How can man? Macam mana Penang boleh jadi macam nie? Kan Penang ditadbir oleh Pembangkang ( kata orang UmNo BN aka Bangkrapkan Negara ) yang tidak sedar diri bahawa merekalah Pembangkan di Penang ) Yang tadbir Penang ni ialah seorang Cina Baba dari Melaka, tapi he's very proud to be Penang CM yang menghambakan diri utk rakyat.
Penang. A different planet?
The bridge to a different ONEMalaysia?
Whenever I cross the Causeway into Singapore I get the feeling that, "Wow! This is like a totally different planet, man!"
Or when crossing the other way, "What the fuck! Baarger! This is like a totally different planet, man!"
I am sure you know what I mean, right?
And if you say, "Ale! So good meh?" going one way and "Where got?" coming the other, then you are:-
a) so blindly patriotic you deserve a medal
b) you've been paid to say "Where got?"
c) you really don't care one way or the other and are awaiting your PR approval from Australia.
Last week I spent a couple of days in Penang. You know, the island up north that is managed by those Opposition flers? I knew something was wrong the minute I crossed over the messy, Federal-funded and built Penang Bridge.
Eh? How come the Rapid Penang buses all so clean one?
Eh? Aren't those low-cost council flats? How come look so clean and fresh one? With new coat of paint some more.
How can man? These Opposition flers just know how to complain about Federal government not giving them enough money to do things, right? Also they are supposedly marginalising some communities by holding back development and business opportunities right?
Then how come everybody here looks so happy one? Okay, so 2 days isn't enough to make a survey worth shit la but I must still admit that I was impressed man!
Okay, so I shall wait impatiently for some comments to come in after this telling me, "If you like it so much, move there la. Blaardy pendatang!" But then it's different from being yelled at to go to another country. Penang IS in my country. Isn't it? Then how come it looks and feels so different one? Didn't all the YB's say that those Opposition flers can't do shit and not to vote for them?
Ah! And then I read in the newspapers that the Penang flers who live on the mainland are getting free bus rides to work. Some more can park their cars for RM1.00 the whole day and ride bus to work. Free! Can do like that meh? Opposition government wor.
Ah! And then ah I also heard the Chief Minister make a speech to an audience of about 200 people at a book store. Wah! I really tabik the Lim fler la. Damn best speech I've heard from a politician in years la. He spoke about Penang and the people's collective efforts in building a great place to live and work and bring up family all. And he never once highlighted any one particular community for praise. All are Penangites and all contribute and share. I tell you ah, after listening to him and enjoying Penang for 2 days I really felt like moving there to live la. Friendly, happy people. Malays, Chinese, Indians, Dll's. Clean environment. Efficient administration. Sun, sea and surf. What's there not to like? Well, maybe just one thing la. The property prices there quite terror la. Don't know if can afford. But then in a place like Penang the rule can always be "If you're prepared to work hard the rewards are there to be shared". So maybe can. Somemore no need to apply visa all.
Niamah!!!
61 comments:
Jac Yeap said...
Hahaa..Pat, I was there!!! Got to see you in person!!
Though yes..you’re right. Being a penangite myself, I was quite surprised when I heard Lim Guan Eng mentioned about internationally, they don’t care what skin color you are or which country you’re from but rather, what result you can deliver. It hit me that, is he the only politician that know of actual reality on how the globe turns? It was my 1st time listening to his speech vis-à-vis..yaa..shame on me…
Still, love your book….but love your blog more..! If you could print out this blog and make it into a book…I will definitely buy two..! One for meself..and another to borrow around…
Do update your blog more frequent k…!!! God Bless..
3:28 PM
donplaypuks said...
The 4 Pakatan controlled States attracted more FDI's than all the UMNO/BN ones and the Auditor General has certified that Penang and Selangor top the administration and transparency charts.
Nuff Said!
But do chek out my latest posting and cartoons on the Sighfull Special and Maha Firaun condoms at http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com/
Cheerio!
dpp
we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race
3:33 PM
LC Teh said...
Pat, I thought you're an original Penang lang? Those days 40 years ago I remember hearing your voice on Penang's Redifusion...
3:44 PM
Richard Loh said...
welcome to Penang Patrick and glad to know that you love it. Got Teohlogy signed by you and have yet to read it.
Housing is indeed a big problem in Penang Island and of course its very expensive due to many factors.
We Penangnites are indeed very fortunate to have LGE as the CM but you know lah the never ending attacks from you know who.
Malaysians are still not thinking right when it comes to voting, at least Penangnites are a little better knowing who to vote for. We are waiting for free food and goodies comes the 13th GE from BN but will vote for PR...lol...
3:44 PM
Anonymous said...
nice picture of incheon bridge. i can see it from my room at the sheraton.
3:49 PM
David Chan said...
Dear Patrick, do come! Penang welcomes you! :-)
Or, let's work together and send those flers away from every state in GE13. (I work and stay in Penang but vote in my hometown in Perak because I like tough fight... you know what I mean la... :-))
P.S. Mainland (Prai) property is still affordable.
4:03 PM
Anonymous said...
Come more often to Penang lo....You are most welcomed one!!
4:27 PM
cinafong said...
hahaha.. this is hilarious... but does give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I like that Lim fella lah PM
$a7u \m/ said...
Uncle Pat,
They r ruling party in Penang state Govt. not opposion fler...at least in Penang...lol~
Cheers!
$a7u \m/
4:59 PM
Anonymous said...
uncle pat, good one! i am a proud penangite even that i've residing in Kl for yrs. and yes! LGE has done a good job for penang, most of me mate, whether they r mly, indian, cina or dan lain lain are loving him, except ppl from umnoputra lah. u know what i mean.
btw, been to MPH BV1, your book has been sold out there. Will look out for it again.
5:06 PM
derichan said..
yes. You are visiting a whole new penang here...we are kinda like rural town last time but now we can say is urban city, do come visit here and survey on the internet about the housing here, there are still place that you can afford too because we not like the capital city which boom that fast too. Having being a penang "kia" is really proud...cheers to our Lim Chief Minister of Penang
5:15 PM
1 Malay-sia(L) said...
i don't think pat's a penang kia; probably a eeeboh chai.
5:20 PM
KoSong Cafe said...
I must say my wife commented twice that Penang appears to be cleaner since Pakatan took over.
But we are regulars at Lebuh Chulia where the antique shops are, and where the budget travelling 'angmo' hang out. The roads are still partially occupied by 'temporary' stalls, tables and chairs which are permanently there. The toilets of old coffee shops leave much to be desired which is a reason why my wife would insist on visiting a toilet before getting out of NSE, or use the newer one next to the stadium off Lorong Kulit if we happen to be there.
It is going to be very unpopular to try and change things. Slowly but surely, Penang should insist on upgrading toilets in those old shops, clear the streets of stalls occupying roads or pedestrian walkways. Someone already wrote about the impossibility of walking from one place to the other without having to walk out to the road now and again.
I understand the parking system is going to be changed, otherwise, tourists are often caught with tickets but cannot find the attendants.
5:51 PM
sintaicharles said...
I like Penang. I go there almost every year. Nothing beats the good food and friendly people on the island.
6:02 PM
Anonymous said...
At last we have a choice closer to home. No need to go to Australia or abroad.
6:10 PM
Anonymous said...
uncle pat,
i solute you wor--,I miss you radio four with yasmine yusuf. lah
i hope malaysia have more people like you - true grit lah
6:18 PM
Anonymous said...
Welcome Patrick to Penang. Penang has so much to offer. We have those flers that took pictures and highlight thru' emails to mppp for improvements and walla, most of the time, they happened. U can get easily contact nos of YBs, Councillors and officers in charge. Once i send an sms to a yb for email address and it replied almost instantly, impressive! Few days back i highlighted some road cleaning problem, and walla, the officer in charge contacted me and resolved the problem the next day.Very different now le...Keep it up to all penang state civil servents!
6:31 PM
Anonymous said...
Oh shit what has you done Patrick!!! With your write up praising the opposition and Penang CM for their efficient administration of Penang, you are surely inviting the BN/UMNO fellas (not forgetting the Ibrahim "The 3 x Shit" Ali and Utusan) to up their attacks against the Penang CM and opposition party. Gosh, Patrick, please write something-lah to praise the 1PM and his UMNO led government to balance things off. Anything that sounds like a praise will do lah as little praise is better than no praise.
6:52 PM
Zeroed said...
Frankly....I've been staying, earning a living in KL for the past 17 donkey years. As usual, as time goes, I go back less and less. One thing I notice when back recently is that the street are just too damn clean compare to before. U can see city council people periodically sweeping and cleaning up the place. This is not just something....but things being said and done. It's just marvelous.
7:14 PM
RicoRoyal3 said...
Penang extends her loving arm around an eloquent, opinionated bad*ss like you. Maybe your next book can be about the differences within a country.
7:51 PM
nstman said...
Penang has undergone massive changes, believe it or not. But the Barisan wont leave it alone. Every day, Barisan goons try to make it difficult for the people. These bastards try every way and mean to run down Guan Eng. Every minute detail is exploited. Everything is down to race. But Penangites are smarter than that. Penangites will show these shit stirrers that the only way is for all races to unite. And Penang is showing the way. Najib, are you listening?
8:01 PM
Anonymous said...
Me and my Malaccan colleague coincidentally quitted our 'rather' high pay job in Singapore and came back to Malaysia in 2009.
While today she is in Toronto now but I am still remain in Penang.
Could it be something to do with the Lim Guan Eng factor, hehe!
9:11 PM
Anonymous said...
Prejudice distorts what it sees , deceive when it talks and destroys when it acts.
Much of our self-esteem comes from feeling better (actually not) about ourselves than about others because of the group we belong to.
PREJUDICE is not easy to overcome especially to LOOSER. Instead of showing superiority and favourism , 1 malaysia shoud demonstrate compassion ,kindness , humility , gentleness and patience towards each other.
Above all 1 Malaysia shud be All in All.
ODB
9:21 PM
Anonymous said...
pat, u wanna be a penang-lang? then u must turned into a "kiamsiap" fler first. lol. :)
no offence, all penangites.
another penang-kia.
9:34 PM
patrickteoh said...
Thank you all Penangites for your warm hospitality and friendship. No I am not a Penang boy. I come from Ipoh which I personally think has gone to shit since the BN took over the government all those years ago from the PPP. There was a glimmer of hope in 2008. But Alas! Frogs came into the picture and Ipoh croaked. But there is hope. Next time!
9:55 PM
Anonymous said...
Bro you bias le. When you cross onto the island (Singapore and Penang) you already subconsciously wanted to see the good.
Imagine this - if you were a Singaporean and wrote what you wrote Mr Lee would have put you behind bars already. If you leave in Penang, you would probably cared a damn about what happens in KL and just enjoying the Penang Laksa and durians man!
9:59 PM
yin said...
am penangite and uncle lim is doing good. just that there aren't many job opportunities - those he created are the high tech/engineer job(but no taker). many get out of penang due to lack of good jobs, unless you want to work in a factory, or bank, or have own business, else, the pay is relatively low.
hope he continues to do well, and i will come back to penang, when i can make enough to afford the house.
10:38 PM
Anonymous said...
Nobody can deny that Penang is the cleanest and people friendly state since march 2008.
Couple months back i was at a friend " wedding kendhuri" in kampong Baru. A group of UMNO goons and PERKASA were having funs poking jokes at Selangor Govt. Then one of them asked "how about Penang?".. Nobody dare to make any comment.After couple minutes one joker break the silence " Penang sejak Cina Lim tu pegang, gua tabik(salute)la.. kalu boss kita(DSN) ada 10% otak cina lim tu pun dah bagus.. sure Malaysia terror... Ha ha you see Patrick even the UMNO and PERKASA macai admit it that Penang is another planet. Long Live Penang.
BK
10:41 PM
Anonymous said...
My wife and I both Thais (from Bangkok) having been travelling in and out of Penang since 2005.
All I can say a vast improvement since BN days. After 2008, we decided to settle down here. Bought a nice apartment near the beach and never for once regretted it.
CM Lim, keep up the good work. A model state for other states to emulate epsecially BN States. Doubt if they can even come close.
10:45 PM
Anonymous said...
why not?am sure ur family would love it here.
after all,this is pendatang island ma..
and we need more pendatang like u on this island.
kehoe
10:55 PM
oh chin eng said...
Hi Sir,
I am Chin Eng, a Penangite, your blog's reader and also the chairman of teh Student Representative Committee in University Tunku Abdul Rahman Perak.
I would like to invite you to my uni to promote your book and give a talk.
ok ah ok ah?? =p
11:02 PM
Lee Zhi-Li said...
As a through-and-through PJ Boy, I must admit it's very curious indeed. The way it's being put by you Mr. Patrick and the other commentors, sounds like Penang is now cleaner than Selangor! That the case-ah? By, a curious junior blogger www.boomtome.blogspot.com
11:25 PM
Anonymous said...
Heard his speech in Adelaide, Australia n was very impressed too. He n his team r so dedicated n genuine in making Msia a better place for all.
11:55 PM
Anonymous said...
Penang rules! WINGNUTS sucks! Born in Johor, living in Penang for the past 36 years already. All are welcome if you want to see examples of good governance, fair play and equal treatment. Nuf said!
12:51 AM
Anonymous said...
Hi Patrick - I am Penang born - Yb LGE has indeed turned the state from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan - mind you this is just 3 years of administration - it is improving by the day - Kudos to Pakatan and YB LGE and god bless you
12:57 AM
Anonymous said...
Patrick,
So many positive comments for LGE and team in Penang PLUS your encouraging write-up.
Please drop a note to LGE so that he and his team will be motivated. THey also need motivation. They are being run down day-in-day-out by the Barisan Najis gang and the Ibrahim Ali otak kosong.
Thanks and please write more often.
I enjoy reading your write-ups.
An observer
2:17 AM
mahaza said...
Pat,
even Shah Alam is cleaner and the greens/playing field are really taken care of. MBSA people move around in their cars to check the quality of works done by the contractors. Abandoned projects is looming to progress. Is it just me noticing these factors?
8:28 AM
Anonymous said...
Hi Patrick,
This is the first time I read your blog, and i must say it is AWESOME!!! This is what a blog should be all about! CM LGE has done a fantastic job that all Penangites are proud of (me included). I will go get a copy of Teohlogy. Come to Penang anytime!
9:06 AM
Anonymous said...
bro, i got a better idea. buy house in sungai petani and drive to work to penang. not that far. the green padi fields greet u on the morning drive and after work hang out at hard rock cafe penang before balik sp. plus... kedah now is PAS state ma... can experience PAS and DAP in both states!! p.s. sungai petani house still cheap.
9:19 AM
Anonymous said...
Nice one! Being from Penang myself (and now living in KL like everyone else), every time I go back, I always hear good things about the opposition party managing the public's funds very well. And these are coming from people who couldn't be bothered about politics etc.
11:09 AM
Penang kia said...
my penang friends are saying that Penang should be an independent country (just like Singapore), and keep all the federal taxes to Penangites. Pay taxes to federal but not getting aid. Penang will prosper even more without Malaysia!
11:34 AM
Lucius Chow said...
Patrick should conside moving to live in Penang for the good government, good food (see your blogger friend Anil Netto blog entries on the fabulous Penang street food) and friendly people.
Of course we still have the remnants of the Gerakan relics who are still making noise every now and then to please its umno master.
I am now working in Singapore and I hope you will do your book launch/signing in Singapore soon (perhaps after their GE as their PAP government may be afraid of your influence).
12:16 PM
Radiance said...
you mean you didn't smell it once you crossed into the penang border even from the mainland?
even the air is different. it smells like good governance.
glad you saw the beauty of my home state. cheers.
12:42 PM
Anonymous said...
Glad you enjoyed Penang.
UMNO is playing the politics of the '60s in Penang. The racial issues UMNO raised today in the state are no different from those raised against Lee Kuan Yew even though Guan Eng is a lot less confrontational than the then Singapore leader.
The living standard enjoyed by the everyone (including the Malays) in Singapore is a testimony of how good government policies can make a huge difference to the citizens.
Unfortunately, there is not much a state in Penang can do. Singapore then had a lot more autonomy than us today. Most importantly, Singapore had control in post-merger period over information and they could use the main stream media to reach to the voters. Penang today can only depend on the internet to fight lies and half truths in the main stream media.
The federation concept instituted by Tunku coupled with the constitutional amendments over the years whittled away state powers and had them concentrated to Putra Jaya.
This reduced the Penang government role to custodians of 2 main portfolios. One is land (which the previous CM surrendered to UMNO) and the other is local government.
So if we want to see real changes in Penang and Malaysia, get rid of the mediocre government in Putra Jaya.
- wira
12:47 PM
Walski69 said...
As my wife (who's from Penang) would say: "Hi, I'm from Penang, which country are you from?"
Yes, the propaganda machinery paints a bleak picture of Penang, but the reality is that the state is doing well under thr DAP-led state government.
Glad you enjoyed your time there!
1:11 PM
ahsiang - known as "吹水 - CHUI SUI" previously said...
Patrick, come to Penang la.
Glad that you give a good comment for Penang, hope this would give a loud and clear msg to other states that still under blood sucker control!
1:13 PM
Anonymous said...
Mate,
Are you serious ah? Falling in love with Penang in just two days? If you said you like the Char Koay Teow or Penang Laksa we understand but are you sure Pulau Pinang is now the most improved state in Malaysia? And Pakatan doing a fantastic job despite all the hoo ha I keep reading in other blogs?
May be I should visit the island to confirm what you so unshamefully brag about.
Taikohtai
Wait a sec! That's my former homestate you're talking about! Right on bro!
1:34 PM
Leslie Jeyam said...
Dear Patrick; its been a long time. Yes I believe everything you saw was as you say; unreal! A different planet. Almost not Malaysia yet so Malaysian I was there a little while back and got the exact same impression. Good people, good signboards (drove around in a rental) and good food. Needless to say I enjoyed myself, met some cool Joe's and drank myself silly by the beach.
The short holiday was punctuated with a 'must come back soon' and I am doing just that next month.
1:45 PM
Leslie Jeyam said...
And congrats on the book :)
2:00 PM
Anonymous said...
Aiya unker, very easy one lah, all you have to do is do away with under-table money/(over-table money ?), grease (for palms), "komisyen" ,"hadiah"etc etc...
You oso can do leh if you are the CM .
2:06 PM
new fart said...
See Patrick...you don't need all the resources from the corrupted Federal Govt. if you just use whatever you've got to manage the state...because you use every cent available to do the right thing by the people instead of lining their own pockets with most of it!!! That's why! Yes, going into Singapore is like returning to Hong Kong after you have left hell behind in Shenzhen. That's exactly the feeling you get when you are travelling between the two cities. Same feeling with returning to Malaysia after visiting Singapore except it is the other way round!
2:10 PM
marduk said...
Dear Pat,
What have Ah Goon been doing all those years? Worst is that he still has the cheek to make so much noise! Did he said he would SaiLang LGE this month? or jump off Komtar? which one??
2:28 PM
Daryl Lau said...
Excellent view and opinion Pat. I am also a Penangite who have been residing like so many in KL for the past 12 years. I do go back twice a year to visit my family and I totally agree with you that since 2008, Penang has blossomed into a perfect place to call home.
If only LGE can rejuvenate the job opportunities, I for one would gladly head back home but then I have a feeling Penang might just be overcrowded... LOL!
Gratz on your book btw!
Cheers!
Daryl
2:47 PM
Khun Pana aka johanssm said...
When the ever sarcastic Uncle Pat starts talking about something good is happening in Malaysia , this is a positive sign.
NiaMah to all the bn states.
2:50 PM
Anonymous said...
Uncle Pat dont fret!!
We will sweep the bn goons of the lands of IPOH once and for all in the next GE! Ipoh will be a clean and nice place to live again
Ipoh mali tarak sombong
4:22 PM
Anonymous said...
Yeah you're right Patrick. I was there in "Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu" in Georgetown late last year. I was pleasantly shocked that the back lanes of the city was sooooo clean. No smell of garbage whatsoever! And guess what Penangites don't double park!
Sigh maybe Penang should seek independence from Bolihland and called itself The Republic of Penang...LOL
4:37 PM
Anonymous said...
Pat,
You got pass the bridge near lam wah ee hospital, the small narrow fly over which was built by the former CM koh tsu koon. Piaang eh! Very narrow.
Kanineh this ah khoon fella ready created a bad traffic jam by building that fly over.
You must try this and give your comment.
Btw, your new book, very lun Phar wan (no1)
I already buy oh...I buy somemore to gift.
4:44 PM
Anonymous said...
From comments here, Pakatan Penang gets almost all its support from Chinese...
4:52 PM
Geronimo said...
Pat, although I was born and bred in KL, but my roots are actually from Penang and I do make a trip to the island every month on my business assignments. Couple of things worth mentioning:
1. Whenever I am in Penang, I stay at the B-suite Hotel In Bukit Jambul. For my dinner, I normally visit the food court just around the corner near the Shell petrol station. To reach there, I have to walk along the main road infront of the hotel where a monsoon drain runs parallel to it. Before the 2008 GE, the drain was filled with sludge and dirt so much so, it emitted a terrible odour which in most times spoiled my dinner appetite. Weeks after the 2008GE, I returned to Penang for another assignment. That evening I was thinking of walking a little further out from the monsoon and run the risk of being knocked by a car, when I notice there was no smell coming from the drain. I looked into it and what do you know, crystal clear water was running through it. Of course, the water is now a little dirty but nonetheless the drain is maintained as far as I can see.
2. I boarded a taxi at the Bayan Lepas Airport to ferry me to the hotel. It was six months after the 2008GE. The driver, who was a Malay, and I struck up a conversation. I started off by asking him how are things now under the new state govt. He replied enthusiastically, "Very good, Sir, very good". He went on to tell me how his uncle (an E or F Class contractor) just secured a project to provide lamps/lightings/wiring, worth RM500k from the state govt through the open tender system. He told me in the past, you can only dream of securing such a project as they are all controlled by the politicians, and even if you did, the amount you have to pay the main con hardly leaves you anything left to spent.
Well, I am certainly impressed and from the looks of things, BN, Gerakan or MCA can forget about getting Penang back. The state is now in good hands, especially runned by an accountant, heh heh heh.
4:53 PM
Anonymous said...
Nice piece Niamah! I used to listen you on the radio during the early 70's as a young teenager living in Bagan Serai.
By the way Niamah....the IGP went to the same school as you did in Ipoh...if you have not already, maybe you should link up with him. Then you two can try to make changes for the better in Ipoh. Maybe someday it can be on par with Penang.
What do you say Niamah...dont just talk lah. Try to make things happen....be part off the change.
sbennit@yahoo.com
5:11 PM
Anonymous said...
Uncle Pat
Good that you LOVE Penang!
Me too... Since LGE took over, the City State is simply superb place to visit relax and get laid too.
I've been looking for Penang Hokkien to be my LaoPor for quite sometime but failed to catch one, woh!
Visiting Penang & Traders Hotel my spot, every once-a-month at least for the last 3years lor.
Malacca can be as good as Penang if the state people select Transparency Integrity leaders instead of Mongkeys woh. Bet you agree with me!
Take care, Uncle Pat.
5:18 PM
Posted by patrickteoh
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
NAMA MENTERI YANG MEROGOL AMAH INDONESIA
Apa nak jadi dengan kepimpinan kerajaan Be End ini.Tak habis - habis dgn skandal seks. RTC dgn wanita bawah umur, AHO ( bekas MB Selangor ) dgn ipar sendiri sehingga melahirkan anak. Ini timbul pulak kisah menteri yg sgt pandai membakar jambatan dgn skandal yg cukup memalukan. Patutlah dia tarik diri daripada dicalonkan kedalam jawatan disalah sebuah organisasi dunia. Kalau mendengar cakap menteri ni, cukup sedap didengar dengan nukilan ayat yang cukup berbunga. Hari ini..............?
Kalau Anwar Ibrahim, habis astu dunia dipalongkannya.
Rujuklah pada link ini untuk pengesaha kesahihan maklumat isu yang digelapkan akhbar pro Be End ini
http://darisungaiderhaka.blogspot.com/
Kalau Anwar Ibrahim, habis astu dunia dipalongkannya.
Rujuklah pada link ini untuk pengesaha kesahihan maklumat isu yang digelapkan akhbar pro Be End ini
http://darisungaiderhaka.blogspot.com/
Friday, October 8, 2010
TOTAL INVESTMENT IN PENANG NOW RANK NO:3 IN MALAYSIA
Bangga Nana dengan pencapaian ini. Terbukti PR mampu mentadbir dgn lebih baik lagi dari KERAjaan Be End. Selangor tidak boleh dipertikaikan. Lepas ini next GE Johor PR sapu, biar terduduk TPM Mat Sembab.
Lim Guan Eng
Penang's total investment for Penang has surged from R 1.53 billion for the first six months of the year to RM2.25 billion as at July 2010. In other words, for the month of July alone, there was an increase of RM716 million of investment or an increase of nearly 50% in one month as compared to the total investments for the first six months of the year. Penang's performance for the first 7 months until July 2010 of RM2.25 billion is higher than the RM2.17 billion achieved for the whole of 2009.
Total investment for Penang now ranked No: 3 in Malaysia, with RM 2.25 billion, an Increase Of RM 717 million or nearly 50% in a month, compared to 2010 1st half of RM1.5 billion
Penang's total investment for Penang has surged from R 1.53 billion for the first six months of the year to RM2.25 billion as at July 2010. In other words, for the month of July alone, there was an increase of RM716 million of investment or an increase of nearly 50% in one month as compared to the total investments for the first six months of the year. Penang's performance for the first 7 months until July 2010 of RM2.25 billion is higher than the RM2.17 billion achieved for the whole of 2009.
This is based on the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) website today at www.mida.gov.my. Based on the latest MIDA statistics for proposed capital investments in Malaysia, Penang has been successful in securing RM2.25 Billion for the period of January till July 2010. Of this amount, RM738 million was secured from domestic investments while RM1.51 billion of foreign investments were secured.
With this latest investment figure, Penang is now ranked No: 3 behind Johor and Selangor in terms of Malaysia’s proposed capital investments.
This compares to Penang's position as at June 2010 when Penang was ranked No: 5 at RM1.53 billion. The Penang state government records its appreciation to the relevant state agencies such as InvestPenang, Penang Development Corporation, both the local councils and federal agencies such as MIDA that have played a role in ensuring that Penang remains competitive.
Investors continue to make Penang their choice of location for investment due to seven key factors:
1. Ready availability of skilled human talent
2. Effective and efficient supply chain management
3. Competent and reliable logistics and communications hub
4. Strong Intellectual Property Protection
5. Good Governance and effective government leadership
6. Building creativity and innovation in science and technology
7. Livable and intelligent city
Despite this encouraging improvement, Penang is still half way from this year's target of RM4.2 billion. The state government will gain motivation from this latest performance to redouble our efforts to achieve our target of RM4.2 billion for 2010 which is double last year's investment figures of RM 2.1 billion.
Friday, September 3, 2010
PKFZ : The Next 'Big Fish' after Hari Raya and to come from UMNO
Sensasi dan terus sensasikan. Tangkap, jangan tak tangkap, dakwa jangan tak dakwa. Bila Uncle Kutty jadi saksi, jawapan yang pasti ialah, apa nama, saya tak pasti, saya tak ingat. Diakhir plot cerita..... maka jadilah macam Kasitah Khadam, Eric Chia.
Yang melayang? Duit rakyat jugaaaaaa........
Malaysia Chronicle
Speculation has intensified that after Hari Raya the next ‘big fish’ will be hauled up for RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone financial debacle, and this time it is learnt it will be someone senior from Umno. Former Transport minister Ling Liong Sik was the first prominent political leader to have been arrested over PKFZ. Charges were pressed against him on July 30 for misleading the Cabinet on the project's land valuations. He has pleaded not guilty.In the days that followed Ling's arrest, there were high expectations that Prime Minister Najib Razak would follow through with a long overdue promise to weed out corruption. But more than a month has passed and no one other than Ling has been brought in.
Ling Liong Sik's arrest shocked the nationAs a result, Najib’s already thinning credibility took further blows. He was accused of making decisions to manipulate the political situation at both Umno and BN to his advantage, rather than attempting to solve the endemic corruption in the country.The Chinese community also saw in Ling’s arrest a stepping stone for Najib to placate the Umno grassroots while he went after several key leaders in the party that he regarded as obstacles to his career. But Umno watchers deny the allegations and said the PM had to bide his time because the investigators were not ready.“He may also have pulled back because he felt the timing was not to his advantage. He is extremely cautious but after Hari Raya, he will make his next move. It will be someone very senior in Umno even though he may not be so active in the party anymore. There will be a few others but it may not be all in one go,” a reliable source told Malaysia Chronicle.
Chan Kong ChoyMat Tyson or Chan or Tiong Names that have been bandied around include former Selangor mentri besar Muhammad Muhammad Taib, another former Transport minister Chan Kong Choy and Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing, whose firm Kuala Dimensi was the turnkey contractor which racked up the project's massive cost overruns.
Muhd Taib aka Mat TysonPKFZ is an ambitious integrated port development mooted during the Mahathir Mohamad administration. It took off in the early 2000s and Abdullah Badawi continued the project after Mahathir retired in 2003.The scandal has been described as a true Malaysian power play of conflict of interests, weak project management and bad governance at the highest levels - all the way up to Mahathir and Badawi.
Tiong King SingAmong the personalities named in an external auditor's report are two former transport ministers Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik (1986-2003) and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy (2003-March 2008), former Minister of Housing and Local Government Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh, who was also Port Klang Authority chairman (2000-2004), former Serdang Member of Parliament Datuk Yap Pian Hon who was Port Klang Aurhority chairman (2004-2007), Alor Setar Member of Parliament Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung, who was Port Klang Authority chairman (2007-2008), former UMNO treasurer Datuk Seri Azim Mohd Zabidi, the first woman general manager of Port Klang Authority Datin Paduka O.C.Phang and the project "executor" Bintulu Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing
Ling Liong Sik's arrest shocked the nationAs a result, Najib’s already thinning credibility took further blows. He was accused of making decisions to manipulate the political situation at both Umno and BN to his advantage, rather than attempting to solve the endemic corruption in the country.The Chinese community also saw in Ling’s arrest a stepping stone for Najib to placate the Umno grassroots while he went after several key leaders in the party that he regarded as obstacles to his career. But Umno watchers deny the allegations and said the PM had to bide his time because the investigators were not ready.“He may also have pulled back because he felt the timing was not to his advantage. He is extremely cautious but after Hari Raya, he will make his next move. It will be someone very senior in Umno even though he may not be so active in the party anymore. There will be a few others but it may not be all in one go,” a reliable source told Malaysia Chronicle.
Chan Kong ChoyMat Tyson or Chan or Tiong Names that have been bandied around include former Selangor mentri besar Muhammad Muhammad Taib, another former Transport minister Chan Kong Choy and Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing, whose firm Kuala Dimensi was the turnkey contractor which racked up the project's massive cost overruns.
Muhd Taib aka Mat TysonPKFZ is an ambitious integrated port development mooted during the Mahathir Mohamad administration. It took off in the early 2000s and Abdullah Badawi continued the project after Mahathir retired in 2003.The scandal has been described as a true Malaysian power play of conflict of interests, weak project management and bad governance at the highest levels - all the way up to Mahathir and Badawi.
Tiong King SingAmong the personalities named in an external auditor's report are two former transport ministers Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik (1986-2003) and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy (2003-March 2008), former Minister of Housing and Local Government Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh, who was also Port Klang Authority chairman (2000-2004), former Serdang Member of Parliament Datuk Yap Pian Hon who was Port Klang Aurhority chairman (2004-2007), Alor Setar Member of Parliament Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung, who was Port Klang Authority chairman (2007-2008), former UMNO treasurer Datuk Seri Azim Mohd Zabidi, the first woman general manager of Port Klang Authority Datin Paduka O.C.Phang and the project "executor" Bintulu Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing
REMEMBERING SEPT.98 : Who's Afraid of Anwar Ibrahim?
Retro sejenak..............
Remembering Sept '98: Who's afraid of Anwar?
Ahmad Irfan
Politics of the poisoned penFLASHBACK SEPTEMBER '98 Twelve years ago this day, the nation was shocked to learn about the sacking of deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, setting the path for a political crisis which has permanently, changed Malaysia's political culture. A few days earlier, AHMAD IRFAN of Impact, London, wrote this cover story.In the neo-feudal Malaysian political culture, if you cannot deal with someone politically, you circulate a poison-pen letter. In the last decade and a half, quite a few poison-pen letters have been going around the political circuit, one time or another, but none as obscene as the one which went into circulation mid-1997.
OFFER ME A JOB ... Anwar gestures to reporters in the days following his sacking
The target: Anwar Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy President of Umno (United Malays National Organisation) and the named successor of Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed; named by Dr. Mahathir himself.
Clearly the poison pen letter writer had someone else in view as the next prime minister, and, therefore, the first step was to throw mud at and discredit Anwar Ibrahim before putting forward the name of the rival candidate.
For a moral politician like Anwar, more appropriately, the charge had to be immorality, adultery.The police tried to investigate, but gave up when it thought it could go no further.
The prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, who is also the home minister, counselled his deputy to ignore the matter and not to worry unduly about the slander. Those who knew Anwar did not believe the accusations. Neither did the average Malay buy the defamation story, and the gossip died its natural death but the poison pen pushers had no reason to feel discouraged.
The days before the Umno general assembly last June, a book-length poison pen letter entitled '50 reasons why Anwar cannot become the next prime minister' (50 Dalil mengapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM), made its debut in the Malaysian political scene.
But unlike most previous poison-pen letters, the 50 Dalil had an author as well as a publisher. It carried a by-line Khalid Jafri, ex-sports editor of Utusan Malaysia, editor-in-chief of the now defunct Harian National tabloid newspaper, an undischarged bankrupt.Delegates arriving at the Umno general assembly had a copy of the poison book included in the party documentation handed over to them in the complimentary bag. This happened despite the passing of an interlocutory injunction by a high court judge only a day earlier, against the distribution and dissemination of the defamatory book. It was something quite odd and many at the assembly were trying to put two and two together.
The Umno Youth leader from Negri Sembilan, Ruslan Kassim, had done a little checking with the Registrar of Companies which linked the book's publishers with the disgraced former chief minister of Malacca, Abdur Rahim Tamby Chik and his wife, Zabedah Abdullah. Ruslan Kassim had also heard from the Federal Territory Umno that the party secretariat had been used to distribute the book. This pointed at the party secretary general, Sabbaruddin Chik. Who is actually behind this drama, asked Negri Sembilan Umno Youth leader.
But none of the two Chiks were willing to admit to anything. (The book was reported being sold now in the form of a magazine in Klang and as photocopies in Jalan Petaling, but the police chief Abdur Rahim Noor said nobody had reported it to them and they can take action only if a report is lodged with the police).Tamby Chik said he was aware of the allegations, but rather than deny them, he promised to make a statement. Sabbaruddin Chik promised to investigate "maybe one or two persons (from the Umno secretariat) were involved" but he was not sure.But how did Umno officials happen to violate a high court injunction against the distribution of the book?
The deputy home minister Tajol Rosli thought one needed to find out whether the book was distributed before or after the court order. He seemed to suggest that if officials at the Umno secretariat had already put the book in the conference bag before 17 June, then probably the ban had not been violated!
For the Negri Sembilan youth leader, however, the matter was serious enough to warrant action under the Internal Security Act (ISA). He saw the drama as a clever plot to drive a wedge between Mahathir and Anwar and to destabilise the country, especially at a time when Malaysia was facing a serious economic crisis. But we don't use the ISA that way, we use it against drug and forgery offences, explained Dr. Mahathir.He was correct.
Only two months after he had rejected the demand to use ISA against those who had published and were spreading slander against his deputy, the home ministry did take recourse to the very ISA and allowed the police to detain three young Malaysians for allegedly spreading rumours of a kind that seemed comparably much lighter than the message of Khalid Jafri's book.
Presumably what these young Malaysians had done was that they had simply downloaded an email message which someone had sent them. The email happened to be about reports of commotion in the downtown Chow Kit area and they thought they should warn their friends to avoid the locality. The rumours themselves were not entirely baseless. These were probably triggered by a visible police presence in the area. Moreover people learnt that the local hospital had received a prior police warning to be ready for a possible emergency.But the 50 Dalil book seemed to be a different affair.
At the general assembly, the Umno youth rank and file was demanding stern action against any party member involved in whatever way in the publication of the book, but the party president replied it was up to the party's Management or Disciplinary Committee to take action against any Umno member involved in the printing and distribution of the book. However, Dr. Mahathir also said: We want to know who did it why he did it and whether what he stated has any basis and whether the owner of the publishing house premises (Abdur Rahim Tamby Chik and Zabedah Abdullah) is involved.In a written reply in Dewan Negara (senate) last month, Dr. Mahathir pleaded helplessness.
It is difficult for the government to prevent completely the printing and publication of publications like 50 Dalil Mengapa Anwar Tidal Boleh Jadi PM, he answered Senator Datuk Zainuddin Maidin who wanted to know what the government planned to do to ensure that such books were not written, published or distributed in the future. We could ban a book, however, if its contents were found to 'disturb the peace, safety or moral of the public,' he went on to add.
He apparently did not think, the book 'disturbed' any of these.The Kuala Lumpur High Court judge, Datuk Wira Haji Mohamed Noor bin Hj Ahmad, who confirmed his earlier injunction found 50 Dalil to be a 'long poison pen letter put together in the form of a book'.Nevertheless Dr. Mahathir's approach towards a book which tried to assassinate the character of his deputy and his named successor Anwar Ibrahim seemed extraordinary ambiguous at best, protective otherwise.
So, was the prime minister behind the book plot? "No I don't think so", says Anwar. "In fact I am sure he is not," he adds emphatically. "It's some other people and other interests who are trying to sow doubts and misgivings in Dr. Mahathir's mind and to drive a wedge between us".With what end in view? "Their ends may be narrow and personal but they really hurt the progress and development of the country.
Although it has long been agreed and publicly announced that there is going to be no contest for the first two positions in the party and government, they keep telling Dr. Mahathir that I was going to challenge and oust him from the leadership. Given my clear and categorical position, I did not think I had to say it overloudly, yet some people keep stoking the fitnah and I am, therefore, going to make it clear yet again that I have no intention to challenge Dr. Mahathir's leadership. "I have said this many times, but it has all been for nought," but "right here in front of my Penang friends, I want to announce my full support and loyalty to Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed for him to remain as party president."Anwar Ibrahim was speaking at the ceremony to open the new Penang Umno headquarters by Dr. Mahathir (12 August) his home state of Penang.
He said he wanted to "kill all rumours of a rift [between me and the prime minister] and to declare that any rumours that I am vying for the presidency [of Umno] are all lies.""Dr. Mahathir is not a new leader. He has vast experience in all matters. If you compare me to him, I am just a student. I can never go against my mentor, much less my father. We may have some differences but it is impossible to believe that these petty differences will split us up. When it comes to important matters, including economic issues, we stand united."Therefore, said Anwar: "I have spoken about this to all Penang Umno leaders and at the state liaison committee meetings. The state Umno will nominate Dr. Mahathir as party president." And added jocularly, "don't forget to put me as his deputy."There was spontaneous applause from all those gathered at the meeting and both the state leadership and Umno grassroots who were constantly bombarded with all kinds of rumours felt very much relieved by Anwar's speech that despite all rumours the party leadership remained united.Anwar made his speech in Penang on Tuesday 11 August, and next day the police in Kuala Lumpur booked the author of 50 Dalil on a single charge of publishing false and malicious news that Anwar Ibrahim had fathered an illegitimate child with a named woman.
Probably interesting, but it was just coincidence because the police had earlier said that they were going to make an announcement on that day. The author was granted bail and the Sessions Court has fixed 7 December for the hearing of the case. The offence carries a punishment of a maximum prison sentence of three years and a fine of up to RM20,000.However, of the other slanderous accusations, the Inspector General of Police said they were still looking into the rest of contents of the book.
But in the meantime, the police did take an early interest in one Nallakaruppan, because they found his name in the book as Anwar's tennis partner and as some kind of pimpish character in the former's allegedly immoral doings.Looking into Nalla, as it were, the police stumbled into 125 rounds of Fiocchi 6.35mm live bullets which he had at his house without any lawful authority.
He was also charged on 12 August, but under the Internal Security Act. The offence, if proven, carries a mandatory death sentence. Nalla, 52, is an MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress) official and public affairs director with Mangum Corporation. He too pleaded not guilty to the charge; his case comes up for hearing on 9 November.It is significant that while the gunless bullets were found in Nalla's house on 31 July, the police spent almost two weeks interrogating him before charging him formally before the Sessions Court. Although the court had remanded the accused at Sungai Buloh prison, the very next day the prison Director General ordered his transfer to police headquarters lock up at Bukit Aman.
It was done to facilitate investigation of matters involving the security of the country.September 20, 1998: At Masjid Negara, Anwar gives his final address calling for Mahathir's resignation hours before his arrest.
The police say the Nalla case has no connection with Khalid Jafri's, but that is why the whole police approach to the 50 Dalil affair becomes questionable. The Malaysian home ministry's decision not to ban the 50 Dalil and to let the question of libel be dealt with by the High Court was quite correct even though it is doubtful that the ministry would have dealt with the matter in the same manner had the subject of the slander happened to be the home minister himself, Dr. Mahathir.
The police say the Nalla case has no connection with Khalid Jafri's, but that is why the whole police approach to the 50 Dalil affair becomes questionable. The Malaysian home ministry's decision not to ban the 50 Dalil and to let the question of libel be dealt with by the High Court was quite correct even though it is doubtful that the ministry would have dealt with the matter in the same manner had the subject of the slander happened to be the home minister himself, Dr. Mahathir.
Presumably, in that case, before long the author, printer, publisher, distributor and the lot would have found themselves locked up in Bukit Aman, helping the police to unravel the conspiracy against the security of Malaysia.But in the case of the 50 Dalil, instead of letting the court decide on the alleged libel, the line of police inquiry appeared to be directed at helping the author of the slander by trying to dig 'dirt' and to find 'witnesses' who would incriminate Anwar Ibrahim.
That would seem to add yet another theory to the couple of conspiracy theories already going round in the Malaysian capital.According to this theory, as the accusations of immorality are not likely to stick, the police might be trying to extract an appropriate confession from Nalla that would implicate Anwar in some kind of a political conspiracy to overthrow Dr. Mahathir.
This ties up with another conspiracy theory, held by Dr. Mahathir himself, that the Malaysian and, for that matter, the whole Asian economic crisis was in fact an international conspiracy against Malaysia and the rising tiger economies of Southeast Asia.There was indeed an international dimension to the sudden crash of the tiger currencies, but it was a moot point if the crash was orchestrated, because the fault lines lay within the very capitalist structure of Malaysian economy: interest and speculation, greed and grab, false money and unearned income.
There is little point in blaming Soros or his alleged Shylockian behaviour when Malaysia itself had its own fair share of Muslim Shylocks.Nevertheless, that's how the conspiracy theory went along and since Anwar was not showing any solidarity with the Malaysian Shylocks and was resisting attempts to bail them out at the cost of an already short-changed taxpayer, some clever guys threw up another conspiracy theory: that Anwar himself was part of this international conspiracy.
Of course, it is always possible to take away the finance portfolio from Anwar Ibrahim and relegate him as a perfunctory deputy prime minister by appointing a second deputy prime minister, but it may prove to be costly politically. Moreover removing Anwar from the finance ministry could also create a problem of confidence in the market. He does have reputation as a finance manager who is known to reason even with the prime minister if he believes that a certain action or policy is not in the best interest of the country. Therefore, if Anwar has to be got rid of, it has to be through some non-political method.
The 50 Dalil accuses Anwar Ibrahim of being a CIA agent (sic) and even goes on to remind one of his earlier detention under the ISA because he was working against the security of the country.Khalid Jafri also says that the home ministry guys are against Anwar. All this would then lend credence to the theory that the 'guys' who dislike him are also plotting to cook up a holding charge against Anwar which would force him to resign.
While he may be exonerated eventually, though not as far as it would lie in the hands of the Malaysian Shylocks, the stratagem would at least disable him politically for a long time to come.To make things simple, the Jafri book says that before he passed away, Anwar's uncle, Haji Sulaiman Palestine, had advised Dr. Mahathir to appoint after him either Abdullah Badawi or Sanusi Junid as the next prime minister, not Anwar Ibrahim.In fact rumours were going round in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago that Anwar was about to be arrested and that the present foreign minister, Abdullah Badawi, would be appointed deputy prime minister in his place.
Where does Mahathir stand amidst all this? He does believe that there is an international conspiracy against him. Does he further believe that his deputy too was an accomplice in that conspiracy? Most probably he is caught in a dilemma and he does not hide it. He says he does not want to believe but people do keep telling him that Anwar Ibrahim is going to challenge his leadership.
Although Anwar Ibrahim declared it, yet again, last month disclaiming any intention to contest against him, even if some members of the party happened to nominate him, but the same people tell him "who knows?"There could have been no worse time for the economic crisis to hit Malaysia. It hit suddenly and at a time when Dr. Mahathir was at the height of his political career and when he could possibly look forward to retiring gloriously into history.
Now the crisis has brought him face to face with his own human vulnerabilities. The need to protect the interests of his children makes him depend more than before on the so called cronies who were useful and obliging in the past and who too have their own interests to serve and to protect, more than their master's.
However, the economic crisis has exposed a sharp variance of approach between the prime minister and his deputy on not only how to, but also how not to, deal with the crisis. Dr. Mahathir does feel bad when Anwar tries to argue against policies which, he believes, benefit only a few but hurt the long term interests of the country.
However, for the same reason the prime minister is also unhappy with the governor of the central bank, Bank Negara, Ahmad Mohammed Don.Only the other day, he accused the governor for playing into the hands of the IMF and compounding Malaysia's financial problem by resisting lowering the interest rates in order to rescue the ailing companies. But Ahmad Don objects to what is obviously giving public money, and cheaply, to those companies which have not performed well with the loans that they already hold and have in fact been an accomplice in the crisis with foreign money traders. The governor offered to resign last May and last week (August 31) he and his deputy, Dato Phong Weng Phak, resigned.
Anwar, too, is known to have been advising against bailing out the non-performers by helping them out from the public and trust funds like the Tabung Haji and the Employees Provident Fund. Then the cronies pop up to say to Dr. Mahathir that we told you already your deputy was following the IMF to thwart your plans for economic recovery.And this, they go on to add, shows that both the IMF and CIA are sabotaging your efforts in order to put Anwar in your place, that is why, according to the conspiracy theorists, on the one hand international agencies down grade Malaysian rating and the international media like the Time magazine, Asian Wall Street Journal, Asiaweek, the CNN et al have been so supportive of Anwar Ibrahim's policy prescription as against your desire to bail out the troubled corporate sector.
Whether or not Dr Mahathir believes this version of conspiracy theory, he does have a weakness for his children. He is more beholden to his cronies for offering helpful advice than to Anwar who is advising against doing anything that might bail out only a few at the cost of a multitude of small entrepreneur.
It would appear that Dr. Mahathir is building defences around himself, and has to move fast to freeze the influence of his named successor.In quick moves after the Umno general assembly, the prime minister replaced the editor in chief of Utusan Melayu and group editor of Berita Harian Malay newspapers as well as the director general of the TV3 channel because they behaved 'no better than the foreignmedia.'Anwar's powers as finance minister were already circumscribed by the creation of a National Economic Action Council last year. Dr Mahathir recently appointed his close friend and the foremost Malay billionaire, Daim Zainuddin, as Special Functions Minister as an undeclared economic supremo.
Rumours suggested that Anwar was going to resign in protest, but he refused to oblige those who had wished him to go in a huff. Appointing anyone as cabinet minister was the prime minister's prerogative and the rumours of his resignation were baseless, he said.However, more critical observers of the Malaysian scene do seriously believe that there is indeed a conspiracy-- not exactly against Dr. Mahathir, but against this rising Southeast Asian Muslim nation.
With the neighbouring Indonesia already immobilised and pushed more than 40 years behind in its social and political development-- or in the words of Dr. Mahathir this 'largest Muslim nation in the world now has submitted to actually the Jews'-- a similar scenario is probably going to be played in Malaysia as well.Dr. Mahathir has tried to court and cultivate the Zionist entity by opening Malaysia's doors to visits and trade by Israelis. Only a year ago he personally sponsored a visit to Malaysia by an Israeli youth delegation headed by the deputy director general of Israel's education ministry as well as allowed an Israeli team to play cricket in Malaysia.
Earlier in 1996, Israel's largest bank, Bank Hapoalim, signed a ground breaking agreement with the Malaysian Public Bank in order to facilitate direct financial transactions between Israel and Malaysia. But it is doubtful if anyone in Tel Aviv is beholden to him more than they are to Yasir Arafat.
Anwar Ibrahim, on his part, has been trying to cultivate a suave and urbane image of an Asian Muslim leader for himself. He lays stress on democracy, human rights and civic society and no one can fault him for any trace of fundamentalism. The Islamic Youth leader of the ABIM days has long matured into a world class statesman.
Like Margaret Thatcher, Dr. Mahathir believes in speaking his mind and telling as it is to western leaders. Of course he also tries to sweeten the impact of his words by rewarding them with business carrots. Still, those who take the carrot do not feel good about being lectured by Dr. Mahathir.
Anwar Ibrahim's style is to engage in dialogue and seek a common ground. They cannot object but want an equal dialogue with an Asian politician.In any case, who would the big powers and the IMF prefer to lead Malaysia in the years ahead? The answer is 'NEITHER.' Neither the pro-Israeli Malay nationalist, nor the mellowed 'Islamic radical'.Dr. Mahathir has done great.
A man of realpolitik, he opened up the country to international capitalism and led a process of quiet westernisation. A country whose constitution declares Islam as State religion is equally comfortable with beauty contest as well as with contest for the reading of the Qur'an. But at 72, he is disappointed to see Malaysia's 'record of economic growth suddenly eroded'. It means an unsympathetic IMF doesn't have to do any more than to let the economic crisis run its own course and to let the coffers of the state be emptied one by one.
Anwar Ibrahim is a 'moderate', but being 'moderate' is quite dangerous. It is easier to deal with someone who makes all the radical noises and has no intellectual or political ability to translate his radicalism into policy. It is also quite easy to demonise and finish off a radical than a to repel the persuasive intellect of a moderate.With a radical past and a moderate present, and at 52, Anwar Ibrahim represents a great ability to take Malaysia on the course of greater social, economic and political independence.
Do the IMF and CIA want such a politician to succeed Dr. Mahathir as prime minister of Malaysia?The conspiracy would then be to get Anwar Ibrahim first and the rest would follow.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
INI YANG TERAKHIR KOT TENTANG MAT EZAM KOTAK @ SOROS @ SESUMPAH.
Bila baca dan faham betul betul, rupa - rupanya dia ni opportunis @ pengecut. Main wayang je lebih.... yang dapat info Saudara Nasa, yang disuruh sain Mat Ezam, yang dapat gelaran pahlawan jawa.....sapa lagi kalau bukan Mat Ezam kotak.... Itu lah dia Lu Bu
BABAD PENDEKAR JAWA....Khalid Jaafar
Pada 2 Januari 2007 saya menulis ini tetapi tidak saya kirimkan. Meskipun saya mendapat permintaan bertubi-tubi supaya babad ini saya tulis hingga habis dan saya telah tahu bagaimana untuk menutupnya tetapi hati saya berat untuk menjadikannya sebagai posting. Maka saya savekan sahaja. Nah ternyata masa untuk menutupnya sudah benar-benar tiba.
Saya akan memulai penutupan babad ini dengan satu wejangan pada gambar di sebelah yang saya tangkap dengan Nokia 3600 semalam. Lelaki dalam gambar ini yang kelihatan seperti Ho Chin Min memang seorang Vietnam, seorang intelektual dan seorang anti komunis. Thai adalah sumber saya kepada kehidupan awal Lai Teck di Vietnam sebagai sebagai seorang ejen periskan Perancis. Biar saya segarkan kembali ingatan kawan-kawan bahawa Lai Teck ejen Kampetei semasa Jepun menguasai Malaya dan Singapura dan juga ejen British yang menjadi menjadi Setiausaha Agung Parti Komunis Malaya. Bagi orang kiri Lai Teck adalah pengkhianat agong. Namun bagi saya beliau adalah penyelamat agong, orang yang menyelamatkan Malaya dari jatuh ke tangan komunis, maka peranannya lebih besar dari yang dimainkan oleh C C Too. Apakah relevannya intelektual Vietnam ini pada pendekar Jawa kita? Thai adalah salah seorang mentor awal Ezam. "Kenapa Ezam keluar Keadilan?," tanya beliau tatkala kami menghirup kopi di Starbuck yang hanya beberapa langkah di sebelah kiri gambar ini. "Dia sudah tidak punya keyakinan terhadap perjuangan Keadilan," jawab saya rengkas.
Sekarang biar saya sambung dan kunci ketat-ketat babad ini. Lihat sebelah atas gambar itu betul-betul, nama hotel nampak jelas:"Orchard Parade Hotel." Di Singapura, lebih tepat di Orchard Road. Di hotel inilah bermulanya babad dan dengan gambar hotel ini saya akan mengakhirnya, mengakhirnya dengan menceritakan awal mula cerita. Hanya tiga orang yang tahu kisah ini, sang pendekar, sang penulis, dan sang ketiga telah meninggal dunia-- Datuk Nasaruddin Abdul Jalil (Nasa).
Anwar Ibrahim telah dibawa ke mahkamah, dan matanya lebam. Seluruh dunia menjerit. Tetapi siapa yang memukulnya? Tidak siapa yang berani menyebutnya, bahkan ramai tidak berani mengesyakkinya. Semasa Anwar menjadi timbalan perdana menteri tim keselamatannya adalah terdiri dari anggota UTK, dan seorang pengawal peribadi Nasa adalah bekas UTK. Dari mereka Datuk Nasaruddin mendapat maklumat bahawa orang yang memukulnya adalah Tan Sri Rahim Nor. Dan Nasa telah mengetahui, dan dia memberi tahu saya, bahawa bos kami telah dipukul sehari selepas kejadian itu berlaku.
Gambar mata lebam kami lihat di hotel Orchard Parade dan kami bertiga berbincang. "Kita mesti beritahu dunia yang memukulnya adalah IGP," kata saya. "Kita di luar negeri, kita boleh lakukan, kawan-kawan dalam negeri tak boleh lakukan, bahaya," hujah saya lagi. "Setuju, kau tulis statement," kata Nasa. "Aku boleh tulis, tapi Ezam kena sain, sebab dia setiausaha politik," kata saya. "Setuju, Ezam sain," kata Nasa. Kami bersurai dan bertemu kembali bila kenyataan selesai saya derafkan. Nasa membacanya dan sambil itu saya mengulas lagi."Kena keras, tak boleh lembut. Kalau lembut mereka tak akan siar. Kalau mereka tidak siarkan mereka terpaksa nafikan, jadi orang tahu ada tuduhan IGP membelasah bekas TPM." "OK," kata Nasa, "Ezam, kau sain." Ezam tidak mahu menandatanginya, tidak dengan serta merta. Dia minta masa untuk menelitinya. Selepas 24 jam dia menandatanganinya dan kenyataan itu kami faxkan kesemua media. Seperti yang saya jangkakan tidak ada akhbar yang melaporkannya. Tetapi A Kadir Jasin kemudiannya mengluaskan dengan menyindir Ezam dalam kolumnya "Other Thots". Mulalah Ezam dibalun kiri dan kanan, maka lahirlah seorang pendekar. Tetapi pendekar yang baru lahir itu, ini beliau beritahu saya lama sesudah itu, lemah longlai tidak bermaya. Mengapa? Dia tahu akibat menandatangi kenyataan yang saya tuliskan. Dia akan disingkirkan dari Umno, itu baginya adalah satu mala petaka yang maha dahsyat.
Yusmadi, peguam Ezam semasa di bawah ISA dan kini ahli parlimen Balik Pulau, memberitahu saya Ezam pernah menulis surat kepada Abdullah Badawi dari dalam penjara Kajang. Dan dari beberapa sumber lain saya membuat kesimpulan Ezam telah di'turn over' semasa di Kamunting. Selepas di bebaskan dari ISA Ezam tidak aktif dan tidak sama sekali berada dalam satu platform dengan bekas-bekas tahanan ISA. Ini saya kira adalah janji beliau dengan pegawai-pegawai yang melakukan turning over terhadap beliau. Kemudian dia melakukan banyak kontak dengan pemimpin-pemimpin Umno, termasuk dengan Khir Toyo yang ketika itu menteri besar Selangor. Dan dia mula berbangga-bangga dengan kontaknya dengan pemimpin-pemimpin Umno. Suatu hari dia memberitahu saya kata-kata seorang Umno: "Ezam, kau cepatlah masuk Umno, aku dah tak tahan melihat kebahlulan yang ada dalam Umno sekarang." Wah Ezam bukan main terkesan dengan pujian tersebut. Bila berlaku siri tindakannya, meletak jawatan dari ketua AMK dan lain-lain saya telah yakin bahawa dia membina jambatan untuk kembali kepada Umno. Tetapi Ezam juga melakukan diversion, mengingat jalinan dengan pemimpin-pemimpin tertentu Pas dan melontar khabar-khabara angin akan menyertai Pas. Dan ada pemimpin Pas yang termakan dengan diversion tersebut.
Walhasil Ezam telah kembali ke zaman pra-peristiwa Orchard Parade Hotel. Maka tamatlah kisahnya sebagai pendekar Jawa. Selepas ini kita akan menyaksikan Ezam sebagai Lu Bu. Saya sudah sarankan supaya membaca San Guo Yan Yik. Kalau masih belum membacanya maka tidak akan faham. Pagi tadi saya memanggil Liau Kok Fah, bila dia mengangkat panggil dia terus bertanya:"Bagaimana dengan kawan awak?""Satu tahun dahulu saya sudah katakan dia Lu Bu, kau tak mahu percaya,"jawab saya."Betul apa yang awak katakan, dia memang Lu Bu, sekarang saya percaya," tambah Liau.
Bagi Ezam segala-galanya adalah politik. Dia tidak pernah mengerti apa itu reformasi. Ezam memasuki semula Umno tatkala Mahathir keluar. Hakikatnya adalah beliau adalah jelmaan muda kepada Mahathir. Pada umur yang agak muda Ezam telah menjadi sifu, sifu politik adu domba, meastro of factional politics. Nasib baik ramai yang jujur dan tak suka adu domba dalam Keadilan maka dia tidak ramai yang mahu menari menurut gendangnya. Dalam Umno memang ramai yang suka menari tarian perpecahan. Inilah telahan: Ezam masuk melalui saluran Khairy dan diterima oleh Badawi. Tetapi dia tidak akan mahu menari dengan tarian Badawi-Khairy sepenuhnya. Dia juga akan menghantar orangnya membawa pesan kepada Najib, kepada Mukriz, kepada Hishamudian. Badawi-Khairy memerlukan Ezam pada saat lemah mereka, tetapi kalau kubu lain boleh menawarkan kemajuan politik kepadanya dalam Umno dan kemajuan itu memerlukan dia membawa kepala-kepala Badawi-Khairy kepada Najib, atau Muhyiddin atau Hishamudin, dia akan lakukan. Dua ribu tahun yang lalu bukankah ini yang dilakukan oleh Ezam sebagai Lu Bu? Sudah saya katakan baca San Guo!
Tamat muktamad dan tiada sambungan lagi!
MENGENAI MAT KOTAK@SOROS@RAJA SESUMPAH...EZAM MD NOOR
Sambungan
PENDEKAR SUMPAH SUMPAH....Khalid Jaafar
Laman web ceoexpress.com memang mencabar daya pilih, kudrat dan akal. Seperti memasuki supermall, leka kerana terlaku banyak pilihan, dan akhirnya lelah. Where is the knowledge we have lost in information - dimanakah ilmu yang hilang dalam maklumat. Soalan ini ditanyakan oleh T S Eliot beberapa dekad sebelum berlakunya ledakan maklumat. Zaman ini sungguh mewah dengan maklumat. Tetapi apakah kita semakin pandai? Majalah The Atlantic Monthly bulan ini menyiarkan esei "Is Google Making us More Stupid?" yang membentang hubungan ilmu dengan teknologi.
Maka saya sering berdepan dengan dilema. Buku atau web. Sebagai penulis saya perlukan idea. Dailog-dailog Plato lebig sarat dengan idea dari yang terkandung dalam Google. Jadi menghadam sebuah dialog kecil seperti Phaedrus lebih mencerah, lebih memperkasakan otot-otot akal dari berbulan-bulan melayari Google. Tetapi sebagai penulis saya juga perlukan maklumat.
Idea dalam buku, maklumat dalam web. Dan semalam AWJ--rakan sekelas di Masjid Tanah awal 1970an dan makan nasi bersama dalam ladang getah di sebelah sekolah--memperkenalkan ceoexpress.com, satu laman yang mempunyai tembusan kepada maklumat berkualiti.
Tatkala sedang asyik menyelak ceoexpress.com malam tadi saya terdengar suara pendekar Jawa kita menjerit dalam tv. Saya tidak menonton tv, hanya mendengarnya dari jauh.
Tatkala sedang asyik menyelak ceoexpress.com malam tadi saya terdengar suara pendekar Jawa kita menjerit dalam tv. Saya tidak menonton tv, hanya mendengarnya dari jauh.
Ezam mahu bersumpah 'secara Islam'. Yusmadi, ahli parlimen Balik Pulau dan salah seorang peguam pendekar kita semasa dalam penjara, pernah memberi tahu saya: "Ezam ini orang yang tidak punya keyakinan diri. Bila mahu bersumpah dia akan seret emaknya, bapanya." Dan anaknya, dan kalau boleh cucunya yang hanya akan lahir 20 tahun dari sekarang. Kita harap Ezam akan benar-benar bersumpah, dan dengan menjujung al-Qur'an, supaya dia memperteguhkan kedudukan dan kejohanannya sebagai politikus Melayu yang paling kerap bersumpah dalam sejarah.
Pada masa ini rekod ini tidak akan dipecahkan sehingga akhir abad ini. Bersumpah, inilah kemahuan dan ketagihan khalayak politik Melayu-Umno yang jahil syariat.
Dakwa pendekar itu dia telah merujuk kepada 'dua ulamak muktabar'. Apakah ianya sheikhul Islam Negeri Entah Berantah? Berapa kitab ugama yang dikarang oleh 'ulamak muktabar' tersebut? Seorang ulamak tidak boleh jadi muktabar kalau tidak mengarang buku. Apakah kitab dan ilmu islamnya mengatasi ilmu Sheikh Taha Jabir al-Elwani atau Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradhawi?
Dakwa pendekar itu dia telah merujuk kepada 'dua ulamak muktabar'. Apakah ianya sheikhul Islam Negeri Entah Berantah? Berapa kitab ugama yang dikarang oleh 'ulamak muktabar' tersebut? Seorang ulamak tidak boleh jadi muktabar kalau tidak mengarang buku. Apakah kitab dan ilmu islamnya mengatasi ilmu Sheikh Taha Jabir al-Elwani atau Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradhawi?
Gelembong ini amat tipikal bagi pendekar itu. Teringat saya dibulan-bulan terakhir Anwar Ibrahim dalam penjara. Ezam membuat gerakannya dan menjustifikasikannya: "kita perlu berfikir di luar kotak." Saya melakukan interrogasi, saya ingin tahu, siapa penasihat-penasihatnya, rakan befikir di luar kotak. Dia menyebut beberapa nama, tetapi yang paling penting adalah Hamdan Taha.
Bukan kepalang saya menahan perut untuk tidak pecah ketawa. Hamdan Taha! Berfikir di luar kotak! Saya ingatkan seorang ahli politik veteran yang keluar masuk labiran politik selama lima dekad atau anak muda yang mempunyai IQ melebihi 160.
Ezam adalah pendekar yang tewas dua kali. Kekalahan pertama adalah dalam ujian penjara. Ezam begitu berbangga dengan statusnya sebagai bekas tahanan ISA. Dan lagi, untuk membandingkan dirinya dengan setiausaha-setiausaha Anwar yang lain, satu-satunya setiausaha yang masuk ISA. Tentunya di sini Ezam memang lebih. Bahkan dia melebihi semua tahanan ISA reformasi. Dialah satu-satunya tahanan ISA reformasi yang tewas.
Ketewasan kedua adalah lebih kelasik. Bukan sahaja tewas, bahkan tidak pernah menang. Itulah pergelutannya dengan pemegang diari merah. Inilah luka yang paling dalam pada diri pendekar Jawa. Dia pergi bertapa di makan Sunan Gunung Jati di Ceribon. Dia beroleh kekuatan, tetapi luka itu tidak sembuh. Maka kekuatan itu menjadi bahan bakar kepada kesumatnya.
BUKA MATA SEKEJAP KHASNYA KPD PEMINAT SETIA MAMAK KUTTY
Bro..DSAI masa jadi menteri kewangan budget Surplus 3 tahun berturut - turut... baca dan pahan bahagian 2 baik baik....
MAHATHIR MENGEMIS...... by Khalid Jaafar
Seorang pengunjung membuat ulasan berikut:kalau bukan kerana Mahathir dah lama dah Malaysia jadi macam Indonesia...kena minta sedekah dengan IMF. Kebenaran ini pun nak ditipu....Perkara yang dilakukan oleh Tun Mahathir membuatkan ramai orang menyesalkan kerana tak percayakan diri sendiri...Rakyat Malaysia berterima kasih kepada Mahathir keran menyelamatkan Malaysia dari menjadi peminta sedekah dan tali barut Amerika...Sekurang-kurangnya mereka yang dengki kat Mahathir ni pun ambil kesempatan dan jadi kaya-raya....itupun tak bersyukur...macam mana Azmin boleh hidup dengan senang sebelum jadi MP? Bisnes...bisnes apa? Minyak ? dengan siapa dia dapat kontrak? Syarikat amerika atau dari syarikat malaysia/petronas?menipu diri sendiri hanya memakan diri....
Ulasan seperti ini hanya datangnya dari mereka yang tidak menggunakan akal yang dikurniakan Allah. Faktanya adalah berikut:
1.Mahathir yang mengemis ingin dapat berjumpa dan bergambar dengan Bush. Dia membayar beberapa juta dollar kepada pelobi Jack Abromoff untuk menemui Bush. Abromoff kemudiannya di dakwa dan mengaku bersalah.
2.Malaysia terselamat dari tepaksa meminjam dari IMF bukan kerana Mahathir, tetapi kerana Anwar Ibrahim. Sebagai menteri kewangan Anwar mencipta rekod melakukan belanjawan surplus (surplus budget) tiga tahun berturut. Surplus inilah yang membolehkan Malaysia menghadapai krisis kewangan 1997. Jika Mahathir menjadi menteri kewangan Malaysia pasti akan mengalami nasib seperti Thailand, Indonesia dan Korea Selatan kerana nafsu beliau melaksanakan projek mega.
3.Jangan terlalu mudah menghentam IMF. Bayangkan dunia tanpa IMF. Baca sejarah penciptaan IMF dan Bank Dunia. Kedua institusi Breton Wood ini tidak sempurna, tetapi bayangkan dunia tanpa IMF, ianya seperti Malaysia tanpa Bank Negara. Tanpa IMF tidak ada global lender of last resort, sistem kewangan dunia akan hancur dan dunia akan mengalamai kemelesetan yang lebih dahsyat dari Kemelesetan Agong. Memang pedih menerima persyaratan atau conditionalities IMF. Seperti memakan obat yang pahit, tetapi tetap obat. Kalau tidak dimakan akan bertambah parah. Bila dimakan maka sembuh. Nah sekarang lihatlah ekonomi-ekonomi yang terpaksa menerima obat pahit dari IMF, Thailand (sebelum rampasan kuasa tentera), Indonesia dan lebih-lebih lagi Korea Selatan, betapa rancak ekonomi mereka. Malaysia kerana tidak terpaksa mengambil bantuan IMF tidak terpaksa melakukan reformasi, maka ekonomi Malaysia terus lembab.
4. Mahathir memang hebat, sungguh hebat! Begitu hebatnya beliau maka pendapatan per kapita rakyat Malaysia hari ini adalah 1/5 pendapat per kapita rakyat Singapura, dan 1/3 pendapat per kapita rakyat Korea Selatan.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
EZAM MD NOR by Khalid Jaafar
Ini baru bahagian SATU......
By Khalid Jaafar AUG 2 —
"If you ask me what kind of image I want", he once told me at my office in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, "I want an image of a liberal." He does not want to be a true liberal as the notions of spontaneous order, the virtue of the market and limited government are too strange for him. He just wanted a public perception that he wasn't an Islamic fundamentalist or a Malay ultra.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was still languishing in prison when I had this conversation with Ezam Mohd Nor and our party was dogged with an identity problem. I had yet to know then that he was already a mole, a Reformasi Lai Teck.
But today, as he turns away with vengeance against his former mentor, hurling vituperative against Anwar's cosmopolitanism and inclusive social and political philosophy, Ezam has re-embraced Umno's most decadent form of racial ideology.
His return to his old party will only help plunge Umno into a deeper ideological crisis, alienating its power-sharing partners, and his strident Malay rhetoric will drive away idealistic youths in search for an integrated Malaysia in disgust.
He must be suffering from a lapse of memory that we are now living in the 21st century. There are the unstoppable and irreversible forces of globalisation affecting everybody and Umno's exclusivist philosophy of Ketuanan Melayu is grossly out of key with time. There is market still for Ezam's venom but a rapidly shrinking market.
If Umno is really for the Malays there is still a political base to be consolidated. But the implementation of the NEP has been so corrupt in the last two decades only the naive would swallow government propaganda without being squeamish.Many of us who know the internal problem he created within the party heaved a sigh of relief when he submitted his Umno form and it was a joke among us that his application was accepted but as a second-class member.
Still, I am often asked: "Why? What really happened?" Many find it difficult to comprehend why those who have found themselves estranged with the party for various reasons returned to the fold after Anwar was released but Ezam was at odds with everyone and finally left us.
The popular explanation was that it was the bitter personal rivalry between the two former secretaries for their boss's attention. As a person who has worked as Anwar's press secretary for 10 years I found the explanation rather silly."The party has no discipline," he blurted out on the only occasion we had a heated argument. He wanted the party to take stern measures against his rivals who deliberately skipped party meetings.
But in the years when I was a member of the supreme council he was known for his sparse attendance, and while present he was in the habit of being the last to come and the first to leave.In the media he made innuendos on a particular person who was rich and comfortable while other Reformasi activists were slogging to make ends meet.
But very few know that he received salaries from at least three companies, pocketing a salary equivalent to a CEO of a listed company. He was always being chauffeur-driven in fancy cars, and moved around with unproductive auxiliaries, reminiscent of the habits of Umno politicians.
His attacks have always been personal, spewing venom at Azmin Ali, and me on much lesser scale. Now he has upped the ante by mounting personal attacks against Anwar himself.
A corporate person whose company provided Ezam with a fancy car told me recently: "All the time he tried to poison my mind on Anwar's character. He claimed to know Anwar inside out."He created the impression that as political secretary he has opened Anwar's closet and found piles of stinking skeletons in there.
The next prime minister has met his nemesis. I was more amused than alarmed at his threat. Of the three of us — Azmin, Ezam and I — Ezam knows Anwar the least simply because he joined the office of the deputy prime minister — regrettably on my strongest recommendation — barely two years of the DPM's tragic sacking.
I served as Anwar's press secretary for 10 years, and Azmin preceded me by a few months.During the two years Ezam could not have seen much of Anwar Ibrahim. He only met him during weekly staff meetings of which he was mainly silent perhaps for being too young and too much in awe of the future prime minister or when he accompanied him in public political functions. Azmin, being the private secretary, saw the boss the most in private. He was the gate keeper, arranging meetings and communicating messages to the corporate and political movers and shakers of Malaysia.
I had the singular honour of dealing with the most uncelebrated visitors, people whom other secretaries prefer to make themselves scarce when they knocked at the door of the DPM's office. They were intellectuals, genuine and occasionally pseudo, great scholars as well as deep thinkers.
It was a real pleasure to open the door for Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Ali Mazrui, and it was a real treat to sit in and to listen to Anwar's conversations with Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul and futurist Alvin Toffler.
Ezam, I suppose, must be the Special Branch's biggest success story in turning over. If he wasn't turned over how he could have written a letter to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi while serving his prison term in Kajang.
He was the most celebrated of the ISA detainees but upon his release he refused to be present with them at a press conference. He also avoided being on the same platform at any rally.When Anwar was released and regained his health, leaders fought tooth and nail to have him speak at their constituency.
But Ezam evaded offers by Anwar to speak in Shah Alam, his division, and asked Shamsul Iskandar to sit in for him as Anwar toured of the country.
Why Ezam failed the test while the rest continue to walk tall as Reformasi heroes? I think he suffered from a disease I call Alcibiades syndrome. Alcibiades was the most controversial Athenian politician during the Peloponnesian War and one of the disciples of Socrates. He was immortalised in Plato's dialogue called "The Symposium". Instead of trying to understand Socrates' philosophy he was enthralled with the personality of the philosopher.
His speech in the symposium was all encomia to his teacher. In his politics he betrayed Athens by joining the city's mortal enemy, Sparta, then rejoined Athens to fight against Sparta and later betrayed Athens to join the Persians.
I saw Ezam giving a similar speech in Jakarta, when we were in a short exile, at the launching of the Indonesian version of Anwar's Asian Renaissance. He didn't say a sentence on the book, or about Tagore, or Iqbal, or Rizal and Okakura. He was saying "Anwar this, Anwar that" and I at the time was praying that lightning and thunder would strike so that he could end his dumb speech.I saw him in Ipoh where I heard him say: "I joined Umno because of Anwar Ibrahim, and left Umno because of Anwar Ibrahim." Of which he received a standing ovation among the youth delegates.
I saw his character in the Romance of Three Kingdoms, in the personality of Lu Bu whose politics is marked with a series of betrayals. But both Lu Bu and Alcibiades ended in ignominious deaths.
Khalid Jaafar is a Parti Keadilan Rakyat supreme council member and a close confidante of Anwar.
NAMA MAT KOTAK EZAM DISEBUT DLM PERBICARAAN DSAI
Budak CGPA 1.6 ni dah mentioned nama Ezam. ni yg best. Aku yakin DSAI seorang peliwat sekiranya Si Mat Kotak Ezam ni, bila dipanggil jadi saksi mengakui dia diliwat oleh DSAI. Sebabnya :
i. Dia pernah jadi Setiausaha Politik DSAI
ii. Dia lagi jambu dari Munawar Anes.
iii. Dia pun tidak tinggi drpd Sai Pool ni.
Aku juga harap Sang Karpal akan juga panggil Mumtaz Jaafar ( dah kaya raya mamee parpu ni, sekarang dah jadi Datuk Paduka Dr.Mumtaz Jaafar, berhenti BBMB sekarang dah jadi Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Yayasan Kebajikan Bekas Atlet Malaysia. Penasihat? Bik Mamma Rosmah ) korek korek lah skit kes kematian Rabia Abdul Salam. Sudah tentu mamee parpu ni berair juboq.
Saiful: Najib terkejut dengan pendedahan saya
Hafiz YatimMei 12, 101:56pm
Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini mendengar keterangan saksi utama yang juga pengadu kes berkenaan, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan berhubung pertemuannya dengan timbalan perdana menteri ketika itu, Datuk Seri Najib Razak pada 24 Jun, 2008.Pertemuan itu diadakan dua hari sebelum Saiful mendakwa yang dia diliwat oleh ketua pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Dalam keterangannya selama sejam pada perbicaraan di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur, hari ini, Saiful juga memberi butiran berhubung pertemuannya dengan ACP Rodhwan Mohd Yusof (sekarang SAC 1) dan kemudiannya dia membuat panggilan telefon kepada Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan sehari sebelum kejadian berkenaan.
Saiful juga menceritakan pertemuannya dengan bekas Ketua Pemuda PKR, Ezam Mohd Noor (kanan) (sekarang ini Senator) di Rawang, sehari selepas kejadian berlaku ( 27 Jun) bagi mengadu kepadanya berhubung “penganiyaan” oleh Anwar.
Saiful, 25, saksi utama pihak pendakwaan dalam perbicaraan kes liwat ketua pembangkang itu berkata beliau dibawa oleh rakannya bernama Rahimi dan juga pakciknya bernama Tuah Mohamad untuk berjumpa Ezam di rumahnya di Bandar Tasik Puteri, Rawang.
Ketika pemeriksaan balas oleh peguam Karpal Singh yang mewakili Anwar, sama ada beliau mengenali Mohamad Ezam sebelum itu, Mohd Saiful berkata beliau hanya kenal Mohamad Ezam begitu sahaja sebagai kawan.Bekas pembantu kepada Anwar itu berkata pertemuan dengan Ezam pada lewat malam 27 Jun itu hanya berakhir keesokan paginya.Kedua-dua Rodhwan dan Musa pula, adalah 'watak utama' semasa perbicaraan Anwar pada 1998 yang menyaksikan ketua umum PKR itu dipenjarakan. Anwar kemudiannya dibebaskan oleh Mahkamah Rayuan.
Kepada soalan lain oleh Karpal adakah Musa ada menghubungi beliau, Saiful menjawab beliau yang menghubungi Musa.
Karpal: Kenapa telefon dia?
Saiful: Nak mengadu masalah saya.
Karpal: Banyak masalah bukan?
Saiful: Memang saya banyak masalah.
Karpal: Ada jumpa dia?Saiful: Contact (hubungi) sahaja.
Karpal: Bila?
Saiful: Pada 25 Jun 2008, sebelah pagi.
Karpal: Kamu contact dia untuk ceritakan masalah kamu bukan?
Saiful: Ya, tapi saya hanya bercakap selama seminit dan dimarahi oleh KPN kerana mungkin dia ingat panggilan main-main dan beliau meletakkan telefon. Beliau juga mengingatkan saya untuk tidak menelefonnya lagi.
Disoal-siasat lagi oleh peguambela utama, Karpal Singh setelah permohonannya agar prosiding ditangguhkan ditolak, Saiful berkata dia dibawa ke kediaman persendirian Najib di Taman Duta, Kuala Lumpur oleh pembantu khas timbalan perdana menteri itu, Khairil Anas.“Saya pergi ke rumah Khairil Anas bagi mengadu perkara itu. Dia kemudiannya memutuskan untuk membwa saya berjumpa dengan Najib di rumahnya di Taman Duta,” kata Saiful.
Saiful juga pernah mendakwa selain diliwat pada 26 Jun 2008, dia juga beberapa kali telah diliwat pada tarikh lain oleh Anwar.
Menurut Saiful, mereka tiba di rumah Najib selepas solat Maghrib, lebih kurang jam 8 malam dan dia menghabiskan kira-kira 20-30 minit menceritakan masalahnya itu kepada timbalan presiden Umno itu.“Najib terperanjat dengan pendedahan tentang apa yang berlaku (insiden Saiful diliwat Anwar),” katanya sambil menambah perbincangan malam itu membabitkan dirinya, Khairil dan Najib.
Ditanya Karpal sama ada Najib menawarkan sebarang nasihat, Saiful menjawab - tidak.
Saiful juga memberitahu mahkamah sebelum pulang dia ada terjumpa isteriNajib, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor tetapi tidak berjumpa secara peribadi.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Rosli Dahlan’s Trial : The Liar Kevin Morais buried in his lies!
Berita yg tidak dikeluarkan didada akhbar. Saya highlighted kan dgn warna biru. Strong point. Skrip dah ada, tapi kita singkap & renungkan kembali kaitan dgn kes DSAI tahun 1998.
i. Mohtar "dugong" Abdullah naik jadi Hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan.
ii. Ghani "Petai" Patail naik jadi Peguam Negara
iii. Musang Hassan, buat aniya DSAI & jgn lupa tikam Dato'Ramli Yusof naik jadi KPN
iv. Azahar Mohamed, naik jadi hakim Mahkamah Tinggi.
lain - lain nama tak payah sebut, depa dah hidup senang
Menarik sekali, satu citer menarik. Yusof Zainal Abidin ( Ketua Pendakwa Sudumee II ) pun nak tikan Ghani Petai. Bagi notis letak jawatan, tapi Mat Monggol tolak dan create Post Ketua Peguam Cara Negara hanya semata - mata nak prosecute DSAI. Tak tau lah pulak lepas ni apa nasib dia.
Jika diikut sejarah, kebanyakkan mereka yg aniya DSAI menerima nasib ataupun bala yang amat dahsyat. Kita tengok lah pula apa nasib yang bakal diturunkan oleh Allah swt kepada Yusof & Sei Fool.
This morning I wrote a short piece about the lies perpetuated by the guardians of our institutions in newspapers, in parliament and even in the courts. I promised to report about Rosli Dahlan’s trial specifically because the mainstream media (MSM) have blacked out everything about this case. The reason why the MSM is doing a black out is quite simple. PDRM’s image as the principal law enforcement agency cannot be redeemed for so long as Musa Hassan is IGP. PDRM is a lost cause for now especially with the point blank shooting of 15 year old school boy, Amiruldin.
The government needed a law enforcement agency with some credibility that can be used to attack the opposition as well as to stem the people’s frustrations with all the ills that is plaguing the country. Even sleepy head Abdullah Badawi realised that. So, they rebranded the ACA and called it the MACC, and rushed the MACC Act through Parliament. As in every rushed job, the leakages and defects started to show soon enough. In the case of the MACC, that it has become a monster is evident almost immediately. The MACC was used to bring down the PR Perak state government. The people were upset. Then Teoh Beng Hock was killed while in the MACC’s custody. The people became angry. To add insult to that death, the MACC tried to cover it up. The people are enraged. Confidence in the MACC is as good as gone.
In that context, the Rosli Dahlan’s trial would expose the truth about the MACC. The facts and evidence would show that the MACC has become more rotten than PDRM. The government cannot afford that. The MACC cannot afford that. So the best way is to black any news about it as the expose’ in this case would put to waste all the PR efforts and the huge sums of money spent to rebuild the MACC’s image. And that is what I saw this morning observing the court proceedings from the public gallery.
During the previous trial days in December 2009 and January 2010, the Deputy Director of Prosecution of the MACC, Anthony Kevin Morais, was already exposed as a liar. He twisted and turned on much of his testimony. When twisting and turning dug him into a deeper hole, he became evasive. This morning, upon realising that he cannot forever be evasive in answering questions from Rosli’s counsel, he used his subordinate, DPP Zulqarnain who conducted the case, to shield him from Dato’ Kumaraendran’s penetrative questions.
The trial started with DPP Zulqarnain making a lengthy legal submission as to why Dato’ Kumaraendran should not be allowed to continue with the cross examination of Kevin Morais . DPP Zulqarnain quoted extensively Sarkar on Evidence, which according to him was the mother of all books (which made him sound like a losing Saddam Hussein), as to why Kevin should not be further punished as he had already spent 3 days on the witness stand. This invited a sharp retort from Dato’ Kumaraendran that DPP Zulqarnain was being disrespectful to the court by delivering his unsolicited lecture. Dato’ Kumaraendran also said that Kevin had only himself to blame for twisting and turning resulting in one question becoming ten questions, and which eventually became a tighter noose around the lying veins in his neck.
Judge Abu Bakar Katar must have been revolted by the childish antics of these two senior MACC DPPs that he ordered the trial to proceed without wasting any more time. When asked if he was aware that in Dato’ Ramli’s trial Judge Gunalan had found that the s. 32 Notice issued against Dato Ramli to be bad in law, Kevin started a series of his evasive replies by answering “Tak Tahu” to all the questions. Kevin must have practised “Tak Tahu” like a parrot that he also answered “Tak Tahu” when asked if he knew that Dato’ Ramli had been acquitted by that court. This provoked Dato’ Kumaraendran to ask “You tak baca surat khabar kah?” to which he again answered “Tak tahu”. Dato Kumarendran sarcastically retorted “ Apa you tak tau baca kah?” and the reply was again “Tak Tahu”! The gallery burst out laughing!
Dato’ Kumaraendran then methodically asked Kevin a series of more penetrating questions which showed that if Dato’ Ramli has been fully acquitted without his defence being called, and if there is no predicated offence by the principal actor, how could a subsidiary charge against Rosli be sustainable? Suddenly, Kevin’s amnesiac “ Tak Tahu” ended with an arrogant reply – “We have appealed, so the charge against Rosli can still proceed!”. A very intelligent and firm reply indeed.
However, to the observers at the public gallery, Kevin’s answers were so ridiculous. Here was the Deputy Director of Prosecution of the MACC appearing as a witness saying that he did not know what was said by the other witnesses in Dato’ Ramli’s trial. Here was the Deputy Director of Prosecution of the MACC saying that he did not know what was said by and the findings of the Judge in Dato’ Ramli’s trial. Here was the Deputy Director of Prosecution of the MACC being contemptuously evasive and he was tolerated by the Court. Here was the Deputy Director of Prosecution of the MACC who simply can’t be bothered with the consequences of his actions. He couldn’t be bothered that he had destroyed the life and family of innocent citizens. And how do we justify entrusting into the hands of people like Kevin Morais the valuable institutions of our country?
Kevin’s conduct was simply repulsive. When asked about Rosli’s unlawful arrest; how his office was stormed; the brutality he suffered; his bloodied wrist; why he was not allowed to lodge a police report and seek medical attention; why his wife and children were refused access to see him; why he was thrown into lock-up on a Ramadan night; what is the urgency of charging Rosli one day before Hari Raya 2007, Kevin couldn’t be bothered. He was not bothered that the charge against Rosli was not for corruption. He was not bothered that none of the information connected Rosli to any wrong doing.
All he was bothered was that he carried out his instructions. And his instructions came from his superior, Dato’ Nordin Hassan, that Rosli had acted for and rendered assistance to Dato’ Ramli. That Rosli was the stumbling block to the conspiracy by IGP Musa Hassan and A-G Gani Patail to use the MACC to bring down and eliminate Dato’ Ramli from PDRM. As a stumbling log, therefore Rosli Dahlan must also be brought down.
That was the biggest mistake Kevin made. In the next sweeping questions, Dato’ Kumaraendran exposed that Dato’ Nordin Hassan too had benefitted from Rosli’s services. That in 1998 Dato’ Nordin Hassan had asked Rosli to act in a long unresolved family dispute over land inheritance dating back to 1956. That in 2000, Rosli Dahlan had secured payment from the government amounting to RM 6.5 million and then distributed that money to Dato’ Nordin Hassan’s family under the terms of a Settlement Agreement. That begets the question, how was it that when Rosli rendered services resulting in recovery of RM 6.5 million for the family of Dato’ Nordin Hassan, Rosli was said to be acting perfectly legal? How was it that when Rosli rendered legal services to Dato’ Ramli Yussuff over similar Islamic Hibbah and estate planning matters, suddenly Rosli became a crooked lawyer? This is something for Dato’ Abu Kassim and the MACC Advisory Panel to ponder on.
The next part of the trial saw both DPP Zulqarnain and Kevin Morais ferociously trying to block any questions relating to Dato’ Nordin Hassan. Why were they shielding Dato’ Nordin Hassan? Word has it that Dato’ Nordin Hassan is eyeing the A-G’s post after Gani Patail steps down. Word in Kevin Morais’ close circle is that he expects to be elevated to be a High Court Judge. Therefore, if you are in the Judicial and Legal Service, you will need friends in high and powerful places. How do you think VK Linggam was caught on tape lobbying for such positions for his allies and friends. Because that is how things work in Malaysia!
That is what I want Malaysians to know and realize – that we need upright and incorrupt intellectuals leading our public institutions. Not mediocre characters who cannot stand on their own merits. The case of Dato’ Ramli and Rosli Dahlan is a study in the contrast. Compare the achievements of Dato’ Ramli against Musa Hassan and we see that contrast.
As for people like Kevin Morais, he must be exposed so that he can never helm any high public office or institutions which require the highest integrity. I hope that Judge Abu Bakar Katar would expose Kevin Morais for the liar that he is throughout this trial. Judge Abu Bakar Katar needs to only see how Judge Gunalan had discredited Kevin’s notice as invalid against Dato’ Ramli Yusuff. He should be as courageous as the Sabah Judge Supang Lian, who had denounced IGP Musa Hassan as an incredible witness whose testimony is not to be believed, and denounce Kevin as a liar and bury him with all his lies.”
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