Friday, February 29, 2008

Syed Mokhtar, Zaid among Asia's most generous

Malaysia's Heroes. Zaid Ibrahim, who was dropped by the BN from its candidates' list for next month's GE, is on Forbes' list of top 48 philanthropists in Asia! Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, who has been sidelined, backstabbed, and flying-kicked by Abdullah's cronies since Pak Lah took over as PM is on the list, together with Hishamudin Ubaidula and Amar Leonard Linggi Tun Jugah.

Click HERE to read what they've done for the needy.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

"Anybody can make a promise"

from TODAYonline.

Najib understands problems better
FORMER Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has a reputation of being a feisty statesman. Today got the rare chance to meet him at his office in Putrajaya — the city that he personally designed — yesterday. He was all smiles and subtlety as he talked about the general election and his nation's political future, but his views are razor-sharp as ever, as Nazry Bahrawi (nazry@mediacorp.com.sg) found out.
.
on THE RULING COALITION
.
The Barisan Nasional has just released its report card. What are your opinions on its achievements since 2004, when Mr Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's first term as Prime Minister began?
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DR M: There are of course a lot of negative things that are not in the report card. For example, lots of money is being lost, the prestige of the nation has gone down and the fact is a lot of people cannot find work or business in the country. They have to go elsewhere.
.
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Which achievements would you take issue with?
.
Islam Hadhari has caused a lot of confusion. There is only one Islam and now they are told that they are followers of Islam Hadhari or modern Islam as if it is a new religion. With regards to the new development corridors, they are just announcements. Nothing has happened on the ground. The amount of money involved is fantastic. It goes into trillions of ringgit and it will happen over a period of maybe 10 to 20 years. So, these are promises. Anybody can make a promise.
.
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How do you see leadership succession panning out in Umno (the United Malays National Organisation) and Malaysia as a whole?
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We have certain traditions. Unfortunately, some traditions have partly been broken. For example, no one is allowed to contest leadership position. The Prime Minister determines who the leader will be and any challenge towards the leadership is not permitted. However, some people are actually called up and told not to stand. This is not Umno tradition at all.
.
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In an earlier interview, you suggested that Mr Abdullah should make way for Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Why did you say that?
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I said that I thought he should be PM for one term and that he should be succeeded by Datuk Seri Najib because Datuk Seri Najib is senior to him. From the speeches that he (Najib) makes, he understands problems much better. He does not seem to be concerned about making sure that any support for the previous government was wrong.
.
.
What do you think of the possibility of Mr Hishamuddin Hussein or Mr Khairy Jamaluddin playing a bigger role in Umno after the elections?

I think if you follow them, it will be disastrous for the party.

Read the whole interview, HERE.
(Thanks Skilganon, for the link. I am in Bahau now doing this posting after reading your comment. Left Rambau an hour or so ago on the way to Pekan).
.

The BIADAP award

Anugerah Barisan Insan Awasi Drama Ahli Parliment. It's going to be a regular award to be given to the worst peoples' representatives in the Malaysian Parliament. Today the People's Parliament announces its first recipient.

And the winner is .... click HERE!

A little girl's open letter to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

From an 11-year old whose beloved teacher has lost her husband to the ISA, for 6 years now.
Rocky's note: This letter has been mailed to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the Internal Security Minister responsible for signing documents that have sent scores of people to detention without trial, the latest being the 5 Hindraf leaders. The little girl's name has been changed for this posting, for obvious reasons.

Kepada YAB Perdana Menteri Malaysia Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Hj. Ahmad Badawi, semoga berada dalam jagaan Allah SWT selalu.

Assalamualaikum,

Saya, Sakinah, pelajar sekolah swasta tahun 5, ingin menulis surat tentang guru saya, Cikgu Norlaila.

Saya ingin menceritakan peristiwa semasa saya mengikuti kelas daurah/usrah di mana sewaktu kami berehat, cikgu berkongsi yang dia amat inginkan seorang anak perempuan seperti kami, anak murid perempuannya, kerana dia inginkan seorang anak yang lemah lembut.

Cikgu Norlaila menceritakan kepada kami (anak murid perempuan) bahawa malangnya suaminya ditangkap di bawah ISA lebih 6 tahun dahulu. Suaminya belum dilepaskan atau dibicarakan lagi. Saya amat sedih mendengar cerita itu kerana saya terbayang bagaimana anak lelaki tunggalnya terasa.

Setiap hari, ayah saya balik, tetapi ayah saya selalu balik lewat malam kerana banyak kerja. Saya amat merinduinya, tidak sabar menunggu kedatangannya dan ingin memeluknya.

Bagaimana akan perasaan anak Cikgu Norlaila pula? Inilah kasih sayang antara seorang anak dan ayahnya.Seperti ayah saya dan saya.

Ibu saya serta guru-guru saya memberitahu saya Allah suruh kita adil, bercakap benar, menolong orang lain tidak kira ugama atau bangsa, dan tidak menyakiti orang lain.

Saya doa Allah lembutkan hati tuan Perdana Menteri supaya membebaskan suami cikgu.

Jadi inilah tujuan saya menulis surat ini. Saya berharap agar tuan melepaskan suami cikgu kesayangan kami supaya anak cikgu dapat hidup bahagia seperti keluarga saya.

Yang benar,
Sakinah
Warganegara Malaysia

'Rasalah simpati;
Demi Jiwa dan Diri'

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

my paper: First blogger MP?


Singapore's my paper blurbed my Q & A with Jeff Ooi on the front page today (click HERE
and HERE)

Jakarta Post also has a front page piece on Malaysia's Blogger Politicians, here.

Strong winds in Kelantan and Terengganu

A Political weather report

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Strong northeasterly winds of 40-50km per hour and rough seas with waves of up to 3.5 metres over the coastal waters off Kelantan and Terengganu are expected to occur from today until Friday.
The Meteorological Department said in a statement that the condition was dangerous to small crafts, sea recreational activities and sea sports.
-- BERNAMA


I found this brief piece on the weather after reading another article on Bernama quoting Awang Adek Hussin as saying that Kelantan would miss out on the RM112 billion foreign investments if the state continues to be ruled by PAS. Read here.
Excerpt:
Kelantan may not be able to attract part of the RM112,000 billion to be pumped in by foreign investors for projects under the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECER) if the state continues to be led by PAS, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said.
Terengganu and Pahang would get the investments instead because they had credible state governments, he said.
"Foreign investors study the capability of the state government first before making their investments," he said when launching the supplementary BN manifesto for the Pasir Puteh parliamentary constituency in Cherang Ruku yesterday.

Awang Adek has been promised the Menteri Besar post if Barisan Nasional re-captures Kelantan in next month's general election. But like the strong winds warning in the report above, the political weather report for the East Coast should serve as a warning to Awang Adek that it is dangerous to assume that Terengganu will continue to have a "credible" state government after the GE.

Pahang is out of the Opposition's reach, but not Terengganu.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

My-paper, My-column

My Column in my paper today (click here for PDF version )

RM65k for Jeff

Malaysians from all walks of life have donated some RM65,000 to a fund raised 10 days ago to help send a blogger to Parliament.

Jeff Ooi, who has been running Screenshots for over 5 years, is contesting the Jelutong parliamentary seat in Penang on a DAP ticket.

He set up the on-line fund 10 days ago.

"People who believe that bloggers are not relevant to real life and real people are .. dinosaurs," he told a press conference after launching his first book, i-Witness.

I am here with bloggers Zorro Unmasked (Bernard Khoo) and Tony Yew. We passed him some money raised last night by bloggers.


Monday, February 25, 2008

Virus, or something ...

Dear Readers,

My laptop has been "affected" since Friday or Saturday. It has slowed down so much that I can't blog effectively.

I've been doing my postings using the Blackberry, which is why I can't do links and download pics. I will only be able to do them when I use the pc at the Blog House.

Please bear with me while we try to identify what's affecting the laptop.

Pak Lah's promises, BN manifesto

updates, 9pm

Quotable quotes: None, really.

Or perhaps this one?: "Our economy grew by 6.3 per cent in 2007, the best it had performed since 2004". - Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, BN chairman, when launching the BN 2008 Election Manifesto today.

My own trivia: What's the difference between this manifesto and the one the BN had in 2004?
It has 9 pages more. It was 24 pages now, 15 pages then.

Read the MSM's piece on the manifesto here.

Original posting:
At 4pm, the BN will launch this manifesto (click HERE).
Pak Lah will make more promises.
Tonnes of statistics in the manifesto. Tonnes and tonnes.
If you can't keep your word, give them tonnes of statistics.

Giant Killers at PRU12



My fourth instalment in Singapore's my paper, a bilingual free newspaper following the Malaysian General Election closely.

Pak Lah said that about Top Cat?

Correct, a cat has 9 lives. This Top Cat lost RM9 billion and is now contesting to be an MP. Only in Malaysia. And only in Penang.

Four years ago, when Pak Lah made Nor Mohamed Yakcop our Finance Minister 2, the PM said he needed a non-politician professional, a minister who won't need to worry about politics.
.
Please read the article here (will link later), which was written by Brenden Pereira, now a major PR practitioner doing several big government accounts.

Excerpt of that article:

"The Prime Minister said so yesterday: 'I need a minister who is always available in the ministry. He is a professional. Someone who does not need to worry about politics."

Does that mean Mr RM9 billion won't be a Cabinet minister even if he wins the election on March 8 and the BN gets to form the government?

Sunday, February 24, 2008

A ringgit for Che, an advice for Khairy

pic of the Chegu with bloggers at 23/2/08 launch of People's Declaration
Donate to stop the Dynasty.

"... we live in a world where people will remember our kind deeds and contributions and good behaviour." - Datuk Abdul Rahmah Hamid, 72 (Khairy has qualities of a leader, say mother - Bernama)
IT is a good advice. But try asking people. Will they remember Khairy for kind deeds or for good behaviour? I remember the multi-million ringgit ECM-Libra share purchase. A natural-born leader "dedicated to race, religion and country" would have ticked off the person who offered those shares to him.

You want someone with leadership qualities? Take Chegubard. I've seen quite a bit of the 30-year PKR candidate and I am heartened. No millions in his bank account and he drives a Kelisa with no fancy numbers, unlike our friend KJ. A teacher in Rembau who lost his job because he wouldn't hide his anger towards a small group of unscrupulous who are taking from country's khazanah to enrich themselves.

He does not have the millions that Khairy's friends have but he's determined to stop them from letting Khairy create a dynasty to rule Malaysians.

A man can change things, but it'd be easier if you can help him change things for us.

Help Chegubard to help save us. At the launch of the People's Declaration at Blog House yesterday, a doctor approached Chegubard while I was talking to him.
"I'd like to help with your campaign fund," the good doctor offered. Chegubard thanked him and referred him to the PKR's campaign fund manager.
"No," the doctor said. "I want to make sure my contribution to you, not to another candidate. I want to help you stop this dynasty."

You can help Chegubard, too. HERE.
Or make your donation to BADRUL HISHAM SHAHARIN, 19951001018 (Hong Leong Bank) today!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

yB aspirants at BaRak launch

Event: Launch of People's Declaration
Venue: Blog House
Time: just over, without incident.


Wee Choo Keong, Chegubard, Nurul Izzah, Ronnie Liu, Dr Siti Maria were among candidates at hand during the launch of the People's Declaration (Piagam Rakyat) by a group of concerned citizens who have been called, or who have called themselves Barisan Rakyat (BaRak).

DAP, Pas, PKR, and MDP sent reps to formally endorse the Declaration. Pasok, a BN component party in Sarawak, called RPK to re-affirm that they are IN.

Several reps from the ruling coalition were also there.

The Barisan Nasional, however, has not endorsed the document.

Lawyer Haris Ibrahim said the document is a gift from the rakyat to the candidates who wish to endorse it.

The Piagam Rakyat, in a nutshell, calls for efforts to create a Malaysia for all Malaysians, to kill corruption, eradicate poverty, bring back genuine democracy, free Press, and an independent judiciary.

At the heart of the Declaration is a wish to do away with race-based political parties, education system, and economic opportunities. .

"For too long, this country's civil society movement has been detached from the political process.

"No more

"Today, the Rakyat is the boss!"

Friday, February 22, 2008

Ah, YB Wee!


Yang Berblog dan Yang Berkhidmat. Wee Choo Keong, the guy who preservered for 14 long years to get justice done, has started his own blog.

It's also confirmed that he'll be vying for the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat.

A former MP (he lost his place in parliament as a result of the flawed 1994 court ruling), Mr Wee says he will ensure that the title YB goes back to denote the what it was supposed to denote -- Yang Berkhidmat (The Servant) and not merely Yang Berhormat (The Honourable).

"Saya sedia berkhidmat (I am ready to serve)," he told me just now.

Bloggers, unite! Let's send Wee Choo Keong to Parliament to serve the people.
Now, go to his blog HERE.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Deklarasi Rakyat launch Saturday




Click here to read my second article which appeared in Singapore's my paper today.

MalaysiaToday's RPK wrote in his column today that this Saturday, the Barisan Rakyat people will launch the Deklarasi Rakyat. It will introduce its candidates officially on Wednesday.
Details and HOW TO ATTEND, here.

Another one, loh ..


Someone really, really doesn't like Loh Seng Kok, the former MP for Kelana Jaya. He won't be defending his parliamentary seat. That will be Lee Hwa Beng's responsibility this time around.
Picture above is by Knights Templar.
Close-up pic of the Loh billboard along LDP, snapped by TV Smith.

Ex-Sun journos turn on-line

Suckers that we were. Many of us peace-loving Malaysians were fooled by the promises made 4 years ago, by the smiling face on the postcard, by the "personal" letters sent to our homes, by the Mr Clean image, by the "stark contrast" between the heart-warming Abdullah Badawi and his stone-cold predecessor.
Jacqueline Ann Surin's flashback Keeping the Promise would surely remind many of us of that false euphoria and a deja vu that leaves a bitter after taste. Knowing now that we deserve to kick our own asses for being so gullible.

The good thing is Jacquie and some friends have started their own website www.malaysiavotes.com to write what the Sun may no longer be able to publish.

p.s. We bumped into Citizan Nades, the face of the Sun, last night. Chatted about journalism, about politics, about disappointments. We await his next move.

Defaced Kok


You'd need a crane to do that to Kok's face. Click here.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

My Paper


My Paper, a bilingual (English and Chinese) free newspaper in Singapore, has commissioned me to write a daily column on Malaysia's 12th General Election from today until polling day on March 8, 2008.
The first instalment, Road Sign to a more Muhibbah Malaysia, appeared in today's edition of the paper. I was inspired to write on road signs after Knights Templar, a professional pixman and a regular commenter on my blog, sent me the picture below, with the message ..
"Bro , bet you havent seen a street sigh in malaysia with tamil and chinese words huh! well , DAP'S teresa kok put up a few today ( even in bukit bintang). i donno with or without city hall's approval ."

Read my column in my paper, HERE.

Polls before Ninie

Police stop search for missing girl because of the General Election. Sooner or later, the police would have to call off the search for Sharlinie Mohd Nasyar, the 5 year old who was abducted near her home in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya, on January 9. All of us know that. But to actually say that you are calling off the search for the little girl so your men can concentrate on the General Election? That's so sick. And stupid.

Actually, what you're doing is to tell the criminals to please have a field day because the cops will be too busy with the polls. Read here.
So after the election, 16 days from now, the cops will resume the search for the girl?

What say you, Shahrizat? Shall we call in the army?

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

I might go, says Samy Vellu

If. Samy Vellu, the hindrafted, embattled MIC leader, says he's prepared to go "if the Indian community does not want me anymore". But "outsiders" can go to hell.
Samy seems to be forgetting that Sungei Siput, the parliamentary seat he's intent on defending at the 8/3 general election, is NOT an all-Indian enclave. There are Malays, Chinese and other races. Malaysians, Samy, Malaysians.
Now, if it's up to Malaysians, what will Samy's fate be?
At Mi Rebus Tuesday which ended a while ago, a Sungei Siput voter says he's going home to vote Samy out. So will his parents and siblings. At least 5 or 6 Malay votes less for Samy there.

Read Samy's "I'm prepared to go ... even now!".

Who's out to "kill" Mukhriz?

Langkawi in a fix. Is someone in Langkawi Umno trying to shut out Mukhriz Mahathir from contesting in the General Election? Blogger Big Dog says this is the case. The statement made by Langkawi Umno secretary Mohd Saiful Mustaffa that the division does not want "outsiders" to contest is not true, according to the blogger.
Mohd Saiful claimed that 85 out of 91 branches in Langkawi have said NO to Mukhriz contesting in Langkawi.
Big Dog says ONLY 24 branches signed the petition drawn up by Saiful to deny Mahathir's youngest son a change to represent the island that was put on the world's tourism map by the former PM.

Go read Langkawi Umno secretary made a unilateral statement.

Monday, February 18, 2008

DAP's Fong "crisis"

"Serious internal crisis", says Najib. To rub salt to the DAP's injury, the Deputy Umno President even described Fong Po Kuan a "capable MP".
Fong, 35, dealt the Perak DAP a severe blow when she refused to defend her Batu Gajah seat, publicly citing problems with the state's DAP bosses and colleagues.
What a shame. I wonder if the DAP has enough time and resources to repair the damage done. There's also talk of money politics, but if you read her latest posting .on Chamber of Thoughts ... [yes, Fong has a blog]]:

Thank you, Voters of Batu Gajah Parliamentary Constituency

Time really flies. The second term as elected representative of Batu Gajah has just ended. It was a term with lots of ups and downs. What a challenge and experience in life!
Dear voters of Batu Gajah Parliamentary constituency, thank you so much for all the support which you have given to me and DAP. I would also like to apologise if I have done or said anything which hurt you during this two terms as your elected representative.
The power is now returned to the people. Let us deny Barisan Nasional 2/3 majority for a better Malaysia for all Malaysians. Please vote for DAP!

PM to us: We subsidized U!

Sour grapes and 1st class apples. Pak Lah came up with something rather original yesterday, when he told us not to compare Singapore (1st class grapes) and Malaysia (1st class apples). Read it here.

He said the economy is doing well:

“Please trust us – we are your government. If you look at the economy, we are doing well. That is a fact proven by figures. But people still claim otherwise because of increasing prices. This is a very simplistic way of analysing the economy.
“Nobody is happy to see prices rising but this is out of our control. The question is not how to bring down prices but how to help the rakyat cope."

He said we are a subsidized people, a heavily-subsidized people:

“Every country in the world is faced with rising oil prices except maybe Brunei but you cannot compare. The RM40bil oil subsidy we give out can be used to build better schools, roads, hospitals and infrastructure but we don’t want to burden the peopleation and medical treatment was also heavily subsidised by the Government.
“We subsidise even water and electricity, yet people are angry when they hear the word ‘toll’. We try to subsidise as much as possible but we still need to impose toll charges because we need to build roads,” he said before thanking the Chinese community for contributing to the country’s economy.

So thank the Chinese, he added:

“The private sector is dominated by the Chinese and I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to the community for creating so many job opportunities,” he said.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Biggest pre-election poster in PJ

Updated 18/2/08, 5.30pm
A reader who prefers not to be named sent me his photograph on the same poster, to further convince you of how huge the billboard is. Last I checked (abt 30 mins ago), it was still there.


Original posting


"I am not a public servant,
I am a public servant doing my best against the odds,
As I develop and serve, be patient,
God is not finished with me yet."

- Jesse Jackson.

And the poster war hasn't even started yet. I see this billboard everyday after paying RM1.60 at the LDP toll. It's the biggest politician poster I've seen. After this one here, of course.

Picture courtesy of Pasqualensa, who asks Who is this guy Loh Seng Kok and why is he quoting Rev Jesse Jackson?

1990 ghost to haunt MCA?

pics of MCA brothers Ong.
New, Old Blood in MCA. MCA President Ong Ka Ting has called it the party's "self renewal" - changing the old guards with new blood. But with internal crisis, which includes the PKFZ's RM4.6 billion implicating his deputy and the sex video that forced Chua Soi Lek to resign, OKT may be facing a very tough time in the 12th general election.
I will update this posting later and argue why the MCA could fare so badly on the 8/3 polls. Perhaps as badly as 1990 when it was completely annihilated in Penang and many other Chinese-majority constituencies.

The Bernama's story, Almost 40 Incumbents Dropped.
Do you see Chan Kong Choy's name among those dropped? Do you see Ong Ka Chuan's name among those dropped?

Statesman Mahathir

M for mobbed. Harakah and TVSmith were both there and impressed by the reception this Malaysian statesman received yesterday.
Here for TV's pictures; here for Harakah's report.

Still speechless on SIL's candidacy

Another way of saying "I don't know". His predecessor has set a precedent [see below] but for some reasons the PM is still pussyfooting [here] over the issue of his own son-in-law contesting to be a Member of Parliament in the 3/8 general election.

Some quarters think Abdullah will try and score points at the 11th hour by saying NO to nepotism and drop KJ gently like a oversized loud baby. Naive. Remember how he didn't lift a finger when the son-in-law was made Umno Youth deputy head, without having to contest? Or when he said he "didn't know and wasn't involved" after it was exposed by the new media that his friend Kalimullah Hassan had given KJ shares in ECM-Libra?

KJ will stand in this general election. And Hadharians will issue a that such shall not - SHALL NOT - be deemed as nepotism.

Read the excerpt from an NST's piece on the precedence set by Pak Lah's predecessor. Entire article here.
Publication : NST
Edition : 2*
Date : 24/05/2003
Page Number : 01
Headline : Dr Mahathir says his children will not contest in elections
Words : 355
Byline : By Zubaidah Abu Bakar; Alina Simon
Text :
JITRA, Fri. - While reiterating that he will definitely retire in October, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he did not want his children to contest in elections.

He stressed that he did not wish to have a dynasty and he would ensure that none of his children stand in any election.
"I give my assurance that I will not allow any of them to stand here(constituencies in Kubang Pasu) or in other constituencies.
"This is my assurance. I do not want to have a dynasty. I don't wish to create one," said the Prime Minister, who is also Kubang Pasu Umno chief,when winding up the debate at the division's meeting at Dewan Wawasan.

Friday, February 15, 2008

3,000,000 hits from home

... [meanwhile] Hit the 3 million mark a few minutes ago.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support.

I blog hard, and you know it.

Zaid dropped

Zaid Ibrahim. This is one politician who can count on bloggers' support wherever he decides to contest on whichever political party's ticket. Now that Umno has dropped Zaid from the BN's list of candidates, we must wonder about the possibilities.

The Kota Bharu MP said he did not know why he was dropped. Well, Zahid, you are too clever, maverick, too successful, and sometimes a little brash with your comments against the people up there. Any of these reasons would have justified dropping him from the line-up.

Whoever Umno puts in Zaid's place better pray that he does not lose too badly to Pas ...

My previous postings on Zaid, here.

Did you lose a bomb?


Bomb find in the city. I was driving along Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz just an hour before midnight when I saw some people hurrying away from the intersection in front of the Celcom headquarters. Quite a bit of police presence, too. At first I thought it was another street demo and for a while I suffered a pang thinking that nobody had told me of it. But there was not a water canon nor a tear-gas truck to be seen.
So I called up a couple of buddies from the papers to check it out.

Someone must have dropped his C4 while having supper there (see the Bernama story here).
Wow, have we arrived, beloved Malaysia!

Cyber campaigning begins in earnest

Smearing blogs with politics. Weblogs and websites will be used to the max in the run-up to this General Election. Many quarters will go overboard. Many will get up very close and personal. Azalina the Youth and Sports Minister, who is believed to be the head of the Umno cybertroopers set up to malign certain bloggers, is an early victim to this vicious tactic.
See http://www.azalinalesbian.blogspot.com.
Readers are advised not to believe every shit served by the blogs. If you have read machai.net and prokhairy.blogspot.com, you know what I mean.
My advice: Stick to blogs whose credibility and integrity you are quite sure of.

Not all the new blogs and portals will be about dirt and skeletons. Some blogsites seem to try to be respectable and informative, in the way Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini are.

Among the states, Selangor is first off the block with www.pru12.net.
Nothing as juicy as the blog dedicated to Azalina, but you get quite a lot of news there. For eg, Selangor being the only state that has given its list of proposed candidates to the ACA to vet, here, makes one think of what's holding back the other states.
And this piece of news Shah Alam mungkin dapat semua calon tempatan is the biggest hint yet that the son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, would not be fielded as a candidate in Shah Alam and would contest in the safe-as-condom Rembau seat.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Clean electoral roll?



I thought it was rather brave of The Malay Mail came out with this piece on the same day the Election Commission announced the dates for Nomination and Polling for the country's 12th General Election.

In any case, I feel for Ang Lai Im, 36, who found out last month that she had already been registered as a voter when she never did register as one herself. Obviously, someone else did it for her!

Lai Im and I are not the only Malaysians whose identities might have been used by Phantom voters. There could be thousands of others. How is it that someone else can register you as a voter? The EC has been quiet about this. I lodged a police report on this last .. and went to the address that was supposed to have been my home in Rapat Setia. Till today, I have not received any kind of acknowledgement from the EC or the Police.

8/3/8 and fighting a Dynasty

Polling date
Pundits' favourite date is 1/3 because 13 is his favourite number, but I've been told that Pak Lah has opted for 8/3/8 because of the Chinese fattat factor.

Bloggers' favourites/Che vs Dynasty
Some bloggers met to discuss our strategies last night and we have agreed to come up with a list of candidates we'd endorse.
The first thing these delegates must do is to endorse the People's Declaration. Make it their manifesto or part of their party's manifesto.
Among the candidates we've identified is Chegubard, the man who's going to take on Khairy Jamaluddin, Abdullah's son-in-law.
Chegubard told me yesterday he'd been offered by his party to contest elsewhere.
"But I told myself that someone must try and stop this attempt to form a Dynasty in the Malaysian government. If there's someone better to do it, I'll step aside and let that someone contest against the Dynasty. If not, I'll do it."
PAS, which contested the Rembau parliamentary seat in many past elections, has agreed to let PKR's youngest council member to stand in the Parliamentary seat this time around.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Who's lying now?

13/2 PM Abdullah to have press conference at his office 12.30pm; expected to announce dissolution of Parliament to pave way for general election/STAR

Chan Kong Choy to "retire" before GE?

Ong Ka Ting, the MCA president, says:

“There will be some leaders who will announce their future plans, including retirement. I can’t tell you how many. I can’t tell you who. I have to respect their wish. They will find the right time (to announce)."
Currently, MCA has four ministers, nine deputy ministers, four parliamentary secretaries and 17 state exco members.

If Chan Kong Choy, the MCA deputy president, is not one of them meant by Ka Ting, I'll be very, very surprised. CKC may not be the one who gained big time from the PKFZ's RM4.6 billion (that honours will have to go to several goons who happen to be big Umno wigs), but he's the Transport Minister and he's accountable.

Sorry, Not Today

Pak Lah says he won't dissolve Parliament today, proving many pundits wrong. Read here.
His team NOT READY?

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

ACA Datuk, MAS and the Mail's kiddie porn

Ahmad Said son of ACA director? Ok, today is Tuesday, a no-newspaper day. But a good story is a good story is a good story and I'm proud to say, on the eve of the 2nd anniversary of my departure from the paper, that the Mail's front page story today is a damn good one.
Ibrahim Mohd Nor, the new owner of the tabloid, seems to be doing something right.

According to the story, Malaysia Airlines has SUSPENDED Ahmad Said, 25, who was convicted and fined by an Aussie court last week for a crime linked to CHILD PORN (or KIDDIE PORN, not just PORN). Just think of Nurin and Sharlinie and you'll get the idea why this is no small crime.

The Star has a story, too, but it's quite a basic story. ['Porn Pilot' under probe]

But the big question still begs answering. Is Ahmad Said linked to a big gun in the Anti-Corruption Agency? Talk is that he is the son of a director of the ACA. I would like to see the newspapers can get down to the bottom of this.

See other cuttings of the Malay Mail here.

More bloggers to contest in GE?

Jeff Ooi of Screenshots will contest in Penang. But blogger Hard-T seems to think that 7 other active bloggers, including a woman, should get into the ring, too. Check out his fantasy here.

The man who will take on Khairy


Chegubard. Wherever KJ decides to contest in this General Election, the most unpopular son-in-law ever is going to face the same opponent. Meet Badrul Hisham Shaharin aka Chegubard, PKR's answer to Umno's young ambition, minus the chips.


It will be an interesting clash. The backgrounds of the two young men could not be more different. The PKR supreme council member (elected) was a Che' gu (teacher) before politics. Khairy was a diplomat's son who grew up on a silver platter, studied in Oxford, married Nori and was made Umno Youth No 2 (not elected). Chegubard had a diploma from a teaching college in Seremban and went on to further his studies in South Korea.

Black has the story Blogger to take on PM son-in-law.
Yep, Chegubard blogs, here. KJ, on other hand, sees bloggers as a threat [but he probably paid someone to run a blog for/on him here].
p.s. Another major difference between the two:

When KJ takes part in a street demonstration, the Police protect him.


But when Che does, they do this to him.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Fine for Malaysian child porn pilot Down Under

Ahmad Said, 25, MAS co-pilot. Convicted and fined in an Australian court on Friday for bringing child pornography in Australia. His laptop contained files on 3 videos - "Raped Virgin", "10-year Old", and "High School Students". The magistrate, Mr Simon Smart, said there was a rape scene where a crying girl under 18 was forced to have sex with an older man.
I am so pissed off. And so are you. I wish I had Ahmad Said's photograph so I can publish the face of the man whose lawyer said did not intend to disseminate the child porn contents in Australia.

Has Ahmad Said ever heard of Nurin and Sharlinie? Yesterday marked exactly one month since Sharlinie, 5, was abducted from a playground near her home. The search for her is still on, and we have a young, privileged Malaysian flying around with child porn materials in his laptop.
Nurin Jazlin's abduction and murder last year, and the abduction of 5 kids before her, had been linked to a child porn or snuff movie syndicate. The police have no proof of it yet but Ahmad Said could be proof of the existence of a child porn market in Malaysia.
I say Ahmad Said must be brought in to assist the Malaysian police in wiping out this malaise. It may or may not lead to the discovery of Sharlinie and Nurin's murder, but we can't allow someone like Ahmad Said to escape with a just a fine imposed by an Australian court. It's true what the magistrate said, there wouldn't be a market for child porn if not for people like him.

We must send a clear message to those in the child porn market that there's no place for them to hide. They are all guilty, directly or indirectly, in the murder of Nurin and in the disappearance of Sharlinie.

For more stories, go HERE.

Universiti Malaya land sold already?

27 acres of gold mine. Pro-Umno blogger BigDog is sure that Universiti Malaya has sold its land bank to an unidentified property developer. He identified Annuar Zaini, a close aide to the Prime Minister, as the "culprit behind the deal".
Read his blockbuster here.
The Bursa has got to verify the news this week.

p.s. In June last year, I wrote that UM (land) is safe.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

I am ... I said

Compendium of Pak Lah's "I" lines and other quotable quotes. His "I work very hard" line is just the latest headliner to tell Malaysians who's boss and what he's made of. It's how he deals with issues ranging from his son-in-law's shares in ECM-Libra and the sale of Pantai to Singapore, to newsreports of his unscheduled visit to Turkey and the purchase of a jet for his personal use.
Some examples (click on each quote for links):
Go to http://paklahmudahtipu.blogspot.com for about 300 more reminders of what the PM has said to cover his own ass.

"I work very hard ... and you know it," says Pak Lah

Work hard for us? Not sure whether to laugh or to cry when I read Tok Mommy's posting on the PM working hard to convince the people that he is a working (or hardworking) PM.
With Parliament expected to be dissolved on Feb 13 [here], which means General Election is just around the corner, the report by The Star has succeeded only in making Pak Lah sound desperate. I am sure by now the voters know very well if their PM has worked very hard or not. No need to shove it down our throats. We already know.

Go read Don't say that I don't work - Pak Lah.
p.s. I am still waiting for Pak Lah to comment on KJ's desire to contest in Rembau in the next GE. He's sure taking his time on this one. Or he has to wait for the go-ahead from the police and ACA?

Thursday, February 07, 2008

So, we are more FREE?



Books the Hadharians won't let you read. Because you might get wiser after reading them.
Visit this blog for info on how you could get a copy.



A bit more background from an expert, here.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Kong Hi Fatt Choy



I stole this graphic from my bro here, wishing all Malaysians and everyone on cyberspace a Happy Chinese New Year. May the Year of the Rat be a blessed one for Malaysia.

Neo-Nepotism in Malaysia

PM's unpopular son-in-law to contest in safe seat. The Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar has confirmed that Khairy Jamaluddin's name is on the list of Umno candidates to contest in the Rembau parliamentary seat (P131) during the next general election, expected next month.

Blogger Hard-T, who was one of the first to break the CSL sex video story on blogospere, has the Rembau's Rambo piece HERE. He also also included a 23/5/2003 article quoting the then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir saying none of his sons would be allowed to contest an election as long as he was still PM (Dr Mahathir says his children will not contest in elections - NST).

As Umno President, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has the final say on who from the party will be fielded where, says Bernama here.

Me, I don't think Khairy lobbied to be a candidate. And Pak Lah is no Dr Mahathir. In any case, as Aisehman put it last week, Rembau is safe and KJ a shoo-in.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Mike Tyson returns?

Oh, Dear. The man who last year lodged a police report against Malaysia Today's RPK is quite certain to be fielded as a candidate in the general election, according to Agenda Daily.
Muhammad son of Muhammad Taib seems to have made all the right moves since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister: he has befriended KJ, the PM's son-in-law, and his men in the State, and has never again been caught with a million dollars on his person.
Selangor is said to be one of the few states that the son-in-law considers hostile or does not really feel at home. If Mike Tyson makes a successful comeback, that could soon change.

Read the Agenda Daily's piece here.

Biadap

Drama Ahli Parlimen. In this unforgetable Feb 2 front-page picture, lawyer Haris Ibrahim stands second from the right with a ripped poster of the Election Commissioner. The Prime Minister called this act "biadap", an exceptionally strong Malay word for "rude".
Last night, Haris created a new category in his People's Parliament blog called BIADAP, which means Badan Insan Awasi Drama Ahli Parlimen [the Movement to Monitor MPs' Theatrics].
Looks like more posters will be ripped. Go HERE.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Zam vs Zainon - More than Just words

Harsh words between old hands. There would seem to be no love lost between the two, if one were to judge by the letter that the minister sent to the newspaper columnist in response to the latter's column that appeared in the Sun on Jan 22, 2008 with the headline More than just a dinner.

In his letter, Zam went on the offensive from the opening paras:

"In the current atmosphere of open Government some writers are taking the opportunity to present themselves as being liberal by injecting cynicism into their work. Pathological questioning of every decision and poking fun at the authorities is a badge that they wear to identify themselves as a liberal. Perhaps they think it makes their article more interesting to read.

"I am saddened to count you as one of the writers painting themselves into a corner by limiting their work to negative commentaries just for the sake of playing to the galleries."
Read the rest of Zam's letter and Zainon's column here.

Friday, February 01, 2008

An emperor, 2 swindlers, new clothes

PM launches The Emperor's New Clothes. The picture tells the story: Malaysian Prime Minister launches boutique owned by his own daughter and son-in-law.
Is that controversial? Pasquale says it is. "He should not have officiated his own daughter's boutique, with such a telling name ...," he wrote n his latest posting, The Emperor's new clothes. What's in a name? A lot! Especially now!

There are two swindlers in Hans Christian Henderson's short story "Emperor with no clothes." You've got to read it HERE.

Ah, Datuk KK and Datuk Dr Vincent!

updated 1/2/08, 11am - Bernama's list here. Read also why the Agong's happy.

Original posting

Federal Territory Day awards. My, my. They are getting younger and younger, aren't they? Datuk Kamal Khalid, the head of the 4th Floor and whose calls the mainstream editors just dread, and Vincent Lim, KJ's Oxford buddy, haven't served the PM for even a term yet. But the sun is shining and you know what they say of what to do while the sun shines. Or maybe they do deserve their datukships, eh?

This is the first time FT Day comes with awards and medals.