

The 100 Most Influential Persons in Business Ethics 2010:
![]() |
IN: OutSyed The Box |
![]() |
IN: Johan Jaafar |
![]() |
OUT: Phang |
![]() |
OUT: Ramon |
“The lawyers representing them should have advised them against the withdrawal but it appears they did not act in the best interest of their clients."- Associate Professor Dr Johan Shamsuddin of the Faculty of Law (University of Malaya) on the decision by the Teoh Beng Hock family to withdraw from participating in the RCI (just before the Selangor government also pulled out)
"Hopefully, the drama will cease and the RCI be allowed to do its job. It’s got the mandate from the King and it has to deliver answers to the public and media, to you and to me by April 2011.
Expect more spanking from this veteran blogger. Read his appetizer here.
On 26th March 2011, it will be 30 years since the Sarawak Chief Minister, Taib Mahmud, one of the most corrupt politicians of South-East Asia came to power. On the 28th February concerned Malaysians and friends would like to highlight Taib's personal responsibility for the chopping down of most of Sarawak's rainforests at the expense of the indigenous communities. We would also like to protest against the international community's inaction with regard to Taib's blatant corruption and his placement of assets worth millions of dollars in Western countries.
With the impending election, we aim to:
- discredit the Taib reign internationally as a corrupt kleptocracy that has earned its riches through logging and corruption.
- Pressure the authorities in Malaysia (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission MACC) and western countries (Canada,USA, UK and Australia) to start investigations against the Taib family.
- In England - assets of Ridgeford Properties Ltd, belonging to the Taib family, should be frozen. The serious fraud office (SFO) should determine if the Taib family financed the real estate swindler Archilleas Kallakis.
![]() |
Lee and Nik, two long-serving leaders |
p.s And Aang Din Merican, please advise your friend lah. And also, I strongly urge you to take alternative-stream media Malaysiakini to one side, quietly, to set the record straight. They can't still bedescribing you as "a close associate of Anwar".
The fact, as I know it, is Din Merican is no longer a close associate of Anwar Ibrahim. In his political ride, Din is now in "N" mode (that's "Neutral", not necessarily "Najib"). Yes, he used to be in "P" (for Pak Sheh aka Anwar) gear but that was another lifetime ago."According to Malott's latest article which appeared on Din Merican's, a close associate of Anwar, blog, he said that he is now contemplating legal action against both dailies."
![]() |
Azmi's Facebook status |
Malott trying to distract us from Anwar's woes
2011/02/10
By Azmi Anshar
mishar@nst.com.my
FORMER United States ambassador to Malaysia John R. Malott has penned a sweeping but disingenuous indictment of Malaysia in the Wall Street Journal's Asian opinion page, alleging that "racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Mr Najib took office in 2009".
Referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's handling of prickly race relations issues in that period, Malott mischievously characterised the tensions as "worse than at any time since 1969, when at least 200 people died in racial clashes between the majority Malay and minority Chinese communities".
Malott went on to accuse Malay-sia's leadership of "tolerating and, in some cases, provoking ethnic factionalism through words and actions".
His 1,100-word missive had two obvious but odious slants:
- The so-called racial tensions he misdirected are perpetrated exclusively by the Malay leadership against what he deemed as helpless and hapless non-Malays; and,
- a deep-seated revulsion for the Najib administration, matched only by his consistently unabashed public relations pitch for opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, which makes his vitriol a simple sales promotion for Anwar.
Let's see. By cleverly deploying the noun, "tensions", against the May 13, 1969 trajectory, he is implying that racial clashes are a regular feature in Malaysian race relations since 1969.
The real question is, where are the worsening tensions that could trigger fatal racial clashes as terrible as those incited on May 13, 1969, as Malott slyly claims?
Malott asserted that the Malaysian leadership "is tolerating and provoking ethnic factionalism through words and actions". He can't be more flat on that.
What Malott perceived to be a malevolent circumstance can be seen in a more enlightened prism; it is Najib's willingness to engage all aggrieved parties -- Malays, Chinese and Indians alike -- by encouraging them to say their piece, even if it is unpleasant.
That's several notches up for free speech when previous administrations had curtailed debate on race relations, restricting them only to Parliament and special closed-door councils.
Now, the debate is so open that websites, blogs and social media networks are abuzz with the freedom to discuss what had been a taboo topic.
The downside? You'd think Malaysia is reeling in a perfect storm of racism, given the rancidness of many comments from all sides.
From Hindraf's exaggerated claims of genocide to the Chinese community's leverage of precious votes (some would call it blackmail) to get more Chinese schools to the Malays' defensive posture against shrill demands that their special position is irrelevant and obscured by historical skewering, the multi-pronged debate is boisterous and healthy.
These are strong, passionate stances made possible by an administration that accepts such sentiments as a fact of life and does not fear them from surfacing aloud, only if it allows Najib to formulate pragmatic solutions which may or may not appease the aggrieved parties.
Malott doesn't get this but, to be fair, he makes no mention of the word "racism" in his opinion piece but he, whether he likes it or not, is party to the loaded WSJ heading "The price of Malaysia's racism", which implies that Malaysia is drowning in a toxic cesspool of racism.
That's not what Malaysians are experiencing now though the WSJ appears to have no misgivings in branding that label on Malaysia.
Here's an alternative perspective to Malott's blinkered observation: Malaysians are no more capable of institutional racism (read apartheid and the US' pre-civil rights segregation) than Malott can be in his personal dealings with other races.
Malott might like to consider Malaysia's plus point as a burgeoning plural society that goes way back to 1957 when the first multiracial government was formed. In comparison, developed Western countries can't even place a non-white high up in their respective administrations.
The tensions Malott mischaracterised are what Malaysians get tangled up constantly -- seemingly irreconcilable social, cultural, economical and political disputes on how best to prod the country towards a promising future of prosperity and creation of new wealth.
A lot of harsh words and comments have and will be exchanged, but a prime outcome is the nature of its civility -- and none of that bloodletting innuendo. Everyone, naturally, wants a bountiful share but no one is willing to budge, compromise or lose pertinent benefits gained over decades of political struggle.
So, the logical step is to continue negotiating, bargaining and bartering, even if the outcome is a full-blown civilised war of words.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had a barometer on gauging disenchantment among the races: he would ask representatives of each race if they were satisfied with their lot and the immediate response would be a "no".
Since nobody was satisfied, then the cogent conclusion was that the government had been fair in its treatment of all races.
Conversely, had one race stated that they were satisfied, then something would be wrong somewhere.
It's obvious that Malott based his thinking on the advisement of the opposition crowd which puts the blame squarely on the Malay leadership and certain Malay non-governmental organisations when the reality is that every ethnic community is shouting and screaming, jockeying and jostling for the best possible position to capitalise on the goodies promised under the New Economic Transformation Programme.
It comes to this: Malott has a very big axe to grind in manipulating Malaysia's political machinations. But his objective, since the time he was last ambassador in 1998, had always been to blacken Dr Mahathir to shore up Anwar's political doldrums.
Interestingly, Malott conducts his sorties on Malaysia when trouble fixates on Anwar, from his troublesome sodomy trial to his tribulations in dealing with the growing army of PKR rebels and dissidents.
This latest sortie fits into Anwar's scheme of things and, being a close associate, Malott would have no qualms disparaging Najib as long it can help distract Malaysians from a very beleaguered Anwar
Read more: Malott trying to distract us from Anwar's woes http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles//3racc/Article/#ixzz1DXRqGCmN
"There is nothing as depressing as watching a man way past his use-by date trying to revive the old glory days, strutting his opinionated versions of what should be." - Anak si-Hamid
![]() |
The Malay archipelago |
Read the rest of her posting, HMV (His Mentor's Voice), H E R E"However, the Muslim-Malays also had their own turncoats and desperados who were happy to sell their people for a song, like the way Singapore was 'acquired' from the Johor rulers. And this Wayang is still going on today."
![]() |
Feb 2: The "rescuers" from TUDM preparing for the evacuation of 11,000 Msian stsudents trapped in Egypt |
![]() |
Yesterday: The first batch of the students "rescued" from Egypt |
As for Malaysians in Egypt:, the first evacuation of Malaysian students by tomorrow! Thank God, and those who are risking their lives to save others.Maklumat terkini [about noon] dr Bilik Gerakan Negeri yg di terima( setakat jam 8.00 pg). JB - 1 pusat masih dibuka( 22 dah tutup), 9 keluarga 39 mangsa. Muar 23 pusat, 1074 keluarga, 4,759 mangsa. Batu Pahat 34 pusat ,1109 keluarga 5,090 mangsa. Segamat 84pusat (11 dah tutup) 5,194 keluarga 21,128 mangsa. Klg 29 pusat ( 23 dah tutup), 1,029 keluarga 4,135 mangsa. Pntian 12 pusat (1 dah tutup) 180 keluarga 740 mangsa. Kota tinggi 18 pusat ( 3 dah tutup ), 353 keluarga ,1,523 mangsa. Mersing 1 pusat 25 keluarga 47 mangsa. Ledang 30pusat ( 5 dah tutup), 1,308 keluarga , 5822 mangsa. Kulaijaya 0 pusat ( 11 dah tutup), 0 keluarga , o mangsa. Keseluruhan 232 pusat masih dibuka, 10,281 keluarga, 43,283 ...
A flood victim in Ulu Tiram
![]() |
Datuk Nuraina & Hei Kersani |
This article has been edited for scoop.my Heading: Anwar Ibrahim’s much-awaited UN General Assembly debut Sub: Between his address to over...