Ramadhan never fails to take me to far away places that I've been. Taj Mahal is an all-time favourite but the Boscarsija Mosque (see pic) in Sarajevo that I visited, when Bosnia was war-torn and Malaysia was doing something, is always special. Back home, the Shah Alam state mosque is awesome.
There was a mosque up in the hills in Clementi in Singapore, where I prayed as a boy, but I don't have its picture, except for the one in my mind.
Elok-elok poso tu, brothers and sisters, wherever you are.
Screwed. The Youth and Sports Minister and her secretary-general face a certain probe by the Anti-Corruption Agency following revelations in the recent Auditor-General's report, if this report, here, quoting Nazri Aziz, the de facto law minister, is to be taken seriously.
The AG report singled out a case where Azalina Othman's ministry had paid RM224 for a set of screwdrivers which cost only RM32.
Nazri did say, however, that "... just because there is some mismanagement at a certain ministry, it does not mean that the minister is corrupt."
It's good if we all take heed to that remark.
105. The Government had announced in the 2007 Budget that all PLCs are required to disclose CSR activities in their annual financial reports. Beginning financial year 2008, PLCs will be required to disclose their employment composition by race and gender, as well as programmes undertaken to develop domestic and Bumiputera vendors. The private sector should leverage upon the strength of Malaysia’s diversity by employing Malaysians from all ethnic groups. [full Budget 2008 text here]
This new requirement must have escaped many people. When I read this paragraph, I was curious. What is the purpose of making it mandatory for PLCs to do this? Will they be rewarded or penalised, or will this be a pure academic exercise?
Will the Government require other establishments to declare their racial composition as well? Shopping malls, for example: do we make the KLCC tell us how many Chinese-owned outlets there are compared with Malays, Indians, foreigners, etc? And the GLCs?
update, Sept 12
The PM said in Singapore last night the riot in Batu Buruk was a political ploy by the Opposition after not being able to bring development to Terengganu. [Read Bernama report here].
What can I say?
Happy Ramadhan, Terengganu people.
original posting
New height of police violence. Malaysiakini quotes Anwar Ibrahim as saying, here, that the use of live ammo to disperse a crowd at a public rally in Batu Buruk, Terengganu, is the new height of police harassment. The Associated Press, in a report splashed in newspapers around the world, described the incident as Malaysia's worst political violence.
New low for media freedom. If you rely on Bernama, our national news agency, you'd be wondering what Anwar and the AP are blabbering about. There is nothing on the incident on its lunchtime news schedule (below, click on image to enlarge).
