ask themselves when this attitude will change and whether they welcome us in IDR," he said.

    The IDR, straddling 2,217 sq km in south Johor, is a massive project undertaken by the Malaysian government, which many observers say will complement its ultra-modern neighbour Singapore, just like Shenzhen to Hong Kong.

    Lee said IDR could pose pressure to Singapore just like Shenzhen to Hong Kong.

    The Singapore founding father said Shenzhen was wooing industries from Hong Kong to the province and to nearby towns.

    "This has left Hong Kong with only a few manufacturing plants and with high unemployment rate. Hong Kong's economy is now dependent on the service sector," he told Berita Harian, the sole Malay newspaper in the republic.

    "If Singapore loses many industries to IDR, we will face serious unemployment problem as not all factory workers can find jobs in the service sector," he said.

    He, however, said Singapore would support IDR as the two countries are bound to gain from the multi-billion ringgit project.

    "From a wider perspective, we believe it is good for the two countries, with Malaysia savouring the spin-offs from Singapore's economic growth, and similarly Singapore," he said.

    Internal politics and protests to Singaporeans investing in IDR are to exploit the issues and to erode support to Abdullah's leadership and the co-operation in the development region, he added.

    -- BERNAMA

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  43. Anonymous8:46 pm

    Brother,

    this is my 4th attempt at sending my 2-sen worth. LKY is a master, and he is teaching our present leaders a thing or two about the art of peacetime war. Umno leaders not sure how to react, which explains why there is deafening silence now. One would think that Najib may offer some comments, but he won't until he gets his cue from his mastah. His boss may want to comment but his 4th floor advisers say: "no need lah Lah.!" Instead, we may see one of the mainstream media bosses doing an editorial asking LKY to mind his own business (all done in a nice way of course). LKY is attempting a minor checkmate on the Msia-Spore chess board. Johor Umno and the MB must be fuming at LKY; Ghani may want to say that LKY is wrong but he risks getting his Johor Umno-mates riled up. While all this is going on, LKY is sipping Chinese tea and enjoying his fireworks across the causeway. What about PAS? Didnt LKY say that PAS wants to topple PakLah? Hehehe! Pas doesn't have the capacity to topple Pak Lah 'cos they haven't finished their reinvention process yet and they don't have the war chests that some people in Umno is amassing! LKY is only using PAS as a red herring lah! LKY is one smart ass! LKY may have some info that we normal Msians may not have. That dude has a big and powerful radar that enables him to know what's going on in this country. Heck! Some of his operatives could very well be enjoying regular briefings and kopi o kampong with the powers that be in this country. What can we say, really? The old taichi master can makan our silat pulut chap while waiting for his breakfast 'cos the silat pulut chap feels he no longer need his mahaguru and the mahaguru has gone on to take new challenges!

    SO! hidup LKY! hidup singapura! hidup...

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous9:06 pm

    hey, where was this comment made, i am a malaysian in singapore, i dont remember reading anywhere, please provide the link, i dont trust bernama

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous10:58 pm

    .

    Singaporeans should heed lky’s advises.

    To be safe is better than to be sorry later.



    With all the crooks – courtesy of NEP – you will never know when your investment will be “robbed in bright day light” in the name of race and religion.

    When crooks in the country can get away scotch free with the mention of race and religion there is no guaranteed to your investments such as when it is gonna be robbed etc.

    See, NEP is their license to robbed and worst to kill.

    oA

    .

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  46. Anonymous11:13 pm

    Gee... much ado about a paragraph! Talk of losing something in translation. Here's the para in Berita Harian:

    "Adalah satu perkara bagi parti Pas cuba menjatuhkan Perdana Menteri, tetapi apabila pemimpin Umno, terutama dari Johor, turut bertindak serupa, pelabur dari Singapura mesti bertanya secara serius bila sikap itu akan berubah, dan sama ada mereka megalu-alukan pelaburan kami di IDR," ujarnya.

    I would like to think that the phrase "turut bertindak serupa" (are also doing the same) means "turut bertindak membantah kehadiran Singapura di IDR" (is also opposing Singapore's presence in the IDR).

    Not "bertindak" to topple AAB!

    So it think it's pointless for anyone in Umno to react to LKY based on the premise that that paragraph means "bertindak to topple AAB", without risking severe embarassment!

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  47. Anon 9:06 who is a Malaysian in Singapore,

    pls go to www.kadirjasin.blogspot.com, ada disertakan keratan laporan Berita Harian Singapura itu. atau sila ke website akhbar tersebut.

    I reproduce 3 paras here for your convenience:

    Mengenai bantahan sesetengah pihak terhadap penyertaan Singapura dalam IDR, terutama ahli politik Malaysia, seperti PAS dan Umno, Encik Lee berkata:

    'Adalah satu perkara bagi parti PAS cuba menjatuhkan Perdana Menteri, tetapi apabila pemimpin Umno, terutama dari Johor, turut bertindak serupa, pelabur dari Singapura mesti bertanya secara serius bila sikap itu akan berubah, dan sama ada mereka mengalu-alukan pelaburan kami di IDR,' ujarnya.

    Menurutnya, politik dalaman dan bantahan itu bertujuan untuk mengeksploitkan isu-isu itu dan menjejas sokongan terhadap kepimpinan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan kerja sama yang saling menguntungkan itu.

    Thank you.

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  48. Anonymous11:47 pm

    It means the UMNOputras in Johor not giving full support or giving mixed reaction to the way AAB wanted to conduct this IDR. Which is true indeed... The word "topple" is used on the project and not AAB.... PAS want to topple the IDR concept and so are some of the UMNO zealots in Johor. Looser always jump to conclusion and over read too much....

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  49. Anonymous11:52 pm

    I don't think lee kwan yew speaking for someone else.. he speaks from within himself!

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  50. Rocky's Blow?
    Heh. I see some Lee Kuan Yew's spin docs from the Tingkat 4 here. Welcome. Please move to my new posting on Hisham and DPM's response to LKY.

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  51. We still pay so much attention to this very old fogey...

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  52. Another typical Malaysian reaction: knee-jerk aka muddled action: the kitchen tap cannot be turned off and it is flooding the kitchen. Kneejerk, form a bucket squad to bale out the water...muddled. Sane action: turn off the main. God help us we are just collecting adjectives: boleh, bocok, flipflop,and now knee-jerk land. I call upon the gods to visit us with some disaster to wake us up from this complacent semua nya ok stupor.Again I spit on midgets.Lan-bird!

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  53. saya setuju dengan pendapat mustang dan zukri!

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  54. Anonymous11:23 am

    MM misquoted
    WHAT MINISTER MENTOR LEE KUAN YEW SAID:

    'It is one thing for the opposition party PAS to knock the Malaysian Prime Minister down, but when Umno leaders, especially from Johor, hit out in the same vein, potential investors from Singapore must seriously ask themselves when these attitudes will change, and how welcome their investments will be.'


    WHAT BERNAMA QUOTED MM LEE AS SAYING:

    'On one side PAS is trying to topple the Prime Minister but when Umno leaders, particularly from Johor, are also doing the same, Singaporean investors must seriously ask themselves when this attitude will change and whether they welcome us in (the) IDR.'

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  55. Anonymous11:59 am

    I think all of us are OVER-REACTING to LKY's comments on IDR. If you look at his bottom line, LKY merely advises Singaporean cos investing in IDR to be careful because of the intense politicking in UMNO involving AAB,Ghani and other Johor UMNO leaders. Of course PAS is brought in because PAS Johor leaders sling mud at LKY and Singapore over IDR.

    Our comments on LKY and IDR shows the SERIOUS INFERIORITY COMPLEX Malaysians have when dealing with Singapore. We know that when it comes to ties with Singapore, none of our leaders can match LKY's experience. LKY has dealt with all our PMs from Tunku, Razak, Hussein Onn and Mahathir to AAB and knows how to handle each and everyone in such a way that Singapore not only emerged unscathed, but are perceived by Malaysians to gain the upper hand. They always do their homework before negotiating with us on all kinds of issues from bridge, water, airspace, CPF money.

    The bottom line is that Singapore under LKY has done so much better than Malaysia in the 42 years we kicked them out. Had it been the other way round, we would have taken them back like Saddam invaded Kuwait. Had we taken them back, Singapore would just degenerate like Penang, or worse still become another Pulau Tioman if UMNO decides to flood the island with Malays nationwide to increase Malay population to 77% majority instead of the 77% Chinese-majority they have.

    Whether we like it or not, we are jealous of Singapore and continue to depend on their money, especially when we get hit hard by 1997 Asian Financial crisis and our racist NEP with special privileges for bumiputras made FDIs avoid us like the plague. What do we do when we need money and EC countries won't come? We go crawling on our knees to Singapore...Please come, please come, AAB begs LKY, otherwise Malaysia still suffer. AAB knows the only way Singapore investors will come put their money in IDR is to remove some of the NEP constraints relating to bumi quotas, etc. Johor UMNO, as well as other UMNO's have typical knee jerk reaction because they are so dependent on the NEP tongkat...hence all this hysteria against LKY and Singapore... PAS also jumps on the bandwagon, betraying its racist tendencies, which it always tries to hide when trying to fish for Chinese votes..

    So there you are...we are in a dilemma....we want FDIs but at the same time we don't want to remove the obstacles to FDIs like NEP bumi privileges.

    AAB atttempts a compromise..go crawling to LKY telling him that IDR is special zone for Singaporeans..which means lifting of some bumi NEP restrictions...

    That is too much for Johor UMNO schooled in tongkat mentality to bear...hence they hit out at LKY..

    And of course an opportunist like Ghani has to take the lead in hitting out at LKY...but here Ghani is in trouble as he does not want to offend AAB who is trying his best to get Singapore FDIs..

    When is AAB going to end IDR sandiwara by dragging LKY in for UMNO to use him as a punching bag?

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  56. Anonymous5:12 pm

    .
    /// The bernama report is meant to instigate and was written so crudely when compared side by side to what LKY said...

    This reminds me of the timeless wisdom of Bertrand Russel when he says: "A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand." ///

    The above quote is by Brian Fong in Screenshots:

    http://www.jeffooi.com/2007/07/why_harry_sue_bernama.php#comments

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