LONE

Saturday, March 19, 2005

Automatic UMNO Membership

Automatic UMNO membership is being proposed for all Umno members' children aged 18 years and above reported BERNAMA. This proposal is heartily welcomed by the UMNO President. But since the proposal relates to party policy, it has to be discussed by the Umno Supreme Council said he. But at the end of the day, no one will get a prize for guessing that the proposal will be carried.

Wouldn't it be great if this automatic membership proposal is approved by all the component BN parties; and if all the alternative parties should also follow suit. Such a method will swell party memberships in no time. And since a number of those who reached 18 years of age would be selected to attend PLKN kems, could they all be signed up while at these kems. For those not so fortunate enough to be selected for PLKN, they can be signed up at home on reaching that venerable age.

Imagine happy families of MCA members, PKR members, UMNO members, PAS members etc. Will the children be allowed which party to choose? It looks like, afraid not. What about those families where the parents belong to different parties, will the father or the mother get the right to sign up their children? Will each parent get to sign up 50% of the brood? What about those with only a single child in the family, is he/she eligible for dual-party membership when the parents do not belong to the same party? And then what about those parents with no political party affiliations, do the children automatically qualify for Parti Bebas on attaining age 18, presumably that there is such a Parti Bebas. Those reaching 18 years of age are definitely going to live in such exciting times.

This marvellous idea of automatic UMNO membership was proposed by Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Ali Rustam, who is also Umno vice-president and Umno Training and Membership Bureau chairman.

The Umno president added that when the children of UMNO members are initiated into the party, then the struggles of the party could be further pursued. And it would be very good should the struggles and contributions of UMNO members be continued by their children. He also gave numerous examples of father initiating sons into UMNO ::

"UMNO members must initiate their children into UMNO just as my father had initiated me into UMNO, just like Pak Sheikh Ahmad (the late Tan Sri Sheikh Ahmad Mohamed Hashim, who was the third Perlis Menteri Besar) who initiated Radzi (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Radzi Sheikh Ahmad who is also UMNO secretary-general)...many others.

"The son of Tun Razak (Second Prime Minister, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein) is also an UMNO member (Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is UMNO deputy president). The son of Syed Albar (UMNO stalwart Syed Jaafar Albar) is also an UMNO member (Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar)...there's quite a few," he said.

Notable example he has left out would be, Tun Dr Mahathir initiating his son, Mukhriz Mahathir, and Dato Ibrahim initiating his son, that UMNO's prodigal son, the one called Anwar Ibrahim. Now who is the UMNO member who initiated KJ? Check out this Aliran article, called The House of the Rising Sons, too. Wouldn't one agree such happy UMNO families.

| ¶ 3/19/2005 09:29:00 PM

Ops Firm becoming Ops Lembik

After many false starts and delays caused by other events like the 12/26 Tsunami, Ops Tegas aka Operation Firm was finally launched on 1st March. Just a couple of days prior, the Home Affairs Minister {HAM] Azmi Khalid was quoted in Aljazeera.Net as saying this ::

"The government is tegas (firm). There will be no deferment."
"When they are caught this time, not only will we haul them to court but they will also be barred from entering Malaysia in future."

At the same time the HAM was quoted as saying this ::

There is no other country in the world that has come up with the amnesty programme like what we have. We have been very very humane with the illegals."
"The very reason we are sending them back is because we want them to come back legally. This is very, very humanitarian."

What one has to note is that what the HAM said is not true for those caught in the Ops Tegas dragnet. As the amnesty is over, those caught during the present ops "not only will we haul them to court but they will also whipped and be barred from entering Malaysia in future." Who said this, our HAM, of course.
Or is the firm ops becoming soft already?
According to our HAM too, the Ops will go on until the last illegal is caught. Pretty famous last words. eSinchew in its editorial entitled :: A Matter Of National Reputation had this to say ::

We cheer the government's effort to kickstart the arrest operation, but this is not an easy job which can be completed in a few days, or months. 300,000 is by no means a small number, and it is almost impossible to account for every one of them.
Perseverance remains our largest challenge.
Having said that, we must show the world that we mean what we say.
We must give our best shot, for the success or failure of the operation has everything to do with our national reputation and integrity.

Earlier on in the said editorial, it had the following under consideration ::

But then what can the authorities do after carrying out the arrest operation? How are they going to handle the arrested illegals?
The Immigration Department said earlier that the arrested illegals would be caned, fined and jailed. But, are our courts ready to charge hundreds of thousands of illegal migrant workers here?
If we do not have the manpower to charge them in the courts, and instead send them to the Semenyih detention camp or deport them, then it will be a waste of our resources, for they have Malaysia at their finger tips, and will very soon find their way on our shores again.

Do we really have places to detain or jail all 300-400 thousands of them?
Don't we have plenty more of mouths to feed and guard from escaping?
Do we have court time for all of them?
Imagine those who have to mete out all those cane strokes, do we have sufficient of these whipping boys?
Imagine all the time wasted by the gomen doctors who have to go and certify that those to be caned are fit for the meeting with the cane. Time better spent looking after patients like me in the JPL [Jabatan Pesakit Luar].
Will the dragnet bring in those big and mighty employers of illegal workers who may be out there or just a couple of small ikan bilis? Note:: 85 Malaysian employers held so far.

But just wait, it looks like the the gomen is truly softening up. First, the 3 months moratorium on employing foreign workers seems have been cast aside, see this, 100,000 Pakistani Men To Work In All Sectors, Says Azmi [the very same HAM, who was ever so Tegas!]. And now it is Fast Track says the STAR, for the recruitment of the 100,000 Pakistani workers, many of whom can be here in just over a month. The compulsory induction course will be waived for the Pakistani workers, how can this be so, one day compulsory, the next exempt. What message is the Ministry of Home Affairs and gomen sending out after its tough and firm stance earlier on. What about our "National Reputation and Integrity" mentioned earlier on? When the going gets tough, Ops Tegas goes soft and ends up shopping for fast track Pakistani workers and forgets all the firmness and big talk! So what a transformation, from Ops Tegas, we have Ops Teargas and now Ops Lembik! From hard and firm to soft and flabby in a matter of less than 3 weeks??? Malaysia Boleh!

NB. There is a new blog in the Malaysian blogosphere, check out & welcome :: desiderata2000 by desiderata-ylchong.

| ¶ 3/19/2005 04:39:00 PM

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Ops Tegas :: Ops Teargas

When Ops Tegas was about to be launched, BERNAMA reported under the heading, Ops Tegas: The Hunt Begins and said :: Illegal immigrants should be feeling the heat by now. Almost 3 weeks in the Ops and look who is feeling the heat and Ops Tegas is turning into Ops Teargas as far as those connected with Malaysian industries are concerned. Without foreign labour, Malaysian industries are suffering. Look who is now feeling the heat?
Channel NewsAsia carried this :: "Malaysia's migrant crackdown backfires on economy" and had this to say ::

A crackdown which sent hundreds of thousands of illegal workers fleeing from Malaysia has left industries with crippling labour shortages which could hurt economic growth, reports and officials said.
The government has called a special meeting on the issue for next week, Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid told AFP Thursday.
The move comes after the cabinet was told Wednesday that losses run into hundreds of millions of ringgit (3.8 ringgit to a US dollar), the New Straits Times reported.

The NST carried its report under this heading ::"LABOUR SHORTAGE: Acute labour pains". It said that ::

The Cabinet was today given a comprehensive briefing on the labour situation on the ground, and it was not a pleasant picture.
The losses suffered by different sectors of the economy run into hundreds of millions of ringgit. Some 200,000 workers are needed in the manufacturing sector, followed by 150,000 in construction, 50,000 in plantation and 20,000 in the service sector.

What went wrong with this latest attempt to flush out the illegal migrants? Who forgot to do the homework? With the out of the box brainstorms, how did we land up in such a mess. Is Ops Tegas the best our brains within the gomen could come up with to deal with the illegal migrants?
The Indonesians are obvious quietly laughing behind our backs. The grand Ops Tegas has obviously brought more woes upon us. There were suggestions to convert these illegal migrants, right here, into legal ones. This would have saved them from having to go back and then return. But could it be that such a 'simple plan' could have been too simple for those tasked with the planning of how to deal with the illegals. Would such a simple plan have resulted in there being no money making schemes being hatched on the way?
11 recruiting centres are set up in Indonesia to handle those who want to return to Malaysia to work legally. But somehow, things aren't running smoothly and the Malaysian side blames the Indonesian authorities for the delay in registering and sending the workers back. But some say this may be one of the real reasons for the delay in return of the workers. In the meanwhile the industries in Malaysia are suffering and if no steps are taken soon to overcome the snag, there would be a serious repercussions and a negative impact on our nation’s economic growth.

| ¶ 3/17/2005 10:45:00 PM

Another Tsunami Soon Enough?

The Guardian says :: Scientists analysing the aftermath of the Boxing Day earthquake under the Indian Ocean warned today that another devastating quake is now far more likely to strike the region, this could happen within a year from the 12/26 Tsunami.
The Guardian says ::

The seismic slip off the coast of Sumatra that triggered the tsunami has piled dangerous levels of stress on to two vulnerable parts of the fault zone, significantly raising the chances of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake.
The scientists cannot accurately predict how soon such an earthquake may occur, but they point out that previous examples of so-called "coupled" earthquakes have struck within a year of each other.

So as regards tsunamis in the Indian Ocean region, don't think that "lightning won't strike twice". Researchers from the University of Ulster in Coleraine, said that the dangerous stresses are in two areas ::

1. The new study shows one of the regions at increased risk of a more powerful event is a 31-mile stretch of the undersea Sunda trench, next to the 745-mile long zone that ruptured on Boxing Day.
Earthquakes in the Sunda trench triggered fatal tsunamis in 1833 and 1861.
2. The second area of concern identified in the new research is a 185-mile region of fault running directly beneath the island of Sumatra, close to the city of Banda Aceh, which was devastated in December and where rebuilding work is under way.

These findings should put some urgency into those who are planning to set up early warning systems around the Indian Ocean region and they should not delay. These findings should also be taken into consideration by those who are in the process of reconstruction of the areas affected by the recent 12/26 Tsunami. Rebuilding on those sites affected by the 12/26 Tsunami would obviously be looking for trouble. There is an obvious need to move further inland or away from the devastated areas. Holiday makers would probably have to consider these findings when they are planning their next vacation by the sea.

| ¶ 3/17/2005 02:15:00 PM

Has the "HoneyMoon is Over" Begun?

When was it that Pak Lah said that the "HoneyMoon is Over"? When he said that, only then did we realised that for the past one year or so, he and his team have been 'goyang kaki aje'/shaking legs only and that they are only now going to get down to the serious work of living up to their promises, check out the last BN manifesto.
Of course earlier, at the beginning of the year he had called for input from all and sundry to help formulate the 9MP. Of course the PM is fully aware of the following BN promises among many others ::

BARISAN NASIONAL is strongly committed to parliamentary democracy, which gives each citizen a say in the administration of this nation.
BARISAN NASIONAL safeguards the interests of all citizens. We listen to and act on the hopes and aspirations of all groups regardless of age, gender, ethnic background and religion.
All ethnic groups are represented in the BARISAN NASIONAL. Power sharing is genuine, along with a strong spirit of togetherness and ‘give and take’.
Continue the all-out campaign against corruption, without fear or favour.
Seek a higher level of performance and integrity among your elected representatives.
Make National Schools the school of choice through quality improvements, including better teaching of mother tongue languages, as well as safeguard the position of national-type schools today. Foster student interaction to enhance national unity.

Within a short time of his declaration that the "HoneyMoon is Over", he had opportunities to demonstrate that it is indeed so. The Bukit Cahaya fiasco presented him with a golden opportunity to show that he was indeed serious about his "all-out campaign against corruption, without fear or favour" and also his oft repeated aim of "a higher level of performance and integrity among elected reps". But we have yet to see him wielding the big stick. Or have heads rolled without our noticing the events? Did he make any mention about the construction of the so-called "exco village"?
As for his much vaunted strong committedness to democracy and to ensuring that each citizen has a say in the nation's administration, has he joined in the call for a return of the 3rd Vote to the people? Does he not realise that for more than 40 years, the people have been deprived of local council democracy? But then again the PM's view of democracy and ours may differ.
Having promised to ensure better teaching of the mother tongue languages, i take it that they include Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Iban, Kadazan, Bidayuh, Orang Asli and promising to safeguard the position of national-type schools, he has suddenly appear to have forgotten the whole thing when some of his own party leaders, his son-in-law included came out against the MCA [BN partner] mooted appeal of having more SRJK(C) built. The PM, himself, is now saying that there is "No Need For Alternative Education Stream For Certain Groups". What does he meant when he said "alternative education stream" and "certain groups"? Hopefully he is not referring to vernacular schools, which he had promised to safeguard and he does not mean to call the Chinese and Indians, "certain groups", aren't we all, family? The National Education Policy has always taken cognaissance of the existence of vernacular schools and the teaching of mother tongues is i believed constituitionally guaranteed. Hopefully having won big, Pak Lah is not forgetting his promises made. Hopefully he is not like his predecessor, who had one thing to say of Suqiu's appeal before the 1999 election and another after.
It appears that the subject of vernacular schools, specifically SRJK(C), will now be another taboo subject. The DPM has suggested that it be discussed behind closed doors and MCA has agreed. Is this going to be a new "sensitive subject" for us Malaysians? The Opposition leader and many capable-of-thinking Malaysians certainly don't think so. Vernacular schools are part and aprcel of the Malaysian scence and many Malaysian leaders have come through these schools. They have the same syllabus and curriculum as the National schools, only the language of instruction is different. So what does the PM meant when he said that "Two systems will have the people moving along in a parallel line, and they will never meet. It is not good for the nation." Mana the two system?
The PM may have declared that the "HoneyMoon is over" but as far as keeping the promises made, he is still on extended leave. So, people, we just have to keep reminding him of promises he has made.

| ¶ 3/17/2005 02:10:00 AM

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Matrikulasi: Non-bumi Students " lebih cemerlang"

UTUSAN reported recently that Non-bumi students are doing better in matriculation classes than the bumi students. UTUSAN has this to report ::

Kira-kira 1,000 pelajar bukan bumiputera program itu berjaya meraih Purata Gred Nilai Kumulatif (PGNK) penuh 4.0 baru-baru ini mengatasi 800 pelajar Melayu yang mencatat keputusan sama.
[Approximately 1,000 Non-bumi students in the programme (Matriculation) obtained full PGNK score of 4 recently when compared to 800 Malay students yang obtained the same.]

UMNO Supreme Council member, Datuk Seri Dr. Hilmi Yahaya brought this up recently regarding the decline of the Malay students in the matricualtion programme, he added that this was a serious matter and needed to be attended to. This decline has to be seriously discussed and ways found to overcome it.

The 10% quota was allowed the Non-bumi students by the gomen in 2002, its aims were to encourage co-operation and integration among the various communities. In 2004, 20,000 places were offered to students who have obtained their SPM to study in matricualtion classes and Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM). The Non-bumi students were allocated about 10% or 2,000 places and about 1,000 or 50% of them managed to achieve maximum scores in their PGNK. For the others, out of some 18,000 students, only 800 or 4.44% achieved maximum scores. If these figures are true, they can be quite scary! And understandably, Datuk Seri Hilmi and UMNO have cause for great concerned.

Further according to the UTUSAN report, Datuk Seri Hilmi said that the Malay students must change their method of work and studying taking due cognaissance of changing times. He had the following to say ::

"Jika dulu cukup dengan penyediaan kuda dan baju besi untuk berperang tetapi sekarang memerlukan kapal perang dan jet pejuang.
Jika cara kita (pelajar Melayu) bertindak dan berfikir masih di takuk lama, sudah tentu tidak akan ada peningkatan hidup yang dicapai.''

Now can anyone really follow why he made this reference with regards to studies and matrikulasi; do we have another Sun Zi follower in the making?

Thanks to TuaKia for the pointer.

| ¶ 3/15/2005 01:00:00 AM

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Chin Peng's Battle Continues

Chin Peng's court battle to return home to live out peacefully the rest of his days started when he applied to the High Court to return to Malaysia with hundreds of his comrades. His rights to return is based on what he understands regarding the Haadyai Agreement reached in December 1989. Articles 3 and 4 of the Haadyai Agreement are as follow ::

ARTICLE 3 - RESIDENCE IN MALAYSIA
3.1 Members of the Communist Party of Malaya and members of its disbanded armed units, who are of Malaysian origin and who wish to settle down in MALAYSIA, shall be allowed to do so in accordance with the laws of Malaysia.
3.2 Members of the Communist Party of Malaya and members of its disbanded armed units, who are not of Malaysian origin, may be allowed to settle down in MALAYSIA in accordance with the laws of MALAYSIA, if they so desire.

ARTICLE 4 – PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE BY THE MALAYSIAN AUTHORITIES
With regard to Article 3, the Malaysian authorities shall assist members of the Communist Party of Malaya and members of its disbanded armed units in order to help them to start their peaceful life afresh.

For more check out this article in the PSM website.

When Chin Peng first filed his court application, Pak Lah's response was that Chin Peng had the right to make his application. According to Pak Lah the gomen will wait for the outcome of the court action and response appropriately after the court had made a decision.
Next the Deputy Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin has decided to jump the gun and RTM will produce a documentary to show the atrocities committed by the communist terrorists in the country. Expect portions of this documentary to be screened soon on your telly nightly on the "Berita Perdana" (Prime News) slot. Stay tuned in or tuned out when the atrocities committed by the CPM are shown.

On the 7th, Chin Peng has filed another application to be allowed to enter Malaysia temporarily to attend court proceedings. He said that he has to be in the country to direct his counsel and seek advice and also to give oral evidence. According to his filed affidavit, Article 5 of the Federal Constitution gave him the right to choose and appoint any lawyer to act on his behalf and the right to attend the court proceedings.

Today, he has filed summons to get the Home Minister, Inspector-General of Police, Chief of Defence Forces and the government of Malaysia to list down the names of former CPM members who qualify to enter, those allowed to enter and those prohibited to enter.

| ¶ 3/12/2005 11:14:00 PM

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Malaysia FDI drops 16%

Report by Liau Y-Sing

Foreign direct investment [FDI] in Malaysian factories fell 16 percent in 2004, and while the gomen played down the impact of China, it pledged to improve policies to attract more foreign money. FDI in 2004 amounted to 13.1 billion ringgit (USD3.4 billion) compared with 15.6 billion ringgit in 2003. In 2004, Germany, Singapore, the United States, Japan and Taiwan were the main investors. The investment was mostly in the electrical and electronics sectors, printing and publication and petroleum chemical products. The fall in FDI came despite a relaxation in foreign equity ownership and expatriate employment rules.

China is a keen competitor to Malaysia for FDI and because of her lower labour cost, some manufacturing and investment have shifted to China from Malaysia. As to what is truly Malaysia's loss and China's gain, it is anyone's guess.

Our MINIster Rafidah attributes the decline to prevailing global trend and that even though China is a competitor, she is not a threat. She said that in many areas, China is often a partner. But if Malaysia does not do something to attract more FDI, she may find the FDI taking an even bigger tumble than the 41% experienced in 2002! So it looks like MINIster Rafidah and her backroom boys and girls will have to crack their heads to come out with policy changes to attract the greatly needed FDI. If not she will find those states which economy depend on manufacturing especially Penang will continue to be gloomy. In the boom days, Penang was certainly the "Pearl of the Orient". But already many factories have shifted to China and Thailand were costs are lower.

As to how much our insistence of continuing with the USD-Ringgit peg of 1USD=RM3.8 is contributing to the decline of FDI, one cannot be too sure. But obviously factories starting up or expanding will have to foot out more ringgit for their imported machineries. Much has been said as to when the peg will be removed, and according to some the window of opportunity to do so is narrowing or closing. But like the PM, MINIster Rafidah insists that the peg will stay as :: "It's never working against us. So far it's been very good for us. It has provided the kind of predictability which businesses require." So it looks like the peg will stay, for now.

| ¶ 3/10/2005 11:02:00 PM

Congrats Amalina Congrats

Congrats to Nur Amalina Che Bakri who has set a record by scoring 17As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination. She has proved to all that where " there is a will there is a way". I just cannot imagine the tremendous effort she must have put in to achieve this tremendous feat. Congrats must surely also go to her parents for the many ways they must have help and provided for, for her to achieve what she has achieved, the unimaginable until now.

For the record these are the subjects amazing Amalina scored A1s in ::

Additional Mathematics, Modern Mathematics, Bahasa Malaysia, English, History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Commerce and Islamic Studies, Tasawur Islam, Malay Literature, Basic Science, English for Science & Technology, Basic Economics, Arts, and Principles of Accounting.

As for her ambition, she wants to be a gynaecologist and also the first woman Malaysian Prime Minister. One wish her the very best on the road to achieving her ambition(s). No doubt on the road to achieving her political goal, Puteri will be more than willing to lend a helping hand.

i am a little taken aback if what is reported by BERNAMA is true. When commenting on Amalina's success, the PM had this to say ::

"I am happy and proud with Amalina's success. This is a proof to other students that if they work hard, they can succeed not only with excellence but also with glory and distinction."

BERNAMA continues ::

Speaking to media editors at his office here, Abdullah hoped Amalina could pursue her studies at a renowned foreign university.
He said Amalina must have self-confidence so that she could study with foreign students without difficulty.

It looks like the PM thinks that there is no local university suitable for Amalina, why so? These comments of the PM speak volumes of the state of affairs the field of education presently is, in Malaysia Boleh!

| ¶ 3/10/2005 12:37:00 AM

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

What is all the Ruckus About

Dear Right Honourable, Yang Amat Berhormat PM,

I am sure, like me, you just cannot understand the ruckus the people has kicked up recently regarding the "rape" of Bukit Cahaya and the construction of the "exco-village" by the Selangor Government. As pointed out by you during the 11th general election campaign in your manifesto, some one year ago, the BN government is one "which safeguards the interests of all citizens" and " listen to and act on the hopes and aspirations of all groups regardless of age, gender, ethnic background and religion".

As it appears to me, the Honourable Menteri Besar of Selangor, mindful of the problems faced by the rakyat of his state, and in his endeavour to ensure that there will be zero squatters in his state, has applied the innate wisdom possessed by him and him alone, allowed the 35 odd developers to build houses for his rakyat. What can be so wrong with this. What is the point of considering conservation needs when the need for housing of the rakyat is even greater. The rakyat just cannot be housed in "green lungs" without roofs over their head. I am sure, Right Honourable, you, would agree with this line of thinking of a simple-minded one as I. Surely those conservation minded, totally against tree chopping and environmentally friendly ones [CMTATCEF] among the rakyat must realise that without downing trees, houses cannot be built. Or are they expecting houses for the rakyat to be built on trees. No wonder there are orang asing, who still think that we are living on tree houses. The rakyat must understand that the Honourable MB has the housing problems of the rakyat on his head all day and he is scratching his head daily to deal with these problems and ensure that his dream of having each and everyone of the rakyat of Selangor housed as soon as possible comes true. I am sure, like me, you share this dream of the Honourable MB. I just cannot understand the ruckus being raised by those CMTATCEF ones. Don't they want to see the rakyat with roofs over their heads? Where is there a need for enforcement to ensure that there is no environmental degradation when these houses for the rakyat are reuired to be built in the shortest time possible. As everyone knows the fastest way to clear the land for development and housing is to bring in the bulldozers and bring down those space-occupying trees.

As for the "exco-village" in Selangor, I certainly share the views of those in support of the project and can understand fully how it is once again a project which would allow the Selangor Government to attend to the aspirations, hopes, needs, interests and wellbeing of the rakyat of Selangor. The vision, this most visionary Honourable MB has, is certainly unmatched by the MBs of other states. In this "exco-village", where the Honourable MB will have his team of equally Honourable State Exco-members close at hand, they will be able to gather and meet swiftly and as often as humanly possible during their waking hours to brainstorm, to discuss and to come out with more visions and more ideas for the good of the rakyat. Imagine what great things can come out of such frequent meetings of great minds. As for the swimming pool and wading pool mentioned, people must understand that often there is plenty of 'hot air' when the exco is in session and things can certainly get heated up and these pools will serve to cool people and things down. I can expect that the state of Selangor can only be even greater than before when this "exco-village" is up and running. With such a centralised housing arrangement, the State will save so much more rakyat ringgit as those staying in the "exco-village" need not be paid their housing allowances, claims for travelling allowances and subsistence will be greatly reduced and when the exco-members need to party, there will be savings on rentals as there is a ready clubhouse for such parties. Surely there will only be plenty more benefits for this centralised housing of the exco-members and the Honourable MB must have thought of all of them. Who was it who pointed out that the "exco-village" will appreciate in value over the years and when a buyer or buyers appear, the state can sell it off at great profits to the rakyat. Surely this great idea of an "exco-village" will soon be copied by the Honourable MBs and Chief MINIsters of other states. They would all like to have an "exco-village" of their own when they realise the benefits and advantages associated. The forward looking State of Selangor or the Honourable MB should have the whole project "patented" and eventually sell this original idea to the other State Assemblies if they want to copy it. This will obviously bring much glory and money to the State of Selangor.

By the way, the Honourable MB has an explanation for the project. The "exco-village" actually is part of a housing project for state government officers and not just for exco-members. It is a project decided at the State Legislative Assembly in 2001! And the cost, just only about RM21 million and this is not even the taxpayers'. The money came out from a privatised project in which the State government made some RM560 million! As for the clubhouse, it is actually for representatives of NGOs and the government officers to meet, especially at night where they can be safe and sound. And if anyone is thinking that there would be fabulous savings by the State when these houses are eventually utilised, the Honourable MB revealed that each Selangor Exco member receives only RM1,000 in housing allowance and each of the government staff receives RM130 or more. The Honourable MB also revealed further that planning for quarters for the government staff had long been done and would continue and already there are many other similar housing projects which will be completed by the next year, namely in Section 16 Shah Alam, which cost RM24 million, Hulu Selangor (RM20 million), Kuala Langat (RM30 million), Klang (RM24 million), Kuala Selangor (RM19 million). So there you have it, the explanation by the Honourable MB, so why the ruckus raised?

Basically having placed such great confidence in the BN government, after having voted in your rakyat friendly government which such a massively huge majority, the rakyat should just sit back and enjoy the bounties your benevolent government will surely bring forth and not bring up complaints regarding how your personally chosen MBs are doing their work. Such ruckus should only be associated with those troublemaking CMTATCEF ones and some unhappy opposition figures who failed to win in the last election. Though I did not vote for the BN in the 11th general election, I am mindly that the overwhelming majority of the rakyat has spoken and has entrusted you and your chosen ones to ensure that the rakyat will benefit totally from the visions and ideas possess by you all and through whatever actions taken by you all, they are entirely for the benefit of the rakyat. I am just looking forward to the next election when I can use my vote rightly and wisely, once again. In the meantime, I am just wishing that the din and the noise and the accompanying ruckus which are being raised over the abovementioned would just disappear and no longer contribute to our already polluted and degraded environs.

Thanking you for lending me your kind and Honourable ears and looking forward to Right Honourable you, in the good company of your chosen ones, leading us forward to an era which will be even greater than before. Malaysia Boleh. God Bless Malaysia.

I remain, yours humbly,

Lone and alone.

| ¶ 3/09/2005 11:13:00 PM

I Crawl to School

Student A :: "I come to school by walking...."
Teacher :: "NO!"
Teacher :: "I walk to school!"
Teacher again :: "How do you come to school, Epit?"

Epit :: "I crawl to school..."

On hearing that Epit crawls to school. Someone was so upset that he cried and soon vowed that much had to be done.

But soon realising that he was no longer on HoneyMoon, he quickly dried his eyes. To Epit and his mum, he said :: "Don't worry as the HoneyMoon is over, just see me and friends perform."

And he soon got down to work. But why are the others only just observing?

Lo and behold, Epit no longer had to crawl to school for he had this soon enough. Thanks also to him too.

A few years later, it was once again, time to vote so out came the poster of old but will the guy on his right be there? For someone has written that its KJ, Bakal PM?

And once again, he won handsomely, collecting all 99% of the popular votes this time around. The only opposition left could only be him. And this guy finally realising that he was no longer needed did what he was quite good at.

| ¶ 3/09/2005 12:30:00 AM

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Where Have All d'Angsana Gone

Where have all d'angsana gone?
Long time passing
Where have all d'angsana gone?
Long time ago
Where have all d'angsana gone?
Developers have chopped them almost every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all d'angsana gone?
Long time passing
Where have all d'angsana gone?
Long time ago
Where have all d'angsana gone?
Killed and stumped by developers.
When will they ever grow again?
When will they ever grow again?

Angsana trees slowly disappearing reported the STAR. Taipingites are lamenting the disppearance of these ancient, magnificient looking shady trees from some of tthe streets in town. On the pretext of development, these trees are being chopped down. In little or no time, they will all be things of the past. Some of them in Jalan Istana Larut not Jalan Istana Lama [sic] are more than a hundred years old and if they can talk, they would have many tales to tell.

| ¶ 3/08/2005 12:21:00 PM

Sunday, March 06, 2005

The HoneyMoon is Over

The HoneyMoon is over, Pak Lah has spoken. Let all elected representatives take note, be they from the BN or Alternative parties. It is time to get down to work and deliver all the promises made a year ago.

"If the honeymoon is over for Pak Lah, then all of you (BN elected representatives) also are no longer enjoying your honeymoon. Upon entering the second year of service, the honeymoon is over...it means we have to work with greater vigour," he said.

What Pak Lah has on offer ::

There will be no slowing down in the fight against corruption
Human resource of the nation should be equipped with knowledge, skills as well as creativity necessary to be competitive
Agriculture namely fishery will become the backbone of the agriculture industry under the RMK9
All programmes must be worked on and implemented to the benefit of the people
Be prepared to lose subsidies
Expect "Premier Schools" to reappear after having been sidelined for years
Strategic Integrity Plan For Universities
A cabinet reshuffle soon?

Now that the HoneyMoon has been officially declared ended can we expect to see some actions and Pak Lah taking that walk finally. Can we remind all our elected representatives to take a look at this and can we remind them that the gomen is for EVERYONE and that EVERYONE has a stake and a VOICE in this Malaysia of ours. And can we expect the gomen to be strongly committed to parliamentary democracy and that it will safeguard the interests of all citizens regardless of age, gender, ethnic background and religion.

| ¶ 3/06/2005 01:12:00 AM

Saturday, March 05, 2005

RTM Reacts

BERNAMA reports that Radio and Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) will produce a documentary to show the atrocities committed by the communist terrorists in the country. This documentary should be ready fro airing before merdeka day. According to Deputy Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin said the docu-propaganda would be shown in segments of one or two-minute duration slotted into the nightly "Berita Perdana" (Prime News) programme.

Aim of the documenatry is to inform the younger generation of the atrocities of the communist terrorists during the Emergency period and acknowledging the sacrifices of the security forces. Apart from showing the atrocities, the documentary will also show the success of the gomen in bringing prosperity to the country and people after having defeated the communist terrorists. Watch out for umpteenth re-screening of Bukit Kepong.

This RTM/Info Ministry effort is probably a knee-jerk reaction to the court application filed by Chin Peng and companions recently. Will RTM provide them the opportunity of telling their side of the story? This is something just not about to happen. One can only wonder how one-sided will the documentary be?

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