LONE

Friday, October 31, 2003

Farewell to the My Way Man

In a few short hours, our My Way Man will make his exit, and whether it is true or not that , My Way is his favourite song or not; it is probably the best song that describes the Man of the hour. In his retirement, which we hope will be long and fruitful as his 22 years at the helm of our Government have been, he will have plenty of time to reflect and ponder over all that he had said and done and all the blows that he had received.
The past many many days, tributes have been pouring in for him over all forms of the media and there is little need to add further.
What is left is to wish him Happy Days Ahead and A Well Earned Retirement and hope that he will be true and continue doing things My Way now that he will be out of our way. As he has told us that while toiling for us and the nation these past 22 years, he has been rather short of that commodity called sleep, lets also wish him Happy, Sleepful and Peaceful Nights

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.........

| ¶ 10/31/2003 02:49:00 PM

Thursday, October 30, 2003

More Wishlist for Pak Lah

Pak Lah will take over in a very short while. Keep the wishlist coming. Will he start with the Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah slogan or will it be Malaysia Baru untuk Semua, it definitely will not be Keadilan untuk Semua. And why not so, this should be the first question
posed to our new shiny, often called Mr Clean PM.
For more of the wishlist see here and here and here.

For those nonsubscribers of M'kini, here is a summary of the wishlist gleamed from the 15 interviewed ::

Pak Lah has to eat a lot of pucuk pegaga (traditional herbaceous plant eaten by rural Malays to increase memory power) so that he doesn't forget the people and their needs.

Get a new set of advisors.

Don't listen to the Old Man so much and don't follow in his footsteps.

The next prime minister should ensure that the economy is not affected by the change of leadership. Economic policies should be pro-people.

He should also make sure that justice and equality, in all sense of the words, are promoted and protected. He should plan for a peaceful, harmonious Malaysia by making sure that there is fairness and justice for all . Make sure that the three main races of the country maintain friendship. Narrow the gap between the races. Right now, the situation is okay. But it can and should be improved.
Resolve disunity among the Malays. They are divided mainly around economic issues, with Umno being seen as a tauke (rich and elitist) party that cannot identify with the grassroots any more. It is not just an image problem.

Strengthen the Anti-Corruption Agency in order to minimise corruption, especially in the public sector.

Concentrate on bringing unity back to all political parties, because at this point there is a lot of bad feeling among them.

Education of the young should also be a priority He should ensure that money allocated for education is spent wisely. Pak Lah should work towards improving discipline in schools. He should let students be themselves. He should make education more affordable. If possible, it should be free...why not? The education sector should also be reformed and democratised so that more opportunities are given to marginalised groups to participate in the education system. It needs a new vision. The situation of students is also very critical. Does he want students to become strong? The youth are not very happy or content right now. They have no direction.

Get rid of deadwood among public servants and politicians.

Abdullah should make sure that development (of the country) is spread out along the whole length of the North-South Highway, and not be concentrated in Kuala Lumpur. There should be more projects for the rural areas .

Basically, follow in the footsteps of Mahathir. He has already created a platform for Malaysia in the international arena, don't destroy it. Continue what Mahathir has been doing. Continue with the objectives of Vision 2020.

Abdullah should see to it that young people are employed. The young people are really in need of intellectuals who are free. Abdullah should give intellectuals more space, more freedom.

In fact, all anti-democratic laws should be abolished. Abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA) and UUCA. With these acts, how are we to fight for our rights? How can we practise democracy?

As prime minister, Pak Lah should redress flaws in the judiciary and legal system. The Election Commission should be made to conduct elections fairly. There should also be revisions to the redelineation process.

Artistes should have a greater say in the cultural sector and should not be marginalised any more. "Karyawan" (artistes) should also be more able to express themselves and be independent.

Tackle the issue of religion (Islam). There is a lot of fear among non-Muslims. Some are afraid that their children may later become Muslims on account of the control that some religious zealots have over decisions being made.

Hishamuddin Rais, 51, film maker-cum-columnist, wishlist ::
1. The most crucial issue that Pak Lah has to address is the tense relationship between his wife Endon and Najib Tun Razak's wife Rosmah. Those two have to be reconciled. If not, things will blow up. Once that issue is settled, then the rest of the country will be okay.
2. Pak Lah should also focus on losing some weight.
3. Pak Lah should also get a pair of glasses that stays on his nose. His present pair slides down to a point that he doesn't really know he?s wearing glasses at all. He should get a proper set of glasses.
After having seen the wishlist, better still make your own additions either here or here
| ¶ 10/30/2003 08:03:00 PM

Wednesday, October 29, 2003

GoodBye Dr M, Hello Pak Lah

In a few short days we will be witnessing the changing of the guard :: GoodBye Dr M, Hello Pak Lah. In his 22 years of looking after us, Dr M has no doubt brought us plenty, economic growth, better standards of living, plenty of the tallest of this, largest of that and the longest of this and that to look at, and of course getting Malaysia better known throughout the world, at times for the right reasons and at times not so. We have a PM who has been the champion of the downtrodden of the world but also a PM who has been too busy to really spend more time to look after the downtrodden ones in Malaysia.
Like all things, along with the goodies, the not so good and even the bad came along. The past two decades have seen Malaysia filled with more CCN that is corruption, cronyism and nepotism. There has being a cutback on our democratic spaces and human rights have been further curbed. We have had mega projects which have brought little good to the man/woman-in-the-street, they are really too many to name. Some of these mega thingys have yet to be constructed like the Bakun project, the Broga Incinerator and the famous PORR of Penang.
So with the change of guard, could we have a wish list for the incoming PM, join me in making up this wish list.
For starters, mister-incoming-PM, could we have the following appetisers ::

Less governance from the top down :: less PM knows best, you will be surprised how well we can think for ourselves when given the opportunity
More democratic space :: lets repeal those various repressive obnoxious acts like the ISA, OSA, Printing Press Acts, AUKU etc
Lets have local council elections back again :: you must agree with the soon-to-retire PM that the image of the Government has been tarnished by the acts of some of these appointed councillors. Good governance do start at the local council level and elected ones, you must agree, do function better as they do fear losing their posts.
Don't bully the Election Commission :: let the EC have back its independence
Lets keep Malaysia secular for all times.

Mr-incoming PM, Sir, the list has not been exhaustive, in the coming days of your PMship we will bring you up to date and the list will go on. In the meanwhile, allow us to bid you Welcome on the 1st of November, and hoping that during your PMship there will be more of the goodies and less of the not-so-goodies.

| ¶ 10/29/2003 04:31:00 PM

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Coca-Cola & Cholesterol

Now what has my favourite soft drink and cholesterol got in common, you may ask. In a few days Coca-Cola will be launching its cholesterol lowering soft drink. The name for this newby is quite a mouthful really :: Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise or MMPHW or Heart Wise.
MMPHW will contain plant sterols, an additive that has been used in cholesterol-fighting margarine and other food products. Plant sterols have been shown to cut "bad" cholesterol levels by about 10 percent when used consistently.
The Coca-Cola company had conducted a clinical trial to back up the drink's health claims and had obtained approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market the drink in the US. In the US more than 40 million Americans have high cholesterol, a key risk factor for heart disease, and another 60 million or so have moderately elevated levels.
The Company is targetting these millions for its latest product.
In order to obtain the health benefits, a Heart Wise drinker will have to consume daily 2 grams of sterols and for that he will have to drink 2 x 240ml bottles of the drink. What comes with each bottle is 110 calories! That's not so good isn't iit? For those who want to take plant sterols, it might be better to stick to bread and margarine fortified with plant sterols.
Anyway it will be some time before this drink reaches our shores, as Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise will only be launched on Monday, 3rd Nov, in the United States.
By the way this newby does not taste like Coke, it is an orange juice.

| ¶ 10/28/2003 04:50:00 PM

Monday, October 27, 2003

National Service Programme

It has been sometime since the trainees have passed out of the dry run. This pilot programme must have been analysed but we are still kept in the dark regarding details. Meanwhile, those sitting for the SPM, have to have more on their minds apart from studying furiously for their exams which start on 13th Nov, will they be among the chosen ones. The first batch of actual trainees for the national service programme, consisiting of 17,000 to 18,000, are expected tol be notified by the end of December.
But details regarding the programme are still under wraps. Why is the need for such secrecy? If the programme is really welcomed by the people, the earlier the details are released the better for all---the trainers as well as the trainees and their parents, so that further imputs can be made before actual programme implementation.
According to a report in Malaysiakini the Deputy Defence Minister said details of the scheme - such as insurance coverage, allowances and names of members of the National Service Training Council - will be revealed only in December. This is probably to prevent further discussion and imputs from the people and alternative politicos and NGOs. Is this the right way to go about doing important things?
The National Service Training Council members have been identified, but the Deputy Minister has refused to reveal who they are. The council is empowered to oversee the training. It will consist of a chairperson, five members representing the government and between three and five members who will represent the country’s major ethnic groups.
The programme will focus on basic military training, patriotic training and personal development including community service. The Deputy Minister is also quoted to have said :: "At least the government is doing something to re-align the mentality and heart of youngsters, .this will definitely help in curbing social ills.". Now we must ask the Deputy Minister in what direction will these alignments of mentality and heart lead to and what will they achieve apart from curbing social ills like.....? More details please.

| ¶ 10/27/2003 04:32:00 PM

Liar, Liar BUSH

It was recently when Dr M more or less called Bush a liar over the rebuke regarding Dr M's OIC speech.

Now American protesters who are against US presence in Iraq have joineed in to call Bush : Liar, Liar. AFP reported that some 25,000 stage anti-Iraq war protests in Washington, and San Francisco. Among the placards carried by the marchers were those saying ::"End the Occupation of Iraq", "Money for Schools, Not War", "Bush lied;" "Bush is looting the future;" and "No war for empire."
Among the protesters to take the microphone at the rally near the White House, were Democratic presidential contender Al Sharpton and former US attorney general Ramsey Clark.
Clark, a fervent supporter of left-wing causes since he served under President Lyndon Johnson from 1967-1969, demanded Bush be impeached, saying the president "has made us international outlaws".
In San Francisco, former Georgia representative Cynthia McKinney and action movie star Danny Glover condemned the Bush government's policies at home and in the Middle East.
After being called such and having been subjected to much criticisms by Americans and others, will Bush's chances be bleak come election yaer. It is hard to predict, for look what did in California after so much muck was digged up regarding his past. We may yet get to see more of President Bushliar in the years to come.

| ¶ 10/27/2003 04:20:00 PM

DSAI Response To Alleged Terror Link

This statement was issued via Anwar Ibrahim’s lawyer who visited him at Sungai Buloh Prison on Saturday, 25 October 2003, and read out by his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in a press conference at their home on Sunday, 26 October 2003

I strongly condemn the deception and malicious slander of the state-controlled media against me, the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the International Free Anwar Campaign (IFAC), with the mainstream National Front media being made use of to help promote the agenda of a small group of anti-Islam organizations.

My enemies have created false accusations through which to attack me, IIIT and IFAC, attempting to connect me to al-Qaeda terrorists. They are in fact merely repeating old stories created by a minor Washington-based research outfit, which is known to be anti-Islam and which has condemned just about every Islamic organization in the United States as being involved with Al Qaeda or terrorism in general.

It is scandalous that a national leader and the local media, which only a few days ago berated the Jews and the Western press, now allow themselves to be exploited by a group of Washington-based anti-Islam organizations such as Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) in order to denigrate IIIT, IFAC and my family. Behaviour such as this reveals the true attitude of UMNO leaders towards Islam.

A similar attempt to connect me to terrorism was made last year (February 2002), when the cooperation of an American Muslim missionary, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, was secured by UMNO leaders to make allegations that I was funding a shady Islamic organization. Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at one time repeated Shaykh Kabbani’s original claim that I had transferred millions of ringgit to a group of terrorists and Islamic radicals in America. Shaykh Kabbani himself later denied that he had ever made such an allegation.

IIIT was founded by the late Islamic thinker Professor Dr. Ismail Faruqi together with Sheikh Taha Jabir al-Alwani, Dr. Abdul Hamid Sulayman, former Rector of the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) and me, in 1980. Sheikh Taha Jabir is a world-renowned scholar of the traditional school, and is one of the founders of the Centre for Studies of Islam and Democracy which is based in Washington DC.

IIIT has published books and journals and organized various seminars to foster Islamic thought which is development-oriented, pro-democracy and human rights, and aims to formulate strategies to enable Muslims to play an active role in modern society. The other founders of IIIT comprise religious and other scholars of high repute, who hold clear views opposing terrorism and promoting inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue. The late Ismail Faruqi was a professor of Islam at Temple University in the US, and was one of the best-known scholars of Islam not only in the US but throughout the world, and his ideas were taken up by many world leaders.

Several academic discourses and conferences were held in Malaysia, including at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. IIIT has been active in producing academic publications on contemporary Islam, including the Journal of Islamic Social Sciences.

We have been informed that before this the SAFAR Trust as well as the Heritage Education Trust, an investment agency of IIIT, have taken legal action against Rita Katz (executive director of SITE), and against SITE itself for defamation.

It is obvious that the state-controlled media’s objective, in disseminating accusations by such anti-Islam organizations in order to sully the good name of IIIT, is simply to fulfil the narrow political agenda of national leaders. This is no more than a continuation of their malicious propaganda which earlier painted me as a CIA agent, with certain groups labeling me as pro-America and the CIA. Since this earlier attempt met with failure they are trying a new line: that I support Al-Qaeda.

With regard to ABRAR, the relevant authorities should also refer to Tan Sri Nor Mohammad Yaacob, the Prime Minister’s Financial Advisor, who, at the time in question, was the Senior Advisor to the ABRAR Group International as well as managing director of ABRAR Corporation Berhad, together with Dr. Wan Hasni and Abdul Rahim Ghouse. ABRAR Group International is now under the ownership of DANAHARTA.

At the same time, the Ministry of Home Affairs should explain how Sheikh Yassin al-Qadi came to be given Permanent Resident status in this country.

I strenuously deny that either I, IIIT or IFAC have any connection to terrorist activities. The Malaysian authorities, especially the Police, should immediately investigate this matter, transparently and fairly, in order to restore the good reputation of IIIT. I challenge the government to urgently investigate these allegations and to make their findings public.

This BN media campaign in fact strengthens my argument all this while, that the “terrorist” label will continue to be used by autocratic leaders to oppress the opposition and any critics of the government. We are now working towards initiating legal proceedings against SITE in Washington, against SBS TV in Australia, and against the local media which has played a role in disseminating the latest allegations.

In connection with IIIT’s award of a scholarship to my daughter Nurul Izzah, I would like to state that Muslims in America made a special donation to sponsor the education of all six of my children during the five years that I have been in jail.

I believe that the media strategy is to make a big thing out of these false accusations in an attempt to confuse Malaysians. The authorities will issue a statement to the effect that investigations are be initiated, and the matter will quietly end there since their aim of arousing the people’s suspicions will have already been achieved.

Anwar Ibrahim

Sungai Buloh Prison

25 October 2003

From freeanwar.com

| ¶ 10/27/2003 09:19:00 AM

Friday, October 24, 2003

Anwar linked to terrorlinked Organisations??

Today's NST, MMail and Straits Times Interactive reported on DSAI possible links to groups accused of funding terrorists.

The Straits Times Interactive is as follows ::

Anwar's name linked to group under probe

MELBOURNE - The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), of which former Malaysian deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was a director, has been accused in the United States of funding terror activities, including support of the Islamic Jihad, a report said here yesterday.
The report by SBS TV's Dateline programme in Australia also said the Washington-based IIIT had sent a large sum of money, believed to be about RM300,000 (S$137,000), to Anwar's daughter, Ms Nurul Izzah, as a scholarship even though the amount exceeded what was needed for her education.
Dateline, compiled by investigative journalist Ginny Stein, also linked the International Free Anwar Campaign (IFAC) to Al-Qaeda financiers.
It named Melbourne-based IFAC leader Rahim Ghouse and his business partner, Dr Wan Hasni Sulaiman of Kuala Lumpur, as having had business dealings with Sheikh Yassin Al-Qadi, accused in the United States of funding terror activities and declared a terrorist by Singapore.
It was reported that Sheikh Yassin was granted Malaysian permanent residency and had a house in Kuala Lumpur's 'Golden Triangle'.
Mr Rahim, who was granted a business visa to Australia about three years ago, was found by Dateline to be a former director and shareholder in a private company 'that has rung alarm bells in the US'.
'One of his fellow directors has been named by the authorities in America, Australia, Britain, Singapore and the United Nations as a suspected terrorist,' Dateline said.
The show also interviewed counter-terrorism expert Rita Katz, executive director of Search For International Terrorist Entities.
She said Malaysia first came to her attention when the name Anwar Ibrahim kept appearing as she tried to unravel the tentacles of global terror.
She said his name was linked to several groups in the US that were the 'subject of huge, huge investigation'.
Dateline said: 'One of those organisations is the International Institute of Islamic Thought. It's accused of funding the Islamic Jihad.
'The institute was directed by Taha al-Alwani, an Iraqi who also founded the Muslim World League, another group whose assets were frozen by the US government because of its links to terror.
'In a raid last year on the charity's office, documents were uncovered which listed Malaysia's former deputy prime minister as a one-time board member and contributor to the institute's quarterly journal.
'More recently, as these documents show, his daughter, Nurul Izzah, became the recipient of a substantial scholarship.'
Dateline said Sheikh Yassin, Mr Rahim and Dr Wan Hasni were principal shareholders and one-time directors of Abrar International.
Dr Wan Hasni told Dateline he went to the Middle East in 1993 or 1994 to look for investors for Abrar.
It was then that he met Sheikh Yassin who invested 'RM24 million'. Dr Wan Hasni admitted lending Mr Rahim money to become principal shareholder.
Mr Rahim said he had no dealings with Sheikh Yassin since leaving Malaysia for Australia in 1998.
'I left all matters on Abrar to Dr Wan Hasni,' he said.
Anwar was convicted of corruption and has served his six-year jail sentence. He is now serving a nine-year jail term for a sodomy conviction. -- Bernama

The MMail report ::

'The claims are baseless'
Dennis Chua

KEADILAN president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail yesterday dismissed claims that an organisation, of which her husband, former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was a director, backed terrorist activities.
She said allegations made by the Australian television station, SBS’ Dateline programme that the United States-based International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) supported terrorism, were baseless.

Wan Azizah said that last month, the IIIT had been cleared of links to terrorism by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
She added that the allegations against Anwar could be politically motivated.
“There are some people out there who may be trying to prevent my husband from making a political comeback after Dr Mahathir (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad) retires.
“Even though such allegations against Anwar were made by people in the West, Malaysians are capable of rebutting them,” she told The Malay Mail last night.
Wan Azizah also denied Dateline’s allegations that the International Free Anwar Campaign (IFAC) was linked to Al-Qaeda’s financiers.
She said the programme’s allegations that her daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar received about RM300,000 from the IIIT as scholarship “even though the amount exceeded what was required for her education” were not true.

Keadilan information chief Khalid Jaafar meanwhile said, it was “nonsense” to suggest that Anwar had anything to do with terrorism as he had repeatedly condemned terrorism by Muslims in his writings.
He said the IIIT of which Anwar was a director, was a promoter of a moderate interpretation of Islam at all times.
Khalid said an Iraqi, Taha Al-Alwani, who founded the Muslim World League and whose league was described as allegedly linked to terrorists by the report, had been cleared of links to terrorism by the FBI last year
.
The party’s Wanita chief, Fuziah Salleh, said she was concerned about the report and viewed it as a possible US and Australian attempt to label any Islamic leader and his organisation, however moderate, as “terrorist”, to justify “first strike” policies against Muslim nations.
“We know there is no such link involving Anwar, IIIT and IFAC, and militants. The West should come out with strong proof and not point fingers,” she said.

| ¶ 10/24/2003 02:34:00 PM

Happy Deepavali
view greeting card

| ¶ 10/24/2003 12:01:00 AM

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

Dr M to pardon DSAI?

Malaysiakini reports that Dr M said today he would pardon his jailed ex-deputy DSAI if he had the powers of the king in Malaysia. He is reported to have said this in answer to a Bangkok reporter who asked whether as a magnanimous gesture he would consider releasing DSAI on his retirement at the end of this month. As far as we know, DSAI has not asked for pardon and has been said before that he is not guilty and will not request for pardon.
It looks like the soon to retired Dr M is looking to pass the buck once again. Sometime ago, he said that it was for Pak Lah to settle this DSAI issue when he takes over. Now it looks like he is passing it to the DYMM Agong.
Why a change of mind at this juncture, when he is about to leave the scene? Haven't we been told before that he was 100% sure that his friend is guilty before he did what he did? If so, why the anout turn now? After the recent ongoing furore about his opening speech at the 10th OIC session, is he hoping to divert attention and hopefully leave better remembered? Questions, questions, questions. Maybe, it was easier to have answered in this manner than to have simply said No Lah.
Anyway as we all know, the PM is always in a position to make representation and advise the DYMM accordingly.
See also this

| ¶ 10/22/2003 05:04:00 PM

Joe-Blogs Back

It has been 5 days since Joe left us for a better place. May he rest in peace. The past 5 days have somehow been different without those daily doses of Joe-Blogs, his humour, his ability to go straight to the point of the matter and his inspiring blogs.
Am glad to note that Joe-Blogs is back online, so that his frequent visitors can go back, reread his blogs and articles and be again inspired and find it easier to get through another day, knowing that there was such a Blogger called JOE.

| ¶ 10/22/2003 02:33:00 PM

Friday, October 17, 2003

Reasons Why China had a Manned Space Mission

Consideriing that China, a nation saddled with pressing economic and social challenges, bother to send a manned mission into space instead of an unmanned one, she must have her reasons. Experts from the space industry think that the main reason is that of prestige. Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, who has written numerous books about space strategy., had this to say :: "You don't throw parades for robots". Other experts agree with this ChinaBoleh reason and that the Soviet Union and the United States did so four decades ago for the same reason of national pride. Our Bolehnaut is most probably going to space for that same reason.
But for China there maybe other reasons and benefits. These would include the following ::

. China's manned space program attracts many technical workers, preventing a brain drain of highly trained professionals who otherwise might leave the country for more-lucrative job prospects overseas

. the success of her first 'taikonaut' serves as a spectacular advertisement, demonstrating to the world aerospace industry that the Chinese space launch industry is sophisticated enough to handle outside business

.presently there are US sanctions that limit US businesses from participating in China aerospace industry, and this ChinaBoleh success may open up more commercial intercourse between China and the US and Europe.

Who knows sending up our Bolehnaut may one day bring Malaysia similar benefits. Our Astro and Measat satellites may eventually be sent into orbit by Bolehkets.

| ¶ 10/17/2003 04:42:00 PM

Dr M---Anti-Jew?

This one you got to judge for yourself. Read the full text of Dr M's speech here. The part of his speech which has got the EU, America, Australia, Germany and Israel riled up is this ::

"We (the muslims) are actually very strong – 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today, the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them".

Samuel Huntington wrote of the Clash of Civilizations of one form, is this Dr M's versi? Whichever versi, will IT bring good to the global community of man? Will Dr M's versi give cause for more terrorist acts, all in the name of them versus us? Will his versi lead to world peace or otherwise?

In about 2 weeks time, when Dr M goes into retirement, he will have plenty of time to think and reflect on what he had said during the opening of the 10th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference on Oct 16, 2003. PEACE

| ¶ 10/17/2003 03:32:00 PM

Jackass Magistrate

AFP carried the report of a French magistrate, who made a jackass of himself when caught jacking off in court while hearing a case. This happened in the famous French city of Bordeaux. The web has a great tourist site for this famous city, so if you can't be there, do pay the site a visit.
Back to the jackasss of a magistrate, he was noticed by the reporter of a local newspaper, La Charente Libre, to have discreetly lifted up his ceremonial robe while a lawyer was presenting final arguments, undid his pants and engaged in gestures that left nothing to the imagination..
We can only wonder why he did what he did, was it a particularly boring case, so much so that he had to keep himself from dozing off with a handjob or was it that he had spotted the subject of his desire in court. He should have been hearing the VCD lucah case asssociated with the now notorious Kehidupan Seorang Pramugara yang Terlampau, imagine what other actions that might have brought forth.

| ¶ 10/17/2003 10:40:00 AM

Thursday, October 16, 2003

Bolehnauts & Taikonauts

A few days after the announcement calling for applications from those interested to be Malaysia first in outer space, the official website reported that 3,502 Malaysians have applied. These applications were made via the National Space Agency’s website :: www.angkasawan.gov.my. It looks liike thhere are plenty out there ready to be Bolehnauts and enjoy a 6 day stay at the International Space Station in 2005.
Of the applicants(latest figures), there were ::

630 ladies
2,872 men
below 21 years old = 366 (it is obvious that many don't understand the above 21 years rule)
21 - 30 years old = 2,568
31 - 40 years old = 463
41 - 50 years old = 78
more than 50years old = 27

So many applicants in so few days. While at the website, which only function appears to be for visitors to fill up the application onlline, the number of applicants jumped dramatically by the minutes. The Bolehnaut fever must be very catching, we can expect in the next many minutes that more will apply. Is this for real. At the end of the day, those making the selection for the two Bolehnauts wanted will have one big headache. Unless they have already made up their minds as to the two wanted and the present call for applicants is just one big publicity stunt. There really should have been more criteria requirements for applicants to fulfill. The website concerned does not say what is the mission of the whole programme. We won't be far wrong if we assume that it is :: To be the World's First Government sponsored Space Tourist though we are being told that it is to spurred interest in space!

China, after having successfully sent its Taikonaut into orbit and back, becomes the third nation capable of manned space flight. The completion of the mission was the crowning achievement of an 11-year, military-linked manned space program promoted as a symbol of national prestige both at home and abroad. The budget for the program is secret, but foreign experts say it totals at least US$1 billion, a major commitment for China,
The United States and other governments congratulated China on what the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) called "an important achievement in the history of human exploration." the first deputy head of the Russian space agency, Rosaviakosmos, said his staffers "simply welcome the event and are happy for them.''. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan also extended "warm congratulations.'' and said "That as the exploration of space knows no national borders, the mission of the Shenzhou 5 is a step forward for all humankind.''
Over the next many days, we will be hearing more about this event which has been called by Chinese President Hu Jintao as "the glory of our great motherland.''.

| ¶ 10/16/2003 02:58:00 PM

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Making = Producing, Yes/No?

According to an online dictionary ::

ma.king
Pronunciation: (mA'king), [key]
—n.
1. the act of a person or thing that makes: The making of a violin requires great skill.
2. structure; constitution; makeup.
3. the means or cause of success or advancement: to be the making of someone.
4. Usually, makings. capacity or potential: He has the makings of a first-rate officer.
5. makings,
a. material of which something may be made: the makings for a tossed salad.
b. Older Slang.paper and tobacco with which to make a hand-rolled cigarette.
6. something made.
7. the quantity made: a making of butter.
8. in the making, in the process of being made; developing or evolving; growing: Our space scientists/bolehnauts see history in the making.
pro.duce / produ.cing
Pronunciation: (
—v.pru-dOOs', -dyOOs';
—n.prod'OOs, -yOOs, prO'dOOs, -dyOOs), [key]
—v., -duced, -duc.ing,
—n.
—v.t.
1. to bring into existence; give rise to; cause: to produce steam.
2. to bring into existence by intellectual or creative ability: to produce a great painting.
3. to make or manufacture: to produce automobiles/VCDs for export.
4. to bring forth; give birth to; bear: to produce a litter of puppies.
5. to provide, furnish, or supply; yield: a mine producing silver.
6. Finance.to cause to accrue: stocks producing unexpected dividends.
7. to bring forward; present to view or notice; exhibit: to produce one's credentials.
8. to bring (a play, movie, opera, etc.) before the public.
9. to extend or prolong, as a line.
—v.i.
1. to create, bring forth, or yield offspring, products, etc.: Their mines are closed because they no longer produce.
2. Econ.to create economic value; bring crops, goods, etc., to a point at which they will command a price.

Can anyone enlighten why someone has to be charged with ::
1.Main charge :: producing a VCD containing obscene scenes with intention to distribute it to the public OR
2.Alternative charge :: making a VCD containing obscene scenes with similar intention.

Making = Producing; YES/NO?

| ¶ 10/14/2003 08:59:00 AM

Family Life Education and Guidance
(The Taboo Subject : Sex Education and Guidance)

At the launch of the National Poster Competition 2003 in conjunction with World Population Day, our Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil had this to say :: "Parents must learn to be frank with their children about issues like unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases". She also urged the Education Ministry to include reproductive health as a subject in school, said parents could come in to help with the mental, emotional and psychological aspect of the issue.
Whether one calls it reproductive health education, family life education or simply sex education, it is time the Ministry of Education introduces it in schools. Sex education should no longer be a taboo subject. The incidence of unwanted, unplanned teenager pregnancies, teen marriages and teenagers having sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase. And before these get even worse, steps have to be taken to nip these in the bud.
Without the Ministry taking positive steps, the teens are going to get their information on such topics from magazines and peers and of course in this age of ICT from the NET. Without proper guidance and support from the family, the information they get may be improperly understood and applied.
Sex education is not about just sex and reproduction alone, it is much more. Sex education may be said to be the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, relationships and intimacy and also includes knowledge on reproductive health, contraception and family life. Empowering our teens about these topics can protect them from potentially negative outcomes of their sexual behaviour. Negative outcomes include the following :: sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Our teens should also be taught to acquire skills on how to communicate effectively, negotiate, make decision, listen and how to acquire further life skills and knowledge, skills which will help them in later living.
Already reproduction is being taught within the subject of science in our lower secondary classes and this may be an appropriate time to introduce the basic topics on sex education to our school children. They are at an age when puberty has started or about to and may have the initial stirrings and yearnings to know more about their own sexuality. In the upper secondary classes, they may then be introduce gradually to more indepth topics as the hormones start raging and surging. And finally before they leave school, they may be counselled on various other skills before they venture further into the marriage market. Already there have been suggestions to have premarital counseling for all.
Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil must be commended and we must join in to urge the Ministry to no longer consider sex education as a taboo subject and have it introduce for the school children. Parents will have to play their rightful role and complement the schools in ensuring that the education their children received is not devoid of those attributes which only parents can provide.

Recommended sites for further reading ::

| ¶ 10/14/2003 01:35:00 AM

Monday, October 13, 2003

The Homeless Ones

In this land of plenty, there are among us those who are homeless. The Star highlighted such a family today. The report tells of a family in Kampung Tengah, Selangor, a couple and their 10 children, who for more than a decade have been staying in an abandoned warehouse. The owner of the warehouse who had allowed them to stay, now wants to develop the area. So it looks like this Deepavali they will have no roof above their heads.
It is heartening to know that the Selayang MIC is looking into the matter and providing help. Those interested in helping can contact :: the MIC Youth Social and Welfare Committee at No. 12, Jalan PBP 5, Taman Industri, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 41700 Selangor, or Mohan at 019-211 9547 or 03-5882 3060.
It is sad and depressing to hear of such cases. And Malaysia with all her wealth and riches is not spared. The homeless are present all over the world. In England the Homeless have rights, see this site called :: Shelternet. Wonder what rights do the Malaysian Homeless have? I supposed that there is the Welfare Department to provide help together with NGOs and good Samaritans.

| ¶ 10/13/2003 03:27:00 PM

Tag Boards

My free tag board from zonkers went blink blink today and I am told it has expired, mati, dead, kaput. So went around to look for another freeby. Found one at veroweb but with my 'good' luck, this one is down too.
Okay, any good samaritan out there, who can point me to another free one. Thanks in anticipation.

| ¶ 10/13/2003 02:27:00 PM

Sunday, October 12, 2003

A Depressing Sunday

Woke up with the noise of the rain falling incessantly. If that is not depressing enough, as I had great plans for today, while having my morning cuppa, there was more to make the day depressing. Came across this headline :: "Three armed robbers killed in shootout with police". After reading the story, one has to wonder like the father of one of the alleged robbers, 'Why do the polis have to be so triggger happy in apprehending suspected criminals?'.

Malaysiakini sometime, last July carried a report regarding our trigger-happy cops. This report stated that up to June, this year, 15 Malaysians have been shot dead by the polis. The police watch committee of the Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia revealed that these killings :: "In almost 90 percent of such cases, the polices’ version of events are almost similar, that the suspects were acting in a suspicious manner and had fired a gun first, and was shot dead when the police returned fire." "Usually weapons will be found on the slained suspects, but without any injuries to the police." The latest case was no different.

At a press conference, the father of one of the 3 shot dead, said he and his family could not believe that their son, who was to sit for his STPM exam next week, was a criminal as claimed by the police. He also said that his son has no criminal record and that most of his son's friends are his classmates and they always come to his house for group study, Sounds unlikely to be a criminal or criminal associate. But according to the polis, these three dead armed robbers were believed to be responsible for over 20 robberies. Can it be believed that our one of the best police department in the world could have allowed for this, that is having these robbers with a record of more than 20 robberies running loose. Try reasoning it out and decide who can be beileved.

As responsible citizens, we must at the least try to ensure the PDRM refrain from this "shoot first, ask questions later" policy.for often it ends with them not having to ask questions. Unlike those that you see in the series CSI, our dead ones rarely have any tales to tell. The polis should ensure that suspected criminals are apprehended alive as far as possible. In the event that it is unavoidable that they are shot dead, independent enquiries should be held to see that proper procedures have been followed and things are transparent and accounted for. Could we suggest that a video cameraman "ride shotgun" when the polis is out apprehending these suspected criminals so that there will be more 'transparencies' and who knows we may yet get to see our very own :amazing polis videos on RTM and TV3 one day

| ¶ 10/12/2003 01:16:00 PM

Thursday, October 09, 2003

Exploding Handphone]

Those of you, handphone users, may be interested in this news item from Reuters, especially those using Nokia ones with pirated or counterfeit batteries. Previously handphones have been suspected to be associated with brain cancer and more recently with premature brain atrophy or senile changes. Now we have one more danger associated with these devices.

The news item said that Chung Xao Le, 22, a Vietnamese, was having breakfast Wednesday in a cafeteria at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City where she worked as a therapist when her phone in her pocket, a Nokia 8210, exploded. She suffered 10% burns.

I have always thought that handphone batteries only explode while they are being charged and therefore always have the handphone charged in a remote area of the room. Now here we have a case of an exploding phone while it is in the pocket of the user and obviously not being charged. It looks like it is not safe having the handphone round the neck or the waist or even in one's pocket, so where can one keep the handphone. This is especially so, if the battery used is a contraband or counterfeit. Lesson to learn :: use only original batteries for your handphones; better still stop using them in view of their potential for damage.

Nokia has sent a team of technicians to investigate the blast.

| ¶ 10/09/2003 05:51:00 PM

Land Reclamation--I win, I win

Land starved Singapore has been carrying out land reclamation off Tuas (a piece of reclaimed land) and off Pulau Tekong, an island in the Johore Straits, between Singappore and Malaysia. Malaysia claims that this reclamation work violated its territorial waters and was damaging Malaysia's beaches, shipping and fisheries. Both the nations agreed to arbitration over this problem.

As a first stage, Malaysia had asked the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to order Singappore to stop the projects on Tekong island and Tuas until the court's arbitration tribunal ruled on the issue. Yesterday the tribunal ruled that Singappore could continue its reclamation work, but emphasised that Singappore should ensure the projects had no irreparable effects on the rights of Malaysia or the marine environment. The tribunal also ordered the two countries to set up a panel of independent experts to monitor the works and issue its findings within a year and the two countries must exchange 'on a regular basis' information on the works.

The reactions by the 2 nations to the tribunal decision appears to be in opposite directions. 'Kiasu" Singappore has claimed victory by saying that Malaysia has failed in its bid to stop reclamation and that Singappore has won Round 1, see this. Malaysia begs to differ and the Star as reported this under the heading :: "Save the Straits: Tribunal directs Singappore not to harm environment with reclamation work.". Bernama has also given the slant that Malaysia has gained a point by saying :: ' Malaysia has been granted provisional measures in the case concerning Singappore's land reclamation projects in the Straits of Johore'. Further our PM wants Singappore to stop the reclamation work now pending a final decision by the tribunal. Our foreign minister had to chip in, so as not to be forgotten, he is reported to have said :: " The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) directing Singapore not to conduct land reclamation that may cause irreparable damage to Malaysia as a great success for Malaysia. So the merry-go-round continues. Basically, in reality, the tribunal has returned a decision which takes the 2 nations back to square one but each has decided on its own spin. We await the final decision by the arbitration panel.

| ¶ 10/09/2003 03:57:00 PM

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Kindergarten for Men

When kindergarten is mentioned we most often associate it with kids and once in a while with that guy who may be governor of sunny California soon enough.
Now Reuters has reported this :: "German men get own kindergarten". The idea for the Saturday afternoon men's creche, or "Maennergarten", came from a female customer who thought it would be a good way of getting shot of her husband so she could shop in peace. The lady found it all too stressful with the husband around, breathing down her neck and thought this might be the solution. As it turned out, the "Maennergarten" proved to be a great solution for both.
At the kindergarten for men, they are given a name badge on arrival and for 10 euros (Rm 44) they get two beers, a hot meal, televised football and games. Other activities like racing radiocontrolled on a minitrack and drilling workshops and pumping workshops are in the pipeline.
This type of kindergarten or "Maennergarten" could prove viable and useful for the Klang Valley folks and ensure less spousal fights and arguments and sour facies. Places like Mega Mall, Bintang Walk and that newby Berjaya Times Square could adopt this wunderbar idea and have the ladies shop to their hearts' content. Of course it could be modified so that apart from beer, there could also be soft drinks like Coke and pepsi and coffee like Starbuck, we could have workshops on careful and safe driving and safe putting instead of drilling and pumping.

| ¶ 10/08/2003 03:51:00 PM

Tuesday, October 07, 2003

Contraception--Male

Whenever contraception or family planning is spoken of, inevitably, of the various methods presently available which pops up in one's mind, the majority of these would be methods which involve placing responsiblity on the female partner. And often, it is stated that men are not willing to shoulder the burden of family planning, This is said to be a myth as a study done in the UK showed that 81% of men surveyed stated that birth control is a shared responsibility of both partners.

Male contraception is presently limited to two main choices :: condoms and vasectomy. Condoms have their associated drawbacks and vasectomy is oh so final as it is irreversible mostly.

Various trials of the male pills or injections have in the past not proven to be of easy usage or reliable or reversible. But help is on the way, research regarding a new method of suppressing sperm production has been carried out and the results have been published recently.

The study, a U.S. government-funded program sponsored by Virginia-based family planning organization CONRAD, was able to successfully and reversibly turn off sperm production in the 55 men who took part in the study which uses the combination of a long-acting testosterone and a progestin. The testosterone is given as an implant and this requires a minor operation to insert it under the skin ( much like the female contaception called Implanon) and the progestin is given as an injection. This may therefore test the resolve of men who wants to be the one to shoulder the responsiblity of family planning. Thus this method may not find many men taking readily to it.

The study showed that the sperm counts of all the male participants recovered to the levels they were at the start of the study, though in some it took a period of 6 to 12 months for this to happen. Potential side effects of this method included a possible increased risk of prostate cancer, sleep disorders and breathing difficulties. As to when this method will be available on the pharmacy shelves, the researcher says that it would "inevitably take several years".

| ¶ 10/07/2003 04:45:00 PM

Monday, October 06, 2003

Those dastardly elusive WMDs

The interim report presented last week by the CIA Iraq Survey Group, in which it is said that no actual weapons had been discovered, has resulted in many saying that the Americans having lied about the reasons for the recent Iraq war . Our PM joined in saying that "It's a big lie".

Washington's chief inspector David Kay beg to differ and said on Sunday he was confident that further search would turn up "remarkable things" in the coming months. It appears that the US of A is not giving up as yet. The chief inspector claims that much had been overlooked by the media with regard to that interim report. He stressed that the report concluded that Iraq had a vast secret network of laboratories, including some two dozen hidden in the Iraqi intelligence service and operated while U.N. inspectors were still in the country.

According to Kay, findings which pointed to the possible eventual recovery of WMD's included the following::

--an Iraqi scientist had produced a vial containing an active biological toxin

--the manufacture as late as in 2002 of fuel for Scud missiles that Iraq used in the first Gulf war

-- a vast network of undeclared labs engaged in prohibited activity in the chemical and the biological warfare areas

The only things that Kay and his team has not found yet are the "smoking guns" and this according to him may require another six to nine months. The team has 1,300 inspectors working on many fronts, including the examination of 130 conventional ammunition storage depots that contained some 650,000 tons of arms.

So what Kay is saying is don't shoot the gun and say that :: "It's a big lie" as yet.

We wonder if our IGP and his team are working equally feverishly to locate those "ball bearings, molotov cocktails, grenade launchers and explosive", the socalled weapons that the ISA 6 were said to have amassed. We also wonder, that just like Kay, whether he is equally confident that these dastardly elusive WMDs will eventually turn up!

| ¶ 10/06/2003 05:19:00 PM

Sunday, October 05, 2003

Dr M :: It's a BIG lie

While having a late lunch of "vege popiah" and "taukuah sumbat" this afternoon, (today is one of my vegetarian days, hey Jeff are you still going vege?); happened to glance at the front page of the NST. The headlines screaming out to be read was :: Dr Mahathir: It's a big lie. For one moment, thought Dr M was referring to what our IGP had to say one day in April 2001, some two and a half years ago. The IGP was then briefing the nation of the dangers posed by those ISA detainees who had their WMD's. These WMD's included ::
explosives, bombs, grenade launchers, molotov cocktails, ball-bearings and other dangerous weapons to attack security forces and create chaos during street demonstrations.

The people, having waited patiently for more than two years for these 'dangerous WMD's' to be found by the IGP, are disappointed but are still waiting.

In the meanwhile, the said ISA detainees have even been released as they are said to no longer posed a danger to national security. But how can this be, as their caches of WDM's are still around and our IGP have yet to find them. Those released from ISA detention could just bide their time and when our IGP's vigilance goes down a notch or two, they could simply take out the above mentioned WMD's and cause chaos as the IGP said they have planned for, more than 2 years ago. I shiver to think of this, why is the authorities telling us a big lie that these released ISA detainess "no longer pose a threat to national security". Or is it really the other way around that on one day in April 2001 we were fooled (remember it was in the month of April, the month for fooling) and told one BIG lie then. It is so confusing, no.

Anyway what is not confusing is that when Dr M said "It's a BIG lie" recently he was referring to the US of A and not someone else. Dr M was quoted by the NST as having said the following :: "That was a big lie. I don't believe that they didn't know that .... had no WMD".

| ¶ 10/05/2003 09:26:00 PM

Friday, October 03, 2003

Too Much Mileage over Those Mileage Claims

Lately it has been all over the papers and even in parliament. MPs have been spending sleepless nights answering phone calls from constituents regarding their more than Rm 10K claims. Some MPs are getting worried, one has even expressed his fears that he may not be nominated for the 11th election and that he fears he may lose even if nominated.

After all that huru hara, we are told that the claims actually are not for mileage alone but includes the rest ie subsistence etc. We are told this by none other than the one who started the whole saga. He must be desparate for some brownie points.

One online paper, e-sinchew did comment more than just on these 'mileage claims' in its article entitled :: "Who's Keeping An Eye On The Government?". The article says that :: "Nevertheless, the problem should not stop just at the investigations on Apandi b Mohamad. In fact, the MPs should take this opportunity to realise a fact that there has been a big loophole in the country's financial supervisory mechanism: Expenses by various levels of government offices have not been closely scrutinised such that abuses of public funds do occur pretty rampantly in the country."

The article then goes on to mention other abuses of public funds which it says do occur pretty rampantly in the country.

Examples given included the following ::

-- In JB, a lamp post out of order will need more than Rm 10K to repair, while a million-ringgit hawker centre was built just to be laid idle. Millions of ringgit have been spent to hire contractors to dig up the roads.

-- Hundreds of thousands of ringgit have also been used to hire contractors to plant trees or erect some ornamental lamps in front of shophouses, but after it has been realised that something is wrong, they will spend additional hundreds of thousands just to remove those things and patch up the mess.

-- The city council (presumably JB's) has spent tens of thousands to dig a pond right in front of the council and allow the mosquito larvae to swim about freely? (Talk about dengue prevention, is the JB city council into mosquito breeding?)

The article further mentioned that :: "Government officers will think of all kinds of ways to chase for tax payments. But when they are spending our hard earned money, they won't normally bother to think twice." and asked :: "Who, or which organisation, is able to stop the relevant units from spending our money extravagantly, and put them under probe?"

So our MPs in Parliament rather then just chase PAS MP for Jeli Haji Apandi Mohamad and his 5-figure monthly transport allowances, they may want to chase down these other abuses of public funds.

| ¶ 10/03/2003 05:16:00 PM

Thursday, October 02, 2003

The Brainy Cloner and the Polis

Reading the various reports, here, here and here on the brains behind the scam makes one get more and more unbelieveable of our PDRM, the one that was recently said to be among the best in the world, in terms of crime solving.
Now what do we know about this fugitive from the long arms of the law, who has variously been described as "the Brain", "the mastermind" and "cheque cloner" among others; and has been featurred on the PDRM website's Most Wanted List since Oct 2002.
He is said to be 32 year old, Syed Ismail Syed Alwi (SISA) from Johore (Lucia , take note 'Penang Tak Boleh lah') and has been identified as the ringleader of the syndicate which bilked the Penang State Government of RM3.1 million, is certainly no stranger to the police. He is said to be worth at least a cool RM6 million which he has amassesd in under three years from cloned cheques operation. Mr SISA is believed to have been responsible for identical cases involving no less than six states since 2000, apart from Penang, the other states bilked include Malacca and Negeri Sembilan.
The fantastic and remarkable thing is that this Mr SISA has been able to elude and stay ahead of our among the best in the world PDRM for the past 2-3 years and remain at large. All these despite the polis knowing so so much about him for so so long a time. Equally Ripley-like is the fact that no less than six states (that's almost half of Malaysia) are said to have been milked of millions.
Did the polis warn the states about Mr SISA and this cheque cloning scam when it first started? If so, why has no less than six states been hit since? Isn't it a bit late for the government to warn state treasuries about tightening financial transaction procedures or warning banks to be extra careful with government cheques.
A total of 26 people have also been questioned by the police on the matter, with some released after questioning. But the top gun is still at large. Does this remind one about the operasi against the VCD cloners, dejavu!
And finally what's this, which has been reported in the Malay Mail :: "However, when contacted late last night, Othman (Penang police chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Othman Talib) declined comment on Syed Ismail’s family ties to the senior police officer." Which senior polis officer??? Smell a rat somewhere???

| ¶ 10/02/2003 04:58:00 PM

MM Chip--Not the Smallest and not so Cheap Cheap

I tend to dread things which will invade my privacy and MyKad and recently the MM Chip got me worried. See this blog and here for context..
Now it looks that they are here to stay but I will resist having to use them until such times when it is compulsory. Wouldn't want things about myself flashed for all to see as in TV Smith's, now famous, Naked Card.
It was less than a month ago, on 4th Sept when our PM announced the MM chip. Dr M said then that it is the smallest @ 0.25 sq mm and the most advanced Microchip using RFID technology. He also said that the cutting-edge microchip technology project is indispensable to the achievement of Malaysia's Vision 2020 and that it will change technology applications worldwide as the chip can be embedded into almost everything including the human body.
Curiously, while Dr M was making his announcement, Hitachi was also unveiling its tiniest RFID chips with an internal antenna. Looks like the MM chip is not the smallest as Hitachi so called Itty Bitty RFID chip measures in @ 0.16 sq mm! See this article dated 2nd Sept for details of the Hitachi's Itty Bitty chip.
Many of us, have been wondering at what price was the cost in acquiring the rights to what is now the 2nd tiniest RFID chip. Wonder no more for according to Joe-Blogs the copyrights were bought at a tiny Rm34.2 million.
Now the question is whether did we really bought the rights to the tiniest or the 2nd tiniest??? Would the PM or Datuk JJ care to clarify?

| ¶ 10/02/2003 01:07:00 PM

Wednesday, October 01, 2003

EC and the Obstacles to a Level Field

The chairperson of the Election Commission EC had a meeting with heads of 27 local media organisations yesterday. He was reported in the Star as declaring that the Malaysian democracy model is very much alive but there are still some weaknesses which need to be overcomed.

In his speech entitled "Electoral Democracy and Electoral Practices in Malaysia", he mentioned that there were 4 areas that were major obstacles to the establishment of a “level playing field' in our election process. They are ::

1. Monitoring political party funding and expenses. According to the EC chairperson' political funding was beyond the EC’s control for it had not been legislated as “it is a free-for-all situation here”.

2. Limitations on campaigning. Public rallies, was provided for under the amended Elections Act 2002 but it had to be read together with other provisions of the Police Act and viewed against the backdrop of security concerns. The EC call for allowing public rallies recently met with calls from BN member parties NOT to allow them. Opposition parties were sceptical about them but the IGP appeared to be in favour and was even reported to say that permits would be efficiently dealt with within 24 hours. We wait to see what happens when the 11th general election comes.

3. Lack of control over corrupt and illegal practices. On such practices, he advised the aggrieved parties to take the legal route to prove their allegations and get the corrupt punished. This is easier said than done.

4. The contributions of the media to fair elections and control of the media during election campaigns. He said while the state-owned media could be reined in if they favoured the ruling party, the private-owned media was another question for they were beyond the EC's control. At the present moment the media, government or private controlled favour the ruling party and has little to do with the opposition parties. In the 1999 election, even advertisements by the opposition found little takers.

A 5th obstacle not mentioned is the monitoring of postal votes. The EC says that it has requested for monitoring by all political parties concerned and is awaiting Najib's decision. Meanwhile, Dr M says a big No. Recently a minister in the PM department said that the EC has the final say on election matters including postal votes. Looks like the ball is at the EC's feet and it only has to exert its independence.

Until these major short-comings or obstacles are overcomed and the EC exerts its independence, isn't it a bit too early for the EC to declare that the " Malaysian democracy model is very much alive". A more balanced view may be to say that the " Malaysian democracy model is half alive".

| ¶ 10/01/2003 04:28:00 PM

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