Monday, May 31, 2021

It's a police state now as far as journos and bloggers are concerned?

BSC, May 31: Last week, three media-related groups called on the police to stop harassing and intimidating  journalists. Read their letter h e r e. Excerpts: 

It is a worrying pattern to see journalists being summoned by the police for their reporting. This year alone, we saw at least five incidents where journalists are being questioned and investigated. It is alarming that the same media outlet is being targeted and this year alone, Malaysiakini has been summoned at least two times.

Specifically, we have seen the following media called in for investigations in the last few months:

1) Astro Awani - controversial news delivery by Awani’s newsreader on the ‘Awani 745’ news programme

2) Free Malaysia Today (FMT) - Gombak Police Chief threatened to sue FMT over two news articles

3) China Press - over reports on DIGP’s rape threat remark

I'm delighted, of course, to know that NUJ, Geramm and CIJ have decided to take the issue up publicly. If you'd read my May 7 posting In Malaysia, big shots using the Police to silence their critics, you'd know that this predicament isn't journalists alone. Bloggers and micro-bloggers (FB, Twitter, other social media) have been subject to the same kind of treatment, too. 

In the case of these bloggers, they often find themselves without much support. With journalists, we at least have our media organisations defending and protecting us. When award-winning seasoned journalist P. Gunasegaram got that "love letter" from billionaire Francis Yeoh, his news organisation (Petra News, publisher of The Vibes and Getaran) despatched their team of lawyers to defend him. 

In the case of A Voice, the blogger who addresses some of Gunasegaram's concerns, he was all alone when the police called him in and confiscated first his handphone the a few weeks later his laptop. Another blogger, Aspan Alias has got at least a dozen police reports against him for a critical posting involving the King.

The police are simply following procedures, of course. But it's broken and it has been broken for a long time and should be fixed.

Friday, May 28, 2021

TQ, KJ

Friday, 28/5: Here's a little personal thank you note, from the bottom of my heart, to Khairy Jamaluddin for confirming the Covid-19 vaccines for my fellow journalists. It's quite a wait but totally understandable. We all know there aren't enough Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac and that "royal" vaccine (whose name escapes me now) for every Malaysian (yet), so KJ's acknowledging us as part of the nation's frontline in this fight against the pandemic is a really big deal to me, to us.

Related: Terima Kasih, Khairy Jamaluddin 27/5/21 // Media not the enemy 3/3/21// Engage media bodies in vaccination of journos - NPC 9/3/21 // Why hasn't a single journalist been vaccinated? 9/3/21 

 

Covid-19: Thank you for acknowledging the media - NPC

KUALA LUMPUR 27/5: The announcement by the government that media personnel would finally receive Covid-19 vaccination shots soon is indeed great news, says the National Press Club Malaysia (NPC).

Thanking the government for acknowledging members of the press, its deputy president Haresh Deol said this would safeguard media personnel on the ground as they continued to keep their readers and viewers updated and informed.

He said it was also a recognition for the industry that the government, specifically the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, Health Ministry and the Communications and Multimedia Ministry understood and appreciated the work carried out by media personnel.

“We hope more people including the elders and those from other industries receive the vaccination in a bid to achieve herd immunity,” he said in a statement, here, today.

Last Tuesday, National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin said a total of 5,867 media personnel from 114 registered media agencies would get the Covid-19 vaccination shots and the appointments would be given as soon as possible once the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force receives the details. — Bernama via TheSunDaily

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Now, airport workers want the Sultan to intervene in Subang airport "sale"

KL, Wesak Day: Well, I'm not sure if the Sultan of Selangor is willing to get his hands dirty but the 2,000-strong union at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad wants him, nonetheless, to back them in their fight against tycoon Desmond Lim's takeover bid of Subang, one of the few lucrative airports run by MAHB. 

Basically, the trade union leader Encik Husin Shahar says as seeing that the nobody in the government is standing up against the proposal by Desmond to run Subang till 2092, or thereabout, the union feels it has to resort to a "higher" force to stop the bid even as it tries to get the Prime Minister, through a rare memorandum, to step in.

The only airport in the country that isn't managed by MAHB is Senai in Johor, which is now owned and managed by tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. We know that the Sultan of Johor was never happy with this but Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when he was Prime Minister, went ahead and took the Senai airport from MAHB and gave it to Syed Mokhtar, anyway. 

But that's Johor and this is Selangor ...

Getaran.my has the story HERE

TEGAS BANTAH PENJUALAN LAPANGAN TERBANG SUBANG, KESMA HERET PM DAN SULTAN SELANGOR

KUALA LUMPUR - Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Malaysia Airports (KESMA) akan menghantar memorandum membantah penjualan Lapangan Terbang Subang kepada Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin dan juga Sultan Selangor, Tuanku Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

Presiden KESMA, Hussin Shahar memberitahu Getaran, tindakan yang akan dilaksanakan secepat mungkin itu adalah penegasan semula protes mereka terhadap penjualan lapangan terbang tersebut kepada syarikat swasta, WCT Holdings Bhd.

Hussin berkata, KESMA masih tidak yakin dengan jaminan dan gesaan Pengerusi Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAHB), Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir untuk kerajaan menilai semula cadangan penjualan aset syarikat berkaitan kerajaan itu.

“Kami berpendapat bahawa Sultan Selangor mempunyai kepentingan dalam isu kerana lokasinya dan juga dari segi faktor keselamatan, memandangkan lapangan terbang tersebut adalah antara pintu masuk ke negeri Selangor.

“Kerajaan hanya berdiam diri selepas kenyataan Zambry. Sehingga hari ini tidak ada sebarang maklum balas terhadap gesaan itu. Kami khuatir kerana ada desas desus yang mengatakan bahawa penjualan ini sudah hampir dimuktamadkan,” jelas Hussin.

Tambahnya, salinan memorandum bantahan itu juga akan diberikan kepada Kementerian Pengangkutan dan Kementerian Kewangan.

Lapangan Terbang Subang yang juga dikenali sebagai Lapangan Terbang

Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah adalah milik MAHB sepenuhnya dan ia adalah antara tujuh lapan terbang MAHB yang memberi keuntungan kepada syarikat berkenaan.

Lapangan terbang terbabit dikendalikan oleh WCT Holdings, yang dipengerusikan oleh Tan Sri Desmond Lim menerusi anak syarikatnya, Subang Skypark Sdn Bhd.

MAHB memiliki 39 lapangan terbang di seluruh negara.

Adalah dianggarkan penjualan berkenaan berpotensi mencatatkan kerugian berjumlah RM11.9 billion dengan penjualan Lapangan Terbang Subang berdasarkan perjanjian konsesinya yang akan berakhir pada tahun 2069.

Menurut sumber, penjualan Lapangan Terbang Subang dipercayai akan dibincangkan dalam satu mesyuarat Lembaga Pengarah MAHB yang akan dipengerusikan oleh Zambry pada minggu ini. - Getaran, 24 Mei 2021.

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Subang Airport takeover by Pavilion: PM to get a memo from workers, Zambry's political future on the line

KL, 23 May: The future of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) hinges on a meeting of its Board of Directors this week. The directors are supposed to decide on a proposal by a well-connected construction tycoon to take over the Subang airport from MAHB under a lease that will last till 2092. All we know of Desmond Lim's plans are from news reports that said he planned to turn Subang into a city airport. 

Everybody is against the proposal. Everybody except the Transport Ministry.

 "Simply put, it's a land grab. Asset-stripping," a consumer activist told me. 

Malaysia Airports chairman Zambry Abdul Kadir, who will chair the crucial Board meeting, has said in public that he was against the proposal. But his own trade union leaders are not all that comforted by his assurance. 

"He's a politician," a trade union leader told me. 

Which is a fact. Zambry, a former Menteri Besar of Perak, is one of the politicians appointed to GLCs by PM Muhyiddin Yassin after his little coup in March last year that brought down Mahathir's flailing coalition. The unionists believe Zambry will say yes to whatever the Prime Minister wants.

Which is why the main union of Malaysia Airports is planning to submit a memorandum to the PM directly to get his assurance that Subang will remain with MAHB. The union, which represents over 2,000 employees in the Peninsular, have the support of its sister unions in Sabah and Sarawak. In fact, Zambry's "assurance" had come after the three unions had put pressure on him to make a stand against the takeover.

Public Transport Users Association (4PAM) is throwing its support behind the airport workers. Ajit Kohl, its president, said Wee Ka Siong, the Transport Minister, should have shot down the takeover proposal already. The government should not even consider such proposal as the operation of an airport should be left to experienced parties. 

"Taking over an airport is a serious issue, and has many ramifications, from passenger safety and security and compliance to international standards, strict regulations and enforcement," he said (Shoot down proposal to redevelop Subang airport, Wee told).

Ajit Kohl has been know to tell associates that he even thinks Senai airport in Johor, which was given by Mahathir to tycoon Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary to run, should be given back to MAHB. 

“MAHB has a national duty to ensure all 39 airports are running, and 4PAM has been made to understand that not all the airports are profitable, making cross-subsidisation vital to ensure air connectivity is maintained across the nation.”

Zambry surely didn't sign up for this when he agreed to accept the chairmanship of Malaysia Airports. But here it is, his biggest test yet. If he fails this, even his future as a politician may be over.


Related:

Newsbreak: Future revenue loss of RM11.9 bil if MAHB loses Subang Airport, information memo reveals

MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the country’s only public-listed airport operator, stands to lose RM11.9 billion in future revenue if Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor, is carved out from its network of 39 airports in the country, documents show.

A document titled “Information memorandum Malaysia Aviation Group — Malaysia Airports’ Positioning on Development and Operations of Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Subang”, outlines the position of Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd and MAHB in the development of Subang Airport. The document, seen by The Edge, shows that the airport operator could lose out on current aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue streams from Subang Airport, as well as future revenues forecast under MAHB’s Subang Airport Regeneration plan.

MAHB could also lose money from the cannibalisation of passenger movement from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Subang Airport, incurring other incidental costs such as higher financing cost due to the downgrading of credit rating and access to funds, and loss of opportunity to synergise the operations of Subang Airport and KLIA.

The total estimated loss is approximately RM11.9 billion, which does not include the loss of confidence by investors in MAHB’s shares and bondholders that may restrict the group’s access to debt capital and equity markets, as well as potential erosion of shareholders’ value in terms of declining share prices, the document reveals.

The potential financial losses are calculated based on MAHB’s remaining concession — until 2069 — to operate Subang Airport.

According to the document, the carving out of Subang Airport would be earnings dilutive to MAHB as it will impact KLIA and Subang Airport, apart from losing a core business of the airport operator if the RM11.9 billion compensation is not granted. Dividend returns contributed by MAHB to government-linked investment corporations, including Khazanah Nasional Bhd (33.21%), Employees Provident Fund Board (14.34%) and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (5.47%), will also be impacted.

MAHB slipped into the red for the first time in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020 (FY2020), as air travel came to a near standstill due to Covid-19-related travel restrictions. The group posted a net loss of RM1.12 billion in contrast to a net profit of RM537 million the year before as revenue fell 64% year on year to RM1.87 billion.

The document also states that the carving out of Subang Airport could result in a loss of confidence among MAHB’s foreign shareholders as midway deviation from the principal agreement of the operating agreement (OA) gives an indication that the government may not contractually honour the current existing concession terms. MAHB is a government-linked company that has one of the highest foreign shareholdings in Malaysia at 26.14% as at end-March 2021.

On April 19, MAHB unveiled the Subang Airport Regeneration concept master plan, which ensures the aerospace and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) component remains a key segment of the redevelopment plans, in line with the National Aerospace Blueprint 2030.

The airport today hosts over 60 aerospace and aviation operators, across segments such as helicopters, light aircraft, business jets, turboprop and aerospace manufacturing. Collectively, these players have invested more than RM500 million over the years, created more than 4,000 skilled jobs and generated RM2 billion in revenues.

The Vibes news portal reported H E R E  that Subang Skypark Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WCT Holdings Bhd, is planning to re-concession Subang Airport, where it currently manages the SkyPark Terminal under a separate agreement with MAHB. The company is said to have made the proposal to the government via the Ministry of Transport (MoT).

In response, MoT said any proposal to redevelop Subang Airport is still preliminary and that the decision rests with the Cabinet. It also noted that it is a common practice for the market to submit proposals to the government via an operating ministry to develop new or existing assets.

Meanwhile, the document shows that MAHB’s operating model will be impacted should the development and operations of Subang Airport be given to a private company as MAHB depends on the OA for the development and maintenance of its airport network.

It was also revealed that MAHB had made a total investment of RM13.2 billion to date under the present OA, whereby all the network airports are retained under the OA until the end of the concession in 2069.

Carving out one of the airports, especially a profitable one, will impair the recovery and returns on the investments as the investment recovery is based on the cash-generating capability of the total network of airports, and not merely specific to a particular airport. Any carve-out may result in the leakage of the intended cash flows and would impair MAHB’s ability to recover or attain returns on its upfront investment, the document says.

Calls to open up the airport sector to new operators and allow more airports to be built via a public-private partnership model emerged when Pakatan Harapan came to power in 2018. The then government was negotiating a new OA with MAHB to break up the 39 airports it manages into five regional clusters, in order to allow new private airport operators to run them.

As a result, MAHB’s OA with the government was divided into four — one to govern KLIA and klia2, another for designated airports in Peninsular Malaysia, and one each for Sabah airports and Sarawak airports. - The Edge Weekly


Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Malaysia must be so goddamn vaccine-rich it's turning down free ones!

Latest on vaccines for journalists: Not forgotten frontliners, after all? 

“I have good news for the media. The name list of media personnel from news organisations has been submitted and they will start their vaccination soon.” - KJ, de facto Vaksin Minister of Malaysia in Khairy under home quarantine for being close contact

Get well soon, KJ. As for the "good news", I'm touched to know that we journalists aren't forgotten front liners, after all. Still, I'll believe it when it happens.


Meanwhile, in  The Vibes yesterday:

Why is the govt snubbing an offer of 200,000 free vaccines?

KUALA LUMPUR – It is baffling that a government that is admittedly having a stock shortage in its vaccine roll-out has snubbed offers by the private sector to offer vaccines for free.

Two months ago, PETRA Group had written to Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, offering 20,000 Sinovac vaccines to be administered to frontliners and the vulnerable.

However, until today there has been no response from the ministry for this no-strings-attached offer.

Phase 2 of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme has been underway, however, since May 5. 

Khairy revealed that the third phase of the programme, due this month, may be delayed due to insufficient vaccines. (Read more)


KJ must shed light on this claim - no, accusation - ASAP. 

Friday, May 14, 2021

So, you want to fight for Palestine?

Puchong, 14 May: Early 90s, while I was with the New Straits Times as its correspondent based in London, I befriended a convert and former commando who was preparing to enter Sarajevo (illegally) to defend the Bosnian Muslims against the Serbs. He made it there in the winter of 92 and that was the last I'd heard of him. Last year, I came to know a 30-something Malaysian who once fought for the Palestinians against Israeli regime in Gaza. His was a soul begging to die a martyr but it was a wish the Almighty did not grant him. The young man came and did the next best thing: he got active in local politics, fighting to make Malaysia a better place. 

Most people, yours truly included, won't even think of taking a flight to Palestine, let alone taking up arms to defend the rights of the oppressed and downtrodden in Palestine and elsewhere. That, however, doesn't mean we can't do anything. That doesn't mean we should not do anything. Why, even YB Saifuddin Abdullah, our Communications and Multimedia Minister, who couldn't lift a finger to help us journalists realise the formation of the Malaysian Media Council, is kicking ass when it comes to the Palestinian cause. According to a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality, at least: 

“BDS Malaysia today heartily applauds the prompt action taken by the minister in the matter of the RTM Mandarin TV news segment on May 11 referring to the Islamic Resistance Movement of Palestine (Hamas) as militants or terrorists. We note that an apology has been issued by RTM and standard operating procedures will be reviewed to ensure that no wrongful labelling will take place in future.” - Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Malaysia, M'sian Media must beware of Zionist propaganda, says Palestinian movement

Well, I don't have the wisdom that Saifuddin has to tell RTM what's propaganda and what isn't but I believe I can do a little bit more for the Palestinian cause - apart from highlighting related issues in my blogs and news portals - by boycotting PUMA, which used to be my favourite sports apparel brand since the 70s. 

Boycott PUMA, but why?


Now, how about the government of Malaysia following through Saifuddin Abdullah's praiseworthy work for the Palestinian cause by ordering the closure of all Puma outlets in the country? It's Darurat, PM Muhyiddin can do anything he deems necessary to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Time to walk the talk.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Selamat Hari Raya, Kerajaan Gagal (Failed government)

 Updated 14 May: A Malaysian Spring against "Kerajaan Gagal" in the offing? Watch the video clip here.

Original posting:

Marahkan kerajaan, papan iklan jadi grafiti

Puchong, 12 May: It's the last day of Ramadan and we are celebrating Hari Raya tomorrow. I should be putting up a feel-good greeting card to wish all Malaysians, especially my Muslim friends, a joyous Eid but no one seems to be in the mood. I surf the Internet for uplifting news but all I get is more bad news. I haven't come across a single piece by a credible Malaysian journalist praising this government or defending it; all I get are sighs, groans, moans. Seasoned scribe Aziz Hassan joins the growing queue of the disillusioned:

 "Malaysians are culturally docile by nature and recognise a good government when they see one but what they have had to deal with so far has stretched their patience to the limits in an environment that has brought much stress and distress," he writes in Please, who is in charge of this government?.

With the end of the holy Ramadan, I join Aziz and suffering Malaysians out there in pleading with the King, who had unexpectedly consented to the Darurat last January, to put an end to the Emergency Ordinance and call Parliament to be in session so that this Government and all those MPs and Aduns can be held to account. But let's not turn to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to "save" this nation again. Our children and their children may forgive us for making a mistake but not for repeating the same mistake over, and over, again.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin, 

Monday, May 10, 2021

Our own fault: this is why factories make up the biggest cluster for Malaysia's Covid-19 infections

700 IPs opened against 11,800employers over Act 446 violations: Saravanan

216 compounds worth RM1.3 m issued

BSC, 10/5/21: Despite the screaming headlines, the situation remains dire. And depressing: the fines issued by Saravanan's ministry work out to a miniscule RM6,250 that each employer has to pay on average for failing to provide the minimum housing and amenities for their workers provided under Act 446. 

Yep, spit in the sea for them. Their failure to provide proper, basic housing facilities for their workers, on the other hand, has far-reaching impact: it gives Malaysia a bad name; it jeopardizes our export potential (US bars rubber gloves from Malaysia); and, worst of all, it helps turn our factories into the country's biggest breeding ground for Covid-19 infections. (According to some reports, factories make up 48 per cent of the existing clusters!) 

Unless we believe that a RM6,250 compound is enough to turn a crook into an exemplary employer, we should give the Human Resources Ministry sharper teeth so it can bite off the heads of those who are making profits at the expanse of workers' welfare and Malaysians' general safety and well-being. 


Related: Factory accommodation most foul: a nauseating inspection in Port Klang

Sunday, May 09, 2021

Ismail Sabri vs KJ: Is it just a breakdown in communication or is there something more behind the recent screw-ups?


Get on the same page, Kok tells Ismail Sabri, Khairy after HIDE closure order snafu

“The contradictory statements made by Khairy and Ismail in the last two instances showed that they have failed to communicate and failed to understand each other’s concerns before they made public statements. On top of that, both ministers have failed to understand the consequences of the statements that they issued." - Teresa Kok

Kuala Lumpur, 9/5/21: You'd think that the two Umno ministers in Muhyiddin's Cabinet are out to outdo each other ahead of their party's election. Which is not the case, I'm sure. At least I don't think so. Because I don't think there's going to be an Umno election before the country's general elections (which Muhyiddin must call by 2023). KJ suspects that, too, and that's why he made that call in March for the party leaders to do the right thing.    

But the right thing to do now is for Ismail and Khairy to heed Teresa Kok's advice: talk to each other and stop screwing us up. Don't make things messier for the people than they already are.


Meanwhile, here's a bit more more confusion, this one from the Transport Ministry (luckily not another Umno minister):  

Transport Services at stations, terminals listed in HIDE to continue operating

PUTRAJAYA, May 9 — All public transport services at stations and terminals listed under the Hotspots Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) early warning system will continue to operate.

The Transport Ministry (MOT), in a statement today, said the three stations involved were the KLCC LRT, Masjid Jamek LRT and KL Sentral.

“However, all business premises at the stations listed will be closed for three days from May 9 to 11 in accordance with the directives issued by the National Security Council (MKN) as announced yesterday,” the statement read.

 

Read also: Keputusan kerajaan semakin membingungkan 

Saturday, May 08, 2021

Why HIDE is doing more harm than good



Kuala Lumpur, 8 May 2021: My Italian friend who runs a restaurant in Bangsar Shopping Centre must be fuming with HIDE, the latest fancy initiative introduced by this Government to deal with the rising cases of Covid-19. And he has good reasons to be mad. Just last Friday, on the shortest of notices, his restaurant was told to stop dine-ins until May 23. Only take-aways are allowed under the new MCO 3.0. As if that wasn't bad enough, this morning the de facto Vaccine Minister, YB Khairy Jamaluddin told people to avoid BSC because the mall was a future Covid-19 hotspot. 

How the hell does he know that BSC will be a Covid-19 pandemic hotspot soon? 

Well, KJ is relying on intel provided by HIDE, which stands for Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement under the Health Ministry. What HIDE does is generate on a daily basis a list of predicted hotspot premises.This list will be published by MoH to facilitate self-regulation by the general public and businesses. HIDE is based on big data analytics and artificial intelligence, an official statement says. It leverages MySejahtera check-ins and other existing healthcare databases to make its predictions.

How reliable is HIDE's prediction? Well, I have my doubts. For starters, I find it odd that HIDE has listed Bangsar Village ll as a potential hotspot in its maiden list but not Bangsar Village l when both these malls are actually one, linked on the first floor by a skybridge that is not even manned by MySejahtera. Similarly, Gardens and Mid-Valley. 

Will the HIDE list be effective? Yes, 100%, it will feed on people's fears and drive them away from the premises named on the HIDE list. These people will, naturally, head for alternative premises which are not on the HIDE list because they are being told it's safer to do so.

The  question is, is it fair to penalize those on HIDE list when they are NOT even actual or active clusters? 

In BSC alone, there are over 150 shops, restaurants, and services, all suffering since the first MCO in March 2020.  Many including big names La Bodega and Chilis have closed down because of the pandemic. No thanks to HIDE, each and every one of these businesses, including my Italian friend's restaurant, will suffer even more.


Friday, May 07, 2021

In Malaysia, big shots resort to police reports to silence critics


BSC, 7 May: Press freedom? Try Bhutan. Or Israel. 

Here in Malaysia, a few days after the World Press Freedom Day, a seasoned blogger was called in by the cops for the second time in two weeks for postings he made on his blog. The police was acting on reports lodged by some big shots against the blogger. One of them was a high-ranking official in a ministry known for dishing out hundreds of millions of contracts annually.

I have nothing against the police conducting their investigation whenever a police report has been lodged. That's their job and, generally (and I can say this from experience), the bloggers and journalists in this country are very cooperative. After all, we want the same thing as the police do: establish the truth, nab the crooks.

But what I can't stand is every time we bloggers get called in, these cops will confiscate something from us. If it's not the laptop or the computer, it's the mobile phone.

In the case of the 60-year old seasoned blogger, he "lost" his phone during the first interview and then his laptop was confiscated when he went in for the second time.

This modus operandi is as archaic as it is ridiculous, stupid even. The police should not treat us as "guilty" every time some influential people in government or politics lodges a report against us. The cops should regard us as "victims". 

Like I said, we want the same thing as the police do: seek the truth, expose wrong-doing. And we all know that a police report may be lodged to deter us from pursuing the truth and exposing those people. 

When my Ferrari (see pic) was confiscated from my home following a police report lodged by a Cabinet Minister some years back,  I never got the laptop back and I have never been compensated for the loss. Worst of all, nothing came out of that particular police investigation!

Related read: Awani to cooperate in probe into presenter over "brain on knees" quip - The Vibes

Thursday, May 06, 2021

Now all MPs and Aduns can balik kampung

6 May 2021: Nothing shocks us anymore where the government SOPs related to the MCO are concerned. We didn't even raise our eyebrows when they had initially left out Kuala Lumpur for the MCO 3.0. Allowing bazaars to open and Parliament to close. We the rakyat are so used to the confusion, the stupidity, the incompetence of this government in dealing with Covid-19. Unexpected part of the new norm, if you like. 

So when those politicians go out of their way to give a free travel pass for all MPs and Aduns during this latest MCO, we are not shocked at all. It just reaffirms what we have known already: these politicians think so very highly of themselves, they think they are so important to us and the country that they MUST be allowed to travel freely in the name of carrying out their duties. 

""For official matters" lah sangat," was one of the kids' response to the latest SOP that allows all Parliamentarians to travel everywhere, anywhere at a time when Parliament itself has been suspended since the start of the year!

Actually, all this special SOP for MPs and Aduns does is to make it legal for them to balik kampung for Hari Raya next week while we all stay put where we are. That way, we don't get to feel dengki.


Related: 1. What you CAN'T do in MCO 3.0 - The Vibes 2. Malaysia's appalling management of Covid-19