Poor Old Granny Taking From All Sides

If there is anything such as pity in the world of politics, then all of it will be focused on one of our longest serving (or self-serving?) minister, Rafidah Aziz. However, there isn't such thing in the cruel world of politics...

Before the UMNO general assembly, she has taken shots from both Tengku Mahaleel and Mahathir on the issue on Proton and the issuance of AP. Subsequently, she stole the centre stage during the annual UMNO meet when members from all wings (maybe except Wanita) start firing shots at her for distributing AP unfairly, jeopardizing our national car as well as being "kurang ajar" to her long time mentor, Mahathir.

As a long time politician, Rafidah managed to keep her cool (although she lost it somehow during a press conference where she fell to tears) and fended off most of the accusations against her. The AP list was also released to the public as a result of continuing demand for transparency in governance, but mostly because the ex-PM demands it.

Probably because he is upset over Proton's decision for firing his protégé, Mahaleel, the ex-PM (who claimed he is not senile) fired more shots towards Rafidah for lying in front of over 2500 UMNO delegates as well as to him in her clarification of the AP issue. He also alleged that there are powerful hands at play in the removal of the CEO of Proton.

Most likely out of sympathy towards one of his cabinet member, our PM, Abdullah emerged every time to help put out the fire between the two senior politicians. Abdullah managed to calm the waters by making the AP list public right before the UMNO assembly. Later due to claims by Mahathir that the list is incomplete (wonder who's fault is this), he ordered again that the full list up to 2005 to be made public as well. Furthermore, he defended and backed the decision by Proton to oust Tengku Mahaleel.

Yesterday, we heard another opposition leader, Keadilan's youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Noor hurling a different kind of accusation against the poor old granny. He questioned Rafidah's over the allotment of bumiputera shares since she took over the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Rafidah is accused for allegedly allocating five million bumiputera shares to her son-in-law, Fazrin Azwar. Apart from that, Ezam also alleged that apart from the ACA probe, there were allegations by former MITI official Rejab Lebai Man - in his defence against a criminal breach of trust charge - how Rafidah had instructed him to give a company controlled by Gerakan president Lim Keng Yaik bumiputera allocated shares.

Given the latest development while she yet to return from her South Afrika along with the PM, I wonder if her position as the MITI minister will still be secured upon her return. Or will Abdullah continue to save her butt again from the fiery fire that seems to come from all sides. Perhaps she should have resigned together with Mahathir (instead of being the first one to jump on the stage when Mahathir first announce to resign) few years ago to avoid such cruel treatment.

I guess now she should understand what Anwar Ibrahim went through when Mahathir decided to strip him from his political career. I just hope the old granny doesn’t end up in jail with a black eye like the former DPM.

Poor old granny...

Real Time KL Traffic Info and CCTV !!

For people of Klang Valley only!!

I came across this site (http://www.itis.com.my) last year after reading some big LED signboard on my way to work. Back then, there is nothing there but some launch video (which I find it sick because it has been there since last year and it is still there now).

Warning! The ITIS site has a high frequency of server down problem!

According to the site:

Integrated Transport Information System or ITIS is a comprehensive traffic information system developed for City Hall Kuala Lumpur (CHKL) to provide road users with reliable traffic information and user-friendly route guidance to ease their traffic woes in the Klang Valley.

The navigation of the site is really abysmal. In order to see the real stuff (ie. traffic information), you will have to scroll right on your IE screen to click on a panel (shown below) that opens up a new windows (if you have a 800 x 600 resolution, the panel is completely hidden - maybe is to discourage people from visiting).

The new window is definitely not meant for a 800 x 600 resolution screen. The default size is bigger than 800 x 600. I STRONGLY recommend everyone to change your screen resolution to at least 1024 x 768 before visiting this site. Or else, you will have a hard time looking at the navigation map.

I finally zoom into a particular area within KL city after some hard time figuring out how to navigate the stupid map (at least 8x zoom and 10x panning). As you can see, there are various colors that denotes different type of traffic condition (Green - smooth traffic, Yellow - slow moving, Red - heavy traffic).

Notice the left panel with Events, Incidents, Road Congestion etc.? I finally found something that I have been looking for all along (live CCTV pictures) by clicking on Road Congestion bar. After you click that, a drop down area will appear for you to select Zone Name and Road Name (if you can remember them). I picked the "famous" Jalan Kuching for example and clicked Go.

You will notice a third display area (previously white space) will be populated with a few tables with places along Jalan Kuching. Some of the locations has "view cctv" option. Once you click on the "correct" ones (meaning some of them are showing live pictures while some are off) , you will be shown another pop up window with a CCTV picture (not video mind you).

Do try it out and see if this will help you. Or else, remember to write many complaints to DBKL to remind them to stop wasting public funds.

I guess this also explains the installation of many CCTV cameras along the roads that I travel daily. Someone actually mentioned that those are speed trap camera a while ago. Well, you never know, they may be doing some multi-tasking.

Does this spell the end to our traffic nightmares?

p/s: remember to set your screen resolution to at least 1024 x 768, or else you will regret visiting the said site.

Mahaleel Fired From APprentice !!

Just when everyone thought the Proton-AP saga has ended along with the closing of UMNO General Assembly last week, Proton announced yesterday that they have decided against renewing Tengku Mahaleel's contract as CEO of Proton Holdings Bhd.

In the words of Donald Trump, "YOU ARE FIRED !!"

With one TM down, the other TM (Mahathir) must be left wondering whether he should back off and retire for good as well. Or is he? I suspect a deal must have been strucked between the ex-PM with the current administration: release the AP list, and I sacrifice the CEO.

Is too bad that professional like Tengku Mahaleel has been sacrificed in a political tussle between an ex-PM and a current minister. However, Tengku Mahaleel should have seen this coming when he started to get his hands dirty in Malaysia's politics. He should have concentrated his efforts and skills in managing the pet project of Mahathir instead.

I am sure other CEOs and management of various GLC are very well made aware now that their current positions are not written in stone, but lies in the hands of a bunch of dirty and corrupt politicians. Come to think of it, majority of them do not deserved to be there in the first place since they did not worked to earn it. Most of them are there because of their skills in "knowing-who" instead of "knowing-how".

I am quite disappointed with the state of corporate management in various GLCs in the country. Although the current administration is trying to revamp all the GLCs by putting in place competent professionals to run them, however, the whole exercise is still being carried out well within the confinement of a particular race in the country. Well, I guess they just aren't ready to face up to real competition with other races, not to mention foreigners.

In view of the next dateline of NEP in 15 years, I certainly hope those young professionals put in place will be able to carry out their jobs in a competent way and not indulge in politics everyday. Otherwise, all hope is lost as the current administration is depending on these people to carry their race up to a level playing field with the rest of the world.

Poor Mahaleel... but hey... he started the whole fiasco in the first place!

Other interesting reads:

• Wong Sulong offered some insider news on the reason why the TM is on his way out
• Possible foreigner as Proton's CEO?
• Tribute to TM for his guts by MAA

Umno-ise Academics and Students ??

Finally, UMNO is making a move into academics cricles as well as students!

A Kedah delegate at the UMNO annual gathering points out that "the government has yet to set up an institute to ensure that university academicians and staff toe the Umno line" and he is "concerned that the next generations (will graduate) without having been Umno-ised".

The said delegate alleged that universities such as Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) are "opposition strongholds which stood in the way of goals set by the Umno-led government". He also urged the government to "set up a National Academy of Higher Education so that academics can absorb and be reminded of the policies of the government".

Another Puteri member were smart enough to twist her own words in her move to call for the "establishment of a monitoring body to monitor Malay university students and ensure that they are effectively molded into "glocal" Malays" (why only Malay students?).

The way I see it, there is still a sizeable portion of UMNO members who still thinks that the whole world owes them a living. Furthermore, they hope to bring this kind of twisted logic to other Malays (may or may not be UMNO members) to gain their sympathy and support. This group of people have a weird idea of making everyone a programmable robot so that they are easily controlled and easily maneuvered to achieve some selfish agenda.

Look at the quality of the local graduates for the past few years for example, how many of those unemployed were the products of our local education system? And how many of them are Malays? Why did they become so un-employable? Do they have the capability of independent thinking? Or are they merely mindless robots produced by local universities?

I hope Malaysians at large will wake up from this nightmare we are experiencing now and face up to reality, which might be another nightmare by itself. Well, at least we are not dreaming our lives away...

And yet the UMNO-led government is trying to keep politics out of the sacred education ground...

Keng Yaik to Lead MCA-Gerakan !!

I would certainly vote Lim Keng Yaik for leading MCA-Gerakan for his opinion on the revival of NEP alone. The Berita Harian headline captured most of his views but you really have to watch the live cover of his interview on TV in order to get his punch lines.

The best one of them I would like to quote goes something like "Kalau sampai 30% macam mana? Kalau turun lagi sampai 20% macam mana?".

This is very bold and true argument on the revival of NEP. If NEP is to be revived and implemented throughout the next 15 years, what is the next move of ensuring the Malays maintain their 30% after 2020? Do we need to have a whole squad of UMNO SWAT team scatter around the whole country (including rural kampungs) to make sure they do not sell any of their properties, wealth, business over to non-Malays (including foreigners?)? Do we need a separate statistics from Bank Negara from time to time to ensure that Malays grasp on the economy will not fall below the 30% mark? Is this what you call a developed nation?

The least I could say about Lim Keng Yaik is that he dares to speak up when it is going to far. In contrast, Ong Ka Ting (President of a BN party member) was blushed off by Hishammuddin (youth chief of another BN party member).

Speaking about being a mosquito party, look which mosquito is making the noise now?

When Did NEP Became Non-racial?

NEP is a non-racial issue? What utter non-sense is this?

Since NEP was implemented, it has always been a racial issue, in fact, it is the biggest racial issue that is causing the growing rift in our society. It is also the root cause of the division of our nation along racial lines even after half a decade of achieving independence. Not only did NEP fail in its objective, it cultivated generations of people who live on hand-outs by the government instead of earning through hard work.

What are the various excuses of justifying the rebirth of NEP?

• Malays are not competing on a level playing field. If you look at education and the issue of strengthening national schools, there is nothing racial about it.
• agenda - covering ownership of land, housing, business premises and intellectual property - is aimed at increasing bumiputera share ownership of 30 percent by 2020
• NEP must be clearly revived and outlined in detail under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), so that its implementation and target of achieving the Malay Agenda could be monitored and its success assessed from time to time

Throughout all the justifications made at the annual gathering in UMNO building, we see nothing but the same old chant of the "Malay Agenda". As I recalled, the NEP is supposed to benefit all bumiputras including the bumiputras in Sabah and Sarawak, not to mention the poor orang asli (who are the real bumiputras of the land).

If this is not racial, then what is?

UMNO Youth has transformed the original aim of NEP to help all bumiputras in the country to only help the Malays (namely selected UMNO members only). Furthermore, they have the nerve of saying that this is not a racial issue.

On one hand, Najib is asking the Malays to be "glocal" and stop depending on their crutches on his opening speech for UMNO Youth meeting. On the other hand, the UMNO Youth leaders are urging the government to provide more wheel chairs to the Malays so that they can grab hold of 30% of everything (if they had not already done so).

Looking at these scenarios, I sincerely pity the Malays in terms of their future prospect in view of AFTA and globalization. From what I can see, the current leadership understands the need of forgoing the subsidise mentality in order to bring the already lagging Malays to greater heights. However, the younger minds are thinking otherwise. Maybe is a good thing that those aged leaders continue to hold on to their post in the government, or else, we will have a bunch of idiots rising up to the helm with nothing but a crave for wealth and power through discriminatory policies.

I am also particularly disappointed in various speeches and interviews given by the Youth chief. He said "there was a small group of narrow-minded people who opposed the wing’s aspiration to put forward the Malay agenda" and "It was not we who are narrow-minded but these small groups of people who have such a mindset". He also pointed out the failure of his own ministry in the government when he complained about students who are currently studying in schools that do not have water and electricity supply for not able to compete with students from Smart schools, with the best teachers and facilities.

I would like to ask Hishammuddin, who are the ones that came out with the idea of Smart school in the first place? Why are funds not provided for supplying water and electricity supply to all schools? Why is there discrimination between schools that are situated in urban areas and those which are not? Isn't it in line with our country's education philosophy to provide equal education to everyone? Why the bias to city schools? Is this part of NEP as well? I think his grandfather must be turning in his grave after all his hard work of uniting every race under the same roof.

With regards to the hotly debated AP system, some delegate suggested giving 25 APs to each of the division leaders in UMNO. Such arrogance I must say! When did AP became UMNO property? The AP system is part of the government which is formed by everyone in the country. Although its aim was to help the Malays to enter the automotive industry, there is still more than half of the country's Malays which is not part of UMNO who are honest individual like you and me, working their ass off to make a living in our country.

On one hand, the government is hitting hard at those so-called rent seekers who tend to sell off their AP to get fast profit. On another hand, idiots are calling to distribute the APs in small quantities to a larger group of beneficiaries. Where is the logic in that? How many people you do think can come up with a show room for foreign and luxury cars? How many people do you think have the capital to secure franchise agreements with foreign car manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, Kia etc.? By giving the suggested 25 APs to a particular person (read UMNO member), the government is encouraging the AP receiver to sell their AP to companies who own the franchise agreement. Isn't that rent-seeking in its purest form?

Speaking about crossing ranks, what about Hishammuddin's brave act of belittling other BN leaders such as Ong Ka Ting and Lim Keng Yaik? He should be reminded that he is a Youth wing chief, and not a party chief like Abdullah. Who does he think he is when he say he is prepared to meet Ong Ka Ting to discuss about the NEP? Isn't that up to the UMNO chief to discuss with the MCA chief? Isn't Hishammuddin crossing ranks in this instance? He should be discussing the matter with Ong Tee Kiat and other youth chief instead before he even make public his views on reviving NEP. Isn't that the spirit of Barisan Nasional? Or the spirit doesn't apply to UMNO as they have a bigger representation in the BN fold?

Such a sad week indeed for Malaysians !!

RM Pegging on US Dollar Removed !!

In an immediate response to China's action to remove their currency peg, Bank Negara has announced yesterday that the exchange rate of RM will be allowed to operate in a "managed float", with its value being determined by economic fundamentals.

For further reading:

• Malaysiakini
• Utusan Online
• Berita Harian
• The Star
• Sin-Chew

Finally Something That Make Sense...

After all the "Hidup UMNO, Hidup Melayu!" chanting and out-"cry" by another, the top leadership finally came through his senses and make everyone understand the main culprit behind the failure of Malay as well as NEP.

Kegagalan mencapai matlamat 30 peratus penyertaan orang Melayu dalam bidang ekonomi bukan kerana kegagalan Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB) tetapi kerana perbuatan mereka yang diberi amanah tetapi lebih mementing keuntungan jangka pendek, kata Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Menurutnya, mereka tidak menggunakan peluang dan amanah tersebut untuk meningkatkan pencapaian orang Melayu dalam bidang ekonomi, tetapi sebalik mereka menyalahgunakannya kerana mahu cepat untung.

Setelah itu mereka meminta peluang baru bagi kali kedua, ketiga, keempat dan seterusnya

Read full speech in English or BM.

First of all, I am glad that Pak Lah finally dropped the curtain on the issue but I guess everyone has known this all along. How else can some Malay driving big foreign cars while some are even deprived of basic needs such as water and electricity.

Come to think of it, we understand there are various levels in any society. Some are rich and famous, some are middle-class workers and some may still be in hardcore poverty. The amount of currency in a country is limited. When someone gained a share, others have to give. However, we are damn tired of those very people who are on the receiving end of the deal always come out to shout for more and hiding behind those who are getting the raw end of the deal.

Among the 3.4 million UMNO members (so they claimed), I guess maybe only at max 10% of them are rich and famous. The other 90% are just mere assets for the top 10% to make use off once every year so that they can continue riding on them to ask for more "candies", so to speak. How else do you think those who lead them in shouting for more assistance every year are very well dressed, driving big cars and living in big mansions?

Maybe you can say this is a survival of the fittest, however, how long do you think this be allowed to go on? Most UMNO members (who may not even aware that their name are on the list) living outside the urban area have no clue that they are being taken for a ride by their so-called leaders. Although they are given great discounts at buying reserved properties in the urban areas, why are they still reluctant to take up the offer? Why are they still reluctant to move out of their home base like Kampung Baru or Segambut Dalam, which are more or less the only area left undeveloped in the whole of KL?

The UMNO Youth can shout all they want every year, create new demands every year, create new slogans every year, make a new keris every year. Do you think it will change anything? The poor will still remain poor, while the rich will continue to capitalize on the poor so that they can get more. This is the reality that the Malays will have to face, this is the reason why NEP has failed after almost half a century of implementation. (Maybe this can go down the Malaysia Book of Record as the biggest failure of all!)

Economy pie is not something that you can allocate or give out to anyone you like. It has to be earned through honest means and hard work. Whatever you earn belongs to yourself (and maybe your off springs or any name that appear in your will). So please don't drag the whole race or even the whole country down the drain with you just because you failed in your business venture. If you are smart enough to take advantage on government assistance, you should be smart enough to know that such hand-outs are not forever. (and maybe your big name will be published in the front-page of every major newspaper)

Everyone has to help themselves before any help is being forwarded to them. Giving a electric-powered wheel chair to a person who is walking on a crutch will only paralyze the person forever!

Wake up Melayu!
Bangun lah Melayu!
dan Buka Mata lah Melayu!

Look Familiar??

Look familiar? Remember the Meru bridge incident?

I am not accusing anyone on this design nor I have evidence that the above structure (and at least another similar one nearby) will follow the footstep of the Meru bridge.

However, don't you think prevention is better than cure?

The photographed structures stand tall above the Segambut roundabout where there is a construction of a proposed flyover being carried out. One far end of the structure is situated on top of the road surrounding the roundabout. IF (God forbid) that part were to collapse at peak traffic hour, I cannot imagine what will happen to the poor motorists stuck in a jam under it.

Just something to think about for those great builders out there...

Between Subsidising and Business Model

After the photos of the four AP Kings are being splashed on the front page of all the major newspapers in the country, I just wonder how this will affect their auto business.

Since the past two days, peculiar events are happening around the country. First we have the gangster incident in Sky Kingdom, now the official disclosure of the list of AP recipients. Both of the "settled" issues are among the most talked-about topic in the country. Both of them concern the welfare of Malays as well as Muslims (or the two combined - bumiputra). And both of them are to become the hotly debated subject in the UMNO General Assembly. I reiterate my question: do you think this is a co-incidence? I leave it to you readers to decide...

Back to the AP issue, I would like to give my two cents worth.

First of all, I do not object to most efforts implemented by the government to help the disadvantage group of our community (namely Bumiputra), and the AP system is no different.

I believe the Import Licensing through Approved Permit (AP) was introduced in the 70s with the objective of promoting and providing opportunities for bumi entrepreneurs in the automotive sector. Since then, many have been "chosen" to be recipient (mainly UMNO members) and sold their APs in order to get fast profit.

For the four so-called AP Kings, I believe they ought to be made role models to all the other AP recipients assuming they did not sell of their AP for fast track cash. I believe both Naza and Weststar Motorsport are doing quite well in their respective businesses. Naza even aroused the sore-loser comments from both Proton's adviser cum ex-PM and Proton's CEO which brought the AP issue to public eyes!

No doubt the AP system has benefited companies like Naza in their business. But isn't that the main objective of the AP system? Arent' the government happy to see that at least a few of bumi businessman are able to benefit from their policies? At last we are looking at a policy that works to the advantage of the bumi, albeit only a few selected ones. But I don't think we can expect the government to grant AP to each bumi right? Doing so will only encourage them sell their AP to people who are really committed to the auto business, thereby the fast money. But who can blame them?

I am not a AP recipient sympathizer, in fact, I would like to get a few AP myself so that I can sell to Naza or Weststar and settle all my outstanding loans to the bank. However, we must understand the bigger issue here. Naza is a well-known business entity in the automotive industry namely because they sell value-for-money cars like Naza Ria and Citra (apart from other luxurious models) to the rakyat. They have an effective business model (I hope) that thrives within the government's policy in the auto industry. However, as the business of the company grows, they will need more AP to serve the demand of their customers. Since the only way of importing car into the country is through the AP system, they are left with no choice but to apply for more. By doing so, they need to justify their actions to the government.

As you can see, the foreign cars auto business in our country is built on top of the AP system. Companies like Naza and Weststar have shaped their business model around the same system. In doing so, companies like this are able to survived and even thrived within a shielded environment. However, these companies must be made to realize that this form of hand-outs will come to an end someday. The government should not stop the implementation out of the blue and leave them hanging high and dry.

With the upcoming implementation of AFTA, I suggest the government officially announce their plans and datelines in removing the AP system. In doing so, we will be able to get a clear picture of who are the real competent players in the auto industry. Incompetent ones will definitely cry out loud to get public sympathy while the competent ones will build their next business model around the open market environment. So far we have only seen one company that is whining out loud even before full implementation of AFTA... you should know who by now...

Let's face it, not everyone is cut-out to be in business, furthermore the ever competitive automotive industry. We should let nature takes its course, and let the competent thrives. If 30 years of protection still fail to prepare ourselves for the real market forces, maybe we should concentrate our resources to other industries and let the foreign players take over. That way, the government will still receive revenues in terms of taxes.

I rest my case...

Who is the Official AP King?

News Flash!
The Prime Minister Department has made another U-turn in its decision to release the list of AP recipients!

According to official numbers, the widely rumored Nasimuddin SM Amin has been officially ordained AP King - the largest single recipient.

More to follow... watch this space!

Let's Burn the Infidels

Burn them to hell!

No wonder we are still a third world country. Never mind the tall KLCC Twin Towers, KL Tower, KLIA, Sepang F1 Circuit, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. With this kind of publicity, we will be doomed to remain as a third world country forever! More photos here...

A mob of about 30 people went on a rampage, torching structures and smashing vehicles and house windows within Ayah Pin's Sky Kingdom commune in Jerteh at 5am today. The mob also set fire to Ayah Pin's Pajero and smashed four other vehicles parked inside the area.
The sect leader Ariffin Mohamad, 65, better known as Ayah Pin, left the commune last night.
According to witnesses members of the mob were armed with parangs, sticks
and plastic bags believed to contain petrol.

What intrigued me was the fact that the incident occurred at such a perfect timing (on the eve of the UMNO General Assembly!). I am not suggesting anything or anyone, but it seems to me that the above vandalism (not to mention criminal) activity was part of a plan to get rid of Ayah Pin.

It was only yesterday that Terengganu's CM pointed out that the Ayah Pin issue has became an international issue and "must be tackled carefully to protect the country's image". And now this happens, what a careful way to handle the issue! I wonder what the CM has to say about this.

Well, I guess the top leadership will just come out and condemn "a small group of people" who is committing this kind of atrocities against another group of people with different beliefs. The police will commit into an investigation into the incident and before we know it, the whole issue will slowly "fade away" from the news media.

Is this the way to convince the world that Islam is a peaceful religion and there is no compulsion in the religion? Is this the way we want to attract foreign investment? Is this the way towards achieving a developed nation in 2020? Is this what you call freedom of religion as stated in our constitution?

I wonder this is a prelude to cultivating suicide bombers in our country...

Senior vs. Junior??

It's official! MCA's current secretary general, Ting Chew Peh is going to challenge incumbent Chan Kong Choy for deputy president in the upcoming MCA elections. This was announced in a press conference called by Ting this morning.

With VP, Chua Jui Meng challenging Ong Ka Ting for president, is this a battle between the old guards and the young turks?

With Ting's confirmed move, two are going for president, three (including Chan Tse Yuen) are going for deputy president while nine are aiming for vice president. This will turn out to be the most democratic election since two decades ago (or is it?).

All candidates will have slightly more than a month left to campaign. Chua Jui Meng raised the stake when he announced his election manifesto, a first in MCA history. "Fish-head" Ling Liong Sik joined in the fray when he openly supported the Ong-Chan pair although he did mentioned that he will not interfere in MCA elections after he retire.

Rumour also has it that Ling has struck secret deal with Ong-Chan pair in order to elevate his son to lead the MCA Youth movement. Personally, I do not think that this will go through because I don't think Hee Leong’s bid will be successful (even with Ong-Chan's backing) as he is still does not has wide grassroots’ support and he is only a vice-chief for Perak. Electing him to the post will give out the idea of interference of outside force into the youth movement, which is the last thing they need to be seen as independent.

MCA Youth legal affairs bureau chief, Lim Seng Chai tipped Liow Tiang Lai (current MCA Youth secretary-general) to win the post because "If Hee Leong wins the post, it will affect the development of MCA Youth" and "We have never seen him voicing his views on national and international issues. We don’t know his way of leading, he has no reason to contest", and of course, "What we know is that he is a businessman who was embroiled in a multi-billion ringgit controversy over business deals involving businessman Soh Chee Wen".

With all the odds against him, I wonder if Hee Leong will even want to be nominated for the post. Doing so will only bring disaster to his short political life if he does not win (which I give it 0.001% chance). Lim also quoted as saying that "fish-head" Ling's influence is not significant and delegates will eventually reject irrational request (or out of the blue) and vote with wisdom.

With all these dramas unfolding, I forsee more to happen in the coming weeks. Hopefully this time someone won't be lame enough to call in help from Big Brother in order to get another "loser" mandate like the last time!

Hishammuddin for US President?

Just read an interview with Hishammuddin Tun Hussein in Utusan prior to the 56th UMNO General Assembly. Throughout his interview, his mention of the US President interests:

Bagi saya daripada jadi pemimpin AS seperti George W Bush, lebih baik jangan jadi pemimpin, kalau sistem politik kita mengizinkan pelakon Hollywood dan orang seperti George Bush dibenarkan menjadi Presiden AS. Bagi saya lebih baik saya jadi peguam daripada menjadi presiden yang diketawakan dan menjadi bahan ketawa dunia.
Kalau kita halalkan politik wang itu, akhirnya akan melihat keadaan sama seperti di AS kerana hanya yang kaya dan berpengaruh yang ada talian diberi tempat, akhirnya mereka menjadi boneka.

To me, it just shows how shallow is the thinking of our current Education Minister is and also shows hypocrisy is much alive and kicking in UMNO Youth or UMNO as general. In his statement, he accused US democracy is tainted with similar money politics problems as in UMNO. Furthermore, he accused the US President as a puppet controlled by the rich and powerful.

Before Hishammuddin start making baseless accusations, I would recommend him to read more on the Presidential system in the US. First of all, the US President is indirectly elected by the U.S. Electoral College made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. If we look at our country, the Prime Minister is appointed by the political party who won the majority in the General Elections. Further more, is Hishammuddin accusing all Americans of using Bush as a puppet?

Apart from this, does Hishammuddin know what it takes to be the US President? Can he even imagine what it takes to lead the most powerful country and the biggest economy in the World? If Bush is really the laughing stock of the world, why did leaders from all over the world pay so much attention to what he has to say? If he is really a puppet controlled by some rich and powerful people, what evidence is there to prove it? Why did our government spent so much money in lobbying so that Mahathir can have a meeting with Bush?

Hishammuddin further undermine past US President whose background is acting in Hollywood. He may have a narrow minded view that only politicians can make good leaders, but the rest of the develop world did not buy into his thinking. Politicians rise to who and what they are by various means in our country. Sad to say that many of them buy their way through. Before he criticizes others, I wish to remind him that what he is doing is only shooting himself in the foot because money politics have evidently cultivated within UMNO for God knows how long already. If the top-elected VP are guilty of corruption, I wonder who else are guilty too?

US President deals not only with domestic issues, but international issues as well. I just wonder how much can the Malaysia's PM contribute to global issues such as global warming, North Korea's nuclear crisis, human rights issues etc. Instead of shouting anti-Semitic remarks, what else did our PM contribute to help the Palestinian people in their struggle?

To Hishammudin, do you think you can measure up to the caliber and charisma of Ronald Reagan? Do you think you can make a hard decision of protecting Kuwait during the Iraq invasion like George Bush Sn? Do you think you can handle the criticism that comes from all over the world in any single decision you make?

Come on, all you can do is make empty talk and rhetoric remarks about others. Do stop to think for a while before you belittle other people, or else, our whole nation will if not already become the laughing stock of the world because of your narrow-minded and shallow remarks.

Qualified Students? Yeah right...

With regard to my earlier post, I have quoted facts and figures from various organizations (which are unknown to me until this morning) that are used mainly to pressure the present government for more financial assistance to the poor Malays in order to pursue tertiary education.

The question I would like to ask is: Why does the all the findings focused only on the Malays?

One of the headline stressed that 120,000 students are now in a state of "terbiar, menganggur dan tiada hala tuju" because they fail to get into the IPTA. I find this very disturbing if it is true.

I once went through similar experience where I fail in my application to IPTA after SPM. But that did not stopped me from sourcing for other avenues to further my education! I went to education fairs, listen to talks, even went through few weeks of Form Six before my application to a private university was finally approved.

Even when my application was approved, I was at another juncture to decide whether I should continue with my Form Six or to go for it. My parents actually pushed me to go for the IPTS that offered me although they know they will not be able to support me financially (as I have 3 more siblings that will graduate from their secondary education in subsequent years and they want to be fair to everyone). After listening to all sides including the headmaster of my school, I've decided to go for IPTS pre-U studies despite the financial burden.

Since then, I have to worry everyday on how to pay my daily expenses, hostel fees as well as tuition fees. There were no such thing as PTPTN back then during my pre-U studies and the scholarship offered were only to Bumi students. My father withdrew a third part of his EPF savings to help finance my studies for the first year in pre-U. We could not afford to borrow from the banks as the interest rate was very high and way beyond us.

After I passed my pre-U studies and started my first year in the undergraduate programme, PTPTN came to the rescue. Our badge of students was the first badge to apply for PTPTN loan. Back then, we were offered RM12,000 per year while our tuition fees alone are RM13,000 per year. However, our family did our best to overcome the financial burden and managed to push four of us through tertiary studies with additional help from relatives.

To me, if the so-called "qualified" 120,000 students are stucked with no where to go, then I guess they should do more research into the area. Instead of sitting there waiting for something to happen, why don't they do something about it. I am sure the opportunities available to them as Bumi cannot be less that what we non-Bumi are offered. If they still cannot see opportunities laid out to them (other than IPTA or MARA), then who are they to blame but themselves?

The government can only do so much, and the government coffers can only offer so much to the field of education. PTPTN was set up back then with initial funding from the government for the first few years of its operations in the hope of self-sustaining after the fund starts to receive payment for the loans given out. The aim of PTPTN was to help the poor and needy who have managed to secure a place in local higher institutes of learning be it IPTA or IPTS.

For the 120,000 "qualified students" out there, a piece of advise:

Failing to get into IPTA is not the end of the world, if you are truly qualified, you will be able to find other ways to further your study. If you continue to sit there and cry about it, I guess you do deserve to be where you are.

Do you think that everything will be handed to you on a silver platter?

Is time to wake up and smell the roses!

Problems in Education System

Follow up to my earlier post on our dismal education system, I would like to add further after reading more news on Utusan Malaysia this morning.

On the front page, where is a headline that states a total of 120,000 (why is it always a beautiful round number?) "pelajar pintar Melayu" (whatever it means) who failed to secure a place in public institute of higher learning (IPTA) although they have fulfill the criteria, are expected to be in a state of "terbiar, menganggur dan tiada hala tuju" (roughly translated as abandoned, unemployed and without any prospect).

The writer also commented that their hope of entering private institute of higher learning (IPTS) are "terkubur" (buried) when MARA decided not to stop giving out loans to such students who wish to further their studies in IPTS. It mentioned that almost all of them cannot afford to pay for their education in "IPTS-IPTS ternama".

The report quoted a research from Institut Kajian Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Melayu Malaysia that show that this group of students formed 65% of the 178,038 (no round figure this time round) SPM and STPM students who failed to get into IPTA this year. The head of the institute referred to the fact that majority of the unemployed in the country are Malays comes as no surprise given the above facts.

The President of Persatuan Kolej Bumiputera Malaysia also points out that a huge number of students pulled out last minute after they were confirmed a place in IPTS because they could not provide a guarantee of payment.

In a separate report, the President of Kongres Dalam Perkhidmatan Pendidikan Malaysia pressured the government to continue bearing the responsibility of giving financial assistance to Malay students who comes from poor family background in order to further their studies at tertiary level. He also urged those who have received loans to finance their education should pay back their loan so that such financial assistance can further benefit other people.

The head of Institut Kajian Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Melayu Malaysia says that the government should not hesitate to continue helping the poor Malays as they are an asset to determining political power.

He was quoted as saying "Orang Melayu atau bumiputera perlu disediakan prasarana yang secukupnya, termasuk yang berkaitan dengan keperluan pendidikan bagi sekolah-sekolah luar bandar termasuk di Sabah dan Sarawak yang masih
ketinggalan" and "Melayu masih perlukan tongkat selagi mereka belum mampu untuk berdikari"

I know many of you do not read the Malay dailies such as Utusan Melayu and Berita Harian. Hence, I provide the above excerpts in order to enlighten everyone on some of the issues that is being discussed in the Malay community.

I will comment on the above in my next post.

Bumi... Bumi... Bumi...

Read this and this on the outcome of Malay Private Higher Education Convention organised by the Malaysian Bumiputera IPTS National Association.

Tengku Razaleigh enlightened the rest of the country that "Malay students pursuing higher education at private institutions of higher learning (IPTS) certainly have the right to receive government assistance as it is provided for in the Federal Constitution".

This is certainly an eye opener for me and maybe many of you out there. I would certainly like to find out which part of the Federal Constitution enshrined the above claim. As far as I understand, the constitution Article 153 only states the following:

"the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (The King of Malaysia) shall exercise his functions... in such a manner as may be necessary to safeguard the special position of the Malays... to ensure the reservation... of such proportion... in the public service... and of scholarships... and other similar educational... privileges or special facilities given... by the Federal Government."

In spite of PSD scholarship being given mainly to the Malays (which I doubt few is allocated for the "real bumiputra or orang asli"), there are still people out there crying for more and more "assistance" each day. Apart for asking help in scholarship, Tengku Rasaleigh also calls on the government to help finance students pursuing their studies in Malay IPTS through MARA (a whopping RM300million!).

Meanwhile, Johor CM, Abdul Ghani Othman claims that the current "meritokrasi" system is oppressing and discriminating against thousands of Malay students who is living in rural areas with limited access to quality education. He justifies his remarks by saying that the intake of Malay students in various "critical" courses in public universities has declined since the implementation of the said system.

After reading all the above, I wonder why these "champions of the Malay cause" fail to recognize the root cause of their problems.

First of all, who are responsible for providing quality education in the first place? Isn't that the job of the Education Ministry? Quality education should be equally provided to everyone regardless of family background, geographical locations, ethnic and beliefs.

Secondly, why are we focusing only on tertiary education? What about primary and secondary education? If a teenager is given proper education during the first 18 years of their live, they should be able to equip themselves with enough caliber to qualify for a scholarship like the rest of their peers. Does it mean that just because is student is studying in rural areas, they will receive inferior education as compared to those living in big town? Do you mean to tell me that good quality teachers are meant only for big boarding schools first, and the rest of the crops will be segregated among other "lesser" schools?

Thirdly, if Malay IPTS cannot survive without government help, why do they not submit the running of the IPTS to the government instead? Why are those investing in Malay IPTS still continue their business if such business plan is clearly a failure?

Some complain that the government is giving too much help to non-Malay IPTS instead. I find such complain doubtful. To me, IPTS (meaning Private Institute of Higher Learning) are private businesses. If I were to start a private business in any field, I would have come up with a sustainable plan that would last at least until I retire. It would be good to invest in business that is given some form of government assistance such as tax exemption etc. to help me to kick-start the corporation. Do you think that IMU, LimKokWing, HELP, Informatics etc. survived until now by relying on government funding alone? You'd gotta be kidding me!

As for meritocracy, I would only like to quote the Pahang CM Adnan Yaakob, "I would prefer to go to a doctor who entered a public university based on merit rather than someone who gained entry because of his bumiputra status". Would you do the same?

Some end note, does it matter if the education we receive comes from a Malay or non-Malay IPTS? Is one inferior in terms of standards compared to the other? If so, why are we having inferior IPTS educating our young ones when we know we are heading towards a knowledge-based economy?

God save our education system!

Meru Bridge is Falling Down

Ever heard "London Bridge is Falling Down" and it never did?

Well, too bad no one bothered to came up with a song for the NKVE-Meru Flyover, else it would have not "fall down" yesterday.

Someone in the government must be going "phew!" when they got to know that all those people who are injured are not Malaysians! Or else, it will cause a huge uproar and difficult to sweep under the carpet.

Two lovebirds were lucky enough not crash into the divider and escaped unhurt. Both are considering legal actions against the construction company though. Apart from that, the incident also caused a 5km traffic jam on both sides of the NKVE.

My sympathy goes towards the Bangladeshi workers who were injured. I wonder did the company bought any insurance for those workers in the first place. Who is going to cover their medical expenses? and most of all, who are going to support them families back home if they are not able to work again due to the injuries suffered? Do they have rights to claim anything?

The NKVE-Meru expressway cost a whopping RM20million per kilometer and it is subcontracted out to an external contractor by SP Setia. I wonder why didn't the name of the subcontractor appear on the news yet? Something's fishy...

I have recently traveled to Klang via NKVE and notice the so-called NKVE-Meru's "segmental girders of a flyover". I didn't knew it was a project that is still on-going as I couldn't see any machinery nearby the site. I first thought it was another abandoned project. I saw the road sign but see no road leading anywhere.

Everyone including the CM of the "developed state", Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) Deputy Director-General, SP Setia Berhad director and Works Minister has requested report from a lot people (is akin to saying spending more money for something that might or might not benefits the victims at hand).

With MRR2 fiasco which is still left unresolved (and it is still open to public usage), I wonder anyone would still willing to pay in order to use some expressway which may end us up as collateral damage while those big-time company could only offer some apology!

In the mean time, all flyover constructors in the country are urged to come up with a song to ensure their projects do not "fall down" during and after construction!

Heaven is Crowded Now... Soon Hell Will Be!

May the Lord bless the souls of those who were sacrificed amid the act of cowards.

I first heard the news on radio on my way home. When I tune into BBC, there was already four confirmed explosion that occurred. British Transport Police, Scotland Yard, Home Secretary Charles Clarke, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and later Tony Blair was seen given their interviews and speech to inform Londoners of the barbaric attacks that has taken place in Central London.

Among those who gave the official announcement and speech, only one of them actually gave the public exactly what they wanted, which refers to steps to be taken by public, things to avoid doing as well as an emergency number will be setup for handling queries on the incident. press however, was only interested in the numbers in particular number of explosions, number of deaths, number of busses blown up etc.

I understand the press and the public has the right and deserve to know what is actually going on. However, they should not pursue in a way that will hamper the safety of the public. After the first few explosions, the police are not certain of any more forthcoming attacks. Hence, they should be allowed to carry on their task in maintaining public security. Busy medical personnel are at every corner trying to save as many as possible. The press however, are always in the way of their work, and always impatient to get their numbers as seen when they keep on pressing on the matter although the police commissioner did not had the information they want.

In time like this, the feeling of anger and hatred will be sown. Terror begets terror. Only cowards and barbaric people are capable of such a horrible act. Performing such attacks in the name of God will only get them a express one-way ticket to hell. These people are not martyrs, these people are not fighting a holy war, as I quote our PM, "such acts as they do not bring solutions to the problems faced".

Heaven might be crowded now with innocent souls, but soon, hell will be filled with cowards and people who justified the killing innocent lives in God's name!

Obi-M Defends Anaikin-Mahaleel

Alas... the old (but not out) master has come to defend his "young" padawan.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has come to fend off criticism against his 10-years old child, Mahaleel Ariff. I wonder just how many times does he think he can continue going to do that before he retire from life, another 2-3 years maybe?

Excerpts from Bernama:

• Proton advisor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has defended the company's chief executive officer, Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Ariff's remarks for allegedly criticising the government's handling of the automotive policy, saying the latter was duty bound to protect the national car manufacturer
• He also said there was no move to remove Tengku Mahaleel as CEO and neither was there any showcause letter to this end
• Dr Mahathir said that in his meeting with Azlan, the latter did not mention anything about Mahaleel's removal

Besides that, Dr Mahathir also took fire at the current AP system where they are handed out to only a few "selected" companies rather than a large number, which according to him, "went against the spirit of nurturing Bumiputra entrepreneurship".

Lastly, he has given us a mathematical or logical equation to support his statement that there is no move to oust Proton CEO. According to him:

He (Mahaleel) has not told me that he has been asked + neither did Azlan tell me has asked (Mahaleel to resign) = Mahaleel has not been asked to leave

Just a question for Mahaleel (who is still in his hide-out God knows where):

What kind of CEO are you that need an old man to come running and save your sorry ass every time you cause a bruhaha in the media instead of concentrating on running the company?

Malaysians Keen On Entertainment??

According to Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, Malaysians are more interested in entertainment matters; hence, his ministry (Information Ministry) faces difficulty in getting government messages across to the people.

Based on his briefing to BN members in the Parliament, he was quoted by Bernama saying the following:

• He said the ministry's budget was increased every year but the messages it delivered lacked impact
• "Although the role of departments and agencies under the ministry appears comprehensive, there are still many people who have little understanding of issues and problems that are reported"
• "This has resulted in the public often questioning and not supporting government policies"

Arshad Hashim (Ministry Sec-Gen) also said "RTM faced tough competition on dissemination of information from VCDs and the internet".

In view of the above, one can say that the Information Ministry is less competent in their job as compared other mass media owners. While acknowledging the fact of their incompetence, they failed to outline their strategy to overcome their weakness.

Why do the minister think that the public are more keen towards entertainment matter in the first place? Is it because the rakyat are fed up of the government's policy? Do we lack the intellectual mind to understand those policy? or is it that we just don't care what the government decides to do?

To me, is simple. The public will want to know more about anything if they find them interesting or have a direct impact on their lives. Consequently, if I come across any news or events that I am interested it, I would have invest more time and effort to know more about it. In order to know more about something, I would have questions left to be answered.

If the minister does not like people to "question" them on their policies, then why on earth try to convey the information in the first place? Did he think that we are just robots that just receive input and get on with our daily activities without bordering to ask anything?

Talking about entertainment, don't you think we ought to have a glimpse of the entertainment that is happening in our Parliament? I bet people will even pay to watch some of our so-called leaders make a clown out of themselves in the August House (shouting the actual "racist" word repeatedly non-stop sounds like entertainment to me).

One more thing, why is the government allocating more and more money to a ministry that has admittedly failed to live up to the money? Why can't we put the money into better use instead of investing into a business with no return or benefits?

This is truly entertaining !!

Top Leaders Lack ICT Devices?

After the Mahaleel's public outcry incident, the grand-master (Proton Adviser) is due to make his move.

According to various news sources, our ex-PM, Mahathir has met with Proton's chairman, Azlan Hashim over the position of their current CEO. According to the ex-PM, he cannot make his comments based on newspaper reports, hence, he need to find out the truth from the horse's mouth.

Just some food for thought...

As the ex-PM with such advocacy for MSC and pushing the country towards a developed nation, you would think that he owns a handphone, or for that matter, the Proton chairman and CEO also own a handphone with great capabilities... so instead of wasting resources like petrol and getting stuck in a huge jam (or contributing to the massive jam for that matter), why can't these people just call each other up?

If Mahathir wants to know the truth, why can't he call up the CEO (I am assuming a person with such a big responsibility on his shoulder should have at least subscribed to international roaming services while he is overseas) and ask him? Is Mahathir trying to show the public that he is siding the protégé that is assigned to look after his pet project? Or is he trying to make the front page of newspaper?

Many a times I have seen top leadership, even our current PM or DPM have claimed they have "no knowledge" of certain issues that is relevant to public. With all the cool ICT facilities set up in Putrajaya and Cyberjaya, shouldn't our top leadership be equipped with the latest development that is of public concern? What is the point of advocating the advancement of ICT if our top leadership are not showing a good example of how the ICT technologies is helping them?

If I were to be in the top leadership, I would have equipped my self with the latest ICT gadgets so that I can get various feeds of information that I need from relevant government agencies (since this is all paid for). It would be embarrassing for me if I were not able to answer any question post by the press (or anyone I encounter). However, in our third world country, people tends to know less and claim innocent in order to avoid "embarrassment" (if you can call it getting out) while showing their lack of knowledge at the same time.

No wonder broadband penetration is low in Malaysia !!

Finally Some Challenge...

Alas... the ONE has spoken (quote from Malaysiakini):

"Top vice-president Chua Jui Meng has decided to go for broke. He will take on incumbent MCA president Ong Ka Ting in party polls next month"

I really love to see a straight fight for the top post in MCA where they "claimed" democracy is always alive and kicking. Although "fish-head" Ling has his own share of bad reputation, but at least he is still elected to the post. But not Ong Ka Ting, he inherited his post just as MCA was heading down the drain, and worst of all, he got to where he is only because the ex-PM wanted it to be. To me, that is such a loser.

With this unexpected challenge, I hope everyone will vote with their heart instead their feet (or maybe money would solve the problem as UMNO did). I also hope more people will rise to the occasion and hopefully more will join in the fray and be counted in the democracy process.

Well... at least this will help elevate MCA to a higher level of politics compared to UMNO which is still buried in their own money politics scandals.

Vote for Chua I say...!

p/s: I am not a part of any political party, but is just that i prefer Chua's charisma than Ong's :P