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.
The Federal Court has sentenced former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohd
Khir Toyo to one year in jail after dismissing his appeal against his
graft conviction last week.
Khir Toyo apologises but maintains he is innocent of corruption
Published: 29 September 2015 4:27 PM
- See more at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/khir-toyo-apologises-but-maintains-he-is-innocent-of-corruption#sthash.o1keOcKr.dpuf
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/313880
Khir
Toyo apologises but maintains he is innocent of corruption - See more
at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/khir-toyo-apologises-but-maintains-he-is-innocent-of-corruption#sthash.o1keOcKr.dpuf
Amidst the worsening flood situation on the East Coast, Honda Malaysia
has announced its “After Sales Service Flood Relief Programme 2015” to assists
Honda owners whose cars have been damaged by the floods.
As part of the programme, affected customers are offered a 50% discount on
affected genuine parts. The campaign runs with immediate effect and will end on
March 31, 2015. Refer to the image above for more details.
So far, Proton, Perodua and ETCM
(Nissan) have announced various relief programmes and discounts for those
affected by the floods. Every little bit helps. Let’s all pray for those
affected.
NEW SCAM Just when you think you've heard it all. Here comes another scam. This scam is very clever. Be very careful out there! One could easily fall for this - beware of people bearing gifts! There is a new and clever credit card scam. Please circulate this. Someone it happened to says it works like this: Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone who said that he was from some outfit called: "Express Couriers" asking if I was going to be home because there was a package for me, and the caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour. And sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and wine. I was very surprised since it did not involve any special occasion or holiday and I certainly didn't expect anything like it. Intrigued about who would send me such a gift, I inquired as to who the sender is. The delivery man's reply was, he was only delivering the gift package but allegedly a card was being sent separately; (the card has never arrived!). There was also a consignment note with the gift. He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a $3.50 "delivery charge" as proof that he had actually delivered the package to an adult and not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone. This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the company required the payment to be by credit or debit card only so that everything is properly accounted for. My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled his wallet out of his pocket with the credit/debit card and 'John', the "delivery man", asked my husband to swipe the card on the small mobile card machine which had a small screen and keypad where Frank was also asked to enter the card's PIN and security number. A receipt was printed out and given to us. To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, $4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines. It appeared that somehow the "mobile credit card machine" which the delivery man carried now had all the info necessary to create a "dummy" card with all our card details after my husband swiped our card and entered the requested PIN and security number. Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately notified the bank which issued us the card and our credit/debit account was closed. We also personally went to the Police, where it was confirmed that it is definitely a scam because several households had been similarly hit. WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package", which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything if you do not personally know or there is no proper identification of who the sender is. Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction! If you pass this on, it may just prevent someone else from being swindled!
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.
CYBERJAYA: Cyber crime is considered a ticking bomb as the Malaysian police
recorded RM1 billion in losses from victims of such crime from January to July
this year.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said Malaysia
was ranked sixth globally in terms of cyber crime threat risks by US-based IT
security developer, Sophos, in its three-month Security Threat report this
year.
“It (cyber crime) is serious and we must educate the public in preventing
it,” he told a press conference after the signing of a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) between the Royal Malaysian Police and Limkokwing
University, here, yesterday.
The MoU was signed by Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department
director, Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan, and Limkokwing University of Creative
Technology senior vice-president, Datuk Raja Aznil Raja Hashim.
It provides the university with a five-year contract to provide contents such
as posters, video clips and animations to the police in cyber crime-prevention
campaigns.
Mohd Bakri said out of the RM1 billion in losses from cyber crime in the
first six months of this year, 9,857 cases were reported with 7,801 of these
solved and 3,385 people detained.
He said last year, the losses amounted to RM1.115 billion with 8,920 of the
11,543 reported cases solved and 3,712 people arrested.
Meanwhile, Syed Ismail said most of the cyber crime committed in the country
were through parcel scams, selling goods via the Internet, and masquerading.
“Cyber crime in the country has yet to reach a level, where a syndicate would
steal an information or intellectual property from a person or organisation and
sell it to other parties or a rival for a price,” he said.
Therefore, Raja Aznil said the collaboration with the police in the campaign
was vital to educate the public on the prevention measures so that they would
not easily fall prey to cyber crime.
“This campaign mainly targets the young generation as they are tech-savy in
using computers and mobile devices. They are also prone to be influenced by what
is posted on the Internet, making them easy prey,” he said. —
Bernama
PETALING JAYA: All four treatment plants which had to be shut down on Friday
due to oil contamination in Sungai Selangor have resumed operations, and water
distribution has begun at affected areas.
In a statement, Syabas said operations resumed at its plants at about 3am
Saturday, and water distribution started at 6am.
"As at 10am, some affected areas have been receiving limited supply but at
low water pressures.
"The number of affected accounts are down to 880,000, which comprise 60% of
the households in Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Klang/Shah Alam, Gombak, Kuala
Selangor and Hulu Selangor," it said, adding that supply in the Kuala Langat
district was back to normal.
"Syabas expects its supply of water to affected areas to reach 80% capacity
in three days, and normal supply within one week," it said.
The statement also said it was mobilising all its resources to provide water
to users, with 46 water trucks sent and 20 static tanks placed in affected
areas, with another 506 static tanks on standby.
It also said Syabas was receiving aid from other states in the form of 14
water trucks - six from Johor, six from Perak and four from Negri Sembilan.
The statement also said Syabas would not be able ensure adequate supply for
all users.
"However, water relief efforts will be concentrated on critical needs such as
in hospitals, dialysis centres and mosques.
"Users are advised to be patient
and use water sparingly for essential needs only," it said.
SUBANG
JAYA – Tidak padan dengan usia mereka yang sudah layak bergelar datuk,
tiga lelaki lingkungan umur 50 hingga 60 tahun leka mendapatkan khidmat
urutan batin di sebuah rumah urut di SS15, dekat sini.
Aktiviti tidak bermoral terbabit bagaimanapun terbantut apabila
Jabatan Penguatkuasaan Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ) menyerbu
premis itu, malam kelmarin.
Ketika diserbu, pengunjung tua berkenaan sedang leka diurut dalam
keadaan berbogel oleh tukang urut warga China berusia lingkungan 30-an.
Pengarah Jabatan Penguatkuasaan MPSJ, Mejar (B) Mohd Rasip Rasul
berkata, bertindak atas aduan pihaknya kemudian melakukan pemantauan dan
pemeriksaan ke rumah urut berkenaan.
Menurutnya, premis didapati mempunyai lesen sah daripada pihak majlis
bagi menjalankan perniagaan bekam namun pengusaha melanggar
syarat-syarat ditetapkan.
Katanya, pengusaha premis menawarkan khidmat seks dan urutan batin kepada pelanggan.
“Sebaik diserbu, anggota mendapati beberapa pelanggan sedang berbogel
dan kesemua mereka berlari untuk memakai pakaian semula,” katanya.
Beliau berkata, majlis merampas peralatan urut dan menutup premis di
bawah UUK 13(k) Undang-undang Kecil Pusat Kecantikan dan Penjagaan
Kesihatan MPSJ 2007 kerana melanggar syarat-syarat sekatan lesen
dikeluarkan MPSJ.
Sementara itu, ketika serbuan dilakukan, seorang pelanggan pusat urut
berkenaan didapati cuba menimbulkan kekecohan dengan bertindak memarahi
pegawai MPSJ yang mengambil tindakan.
Kekecohan itu kemudian beransur reda apabila anggota penguat kuasa
dan penjaga premis cuba menenangkan pelanggan berkenaan. Operasi
berkenaan diketuai Penolong Pegawai Penguat Kuasa MPSJ, R Ravinthran
bersama 16 anggota. -Sh
A report byThe Malaysian Insiderregarding Chua Soi Lek’s statement on Hee Yit Foong is screenshot below. The actual press release as worded by Dr Chua is reproduced at the bottom of the page. This posting compares the two versions and highlights theTMIembellishments.
Click 2x to read
(1) Dr Chua stated that it is unlikely Hee will win. TheTMIarticle bylined to Clara Chooi flips it to say that Hee “will likely lose”.
While theTMIassistant news editor has not deviated the meaning, she nonetheless imposed her own negativity on Dr Chua’s original phrasing (a parallel analogy: a half glass of water can be viewed as either half empty or half full).
(2)TMIconcludes Dr Chua as “distancing his party from the former DAP leader”. This is the portal’s interpretation. Dr Chua did not himself indicate so.
(3)TMIadds that Hee “was instrumental in Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) fall in Perak”.
However, it conveniently forgets to mention Anwar Ibrahim’s prior act of embracing the Bota state assemblyman who had jumped from Umno to PKR. Furthermore, thede factoKetua Umum openlywelcomed more BN reps to cross over.
Bear in mind it was Anwar and Pakatan who initiated the Adun poaching in Perak, not BN.
The Bota Adun was equally culpable but the pro-Pakatan media would prefer not to recall Anwar’s own edifying turn in the whole rigmarole.
(4) TMIthen has this paragraph:
Dr Chua never made any reference to “most hated woman in Perak”. This bit was interpolated byTMI‘s Clara Chooi.
Below is how he phrased it:
If such – i.e. inserting a label calling Hee Yit Foong someone “who was once described as the ‘most hated woman in Perak’,” – is the journalistic path preferred by TMI, then may we by the same token request that any futureTMIarticles on Nurul Izzah should carry the following tag:
“Nurul, who was once described as the ‘most childish politician in Malaysia’.”
(See quote attributed to the head ofDewan Ulama PAS– below).
After all, sinceTMIfeels that “the most hated woman” is a valid expression for its news item, there can be no reason why “most childish politician” in a similar vein will fail to pass muster.
(5) The next paragraph inTMIreads:
“‘While Hee can announce that she is the candidate for Jelapang in the coming general election, without the support from the MCA division and especially the grassroots members, it is unlikely that she will win in the election,’ he warned her.”
Read Dr Chua’s press statement for yourself (below). Did he really “warn” Hee Yit Foong asTMIwould have it? Or did he merely issue a press release to clarify MCA’s position?
Anwar welcomes the Umno Perak assemblyman who jumped to PKR
(6) The following paragraph inTMI:
“Hee is known for her role in the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis which saw the state in turmoil for nearly a year after her defection, and that of two other former PKR representatives, caused the former Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government’s fall from power.”
It is undoubtedly correct to pinpoint Hee’s role as well as that of the “two other former PKR representatives” – the Behrang and Changkat Jering assemblymen – in sparking the collapse of the Pakatan state government.
Nonetheless and once again,TMIomits to mention the Bota state assemblyman who started the domino chain by jumping from Umno to PKR and back to Umno again, all within a fortnight. The Bota Adun Nasarudin Hashim’s switching camp preceded Hee Yit Fong.
(7) And more opinionated and partisan reporting fromTMI:
“At the time, the former Perak assembly deputy was said to have left the DAP in a huff, after repeatedly complaining to have been sidelined in the state administration and left out of positions of power.”
TMIopines that Hee “left in a huff”.
A different viewpoint could venture that she “departed in sorrow” after having been bullied by her DAP colleagues the evangelical warlord cousins. Or one might even lament that she left after being betrayed by the party jettisoning its socialist principles by turning itself into a (Christian) clone of PAS.
TheTMIclosing paragraphs are just as subjective:
“She turned into a BN-friendly independent following her defection, a decision that earned her harsh criticism from Jelapang voters [...] Sheboastedthat anger against her had dissipated…”
Uh-huh,being “BN-friendly” is not kosher. But anyone who’s Pakatan-friendly – such as recent Sabah trophies Lajim Ukin and Wilfred Bumburing – are considered rightlyexercising “a vote of no confidence” in their former bosses, the BN.
Reps who jump from Pakatan to BN are confronted by “angry voters” (Clara Chooi’s words) and made “an outcast” (ditto, her words) but reps who jump in the opposite direction from BN to Pakatan have instead done everyone proud (Anwar Ibrahim’s words,see below).
In response to the statement by incumbent Jelapang state assemblywoman Hee Yit Fong yesterday, MCA would like to clarify that the Party had not had any discussion with the Prime Minister about giving up the Jelapang state seat in Perak.
. The Jelapang MCA division and I had neither deliberated about allowing an outsider to stand in the seat under the MCA ticket.
. Winning the General Election requires the support from all Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, it is crucial that the candidate receives support not just from the people, but also the component parties.
. I must stress that BN is a collective decision-making coalition, it is never a norm for the coalition to talk about its seat allocation and candidacy openly.
. While Hee can announce that she is the candidate for Jelapang in the coming General Election, without the support from the MCA division and especially the grassroots members, it is unlikely that she will win in the election. (318 words) .
A new hotel buzz: (from left) Teoh, lee and Choong believe Grid 9 is unique enough to do well in the market.
While hotels and hostels may be familiar accommodation options for the frequent traveller, a hybrid of the two is a new concept that has been introduced to the local hospitality scene by Kenny Choong and his partners Teoh Jun Jie and Jonathan Lee.
Choong said he was inspired to open Grid 9 during his travels in the US.
According to him, the concept of their hotel on Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur, is fairly common in the US as American guests appreciate the privacy and luxury of a hotel room, but also like having a common area where they could hang out and socialise with other guests.
“We found that places like this are lacking here. We saw a gap in the market, went for it, and the rest is history,” said Choong.
Grid 9 opened its doors to the public roughly four weeks ago and Choong said things have been going well so far.
The hotel can accommodate a total of 120 guests at any one time. Grid 9’s occupancy rate over the weekends runs at 100% on average and about 50% to 60% on weekdays.
Choong also pointed out that they received positive reviews in their first three weeks.
Grid 9 is perhaps one of the few hotels in Malaysia with a focused target group as the concept and layout of the hotel appeals mainly to young adults aged 18 to 35 years old.
“This age group is our target market and generally everything is done to reach this group. It is a concept that caters to young travellers’ culture and lifestyle,” Choong said.
The common area is equipped with iPads, an LED TV, and WiFi for travellers to stay connected and is littered with Doof beanbags, a pool table and a collection of board games for guests to dive into and make friends along the way.
Cool hangout area: Grid 9 has a common area littered with doof bags where guests can socialise at ease.
Choong did marketing and consultancy work for Philip Morris and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) before embarking on his dream to start something on his own about one and a half years ago.
Armed with no experience in construction or hospitality, Choong decided to take on every part of the project on his own to learn things on the job.
Just opened:The new Grid 9 hotel.
This included overseeing renovation works, applying for licences and marketing the Grid 9 concept.
Having spent most of his working years in an office, switching over to the role of site manager was no easy task for Choong.
However, he insisted on being the main contractor for the project so that he could look into all the nitty gritty details of the renovation works and ensure that quality materials were used.
“I am new at this so I had to learn every process as much as I could so that we could replicate this elsewhere when we want to expand.
“Finding out simple things like knowing the diameter of pipes to use made a lot of difference,” he said.
But learning on the job was not always an enjoyable experience for Choong.
“It is hard to enjoy breathing in all the dust. Being at the site was certainly not easy at all.
“But I had a lot of help and support from relatives who were involved in the renovation and they were always there to advise me,” he said.
It took about six months to obtain all the necessary licences and renovation works took up to about a year.
Choong also decided to take on a new team to manage Grid 9 to give the business a fresh spin.
He thinks it is important that the management team is not made up of hospitality-industry stalwarts so that Grid 9 does not become stuck with the same hotel marketing conventions.
Lee, who also worked as a consultant in PWC, joined Choong about half a year ago.
Lee currently looks into Grid 9’s business development.
“It is a very different experience. Previously, we were well-dressed corporate people and we had to carry ourselves in a certain way.
“Now, we are addressing issues with contractors and suppliers and we have to be more stern,” Lee laughs.
Teoh, who previously worked in the food and beverage industry, came in to help with the operations of Grid 9.
All in, the cost of setting up Grid 9 was about RM2.3mil and Choong estimates that the hotel should take about two to four years to break even.
Although Grid 9 is new to the market, 28-year-old Choong is already thinking of bringing the concept to other tourist locations like Penang and Malacca. For now, he is hoping to open another hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Choong believes that Grid 9 is unique enough to do well here.
“Grid 9 may be a passion for us, but at the end of the day, it is a business and we need to be profitable as a business.
“We have to adapt to the changes in the market and this is something we believe in.
“And we believe it will change the market as well,” he said.
From left to right: Grid 9’s gastropub will be opened in May to cater to guests’ hunger pangs; Individual pods are cleverly designed for privacy. Mattresses at Grid 9 are sponsored by Dunlopillo; Rooms at Grid 9 are brightly lit.
While people generally tend to view budget hotels as dodgy, Choong explained that Grid 9’s concept is no such thing.
In fact, Grid 9 has partnered with reputable businesses such as Dulux, Dunlopillo and Doof to enhance the Grid 9 experience.
“Our partners have been very patient with us and they have never thought of backing out.
“Our most recent partnership was with KL nightspot Zouk. We do hope to partner with more companies that have the same target audience,” he said.
Establishing a new concept and brand in the market can be quite a challenge, but fortunately Choong has found other players in the industry to be helpful and willing to share experiences and tips for survival.
One of key factor in building a brand, said Choong, is to deliver on promises.
“It is the only way to sustain the business.
“After all, we do not want to be a one-hit wonder,” he said.
But the hospitality industry is a competitive one and should Grid 9 prove to be a popular concept, Choong and his team could see new competition streaming in fast.
While Choong welcomes healthy competition, he noted that Grid 9 has a first-mover advantage and the brand should have a sizeable market share by the time the concept matures here.
If you have anything interesting to share, please drop a line atmargeemar@gmail.comARTICLES WRITTEN BY INDIVIDUALS IN THIS BLOG DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OPINION OF MarGeeMar The Scribe. THE SCRIBE DOES NOT SUBSCRIBE TO CENSORSHIP. ALL ARTICLES AND COMMENTS APPEARING IN THIS BLOG ARE PUBLISHED IN FULL.
CHEE KOON'S SON UMNO TAK BOLEH PAKAI Our Country needs much prayer. Youdecide and make a difference. BN is entrenched and would not change.A new government must be given a chance to take over Putrajaya. BN is proven rotten beyond salvage. PR is not perfect but must be given a chance to prove themselves.A (small) chip off the old Opposition bloc KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — For 13 years, he stiffly toed the Barisan Nasional (BN) line, but Dr Tan Kee Kong is now bending his knees to bat the ruling coalition — more specifically, its senior party — out of Putrajaya. “My dream is to kick Umno out of Putra Jaya,” the 63-year-old who quit Gerakan for PKR two years ago told The Malaysian Insider with much vigour in a recent interview. “Umno tak boleh pakai,” Dr Tan(picture) crowed, counting down the days to the next general election,which he believes will end with the grand old party being voted out by an electorate that had grown more informed of an alternative choice in government since Election 2008. The medical doctor, who retired from practice a decade ago, noted an increasing intolerance at the grassroots level for leaders who failed to practise what they preached and at party leaders too timid to press for reforms. “We tried, believe me sister, we tried. The time for talking is over. Now is the time for action – kick them out,” Dr Tan said, rather savagely.“BN on one hand is promoting 1Malaysia, it is a good concept but on the other hand, they are promoting Perkasa – their group was registered in six months. Where got such thing? How can?” he quizzed. A tall, spare man, Dr Tan’s diatribe against the government continued, like a burst dam.He slammed Umno for its double-speak and setting a trend forMalayrights groups like Perkasa. “I can guarantee you PETRONAS contributes 30 per cent to the government, but the Petronas account has never been tabled in Parliament. “We run it like a kongsi gelap. What justification is there that the highest lawmakers in the country cannot examine the accounts of Petronas?” he raised, rhetorically. “The only conclusion is your government have plenty to hide and I blame Dr Mahathir for starting thispractice. We in PAC have asked for it but it was never shared,” headded, referring to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. Pointing to the last by-election inSibu, Dr Tan said the groundswell was growing against Umno’shigh-handedness in dealing with divergent views. “Allah has never been an issue…until stupid Syed Hamid made it into an issue,” Dr Tan ranted. A devout Christian, Dr Tan wasreferring to the lawsuits brought by several churches and Christiansagainst the Federal government and its former Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, for barring non-Muslims from using the word to describe God. “My Umno friend asked me: ‘WhyChristians only now want to use the word?’ But he doesn’t know the facts. He didn’t know we have been using it for so long and it was only Syed Hamid who banned us from using it,” Dr Tan related. But the PKR man, who is now co-chief on Selangor state’s land management task force admitted the “realfight” to capture Putrajaya lies not with the urban voters in their steel-glass-concrete towers but the masses who live outside the cities. "We’re going to Felda," he said butrefused to elaborate further. The former deputy minister of land and co-operative development recently provoked a national uproar when he accused Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of single handedly destroying the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) by siphoning off millions from the nation’s cash cow for the latter’s personal use. Najib has denied the claim but has not signaled he will take any legal action over the potentially defamatorystatement. Similarly, Dr Tan maintains hisallegations are true, adding that he had been entrusted to answer all questions on Felda in the Dewan Rakyat by his then boss, minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam. A latecomer to politics at 50, Dr Tan said he had been “head-hunted” to join Gerakan in 1995 by its then vice-president, Tan Sri Alex Lee. The irony was not lost to those around them — the medical doctor was the son of Gerakan co-founder Tan Sri Dr David Tan Chee Khoon while Lee, a lawyer, was the grandson of MCA’s founding member, Tun H.S. Lee. ”If I were 30, I would think seriously[of leaving], but now in the twilight of my life, no,” said Dr Tan. Dr Tan explained he hesitated joining politics at a younger age because of his father. “I saw how he suffered. His health suffered. He literally gave up his life to serve,” the younger Tan said. Surprisingly, despite Dr Tan’s disillusionment with the BN, he still took pains to defend Gerakan, even though the party his father founded in 1968 was not the same party the son joined. “Of all the component parties in Barisan, Gerakan is the most conscientious,” he said. The party had by then entered the BN fold. Even so, the Dr Tan was optimistic he could follow in hisfather’s footsteps and make a difference. “My father always told us: help thepoor,” he said. But he soon learnt that joiningGerakan did not mean he would be able to move reforms unless approvedby the coalition’s “tai kor” – Umno. He became disheartened and even had thoughts of quitting the country altogether.”If I were 30, I would thinkseriously, but now in the twilight of my life, no,” said Dr Tan. He claimed the ruling front does not practice consensual agreement, despite the current MCA’s growingboldness (ha ha ha) in speaking out against its sister-party. “I want to tell Chua Soi Lek: ‘Eh, brother, do you know we’ve been in BN so long, we will never have anequal voice. They are the tai kor.’“We all had to toe the line, or else…” Dr Tan said, recounting the silent threat. He was planning on retiring frompolitics altogether but an encounter with a taxi driver on a trip toSingapore changed all that. “In 2000, I flew into Singapore and jumped into this taxi and this man, 63 years old, thisMalayman bornin Batu Pahat, Johor who went to Singapore 40 years ago, he told me: ‘Doctor, we Singaporeans will challenge your country and win’. “That shut me up. That really openedmy eyes to how Umno has used the NEP as a crutch to appeal to theordinaryMalay. Just go ask any ordinaryMalayout there, they’refuming,” Dr Tan said, adding that Singapore’s People’s Action Party(PAP) had drummed into its citizen’s heads that the only way forward for the nation was for everyone to: “Get off your backside and work”. “We are a government-in-waiting. Giveus a chance. If you don’t like us, you can vote us out in the nextelection,” Dr Tan pleaded. “I have a burning zeal to try andbuild a better country, with the public’s help and with God’s help,”he said. Have a God-blessed day.
