Saturday, January 31, 2009

PKR men M.I.A.

Oh no, not again! Teories abound. The official statement [here]by the party hints at the possibility that the two have been taken, against their will, by rival party Umno. RPK goes one up, confirming here that the two are, indeed, in Umno's hands.

I am reminded of the PKR Member of Parliament who went missing last August. Remember the story? Refresh your memory here. Lots of accusations were made against the Police and Umno/BN when he went M.I.A. after the conversion forum.

Out of the blue, a potshot from Anwar

Update 2 Mahathir/Malaysia used Heritage Foundation, not Jewish lobby, BigDog says [here]


Update 6.30pm (with thanks to bro Azhar and Ayor Lemuju)

1. Mahathir blasts Israeli Terror
2. Mahathir calls for rebuilding of financial system

Original Post

We are all in awe of Erdogan. Last night, we talked about how the Turkish PM walked out of a Davos panel forum after slamming Shimon Peres, who was seated beside him. It was just awesome. Watch the video and read the story here.



Anwar Ibrahim, however, takes a step further and attempts an Erdogan on his ex-boss, Dr Mahathir, here.

[For Bangsa Malaysia who do not understand Bahasa Malaysia, the former Umno deputy president salutes Erdogan for slugging it out di tengah gelanggang or in the middle of the ring and derides our own leaders who do it from the comfort of their own home ground. He takes a swipe at Dr M for "paying millions to a Jewish lobbyist for a chance to kneel in front of George Bush".]
(Rocky's note: Actually, Anwar said "there's even a leader who'd pay millions ...", which I take to be in apparent reference to Dr M).

Dr M has just returned from a conference in Riyadh. But as WSJ reported, the few time zones away from Davos (but closer to the real gelanggang, which is Gaza, actually) did not stop Dr M from "delivering a sermon from afar". A source from Riyadh told me the leading English daily there did an interview with Dr M where he blasted Israeli terror. I'm trying to get a copy of that newspaper.

We can expect some zingers from the elder statesman in response to his former blue-eyes' potshot.


Thursday, January 29, 2009

Haris Ibrahim's Lie

Siakap senohong gelama ikan duri

Bercakap bohong lama-lama mencuri

- a Malay proverb that says a liar usually goes on to commit more heinous crimes

In a posting last week, Haris Ibrahim told his blog readers a lie about me.


Yes, a LIE.


The lawyer had told his readers that:

"Yesterday, at about 3 pm, a meeting to manage perception took place at the La Bodega in Bangsar.

"Present at the meeting were Mukhriz, JJ, a person by the name of Khairuddin, Rocky and Nuraina.

"Agenda: pin the loss of KT on Pak Lah. Deflect any dirt arising from the KT loss away from Najib. Got to make sure Pak Lah goes in March. Kill any idea that he or anyone might have to keep Pak Lah on as PM."

Read the full posting here.

I called Haris Ibrahim on Wednesday morning (Jan 21), the day after his posting, to tell him of one big problem with his posting:

THERE WAS NO SUCH MEETING.

I told him that, yes, I was at La Bodega at Bangsar Shopping Complex on Monday (Jan 19). Anyone who's been there would know that La Bodega is one big, open place. You go there to be seen and to watch people.

Yes I was with JJ but there was no Nuraina, no Mukhriz, and no Khairuddin.

I told him I was working on an article on the contest for the Umno vice-president post and the former Minister is one of the contenders. (For readers' info, I have a column with a Singapore newspaper and contributes regularly to a local magazine).

Journalists and Crooks. As one of my counsels in the on-going NSTP & 4 Others vs Ahirudin Attan court case, Haris Ibrahim should have known how a journalist operates. Obviously, he did not. So I explained to him the nature of my job as a journalist. Journalists meet people, I told the lawyer. I've been a journalist for nearly 25 years now and I have met a lot of people. I have sat down with businessmen and trade unionists, communists and Islamists, celebrities and dignitaries, world leaders and taxi drivers. For a good scoop, you might have even see me with crooks.

I have been seen with Anwar Ibrahim, Nik Aziz, Karpal Singh, Ling Liong Sik, Musa Hitam, Syed Hamid Albar. I reminded Haris Ibrahim that he himself had seen me with Lim Guan Eng, Wee Choo Keong, Zaid Ibrahim, and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, among others.

I can't possibly be spin-doctoring for all of them, could I?

Haris Ibrahim said he saw my point and would publish a clarification. I left it at that.

But by the end Wednesday and then by the end of the next day, the promised clarification did not come.

Haris' Informant. During our second phone conversation on Friday (Jan 23), Haris Ibrahim spoke of his predicament: he had gone back to his informant and told his informant that the meeting, according to me, never took place. But his informant told Haris Ibrahim:

"Brother, I would stake my life on it. The meeting took place."

When he finally posted his idea of a clarification entitled "The Right of Reply" (Jan 25) Haris Ibrahim wrote of an informant "whose integrity and credibility I have come to greatly respect". And in his response to one of his commenters, Haris Ibrahim wrote: "I stand by my informant".

I had expected more of Haris Ibrahim. Really, I had.

I had expected him to do a bit of homework at least. I expected him to grill or cross-examine his witness (or informant). Does his informant know how Mukhriz and Nuraina look like? Could that be Mokhzani dropping by to say hi?

Surely Haris Ibrahim would also want to know who this Khairuddin is. His informant must know. Or did someone confuse Ahirudin with Khairuddin? Is it possible that Haris Ibrahim's informant had gottten the story from another informant?

And this "Agenda" that was spelt out in such great detail. Did your informant have a copy of the minutes, Haris? Or hearsay again? If there are no minutes (and there aren't) then whose words were those that spelt out the so-called "Agenda"?

Were the words your informant's or his informant's, or did you make up all of it, Mr Haris?

Haris Ibrahim did not do his homework. He did not bother to put the truth of the information told to him. He swallowed every word. He spoke of the integrity and credibility of his informant.

Sure, try telling that to a judge!

The meeting could not have taken place. If Haris Ibrahim had done his homework, he would find out that the "meeting" could not have taken place. One of the individuals said to be at the meeting was not even in Kuala Lumpur but a good 7 hours away from the venue of the "meeting".

I can prove this.

For now, however, I think it is fair to say that the onus is on Haris Ibrahim to prove that the meeting did indeed take place (other than saying that the informant would stake his life on it!). And that he did not post a lie about me.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Yoga ban for Muslims in Indonesia

The Ulema Council of Indonesia has issued an edict to say that yoga that contains Hindu rituals like chanting is haram. Read the AP story:
[Bernama has the story too, h e r e, but the news agency seems to think that the edict on smoking should take precedence as a news item]

Indonesian Muslims banned from practicing yoga

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Muslims in Indonesia are now banned from practicing yoga that contains Hindu rituals like chanting, but will continue to be allowed to perform it for purely health reasons, the chairman of the country's top Islamic body said Monday.

Cleric Ma'ruf Amin said the Ulema Council issued the non-binding ruling following weekend talks attended by hundreds of theological experts in Padang Panjang, a village in West Sumatra province. Although the ruling is not legally binding, most devout Muslims are likely to adhere to it — as they consider it sinful to ignore a fatwa.

The Ulema Council decided on the ban, which follows a similar edict in neighboring Malaysia, over concerns that the faith of Muslim yoga practitioners would be weakened if they take part in Hindu rituals like chanting mantras, Amin said.

"Those who perform yoga purely for health reasons or sport will not be affected," Amin said. "We only prohibit activities that can corrupt Islamic values."

Indonesia is a secular nation of 235 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslim. Most practice a moderate form of the faith, but a vocal extremist fringe has gained strength in recent years.


Last November, when Malaysia's Fatwa Council issued exactly the same fatwa on yoga, some quarters (here for example) expressed their displeasure. A lot of Malaysian Muslims were unhappy, too.

Now that the Ulema Council has spoken, does it make our Fatwa Council's edict on yoga more acceptable?

p.s. We now have another contentious issue related to Islam and Malaysia, and that is in regards to Using the word "Allah". I'm told the Indonesians are watching with great interest ...

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Dengue deaths and Chikungunya


12 dead in three weeks. I spray the kids' rooms with mosquito-killer every morning. I am paranoid but you should be, too. According to Liow, the Health Minister, 4,221 cases with 12 fatalities were reported between January 1 and 23 this year. Most of the cases were in the Klang Valley. Read here.

What can you do to protect yourself and your loved ones? How do you know it's the dreaded dengue fever, for example?

Read our Dr 2008's posting Another Battle at our Doorsteps, Literally ...


It's the local factor, stupid!


Clueless Umno, Delusional Pakatan.
"... the West Coast Pakatan people gave themselves way too much credit for the PAS victory. In fact, collectively, the West Coast Pakatan people were even more irrelevant to the KT constituents than the West Coast Barisan people. Do you think the KT man-in-the-street gives a hoot about what Kit Siang, Guan Eng, Tian Chua and Teresa Kok have to say? Of course not. Do you think Brother Anwar is a factor? Nope. Not a chance. What about the “formidable” platoon of Pakatan bloggers who descended on KT to mingle with and seduce the Cina Teganung? ..."

KijangMas of Demi Negara says the Kuala Terengganu by-election was neither a rejection of an already lame duck Prime Minister nor a rebuke of Najib. So what was it? Read his latest posting The KT By-Election: A quasi-national plebiscite on Pak Lah or Najib ... or just a local Oghang Teganung affair?

p.s. KijangMas is author of the mind-beding Nov 6 blogpost entitled Racial Polarisation and the Forging of Bangsa Malaysia. Click here if you'd somehow missed it.

Gong Xi Fa Cai


Happy Chinese New Year to all readers!!!

I am the Ox. Those born in 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985 and 1997 are Ox or Bull people. They make good surgeons, generals and hair-dressers!

[Find out more about your chinese zodiac here]

Friday, January 23, 2009

Malaysian Blogger in Gaza

Ahmad A. Talib of Pahit Manis crossed into Gaza an hour or so ago, perhaps the first Malaysian blogger to do so. He is part of a humanitarian mission, led by Yayasan Salam in which he is a member, to help in the rebuilding of Gaza. The mission includes a journalist from NST. The Star journalist Shahanaz Habib has been there since last week. Ahmad led a group of journalists into Iraq during the US invasion; Shahanaz, of course, was our first journalist that got into Baghdad then.

Ahmad A. Talib conveys salams to my readers and sent me these pictures minutes ago.

Who's lying now?

Sime Darby told Bursa on Jan 5 that the Government had given it the go-ahead on the RM1.6 billion Labu low-cost carrier terminal.

Today, Jan 23, Najib Abdul Razak, the DPM and MoF, said "the government has yet to decide" on the airport project.

Sime Darby Watch is asking if Sime Darby had lied to the Bursa. Butwhat if it had told the Bursa the truth ....?

Read the breaking story h e r e and Bernama's story quoting Najib below:-

General January 23, 2009 15:01 PM
Najib: No Decision Yet On New LCCT In Labu


PETALING JAYA, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- The government has yet to decide on low-cost carrier AirAsia's proposal to shift KL International Airport's (KLIA) low- cost carrier terminal (LCCT) to Labu in Negeri Sembilan, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.

"We are looking at it but have yet to make any decision. I cannot pre-empt the decision by making an announcement," he said.

He was speaking to reporters after witnessing the handing over of the Bombardier CL415 amphibious aircraft to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang today.

Najib said the government was studying the Labu LCCT proposal to see "if we can go ahead or we need to make a different arrangement."

To be called KLIA-East @ Labu, the proposed new low-cost carrier terminal is expected to sustain AirAsia's exponential growth as opposed to the LCCT at the KLIA from where it is operating now.

AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes earlier this month said that the country's premier low-cost carrier would go bust if it sticks to the KLIA LCCT, as it would be unable to handle passenger growth a few years from now.

The new LCCT, to cost RM1.6 billion on a 2,800-hectare site, would be built under the private financing initiative by conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad and the budget airline.

If the government gives the green light for the project, the new LCCT is expected to be ready by March 2011.

-- BERNAMA


Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Unemployment Insurance, anyone?

20/1 Second stimulus package to be launched soon to look into assisting companies and retrenched workers: DPM Najib/STAR
A former minister told me the other day that the Government should look also into the Human Resources Development Fund to help out retrenched workers. Not for retraining but to help put food on their table if it comes to that. SatD, a Malaysian blogger abroad, agrees on that bit about retraining when arguing his case for a unemployment insurance. "Retraining assistance when someone is struggling to pay his bills, installments, children food does not mean much......".

Experience tells us we'll need to act swiftly. We are not just dealing with the possibility of 1 million Malaysians (including 500,000 who are working in Singapore) losing jobs; we have millions of foreign workers here and many of them will most probably be losing jobs, too. The socio-economic impact will be colossal.

Read SatD's Unemployment Insurance, the Missing Social Safety Net
Let's discuss how we can help the authorities deal with the coming economic storm.

Crucial Friday meeting for Tony's Labu

With MoF and EPU. Air Asia's Tony Fernandes is still pushing for his own airport despite all the protests from members of the public and the arguments against the Labu airport, including the reservation expressed by Khazanah Inc, which is chaired by the Prime Minister.
According to sources, he will be making a last-ditch pitch with the Economic Planning Unit and the Minister of Finance to secure approval for the highly-contentious project.
It will be tough to get past the EPU and MoF guys. They know that the cost of building the LCCT would include constructing a fuel farm by Petronas, which will be borne by the Government. Unless Air Asia plan to build a pipeline from KLIA to feed LCCT, or drive fuel bowsers all the way from KLIA to Labu. And are Air Asia and Sime Darby planning to privatize Immigration, Customs, etc.?

Still, we await Friday's meeting.

p.s. An editor told me that if CIMB is planning to be involved in the project, that will add another problem. CIMB is headed by the Finance Minister's little brother. Conflict of interest.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A monopoly's RM944 million loss

"How can you lose so much money when you are a monopoly?" - Anonymous
Obviously you can. Ask Che Khaleb. Tenaga Nasional posted a net loss of RM944 milllion in the first quarter to November 30 2008 owing to weak electricity demand, higher coal prices and a weak ringgit.

Read here.

Khazanah against Labu airport

update:
No To Asia: Blogger SDW has launched a solo campaign here to boycott Air Asia over the Labu airport:
"As a sign of protest, I am no longer flying Air Asia. I am placing a logo on this blog to protest Air Asia's recent actions. If other bloggers want to use this logo on their websites, please feel free to do so ...
P.S. Stay tuned for a breaking news.... Sime Darby's heavy losses? Where and how."


Original article:
Khazanah is NOT supportive of Air Asia/Sime Darby's proposed Labu airport. [see the Bernama story below]
"In short, we do not support the Labu project. We should stick to the National Airport Masterplan as a lot of resources had been put in." - Azman Mokhtar, Khazanah chief.

Straits Times Singapore seems to be all FOR the Labu airport. Read here and wonder why.

Khazanah Not Supportive Of LCCT In Labu


KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the government's investment holding arm, is not supportive of the plan to buiild a permanent low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Labu, its managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said Monday.

He said the National Airport Masterplan should be used as a reference on what should be built for the sake of the country's development.

"Under the masterplan, 10,000 hectares have already been set aside, of which only about a third has been used," he told reporters after presenting Khazanah's annual review here.

He was asked to state Khazanah's stand over the issue.

According to Azman, the airport sector is one where the clustering or network effect is important.

"We cannot have a few airports here and there because then you cannot get the connectivity," he said.

Describing it as a national issue, Azman said: "Certainly we should follow through".

"We have the masterplan and we should go back to that. I am sure that AirAsia and Malaysia Airports can sit down and resolve (the matter) for the country's benefit," he said.

When building the airport, they should have software and hardware connectivity to enable seamless travel, Azman said.

"We are shareholders of Malaysia Airlines, we always maintain that both MAS and AirAsia can co-exist so that everybody can benefit," he said.

"In short, we do not support the Labu project. We should stick to the National Airport Masterplan as a lot of resources had been put in," he added.

Earlier this month, Sime Darby announced that it has received government approval to develop the proposed private LCCT project.

The conglomerate said the project was an integral part of its development plan for the Negeri Sembilan Vision City (NSVC).

NSVC is part of its Central Vision Valley (CVV) property development project spanning Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

Sime Darby and budget airline AirAsia Bhd had proposed to jointly develop and operate the RM1.6 billion LCCT which will be known as KLIA-East@Labu.

The project will be privately funded.

The RM1.6 billion is an estimate of the cost of structures and the runway but does not include the 3,000-acre piece of land where it would be constructed.

-- BERNAMA


Monday, January 19, 2009

1 million Malaysians could lose jobs this year

The government is slowly telling us the bad news. Yesterday, the Human Resources Ministry says 45,000 Malaysians could lose jobs over the Chinese New Year period alone! [Read here, the Dep Minister beats around the bush about people losing jobs temporarily and factories closing down business - also temporarily! - but you get the message].

The MEF says up to 400,000 Malaysians will lose their jobs by end of the year. In Singapore, another half a million Malaysians will be jobless as the republic buckles under the economic slowdown. [Read here]

If so, we are into times worse than 1985 or 1998.

Hadi to Abdullah: Stay on as PM



"Saya meminta Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi terus kekal sebagai Perdana
Menteri dan meneruskan reformasi yang diperlukan seperti dalam bidang pilihan raya dan beberapa bidang lain." - Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS president



Is it a joke? Some people would think so. I believe that while he is not really sincere in wanting Abdullah to stay on as PM, Abdul Hadi is dead serious!

It's politically expedient. The weak leadership of Abdullah has strengthened Pakatan Rakyat. PAS, DAP and PKR never had it so good. When Abdul Hadi said that "the Pakatan Rakyat will give Abdullah the necessary support to stay on as PM and carry out his reforms", he clearly spoke on behalf of the other Pakatan leaders, including Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Tok Guru, and Karpal Singh.

How far is Pakatan Rakyat willing to go to ensure that Abdullah remains as Prime Minister after March this year?

Read the m-Star article here.

Dr Mahathir, meanwhile, says the BN's defeat is a vote of no-confidence against Abdullah. And a warning for Najib Razak. Read here.

Selected commentaries on BN's fall in KT:
The Scribe's Pengundi Masih Marah Kepada BN
Pasquale's BN would have had better chances if the candidate was not Wan Farid
Aziz Hassan's Worse in Every Sense
Nobisha's Rakyat nak Monsoon drain, BN beri Monsoon Cup!
Nuraina's One more vote for Hudud!

Pentarama!? Jailani Harun is pissed off. He thinks a Pentarama (a night fiesta of songs and dance) held on the eve of the election, attended by the BN leaders and 3000 guests, contributed to the BN's defeat. Read They wanted you to lose, Farid!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

After KT: Who's irrelevant now?

PAS - 32,883
BN - 30,252
Bebas - 193
Majority - 2,636
Spoilt - 665
A Political Monsoon. Nobody in the BN's camp should be terribly shocked (or upset) with the victory.

A pre-analysis ranting You are a born loser, Farid! on the by-election by Jailani Harun, who has been at KT since early this month to cover the by-election, which has placed Pakatan Rakyat's "ketua umum" Anwar Ibrahim one step closer to Putrajaya.

In my opinion, the BN's defear in KT complete's Abdullah Badawi's failure as chairman of the coalition and president of Umno.
What some others said:
YB Wee Choo Keong:
"A PAS win is a rejection of BN. It is also a rejection of Abdullah Badawi for Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Salleh is Badawi’s man!"
A Voice
Sebab Kekalahan di KT: Calun, Calun, dan Calun
Sakmongkol:
"The people of Terengganu have done the opposite of what Dato Najib wishes them to do. His pontificating about how to behave- humble, shake hands firmly, be folksy, wear a sarong, didn’t go down well. He has probably antagonised the Terengganu people, in sufficient number so as to cause them to go over the dark side."
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah:
"Actually this was more than a referendum on the leadership. It was a test of the relevance of UMNO in its present form. If UMNO is no longer relevant to the Malays, the BN formula is dead".

p.s. I wonder if the PM, who has left the country for a tour of the Middle East, still thinks that Dr M was "irrelevant" to the KT by-election.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

malaysiaku.tv





Click here to watch. It's a new blog television programme.

The first feature video, Air dan Api, discusses an issue that's been bugging many Malays since March 2008: Melayu dicabar dan tercabar.

The talk show features Khir Toyo and Mukhriz Mahathir. It would have been perfect if they had managed to get Khairy Jamaluddin (all three going for the Umno Youth chief post).

The site accepts advertisement; not bad at all. They do expect some flak for pursuing issues along racial lines but the people behind this site make no apologies for it. And I'm not about to be their apologist, either. We are, after all, a multiracial country, so things racial make our world goes round. They make us -- as the malaysiaku.tv tagline has it: colourful & different.

Air Asia to bloggers: Come see the undesirable conditions we are operating in

update 7pm, Sat 17 Jan: Chedet asks:-

5. Perhaps Air Asia can show documents that separations between different airport runways of 2km are permissible. Is there any example of two major airports operating separately but located 2km from each other? I don't know. Please enlighten me.

6. The problem prompting the idea of a new airport is the allegedly high charges by MAHB for the use of LCCT by Air Asia. MAHB is owned by Khazanah and it is believed Khazanah has a stake in Air Asia. Both are therefore GLCs. The Government can tell them to negotiate fair charges. Or is it the Government that wants this airport at Labu for reasons other than need?

7. Or is it that Sime Darby now wants to go into airport business?

p.s. I've asked the former PM's aides if he would like to be included for the briefing on the Labu airport. I hope he's not tempted, though, cos I think Tony F should take the initiative to offer to explain Labu to Dr M. After all, the man helped make it possible for him to achieve his AA dream in the first place.


Original article:

Air Asia sent me this mail yesterday in response to my posting Labu A Rakyat's Terminal? Bloggers keen to attend the briefing and make a visit of the existing LCCT, please let me know by 5pm Monday. Leave a comment so I can get back to you or email me at rockybru@gmail.com.

Mail from Air Asia:

Dear Rocky

We have been following with obvious interest your comments on the proposed KLIA-East – The Rakyat’s Terminal – to be located in Labu, Negeri Sembilan.

We appreciate your interest in the issue and would like to respond to some of your comments in your recent posting titled “Labu a Rakyat’s Terminal?”, in particular the following paragraph:

“Whoever came up with the Terminal Rakyat campaign needs to think of more credible arguments, too. For example, saying that Air Asia needs Labu because the current LCCT is not large enough for its 100 aircraft is a joke! We are talking about an airport, NOT a PARKING LOT! Air Asia does not need an airport that can accomodate its 100 planes unless it plans to ground all of them at once!”

For AirAsia, accommodating 100 aircraft all at one time is no joke. As a no-frills low cost airline that operates point-to-point, we do not have stopovers at our destinations and this means all aircraft have to return to the base ie Kuala Lumpur, with the exception of some of AirAsia X’ long haul routes.

By 2014, when AirAsia in Malaysia takes full delivery of our 75 Airbus A320s (AirAsia) and 25 A330s (AirAsia X), allocating parking for all these planes when they return at night will be a key issue. Neither the current LCCT nor any proposed terminal by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) will have the adequate number of parking bays we need.

As it is now, we are already facing parking bay shortfall at the current LCCT and there is always overcrowding on the tarmac especially during peak hours and this contributes to delays in our scheduled flights. Most nights, 6-7 aircraft have to be parked in and around our hangar.

We would be more than happy to provide you and members of All Blogs a brief to address any concerns you may have about the KLIA-East project. For your reference, I will be sending presentation slides on KLIA-East that we shared with the media recently. Or head on over to AirAsia.com, where we have a site dedicated to KLIA-East.

We also welcome you and members of All Blogs to LCCT to have a closer look at the undesirable conditions we are operating in, both at the terminal and on the tarmac. Please feel free to contact me on the numbers below or my colleague xxxxx to arrange for a briefing/ tour or to get further info/ clarification.

Best regards

From the AirAsia Communications Team

Friday, January 16, 2009

Blog@1 goes to KT tonight

The best group editor Berita Harian never had? Jailani Harun, 48, is old-school journo who started his blog last year to share his views with the world. A foreign affairs "expert" at Berita Harian from the early 80s and then Business Times in the late 90s, Bujai has enough experience and balls to put the likes of Hishamuddin Aun and Manja Ismail in the inside pocket of his pants.
His views on Israel/US and the Middle East crisis are based on years of reporting on the region, including interviews with Saddam and Gadaffi which his editors then wouldn't publish!

He'll be the guest blogger on Blog@1 tonight on TV1, 10.30 pm. The interview will be shot on location in Kuala Terengganu where 80-odd thousand voters go to the KT by-election tomorrow.

p.s. Jailani has been in Kuala Terengganu since nomination day and is in the position to update us about the by-election tonight on the programme. Last week's Blog@1 guest was Dr Mahathir Mohamad who said in his latest posting that he would like for the Malaysian Armed Forces to attack the US and Israel ...

US Sanctions on Scomi's Boss

1. The Ghost of Scomi past coming to haunt Abdullah by A Voice
With this new development, there is no other choice for Abdullah but to resign or await Agong to constitutionally remove him immediately. He is a security threat to the nation.

2. A US Selective Persecution? by Pasquale
Is Kamaluddin Abdullah being spared?

update midnight: Read Scomi's press statement here, which claims, among other things, that the then US Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Mr. John Bolton, had effectively cleared Scomi of wrong-doing in Feb 2004, click here.

Original article
Click on the image to read or go here for the on-line article by Leslie Lopez of Straits Times, Singapore.

Shah Hakim is the business partner of Kamaluddin Abdullah, the PM's son. He is also the son-in-law of Saleh Abas, the former Lord President. The sanction means Shah Hakim can no longer do business with the US. If Scomi wants to continue doing business with the US, one option is to distance itself from the sanciton.
My question is: Why now? [And - an afterthought - why not Kamaluddin?]

The nuclear centrifuge issue is not a new issue: the Abdullah Administration has detained BSA Tahir (another Kamaluddin's business partner) under the ISA and then released him in June last year. The US Government reportedly closed investigations into Scomi in 2004.


Thursday, January 15, 2009

A campaign not just for Muslims

Read the Quran. Share your thoughts on the Quran, from today till Valentine's, at any of the following blogs. Go here to find out how you can take part.

Spread the message of love and peace. Put up this logo on your blog.

Participating Blogs (so far)
  1. 3540 Jalan Sudin http://www.nursamad.blogspot.com/
  2. Anas Zubedy: http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com
  3. ARTiculations: http://art-harun.blogspot.com/
  4. Being Human in the World: http://www.peru.name/writing
  5. Cowboy Malaysia: http://cowboymalaysia.wordpress.com
  6. Disquiet: http://malikimtiaz.blogspot.com
  7. Jebat Must Die: http://jebatmustdie.wordpress.com/
  8. Lunch at the Lake Club: http://lunchatthelakeclub.blogspot.com
  9. MACVAYSIA: http://macvaysia.com
  10. myAsylum: http://asylum60.blogspot.com
  11. O.B.E. http://shar101.wordpress.com/
  12. OutSyed The Box: http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com
  13. Poetic Justice: http://nizambashir.com/
  14. Rantings by MM: http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com
  15. Rapera: http://jahaberdeen.blogspot.com/
  16. Renovatio: http://stephendoss.blogspot.com
  17. Rocky's Bru: http://rockybru.com.my/
  18. Write Away: http://elviza.wordpress.com/
  19. Writing By Amir: http://amirmu.blogspot.com/

Anwar's letter to Dr Mahathir


Update 9pm: "So what?", Anwar asks, "What is the problem in making peace with anyone?"

Original post:
The letter that Ezam failed to deliver.
Malaysia-Instinct, a site run anonymously by a group of ex-journos, has the story. It was also published by Sinar Harian and The Star On-line has just picked it up.

Ezam, now with Umno, must have timed his revelation for the Kuala Terengganu by-election but I don't see how the or which way his expose will swing the votes.

The impression I get is of an incompetent aide (Ezam) who could not complete the simple task of delivering what could be an important letter from his desperate boss then (Anwar Ibrahim) to his boss' ex-boss (Dr Mahathir).

That letter could have changed history, too.

Read the Malaysia-Instinct's article, here. Ezam has also threatened to sue Anwar.

Al-fatihah for Samani

Samani Mohd Amin, who was detained under the ISA in 1976 with the late Pak Samad, died last night. He was 78.

Samani was with The Star when I joined the paper as a rookie in 1985 but I never knew the man well. Nuraina A. Samad knows him better than I do. They spoke on the phone just on Monday, here.

pic taken from Tok Mummy.


Labu a Rakyat's Terminal?

How to KeLABUkan Mata Rakyat. Whoever came up with the idea of calling Labu LCCT "Terminal Rakyat" must have been inspired by the success of Pakatan Rakyat, the loose coalition that wrested 5 states from the Barisan Nasional and denied it a two-thirds majority in Parliament last March.

I don't think it's Tony Fernandes' idea [he campaigned for Shahrizat Jalil in Lembah Pantai in March, remember?].

But he is the Air Asia boss and he should put a stop to this attempt to use the Rakyat's name in vain. Pakatan Rakyat may claim to represent millions of voters but the RM1.6 billion LCCT Labu project represents the interest of only a handful.

Whoever came up with the Terminal Rakyat campaign needs to think of more credible arguments, too. For example, saying that Air Asia needs Labu because the current LCCT is not large enough for its 100 aircraft is a joke! We are talking about an airport, NOT a PARKING LOT! Air Asia does not need an airport that can accomodate its 100 planes unless it plans to ground all of them at once!
Latest!: Pls read Heathrow gets third runway and 6th terminal; it's all about expansion, not building a new airport so that Sime Darby can have a construction project and some people in Negri Sembilan can sell off their land (that's what I heard, because Sime's land is not sufficient for the proposed airport construction).

Sime Darby Watch
has Can it be more obscene than this?
And why does the Transport Minister seem unhappy? Read OpEd's Airport Labulabi

Below is the "Terminal Rakyat" campaign launched by Tony at Air Asia's website to counter the opposition against the LCCT Labu, or go to the site here.
Tony's Address

Greetings to all netizens, bloggers, curious people, Malaysians and generally the world! The issue of KLIA-East has become fodder for discussion in several forums online and elsewhere.

We at AirAsia have been following the debate closely. It’s clear that there are a variety of opinions and I thought it be helpful to address some of these concerns on our own web site.

We are grateful that no matter what their views, everyone agrees that AirAsia urgently needs a new low-cost terminal given its exponential growth. Many, if not all, of you know firsthand what it’s like using the current LCCT, how cramped and uncomfortable it is. We at AirAsia share your pain but here’s little we can do since the LCCT is operated not by us but by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. We are also deeply worried that given the number of aircraft we have ordered – two new planes arrive every month now --- AirAsia and AirAsia X will soon have no room to park the aircraft or gates to operate them from. The new terminal is a matter of life-or-death for us.

We aim to be your first stop in gathering the facts on KLIA-East, a one-stop info centre that dispels the rumours, corrects misconceptions and provides the context. So drop by frequently as we will be providing frequent updates all the time.

On this site, we promise to be as forthcoming as possible on the queries that you have on the KLIA-East project. You will find a forum where we address your concerns directly and provide detailed information.

Regards,
Tony