Najib Razak Worst Finance Minister in Asia This Year

http://thecoverage.my/news/najib-razak-is-the-worst-finance-minister-in-asia-this-year/

Prime Minister Najib Razak named worst finance minister in Asia this year

An Asian financial website has recently ranked Malaysian Finance Minister and Prime Minister Najib Razak as the worst this year, based on several contributing factors as well as recent developments.
According to Finance Asia, who considers several factors in their comparison for the past 12 months, ranked Najib number 12 of 12 different Asian countries, making him the worst ever Finance Minister in Asia. Factors considered include how the minister managed funds and reforms made, what are the investor perception as well as independence from other more powerful ministers, as well as willingness to fight for public interests.

Unsurprisingly Najib’s position both as Prime Minister and Finance Minister is a big contributing factor towards the position’s independence, however one of the biggest factor mentioned by Finance Asia was the 1MDB scandal that has plagued Najib since the last election.
The ongoing investigation on the scandal has caused much unrest in the eyes of the investors, making Malaysia even less attractive as an investment destination in the face of economic downturn in the region, reported the article. According to Moody’s, foreign investors withdrew about RM 24.5 billion in the third quarter of 2015, and that was made worsen when the Ringgit depreciated at a rapid pace, losing 19% last year to it’s lowest levels in 1997.

REUTERS/Edgar Su

Several policies introduced last year has also cause prices of goods to increase tremendously, weakening exports and a rapidly depreciating currency made things much worse. Many middle-class Malaysians have taken complaints to the social media space, and many more believe that Najib is guilty of the 1MDB scandal, even when local investigators announced otherwise.

http://thecoverage.my/news/najib-razak-is-the-worst-finance-minister-in-asia-this-year/

#PrayforMH370

#PrayforMH370

Singapore and Malaysia hit by extreme dry spell

Singapore suffers its longest dry spell on record, while Malaysian cabinet mulls whether to declare a national emergency

• Reuters
• theguardian.com, Wednesday 26 February 2014 09.48 GMT

A port is covered with thick haze in Port Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. Photograph: Lai Seng Sin/AP

Singapore and Malaysia are grappling with some of the driest weather they have ever seen, forcing the tiny city-state to ramp up supplies of recycled water while its neighbour rations reserves amid disruptions to farming and fisheries.
Singapore, which experiences tropical downpours on most days, suffered its longest dry spell on record between Jan 13 and Feb 8 and has had little rain since.
Shares in Hyflux Ltd, which operates desalination and water recycling operations there, have risen 3.5% over the past month.
In peninsular Malaysia, 15 areas have not had rainfall in more than 20 days, with some of them dry for more than a month, according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department.
The dry spell in the Southeast Asian neighbours is expected to run for another two weeks, forecasters say.
The Indonesian province of Riau has also been hit, with part of the region wreathed in smog, usually caused by farmers setting fires to illegally clear land. Poor visibility has disrupted flights to and from the airport in Pekanbaru.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak was due to discuss the drought at a regular cabinet meeting on Wednesday that would decide whether to declare a national emergency, according to state news agency Bernama.
While some dry weather is expected at this time of year, the abnormal lack of rain is raising concerns about the pace of climate change in the region.
“The concern is that these uncommon weather events may be happening more frequently sooner rather than later,” said National University of Singapore weather researcher Winston Chow.
Malaysia is the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil and planters say dry weather lasting more than two months can hurt yields six months to two years down the line, affecting output and fuelling benchmark Kuala Lumpur prices.
Concerns that dry weather will hurt production have helped push up palm oil prices about 8% in February, setting the market on track for its biggest monthly gain in four months.
The lack of rain is also believed to have caused extensive damage to the rice crop.
In Singapore the dry weather is being blamed in part for the mass death of fish stocks at several offshore farms. Around 160 tonnes of fish have died in recent weeks because of a lack of oxygen in the water.
The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) said it had received more than 7,000 calls involving forest and bush fires nationwide since the beginning of February, due to the hot weather, five times higher than in the same period last year.
Selangor, Malaysia’s richest and most industrialized state, began limited water rationing on Tuesday as levels in its dams plunged to critical lows.
“We pledge that every consumer will receive water, but it will be rationed to ensure supply every two days,” Bernama quoted state chief minister Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as saying.
“In a week, consumers will receive water for four days.”
The state of Negeri Sembilan near the capital, Kuala Lumpur, declared a “state of crisis” last week as water in its dams fell to critical levels.
In Singapore, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) has boosted the supply of recycled water, known as NEWater, and desalinated supplies, in order to keep up reservoir levels.
Singapore’s national security concerns mean it has developed into one of the world leaders in water technology as it tries to cut reliance on imported supplies from Malaysia.
Around 55% of Singapore’s water is now desalinated or recycled, in line with an aim to be self-sufficient by 2061, when a 1962 agreement to buy 250 million gallons per day from Malaysia ends, according to the PUB.
The deal lets Singapore buy 250 million gallons of water a day from Malaysia at 0.03 ringgit ($0.01) per 1,000 gallons, and sell back treated water for 0.50 ringgit per 1,000 gallons.
Johor, the southern Malaysian state that borders Singapore, has been urging an early re-negotiation, saying the deal is too advantageous to the city-state.
“The talks should begin immediately,” Hasni Mohammad, chairman of a state public works panel, told Bernama in an interview on 18 February.
“We have long been in a losing position when we sell raw water to Singapore at three sen (for 1,000 gallons),” he said, adding that the price of treated water was too high.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/26/singapore-malaysia-extreme-dry-spell

Tan Twan Eng Wins Man Asian Literary Prize

By Jonathan DeHart

March 15, 2013

The Man Asian Literary Prize may be losing its sponsor, but Asian literature is ascending.

Yesterday evening in Hong Kong, it was announced that Malaysian lawyer-turned-writer Tan Twan Eng snagged Asia’s top literary award, the Man Asian Literary Prize, for his tome The Garden of Evening Mists. Tan is the first Malaysian to snag the award, created in 2007, and his book was the second winner originally written in English.
The competition for the $30,000 prize was fierce. Other nominees – representing an impressively diverse range from across the continent – included writers from Japan (Hiromi Kawakami, The Briefcase), India (Jeet Thayil, Narcopolis, which won South Asia’s DSC Prize), Pakistan (Musharraf Ali Farooqi, Between Clay and Dust) and Turkey (Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk, Silent House). It’s worth noting that Tan and Thayil were also short-listed for the Man Group’s larger Booker Prize in 2012.
Judges Dr. Maya Jaggi, who chaired the panel (see an excellent essay she wrote on the state of Asian literature here), Vietnamese-American novelist Monique Truong and Indian-American writer Vikram Chandra, winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for his novel Red Earth and Pouring Rain, had their work cut out for them.
“I have experience of judging many literary awards,” Jaggi said. “But our task as a jury was exceptionally difficult, as well as gratifying, because of the outstanding quality and originality of the novels in contention from across Asia, and the strength of our shortlist.”
In The Garden of Evening Mists, Tan tells the story of a woman, once imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp, who decides to create a Japanese garden as a memorial to her sister who died while interned in the camp. But this isn’t just any Japanese garden. The woman learns the art of gardening from none other than the gardener who once tended the shrubs of Japan’s emperor. The former imperial gardener has gone on to live in Malaysia’s Cameron highlands and the two form an unlikely bond in spite of history.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Tan explained that his own international experiences – born in Malaysia, educated in the UK, currently roving between Asia and South Africa – have played a major role in shaping his writing. “It’s made me realize that to be a writer, you have to look beyond your national boundaries if you want to be read by a universal audience,” he said.
Past winners of the Man Asian prize have included South Korean novelist Kyung-sook Shin, whose book Please Look After Mom has sold more than two million copies worldwide, and previously undiscovered Filipino author Miguel Syjuco for his book Illustrado. Other winners all wrote from China: Bei Feiyu (Three Sisters), Su Tong (The Boat to Redemption) and Jiang Rong (Wolf Totem).
The Man Group announced last October that they will relinquish its sponsorship of the prize this year due to a lack of funding. The search for a new sponsor is ongoing. But the award’s six-year run has been a boon for Asia’s literary scene.
Most mainstream readers are already aware of Asia’s literary megastars like Haruki Murakami, Salman Rushdie (who won the Booker of Bookers before Man took over the award for Midnight’s Children) and last year’s Nobel winner Mo Yan. But for those who may wish to dig a little deeper, the Man Asian prize has shined a spotlight on many rising talents.
Professor David Parker, executive director of the award’s organizing body, told The Guardian last October, “After the runaway success of Please Look After Mother (by last year’s winner Kyung-sook Shin) the Korean government has now decided to put up more money for Korean literature to be translated into English. That’s one of the things we have achieved and I think that is an important thing.”
What’s more, this growing awareness is not limited to the world outside of Asia; it has turned on readers within the region as well. Parker added, “We are not only bringing new literature, or formerly unknown literature, to the world, but also to Asia itself. That’s a subtle but significant thing, that Asia, because of this prize, is becoming more interested in Asia. That’s something we are very happy with.”

 http://thediplomat.com/2013/03/tan-twan-eng-wins-man-asian-literary-prize/

Missing girl found in Penang

Missing girl found in Penang

by tan sin chow AND nicholas cheng

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/08/05/Missing-Aisyah-found.aspx

Picture of Aisyah published on PDRM Facebook page.

GEORGE TOWN: Penang police have found a three-year-old girl who was earlier reported missing at a hypermarket in Rawang.
A woman, who sent Wan Aisyah Wan Exzam to the Sungai Nibong police station at about 11.30am today, said her son had brought the girl to her house home in Teluk Kumbar at about 5am today.
She said her son, 44, had told her to send the girl to the nearest police station.
He had since gone missing after the incident.
The girl is said to be the daughter of a female school teacher Arbaiyah Md Zin who is based in Rawang.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKIRV7k7QC8

 

Published: Monday August 5, 2013 MYT 1:40:00 PM
Updated: Monday August 5, 2013 MYT 5:00:56 PM

Missing girl found in Penang

by tan sin chow AND nicholas cheng

Picture of Aisyah published on PDRM Facebook page.

Email

Facebook 2K

GEORGE TOWN: Penang police have found a three-year-old girl who was earlier reported missing at a hypermarket in Rawang.
A woman, who sent Wan Aisyah Wan Exzam to the Sungai Nibong police station at about 11.30am today, said her son had brought the girl to her house home in Teluk Kumbar at about 5am today.
She said her son, 44, had told her to send the girl to the nearest police station.
He had since gone missing after the incident.
The girl is said to be the daughter of a female school teacher Arbaiyah Md Zin who is based in Rawang.

Meanwhile Gombak OCPD ACP Abdul Rahim Abdullah said the suspect, Mohd Faisal Ibrahim, was no where in sight, when Aisyah was surrended.
“The child was delivered in healthy condition. Her mother and investigating officer are on the way to the police station now."
“Aisyah will be sent to the Sungai Buloh Hopsital here for treatment later,” ACP Abdul Rahim said.
He added that police would record a statement from the suspect’s mother and urged the suspect to come forward to assist investigations.

The case is being investigated under Section 363 of the Penal Code for child abduction, he said.

More to come . . .

Missing toddler reunited with family

 

RAWANG: Three-year-old Wan Aisyah Wan Exzam is now back with her family when she turned up safe and sound at the Sungai Nibong police station in Penang.
She was reported missing three days ago after she was allegedly abducted by her mother’s boyfriend.
Gombak OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Rahim Abdullah said Wan Aisyah, who was last seen at a shopping mall in Rawang, was surrendered by the suspect’s mother in Penang yesterday.
Her alleged abductor is believed to have gone into hiding.
“Wan Aisyah will be sent to the Sungai Buloh Hospital here for a check-up,” ACP Abdul Rahim added.
He said police would record a statement from the suspect’s mother, adding that the case has been classfied as child abduction.
The case begun when Wan Aisyah’s mother Arbaiyah Md Zin had allegedly met the abductor via Facebook in May and started a relationship with him, and even began planning a wedding together.
Despite only knowing the man for a few weeks, Arbaiyah, a divorced mathematics teacher in her 30s, allegedly left her daughter in the man’s care on July 30, as he had told her he wished to introduce Aisyah to his sister.
Police sources said the mother also gave the suspect Aisyah’s birth certificate as the pair were planning to go on a honeymoon with the child after the supposed marriage.
“On Aug 2, the mother also gave RM25,000 to the man for a supposed investment for a gold trading business in a shopping mall in Rawang.
“The following day, Arbaiyah was waiting for the suspect to bring Aisyah home. But he didn’t show up and calls to him went unanswered,” ACP Abdul Rahim said.

Happy ending: A man believed to be Arbaiyah’s ex-husband carrying Wan Aisyah as Arbaiyah follows them outside the Sungai Nibong police station in Penang.

He said the mother also went to the suspect’s supposed house in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in search for her missing daughter but disco­­-vered that the house belonged to someone else.
Meanwhile, Arbaiyah’s colleagues at SMK Sungai Choh said she had moved to Rawang a few weeks ago.
“I’m happy that she has her child back and that both are safe. It is a nice story to hear this close to Hari Raya,” said a school employee.
In GEORGE TOWN, Arbaiyah came with an unidentified man, said to be her ex-husband, to pick up Wan Aisyah at the Sungai Nibong police station at 4.45pm yesterday.
Although she refused to speak to the press, the man said they had bought new clothes for Wan Aishah for Hari Raya.
Arbaiyah was seen covering her face from the press while the man carried Wan Aishah, who was drinking from her milk bottle and oblivious to the attention on her.
The man thanked the police for their cooperation but refused to answer further questions from the media.
Earlier, Penang police took Wan Aisyah from a 66-year-old woman, said to be the mother of the alleged abductor, at the Sungai Nibong police station at 11.30am.
She told police that her son, 44, had brought the girl to her house in Teluk Kumbar for sahur (dawn meal before fasting begins).
He then told her to send the girl to the nearest police station before he went missing.
Penang CID chief Senior Asst Comm Mazlan Kesah said the woman also handed them the girl’s MyKid and birth certificate.
SAC Mazlan said the police had identified the suspect.

 http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/08/06/Missing-toddler-reunited-with-family.aspx

Nur Malena Hassan set a world record in August by living with 6,000 scorpions for 32 days.

Nur Malena Hassan set a world record in August by living with 6,000 scorpions for 32 days.

By Simon Montlake, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor / February 12, 2008

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2008/0212/p01s05-woap.html

June, 30, 2013 - 3:26 pm

Akjan: ‘I’m not happy that now he (Mutalib) is dead’

Akjan: ‘I’m not happy that now he (Mutalib) is dead’ 

KOTA KINABALU: “I won’t forgive him. Let Allah deal with him!”
These were the exact words of former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Datu Mohd Akjan Ali Muhammad, when commenting on the demise of his arch rival cum writer of controversial book “IC Projek: Agenda Tersembunyi Mahathir?” Mutalib M.D.
The editor of online news portal Sabahkini was said to have succumbed to a stroke while sleeping at his residence in Taman Kingfisher, at around 3am, on Saturday.
“He (Mutalib) almost ruined my life at one stage with all his slanders against me, including those which he had written in his book (IC Projek: Agenda Tersembunyi Mahathir?).
“My family and I, my children especially had been deeply hurt by his slanderous articles about me, for the past two decades. Some of my children even had to quit school because of what he did to me.
“Honestly-speaking, I’m not happy that now he’s dead; in fact I’m furious that he died too soon. I can forgive many of those who hurt me in the past, but certainly not him. The judgement is with Allah,” said Akjan bitterly.
Akjan was obviously referring to Mutalib’s reports about his involvement with the infamous ‘Project IC’, during the early 90s.
Akjan was subsequently detained under the ISA for two years, from 1995 to 1997, together with several others for distribution of fake Malaysian identity cards to non-Malaysian citizens, the Filipino illegal immigrants in particular.
A former Sabah Umno member, the businessman quit from the party in 2011 following his yet another controversial act, this time over his controversial ‘coronation’ as the 33rd reigning sultan of the now defunct Sulu Sultanate, at his residence in Likas.
Akjan who is presently the Chairman of Malaysian Islamic Welfare and Sermon Organation (PEKIDA) Sabah, also charged that Mutalib is a bad example for other Muslims, citing his ‘unique’ style of reporting of issues.
“I hope our Muslim brothers and sisters in the country, Sabah especially, would not emulate his way of earning a living which is by way of slandering others,” he said.
He further claimed that Mutalib’s reports on the Project IC issue all these years had not only severely affected him, but also the lives of many other Muslims in Sabah.

http://borneoinsider.com/2013/06/30/akjan-im-not-happy-that-now-he-mutalib-is-dead/

US Congress - to finally recognise Malaysia

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=ea95ea0a8a&view=att&th=13eb2ef6a2bb92f5&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8LjcpFbxXmS7TAcviOZwB6&sadet=1368930432381&sads=iQMNRC5WPXWELYYAlvJ0dzlPfog&sadssc=1

GE13: Sri Gading residents pleased with developments and improvements in township

Posted on April 12, 2013 - 

By ZAZALI MUSA

BATU PAHAT: Loosely translated, Sri Gading means “attractive ivory” in Malay as wild elephants used to roam the area in the past.

Locals believed the origin of the name can be traced back to the time when the late Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar hunted wild animals in the place.

Sultan Ibrahim who ruled Johor from 1895 until 1959, was so impressed by the luster of the ivory — hence the name Sri Gading.

However, the opening of rubber and oil palm plantations and industrial estates in and around Sri Gading had driven away the large herbivorous land mammals from the area.

Sri Gading is also a town located in Batu Pahat district along Jalan Kluang-Batu Pahat — it lies south-east of Batu Pahat town, north-west of Ayer Hitam and west of Yong Peng.

Street hawker Ali Kassim, 39, from Parit Pingan who runs a goreng pisang stall in Parit Raja town is happy with the development taking place in and around Sri Gading area in the past 10 years.

“The upgrading of Jalan Batu Pahat-Kluang from dual lanes road to four-lane about 10 years ago had improved travelling along the route,” said Ali.

He said the Sri Gading and Parit Raja areas used to be flooded during monsoon seasons but the situation has really improved with the flood mitigation project.

Ali said the local economy has also benefitted with the opening of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Pusat Giat MARA and Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA.

He said for instance, many residents in the traditional villagers had been earning extra income by building houses to be rented out to students and academic staff from the academic institutions.

However, Ali said Parit Raja town with its old wooden houses and shops were an eyesores as they did not blend well with the modern-looking shop houses around them.

“It is timely for the local authority to look at improving the image of Parit Raja town by upgrading the town centre by pulling down the old wooden buildings,” he said.

Ali also hoped that the Batu Pahat District Council to consider building a centralised hawker centre in Parit Raja town as it would bring economic spill-over to the area.

Sales assistant Fatimah Amran, 18, who works in a shoe store at Parit Raja town said many of the students, academic and supporting staff of the institutions patronise shops in the town.

She said the opening of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and McDonald’s Drive-Thru outlet in Sri Gading town had also created job opportunities for local youngsters.

Separately, Fatimah who lives in Kampung Parit Khalid urged the police to beef up their night patrols especially at traditional villages in view of house-break in cases.

“The recent cases at my kampung happened in December last year targeting at families holding wedding celebrations and this January,” she said.

Fatimah said she was looking forward to cast her vote in the 14th general election as she is not qualified to vote in the 13th general election.

Meanwhile, Tan Wee Huat, 32, and his wife Koh Li Chern, 29, had decided to open their hardware store in Sri Gading’s new township Pura Kencana two years ago.

The couple who already owned a similar store in Batu Pahat town just a few kilometers away from the town said business was okay considering the township was rather new.

“We are looking at long-term growth prospects when the township is fully completed; by then it will have enough critical mass to serve the businesses around here,” said Tan.

He also hoped that the police would make their presence felt in the area as many of his customers had told the couple about house-break in cases in kampungs and housing areas.

Koh said while businesses operating at the township had so far been spared from the criminals as the shop houses located along the main road, nevertheless she hoped that the police also patrol the area.

“Like they say better be safe than sorry or prevention is better than cure,” she said.

Factory worker Krishnamuty Alagambaran, 52, and son Premkumar, 25, from Taman Pertama Sri Gading urged the police to beef up their patrolling in the area in view of the snatch theft cases.

“My wife lost her gold chain when she was snatched in front of our own house late last year when two motorists pretending to ask for directions,” he said.

Krishnamuty said after the incident, residents living in the area were now becoming more careful especially when they were approached by strangers.

He said the neighbourliness spirit in the housing estate was good with Malay, Chinese and Indian residents living harmoniously and friendly with each other.

Premkumar who teaches at SJK Tamil Ladang Sri Gading said Jalan Sengkuang, a popular by-pass road among locals was too narrow with uneven road surfaces and potholes.

“The by-pass is actually meant for light vehicles only and now even big lorries are using it, causing risk to other users especially motorcyclists and children cycling to schools,” he said.

Premkumar said Sri Gading area also lack of affordable houses as prices of new houses in Pura Kencana township were too expensive for average income earners.

He hoped that the Government could extend the 1Prima housing scheme to first time house buyers in the area with more realistic pricing and did benchmarking them with prices in Klang Valley, Johor Baru or Penang.

The Sri Gading constituency is made up of two state seats — Parit Yaani and Parit Raja with 44,921 voters in the constituency.

http://www.starproperty.my/index.php/property-news/ge13-sri-gading-residents-pleased-with-developments-and-improvements-in-township/?utm_source=TSOL&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=ge13-sri-gading-residents-pleased-with-developments-and-improvements-in-township

Not original Umno (ABU) was formed to bowled Umno

 Not original Umno (ABU) was formed to bowled Umno

(By: Masdar Wahid)

KUALA LUMPUR: Rembau branch chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin or better known as Chegubard today launched a movement known as the Original Non Umno (ABU).

People's Movement 'Original Non Umno (ABU)' Umno BN established to ensure fallen at the next General Election, said Chegubard acting as a coordinator.

This is because he, decades of BN UMNO rule, too much greed that caused the party.

"The BN UMNO rule, we are together contributing, due to our attitude as 'leave, do not mind and ignorant' in inculcating the brute force of government," he said at a press conference at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall today.

He cited the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also Umno president when this often fickle minded decisions.

It includes Peaceful Assembly Act 2011 that kononnnya for Malaysia as the world's best, but actually more brutal than the previous law.

He said, ABU will continue the program from time to time to ensure that Malaysia is ruled by a party that offers a better administration.

Without specifically intended party where he invites people mengahadirkan in public gathering organized by the ABU on Dec. 15 in Markaz Tarbiyah PAS, Garden Melewar, Gombak.

"At the assembly, we will announce something significant to change the political situation in Malaysia because ABU movement will continue to exist as long as Umno exists in this country," he said, who is also Chairman of the Youth Solidarity Malaysia (SAMM).

ABU launch press conference was also held the same throughout the state in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak except for ABU activist barred from entering the two states.

"Umno's strange, they claim Sabah and Sarawak as fixed and always give a statement purportedly Umno state power is not threatened.

"If so, why ABU representatives in the state just to even prevented?" He asked.

Movement, he said, were still continuing in both states next week.

Among those joining the ABU currently includes students, workers, farmers, fishermen, various segments of the NGOs, opposition parties, professionals, artists, mat rempit, unemployed and oppressed communities under Umno administration over the years.

"Although we backed political party, we are to be free because the ultimate goal is the overthrow Umno is too much corruption in this country, it is enough for them," he said.

 http://www.keadilandaily.com/asal-bukan-umno-abu-ditubuh-untuk-tumbangkan-umno/

DAP clear Nga of ‘lounge-suit’ corruption accusations

DAP clear Nga of ‘lounge-suit’ corruption accusations

February 16, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — The DAP disciplinary committee cleared Pantai Remis assemblyman Nga Kor Ming of any power abuse in the awarding of a lounge suit contract to his wife’s company, Bernama Online reported.
Committee chairman Tan Kok Wai said their investigations did not  find any evidence he coerced or influenced Ipoh City Hall (MBI) in his capacity as councillor to award the RM14,400 contract to Ethan & Elton — co-owned by Nga’s spouse Wong Seow Ching.
Tan said the committee felt the existence of a relationship between parties did not prove wrongdoing meriting an actionable complaint.
He told media their decision at the DAP headquarters here after a three hour meeting.
Three former MBI councillors who were also on the tender board, Frankie Wong and Simon Ng from DAP and PAS’s Khairuddin Abd Malik, told the committee that they were not aware Nga’s wife was involved with the company when they made their award decision.
Tan added that there were five other bidders along with Ethan and Elton.
The committee also rejected the “minit bebas” (independent minutes) presented to them, because the ex-Mentri Besar and six ex- state excos from the previous Pakatan Rakyat state government have confirmed to the disciplinary committee they have never proposed or discussed the lounge suit contract at their exco meetings.
The committee therefore was of the opinion that Nga (picture) neither did anything corrupt nor breached party discipline.
In the separate issue of a demonstration outside the Penang DAP state convention allegedly backed by Penang deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy, Tan said the committee had not come to a decision, and that the matter will be discussed at the next meeting.
 http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dap-clear-nga-of-lounge-suit-corruption-accusations

Cocaine in Vagina: Thai Woman Held At Penang Airport

Thursday, 21 February 2013 18:40

GEORGETOWN: It took the police almost three days to extract 80 cocaine-contained capsules, each as big as one’s thumb, from a woman who was detained at the Penang International Airport (PIA) last Wednesday after she swallowed the capsules. 

The large-sized woman, who is in her 20s and hails from Thailand, had also risked her life by concealing another cocaine package as big as a cucumber in her vagina, Harian Metro reported.

According to sources, police detained the woman around 5pm following a tip-off. The suspect was said to have flown in from Brazil.

“Upon her arrest, the woman was brought to Penang Hospital and police had to wait for almost three days to extract the 80 capsules she swallowed.

“We believe the woman must have been paid a hefty amount of money from drug syndicates, to the extent that she was willing to risk her life like that,” said a source.

The source said, initial investigation revealed that the drugs were worth almost RM300,000, and the suspect was said to have only consumed chocolates to satisfy her hunger throughout the long flight from Brazil.

“From the modus operandi, police believe that this syndicate is willing to go to various extreme lengths to smuggle drugs into this country,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Penang Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department chief, S. Batumalai confirmed the woman’s arrest when contacted.

“The suspect is currently remanded for another seven days to assist police investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” he said.

Last November, another Thai woman was also detained at the PIA. Investigations revealed that she had tried to smuggle 40 cocaine capsules by swallowing them and also had a cucumber-sized cocaine package up her vagina.


http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/36-local2/262062-cocaine-in-vagina-thai-woman-held-at-penang-airport.html


--mD

Wednesday September 26, 2012

Malaysia has great potential in medical tourism

KUALA LUMPUR: Medical tourism has been identified as having the potential of being a revenue generator for the country due to the response shown by foreigners who seek quality healthcare services.
Foreigners come to Malaysia for medical tourism due to the low costs of healthcare services, complemented by existence of excellent medical technology and infrastructure.
The outcome of a survey conducted by a foreign-based body reveals that heart procedures conducted in Malaysia are 10 times cheaper than those conducted in the United States.
Indonesian tourists comprise the highest number of those seeking Malaysian healthcare services followed by visitors from Arab nations.
Efforts by Malacca to boost the number of Indonesian tourists seeking healthcare services in the state appear to be bearing fruit as more Indonesians are switching their attention from Singapore to Malacca for such services.
Statistics show that in 2010, some 60% of 280,000 tourists to Malaysia went to Malacca for medical treatment while Kuala Lumpur is the destination of choice for Arab tourists. According to KPJ Healthcare (KPJ) managing director Datin Paduka Siti Sa'adiah Sheikh Bakir, Arab visitors made up 8% of tourists who sought healthcare services at the group's hospitals.
KPJ is Malaysia's largest group of private hospitals.
“Many foreigners choose Malaysia for elective medical procedures particularly cancer, orthopaedic and cosmetic treatment,” she said after launching the Arab Community Day at KPJ Tawakal Hospital here recently.
As the Arabs prefer Malaysia as their destination for shopping, Siti Sa'adiah said that it was time for Malaysia to promote the medical tourism sector aggressively. “KPJ has been actively promoting its services to the Arab community for more than 10 years now,” she said. - Bernama

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/26/business/12081267&sec=business

Who’s in charge of Malaysian democracy?

Who’s in charge of Malaysian democracy?
 November 13, 2012 Nov 13 ―

 It has been psychologically proven that it is human instinct to attribute anything bad to one’s surrounding. For example, if I baked a cake and it failed for whatever reason, I would instinctively and firstly seek out the problem from the ingredients that I’ve used, or a bad oven, or the recipe. It will usually take a while before I would acknowledge that the failure was due to a mistake on my part, or maybe, that I simply lack the necessary skills. Again, note that the aforesaid relates to human instinct.

 One may acknowledge personal fault at a later point, but the first reaction would always usually be to seek the problem in one’s surroundings. So, coming back to the topic ― what is Malaysian democracy?


To break the question down a little ― where does Malaysian democracy take place? The first answer to this would be that it is exercised at the ballot box. The second answer to this may be that it is exercised when there is a protest. But is that all there is to Malaysian democracy? Surely, its exercise cannot be so occasional.

 Yet, if Malaysians have been exercising their right to democracy, why and how have we been subject to a degenerating regime for the past 50-odd years?

 We speak of change, but our concept of change can only materialise at the ballot box. In other words, we can only change once every five years. What about protests? Must democracy only happen when a group of people decides to take the people’s voice to the streets? And say, if no one decides to rally up the people, is our only other option for change at the ballot box?

Is representative democracy our only option? Our reaction to this degenerating regime would instinctively be the fact that our leaders are lacking in competence, and that it is their fault that we are in the position that we are in. But, tying this back in with the opening paragraph of this article ― is this really the case?

 Is Malaysia degenerating because of what our leaders are doing to us? Or are we degenerating because of what we fail to do? In a situation where the Malaysian leadership does not change, what other option do we have?

 A simple analysis of our leadership structure will show that there are several avenues for the lay Malaysian to be involved in our country’s policy-making decisions. All of us have been allocated one member of the state legislative assembly and one Member of Parliament to speak on our behalf at the different levels of government. With this in sight, participatory democracy becomes far more feasible.

Opinions of local communities can simply be gathered and submitted to the leader that the community has voted in. Contrasting this to our former idea of democracy, this other option for continual accountability would seem more manageable and therefore feasible. Putting the effect of the aforesaid into perspective – what this means is that the needs and wants of local communities for specific policies will be heard by the designated leaders.

There will be a clear request from the voters of the constituencies to hold their leaders accountable to. And depending on what the leader says or does in reaction to these requests, local communities can then decide on what else to do – should the leader respond favourably to the request, the community would have reason to be satisfied with his leadership; and should the leader decide to not respond to the request, the community can properly seek out the reasons for such decisions and correspondingly take further action or make the necessary assessment of his leadership.

 The important point, therefore, is this: that by doing so, communities will be able to measure the performance of their leaders, and leaders will be able to measure the specific needs of their communities. In relation to communities – they will then be able to determine how and why the leader has succeeded or failed; and in relation to leaders, they will then know whether or not they have failed. As to the latter, should the leader be put in the realisation that he has failed his community, he will likewise be put in the lingering realisation that his future as a leader may come to an end.

 In short, we can only say that one has failed to fulfill our request when there has been a request made in the first place. Malaysia, there is a need to depart from our unrealistic and immature ways of putting the onus on our leaders to gauge our interests and needs when we to not take the personal responsibility of voicing them out in the first place. Democracy is a two-way communication. It is a continual two-way communication. Malaysia, we say that this is our country.

 It’s time to start acting as we claim. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Being told to remove their trousers by teachers – students confessed that he wasn’t wearing any underwear

Being told to remove their trousers by teachers – students confessed that he wasn’t wearing any underwear JOHOR BAHRU – Their crime?

Uploading a video clip of themselves on YouTube after finishing their SPM exam paper. Their punishment? Being told to remove their trousers by teachers, even after one of the students confessed that he wasn’t wearing any underwear. In addition, they subjected the students to 700 push-ups as well as multiple slaps, kicks and punches by three teachers, Harian Metro reported.

 The incident is believed to have occurred last Monday, when the students had just returned to their dormitory at 5.30pm after spending time at a nearby shopping mall. When they returned, they were confronted by three teachers. It is alleged that the teachers were angry at the students for uploading a video of themselves on YouTube after completing their SPM mathematics paper.

 The roughly three-minute clip, uploaded on Nov 5, had depicted the antics of the students blowing off steam after their exam paper by copying a skit by a popular reality TV program. A father to one of the students, who only wished to be known as Amir, 47, described the teachers’ actions as overboard, and did not even appear to be educational in nature.

 “I was told of the incident by the father of a fellow student. As a result of trauma from the incident, my son has now become withdrawn,” he said. He said he first noticed behavioural changes in his son when the family visited him at the school last Thursday. He said the son acted out of the ordinary and was non-communicative throughout the visit. Amir said he was disappointed by the teachers’ actions, which he claimed was unprofessional and based on emotions.

 “Granted, teachers have the authority to punish students, but it should be within reason. Going overboard can lead to stress which can affect students emotions and performance of the students, who are sitting for their SPM,” said Amir, who hails from Kulaijaya. Amir said he has watched the video clip and felt it contained neither sensitive material, nor did it tarnish the school’s name in any way. He said he didn’t understand why the teachers lost their cool when the students were merely “releasing stress.”

 “I’m disappointed. It wasn’t enough that they dished out such humiliating punishment, but the teachers also threatened to blacklist the students SPM certificates if they told their parents about this,” he said. Amir lodged a report on the incident at the Sentral police station yesterday. “I want justice for my son and I hope the police as well as the relevant authorities will investigate this,” he said.

 Meanwhile, Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, when contacted, said his office was still awaiting a full report of the incident. “We will, however, investigate these claims so we can carry out further action,” he said. - mD

 http://www.kualalumpurpost.net/being-told-to-remove-their-trousers-by-teachers-students-confessed-that-he-wasnt-wearing-any-underwear/

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin unhappy with Najib Razak’s 2013 Budget

From the Desk of Lim Kit Siang

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s barefaced denial yesterday that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2013 Budget was an “election budget” illustrated what is wrong with the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government after 55 years in power – that the Umno/BN government leaders suffer from the dual terminal ailments of denial complex and unprecedented credibility gap.

Even UMNO/Barisan Nasional Ministers, MPs and members would not believe Muhyiddin’s brazen denial that Najib’s 2013 Budget was not an “election budget”.

Why then is the Deputy Prime Minister making a denial that is completely bereft of credibility, whether in Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional camps?

The only answer is that UMNO/BN leaders continue to suffer from the false sense that they could transform Malaysian politics into a world of make-believe and get ordinary Malaysians to believe what the UMNO/BN leaders decreed, although totally divorced from the world of reality.
It is because of this misguided and misplaced complex that caused UMNO/BN leaders to continue to deny that the growing fear of crime among Malaysians as well as rampant corruption in the country are major problems in the country, falling back on discredited GTP and NKRA statistics and claims of falling crime index and progress in the war against corruption.

But this is false sense of make-believe and denial is not sustainable in the real world, especially in the era of Internet and information technology where information travels at the speed of light and could no more be buried by the BN mainstream media.

Najib had put his finger on the pulse of the problem when he became Prime Minister in April 2009, when he declared that “the era that the government knows best is over”, but the tragedy is that Najib had demonstrated in his 42 months as Prime Minister that he could diagnose the problem afflicting UMNO/BN government but he could not act on the diagnosis, either for lack of political will or personal convictions.
Najib made dubious history yesterday when he transformed his 2013 Budget – which had goodies for almost every sector of the electorate – into a brazen electioneering speech.

Despite Muhyiddin’s post-budget claim that the 2013 Budget is not an “election budget”, Najib devoted more than 10 per cent of his budget speech in a blatant electioneering appeal for continued support for Umno/BN while launching a most improper attack on Pakatan Rakyat.
Najib took MPs and the listening Malaysian public by surprise when he devoted the first six paragraphs of his 2013 Budget speech appealing to Malaysians for continued electoral support for Umno/BN government after 55 years, and hurled charges and insinuations against Pakatan Rakyat.

But he outdid himself at the end of the budget speech when he devoted the last 14 paragraphs of his 174-paragraph budget speech on a unashamed glorification of Umno/BN rule and condemned Pakatan Rakyat, causing many on both sides of the political divide to shake their heads with the common complaint that the 2013 Budget presentation was a poor reflection on the “class” and “standard” both on the Prime Minister and the annual budget.

It is evident that the 2013 Budget hides a very unconfident Najib who is haunted and hounded by the phobia that his fourth budget speech as Finance Minister may be the last Umno/BN budget in Parliament in the nation’s history.

This is why despite all the chest-thumping and braggadocio of supreme confidence that Malaysia will witness six more budgets to be tabled by the Umno/BN Government to transform Malaysia from middle to a high-income developed country, Najib has continued to play the role of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “To Be or Not To Be”, agonizing over whether “To dissolve or not to dissolve Parliament” since last year.
The reason is simple – Najib has no confidence that he would not be the last Umno Prime Minister in Malaysia or that he would not be toppled as UMNO President and Prime Minister in a repeat scenario like what happened to Tun Abdullah in 2009, becoming the latest “trophy” of Tun Mahathir with the scalps of three DPMs and two PMs!

http://www.kualalumpurpost.net/tan-sri-muhyiddin-yassin-unhappy-with-najib-razaks-2013-budget/