Wednesday, January 30, 2008

"Help Umno cleanse itself".

updated, with transcript of full interview here.
pic by a blogger who requests anonymity

Don't vote party; vote candidates who are straight, not corrupt. "I have given up hope on Umno cleansing itself from within," Dr M told a press conference after the launch of his latest book, Dr Mahathir's Selected Letters to World Leaders, in Putrajaya yesterday.
There was a momentary lapse as journalists and bloggers absorbed the gravity of statement. Then a burst of questions.
For the next half an hour or so, they forgot that the man fielding the questions was no longer the PM or President of Umno.

"So who are the candidates you would endorse at the next General Election, Tun?"
"Was there an ACA file on a certain Kelantan Umno politician that you handed over to your successor when you stepped down?"
"Do you think Umno, the Malays, and Malaysians can accept [father-in-law and son-in-law] in the Cabinet if the current PM wins the next GE?"
"What do you think of the OIC's stand on Gaza and the Palestinians?"
"Wouldn't you accept a bit of blame for the cronyism that permeates the party and the government now?"

"How do you plan to cleanse Umno?"
"Are you saying that the people should vote out corrupt leaders even if they are from BN?"

"You are saying that the Opposition will win more seats in this GE than the last GE?"

"Wasn't there a gentlemen's agreement between you and Pak Lah that says Pak Lah would be PM for one term, after which Najib will take over?"
"Do you consider the PM a deadwood?"

For those of us who used to cover him as PM, today's performance can be considered not bad. Usually, that means the best is yet to come.

p.s. I told Jeff Ooi after the press conference that it would seem to me that Dr M has endorsed his candidacy at the next general election, even though Jeff will be contesting as a DAP candidate. Jeff is clean, straight and not corrupt. He his idealistic, principled, and has proved many a time through his blog to be a champion of the underdog.
That's the kind of candidate I'd campaign for.
I don't know about other bloggers, but I should think it's time to call for a meeting of the All-Blogs to have their thought on this.

At the moment, I have Husam Musa, Wee Choo Keong, Haris Ibrahim, a couple of MPs, a couple of ministers ...

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Should Pak Lah remain as PM?

Up to you and I, mister. Former PM Dr Mahathir was supposed to talk about his book that will be launched tomorrow. The foreign journos, of course, took the opp to ask him juicier questions.

Q: Do you think the PM should quit?
A: It is up to him to decide. It's also up to the people to decide. If the people want him to move on, if they think his administration is not benefiting them, they should make a decision.

In this latest attack on his successor, Dr M accused Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of "wasting money" and too accomodative in terms of foreign policies. "We are not as independent as before ...".

Read the Reuters piece here.
For more info on Dr M's latest book and the launch tomorrow, here.

A boycott, the setting Sun, the rising Star

Paper-free Tuesday and how they plan to kill off the Sun
At the press conference yesterday, lawyer Haris Ibrahim spoke about how the purchase of the Nexnews group by tycoon Vincent Tan confirms the politics-media nexus responsible for the suppression of press freedom in Malaysia. Nexnews owns the Sun, whom many consider to be the "free-est" daily around.

There's actually more from where that comes from. The Star is expected to announce soon the purchase of 30 percent of Nexnews, for betweeen RM1.80 and RM2 per share. The plan is to place the Sun under the control of the Star. The Star's editorial bosses have been briefed.

Only the Edge will remain in Tong's hands.

View story, comments and pictures on the Boycott-the-Papers launch here.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

When he who's never been elected speaks ...

"Don't lobby to be candidate." So Khairy Jamaluddin tells Umno Youth YB wannabes [and there's no more vancacy for son-in-law]. The Protected One said Umno Youth leaders or members are selected as electoral candidates based on their capability and leadership qualities and not because of their lobbying at the 11th hour.
This statement here is the clearest hint so far that the PM's beloved son-in-law, who was not elected to be the Umno Youth deputy chief, will be fielded as a candidate at the 12th general election.
Question is where, and at whose expense?

Paper-Free Tuesday

NO TO THE LIES BY THE PAPERS. For a journalist who grew up in the so-called mainstream media (which was never called that in those days, by the way), the People's Parliament's initiative to boycott the MSM has put me in a tight spot. You see, for over two decades my bylines appeared in the pre-1987 Star, the Business Times, the NST, Malay Mail, Berita Harian. You can't get more "mainstream" than that.

Now you want me to turn my back on my bros and sis?


But then I read the lies that some editors of this day stuff into their Sunday columns and into the news that their papers publish. They condone plagiarism, use the papers to shamelessly promote their own (or their friends, wives, or friends' wives') business interests, and rewrite reporters' articles to safeguard the personal interests of their political friends and masters.

Sure, there were editors during my time who compromisd on their journalism ethics, too. But those who did never pretended that they were fighting for greater Press freedom and never declared that the Press was free in the first place. Zam, our Information Minister, for example, was a Dr Mahathir die-hard and was more effective than any of Mahathir's ministers in pushing Pas into a corner.

During the Reformasi period, the Umno-onwed papers, including in the NSTP, went after Anwar Ibrahim. But in case you forgot or didn't know, Anwar had lived by the sword. When he was in power and in Umno, he controlled the NSTP and put many of his people in the other mainstream newspapers. He died by the sword.

Me, I was not one of Anwar's men and I was not one of Mahathir's, either. I wasn't Ghafar's nor was I Musa's. And I am very glad that Abdullah Badawi (or his 4th floor goons) was not so comfortable with my style - or so that was what his so-called adviser at NST told me as soon as his "friend" had been made the Prime Minister.

So my conscience is clear. As an MSM journalist, I didn't think too much about who the political masters were. I wanted to break stories and get scoops (or at least don't get scooped). As an MSM editor, I defended my journalists who didn't give a damn who the political masters were supposed to be because all they wanted to do was become good reporters. Together, we pushed the parameters so that we'd get a little bit more freedom every day. Some of us "died" trying.

Today, I can count them with my fingers but the fact is there are still editors and journalists out there who are still trying. I write this posting in the hope that they understand why I am throwing my support behind the People's Parliament's campaign to boycott the lies by people put there in their newspapers to advance some politicians' life span.

This boycott as a timely effort to tell people that the lies by these editors and journalists must not have their support. As I see it, this boycott is also a tribute to those journalists and editors in there who are still trying, who are still pushing the parameters to get a little bit more Press freedom.

So here's to a paper-free Tuesday, for a start.

Details will be announced at a:
Press Conference
Monday 28/1/08
11 am
at Blog House [66 Lorong Setiabestari 2, Bukit Damansara, KL]


Go to Haris Ibrahim's People's Parliament to confirm your attendance.

Ah, polis, polis ...




Easy pickings. In Malaysia, peaceful protesters - noisy or otherwise - are deemed more dangerous by the cops and the authorities than criminals. Otherwise why do the police spend so much energy, resources, and time to stop people from expressing their unhappiness with inflation? The cops even took the trouble to obtain a court order way before the peaceful protest to bar certain individuals from being anywhere near the KLCC yesterday (here).
If they'd been as serious in fighting the bad guys, I believe all Malaysians would be solidly behind them.

More than 50 people were arrested for being expressive yesterday [HERE].

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Abdullah's approval ratings down

Pop snag ahead of polls. The Merdeka Centre has come out with its latest survey to gauge what the people think of their Prime Minister. The result is not unexpected. Pak Lah's pop ratings have taken a beating, falling from 71% to 61%.
And if one looks closer at some of the tables and graphics, the picture becomes even clearer.

Above graph, for example:
Of the 61% who are still behind the PM, only 23% "strongly approve" Pak Lah's ways PM. The remaining 38% said they "somewhat approve" the man.
And "somewhat", bros and sis, can be, er, somewhat tricky.

Screenshots has more on why petrol prices increases, Dr M and street demos have made Pak Lah increasingly unpopular.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Another vet journo quits NST?

RM100k claims? A veteran journalist has resigned from the NST, I hear. Talk is that the Executive Editor had approved claims amounting to some RM100,000 submitted by a reporter who spent three weeks in Pakistan recently on an assignment. But that's not likely, I thought, as every claim by a reporter needs to be counter-signed by the Group Editor or the Group Editor-in-Chief.

P.S. Also heard that one ex-journo of NST, a Tony, is the latest to join Fox, the Brenden-Wong Sulong Moa-PR* firm. Not sure which Tony, though. Tony Emanuelle, Tony Francis, Tony Mariadass?

* A new term not found in any business dictionary yet, it stands for Motherofall-PR.

Toll hike lovers, stay away from KLCC!

But if you want to vent your frustration with having to pay RM12 every day to the filthy rich cronies and a sleepy government, and you think you can because this is supposed to be a democractic country, then make your way to the KLCC tomorrow 26 Jan. 3 p.m.
Go HERE for details and tips on what to wear.

Also, “Save Bukit Gasing” Residents Hearing
Venue: Community Hall, Jalan 5/46, Gasing Indah (opposite Petronas).
Time: 11 am.

Singapore loves Malaysia's Lingam

The Lingam defence. Lingam is a hit with Singaporeans, too, it seems. Even the usually-sombre Singapore Business Times feels like a laugh in the article Looks like I wrote this - did I? by Jamie Ee, which suggests organising a conference on how to "Never Say Die even when your face is staring at your from the video". You can thank Sophie's World for the article.

The Singaporeans would love Lingam's act at yesterday's session of the Royal Commission of Inquiry. "I can pretend to talk to President Bush if I like," he said.
We have to face it - V.K. Lingam is a celebrity. And our kids may want to be a braggart and bullshitter when they grow up!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Bernas 2: the next big AP business

Which crony will get it? The first of a series of blog articles by A Voice seems to suggest that there's an concerted effort by people close to the Prime Minister to create an AP business ala Malaysia which will be worth billions of ringgit.

This concerted effort seems to involve using the media to picture Bernas, the sole rice authority in the country, as an ineffective, corrupt and complicated entity. The aim is to prepare the public and the government for the settting up of a "second Bernas". But this new entity, bros and sis, will only handle the APs.

We all know that APs are for cronies, and even monkeys can get fly-helicopter rich in the AP business. There's talk that a friend of the son-in-law could be laughing all the way to all the banks when this happens.

And we wondered why the PM needs more time?

Part 1 of the rice exclusive: ECM Libra ke Bernas?

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Pak Lah: Gimme more

One term's not enough. So how many terms would be fine?

The PM, who has been criticised for reneging on so many of his 04 election promises, said the government is just in the process of implementing almost all the programmes it promised. The programmes would take years to show results, he said.
“These are things that are not easy and take time to accomplish,” he said, adding that the programmes were not only confined to five-year plans in the 9th Malaysia Plan. They included development programmes, vision plans and national economic policies that took as long as 30 years.

That's right, he said thirty (30) years. [Of course, I don't think Pak Lah is asking to be PM for 30 years ...]

Read The Star's report, here.

"Gimme more time!" What do you make out of Najib's body language and facial expression when the PM wants a lot more time to prove his worth as PM?

Politics and Thaipusam

Selamat menyambut Thaipusam. But "don't be hookwinked by the Opposition", says Samy Vellu, the MIC president and the government-appointed caretaker of all things Indian-Hindus in Malaysia, today. Support BN. Thank you for the public holiday, Pak Lah. Don't stoop so low, Opposition. Election gimmick? Indians are not so stupid.
Rest of story here.

Samy's Thaipusam message to the Indian community, in a nutshell: Vote the Barisan Nasional.

In Malaysia, politics may be holier than religion.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

"Don't ask me, I'm just a roti seller"

Pics: K and Siti; Vincent Tan takes his mind off the Lingam inquiry to enjoy some loaf






















The Loaf.
A "quality restaurant" attracts a certain quality of people, and so when Dr M launched his bakery at Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, the event drew quite an impressive list of celebrities, both the Siti Nurhaliza kind as well as the Vincent Tan type.

The bosses of Naza, MK Land, Country Heights, and Kencana were among corporate leaders who attended the launch. Former MCA boss Ling Liong Sik was also there. And celebrity bloggers, including A. Kadir Jasin, Nuraina A. Samad, Jeff Ooi and Marina Mahathir.

But pastries were the last thing on the media's agenda. After token questions on The Loaf, journalists asked him about the general election ("ideal time to call for the GE as everything is up: the stock market, prices, etc.), Bush's visit to the Middle East ("not beneficial at all to the Palestinians"), and the OIC, in which PM Abdullah is the chair ("go ask the person (who chairs the OIC - Pak Lah)").

"Don't ask me all these questions, please, I am just "penjual roti" (bread seller)."

For more pictures, click here.

Monday, January 21, 2008

"Looks like me wasn't talking to Ahmad Fairuz"

picture from Yahoo!
Very Kiasu Lingam. V.K. Lingam said the man on video clip looks like him but at the same time insisted that the man who looks like him was not talking to Ahmad Fairuz. What crap.
"You can ask me a hundred questions (on the same matter), and I will tell you the same answer. It looks like me."
And the Royal Commission of Inquiry did not take him to task for trying to make a fool of the proceeding. [Stories here and Lingam wasn't drunk by Bernama]

Zam: I'm not anti-blog

New Zam? It was the first time the Kempen Minister has said it in public. "People say I'm anti-blog. I am not anti-blog. I am anti mischievous rumours spread by some irresponsible blogs," Zainuddin Maidin said at a dinner last Friday.
At the reception, bloggers were placed under a category of their own. That's unprecedented first, a Kempen staff told me. In his address, Zam even mentioned "journalist friends who are no longer in newspapers but who are now bloggers".
[Read Agenda Daily's article here on what Zam thinks newspapers should do to ensure that blogs don't cause them to be redundant].
Guest list of bloggers.
Other pics of journos, bloggers and former journos at the media night here.

Peck #2

pic courtesy of Jinggo, who is still looking for pic of peck #1.
A day after Peck #1 .... the PM gives lensemen this rare display of affection for wife Jean (pronounced Jean) Danker.
A peck for political expediency? I don't know but some 6,000 people witnessed the romantic moment and there's a forum taking place at KMU debating this peck and the Datin's peck.

p.s. The majority of the 6,000 who attended the MIC's pro-government rally yesterday didn't seem very happy, writes Nanda in People's Parliament ...

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Kit Siang gets Thaipusam wish

Jan 23, Thaipusam, is national public holiday. The PM has declared this year's Thaipusam a holiday for [correction: for KL and Putrajaya, NOT for all the states], hardly two hours after Kit Siang wrote in his blog here that Abdullah should do it "instead of just thinking about it".
"In the past decades, both inside and outside Parliament, DAP has been calling for Thaipusam to be declared a public holiday and not just a state holiday in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor."

Happy Thaipusam, everyone. I don't think the PM and Kit are the only ones who'll claim credit for this, as hinted here.

update: Zorro knew about this from his Hantu last week.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Datin's peck sends 4th floor boys reeling

The wife of a Penang Datuk sent the media officers of the PM's department scrambling today after she broke the Hadhari protocol and gave Pak Lah a peck in the cheek.

The kissing scene happened in Penang this afternoon when the PM was officiating an event involving the Datuk.

Editors of the mainstream media have been warned by the 4th floor operatives not to use the story or the picture. Bad for elections.

Do we dare expect a picture to leak out?

A sad Malaysian Saga

Melayu muda lupa. Yesterday Pak Lah launched the new "Saga", whih was Proton's first brand (launched back in 84). I wasn't there but at a dinner thrown for journos by Zam last night, old friends told me of how, during the launch, everybody lupa (forgot) to mention Tun Dr Mahathir's role in the creation of Proton and the original Saga.
More pics of the new Saga here.

Selective Press freedom in Malaysia

No, it isn't odd, Marina.
Ain't it good to see more young Malaysians with balls to express themselves?


And ain't it good to know that we have editors who have balls at The Star who would publish the picture of a protest against the former PM who is still greatly admired by many Malaysians?


Now, if only those balls aren't detachable and are there all the time... [see Marina's Isn't it Odd?]

Read also blogger Big Dog's Open Letter to Wong Chun Wai, the Star's acting group editor-in-chief.

Friday, January 18, 2008

"He wanted to tag along. It was out of my control."


Holiday with acquaintance. Eusoff Chin today described controversial lawyer V.K. Lingam as "just an acquaintance". An acquaintance who decided to tag along when Eusoff, who was then the Chief Justice, went on a holiday with his whole family to New Zealand [here].

Would you let an acquaintance tag along with you on a holiday to NZ?
Me, I've never been to New Zealand ...

Brother Karasu wants in on Inquiry

Sound mind or not, Mr V. Thirunama Karasu aka Balan, lawyer V.K. Lingam's younger brother, is expected to be at the hearing today (Friday), first thing in the morning.
It'd be nice if Mr V.K. Lingam, drunk or not, could be there for a family gathering.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

The Famous Anus award

1. "Correct, correct, correct".
2. "Looks Like Me, Sounds Like Me".
3. "... the toilet is the most beautiful, like a new bride."
4. "Mana ada bocor?"
5. "Racist....you tak suka, you keluar dari Malaysia".
6.
"Preston is one of the oldest universities in America."

Blogger Srikanth Siva, a Malaysian based in Chicago, is compiling a list famous quotes by Malaysians for a 2007/2008 award. Go here if you don't want him to miss listing your favourite line.

Lingam "lelaki mabuk"?

Lingam was drunk? Tengku Adnan, whose name was mentioned by a man who looks and sounds like V.K. Lingam in the controversial video clip, certainly thinks so.
Testifying in the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the authenticity of the video, the Tourism Minister said denied any involvement in judge-fixing and described the phone conversation on the video as "words of a drunk chap".
Admittedly, the clip does show an impressive array of bottles on the table. I don't know how the Royal Commission is going to prove if the lawyer drank all or half of them, but you don't ever place those kind of bottles on a table just for display, do you?

Harakah has the angle.


One-year old suit

NSTP & 4 vs Rocky's Bru.

It's a year since the NSTP & 4 others filed a suit against me at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur. On Jan 15, 2006, I posted in Brewed (which drew 2 comments) the above pix of a foot-high affidavit the NSTP's lawyers had delivered to the National Press Club in Jalan Tangsi, claiming that I had defamed them in this blog.

The rest, like they say, is ... err, still on-going.

One of the things that has cropped up from the suit is the campaign to boycott the MSM (mainstream media), including the newspapers in the NSTP stable. Lawyer Haris Ibrahim, who represents Jeff Ooi in a second lawsuit filed by the NSTP against a blogger, is at the forefront of one of such campaigns.

I have very strong feelings about this matter, having grown up in the MSM for 21 years and still a practising journalist two years after I left the Malay Mail [yes, I still consider myself a journalist; in fact, I think I am more journalist then some of the editors who sit in newsrooms and take orders from Putrajaya].

But I shall save my views for when my case goes on trial. Pray that the day will come. In the meantime, do check out And now, for a word from our sponsors ... , in which Malik Imtiaz discusses the merits of Haris' initiative as well as other similar efforts by Malaysians who have had enough of the MSM.

One year already. Thank you for helping me make it this far.

My Way

Dr M testifies.
Testifying in the Royal Commission of Inquity into the Lingam video clip, Dr M said the reasons for his decision to pick Ahmad Fairuz as the Chief of Justice back then is ...
"... something I don't tell people. It is my prerogative. I don't have to explain why."
Roughly translated, "I did it my way".

For more, read article here.


Proton to sell Lotus?

Market talk. I hear the Proton management, the same one that sold MV Agusta for 1 Euro, is planning to sell off Lotus. No, not for 1 Euro. Fact is, I didn't hear how much they want to sell off Lotus for.
Proton sold off MV Agusta on the pretense that the bike outfit wasn't part of its primary operation, which is to make cars. Ironically, BMW, which is also primarily a car manufacturer, paid close to RM500 million for MV Agusta.

The re-making of Saga. Expect the Proton chairman to deny this talk tomorrow (Friday, 18/1), a big day for the national car maker as it launches a remake of the Saga, its first model. The PM is scheduled to do the launch at the KL Convention Centre.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

"Looks like me, sounds like me".

Lingam outdoes Lingam. Just when you thought nobody could come up with quotes that can match the classic "Correct, correct, correct", V.K. Lingam comes up with another vintage.
Excerpts from today's the Sun:
Commission member Datuk Mahadev Shankar asked Lingam's lawyer, R. Thayalan, if Lingam admitted it was him who appeared in the clip.
"Is it your position that your client is not him in the clip?" asked Mahadev.
"He said it looks and sounds like him in the clip," replied Thayalan.
Mahadev pressed Thayalan further and asked if Lingam admitted the details which appeared in the transcript was uttered by Lingam.
"I have to take instructions from him, but his stand now is that it looks and sounds like him," replied Thayalan.
Mr Smith calls it Quote of the Century.
To read the Sun's full article, click here. The story's headlined Lingam makes brief appearance.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

What's with Siti Nurhaliza?

Are you disappointed with her? Blogger Pasquale, who adores Siti Nurhaliza, is upset with the singer's decision to start "covering up" (I am disappointed with Siti Nurhaliza!).
Me, I'm a little disappointed with some people at my girl's school. A couple of weeks ago she said she would have to start wearing the tudung to school. Peer/teacher pressure. I said no, unless the school makes everybody wears the tudung as part of its uniform.

Back to Siti. If you ask me, I think Siti is old, successful and rich enough and I don't care if she wears a tudung, a selendang or nothing. But I confess, I'm curious as to what she's done to the pupils of her eyes!

Now, with eyes that colour, you'd think she's blondie!


Picture borrowed from Utusan Malaysia, Jan 14, without permission.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Tony Fern responds

AA (also) stands for Amazing Airline. Air Asia group CEO Tony Fernandes said a while ago there is no plan at the moment to take the airline private.

The Bernama story at 8.41 pm:
SEPANG, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- AirAsia Bhd has no plans to be privatised, its group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said today.
"No plans at the moment in terms of taking AirAsia private. It's not something that I am aware of," he told reporters after signing a partnership agreement with CAE.
"I do think that the stock market needs to understand AirAsia better," he said when asked about the company's share price which has plunged more than 20 percent since October 2007.
"We have an amazing airline with amazing products," he added.
The low-cost carrier has seen significant selling of its shares by foreign shareholders. The fall was "related to AirAsia's fuel-hedging policy, which some parties considered excessively speculative", said OSK Research last week. -- BERNAMA

No more that popular

Gored but not by bulls. Pak Lah is in Spain where dead bulls live for the matadors, but at home is where he's getting really gored. See Screenshots for a report on the PM's worst-ever approval ratings.

Oh, dear, Editors!

These girls and their families have suffered enough. (Did you have to expose them and add to their suffering for a few copies more?).

To: The Editors of the New Straits Times, Harian Metro, the Malay Mail

Dear Sirs,

Re: Pictures of Kampung Baru molester victims in your papers today

I received mails from some enraged readers of yours (and you may say goodbye to them) with regards to your reports in today's paper on the police enlisting the help of 4 young former victims of the so-called Kampung Baru molester.


All of you decided to use the pictures of the girls being escorted by their parents/guardians and police officers to a building in the city believed to be where the girls (and Nurin Jazlin) had been detained by the suspect.


While the faces of the girls (all below 8) were covered by their parents/guardians with newspapers, you actually decided to publish the pictures of these parents/guardians without bothering to pixelate* the photographs.


I don't have to tell you that by doing so you have exposed these children (and their families) to your readers and to further misery.

As at this point of time, dear Sirs, as your former colleague and a fellow journalist, I am ashamed of you. You might as well have published the faces of the girls, their names and addresses.


You owe your readers, the parent of the kids, and the poor kids an unreserved apology.

p.s. I attach herewith photos of some of your handiwork.

Yours truly.

* Newspaper editors often pixelate photographs so that the reader cannot identify the identity of the subject/s. A photograph of a crime suspect is pixelated until he is formally charged with his crime. Pictures of underaged kids, whether victims or otherwise in a crime, must be pixelated to protect their identity.

Note to Rocky's Bru readers:
I don't relish picking on editors and journalists; I'd rather hold them in high esteem. For 3 years, I was editor of the Business Times and for another 5 years (until Feb 2006) I headed the Malay Mail. As editors and journalists, we make mistakes everyday.
But the decision to publish the pictures of the parents of these kids is plain stupid, reckless, unprofessional, insensitive and ought to be condemned.
The Sun published the picture of a parent and his little girl on its front page today but its editors had the sense of covering up the man's face. Berita Harian is the only paper in the NSTP family that didn't carry the pictures. Neither did Utusan Malaysia. The Star's editors also decided not to use the pictures.


The top 2 pictures are from New Straits Times, pic 3 from Harian Metro, and the 4th one from the Malay Mail. Bottom most picture is taken from the Sun's front page. ALl pics used without permission.
For more pictures and annoyed words, go HERE.


Tony, fuel, going private talk

[with updates, after the story below]

AirAsia slips on oily patch.
Just a day after Tony Fernandes said (in NST's Outlook 2008 interview) that "the main challenges for (AirAsia) would be airports, not fuel", a major investment analyst released its Jan 9 report (excerpt below) warning investors of a RM100 million annual loss that AirAsia could be staring at as a result of its fuel hedging policy, which some concerned parties considered "excessively speculative".


p.s. Private talk. There's also speculation that Tony is taking AirAsia private. So soon after it was listed on the Bursa, and after all the excitement it has brought to the Malaysian aviation scene? That's what I thought, too.

UPDATES 14/1/08, after lunch:
1. Visit Ganesh,t he blogger Down Under, for "Tony Fernandes and AirAsia's nightmare".
2. This week's The Edge goes to town with the story, here.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Yellow Carnival, Feb 23, Stadium Bukit Jalil

No more street demos for us, thank you. Bersih, which organised the massive Yellow on Nov 10 last year, will be applying for a police permit to hold a Pesta Rakyat at the Stadium Bukit Jalil, which has a seating capacity of 110,000 people.
According to this blog, 23rd Feb 2008 is the target date for the carnival. Generally, people expect Parliament to have been dissolved by then to pave the way for the 12th general election.

Samad, Rosihan honoured

Tokoh Wartawan Dunia Melayu.


Top, L-R: Pak Samad, Drs Tarman Azzam (Indonesia), Mazlan Nordin, Sulaiman Jeem (Singapore) Bottom, L-R: Othman Wok (Singapore), Ahmad Arshad (Brunei), Pak Rosihan, Fatimah Md Nor (Brunei)
Rosihan Anwar (pic) is a name that invariably crops up when they teach you Principles of Journalism at varsity. I had the honour of meeting the man last night at the Anugerah Tokoh Wartawan Dunia Melayu organised by the Former Berita Harian Malaysia Journalists Association in Petaling Jaya.

Slight build, awesome aura. His byline has appeared in the Hindustan Times, the NST, Asiaweek, World Forum Features, The Age Melbourne, the Straits Times Singapore and the Asia Pacific. Pak Ros has published 36 books, the last one issued on his 85th birthday last May. He has the distinction of having the newspaper he headed killed twice, first by President Sukarno and then by President Suharto.

Rosihan is a worthy recipient of the Malay World's Eminent Journalist award, organised in association with journalists' bodies in Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. There were two recipients from each country.

The award would have lost all credibility, of course, if A. Samad Ismail had not been on the list. Pak Ros was looking for his old friend last night but was told by Samad's daughter, Nuraina A. Samad, that he was unable to attend and had conveyed his regards to Pak Ros.
He told me he'd first heard of the name A. Samad Ismail when the younger man was writing in Singapore in 1947.
"Then he came to Jakarta where I was based. He remained underground and was protected by Adam Malik at the time. I did not have the opportunity to meet Samad. But in 1965, we met for the first time. it was like we'd met so many times before. We were meeting like old friends."
I asked him to describe Pak Samad in a nutshell. He said it was not possible to compress Samad into a brief description. "Samad co-founded the PAP. Journalism could not confine this man."

Pak Ros said he wrote articles for the NST on the invitation of Pak Samad. This was well before Samad was arrested for the third and last time in 1976. He was detained under the ISA, when Hussein Onn was Prime Minister, for 5 years.
























Nina, Samad's youngest, receive the award on behalf of her father from Selangor MB Khir Toyo. Dr Alias Mohamed, president of the ex-BH journalists association, and veteran Rejal Arbee look on.


Saturday, January 12, 2008

Please, Sir, give one up!

Soaring crime index and why Pak Lah must give up the Internal Security Ministry portfolio.
I just came back from The Scribe, Jalan Sudin, Tok Mommy, MageP's Lab, Galadriel's, Jeff Ooi's, People's Parliament, Zorro, the Nurin Alert blogs, Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today, and scores of other sites. Everywhere, everyone's writing about Nini, the cold-blood shooting of a politician, the high rate of crime.

In August 2006, Member of Parliament Fong Po Kuan proposed that Pak Lah gave up the Internal Security Minister portfolio in view of the rising crime index then.
Read my earlier posting Too Much for a Man? (27 Aug 2006).

I thought then that MP Fong's assertion that the country needed a full-time minister to fight crime was worth considering. This was before Nurin and before rape cases reported in 2007 increased by about 30-bloody-percent over 2006!
After Pak Lah's dazed "What's going on? Why is it so high?" reaction to the latest crime index, I would like to belatedly join MP Fong in asking Pak Lah, with all due respect, to make way for someone else to fight crime as the Internal Security Minister.

Abdullah holds 3 portfolios now: he is the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, and the Internal Security Minister. We know enough of the man's capacity by now to conclude that it would be too much to expect him to excel in all three portfolios, mindful of the fact that he also holds other important titles internationally, including chairman of the OIC and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Johor MIC No 2 shot dead



updates Jan 12, 4:35pm:
Pic is of photfit of the murder suspect

PM "shocked", Samy says Krishnasamy
did a lot for the Indians [click HERE]
Son pleads with media to stop speculating [here]

Original posting





By Malaysiakini
MIC leader shot dead in
Johor, Jan 11, 08 3:32pm

MIC Johor deputy chief and Tenggaroh state assemblyperson
S Krishnasamy was gunned down by unidentified assailants at
the MIC Johor headquarters this afternoon.
When contacted, his staff confirmed that Krishnasamy, 58, died
shortly after the 2pm incident. The politician was shot twice at
close range.

Rocky's comment: If there was doubt that a more drastic action
was needed for the police to allay our fears, this shooting should
erase that doubt.

Election fever and Anwar's dare

"If thy hath no fear of me ...."

"Jangan asyik mencabar saya bertanding. Mahkamah diperalatkan untuk menghalang saya. Jika sungguh bagai dikata, sila beri kelulusan saya bertanding!" - DSAI in Kalau berani benarkan saya bertanding
Simply translated, Anwar Ibrahim is challenging Pak Lah to hold the elections after April this year so as to enable him to contest. The former DPM is prevented by a court ruling from contesting in any election held before April.
Most people think Pak Lah is going to call for the 12th General Election during the first half of March 2008.

And what are you waiting for Zam? Go take Singapore's TODAY to task!
And Anwar has a "battle plan" for the coming GE. He gave Today, the Singapore paper, a sneak preview in an intervie. I expect Zainuddin Maidin, our Information Minister, to come down hard on the editors of Today (even though Today does not come under our KDN) for giving Anwar prominent space in the paper [here].
Last month Zam lashed out at a popular Indonesian TV station for airing an interview with Anwar!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Promuda: Young Malaysian pros go global

From pro-Mahathir to ISA. street demos and the State of the nation in 2008.
You probably remember the Young Professionals Chamber of Malaysia or Promuda for its shocking pro-Mahathir stand back in 2006 when the ex-PM lashed out at his predecessor. After the "storm" [in which Tengku Zafrul , who is now head of Tune Money, quit to protest chairman Don Rahim's support for Dr M, according to Miss Tan's piece here] the movement fizzled a little.
This year - which many believe will be the General Election Year - seems to be a comeback-in-a-big-way year for the apolitical Promuda.
It says it is Going Global and will provide a platform connecting young Malaysian professionals in over 100 universities and cities around the world.

It opens 2008/1429H account with TWO surveys for young Malaysians:
1. Street Demonstrations and the ISA
2. State of the Nation 2008 Survey (Part One: The Economy)
Click here for more details.

p.s. Anyone knows what happened to Don Rahim, the chairman of Promuda, after that "storm" of 2006? Can't get a decent mug of the guy on the Net. There are plenty of Zafrul's, pictured here with Nor Mohamed Yakcob and Tony Fernandes.

Missing Nini

Not a good start for Muharram, not at all. Another girl has gone missing. Nini is 5 years old and she is 3' 2". A small girl.

If there's a time for a more drastic action on the part of the cops to allay our fears, this is the time.

Go here for more details.
And thanks, Jediraj, for the photos of the suspect:

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Maal Hijrah


The Madina Mosque, Cardiff. In 1414H, I went to the Thomson Foundation in this Welsh city for an advance diploma course for practising journalists.
We didn't celebrate the new year there but I remember this mosque, which had been a former warehouse, where a coursemate met, of all people, a former lecturer of mine from the School of Journalism in ITM, Shah Alam.

15 years on and I've never been back to Cardiff, or this mosque. Perhaps this year?

May 1429H be a blessed one for all God's creatures.

PM's "drastic action" order to cops - A short sms exchange

"Finally, Pak Lah sees d light abt d crime situatn. on frnt pages. hope he is dead serious."
I received this SMS from reader TM this morning. Ah, yes, TM, I hope he is dead serious, too. But I read the news on-line last night and I am not too optimistic. The Bernama report said the PM "also wanted the police to take more drastic action to tackle the rising crime index in the country". Good, so he's aware that crime is rising and is causing fear and there is need to allay people's fear.
But MORE DRASTIC action was he talking about?
Go on, read the article HERE.

Don't tell me fixing CCTVs is what's meant by "more drastic" action. One of Nurin Jazlin's killer was caught on CCTV, remember? But the cops haven't been able to make anything out of it despite FBI help, so what would a thousand CCTVs do to deter the bad guys?

And don't tell me hiring retired cops on contract is what's meant by "more drastic action". Because I've just read here that Christopher Wan, the CID director, has quit after serving the last day of his one-year contract yesterday. The report did not mention the fact that Christopher Wan was head of a special team set up by the Police to investigate Nurin Jazlin's murder last September. I don't remember anything drastic coming out of his special team to solve the case.

So, I replied to the sms.
"Morning, TM. Yes, I read it on Bne on line last night. Lip service. Doesnt sound like he has a real plan but could be a start if he's serious and sincere. And if he is, rather late in the game, just a month or so before gen election."

Malaysiakini has a story on the rising crime index, HERE.
(You will need to subscribe to the on-line portal, though. If you are supporting Haris Ibrahim's initiative to boycott the mainstream papers, it makes more sense if you also pay to subscribe to the alternative media. And place your advertisements in the likes of Malaysia Today or/and the blogs).

p.s.
By the way, according to the Bernama report:
"(The Prime Minister) clarified that the crime index in the country was said to have increased as the police had added five new categories to the existing 14 categories. "The five new categories are criminal intimidation, defamation, blackmail, causing injury and rioting," he said.
He said the addition of the five categories was based on the increase in police reports on the matter.
Abdullah said if the crime index were to remain at the existing 14 categories, it would show a decline.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

After the pillows, 10,000 roses

Flower power. 10,000 supporters of Hindraf are expected to present red and yellow roses to the Prime Minister in conjunction with Valentine's Day next month. P. Waytha Moorty, the self-exiled Hindraf leader, said in a press release from London the red rose signifies "love" and Hindraf's "peaceful struggle" while yellow signifies its demand for justice for the 5 Hindraf leaders detained under ISA for their role in the 25 Nov 2007 rally.

Hindraf has asked its supporters to bring the roses to the Parliament House on 16 Feb 2008 at 11 am, and has asked the PM to come in person to accept the gesture.

The full Hindraf press statement HERE.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Snakes on our train

Sex perverts on LRT. Shawn Sharif, 24, has been taking the Light Rail Transit to work every morning for the last 18 months. Although crowded, it was an efficient mode of transport from her home in Wangsa Maju to her workplace in KLCC. But now she doesn't look forward to it anymore.

"There are sex maniacs on the loose on our trains," she said.

These perverts would stand behind their victims and rub themselves against the hapless women in the train packed like sardines. One of the "regular perverts" always wore a KLIA-com.my black t-shirt.
"During one of my beautiful morning starts, I stumbled upon this man's act and a timid-looking Indian girl was the target. I could not do anything but only to call the girl toward me and offered her some space to stand next to me. She told me then that she has become his target not once but twice and more. She said she was too afraid to do anything." - Shawn
The blogger has written in to Putra LRT, Rapid KL, Puteri Umno, a TV station and the mainstream papers BUT none of them has made the matter public. The response from Puteri Umno's webmaster took the cake: "We will check your submission in the next few hours, if it is interesting an relevant we will publish it soon. At this moment we have 110 submissions waiting to be published".

I am posting Shawn's accounts and her letters to the authorities with the hope of raising the alert on these perverts. If the passengers can look out for one another, perhaps we can make them disappear.

Go here for "Sex Maniacs loose on YOUR trains" and other letters and stories about two-legged snakes on the LRT. After that, do check out Shawn Sharif's blog underEstimated-overEstimating for Dry Humps, etc.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Why Azmi Khalid should be Perlis MB, according to the Umno sec-gen ...

"He has a young wife". Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, who is close to the PM, has made it no secret that he wants Perlis MB Shahidan Kasim replaced. He insists, however, that he does't want the job and that the person Pak Lah should appoint is Azmi Khalid.
Why Azmi Khalid?
Radzi gave two reasons:
1/ Azmi was his friend and classmate
2/ Azmi has a "young" wife

Nuraina A. Samad, former political editor, did not let these details escape her - or us. She alerts us to the interview Radzi gave to Farrah Naz Karim. After reading Oh Dear, Radzi ... and Farrah's interview, I have come to the following conclusions:

1/ Radzi is just another moron
2/Jean Danker is too old to effectively promote Malaysia (Azmi's wife, ex-TV presenter Normala Shamsudin, is 43; the PM's wife is at least a decade older).

Future Perlis MB's wife?


Malaysian is Indonesia's Top 10 Bloggers

Unspun rocks! Blogger Ong Hock Chuan, who has worked and lived in Jakarta for over a decade, has been included in an important Top 10 Indonesian Bloggers list. Ong, who runs the Unspun blog, was instrumental in making the Pesta Blogger in October a reality. As a result of the Pesta Blogger, the Indonesian government declared Oct 27 as the republic's National Blogging Day.
Check out A. Fatih Syuhud's Blogger Indonesia for the other 9 on his list.
p.s. We are hoping to get a day in May, starting from 2008, as the National Blogging Day for Malaysia. Perhaps we'll try and get our blogging bros and sis from Indonesia to help ...

Awang Goneng rocks! Wan Hulaimi, a London-based Malaysian author-blogger, who is in Malaysia to promote his book GUiT (Growing up in Terengganu), seems to have been promoting blogging as well. In a recent interview, he was quoted as saying:
“People say lots of things about bloggers, most of them uncomplimentary, but I’m very upset about that ... Blogs are very special tools for honing your writing skills or to get you started on writing."
Sharon Bakar has a posting on the man who blogs as Awang Goneng. According to Sharon, "one politician who has been most vociferous in his condemnation of bloggers was right at the front of the queue to get his copy of GUiT signed at the book launch!"
I do wonder who that politician was.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Larger than Life ll (Welcome to Leningrad)


Who needs giant statues when you have this? When I posted pictures of the Mayor of Melaka on this 30-storey digital billboard (Larger than Life, Dec 14 2007), some of you predicted that the Datuk Bandar KL would put the picture of the Prime Minister on it one fine night.
Well, saw this tonight ....

Pillows for a PM

All pics are Malaysiakini's, used without prior permission.

Brave or brash?

They will be called many names. But these young guys who called themselves the Young Malaysians Action Secretariat (Sekretariat Bertindak Anak-Anak Muda Malaysia) didn't hide their faces or identities when they told the media that they would be at the PM's Department at 11 this morning to hand over a "surprise gift" for the PM.


Yep, A pillow and a bolster. If the message is not clear, read Black's posting headlined A Special Gift to the Prime Minister. Amin (top pic, with poster of the PM and a yacht called Cobra Sultan) said they were there for about an hour. The security officers brought in the pillows for the PM "after scanning them for God-knows-what".


Save the hills

Mars on Earth. Where I live, nearly all the hills that were there just last year have been cut and flattened. My 12-year old describes parts of our surroundings as "Mars on Earth" because of the shades of red and crimson where the hills had been. He watches too much of the Discovery channel, perhaps, but you get his drift.
There must be something we can do to make them listen, and to save whatever remaining hills we have.

Read also:
This government appears not to be people friendly! by Barking Magpie
Save Taman Melawati Hill by Haris Ibrahim
We need your support to save Ampang Hills and to save lives! by Seri Menanti

Hindraf's Waytha refutes media reports

"Fight will continue to the end." Yesterday, a reader alerted us to an article in Straits Times (Singapore) on self-exiled Hindraf leader P. Waytha Moorthy "giving up" on the fight in an AP article headlined "Indians fight losing battle for equal rights". Reader kalyan97 has mailed me a statement which Waytha is supposed to have issued to deny the AP report.

In this latest statement, Waytha declared that "I will continue to lead HINDRAF even if I'm on the move throughout the world." He said he has lined up many plans to keep the struggle alive and that he will continue to lobby the support of foreign governemnts to keep the pressure on the Malaysian government.
"HINDRAF would also be organizing various peaceful protests throughout the country to highlight the plight of the 70% poor underclass Malaysian Indian society and for the release of the 5 Leaders of which I would announce the first plan on Monday 7th January 2008."
To read Waytha Moorthy's full statement: Waytha clarifies statement in AP report.