“The best way to silence any accusation of unfairness is to publish the names of all who have been given APs, how many permits they have received and what cars they are bringing in.”
“In order to know exactly how many cars are being brought in, the best way is for the Customs Department to publish the names of those who have been given APs.”
"During my time, I think you all know how many times I have spoken out against corruption."
"What have I not done? I have cried, I have recited prayers... I have done many things. I have told them not to get involved in corruption."
"I think it's not fair to say that I have done nothing."
"It is not appropriate to make them (recipients' names) public knowledge."
"It is not our [?gomen's/Malaysia's/MITI's/Kak Pida's] policy to disclose who got the APs. In fact, we have never done this before, even before I became minister."
"They fought for the cause of the party using this kind of old bicycles, and now they can use them again to recall the good old days as well as for joy rides although many can afford cars."
The impressive list of achievements includes the ascent of Mount Everest by M. Magendran and N. Mohanadas, Datuk Azhar Mansur’s solo round-the-world sail and Datin Paduka Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir’s solo trek to Antarctica.
Set up more commissions of enquiry
TAN SRI RAMON NAVARATNAM, Kuala Lumpur.
THE Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Police has to be highly commended for its substantive 600-page report.
The report was open, frank and fair and pulled no punches!
It was a professional report, which was efficiently conducted by an able team under the distinguished leadership of the eminent former Chief Justice Tun Mohd Dzaiddin Abdullah.
The 125 recommendations were highly relevant. Most of them could be applied to the whole public service of nearly one million public servants.
These relate to the improvement of the quality of recruitment and the balance in its ethnic composition, the enhancement of remuneration and conditions of service and, inter alia, the eradication of the insidious disease of corruption.
Hence it would be useful to initiate similar Commissions of Enquiry into the whole public service to enhance the efficiency and integrity of the whole civil service as a matter of urgency before it is too late.
The Government could have Independent Commissions for each major public service like the teachers or medical staff.
Better still, the Government could establish just one single Royal Commission for the whole public service.
This is essential in order to enable the Government to arrest the slide in the public sector's delivery system and ensure that we achieve the goals of Vision 2020 on time.
At the same time we need to establish the proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission soon.
We can call it the Ombudsman, as Dr Chandra Muzaffar has suggested, “Set up an independent Police Ombudsman”, (The Star, May 23) or any other name as long as the pragmatic recommendations of the Royal Commission are followed through and do not just fizzle out.
Probes needed for other govt depts, too
K.C. NG, Kajang.
KUDOS to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for setting up the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police.
The outlined strategic thrusts to revitalise the police force would improve its image and if implemented properly, would help create a more peaceful and harmonious Malaysia.
However, I believe the police force is not the only department that needs improvement.
Other government departments should also be scrutinised.
Royal commissions are needed in areas where corrupt and unacceptable practices are found.
The role, functions and organisation of these government departments need to also be modernised and strategised to better serve the people.
Education System Must Be Revamped
Former director-general of education Tan Sri Murad Mohamed Nor
Tan Sri Murad Mohamed Nor said a thorough study of the education system should be carried out for the purpose of strengthening or improving the national schools, because an ad-hoc approach would not work. Among other things he suggested the following ::
- review and updating of teacher-training curriculum
- teaching students of all races the cultural practices of the various races in the country
- creating a harmonious atmosphere in school, where there is mutual respect and understanding
- giving a greater emphasis on the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English
He said :: "Make the national school truly national. If the national school has been made really strong with all subjects available there, no one can raise any issue on it again."
The father, Jamal, 41, a furniture shop worker, earns an income of RM600 a month, has four children from two wives who live under the same roof. Jamal's eldest child, Nor Siti Nakiah, 15, had to stop schooling to help support the family.
Asked if the new militant group – still unnamed – was similar to the JI, Noh said no.
He also refuted suggestions that the new group was among 24 deviant groups recently uncovered by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
"What I said (to reporters) was that a group was being investigated and whether it was necessary to act against it by using the Internal Security Act (ISA)."
"The group is a sect and not militant, and it has no connection with the KMM or JI."
“The teachings of Ayah Pin are dangerous because (some) followers have declared themselves to have come out of Islam, even though the government has not recognised them as having done so," and
“If they want to spread their teachings in the United States, that’s up to them. Here we don’t allow (this) because it would lead to chaos, different understanding, as well as differences in practice.”
"Thus, the problems of the bumiputeras are problems of their own making, nothing to do with other races who are not complaining about the government helping bumiputeras. The problem is that bumiputeras always want to take the easy way, by pawning their contracts to other people.
"The result is that other people reap a big profit while the bumiputeras get only a bit, because they are lazy, do not want to work hard, do not want hardship. So, who is at fault?"
"Previously we had poison-pen letters but now we have SMS (short messaging service) and e-mail containing libellous and ridiculous stories aimed at wreaking havoc in the party."
"I want to see a clear and positive change, and my officers and men have no choice but to realise that objective."
“I am all for reform but replacing the core values of the force with a service paradigm will have far-reaching consequences.”
“We wear uniforms and not ties when carrying out our duties. We have to be disciplined on the job”
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
They have no choice as the bridge linking the school and their village, Kampung Binyu, collapsed earlier this month.
A slip means they would fall into the deep river, which flows into Sungai Sarawak.
Luckily, they crossed the river without accident.
Siakap senohong,
Gelama ikan duri;
Bercakap bohong,
Bolehkah jadi menteri?
1. “The public must realise that each time they deal with such syndicates, they are committing an offence. It is like buying stolen goods at a lower price.”
2. “So, if anyone gets cheated in the future, we will assume that they were involved with the syndicate.”
Newspapers and television stations have shown more courage in exposing some issues. In the last few weeks, for example, there has been sustained coverage of mismanagement of protected forest reserves in the state of Selangor. Unfortunately, this has existed alongside a noticeable reticence to continue coverage of issues if the Government asks for silence. Examples of this include coverage of the harassment of 'bloggers', which completely ceased after the Minister in charge of investigations asked the Press not to highlight the issue.
Could the Rm500 millions be better spent each year to improve those schooling years, like making sure there is adequate water supply, electricity and lighting for all schools in the country. Also ensure that the less fortunate school children are getting their meals before or during school. An empty stomach will surely lead to a non-functioning brain! The 11 to 13 years of formal schooling should be utilise to achieve those said aims. I am sure if there is a will, this much longer period of time will be more adequate and produce better results. Use these years to foster better relations among our youngsters and patriotism and national unity will naturally follow. Show our youngsters that they all have equal opportunities in this Malaysia of plenty.
All of us must speak up regarding this bill before it together with the various penalities that are in it becomes law and we are then unable to say anything more.
"Only the NS training programme provides the opportunity for people of various races and backgrounds to mix in a central place for a long period, that is three months."
"This is difficult to do in schools."
But Ahmad Harizal could have saved many people a lot of heartache and angst if only he had made known his plight to the authorities
“We have accepted appeals from numerous NS dodgers who proved that they missed the programme because they needed to support their families or had sick parents to look after. “We did not prosecute them.”
“This case should be a lesson to all teenagers not to ignore the Government’s call to participate in the programme.”.
“Had he explained the actual reason about his responsibility to help his poor family, I believe the NS Department and the prosecution would sympathise with him."
A sad story: Why an oil producing nation like Malaysia is not laughing all the way to the bank, even as crude oil prices are increasing in world market
A corridor check with some of my colleagues shows that one litre of petrol can cater for 10-16 km for most Proton vehicles. This way, one can calculate how much extra one has to pay after the recent price hike depending on his or her car's consumption.
(Wira 1.3 - 10 km per litre; Waja 1.6 - 13 km per litre;Satria 1.6 - 12 km per litre;
Gen 2 1.6 - 16 km per litre)
Eddie, who needs to send his kids to school before going to the office, used to spend RM400 a month on petrol. He now has to pay RM428 per month after the 10 sen per liter price increase for petrol. He is furious.
Just like many other Malaysian employees, he has not been getting any increments in recent years. He is now very concerned and worried about the next round of inflation as diesel prices has also gone up by 20 sen per liter, a 23% increase. Malaysians were previously told that the inflation rate for 2005 would be 2.5%. But that was before the recent price hike of petrol and diesel.
Eddie was wondering why the BN Government cannot use some of Petronas' earnings to offset the RM2.2 billion (which the government will save due to the price hike), when I told him that Petronas had profits of more than RM32 billion in 2004 and was projected to make RM50 billion in 2005.
The Prime Minister and his deputy have repeatedly warned about removing all subsidies on petrol and diesel in the near future. They have given Malaysians an impression that the national coffer is drying up and they simply have no other solution but to squeeze the people for more money.
Malaysians should not be surprised if the petrol price goes up to more than RM2 per litre by the end of next year.
Malaysia, as an oil-producing nation, would not have reached such a sad state if the BN Government leaders have been running the country with transparency, accountability, prudence and good governance.
Many Malaysians may not know that Malaysia is not a member of OPEC. It is therefore entirely up to Malaysia to decide how many barrels of crude oil to produce, and at what price she wants to sell as a non-member of the cartel.
As for Petronas' accounts, only the Prime Minister, not even the Finance Minister, can have direct access to them. As a result, Malaysians have no way of checking the quantity we are selling to oil traders and at what price. Members of Parliament have never been able to get a detailed answer from the PM, whether it's under Mahathir's or Abdullah Badawi's administration.
Minister in the PM’s Department Datuk Mustapha Mohamed has written an article to explain why the Government needs to raise the prices of diesel and petrol. He too has failed to answer some of the questions raised by the DAP. These include losses incurred in future market and the detailed income and expenses of Petronas.
In his article published today, Mustapa claims that the Government continues to provide subsidies on petrol, diesel and cooking gas. He even claims that the Government is now paying a higher subsidy despite of the price hike. He puts the 2005 estimated subsidy at RM8.959 billion and the tax exemption on petroleum products at RM7.848 billion, totaling RM16.807 billion. He claims that the recent price hike could only slash the subsidy amount by RM2.2 billion.
Mustapa has nevertheless admitted that Malaysia may become a net importer of oil in four years if Malaysia fails to reverse the current trend. He claims that Malaysia produces 700,000 barrels a day, versus a domestic daily consumption of 520,000 barrels. He, however, did not tell Malaysians the quantity and selling price of our oil produce, and the quantity and buying price of oil from other countries. Malaysians have no way to find out whether the Government has done the right thing to safeguard the interest of Malaysians without such figures.
DAP would also like to know the extent of selling crude oil in the futures market on the part of Malaysian authorities since the 1997 meltdown. It is believed that Malaysia has been selling crude oil in the futures market very heavily to avoid getting assistance from the IMF. The price for crude oil was hovering around US$19 to US$20 per barrel at the time.
Many Malaysians know that Malaysia has been selling most of our oil for a better price (it is of a high quality with less sulphur content) and in return buying lower quality oil from other oil producers for domestic consumption. This strategy would only work if the authorities had not fumbled in the futures market. Our prices have been locked in at a much lower price than the current price of US$52 per barrel, thanks to the poor judgment and dismal management on the part of the Government under the Mahathir administration. We are still waiting for Tun Mahathir to enlighten us on the matter.
We believe Malaysia is now selling better quality crude oil at a price much lower than the price of sub-quality oil we import from other oil producers. Mustapa has avoided touching on this sensitive matter.
Instead of Petronas laughing all the way to the bank, the Japanese, Taiwanese and other importers who have bought oil from Malaysia in the futures market are now probably getting their oil supply practically for free!
Malaysians are now paying for the price for voting in a government who does not know how to run the country in a cekap, bersih dan amanah (efficient, clean and trustworthy) manner. It is also sad to note that ordinary people/voters have no say in any matters after giving them 92% of parliamentary seats, a big mandate by any standards.
One of the slogans the DAP used in the nationwide protest on oil prices increase last Sunday was "Oil Prices Increase. You Asked for It?" This slogan was meant to provoke Malaysians into thinking if they had given too much support to the BN Government in the last general elections, so much so that BN leaders have become too arrogant and simply do not care about the difficulties facing the people.
So, how much have we, as a nation, lost out because of this BIG blunder? Your guess is as good as mine. Only the PM can tell us the truth if he wishes to do so.
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