Be Of Courage

I was reading the Star paper on line, and how V.Sivakumar the Perak State Assembly Speaker had another fiery day yesterday to field off questions by Barisan Nasional members.

He is a rare breed of a Speaker coming from a party other than Barisan Nasional which controlled the assembly for 50 years. He must be firm but fair to both the ruling and opposition party members. That includes his own party members as well. If he does that, in time to come, he will earn the respect of all the members and life will be easy for him.

The confines of a state assembly is the only place you can discuss religion, race, language or whatever without fear of being hauled up to answer the reasons for bringing up sensitive issues. Let us grow up. If you don’t speak on such matters, where is the forum to discuss all these so called sensitive issues. The more you speak about it, the more you understand the feelings of the peculiarities of each community. For too long the people have bitten their tongues not to talk on race based issues. The more you hide the more sensitive it becomes. Once out in the open every race has a chance to express their views and in the long run, the realisation is there each community has something to grumble about. Sometimes these problems cuts across race and religion. Then we can address each case not based on skin colour but reality.

Technorati Tags: Perak.Speaker,V.Sivakumar,Sensitive Issues,Race,Religion

Saturday June 28, 2008

Reps keep up heat on Speaker

By HAH FOONG LIAN and CHRISTINA KOH

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/28/nation/21685390&sec=nation

IPOH: It was another fiery day for Perak State assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar who not only had to handle continued heckling by Barisan Nasional assemblymen but also had a question with racial overtones thrown at him.

The first 36 minutes of Question Time yesterday saw opposition assemblymen continuously standing up and asking him for the chance to speak, and raise issues.

One by Hamidah Osman (BN-Sungai Rapat) particularly earned the wrath of the Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen when she asked whether Sivakumar “agreed to disagree” with the well-known fable of whether a snake or a man from a certain racial community should be killed first.

Nga Kor Ming (DAP-Pantai Remis) and other Pakatan assemblymen demanded Hamidah retract her words but she maintained she was merely asking if Sivakumar “agreed to disagree” with it.

Sivakumar let her off with a warning and told her not to bring up anything sensitive.

Barisan whip Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali (BN-Pengkalan Hulu) then asked her to retract her words, and she did.

Throughout the sitting, Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir (BN-Pangkor), Datuk Seri Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (BN-Kubu Gajah) and Tajol Rosli continued to take Sivakumar to task over his decision to not let Raja Ahmad Zainuddin to be the first to take the floor on Thursday to debate the motion of thanks on the royal address.

Sivakumar reiterated that he saw Chang Lih Kang (PKR-Teja) stand up first and therefore called him to take the floor.

“I said after Teja, you can speak but you did not want to take the opportunity. Now sit down,” said Sivakumar.

The Speaker, whose most frequently used phrase yesterday was “sit down”, had to appeal for cooperation from the assemblymen to start the question-and-answer session.

He also had to control the House when issues on Islam and some defamatory remarks were made against a former assemblyman.

Dr Mah Hang Soon (BN-Chenderiang) also tested Sivakumar’s patience when the sole MCA representative brought out a poster and gave a lengthy explanation of how PAS was committed to the setting up of an Islamic state.

When Sivakumar did not adjourn for lunch at 12.30pm, the opposition assemblymen made so much noise that they drowned out the voice of Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, who was making his winding-up speech.

The assembly adjourned sine die at 4.15pm.

Ibrahim Objects – Malaysiakini

Ibrahim Ali, President of The Kelantan People’s Action Council argues
against holding a forum on the social contract by the Bar Council.

Let us see his reasons why the forum can’t be held:

• Affect sensitiveness of some races

• Will lead to racial discomfort

• It could touch on Malay supremacy, article 153 of the Federal Constitution, the New Economic Policy and the New Economic Agenda

• The forum can be a platform for sedition,

The people of Malaysia have this weakness, in trying to be tolerant to regards to other races, there is a tendency to close oneself, that is a problem for others,  and keep quiet. When can we understand that any racial problem involves all races, we have to be concerned, find out more, interact with other races to find a solution. The word sensitivity is archaic, for the last 50 years we have been hoodwinked by Barisan Nasional, don’t bring in sensitive issues, they are taboo. What if anything happens! Honestly things will happen when we don’t discuss about it, like a father in a family never getting involved in what happens with the wife and children and one day when matters go out of hand regretting where did I go wrong.

Ibrahim an ex UMNO man is just following the concepts of his old party, Malay supremacy, sedition and so forth.

Any suspicions we have among races can only be discussed and solutions found. Sweeping it down the carpet, does not help.

I would suggest to Ibrahim, let them have the forum and once it is over, find out what was discussed, and he can thereafter make all the comments he would like to.

Dear Readers

I have been scammed, if that is the right word here, an unscrupulous person has been cloning my postings and every item appears in a blog created by him or her.  This has gone on for some time now. I have about 46 visitors as I write this, and yesterday even more, although a post referred to does not appear in my blog, just a empty web page.

I did not know how to stop this and with a help of a friend i have been able to stop this referral from this person in my new blog http://rvicdav.blogspot.com – some of my latest postings appear here.

Aarvidi’s Weblog was a first attempt and I believe I have made a lot of cyber friends as readers although most of them I know by their user names. I enjoyed your comments and sometimes I have the pleasure to reply and in some cases the thread has gone on to a few replies up and down.

I felt I should not abruptly discontinue with this blog and I invite you all to my new blog, where I will still interact with you as before. Thank you for reading my blog.

You can also contact me by my e-mail aarvidi@gmail.com.

Thanks.

Ezam must cleanse himself of his sins, says Mukhriz

Imagine being told don’t sin against UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, MUIP, or any other party, and there you raise your right hand and solemnly swear I will not sin against the party, and if you are religious think about karma, your after life, and the fear of meeting your maker who may yet kindly inquire son did you commit any sin against the party. Sometimes these political parties are treated as demigods which they are not, but a group of conniving people out there to make a buck and the worst morally deficient society if there is one. There is no honour among thieves they say and perhaps this is alluded to the politicians. What is so sacrament about a party without ideals, a robbers den of wishy washy people who will sell their souls to gain recognition, fame and money.

I wish Mukhriz had not used the word sin, less Ezam comes back with the sins of Mukhris which would definitely include his disloyalty to the UMNO president. Or even going further talk of sins of the father, the accusations can go on and on – a fathomless pit of back-stabbing, deceit, lies and moral decadence. You cannot be nice if you are a politician, and maybe that is one of the reasons why many people don’t want to be involved with politics.

So Ezam has done what a politician usually does, and he is not going to put his down his head in shame and worry he has let down a lot of his earlier followers. For him it is a question of survival of the fittest, but I can’t imagine him rising up to the stars in UMNO, his past mistakes will haunt him. He is being used and will be discarded once his usefulness is no more there.

Technorati Tags: Ezam,Muhkris,UMNO

SUNGAI PETANI: Former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Nor should “cleanse himself of the sins” he committed against Umno before contemplating taking up positions in the party, said Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

He was responding to talk that Ezam might contest the Umno Youth chief post.

“Furthermore, technically, Ezam is not eligible to contest any post as according to conventional practices, only those whose membership has been confirmed up till December last year can contest positions in the party this year,” he said.

However, Mukhriz said he would not be surprised if changes were made to existing practices to accommodate Ezam.

He added that PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had not reacted negatively towards Ezam’s decision to rejoin Umno recently.

“I will not be surprised if Ezam’s entry into Umno is part of a hidden agenda to pave the way for Anwar to rejoin the party,” he told a press conference after a dialogue session with Umno members at Sungai Petani Industrial Area here yesterday.

The appointment of Anwar’s comrade Datuk Shuhaimi Ibrahim as a political secretary in the Prime Minister’s Department has further fuelled such speculation, Mukhriz said.

Mukhriz said he was 60% sure of contesting the Umno Youth chief post.

“I have to gauge grassroots sentiments before making a decision. We cannot announce we want to contest without getting feedback from the grassroots,” he added.

Earlier during his speech, Mukhriz said this year’s party polls would make or break Umno.

“To remain relevant, changes to the leadership must be made right down to the grassroots,” he said.

Ezam must cleanse himself of his sins, says Mukhriz

Malaysia to decide road toll cuts by August

For the weary people who are bearing the brunt of the increases at every turn, this news may be good. I am not sure if this is part of the 4 measures referred to by Badawi to ease the burden of the maligned people. Further announcements should be forthcoming this week. But what is worrying is the period of deliberation of 3 months, all figures are available and quick decisions must be made. The toll issue is always a thorn causing discomfort to the toll users who believe the Government has a soft spot for the toll concessionaires because of vested interests. Had Samy Vellu, the lover of the toll concessionaires, had been around his guns would now be blazing, defending the high toll rates. A friend casually remarked Samy lost the polls because of the curses of the toll users. I don’t believe in curses, but then, does vehement cursing work; I don’t know.

Please Badawi, the people can’t wait 3 months, can the tolls be reduced or done away with ASAP. Thank you.

Technorati Tags: High Tolls,Inflation,Badawi,Samy Vellu.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (Reuters) – Malaysia will decide on a reduction in toll rates in August after a government-appointed committee completes its review of all highway concessions, the Malay-language newspaper Berita Minggu reported on Sunday.

The move to consider a cut in toll rates comes after the government raised fuel prices by as much as 63 percent last week, fuelling discontent among Malaysians.

Berita Minggu quoted Works Minister Mohamad Zin Mohamed as saying the government has started discussions with toll road concessionaires to evaluate all toll rates, including the possibility of cutting them. “We cannot make a decision now because the special committee is still studying and discussion with the toll road concessionaires in this country,” Zin said.

He added the study, which would take three months, will look into traffic volumes, agreement clauses and concession periods to evaluate how much more toll road operators have to fork out to pay back loans and operating costs.

Under toll concession agreements that critics say favour operators, the government has to reimburse operators if traffic volumes and revenues fall short of pre-agreed projections.

Malaysia has 22 toll road concessionaires. The country’s biggest toll road operator is state-controlled PLUS Expressways (PLUE.KL: Quote, Profile, Research), which operates the highway that runs through the entire length of the Malaysian peninsula.

Most of the highways were approved in the 1990s by the administration of then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, which made privatisation and mega-projects one of its hallmarks. (Reporting by Niluksi Koswanage, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Malaysia to decide road toll cuts by August-paper | Markets | Reuters

The Expert Speaks

This coming from the mouth of Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop , an expert on financial wizardry, not withstanding the losses suffered by Bank Negara, when Nor was there, is to say the least an encouragement in these bleak days of tightening of belts.

Please read Anil Netto http://anilnetto.com/accountability/still-think-the-second-penang-bridge-is-a-great-idea/
and then we can suggest no second bridge please.

clipped from thestar.com.my BUTTERWORTH: The government will review some of the mega projects to reduce the country’s economic burden arising from the impact of the escalating global fuel price. Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the review was one of the measures the government had to seriously look into to mitigate the rising fuel price. “Projects planned by the government were based on the previous costs before the price increase. These projects might cost more now and we need to look over them again. On whether the second Penang bridge project would be affected, he said he did not know, adding that no decision had been made (as of Sunday) to cut any mega projects in Penang. He said the government would also cut cost in its administration expenditure and avoid wastage. “We saved RM13.7bil when the government announced the price hike on June 4 but we ended up paying more when the global fuel price went up two days later,” he said.

Sarawakians Expect Gawai Goodies From PM :: Bernama.com

Expectations are high for the Sarawakians and they cannot be blamed for wanting pleasant surprises from Badawi on his visit to Sarawak on Tuesday next. Sarawak is lagging behind in development and the federal government is responsible for the short comings. Matters like rural development, high transportation costs, and better oil royalty are some of the things the people are clamouring for to get from the Prime Minister.

Whatever it is, Badawi may not be in a Santa Claus mood this time after his visit to Sabah last week. Lim Kit Siang in his blog entry says the high increase in oil price could have been the cause for giving away goodies to the state. Perhaps Badawi will tread softly now and think before agreeing to concessions in Sarawak. We have to wait and see.

Technorati Tags: Sabah,Sarawak,Badawi,Goodies,Oil Prices

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (Bernama) – Sarawakians are hoping for some pleasant surprises from Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he makes a one-day visit to the Land of the Hornbill on Tuesday.
They hope the “Gawai goodies” are similar to those announced by the Prime Minister for the Sabahans during the Kaamatan festival last week.
Member of Parliament for Santubong Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who is also Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker, said: “We are expecting nothing less that what Sabah gets.
“It is only natural that we are hoping to get about the same. We are not going to ask what he is going to give but what he is going to offer to Sarawak,” he said.
His colleague from Bintulu and also Barisan Nasional Backbencher Club chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said he hoped Abdullah would address the lack for funds for infrastructure projects in rural areas.
He said although there no such a demand, the Sarawakians were hoping the Federal Government would understand their need for rural development.
Datuk Billy Abit Joo of Hulu Rejang shared Tiong’s sentiments and said the policy makers should not perceive that the rural folks in Sarawak were okay with their situation though they were not making demands.
“The development for rural areas is for basic human needs. They need every assistance from the Federal Government to build clinics and other basic infrastructure.
“In Sarawak, we don’t talk so much about position. Sarawakians are too polite sometimes, hoping that people will understand their needs,” he said. Last week, Abdullah unveiled several measures to be taken by the Federal Government to address some of the major problems faced by Sabah.
They include the setting up of Sabah State Development Office in place of the Sabah Federal Development Department, a RM1 billon special allocation for rural development and the formation of a Cabinet committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to overcome Sabahs long standing illegal immigrant and refugee problem.
Sarawakians also hope Abdullah would address the high cost of transportation especially following the fuel price increase on Wednesday despite Sarawak being one of the major oil producing states with large oil fields.
Although they understand that the global oil price is beyond the government’s control, many feel a bigger subsidy should be extended to the Sarawakians.
Among other things, Sarawak is expected to benefit from a Federal Government plan to introduce standard prices for nine control items namely sugar, petrol, diesel, steel, cement, wheat flour, condensed milk, chicken and cooking oil.
Meanwhile during the visit, the Prime Minister is expected to announce the appointment a Sarawakian senior government official as the new Federal Sarawak Financial Officer.
Ahead of Abdullah’s visit, some community leaders interviewed by local dailies voiced their dissatifaction and even questioned, for example, why the state did not get better deal in oil royalty.
“They (Federal Government) should give us more than five per cent. It’s very hard to understand why they won’t increase this sum to allow our State Government to push other industries like agriculture,” said one of them named Kapitan Chan.
“Has the Federal Government ever wondered why people in rural areas need four-wheel-drive vehicles?” said Wee Hong Seng, Sarawak Tourism Federation president.
“It’s not that these rural folk are rich. It’s a necessity given the terrible road infrastructure. So now these people will be penalised further,” he added.
The State Government is expected to raise the issue of high transportation cost in sending fuel and food to smaller towns and remote areas in Sarawak during Abdullah’s visit.
Sarawak is heavily dependant on road and riverine transport to carry food and other essentials to its population while rural schools, longhouses and villages rely heavily on fuel for their power generators as they are not connected to the state power grid.
This is common in rural areas such as Medamit in Ulu Limbang to Baram, Bario, Ba’ Kelalan, Marudi, Bintulu, Sibu, Kapit and Julau.
“The Federal Government needs to be advised properly on the matter. The interior people must be assisted.
“Federal officers must look at Kapit, Song and Bario and work out plans how to help these people,” said John Sikie, State Assemblyman for Kakus.

Sarawakians Expect Gawai Goodies From PM :: Bernama.com

A Comparison

Badawi is 68 years old, younger by 17 years from Karunanidhi, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in India, who turned 85 last week. What are the similarities that would take place in Malaysia, on a Prime Ministers birthday. one thing is sure thousand of party activists and admirers don’t turn up at Kuala Lumpur, to wish the Premier Happy Birthday. Is it because Malaysians are not prone to appreciate the birthdays of VIPs and do not show fondness for their leaders.

We have had 5 Prime Ministers to date starting with the Tunku:

• Tunku 1957 – 1971
• Razak 1971 – 1976
• Hussein Onn 1976 – 1981
• Mahathir 1981 – 2003
• Badawi 2003 –

The first 3 Prime Ministers had good response from the public where the people got together to celebrate their birthdays, Were we more patriotic then compared to now. Or is it we are getting nonchalant like the Indian saying which goes “who cares whether Raman rules or Ravanan rules” – possibly our present leaders are distancing themselves from the public by their not caring attitude and indifference shown to the hardships and sufferings of the people. I leave it to the readers to decide.

Technorati Tags: Birthdays,Badawi,Karauanidhi,India,Malaysia,Comparison

The city was virtually painted black and red – the colours of the ruling DMK – as thousands of party activists and admirers turned up to greet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi on his 85th birthday on Tuesday.

The DMK’s black and red flags fluttered all over the city and millions of party posters were pasted on almost every wall.

Party workers arrived in thousands from all over the state in over 3,000 buses, leading to traffic jams and massive parking problems.

To mark the occasion, eateries reduced the prices of their fare like idlis, dosas and coffee by 15 per cent after an assurance by the Dravidian patriarch that he would look into their demand to supply food ingredients at subsidised prices.

Among those to greet Karunanidhi were Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who spoke to him on telephone.

Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, members of the state cabinet, several VIPs and hundreds of thousands of the ruling party faithful personally wished the chief minister.

Karunanidhi travelled between his two residences and the DMK headquarters in the city, triggering huge traffic jams in the arterial Anna Salai that lasted several hours.

The chief minister also paid floral tributes at the tombs of his party’s founder CN Annadurai and social reformer Periyar, besides planting saplings at his residences.

Though Karunanidhi had appealed to his followers to let him observe the occasion in a private manner as he had not been well, the DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan ignored the request and exhorted supporters to celebrate the occasion “in a grand manner”.

Some of the chief minister’s detractors, including his fierce critic and PMK founder S. Ramadoss, also greeted him. His office said there was no congratulatory call from his principal antagonist and predecessor J. Jayalalitha, leader of the rival AIADMK.

Karunanidhi turns 85, as city painted red and black- Hindustan Times

Another Thank You Note

Thank You, Prime Minister.

clipped from www.nst.com.my KOTA KINABALU: Passengers who use express buses to travel between major towns in Sabah will no longer be served complimentary meals and bottled water following the fuel hike. Express bus operators have been providing packed nasi campur (rice with vegetables and meat) and drinking water, worth RM4, for those who travel distances of more than six hours. Sabah Express Bus Operators Council president Donald Hanafi said this was just the first step as they would need a fare revision to stay afloat. Meanwhile, the Federation of Sabah Lorry Transportation Association has held a meeting and will gather again to study the need to increase charges.

This For Badawi

Thank You Prime Minister.

clipped from thestar.com.my IPOH: In an act of defiance, the city’s 1,200 taxi drivers will impose a RM1 surcharge on top of the RM4 minimum fare here. Ipoh City Taxi Operators Association secretary Leong Yew said that the cabbies from 15 associations had unanimously agreed to the surcharge from Saturday. “We have no choice but to impose the surcharge as the petrol price has increase by 40%,” he told a press conference at the association’s premises here. The association’s members, he added, had also agreed that they would charge an additional 20% for trips exceeding 10km. Leong said besides the increase in fuel prices, taxi drivers also had to put up with the spiralling prices of batteries, tyres and spare parts. The drivers’ decision came despite a warning from Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Noh Omar that recalcitrant taxi drivers would have their permits revoked if they raised fares.