Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Life in a glass house on GreenRoad


At Parliament yesterday, was Anwar attacking Malaysia or Israel?
Read his notes here.

The blog AIDC quickly re-exposed the former DPM in a researched Azmin Ali Sahkan Anwar Terlibat Organisasi Taja Syarikat Israel.

And the anti-Anwar Pasquale's Unfounded and baseless allegations by a desperate man.

Like the man said, "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Malaysia's new affirmative action

NEM's helping hand for 40% relative poor. In this country, 4 out of 10 wage-earners are paid a monthly average of RM1500 and below! These are not hardcore poor; they are what is called the relatively poor. And they are the ones who will benefit most under the New Economic Model.

PM Najib, who announced the proposed NEM this morning, told a closed-door meeting recently that the future of "affirmative action" would involve helping these 40 per cent improve their earnings and enjoy better living standards.

Updates:

“To break the logjam of vested interests through political will and leadership”.
This is the most important line in the PM's address on the NEM framework according to Jebat. Find out why from his Brief Analysis on the New Economic Model.

Please also read Gaji Berganda dalam 10 tahun oleh Reme

Monday, March 29, 2010

PKR MP slams PKR "little Napoleons" in Parliament

Ah, Wee Choo Keong. For the MP for Wangsa Maju to lash out at his colleagues at the Dewan Rakyat, he must be fuming mad. I was told that in his speech a while ago YB Wee singled out two or three of his junior comrades ("little Napoleons", he called them) for their over-enthusiasm and "political of deceit" to the extent that they were unable to put national interest above party politics.

I hope YB Wee is not thinking of jumping ship too because I think that's exactly what those "little" ones would want him to do!

One Bangsar vs The People

Round 2. Six years ago, a group of Bangsar residents came out strongly to protest the development of a row of food and more food outlets right at their doorsteps. They lost the battle despite the support of their MP then. And One Bangsat was born.

Recently, we learned that the residents hadn't lost for good. The One Bangsar deal, it turned out, was for a limited period of five years. And know what? The 5-year deadline ended last December. According to news reports quoting the FT Minister and the KL Mayor, One Bangsar and its 9 tenant operators must close shop and were required to convert the outlets into residential units, as per the agreement.

But One Bangsar and its powerful friends are not willing to go or let go. They say they will sue City Hall and the Government of the People.

I hope the FT Minister [Go Ahead, Sue Us! The Malay Mail, Monday 29/3] has the stamina to take them on.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Chua Soi Lek is new MCA President

Updated at noon, 29/3 Monday
The new president has told people closest to him that he plans to request the PM and BN Chairman for "status quo" in relations to MCA's Cabinet posts. If this is true, Ong Tee Keat will remain Transport Minister, Liow keeps Health, Yen Yen stays at Tourism, and Chua Soi Lek himself will accept no Cabinet post.
It's the president's plan to re-unite the party, get all the warring factions to work together as a team.

Original posting:-
Ong Tee Keat loses presidency. It's as good as official. According to those inside the hall where the votes for the MCA elections were counted, Chua Soi Lek has won the contest for party president. Liow Tiong Lai is Deputy President while the Vice Presidents are Yen Yen, Donald Lim, Chor Chee Heung and Gan Ping Sieu.

Is this the end of Tee Keat? Or will he now be able to focus on the ministry and on resolving the PKFZ issue without the pressure of the presidency?

Saturday, March 27, 2010

10,000 attend Perkasa assembly

Updates:- Umno perlu kembali mendengar aspirasi orang Melayu by Dr Mahathir
Big Dog reports on his blog that while Dr M is confident that Najib will bring transformation, especially to the Malays, the PM needs to provide more space for the aspirations of the Malays and Umno grassroots to be heard.

Speaking at a press conference later, Dr Mahathir stressed the need for a focused study to show how the New Economic Policy or Dasar Ekonomi Baru has benefited the Malays (and the non-Malays). "Ini kerana banyak pihak termasuk golongan liberal dan professional dikalangan orang Melayu sendiri secara simplistiknya menyalahkan dasar ini dengan tanpa mengemukakan asas untuk menyokong dakwaan mereka bahawa hanya orang Melayu sahaja yang menikmati pemberian dan penganugerahan Kerajaan seperti kontrak, peluang perniagaan dan taraf keitstimewaan bagi apa apa program dan Bukan Melayu dinafikan sama sekali."

At the risk of being accused of trying to compare my intellect to the great statesman's, at a closed-door briefing on the New Economic Model last night I said there's need for the authors of the NEM to stress in their analytic that the new model is premised on the successes of previous policies, especially the NEP and the National Development Policy. Without the socio-economic progress achieved under the NEP and NDP, it would have been impossible for Malaysia to now dream of joining the elite few that are today known as high-income economies.
Original take:

Serious turnout. According to Parpu, some 10,000 people attended the Perkasa assembly at the PWTC in KL today. Looks like Ibrahim Ali's seriously trying to give Umno a run for its money as champions of the Malays.

Click here to see the pictures and live reporting from PWTC, which happens to be Umno's headquarters. Dr M, the VIP, is an Umno member.

Perkasa wasn't born yesterday. It was created by a group of Malay NGOs in response to what they saw as a threat to the special privileges of the Malays and the Bumiputeras as enshrined in the Constitution.
Revisit Mahathir's address last year here.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Proton, VW and the SC boss

Final update, Sat 27/3 4pm:
A Voice has a posting entitled SC Chairwoman renewal politics?

Excerpts:

"The feedback received from conversations with few banker and fund manager on her have been good. It is her sheer good luck that those spoken are baik sangka (well intention) people. She was described with great superlatives on her integrity, ethic and work rate.

"Perhaps the ECM Libra-Avenue merger debacle is an exception. She was then thrown in the deep end of the pool early in her appointment. Would be good if she could clarify the issue once and for all."

Updated 6.30 pm, 26/3/2010: Securities Commission chairman Zarinah Anwar to stay on as chairman for another year when her current contract ends on April 1, 2010.

Latest: Zarinah should really answer for ECM Libra-Avenue merger

Original take:
End of 6-year wait? What I hear is Proton - VW tie up to assemble cars is in the offing next month. This would be Proton's biggest coup in more than 20 years - since Mitsubishi. It also ends the national car company's 6-year wait* under Pak Lah's administration to find a partner. Bringing in VW is a major feather in cap for Malaysia. It also means fresh employment opportunities as VW will fill up Proton's Tanjong Malim plant's utilisation gap.

* While Pak Lah failed to get a partner for Proton, he did succeed in selling one of the world's TOP motorcycle brands for ONE euro. The company is now worth a couple of hundred million in DOLLAR terms. How does Zarinah Anwar the SC boss fit into all this? Well, her contract is ending and if she goes off on April Fool's day, then the person many blame for not pushing the Proton board hard enough on the sale to GEVI would be gone. Some say she should also answer for the ECM Libra-Avenue deal, but that's another story.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Remembering our good cops

Latest: New incentives for police officers announced here
203rd anniversary of the PDRM. Journo-blogger Shahril Kadir reminds us of the numerous officers that went down on duty, including an Inspector-General of Police who was gunned down in bright daylight not that long ago. Not too different from what they've been doing to the current IGP.

Shahril's Hari Ulangtahun PDRM ke203: Antara Pengorbanan dan Kebencian
PDRM's website here.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

How much did they offer YB Zul?

Updates: I believe Zulkifli Noordin, by Aziz Hassan
Anwar too should ask for forgiveness by Pasquale
Tan Sri IGP, please take note by Syed Akbar

Original take:

"Enough to shake one's faith". Love or hate Zulkifli Noordin, set aside the feelings for a while and consider his "confession" at Parliament today. He's making a very, very serious allegation. He's saying someone offered him a lot of $$$ to implicate Najib and Rosmah in the murder of Altantuya. [Remember, RPK's fantastic article about the PM's wife supervising the bombing of the Mongolian? Remember P.I. Bala's statutory declaration?]



General March 24, 2010 19:15 PM
Parliament: Zulkifli Exposes Bounty Offered To Discredit Najib, Rosmah


KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Bernama) -- Independent MP Zulkifli Noordin exposed of being offered a bounty to discredit Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor by linking them to the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibu.

Zulkifli (Kulim-Bandar Baharu), however, did not reveal who made the offer but described the generous reward as one that could "menggoyah iman" (shake one's faith).

Zulkifli, who was recently sacked from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), said he was grateful to Allah for protecting him from being involved in the villainous plot.

In mid-2009, he withdrew from being defence counsel for Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, one of the accused in the Altantuya murder case, because of serious interference from a third party, he said in his debate on the motion of thanks for the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

Zulkifli also revealed that he was once asked to make a statutory declaration to link Najib and Rosmah to Altantuya's murder.

"As a Muslim, we should not have malice...as far as I know, the prime minister had sworn (on the Quran) that he was not involved in the murder, and so far no one among us has been brave enough to do the same with regard to the case."

He said baseless accusations however continued to be made against the prime minister without any proof, but only relying on the statutory declaration (SD) made by former private investigator P.Balasubramaniam who never repeated the allegations contained in the SD when he gave evidence in court.

Zulkifli described Balasubramaniam as "an opportunist who took advantage of the rapacity of a devil in the guise of a human".

He said he also remembered that some time in 2004, he was asked to shame Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz (BN-Padang Rengas) by linking his son Nadim to the killing of Darren Kang, just because Nadim was at the scene of the crime, a restaurant in Sri Hartamas.

In that case, five Thai nationals working at Uncle Don restaurant in Sri Hartamas pleaded guilty in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to causing the death of the law student.

"Alhamdulillah, once again Allah saved me from being involved in 'fitnah' (making baseless accusation)," Zulkifli said.

"I hope people don't see me as being in a desperate position to expose all these misdeeds....otherwise the startling revelation made by YB Bayan Baru (Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohd Hashim on Anwar's modus operandi in trying to topple the BN federal government on Sept 16, 2008) would seem like a whimper."

Last week, Zahrain who is also an independent MP after quitting PKR, revealed that Anwar had lied to party members that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and the Malaysian Armed Forces supported his plan to take over the federal government on Sept 16, 2008).

Zulkifli said there were too many unrighteous things he was asked to do.

"That's how dirty politics in the country is today...I have committed a few (wrongs). I take the opportunity here to apologise to those who had been victimised by the dirty political chess game, and I promise that I will meet them personally to apologise."

Zulkifli said he made the revelations today as he shared the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's expressed concern over the "fitnah" scourge when opening the third session of the 12th parliament on March 15.

"I am worried about the politics of Malay Muslims who have deviated from the path enjoined by Allah and the Prophet's sunnah. But if we don't do anything about it, we will be damned."

-- BERNAMA

And now Zul wants to meet Najib to personally seek the PM's forgiveness. Read here.

The MI columnist who supports the ISA

Lipas: Why we need (a reformed) ISA. Sinatra Z is probably the only level-headed young, male columnist writing for the Malaysian Insider, a portal set up originally to prop up the previous PM and has now turned hostile against the current PM.
"I am not for the abolishment of ISA; I think there are valid reasons for it to be there and a purpose for it to serve. I however am supportive of amendments to the act to ensure it is not to be misused, for it to be fairer and more effective."
Read his arguments in Where are the vigils for Mat Selamat? and you'd agree with me that it's hard to disagree with Mr Z. Otherwise there would have been a thousand vigils for Mat Selamat by now, right?


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Politik Seratus Ringgit

RM100-a year for Penang's senior citizens. Read Arrest me if RM100 payout to senior citizens is corruption which appeared in the Sun yesterday. I don't think the MACC should arrest Lim Guan Eng. If they arrest the Chief Minister of this state government for the RM100-a-year token he said he's giving Penang warga emas, the MACC must arrest some Federal Government leaders for paying out RM300 a month (see table below) to senior citizens nationwide.

* Bantuan Kanak-kanak istimewa - RM100 - RM450 sekeluarga sebulan
* Bantuan Orang Tua - RM300 seorang sebulan
* Bantuan Anak Pelihara - RM250 seorang sebulan
* Elaun Pekerja Cacat - RM300 seorang sebulan
* Bantuan Am Persekutuan - RM80 - RM 350 sekeluarga sebulan
* Bantuan Khas - RM300 sebulan kepada penjaga OKU/Pesakit kronik
yang terlantar
* Elaun peserta OKU - RM150 sebulan untuk program pemulihan dalam
komuniti
* Geran Pelancaran Perniagaan -RM2,700
* Bantuan Alat Tiruan/Sokongan - Diberi PERCUMA
* Program Tambahan Makanan Seimbang untuk rakyat miskin - RM10
juta
* Bantuan Pengurusan Pusat PDK - RM252,000 setahun setiap pusat

Source: Welfare Department [courtesy of Unspinners from their Kasi cuma RM100 setahun, Guan Eng hebuh cerita sedunia who must have been inspired by MyKMU's Antara RM100 setahun dengan RM12,300 setahun, here].

Takziah buat Manja

Alfatihah. Yesterday, I could not go to the kubur to help my old friend Manja and Noozita bury their youngest son. I'm not that tough. I watched a friend bury his child once and that's enough. No parent should have to bury his or her baby; too big a test. Ashraf, 0nly 18 when he died in the car crash, was the second child the couple have lost.

I left after the prayers at the mosque in USJ. We grieve, AAT tells me. We all do.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Journos and Bloggers at NPC "Oscars"

Black Tie next year. Thank you for all the warm regards and wishes in relations to the National Press Club's inaugural awards nite. It went better than I had expected, thanks to the hard work of my Exco and the exceptional organizational skills of Lazarus Rokk and Nisha Menon. They forced me to dress up for the occasion and the first thing the Prime Minister said to me as he got out of his Perdana was, "I almost didn't recognize you". Well, I almost didn't recognize myself.

Bloggers had a table for themselves. Why not? Bloggers had been frequenting the NPC at Jalan Tangsi before they turned into bloggers. Some of them have stopped coming to the Club because they suddenly must eat and drink only with like-minded people.

Some of the bloggers who attended the do last night:


Picture from OutSyed The Box, here, who had an interesting observation about the recipients of the Journalist(s) of the Year - P. Gunasegaran from the Star and Zaini Hassan of Utusan Malaysia. Yes, not everyone agrees with what Guna and Zaini write but these guys continue to push the envelope despite the pressures from all sides. Guna was already a senior business reporter when I joined Business Times in 1985 and Zaini is a few months my junior.

VK Chin, whom we picked for the Lifetime Achievement award, braved poor health to be with us last night [VK Chin is no stranger to all of us ... The citation read out last night by Ewe Jin]. I had the privilege of covering Dr M's visit of South Korea with him some 20 years ago! On that trip, I remember a Malay-language newspaper editor bought a mighty expensive silk black tie because he wanted to attend a "Black Tie" dinner that was part of the PM's itinerary. We didn't attend that dinner, of course, because none of us had a tuxedo!

Back to last night's event, Big Dog was blogging from inside the hall as Najib was giving his speech, beating the journos to the news. His posting PM Najib: Be my partner to help transform Malaysia probably inspired this former Jalan Tangsi regular's ranting Be my partner ... Urrgghhhh!.

For the benefit of those who were not there at the dinner, the PM wasn't reading from a prepared text when he talked about latitude and space for Malaysian journos, about being partners, and about the media's social responsibility. I believe Najib went off-the-cuff to respond to the points I made in my speech -- about journos pushing the envelope and getting sued and harassed with police reports, about his promise to give latitude to the media, and about us expecting him to "walk the talk" as he marks his first anniversary in office on April 3.

Journalist Kugan won the New Media award for his blog here. For this inaugural award, our search is confined only to the telco sector. The Rookies of the Year was an easy decision - the young Bernama TV team that covered the international convoy to Gaza won it hands down.

Lat won the SM Nasimuddin 1Malaysia Award. Most fitting.

Anugerah Legenda Media went to the late A. Samad Ismail. Three times an ISA detainee. Bertahun-tahun dilokap orang, Oh Malaya ... True journalists are a dying breed, I said (quoting Rizal Hashim) in my speech .. The great ones are dead.

Read also a posting by a blogger who once worked under Zaini, here.
The Star's Najib: Press and government relationship critical

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Big bad journos

National Press Club awards. Tomorrow night (Friday, March 19), the NPC pays tribute to Malaysian journalists who have given journalism a good name. This is the first time the Press Club is giving out awards to journos. But I must make it clear that unlike the annnual MPI awards, ours is not a contest. Recipients are picked for their outstanding contribution towards the profession.

The awards are for:
1. New Media of the Year
2. Rookie of the Year
3. Journalist of the Year
4. Lifetime Achievement Award
5. Media Legend Award

The Prime Minister will give out these awards.
The NPC will also give a special award to a Fried of the Media.

Updates and pics soon.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

So, where's home for Waytha?


Hindraf leader shall not return. Or so says Nazri. I'm not sure how it works but the Minister spoke of Waytha's "unconstitutional stand" as the reason why he won't be allowed to return. I hope Nazri is not saying "never". Hishammuddin Rais, who stayed in London for years as a fugitive, came back in the end. Raja Petra Kamaruddin is in London, self-exiled, and I'm sure he will one day, like Hisham, return to Malaysia. Tempat jatuh lagi dikenang ...

The last time I spoke to Waytha was last September, he was in Singapore for a holiday and to meet his family from Malaysia (here). He was traveling on a United Nations passport, he said. I sensed, from our conversation, that Waytha wanted to come home. I may be wrong, though.

London's not a bad place to end up, though. Reading RPK's latest posting from that great city makes me nostalgic. And then Mansur Putih sent me this mail after his recent visit to London, of a Guest Book he signed after RPK!


Monday, March 15, 2010

Not a flip-flop ... yet!

According to the Singapore Business Times, Malaysia's "flip-flops over reforms are driving foreigners to put investment plans on hold". [pls read "Recent policy reversals unnerving to investors", SBT, March 15]

Ouch.

Now this kind of news analysis-cum-name-calling will hurt us more than the so-called racist reporting by the China Press on the IGP quitting! But let's not over-react as we have over-reacted to the China Press' report.

Remember we've known flip-flop for 5-6 years and how that took us down south in terms of national morale and economic well-being, so we know better than those guys at the SBT what flip-flop means.

What we are seeing - the delays in implementing the policies - is not a flip-flop. The policies mentioned in the SBT report - GST and the New Economic Model included - are proposed policies. At this point of time, the government is still going ahead with these policies. It's just that the timing has been moved to a later date.

Now if the PM announces tomorrow that the government will not implement the New Economic Model, then (aha!) that's a flip-flop.

The good thing about the delays is it will provide the government the opportunity to do what it may have neglected doing and what it should have done from the start, as Kadir Jasin writes here, which is to:
"... turut mendengar keluh kesah dan berdialog dengan rakyat jelata, pembayar cukai dan pengundi daripada hanya mengiakan nasihat pakar dalam dan luar negara. Mereka ini hanya peduli mengenai gaji dan yuran yang mereka peroleh."
Najib should take his time, go down to the ground and listen harder to the people. Conduct basic things, like order a White Paper on the proposed New Economic Model which will let the people know what is wrong with the current economic model, why it doesn't work anymore, and why we need a new one. Get the buy-in from the people. Kalau tidak, as Kadir Jasin says and I'm in total agreement with him ...
".... bukan sahaja pemerintah akan menjadi lebih tidak popular, tetapi yang lebih memalukan ialah apabila ia terpaksa melakukan “flip-flop” pada saat-saat akhir."

Friday, March 12, 2010

Another lawsuit, Zaid?

The "new" Zaid Ibrahim. When he was in Umno, Zaid was the "maverick". He dared to speak out against the leadership, he was critical of his own colleagues, and he'd make mincemeat of the Opposition members whenever he had the chance. The Malay-Muslim Kelantanese became a big-time lawyer and headed one of the biggest legal firms in the region.

One of the first things I did when I became the president of the National Press Club was to invite him to address my members at Jalan Tangsi. Shamsul Akmar, now a columnist with NST, moderated the session. Then at the former Blog House, we got him to address the Bangsa Malaysia forum. He was frank and he didn't mince words. In short, he believed in the freedom of expression. He believed in the freedom of the press.

I prefer Zaid the outspoken ex-Umno politician. The new Zahid is somewhat "less". His skin isn't as thick as it used to be. The threshold, once great, is now not so. His patience with criticisms against him is wafer-thin. He has taken a lawsuit against A. Kadir Jasin, a veteran journalist and an outspoken blogger. Now he is suing another seasoned journalist, or that's what I heard.

If that's true, I think Zaid is sending a message that my fellow journalists should heed. Do exercise great caution when writing anything against Zaid. That goes to bloggers to. A Voice, it's not too late to take down your latest posting on Zaid!

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Why is BSA Tahir still here?

BSA and RPK have a couple of things in common: both were detained under the ISA and both seem to enjoy some kind of protection in their adopted countries.

Unlike RPK, though, BSA Tahir is a wanted man globally but a free man in Malaysia where he holds a PR. Not only is he a free man, BSA Tahir recently made the news in Singapore [which was republished by RPK's Malaysia Today].

I know RPK will not bring any harm to the UK, where he lives happily with wife and family since his great escape from from the law in Malaysia. Will BSA Tahir love Malaysia as he is loved by Malaysia? I don't have any adopted country and I don't wish to have any, so I must hope and I must pray that this BSA Tahir does not one day bring harm to my beloved birthplace.

If you have forgotten, BSA Tahir was the man the US wanted to extradite and face terror-related charges in America. Remember those CIA or FBI agents who came here to interview him while he was under detention? He was released with conditions in June 2008 and soon after (some said on the very last day that Syed Hamid Albar was Home Minister) he became a free man.

Soon after that, according to an article in the Straits Times of Singapore last week, he filed a suit in the High Court of Malaysia against former business partners Abdullah Badawi Jr and Shah Hakim.

I have nothing against this guy (or, rather, his Malaysian wife) taking his ex's to the cleaners but I really hope it wasn't BSA Tahir who is dragging Malaysia's name in the mud across the Causeway and into the columns and inches of the Straits Times of Singapore. Because it it was him, then I'll wonder what else he'd do to get his way.

Read Leslie Lopez's piece in Straits Times here.
Also RPK's The BSA Tahir and PI Bala saga.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Malaysia's Chinese and America's Red Indians

What do they have in common? Beats me, too, but Sin Chew's deputy editor Tay Ting Yan seems to think that the Chinese, a minority group in Malaysia, and the Red Indians in today's the USA are linked by some kind of cruel fate.
"... Orang-orang Melayu sudah pun berkuasa, berkedudukan, berpengalaman dan menjadi bangsa yang bermartabat.

"Apa lagi yang mahu mereka pertahankan sekarang ini?

"Cuba anda fikirkan dan bayangkan jika ada sekumpulan orang-orang Amerika kuiti putih mahu pertahankan kaum kulit putih, dan menolak hak orang-orang Red Indian yang curiga terhadap hak dan kuasa orang-orang kulit putih apa akan terjadi?"

He made the analogy in an angry commentary on published by Sin Chew on March 2 and which is making its viral round in cyberspace. Blogger Hidup Tuah! isn't amused by the tone of Tay's commentary and felt that the journalist made an ass of himself by comparing Malaysian Chinese with Red Indians in trying to defend an untenable point.

5. Untuk berlaku adil dan tepat dari segi fakta, Tay sewajarnya membandingkan komposisi penduduk dan kedudukan ekonomi di Malaysia dengan negara-negara seperti Fiji dan Afrika Selatan, Uganda dan Rhodesia. Ianya sebanding di mana kaum minoriti / pendatang menguasai ekonomi negara-negara berkenaan.

6. Oleh kerana kedudukan ekonomi yang sedemikian terhimpit itu dan ditambah pula oleh hak dan kuasa yang semakin terhakis serta terus diburu dengan pelbagai ancaman maka adalah naïf dan dangkal sekali untuk menyamakan usaha 76 buah NGO tersebut hendak membela serta mempertahankan hak kaum mereka sendiri (satu hakikat yang benar) dengan perbuatan bodoh Don Quixote itu.

I met Tay at a book launch in PJ recently, the first time in many years. We used to cover the same assignments as young reporters in KL in the Eighties. Even back then the Chinese newspapers "enjoyed" greater leeway in reporting "sensitive" issues so Tay's commentary Mengigau dan Berkhayal Beramai-ramai is probably no great shake.

When read by a Chinese reader, Tay's article may even be forgettable. But in this digital era and borderless world, everyone reads what you write. A Melayu reading Tay's rantings is bound to lash back, in an equally racist way.

Timbalan Editor Sin Chew Mempersendakan Melayu (by Jebat Must Die) and Suratkhabar Cina *&%! Persendakan Melayu Pertahan Hak (by Dari Kacamata Melayu) are examples of this racial backlash.

Now go read Hidup Tuah's Sin Chew Jit Poh mempersenda 76 NGO Melayu Mengigau dan Berkhayal Beramai-ramai.

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Najib's headache, Tee Keat's heartache

Updated, Sunday 10pm
Dnightcaller has an interesting analysis on the MCA presidential turmoil, here, which pits the Lone Ranger and Brutus.

Original Article:
Circus. Chess. Curse. That the BN chairman and Prime Minister Najib Razak hasn't uttered a word in public about the latest MCA drama suggests that he's tired with or deeply hurt by the antics of the jokers in this political circus. Like many, he'd probably thought that the party's AGM would heal the scars and bring the factions together. For a while, the political headaches and heartaches belonged to the Pakatan Rakyat as Anwar Ibrahim's PKR grappled with defections in recent weeks.

Then, suddenly, just days before the AGM, Chua Soi Lek decided to quit his deputy president post to check-mate the "unity" plan that had brought him and party president Ong Tee Keat together for the last few months.

Tee Keat may have felt like Caeser, betrayed by his own subordinates, but unlike Ceaser he's alive, unfortunately, and he's still the President of the party and, therefore, he has a job to do.

AGM and then fresh elections. Firstly, he needs to fulfill the leadership's earlier commitment to hold the AGM and prepares members for fresh elections (now scheduled for March 28). There are those who do not wish Tee Keat to hold the AGM for fear that it may provide him with a platform to address the delegates but then he is the President. NOT holding the AGM would be a dereliction of duty, and there's nothing worse than that.

In any case, the women's wing of the party has convened their AGM today (against a directive of it's chief Chew Mei Fun, it seems!) and there is no reason why Tee Keat should not hold the AGM as scheduled.
Curse of the PKFZ. Secondly (and more importantly at least for people like me), as Transport Minister and the man who said he would deliver justice in the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, Tee Keat must remain focused. The turmoil within MCA must not distract or deter him. I know he's been under great pressure since his pledge to expose those responsible for the billions lost in PKFZ.

His days at MCA's helm may be numbered but as I see it Tee Keat may be President of MCA for the another 20 years but it would do him little good if he fails to help bring to book the culprits (including some MCA politicians from what I've heard) behind the PKFZ.

So, as I see it, Tee Keat can fight to stay on as president of the MCA or Liow Teong Lay can take him or Chua Soi Lek or both on 28th March. The important thing is will MCA emerge stronger after that and will Tee Keat be able to finish what he sets out to do at PKFZ?

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Another one jumps the ship

Third PKR MP quits

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 12:58:00

BAGAN Serai Member of Parliament Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri has quit PKR, making the 65-year-old the third legislator to quit the party within one week.

He cited internal squabling and PKR’s stance on the ‘allah’ issue for his resignation. Mohsin has opted to become an independent MP.

Are they all bribeable? So, why are the elected representatives from PKR jumping ship? Money? RPK and Co say they are being bought by Umno, led by Jamaluddin Jarjis way out there in Washington, the U.S.A. If that was so - and I don't believe that is so - why were they so buy-able or bribeable? Remember, these aren't the only three who have jumped out of Pakatan Rakyat. The 3 state assemblymen who jumped in Perak, which caused so much problems till recently. What happened to them? Bought also, ah?

BN has also lost some, the biggest fish of them ex-Minister Zaid Ibrahim. Bought also, bribeable and buy-able?

If everyone in politics can be bought with money, what's with the ideals, cause and principles?

Let's be real, let's be frank. There's something seriously wrong over there. RPK and Co ought to do something constructive for once and for a change for their masters - analyze and find out what's wrong and advise them on how to put an end to the jumpers.

Read the rest of the Malay Mail on-line article h e r e.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Naked again, Down Under

Art or Obscene? Bujai's posting Will they strip for Anwar as well?, which features the picture above, reminds me of a long-running trouble I had with the Home Ministry in 2002/2003 for, among other things, publishing a story and picture of an Australian naked art in the Malay Mail.

The pic we published then was nowhere as graphic as this one but the KDN delayed renewing our printing permit for 3 months from Jan to March 2003.

Today, Bujai's digital media won't have to worry about the KDN at all!

Freedom or what?

Monday, March 01, 2010

It's just Nazri so why get so excited, right?

Ordinarily, I wouldn't give a damn what Nazri says. The pro-Umno bloggers think he scores own goals too often and my Barisan Rakyat blogger friends would only support him when he has something nasty to say about Dr Mahathir.

But when I was told that Anwar Ibrahim's top campaigner Raja Petra Kamaruddin himself was in Washington last week to sabotage a forum that Nazri was addressing, I got a wee bit interested.

It turned out that someone else from another pro-Anwar news portal (not Malaysia Today) was there reporting on behalf of RPK. The Malaysia Today editor never left London, his home since he escaped from a series of lawsuits in Malaysia, at all.

So why was it so important for Anwar, RPK & Gang that the forum was stopped or at least disrupted even though it's "only" Nazri Aziz who was talking to the Americans? Why was it important to make believe that RPK was there in Washington to report the forum?

In Cloak and Dagger, 3 Stooges in Washington, blogger Sakmongkol (who made it quite clear that he wasn't in Washington) provides some answers.

What impressed me is that Malaysia's news portals are beginning to send their reporters abroad to cover political assignments like this one. It's not cheap to send reporters to places like Washington DC.

Read also Sak's earlier postings:
On the circus that got to America
The circus that got to America - 2
Malaysian circus in DC - 3