Aarvidi’s Weblog

COFFIN MAN’S LAST POW-WOW
BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

TAN Sri M.G. Pandithan is no stranger to real life drama.

The man, who brought a coffin to the MIC headquarters in 1989 to dramatise his expulsion from the MIC, now lies dying in Kuala Lumpur Hospital and fighting to save his Indian Progressive Front, the party he formed in 1989, from disintegration.

On Sunday morning Pandithan, 72, summoned all his lieutenants for a final pow-wow at his bedside at the hospital and dropped a bombshell on the solemn gathering.

His voice barely a whisper and with a tube running into his lungs from his throat to pump out the phlegm, Pandithan indicated by hand gestures and a few words that he wanted his wife Puan Sri Jayashri, a total stranger to politics, to be made acting president and after his death, president.

“She is the only unifying figure after me,” Pandithan whispered to 19 of the 26 Central Working Com- mittee members gathered around him. He wanted them to sign a document accepting his wife as the leader.

Several leaders refused to sign, a few walked out but the majority signed the document, which declared Jayashri Pandithan, 52, as the leader of the party.

At one time, the IPF was a formidable force in Tengku Razaleigh Ha m z a h ’s 1990 Gagasan Raykat coalition but is now a pale shadow of its former self and fractured into several pieces.

“Pandithan is in bad shape,” said one of the leaders who attended. “It had the solemn air of a final deathbed gathering. I signed because it came out like his final death wish. In Hindu culture, honouring a person’s death wish is paramount.” IPF deputy president V. Senkuttuvan said: “He is fighting for his life but we accept his nomination of his wife as acting president.

She is the only one who can work with all the factions.

“I will co-operate with her.” However, other leaders are fighting shy of accepting a woman and Pandithan’s inexperienced wife as their leader. “She is a housewife, she knows nothing about politics,” one of the 19 who attended the hospital gathering said. “I can accept it if his son takes over.” Pa ndit h a n ’s only child Jeyan is a fourth year medical student in U k ra i ne.

Another IPF leader said a housewife is not necessarily unqualified and pointed to Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, president of Keadilan, as an example.

Pandithan was a MIC vice-president and leader of the dalit (working class) wing in the party but was expelled by party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu after he sided with the late Datuk K. Pathmanaban in the 1986 party e l e c t io ns.

He was expelled in 1989 and brought a coffin to the MIC head office to signify his determination to stop his expulsion until his de a t h .

After the 1990 general election IPF tried to gain entry into Barisan Nasional but failed because of opposition from Samy Vellu.

The news of Jayashri taking over IPF from the dying Pandithan sent shock waves across the Indian community, which reacted with scorn, blaming Pandithan for turning the party into a family property.

“He should have called for a special AGM … and let members decide the future,” said K. Panjamurti, 59, leader of the IPF Bersatu, a breakaway faction of the I P F.

“For the moment my position is no n - c o m mit t a l , ” said the former IPF secretary general. “If she calls a meeting of all IPF factions, I will attend but beyond that I can say nothing more.

“I must stress that IPF is a poor ma n ’s party and it should remain as such.” Jayashri could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Although the party is in shambles, it has one diamond a RM3 million building near the turf club which doubles up as party headquarters and conference centre.

Malay Mail

‘Level Four Boys’: Damaging bane for PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah?

The ‘Level Four Boys’ have been suspected to be the real and actual ‘decision maker’ of the Government, since the creation of the office in 2003. They are now believed to have an unprecedented overpowering absolute control of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in the official capacity as the Chief Executive of the country and leader of the ruling party.

The primary function of this Private Office of the Prime Minister is to assist the Prime Minister in doing his job. It then grew so powerful that it actually undertook a lot of decision making process influences previously provided by agencies like the Economic Planning Unit, Manpower Planning Unit and at times, Cabinet itself. Of course, some of top party decisions are also undertaken by this team.

The ‘Level Four Boys’ is a term first introduced by the Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in his dedicated speech to criticize PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah and his administration in a closed-door event. The event was organized by Malaysia Today at Century Paradise Club, Taman Melawati, Ulu Kelang on 22 June 2006. It was in reference to the ‘inner circle’, comprising of his son, Dato’ Kamaluddin Abdullah, son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin and close personal aides such as Dato’ Ahmad Zaki Zahid, Dato’ Kamal Khalid, Dato’ Dr. Vincent Lim Kian Tick, Dato’ Wan Farid and a few others.

Many speculate the overwhelming ‘influence’ these thirty-something gentlemen possess. With top British university education and grossly lack of experience and exposure (especially macro-management), they are often coyly referred to as, “Budak tak kerin’ idun” (wet behind the ears) by Tun Dr. Mahathir. Somehow, the real far-reaching effects these young men have on the decisions by PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah, is really both strategically and tactically damaging.

It was Dr. Vincent Lim and Zaki Zahid who influenced PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah on the decision to cancel the “Scenic bridge-replacing the Johor Causeway” in March 2006. Then, these duo, also concocted the blue-print of the mega project South Johor Economic Region (SJER). It has since been renamed twice, as Iskandar Development Region in November 2006, and last week, Iskandar Malaysia. It is deemed that Iskandar Malaysia is a comprehensive development program to benefit Singapore strategically, allowing contraband from nations such as Israel, to be channeled into this region of 240 million Muslims, via Johor Bahru.

Iskandar Malaysia is now being seen as the beginning of the demise of the New Economic Policy as PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah long time mentor, now made IDRA Advisory Panel Chairman Former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam made the announcement in Johor Bahru March last year.

Zaki has been said to have sat with PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah at the many Khazanah Holdings Bhd. Special briefings to the Prime Minister. He is said to be the one who asked the many questions transpired after each briefing. Holding such a strategic position and having a very close ear to PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah, led to the Proton scandal of disposing highly valuable MV Agusta to highly elusive and mysterious Gevi S.p.A for one Euro and Husqavarna (one of the brands under MV Agusta) was then sold off to BMW Motorcycles last year for a whopping Euro 93 million price tag.

The National Automotive Policy, which is the systematical and structured program to see the slow demise of Proton, was actually put in place by Zaki, with the help of his long time buddy Omar Mustapha Ong of Ethos Consulting. The duo were also instrumental in the giga economic development corridor humongous masterplans of Northern Corridor Economic Region, Eastern Corridor Economic Region, Sabah Development Corridor and Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy. The implementation and deliverance of these giga proportion economic development projects is thought by many to be highly doubtful.

Khairy Jamaluddin is said to have brought Air Asia’s boss, Tony Fernandes, to the Seri Perdana Complex for a private briefing with PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah on the weekend before the Malaysia Airlines Rationalisation Plan was announced. Suspiciously, Malaysia Airlines had to give up its entire domestic route (plus Rural Air Service) except for nineteen to AirAsia. This program saw an immediate redundancy for over 3,500 loyal serving airline professionals. Khairy’s close association with Fernandes was finally revealed when the latter joined ECM Libra as a director and shareholder, after Khairy made the announcement to sell of his stake in the recently obtained a universal stock broking license for the now capitally and resource enlarged firm.

Khairy, who had left the Prime Minister’s Office as the Deputy Chief Secretary in August 2005, was actually brought in to a special briefing on Singapore to the Prime Minister by Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Al Bar. The insistance of his stay in the meeting was, “Khairy is an expert on Singapore”. Khairy’s personal affiliation of Singapore is so apparent that since PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah ascended to Premiership, the bi-lateral relationship with Singapore had never been so close. So much so, even Malaysian Government and Khazanah are emulating and adopting ‘The Singapore Way’ of doing things, et al; including their terminology, “Government linked company” (GLC) in exchange to previous used “Government controlled company”.

Conveniently, at the ASEAN Head of Government meeting in November 2005, held at KLCC Convention Centre, Malaysia as the chair and host, led a charge against Myanmar in the pressure for ‘democratization’. This is very much favourable to the West, and was previously, a Singapore’s crusade within ASEAN. Malaysia, as a founding member defied its own policies and breached the fundamental ASEAN principle of “Non-interference in domestic politics” policy. In short, Malaysia saw a shift in foreign policy since Khairy came into the main administration scene.

In December 2005, when asked by The Star, on the proposed merger of ECM Libra and Avenue Capital, which directly involved his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah conveniently answered “I don’t know, I am not involved”. There is a serious breach of several explicit provisions within Securities and Companies Act, as Khairy, obviously, had vested interests in the high-powered but dodgy deal. Protests by the Minority Stockholders Watchdog Group against several issues in the merger were conveniently ignored by the Securities Commission. Until present, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee had not resolved the findings to his highly talked about scandal, especially within the capital market practitioners.

Recently, the sixteen-page private letter which Wanita UMNO Head, Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz had sent to PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah as a post-election reaction. The letter somehow found its way to Khairy’s mother, Datin Rahmah Abdul Hamid, and the former got a surprising earful from the latter, via telephone.

Dato’ Kamaluddin Abdullah, the biggest shareholder of Scomi Bhd., has the most to gain. His company had a meteoric rise in the Malaysia corporate scene since five years ago. Recently, post 12th General Elections (PRU 12), after Tun Dr. Mahathir and Dato’ Mukhriz demanded PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah to resign immediately, and Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah asked 18,000 UMNO branches to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), Tun Musa went to meet PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah at Seri Perdana. As a former ‘leader’ to PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah, Tun Musa was giving his two bits personal advice on current political situation in the private meeting, when suddenly, Kamaluddin stormed in and said to his father “What ever you do, do not agree to an EGM!”. The immediate reaction from Tun Musa was, “Who is the Prime Minister, you or him”, pointing towards Kamaluddin.

Kamaluddin was the organiser of the infamous Seri Perdana Merdeka Soiree, the week Malaysia celebrated its 50th birthday at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, Seri Perdana. An esteemed flock of high-powered Malaysians were the only admitted guests, plus some from abroad, to enjoy the R & B renditions of George Benson and Al Jarreau. The fact is that, since occupying Seri Perdana, the first family have not been having the average Malaysians as guests. Not even the traditional first day Hari Raya Aidil Fitri Open House, introduced during his predecessors’ time. The only time average rakyat were allowed access into Seri Perdana since five years ago was during Datin Seri Endon Mahmood’s passing in October 2005.

Of course, the issue of media control, is the real propaganda agenda which has been taken to task by the Prime Minister’s Office Media Coordinator Dato’ Kamal Khalid. Nowadays, the mainstream media editors get calls from this office more frequently than ever. Not only what were allowed to be published were discussed, the angle of the news and the photos to be used were instructed and selected. Surprisingly, these spin effort were never really discussed with the Boss. For example, the weeks preceeding to his wedding with Jeanne Abdullah in June 2005, editors were instructed that the rumours cannot be raised during any media conferences with PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah. Conveniently, the sloppy Malaysian leader ‘let the cat out of the bag’, voluntarily.

The most recent incident took place, just before the PRU 12, PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah did something amazingly unprecedented as UMNO President and BN Chairman. In a meeting with UMNO Management Committee, PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah suddenly took over the prepared BN Manifesto. When asked by Rafidah “Lah, siapa buat BN Manifesto ni? Kita tak pernah tahu pun!“. Coyly, the answer was “Ini Zaki yang buat. He is very good, you know!”.

Time and again, PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah overtly vehement denied that his son-in-law, Khairy, was ever involved in his decision-making, be it in the Government, or the party. Since the famous TV 3 special interview, conducted by Bernama Chairman Annuar Zaini, no one in the streets actually believed him. Not even the folks in the boondocks, who have never in their lifetime had access to internet. When UMNO Pulau Pinang met up with PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah on rumours that certain unfavourable characters were to be pitted by BN as candidates in the state, his response was “Nanti saya balik, bincang dengan Khairy“.

Within this week, one of the Press Secretary Wan Esuriyanti was leaving her post. Khairy took to the task to interview Dato’ Ainon Ahmad, a former NST journalist, for the job. PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah’s trusts for his aides like Kalimullah “Riong Kali” Hassan, had actually propelled him on a self-destruction mode, prematurely.

The most recent controversial is the ’self-righteous populist’ direction PM ‘Flip-Flop’ is going, with regards to the Judiciary issue. Last night, he announced the reinstatement of gratuities and emoluments, ex-gratia, of the sacked Judges since the highly controversial but lawful ejection of Lord President Tun Mohamed Salleh Abas and four other judges in August 1988. It was almost an admission of guilt and will lead to endless further ramblings. It is still a mystery why PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah is willing to depart from the normal convention and thread along these ice-thin line which set a new irrevocable precedent, when it actually served no tangible value for the majority of Malaysians, who are actually non-chalant about this whole issue. The fact that Tun Salleh is the father-in-law of his son’s partner in Scomi, Shah Hakim Zain, is not quashing other speculations by skeptics of this odd move.

It is too apparent that the PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah has been grossly insulated from real information, and an over-reliance to the ‘Level Four Boys’ for the information all way through the decision making process. The decisions made had reached its overbearing level and inviting series of ‘mini rebellions’, within the society and system. An example never before in the 35 year history of illustrious service of Malaysia Airlines, did passengers feel so frustrated with delays and poor service of the once pride of the nation. Of course, the rate of the Police Force efficiency has deteriorated greatly, ever since the “Naked-ear-squat-in-lock-up” case, which also saw Malaysia made a totally unneccessary apology to China.

All these, were actually the most important factors why the rakyat decided to vote against BN. Blaming it on UMNO and BN’s fifth columnists was never the right approach, nor convincing enough. This is further topped by the continuous grossly vomit-level arrogance of, “We won big. We have a big mandate from the rakyat. Just eight short of two-third majority”, which will systematically drive the rakyat’s confidence and support away from UMNO and BN.

In short, the once respectable Cabinet Minister for his “pious and clean” outlook, is now being systematically destroyed and it is damagingly irreversible, by a small group of thirty-something, for his grave over reliance and morbid dependence on information and decision making process.

‘Level Four Boys’: Damaging bane for PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Abdullah? « The “thirteen million plus Ringgit” guy rambles….

I look like an Indian, I sound like an Indian

This Indian brother must be congratulated and I salute him for being conscious of his origins. Religion cannot change our originality, our ethnic quality does not vary whatever religion we may profess. Earlier on while blogging, I used to be disturbed when race and religion were mixed up. Many a post of mine reflected on this issue and I have received brickbats as well as support from other Indian Muslim brothers. To my supporters I say thank you and for those who did not agree with my argument, I still say they are misinformed. I believe there is a big group of Indian Muslims whose allegiance to Tamil as their root remains very strong. They are great.

I look like an Indian, I sound like an Indian

Proud to be Indian Muslim | Apr 22, 08 4:23pm

I refer to the letter Indian Muslims ethnically cleansed.

Not all Indian Muslims think like Gepima and Kimma. I certainly do not want to sell my identity for a few extra ringgit. My parents migrated to Malaysia in the 1960s and I was born on this soil in the 1970s.

I used to be ashamed to be an Indian Muslim because in this country, race was related to religion whereby a Malay was equated with Islam, a Chinese with Buddhism and Indian with Hindu and I did not see where I fit in.

But as the years passed by, I realised the beauty of my own ethnic identity. I am now proud to speak Tamil. This is my mother tongue and I cherish its beauty. I love Indian food, cinema and songs. My father put himself as Malay in my birth certificate but I changed it myself back to ‘Indian’ in my identity card.

Hence, what Gepima and Kimma did was a source of great humiliation for me. How could both these groups claim to speak for all Indian Muslim Malaysians? And do they lack basic common sense?

Religion can be changed. It is a state of the mind and heart. But how can you change your genetic identity? It is in our DNA, for god’s sake. If we are born Indian, we cannot change to become a Malay or a Chinese as and when we like just because we want to get certain rights and privileges as well.

I look like an Indian. I sound like an Indian. Therefore, I am an Indian. And I am proud of it too. My plea is for Gepima and Kimma not to claim to represent me and those who think like me.

As far as I am concerned, even if I am the last Indian Muslim standing, I will stand proudly, for God made me what I am and I do not suffer from any so-called low self-esteem as claimed by Gepima.

I look like an Indian, I sound like an Indian

How do you spell cat. Er…er kat, correct, correct, correct, it looks the same, it sounds the same, and well it is kat with a couple of legs.

Houston, we have a spelling problem
Najiah Najib

WE all make mistakes, but when the gaffe is made in public, it can be somewhat embarrassing.

Unfortunately, our Malaysian astronaut, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha, had one of those moments recently. And some kids were happy to save h im .

It was during a visit to SK St John (1) on April 12 when Dr Sheikh Muszaphar was asked to pen a message on a mural at the s c ho o l ’s canteen wall to mark its sports day celebrations.

After giving a brief yet inspirational speech to the students, he made his way to the wall and wrote: “SK St John (1), Dreams are possibble! Signed, Dr Sheikh, Angkasawan Malaysia.” The kids pointed out to him that ‘possible’ was spelt with a single ‘B’ but by that time, it was a bit too late.

“The mistake was understand- able. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar was in a rush to go to another event. In his haste, I think he just wasn’t able to put much thought in it,” said school principal Pok Mee Chin.

“I believe he was also overwhelmed by all the attention from the students. The students looked up to him and were pushing one another to be near him.

“After his speech, many students came up to me and said they wanted to be an astronaut like Dr Sheikh Muszaphar.” She said despite the spelling error, it was undeniable that his presence had made the school children very happy.

Poh explained the orthopaedic surgeon had agreed to drop by the school as a personal favour to one of the school’s dignitaries.

“It was a last-minute plan and we’re glad that he made it to our sports day, even if it was for a little while.

“He was very courteous and a huge inspiration for our students.

We want to let Dr Sheikh Muszaphar know that he is welcome at SK St John (1) any time,” a dde d Po h .

Some world leaders had also committed similar boo boos, with the most famous probably former US Vice-President Dan Quayle’s.

At an elementary school spelling bee in New Jersey in 1992, he had corrected a student’s correct spelling of ‘potato’ to ‘potatoe’.

This had led to him being widely ridiculed in the media and the general public in both the US and overseas as an intellectual lightweight.

Malay Mail

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saudi women ‘kept in childhood’

Emancipation of woman or freedom of woman is lost on the Saudis. Woman are treated as a chattel in doing housework and bear children; the other rights are controlled by men. What a horrible injustice to women.

Saudi women ‘kept in childhood’

Women cannot make even simple decisions on children, the report says

Saudi women are being kept in perpetual childhood so male relatives can exercise “guardianship” over them, the Human Rights Watch group has said.

The New York-based group says Saudi women have to obtain permission from male relatives to work, travel, study, marry or even receive health care.

Their access to justice is also severely constrained, it says.

The group says the Saudi establishment sacrifices basic human rights to maintain male control over women.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.

Saudi clerics see the guardianship of women’s honour as a key to the country’s social and moral order.

‘No progress’

The report, Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia, draws on more than 100 interviews with Saudi women.

Farida Deif, women’s rights researcher for the Middle East at Human Rights Watch, said: “Saudi women won’t make any progress until the government ends the abuses that stem from these misguided policies.”

It’s astonishing that the Saudi government denies adult women the right to make decisions for themselves but holds them criminally responsible for their actions at puberty

Farida Deif,
Human Rights Watch

Read the full HRW report

The report says that Saudi women are denied the legal right to make even trivial decisions for their children - women cannot open bank accounts for children, enrol them in school, obtain school files or travel with their children without written permission from the child’s father.

Human Rights Watch says that Saudi women are prevented from accessing government agencies that have no established female sections unless they have a male representative.

The need to establish separate office spaces for women is a disincentive to hiring female employees, and female students are often relegated to unequal facilities with unequal academic opportunities, the report says.

Male guardianship over adult women also contributes to their risk of exposure to violence within the family as victims of violence find it difficult to seek protection or redress from the courts.

Social workers, physicians and lawyers say that it is nearly impossible to remove guardianship from male guardians who are abusive, the group says.

“It’s astonishing that the Saudi government denies adult women the right to make decisions for themselves but holds them criminally responsible for their actions at puberty,” said Ms Deif.

“For Saudi women, reaching adulthood brings no rights, only responsibilities.”

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saudi women ‘kept in childhood’

Powerful corporate interests penetrate Penang local councils

Just got a text message from an unhappy political scientist friend, who forwarded to me an sms that he had sent to a DAP rep in Penang:

People not happy with councillors appoint & list. old wine in new bottle. expect you guys to deliver your promises during election.

Also received another email from a concerned Penangite. Interesting that he also describes it as “old wine in new bottle”:

now that the MPPP & MPSP councillors lists are out, I’m sure many of us are NOT happy ——- personally I think it is just old wine in new bottle, especially treating the political appointments as consolation for those left out in the election and also having the ADUNs doubling up as councillors as well.

isn’t it time the civil society rise up once again to make our displeasure and disappontment heard by the new state gov, to let them know loud and clear that this is a very bad move by them, and to remind them their promises during the run-up to the last GE?

There is a certain degree of dissatisfaction on the ground on this issue of appointments of councillors - although many are prepared to give the DAP-PKR a bit more time to get their act together and work towards local democracy. But that patience could wear thin if no progress is made in this direction - and the honeymoon period could end sooner than we think.

There can be no compromise on this issue. The Pakatan leaders have to get cracking and give us a quick timeline or roadmap on their path to local council elections. After all, it was a major campaign pledge in Penang. And the longer it is delayed, the more disenchantment will brew among those who voted for PR.

We don’t want to be stuck with the same system of rewarding party loyalists by appointing them to local councils. That’s the BN style, and people expect the Pakatan to be different and to restore local democracy - pronto. They have to start finding ways and means of overcoming the legal hurdles and move in that direction quickly.

I just want to add that when the DAP mentioned that ten NGO representatives would be included in the two municipals, I did not think that the term “NGOs” would encompass representatives from the various Chambers of Commerces. So I was taken aback to see that these business representatives outnumber the traditional civil society representatives. Out of the seven “NGO” reps actually appointed to the councils on the island and on the mainland, five represent business and corporate interests. In the Seberang Perai council, all three “NGO” reps are from commerce and industry: the Chinese and Indian Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers. On the island, the remaining two reps are from the Malay and Chinese Chambers of Commerce.

These Chamber reps represent powerful business and corporate interests and not the interests of the ordinary person on the streets. One single rep from a Chamber of Commerce carries the backing of not just a single company but a whole battalion of business and corporate interests.

Many of the battles that the local councils will have to engage in are likely to pit them against corporate interests (including property developers) infringing on the rights of ordinary people or degrading the environment. Local councillors will also have to grapple with promoting accountability in the award of contracts and alienation of state land and gauge whether these deals would really be in the people’s interest. How can they do that easily when they have vested interests in their ranks? Wouldn’t this give rise to cases of conflict of interest?

We have already witnessed the terrible degradation of the environment and the land scams in Penang - largely as a result of business and corporate greed. So whose vested interests will these Chamber of Commerce reps in the local councils uphold - business/corporate interests or the people’s interests? No prizes for guessing.

That said, I am pleased to see Lim Kah Cheng and Prof Francis Loh among the ranks of the councillors. I ‘m sure they will want to push through some meaningful reforms, and I wish them well.

The clock starts ticking for the Pakatan Rakyat state and local government. True, the people tolerated the BN’s nonsense of appointments of party loyalists to local councils for decades. But the PR pledged to restore local government elections - and so they have a much shorter time frame to prove that they can deliver. They have to show they are working on a quick time frame - and not wait until just before the next general election to make the right noises.

Give the councils back to the people - not to corporate interests and not to political appointees.

Powerful corporate interests penetrate Penang local councils « anilnetto.com

You think Umno/BN will forgive us for March 8?

My answer to this is a definite no. Voters who voted the Pakatan Rakyat, feel proud, changes have been made, the next 4 or 5 years are going to be different. I think this is a wrong concept here. Pakatan Rakyat is a novice and it is unfortunate, the Federal Government is still UMNO, and if you thought it will change its skin, it is mistake. The Federal policies remain the same, a crumb of bread here and there, but the loaf remains in the hand of UMNO. One good example is today’s news, the ex-gratia payment to the judges involved in the judicial crisis is not an apology, so says Najib. What the left hand does is not known by the right hand. Funny. If the government is not sorry then why ex-gratia payment. Only Najib can answer this.

What is disturbing is this. Whatever changes brought about by the people, the changes are not there, and still we are at square one. Consider the following:

• To set aside 10% of all Public Works Department (PWD) contracts worth more than RM10mil for Class F contractors. Back to cronyism and friendly government. No open tender.

• 100 year old temple razed.

• Special meeting to discuss Malay issues as if other races don’t have issues.

• As Viji Rajasundram says in his letter below, “did anyone notice that the bus company which had an accident record of one death per month this past year was given only a one-month suspension? But the newspaper that reported it got closed down permanently. Justice the BN way prevails.”

Has anything changed. You decide.

You think Umno/BN will forgive us for March 8?

Viji Rajasundram | Apr 18, 08 4:26pm

I refer to the Malaysiakini report PM unveils judicial reforms but no apology.

As we read the news these past few days, one thing seems to be surfacing – that the BN seems to be in a mood to do some good stuff.

But is it sincere ? On one hand we get announcements that past judges who had been wronged are going to receive payments to ‘mend their pain’, and judicial reform will begin as soon as possible. Corruption will be checked immediately, judicial reform will begin soon, the police complaints commission will be implemented soon etc, etc.

Haven’t we heard all this before (except for the payment to the judges, of course)? Hasn’t this been the story since 2004? ‘We are going to clean it up.’ ‘We are trying to clean up.’ ‘Be patient.’ ‘We are doing our best.’

While we are lulled into a sense of security that things are picking up, are they really ? Has anything really been done or acted upon? While there is talk about righting the wrongs of before – has anything been done?

Has BN chosen to release any information about all the obvious improprieties? Or has there been chest-thumping about we never shredded any documents even though there seem to be no trace of any documents in the state secretariat buildings. Has any attempt been made to answer this?

While the stated aim is ‘we will correct the wrongs’, what is actually happening is that constituents who went the ‘wrong’ way are being penalised quietly. Funding is being stopped to states. But the overtures remain the same – ‘we are listening and we will correct what we did wrong’. But what is really happening is different.

From newspapers which have had their publishing licenses terminated to dinners/gatherings being stopped in the usual heavy-handed manner – with little or no explanations - to threats of revoking funding to selected constituencies. And the good old boy ‘Corruption’ goes unabated. The indelible ink saga is quietly forgotten and VK Lingam is probably posing for photos is some other exotic location.

And just to stir things up, in the usual BN way, pawns are used to bring up the race card again. Are they listening ? It was not race on March 8. It was the corruption and arrogance of the BN elite – that they could do nothing wrong and the rakyat will just take it. He keeps saying he is listening. I am sure he is just plain deaf.

But maybe stupid he is not. While he hands out the easy goodies – behind him appears the mechanism to consolidate and ensure that when it is time to punish – everything will be in place. The majority would have been pacified into thinking that we should give them another chance. After all, he has promised to do it, and he has paid the judges, right? He must be okay. Well, dream on!

Be wary of the Smoke and Mirrors. They are very adept at using them.

In closing – just another thought – did anyone notice that the bus company which had an accident record of one death per month this past year was given only a one-month suspension? But the newspaper that reported it got closed down permanently. Justice the BN way prevails.

You think Umno/BN will forgive us for March 8?

MIC boss: I saw it coming

How can Samy Vellu the Malaysian Indian Congress President be blamed for anything, he has ben fighting continuously for the Indians in Malaysia, knew very much earlier and predicted the downfall of the party, he was an innocent by stander and things just happened. The new input is he had told Badawi about the coming defeat and asked for money to bribe the Indians, but Badawi refused any money. Another new revelation the people appreciate that the party is relevant now as many people want help.

I am amazed at him and wonder how many tricks he has got under his sleeve, he is truly a magician of a sort who will with a wave of a wand……sorry I meant with a twist of a tongue produce enough to cover not only the present but the number of remaining days until he goes. I wonder whether his twisting tongue ever gets tired. But unfortunately, the people are getting tired of the spinning and perhaps take a vow that from now  on Samy Vellu is not to be blamed for the lost, it is always somebody else. Thereafter peace will ensure and Samy Vellu can walk with his shoulders up, I am not to blamed, Can we people help him, a man aged 72.

Reminiscing on his past doings I remember saying about rejuvenation and ear piercing. His strategy of hot line for the Indians with MIC, six month reports to the Prime Minister and a proposal of Indians monopolising the civil service. Another flash back is his assurance  many issues have been settled through consultations and dialogue with the federal, state and local government. He talks about sensitive issues, but forgets he is doing the same telling openly that the elections will be lost - I wonder why Badawi never thought of ISA for him at that time, considering he has the gall to say everything is lost.

But what is intriguing is the fact that he could predict that all will be lost at the elections. Knowing this the following questions are in order:

• you had to lose in Sungei Siput, why did you not stay away
• if you had known the future why did you advertise and cautioned the people they will pay the price for voting the opposition. After all you knew in advance the results.

He says the Indian community was neglected, and this caused them to vote opposition, if he had the interest of the Indian people why did he defy Hindraf and say the Indians are better of than other races and even went all the way to India to attest to this fact.

Samy Vellu says  the ordinary people always felt that coming to MIC means that their going to their own home. He is wrong, the people don’t like him. Baradan Kuppusamy, a senior commentator has this to say.

MIC was dealt an unmerciful blow in the March 8 general election. The Indian-based party was trounced in 18 of its 28 seats and the list of casualties included almost all of its top leaders.

Even its mighty president was shown the exit in his stronghold of three decades. Morale sank to an all-time low and the grassroots were left wondering about their future.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini at the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, S Samy Vellu - who appears to have retained his vigor despite the major setback - revealed that he saw this coming.

When asked if he was a contributing factor to the poor performance of the party in the elections, the 72-year-old politician refused to accept responsibility and pointed the finger at the government instead.

“I will never say that I am a factor for the losses. I know why the losses took place. It is something due to the neglect of the Indian community by the government.”

“I have been continuously fighting (against this) and I foresaw that this was going to happen. Six months before the elections, I went to the prime minister and told him ‘I have a short programme for the next three years. Can you give some money so that we can boost the morale of the party among the Indians.’

“First he said, ‘I’ll look into it’, later he said, ‘No’, he cannot give. So thereafter I thought, ‘What can we do?’”

According to Samy Vellu what transpired on March 8 was nothing short of a political tsunami, or in his words, “A big wave of change.”

The MIC president said Malaysians desired for this wave to sweep across the country and they believed that the opposition will be able to deliver it.

“Now they are waiting to see what the opposition can give. But I feel that the opposition has not settled in yet, they are still in a lot of disarray. I don’t know how long it will take for them to settle (in).”

Not running away

Soon after the elections, calls for the MIC president to vacate his post rang out from both within and outside the party. But a defiant Samy Vellu announced that he will continue to helm MIC until 2012.

This drew more flak from critics, with some even suggesting that the party is now beyond redemption.

Samy Vellu - who has been the target of much criticism - is of the belief that one of the traits of a true leader is not to forsake the party in times of crisis.

“I know that after the elections, our party is in disarray. A leader who runs away when the party is in disarray is no leader,” he said.

The former works minister also stressed that it is the duty of a leader to put the house in order and examine what went wrong.

“To put the house in order not only with the (MIC) members but also with the community. If I don’t do that, I don’t think it will be good,” he added.

Samy Vellu also described himself as the strongest link between the party and the masses.

“Because in this party, I have more connections with the ordinary people than anyone else. I see them weekly, I see them daily and I have been attending to their problems.

“I make myself completely available to their requests … I always tell that we need to see more people. We want to make MIC a people-friendly party that will help the people.”

In order to achieve this, Samy Vellu said, the party must have experienced leaders at the controls until as and when the younger leaders are ready to take over the reins.

More relevant now

The MIC president also dismissed the notion that the longer he remains at the top, the more problems it will create for the party at the bottom.

To his critics, he said: “These are (the views of) people who don’t know politics, who do not understand the system of politics and also the minds of the people and what happens in the country.

“Anybody who says that, I will say he is a political zero,” he added with his usual zest.

Contrary to many quarters suggesting otherwise, Samy Vellu is also confident that the party - which he has spearheaded for 28 years - can be revived and will remain relevant.

“I think after this elections, MIC has become more relevant for the reason that there are many people who need help. There are many people who feel that MIC is the only party that can really help them.

“After I took over the leadership of MIC, I made it a party open to ordinary people. So the ordinary people always felt that coming to MIC means that their going to their own home.

“The ones who say it (MIC) is irrelevant are the people who want to make it irrelevant but are not successful in doing this,” he said.

MIC boss: I saw it coming

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Some really bad news for the super rich in Malaysia. One was Patrick Lim in Penang, His PGCC in Penang is no more, and we are also told Patrick is no more close with the Badawi family. You can read this here in Anil Netto’s blog.

Another mighty hit is for another favourite son Francis Yeoh. His bullet train is now a dream. Dream on Francis. This is the Bernama report that says:

The government has not made a decision on the RM8 billion Kuala Lumpur-Singapore bullet train project, said Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

Our new MP and blogger Jeff Ooi has said it correctly, “follow the money, follow the gravy train”. Read this below.

April 15, 2008

Francis Yeoh and his urgent train

Remember Francis Yeoh, who got one of the first Independent Power Producer (IPP) licenses — Terengganu and Johor — during Dr Mahathir’s time? Remember the Francis Yeoh who swiftly dumped Dr Mahathir soon after Abdullah took the helm in 2004? Remember the Francis Yeoh who proposed the RM10 billion “bullet train to reach Singapore in 90 minutes”?

Citizen Nades had an earful for this Francis yesterday. Quote:

Yeoh was quoted by the NST as saying: “This project is economically viable, so I think the government will listen to the people and put this project an urgent basis again.”Well said! The key phrase is “listen to the people”. There were also other clichés like “environment-friendly”; “save the government billions in fuel subsidies”; and “the government is supportive of this project”. Anyone can give a thousand and one reasons for the project to go ahead, but very importantly, two questions have to be answered: One, do we need such a link, and two, can we afford it?

The people, I dare say, do not want their hard-earned money to go into land acquisition, soft loans and one-sided contracts and agreements. The people, I dare say, want their money to be used prudently to meet their needs – not those of businesses. The people, I dare say, want an efficient public transport system and not some form of luxury travel which they cannot afford and to which they become unwitting and unwilling contributors to a monopoly.

I think I speak for the majority – We would rather spend six hours on a slow train than watch fellow citizens suffer, unable to pay for medical treatment. How many hospitals and how many rural clinics can we build with that kind of money?

If Yeoh and YTL still want to proceed with it, please go ahead without touching our money. You do the feasibility study; you acquire the land at your cost and pay the prevailing market price; you don’t ask for soft loans or handouts from the government, or letters of guarantee for that matter and don’t even ask for protection by asking the existing efficient bus service to be restricted to keep you in business.

After all, Yeoh himself has said that “nobody looks at it as a mega project, an artificial project that you do for prestige”. If that’s the case, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is.

Remember this Francis Yeoh? I ain’t. But I do remember the quo pro quo in the rich KTM land bank around the Tanjung Pagar train station.

Follow the money! And the gravy train.

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Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored: Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra is Way Out of Royal Line and Un-becoming of a Royalty in 21st Century Malaysia

My posting on this atrocious statement made by Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra is mild compared with what others have said, read on.

This is what Bernama our one and only true reporter of news in this country has to say:

Tengku Mahkota Of Kelantan Calls For Malay Unity

KUALA LUMPUR, APRIL 12 (Bernama) — The Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra today expressed the need for Malay unity, especially following the outcome of the last general election, to be enhanced.
He said this was needed to ensure Malay sovereignty and supremacy was preserved.
The prince said this at an assembly for Malay unity held in conjunction with the Maulidur Rasul celebration at the Putra World Trade Centre here today.
He added that only by being united would they be able face the many challenges that lay ahead.
Umno and the Barisan Nasional did not do very well in the election, losing five states to the opposition and not attaining two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The assembly was organised by the newly-formed Malay Unity Action Front (BBPM).

Tengku Mahkota Of Kelantan Calls For Malay Unity :: Bernama.com

The reporters and editors are a sorry lot, they must be condemned and condemned in strong terms, you have failed in your responsibilities to report truthfully, and therefore you can crown yourself as liars and a disgrace to professional journalism, nobody would do the crowning, you can do it yourself. Despicable.

For the royal prince, he has received enough criticism to make him to be awake at night with disturbed sleep, for some time to come, and insomnia will be his greatest enemy. He may even have night-mares.

For a crown Prince how easily can he be duped, by some 1000 people, and I feel the euphoria of seeing a crowd to listen to his idiotic mumbling, could have made him forget his role. But then he read a prepared speech, guess what, he is going to say somebody drafted the speech and he was totally ignorant of the contents. Kelantan people will have to bear with him when he becomes the Sultan. What a waste of respect for him as a Crown Prince.

Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra is Way Out of Royal Line and Un-becoming of a Royalty in 21st Century Malaysia

Saturday, April 12, 2008
17:49

We say,
It was, to say the least, a totally Disgraceful Royal Speech by Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, the Crown Prince of KELANTAN at the “Malay Unity is the Core of National Unity” forum organised by the Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu in Kuala Lumpur
With a speech laced with racial tones, the Crown Prince of Kelantan has presented himself as an EXACT OPPOSITE version of the more distinguished and highly admired Regent of Perak.
For making a royal speech with strong racial undertones, Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra CANNOT claim to be a Ruler for the NON-Malay Kelantanese, who had been proud to be called themselves “Anak Kelantan” for many generations . Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra has made for himself to be a Malay Ruler ONLY for the Malays and NOT a Malay ruler for ALL Malaysians in a multi-racial Malaysia.
Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra should have used his acquired royal wisdom in his royal head BEFORE opening his royal mouth to make such racially divisive and politically charged comments.

Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra has entered into the quadmire of divisive racial politics of Malaysia. By doing so, as a Kelantan Crown Prince, he has deliberately bought into a position of NOT WANTING to endear himself to the Kelantanese NON-Malays, and to non-Malays in general.
The only conclusion we can reach is that Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra is NOT the kind of Royalty and the type of role model of a future Malay Ruler who we all Malaysians, Malays, Chinese, Indians and others can be truly proud of and who we can fully respect.

Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra should aim to the royal champion for ALL his subjects, that include the NON-Malays. As a future Malay ruler of a state, he should NOT try to be a narrow-minded racially-based champion of the Malays only.

Sadly, after this speech, it is now very hard for non-Malays in Kelantan and outside Kelantan to wish Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra “Daulat Tuanku“.

Or does he deserve it? We don’t think so.
We therefore appeal to the HRH Sultan of Kelantan to have a quiet pep talk to this Crown Prince before he does further damage to the social fabric of this country by engaging in racial politics and making speeches which are racially divisive.
-Malaysian Unplug

Read here article in Malaysiakini

Excerpts: Read here for more
Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra said today that Malays had been COERCED into giving non-Malays citizenship and NON Malays should therefore not seek equality or special treatment.
He said this during his keynote speech at a forum titled “Malay unity is the core of national unity” organised by the newly formed Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu in Kuala Lumpur today.
Speaking to a crowd of about 1,000 people, Tengku Faris said the Malay rulers would be an umbrella to foster unity among all Malaysians, based on the Federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara.
Reading from a 11-page prepared text, he said,

“… The rakyat must unite and never raise issues regarding Malay rights and special privileges because it is a quid pro quo in gratitude for the giving in of citizenship (beri-paksa kerakyatan) to 2.7 million non-Malays into the Tanah Melayu federation.
“Thus, it is not appropriate for these other ethnic groups to have citizenship, only (later) to seek equality and privileges.
The Malay rulers are the head of the Islamic religion and Malaysia is a Islamic country (negara Islam), NOT secular. We have our own formula (as a country) which is different from others.
In fact, if Malay rights and special privileges are taken care of and is not disturbed, it would ensure national harmony. It does not just benefit the Malays but all ethnic groups.
The election results have shown that the Malays are disunited and facing other ethnic groups who are more dominant politically and economically.
Discussing about polemics such as Islamic state, secular state, welfare state… confuses the people… Resulting from this confusion, Malays are becoming more disillusioned.
We have to make an effort to unite.

Don’t split up. Avoid polemics that can distance us. Ideology (and) having different interpretations does not contribute to Malay unity.”

Tengku Faris said non-Malays are allowed to practice their respective religions in peace. They must however do so in accordance with the law and “not be provocative towards Islam.”
In his speech, Tengku Faris said the 12th General Election results have shown that the Malays are being “challenged” and thus Malays unity is of the outmost priority.
As the constitution provides that the Malays are the natives (penduduk asal) of Malaysia, Tengku Faris said every Malay must defend the constitution and Islam and this can only be achieved through Malay unity.
COMMENTARY

From The Aisehman Blog: Read here

“..As a Malay, I apologise to all non-Malays that there are among my fellow Malays who hold such views.
It is disgusting, even if these people have a right to their opinions and a right to express them.
But don’t worry. Come the next elections, we shall make sure that those who hold similar views will not even come close to forming the federal government.
That’s the only lesson they can understand….”

From Ktemoc Konsider Blog: Read here for more

“… I could not believe my eyes. Yes, HRH (Crown Prince of Kelantan) was telling Malaysians of Chinese, Indians, Eurasian, Thai and other non-Melayu ancestries that there is to be no ‘equality’ for them vis-à-vis Melayu’s.
Personally I don’t care so much about ‘special treatment’, but ‘equality’ …?
WTF, aren’t WE Malaysian citizens?

Does HRH understand what is a citizen? … unless of course he has in mind ‘second’ and ‘third’ etc classes of citizenships?

Then he added, getting his royal self involved with POLITICS: “The election results have shown that the Malays are disunited and facing other ethnic groups who are more dominant politically and economically.”
Alas, the future Sultan of Kelantan has not only failed to understand what is democracy but has committed a royal faux pas by making an unacceptable political statement, as well as coo-ing such ‘sweet’ music at a forum organized by Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu, a group of conservative Malay NGOs – in the old days they would be called ‘ultras’.
The theme of the forum was ‘Malay unity is the core of national unity’.
The issue of ‘national unity’ is total bullshit after HRH has slapped non-Malay Malaysians in their faces.
Either the bigots are exploiting the Royalties to project a more extreme ethno-centric positioning. Or the royalties themselves feel they need to exert their ethnic muscles.
What does the PAS MB of Kelantan say about this?
How the hell has he allowed the Crown Prince of his State to be hijacked by Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu into making such a hurtful racist political statement?…”

From Readers of Malaysia-Today: Read here for more

1. “…. This kelantan prince needs someone to translate the constitution for him. How can you blame the rakyat for saying he is not intelligent and do not seem to understand the constitution. Clearly the constitution says we are a secular country but islam is the religion of the federation. Seems that the only royalty that seem to be really intelligent and a non-racist is Raja Nazrin. At least he is one person ALL the rakyat has respect for….”
   
2. “… You have obviously been grossly misinformed or……being used. We don’t need a racist prince. Certainly! …”
   
3. “…This is surprising given that they have been under PAS for so many years, and certainly PAS does not promote Ketuanan Melayu. Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu is the bigger problem. They only invite extremists to talk at their seminars. Soon you will hear of these ultras calling for a repeat of May 13. …”
   
4. “…Dear Tengku, You have obviously been grossly misinformed or you are living in the 14th century. If what you say is right that Malays have been coerced into giving non-malays citizenship then I proposed you tell that to the Malaysian Govt to allow Penang to rejoin back the British Empire. That also goes for Sarawak and Sabah. I also suggest you take up history lessons that Kelantan was once part of the Siamese empire and you can go back to them….”
   
5. “… our Federal Constitution clearly states that, Islam is the religion of the Federation & it does not mean that we are an Islamic country! As such, when the Crown Prince says that, Malaysia is an Islamic country, either our Federal Constitution is wrong or the Crown prince is lying. Am I right? …”
   
6. “…My first reaction is one of a shock - my ignorance of how such a prince thinks the world revolves around melayu centric, or how ignorant such a prince can be! My!! …”
   
7. “…Dumb prince makes dumb statement and calling himself a prince , must be the dumb kids on the block . Just to enlightened the history of Kelantan; Under the terms of the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, the Thais surrendered its claims over Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis to Great Britain, and Kelantan thus became one of the Unfederated Malay States with a British Adviser.
   Kelantan was the first place in Malaya to be occupied by the Japanese, who invaded on December 8, 1941. During the Japanese occupation, Kelantan came again under control of Siam, but after the defeat of Japan in August 1945, Kelantan reverted to British rule.
   Kelantan became part of the Federation of Malaya on February 1, 1948 and together with other states attained independence on August 31, 1957. On September 16, 1963, Kelantan became one of the component states of Malaysia.
   The Non Malays and the Malays should thus have equal status in Kelantan and in Malaysia by virtue of the fact that Kelantan was also under British at some time .
   If you think you want to pull wool over our eyes, I think you have been USED by the Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu .
   

Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored: Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra is Way Out of Royal Line and Un-becoming of a Royalty in 21st Century Malaysia