Sapu-ing all the credit for Penang's FDI

Lim Guan Eng evaded the press statement made by Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon's former political secretary Mark Ooi. Sdra Mark Ooi rebuking LGE for claiming sole credit for two high-profile successes in attracting foreign direct investments to Penang.

When you are exposed, cornered, discredited, uncloaked or unmasked , sometimes the easier way out is to declined to comment, but the best evading answers can be learned from Grand Sifu Lim Guan Eng, a few examples are:-

• I won't engage in verbal war......
• I would not respond to the personal attacks.....
• I do not wish to engage at the level of those who .......

Star Online, Friday May 30, 2008
Koh’s ex-aide raps Guan Eng

PETALING JAYA: An aide to the former Penang chief minister has chided current Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for claiming credit over two high-profile foreign direct investments (FDI) into Penang.

Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon’s former political secretary Mark Ooi Swee Hing said that Lim had given the impression that “these investments are solely the result of the new state government's efforts in investment promotion within the short span of the past two months.”

“To set the record straight, the effort of the new government in the last two months merely represented the final short phase of a long process of promotion and negotiations stretching back one to two years.

“His announcements did not at all acknowledge the crucial roles the previous state government under Dr Koh played, together with the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), in convincing the investors to locate here,” he said in a press statement yesterday.

The two FDIs are from Japan’s Ibiden Co Ltd (RM1.2bil) and United State’s Honeywell (RM115mil).

Ooi said that in each of these two cases, Lim had “hurriedly called a press conference to claim credit the day after MIDA made the announcement.”

“Such publicity was obviously aimed at giving the impression that these investments are solely the result of the new state government's efforts in investment promotion,” he said.

He added that multi-national companies always took time to assess economic feasibility, logistics, local supply chain and human resources, fiscal and tax incentives and others before deciding.

“Convincing investors during this 'due diligence' phase is the most challenging and crucial aspect of investment promotion.

“In the case of Ibiden, the entire process took two years, and Dr Koh himself personally visited Ibiden's headquarters near Nagoya, Japan, on July 19, 2007, and met with their top management to present a strong case for Penang,” he said.

He also explained that in Honeywell’s case, the process also took considerable time and effort, with the decision to invest only made and reported in the US press on Feb 28 this year.

“It is only fair and proper that the new state government honestly give due credit to the previous state administration, as well as to MIDA and the Treasury for the work they have done.

“Their own real ability in attracting FDI can be better gauged in one to two years’ time. For now, they should not just ride on the previous government’s effort,” he said.

Star Online, Saturday May 31, 2008

Guan Eng: I won’t engage in verbal war with predecessor

GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has declined to be embroiled in a “verbal war” with his predecessor Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and his assistants on the new Penang Government’s successes in attracting foreign investments.

He said he would not respond to the personal attacks made by Dr Koh and his assistants.

“I do not wish to engage at the level of those who tried to claim credit as the people of Penang can judge this on their own,” he said in response to questions by reporters on the remarks made by Dr Koh’s former political secretary Mark Ooi Swee Hing that Lim had claimed credit for two high-profile foreign direct investments (FDI) into Penang...........

BN versus PR in Sport

BN and PR is not only pitting against each other in politics but also in sports if the Pakatan Rakyat MB of Perak can have his way.

In the 2006 Sukma in Kedah, the states that had recently fallen into Pakatan Rakyat governance such as Selangor, Penang and Perak were the top 5 medal finishers.

Excluding the Police, Federal Territories and Brunei; there is a strong possibility that the total PR states' medal tally will exceed that of BN states based on the Sukma 2006 result.

MB Nizar thinks he is playing smart politics with sports. If this politicising of sports is allowed to happen that we will soon have PR vs BN in everything.


Star Online,Saturday May 31, 2008
Nizar: Show your Pakatan Rakyat spirit

IPOH: Show more strength and stamina when facing athletes from non-Pakatan Rakyat states at the coming 12th Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Terengganu. That was the advice Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin had for the state contingent when he met the athletes yesterday. “When contesting against athletes from non-Pakatan Rakyat states, you must show the spirit of the Pakatan Rakyat states,” he added.

On whether he was politicising the games with his statement, Nizar said: “No. It is a competition between PR and non-PR states. Even within the PR states, we must challenge each other,” he said.

Setting a target for the state contingent to win 45 gold medals this year, Nizar said the athletes must uphold the image of Perak and be disciplined as a team.

Last year, Perak won 37 gold medals at Sukma. He told the athletes that he and other state executive council members would greet them at the Perak border if they brought back more than 40 gold medals.

He also urged Muslim athletes to start their matches with a prayer. “Say your bismillah (in the name of God) before you begin the first stroke of a match,” he said.

The 12th Sukma is scheduled from June 2 to 8.

The Imam and The Pastor

PENANG TEH TARIK FORUM
槟 城 拉 茶 讲 座

Topic:

"Religious Reconciliation Documentary Film: The Imam & The Pastor”
ENGLISH 英语
"To be updated"




Synopsis:
In the 1990s, Imam Ashafa and Pastor Wuye led opposing militias in Northern Nigeria. Now the two men work together bridging religious conflicts that have killed thousands. In recent decades, tens of thousands of Nigerians have been killed in communal clashes between Christians and Muslims. "We formed a militia to protect our people". states Pastor Wuye. "My hate for the Muslims then had no limits". The victims of his militia included Imam Ashafa's spiritual leader and two cousins. The Imam spent three years planning revenge. Then one day, a sermon on forgiveness changed his life. The two men met and "gradually the relationship began to grow". They played a leading role in negotiating a historic peace accord. As Imam Ashafa explains, "even though we differ in some theological issues, we will make the world a safer place".

Workshop Conducted by Ms Sekina Joseph, Malaysia Interfaith Network (MIN)

Date : 5th June 2008, Thursday
Time : 8:00 pm
(Teh Tarik and snacks will be served at 7.30pm)
Venue: SATU ACADEMY Training Room
2nd Floor, PGRM Headquarters at No. 139, Jalan Macalister, P. Pinang
Tel. : 04-229 4577 or 012-429 2377

OPEN TO PUBLIC 公开讲座

Penang Teh Tarik Forum is organised by PENANG GERAKAN TRAINING BUREAU and NATIONAL POLITICAL TRAINING BUREAU and supported by SATU ACADEMY,
Tel: 04 229 4577

Appreciate what u have now!!!

P.S. The cyclone Nargis victims received only 1 spoonful of rice per person based on a lucky draw system. If you are extremely lucky that day, you will have a spoon of rice to eat.

What can you do for the party ?

This is a post by Sdra Ma Woei Chyi from KLFT Gerakan. I share his view.

Brothers and sisters, I was informed that Dr. Tan Kee Kwong will be accepting the chairman post for the Selangor State Land Committee. I have no surprise on this after the leaving of Lee Kah Choon who had accepted the directorship of Penang Development Council and the chairmanship for Invest Penang.

Many disappointed members are leaving when there is nothing left for Gerakan after the 2008 General Election. It is fine to me as they are entitled to make a choice. However, those who are still with this organisation for once we claimed that we loved, she needs your contributions and sacrifices for the betterment which may come soon.

It is no point to cry over spilt milk. It is time for us to ask what we can do for the party and not what the party can do for us.

Mohandas Gandhi:

The Roots of Violence:
Wealth without work,
Pleasure without conscience,
Knowledge without character,
Commerce without morality,
Science without humanity,
Worship without sacrifice,
Politics without principles.

School Reading Corner

We had collected more than 450 children books for a reading corner at Li Tek (B) School. This is a long-term pilot project for primary school in Tanjong. Anyone who have unused children books can sent them to the address below:

Pusat Aktiviti Gerakan Tanjung
c/o PGRM Headquarters
No. 139, Jalan Macalister, P. Pinang
Tel. : 04-229 4577

For further inquiry/information, contact Sdra. Oh Beng Hai at 019-5288 299

Free Parking Passes For Everyone

The Penang City Council free parking pass was originally meant for MPPP President and directors, municipal councillors, and ADUNs. A small quantity of passes are issued to reporters that are assigned to cover the weekly MPPP meeting and activities. Usually, a news organisation will received 2 free MPPP parking passes for those reporters.

Under the DAP government, it had intentionally issued out a lot of Free Parking Passes to reporters including those that are not assigned to cover MPPP meeting and activities.

Why?

Is this the CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) way of currying bias reporting in favour of the DAP? It is crossing the acceptable boundary of giving gifts and goodies.

I do not fault the reporters. I hope those reporters are smarter, it is free-lah, never mind-lah, take-lah, but please provide unbiased reports-lah.

Can the DAP leaders shed some light of this using their CAT principle?

Aiyah, if you want to curry favour, do it the right way. My suggestion are to give free parking passes to the following:

• The official vehicle of Red Crescent, St. John Ambulance, Rescue 999, etc
• The official vehicles of Penang Spastic, Salvation Army, Cheshire Home, St. Nicholas, St. Joseph Home, Tsu Zhi and many other charitable organizations.
• The official vehicles of counselling organization such as Befrienders, Community AIDS Service, Child Protection Society, etc
• The official vehicles of environmental organizations such MNS, SAM, etc
• The official vehicles of human rights organizations such as Aliran, SOS, etc
• Any many others
  

Keris, Cangkul and Tepak Sireh

Originally wanted to do this post in March 2008, but did not do it. Anyway, while reading Hishammuddin Bin Tun Hussein's wikipedia can't help but "laugh" at the extend Pakatan Rakyat supporters would do, to corrupt the cyberinformation. It was mentioned in Hishammuddin's wikipedia that for the 2008 UMNO Youth General Assembly he will bring the "cangkul". Read the so called information on the snapshot of Hishammuddin's wikipedia above by clicking on that pix.

I may have a better suggestion. I suggest that UMNO youth use the South-East-Asian version of the "peace pipe" during their ceremonial procession. Growing up watching cowboy movies, Red Indians would settle their differences while smoking the peace pipe.

The South-East-Asian nearest version to the " peace pipe" would be the Tepak Sireh. Now it is mainly use in Malay weddings and some special celebratory occasions. It consist usually of the sireh, a leaf that once chewed releases a mild stimulant which is often served with grounded lime, a few slices of betel nut and others.

Malay celebratory procession can consist of many types of paraphernalia not just the keris, why not the tepak sireh, etc.

So the next time instead of kissing and hoisting Keris Panca Warisan, Hishammuddin can invite all Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat youth leaders for a round or two of sireh chewing sessions.

P.S. Sitting Bull once said that there is no such thing as a peace pipe because there has never been peace. The pipe is sacred to many people, and we treat it with much respect. It teaches us just as the Bible teaches Christians. We never put illegal narcotics into a pipe, so people can't get "high" from smoking one. We use blessed tobacco and often add other herbs, such as spearmint, red willow bark, and bearberry leaves, for a pleasant taste or aroma.

EC wants fresh voter roll

I don't think a fresh voter roll will avoid criticism from political parties. There are always something to criticize.

But, I am for a new roll. After more than 50 years, the current roll is full of rubbish. It will take an extremely huge effort to clean up the existing electoral roll.

But, SPR needs to revamp it electoral management first. It also need to set up an automatic verification system with the National Registration Dept. If it is not done, a fresh roll will eventually become a toilet roll.

PR parties usually do minimum assistance for the voters on electoral information. BN do most of the work. We face a lot of problems with the roll, a few of these problems in Tanjong are as followed:

• Same address but referring to actually two or three houses/buildings. For example, XX Pengkalan Weld can refer to a building with the no XX on Pengkalan Weld Road, a house on the old Reclamation Area and a house on the Surname Jetties. Therefore, one address can have more than 20 voters.
• Many pre-war houses do not exist anymore, but most are still in the list. For example, in Tek Soon Road and Jalan Lintang (where Komtar is built now).
• Many voters in the list have incomplete addresses.
• Dead voters are still not removed, it should be an automatic process.
• Voters in the same house, but voting in different state constituencies.
• Voters in the same house, but voting in different schools.
  
• Voters missing from the list after the electoral roll is updated.
• And many others.

It is not a surprise that the Pakatan Rakyat parties took the opportunities to claim electoral frauds.

A clean roll that is done transparently will removed one of their election gimmick.

P.S: There are most probably some inappropriate election practices in the past in Penang by the parties in government and the opposition parties. I do not hold this view for the Kelantan electoral roll, I think there are frauds in that state. But, generally the electoral roll in the country is free from frauds but as I said it is full of inaccuracies.

Star Online, Monday, 26 may 2008
EC wants fresh voter roll
By G. MANIMARAN and ZANARIAH ABD. MUTALIB PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission wants a fresh voter roll and this will involve the re-registration of the 10.9 million Malaysians who are already registered as voters.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman (pic) said a new roll which catered to the current needs was necessary and would be acceptable to all parties.

“The new registration exercise will be held if the Government accepts the proposal. We hope the proposal will be accepted,” he said this during an interview with mStar Online, The Star's Malay news portal.

Abdul Rashid said the EC would propose to the Government to have a special law to enable the drawing up of a new roll after the commission’s panel members meet on June 9.

“We have jurisdiction to only examine and update the current list and not to come up with a fresh list,” he said.

He said the proposal was among those brought up in the EC’s post-mortem meeting after the recent elections.

Abdul Rashid likened the existing roll as a “thorn in his flesh” because it had come under heavy criticism from many quarters.

The current roll contains the names of 10.9 million voters.

It excludes another four million people who are eligible to vote but have not registered.

Political parties have alleged that the current voter list, which has been updated from time to time since the last 50 years, did not have the most recent records. They also alleged that it contained phantom voters.

Between 2004 and March 2008, the EC received 235 complaints concerning the names of voters which were missing from the list.

Investigations carried out by the EC later revealed that the names of these voters were omitted due to several factors, including being listed as “doubtful status” after the identity card numbers were confirmed to be missing from the National Registration Department database.

Another reason was that the identity card numbers were certified by the department as belonging to someone else, in some cases dead people.

There were also complaints that the names of certain voters were transferred from one constituency to another without their knowledge.

Abdul Rashid said that the entire process of preparing the bill and new registration exercise would take up to two years.

As such, a fresh roll would be ready in time for the 13th general election.

“It will depend on whether the Government will approve it or if a study needs to be carried out,” he said.

The entire process will include registration, exhibition of the new roll, investigation into any objections, re-exhibition and the preparation of the new master list.

Abdul Rashid said the EC would also need to discuss the matter at length with the political parties.

MPPP Summmons

All the above summons are before 11th March 2008. Why are these summons still in the MPPP online inquiry for outstanding summons.

Lim Guan Eng said this in his inaugural speech when he was sworn in as CM, "... As a first step, I hereby announce that all compounds and summons for offenses involving parking and hawker license issued by MPPP and MPSP before today, March 11, shall be waived...."

LGE said that this is his first step. It is already more than 10 weeks, yet the first step and the easier step have yet to be done properly or completed.

It is fully computerized and definitely not difficult to remove. Are the rakyat to wait another 10 months for LGE to complete his first step?

P.S. MPSP have removed the parking and hawker compounds and summons form their database inquiry. I have been monitoring the MPPP and MPSP online sites for the fulfillment of LGE first promise. Ten weeks is too long!!!

Lest We Forget

Most people in their private life may have feelings and sentiments and prejudices of their own but immediately upon assuming positions of responsibility, their outlook in life automatically changes.

As soon as Dr. Mahathir became the deputy Prime Minister he knew he must put behind him all sentiments and personal feelings and must bend his mind to the will and wishes of the people if he values the peace, security, and prosperity of the country.

There should be no feelings of uneasiness as to his ability and capability to take over the all important post of Prime Minister of Malaysia.

It will be safe for all and nobody need to lose any sleep over his appointment as Prime Minister.
-Lest We Forget, Pg 184, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra

Does this also apply to Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Khairy Jamaluddin or Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn?

You could also disagreed with what Tunku said.

Your comments and thoughts are welcomed.

Mixing Politics & Religion

I was told by an ex-Gerakan exco, a childhood friend and an old lady that Lim Guan Eng took the opportunity at the recent Wesak Day Procession to gave a long speech with political innuendoes.

I did not hear the speech but I was told that LGE talk about eradicating the Evil (implying UMNO) in this buddhist function. Please do not mix politics with religion. The organisors of the procession , many of them MCA and Gerakan members or supporters had given LGE the honour of making a short speech, it was inconsiderate to abuse the honour.

Yes, LGE was crafty and subtle in his political attack, but this is not the correct platform for advocating political views.

Some said LGE is a Christian, some said he is an unbaptized Christian (I don't really understand this term), some said he "Pai Ang Kong (Taoist)", some said he is a Buddhist, actually I do not really care. But, buddhists teaching focus on eradicating evil form within ourselves. Maybe, LGE should do that.

He also took the opportunity to get free applauses from the public by saying that the new Penang government will not demolished any legal places of worship....

When did the previous government demolished legal places of worship? Playing with words are his specialty. Yes, the previous Penang State Government did demolished illegal places of worship or extension. Can LGE assure the Penangites that he will not demolish illegal places of worship, I am sure he definitely can't. If he can, tell us so.

Next year, please be considerate and also keep to the time limit. Thousands of Penangites and tourists had to wait for a longer than the usual time frame to watch the late procession due to your long speech.

It was a day for goodwill not ill will.

We are the GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT, GOVERNMENT!!!

Putting the Penang State Crest on party signboard is apparently the in-thing to do for the PR government. I wonder whether it is an inferiority complex or a habit of showing off.

See my post on Abuse of Penang State Crest

Know How To Dig, Don't Know How To Close

An old man complaint to me that this hole had been left unattended for nearly 2 weeks by MPPP.

I make a called to the local Pakat YB in a firm voice, and ask why it takes 2 weeks to fill a hole, he was somewhat shaken and promise to get the hole fill up tomorrow. The residents said that they will let me know if the YB still can't get it done.

A resident said, "Ku cheng hu, or kam or kam. Si cheng hu, a yau or bay yau kam' (Previous government, dig & close, dig & close. New government knows how to dig, but don't know how to close.).

Disaster Readiness Plan

I remember watching "Ring of Fire" in IMAX format way back in 1991 at Singapore Science Center's Omni-theater. It was a show that I cannot forget. I have also hiked up solo to some volcanoes in Sumatra and Java, the views are breath-taking, but if you can visualize the danger of the volcanoes erupting like the Krakatau (Krakatau movie, Krakatau Clay Animation), the casualty will be enormous. Malaysia lies just on the outskirt of this Ring and can be seriously affected.

Malaysian politicians before the 2004 Tsunami in their speeches like to say that our country is free from natural disasters and so on. When, I hear this, in my thought, I think the politicians need to watch the documentary and study geography.

The Nargis cyclone and Chengdu earthquake show how important to have a practicable Disaster Readiness Plan. There are many types of natural, biological, or man-made disasters. Our existing disaster plans are mainly for the annual monsoon that lashes the east coast of our country, tsunami and may be the perennial haze.

Malaysia existing early warning system for Tsunami is the best in Asean(there is still room for a lot of improvement). I know that, because I had the privileged of setting up a small portion of this system( I am the coolie). But, my concern is not the technical or theoretical issues, it is on the practical ones.

For example, if we received an early warning system for a 9.1 Richter earthquake in the Andaman Sea, how are the coastal residents of Seberang Perai, Northern Perak, Pulau Langkawi, Kedah & Perlis going to be informed(theory are by sms, TV and radio - imagine if it happened when nearly everyone is asleep like in Myanmar during the Nargis cyclone), how to evacuate, where to evacuate, how fast can disaster teams be mobilized,etc. The government had actually installed early warning sirens in a few locations, but I am quite sure many residents do not know what to do except run helter-skelter. The are many other possible scenario, all have to be planned for....

P.S. Ordinary citizen do not know that weekly there are minor quakes in our region, the meteorological department staff receive frequent automated SMSes on hand-phones.

General Election Clean Up

It is easy to miss a few election posters or banners here and there. The SPR must be blind to miss one of the biggest election "material" still not removed.

This painting or plastic banner on the rock outcrop in the Bukit Glugor Parliamentary constituency had broken the law.

Unless, the Pakatan Rakyat government insist that Penang is their land now, and they will do whatever they want.

P.S. The history of putting party flag or sign on the hills of Penang started decades ago by the communists. I remember when I was young, the communists will in the cloak of darkness put up their flags, but the security forces will removed them relatively fast.

Deputy Chief Minister, YB Prof. Dr. P. Ramasamy

I thought that Deputy Chief Minister, Yang Berhormat Professor Dr. P. Ramasamy is a full time politician now.

Is he still teaching in some education institution? May be a visiting professor of some foreign university? Is he a United States tenured professor? Is he a Professor Emeritus? May be he like to be called Prof.?

If I am not mistaken, in Malaysia the only "professorship" that you have for life is "Professor DiRaja" which have to be confered by the King.

Deputy Chief Minister, Yang Berhormat Professor Dr. P. Ramasamy will probably be called Deputy Chief Minister, Yang Berhormat Professor Dato' Dr. P. Ramasamy from Saturday, 7 July 2008 (Penang Gabenor Official Birthday) onwards.

Failed Project, Wasted Public Fund

These photographs were taken while I was having supper with my family after watching the Wesak day procession. The barriers that you see in these photographs was installed recently. I do not know how much, probably a few thousands ringgit.

Recently, publicities were made in the Chinese newspaper that when these new barriers are installed the traffic obstruction & illegal parking problem at the junction of Air Itam main road and Jalan Air Putih (this is LGE's constituency) will be solved. The theory was with this barrier so near the pavement, the door of those vehicles will not be able to open.

Poor homework was done. While having supper, I noticed that nearly all the vehicles do not have any passengers, these driver seat on the right side of the car, no problem at all to get out from the vehicle. For vehicles with passengers, drivers bought take-away supper at the numerous stalls there. I was there from 9.44 pm to 10.02 pm, at least 16 vehicles broke the laws.

These photographs clearly show the barriers are useless and a waste of public fund. Cars and lorries are still parking at those spots at will.

The solution:

• There is actually only one solution - enforcement. Get the police or the MPPP enforcement officers to issue summonses as often as possible from 8 pm to 11.45 pm.
  
• Ensure for the MPPP summonses there is not discount, stamped on the summonses "NO DISCOUNT" or " NO REDUCTION ALLOWED".
• Take legal action for these summonses, eventually news will get around that parking at these spots invite real trouble for the drivers.

P.S. Actually, it was my wife suggestion to go and take the photographs. It was her opinion that the barrier that will be installed, will eventually be a waste of public money. She had read the news in Guang Ming newspaper and told me about it. She wants to confirm whether her opinion was correct. She is definitely correct, correct, and correct.

Happy Wesak

Today, Buddhists in Malaysia celebrate the birthday, enlightenment and parinibbana(passing away) of Gautama Buddha.

Happy Wesak to all Buddhists, for the non-Buddhists have an enjoyable holiday today.

May all be well and happy.


If you are a Buddhists, you may want to listen to these Wesak music/songs(Thai with English subtitles).

National Service: Constructive vs Political Motivated Views

This is a constructive view on NS:-

NS good but needs more commonsense
Reader letter to Malaysiakini, DelCapo,May 16, 08 4:50pm

I would like to share my personal experiences about NS. So far, most I have read are other people's reactions based on reports they have read about the deaths and horrors at NScamps and rightfully so. Parents are now horrified to send their kids to this programme.


I want to be objective here. Personally, I have had young cousins and nephews/nieces who have attended NS. I have visited them during their stay in NS camps here in Peninsula Malaysia (Machap) and in Sabah and Sarawak (Tawau, Miri). My visits were out of concern as a relative, as well as to check out the rumoured ‘brainwashing’ going on there.

My personal experiences have been good. No strong trace of any ‘brainwashing’. In fact, I will go as far as saying that the short period the kids were there, they experienced:

* Toughening up and independence, especially for the spoilt over-sheltered city kids - the ‘urban bumpkins’

* Met new friends from different parts of the country and from the different races

* Learnt new things (like water-rafting, mountain-climbing, light military activities etc)

* For the poorer students, a chance to visit a new area of the country

* The kids had a good mix of fun, physical activities and disciplinary training. Honestly, our kids are all a little spoilt and lembek these days.

Yes, I did witness some fights on the football field during their recreational games but hey, what do you expect when you place a couple of hundred of 18-year-olds in one place?

For every camp, safety and discipline (of the kids and the staff) are the responsibilities of the camp operator and the assigned Camp Commander from the defence ministry.

They follow (apparently) strict guidelines for the programme, buildings, equipment, food and lodging and the camp commander reports directly to Mindef on these. So it seems a good check and balance are in place.

Now, regarding the tragic deaths and rape incidents at NS camps. My view of the problem is this.

Why do Najib Razak and Mindef just report only the statistics? These are people's children. One death is one too many and one rape is one rape too many. Get it?

They need two simple things:

1. A NS Camp Discipline Committee that must be decisive and strict. Sack the camp commander and suspend the camps at which such incidents occur. No dillydallying, no mucking around.

2) Set up a good and competent NS public relations department to write better reports for the public. Show compassion, not just tell people, ‘Oh it's only one in a million....’

Tell the public that it is only a few badly managed camps with these problems. Reveal the names of the operators and commanders. Then see if the rest of the NS camps dare to be slack. Show testimonials from successful and good camps and from parents and kids who have benefitted from them.

Write better speeches for your leaders when they talk about NS and rate the camps independently and make them public.

I just want to say that I believe NS has brought some good to the kids. Just ask those who have been to the good camps. The few rotten ones should be shut down and this made known to the public. For goodness sake, sack the bad officers and shut down the bad camps. Stop the deaths and rape cases by using some common sense and brain power.


The political motivated view(talk only, but no constructive suggestions):-

Scrap NS scheme, Guan Eng urges Govt

The Star, PENANG: May 11, 2008

The National Service (NS) programme should be scrapped if the Government cannot ensure the safety of trainees.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the Government has no choice but to scrap the programme if trainees continue to die while undergoing the program-me.

“Isn’t this an indication of the failure of basic safety security measures that are supposed to ensure the safety of our children at NS camps?

“Imagine the sentiments of parents who sent their children off to NS camps in buses but re-ceived them back in boxes. How would you feel?

“It is inhumane and cruel to continue with the programme if the trainees safety cannot be en-sured,” said Lim......

I abhor the death of the NS participants. Solutions need to be found. Our NS is only 4 years old, Singapore's NS is more than 40 years. The government should study in depth the national service programmes in other countries. Some of these countries are Singapore, Austria, Mexico, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Taiwan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Many have conducted their NS for decades. These countries experiences can provide answers to the problems we are facing now.

Penangites for Trams

Several days ago, some Penang based blogger launch a campaign called "Penangites for Trams".

I have not decided whether to support this campaign. What system is better for Penang, tram, monorail, subway(underground rail),etc? A combination of all these?

A fellow Gerakanis wrote me an email to seek my support for the campaign, below is what he wrote to me:
"Please join in the campaign. I'm convinced that trams are best for Penang Central District, are better than the mono-rails. Imagine the ugly high concrete structures on the narrow streets of Penang, even higher than the present two-storey shop-houses. Penang will lose its heritage charm and destroy the human scale of Georgetown.

I have been advocating for the introduction of trams to Penang way back in the 90's. The small picture featuring the modern tram below was taken by a traffic engineer in my presence. I brought him to visit a city called Strasbourg in France which was the first to RE-Introduce the trams. It was so successful that many other French cities followed suit.

This traffic engineer was convinced that trams can be introduced as a viable alternative to Penang and did try to convince the former administration but to no avail.

It is a blessing in disguise that the monorail project is cancelled. We have never asked for it anyway."

I was a little skeptical about this, and told that Penang roads are so narrow unlike Europe. This was his reply:-

"No, you are wrong. Many of the cities in France are medieval towns with narrow streets. Once we introduce trams, the streets should be pedestrianised or semi-pedestraianised with limited access to vehicles. These trams are silent and low, excellent for people hopping in and out as it cruises down the streets. Modern trams have no overhead cables...Of course its success must be implemented with controlled access with ordinary vehicles which are encouraged to park outside at carparks provided."

Anyway, I hope to hear the opinion of my blog readers and I have created a poll for this. If possible, please comment.

Below are some sites to visit on this topic:-
Tram (read the section on Pro & con of tram system)
What is a Monorail?
Monorail Wikipedia
Rapid Transit Wikipedia

Bloggers launch "Penangites for Trams" campaign

Today, several Penang-based bloggers and websites have simultaneously launched a "Penangites for Trams" campaign.

We hope more and more bloggers and webmasters - especially all those who care for Penang - will join in the campaign by placing these graphics on their blogs or websites. You may link the graphic to the URL for this post or choose to link to any other article or post extolling the benefits of trams.

This will help to raise awareness of the viability and economic benefits of trams. Of course, trams work best as part of an integrated public transport system, complementing an efficient and extensive network of buses.

Fittingly, the latest issue of the business weekly The Edge carries a full-page article in support of the re-introduction of trams in Penang.

Join in the campaign and pass the word around.

So far, these are the other bloggers and websites that support the re-introduction of trams in Penang:

• Mustafa K Anuar's blog
• Mucked in a Jam
• Penang Watch
• Kris Khaira
• Surind
• Anything Goes
• LAH-mour

Come on, together we can bring the trams back to Penang!

In case you are wondering what advantages trams bring, here's a list from the City of Edinburgh Council website.

Benefits of trams

The number of residents, visitors and businesses are expanding, especially in key areas such as the Waterfront and west Edinburgh.

While growth is good for our economy, it also means our roads will get busier and journeys longer without a new transport choice. Trams can carry large numbers of people quickly and efficiently.

Trams don't take up a lot of road space but they do carry a lot of people. As Edinburgh continues to grow, trams will be the most efficient way for people to travel about our city.

• Trams show a city is a modern and well-connected place to do business which can lead to more investment, new jobs, regeneration and more prosperity for us all
• Trams are an attractive option for motorists, with car users likely to be attracted to tram travel. Research shows 20% of peak hour and 50% of weekend tram passengers in the UK previously travelled by car
• Trams enhance the urban environment and generate civic pride
• Trams will encourage shoppers to travel to the city centre which can lead to more investment by businesses and regeneration. Dublin saw a rise of between 20% - 50% in pedestrian footfall figures on Grafton Street, the city's main shopping thoroughfare. Some retailers reported a 25% increase in trade
• Residential and commercial properties may see prices increase beside tram routes. In some cities with trams, house prices have risen by up to 15% and rental prices by up to 7%
• As trams run on electricity, there will be no emissions from the vehicles themselves
• Trams will be accessible to everyone, with benefits of low level boardings at every stop and other easy-to-use features which particularly help the disabled and less mobile
• Trams will be safe to use as, in addition to a driver, every tram will have a passenger attendant on board to check tickets, answer passenger queries and ensure no anti-social behaviour occurs
• Trams will offer concessionary fares

The Rice Crisis

PENANG TEH TARIK FORUM
槟 城 拉 茶 讲 座

Topic:
"Have You Eaten Rice Today?" Malaysian Perspective of Rice Crisis

Forum in MANDARIN

“你吃饭了吗?” 大马面临的米荒危机

Rice is a staple food for Malaysians. Any shortage, coupled with inflation, can cause uneasiness among them. It has serious political implications for the country. An in-depth understanding of the subject is necessary.

Speaker :
Ms Au Yong Hui Nee
Programme Coordinator
Lecturer
School of Business & Administration
Wawasan Open University

Date : 21st May 2008, Wednesday
Time : 8:00 pm
(Teh Tarik and snacks will be served at 7.30pm)
Venue: SATU ACADEMY Training Room
2nd Floor, PGRM Headquarters at No. 139, Jalan Macalister, P. Pinang
Tel. : 04-229 4577 or 012-429 2377

OPEN TO PUBLIC 公开讲座

Penang Teh Tarik Forum is organised by PENANG GERAKAN TRAINING BUREAU and NATIONAL POLITICAL TRAINING BUREAU and supported by SATU ACADEMY,
Tel: 04 229 4577

Commando Into Sissydo

This ex-Defence Ministry political secretary that shift alliance to PAS, must be day dreaming or have nothing substantial to say in Parliament or want some cheap publicity.

Commando must be subjected to "controlled" physical and mental torture, it is a basic training. We do not want our commando to be sissy-do. The head stamping actions may seem cruel, but is actually done in a controlled force, some bruises, no injury.

Imagine if our commando can not withstand physical or mental torture. It will bring disaster to his comrades in times of "war". Most probably his memory is short, just 8 years ago in the Al-Ma'unah incident, army commando Trooper Mathew anak Medan was executed after the extremists tortured him. Detective Corporal R. Sanghadevan of the Special Branch was also executed. Read Al-Ma'unah wikipedia


MP wants probe into alleged commando torture
KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 ─ An opposition MP has urged the Defence Ministry to investigate claims that commando trainees have had to endure torture.

Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PAS-Machang) said the ministry should review the training module as training which included stamping on the head of trainees was unsuitable and unacceptable. "Former commandos I met said such a torturous training module never existed.

There is no denying that commandos must be tough physically but we must not stoop that low," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

Saifuddin, who was political secretary to the Defence Minister from 1994 to 1996, said such a training module was not practised then.

He said he brought up the matter after receiving a two-minute video from an unidentified person last week on the torture of commando trainees.

The poor quality video showed an armed forces trainer stamping on the head of a trainee. "This case may be an isolated one but it still needs the minister's attention," he added. ─ Bernama



The Star, Saturday, 17 may 2008, pg N26
It's part of training, says retired commando

Kuala Lumpur: The commando trainees who were seen in a video clip to have been subjected to "abuse" were merely undergoing basic training, said chairman of the Malaysian Veteran Commando Club Datuk Abdul Rahim Dahalan......trainees are not told the exact training module they would undergo, as they have to expect the unexpected. "The commando are an elite force that defends the country. ....One commando equals 30 infantrymen. A commando must be ready to die for his country."...........

Read Pasukan Khusus AD Malaysia

Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban

Mukhriz cautions Malaysians against Anwar

There is an interesting article in The Star today, Mukhriz alleges that the de facto leader of KeADILan received RM112 mil from the US State Department and RM32 milllion from Bahrain, a close US ally. I wonder what the money was use for? What was the purpose of giving the money to Anwar?

It will be interesting to read Dato' Seri Anwar reply.

If you would like to comment, please comment with extreme caution - Anwar is the most powerful man in our country now.

Star Online Saturday May 17, 2008
Mukhriz cautions Malaysians against Anwar

ALOR STAR: Malaysians should be wary of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim because of his association with American war strategist Paul Wolfowitz.

Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said that Wolfowitz, a former US Deputy Secretary of Defence, was the chief strategist of the Iraq War which claimed one million civilian lives.

It was discomforting to note that Wolfowitz had written about his friend Anwar in a recent edition of Time magazine, said Mukhriz.

“Why must Anwar associate himself with a person responsible for the deaths of one million civilians?” he asked.

Mukhriz had broached the subject in his maiden speech in Parliament on Tuesday.

He raised the issue in response to Gombak MP Azmin Ali’s claim that Anwar was the Prime Minister in waiting.

Mukhriz also said that Anwar was chairman of the Foundation of the Future, a non-governmental organisation with a questionable background.

The foundation had received US$35mil (RM112mil) from the US State Department, US$10mil (RM32mil) from Bahrain and US$11mil (RM35.2mil) from various unspecified sources, Mukhriz told the august House.

He also mentioned in Parliament that Anwar had employed Wolfowitz’s girlfriend Shaha Riza at the foundation. It had been reported that Shaha was involved in the recent World Bank controversy.

“Do we want Datuk Seri Anwar, who is directly involved in an organisation with a questionable background, and who is a close friend of a neo-conservative who is responsible for the killing of one million Iraqis, to take over the Malaysian leadership?” he asked.

Rhina Bhar quits Gerakan after 30 years

I hope Sdra. Koh will go to "heal Sdri. Rhina Bhar broken heart". I do not know her well, but she had been a loyal Gerakanis for 30 years. Go and pujuk our "darling"("Darling" is Sdri. Rhina Bhar favorite word). Don't accept her resignation.

On a more serious note, I do agreed partially with what Sdri. Rhina Bhar had said regarding racial bias. I had been called "banana (Hokkien: keng chew, a derogatory word for a Chinese that cannot speak Mandarin well) and had seen a few instances of this nature in the party. I believe Sdra. Lim Keng Yaik had been called banana before (I suspect he enjoy been called that, he is a different breed of politician). I had stood up and say my peace to these members. Yes, one or two are senior leaders. It is our duty to correct them, and if they can not mend their ways, we have to throw them out through our internal elections.

The reason why I agreed partially, is because nearly all Malaysian are raised with some kind of prejudices. Most parents, relatives, and friends will always have some prejudice remarks to say about the other ethnicities or races. It is a phenomena that is quite difficult to eradicate. Hence, saying prejudice words are nearly second nature. Therefore, many Malaysians do not realized when they made prejudice(racial) remarks.

It is difficult to eradicate because we believe in "Unity in Diversity" and when people are diverse there are tendency to have prejudice thoughts and ideas. Thailand and Indonesia(there are some changes) believe in "Unity through Assimilation".

Malaysians preferred choice is the "Unity in Diversity" way. This requires an enormous effort to ensure high degrees of positive racial or ethnicities interaction to dispel prejudice and racial tendencies. By choice or by design, Malaysia are extremely lacking in this respect.

That is why, I would like to urge the Gerakan leadership to change from a non-racial approach to a non-racial and multi-racial approach. A non-racial approach means that we can have negligible members of non-Chinese members yet expounding non-racial policy. It is not satisfactory.

It is better to be a party that is multi-racial in composition and expounding non-racial policy. What we said and do will carry much more weight and meaning.

If Gerakan is a party that is multi-racial in composition and non-racial in its approach, this problem that was brought up by Sdri. Rhina Bhar will must probably not occurred.



Star Online, Friday May 16, 2008
Rhina Bhar quits Gerakan after 30 years

PENANG: Former Gerakan vice-president and Wanita national chairman Datuk Rhina Bhar has quit the party after 30 years, citing racial bias in the leadership.

“It is impossible for me to continue working under the present conditions,” she said.

“Gerakan is to be a multiracial party but the leaders have been making many racist remarks. Enough is enough,” she said.

Rhina, 59, who tendered her resignation on Monday, also hit out at Gerakan adviser Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik for “practising double standards”.

Rhina also expressed her disappointment over Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon’s comments for not fielding any Indian candidates in the last general election.

Both Dr Koh and Dr Lim could not be reached for comments.

The Bukit Bendera Gerakan Wanita chief said she was taking a break from politics to “heal her broken heart.”

“But I am keeping my options open to consider joining other political parties or non-governmental organisations, which can provide me an opportunity to serve the people,” she added.


Read also different views:
Sdra Ma Woei Chyi post on Non-Racial and Multi-Racial.
Sdra Oh Tong Keong post on What is Multi-Racial?

What does sedition mean?

This is an excerpt from Azmi Sharom's column in The Star (Brave New World, Thursday 15 May 2008).

Sedition means:
(a) To make people hate or feel contempt or disaffection against any ruler or government;
(b) To excite people into changing any legally established matter other than by lawful means;
(c) To make people hate, feel contempt for or feel disaffection against the administration of justice in the country;
(d) To raise discontent or disaffection among the people of the country;
(e) To promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Malaysia; or
(f) To question the provisions in the Constitution regarding citizenship, Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, the special position of Malays and the sovereignty of the rulers.

However, your words and actions are not seditious if they were:
(a) Intended to show that a ruler has made a mistake;
(b) To constructively show that the government has made mistakes or is in some way defective in law-making and the administration of justice (with the exception of the listed matters in paragraph (f) above);
(c) To make changes in the country through lawful means (with the exception of the listed matters in paragraph (f) above) and to identify, with the intention of removing, any matter that will raise feeling of ill will between the various ethnic groups.

This is the law as it stands. It is not a verbatim reproduction of the Act because, believe me, if you think what I wrote is boring, the actual Act will drive you to tears.

Arguments will be made on both sides to determine if sedition has occurred, and if the case goes to court, then it is up to the wisdom of the judge to decide.

Meanwhile, since we are all intelligent citizens of a democratic country, I see no harm in examining the so-called seditious acts of these two fellows, and seeing if they fit into the definition provided for by this old colonial law.

While you are at it, you may want to see if anyone else has been uttering seditious words. It could be fun. For example, the next time someone questions your citizenship, you can always scream: “Sedition! Sedition!”

The law is very open-ended and perhaps it should be done away with. Just what sedition is appears to be in the eye of the beholder, and this is not a particularly ideal situation.

After all, one person’s sedition is another person’s practice of the democratic right of free speech.

For the full article, click on Sedition.


Additional info:

Country	Laws on Sedition
USA	Enacted in 1940, unused since at least June 1961, the Smith Act remains US law.
UK	The Terrorism Act 2000, Blasphemous & Seditious Libel Act , Treason Felony Act 1848, etc
New Zealand	Section 83 of Crimes Act 1961, last used 8 June 2006, recently repealed on 1st January 2008
Hong Kong	The Crimes Ordinance for deals with "acts done with a seditious intent, the uttering of seditious words, dealing with seditious publication or the possession of such publications".
Australia	Effectively defunct for nearly half a century , but returned when changes were included in an Anti-terrorism Bill passed on 6 december 2005, updating definitions and increasing penalties
Canada	Part II of the Canadian Criminal Code deals with 'Offences against Public Order'. It includes sedition (ss. 59-61), treason (ss. 46-50), sabotage (s. 52), incitement to mutiny (s. 53), etc.
Phillipines	Originally drafted in 1930, amended multiple times by executive orders from President Marcos, and restored to its original form in 1987
Singapore	Sedition Act is in Chapter 290 of the Statutes of Singapore, last revised in 1985.