Friday, April 30, 2010

Now, what does the New Ledger mean by "reversal"?


Jewish attacks backfire. I had expected something like this to happen, sooner or later. Anwar's allegations of  Jewish "spies" and Israeli links in Najib's office were bound to make some of his friends in America uncomfortable. Exactly why, I think, the word "reversal" is chosen in this headline by the New Ledger, accompanied (deliberately, no doubt) with a never-seen-before photograph of a smirking Anwar that makes him look like he's really a Jew-hater!

Tapi kalau Saudara Anwar benar2 anti-Zionist, kita patut sokong. Baru macam Dr Mahathir sikit2 ... 
p.s.  I read about the New Ledger first at Pasquale's ...branded as anti-Semitic by influential an American web publication!
You may also read Rachel Motte's article on Anwar's reversal at rocky's bru 2 h e r e.

Janji Melayu Najib

RM3 million for Chinese school. The Chinese votes did not go to Barisan Nasional in the Hulu Selangor by-election that the coalition won last Sunday, but a promise's a promise. Even Kit had to take his hats here. My friend Syed Akbar thinks here is proof of how committed the PM is to 1Malaysia.

I am a pro-Satu Sekolah guy who believes that the best way to unite the peoples of this country or to achieve 1Malaysia, in other words, is to have a 1School policy.

For now, though, janji mesti ditepati. Kalau tak bukan janji Melayu namanya.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

More tremors at Petronas twin towers

Vanishing oil blocs. Please read Dr Mahathir's latest posting Malaysia's Generosity on how Malaysia lost two blocs of petroleum due to a sleeping disorder.

Tremors at Petronas twin towers


Appointment of former PRM vice president raises eyebrows. New Petronas president and CEO Shamsul Azhar may have made his first mistake since taking over from the legendary Hassan Merican with the appointment of Sheryl Stotthard as head of his Corp Comm based in the President's office. Or at least that's what some blogs are suggesting.

Ms Stotthard is portrayed by Apanama in PRM to Petronas as someone who has nothing good to say about the government of Malaysia. I do not know if that's true but I do know that she's a family friend of Shamsul and is someone the Petronas boss trusts. She was formerly with Maxis.

PRM or Parti Rakyat Malaysia is the precursor to Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat, which has been very critical of the way Petronas and its billions are being run by the government (and Petronas advisor Dr Mahathir Mohamad). Not surprisingly, the appointment of a former VP of the party raises eyebrows from the twin towers to Putrajaya.

p.s. A former PKR big wig is made a Senator, also to rising tempers, h e r e.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

How will the Federal Court decide on the UEM case?

updated, 6.30pm:
The Federal Court had to postpone its decision once again, this time to June 3, as the counsel for Genisys was still in hospital to treat a heart ailment. This morning Genisys had asked for a date in August this year but the presiding judge, Yang Ariff Raus, said if the counsel hasn't recovered by June 3, the Singapore company must find another lawyer to represent it. Read The Mala Mail's story here.

ORIGINAL POSTING;

The RM87 million question. I expect the Fed Court to throw out the Court of Appeal's decision to award RM87 million to Singapore company Genisys in a dispute between that company and UEM, our own government-linked company. Jebat Must Die was spot on in his Sunday posting UEM vs GIE: What's the final verdict? -- the Courts of Appeal's 2008 decision was baffling and did not make any sense:
"... the Court of Appeal had ordered UEM to buy UEG’s shares owned by the Singaporean GIE amounting to RM87 million!

"How could this be when the Court had dismissed both petition which technically renders both sides as innocent of oppressing the other party?

Not only that, if UEM wanted to obtain a stay of execution against the Court of Appeal’s decision, UEM had to deposit RM43.7 million, which they sorely did in May 2009!"

Big Dog, in his April 21 posting Another Corporate War: Malaysian judiciary is put to test said the Fed Court's decision today "... s likely to have a bearing on future treatment of shareholder disputes that go to court, particularly those that rely on the Section 181 provisions".

I wrote a posting earlier this year about this strange case in Will Gopal Sri Ram's RM87 mil judgment stands in Federal Court today? (12 Jan 2010).

Monday, April 26, 2010

British expert: TBH was not murdered

Updated, Wed morning:-

In TBH sudden death inquest: DAP supporters are desperate, blogger Zakhir Mohamad quotes a Bernama report on a threat to Vanezis' life and to his family. The British pathologist lodged a police report against the email threat, which was described by the MACC as "offensive, intimidating and threatening".


Original report:
Closing in on the truth. Two foreign pathologists were brought in to observe the 2nd autopsy that was conducted on Teoh Beng Hock after Dr Pornthip's 80 percent-homicide theory. British renowned expert Prof Peter Vanezis came in on behalf of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission and Dr Pornthip herself was engaged by the Selangor state government, who was TBH's employer.

This morning, according to The Malay Mail, Vanezis told the inquest into TBH's death that TBH's death was not homicide. And in view that Pornthip has not been able to substantiate her earlier theory that there was an80 percent chance that TBH was murdered, Vanezis' testimony and that of local pathologist who conducted the 2nd autopsy bring us a step closer to the truth about TBH's death.

Read The Malay Mail report h e r e.

Bernama has the report, too:

Teoh Not Strangled, Fully Conscious When He Fell - British Pathologist


SHAH ALAM, April 26 (Bernama) -- Former political aide Teoh Beng Hock was fully conscious when he fell and had attempted to break his fall from a height, a British forensics expert testified at the inquest into his death here Monday.

Professor Dr Peter Vanezis, who had participated in the investigations into the death of British royalty, Princess Diana, and is currently engaged by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said he found no evidence that Teoh was strangled prior to his death.

He said Teoh had landed feet first, based on the pattern of fractures on the deceased's pelvis, and upper and lower limbs "I am not in a position to say categorically, whether or not the deceased had been somehow physically forced out of the window while he was conscious.

"The injuries on his lower limbs also showed that Teoh had attempted to break his fall," added the pathologist in his maiden appearance at the inquest.

On July 17, last year, Teoh was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam here after questioning by the Selangor MACC, located in the same building, as part of investigations into alleged irregular disbursement of state funds.

Dr Vanezis, and Thai pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand -- hired by the Selangor Government -- had observed a second post-mortem on Teoh's exhumed remains last November.

The British pathologist noted there were no signs of restraint on Teoh's body.

"There were no obvious marks of restraint on the body. However, it is possible that a person can be restrained with no bruising being found...it depends on the manner and force applied in such circumstances," he said.

Based on his observations, Dr Vanezis said there was no evidence that Teoh's neck had been compressed, as with strangulaton.

The bruises on the neck region were part of the overall injuries from the fall, he said.

The inquest is before Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas.

To questions by MACC prosecution chief Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, Dr Vanezis said he concluded that none of Teoh's injuries indicated he was killed by any other means and thrown out of a window from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam.

On the injuries to Teoh's anus which Dr Pornthip had suggested was caused by the forced insertion of an object, Dr Vanezis refuted the finding, saying they were caused by the fall.

Toxicological tests showed there were no evidence that Teoh was incapacitated by alcohol or drugs, he said.

Dr Vanezis said he was unable to say whether Teoh had been subjected to some form of intimidation which might have led to his fall.

He also disagreed with Dr Pornthip's findings that Teoh might have been dragged, prior to his fall, based on marks on his shoes.

He said the shoes were badly damaged, most probably due to Teoh landing on his feet first and this was clearly seen from multiple injuries on the legs.

At this juncture, government-appointed counsel Tan Hock Chuan told the coroner that all parties agreed that only two issues were still in contention -- the injuries on Teoh's neck and the manner by which the victim fell.

To another question by Abdul Razak, Dr Vanezis reiterated that Teoh was well-oriented and there was no evidence to indicate pre-fall injuries as stated by Dr Pornthip.

Asked by counsel Gobind Singh Deo, representing Teoh's family, to clarify how he gathered the history of the case, Dr Vanezis said he was briefed by MACC officers who sought his expert opinion, besides access to documents, photographs and pathologists who conducted the first post-mortem.

He said, although he relied on the briefings and documents, he also verified certain facts before making his final findings.

Dr Vanezis explained in length why he did not probe further on the shoe print found on the window of the 14th floor of the building when he visited the crime scene, since it was not part of his work.

The inquest continues tomorrow for Gobind to seek further clarification from the British pathologist.

In a related development, the coroner is expected to give his decision on whether to grant leave to Teoh's brother to cite Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz for contempt of court for branding Dr Pornthip a "liar".

The flamboyant Dr Pornthip stated earlier that she would not be present to give further evidence because she had received "political pressure" from certain parties.

-- BERNAMA

Sunday, April 25, 2010

YB Kamalanathan, don't forget Ijok ...

Barisan Nasional takes back Hulu Selangor. P. Kamalanathan's star is burning bright tonight. The new kid on the block has just slaughtered a big-wig of Pakatan Rakyat at the Hulu Selangor by-election. The "future" of MIC-Barisan has beaten the "future" of PKR-Pakatan.

Congrats, Kamal!

But do remember Ijok, YB. Almost exactly 3 years ago (28 April, 2007 to be exact), another political kiddo MIC's K. Parthiban defeated big name Khalid Ibrahim of PKR at the Ijok by-election in Selangor. Much like your win against Zaid Ibrahim tonight. Less than a year later at the 12th General Election of March 2008, what happened? The whole state fell to Pakatan, Cikgu Parthiban went into oblivion, and Khalid became the chief minister of Selangor.

Moral of the story, YB? Don't get drunk on the glory of victory. The people have put you there to serve them, so be a workhorse and do a good job, or the next stop may be political oblivion for you.

We'll be watching closely now.

Read also:
First BN blogger elected to Dewan Rakyat by Big Dog
Kuda BN menang di Hulu Selangor ... Un-sangka-rable by OpEd
BN tawan semula oleh A Kadir Jasin

Pic courtesy of Jinggo

Perkasa for Zaid Ibrahim?


The Melayu-Perkasa factor in Hulu Selangor. If half the Malay voters in Hulu Selangor give their votes to PKR's Zaid Ibrahim, the seat will remain with Pakatan Rakyat, or so I was told. Which is why Perkasa founder Ibrahim Ali's endorsement is crucial, and copies of this memo were busily circulated in the last few days. Bloggers Parpukari and Unspinners have accused PKR of yet another dirty tactic but I see this as a confirmation that Perkasa has, indeed, arrived!

Follow the Hulu Selangor by-election updates h e r e at NST Online.

Malaysia's peace activists disrupt Blair forum


"Why are you protecting a War Criminal?!". Former Anwar Ibrahim's lawyer Zainur Zakaria was one of the anti-war activists who registered as participants of a forum in Sunway Pyramid yesterday for the purpose of confronting and embarrassing former British PM and war criminal Tony Blair. The activists had to contend with dozens of security officers. Read how Blair tried to hide away his fear and shame h e r e.

Outside the Sunway Pyramid, it was a picnic. I counted more than two dozens cops in uniform and several FRU personnel. But the protesters were friendly and nobody gave anybody, except Blair, a hard time.



Friday, April 23, 2010

It's official, ntv7 withdraws support for Blair forum

The people of Malaysia's gathering against Tony Blair and sponsors/organizers of the forum is ON!

Venue: Sunway Lagoon Hotel
Time: 9 am
Date: 24 April 2010, Saturday

Feel Good Channel doesn't feel too good about Blair. Media Prima, which owns ntv7, has written to the organisers of "Leading the Future" forum that its "Feel Good" channel will not be supporting the forum as the official tv channel. Kudos to Ahmad A. Talib and gang. This was confirmed to me just a while ago by a spokesman from the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, which is leading the anti-Blair movement tomorrow.
For more details on tomorrow's protest, read Sepasang Sliper untuk Tony Blair.

If Zaid's still suing Kadir and Shamsul, he should sue Dr M too

Frog, Drunkard, Gambler. And he should sue the Malaysian Insider, too, for publishing what Dr M said about him.

Posting below reproduced w/out permission from here.

By Clara Chooi

SERENDAH, April 22 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad called PKR candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim a “frog” tonight, saying Hulu Selangor voters should not trust anyone who might get drunk to represent them.

The former prime minister made a surprise appearance in Hulu Selangor tonight despite saying he would stay away and proceeded to campaign furiously for the Barisan Nasional (BN).

“Do not put your trust in this frog. What happens if he is drunk? Then how is he going to do his work?” he said, leaving the crowd that turned up in stitches.

Dr Mahathir was in top form tonight as he delivered blow after blow against Zaid and his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) comrades, saying that it was dangerous to trust “frogs” for one would never know where they would jump to next.

“He leapt into Umno and even made it to become a minister. Then he jumped into the PKR and then to Sabah and when he was promised a candidacy, he jumped back here.

“This frog truly has strong hind legs, I tell you. He is like superman, he can jump from here to the roof too,” he said of Zaid although the Kelantan-born politician was sacked from Umno in late 2008.

Dr Mahathir then continued hard on yet another attack used recently to discredit Zaid’s “Islamic-ness” by accusing the latter of telling an untruth when he said he did not indulge in racehorse gambling.

“He says he does not gamble but he merely owns racehorses.

“I have horses myself, I have about 30 horses of my own but this is different — this is a horse to ride, not to use in races,” he pointed out.

He accused Zaid of obtaining his riches during his tenure as a law minister and said that the former Umno man was like a “kacang lupakan kulit”.

“When he was with us, he was good with us, but now when he is not with us, he attacks us,” he said.

In his typical no-holds-barred style, Dr Mahathir then moved his criticism to his arch-enemy and former deputy in the government, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Dr Mahathir claimed that before joining Umno, Anwar had initially wanted to join the Islamist party PAS.

“But he realised that by joining PAS, he would not be able to get a ministerial post. So he joined Umno even though he did not like us,” he explained.

He also poked fun at Anwar and his “sexual preference”, which he said he was unable to accept.

“When he joined, it looks like a lot of things were happening... happening at ‘the back’.

“You want to bring me down in politics, it’s OK, but this, I cannot accept,” he said, referring to Anwar’s sodomy accusations.

He noted however that such “preference” could be accepted by the “orang putih” but not in Malaysia.

“To them (the foreigners), they like this type of things. Even their children are not spared.

“That’s why you see, they love Anwar Ibrahim... those Australian MPs who Anwar convinced to come here and protest against his sodomy trial, look at them — some even wore lipstick and earrings. No wonder they like Anwar,” he jibed.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Kamalanathan shows proof he's a Bachelor

With updates!

Apologize, guys. All the way from the UK, RPK insists that BN candidate for Hulu Selangor P. Kamalanathan lied about his education. He wrote here that "A phone call was made to the university (Edith Cowan University in Australia) and they confirmed that they have no records of Kamalanathan." Taking the cue from RPK, Zorro was Just Wondering ... if Kamal could be disqualified for making a fraudulent declaration.

This morning Kamal posted his degree on his blog h e r e to prove he's a Bachelor after all.


Updated, Friday 11.21am

Seems that so many are still trying to dispute and deceive so I suggest that my dear readers follow these simple 3-step move to find out for yourself:

[courtesy of Azhan]
How to look for Kamal qualification in ECU graduate verification

go to this page:
https://simo.ecu.edu.au/ecudev_calprod/ecu_graduates.jsp

in the column Enter exact family name of graduate type: P.KAMALANATHAN/P.PANCHANATHAN

Leave empty in the column Enter any given names of graduate

In the column Enter the Award Title type = Bachelor of Communication

then click search

The Departed

The 37 who have left, so far. Jebat Must Die's latest posting Mereka yang meninggalkan Anwar Ibrahim is a must-read. Reminds us how fickle politics can be.

A horse named Melayu

How Melayu became Morino. Did you know that Zaid Ibrahim, the PKR candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election, once had a horse that he named "Melayu"? The New Zealand breed came home second in two races just a few years ago. Zaid brought it home to Malaysia but in this Land of the Melayu, unfortunately, the Horse Racing Association would not allow "Melayu" to be used as a name for a race horse. Zaid had to rename Melayu "Morino", and this was approved by the association's Naming Committee. But Morino the former Melayu has not done as well in the races.

Apart from "Kelantan", which is probably the most successful horse in Zaid's stable, the author of the book Saya Pun Melayu had horses he named Deputy Coming Back (or Deputy Coming Home, a tribute to a sacked deputy prime minister, many believed) and Judicial Review.

Zaid owns horses and races them (and collect the prize money when his horses come in 1st to 6th), but he never did place a bet, so I was also told.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

NTV7 withdraws support for Blair forum?

Slippers for Blair. I was at the Perdana Leadership Foundation this afternoon where Dr Mahathir Mohamad and representatives of over 100 non-governmental organisations called on the Malaysian government to deny Tony Blair entry into this country for his crimes against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. A peaceful demonstration will be held by these NGOs if Blair is allowed entry and a team of lawyers will issue a notice of indictment against the former British PM if he makes an appearance at the "Leading the Future" forum in Sunday this Saturday.

And then there was excited talk among the reps that Media Prima, the media giant, had withdrawn support for the forum featuring Blair. Media Prima's subsidiary Ntv7 had been named by the sponsors from Singapore as the official tv station for the Blair forum.

Dr Mahathir did not make any announcement to this effect, though, but he said "saya pandang jijik pada orang yang menaja si penipu ini".

The NGOs will meet tomorrow afternoon to plan for Saturday's peaceful demo. One NGO says it hopes to issue slippers to demonstrators for them to throw at Blair.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Who's bringing in the War Criminal into our home?

Tony Blair's sponsors. His role in the Iraqi invasion is no more secret, his lies exposed. He is shamed by his media, shunned by his own people but here in Malaysia we are rolling out the red carpet to hear what he has to say about how good he is. Well, some of us at least, including the sponsors and some of them are very familiar names:



Excerpts from AsH's latest posting Whimping and Poring:

The Press Release by the NAC and SRI described MahaGuru Blair as a 'respected and admired world leader', and 'one of the best speakers in business today, offering in-depth analysis and approach to the opportunities that lie ahead'. How true. Blair is the Sifu of Opportunism!

However, there is a deafening silence, a self-imposed censorship on Blair's record as a war-monger at best and a War Criminal at worst. His and Bush's culpability in the Iraq War that killed and maimed innocent civilians and turned Iraq into rubble needs no further embellishment. They are there on record - except for the NAC and SRI.

NOT ONE WORD ON IRAQ. Not even a hint or a sniff.

It is like writing a Curriculum Vitae on Hitler without mentioning the killing of the Jews, the Gypsies,the homosexuals, and the mentally ill.

This is what I would like to communicate to Blair...
To leave comments, go H E R E.




The Malay Mail, again!





Best Investigative Report 2009. Yep, despite allegations that they are government-lovers, journalists in this country have been doing this kind of reporting year in, year out. This particular series of reports helped bring in the crooks involved in inside jobs at the Home Ministry and the Immigration Department earlier last year.

Congratulations to The Malay Mail for winning the Best Investigative Report award for the second consecutive year!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

MIC's Kamal for Hulu Selangor



A perfect candidate for a perfect by-election. On April 3, I wrote that "if Najib Razak happens to be looking for new blood - not just from MIC but from BN - here's a candidate likely to appeal to moderate Malaysians, young or old".

Read A New face of MIC, here.

Pakatan supporters who know Kamalanathan probably know that the BN has got itself an ideal candidate. Not a big name like PKR's Zaid Ibrahim but no colorful history too. No baggage, in other words. New blood. Fresh face. Something we all need.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Is this actually why Pornthip won't come back?


Not 80 per cent sure. The Unspinners claim to know why pathologist Pornthip has decided to no longer appear at the Teoh Beng Hock's inquest.

In their latest posting, these anonymous bloggers published the above pic, which seems to be a page from Pornthip's report or observation of the 2nd autopsy (which I believe has not been made public, if there's one in the first place).

The paragraph the Unspinners want us to pay attention to seems to suggest that Pornthip is unable to back her claim that there was an 80 per cent probability that Teoh Beng Hock had been murdered.

Could it be the case? And does Gobind know of this? I would not risk being in contempt of court by discussing the merits of a case so read for yourself the posting Gobind trying to coverup Pornthip report that did not show 80% possibility of murder.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Come back, Porntip, finish what you started

Updates #2
"Dr Death" said to be under pressure from certain quarters by the Star, Mon 12/4/10
This report quoted Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, TBH's former boss, and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, Selangor government's counsel (Selangor government is the one that engaged Pornthip). Ean Yong was reportedly disappointed and angry. “Dr Pornthip should not be prevented from testifying,’’ he said. Malik said Pornthip had not told him anything. “Maybe she has conveyed it to my clients. I am awaiting their instructions.”

Original posting
Nazri Aziz calling Thai pathologist a liar does not do anything to help us find the truth about Teoh Beng Hock's death. But Porntip doing an MIA or not appearing to testify at TBH's inquest is a crime. She told us Malaysians that there was an 80 percent probability that TBH was mudered and it was this theory that forced the authorities to conduct a second autopsy on TBH together with a foremost pathologist from the UK.

I take the stand that Porntip must come back or be brought back here to finish what she started.

Gobind, TBH's family lawyer, must ensure that Porntip completes her obligations. I would hold him responsible if Porntip refuses to come back.

The Government of Malaysia must also make the necessary arrangements so that Porntip is back here for the Inquest, aside from calling her a liar, that is.

Updates #1
A file pic of Pornthip in action in Thailand.
Her work has taken her to the deadliest of places, so what is it about "government pressure" in Malaysia that she reportedly fears?

Friday, April 09, 2010

BN's Hulu Selangor, or so says Kit Siang

Updates, Sat 2pm:- Kit Siang's Overnight Tweets - Chew Mei Fun, Rocky's Bru and BN Cybertroopers

Original posting
Winds of Change? There seems to be a very, very subtle change in the Malaysian Insider's editorial direction since ex-NST/Business Times/Reuters Jahabar Saddiq made CEO recently. That, or I'm imagining things about the portal that I've been fond of describing as rabidly and blindly anti-Najib. Perhaps MI's own approval ratings of the Prime Minister have improved along with the Merdeka Centre's recent findings?

In any case, I totally agree with the MI's latest angling of Kit Siang's running commentary on the upcoming Hulu Selangor by-election. Simply because it's a fair assessment of things.

Excerpts:

MALAYSIAN INSIDER FRIDAY APRIL 9

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal and Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — Barisan Nasional (BN) appears on track to retake the Hulu Selangor constituency, with leaders from the incumbent Pakatan Rakyat (PR) conceding it was an arduous task to retain the seat in the face of high approval ratings for Datuk Seri Najib Razak and a confident Umno.

The April 25 by-election is expected to see a straight fight between BN’s MIC candidate and PR’s PKR candidate. Both rivals have yet to announce their candidates ahead of the April 17 nomination day.

“It is an uphill battle for Pakatan Rakyat in Hulu Selangor. Najib is throwing every resource, skill, and trick to win the votes,” DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang told The Malaysian Insider.


Read the full report h e r e.
Parpukari has a more or less similar take, BN tidak akan tewas ..., here but his is a more personal view. He does have an interview with an Umno leader who's all for an MIC candidate in Hulu Selangor.

Chinese boost for Ringgit

With updates:
Ringgit matawang terkuat di Asia tahun ini!
A Singapore journo-blogger's point of view: Malaysians are too cynical of their own and of themselves..


Original posting:-

April 7 (Bloomberg) -- China is considering allowing the yuan to trade against the Russian ruble, South Korean won and Malaysian ringgit to promote its use in cross-border trade, an official at the China Foreign Exchange Trade System said.
This would
Read the full story h e r e.
This would be a great and timely boost for our trade and economy. There should be some developments with regards to this when the PM is in Washington DC to meet world leaders. I'll try and keep tabs but I'm sure everyone else would too.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Johari:I blew whistle on Israeli link in PDRM

Updated: Johari, who claims to be the one who exposed a possible Israeli link in the PDRM two years ago, said Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim should not have made public a national security issue. Read H E R E.

Also read Another Brick in the Wall's Habit of getting into unnecessary inconveniences

Original posting
"Anwar's revelation was mine!" Ex-journo Johari Ismail, who once lodged a police report against the Prime Minister, has called for a press conference tomorrow 11 am at Riverside Cafe, PWTC, to claim credit as the dude who first told the authorities about the Israeli operatives within the PDRM. He told me he lodged a report about this last year.

"Someone leaked the report to Anwar. The cops must investigate my report and now the leakage," he told me this morning.

He won't say anything more. Saving it for the press conference. Will update tomorrow.

Interval: Najib's head

War against rent-seekers. The PM is aware of the dangers and has said it - going after the rent-seekers in the system is equal to putting his head on the chopping block.

The New Straits Times-trained Sheridan has the story here. Main excerpts:

Najib says his head is on chopping block

By Sheridan Mahavera

SINGAPORE, April 6 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed tonight that he has put his political career on the line by committing to purging rent-seeking and patronage politics in Malaysia’s economy.

He said this is because those who benefit from these practices are powerful and politically connected, and he hinted that they could even exert their influence in Umno, the party of which he is president.

Najib, who has made needs-based instead of race-based affirmative action an important plank of his administration, said that his approach has put him in a “dangerous” position.

“We don’t want rent seekers and the politics of patronage in our economy. I committed to that and it is dangerous because they are politically connected.

“But we have to help the Bumiputeras who need help, the Sarawakians, the Sabahans and the Orang Asli. Not just the Malays.

“Affirmative action has to be market-based, merit-based and needs-based because we want a more equitable society,” he told the audience at the Singapore Foreign Correspondents Gala Dinner here tonight.

“Every single Malaysian who is poor and vulnerable must be helped. If you are earning less than RM1,500 a month, you must be helped and it does not matter if you are Chinese, Indian or Malay.”

The prime minister reiterated that affirmative action policies will continue under the New Economic Model, parts of which he announced last month, but they will target the needy from all communities. This is in contrast to the financial aid and preferential treatment given to Malays which was a main feature of the New Economic Policy and which was practised by previous administrations ....

Monday, April 05, 2010

Interval: Bursa rally

Longest rally in 16 years. The KLCI is on track for its longest rally since Aug 5 1994, when the market went up for 11 straight days. The index now is heading towards a 10-day winning streak, as Malaysia fights back against the economic scourge. 31 stocks are trading at their highest level, including national car Proton, which has ramped up higher sales and is riding high on news of a tie up with VW, or so says Kenanga Investment Bank.

I wrote about the tie-up earlier, here.

Miscarriage of Justice against Matthias

Updated/Final, Sat 10 March: Matthias ends hunger strike after plea by Dr Mahathir, read h e r e


Original Article

If a judge feels that a litigant or an accused person has been in contempt of his court, then the judge should get a third party, and another court to determine whether indeed there is a case for contempt or not and to determine the punishment.- Dr Mahathir

Read more here.

You may not agree with the former PM because you think he shouldn't have taken action against a Lord President. And you may not agree with Matthias Chang because he supports his boss in the sacking of that Lord President. But that's not the issue here. The issue is: Was Matthias Chang really in contempt of court? Was there injustice against this lawyer?

Because Matthias refused to pay the RM20k fine and opted for jail instead, we have a situation where the judge's conduct is now under the limelight. For the judge's own integrity, and the credibility of the whole system, the Chief of Justice should call for an Inquiry or a review.

By the way, ours is the 9th least corrupted judiciary in the world. Let's keep it that way.

Matthias vs Judge Dredd? Read here.

BUM 2010, Blog4TT, and 13 mil

Blogging Malaysia. We, Malaysian bloggers and blogging, have come a long way.

I had dinner with Desi, DPP, Helen, and A Voice last week at the NPC's clubhouse to discuss the Bloggers Universe Malaysia 2010. Desi, the organising chairman since the first BUM, told me it be in May, in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, and the theme for this year shall be on or about religion, religious freedom, etc. Last year, you would recall, we had Dr Mahathir as our special guest. For this year's BUM, we are hoping to get several controversial journalists/editors to join the bloggers in a free-for-all. We'll save Prime Minister Najib Razak for next year's BUM, or the year after that.

We have come a long way, as I said. A week ago, the Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Ministry completed the inaugural Blog4FT competition. I was invited to the dinner and awards presentation as the chief judge. We received over 4000 entries. And the quality of the postings ... you wouldn't believe it. Like I said in my speech, it's hard to blog positively but based on the entries we were judging, I'd say there's more to blogging than - a lot more - than politics.

Yesterday, I read from Jalan Sudin that FTUW Minister Raja Nong Chik's has inspired a following here. Blog For Terengganu Tourism offers RM70k in cash prizes!

Still on blogging, I passed the 13 million (unique visitors) mark last week. Jutaan terima kasih. The thrill is not gone, I keep telling you. This blog will celebrate its 4th anniversary next month and hopes to be around for as long as you are interested in prolonging the conversation ...

Saturday, April 03, 2010

A new face of MIC

Latest!! BN Candidate to be decided on April 15. Read here.

[updated]
Read also: Calon BN Hulu Selangor by Nobisha who believes Hulu Selangor's BN candidate should come from MIC
Kalamanathan calon BN Hulu Selangor? by Unspinners

[Original posting]
P. Kamalanathan. I know Kamalanathan as a blogger, first, and a PR practitioner, second. He invited me to speak at Bloggers' Buff, a gathering of bloggers which he initiated together with fellow PR practitioners and friends. And then late last year he won the MIC elections and is today the party's new Information Chief.
Youthful and educated, humble and idealistic, this Selangor-born is the new face of MIC, if you like.

I'd like to see Palanivel, a former journalist, get another shot at the Hulu Selangor by-elections. But if Najib Razak happens to be looking for new blood - not just from MIC but from BN - here's a candidate likely to appeal to moderate Malaysians, young or old.

Friday, April 02, 2010

April 3, 2010 - Najib's first year in office

Updated, 3.45pm on Sat 3/4/10
Remember, it's not Rocky's Bru who's saying it. It's attributable to Merdeka Center, which has been tracking Najib's approval ratings since he became PM. Me, I just happened to expect the ratings for the man to go up given how the people are responding to him and his policies vis-a-vis what his political opponents have done or are doing, which is mainly to try and bring him down at all cost. It's not hard to see who's been working harder. Even the blindly anti-Najib Malaysian Insider can see it, here.

Read Najib's approval ratings moves upwards to 68 per cent by Bernama


Original posting:
How do you rate your Prime Minister? Several polls are underway to rank Najib's performance after a year in office. I won't be surprised if his ratings, including even by the Merdeka Centre, show an all-time high. This despite the current all-out offensive against the 1Malaysia concept which forms Najib's main thrust in governing, the looming Perkasa spectre, some booby traps in his own Umno backyard, the MCA headaches, etc.

The PM seems to be defeating the cyber and blog propaganda against him and at the same time winning the trust of the majority of people in his policies despite the somewhat still slow progress in the fight against corruption and some indecisiveness with regards to GST, subsidies, etc.

After a year seeing him on the public stage, many of us have come to realize that this man does not falter, is extremely cool under pressure, and is hell of a listener. He has avoided badmouth and back-stab politics and does not kick an opponent when he's down.

The New Economic Model's focus on the bottom-40 per cent income earners should add to the PM's ratings, as would the new salary scheme for the cops which would surely be followed up by pay adjustments and better incentives for some 120,000 personnel in our Armed Forces and 300,000 veterans (I'm merely guessing here). When this happens and if the expected global economic turnaround comes true (and if he could close the PKFZ chapter by nabbing them crooks, Najib's second year in office should be plain sailing.

He may even listen if you suggest he calls for a snap election next year.

p.s. I will update this posting with the outcome of the various polls with regards to Najib's first year in office. Maybe a choronology on landmark decisions.