rocky's bru

The Ghost of Johor

2012-01-26T11:48:00.005+08:00

Lim Kang Hoo: "de facto MB"?

Lim Kang Hoo. If you're not a Johorean, you might ask, "Lim Kang who?". That's ok. Even among business journalists in Kuala Lumpur, the name does not ring a bell instantly, recognition comes only after you throw in Danga Bay and Ekovest as broad hints. But within the circle of those in the know in Johor and Singapore, Dato' Lim's name inspires both awe and jealousy, even suspicion. Unlike Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary, the man who has to manage at least two gateways into Johor (Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Senai International Airport), Lim is liked by the Istana. He does many business jointly with the state government, which is not a bad thing, of course, but with some people already labelling him as "the de facto MB of Johor", it can't be all that good, either.

Now, I see Lim's name all over the latest, detailed posting by Zakhir Mohamad, an anak Johor, about being subservient to Singapore in Serving the new-economic master. I have an affinity to both Singapore and Johor so I shall not comment on this alleged slave-master relationship at this juncture.What draws me is how cryptic Zakhir has become in this article. He writes about "..a major corporate play" in Johor "involving a certain public listed company on an land-bank acquisition roll". Parcels of land have or in the process to be lined up for acquisition or injected into this PLC, he said.

But throughout the article, Zakhir made mention of not a single corporate player. He wrote of Iskandar, Petroans, Kulim, JCorp, and the role of an ex-Fourth Floor boy in all this new economic slavery business, but no names.

Quite unlike Big Dog. Why?

Is he afraid of the Ghost of Johor?

p.s. Lim is not the Ghost. The Ghost is said to be haunting a lot of businesses in the state, asking for 30 per cent here and 30 per cent there. If this ghost's hunger can't be satiated and things are not properly handled, we will have to exorcise this ghost soon.

+ Other Ghosts you may like ..

Police told of ABU event only after "disturbance"

2012-01-25T18:17:00.002+08:00

Nalini: Was she talking rubbish?

Updated: In Canada, the police would sue you for defamatory libel, a criminal offense! Read h e r e.

Original posting:

The Malaysian Insider has the follow-up on the disrupted ABU event (which I still think was self-inflicted). As expected, one of the organisers, who is a member of the political party PKR of Pakatan Rakyat, is accusing the police of working hand-in-hand with the Umno-BN "samsengs" in the incident. E. Nalini, an executive director of Suaram, now a so-called NGO in my book, claimed to be witness to several of these samsengs wearing t-shirts bearing Umno and BN logos, beating up an Indian boy that night. Turns out she was talking rubbish.

This is the kind of stuff that makes more and more Malaysians sick with the politics of this lot

Read the Insider's Cops deny aiding "school kids" to disrupt ABU event. Some nice quotes from Shah Alam police chief Zahedi Ayob: "We were not informed of the event. Why did they not tell us? Only they know".

Will the police bashing stop now?

2012-01-25T12:50:00.000+08:00

Syabas, PDRM. I mean, that's the least I can I say, right? For all the bashing, the police went on doing their job, seemingly unfazed. But the cops are human like us, not heartless machines. Credit where it's due. Let's say a big THANK YOU to our men and women in blue. As NST's editorial put it, May the force be with you!

KL's crime rates down 40 per cent in 2011

By Lee Shi-Ian
New Straits Times
Monday, Jan 23, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR - A greater police presence, especially in crime hotspots, and more joint operations with other enforcement agencies have yielded positive results - a 40 per cent reduction in street crimes last year.

This is the objective set under the National Key Result Area for crime prevention which has contributed to a drop in the national crime index by 11.1 per cent, the third year running that police have achieved a reduction in the number of criminal cases.

The number of murder, rape, armed robbery, gang robbery and house break-in cases also decreased significantly last year.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said 157,891 cases were reported last year, down from 177,520 in 2010.

Most of the reduced street crimes, including snatch thefts and robberies, were in hotspots identified in Penang, Johor, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur in 2009.

Based on police analysis, more hotspots were added in 2010 and last year and police presence was further stepped up in these areas.

In the past year, police held joint crime-prevention operations with Rela and the General Operations Force nationwide.

Police also set up several dedicated task forces to focus on crimes that registered sharp increases in 2010, including house break-ins and sexual offences.

"We must not rest on our laurels. 2011 was a good year but we want to make 2012 better," Ismail told the New Straits Times.

It is learnt that police will focus on three main aspects this year as they attempt to keep a lid on crime.

"Police omnipresence, community policing and communication with the public via various media channels are the three aspects we are looking at.

"The deployment of 40,000 personnel from the police, Rela and Civil Defence Department this month to fight crime in major towns is a good example.

"This will give us additional presence on the streets and assist in crime prevention operation. The increased public participation in voluntary patrol schemes in their neighbourhoods points to greater confidence in the force."

On community policing, police will work closely with the National Unity and Integration Department under the Prime Minister's Department.

The department promotes the voluntary patrol scheme by supplying equipment and building Rukun Tetangga centres nationwide.

"We want to establish a smart partnership with residents associations and further enhance the existing relationship," Ismail said.

Police, he added, also aimed to build closer ties with the media to create awareness among the public on their activities.

What's going on, Suaram?

2012-01-23T23:11:00.001+08:00

Updated: ABU serang ABU?

The Unspinners say the hiring of "friendly" thugs is a cheap political stunt used before in the Bagan Pinang by-election. The cops are checking out this angle, I'm sure.

Original Posting, 23 Jan 2012:

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government ... The term is usually applied only to organizations that pursue some wider social aim that has political aspects, but that are not overtly political organizations such as political parties. - WIkipidea

Have our NGOs become too political? This is not the first time that our NGOs have forced me to wonder if they are not becoming more political than some of our political parties. Or have some of them have become just a cover story for some of our political partie?

Today's question popped up in my head after reading Helen Ang's Samseng serang ABU, seorang cedera dibelasah. As I read her story, several questions popped up.

Did the organizers of ABU hire those gangsters to make something out of nothing? I'm sorry I have to repeat the question here; as I see it, ABU definitely needs the kind of publicity that such drama could generate and, also, there are a lot of idle samsengs these days. The anak2 ABU won't be happy but I assure them I'm not the only one with this theory.

Of course, in all fairness, I also considered that the report Helen Ang quoted was true, that there was his group of Malays who were not happy and they decided to show their unhappiness that night. After all, even Anas Zubedy had warned the anak2 ABU that an "unthinking" iniative like ABU would lead to bad consequences. Will there be worse ones ahead?

Then I read the bit about an Indian witness' account of these Malay samsengs beating up an Indian boy. You know what's the best thing about it: the samsengs were wearing t-shirts bearing "BN and Umno logos". Haha. Imagine a picture of masked bank robbers wearing t-shirts printed with their Facebook profile pics! LOL! I mean, if you want to insult the intelligence of the 3.3 million Umno members and 7 million BN cronies, you'd have to do better than that lah.

Now, that's when the NGO bit struck me ... The witness quoted in the story, she is E. Nalini, the Executive Director of Suaram, a Malaysian NGO. Now, what was an NGO representative doing at a political forum? Is Suaram part of ABU? Is Suaram now openly against Umno?

As I understand it, NGOs are above partisan politics,.Suaram cannot, for example, be openly cooperating with PAS, a political party, to try and kill the party's opponent, in this case Umno. Seriously, man, that is so wrong.

Perhaps, Suaram would like to explain what's going on ..

Enter the Dragon

2012-01-23T00:18:00.002+08:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai. The neighbours have just given us a free 5-minute fireworks display. Awesome. That's thousands of ringgit burnt in the Puchong skies but we can handle it. Yes, we can. Malaysians celebrate another Chinese New Year, in peace and prosperity. While much of the rest of the world expects the economy to slow down quite a bit in the Year of the Dragon, here in Malaysia we appear to be confident about being well-insulated and resilient. We have good reasons to be.

So dear Readers, here's to your wealth and, more importantly, health.

What Guan Eng didn't tell us (or didn't know) about his asset declaration

2012-01-20T19:16:00.001+08:00

... Lim said the MACC could not be trusted, and urged the federal government to follow in the footsteps of Penang by appointing an independent audit firm to oversee the asset declarations.

“I feel the MACC is a tool of the BN. That’s why we (Penang government) never asked the MACC... our assets are verified by KPMG, an international independent audit firm... because I think they have more standing that MACC,” said Lim. - Guan Eng: Ministers, not kin, must declare assets, Malaysian Insider, Jan 19

If the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is a tool of the Barisan Nasional, as alleged by the Penang Chief Minister, shouldn't many of the Opposition leaders have been behind bars for alleged corruption. Especially since the judiciary is believed to be under the control of the BN, too. Oh, and the police, also, don't forget.

Seng Giaw: DAP's BN tool in MACC?

But why did the MACC go after Khir Toyo so relentlessly, and how come its predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency or ACA, went after so many BN leaders, including at least two other MBs? Why is a Tun from MCA, a BN component party, in court defending himself against MACC charges?

Guan Eng praises the KPMG sky-high and runs down this fellow Malaysians on the MACC but didn't he know that the MACC and KPMG work closely together, including jointly organizing training for graft fighting?

And does not he know that two former KPMG experts, including this dude responsible for setting up the KPMG's forensic audit unit in Malaysia, are sitting on the MACC's advisory panels?

Salahudin: Another BN tool in MACC?

I happen to know that the staff of the KPMG Guan Eng is bragging about were all trained by this ex-KPMG dude, who is now overseeing the MACC's forensic audit operations.

I also happen to know that the so-called asset declarations the KPMG did for Guan Eng's Penang were NOT done via Statutory Declaration. In other words, dear Readers, Guan Eng's asset declaration is just a piece of paper and not a legal document.

See, this is what happens when a politician talks cock all the time: he makes an asset of himself.

p.s. Ah, I almost forgot, respected professionals sit on MACC panels, including people who are very critical of the BN even if they don't think much of Pakatan Rakyat. I'm sure Guan Eng is well aware that Tan Seng Giaw and Salahudin Ayub are advising the MACC. By his own logic, the seasoned DAP campaigner and and PAS strongman are "tools" of the BN as well and can't be trusted?

Senai, not a royal airport anymore

2012-01-19T15:56:00.000+08:00

Since it opened in 1974, Johor's airport has been known as Sultan Ismail International Airport. Not anymore. A week or so ago, the airport's authorities were told to stop using the name and to use Senai International Airport for all intents and purposes. They claimed to have been given 24 hours to do that. The orders came from the Menteri Besar's office but the real orders came from elsewhere, or so it seems.

Senai, named one of the region's best emerging airports last year, is run by a group within Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary's empire in Johor, which includes the Port of Tanjung Pelepas. Almarhum Sultan Ismail was the grandfather of the reigning Sultan of Johor.

Strangely, you won't find any statement about the hurried name-change in the local papers or the Internet ...

Wikipedia on strike

2012-01-18T19:35:00.004+08:00

Went to Wikipedia because I needed to research some basic background info for a posting I'm doing on Senai Airport but got this instead. Find out why Wiki is on a 24-hour strike h e r e.

I am a Moderate (blogger)

2012-01-18T16:21:00.000+08:00

"The real divide is not between Muslims and non-Muslims, or between the developed and developing worlds, it is between moderates and extremists." - Malaysian PM Najib Razak, keynote speech at Global Movement of Moderates Conference, KL

There are rhetoric and then there's Najib Razak's Global Movement of Moderates. Since he mooted the idea at the UN General Assembly in 2010, the idea has slowly caught on. The ignorant West said there was no moderate voice in Islam; well, here is one. Yesterday, Najib launched the inaugural conference on Global Movement of Moderates. Ironically, international spectators are more enthusiastic. Local dailies that have been quick to accuse the government of treating other religions as second to Islam buried the message in the inside pages of their editions today. Given Malaysia's on-and-off miscues between certain faiths, a fairly recent phenomenon fired up by some political shitheads, you'd think that the local opinion makers would show greater interest in the call against any form of religious extremism that the Global Movement of Moderates carries. Alas, nope.

Perhaps Malaysia needs its own Local Movement of Moderates.

Anas Zubedy v ABU

2012-01-17T18:38:00.002+08:00

His latest posting Why I Disagree with ABU will get Anas Ibrahiim in trouble with both sides of the political divide. For saying ABU (Anything But Umno) is an "irresponsible, unthinking way of choosing our people's representatives, Anas is rubbing the anti-Umno faction the wrong way. On the other hand, for supporting the ideals ABU is promoting, he will get an earful from the other side, too. But life is such, eh? Well done, always, for having the guts to say it bro.

[Please leave comments at Anas' h e r e]

p.s. Tahun 70an dulu, ABU ni pendek untuk Angkatan Bawah Umur. Gelaran "anak ABU" tu macam minah resen (ration) tahun 80an dan bohsia di tahun2 90an. ABU tahun 2012 macam tu jugak lah gua rasa ..

Minority report: Chinese road signs and freebies

2012-01-17T17:50:00.002+08:00

Can't read road signs in Malay?

You think the Malays like to live on crutches and handouts? Going by what Sinchew Daily is unabashedly asking the BN Government to do, the Malays are not the only ones. All BN needs to do to win the non-Malay votes, according to its chief reporter, is provide free water (eg PKR's Selangor), free internet (eg DAP's Penang), free electricity and use Chinese on road signs (again, Penang). Easy peasy.

Read "Freebies and Chinese road signs, that's all we're asking"?

Why pardon the so-called small fry?

2012-01-17T12:18:00.001+08:00

Macamana nak bersih korupsi?

At the third Pakatan Rakyat's convention in Kedah over the weekend, Ambiga Sreenevesan delivered a speech on behalf of the NGOs. Many saw it as a thinly-veiled cover, a prelude to her entry into the political arena just ahead of the 13th General Election. That may or may not be true and is one of the things to watch, but what let some of us down was the easy way out she's promoting in the nation's fight against graft.

Excerpts from the Star's Tell us How You'll get money back, Ambiga to Pakatan:

Ambiga said Pakatan should also consider setting up an independent body similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, to implement a policy to par- don the “small fry” involved in corruption cases.

The former Bar Council chairman said: “We must punish the big fishes, but we can forgive the ‘small fry’ so that we can move forward without any obstacles.”

The Mole spoke to several people concerned with corruption and came up with Big or Small, It's A Crime. Nobody, not even the people from DAP or PAS, agreed with Ambiga.

"No one should dismiss or condone corrupt practices simply because it is deemed to be small.” - Tan Sri Ismail Adam, MACC Advisory Board member

“In any set up, if the top officer is strongly against corruption then the junior ones would not dare dabble in corrupt practices." - Prof Khoo Kay Khim

“It does not matter it was done by whom. We must prosecute all who practice corruption without fear or favour." - DAP's Tan Seng Ghiaw

“Maybe what Ambiga meant was we need to focus on big cases because usually the people behind it were protected but I believe she did not mean small cases must be dismissed totally." - PKR's Zuraida Kamaruddin

Maybe Ambiga should explain what she really meant.

And when she gets to it, does, let us know what inspired her to think of the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of South Africa, which Steven Bko's family had described as "a vehicle for political expediency" which "robbed" them of their right to justice.

Proton, a final chance

2012-01-16T11:06:00.000+08:00

Updated, lunchtime: Khazanah's Official Statement on why it is DRB-Hicom

Original posting
So DRB-Hicom, the group that brings in VW, among other models, will be taking over national car Proton Holdings. Their shares have been suspended from this morning. Expect the announcement at the end of today to place the price of acquisition at anywhere between RM3 billion and RM3.4 billion.

Eyes on Khamil now

With this, Khazanah Nasional gets to walk away from something it has said it didn't want to meddle with in the first place and DRB-Hicom gets to expand its automotive empire. Proton? The national car gets another chance it deserves. The bad news is, this will be its final chance. If DRB-Hicom fails to do whatever it says it can for the national car in its proposal, Proton is forever doomed. So will Malaysia's 30-year dream of becoming an auto powerhouse of the region.

Personally, I was not in favor of the thought of any of the bidders getting a shot at Proton. The other bidders, especially Naza, are capable of taking over Proton as well. I had long chats with Big Dog [read his Driving the Industry Forward, Jan 15] about this. I felt we should commission a comprehensive national study to establish the way forward for the national car before anyone gets a chance to take over, IF anyone gets that chance at all.

We should learn from Malaysia Airlines. From a world-class airline that was being compared with SIA at one time, MAS has declined to a class even lower than Air Asia. Why? For years, business was conducted without proper study or even discussion with stakeholders, and things happened as if MAS was just another company and not a national airline.

But now that it's done, a national burden lies squarely on the shoulders of Mohd Khamil Jami, the managing director of DRB-Hicom, the man credited to have turned around the company into the giant that it is today. A lot of people will be watching closely now ...

Mallot, ambik kau/Mallot the Macaw

2012-01-14T15:01:00.003+08:00

ma·caw/məˈkô/

Noun:

A large long-tailed parrot (Ara and related genera) with brightly colored plumage, native to Central and South America.

mal-lot /məˈluat/

Bujai's thesaurus:

Political drop-out, a diplomat who spent most of his time at the dining

table and brothels, a marmot, a laggard, shallow and small brain, pig

brain, septuagenarian, an America sycophant

Few Malaysian journalists from back then would remember John R. Malott but fewer still would know the ex-US envoy to KL better than Bujai, a journalist for more than 30 years. To his peers and to the diplomatic circles in Kuala Lumpur during the 1980s and 1990s, Bujai was acknowledged as a foreign affairs "specialist". Still, it shocked me to read his latest posting blasting the busybody ex-envoy kow-kow in Mallot the Macaw. I think the article represents the sentiments of most Malaysians. We have had enough of this kind of Mat Salehs.

I don't know if Mallot can take as well as he gives. The last time some newspapers printed a response from back home in the US to his article condemning Malaysia, he was babbling about suing somebody or something like that.

Excerpts from Bujai's response to Mallot's article in WSJ entitled Testing Malaysia's Promises:

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Mallot The Macaw

The diplomatic macaw is at it again. When Anwar Ibrahim said Pakatan Rakyat will make it through in the next 'just and clean' general election, former US envoy and political drop out John Mallot added to such a malodorous remark that the coming poll will be the most 'dirtiest' ever.

No surprise. This diplomat who spent most of his time at the dining table and brothels when he was US ambassador to Malaysia (1995-1998) and now joins Barack Obama in a fascist America, is nothing but a dissolute manipulator.

His latest jottings in the Wall Street Journal on January 12 proves how a marmot and laggard he is.

When he accused the 'Malaysian's corrupt' are expected to exhaust all avenues to cling on to power, he was actually trying to get the Americans into believing that what being practiced in the US is far off better than that in Malaysia.

Anwar's acquittal, which he deemed as a proof of innocent, reflected how shallow his small brain is in law. READ MORE

Amnesty says Anwar's acquittal shows why Msia must scrap sodomy law

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000+08:00

And did any of you see this statement? Amnesty International is actually saying that Anwar Ibrahim's acquittal last Monday shows why consensual anal sex between Malaysian men should not be criminalized!
Whoa! Was it consensual, in the first place?

And here we are arguing about the independence of the judiciary! - Rocky Bru

Amnesty says India has done it, so why not Malaysia?

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE

9 January 2012

Malaysia: Anwar case shows why sodomy law must be scrapped

The Malaysian government must repeal the criminal sodomy law used in apolitically motivated attempt to bar Anwar Ibrahim from politics, AmnestyInternational said today after the opposition leader was acquitted by thecountry's High Court.

“Anwar's acquittal is a welcome move. Fortunately, the Malaysian authoritieshave refrained from turning the country’s opposition leader into a prisonerof conscience,” said Donna Guest, deputy Asia-Pacific director at AmnestyInternational.

“The government must now repeal the sodomy law, a repressive statute thatenabled this politically motivated persecution.”

The High Court verdict comes in the run-up to national elections, widelyexpected to take place in early 2012.

If Anwar had been convicted and sentenced to prison for a year or more,he would have been barred from politics for five years.

This case was the second time Anwar was prosecuted for criminal sodomy.

After he was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998, he was arrested onsodomy charges and imprisoned for six years. The sodomy conviction waslater overturned and he was freed in 2004.

As a result of that conviction, Anwar was barred from politics until 2008.

In July 2008, a month before he returned to parliament in a by-election,the opposition leader was again arrested on sodomy charges. A 26-year-oldformer aide told police that he and Anwar had had a sexual encounter ina Kuala Lumpur apartment.

Laws criminalizing consensual sexual activity between adults are contraryto international human rights standards.

In December 2011, the UN Human Rights Commissioner published a report callingon states to repeal provisions that criminalize same-sex relations betweenconsenting adults.

In the case of Toonen v Australia, the UN Human Rights Commissionin 1994 found that laws punishing same-sex sexual behaviour infringe onthe right to privacy.

Malaysia’s criminal sodomy law, Section 377, was drawn from the IndianPenal Code of 1860 and imposed under British colonial rule. In 2009, Indiarepealed its sodomy law.

“The sodomy law violates the rights of gay Malaysians. Moreover, it wasused as a tool of political repression against Anwar,” said Donna Guest.

A good prince and his KL gangsters

2012-01-12T16:44:00.000+08:00

Not too long ago, when Nokia was still king of mobile phones, I was queueing up to be served at its outlet in Telawi, Bangsar when in walked, unannounced, a prominent prince from a State in the north with his Communicator. I could see his security detail outside the shop and it consisted of one plainclothes cop on a big bike and a police car, both properly parked so that traffic was not obstructed. A staff on duty, upon recognizing the prince, hurried over to invite him to royally cut the cue. Typical, I thought. However, what was not typical was the prince's response: he politely declined and said he would wait in line. That was a regal gesture, I thought and I'm sure people there that day would agree.

Last weekened, a prince from a State not in the north was spotted at Starhill, a shopping haven in KL popular with people from all walks of life. I know the prince as a charming young single straight chap, but he had 8 bodyguards who looked like they have had a bad day. A friend who does business with several princes here and abroad happened to be there with his pre-teen, and that proved to be his misfortune that day, as he was harshly told by one of the thugs to make sure he and his son kept their distance and not come within a certain radius from where the prince was.

His pre-teen was upset, of course, and we reckon he will grow up not liking the Royalty that much.

Our princes must not only behave elegantly in public, they must tell their people not to act like thugs from the movie KL Gangsters. If they can't do this, stay in their palaces. As my friend told me, "We want them to have their space .. but don't deny us ours. And, please lah don't act like thugs."

Businessman sues Umno top bloggers

2012-01-11T12:58:00.000+08:00


A $10 m US court ruling against bloggers

RM10 million apiece. I can tell you one or two things about wolves in lawyers clothing but there are more good apples out there than rotten ones, of that I am sure. And that should be good enough news to bloggers Parpukari and Papagomo. Because I hear a businessman who once named Rais Yatim's son in an affidavit against his business partner has filed a lawsuit against the two prominent Umno bloggers.

I remember Abdul Razak Mohd Noor's lawsuit against his business partner quite well because the Malay Mail had published the affidavit on Dino Rais, Rais' son in telco suit, on Oct 22 2010. [The Minister had on Oct 12 2010 lodged a police report against my blog for my RM1 billion posting. I was the Editorial Adviser of the Malay Mail at the time].

During this blog's spat with the Minister, several parties engaged Umno cybertroopers to help the Minister angle the issue to his advantage. I saw this as a necessary PR exercise for the minister and, therefore, was not surprised when some of the bloggers launched an offensive against me. This is sopo blogosphere and I am a sopo blogger: you have to be able to take as well as you give.

But Razak is neither a blogger nor a politician. He does not understand why Umno bloggers are viciously attacking him. By his own admission, however, he is a strong Umno supporter. And that's what make this case queer and that is why the bloggers will be needing good lawyers to defend them. The same parties who had engaged bloggers in Rais' defense should come to their aid now.

p.s. The Judge in Kalimullah & Co vs Rocky's Bru this morning kindly set Jan 25th, 2012 as next date for case management. I am much obliged.

Updated:

"Because the cost to the litigant is so very little, the tendency is to sue for millions. This is grossly unfair to the defendants. If the law is intended to promote justice then the litigant should also suffer from the same anxieties for the length of time of the hearing and if his allegation is baseless he should pay his victim the same amount he sued for. Then there would be justice and frivolous cases would not be brought before the courts." - Suing in Court by Chedet

Kalimullah says sorry to Dr Mahathir!

2012-01-10T12:00:00.002+08:00

Both Sides Now: And Matthias apologizes to Kali. Today, in a mutually-agreed settlement with Matthias Chang, which effectively settled RM200 million worth of legal suits between the two men, Kali agreed to apologize to Matthias' boss Dr M. In exchange, Matthias will say he's sorry to Kali.

Now, ain' t that sweet.

p.s. Kali and 3 vs Rocky scheduled for High Court tomorrow morning, so I shall shut my comment box.

Excerpts from NST online:

Malaysia's "kangaroo court" acquits Anwar Ibrahim

2012-01-09T11:12:00.000+08:00

Kangaroo, huh!? So, the High Court Judge whom Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim accused, together with PM Najib Razak, "of using a 'show trial' to destroy his political career and extinguish any threat to the mostly Muslim nation’s ruling party"[Anwar assails Msian judge, court - WSJ, Aug 23 2011] acquits Anwar this morning.

Hightlights from a Bernama report today:

So, what now? Saiful Bukhari Azlan has said he will accept the outcome of today's Court decision and Anwar has offered his thanks to Allah right after Yang Ariff Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah had found him not guilty. Whatever really happened between Anwar and his ex-aide Saiful, only they and God know.

What I know is Anwar owes the Judge and our courts an apology.

The Ten Conditions re weapons, hailers, etc For a Rally

2012-01-08T15:37:00.002+08:00

Fire and Rain (is umbrella a weapon?): Tomorrow's KL weather, here

Many people say our police have gone mad for allowing tomorrow's protest to take place but I think this is a good compromise, really. The organenisers have promised a peaceful rally and I don't think after Bersih 2.0 we want to see adults behave, and be treated, like kids again. The keyword "peaceful" assembly and the onus is on the organisers AND the police to make sure of that. I have taken part in some peaceful gatherings myself and I know that cops don't like to have to go after protesters, unless they really have to. They have set 10 conditions for the organisers and protesters to follow:

p.s. For those who have just returned from outer space, the Free Anwar Campaign does not imply that Anwar is in jail. He has been a free man since a former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan in June 2008 cried sodomy. After more than 3.5 years [read He resorted to all legal avenues - NST today], the Court finally reaches its verdict tomorrow in KL. Many people, particularly his supporters and comrades in Pakatan Rakyat, expect Anwar to be found guilty and go to jail for sodomy.

The Ten Conditions:

1. "Bebaskan Anwar 901" or "Bebaskan Anwar" brochures/banners are not allowed during the rally

2. No sound equipment. except loud hailers (seen no 3), is allowed

3. Only TWO hailers will be allowed for the organisers to manage the crowd

4. No Public speaking

5. The organisers must ensure that participants do anything, eg making noise or signals, that could disrupt the court proceedings

6. The area for the gathering is limited to the parking lot along the left side of the main road into the court (est max capacity 5000 pax). The area will be marked by a police line and participants are not allowed outside of it. If the area is filled other particpants are not allowed in and they will be dispersed from the area

7. The organisers must make sure that participants do not bring any weapons and give full cooperation to the police to conduct checks if required

8. The organisers must ensure that all parcipants leave the rally no later than one hour after the court verdict has been delivered

9. All orders by the police, which would be given from time to time, to ensure peaceful assembly must be adhered to

10. Paricipants are not allowed to vandalise or damage any public property or any private property in the area

Flee Anwar Campaign: What is it about Anwar and Turkey?

2012-01-07T15:50:00.000+08:00

Will there be one for him?

Awkward, Guan Eng.

The Penang Chief Minister's reference to Turkey when talking about Anwar's January 9 sodomy D-day could not have been worse timed. The Penang chief minister seems to have wanted to draw a parallel between Anwar and a Turkish Prime Minister who made a comeback from prison to become PM. But what he has achieved is only to remind us, the rakyat, of a time of great theatrics when Anwar fled to the Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur claiming that his life was in danger. This incident happened on June 29, 2008 after Saiful claimed that Anwar had sodomized him.Read the BBC report here.

And exceprts from Guan Eng's Turkish delight:-

"...Pakatan Rakyat akan ambil contoh negara Turkey. Pemimpin negara tersebut kerana dipenjarakan tidak dapat bertanding, tetapi parti yang beliau pimpin menang dalam pilihan raya, selepas itu mereka gubal perlembagaan dan beliau dapat keampunan dan dibebaskan, selepas beliau dibebaskan, beliau bertanding semula kerusi, akhirnya menjadi perdana menteri."


Expect something like this at the High Court KL tomorrow (9 Jan) - file pix Anwar seeks refuge in Tuskish embassy KL June 2009 after Saiful cries sodomy		-

Malaysian court says no to "odd" application by 6 Malaysians in UK

2012-01-06T15:17:00.001+08:00

Read more here.

The Judge is absolutely right. And by describing the application by the six as "odd", the Judge is also being kind. M. Bakri Musa, a Malaysian in the US, was more brutal when he wrote in early November on why Malaysians abroad should not vote. The surgeon describes the six as absurd if not arrogant.

p.s. Azmi Anshar the scribe [who started voting in 1990 but was one of the "protest votes" of 2008) told me he plans to write about the Enam Jahanam for tomorrow's edition of the New Straits Times. Followers of his writings would know that Azmi spits it out.

Zaid Ibrahim on DAP, RPK, MCLM and stuff

2012-01-05T16:58:00.001+08:00

"I am not joining DAP".

Umno at heart, no?

Well, at least Zaid Ibrahim is honest about it. While Sakmongkol and Aspan play coy about speculation of them joining DAP, perhaps even hoping to prolong the unprecedented attention they are getting, the former de facto Law Minister and one-time potential heir to Anwar's throne shut talk about him joining DAP. He told us he'd no talks with DAP and vice versa.

We bumped into each other in Bangsar a while ago and decided to have a cup of coffee to celebrate the New Year. We talked about RPK and MCLM, which got him together with RPK, Haris Ibrahim and Malik Imtiaz (Haris and Malik quit over RPK's Anwar-bashing interview on Jan 1. Zaid said RPK's interview was unexpected but he was not surprised; after all, Zaid himself quit PKR disillussioned with Anwar's leadership.

I have a feeling the man is very much still Umno at heart but of course I didn't go there. Not yet. He did say a bit about Jan 9, judgement day on Anwar Ibrahim's case but that was for my ears only.

Color Revolutions behind our "yellow" culture

2012-01-05T12:20:00.000+08:00


"Apakah pencapaian PAS sebagai pembangkang?" - www.urusmerbuk.blogspot.com

If you, like me, have always wondered why "yellow" is associated with Bersih and "red" with the massive street demos that overthrow the government in Thailand, try Tajul Urus' ...The Truth Revealed.

The politician from Merbuk has been quite busy on this new blog: nine postings so far this week, including three political analyses. I await his analysis on the achievements of Umno in his state! Jangan hangat2 tahi ayam, brooo ..

The taming of Malaysia's new media

2012-01-04T15:10:00.000+08:00

Mkini apologizes but its columnist fires another salvo...
Read Taib protects loggers who raped Penan girls ..

Sorry, Sir. Malaysiakini's apology to Taib Mahmud read out in open court this morning confirms a bad start for the alternative media. It came just days after RPK, the force behind Malaysia Today, the portal that supported Anwar Ibrahim openly during the last general election, had lashed out at Anwar and called him irrelevant. RPK has since been accused of having "sold out" his soul to the BN. Free Malaysia Today's Pendedahan Seorang Ikon Palsu: RPK akan pulang! which was given prominet space in Anwar's blog basically represents the feelings of pro-Opposition supporters towards the man who was once their hero.

In October last year, another major news portal, The Malaysian Insider, admitted to severe wrong-reporting about Tajudin Ramli, the former MAS chief.

The Malaysian Insider is satisfied that the above statement is defamatory, is wholly unfounded and is without any factual basis and therefore desires to express its regret to Tan Sri Dato’ Tajudin bin Ramli and apologize to him for all embarrassment and inconvenience which has been caused to him by the publication of the defamatory allegations.

The TMI escaped having to eat humble pie in open court but the apology-advertisements it had to buy in pro-BN papers NST and Berita Harian on October 7 were unprecedented.

Both Mkini and TMI, whose editorial views are anti-BN when they are not pro-Pakatan Rakyat, could have faced heavy penalties if found guilty of the charges brought to them. Taib had been wrongly perceived as a potential chink in BN's armor and was the new media's "punching bag" because of this (until he unexpectedly delivered Sarawak in the last state elections) while Tajudin is still linked closely to the ruling coalition through his dealings with Dr Mahathir and former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin.

It's not a good start for bloggers, either. The DAP strongman from Perak, Nga Kor Ming, has filed a lawsuit against a pro-Umno blogger. Read Nga RM10 million suit. I just heard lawsuits will be served this week on a couple more prominent bloggers.

So, portal or blogs, you gotta watch what you write. Stick to the truth.

p.s. January does look like a month to sue. The lawsuit against me was filed in January 2007 by NST and The Four. NST has dropped the suit but Kalimullah, Brenden, Hishmmuddin and Syed Feisal are still after my ass. The case comes up again middle this month in the KL High Court.

What's the big deal?

2012-01-04T11:55:00.000+08:00

Aspan, Kit Siang and Sakmongkol

If Ariff Sabri aka blogger Sakmongkol, a former BN Adun from a sleepy era, and Aspan Alias, a known Ku Li loyalist from Negri Sembilan, were to leave UMNO and join the DAP, a predominantly Chinese political party and UMNO's main rival, who stands to gain and who will lose? I don't know the answer and I still don't see what's the fuss about. Maybe that's because I'm not a member of UMNO and neither am I a DAP cadre (not that I've not been invited to join). But if UMNO thinks the two were indispensable, then UMNO would have done everything in its power to make them stay. Like give them multimillion ringgit projects, maybe? If the two really can't stand UMNO anymore, it would be cowardly of them to stay and enjoy whatever benefits they get for being associated with the party.

I know both Aspan and Sakmongkol personally, and virtually. When I read the tweets about Sak joining DAP from Jakarta yesterday, I wrote: "Why would DAP want to (accept)?". What I meant was: Look, we know Sak's writings, he is very critical of UMNO and Najib. Sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong but most times, he is more critical - and makes more sense - than even Kit Siang. Can DAP tolerate someone like him?

In any case, whatever they choose to do, it's their right as citizens of this great democracy. I think we can respect that.

Postings I've read on this:
The Malays of DAP by Bujai, Jan 4
Hutan Umno pada budi Melayu & Malays should not fear the DAP by Sakmongkol, Jan 3 and Jan 1
Sakmongkol and Aspan Alias to join DAP by Uppercaise, Jan 2
DAP merekrut Melayu yang bangkrap politik oleh Big Dog, Dec 29 2011

RPK's nail on Anwar Ibrahim's coffin

2012-01-01T16:15:00.000+08:00

New Sunday Times, Jan 1 2012

Updated:

The response from Anwaristas (a term RPK said he coined back in 98) is diarrhea.

Original posting
Bumped into Mr B, a political operative you might know at Bangsar Vill
age this morning. He had a copy of NST and an array of Tamil newspapers on his table at Starbucks, and I had just bought my NST and Utusan Malaysia from the Grocers'. We ordered coffee and talked about (what else?) the front page story: RPK calling Anwar Ibrahim irrelevant and saying things like "In Malaysia, you can't be a PM and a gay at the same time".

"What's up with RPK, you think they paid him?" Mr B asked me.

I said that's what they (the other "they") had said of RPK when in 2006 he was rendering his services to Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the former PM was being demonized by Kalimullah Hassan and other aides of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. I remember helping Zorro organised a meeting for a group of bloggers with Anwar at his office in PJ late that year. When someone (Big Dog, if I'm not mistaken) asked about his parting of ways with RPK, Anwar nonchalantly spoke of some people who thought he had stashed away tonnes of money after Dr M had sacked him and now that he was out of jail, released by Pak Lah, were hounding him for their share. Go figure what Anwar was trying to say about RPK! But politicians are like that, just before PRU12, Anwar and RPK patched up and the latter left Dr Mahathir to campaign for Pakatan Rakyat in the March 2008 general election.

And now RPK is saying these things about Anwar in BN-friendly newspapers. Under normal circumstances, it would have been an eye-opener but with the judgement of Anwar's sodomy trial due in just over a week, the interview RPK gave and published on the same day by NST, Berita Harian and Utusan Malayia is sensational.

Mr B thought (and I agreed with him) that it was one more nail in Anwar's coffin.

Excerpts from RPK's interview with NST h e r e.

Dan dari Utusan Malaysia di s i n i.

Dear God/It's 2012!

2011-12-31T17:03:00.000+08:00

Dear Readers and Commenters,

I know we are going to start 2012 with a bang or two, with one or two rogues in the bag for corruption, the Flee Anwar Campaign, etc. My court case against those guys will come up again at the KL High Court in the middle of January 2012 (it was filed against me in Jan 2007, so that also makes it the 5th anniversary of Bloggers United!). It should be General Election year, so so everybody says, and 110,000 Felda settlers have a chance to become glocals with 2012's most-anticipated IPO.

May all of you remain healthy of body and mind throughout the new year.

And may Dear God keep Malaysia and my loved ones safe.

Datuk ZZ

2011-12-30T20:09:00.003+08:00

The Benchmark has a story that will concern the Istana as much as it should concern us the rakyat. No mention of which palace is involved but you read between the lines and you may get it. As I see it, the blogger is trying to send a warning to the palace. Of interest is the reference to a Datuk ZZ from a sleepy era "who claims to have the Sultan in his pocket".

Read Save the Sultan, Nab the Boys.

A Big Fish in the South: The-Friday-before Intermission

2011-12-30T11:50:00.002+08:00

Amok and the clean-up of Iskandar. While we wait for the fish to be marinated, let's rewind a little to around the time just after Arlida Ariff was replaced as CEO of Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB). (Note: her husband was charged court on Monday, the first in a list of people expected to be tried on the recommendation of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commisison). In March, Earnst & Young had just completed the audit ordered by Khazanah, the major shareholder of IIB (it owns 60% of IIB, EPF and Johor state government's investment arm Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRK) each owns 20%). It was reported that E&Y found cases of mismanagement and criminal breach of trust, among other things. Khazanah chief Azman Mokhtar, or Amok to his friends and to bloggers, studied the E&Y report and discussed with stakeholders the next course of action. Aides said he was keen to invite the relevant authorities in and let them probe deeper the findings of E&Y. Nothing to hide and he wanted the rogues out. He was proposing that Khazanah/IIB lodge a police report and another to the MACC. Strangely, not everyone was in favour of his idea. A representative from Kumpulan Prasarana (who was, in effect, the representative of Johor state government) who sat on the IIB board, in particular, was not too keen to go along with Amok's idea. But Amok was adamant and the IIB Board called in the cops in April this year to investigate tbe findings of E&Y. A certain Board member was adamant that a report to the MACC was unnecessary but the MACC eventually came into the picture, nevertheless.

A short story, but it should put some things in proper perspective and accord credit where it's deserved. Of particular interest to corruption-watchers should be the value of potential collaborations between the MACC and forensic auditors such as Earnst & Young.

Next change: A big fish in the South

2011-12-28T18:31:00.002+08:00

Latest: MACC probes Iskandar kickbacks. NST's playing the story big, so I reckon something's brewing ...

Updated: Big Cat says Big Fish are found not only in the South but also in high places in KL. Read her latest posting h e r e. One of them very big fish is Azman Mokhtar, the Khazanah boss, Big Cat says. Is he, really? Let's see ...

Original posting:-

Johor assemblymen to be charged for corruption. The Malaysian Anti Corruption Commision is getting very busy in Johore. On Monday, the husband of ex-CEO of Iskandar Investment Berhad was charged in court with corruption. Today, a former Senior Vice President pleaded guilty to charges brought against him by the MACC.

After this, I hear, an ADUN or Assemblyman in Johor will be brought to court to face corruption charges related to the IIB.

Of course, some jokers will say this is a sign that the general election is nigh, especially after the conviction of Khir Toyo. They are not wrong, I tell you. But the dudes at MACC, they tell me GE or no GE, they will still go out fishing for more big fish. In the case of the IIB, the Commission had great help from Earnst & Young. And, of course, some bloggers, notably the now-defunct Irdawatch.

From Kelantan, an open letter to YB Liow

2011-12-27T12:07:00.001+08:00

One can never be 100 per cent happy with our hospitals, be it private or government. Earlier this year, I published an open letter to our Health Minister from a fellow blogger in Johor. YB Liow responded swiftly and effectively to that letter. A blogger in Kelantan, who lost his mom on Dec 20, complained to the papers about the hospital's shoddy treatment. What the hospital should have done was to contact the blogger and his grieving family personally, not to engage in a media exchange. Hence, the open letter to the Minister.

My takziah to blogger Jalan Sehala for his loss. I hope - am sure - YB Liow will attend to the matters he has raised in the letter a s a p.

The Vatican's chief exorcist and Yoga the devil's work

2011-12-26T16:20:00.003+08:00

Anak si-Hamid, who still spends some of her precious time in England, draws our attention to this Daily Mail's story quoting the Vatican's Chief Exorcist as saying that "yoga is the devil's work .. it leads you to Hinduism". Read here.

Remember, our blogger didn't say that; Father Gabriel, 85, a priest since 1954, did. But AsH does wonder, as we must all do: Why are our liberals so quiet about Father Gabriel's statement? Where is the outrage?

When they banned yoga for Muslims in Malaysia about a year ago, everybody used it as a stick to beat us with.
Read AsH's The Pot and the Kettle.

Looks to me we Muslims and the Christians may have found a new common ground in yoga ..

Christmas in Malaysia

2011-12-25T02:13:00.000+08:00


A young Muslim girl under a Xmas tree in Bangsar

Updated: I suppose we need to brace for another "anxious" phase as Rev Eu, at a Christmas tea yesterday, described the Malaysian Constitution as a "bully". Clearly, some religious leaders are more interested in politics than godly matters. And we wonder why religions in Malaysis are so screwed today?
See Let's Talk About "Rights" Rev Eu for context.

Original article

Malaysians celebrate so many festivals each year but none as elaborate, merry and joyous as Christmas. The Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists in this country know that as well as the Christians. There's no white Xmas and the Santas here are too tanned and sometimes "metallic black", to quote a racist politician, but we celebrate Xmas as we celebrate all other festivals - in togetherness and regardless of race or religion.

So I can't understand how some Malaysians could feel otherwise, as in this article For Malaysian Christians, an Anxious Holiday Season. I believe these people are in the minority.

To everyone else, Merry Christmas!

Malaysian Courts and Double Standards

2011-12-23T19:25:00.001+08:00

Will the judges be cowed? Pic from MOLE

The High Court found the ex-Selangor Menteri Besar guilty as charged yesterday (One year jail for Khir Toyo - NST). Someone asked me, wasn't he your friend? Ca't you help him? And Shahrizat is in a lot of trouble over the NFC issue, isn't she? Are you helping her?

There is no stopping the system when all the engines are fired up. Shahrizat's predicament was triggered by the Auditor-General's report, which was tabled in Parliament and made public. Yes, it was the AG that exposed NFC, not some anonymous whistleblower or the some wannabes from Pakatan Rakyat, and not the Alhabshees of Umno who reportedly gave out packets of Menglembu ground nuts to the Wanita reps during the recent Umno general assembly. Again, Najib Razak, he did not stop the report from being made nor did he try to sweep anything under the carpet. As PM, he ensured that the system is not tampered with. He allowed his AG to do his job.

Khir Toyo was tried by the same court of law that has been accused countless of times, mainly by the people who make use of the system most, of having been cowed and compromised [by Mahathir] and subservient to the Executive. But the same system and the same courts have tried and banished several big politicians from the government before. My friend Khir Toyo is not the first one. And he will certainly not be the last one. Former Transport Minister Ling Liong Sik is being tried by the same Malaysian judiciary. So is Anwar Ibrahim.

Lim Guan Eng, the DAP Penang Chief Minister, won his defamation suit against Utusan Malaysia middle this month, and he is now RM200k richer. He is now suing the New Straits Times for defamation after NST snookered itself by agreeing to apologize to Kalimullah Hassan. The article NST was sorry about involved Kali and Guan Eng, but no apology was offered to the Opposition leader!

In October, a judge hugged Karpal Singh on --- after ordering a businessman to pay the DAP strongman RM2 million in damages.It was a spontaneous act of compassion, Karpal defended the hugging judge later on. [And there I thought that if the judge really needed to show compassion, she should have hugged the dude who would have to fork out the RM2 million].

Earlier this week, ex-Selangor exco member Mohd Sharif Jajang was found not guilty by the courts that convicted Khir Toyo [before that he had won a RM400,000 suit against The Malay Mail for articles published when I was the Editor]. I think Guan Eng is going to win his suit against the Umno-owned NST, no thanks to the apology to Kali, who was the paper's own ex-supremo from a failed era.

And you know what, I think many expect Anwar Ibrahim to walk on 9 January 2012.

But so what? He may be your friend or your master, if he's done something wrong he should not get away with it, right? Same with Khir Toyo, Ling Liong Sik, Shahrizat Jalil, Lim Guan Eng, Kalimullah Hassan and everybody else.

But Yang Arifs, whatever you decide, no hugging afterwards, please! Takkan tu be tak reti, ye tak?

And be prepared for Malaysia's great double standards when you rule against them. I quote fellow scribe Desiderata:

"IF there is one case of double standards from Malaysia, esp wrt to lawyers who are also politicians, it is always OKAY if the judge found in favour of their client. But when the decision is against them, hey, cry "FOUL" or the other "F" word."

updated: Anwar's supporters are piling up the pressure on the judges to rule in favour of the Opposition de facto leader. Not all varsity students want to be associated with him, though, h e r e.

MoF raps Ministry, orders open tender for multi-million RM projects

2011-12-20T14:28:00.001+08:00

A tender issue for Shafie Afdal

Tendergate. Sabahkini, leading news portal in Sabah, calls it Tender-gate and has promised a series of newsbreaks on the issue, which involves the MoF (Najib Razak, the PM, is Minister of Finance) and the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (Shafie Afdal is Minister). The article attaches a copy of a memo from MoF rapping Shafie Afdal's sec-gen for approving an RM11 million rural roads project in Sabah and Sarawak without calling for a tender. The MoF, in the memo, orders a probe into this (and, I've learned, several more similar projects) and wants Shafie's ministry to take action against the ministry officers involved.

Good for the MoF, transparency and openness. We await Shafie ministry's explanation on this matter. Hopefully, it can come before Part Two of Sabahkini's Tendergate series.

Now Rozali v Felda [then, Rozali vs Selangor govt]

2011-12-15T12:20:00.001+08:00

ONE of the factors Pakatan Rakyat hopes will help it in trying to retain Selangor at the next general election is the water issue in the state. In fact, it was one of the reasons why it won in Selangor in the last general election of March 2008. That's why one of the first things that Khalid Ibrahim did as Menteri Besar after PRU12 was to adjust the water rates, which was an election promise and go after Syabas, the company that has been making tons from the privatization of water.

The dude who owns Syabas is Puncak Niaga boss Rozali Ismail and you should know him as he has a high-rise building in Shah Alam named after himself.

Now, after years of benefitting from the state's biggest privatization program, the Tan Sri is throwing his support behind the faction in Felda that is going against the proposed listing aimed at elevating the status of settlers and their families.

Whatever Rozali wants out of this, I doubt it's good.

Updates soon on the 10.45am press conference at Grand Cyrstal Hotel, KL

PRU13: The Statesman and his two states

2011-12-13T16:39:00.002+08:00

One of the reasons for BN's poor performance during the 12th General Election was Dr Mahathir. He was fighting with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who had aides who thought they were big enough to take the statesman down. The Opposition only had to ride on Dr Mahathir's wrath into March 2008. The rest is history.

Come PRU13, Dr Mahathir won't be out to take down a Prime Minister. In fact, I hear he's agreed to help Najib to campaign in two states, states that fell to Pakatan Rakyat partly because of the BN infighting, sleepwalking and arrogance back then.

So, it's going to be a little different this time around.

Proton-DRB and of Syed Mokhtar having to flee Johor

2011-12-13T12:07:00.007+08:00

Updates by The Mole: Khazanah to make necessary discloure on any Proton sale courtesty of Bernama

I met a seasoned investment banker who, I found out later, used to work for KJ when KJ was an ECM director not too long ago and the first thing he asked was, "What do you think of the general elections?". Luckily for me, I was with a "bebas" politician who answered that question and more. It turned out that seasoned I-banker & Co had been talking about the latest deal in town - DRB eats Proton, that story you first read on this blog before The Edge unabashedly frontpaged it as their "breaking story" - before fate and sambuca brought us together.

Mr SIB who used to work with the SIL said it was his professional opinion that DRB got Proton because it also has gotten VW. If you remember, VW had been in talks with the national car since when Dr Mahathir was still PM and they almost clinched a deal. Under Mahathir's successor, however, things went differently as almost everything else went awry, and Proton lost MV Agusta instead for one euro. VW struck a deal with DRB, owned by Syed Mokhtar, the tycoon who turned pariah under Pak Lah and who is now a darling again and seems to be making up for lost time and opportunities.

Of course, like everyone else, our seasoned IB thought Khazanah or Proton should have announced the Proton-DRB deal instead of Dr M, who is just the Adviser to Proton. But that shows that the advisor post can be a very powerful one, as long as one is on the ball. Take note, all advisers.

Now, I was told there is another, more compelling, reason for Syed Mokhtar getting Proton (especially in view that both Naza and Sime Darby, the other two, contenders for Proton are capable of taking the national car to great heights: SD has BMW to beemerize Proton and Naza has Peugeot and Kia, if you want to talk about symbiotic and strategic relationships).

And the reason is not because VW is with him but because Syed Mokhtar is moving north, and not just figuratively. He who built Port Tanjung Pelepas into a Keppel threat and took away Senai from Malaysia Airports is said to be exiting Johore. Yes, some said his rapport with The Sultan of Johor has become untenable (there is no rapport in the first place). To facilitate the exit (or compensate him for his impending losses) Syed Mokhtar gets Penang Port and Proton, and maybe one or two other deals. After all that area called Iskandar is booming big time soon [see Big Cat's latest report on Irda, here] and Syed Mokhtar, most probably Malaysia's richest Malay as nobody seems to know what Daim Zainuddin is really worth, stands to lose big in terms of lost or missed opportunities.

In any case, that is the story I heard.

Understandably, my new seasoned investment banker friend took a while to respond as he contemplated whether to humor me or be frank.

"That is the first time I am hearing this, that he got Proton because of that reason.

"If it is all true, who gets PTP and Senai?"

13th GE: Making way for new faces

2011-12-11T16:44:00.001+08:00

"Will 2008 repeat itself in 2012? The previous Prime Minister did not know if he was coming or going. He had a kind of deathwish. Najib appears to be much smarter and more awake than the previous fellow. I hope Najib does not have a similar deathwish. " - Syed Akbar Ali in

Lembu CEO's salary, pow-wow in London & stuff

Nah, this posting isn't about Khairy Jamaluddin. Some people tell me he wants to become the Menteri Besar of Negri Sembilan, that the incumbent, Mat Hassan, has served his last term, for sure, but I tell them this is no longer what-Khairy-wants, Khairy-gets era. If Najib Razak wants to offer KJ as Negri MB that's his prerogative.

After all, it's true that nearly all, if not all, of the MBs and CMs in the states under BN have served their last terms. These YABs are likely to retire after the 13th General Election or go back to Federal. Najib Razak is also looking at potential MB candidates for Kedah and Selangor, just in case the Pakatan Rakyat loses these states in PRU13. Not sure if Mukhriz Maahthir fancies himself as MB material, but Umno stalwarts say the boss is considering the guy. [Read Umno to take over Kedah?]

It is also true, according to the stalwarts, that Najib is hoping that ALL former Cabinet ministers from BN will offer NOT to seek re-election so as to give him a chance to introduce younger, fresher candidates. So far only Idris Jusoh, the ex Terengganu MB, has said he will not see re-election.

In his latest posting Semua Parti akan janjikan calon "Winnable" [interpretation by The Mole, here], Kadir Jasin says Najib will have his list of "winable" candidates ready in a month or two. Within two months is what KJ says in the Bernama article above, too. Interestingly,

KJ also said he won't camp outside Seri Perdana if he's not picked and has asked Umno Youth members not to sabotage the party if their candidates are not chosen by the PM, which was what happened in PRU12. I hope they remember that, when the time comes.

La, they lodged a police report against a blogger

2011-12-08T22:56:00.001+08:00

Big Cat's posting dated Nov 14 A Little Warning to IRDA has driven the Iskandar Regional Development Authority silly, silly enough to lodge a police report.

I say it's silly because, firstly, the blogger made it quite clear that he meant well. So the comments (125 as the time I write this, 102 when the Federal Commissioner with IRDA lodged that report on Nov 26) touched some raw nerves but so what? If they had badmouthed the Sultan of Johor, by all means lodge as many reports as you like; otherwise, best to regard them comments as poison pen letters.

And, secondly, when you decide to do a Rais Yatim on bloggers, you end up getting a lot more people reading the article and wondering why you are so afraid of shadows. In the end, you make things worse for yourself and your organisation.

Them PR people should have told you: There are many ways to skin a cat, pardon the pun.

Wasting the cops' time: The report lodged with the Danga Bay police, JB

Air Asia X CEO and the "tin kosongs"

2011-12-05T17:45:00.002+08:00

Kucing kurap and Tin kosongs. I can understand Azran Osman Rani is not amused by the way some people have been criticizing Air Asia or Air Asia X but calling those who criticize AA names is not on, I did tell him in response to his tweet this morning. A lot of us rooted for Air Asia when it was a victim of the industry bullies; today, some of us still are, even though AA and Osman's boss Tony Fernandes are perceived as the big bully. Many of us mean(t) well and "tin kosong" is an unkind thing to call us. Maybe the noise soounds to Azran like the noice empty cans make but some of us just want to see all the players - Air Asia, MAS and Malaysia Airports - work together in the nation's interest. Some of us don't give two hoots about your brashness or how big your ego is.

Sure, a lot of people have called Tony Fernandes names and recentlyeven the YBs, from Wee Choo Keong to Anwar Ibrahim and Bung Mokhtar to Tan Seng Ghiaw, have been talking, sometimes bitching, about the man and his airline in Parliament. Like Tony said in an interview with the Borneo Post recently, he has even been called "kucing kurap" (actually, a YB used that on Air Asia, NOT Tony Fernades, see screenshot below).

But how many of his critics called him that? And if Azran thinks the whole world is against Tony and Air Asia (and Azran himself, of course), dig up the good things people have said about Tony and the praises they have heaped on Air Asia. Dr Mahathir said some flattering stuff about Air Asia recently. Even the King has conferred Tony a Tan Sri-ship at such a young age.

I am sure that without the critics, Tony would not be quite where he is today.

When a government-linked paper campaigns against a government-linked co

2011-12-03T14:47:00.007+08:00

Why the Star should have said NO. The non-editorial people at The Star may be guffawing all the way to the bank with this bonus Air Asia ad.

I won't be too quickly too happy if I were them.

Why?

1. Because airport tax is a source of government revenues. Not everyone has to pay. An airport tax is charged only to the consumer (Air Asia uses "guests"). In other words: You don't fly, you don't pay; You fly, you pay. Same in other countries; the only difference is you pay through your noses if you fly to Heathrow, Changi and elsewhere. Our airport tax is second cheapest in the region after Indonesia, and still one of the cheapest in the world. And we know that we have one of the most stunning airports on Earth.

2. Air Asia's ad/campaign is misleading.

"Air Asia does not derive any profit from the airport tax collected from guests as the entire amount goes to MAHB"

Look, NO AIRLINE IN THE WORLD derives any profit from airport taxes. That's why it's called airport tax and not airline tax. Airport tax is for government (or the party appointed by the government) to maintain an airport, improve it, and build new airports, etc. In our county, MAHB is the government-linked company tasked to do all these and more. Airport is the main door to every nation so there's the issue of security, having to make sure Air Asia planes land on time and not hurtle to the ground, etc. So, other than the government, the biggest beneficiary of airport tax is the airline company. [In Air Asia's case, there is that other story about it collecting our money we paid to the government/MAHB, to the tune of over RM100 million, and not passing it on to the government/MAHB. Ultimately, the airline paid the money to MAHB but not fully. But that's another story.]

3.Now that the Star has accepted ads to deny the government (or GLC) of their source of income, I am sure YB Tien Chua will be inspired to take the same path. Can it say NO? Of course the Star won't accept ads from PKR or DAP but what would stop those ad people in the Star from accepting ad campaigns from some affected, victimized or concerned parties.

Other thant SAY NO TO AIRPORT TAX INCREASE, possible campaigns in the run up to PRU13 period, which will affect government coffers and tarnish its image:

SAY NO TOLL EXTENSION!

(Tien Chua Sdn Bhd does not benefit directly from toll charges)

DOWN WITH GST!
(Tien Chua Sdn Bhd does not profit at all from GST)

SAY YES TO CHEAPER PETROL!

(Tien Chua Sdn Bhd won't go bust if petrol is free!)

p.s If you have other campaign ideas against the government or its GLCs, please pass them on through my comment box. I will personally despatch them to YB Tien Chua and cc it to The Star.

Where's the song for Sungai Besi, Tony?

2011-12-01T13:48:00.004+08:00

Explaining Tony's 3 misconceptions. I won't blame you if you thought I was going to blog about Tony Fernandes. Both YB Tony Pua, the DAP MP, and Tony Fernandes, the new Tan Sri who's gone from underdog to misunderstood, are on rottweiler-attack mode. Funny thing their targets are airports: Tony F obviously wants to run an airport, and I don't think he'd mind if the Government hands him KLIA2 on a platter. Tony P's target is the development of the Sungai Besi airport, a project crucial to Najib Razak's "Greater KL" plan. Both have misled the general population somewhat, perhaps without realizing it.

In Tony Pua's case, he has created 3 big misconceptions in his attacks against the Sungai Besi project:

Misconception #1. That the 1MDB had gotten the Sungai Besi land from the Government for a song.

The fact is, the air base land in Sungai Besi is still Government land because 1MDB is wholly-owned by the Government as its sole shareholder. Federal Government lands are held under the name of the Federal Lands Commissioner. The beneficiary is the Government. When ownership of the Sungai Besi land went to 1MDB, the beneficiary is still the Government.

When the ultimate owner is the same, ie the Government, there can be no sale. Tony Pua can't accuse the Government of selling land to iself or, for that matter, buying land from itself.

Sg Besi airbase land still belongs to the Government of Malaysia

Sometime last year, the PM in his blog introduced the concept of strategic development. It is development that goes beyond building and selling properties. It is about unleashing the full potential of government land as game changers for long-term economic growth.

It is an easy-to-understand concept. And there is nothing secretive about 1MDB's sole shareholder – the Government of Malaysia – intending for such development to be undertaken by a Master Developer with the dynamism of the private sector and yet owned and controlled by the Government.

Misconception #2: That RM1.6 billion was the meagre sum 1MDB paid the Government.

Where did he pluck this figure from? If the MP cares to check the Hansard, the RM1.6 billion is what 1MDB will pay to relocate and develop nine new relocation sites for RMAF, Police Air Wing and the 31st Artillery currently in the Sungai Besi air base. Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek stated this when replying to points raised in the Budget winding up at committee stage in Dewan Rakyat on 3 Nov 2011.

“ ... ini merupakan perkongsian kos yang akan ditanggung oleh 1MDB dan juga Kerajaan Malaysia untuk membangunkan kawasan Sungai Besi. Kos awalnya ialah dari segi memindahkan operasi TUDM dan juga Polis Udara daripada kawasan tersebut kepada kawasan-kawasan lain.

"Perkongsian kos adalah sebanyak RM1.1 bilion yang akan ditanggung oleh kerajaan dan RM1.6 bilion ditanggung 1MDB dan RM1.1 bilion inilah merupakan pecahan untuk beberapa tahun, RM400 (juta) untuk tahun 2012 dan 400 lagi – jadi tidak harus dilihat sebagai suntikan kepada modal."

Misconception #3: No open tender for the Sungai Besi land.

As I've explained, the land was an outright transfer within the Government. From then on, as blogged by the PM, there will be an open process.

Did Tony Pua miss the blog? Did he also miss the announcement by the Malaysian Institute of Planners? MIP is organising an independent international competition to design a Bandar Malaysia that can be the future model for sustainability and liveability. The competition is governed by the best global practice in every aspect including transparency and key criteria will include value creation for a better living environment and sustainability.

The Sungai Besi served the country well. It was our first international airport that led to the growth of several industries, aviation, travel, tourism and hospitality. It later became the birthplace of the Royal Malaysian Air Force when Malaysians protected the country’s airspace.

For a national project as game changing as Bandar Malaysia, it is only logical for the Government maintains ownership and control through its fully owned 1MDB.

Coming soon: Tony's airport dream

On Myanmar, an open posting to Ambiga

2011-11-30T19:01:00.002+08:00

We're worse than Myanmar, Ambiga?

The last time journo-blogger Nuraina Abdul Samad wrote an open letter on her blog was to Abdullah Badawi after aides of the then PM filed a lawsuit against Jeff Ooi, who wasn't an MP then, and I. This one to Ambiga, over 2 million unique visitors later, isn't an open letter, though. I didn't know Ambiga wanted protesters to be allowed to assembly peacefully at gas stations. Hehe. Tak ke bahaya, fumes tu, Achi? Anyway, for everyone's info, peaceful protesters in Myanmar aren't allowed to assemble at or near hospitals. In Malaysia, Boleh saja ..

If you wish to leave comments, go to her posting on Ambiga, here. Nuraina's mom, by the way, was half Burmese so you can leave comments in Myanmar language, which is bahasa yang lembut, I was told.

Her open letter, Please Sir, dated Jan 20, 2007.

Syed eyes Proton, Syed eyes Airports

2011-11-30T15:49:00.004+08:00

... And the ghost of Labu airport. There are many Syeds around, in politics and in business, some good news and some bad news. Well one good Syed has been eyeing Proton and may have another shot, but it won't be a clear shot. It seems that Syed Mokthtar al-Bukhary's DRB will have to contend with two other corporate giants for a 30+ percent stake of the national car. Proton's boss Khazanah is said to have nudged Naza and Sime Darby to come in with bids. Naza may come in on its own or a not-so-reclusive tycoon may come in as its partner to take Proton private. Before the denials kick in, a word of caution: Next week something big is about to land ..

Another Syed in the news [see The Edge Nov 28, page 8] is Syed Faisal Albar, a distant relative of Syed Hamid Albar the ex-Foreign Minister and now chairman of land transport commission SPAD, who is reported to be taking over Ahmad Bashir, the charasmatic managing director of Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad. [True or not, remember that: 1. It was this blg that forewarned this in After MAS, the mother of all ... 2. Syed Faisal is sueing me for defamation with some ex Fourth Floor operatives' buddies].


Not the first time the Edge is promoting Faisal

Incidentally, Tony Fernandez of Air Asia, now MAS, etc has been attacking MAHB, mostly for no really good reasons (especially if you consider that MAHB is the only aviation arm of the government that's making money). Then Zaki Zahid, out of nowhere , twitted the other day that the "cost overruns" at the KLIA2 under MAHB would not have happened if they had agreed to Labu airport, which was proposed by Tony Fernandez some time back when Dollah was PM and Forth Floor boys were kings.

A conspiracy against Malaysia Airports? Whoa, with former Fouth Floor posterboy & powerful friends involved, I won't discard this possibility too quickly. Azman Mokhtar, Khazanah boss, is watching this closely, I'm sure.

DAP seeks New Delhi's intervention

2011-11-29T12:21:00.000+08:00

NEW DELHI: MPs from Malaysia's oppositionDemocratic Action Party Monday urged theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership to raise issues of "discrimination" against Malayasian Hindus in their bilateral meetings with the authorities of their country.
MPs M Manogaran and S Ramakrishnan said they had a cultural and civilisational bond with India and want it to provide "leadership on issues concerning human rights".
Talking to reporters at the residence of BJP MP Tarun Vijay, the two MPs said there had been incidents of attacks on Hindu groups but their complaints had not been addressed.
The MPs, who have met BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, are also intending to meet senior party leader L.K. Advani.
They said they did not want India to interfere in their country's domestic affairs and were not seeking any physical help.
Vijay said the MPs wanted to make people in India "aware about the discriminatory policies against the Malaysian Hindus".
He said BJP hoped the government will take up their concerns as India is a signatory to universal declaration on human rights.

Mano and Rama, also determined to help Sri Lankan Tamils

Yang Bitching. One thing that we might all learn from PRU12 back in March 2008 is this: Don't cast your vote in anger. Many of us did as we were unhappy and angry with Dollah. And we voted anyone that stood against his regime. We got him out as planned but we didn't plan on getting MPs that are, in Wan Azizah's words when talking about PKR reps, below par.

MPs like these two clowns who, instead of using their positions as elected reps to help the Malaysian Hindus (and they were elected because they are Hindus first, I have to assume), behave like hurt puppies in New Delhi, seeking for other people's help to fight a problem that exists largely in their minds. As if India doesn't have enough problems of her own.

I hope the Chinese majority of the DAP do not behave like these two and report to Beijing or Singapore whenever they have problems with perceived discrimination against Malaysian Chinese Buddhists. I'm glad they don't. They don't, do they?

The problem with the DAP, or manyof their MPs and supporters, is that they still behave like the Opposition, like the underdogs and hurt puppies, as if they have no say in governing this country. We the People have put so many of them in Parliament and still they conduct themselves as though they have no voice and are in shackles.

That's one thing about Malays in this country, they don't have anywhere to go to peddle their sad stories, the 500 years that we were colonized, the centuries that they impoverished and enslaved us. We don't go the Queen like some people do. We don't go to the Arab countries and claim to have religious and civilization bonding therefore they must help us fight the non-Malays in this country. Heck, we don't even report these things to our Big Brother next door with 200-plus million Malay/Jawa/Bugis/Minang-Muslim population!

Oh, maybe some of us did. Just remembered that a certain Opposition leader does make trips there to badmouth his own country. I stand corrected. Still, I rest my case.

Letter: What will Ambiga have to say about this?

2011-11-28T14:31:00.001+08:00

A peaceful rally in the US: Shot in the face with chemical-laced substance

Short cut to politics and parliament. It was Ambiga who claimed that "when lawyers walk, something is wrong .. that means we would like to see changes". These words she uttered during the so-called Penguin Walk in Putrajaya, Sept 2007. That walk was sparked by a video on a prominent lawyer allegedly brokering a deal with a senior judge. That walk turned the video into a major issue during PRU12. Even the clueless dude who took the video was elected an MP during the general election!

Two months later, another group of lawyers led the Hindraf march against "the Islamic fundamentalist and Malay chauvinists UMNO led Malaysian government', in the words of their leader P. Uthayakumar. Another lawyer. Politically, it was worth the trouble. Anwar hailed himself as champions of the Indians and a Hindraf leader won in the PRU12 on DAP ticket. Recently, Ambiga finally succeeded in being perceived as bigger than Uthayakumar by leading the Bersih march.

Tomorrow, lawyers march yet again, this time against the proposed peaceful assembly act. Ambiga is at the forefront again. Wants the Malaysian government to Look Myanmar, a view shared by no less than DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang (pics shown here are of peaceful assemblies in the US, good reasons why Ambiga would want us to look away from that place right now).

Seems to me like walks and marches, protests and demonstrations have become the short cut to politics and Parliament for some. I'm not saying that the lawyers don't have a point on the peaceful assembly act but given their track record, one has to wonder if that's really their point. Is it?

In any case, I would like to share with you Dear Readers a letter sent to me by a fellow scribe Charles F. Moreira. Thanks Charles, at least we know that even peaceful assemblies in the US don't always end peacefully.

Dear Rocky,

Nowwhat does Ambiga have to say about this?

Peaceful protestors being beaten, pepper-sprayed,arrested,
journalists shoved into a corner, journalistsarrested and all in the "land
of the free & homeof the brave"

Can't criticise the regime which gave her an award?

Where are the "independent" media on this?

Charles

American job on peaceful assemblers

The Shocking Truth About the Crackdown on Occupy
The violent police assaults across the US are no coincidence. Occupy hastouched the third rail of our political class's venality

By Naomi Wolf

November 26, 2011 "TheGuardian" - - vUS citizens of all political persuasions are stillreeling from images of unparallelled police brutality in a coordinatedcrackdown against peaceful OWS protesters in cities across the nation this pastweek. An elderly woman was pepper-sprayed in the face; the scene ofunresisting, supine students at UC Davis being pepper-sprayed by phalanxes ofriot police went viral online; images proliferated of young women – targetedseemingly for their gender – screaming, dragged by the hair by police in riotgear; and the pictures of a young man, stunned and bleeding profusely from thehead, emerged in the record of the middle-of-the-night clearing of ZuccottiPark.

But just when Americans thought we had the picture – wasthis crazy police and mayoral overkill, on a municipal level, in many differentcities? – the picture darkened. The National Union of Journalists and theCommittee to Protect Journalists issued a Freedom of Information Act request toinvestigate possible federal involvement with law enforcement practices thatappeared to target journalists.

TheNew York Times reported that "New York cops havearrested, punched, whacked, shoved to the ground and tossed a barrier atreporters and photographers" covering protests. Reporters were asked byNYPD to raise their hands to prove they had credentials: when many dutifullydid so, they were taken, upon threat of arrest, away from the story they werecovering, and pennedfar from the site in which the news was unfolding. Other reporters wearingpress passes were arrested and roughed up by cops, after being – falsely –informed by police that "It is illegal to take pictures on thesidewalk."

In New York, astate supreme court justice and a New York City council member were beaten up;in Berkeley, California, oneof our greatest national poets, Robert Hass, was beaten with batons. Thepicture darkened still further when Wonkette and Washingtonsblog.comreported that the Mayor of Oakland acknowledged that the Department ofHomeland Security had participated in an 18-citymayor conference call advising mayors on "how to suppress" Occupyprotests.

Slur after slur

2011-11-28T02:07:00.001+08:00

Mulut lancang dan lancau. We have been hearing far too many racial and religious slurs lately. And from the people's reps, no less. This one, courtesy of Parpukari, is of DAP's Nga Kor Ming making a fool of himself with remarks unbecoming of an elected representative of the people. At the expense of Perak Menteri Besar and the colour of his skin.

Nga should't wait too long to apologize publicly to all dark-skinned Malaysians.

Maal Hijrah

2011-11-26T20:23:00.001+08:00

1433, general election year? During an interview with a TV station this week, Dr Mahathir was asked how he thought Najib Razak has fared as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

"Better than the previous one," the Tun reportedly replied.

That's the part of the interview you'd not get to watch when they air the interview. When the editor told me about the censored bit last night, I laughed my head off. No disrespect to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, really, I don't think much of him these days but I still think he was one of our best Foreign Ministers, even though many said King Ghaz was the one. I covered Abdullah a lot when he was FM: in Singapore, Manila Jakarta, Bangkok, Vienna, Washington, New York, and a few other places. He was sure and firm on so many issues, from Myanmar to the former Yugoslavia. That he had Mahathir as boss was one of the reasons Abdullah was always on his toes.

Then he became Prime Minister, and the rest, you know. Looking back, I'm sure it was not Abdullah who wanted to fight Dr Mahathir. It was some people around him took advantage of him. It got to their heads, the little power they had.

Now Najib is PM. Two and a half years on, he's due to steer the nation into the 13th General Election. The last GE, called amid great discontent for Abdullah's leadership, was the worst for the coalition that Najib now heads. Will Najib do better than Abdullah? Will any of the states that fell into Pakatan Rakyat's hands return to BN's fold?

The people will decide. My only hope is that Najib be judged for his strengths instead of his foes' weaknesses, and for the transformation or "hijrah" that he's been trying to get all of us to embrace. There's great likelihood that he will call for the 13th GE during the Hijrah year 1433, which starts tomorrow. If that's so, this new year will be a very meaningful one.

Selamat ber-Hijrah. Let us do everything better this year.

The PM's Maal Hijrah message, h e r e.

Serious blunder or dishonest reporting?

2011-11-26T00:46:00.004+08:00

What war chest, Mr Leslie Lopez? This is something the boys and girls at The Malaysian Insider won't be proud of, quoting the Straits Times of Singapore as alleging that:

"... the ruling BN goverment hoped to raise as much as RM6 billion from publicly listing the federal land authority (sic) in March next year TO FUND ITS ELECTION WAR CHEST".

Where the hell did Debra Chong get the idea about an election war chest?

Read her misleading piece below and Leslie Lopez's report that follows. Mr Lopez of ST did refer to the sum of RM6 billion (in the 2nd para of his story) ...

Malaysia's Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) could raise as much as RM6 billion (S$2.5 billion) from the listing. But its financial misadventures overseas are posing serious problems to its corporate reorganisation.

... but he made no mention whatsoever about an election war chest!

I am sure Felda will find the Insider's article offensive. The innocent reader would now wonder, was that an honest mistake or was that a dishonest reporting? (the phrase was used by this seasoned journalist who alerted me to the blunder just before dinner).

Whatever it is, the Insider owes Felda, the Straits Times of Singapore, and its readers an explanation. (Usually, editors don't mind apologizing for such mistakes though I know of one who now goes about as a "businessman" who refused to apologize for one of the greatest lies told in a newspaper column in Malaysia...)

The Malaysian Insider's "dishonest reporting":

Felda faces barriers to going public

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 — State-owned Felda is experiencing problems in its overseas stakes that appear to threaten its planned listing and could further impact national polls widely expected to be called next year, the Singapore Straits Times reported today.

The Singapore daily noted that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government hoped to raise as much as RM6 billion from publicly listing the federal land authority in March next year to fund its election war chest.

But complications from Felda’s business ventures abroad, including a US-based vegetable oil processing company called Twin River Tech, have thrown a spanner in the works. Felda had acquired the plant in 2007 for RM241.4 million and was mulling selling it off to plantation giant Sime Darby, but the plan is also held up due to pricing issues.

“Trimming the problem assets would make the listing more attractive, but finding buyers isn’t going to be easy,” the paper reported an anonymous senior banker close to the Felda restructuring plan as saying.

It said Sime Darby’s Thai partner, PTT Chemical International — in another US-based oleochemical company — would unlikely support the proposal. It cited another anonymous banker as saying:

“The (Felda) management has set end-March as the target for the listing. We will be lucky if we get it down by May.”

According to ST, these complications were likely to add to the rising protests from some of the 113,000 Felda settlers who collectively own the controlling 51 per cent stake in the company and represent a crucial voting group.

The crux of the matter, the paper reported, was because of Felda’s complex corporate structure. Felda Global Ventures Holdings, which handles many of the loss-making business ventures abroad, has a direct 49 per cent share in the main company called Felda Holdings. Felda Holdings is the money-spinning enterprise that handles the agricultural and plantation-focused side of the business in the country and is owned by the politically powerful settlers’ co-operative Koperasi Permodalan Felda, the Singapore paper observed.

It noted too that Umno, the BN’s lynchpin party, had long depended on the co-operative members to deliver the votes in as many as 54 federal seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat. But the opposition Pakatan Rakyat had in recent months made inroads into this Malay-centric vote bank and exposed many financial irregularities and mismanagement within the Felda corporation, and fanned a groundswell of distrust against the ruling BN bloc.

ENDS

The Straits Times' honest reporting:

Felda's planned listing faces hurdle

Leslie Lopez, Senior Regional Correspondent

25 November 2011

Malaysian plantation giant having difficulty getting rid of problem assets overseas

KUALA LUMPUR: One of the country's largest state-controlled plantation groups wants to spruce up its corporate profile with a major overhaul ahead of a public listing early next year.

Malaysia's Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) could raise as much as RM6 billion (S$2.5 billion) from the listing. But its financial misadventures overseas are posing serious problems to its corporate reorganisation.

These could attract opposition from the roughly 113,000 people who have settled on Felda plantations. Collectively, they control a major stake in the company and represent an important electoral voting bloc in peninsular Malaysia.

That in turn could have far-reaching implications for Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government, which is planning to call snap polls ahead of its five-year mandate expiring in mid-2013.

'Trimming the problem assets would make the listing more attractive, but finding buyers isn't going to be easy,' said one senior banker close to the Felda restructuring.

One major problem is Felda's investment in a loss-making United States-based vegetable oil processing company called Twin River Tech, which was acquired in 2007 for RM241.4 million.

Felda is considering divesting its interest in the project to the Sime Darby plantation group, which also owns an oleochemical plant in the US. But the plan is facing problems over pricing issues. What is more, Thailand's PTT Chemical International, Sime Darby's joint-venture partner in US company Emery Oleochemicals, is unlikely to support the proposed acquisition, financial executives said.

The complications arising from the financial troubles faced by Felda's international assets could delay the planned public listing targeted for the first quarter of next year, which the government hopes could raise as much as RM6 billion.

'The (Felda) management has set end-March as the target for the listing. We will be lucky if we get it down by May,' said the chief executive of a Malaysian financial institution who is closely tracking Felda's corporate reorganisation.

Several financial executives said that even if the deadline is met, coming up with a financial structure that will be palatable to the group's settler farmers, who collectively control a strategic equity block in the company, could be tough.

The Felda group has a complex corporate structure. The government's wholly owned Felda Global Ventures Holdings, which owns many of the loss-making overseas operations, has a direct 49 per cent interest in the corporate jewel called Felda Holdings.

Felda Holdings is the corporate stable for the group's profitable domestic agriculture businesses and other plantation-related business. It is 51 per cent owned by the politically powerful settlers' cooperative Koperasi Permodalan Felda.

The plantation group's ethnic Malay settlers, who cast deciding votes in 54 parliamentary constituencies in peninsular Malaysia, collectively own the cooperative.

Datuk Seri Najib's United Malays National Organisation (Umno) party has long relied on this group of voters to preserve its political dominance in the BN coalition government. But political analysts maintain that Parti Islam SeMalaysia, the country's religious opposition party which controls the state governments of northern Kedah and Kelantan, and Parti Keadilan Rakyat, headed by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, have made inroads on Umno's stranglehold on this crucial electoral constituency in recent years.

The analysts noted that a corporate restructuring of Felda that would dilute the value of the settlers' holdings in the plantation group is sure to be exploited by the opposition, which has in recent months uncovered alleged financial irregularities and mismanagement in the award of government contracts. ENDS

Read also Big Dog's earlier response to Leslie's article, FGVH listing on track, investments abroad geared for winnings where the blogger made some clarifications. Big Dog has written quite extensively on the public listing of Felda in both his blog and the MSM.

Formulators, fornicators,and why you should treat Wikileaks like condom

2011-11-25T11:49:00.001+08:00

From used condoms to hairbands

Use once only, don't recycle. I read the analysis in the Star, the press statement by the MCA boss, and the postings at Stop The Lies t Bujai. I can tell you, going gaga over some so-called Top Secret despatches supposedly leaked out by Wikileaks is a natural thing. It can also be a dangerous pre-occupation. This thing acts like a double-edged sword. The so-called leak cables on Pakatan has no economic formulators may hurt Tony Pua and gang deeply today but tomorrow or next week the same diplomats from the US Embassy in KL in their report to their bosses in Washington will go out of their way to leak out information aimed at hurting Najib and Co. It is how they play you. Mark my words.

In any case, what is it that these diplomats are saying that we didn't already know? Pakatan Rakyat does not have good economic formulators to run the country? We all know that Anwar Ibrahim's economy starts and ends with lowering oil prices after the every general election (if Pakatan wins) and Nik Aziz does not know any better than him, that in Penang Lim Guan Eng has been claiming credit for decades of his successors' economic successes, and Selangor's Khalid Ibrahim is not doing any better. At least Tony Pua recognises that the Malaysian economy is sound and admits he would maintain the status quo if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power (he's assuming he would become Minister of Economics, by the sound of it). If it ain't broke, why fix it, right?

Krugman: One of Dr M's "advisors"

Here's the thing. The BN has good economic formulators but they are a rare commodity. One of the best is Daim Zainuddin but he is retired (and he will continue to retire as along as Nor Mohamed Yakcop is still around behaving like MoF, some says). Taib Mahmud and Musa Aman have a good grasp of the economy, too, which is why Sarawak and Sabah have always done well economically despite the complaints. Dr Mahathir Mohamad, of course, has the knack of picking the best economic advisors (including Paul Krugman without the man's knowledge).

Otherwise, the best economic formulators, regulators, propagators, perpetrators and what have you, are mostly in one place: Bank Negara. Day in and day out, they advise the politicians on economic matters. One or two others are in the local Unis, another one of two in some ministries, and a couple more abroad minding their own business or advising foreign governments. Apart from the last group, these are all civil servants. Malaysia has been economically sound thanks to them and the fact that we have politicians who are not, in Krugman's words, politically naive.

We don't need to wait for some American diplomats to tell us through leaked cables that Malaysia would suffer an economic disaster if Pakatan Rakyat wins the General Election. Tell us something we don't know, please.

But if you want to go gaga over this, go ahead. If the next "leaked cables" don't suit your political palate - and they will not, mark my words - go gaga over them, too.

Abang Din gets a memo

2011-11-24T15:10:00.002+08:00

1School (once and) 4All. To get a memo is, usually, to get into trouble It means you've not made the marks and need to buck up or else. DPM Muhyiddin Yasin, or Abang Din to the blogging community, doesn't have to take the Memo to MOE in this vein but as an encouragement to make a difference. Just as Najib Razak can boast today of having made a difference where his predecessors (especially Anwar Ibrahim) hadn't the guts to when he was Minister of Education, years to come Abang Din can be remembered for having made the single most important step, ie wiping out vernacular schools as they so successfully did in Singapore, to unite Malaysians and weld them into a true Bangsa Malaysia.

Read the Memo to MOE.
Appreciate the Satu Sekolah untuk Semua memo, h e r e.

To leave comments, go to SatD's posting Equation of Nonsense where he trades barbs with another favorite blogger of mine, Helen Ang, a supporter of vernacular school.

Some curious Court matters

2011-11-23T15:19:00.003+08:00

The market is saying kudos to the Prime Minister for staying clear of Harvest Court Industries Bhd. The players know that Najib Razak could have made the call and turn up the heat on SC and Bursa Malaysia not to designate Harvest Court. But he did not. This was not to be another Avenue. No smoke no fire!

However, they say it was a sad sight indeed to see Najib Jr and Raymond Chan making their rounds, first to the Chinese papers and to the Star last week. Some are saying they smell an Ali Baba. I hope the young man does not forget that many are just waiting to use him and drop his name because of who his father is.

Read Businessman compares ECM-Libra's controversy with deals involving sons of Dr M, Najib if you don't know my meaning. And Barking Magpie's latest here.

One civil servant, 30 bods

2011-11-22T11:56:00.003+08:00

Someone's personal gold mine

Felda the feudal mini-empire. One top civil servant in Felda sits on the thrones of dozens of Felda boards (see list above!). And his services are not FOC. He pays himself more than RM600,000 as directors of those BoDs. This is money from the blood, sweat and tears of 112,000 settlers. And you wonder why some dudes would turn his back on the Government and the settler families to safeguard his own welfare!

But why is one civil servant allowed to sit on so many boards? Why is he able to appoint his cronies to flank him on these boards, pay them CEO perks for their services and loyalty, and rule Felda like lords? This does not happen in any other services or departments in the Government.

It's a long story. And it involves more than one or two civil servants.

When Najib Razak introduced Bakke Salleh (now Sime Darby boss) to Felda, Bakke was the first "outsider" to have an executive position in Felda, now a multi-billion concern started during Najib's father's time as an ambitious scheme to elevate the status of rural folk and turn Malaysia into a major oil palm player. Bakke, the industry knows, faced stiff resistance from inside Felda. Every step of the way. But at least now we have a peek into the inside story of a feudal mini-empire that this small group of civil servants have built and jealously protected over the years like a secret sect.

Sabri Ahmad, who succeeds Bakke, is facing a lot of resistance too. Depan semua diam, belakang semua tikam

Felda Director-General Dzulkifli Wahab, who has openly given his support to the proposed listing of Felda, must be wondering who the Enemies Within and Gunting Dalam Lipatan are. We wonder, too. We wonder if he's going to try and find out for us ...

Dzul, chairman of Felda Cooperative, claimes ignorance
over the sacking of Isa, his heir apparent, by the Coop pic by Bigdog

The so-weak and superficial Muslims' faith

2011-11-20T13:33:00.002+08:00

"... Is the faith of the Muslims so weak and superficial that Muslims can be so easily swayed, induced and bribed to renounce their faith in spite of the fact “the al-Quran is disseminated through loud speakers, television, radio and at government functions,” ...

"Doesn’t this situation call for some soul searching as to why – in spite of great efforts made and billions of ringgit spent on building mosques, suraus, madrasahs, religious instructions, al-Quran reading competitions – all this had failed to strengthen the faith of the Muslims? Does this suggest that the method of religious teachings undertaken to instil the Islamic faith among the Muslims is either totally wrong or utterly ineffective." - P. Ramakrishnan, ALlRAN President

Read Mr PR's ramblings at Kit Siang's blog, Unscrupulous Actions, Unethical Behavior.

Perhaps the guy has never liked the fact that Islam enjoys precedence in this country, or maybe he does not love some Muslims around him (or all of us for that matter), but that does not make P. Ramakrishnan an expert on the question of our faith. Neither does it make him an authority on evangelism, covert or otherwise.

But this man sure writes as if he is both. And that's his problem.

The issue isn't about our weak or superficial faith, or how many billions have been spent on Quran competitions, on our mosques, or suraus. Rather, a PAS leader from Selangor, Hassan Ali (who sleeps on the same Pakatan Rakyat bed as DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang), is causing PR a lot of points for defending the raid on a church conducted by the State's Islamic religious police. There was talk about the involvement of this church in the conversion of Muslims, which is against the law.

How messy was that? Khalid Ibrahim, the Selangor MB, had to issue a gag order which I believe is still enforced until today, so Hassan Ali and JAIS's action must have been very damaging to the Opposition.

The raid by JAIS and the attempts by PR to sweep the issue under the carpet and bully Hassan into silent submission have absolutely nothing to do with the teachings of Islam to Muslims in this country. It is the politics of Pakatan Rakyat. Hassan Ali, Khalid Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang - they all belong to the same side - Pakatan Rakyat. I don't know and don't care what Rama's political leanings are, although a paragraph of his article does seem to worship Lim Guan Eng, but let's not deliberately use their political game to foster religious discord among the ordinary Malaysians. Don't try to drag the ordinary peace-loving Muslims into your unholy politics, Mr Rama, and don't use this as a cover to attack the sincerity of those Muslims.

Do not worry yourself about our faith. Don't pretend to care about our souls or if the methods we use to teach our children about Islam are wrong or ineffective. The Muslims in this country are a peaceful lot. We have agreed to peaceful and harmonious co-existence with the other faiths in this country for hundreds of years.

Read also Helen Ang's The bishop's back, siap dengan sidekick sekali (the sidekick obviously refers to our Mr PR here)

NFC: Finally, KJ can take a breather ...

2011-11-18T17:26:00.002+08:00

Updated
Read Jai's Between Fidlot and Pakatan Rakyat's Jenglots (living dead)

Original article
Taking the bull by its horns. Ah, so it was a loan and not a grant! Read ".. the bull claims better stop" [NST, 18 Nov]. That is a relevant point and would have changed the way a lot of people perceive the National Feedlot Company. And in this country perception is all important. The truth will always prevail, but only later. Sometimes much later.

Question is, has Salleh Ismail waited too long to respond to be accusations levelled at his wife, YB Shahrizat Jalil, and his children (all 3 kids were brought into NFC to help him run the company)? Some people think so. I am a believer that it's better late than never. Of course the longer you wait the harder it is to convince people.

But now that the NFC has come out to engage its critics head on, the process of establishing be truth can start in earnest. Salleh said the NFC is looking at legal action possibilities against some Rafizi and Saifudin. That is to be expected. We can expect the authorities to start grilling Salleh and the NFC. For example, the decision to use the soft loan to buy those condos. Is it legitimate or does it contravene with the terms and conditions of the loan and the contract? If it contravenes, does it fall under CBT or something more serious?

I'd rather not speculate. The investigation into NFC shouldn't take long. The facts are there, all audited. In fact, it was the Auditor-General who drew our attention to the state of affairs in the NFC. It would be silly to suggest that Najib Razak would try to sweep under the carpet what he, in the first place, allowed to surface in public domain.

p.s As for the title of this posting, it has to be placed on record that YB Khairy Jamaluddin has been at the forefront in defending the NFC, ie Shahrizat and family. There's good and bad to this. On the upside, we see an Umno Youth chief who is willing and able to defend a fellow Umno leader. The downside is, he's turned this completely into a political circus. Some even said he's got vested interest in KFC. On her part, Shahrizat didn't help matters when she told reporters the other day that there were people out to bring down Wanita Umno by taking her down. When the pro-Opposition news portal committed that terrible misreporting (something about her kids deserving the project when what she said was "her family didn't deserve the attacks"), she should have asked for an apology. It would have helped with perception.

Malaysia hosts symbolic trial against Bush, Blair

2011-11-16T18:28:00.000+08:00

Event: War Crimes Hearing of Bush and Blair
Date: 19 to 22 Novemnber
Time: 9 am to 5 pm
Venue: Islamic Arts Museum,
Taman Tasek Perdana

I'm proud to say that we, the Malaysian bloggers, have been supporting this project to criminalize war since the very beginning. Why? Simply because Malaysian bloggers are against war. And when Dr Mahathir first invited bloggers to cover the conference, most of us didn't think he was serious. I mean, Malaysian bloggers were then seen as "outcasts" by their own government. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his advisers were so anti-us that no BN politicians dared to open a blog; today, the majority of BN Ministers are blogging!

Have Dr Mahathir's efforts been futile?

It's making headlines all over the world, from Washington Post and Straits Times Singapore to Huffington Post and The Asian Correspondent: Malaysia to try Bush and Blair for war crimes! Symbolic it may be but the fact remains that a great many people want the real warmongers to pay for the lost of so many innocent lives.

Don't miss the trial!

Civil Servants and DAP Part 2

2011-11-15T15:12:00.002+08:00

A new 4th floor. While Tony Pua talks about cutting the number of civil servants if the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat get to Putrajaya, his boss Lim Guan Eng has increased the size of his own office substantially since he became Penang Chief Minister. According to an Umno Adun, there used to be 13 aides in the Chief Minister's office. Under the DAP's strongman, the CM's office now employs 28 people. That's more than a 100 per cent increase! So much for wanting to reduce the number of the civil services ..

And that's not all, it seems. Read Helen Ang's Watergate: Koreklah sampai ke lubang cacing!

p.s Pls leave comments at Helen Ang's blog, thank you

Ah, Ghani, what have you done?

2011-11-11T17:37:00.003+08:00

Peter Lim, in business with Johor "royal family"?

Someone putting pressure on Johor MB? The saying "like a cat and a dog" doesn't apply to Big Cat and Big Dog today. Both bloggers - one a Johorean and the other based in Johor - are absolutely on the same side in their frustration over the appointment of a former Pak Lah's Fourth Floor operative to the boards of two Johor Corp companies. Both are shocked and sad, and they want Ghani to answer the question eating them from the inside: Why?

Read Big Dog's JCorp mumbo-jumbo and Big Cat's A very sad day.

I don't think, however, that Zaki Zahid's appointment is the worst thing that could happen to Ghani. When I tweeted the news this morning about the Johor royal family's involvement in a S$2 billion project to jointly develop a medical hub and marina city in Johor Baru, a perturbed Johor-based reader sent this message on my mobile:

"This is the start of Ghani's downfall".

Really?

I think (probably) not. Ghani is a cool head and he has handled many crises effectively. Johor is a state with many warlords, they say, and not just in Umno, and Ghani has proved his mettle time and again.

All the same, it's crucial that the MB and his handlers remain mindful that people are watching him and how he handles delicate stuff like these. And people are beginning to talk about the state of things in Johor and if the MB does not do something quick, some may be royally peeved with what's happening around them.

Civil Servants and DAP

2011-11-09T19:13:00.001+08:00

Malaysia's civil servants: Bloated, lazy and too big?
"Tony Pua is reeling over his proposal to cut the number of civil servants. He said they were costing the nation too much and he implied that there were too many deadwood among them. [Read Civil Servants, DAP wants to cut your jobs! by Parochial Sarawakian]. If I was a civil servant, I would not feel very civil towards Pua. Who the hell does this greenhorn think he is? But I am not a civil servant. Yet, I still feel upset. I can understand Cuepacs' reaction, why they think Pua was insulting them and that it's a cheap publicity move. Do I think Pua's statement racist, as "chauvinist" Shahrir Samad allegedly made him out to be? Of course not, he is from DAP and everyone but the DAP is racist. The fact remains that the majority of civil servants are Bumiputeras and Melayus, so Pua's grand plan will affect the Samads more than the Puas out there."

I had just finished writing the above paragraph when this young man, a researcher by profession, came by to say hello. We had "met" in cyberspace before but not in real life. I told him what I was writing about. I offered him coffee, which he politely declined, but he offered me his views:

"Our civil service is too big? In the first place, who are we comparing ourselves with? In Singapore, it seems, the civil service does not include the army, the police or even the teachers. If Malaysia is to exclude these professions from its definition of civil service, Malaysia would instantly be left with only 500,000 civil servants. Is that small enough for Pua? If it is, then all we need to do is adjust the definition of civil servants to exclude our policemen and policewomen, our soldiers and our teachers. Most of these 500,000 are support staff. Gaji kecik. The top ones, the ones drawing the big salaries, aren't many. There are only about 50 civil servants who are in the CEO category (but they get nothing like the CEOs in the private sector get, not by far). Unfortunately, mostly Melayus also. Surely YB Tony Pua is sensitive about that."

That was what he said, in a nutshell. Betul ke? Is our civil service really so bloated? Are civil servants in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines (the ones Pua reportedly cited) better and more effective than our civil servants?

I am sure there is always room for improvement, but this applies not only to our civil servants and I am sure Pua will agree with me. Right now, he is reeling.You can tell when he admits (or, rather, claims) that the PM has also made a similar proposal in his Budget 2012 speech tabled last month in Parliament.

“When Najib says it (measures to cut civil service), everything is good, but when Tony Pua says it, he is a racist,” he quipped. [quoted from Malaysiakini, Is PM anti-Melayu, too?]

Does that mean Pua was admitting to copying Najib Razak's proposal? It sure sounds that way but we alI remember the claim made by Anwar Ibrahim that it Najib Razak had copied the Pakatan Rakyat's shadow budget!

When it stinks/stings, no politician wants to own up. Most will pass the buck.

A new party again, Ku?

2011-11-07T16:41:00.002+08:00

It's been brewing for some time, talk that Ku Li would leave Umno and lead - once again - a political entity that could give him one final shot at the very elusive premiership of the country. Blogger Apanama thinks this is going to happen tomorrow, at a press conference the Kelantan prince has called. If this turns to be true, the run-up to the 13th general election will be even more interesting. Ku Li has been very open about his ambitions even though he is way past 70 and his peak. Pakatan Rakyat is also said to be looking at Ku Li to lead the coalitiom in the event Anwar Ibrahim has to go to jail for his sodomy charges.

Let's wait. Meantime, check out Apanaama's posting Finally Ku Li?

Raya Haj 1432

2011-11-06T01:10:00.001+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to you, Dear Readers.
Congrats to those who are in Mekah right now performing the haj. Prayers for all and especially for my blogging bros Another Brick in the Wall, Mahaguru58 and RBF as well as pilgrims Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor.
Last week, Abitw or A Voice encountered some health issues. According to his "twin" Big Dog, "(A Voice) is so thankful for Tabung Haji's impeccable preparation for cough and heart related ailments for the Malaysian Hajis and Hajjahs".
Thank you, people at Tabung Haji for making our pilgrims comfortable.

Setting the record straight for Malaysia

2011-11-05T16:44:00.003+08:00

The Letter to The Editor

The letter from our Consul-General in Perth to the editor of The West Australia is short by any standard but it has gone to great lengths to set the record straight for us. It crushed the bad hearts of people who wanted the tabloid's story about Najib Razak's daughter splashing A$60,000 (about RM200,000) at David Jones to be true or, even if its NOT true, to remain unchallenged. My friend Chegubard even went on to the extent of charging the newspaper of conspiring with Najib Razak (to manufacture the story, create unrest in the hearts and minds of Malaysians and then get the newspaper to say that it erred!), that this was all part of the PM's media strategies! Read Dikatakan mereka Najib bayar suratkhabar tu. Shameless.

To the rest of Malaysians, we want and we deserve the truth. Thanks to the Consul-General, we now know that The West Australian, the biggest newspaper in Perth, had made a blunder. A big blunder. If NST or the Star or TV3 or Utusan had made such schoolboy mistake, heads will roll and rightly so. As a journalist, I can't imagine how my fellow journalists at The West Australian had let go that story without checking their facts. I came home and one of the first things I did was to remind my fellow journo-bloggers at www.mole.my of the need to check and double check our facts.

Credit to the editors of The West Australian., they quickly ran a clarification as soon as they got the letter. We usually apologize for such clear, big blunders which is why some journalists have demanded that The West Australian issue an apology to Najib and the daughter. Read Nuraina Samad's We Got it Wrong and Barking Magpie's The West Australian must, unreservedly, apologize to Najib and family. Nuraina was part of the Malaysian media corp covering CHOGM and Pasquale also happened to be in Perth!

Bersih supporters and the Yellow Dog

I was in Perth covering the PM's visit for The Mole. You can call it an attempt by the portal to place itself in the same league as the big media. It was not a very successful attempt, I must say. For one, I did not manage to get accreditation from Wisma Putra, only a "V" tag issued by the organisers. Without the media pass, I did not have access to the media centre and had to be escorted at all times when in "secured" areas, eg the Pan Pacific where the PM and other Malaysian officials were staying. So I covered the Bersih protest at Forrester Place, where Wong Chin Huat had his five-minute fame painting the place yellow. He seemed surprised that I was not accredited, saying the government would surely be friendly towards me and The Mole. Chin Huat flew in and out just to be with the 30 men and women and a dog draped in our royal color for the show. Some of the yellow guys turned up at a barbecue with Najib at Burswood Park that Sunday afternoon; it was good that they mingled with the hundreds of others Malaysians.

Quiet protest against CHOGM

I met many Malaysians, including the Consul-General herself and the High Commissioner, Salman, who is based in Canberra. Hamidah Ashari, the Consul-General, has been described as "the best" by a Malaysian in Perth. There are 20,000 Malaysians there and many have lived 20, even 30 years, longer than any civil servant can be assigned to one place. I am not qualified to agree or disagree with the comment but her letter to The West Australian proves to me that she does what she's supposed to do and does it well.

The thing is, our ambassadors abroad generally suffer a crisis of image. Not totally their fault, as today they all walk in the shadows of yesterday's greats -- the Razali Ismails and Ahmad Kamils of the heyday of Malaysia's diplomacy. Often, stories told about Malaysia abroad are not corrected even when they are factually wrong or, perhaps, fabricated.

The West Australian will have their own lessons to learn but for us ordinary Malaysians, the simplest lesson is that we can and must tell them foreigners that they are wrong when they are wrong. Nobody is going to set the record straight for us but ourselves. For our diplomatic corp overseas, whatever your political affiliations, you have a job to do. It is not about protecting the PM or his daughter, it's about ensuring that the people there get the true picture of our country.

Malaysian kids enjoying Burswood park

The West Australian admits it erred

2011-11-04T14:58:00.003+08:00

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/04/australian-daily-clarifies-report-on-najibs-daughter/

Screenshot of the clarification:

Moral of the story?
Always double check your facts.
Even The West Australian becomes less great when it fails the basic test of fact-checking.
Good thing the paper admits its error and runs a correction.
Most editors don't think twice about it.
What we would want to know is, who fed the paper with the lies about Najib's daughter and wife?
How did they let it go?

P.s. I have not checked, but has Keadilan News run the clarification and apologize for running the story without checking the facts?

Wisma's letter to The West Australian

2011-11-02T16:22:00.010+08:00

Ah, Malaysiakini has published the clarifications. (Gotta give it to these guys. They can be pro. Steven, after all, is a bona fide journalist ...)

So, Rosmah didn't buy no pearls.
And Najib's daughter was not in Perth at all!

Told yer.
(Just waiting for Keadilan News to carry the clarification ...)

Read this article in yahoo! [updated Thurs 4pm]

Original article
was told the consul general in perth sent a letter yesterday evening to the editor of the west ausralian, the newspaper that wrongly reported about najib's daughter's spending spree here.

Wlll try and get letter later. Boarding flight home now.

David Jones and Najib's daughter who was not here

2011-11-01T16:27:00.005+08:00

WISMA MUST CLARIFY AUSTRALIAN PAPER'S REPORT. I am convinced it is a publicity stunt, that news The West Australian published alleging a daughter of Najib Razak's had spent 60 thousand Aussie dollars at David Jones. I went there this morning, curious, but in the end did not buy a single thing. I am regretting it; should have gotten that AUD125 Fahrenheit gift package for a friend (cologne for him, I could keep the shampoo and the deodorant). Truth is, there was not much that interested me - David Jones is so much like our Metro or Jusco, perhaps just a little bit upmarekt ...

In any case, and as I have said in my tweets last night, and as this blogger has also confirmed a couple of hours ago, none of Najib's daughters were here in Perth during the CHOGM, which ended in Sunday, so the newspaper got it wrong. Totally.

But Wisma Putra needs to set the record straight, not us. Our Consul General in Perth or High Commissioner in Canberra must inform the newspaper, officially. Wrong is wrong, mate...

And then we can get our local cyber boys and girls back home, from Malaysiakini to Keadilan Daily, to help set the record straight. I am sure they would not mind. But if Wisma does not set the record straight, a lie told repeatedly will be perceived s truth and they only have themselves to blame.

BBQ at Burswood Park

2011-10-31T11:28:00.006+08:00

PERTH, Mon: The other day, I wrote about the Bersih protest at Forrest Place in downtown Perth and stated my observation of there being no Malays involved. Some of you weren't happy about that but I will continue to make that kind of observations, if you don't mind. I am of the opinion that things Malaysian should be representative of Malaysia. If the "1Malaysia BBQ" at Burswood, a popular lakeside park just outside the city of Perth, was attended by just Melayus or mostly Malays and a handful of Cainis and Indians, I would be disappointed. And I will blame the organizers for failing to make a so-called Malaysian event really Malaysian. And I would feel sorry for the Prime Minister because it would mean that Malaysians of all races were not receptive to his 1Malaysia concept.

But Burswood was a high point for both visiting Malaysians and their countrymen in Perth. unlike the Bersih stage work in Friday, the barbecue yesterday was a colorful event. There were some Mat Sallehs around, including one in songkok! Even the Bersih protesters who came for the event were taking pictures of and with the PM and wife, even though they seemed to preferr to "camp" a little away from the rest of us. We did not mind as long as they were happy they had their own "corner", and that they respected the fact that the majority - easily 350-450 people, according to a Mat Sallehs who was there - wanted to have a good and easy afternoon with their PM and his wife.

The kids played soccer and cricket, the adults chatted and ate and watched the children play soccer and cricket. There are aout 20,000 Malaysians in West Australia, mostly in Perth, according to our Consulate. Aout half are Malays. I had the pleasure of meeting a Melayu taxi driver, Melayu IT specialist and a young, pretty Melayu medical doctor at the park yesterday. And their spouses.

I also met Chen, who used to like my blog because I was anti-government but who read me less now because I am pro-government. I tried to explain to him the difference between the government(s) under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak but stopped myself. If you don't know me by now ... the song played in my mind and I reminded myself that Chen was there for the PM, too. Junior was interested in my skull ring and Mrs Chen was taking our picture. I think we may have agreed to disagree ..

We also met Mimi from Penang, who has been here 26 years and still "i am a proud Malaysian, OK". Natasha from Ipoh, who looked like a Mat Salleh model, and her dashing husband who was in yellow and declaring "I am not pro Bersih, I am pro Giordano".

And then there was Mr Glenn D'Silva with wife and two children who had a brief exchange with Najib just before the PM went into his car to the airport. They were about 10 meters apart so they were not actually whispering.

Mr d'Silva: Keep up the good work, PM.

Najib: (turns around to locate the voice) Huh?

Mr d'Silva: (louder) Keep up the good work, Mr Prime Minister!

Najib: I will, thank you.

I have to say I am proud of Malaysians in Perth, whether or not the Malaysians at Burswood are microcosm of 1Malaysia, as the PM put it in his address. If I am forced to leave my country, I think I will migrate to Perth. Can't afford to be Pak Lah's neighbor, though, and not that I wish to be.

P.s. I will post pics from my Panasonic GF2 later but I took some with my Samsung Galaxy S2 and they are on my Facebook

Working overtime for a common ground in Perth

2011-10-30T00:38:00.001+08:00

CHOGM CHOC-A-BLOC. Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth are meeting past midnight now in a frantic effort to save the Perth CHOGM from a major breakdown. The CHOGM leaders end their three-day meeting this afternoon but have failed to reach consensus on an array of crucial issues.

The Commonwealth, like it or not, has become more divisive than ever. And it's not just about huuman rights. Some journalists believe, or want people to believe, that Commonwealth leaders meeting here are divided because of human rights issues. They say the developed countries in CHOGM, such as the UK, Canada and Australia, want to push for action on human rights but, alas, their economically-lagging partners resent this. Anyone who re

ally believes that the divide is just due to this is naive.

The problem is more grave. The truth is that within the Commonwealth there now exists a new form of extremism. Among the 53 member countries attending this CHOGM, there are a handful that are starting to behave as if that ththe had the moral stature to preach to the others and impose their own high standards on them. Some governments are demanding that others look up to them as benchmarks.

Some member countries, for example, want the Perth Communique to describe the uprising in the Middle East as a "momentous" occassion. The majority of members despise this attempt, saying that the Commonwealth cannot be condoning bloody uprisings and violence. The enthusiasm of some countries to get CHOGM to condemn Turkey with regard to Cyprus is also viewed suspiciously by others.

The Eminent Persons Group's 106-point proposed reforms are also proving to be a pain in the neck and the major cause for the Foreign Ministers' urgent meeting. Observers are increasingly skeptical of the EPG and are bracing for the possibility that the bulk of these proposed reforms will not be adopted by the heads of governments.

Malaysia's ex-PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chairs the EPG. ironically, Malaysia is said to be one of the strongest opponents of some of the proposed reforms.

Malaysia in Perth

2011-10-29T09:18:00.000+08:00

PERTH, Sat: With over 50 heads of governments attending the once-in-two-years meeting, the hosts can't be too careful. Security is super tight. Some local NGOs have threatened to stage protests in conjunction with the meeting but you could not see any of these activities. The "Occupy Perth" movement involving 300 people seemed more subdued than expected. Najib & Co definitely missed lecturer Wong Chin Huat's five minutes of fame as he addressed fellow protesters from all around Australia and the Commonwealth in a city square yesterday, at the same time CHOGM opened its three-day meeting, and told them about Bersih and what it stood for. With him on stage were about 30 Malaysians and friends in yellow tees, some of them students and some permanent residents, who chanted "Bersih, Bersih" at Chin Huat's trained cues. There was a dog, leashed and draped in yellow, Malaysia's royal colour. I swear it was barking the same chants, too!

Some pictures I took [I have one of the doggy on my camera, will post later]. I went over to Chin Huat, who flew in two days ago, who said the protesters will be there tomorrow at Burswood Park, where the PM is meeting Malaysians in Perth before flying off to Malaysia and then to Mekah, to be heard and seen.

p.s. I mentioned to a protester the obvious, that none of them were Malays! It's the same in London when the PM was there some months back but at least the Bersih protests in then had one or two Melayus. Perth is said to be home or second home to thousands of Malaysians, and one of the most favourite destinations for Melayu Malaysia to migrate.

Perth, spring

2011-10-27T08:43:00.000+08:00

If It sounds like Arab spring, that's because I'm told that there will be a mini Malaysian uprising in this Ausralian city when the Commonwealth heads meet for their once-in-two-years gathering from tomorrow. I have never been to Perth and am looking forward to this city many successful Malaysians, including a former Prime Minister, have made their second - for some, their first- home. Bersih's Ambiga is on a road tour in Australia, where she has spoken of the coming of Malaysia's own "people's power" (which always reminds me of the Philippines). Looks like wherever Najib Razak goes, there will always be Malaysians making themselves heard. The last time the PM was Down Under, Raja Petra Kamaruddin happened to be in the neighbourhood! Malaysia Boleh, indeed!

I will be in Perth for a few days, enjoying the Spring and covering the meeting for The Mole.

Read up why CHOGM is still relevant, here.

Selamat Deepavali

2011-10-26T19:08:00.000+08:00

My neighbor in Puchong is a vegetarian and since today is full moon, he will be celebrating Deepavali on Saturday. Works for me. To the rest of you, my dear Readers and commenters, Happy Deepavali.

Every day is a festival. Only in Malaysia.

[images will be added later, when I find a real laptop]

PM: Leave family out of politics

2011-10-24T12:02:00.001+08:00

What goes around comes round, they say.

They have attacked every one of Najib Razak's family members, none of who are politicians. They even accuse Rosmah of murder and black magic. Even as Lim Guan Eng cries foul over the blog harassment on his son as a molester, the attacks on the PM's family have continued. I don't remember Guan Eng ever coming to the PM's defence but here is Najib coming to his.

A good thing, too.

Our politics have gone to the gutter a while ago but since March 2008 it has gone really rotten. The politicians blame bloggers each time they have a chance. Used to be that only the government politicians would pass the buck to "evil" bloggers but these days, even Guan Eng resorts to blaming bloggers.

It is the politicians who should stop their dirty games.

They can start by heeding to this call by the Prime Minister ...

Najib: Leave families out of politics
By Melissa Chi
October 23, 2011

The prime minister said today that in a modern democracy, the ideal scenario would be for all parties to concentrate on policy matters. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak moved today to end allegations of sexual harassment levelled against Lim Guan Eng’s son by calling on politicians to leave family members out of politics.
“That is ideal in a modern democracy where you concentrate on policy matters.
“You can debate the differences in policies in terms of weaknesses of implementation but you leave aside family, or the exploitation of family matters for your own political gain,” the prime minister told reporters today.
Pro-Umno bloggers had claimed that the DAP Secretary-General’s son had assaulted a 16-year-old schoolmate and had tried to escape punishment by using his father’s name.
The Penang chief minister denied the allegations, saying he was furious with the “barbaric lies” made about his teenage son by “pro-Umno ferocious beasts”.
The DAP later said the picture of the purported victim used by pro-Umno bloggers was that of 21-year-old chess grandmaster Anya Sun Corke, who is studying at Wellesley College in the US.
On Friday, Corke denied ever having met or hearing of Lim’s son.
Lim’s colleagues in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) also came out strongly in support of the DAP secretary-general against what they called “the lowest gutter politics” seen in decades.
But Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday called on Lim to let the police investigate the claims if he had nothing to hide.
Najib today said, “You have to agree on certain ethics. It works both ways.
“I do not know the facts of this case but if you want to abide by certain ethics, to exclude families, then everybody should adhere to it, including the Opposition,” he said, appearing to refer to attacks against his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

But will they be able to resist the temptation of getting down and dirty?

Bloomberg and His Proofiness

2011-10-23T20:41:00.003+08:00

Proofiness is the dark art of mathematical deception.

In other words, How to lie with statistics.

And SatD finds the word apt for a certain Chief Minister who has been getting curious rave reviews in the pages of selected foreign mags and wires, the latest of which being Bloomberg. In his latest posting, which is painstakingly researched as usual, SatD says numbers speak out the truth if you allow them: under Lim Guan Eng, for example, Penang grew only 1.7 per cent between 2008 and 2010. Which means Perlis actually did better than Penang. Which also means that Penang's GDP growth was actually better only than Terengganu and Kedah.

I am sure Lim Guan Eng and Bloomberg will want to counter SatD's piece The Proofiness of Lim Guan Beng.

Well, they should respond fast before this idea gets viral. Already the Big Cat has pounced on the opportunity to question today's journalistic objectivity and professionalism in Bloomberg's crap and SatD.

Pls go to SatD's TO LEAVE COMMENTS.

Enemies Within Pt 3: Why it can't be business-as-usual anymore at Felda

2011-10-21T18:35:00.003+08:00

Some argue that Felda Global Ventures Holdings should not be listed as the Felda group has no need for additional funds from the capital market. The finances and liquidity of Felda Global Ventures Holdings are strong enough, they say. But that's not the only reason a company goes for an IPO, blogger Big Dog counters. In Felda's case, the exercise is aimed at "giving the opportunity to the stakeholders, namely the state governments, the EPF, the PNB and especially the settlers themselves to hold a direct stake in the Felda group".

Read the second installment of his 3-part series on the listing of Felda h e r e.

Big Dog says the final part, which he hopes to post on Sunday, will look at why it can't be business as usual at Felda.

Death Threat in DAP

2011-10-21T16:28:00.001+08:00

Page 8 is the new front page: You usually read about politicians claiming to get a live bullet in the post or a threat from a rival party, but Dr Boo says here that he's received a death threat from a comrade. The Johor DAP chief will reveal all at a press conference soon.

We pray for his safety ...

KJ and Kali

2011-10-19T15:06:00.004+08:00

Or, rather, KJ vs Kali.I didn't think I'd see the day. Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan, in his tweets, ran amok yesterday, condemning Umno and the party's supporters for their incessant attacks on DAP's Lim Guan Eng with regards to the alleged case of Guan Eng Jr molesting a student, a mere blog-rumor that was given credence after Malaysiakini, a pro-DAP portal, reported it.

Kali, who was way up there when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was PM, went to the extent of calling the Umno cybertroopers names. He also lashed out at Member of Parliament for Wangsa Maju Wee Choo Keong, most probably because of Wee's non-stop attacks on the MAS-Air Asia deal (Kali was ex chairman of Air Asia X and is still a substantial shareholder).

I'm not sure if Kali was aware that Khairy Jamaluddin, son-in-law of Abdullah Badawi, was at the fore-front of the attacks on Guan Eng. Read KJ defends attacks on Guan Eng, calls critics hypocrites.

Who's KJ calling a hyprocrite, you think?

I have to agree with the two people's representatives:People who live in glass houses should not be throwing stones ...

Enemies Within Part 2: The Little Resistance by a few Big men against Felda's listing

2011-10-19T14:21:00.000+08:00

Last week I said we would be exposing the reasons why some quarters are opposing the proposed Felda listing announced by PM Najib Razak in the 2012 Budget. It came to my knowledge that another blogger is also in hot pursuit of the same thing. Big Dog claims to me he is in the midst of finishing the first of a planned 3-part series on Felda thus far, the proposed IPO, how it will elevate further Felda settlers' standard of living, and why some people don't want that to happen. Perhaps, also, who these people are.

The first instalment should be out on his blog, and in www.mole.my, by 'asar today ...

(Canadian, not Malaysian) Lawyers Against The War

2011-10-19T10:20:00.001+08:00

Arrest Tony Blair, too!.I got an SMS the other day that Tony Blair, who is George Bush's partner in crime, is due back in Kuala Lumpur to address an Asean Business Club event at the Mandarin Oriental, Oct 28 2011. I could not determine if this is, indeed, true but I hope it isn't. The SMS said CIMB and Air Asia are co-sponsoring the event. Wallahualam bisawab.

The time Blair was here to address a business luncheon, only a couple of hundred NGO members staged a demonstration. Perhaps in future we will see lawyers getting involved with such campaigns ...

A mail I got this morning from Lawyers Against The War:

Go to the Facebook link Arrest George Bush

Wassup with Guan Eng?

2011-10-17T21:33:00.003+08:00

I've taken the following excerpts from Malaysiakini. Lim Guan Eng, I'm sure, won's sue Malaysiakini, so he can't sue me without suing Malaysiakini. The Penang Chief Minister is challenging Umno to publish the "VVIP molester son" story in "Umno's papers" and the same time threatening to sue Umno if it does that. Why doesn't Guan Eng just flatly deny it, just like he denied speaking ill of Johor recently? Why the drama and the threats? After all, the blog that "broke" the story didn't even name anyone. Doesn't Guan Eng realize that his antics are making people wonder? - Bru

Courtesy of Malaysiakini, which is not the official mouthpiece of DAP:

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has declined to answer allegations in pro-Umno blogs that a VVIP's son was involved in a case of outraging the modesty of his female schoolmate.

Lim, who is DAP national secretary-general, has challenged Umno instead to publish the allegations in “their newspapers”.

“Let Umno publish the news first, then you will see what I will do,” said Lim during a press conference in Penang today.

“What happens now is they make allegations, then I reply (baling batu, sembunyi tangan). Why should I reply to them every time?” he asked.

Lim said he has better things to do then to reply to each and every allegation or speculation against him.

Earlier, when contacted, Lim's wife, Betty Chew, also declined to comment, saying, “Please ask CM about it”.

The Penang media fraternity was abuzz today with news of a VVIP's son who has allegedly been caught for alleged sexual harassment of a female schoolmate.

The unsubstantiated allegations are going viral among pro-Umno bloggers, and that the identity of the VVIP has been speculated to be that of Lim.

It was claimed that his 16-year-old son had been recently transferred from a Chinese school, Heng Ee, to the well-known St Xavier's Institution recently due to alleged disciplinary problems.

However, the school has denied the allegation, saying there was no truth in the rumours.

The issue was first higlighted in a pro-Umno blog where the blogger Dr MiM - who blogs at novandri.blogspot - said that many had already speculated about the identity of the boy.

He added that pro-opposition bloggers are “biting their fingers” because the VVIP is not from BN but from “their own species”.

“If you are wondering who is this VVIP from Penang - he knows calculation and mathematics that he is able to calculate (set a price) at RM100,000 for each breast groped by his son?” quipped the blogger.

'Transfer carried out according to procedure'

Meanwhile, a source from Heng Ee school said Lim's son had indeed been transferred to another school but that the process was carried out according to proper procedure.

He denied allegations that the boy was moved to St Xavier's Institution due to disciplinary problems, as alleged.

“He was a prefect and has done quite well in the academic field. We did not want him to leave. Even his parents did not want him to leave but he preferred to study in another school,” said the reliable source, who requested anonymity.

The source said he was quite surprised to hear about the allegations in the blog.

The blog has published a photo of the girl, but the source denied that it was the individual allegedly involved.

More reading: VVIP's son involved in molest case?

p.s. Guan Eng hasn't been having a good week. Recently, in Segamat, they told him to "berambus" ...

New media bosses

2011-10-17T16:49:00.006+08:00

Jalil, Sharil, Zainul, Azlan, Su... Latest chatter is of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the body that regulates our cyberspace, getting a new chairman. The new boss is none other than Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi (pic), an industry pioneer who's had flings with the likes of Khazanah boss Azman Mokhtar and MAS new COO Rashdan Yusof aka Danny during their Bina Fikir days and who should have been MCMC boss much earlier than this, if the Minister involved had been more savvy.

MCMC boss

Sharil's appointment follows a rather exciting week for the Malaysian media, old and new alike.

Jalil, NSTP group managing editor

It started with the "unexpected" shake-up at the New Straits Times Press with the arrival at Jalan Riong last Friday of Jalil Hamid as Group Managing Editor of the NSTP. He replaced Zainul Ariffin and will oversee the operations of the group's three newspapers: NST, Berita Harian and Harian Metro. Jalil met with desk heads and editors just before noon today to inform them of his mission.

Azlan, replaces Anthony

Anthony Bujang, made NSTP
bottomline look dashing again

Zainul: Going over to Media Prima's e world

MalaysiaKini, the leading news portal, and the Malay Mail, the oldest KL newspaper, also grabbed headlines last week. Kini editor Steven Gan confirmed talks between the pro-Opposition portal with the Malay Mail, largely seen as a pro-Government paper even though it is not a political rag. Gan said the talks were on "a simple content arrangement".

Gan confirms talks with Malay Mail

Malaysiakini has filed a judicial review against a Home Ministry decision not to allow it a printing permit. The Ministry summoned two Malay Mail editors last Friday over reports that the newspaper planned to print several pages of Malaysiakini stories on a daily basis.

So, Who's Su...?

Enemies within

2011-10-12T20:54:00.021+08:00

As expected, they are now going to try and scuttle the plan to take Felda and 112,000 settler families higher through the listing of the plantation giant, as announced by Najib Razak in his Budget 12 last Friday. The plan, in a nutshell, will make Felda a global player in both upstream and downstream sectors, and enrich as well as empower the settlers.

Apparently, however, not everyone in Felda will benefit from the plan. Settlers, yes. Their families and children, yes. But not everybody. Saifuddin Nasution, unwittingly, has exposed some of these very few people who could lose out from Najib's grand plan for Felda. See underlined in red above.

Whether ISa Samad is eligible or not to head the cooperative is a question that will be answered soon enough. He is appearing in Soal Jawab at 11pm tonight with Ahmad A. Talib. Watch it.

And watch this space. We will follow the money and find out for you who the biggest losers in this winning formula for Felda are, apart from Saifuddin and gang.

Will ECM Libra back down?

2011-10-12T00:24:00.002+08:00

NST 11/10: Sime Darby said it received a Securities Commission letter. SC found in its review that Sime doesn't have to make offer for E&O shares. For full story, click h e r e

In my posting on the matter last Thursday (The (still) continuing E & O saga: The Sime Darby vs ECM Libra tussle a proxy war?), I wrote, among other things, that

"the boys at ECM Libra are working hard to try and force a mandatory general offer ... Which is, by the way, a NO GO, I hear".

True enough, the SC has ruled in favor of Sime Darby. In the event of a GO, a lot of people would have made a lot of quick bucks. Because of the SC's decision, some people in ECM Libra have been denied the chance of making a cool RM150 million, give or take a few million ringgit.

Does the E & O saga end here? Certainly not, according to analysts which won't be quoted in the business pages of the mainstream media, ECM Libra is not expected to back down. If this was indeed an Umno vs DAP proxy war, they have to push on.

ECM Libra have several options. Two of them are:

1. Take a litigation suit against Sime Darby and E & O

2. Buy the "cheap" E & O shares from the market with vengeance and with a view of increasing their stakes (which currently could be around 20 per cent). Now that there won't be a GO, Kian Onn, the brains at E & O, won't want to hold 20 per cent that gives him no say in the running of E & O. So, he may consider the opportunity of outsmarting Sime Darby's Mohd Bakke and owning a bigger stake of E & O at a considerably lower price paid by Sime.

Either way, analysts say, ECM Libra, now seen as a close ally of the DAP or at least the Penang state government, must end up with the ownership of E & O. Remember, the jewel of the crown is the massive tract of land on the island which could give Lim Guan Eng a lot of mileage in the run-up to the next general election, especially if it is in the hands of a "friendly" concern.

Big Dog has a different take on the matter in ...What about Insider Trading?

Video? Anwar? Again?

2011-10-10T11:38:00.003+08:00

Sleepless in Bangkok, Ruthless in Kuala Lumpur. Even if you want to close your ears, you will still hear the chatter about the latest xxx video secretly caught in a room allegedly featuring, yet again, Anwar Ibrahim the Pakatan Rakyat big boss and an unknown but willing partner. Latest from RBF and MiM, two staunch pro-Umno bloggers, the video will be up for viewing on Parpukari and Papagomo, two of the biggest blogs in the country today, (again) thanks to Anwar Ibrahim

So, we wait. Even if we close our eyes, we will see the images, I tell you.

Bajet 2012, a flawless budget?

2011-10-08T13:46:00.004+08:00

As a journalist, I've covered the Budget since1984. Most journos from my time didn't look forward to this Octoberfest. Same thing, year in and year out, and most of the Budgets didn't really affect us, except when the prices of drinks and smokes went up, and they always did. The politicians, they said the same things, too, year in year out. If it's not an election budget, it's a people's budget. There were gems, of course, Anwar Ibrahim called his budgets "caring". Don't remember how many he tabled but they weren't really more caring the previous - or latter - budgets. Dr M coined the word "Bajet", further enriching - or corrupting - the beloved language.

Last night, an Opposition MP described to me Najib's budget as "a flawless budget". Another gem. But is it really flawless? Of course it isn't. There are many flaws in the 2012 budget. It is too rural-centric. Felda, Felda, Felda! It tries to do too much for the lower-income. It does't do enough for middle-income urbanites, only cabbies. Too many handouts, see HishamH's quick analysis.

One thing for sure, Najib's 2012 Budget can't be a bad budget as his rivals from Pakatan Rakyat have claimed that he stole Anwar's ideas in the PR's budget; see Anwar: Copycat budget; see also, The Mole's Opposition leaders criticize.

Having covered 27, 28 budgets in my journalism career, I look at Najib's Bajet 2012 as a great follow through of a series of well-planned economic strategies that the Malaysian government has been renowned for. Where the proposed Felda listing is concerned, 2012 is a long-awaited follow-up to Dr M's last budget in 2003; see Revisting a sterling idea. The lost years for Felda (2004-2011). But now there's no doubt, and in good hands, Felda will be one of the biggest news next year (planned listing by March 2012). There are plans to turn it into Malaysia's latest global player, too, as you might have guessed.

In the morning-after analysis, however, it's always the little things for the small people that reflect well on every Budget. In the case of Najib's latest Budget, there are many, for cabbies to housewives and free education for primary and secondary schoolers. Even the sinners rejoice as there's no increase in drinks and smokes taxes!

Between Guan Eng and Rais Yatim, who's the liar?

2011-10-07T10:05:00.001+08:00

"Dua-dua sama hitam, kot ," Din heard a voice whispered and it sounded like his own ...

Read his lips ...

BM and Penang. But, seriously, who's lying here? Lim Guan Eng, who recently apologized to the Johor Sultan for a slur he claimed not to have made despite audio recording evidence, or Rais Yatim, who has proven that politicians can keep burning bridges and then keep crossing them?

Helen Ang doesn't care for either of them, as far as I know. But in this posting, she has to make a choice. And the winner is ...

The (still) continuing E&O saga: Sime Darby vs ECM Libra tussle a proxy war?

2011-10-06T20:31:00.003+08:00

There is talk that the tug-o-war over Eastern & Oriental is really a front for some heavy political tussling involving Sime Darby, a government linked company led by Mohd Bakke, said to be close to the Prime Minister, and ECM Libra. a boutique investment banker that was once run by some of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's closest aides when he was PM but which is now intimately-linked to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

ECM Libra's attempt to take over E & O, which owns a large tract of land on Penang island, has more or less been thwarted by Sime Darby. But there's still hope to make a cool RM155 million from the shares it owns, according to Big Dog, and that is why the boys at ECM Libra are working hard to try and force a mandatory general offer.

Which is, by the way, a NO GO, I hear.

Read the political intrigues behind this corporate wrestling match H E R E.

COMING SOON: HAS BADAWI'S FOURTH FLOOR SHIFTED TO LIM GUAN ENG'S OFFICE IN PENANG?

21st century Felda

2011-10-05T10:45:00.001+08:00

For the Felda settlers, things are really looking up

Bajet 2011: Najib to continue where Mahathir left off 8 years ago. Two days to go before Najib unveils the goodies in his Bajet 2012, talk is rife among the pundits of this being a "peope-friendly" budget, for which all of them could be proven right. But what has escaped most pundits are the voices rising from the desa and reaching the big city (see my earlier posting Bajet Desa).

These are the Felda settlers, especially the second generation, who have been calling out for more job creation, more business opportunities and the need to move along after 50 years of success. They seem to be looking for a game changer, a real transformation, as opposed to small incremental improvements.

Felda's success mirrors that of Malaysia's own relentless march in generating ever higher GDP figures over the past 50 years.

Of late, those Felda voices are being crystalized in asking for the stalled listing of Felda to be revived (What Settlers Want, 15/8/11). This was first announced by Dr Mahathir in his budget speech in 2003 - his last - but when he stepped down as PM, the idea went nowhere. For 8 years, it seemed forgotten.

No doubt, Najib as the first PM to fully embrace Felda as if it were his own "constituency", is keeping his ears to the ground and may be tossing the idea of responding to the ever louder calls by Felda settlers to have Felda listed.

One thing is sure to remain since the original announcement my by Dr M 8 years ago - settlers' land will not be touched in such an exercise. Much of the renewed enthusiasm to list comes from the recent success of Felda's listing of its sugar subsidiary, MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd, where settlers got a windfall of RM300 million through shares in Koperasi Permodalan Felda, which is owned fully by settlers. In fact, KPF is said to pay out some of the hihgest dividends, at 15 per cent per annum, which is a testament to settlers ability to run big business.

So this may be the Bajet where Najib transforms Felda into a listed behemoth to rival the likes of Sime Darby, no doubt a move that will make the market happy and the settlers happy.

Bajet Desa

2011-10-03T12:10:00.002+08:00

One for the rural? Rural Malaysia, of course, isn't what it used to be. With the exception of the true "pedalamans" of Sabah and Sarawak, most desa in Malaysia are accessible and even wi-fied. Still, the urban-rural gap continues to widen and this is one of the areas the PM has been trying to address. It will help narrow the income gap, a major focus under the New Economic Model that Najib introduced not long after becoming PM.

The Bajet he will table this Friday - the last before PRU13, or so Bernama speculates - is expected to be friendly to the rural folks and the lower-income groups. And we are not talking about the usual annual handouts, such as pay increase for civil servants or more subsidies, but measures to help them deal with inflation and other consequences of a growing economy. More importantly, we could see new and radical initiatives aimed at improving the economy and living standards of the desa folks, including even better access to legal services (since even the rural folks are becoming quite litigious, eg the suits by the Felda folks).

Talk about Felda, this hugely successful social engineering economic project that's been instrumental in elevating the status of generations of desa folks throughout the country, there are whispers of something special for them in this Bajet, part of the effort to bring them into the mainstream of Malaysia's economic development.

Could this be an election budget?

It could well be. Especially if you consider that the current Parliament session that starts today will also deal with the death of a couple of archaic and draconian laws, a prelude to the repeal of the Internal Security Act in March next year. Personally, however, I would like to see Najib serve his full term and set the precedent for every future government to complete its five-year term before calling for a general election. The "snap" election business is as archaic as the ISA; we elect a government to work for five years and they should not be allowed to "resign" and seek re-election before their term is up!

They suspend Mano for six, but Guan Eng gets off scot-free?

2011-10-02T21:44:00.001+08:00

Racial discrimination? Eric Woon, the I am a Malaysian blogger based in Singapore until very recently, says it is clear as day:

Here are the facts … 2 fookups … 2 apologies … 1 suspension. What lah DAP, you are a racist party indeed! Discrimination seems to run deep with this Daddy Anak Party.

Eric Woon's posting DAP is racist. No two ways about it.

K. Manoharan, the Hindraf rep in the DAP, was suspended six months by the party for his 16/9 call to replace the Jalur Gemilang. Guan Eng has apologised to the Sultan of Johor for disparaging remarks made against the state when he was in Singapore recently but no suspension. Mano's ex-Hindraf pals outside DAP, especially those in the Human Rights Party and Makkal Sakti, are furious, H E R E.

Guan Eng and DAP better be careful. Back in PRU12, these Hindraf elements were very influential and PRU13 just round the corner ...

p.s. At last., a practising journalist has demanded an apology on her blog from Guan Eng's office for the foot-in-mouth by his junior press secretary, H E R E. Not very hopeful, though ...

Koh in Koh out?

2011-10-01T15:36:00.001+08:00

Doctored Koh. Someone doctored this photograph of our cool PM cycling around in Penang. Both pics were published in two different newspapers!

Question is:

Did he erase Koh Tsu Koon from this picture ...

Cool Najib on a mountain bike in Penang

... or did he add Tsu Koon on to this one?

How on earth did Koh Tsu Koon get there so fast?

The "difference" was first spotted on lowyatt yesterday, if I'm not mistaken. The Mole is going to find out for you if Tsu Koon was there or wasn't there in the original photograph.

One way of the other, however, I don't think he's going to be there beside the PM for too long ...

Updated: Stop The Lies has more telling pics of Koh on the kayoh ..

Mana Koh?

Guan Eng, who's lying now?

2011-09-30T11:21:00.006+08:00

In 2010, Penang recorded 800 cases of crime per 100,000 population. In Johor, 639 cases were recorded in the same year, considerably lower than in Penang, contrary to the picture Lim Guan Eng painted to investors and journalists in Singapore recently. In private, of course. - Sources: Various, courtesy of Crime: Penang vs Johor

The Mole: We did ask for his comment lah ...

Siakap senohong gelama ikan duri
Bercakap bohong lama-lama mencuri
- an old Malay saying, which simply says that a liar will end up stealing from you

It was Mr Wong, the junior press secretary of Lim Guan Eng, the Penang chief minister, who accused the New Straits Times of lying in its report (Let me deal with Bernama first, NST 27/9) that The Mole had contacted his boss for comments on fresh allegations of his Johor-bitching. Junior apparently didn't know that The Mole had contacted his boss' political secretary. Above his pay scale kot? Read Setting the record straight with Guan Eng, The Mole replays the sms exchanges, screenshots and all.

Junior Wong, you owe NST an apology. Usually, I wont bother but since your boss is so fond of demanding for apologies "or we'll sue you" and is going around labeling the MSM as not trustworthy, I must insist that you go down on your knees and say sorry. And watch you tongue, next time. Check with your seniors from the office before you issue another statement.

And tell that boss of yours to own up lah.

“If I had made the statement, let’s look at the context in which it was made… it was a private conversation.” -Lim Guan Eng, as reported by Malaysiakini which, disappointingly, let Guan Eng get away with crap! Read "In Private" Journalism ..." Helen Ang, a former MSM journalist, thankfully, is less afraid and therefore less sympathetic; read putar.BELIT putar.BELIT putar.BELIT

YAB, the Sultan of Johor is offended by your remarks. I don't know what you plan to do about that or what the Sultan plans to do about it, but I know one thing: you owe the rakyat of Johor an apology. And not in private, certainly.

p.s. And you've got to rid yourself of that new Advisor of yours, man. He is a bad person. Remember when he was suing me, and you would send me all those sms's on the eve of every court date and we'd agree on how evil he was. Don't work with evil, Guan Eng ..

Recommended reading on Crime in Penang:
Sunny Lim: The True Penang Crime Buster

Namewee Fxxk Namewee

2011-09-29T01:56:00.002+08:00

Latest: A pity most of you didn't get to watch the second clip. It was really funny, as in Rotlf funny, funnier than Namewee's video which wasn't funny actually because he was really angry and full of hate for Utusan over one "review". As the second video was in Malay, I doubt You Tube took it down because it promoted hate speech. Diorang ni mana paham bahasa Melayu. So I can only speculate that it was taken down because of the pig snout they put on Namewee's face. Which was silly of the video makers lah, because it only made Namewee look cute! Honestly. I mean, Guan Eng kind of honest ...

Original piece
Namewee Fxxk Utusan Malaysia
by Namewee

Dia"Olang" Fxxk back Namewee.
courtesy of Ameno World:-

Siapa rugi? Kita olang tak lugi. Hiburan murahan. Tolong bikin lagi ... Hidup Satu Malaysia!

Guan Eng's Pak Lah syndrome

2011-09-28T09:19:00.002+08:00

Be wary of your advisers, Guan Eng. Not too long ago, Abdullah Badawi's advisers adopted a strategy on how to make the new PM look good: try and make Mahathir look bad, demonize the ex-PM and blame everything possible on Abdullah's predecessor.
Well, as history has it and we are all witness to Lah's tragedy, the strategy didn't quite work.
But the advisers have landed themselves with another job: to make Lim Guan Eng look good. Unfortunately for the Penang CM, they have adopted the same strategy. Caught on audio, Lim Guan Eng trying to make himself look good by making Johor look bad.

Video/audio courtesy of TV3 via Unbecoming of a CM at Apanama.

Blogger dares Guan Eng to deny Singapore slur

2011-09-26T16:31:00.003+08:00

LATEST! KALIMULLAH HAD DINNER WITH GUAN ENG IN SINGAPORE? BIG DOG HAS THE STORY HERE.

The Mole contacted Lim Guan Eng in Surabaya just now. He declined to comment on a fresh allegation that he had badmouthed Johoreans during a recent address in Singapore. Read The Mole's story H E R E.

I tell you, if The Mole is digging, the truth will be out soon ...

The Original Article:

Those Disparaging Remarks. Now, I'm not sure if Lim Guan Eng had NOT badmouthed Johor during an interview with an Australian radio. In the first place, I'm not sure whether to believe that Lim Guan Eng was indeed interviewed by an Australian radio. Why would anyone want to do that? Still, the Pakatan-friendly portals have quickly carried Lim Guan Eng's denial, eg here, and there's even a transcript that allegedly proves that the Penang CM did not smear Johor as alleged by Bernama., the national news agency. Poor Yong, the Bernama's editor-in-chief, he is probably shivering as Lim Guan Eng demands his pound of flesh:

“I will give them (Bernama) reasonable time (to repent) before action is taken against them.”

While all these are taking place, the anonymous blogger BigCat has gotten in touch with me. She whispers, this new kid on the blog who wrote the short posting "This is another Crook", and she insists that Lim Guan Eng did utter those words when he was in Singapore. "Guan Eng makes LKY sound like an amateur when it comes to badmouthing Johoreans," she says.

BigCat dares Guan Eng to deny having uttered those disparaging remarks.

I don't know what she will do if Guan Eng won't deny them but I suggest that all of us, Lim Guan Eng's office included, check out this BigCat blog regularly for the next day or two ...