Let's Hope PETRONAS' Financial Health is Better than This.....

PETRONAS' financial position has been kept under closed wraps ever since it was founded and only the Prime Minister knows all the fine details about how this most vital national company is being managed and what transactions it undertakes.

This is not a Mickey-Mouse company but is listed as a Fortune 500 firm that plays a most important role in Malaysia's annual budget with estimates of about 40% of the GDP.

There have been many calls for public disclosure of the annual accounts and the people in PETRONAS are peeved that Malaysians want to pry into their affairs.
There is this malaysiakini article "PETRONAS hits back at mismanagement charges"
www.malaysiakini.com/news.84655

Someone needs to remind the top managers at PETRONAS that they are answerable to all the citizens of Malaysia since they claim funds are being invested for future generations.

No doubt they do provide some financial highlights on their web-site but such an important national asset must be put under a closer scrutiny.
Perhaps the laws governing PETRONAS should be changed so that PETRONAS reports to Parliament and not the Prime Minister.

How the NATIONAL SERVICE Scheme Got Started?

So maybe this is how the NS got started. Recalcitrant judges were sent to "boot camp" and the government found it an most effective method to produce compliant judges.

As the Law Minister indicates in this malaysiakini story:
"Zaid: No probe on judge's expose"
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/84309
they know all about it but cannot or will not take action as it is a "waste of public funds".

We are urged to wait for the Judiciary Commission to be set up and who knows when that will be accomplished. Maybe by 2020?

Police reports have been made and the Lingam Report is warming the filing cabinet somewhere. This indecent inaction to proceed post haste indicates the authorities really have lost the plot.
Repairing the Judiciary's image and authority is definitely one important plank we need to fix if Malaysia is not to lose the battle against corruption.

Do all those "tainted judges" have to strip naked in public before there is any action?

Take 2 on the Handover Problems or Why the PM Wants to Steer for a Longer Period

A friendly warning to BN component parties. If you do not help our PM to make that sharp turn towards non-racist politics, get prepared to witness your party's plunge to oblivion.

Times have changed and the BN must regroup to meet the new challenge. Changing only the leader and not the policies will simply not work.

PS. Please take the poll on the left column. Then send the poll to 5 friends who may also want to share. Just click2 the second last sentence on the poll. Thanks.

OK, This is What the Handover Discussion Looks Like

Especially for those who do not like to read long articles.

PS. Please take the poll on the left column. Then send the poll to 5 friends who may also want to share. Just click2 the second last sentence on the poll. Thanks.

PUTRAJAYA - Warning! Keep Away from the Water's Edge

It looks as if those man-made lakes in Putrajaya were designed for a specific purpose - no, it's not meant for tourists or recreational purposes. It's to provide a suitable habitat for all the "crocodiles and sharks" described in the would-be saviour of UMNO, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (or TR)in this malaysiakini article.

TR has been out of the mainstream power for many years after his fall-out with the top leadership during TDM's time. In politics, a few weeks can be a long time.
As for "crocodiles and sharks" we know that they have survived for thousands of years and the crocodile is a relic from the age of dinosaurs.

Maybe a TR may be able to handle both species of predators.
He calls for a purge of the party. Maybe some helpful pharmacists can offer them some laxatives?

CORRUPTION - New Asset Forms Not the Solution

I just wonder what else they will think of next to delay action on all the serious corruption cases that most Malaysians know about.
These cases have been around for many years but it seems the ACA is being tasked to other menial tasks like designing asset declaration forms that distract them from their core mission and compentency; though some will say incompetency.

Maybe we cannot blame them entirely for they are not truly independent but came under the PM's department so that creates s possible conflict of interest as Malaysians know that the PM's department became so powerful in the recent past.
It is time to re-visit the role and position of the ACA with respect to the battle against CORRUPTION before it devours our nation.

IPCMC - from Roaring Lion to Squeaking Mouse.....

malaysiakini reports that members of the RCI for the Police are aghast at the manner in which the IPCMC proposals were morphed into a totally different creature with so little powers and independence that some sceptics think we could save some trees by not wasting the paper to print the bills.

My enthusiasm for the SCC is now zero as it seems it will have no powers of an independent commission but will rely on third parties to investigate.

It is good that MPs and society will be granted more time to discuss the bill. After all they took more than two years to produce this inferior product so let the debates begin.

Maybe get RTM to organise debates featuring opposition MPs against BN. Let the public decide on the merits of this new animal.

Another Royal Commission of Inquiry....

2007 will be remembered not as VMY but the Year of Royal Commissions with a second inquiry to probe the infamous tape on Judicial Fixing.

It is good that the government decided to do a proper inquiry after the 3-man panel probed for more than a month and then proposed the royal inquiry. As reported in malaysiakini, some people are not happy with the chairman and also the limited scope of the inquiry.

I wonder if it is appropriate for any member of that first panel to be included in the inquiry unless their reports recommended such an inquiry. We may never know as such appointments are clouded with great secrecy.

Unless the PM gives the reasons as to why these people were selected, the public can only guess at the selection process.

Malaysia's Price is Right.......

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No one expects prices to stagnate especially since the government gave the over-bloated civil service a hefty pay rise.

Then we had the increase in petrol prices that ultimately gets worked into the price of daily goods.

Now malaysini has an article that we "must brace for gas and electricity price hikes".

Of course we all know that the oil price has reached almost US$100 a barrel and we also know that Malaysia will soon become a net importer of oil.

However the authorities too have shown that often they simply can't be bothered by the wanton wastage as shown in these few examples:

1.The blanket secrecy on the toll agreements.
2.The wasteful purchase/lease of the new executive jet.
3.The massive bleeding of funds into the PKFZ
4.The refusal to disclose how we are paying for a burnt-out shell of a space capsule.

The price of oil is well known and most people can understand that but the authorities have too many financial skeletons hidden in the closet.

It is time we demanded that all non-sensitive information be made public.

Another BN Supporter Dissents Over HINDRAF...

So another BN MP has broken ranks over the HINDRAF grievances according to an article in malaysiakini.

Looks as if the BN Whip is going to quite busy in the coming weeks. If only all our MPs develop some courage to speak up, Malaysia would improve as a democratic nation.
Sadly, from the Speaker down, Parliament has become a mere ceremonial rubber stamp.

Only opposition MPs try their best to bring up important issues.

Using ISA to Quash HINDRAF type Gatherings?

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I read somewhere that one attains a certain level of wisdom on reaching the age of 60 but the news in malaysiakini is a little disturbing.

Our Prime Minister, in his absolute wisdom at 68 year of age, threatens to use the ISA on peaceful protesters if they insist on street demonstrations.

It seems to be an act of desperation to use such a draconian law on people with legitimate problems.

It also shows how placing too much authority and powers in the hands of a few men can jeopardise all our security and peace of mind. It is time the silent majority takes some time out to reflect on the type of leadership to whom we have entrusted the nation and the future of our children.

If the police had been allowed to grant the permit for the two demonstrations, I estimate only 10% of the police manpower would have been required to maintain orderliness with 90% less problems than what we saw.

Why that Royal Commission for the Judiciary is so Important for the Prime Minister...

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Most Malaysians welcome the setting up of the Royal Commission and many feel that the scope and depth of this commission should be similar to that for the IPCMC.

You can read the arguments put forward by HAKAM in this malaysiakini article that you will not find in the main newspapers.

We know that the government has had difficulties to implement all the proposals for the police but that is better than conducting a shallow white-wash inquiry that leaves the problems undiscovered.

It is like a patient discovering he has cancer and then only wanting minimal treatment.

There is Much Wisdom from the former Lord President....

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In this malaysiakini article, Tun Salleh Abbas makes a rational appeal that the authorities have the power and the duty to right all the injustices wreaked on the Judiciary during the dark days of 1988.

Basically the Executive has been granting itself more and more powers untill today the entire system of government is unbalanced and it can be argued that the country operates on the whims and fancies of perhaps a dozen men and their wives.

Therefore it is important for all loyal Malaysians to let their MPs know their views and that a properly authorised Royal Commission will enable the Judiciary to make a good recovery.

Remember that without a good judiciary, the laws of the jungle prevail. If we do not summon enough courage for this effort, Malaysia could end up like Pakistan.

Malaysia's Hunt for Corrupt Projects - The State of the Nation

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As the General Elections are near, it is time to check out how the nation is faring in its proclaimed war against CORRUPTION.

There was a al Jazeera documentary recently on how it is estimated that $360billion (US$?) was siphoned out of Nigeria since 1960 and how millions still live in abject poverty.

Malaysia is definitely doing better but there is still a major task to eradicate poverty and minimise corruption. So far the latest case involved a senior police officer only. It is surprising that not a single senior politician has been caught yet.

Turning Disaster into Profit?...

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Collapsing buildings and other structural failures in Malaysia are so common we need to think out of the box.

So how about this new adventure cum eco-tourism trip?

More Bureaucracy to Work Subsidies?......

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I agree with this letter from malaysiakini that opposes the complication of petrol pricing for motorists so that the RM40billion subsidy will be reduced by making rich motorists pay more.

This is trying to control the economy at the micro level and will be difficult to implement as millions of transactions are involved.

We are know that any government is always very poor at cost control and Malaysia is no execption. I remember in the 70s there was an excellent documentary on the late Milton Friedman's work called "Free to Choose" and the basic lesson is that governments should be given only the smallest role in business and it is a major source of waste.

Even without looking at the jobs analysis, the Malaysian civil service is BLOATED with unproductive employees and too many Ministers compared to other countries.

Perhaps the proposed controls for the fuel subsidies will provide them something to do?

PS. MalaysiaWatch has has reached the 100,000 visitors mark. Hope you return often. Have a nice day!

Another NEP Justification?

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Looks as if the goal-posts are being shifted again.

What an inappropriate point to justify more NEP - this time from the PM himself as reported in malaysiakini.
He declared that "Although it has been 37 years since the introduction of the NEP, we have not made Malays rich by seizing the wealth of the non-Malays.

"The list of the richest individuals in Malaysia is still led by non-Malays,” he said in opening the annual Umno meet in Kuala Lumpur today.

If we read between the lines, it seems the NEP must continue untill the list is not led by non-Malays.

I always thought that the NEP was a poverty eradication program and not a Who's Who Ladder of the Rich and Famous.

The solution to the Maths Question =
{sum of (P times Annual Budget) for N years}/(sum of C) for N years

where P = percentage of annual budget allocated
N = number of years of the NEP
C = number of cronies for each year.

How many billions do you estimate the nation has lost due to the greed of the rich and powerful?

To Illustrate the DPM's Speech....

I try to watch our leaders speaking as one can learn a lot from the body language etc.
Usually our DPM appears quite polished and poised but this speech as reported in malaysiakini seems rather strange with reference to the tongue, the keris and the penis.

Too much use of the latter has resulted in broken families when men cannot control their urges. Worse still, they take it out on their own children or step-children.

Methinks he should encourage them to make better use of their brains instead.

Waiting for Vanna White?

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We should not be too perturbed by this article in malaysiakini headed "Panel to submit ‘individual’ reports".

Most of us had the impression that the "No Authority" panel was set up just to impress the public and mainly to buy some time to ponder.

There are so many articles on the No Work Panel so maybe I will share a little about Lee Lam Thye. He was a classmate in Secondary School; IIRC from Sec3 to Sec5 and was a good speaker in school; usually being selected for debates. Patrick Teoh was another classmate. I met LLT and PT just once since school days and that was at least 25 years ago.

Here are the latest results on MALAYSIAWATCH POLL 30 that posed the question:
"What is Your Reaction to the Video on the Judges Scandal?"

Of the 754 readers who took the poll,

449 or 60% felt "We Need a Royal Commission"

150 or 20% chose "The Chief Justice Should Be Brought Before a Tribunal"

104 or 14% picked "The Authorities Will Just Ignore the Findings"

44 or 6% felt "The tape is a fake"

7 or 1% chose "The Independent Panel will Find the Answers"

It is interesting to note that the rankings did not change during the 2-month poll period.

Malaysia's 4-Year Monologue.....

With apologies to Snow White....

I am glad that the authorities have decided to include Kelantan in development and that is surely the correct thing to do. You can read the link to malaysiakini here.

After all we are supposed to have a government of the people.....???

One reads in self-help books that you "need to fake it untill you make it" but I suggest our PM should keep these inner thoughts to himself.

In the famous words from NIKE. Just Do It!