Love The Way You Lie - Parody

Love The Way You Lie
(MNM featuring Burn Ward)

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well, that's alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

Illegally yours, mine or whose?

I read with interest with regards to the Finance Minister’s comment relating to early success in combating illicit money.
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Early success’ by special taskforce on illicit outflows
Speaking to reporters after launching Bank Negara Malaysia’s Financial Blueprint 2011-2020, Najib (right) said the taskforce has especially been successful in curbing one source of leakage – tax evasion.
Najib said tax revenue for 2011 is expected to be a whopping RM22 billion more than last year,
Najib was commenting on a study by financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) which found that Malaysia had lost an astounding RM150 billion in 2009 alone through illicit means.
The PM, who is also finance minister, added that the haemorrhage has however not affected the domestic economy.
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BR1M; cutting our own flesh to feed ourselves

BN administration latest flagship gadget to retain power, which is estimated to cost tax payers RM2.6 billion for 2.5 million applicants, will do the country more harm than good for the country.


An imaginary address to malapportionment

The famous retiree, Mr. Ng Chak Ngoon has certainly attracted national attention with his malapportionment  bombshell in the PSC hearing for electoral reform in Sabah. With BN only needing around 15% of the votes to secure a simple majority in parliament, no wonder Najib expressed his  confidence in the just concluded UMNO AGM that UMNO will win the general election yet again.

Inspired by Mr. Ng’s call, I did some number crunching over the weekend.  And I found a  near prefect “75% - 25%” rule at work.

Say no to removing ballot number

I read with great dismay one of proposed reform put forward by the Public Select Committee on electoral reform, which is the removal of serial number on ballot paper.

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/225825

>> the serial number on the ballot paper be removed to ensure anonymity of the votes, (serial number to be maintained only on the counterfoil of the ballot paper);


The reason for this is for protecting secrecy of the voters' choice. But this proposal will give room to abuse and greater confusion!

GDP growth? What raw figures do not say

Can election season, it is natural for us to expect more positive news to come out from official (a.k.a. controlled) channels.

According to the Bank Negara Governor, Malaysia's GDP for Q3 2011 registered a 5.8 growth.


The question is, how many of us felt richer by 5.8%  during those 3 months?

Civil servants: Tony Pua is right

Tony Pua is right about the need to reduce the size of civil servants. By virtue of his position as a MP from DAP, his political opponents are obliged to, or even eager to, seize any opportunity to take a pop shot at him; turning a technical matter into a racist, counter-productive and down right detrimental course of arguments.
Let technical people make technical decision. For those with vested interest or with skewered intention, butt out! Then again these shallow minded people are unable to debate real issues with commonsense and can only resort to what they know best, which may not be the best for the rest.

Recent tax amendment or harrassment?

In my pre-uni studies, my economics teacher taught me that tax is a way for government to take money from the rich to aid the poor, and help to make our lives better by providing things like street lights, education and health care at affordable cost since these are good for public and not for private profits.

However, after the routinely infuriating and forgetten-after-a -while Auditor General reports, and skyrocking national debts, I wonder if the recent tax amendments is really good for the public, or "maximise tax base" (in layman's word gasak as much as possible) to cover the endless wastage, leakage and every-can-see-except-MACC corrupt practices.

Budget 2012 has introduced some eyebrow raising proposals. Although we have the customary high praise to heavens from the usual BN suspects, even some MCA fellows expressed their reservation over some proposals, most probably they have received protests from business community they are closed to or belong to.

National debts: the screw, screwing and screwed

Malaysia’s growing national debt is a matter of concern for many but it also baffles many. We know the amount is huge but what exactly caused it and what it is really about. What will happen to us if the debt becomes unmanageable?

APA ITU NATIONAL DEBT?
I dwelled into Ministry of Finance’s Q2 2011 report for some answers.





Self cannibalization: the latest political tool to win at all costs

According to this report by China Press, which surely would not make it even to the dust bins of Utusan Malaysia  sub editors, an  interesting elector roll management trend” (to call it politely) has emerged in Seremban.
"110 Phantoms moved into 16 empty houses
Anthony Loke reveals yet again elector roll irregularities"

Budget 2012: New Tax Laws Encroaches Human Rights

 I am not sure what Najib means by saying the Budget 2012 ‘..will boost transformation efforts...” (http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=621058) but it appears that smoke bombs in the 2012 Budget are hiding certain new sections in  the Income Tax Act which encroaches human rights and spooks investors if they find out about it.




The economics of 1Malaysia Menu

The recently tabled 2012 budget, the BN one that is, looks too optimistic in its revenue forecast while total expenditure seems unchecked and I struggle to detect significant return or value for money expended.

1 of the flagship gimmick is the 1Malaysia menu.

For RM3.00, you can get rice, taugeh, chicken wings, beef or mutton?

2012 budget: Not transformative but a desperate vote buying bid with tax payers’ money

A transformative buget?
Najib administration’s 2012 budgeted expenditure totaled RM230.8 billion with operating and development components at RM181.6billion (78%) and RM49.2 billion (22%) respectively.
It is bandied as a budget for next phase of development and transformative in nature but I can’t see how transformative this budget can be when the bulk of allocation is not meant for development but just keeping the existing machinery moving. A damning indicator is that salaries and allowances for our bloated civil servants are budgeted at RM52billion, much greater than development expenditure and more than double the total amount of personnel income tax collected at RM21billion.


Instead I see plenty of handouts for vote buying but no clear indication of how this budget is going to be financed. Revenue for 2012 is budgeted to increase up to RM186.9 billion, up tremendously from RM159.6 billion in 2010, with steep increases from petroleum income and company taxes.

There is only 1 Najib

A strong indication that the GE is upon us is the sight of Najib waging a one man war/charm offensive all over Malaysia. From appearing on radio talk shows to walk abouts with handouts, no other prime minister in the world has ever gone on such wide range of window dressing. He has even taken over the job of press officers of major corporations as he announces all those major investments by priivate companies.
A wonderful collection of self praise (probaly tax payer funded as well) refers:
However, democracy is not about one person. Parliament is about different voices being presented, debated and rationalized. As Sir Alex Ferguson demonstrated time and again, no one person is above the team.
The Najib here, there and everywhere phenomenon revealed a serious short coming of BN coalition – that it is a one man's charming autocracy. If everything is about Najib, then what does other BN MPs and ADUNs represent in their respective area? Is it a case that without Najib, they can’t do anything? Is it also a case of “I hear what people in my constituency say, but all rest with the prime minister" ?

Google gives Malaysia a miss

"Google is establishing a stronger international presence with the purchase of land for data centers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Ireland..." SearchEngineWatch, 3rd October, 2011.

The same news release mentions that Google chooses Ireland to capitalize on its cool weather to minimize energy costs. My guess on Google opening data centres in Hong Kong and Singapore is the ease of doing business in those countries. Singapore already ranks as the world's number one in terms business friendliness for five consecutive years. Hong Kong comes in at second place. Both countries have almost similar business cultures but on the socio-political end, Singapore is managed on a socialist model while Hong Kong, a mixture-model of socialist and capitalist.


It's hard for me to say I'm sorry

Perhaps UMNO and BN think getting Lim Guan Eng to apologise represent a major coup. If UMNO BN thinks this represent a significant political triumph and would swing loads of votes from Pakatan, I am not fully convinced. If all politicians have to apologise for all private statement and personal opinion, then they would have no time to service the rakyat properly.
Do we not all have public and private opinion that differs? Do we not bitch behind clients/bosses/colleagues/spouse/relatives? If a Singaporean got robbed in Malaysia and bitched about it in Stomp, can UMNO BN be consistent enough to chase the Ah Beng down and demand an apology? If UMNO BN thinks Voyeurism politics is the way to go, then let’s make that an official election manifesto for voters to identify with.

Stupid law, stupid results part II

In the run up to an anticipated snap GE, the prime minister dangled previously unimagined sweet promises.

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Najib: We value an independent judiciary
By V. Anbalagan and Sean Augustin
news@nst.com.my
2011/09/08

PUTRAJAYA: The prime minister said that his administration respects and understands the need for an independent judiciary.

"My administration is committed to an independent judiciary, which is an essential ingredient in nation-building," Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in his speech during his maiden visit to the Palace of Justice (POJ), here yesterday, which houses the Federal Court and Court of Appeal.

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Najib_ISArepealedtomakeMalaysiabestdemocracy/Article/

Najib: ISA repealed to make Malaysia best democracy
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Well, he got a very easy thing to do to prove how serious he is with regards to those lofty goals and put away the ghost of Perkasa torpedoing his previous flagship called NEM (not to mention a tragic waste of tax payers' money succumbing to subcontractor of some sorts to a political party)

Stupid law, stupid results

Law is man-made regulations. People make mistakes and bad people makes bad decisions. When bad people make law, we ended up with bad laws.

For decades, inadequate delivery systems have diverted our law makers from their original legislation duty to that of local councilors, rendering the due process of drafting progressive, fair and reasonable law as a secondary, or even ignored, role.

World Class Parliament = World Class Law = Good Place to Live
Crap Parliament = Crap Law = Crappy Place to Live

Within the MP ranks, with characters such as “close one eye”, “bocor” and “RM1 million FB page”, how many right minded tax payers can safely say they have the utmost confidence in their ability then?

This is what I have in mind when I read some of the laws relating to conduct of general elections.

Kod Negara 71: mistake or not?

This kod negara 71 business is getting more and more interesting. It is quite clear that it is not one of the 199 country codes listed by JPN in their official website.

http://www.jpn.gov.my/kodnegara


A senior UMNO figure conducted a serious and vigorous defense on this matter.

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2011&dt=0814&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Politik&pg=po_01.htm

His salient points are:

# some of the opposition figures are holding kod negara 71
# the code is really meant for people born overseas

The answer to Bersih 2.0 is Project IC 2.0 – now I know why we marched (dwi bahasa)

Translation of key points in the report entitled “Pemuda Pas discovered more than 170,000 suspicious voters”, published in Oriental Daily on 22nd September 2011
Terjemahan kenyataan-kenyataan utama dalam laporan akhbar bertajuk “Pemuda Pas menjumpa lebih daripda 170,000 orang pengundi yang mencurigakan” dalam akhbar Oriental Daily bertarikh 22 haribulan September 2011.

Pemuda Pas discovered more than 170,000 suspicious voters
“Pemuda Pas menjumpa lebih daripda 170,000 orang pengundi yang mencurigakan”






Solid waste management or sordid waste management?

 Despite a lot of hard selling by the deputy prime minister in the Sun and the NST today, I am still skeptical that we tax and rate payers will be getting a rakyat  diutamakan deal out of the 22 years concession granted to Alam Flora Sdn Bhd, SWM Environment Sdn Bhd and Environment Idaman Sdn Bhd pertaining to waste management.






The US have Area 51, we have Kod Negara 71

The revelations for the past few weeks have been alarming. After Mismah gate, there is “aqua ICs” discovery by YB Anthony Loke and now even  official Bangladeshi website is revealing the assault of citizen’s right and democracy in Malaysia.

NKRA : a closer look at the big numbers by a simple man

The Prime Minister has announced 8 new investment projects worth RM1.4 billion under six National Key Economics Areas (NKRA) covering agriculture, education, aerospace, wholesale, retail and manufacturing.
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 ETP: PM announces RM1.43bil in investments
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On first impression, the big zany numbers look impressive so let’s take a closer look.

Permission for Lynas to operate in Australia... not!

Lynas' executive chairman Nick Curtis claims that they have permission from the Australian government to set up the entire rare earth processing and waste disposal facilities in Australia. This license was actually granted to Ashton Rare Earth Limited in 1992, but was fully transferred to Lynas through a series of corporate exercise. Lynas has often used this license as a means to discredit the rationale of those who oppose the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng. After all, given Australia's tough environmental laws, if it is approved in Australia, why kick up a fuss in Malaysia?

Not only the voting processes is screwed up, but the whole world too (dwi bahasa)

I am shocked beyond words when I read Anthony Loke’s disclosure in a press conference today, pointing out numerous army wives carrying ICs with ending odd numbers (which is meant for male citizens) and bearing the exact date of birth of their husbands. One or two of such instances can be explained as errors or coincidence but dozens of them appearing in 2nd quarter of 2011 while GE hype is brewing?

Saya terpegun tatkala membaca siding akhbar saudara Anthony Loke hari ini yang mendedahkan isteri anggota tenteta membawa IC berakhir dengan nombor ganjil (yang memang ditetapkan untuk golongan lelaki) dan mempunyai tarikh lahir yang sama dengan suami mereka. Sekiranya berlaku sekali dua kali, mungkin boleh dianggap sebagai kesilapan atau kebetulan namun mengapakah berpuluh-puluh kejadian ini menjelma serentak dalam suku tahun 2 2011 tatkala ura-ura pilihanraya akan diadakan?

Major support level of KLCI breaks


The KLCI drops in at 1,447 before lunch today breaking the major support level of 1,460 points. The KLCI opened a sluggish sub-1,460 this morning. The fall is lead by banking counters and blue chip counters. Banking stocks include CIMB which dropped about RM0.30 today. Loosing counters lead the gainers by about 600.

Lynas: an injustice most taxing

Malaysians are no strangers to skewed agreements. From IPP subsidies to guaranteed profits for highway concessionaires, the public has on numerous times endured the consequences of sheer governmental incompetence. Yet, the 12-year tax exemption given to Lynas may prove to be the biggest blunder ever. Lynas is projected to make about AUD 6.2 billion in pre-tax profit in 2012 and 2013 and in exchange, we allow them to contaminate our land for free.

The graph below shows the spectacular rise in rare earth price since Q3 2010. While gold’s bull run has been getting plenty of attention of late, the real star is rare earth, which has taken off to astronomical heights. For Lynas, the price of the rare earths from Mount Weld may increase 15.7 times from JP Morgan’s estimate by the time the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) begins production in 2012.

Malaysian tax is not for public healthcare but public healthcare is for tax

I strongly believe that a democratically elected government has a moral responsibility to enable its citizens to live with dignity and comfort. In their time of desperation and need, there is no extortion imposed upon them and their love ones.

Health care is something that I believe, should not be privatized. A sick, weak and severely threatened person is in no position to negotiate.

Do consult all our religious teaching and conscience – is holding the sick, terrified and weak, and his or her loved one to ransom the right thing to do?

Acid Attacks: PDRM dragging their feet

The splasher attacks began on March 2 after eight students and a teacher from SK Bukit Bandaraya in Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar, were splashed with a burning substance by a motorcyclist. Since then, a total of more than 20 people have already suffered either minor or severe burns at the hands of these culprits.- The Star

Pic from The Star.

Pay this, tax payers!

I can feel my blood vessels busting reading about the financial management circus going round in this country. Commonsense tell us that a budget is meant to guide how money is being spent. Try screwing up your personal or company’s budget and see what happens.

But with Barisan Nasional administration, it is as normal as breathing to exceed previous year’s budget and asking for more and more money via Supplementary Supply Bills after the annual national budget is rubber stamped by partisan MPs who can do no more than blind worshipping yet another deficit budget.

Register to vote! Look at those frogs who surrender the nation without a fight

There is no shortage of science fiction movies that show aliens assuming human form to take over the planet. Laughable Hollywood stuffs it maybe, but in Bolehland, this threat seems to be very real, very terrifying.



I refer to Kuek Ser Keng’s report entitled “PR becomes Citizens in four hours” which reported that a person with the name of Mismah (NRIC 640704715238) had collected her red RR card, base on status report of NRD online verification system as at 5:48pm 1 August 2011 and 11:30am 2 August 2011.

Shockingly, after 4 hours at 3pm 2 August 2011, the status report revealed that the same person had collected her blue IC – Mykad! She is also registered as a new voter on EC’s voters’ roll. (Later status revised to : sedang diproses, more display of surprising efficiency)

Food stamps not the right way, dear Mr. DPM

Sometimes I do wonder if our nation’s top leadership ever provides the right solution to our livelihood problems. Malaysia’s once formidable English standard has declined as a result of excessive application of nationalism but the solution to teach mathematics and science in English, without first strengthening, improving and reinforcing primary level English syllabus and teaching resource before making the leap, actually resulted in messing up the learning of all 3 subjects for many young Malaysians.

Although I believe the suppliers of text books would have made impressive profits then.

Pusat Pentadbiran Negeri Sabah adalah Sabah for Sabahans …..?

Reading some facebook walls postings, I suppose a good number of common Sabahans are not exactly thrilled with the proposed Pusat Pentadbiran Negeri Sabah awarded to Bina Puri Group. Was there any public tendering? Never mind that.

That RM388 million project accounts for 16% of its total order book of RM2.4 billion, which is a real durian runtuh.

Beng Hock travesty – “time" to act

In property investment, they say location is everything. In share trading, they say timing is everything.

So is politics.

The Silat Bullies


"Sebagai orang silat, kita akan bangkit menentang pengkhianat. Saya akan tiupkan semangat kepada anak-anak 1Malaysia supaya menentang habis-habisan pengkhianat negara,"
"...adalah menjadi tanggungjawab pengamal seni silat untuk mempertahankan negara sejak zaman pemerintahan kerajaan Melaka lagi..."
- Tan Sri Omardin Mauju, with reference to Bersih 2.0.
Spoken like a true thug, for the reasons below.

The PM's Great Sacrifice

Today, the headline of the Star screams the great sacrifice of the Prime Minister.
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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/23/nation/9160765&sec=nation


Saturday July 23, 2011

PM cuts short holiday
 
By ZUHRIN AZAM AHMAD
zuhrinazam@thestar.com.my


SEPANG: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he decided to cancel his holiday abroad to concentrate on his meet-the-people sessions with Malaysians.
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Wah, I am impressed, sacrificing his tax payers’ funded overseas holiday but what Nanyang reported him saying made interesting reading.

1WangsaMaju for Malaysia for Dr Jeyakumar

This is really 1WangsaMaju (not like some who mention 1Country but practice double or triple standards) as I write in my personal capacity, which I am sure, resonates with many in Wangsa Maju as well all over Malaysia.

Free Dr Jeyakumar and the other PSM members!





Censored Article from The Economist: Political affray in Malaysia

Pic from http://alditta.blogspot.com

Just for sharing sakes' on an article which came through the mail. This is the uncensored version of the article in the print edition from The Economist which got several paragraphs black-markered. The full online version is available here: http://www.economist.com/node/18959359

Rome visit: Diplomatic Team or Spin-Team?

Archbishop of the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam by virtue of being part of PM Najib's entourage to Rome, has come under fire from many unhappy church-goers. However, several priests clarified that the Catholic Church is non-partisan and has always been working towards closing the Muslim-Catholic divide. Najib on the other hand is portraying himself as head of a moderate Muslim country in his visit to the Pope.



Voter registration - I see dead people (dwi-bahasa)

I confess I do write this piece somewhat influenced by the trust issue I have with the notion that the Election Commission is totally impartial and beyond reproach.

Saya mengakui karangan saya ini dipengaruhi oleh kepincangan keyakinan saya terhadap Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya sebagai sebuah pertubuhan nan seratus peratus saksama serta sempurna dalam segala tata tertibnya.

==================================================================================
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/17/nation/9119483&sec=nation

Sunday July 17, 2011
Political parties bring in the most but 40% are ineligibleBy SHAHANAAZ HABIB and RASHVINJEET S. BEDI
sunday@thestar.com.my

PUTRAJAYA: Voter registration numbers have gone up significantly, thanks to efforts by political parties.

But some 40% of the new voters they have registered turned out to be ineligible.

“Some are dead, underage or already registered voters,” said Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.



Bersih: Iktibar daripada Taipeh

Mungkin ramai rakyat Malaysia yang mengikuti berita parlimen in Taiwan mempunyai tanggapan bahawa parlimen di situ terkenal dengan pergaduhan bahkan kekasaran semasa bersidang.

Tetapi tatkala saya melawat Taipeh baru-baru ini, saya terpegun dengan ruangan khas di pejabat bandaraya Taipeh yang diperuntukkan khas untuk khalayak menyampaikan petisyen kepada Datuk Bandar.



Bersih 2.0: Police Brutality


In this video of mine, a guy was subdued when he shouted '...Terrorist!!..' at the the PDRM when they were trying to arrest the Jalan Pudu Bersih leaders. If you listen properly there are what it appears to be baton whacking sounds when the PDRM apprehended the by-stander. There were about more than 10 PDRM holding this person down.




Bersih 2.0: Jalan Pudu, the First 15 Minutes

Pics & videos by resident.wangsamaju

The start of the march at Jalan Pudu captured on mobile. The people, consisting of mostly Malaysians of Chinese-descent, have been gathering there since morning I guess. We arrived at 12.30pm. The crowd grew larger and about 1pm shouts of 'Bersih! Bersih!' could be heard from the Plaza Pudu area.

MP Tony Pua opposite Pudu Plaza after a short interview with eTV.

Tribute to Encik Baharuddin

Semua penulis blog P116 WangsamajuforMalaysia ingin mengucapkan takziah kepada keluarga Allayarham Baharudin Ahmad yang telah meninggal dunia semasa menyertai perjuangan Bersih 9 Julai 2011.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/169463

Allayarham telah banyak membuat pengorbanan sehingga pengorbanan tertinggi dalam perjuangannya menjadikan negara kita lebih baik untuk semua, termasuk musuh-musuh politik beliau.

Kita tidak harus sia-siakan pengorbanan beliau. Kita harus meneruskan usaha beliau supaya hasrat beliau akan menjadi hakikat tidak lama lagi.

Bersih 2.0 videos: Pudu Raya, the Tear Gas

Pics & videos by resident.wangsamaju



Bersih 2.0: The People

Pics by resident.wangsamaju
As I turned around, I saw something yellow that caught my eye. Bersih 2.0 has a whole lot of  women in it.

Long Bersih Story Short

I am one of those people who chose to stay a night in KL to avoid troubles to access the town on the 9th. During my sleep, I received a message that the police were cracking down hotels for leaders and supporters. I did not sleep in peace.


Recollection of a historical event

I am departing from my usual way of blogging. I am writing purely base on emotion and opinion; not my normal boring research-base style.

This is a recollection from being part of a historical event in Malaysia's history.



Bersih 2.0 more pics- behind the police lines

Pics by resident.wangsamaju
'We'll hold the line here.". Right at the frontline,  Pudu Raya.

BERSIH v2.0 Collection

A day which many of us would want to claim victory. But a victory or defeat lies not in today's battle. Its a start of a journey, ardous nonetheless that we may tread in the coming days and years as we work towards rebuilding our beloved country. I am most certain the newspapers tomorrow will splash news of the authorities successfully repelling the "illegal rally". Numbing numbers would be bandied about, just to prove to the public that the "illegal rally" has not got the support of the rakyat. Well, before I sign off for the day and handing the reigns back to Resident Wangsa Maju and Lee Wee Tak, I offer to all readers a collection of pictures I gathered from around. You be the judge as to the numbers and success of the rally here in Kuala Lumpur. Please do google for BERSIH @ NYC, BERSIH @Melbourne, BERSIH @ Ireland, BERSIH @ Japan etc... Okay.. okay.. lets get back to the BERSIH @ KL. We have pictures that will tell you a story of a thousand words...

BERSIH 2.0 Live: The story of 9th July 2011 as it unfolds

Pics & pics caption by resident.wangsamaju



First 15 minutes from Jalan Pudu.

Bersih 2.0 Live- The Calm Before the Storm

Pics by resident.wangsamaju

We will come to you live!! That is our promise to our readers. Due to the nature of the event, we may not be able to bring to you te stories but then again, pictures speak a thousand words.

10.30am: LRT lines look clear but we expect a rough landing.

KLCI all time high today

The KLCI almost touched the 1600 mark by the end of trading today hitting an all time high, an upturn from yesterday afternoon's dip. Reports say that investors are upbeat on Malaysia's economic transformation plans but it looks more like speculation to me. Anyway no complains for me as I'm gleefully seeing my investments going up.






Today in History: Bersih 2.0 shifted to stadium

No words, only today's KLCI. Down due to selling of 'heavyweight' stocks- from the graph we can see that the selling began about the time Ambiga, Bersih chairperson, visited the King's palace in the afternoon.



Members of PSM held under Emergency Ordinance



"Of course, it's politically motivated," she said. "It's all about Bersih. They want to stop people from going to Bersih... This is to create fear."

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia has detained six members of an opposition party, including a lawmaker, under a tough security law ahead of a rally for electoral reforms, an activist group and police said on Saturday.
The six members of the Socialist Party of Malaysia were arrested under the Emergency Ordinance, which allows indefinite detention without trial, said Nalini Elumalai, a representative of local rights group Suaram.
The six were arrested last weekend together with 25 others on the way to a party rally in northern Penang state and were being held on accusations of "inciting people to wage war against the king."
"The six were released... but they were still in the police compound, when they were re-arrested and told they were being held under the Emergency Ordinance," Nalini told AFP.
A federal police official confirmed the arrests but could not immediately give further details. National news agency Bernama quoted federal police deputy head Khalid Abu Bakar as saying more investigations needed to be done.
"Police re-arrested them to prevent any crimes of a violent nature from happening besides allowing us to do follow-up investigations," he said.
Nalini said the detentions and arrests were part of a government crackdown to prevent people from attending a July 9 rally by electoral reform group Bersih. Organisers have vowed that the rally will be peaceful.
"Of course, it's politically motivated," she said. "It's all about Bersih. They want to stop people from going to Bersih... This is to create fear."
Nalini said the six were expected to be taken to the federal police headquarters in the capital Kuala Lumpur, while 24 others were expected to remain in police custody in Penang. A South Korean woman has been deported.
Police have arrested about 150 opposition politicians and activists over the past week for trying to shore up support for the electoral reform rally. Most have been released after questioning.
Police have said the rally is against the law as it has not received special police permission and so promoting it is illegal too.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Saturday that the rally was a ploy by the opposition to cause disruption.
Security laws such as the Internal Security Act and Emergency Ordinance used to be used frequently to detain activists and opposition politicians, but in recent years fewer such arrests have been made.



National debts: more puzzling numbers tumblin'

Recently there is a claim in this video, MalaysiaYouth4Change that according to a report on 13th Jan 2011 by Thompson Reuters Eikon, the bonds sold by Malaysia national debt is USD179 billion which' at optimistic exchange rate of RM3 to USD1, is a whopping RM537 billion, very much higher than RM271 billion as at June 2010 as reported the finance ministry.

I have no idea how TRE derived the number and baffled by the huge gap between this number and the finance ministry figures, on which the Prime Minister had cheerfully advised Malaysians that national debts have decreased.

Then some curious person sent me the breakdown of TRE numbers hoping I could clarify the situation. I am amused by this because I am certainly not part of the federal finance ministry administration but I can just take a cursory look at the data and hope to point out a thing or 2.

Picture 1 shows the finance ministry number as at 30 June 2010




Picture 2 shows the Thompson Reuters Eikon numbers, very much higher





Picture 3 shows some more detailed information





Luckily there is an excel file which makes analysing easier


Base on a cursory review of the 2 sets of data, the discrepancies could be explained by

1) Finance Ministry only included bonds issued to Malaysia where as TRE included bonds issued to proxies such as Petronas, Khazanah, MISC etc

2) that still leaves a sizable difference between the TRE and finance ministry numbers - it could be different exchange rates applied and also classification differences between these 2. Statistic collection can be a dodgy business.

In any case, the Malaysian government should seek to clarify this with TRE urgently because its figure is giving a different impression from what the finance ministry is giving, hence confusing the business communities, foreign and local, as well as all tax payers.

Not to mention it cast doubt on the integrity and competence of the present administration.

The last time when a leading Malaysian official dismissed an analyst's report, the rebuttal from the foreign investor community harmed all Malaysians. (Remember the DPM and PERC issue?)

The graph below summarise the differences between the 2 sets of numbers.


The bonds carry some abstract description that looks like the name of borrower. I just did a "match, guess and hope for the best" and made a best guess hear: looks like about RM36 billion under Khazanah, RM48 billion under Petronas, RM5 billion under MISC, RM6 billion under KLIA.....

Note the huge jump in bonds issued since June 2010?

I blogged about this last year


"According to Singapore's Today, Dow Jones reported that 21 more government bonds auctions (really it means rakyat debts committed by temporary administrators on their behalf without getting rakyat's consent), 1/3 more than this year, to raise money to spend on 131 "key projects" (which should include the much objected Menara Warisan Merdeka).

Malaysians are expected to owe another RM90 billion from debts raised in 2011 alone; the years and years of accumulated debts as at 2008 alone was already RM213 billion.

In 2011, Najib's administration will almost double our debts and subject us to more foreign exchange risks. The loans are for infrastructure and property projects - not a whimper about healthcare, human capital development, education .... the soft skills so vital nowadays and Malaysians so lack of it nowadays
."


Also, the finance ministry must clarify their methodology of reporting national debt figures to the general public. At the moment, it seems to me that whenever "national debts" is discussed, it only involves bonds issued to Malaysian government, and it excludes Hutang Dalam Negeri Kerajaan Persekutuan (the bulk of it includes KWSP & all those sijils in your hands bought by your savings) and the burden carried "special purpose vehicles" which some accounts are not for public scrutiny, like Khazanah and Petronas.

Otherwise it looks like Off Balance Sheet finance/debts carried at somewhere else to me, a term that makes ex-Enron pension holders cringe with despair.

Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia: substance over form

Part of politics is about creating the right impression (for oneself and for one’s enemy). Self advocate is necessary to let people know that you are doing your job well.

However focusing too much on impressions can lead to substance over form.

The current prime minister has taken a different path from the previous ones in that he is quick to make announcements pertaining to private sector investment decisions, a smart move I would say, to create an impression amongst the more media savvy Malaysians that he is an “investment-generating prime minister”.

-----------------------------------------------------------
By Razak Ahmad

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) will invest 15 billion ringgit ($4.9 billion) in new oil, gas and energy assets in Malaysia, the government said on Tuesday, in a move that could help the Southeast Asian country reverse a decline in output.

Pime Minister Najib Razak who announced the projects said the investments were in line with the introduction of tax breaks in November to develop new oil and gas resources and enhance recovery from ageing fields.

The planned investments by the oil companies are part of the Malaysian government's initiative to attract $444 billion in investments by 2020 to drive economic growth.

Of the total, Exxon will spend 10 billion ringgit while Shell Plc will invest 5.1 billion ringgit to upgrade and build energy facilities, the authorities said, although Shell said some of its investments had already been announced.

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Meow, you remind me of someone lah.....


In the 1990’s when Malaysian economy was attracting many investors due to our novelty as an investment destination and absence of competitors like China, Vietnam and Cambodia for low cost manufacturing destination, I do not recall Dr Mahathir rushing to the podium and said so and so invested how much for such as such project.
Is there a peri bahasa sounding like “bertelor sebijih riuh sekampung”?


In fact, such stance give me the impression that only one man can generate business opportunities in Malaysia and the business community are not empowered enough to create opportunity and value on their own.
Did you ever see Clinton, Bush or Obama announcing planned investment projects in Silicon value or Sunshine Industrial Park, Arizona ?

While we are in the midst of over exposure to and frankly abuse of 1Malaysia brand, it is worth recalling the much touted, all-encompassing, tear-jerking and hope-giving Wawasan 2020 slogan which Mahathir used to garner support, only later to be replaced by Idris Jala’s “we will be bankrupt by 2019” and Mahathir’s endorsement of Perkasa.


By next decade, I won't be surprise of this 1Malaysia thingy has the same fate as Wawasan 2020 today.

The latest Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia is in substance, as this writer sees it, another branch of the Mydin chain of shops. Replace the 1Malaysia wrappers and change the signboard then it is just another Mydin outlet.

http://www.kedairakyat1malaysia.com.my/en/about-us


It is common for business community to make political donation and as businesses, entrepreneurs would talk about cost benefit analysis – there must be returns – so is there any favours returned? It is reasonable for a MP to request the government to disclose the details of the agreement, if any, signed between Mydin and Malaysia government for Mydin's "national service".

Is there a Plus style compensation arrangement somewhere?

Also, since the public paid for APCO’s creation, the government’s action of lending it to a private entrepreneur for commercial purposes is a bit weird. Imagine I open a fried chicken store and put KFC’s logo on my signboard. Surely I have to account to the trade mark owner?

Scroll further below and the website links clearly shows that this set up is in tandem with gearing up for a snap GE. The introduction of the store in the website also state it's stands very clear.

"About Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia
‘Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia’ is a shop operating on a mini market format, which provides various basic necessities at low prices. This initiative was inspired by our beloved Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak on his concerns for the low income citizens located in the urban areas.

This is also in line with the slogan “Rakyat Didahulukan” which has been mooted by YAB Prime Minister himself."





It is quite common for BN leaders to claim in controlled media that opposition politicalized every issues from death of Teoh Beng Hock, education, scholarship and whatever.

Now it is BN’s turn to politicalize a mere 2,000 square feet kedai runcit? While we are mesmerized by the savings of a ringgit here or there shopping in these outlets, let us not forget the insistence to push through RM5 billion Warisan Merdeka, €114 million (US$151.1 million) commission paid to a company called Perimekar, istana construction cost ballooned from RM400mil to RM800 million…and the list goes on and on….


On a more mundane level, our daily expenses bear the burden of excessive profits of privatised public functions like Plus, the IPPs, Padi Beras Nasional Berhad, Proton, Telekom, Tenaga etc. Read their annual audited accounts and check out their retained profits and dividends, i.e. exrta costs that you and I paid. There is no structural reform.

Another 1Malaysia sandiwara, if you ask me.

Water supply going to be cut off for 2 days but Press Release only comes in at 5pm just now

Of all the 60 people which I text-message just now, only 1 person caught the press release on Syabas' water ration of 48 hours. According to the Syabas website and The Star there will be major maintenance work which disrupts water supply from 8am to day till 8am Friday (22-24 June). Such a major event and Syabas releases the press statement this late. One wonders whether the maintenance is planned or is there something happening behind the scene.

Bersih 2.0- to protest or not?


Bersih 2.0- to go or not to go? That must the question popping in everyone's minds especially those who have not attended street demos of that kind before. It's daunting, especially when the Home Minister promises to use the ISA on the Bersih participants caught on 9th July 2011. Not to mention the water canons, smoke-grenades, riot shields and batons awaiting. Some say let the ballot box do the talking, and street protests are not the way.


Wangsa Maju had some fair experience in a street demo back in 2008. The demo was held at the DBKL HQ at Jalan Raja Laut and not in Wangsa Maju though. You see, somewhere in May 2008, after the 14th General Election, the DBKL saw fit to demolish about 8 major hawker areas in Desa Setapak and few other areas in Wangsa Maju. The reason for doing so was well, not a new reason- it was over a permit issue which spanned over more than a decade (I think). Yes, the hawkers, who had been operating a long time there, right on Government 'land', did not have the proper permits to build permanent structures. Some of the hawkers alleged that they had tried applying for permits for years but  DBKL never approved them. So on the fateful day of 21st May 2008, while the Wangsa Maju MP was still at a Parliament session, the DBKL came with heavyweight equipment and ran the stalls to the ground. The machinery was so heavy that it left potholes on the tarred road of Desa Setapak.



Such operations may be valid from the Town Council's viewpoint especially when it is a permit issue, but it causes more anguish when the demolishing of the illegal stalls are race-selected- ie Chinese stalls demolished but not the illegal stalls own by Malays sitting next to the Chinese-owned stalls. Many people were were saying- 'what the hell is this, DBKL?'




1st to 3rd pics above: Graffiti of protest from "THEY' the infamous underground graffiti artist, on the walls on the demolished hawker stalls


Above: The aftermath of the demolition.

There were various forms of protest- direct protest came from Wee Choo Keong, the hawkers, the blogs, the graffiti artists and indirect protests were from the Wangsa Maju community itself. The issue was more than a permit matter- it was a show of barbaric racism from DBKL.

The Wangsa Maju hawkers, various Wangsa Maju folk and Wee Choo Keong organized a street protest right in front of the DBKL building at Jalan Raja Laut. The street protest was supported by the 11 freshly-elected Kuala Lumpur MPs. Yes, election was held at March 2008 remember? Just couple of months after the GE, DBKL 'show power dee?'

Wee Choo Keong was very hands on- he taught the hawkers how to protest, how to organize it and even taught the protesters how to write the place cards, as most of the protesters then were first-timers. Without his mentorship, the protest would have never succeeded. The believe was, if something was wrong, we had to speak up.





Above: Wee Choo Keong teaching the protesters how to write place cards.
The Bersih 2.0 walk on July 9th, is about fair and free elections- core pillars of Malaysia's democratic foundation.  The ballot box, through the people, may do its talking every four years. However, many things happen between elections. Many of those 'happenings' have been threats to democracy and the right to have a fair election. It is the peoples' action in between the four years that makes sure the country stays its democratic course.

On with Bersih 2.0.