Datuk Zaid Ibrahim..... You are the man with balls....

It is interesting to see Datuk Zaid Ibarhim attended PKR annual congress and DAP 's dinner at a same time while he is still currently an Umno member

He is one of the few UMNO leaders (we can count by hand) that really holds on to his principle......

Just wait and see whether UMNO will take any action on him....

Dr Munawar Anees (second, left), Datuk Zaid Ibrahim (centre), Sabah Progressive Party president Yong Teck Lee (second, right) and other guests listening intently to a speech by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the PKR annual national congress today. — Pic by Choo Choy May

The appearance today of former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee will certainly fuel speculation about their political futures.
Zaid resigned from the Cabinet of Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi in September in protest against the arrest of a number of people under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
Yong's SAPP left the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition at the height of rumours over the possibility that government lawmakers were planning to defect en masse to the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
Said Zaid today: "I am still an Umno member. The opposition are not enemies. They just have different views."
He said his presence to hear Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's address to more than 2,000 party faithful "shows that I am interested in politics."
The former minister said he did not expect to be sacked for appearing at the PKR congress.
The presence of the two men will be seen as a boost to PKR and the PR coalition who are trying to revive the flagging momentum of their push to topple the BN government.(Malaysian Insider)

火箭重量级人马上台掀高潮　再益亮相万人宴

二零零八年十一月二十九日 凌晨十二时三十七分

（槟城28日讯）由槟州行动党主办，相信创下全槟最大型宴会的“与民共庆万人宴”，邀请前首相署部长拿督再益依布拉欣及曾在内安法令下被扣捕的雪州高级行政议员郭素沁、槟州首席部长林冠英及火箭重量级人马上台演讲，掀起全场高潮！

筹获2万3千令吉

宴会的宗旨，主要是为筹募槟州行动党党所基金，在情绪高涨的气氛中，成功筹获2万3千令吉，成绩斐然！

这项具有历史性意义的盛大晚宴，于周五晚在韩江中学举行。继308大选之后，民主行动党再次回到韩中举行这场万人宴，可谓意义深远。一是让人民回顾3月6日的全国大选政治讲座的气势澎湃场面；二是感谢大家在韩江的讲座中为行动党破记录地筹获3万8000令吉的竞选基金；三是分享在308大选中取得胜利的喜悦。

从下午6时30分开始，会场开始播放行动党激励短片及香港无线电视前来槟城拍摄的“变天”特辑。会上，也有6名主讲人的精彩政治演说，即行动党全国主席兼武吉牛汝莪国会议员加巴星、秘书长林冠英、郭素沁、行动党国会领袖兼怡保东区国会议员林吉祥及槟州主席曹观友，还有以“贵宾”身份出席再益依布拉欣。

开幕仪式极富创意

这场获得槟州及外州人民热烈支持的万人宴，进行了极富创意的开幕仪式；在5000令吉的桌上放置一本绑着气球的《独立50年：民主行动党送给马来西亚的礼物》，司仪一声令下即剪断气球的绳子，而这本描述行动党与马来西亚一起奋斗及成长的书籍就当作纪念品。嘉宾及主要赞助商则站在台上，与大家一起主持开幕仪式。

出席者除了槟州民主行动党州委及党员之外，也包括了全国华总主席丹斯里林玉唐、槟州中华总商会会长丹斯里陈国平、中华总商会顾问拿督祝友成、商界闻人拿督斯里方木山等。而香港老牌影星冯宝宝也“意外”出现在会场支持行动党，引起会场的一阵小骚动。

此外，在主台的两侧备有询问处，同时兼卖火箭娃娃、海报、《火箭报》及行动党党要撰写的书籍等，包括郭素沁撰写的《琴声剑影2》、黄泉安撰写的《I-Witness》、林吉祥撰写的《The Cries of Sabah》、黄伟益撰写的《反思国阵执政槟州35年，解构民政神话》等。

兼卖火箭周边产品

反对内安法令联盟于现场也设有柜台，免费分发反对内安法令小册子及售卖T血、徽章等周边产品。

义卖本报筹逾两千

会上，也进行了义卖《光华日报》。所得总数为2218令吉52仙，全数充当筹建行动党党所基金。

再益现身万人宴　“跳党”疑云明朗化？

来自巫统的前首相署部长拿督再益依布拉欣出现在“与民共庆万人宴”，将“跳党”疑云明朗化？

远自吉隆坡前来槟的再益于晚上7时50分到场，获得行动党党要如林吉祥、曹观友、林峰成、章瑛等的热烈欢迎，更吸引了大批摄记及公众争相拍照。被安排坐在曹观友及林吉祥之间的再益，也以贵宾身份上台发表演说，获得现场万人的掌声鼓励与欢迎。

这名前哥打峇鲁国会议员、掌管法律事务部的他激烈反对政府弃用法律，转而对特定人士使用内安法令，表达不满之余后更呈辞明志。

据了解，再益于周五上午已在首长办公室与林吉祥父子见面，林冠英随后却含糊带过记者的追问。这不禁使人猜测，对联邦政府及巫统传统做法极度不满的再益加盟民联指日可待？

冯宝宝偕夫来捧场

香港老牌红星冯宝宝为了支持槟州新政府，特地与丈夫从吉隆坡乘搭飞机前来“捧场”，参加行动党的与民同庆万人宴！

已嫁作大马媳妇的冯宝宝与丈夫翁兆全是一下飞机即前往参与宴会，而且在宴会上，她表示心情兴奋，因为这是她第一次与超过1万人在一起用餐，的确是一次难得的机会！

她透露，她是在女婿的告知下，知道上述宴会的举行，所以特地从吉隆坡前来支持槟州行动党。与她一起赴宴的尚包括她的女儿及女婿等。

据知，冯宝宝的女婿是槟城人，他是槟城鹰阁医院著名的心脏及血管专科医生博士罗思祥。

冯宝宝的出现，引起一阵轰动，很多影迷争着与她合照留念。

交通安排佳没塞车

万人出席宴会，交通安排绝对是个大考验，不过主办当局却安排得具系统化，没有出现大塞车，值得一赞。

行动党出动超过300人协助安排会场工作，交通方面，主办单位特别为出席者安排停车位和专巴载送。除了持有停车证者可以驶入韩江停放车辆，其他出席者都把车辆停放在槟城赛马公会及槟岛市政局体育场前的停车场，然后乘搭主办当局提供的专用巴士赴宴。

下午6时30分开始，槟赛马公会场地有10辆巴士负责载送赴宴人士，另外4辆则是负责从市政局体育场载送，每半小时将有一趟专巴来回载送，至于摩托车骑士则可直接进入会场。

曹观友：民联及行动党承诺　为民带来更好发展

民主行动党槟州主席兼槟州行政议员曹观友在致词时向人民致敬，因为人民在308给了槟州行动党宝贵的机会，最后成为大家的人民政府。

“虽然我们已执政，但仍面对许多挑战，如人民对教育、文化、经济等各领域的期许；而巫统也想尽办法来阻止民联政府在下届大选继续执政。无论如何，民联政府及行动党承诺将会给人民带来更好的发展，制造廉洁的政府，以回馈人民对我们的支持。”

郭素沁：处理火箭党务　不用中央及州拨款

民主行动党全国组织秘书兼雪兰莪州高级行政议员郭素沁表示，就算民联政府已执政数州，但行动党是不会动用中央、州政府的拨款来处理党务，而会通过正当的管道来为建造新党所进行筹款。

她在会上也分享了半年前前来槟州进行大选前的造势演说，以及知晓了当时槟州是全国第一个宣布由反对党执政的州属的心情。然而，她表示，民联代议士却常被冠上莫须有的罪名，甚至她本身就是内安法令下的受害者。

“我们即将进入新首相及经济萧条的时代，需要更多人民的支持，以便制造真正有效率、可信赖及透明（CAT）的政府！

Say No to the Malaysian Asshole MP- Tajudin Rahman

Shame on you.....Tajudin Rahman (famous for the 6 million dollar act and the typical arrogant UMNO MP ), Malaysia Asshole MP of the year should be kicked out from parliament.....

Worst still, the speakers never have balls and only know how to act tough to the opposition ......

From today onwards we should say no to UMNO MP unless Fxxxxx Tajudin retracts the words... his gang of Dato Badruddin Amirrudin and Mohd Said Yusoff were sent out of Parliament and definitely Tajudin's days are numbered........................




KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 – He is untouchable. He can use swear words with impunity. He can spray sexist comments in the chamber and use sexual innuendo when he sees fit.
Judging by proceedings in Parliament since the March 8 general election, Datuk Tajudin Rahman, the Barisan Nasional MP for Pasir Salak can pretty much do as he pleases.
He is also living proof that some of the lessons of Election 2008 are being ignored and tossed aside by elected representatives. A walking advertisement that, despite being decimated in five states and having its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament taken away, arrogance and pride still courses through the veins of ruling coalition members.
More troubling perhaps for the average Malaysian is that Tajudin Rahman’s boorish behaviour is a reflection of the reality here – that the winds of change ushered in by the events of March 8 have begun to wane and that Malaysia is settling down once again to a state where apathy and fatigue reign.
Where the public feigns outrage at excesses of politicians and the government, then do a collective shrug of their shoulders and put it down to the way of life here.
Politicians from both sides of the divide know the drill. And that is why the likes of Tajudin Rahman and before him, Datuk Badruddin Amiruddin, Bung Mokhtar Radin and Mohd Said Yusof have shamed the House with outrageous remarks with the conviction that they will be untouched by any sanction or rebuke.
Still, it appears that Tajudin is in a class of his own. In this same Parliament session, he has called his nemesis, the DAP MP for Ipoh Barat a “bloody bastard”, introducing colourful language which the House has not heard before.
Granted that M. Kulasegaran has the ability to get under anyone’s skin with his comments, but "bloody bastard" in Parliament?
Tajudin was asked to withdraw his comments and went on his merry way. Yesterday, he scored a hattrick. The skirmish happened when the House was debating a motion by DAP’s Teo Nie Ching to cut the Education Minister’s salary by RM10 for failing to meet his promises on vernacular schools.
Within minutes of the motion, a shouting match ensued between MPs from BN and Pakatan Rakyat.
During the uproar, Tajudin called Kulasegaran “keling’’. Several minutes later, he labelled PKR’s Azmin Ali as a “biol” (dumb).
Azmin said: "This is too much. If it is only once or twice it is forgiveable, but every time he opens his mouth, he has no respect for anyone."
After being directed by Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee, Tajudin reluctantly withdrew his remarks.
But he outdid himself later when he attempted to interject while Pas’ Mujahid Rawa was debating on Teo’s motion.
This was the exchange.
Tajudin: Oh, tak masuk lagi?
Kiandee: Dia tak bagi, Yang Berhormat. Tak bagi.
Tajudin: Dia tak masuk lagi? Dah lama tak masuk-masuk. Main tepi saja.
Mujahid: Yang Berhormat Pasir Salak sabarlah.
Tajudin: Bila nak keluar lagi air dia ?
DAP’s Fong Po Kuan evoked Parliament’s Standing Orders against Tajudin for using offensive remarks. In all likelihood, Tajudin will be given a rap on his knuckles by the Speaker. He may be asked to apologise, something he has done a number of times since Parliament was convened.
Will he face any action from Umno or BN leaders? Unlikely. The prevailing view among Umno politicians is that BN needs some “fighters’ in the chamber to keep the resurgent Opposition in check.
Will the BN Whip Datuk Seri Najib Razak haul Tajudin up and read him the riot act? Unlikely. His supporters argue that there is only one way to deal with the likes of Azmin, Kulasegaran and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the loss of two-thirds majority. And that is not by yielding any ground or being cowed by the Opposition.
Will Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi do anything? Unlikely. He is already in retirement mode and only has time for several pieces of reforms which he has to push through before March 2009.
So looks like we will be stuck with the untouchable Tajudin Rahman and his antics for some time.

Populism at all cost

UMNO oh UMNO when can you wake up?

NOV 26 - Normally, when in a hole you stop digging. But not in Malaysia.

The Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government continues to ignore economic and political reality despite its recent worst-ever electoral defeat.

Its present state of affairs is due to keen campaigning in factionalised party elections scheduled for March 2009.

And since the electoral popularity of Umno is at a historical nadir, party politicians are using the levers of government in a grubby populist grab for votes.

Not only does this populism show up Umno as a party in decline, it also carries long-term negative repercussions for the whole economy.

Umno remains unsettled despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's agreement to relinquish top party and government posts to his deputy, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in March 2009.

Except Najib, all other party warlords face long, drawn-out contests for Supreme Council positions. The campaign has already turned into a vicious little war that takes no prisoners.

Unlike before, Umno today has no culture of democratic contests premised on rational socio-economic and other policy arguments.

This culture was destroyed by former PM Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad during his 22-year presidency. Thus, Umno currently is a self-serving vehicle of grubby feudal-minded politicians persuaded largely by 'money politics'.

The on-going election campaign has already seen numerous allegations of vote-buying being aired in the press.

Dr. Mahathir recently lamented in his blog that if Umno is unable to eradicate 'money politics', it risks losing the next general election.

However, Dr. Mahathir is not a mere partisan observer. He too is campaigning for his own factional loyalists who are pitted against those aligned to outgoing PM Abdullah Badawi.

Consequently, both sides are now resorting to populist measures via the levers of government power to pump-prime their electoral chances, albeit in the name of pump-priming the economy in 2009 to offset the global downturn.

Except that, with the 2009 budget, Malaysia will see its 12th year of continuous budget deficits. And despite previous promises about balancing the budget, things somehow seem to have gotten out of control with total government debt rising inexorably.

What is disturbing is the insufficient information about how this Umno-led government is going to spend the 2009 budget. Foreign Minister Najib did not disclose much when he wound-up the parliamentary budget debate earlier this month.

Indeed, too many unknowns exist since the original budget figures assumed high global commodity prices (including petroleum exports) on the basis of a strong ringgit.

Since then, commodity prices have crashed, the ringgit has slumped against the dollar and FDI outflows have increased. This has up-ended the original budget estimates.

But the budget has not been revised. Instead, Mr. Najib added a further RM7 billion economic stimulus package to the already huge budget.

The 2009 deficit like in 2008 thus remains stuck at a jittery 4.8 percent of GDP.

But is this overall deficit figure even credible when the government won't come clean with realistic budget figures to parliament?

There seems to be a lot of fudging going on with the government preferring to remain obscure over financial and economic figures for reasons best known only to them.

Yet, despite being vague, Najib promised to disburse the entire 2009 economic stimulus package by March.

Does this not ring a loud bell in the light of all the vicious factional campaigning in Umno?

As well, domestic prices of petrol and diesel have come down significantly since two months ago. The government promptly announced - to everyone's surprise - that at current prices, the government is not subsidising fuel costs anymore.

Also announced was the adoption of a 'managed floating mechanism to fix petrol and diesel prices'.

This gives the impression that the government is financially prudent.

Unfortunately, no other details were divulged leaving all in the dark about what really is going to happen. Many also want fuel prices even lower, not least some Umno politicians on the die-hard campaign trail. But how helpful is this?

Yet, nobody knows how all this supposed fuel subsidy savings are going to be deployed within the budget. Will it now be used to target key value-added areas of the economy like upgrading the quality of healthcare, improving education and up-scaling industrial expertise to enhance economic competitiveness?

Or will it go straight into pork-barrel projects to assist the electoral chances of certain Umno loyalists or will it help bailout certain 'loyal' Umno cronies hit by the economic downturn?

Unfortunately, there is presently no policy debate within Umno about strategies to ensure the long-term health of the economy.

Instead, the dominant talk within Umno is the going price of a delegate's vote during the elections, currently estimated at RM20,000.

Consequently, this Umno-led government is suffering a severe confidence deficit. The government's inability (or unwillingness) to divulge accurate information about its finances and the economy is really a reflection of the dismal state of Umno politics.

After all, being vague allows for better political patronage, no?

Somewhere down the road, the economy is going to pay for all these political shenanigans. Reforms are needed. But will Umno face up to reality?

Najib only agrees partial reforms are needed. He acknowledged his hands will be full once he takes over.

But given his own political baggage and a 'change-resistant' Umno bent on preserving its ethnic supremacist ideology, is he being realistic? - IDEAGLOBAL

DR M: MASTERING ENGLISH WILL NOT ERODE IMPORTANCE OF BAHASA MALAYSIA

Dr.M says Mastering English will not erode the imporatnce of Bahasa Melayu.....

But the stupid Umno and Utusan fellows keep saying by having multi-lingua sign boards will erode the importance of Bahasa Melayu....What is this logic?

Umno and Utusan.....Renungkanlah....

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- The fear among some quarters in the country that learning and using English would erode the importance of Bahasa Malaysia is unfounded, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir said he was criticised by nationalists for wanting the government to continue teaching Science and Mathematics in English, but English was the only language where Malaysians could gain much knowledge in these two subjects.

"Before I stepped down as prime minister, I introduced this system because I felt it was necessary for us to gain knowledge. If we are going to translate all the works of Science and Mathematics into Bahasa Malaysia, then it would take a long time and we would lose out.

"But lately there has been a debate about this and that we need to revert to the old system of using Bahasa Malaysia to teach and learn Science and Maths.

"The Education Ministry is going to decide on this very soon. There are pros and cons to this and I do worry about it. Our people should know how to read, write and speak the national language but at the same time to gain knowledge, they should learn and use English."

-- MORE

MAHATHIR-ENGLISH 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR

He said this in his keynote address at the English and Asia 2008 First International Conference on Language and Linguistics, organised by the International Islamic University Malaysia, here, today.

He said the amount of new knowledge was coming out "fast and furious" and Malaysians needed to grasp the knowledge, which were mostly in English.

"I hope I can stop the government from going back to using Bahasa Malaysia to teach Maths and Science but I am no more in power. We have to accept whatever the decision although it may not be that good for the country."

He said the reason that Malaysia lacked teachers to teach the two subjects in English should not be an excuse because teachers could be substituted by computer software, "which is better than teachers sometimes".

-- BERNAMA

MALAYSIA OPPOSITION SEEKS TO PROVE IT CAN GOVERN

By Julie GohPENANG, Malaysia, Nov 24 (Reuters)

Malaysia's manufacturing state of Penang believes it can introduce controversial economic reforms and wininvestment despite a global economic slowdown and the challenge of being anopposition-run state.The opposition alliance's triumph in Penang, the third largest statein terms of economic output in Malaysia, was one of the biggest shocks inMarch's historic elections that brought the opposition to power in five ofthe country's 13 states.How well it can now govern those states could determine whether thealliance can sustain an unprecedented challenge to the Barisan Nasionalgovernment, which has ruled this southeast Asian country of 27 million peoplefor 51 years.

"Yes, the economic slowdown has affected Penang. I'm not going to runaway from admitting it," Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told Reuters inan interview last week."That's why, we are adopting an expansionary budget next year, onethat is pro-growth, pro-jobs and pro-poor," he said.

Despite the prospect of Malaysia's economic growth slowing to just 1.5percent in 2009, according to leading local investment bank RHB, from anexpected 5.4 percent this year, Penang has seen a rise in foreign investment.The state has received $1.69 billion worth of investment in the firstseven months of 2008 against $1.30 billion for the whole of last year, Limsaid.U.S. firm National Instruments said this month it would spend $80million to set up a plant, while Honeywell said it would shift someoperations to the island.

FROM INMATE TO CHIEF

The island, lying strategically at the head of the Malacca Strait anda free port until 1969, built up one the largest electronics manufacturingbases in Asia from the 1970s offering good infrastructure and a bilingualworkforce."Investors feel that because there is a new government, and they feelthat because this new leadership is in tune to their concerns, this is one ofthe added advantages that they want to invest in Penang," the 48-year-old Limsaid.Even so, he is looking to the federal government to provide 500million ringgit ($138.1 million) to retrain workers who lose their jobs inthe current downturn.Heading such a powerful state is a big change for Lim.He was detained under a harsh security law from 1987-1989 along withhis father, Lim Kit Siang, who leads the Democratic Action Party, part offormer deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's opposition alliance.

The younger Lim is one of the most vocal and powerful critics of thegovernment and has been accused of stoking racial tensions over a range ofissues, from dual language road signs to demands that a system of affirmativeaction for ethnic Malays be ended.Any mention of race in this country where nearly 60 percent of thepopulation is ethnic Malay and where there are large ethnic Chinese andethnic Indian minorities is met with a forceful response by theMalay-dominated government.Lim, an ethnic Chinese, says the 37-year old programme designed tolift Malays out of poverty has enriched only those with political connectionsand has also entrenched corruption.Malaysia's ranking in Transparency International's corruptionperception index has fallen to 43rd from 37th since 2003.The government insists it is doing all it can to stamp out what itcoyly labels "money politics" but Lim and the opposition say no real actionhas been taken.

Since winning power, Lim has initiated a system of governance he calls CAT -- competency, accountability and transparency -- a move he said hasendeared him to foreign investors and now he plans to replace closed tenderswith open tenders."It has been challenging in the sense that there are so many things todismantle, all the past excesses," he said.

So far, Penang voters appear to be willing to give Lim the benefit ofthe doubt."We voted the opposition into power. We should give them some time toimplement changes," said Ong Swee Aik, who sells shoes in the 65-storeyKomtar building, which also houses the state government office. :If they do agood job, we will vote for them again in the next election."

Fatwa council bans yoga for Muslims

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — The country’s top Islamic body has issued an edict banning Muslims from practising yoga.

The body says the globally popular practise of yoga has elements of Hinduism that could corrupt Muslims. Yoga originated in India.

National Fatwa Council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin says yoga involves not just physical exercise but also includes spiritual elements, chanting and worship.

He told reporters today "it is inappropriate. It can destroy the faith of a Muslim."

The fatwa council's decisions are not legally binding on Muslims, who comprise nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's 27 million people, unless they are enshrined in national or shariah laws. However, many Muslims abide by the edicts out of deference. — AP

What's Wrong with this Sign Boards?

New attraction: Visitors to Lebuh Acheh in Penang will be able to see one of the much-debated multilingual signboards.

Some people living in the cave say that by using multilingual signboards, Bahasa Melayu as the national language will be jeopardised...... Now, look at it yourself? In what way Bahasa Melayu has been jeopardised? Think before you blast, otherwise you deserve to stay in caves...........

Penang firm on road signs, to lodge police reports over vandalism By Shannon Teoh GEORGETOWN, Nov 24 — The Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) has been instructed to file police reports over the vandalising of two Bahasa Malaysia/Arabic road signs in Lebuh Acheh. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said he had relayed the message via state exco member for Local Government, Traffic and Environment Chow Kon Yeow to prevent further sabotage of the five multilingual road signs put up by the state government as part of its efforts to promote tourism in the Unesco World Heritage site of Georgetown. According to a press statement by Lim, the signs were vandalised early yesterday morning while three other signs in Bahasa Malaysia/Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia/Tamil were untouched. "The police report by MPPP is necessary to indicate the government views such vandalism seriously in its efforts to prevent a repeat of such sabotage by irresponsible elements opposed to national unity within the multicultural setting of Georgetown. "As a heritage site, Georgetown belongs not only to Penang but also to the world and all Malaysians," the DAP secretary-general said. The statement reported that both signs were sprayed with red paint but has since been cleaned up by MPPJ. Lim also called on the Barisan Nasional federal government to stop practising double standards by allowing Arabic road signs in Kuala Lumpur and Jawi road signs in Johor but opposing the DAP-led Penang government's road signs in either Arabic, Mandarin, Tamil or English in addition to Bahasa Malaysia in the heritage area of Georgetown. "This issue is only played up by Utusan Malaysia which has a political agenda of helping Umno to regain its political supremacy and racist agenda against non-Malays," he accused. In Parliament today, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also lent his support to Lim's administration, telling reporters that calling the DAP anti-Malay was misguided. "The police can act aggressively against those protesting the Internal Security Act. But is that more of a security threat than those who spread sentiments that the DAP is anti-Malay?" he asked. The Permatang Pauh MP also rebuked those who said that the DAP was threatening the honour of Malays. "How can multilingual road signs threaten your honour more than those who steal and rob you of your land and rights?" he said, in a reference to Umno leaders. What to "Renung"?

Back to Depression Era tactic....Pity American

'Almost Homeless' says the sign on Paul Nawrocki, of New York as he walks through Times Square seeking employment. After nine fruitless months of looking for work, Nawrocki has turned to a Depression-era tactic to try to land himself a job. — AP pic

In Malaysia, bailouts are old hat

Correct...correct......

NOV 20 — If there's any consolation for enduring the post-Mahathir era hangover, it is that bailouts seem to be a thing of the past. Or are they?

The looming bankruptcy of America's Big Three car makers is a reminder of a time when Malaysia was littered with mega projects that bled red ink and cronyism begat bailout after bailout amid the Asian financial crisis.

Even national car maker Proton Bhd is in much better shape today than, say, three years ago when Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Tahir first took over. It has slowly but steadily improved — albeit helped by burdensome tariffs slapped on other makes — and is producing cars that Malaysians don't actually mind buying.

Malaysia Airlines too has cut the fat and turned around, despite the difficult operating conditions brought on by the high fuel prices earlier this year.

So it's comforting to have to think quite hard to identify a likely candidate for a bailout today.

It's not to say that Malaysian companies are not struggling with large debt burdens, or suffering from sliding revenues. Air Asia, for instance, has debts of more than RM5 billion, which is four times more than its cash and deposits.

It's not to say government business or hard-to-get licences have not been awarded to favoured firms or businessmen.

It's just that the country's top leaders do not have that rock-hard determination to have their own way that former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad did.

Due to his decisions to save his pet projects from the impact of the Asian financial crisis, most of the companies bailed out 10 years ago are now safe in the care of government investment arm Khazanah, chief among them are what used to be Tan Sri Halim Saad's Renong-UEM group and its crown jewel the North-South Expressway toll concession.

Of course, Khazanah has made its own investments, such as the one in wafer-maker Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which lost RM2.5 billion between 2005 and 2007.

Other projects have been nationalised, such as the greater Klang Valley transport system, which includes the Light Rail Transit system. And, oh, Petronas's shipping arm MISC Bhd bought vessels from Mirzan Mahathir's Konsortium Perkapalan, which was then floundering under RM1.5 billion in debt.

Of course, it would have been preferable to have just let debt-laden, lumbering uncompetitive companies fail, but it's not really the Mahathir way.

Perhaps that's why he has demanded that the policies of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi end with his exit in March. And through his blog chedet.com, he has been advocating the return to his mega-project ways, to keep the economy afloat in the approaching storm triggered by the global financial crisis. He is still trying to get his own way even now.

Fiscal spending in a bad slowdown or recession is always welcome. Unfortunately for Malaysians, much of the wealth that could have financed such spending has been either frittered away or tied up in the bailouts of the past.

So while his words are music to the ears of those who would keep Umno's system of patronage, the rest of the country hopes Khazanah doesn't one day need to be bailed out.

17 Nov 2008: C&C real property index: Prices steady despite slowdown

By Julie Chong (theedgedaily) Prices of semi-detached houses, particularly in prime locations in the Klang Valley, have remained steady on the secondary market despite the general slowdown in the property market, say real estate agents. May Tai of Property Inns Realty says the prices have held although demand has been on the slow side over the past two months. "Demand will still be there depending on the condition and location of the semidee," she adds. According to Philip Thean of Estatecom Properties, areas such as Bangsar, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) and Damansara Heights remain favourites of both buyers and investors. He says semidees in TTDI will continue to see "very high demand" due to the area's strategic location, amenities and easy accessibility to it via highways. In Damansara Heights, he adds, prices have remained high due to the limited units available there. "The appreciation per sq ft for semidees is very positive and that fuels demand for them. Some buyers may buy the place, tear it down and rebuild it," he says. Semidees in TTDI's Jalan Athinahappan are the most sought-after address followed by those in Persiaran Zaaba and Jalan Sulaiman, says another agent. Jalan Athinahappan is the preferred choice as it is much quieter than the other two areas. In the past two years, the value of semidees on Jalan Athinahappan has appreciated from RM1.65 million to RM1.8 million, adds the agent. According to the agents, there have been fewer purchases by foreigners this year than last year due to the current economic and political uncertainties. Eugene Liew of Jalin Realty says he had a client from China who was interested in buying a property in Damansara Heights earlier this year but he changed his mind as he felt Malaysia was not as politically stable as before. "But the quieter market aside, prices of semidees in popular locations have been stable," he adds. "Owners in Damansara Heights, for example, are holding on to their houses, preferring to wait for the market to recover. I have an owner who wants to sell his house for RM3.2 million. A buyer offered RM3 million but the owner refused to let go because he feels the house is worth keeping until the market is more stable." The trend these days, says Felicia Hew of Tech Realtors, is to go for 2½ to 3-storey semidees as buyers are looking for larger spaces. According to her, the prices have not dropped in prime areas in Petaling Jaya, including Taman Megah and Damansara Jaya, as demand outstrips supply. Read on for what semidee owners in the Klang Valley are asking for their properties.

LETTER FOR MAHATHIR

Bloggers Buzz

Written by Dr Syed Alwi Ahmad

Wednesday, 19 November 2008 00:00

Assalamualaikum wr wb, Dear Tun Mahathir, I think you under-estimate the will of the Rakyat to dismantle racialism. In this era of global competition and high technology - for how long can UMNO shield the Malays from the reality of a free market? You cannot hide the shortcomings of the Malays. No one stops the Malays from acquiring technology. You yourself sent thousands of Malays to study overseas. Yet where are the returns on your investment in them? Think of Proton - shouldn't your Malay engineers work double hard to improve their products like the Japanese? Malaysia has lots of flora and fauna. Shouldn't the Malays dive into Biotechnology on account of Malaysia's flora and fauna? Yet where are the Malay scientists etc? For how long can you evade the shortcomings of the Malays? You see - Malaysia is not unique in this matter. The whole Muslim world faces the same problem. Muslims simply do NOT do enough to chase after and acquire technology! Indeed - there are no industrialized Muslim countries except possibly - Malaysia!! The NEP and Ketuanan Melayu has been around a long time. The Malays should have used the opportunity they had wisely. Sadly - your own UMNO abused it! Now the Rakyat wants an end to racialism. So yes - you are right. The Malaysian Malay is going to suffer because they no longer have the crutch. But that’s Malaysia's problem. What I hope is that you and other Malaysian politicians had better not demonise Singapore in the process. You and others better not look down on Singapore Malays. We Singapore Malays can hold our head high and proudly so. Because we achieve on merit and not quota. It’s a real achievement. Well - it’s your country and not mine. I think that you first have to deal with the reality of Pakatan Rakyat..... Best Regards Dr Syed Alwi Ahmad Syed Alwi bin Ahmad Dr. Syed Alwi Ahmad teaches Applied Physics and Applied Physics Lab. at the Centre for American Education in Singapore. His focus is on Quantum Field Theory and General Relativity. His thesis on black-holes and quantum fields has been published in various conference proceedings. Dr. Syed holds a Ph.D Physics from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. He obtained his B.Sc from the National University of Singapore.

From Wall Street To Main Street

Proton Next?

If you think the financial tsunami is tailing off, then you are grossly underestimating the stupendous damages the tsunami is going to wreak.
Over the past one month, the US government has been going all out to salvage banks and financial institutions, including the injection of large sums of money and the acquisition of bad assets in a bid to stabilise Wall Street.
Wall Street represents the US financial system. With the collapse of companies like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, AIG on the brink of bankruptcy and hundreds of other banks lining up for government bailouts, Wall Street has never been in worse shape.
The most worrisome thing is whether the storm will eventually spread from Wall Street to Main Street.
Main Street denotes the overall economy and is constituted of millions of large and small corporations, and hundreds of millions of employed workers.
Wall Street is the blood stream while Main Street the body. If the blood vessels are blocked, the body will be corrupted.
The big guys in Wall Street are the automakers. Some say the US will not be what it is today without the automobile industry. Over a century of automobile industry development makes up half of the US economic development history.
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, the so-called "Big Three," churn out over ten million vehicles each year.
But now, the Big Three are on the verge of liquidation.
Prior to 2007, General Motors was still the bellwether of global auto industry, and once the world's biggest company.
But in the financial report released last week, the automaker registered US$4.2 billion loss for the third quarter this year, and the cash it had in hand might not see it through beyond next year.
GM's share price plummeted to US$2.13, a level last seen in 1946!
Deutsche Bank has predicted unreservedly that the automaker's target share price would be naught.
Ford and Chrysler are not any better.
The automobile industry involves not only the manufacture of motor vehicles, but also sales, services, accessories... And this whole string of value chain has three million jobs and livelihoods of tens of millions of people hooked onto it, as well as the lifeline for a score of industrial towns.
If the auto industry disintegrates, the US economy is headed for a doomsday.
While Washington is excessively anxious over this, it is simply impossible for it to plug the bottomless hole.
The Bush administration is prepared to set aside US$25 billion to resuscitate the auto industry, but prospects remain clouded as the amount is hardly sufficient to turn things around.

(By TAY TIAN YAN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)

MySinchew 2008.11.16

Japan in recession

Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan has entered into recession, Malaysia coming soon?

Pedestrians are reflected on an electric market board in Tokyo today. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell in early trade. — AP pic

TOKYO, Nov 17 - Japan’s economy slid into a recession for the first time since 2001, the government said Monday, as companies sharply cut back on spending in the third quarter amid the unfolding global financial crisis.

The world’s second-largest economy contracted at an annual pace of 0.4 per cent in the July-September period after a declining an annualized 3.7 per cent in the second quarter. That means Japan, along with the 15-nation euro-zone, is now technically in a recession, defined as two straight quarters of contraction.

The result was worse than expected. Economists surveyed by Kyodo News agency had predicted an annualised 0.1 per cent rise in the third quarter.

Japan’s Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano said following the data’s release that “the economy is in a recessionary phase,” according to Kyodo.

But the worst may be yet to come in the wake of the global financial crisis, especially with dramatic declines in demand from consumers overseas for Japan’s autos and electronics gadgets. Hurt also by a strengthening yen, a growing number of exporters big and small are slashing their profit, sales and spending projections for the full fiscal year through March.

Toyota Motor Corp, for example, has cut net profit full-year profit forecast to 550 billion yen ($5.5 billion) — about a third of last year’s earnings.

Compared to the previous quarter, gross domestic product shrank 0.1 per cent, the Cabinet Office said. Business investment — a main driver of Japan’s six-year economic recovery since 2002 — dropped 1.7 per cent from the previous quarter.

“As the global economy is expected to slow down for the time being, downward movements (in Japan) are expected to continue,” Yosano said, according to Kyodo.

Since taking office in late September, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has unveiled two economic stimulus packages in an effort to cushion the blow. His latest 27 trillion-yen ($275.7 billion) proposal includes expanded credits for small businesses and a total 2 trillion yen ($20.4 billion) in cash disbursements to households.

At its last meeting, the Bank of Japan cut its key interest rate for the first time in more than seven years, lowering it to 0.3 per cent, joining central banks around the world in trimming borrowing costs.

In its semiannual outlook report, the central bank slashed its projection for economic growth to just 0.1 per cent for the year through March, compared with a 1.2 per cent gain it projected in July. It said both exports and domestic private demand have weakened.

The deteriorating conditions also recently led Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Securities in Tokyo, to downgrade his outlook on the Japanese economy.

“We are now looking for a severe recession, similar to that during Japan’s own financial market crisis in 1997 to 1998, and to the current US recession, in terms of depth of real GDP contraction,” he said in a report.

Monday’s data showed that net exports sapped 0.2 percentage point from growth, as the high cost of importing fuel eclipsed a slight increase in outbound shipments. Imports rose 1.9 per cent, while exports grew 0.7 per cent.

Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of inflation-adjusted GDP, increased 0.3 per cent from the previous quarter. However, the rebound in consumer demand is unlikely to last, economists say. - AP

Yes Yes Dr.M ....You Are Right this time.......

You will not see this news reported in Utusan Malaysia and other BN controlled newspaper and this time I could not agree with Dr.M anymore.........

Dr.M says: "Malaysia will only left with "brainless" people if Malaysia government does not change its policies............. Most of the Malaysian professionals and expert has been snapped out" by foreign countries......... "

"Due to the Malaysia protection rules, Malaysian government has insisted not to recruit any foreign expertise. For eg, there are many IT experts from India are prohibited from entering the country, the same apply to other experts such as doctors......What we see today is that Malaysia flooded with Indonesia Labours"

Dr.M, now you only know ah? Malaysia is now suffering from the policies that carried out by you and the selfish politicians..........

Malaysia, where are we heading to?

馬哈迪：有腦專才被挖走‧大馬遲早只剩“無腦”人

2008-11-14 08:22

• 

  馬哈迪（左）從大馬對外貿易促進局主席丹斯里哈林（中）手中接過紀念品；右：當局首席執行員諾哈魯丁。（圖：星洲日報）

（吉隆坡）前首相敦馬哈迪說，大馬再不改變政策，總有一天，大馬就只剩下沒有腦（brainless）的人，而所有有腦的專才皆被其他國家以高薪挖走。

他說，政府為大馬栽培了很多人才，但這些人才常被外國公司以高薪挖走，而政府為了保護國人，堅持不吸引外國專家來大馬，反之，政府引進很多外勞。

“印度有很多資訊工藝專才，大馬不讓他們來；為了克服勞力荒，我們就從印尼引進很多不專業的外勞。如此下去，有知識的人不斷外流，知識水平低的人卻前來大馬。如此下去，大馬就只剩下‘沒有腦’的人。”

馬哈迪週四（11月13日）受邀在吉隆坡國際貿易論壇上致詞。他在問答環節中回答有關人才外流的問題時諷刺地說，若要對政府公平，挖走大馬專才的外國公司必須“賠償”大馬政府的損失，不過，問題在於，大家都活在不公平的世界。

出國工作或落地生根

他說，大馬專家到外國工作，並把外國的專業知識帶回大馬固然很好，不過，一旦國人在外國遇到漂亮的妻子而在當地生活，就可能連他們曾經住在大馬也忘記了。

馬哈迪以旅遊保健業為例說，政府似乎非常限制外國醫藥專家來馬，因為它認為，所有好的東西都要留給大馬人；孰不知，大馬的醫院一度多到政府要下令停建，因為沒有足夠的醫藥專家去管理、經營。

他說，現在的專科醫生所掌握的知識已越來越專，眼科醫生看的，也可能只是眼睛的一部份，大馬再不與外國專家交流，大馬專家知道的東西就越來越少。

承包商等人都有收入
推行大計劃促進經濟

馬哈迪說，雖然副首相拿督斯里納吉日後當首相時，能全權決定要不要進行大型發展項目，但他提醒道，不展開大計劃，很多人會面對損失。

他表示，進行大工程時，承包商、發展商、供應商、勞工等都有錢賺；若停止這些工程，他們的收入就減少了。

“我過去展開了很多大工程，如今看起來，也不見得有損失。不推行大計劃，經濟成長會放慢。”

針對巫統署理主席拿督斯里莎麗扎可能在黨選中挑戰尋求蟬聯的主席丹斯里拉菲達時，馬哈迪說，巫統是民主的，要競選就競選。

他強調，最重要的是，黨選後，大家都能回歸同一個團隊，不要分裂。

針對候選人涉嫌以金錢購買競選巫統署理主席職的問題，馬哈迪只輕描淡寫地說：“我有秘密消息來源。”

星洲日報‧2008.11.14

Non-Malay PM is possible, says Dr M

Pleaselah Dr.M.... Who Cares?

By Adib Zalkapli

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 12 - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today it is possible for anyone including the non-Malays to be the Prime Minister, but he warned against harping on the issue of having a non-Malay PM because that would itself be racist.

"When you talk about a non-Malay PM, you are being racist, because you shouldn't ask the question whether a Malay or non-Malay can be PM. Here everyone can become Prime Minister, but he must be a leader of the majority party," said Mahathir after delivering a keynote address entitled Bangsa Malaysia at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here.

He claimed that the situation in Malaysia was different from that of Singapore.

"It's very clear when (Singapore Prime Minister, Lee) Hsien Loong said non-Chinese cannot be the PM, they are very open, of course we say one thing, we do another thing," said Mahathir.

However he said Malaysia is not ready to have a truly multiracial political party.

"It doesn't work, every multiracial party is dominated by one race, like Gerakan and DAP. Even PAP in Singapore is not multiracial," said Mahathir.

He added even the opposition parties have failed to prove they are multiracial despite their repeated claims that racial politics has ended.

He said that the failure during his administration to unite vernacular and national schools under one roof is evidence that the people are not ready to be united.

On the imminent economic crisis Mahathir said the problem can only be solved with international cooperation.

"I can assure this is very difficult to handle. I have no confidence in Obama, what about Najib. This is too big for Obama and Najib. We need to change the system, to change the system, we need international cooperation," said Mahathir.

He said that the present system is open to all kinds of abuses.

"You have to have a system that is more solid, based on something that is more tangible. All currencies of the world were pegged to gold. But when the US decided to go off the gold, that is when things go out of control, because you can print any amount of money without any backing," said Mahathir.