LONE

Friday, March 31, 2006

IPCMC::It's Time to Work with the PM

The Royal Commission to enhance the operations and managment of the PDRM was ordered to be set up by our King and after some 18 months a report containing 125 recommendations to enhance the operations and management of the PDRM was made public. It took a few more months and finally in January this year the PM vowed that the 'crown jewel' of these recommendations aka the IPCMC would be set up as soon as the attorney general had made his study of it. The PM has also mentioned many times that all 125 recommendations would be implemented and being a man of few words and of his words, i am sure that the PM is incapable of backtracking.

But of late, there has been some opposition to the establishment of the IPCMC. Surprising the opposition is not coming from the opposition but from some BN people-elected MPs and from surprisingly, another unexpected quarters, the IGP and members of the PDRM. The latter have not only just rejected the IPCMC but also another 23 recommendations of the Royal Commission. To many, the recommendations made by the Royal Commission are Royal recommendations and if so, can they be rejected just like that? It is difficult to understand why this opposition is taking form. The Royal Commission was formed to study ways and means to enhance the operations of the PDRM and its members have spent plenty of time and effort to research the problems faced by the PDRM because of the presence of a few 'rotten apples'. It is difficult to understand why these opposing BN MPs and the IGP and his fellow PDRM members are against measures to enhance the PDRM by getting rid of these few 'rotten apples'. At times the 'medicine' may appear bitter and difficult to swallow but for the good of the 'patient', it has to be taken in order to get well.

It is obvious that the PM is in need of the help of the people to work with him to see that the 'patient' takes the necessary 'medicine', bitter though it may appear to be at first. The time has come for us to help the PM to see that he truly gets a chance to do what he has to do for the good of the nation. For him and the nation to succeed, now is the time for the people to be solidly behind him to help him in the push to rid this fair nation of human rights abuse, of corruption and of other scourages. Let's not at the end of the day find us having a 'toothless', impotent and watered-down IPCMC.

| ¶ 3/31/2006 02:09:00 AM

Monday, March 27, 2006

Are they losing their marbles or me, mine?

Of late somethings are just not quite right. There is obvious something in the air making people lose their marbles. Could it be a mutant of the avian flu virus H6N2 or a new versi of the HFMD virus or could it be the deadly March fever?
Can you imagine whether the Healthy MINIster, who does chi gong and jogs daily, can be in his right mind when he suddenly announces to the wholewide world that doctors in gomen service are freely available to provide locum service. And his good reason for this :: since 15% of gomen doctors are already doing locum and there is next to nothing that can be done about it, the gomen has decided to let the remaining 85% join in freely! i am all for this provided the fees collected by these locum doctors are taxed and the tax channelled back to provide better service for all rakyat.
Then we have all these people insisting on the crooked scenic bridge, imagine spending more than RM600mil building half a bridge which might eventually connect with half a causeway! Meetings after meetings after meetings and they still can't get agreeement. That speaks volume of our negotiators. Maybe it is time to hand over the issue to the ICJ for a decision.
And as for the PLKN, they are still waiting for some 10,000 chosen ones to report for the training. These 'runaways' included those from the first series of 2004! Initially there were all sorts of threats to get them to attend but as attested today there were certainly empty ones. But still Tan Sri Lee is mouthing them.
Fully aware of what the rakyat wants, the PM has vowed to implement the IPCMC, and we were told earlier in the year to be patient and just for the AG to study things. And in no time, the said IPCMC, the crown jewel of the Royal Commission to enhance the operations and management of the PDRM 125 recommendations, would be up and about. Now while Parliament is in session, we were expecting our elected MPs to represent or views and come out in support of the IPCMC. But somehow some of these MPs, who are supposed to be representing us, appear to have caught the deadly March fever and have come out ranting against the IPCMC wanted by the rakyat and PM! Only the MP from Kota Melaka seemed not to be affected, in Parliament, he called the IPCMC noble.
Another chap who seemed to be losing his marbles and showing some symptoms of the deadly March fever, is our soon to retire IGP. He appears to think that he is running more than just the PDRM. Surely he must be aware of the PM's vow to establish the IPCMC. But he appears not for in his prepared speech for the PDRM 199th Police Day celebrations, he said the gomen, after being informed of the police’s opposition to the IPCMC, has instructed the AG to study and consider the best alternative to the IPCMC. While in he presence of the PM, he delivered versi 2 of his speech. Can we then conclude that speaking in forked-tongue is a latest symptom of th malady.
Now what is most worrying is that our supreme leader may also be showing symptoms of this malady. He has, ever since he took over from the Tun, been known to be the good guy, the work with me guy, the epitome of religious tolerance and tolerance in general guy. Suddenly he is said to be credited for this ::

Meanwhile, Abdullah has backed the police top brass in its controversial decision on making it compulsory for all policewomen to wear the tudung (headscarves) at official parades as this is considered "part of the uniform".
However, he said that tudung is optional during normal police duties.

In the future, in the name of uniformity, what can be expected.
Now are these people losing their marbles? Or am i the one losing mine? Has the deadly malady got to me?

| ¶ 3/27/2006 04:31:00 PM

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Zam says :: It's Bahasa Malaysia

If the newly-minted Information Minister has it his way, our National Language should be known as Bahasa Malaysia and not Bahasa Melayu. The last time i took a gomen examination it was known as Bahasa Kebangsaan, then it morphed into Bahasa Malaysia and of recent it became Bahasa Melayu. Will it once again revert back to Bahasa Malaysia? Can't they make up their mind.

Many did score As in the National Language paper in the recent SPM examination, it was then called Bahasa Melayu.

According to Zam ::

"Bahasa Malaysia is for all, not just for Malays. Whoever resides in Malaysia, his mother tongue is Bahasa Malaysia.
But there are certain parties that are seeking political gain by calling it Bahasa Melayu and using Malay sentiments. But the national language is Bahasa Malaysia. That was the wish of the Tunku (Abdul Rahman) and the late Hussein Onn."

Now who are these certain parties who are seeking political gains? Could Zam care to name them?

As far as we are aware, even the DAP, at its recent national conference, has reaffirmed Bahasa Malaysia as the national and official language while insisting on a guarantee for the right of other mother-tongue languages to be studied and used. Will we see UMNO [will it be standing for United Malaysian National Organisation, in the near future?] reaffirming the same soon?

| ¶ 3/21/2006 11:31:00 PM

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Help's On the Way II

It is that time of the year once, a time for jubilation and disappointment. For the year 2005, there were 945 SPM students with straight 1As, against 662 in 2004, while 447 candidates who sat for the STPM scored As in all subjects, up from 362 in 2004. The DPM is preparing the students for disappointment. He has this to say ::

"The Government will try its best to help them, but we must realise that the number of those who scored well in the SPM and STPM examinations was much higher than the allocation provided.
"It is impossible for us to give scholarships to all excellent students. Some of them will have to study at local universities and get loans from the National Higher Education Fund, for example."

Another sad indictment of the way the resources and riches of this country have been mismanaged. And the leaders are speaking of education as the foundation for the development of human capital. And one of the main cornerstone of the 9MP is the further development of this country's human capital.

The Public Services Department offers 1,300 scholarships for university places abroad and 5,000 to those who enrol in local universities each year. The department has been flooded with almost 15,000 applications so far this year. One of the reasons why the PSD cannot offer more scholarships is obviously because it lacks funds. One of the reason for this shortage is because those who have taken PSD loans have failed to pay back. It has been estimated that 10,000 former PSD scholars, graduating between 1987 and 2000, have yet to pay back their loans amounting to RM284mil! Why so? The authorities have been slacking on chasing after them to pay back? Meanwhile, the PSD claims that it has instructed the Attorney-General to issue summonses to 1,600 PSD loan defaulters!

Despite what the DPM has to say regarding the shortage of scholarships and the expected disappointment, our knight-in-shining-armour, the MCA Youth is always ready to help. As there have been many cases of students who scored straight As in their SPM or achieve 4.00 CGPAs in the STPM whose applications were rejected, MCA is ready to help out. All such students should bring up their cases and MCA Youth would assess all the appeals and discuss with the Education Ministry why the students failed in their applications.

MCA Youth is aware that many students do not even know how to apply to the right universities and choose the right courses and apply for scholarships. MCA Youth is ready to brief them on how to do so.

| ¶ 3/19/2006 07:05:00 PM

Ms Chong::Help's On the Way

Check out page 3 of today's STAR and you will find this headline :: MCA Youth to help girl who scored 15 1As and 2A in SPM.

And what has the MCA got to say of this "top SPM scorer" and her predicament?

“The system here is such that only those with straight 1As are listed as the country’s top scorers,” said state MCA secretary Datuk Ho Cheng Wang.
"It is not fair to say that a student who scored, say 15 1As, is better than a student who scored 15 1As and a 2A."
"It's just the mechanism of the system that only identifies those who scored full 1As to be on the list."
MCA Youth would help Chong apply for a scholarship from the Public Service Department.

In a nutshell, the above is MCA's approach to and manner of solution.

| ¶ 3/19/2006 06:27:00 PM

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

When 15 is better and more than 16

In BolehLand, all things are boleh, today many of us would have learned that there are officials in BolehLand who think that 15 is more than 16. In announcing the top scorers in last year SPM, the Education MINIster and his officials came to the conclusion that 15 A1s are more than 15A1s and an A2. The two candidates with 15A1s each were announced as the top scorers in the particular examination. Whether the MINIster and his officials were aware or not there is a Taiping lass who sat for a total of 16 papers last year and she obtained 15A1s and an A2 for her effort. To most of us normal people, 16As are obviously more than 15As and despite one of the 16As being an A2, this lass should have been declared one of the top scorers if not the top scorer of last year's SPM examination. But then we are just normal people unlike the MINIster and his officials who appear to have a new counting system of their own.

According to a report in the NST, Education MINIstry officials when told about this lass, by the name of Chong Huey Ee, they insisted that since she scored only 15A1s and an A2 , she cannot be among the top students of the country! Thus it is obvious that our Education MINIstry officials are insisting that 15 is better and more than 16!

The education officials in the silver state of Perak are no better. Ms Chong is not even in the list of 115 Perak students who excelled in the SPM, in this state whose schools carry the motto :: Perak No 1. The top 5 SPM students declared by the Perak education officials are two who obtained 13A1s and three others with 12A1s, 11A1s and 10A1s respectively. These 5 are to be feted by BolehLand Education MINIstry in a ceremony for top-performing SPM students in Kuala Lumpur on the 20th. Meanwhile the actual top SPM student is left out in the cold. As if in consolation, the silver state Education Director said that Ms Chong would ve considered among the scholars to be given excellence awards by the silver state. Ms Chong deserves more and better. The Sabah Gomen has already pledged to grant a scholarship to her top SPM student 15A1s to further his studies. The least that Perak can do is to make sure Ms Chong gets one too.

Ms Chong, please do not be disappointed or be baffled for we, normal people know who is really the top scorer of last year's SPM unlike the excellent BolehLand Education MINIster and his various officials who can only see straight and not count straight and continue to insist that 15 is more than 16. Take heart that there are plenty of us who can count better and we all know that you are the top scorer.

| ¶ 3/15/2006 01:03:00 AM

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Najib :: Fuel Hike Spins Going Wrong?

Ever since the interview, the DPM or TPM appears to be bearing the brunt of fallout resulting from his awkward advice to the rakyat to tighten up their belts and change their lifestyles. Whoever his spin-doctors are, they have read the rakyat and things wrongly this time around. Check out the INTERVIEW

Q: Datuk Seri, the majority of the rakyat feels that the daily cost of living is already somewhat high and now with the price hike, it will burden them further under this scenario. So, what is Datuk Seri's advice for the rakyat, parents buying food in the market for their children? Or, for those who like to drink teh tarik and as the cost of teh tarik will also increase?

A: One of the benefits which could emerge from this move is that when we raised the price at one go, it will make the rakyat and consumers to be aware that with such a move, we can make a change in our lifesytle so that we can be thriftier in our spending, we could be prudent in prioritising our spending. We don't waste (or) reduce the wastage.
We can also think of alternative ways in changing our lifestyle, for example, we can choose to use public transport.

The above advice to change lifestyle, be thriftier, be prudent, prioristise and be less wasteful did not go well with the rakyat who were already much burdened. The gomen's wastefulness on white elephants, its inability to stopper leakages here, there and everywhere are still fresh in the minds of many rakyat. It is obvious the DPM is not in sync with the rakyat jelata.

To make matter worse, his inapt good advice to use public transport did not go down qell with the rakyat and clearly showed that he is not aware of the true state of public transport in the country. The specials on public transport in the STAR :: A Commuter's Nightmare and in the NST :: An F1 minibus, then a long wait for the connection today should have him updated on the true up-to-date state of affairs. Is he living in a Malaysia different from ours? With the fuel price hikes of the past 2 years, have there been any betterment of the state of public transport in this country? With these specials, are the STAR and NST out to help or further 'sabo' the DPM? This other headline by the NST, certainly is not helpful :: Najib: Stop the lies on fuel subsidy cutbacks

Today the STAR (pg 4; caption::TRY THIS ONE) and NST (pg 2; caption::SEE IF THIS FITS) probably are trying to help by prominently displaying a photo of the DPM and his wife picking out a pair of sandals. Are the two papers trying to tell the rakyat that the DPM and his wife are following up on his own very good advice, belt tightening and all and replacing shoes with sandals? They will probably show them using the LRT and walking around with these sandals next.

| ¶ 3/12/2006 08:49:00 PM

Is it Gonna be Baru, Bharu, Bahru, Baharu or Bahroe

The STAR asks ::: Penang to get the spelling right?

Is it Jalan Ayer Itam or Jalan Air Itam? Maybe it is Jalan Ayer Hitam or Jalan Air Hitam. It is not unusual for a road on Penang island to have four variants to its name.
Is Jalan Batu Ferringhi, the same road as Jalan Batu Ferenghi/Feringghi/Ferringghi/Feringhi.

The STAR reports :::

The Penang Municipal Council has allocated RM300,000 to overcome this problem and put up new signs.

LONE asks is it necessary? Is that RM300K going to be well spent?

Take a look at spellings gone awry ::

Is it KOTA BAHARU?

Is it KOTA BHARU?

Or KOTA BAHROE?

Is it JOHOR BARU?

Is it JOHOR BAHARU of JOHOR BAHRU?

Is it JOHORE BARU?

Is it JOHORE BHARU?

Or is it JOHOR BAHRU?

Whatever, just don't waste good ringgit correcting them!

| ¶ 3/12/2006 05:21:00 PM

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

The Tall Story about No Toll Hike

BERNAMA announced :: No Toll Increase This Year, Says Samy Vellu.

It said ::

Good news for motorists. There will be no highway toll increase this year.

The assurance came from Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu who said Tuesday that the government would not allow any toll increase this year.

He said the ministry also did not face any pressure from the highway toll concessionaires to increase the rates.

Now for the actual reason ::

There are no scheduled toll increases this year under the existing concession agreements.

Check out this posting in Malaysia Media Monitors' Diary. It appears that Samy is trying to take the public for a ride a second time. Great guy this Samy who recently retained the MIC throne. It appears that there are many who liked to have Samy lead them around by their noses.

Now can we believe BERNAMA when it reports ::

| ¶ 3/08/2006 10:45:00 PM

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Is This the Way We Tighten Our Belts

Of late, there has been much chanting regarding the need for lifestyle changes and tightening of belts. All to save some RM4.4 billion, which the gomen said it would put to good use for our good and our long term future.

Is this one of those good uses, the RM4.4B saved is going to be used for :: Plan Afoot To Make Putrajaya A Floral City. Do we really need this "floral city"? Haven't we have sufficient of those "white elephant" projects, many of which are poorly maintained soon after they are launched.

For more on the Floral City :: PutraJaya, read on here.

Meanwhile, the PM has asked the state governments to practice prudent spending to ensure that there is no wastage of gomen funds. THis was conveyed by Pak Lah at the 99th Meeting With Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers at his office. Pak Lah also said that gomen departments and agencies must avoid delays and corruption which could increase the cost of any transaction.

The Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said the easiest things that gomen agencies and departments could save on were the use of utilities such as electricity and water. Will he be going around to ensure that gomen servants are not using office facilities and utilities for cooking meals, boiling drinking water and taking baths before going home after work. He also spoke about good maintenance to avoid expensive repairs. He also said that he did not want to put up a list of things that the public administration should save on and that prudent spending must be practised by the gomen machinery all the time and not only when facing a challenging situation like the recent fuel price hike. In view of all that the PM and Chief Secretary have to say, is it still wise to be having the plan for the PutraJaya Floral City?

| ¶ 3/07/2006 10:46:00 PM

The Frequent LRT User

When listening to the radio, sometime ago, to the DPM public lecture on TV and radio about the reasons for the recent fuel price hike, i discovered that our MCA president and Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Hwang Chia Ting had used the LRT on 5 occasions. This was revealed by the DPM when he encouraged the rakyat to use public transport instead of moving around by car. The DPM, of course, mentioned that some of the rakyat considered travelling by public transport as "Jatuh Standard".

The MCA president was again spotted recently travelling by public transport and BERNAMA has hailed him as a frequent LRT user :: Ka Ting Shows Public Transport's The Way To Go. Oh yes, Ka Ting or Chia Ting is now the Nation's No 1 user of public transport. Wonder whether our other ministers would be following soon after and get themselves highlighted in the press soon. Doesn't MINIster Hwang cuts a dapper image with his suit and tie and he even was caught standing up.

i am also a frequent LRT user as i have been on them on more than 20 occasions but unlike the MINIster there isn't any driver with an official car waiting at the LRT station to take me home. Usually i gotta kia lor tnooi chhoo or as they sometimes say por lain tnooi chhoo. But what can one do now, now that it is even more costly to use my Ke-li-sa to travel around with the 30 sen a litre hike. In no time, i will be an even more frequent user of the LRT than the said MINIster.

| ¶ 3/07/2006 09:42:00 PM

One Week after 228

The price of fuel went up 30 sens just over a week ago. The cost so far? My weekly petrol bill for local/in town trips which usually amounts to RM50, is now RM60. My cooking gas tankful is now RM4.20 more.

My food carrier, who uses a motorbike, has decided to charge 20% more from RM25 to RM30 a month. His rationale is that the cost in his 'industry', fuel is the main ingredient. i can expect the food caterer to follow soon with a price increase as the cost of his "ingredients" like fish and veg is expected to rise. Of course he would need cooking gas to cook the food and there is the 30 sens a kilogram price hike for that.

The cost of breakfasting outside the home, an activity i rarely partake, has gone up. This came to my notice last Sunday. A glass of "teh ais" is now RM1.20, previously RM1.00. A plate of fishball "koay teow" has gone from RM2.50 to RM3.00! Asked to explain the price hike, the "koay teow" man just mumbled something about not increasing his price since the previous CNY!

As for supper, it has also gone up. The kopitiam stallkeeper announced that there was no increase in the prices of drinks but that a piece of "roti bakar" now cost 50 sens instead of 40 sens. At the neighbouring noodle stall, a hastily written cardboard price-list announced that a bowl of noodle is now RM2.20 and no longer RM2.00.

Would you call those abovementioned "profiteers"?

| ¶ 3/07/2006 11:25:00 AM

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Lifestyle Changes

Of late ever since the fuel price hike of 228, the ministers have been sounding a new mantra chant :: "lifestyle changes". Other ministers have joined the DPM and PM in the chant and encouraged the people to face reality and that the petrol subsidies said to be provided by the gomen, actually paid for by the taxpayers, cannot go on and on and on. The DPM, on TV and on the radio, attempts to spin things by saying that the gomen is being responsible by imposing the recent 30 sen hike. If the gomen had been responsible there would have been no need for the hikes in fuel prices over the past 2 years which saw the price of petrol going up by 40% and diesel going up 102%. It is the gomen who must face reality that it has not been responsible in managing the wealth of the country inclusive of the petrol ringgit.
It wasn't too long ago when we were told that the oil we have will last us at least another 15 years, suddenly it appears that we have been overselling our oil and that in 4 short years, we might change from a nett exporter of oil to that of a nett importer. How is that possible? Unless the gomen has not been responsible in managing our oil resources. With the rise in the global oil prices, we should be smiling all the way to the bank. Petronas over the years has been making billions of ringgit [some put the figure as RM500 billion] from selling our oil. The people is now asking where have all these billions of ringgit gone. The gomen need to be truly responsible and be transparent and accountable. The gomen shouldn't insult our intelligence by claiming that it has been or is a responsible gomen.
According to an opposition leader ::

For the 2004-2005 financial year, Petronas made profits of RM35.5 billions and this would allow “every Malaysian to take home at least RM1,500 per annum”. On top of that, RM31.2 billion were paid to the government in the form of taxes, duties and royalty payments.

So, it appears that the RM4.4 billion that the gomen would save from the recent 30 sen price hike would just be peanuts/kacang puteh in comparison. The gomen claims that the RM4.4 billion saved would be used for improving public transport. Can't the gomen make use of the Petronas billions instead?
Since Pak Lah has claimed that his gomen is for all the people and that it is based on accountability and transparency, lets have the Petronas billions accounted for and have transparency on how they have been spent so far. It can't be wrong if the billions have been properly spent for the good of the people. Let's hear it from Pak Lah on what has happened to the Petronas billions.
Back to the mantra of "lifestyle changes". It is obvious that our ministers, especially the DPM, appear to be out of touch with the people. They are little aware of the "tightening of the belts" which has been going on for the past many years by the people. Many have reached the last notch of their belts and can go no further. There are many who have to hold 2 or even 3 jobs to make ends meet. Do they expect these people to tighten the belt further? The gomen and not the people has been the "big spender" and it is obvious that the spending has not been careful or we won't be in this present state. It is obvious from the people point of view that it is the gomen and not the people who must observe a "lifestyle change", tighten its own belt, spend prudently the gomen [read taxpayer] money and be responsible.

Instead of having more billboards like the one above, explaining incorrectly that the "subsidi" is by the gomen [read taxpayer instead], it should instead be responsible and transparent and accountable and explain to the people the truth as to why we are in our present state and the true reason(s) for the recent 30 sen hike and further hikes in the not too distant future. Remember we have less than 10 months of 2006 left.
Gambling is an activity that we would little recommend but at least one minister, apart from the DPM, claims that the there won't be further rise in fuel prices is a "gamble" the gomen is taking. The DPM said that there is obviously a probablity that the global oil price would go up in the next 10 months but the promise not to raise prices further would br kept. The DPM is obviously aware that the global oil price might just fall, what then? The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister is even better, he claims the gomen is taking a ‘political gamble’ by increasing fuel prices by 30 sen this week. Are we going to join in with all this gambling or have we had enough and at the next election say "No More Gambling" and ::

| ¶ 3/04/2006 10:52:00 PM

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