Chinese Unhappy With NEP

So what's new?

Does it take the International Herald Tribune to tell us that or is it something we quite delightfully sweep under the carpet in favour of more important issues like which two people are displaying affection in public?

Or which transsexual is wearing a skirt?

When the economy is doing well, everyone can afford to turn a blind eye to the injustices. But when things don't look so good, people will either protest or pack up and leave.

I wonder which it will be this time.

After 50 years, you'd think there would have been some form of progress...

Go Get Your Stickers!

It was a bad move, to make that first attack on Malaysia Today. The publicity is overwhelming and heck, might as well market it to glory!

RPK has come up with banners and stickers which he is distributing through a selected network:

DISTRIBUTOR ONE

The Malaysia Today banners shall be ready on Wednesday afternoon - 08/08/2007.

I'll be distributing them at the following locations:

1. One Utama
2. Ikea
3. Bangsar shopping centre
4. Megamall
5. Ampang Point
6. Pasar Keramat
7. Jelatek LRT station
8. Giant Melawati

Date and time will be informed through e-mail. Please make known to readers to send email to me through labisman@yahoo.com.

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DISTRIBUTOR TWO

The Malaysia Today banners shall be ready on Wednesday evening - 08/08/2007.

I'll be distributing them at the following locations:

1. USJ - Summit, Giant , Taipan.
2. Sunway - Mentari, Pyramid.
3. Shah Alam ..Sek 11,15,26,33..
4. Puchong - IOI, TESCO & GIANT.
5. Old Klang Road - Pearl Point, OUG, Tan Yew Lai, Taman Sri Sentosa, Petaling Utama.
6. PJ Old Town, Jalan Gasing - Lotus, Sek 14.

Email: maltoday@yahoo.com

Hand Phone (will confirm later today).

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DISTRIBUTOR THREE

The Malaysia Today banners shall be ready on Sunday 12/8/2007

Non-business hours
- Starbucks - Pusat Bandar Damansara
- Starbucks - Bangsar Village
- Coffee Bean - SS2
- Syed - SS3
- Any place in Bangsar/TTDI/hartamas/Mt Kiara/Damansara/SS2/SS3 for orders over 10

Business hours
Can collect at Menara Telekom

Mail Order
I will be able to mail order, if ppl order 10 or more banners, email me at mtsticker@gmail.com for mail orders/payment and questions.

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DISTRIBUTOR FOUR

The MT car stickers will be ready by Thursday. Postal delivery from Friday onwards. Free postal delivery for order of more than 10 stickers within Malaysia.

Private arrangements can be made for personal delivery at the following locations:-

a) Ampang Point
b) Centrepoint
c) Bangsar Village
d) Hartamas Shopping Centre/Plaza Damas
e) Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya
f) Taman Desa/Old Klang Road/Taman Seputeh
g) Kinta District - Gopeng, Batu Gajah, Ipoh (Jaya Jusco), Menglembu and Pusing
h) KL City Centre - Starbucks at The Weld

Email at mtcarstickerorder@yahoo.com.
Tel: 017 3839134

Cheers,

Domino

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DISTRIBUTOR FIVE

We will be very much delighted if Malaysia Today could make an announcement for us. The details of distribution office are as follows:

AUTHENTIC RESOURCES
952 Kompleks Peruda Fasa II
Jalan Sultan Badlishah, 05000 Alor Setar, Kedah.

Contact:
Hakim Halim - 019 - 556 7786
Hafiz - 017 - 656 1908
Hamdan - 016 - 483 1446
Hafdzi - 012 - 4197914.

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DISTRIBUTOR SIX

Distribution from 10th August onwards at:

Starbucks, Tebrau City, JB after office hours 7 till 10 pm
Benson: 016-779 2991 email: dybumi@hotmail.com

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DISTRIBUTOR SEVEN

The MT banners should be ready by Saturday, 11th August. They are available at Galliard International (M) Sdn Bhd, 11-13 Lorong Masjid Pakistan, Off Jalan Hj Hussein, 50300 Kuala Lumpur (next to UUM Kg. Baru, KL).

Thank you.

Yazid bin Sulaiman

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DISTRIBUTOR EIGHT

MT Stickers Distribution points

1. Desa Sri Hartamas (Stock available by 7pm on 08/08/2007)
Kiddies Store
3, Jalan 26/70A
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2300 0568
(Shop selling Int. Magazines, Books and Stationery, next to Klinik Segara)
Opening hours: Open daily from 9.00am to 9.30pm

2. Ampang Point
Comic Centre (Stock available by 7pm on 08/08/2007)
Ampang Point Shopping Centre,
Jalan Memanda 3, Ampang Point
68000, Selangor
Opening Hours: Open daily from 10.30am to 9.30pm

3. Bandar Tun Razak (Stock available by 7pm on 08/08/2007)
SS Niaga
No: 10, Aras 2
Pusat Komersial Komunity
Bandar Tun Razak
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 019-215 1000
Opening Hours: Open daily from 5pm to 12am

4. Keramat and Jelatek (Stock available by 9am on 09/08/2007)
Kedai Kaset dan Majalah
Lorong Ikan Bakar
Pasar Keramat
Opening Hours: 9am to 6pm (Close on Monday and Friday)

5. Kampong Baru (Stock available by 9am on 09/08/2007
Al-Faizuun Enterprise
No. 57A, Jalan Raja Alang, Kg baru
50300 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: 9am to 5.30pm (Close on Sunday)
(Shop selling CDs and magazines. Across Kampong Baru Mosque)

6. One Utama (Stock available by 8pm on 08/08/2007)
Radioactive (Shop selling jeans, hats and dresses)
S215, 2nd Floor
Promenade One Utama Centre
Lebuh Bandar Utama
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-7724 2578
Opening Hours: Open daily from 10am to 10pm


7. Midvalley Megamall (TBA)

8. Bangsar Shopping Center (TBA

9. IKEA (TBA)

10. Giant Ulu Klang (TBA)

11. Bukit Bintang (TBA)

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AGENTS WANTED

Overseas Delivery and Agents wanted for other states
- For ppl in other states/overseas who would like to distribute, for orders above 100 pieces, will deliver via fedex @ RM 1.20-RM1.30 per piece (depending on locations).

mtsticker@gmail.com

RPK's Wife Interrogated

What I like about RPK is that he always publishes the news hot out of the oven. Checking back a few hours later, evidently, even NST thought it worthwhile to produce this bit of news.

From Malaysia Today:

Raja Petra Kamarudin’s wife, Marina Lee, has been summoned to the Dang Wangi Police Station, Jalan Stadium, at 11.00am, Wednesday, 8 August 2007, for interrogation related to the investigation under the Sedition Act launched against Raja Petra.

It is not known whether the police are trying to build up a case against Marina as well so that she can be jointly-charged with Raja Petra.

The rule of thumb is, if you can't find any solid evidence of sedition and misconduct, stick to pure, unadulterated harrassment.

Oh while you're at it, try hitting where it hurts most.

In this case, it would be hauling in the wife for questioning.

You see, RPK is has a devil-may-care attitude, practically thumbing his nose at those who attempt to make him toe the line. Roughing him up is an exercise in futility.

But it's no secret that RPK is very fond of his wife.

Perhaps a pea-brain might believe that Marina Lee was summoned for questioning solely to gain legitimate information pertaining to the case.

I see it as a message from those in power.

"Mess with us and we make everyone around you miserable."

The Elusive A319CJ

So the Malaysian version of Air Force One has finally arrived.

If my sources are right, the A319CJ is now a Malaysian registered aircraft going under 9M-NAA. That's nine-a mike november alpha alpha.


Big Dog has the scoop: PM’s aircraft is now in Malaysia

I do wonder, does the PM think he will be able to hold office long enough to enjoy the aircraft?

Or did he plan it as a gift to his yet-to-be-known successor in an act of unprecedented benevolence?

Sedition - The Malaysian Definition!

Also taken from Malaysia Today

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak once told TV3 in 2004 that if I have insulted Islam or the Rulers then I can be charged under the Sedition Act. And if there are no laws that I can be charged under, added Najib, then the government can always use the Internal Security Act (ISA) against me. Not long after that, they brought me in for interrogation under Section 112 for a crime under the Sedition Act. A week later, they raided my house and confiscated my computer as evidence.

This, we must remember, was after they had done the same about three years before that in 2001. On Hari Raya Haji Day of March 2001, they arrested me under no specific charge. (“Kita akan pikir kemudian,” they said, as they handcuffed me.) And, the next day, they raided my house to confiscate my computer. A month later, on 11 April 2001, they detained me under the ISA.

Well, it’s now three years since that 2004 episode, which, in turn, was also three years after the 2001 episode. It looks like every three years they need to come to my house to confiscate my computer and detain me under a charge they will ‘pikir kemudian’. I suppose, therefore, this time around it should be no different. So expect them to come to my house soon to confiscate my computer and probably arrest me and charge me under the Sedition Act -- or maybe take the easy way out and use the ISA on me again.

The fact that my matter has been raised and heavily debated in the Lower House of Parliament, plus every Umno man and his dog (metaphorically speaking of course) has whacked me (and all bloggers in general), while Nazri Aziz and a horde of others have urged the government to use the ISA against me, probably means that the end is very near. (Not sure yet whether it is my end or theirs though).

Anyway, my reply to them is sharp and simple. Raja Petra seditious? Hogwash! If anyone is seditious it is Umno and until today those propagating a blood-bath have not been made accountable for their actions. Was it not Najib, that ex-Selangor Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name, and all those others calling for my detention under the ISA who raised their keris above their heads at the TPCA padang in 1987 and threatened to bathe it in Chinese blood? Was it not Umno in November 1999 during the ceremony to launch Barisan Nasional’s election machinery in the Bukit Jalil Stadium that warned the Chinese if Barisan Nasional was to lose its two-thirds majority in the 29 November general election, just like on 11 May 1969, then another May 13 may erupt?

Yes, who in heaven’s name is seditious? Is it I or Umno? I am alleged to have raised racial tension by allowing comments in Malaysia Today’s blogs that may rub some races the wrong way. Me? Me who has Malay, English, Welsh, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Filipino, etc., relatives who are Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, atheists, etc? Hey, if there was a medal for being the most ‘global’ family I would be he who is most eligible to receive it. My family is almost like a mini-United Nations. And I have not even started dissecting the ‘Malay’ side of my family into sub-groups such as Bugis, Javanese, Minangkabau, etc.

Ah yes. I'm compelled to put in my two-sen worth.

I've been reading Malaysia Today for a while now. And try as I may, I simply cannot find Raja Petra bin Raja Kamaruddin as offensive, regardless of how provocative he may be.

ENOUGH with the denial already!

The skeptic in me tends to think the man exaggerates some, but for the most part, he has proven himself. I still remember the newsflash he leaked about Pak Lah marrying Jeanne Danker. It eventually emerged as the truth, albeit much later.

The man speaks his mind and yes, he speaks the truth - something rare in Malaysia. At least in Malaysian politics, anyway.

His courage is admirable. :) Watch him hammer the fools:

Hey Umno! Yes, you, Umno! You, who accuse me of being seditious and who should be detained under the ISA. I, Raja Petra Bin Raja Kamarudin, is not only accusing you of being seditious, I am also accusing you, Umno, of being the cause of an unknown number of deaths suffered in the 13 May 1969 race riots. And I make this allegation with God as my witness and the testimony of the First Prime Minister of Malaya/Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bapa Merdeka, who went to his grave an extremely sad man and who grievingly said he wished he had died and never lived to see the day that Malaysians would murder Malaysians.

Learning the truth about May 13

The Sun, 27 July 2007

Thank you for your feature on the 1969 riots. This was the first informative article about the event that I have read in my 24 years of life. Never before have I encountered such a revealing account of that episode.

I didn't get it in primary school, neither in secondary school, nor in university either. And all this while I have studied locally. I think somebody somewhere thought that by not exposing young Malaysians to this chapter of the nation's past, we would be better off.

But they should realise that history has a tendency to repeat itself. Thank you for printing the truth. Now we all know what really happened and can learn to avoid it.

The May 13 incident as personally related by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the First Prime Minister of Malaya/Malaysia and Bapa Merdeka

At his residence in Penang, 1972

“It was clear to me as well as the police that in the highly charged political atmosphere after the police were forced to kill a Chinese political party worker on May 4th, 1969, something was bound to happen to threaten law and order because of the resentment towards the Government by the KL Chinese on the eve of the general election. This was confirmed at this man’s funeral on the 9th May when the government faced the most hostile crowd it had ever seen.

Therefore, when the opposition parties applied for a police permit for a procession to celebrate their success in the results of the general election, I was adamant against it because the police were convinced that this would lead to trouble. I informed Tun Razak about this and he seemed to agree.

Now, without my knowledge and actually “behind my back”, there were certain political leaders in high positions who were working to force me to step down as a PM. I don’t want to go into details but if they had come to me and said so I would gladly have retired gracefully.

Unfortunately, they were apparently scheming and trying to decide on the best way to force me to resign. The occasion came when the question of the police permit was to be approved.

Tun Razak and Harun Idris, the MB of the state of Selangor, now felt that permission should be given knowing fully well that there was a likelihood of trouble. I suppose they felt that when this happened they could then demand my resignation.

To this day I find it very hard to believe that Razak, whom I had known for so many years, would agree to work against me in this way. Actually, he was in my house as I was preparing to return to Kedah and I overhead him speaking to Harun over the phone saying that he would be willing to approve the permit when I left. I really could not believe what I was hearing and preferred to think it was about some other permit. In any case, as the Deputy Prime Minister in my absence from KL, he would be the Acting PM and would override my objection. Accordingly, when I was in my home in Kedah, I heard over the radio that the permit had been approved.

It seems as though the expected trouble was anticipated and planned for by Harun and his UMNO Youth. After the humiliating insults hurled by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, and after the seeming loss of Malay political power to them, they were clearly ready for some retaliatory action. After meeting in large numbers at Harun’s official residence in Jalan Raja Muda near Kampong Bahru and hearing inflammatory speeches by Harun and other leaders, they prepared themselves by tying ribbon strips on their foreheads and set out to kill Chinese. The first hapless victims were two of them in a van opposite Harun’s house who were innocently watching the large gathering. Little did they know that they would be killed on the spot.

The rest is history. I am sorry but I must end this discussion now because it really pains me as the Father of Merdeka to have to relive those terrible moments. I have often wondered why God made me live long enough to have witnessed my beloved Malays and Chinese citizens killing each other.”

See you in hell Muhamad son of Muhamad!

Taken from Malaysia Today and preserved for posterity:

It seems there is a certain ex-Menteri Besar who made a police report against Malaysia Today and me. This ex-Menteri Besar who has two Muhamads is his name does not have even half the qualities of Prophet Muhamad S.A.W. let alone twice the qualities although he carries two Muhamads in his name.

This is the Muhamad who started life as a schoolteacher but does not speak a word of English. When caught carrying millions of dirty money into Australia, he pleaded ignorance of the English language and was acquitted by the Australian court the crime of smuggling money. What many people failed to realise is that when he resigned as a schoolteacher to contest the general election, the government made a claim of RM80,000 against him because he was on contract and was bound by this contract to serve the government to pay off what he owed.

You see, Malaysia has this unique system of giving underprivileged Malays government loans to further their studies. They must, however, serve the government for a certain period of time once they graduate and if they refuse to do so or resign before the expiry of their contract then they have to pay back the government the amount of their loan. This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name therefore owed the government RM80,000 and if he did not pay back the amount then he would be denying other Malays the benefit of this money and therefore would in that same process be denying other Malays the benefit of a tertiary education.

This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name then appealed to the then Minister of Education, Anwar Ibrahim, for exemption from paying back the government the RM80,000 that he owed and Anwar, being the smart politician that he was (or maybe still is, I am not sure of that), waived the rule so that this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name need not pay back the nation the RM80,000 that he owed and which could have gone to other less-fortunate Malays who needed government assistance to further their studies.

What boggles the mind is how this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name could suddenly have millions in his pocket and which he was arrested for as he entered Australia when just barely a few years before that he could not even pay back the government the RM80,000 that he owed and needed Anwar Ibrahim to exempt him from the rule of paying back the money.

This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name has made a police report against Malaysia Today and me saying that I insulted the Agong and Islam and that I raised racial sentiments which could probably result in racial conflicts in Malaysia. He was of course acting on behalf of Umno and represented Umno as its Information Chief.

It is mind-boggling that this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name would accuse me of insulting the Agong who is also the Sultan of Terengganu when the Agong is my buddy. When the Agong, who is also the Sultan of Terengganu, was merely the Raja Muda of Terengganu, I used to ride horses with him along the beach in Kuala Terengganu. I also made trips to London to meet the Agong who is also the Sultan of Terengganu when he was still just the Raja Muda of Terengganu and a student in London.

The then Raja Muda of Terengganu who is now the Agong and I would drive around London in his Ferrari and together with my sisters and wife would visit the famous London night-spots such as Longfellows where all the action is. When he was back in Kuala Lumpur I would take him to the then famous Tin Mine where we would just sit and talk as he was not a disco-dancer but preferred to just enjoy the music and talk.

Would I insult my long-time friend who is now the Agong when I sembah and kiss his hand and he would withdraw it and refuse to allow me to kiss his hand as he considered me a buddy rather than a subject? This, the ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name did not realise when he made that police report against Malaysia Today and me.

I will offer to make an audience (mengadap) with the Agong who was my buddy since the days he was merely the Raja Muda of Terengganu and if His Royal Highness is of the opinion that I have insulted him then I will subject myself to any form of punishment befitting a subject who has insulted his Agong. Such a punishment befitting the crime of insulting the Agong can include the death sentence and I will walk to the gallows to have my head separated from my body with the dignity of a true subject of the Agong. An Anak Raja Bugis is loyal to his Agong and a true Anak Raja Bugis looks death in the face with the dignity expected of an Anak Raja Bugis. I am not a descendant of Upu Tenribong Daeng Rilaka in vain and I shall not smear the name of my ancestors by avoiding the punishment of insulting his Agong. The Agong is one of the Raja-Raja Melayu and I am more than just an Anak Raja Melayu; I am an Anak Raja Bugis.

This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name accuses me of insulting the Agong when he himself insulted the late Agong who was the Sultan of Selangor and my uncle. This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name eloped with the Sultan’s daughter who is also my cousin and secretly married her in Thailand.

When the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle, asked this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name whether he (the ex-Menteri Besar with the two Muhamads in his name) had married his (the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor) daughter, this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name denied it. Marrying secretly in Thailand is a crime and one can be punished for it. Furthermore, marrying a woman without the consent of her father goes against Islam and Malay culture and, being a Menteri Besar, this is even more of a no-no. After all, a Menteri Besar is not a man-on-the-street but the head of government of a state. But this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name denied he had married the Sultan’s daughter secretly in Thailand and swore in the name of Allah that the allegation is a lie.

Eventually, this ex-Menteri Besar with the two Muhamads in his name divorced the Sultan of Selangor’s daughter, my cousin, and paid her RM12 million as a divorce settlement. This upset the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle, who made a photocopy of the RM12 million cheque. The late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle, was not upset that his Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name had divorced his daughter, my cousin. He did not mind this. The late Agong and Sultan of Selangor was upset that his Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name had paid his daughter RM12 million as a divorce settlement. The late Agong and Sultan of Selangor then made a photocopy of the cheque and showed it to the Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and demanded to know how a mere Menteri Besar could afford to pay RM12 million as a divorce settlement to his daughter, my cousin. This proves that Selangor has a corrupt Menteri Besar, said the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle.

And this is the ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name who made a police report against Malaysia Today and me. This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name is corrupt, a liar who married the late Agong’s and Sultan of Selangor’s daughter and denied it, and who insulted the Malays and Islam by secretly marrying someone’s daughter in another country without the permission of her father.

But this man is not a mere man-on-the-street. This man was then a Menteri Besar. And this man had two Muhamads in his name. And the woman is not a mere woman-on-the-street. This woman is the daughter of the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor. So this crime of the ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name is ten times worse. And any other man would have been arrested and convicted of the crime of marrying a woman secretly in Thailand. But this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name was not arrested and put on trial. He was also not arrested and put on trial when he paid RM12 million as a divorce settlement and could not explain where he got the money from and how he could afford to pay such an amount on his meagre Menteri Besar’s salary.

I understand that this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name can’t speak English. This is what the Australian court said and this is why the court acquitted him of the crime of smuggling dirty money into Australia. This means he also can’t read English. How this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name managed to figure out that I insulted the Agong in my article is beyond me when I write in English and not in Malay. Umno should have chosen another man who can speak English to make that police report against Malaysia Today and me.

Many people from the media phoned me today to ask me my comments on the police report against Malaysia Today and me. Well, this is my response to that police report against Malaysia Today and me. I would just like to say: go to hell Muhamad the son of Muhamad. You are a disgrace to the Muhamad name. And let me tell you Muhamad the son of Muhamad: you should thank your lucky stars that this is 2007 and not 1907. If this was 1907 instead of 2007 I would challenge you to a duel. It would be a man-to-man, one-to-one duel. It would be a duel to the death with kerises.

But no, I don’t think you would accept my challenge to a duel with kerises. You may have two Muhamads in your name but you have no class. You eloped with the late Agong’s and Sultan of Selangor’s daughter and secretly married her in Thailand. Then you denied it when the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor asked you about it. Only someone with no balls would do this. A man with balls would not deny it. So there is no way you would accept my challenge to a duel with kerises.

I know that when the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle, found out that you had in fact married his daughter, my cousin, and that you had lied about it, you arranged for Umno Youth to organise an anti-Sultan demonstration. The late Agong and Sultan of Selangor was very hurt and he cancelled his birthday celebration that year. So that year no datukships were awarded and you had to return the money to all those who had paid you for their datukships.

This act of yours, Muhamad the son of Muhamad, is treasonous. If this was 1907 instead of 2007 you would have been put to death. And you accuse me of insulting the Agong? You committed treason. You can send me to jail if you wish. You would have been put to death if this was 1907 instead of 2007.

But I know why you made that police report against Malaysia Today and me, Muhamad the son of Muhamad. You want to make a political comeback. You want to contest a parliament seat in the next general election. And you want to be made a federal minister when you win that parliament seat. You hope that the present Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, will fall and that you can take his job. That is why you made that police report against Malaysia Today and me, Muhamad the son of Muhamad.

Muhamad the son of Muhamad, see you in hell. And if I go there first I will wait at the gates of hell to greet you on your arrival, Muhamad the son of Muhamad. Ini Anak Raja Bugis bercakap yang mati dengan keris di dalam tangan.

Damn, but I love the passion with which he writes! If only more Malaysians lived their lives that way...

Word Verification

I have no illusions of what Word Verification thinks of me, exactly.

Now I'm into a couple of swear words upon extreme provocation every now and then, which come to think of it, is rather often considering the state of Malaysian affairs.

I digress.

However, the word 'hell' keeps popping up a little too often for comfort.

Not to mention every other metropolitan from Malaysia has a profile on any random social networking site and states his/her location as "kay hell".

Being born and bred in KL, I don't figure this city is all that bad, really. But I could be wrong. :)

Then we have another word that could mean, among others, either a street drug or a foolish and ignorant person.

Neither meanings promote positive feelings, though I'm sure some may beg to differ.

However, I'm fairly certain both words describe certain Malaysian politicians.

Of Bribes And Corruption

With this cash I thee wed: here comes the bribe
By Michael Backman
The Age
June 20, 2007

A NEW term has emerged in Malaysian political debate and it arose from a column I wrote at the end of last year.

In the column, I said that Malaysian government waste wasn't "Malaysia boleh" (the national slogan that means "Malaysia can") but "Malaysia bodoh" ("bodoh" translates as stupid.) The column was emailed pretty much to anyone in Malaysia with an email account.

Many in Malaysia have taken to referring to government waste and poor decision making as coming from "Bodohland".

But really the term is too strong because there's a lot that is good in Malaysia. And besides, Malaysia is still a developing country. Allowances need to be made for that, but then the Malaysian Government needs to be careful that allowances do not become excuses.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi came to office in 2003 claiming he would tackle corruption. His efforts have been less than "boleh".

The man he appointed to head the anti-corruption agency was soon accused of corruption. At about the same time, a deputy police minister was accused of taking bribes to set criminal suspects free.

Abdullah did not require either man to step aside while investigations were made. Instead, he insisted that 85 per cent of corruption allegations proved baseless.

But then, that is because most are inadequately investigated in the first place.

Probably, there's less top-level corruption than is commonly imagined. The most damaging corruption that eats away at the very foundations of Malaysia as a civil society relates to police corruption.

A recent survey by Transparency International found that the public and business nominated the police as Malaysia's most corrupt institution, far ahead of more obvious candidates such as public works authorities or land offices.

A royal commission established by Abdullah called for an independent police complaints body to be set up. But the police chiefs objected. So, one was not set up.

Last year, Malaysians were shocked by the particularly nasty murder of a Mongolian model who had claimed to have had a child by the head of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, a local think tank with links to ruling party UMNO and the Malaysian armed forces. The head was close to Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The model was shot twice and her body blown up by hand grenades or explosives, presumably in an attempt to destroy evidence. Two members of an elite police unit were arrested for the murder. The unit is under Najib's administration.

That police allegedly would not only commit a murder but then go to such gruesome lengths to destroy the evidence sums up for many Malaysians all that is rotten about their police force. The trial of the police opened on Monday.

Why have Malaysians had to put up with such rotten police for so long? It makes you ask who is in charge. The police are under the Home Affairs Ministry. And, who was home affairs minister under the last prime minister? Current Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

Elsewhere a police minister in charge of such a corrupt police force would be fired, not promoted to be prime minister. But of course that would be to judge the Malaysian Government by the international standards from which it has long asked to be excused.

In more disappointing news for ordinary Malaysians, nine Japanese shipping companies that transport timber from Malaysia's timber-rich Sarawak state have been accused by Japanese tax authorities of failing to report $US9 million ($A10.6 million) income between 1999 and 2006.

The money was paid to a Hong Kong company, Regent Star, which is connected to Abdul Taib Mahmud, Sarawak's Chief Minister since 1981, and his family.

The Japanese authorities decided these payments were not legitimate tax expenses but bribes. Taib Mahmud has denied the allegations and has asked his administration's anti-corruption agency to investigate. He has not stood aside.

Not only is Taib Mahmud the Chief Minister, he is also Resource Management and Planning Minister. This means he is also Forestry Minister. And that is fortuitous because his brother, Moh'd Tufail bin Mahmud, is co-owner of Sanyan Group, one of Sarawak's biggest timber companies.

When the state-controlled cement and construction group CMS was privatised, it was sold to the Chief Minister's family. Two of the Chief Minister's sons are directors and CMS now gets the lion's share of state government road works and construction tenders.

Wealth from CMS and huge timber concessions have helped the family to buy a bank in Malaysia, and many other assets. The Malaysian media has reported, for example, that Taib Mahmud's wife and children control an Australian company, Sitehost, which owns the Hilton Hotel in Adelaide.

The wealth of Taib Mahmud and his family has long been an embarrassment to the Malaysian Government — but Taib Mahmud delivers votes and parliamentary seats.

As for the Japanese bribery allegations, no doubt Taib Mahmud and his family will be exonerated. Perhaps the Japanese are confused. Or perhaps bribes were paid and the independent investigation is not independent.

But it does seem unlikely that Taib Mahmud or his family would take bribes. They are already very wealthy and it's hard to imagine they could be that greedy.

Danger On The Road....

The Mat Rempit culture is getting out of hand...

Not So SMART After All...

So. A little bird tells me that "Users of the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) will be charged a RM2 toll. The toll will be effective from 11.59pm on June 14, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said on Monday."

Well no, it wasn't a little bird, it was The Star.

And Samy must be taking a break from plagiarising poems to give us some bad news. Well, not all that bad, since I was convinced it was going to be set at RM4. In Bolehland, anything is possible.

Original Purpose of SMART tunnel

Studies had indicated that the critical stretch of Sungai Klang between Sg Klang /Sg Ampang confluence and Sg Gombak/ Sg Klang confluence to be flood prone areas and the fact that the river is further constrained by the Jalan Tun Perak Bridge (near Masjid Jamek) which is low, has resulted in the surrounding areas to experience flash floods.

The SMART system will be able to divert large volumes of flood water from entering this critical stretch via a holding pond, bypass tunnel and storage reservoir. This will reduce the flood water level at the Jalan Tun Perak Bridge, preventing spillover.

The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) project was incepted by the project proponent, namely MMC Berhad-Gamuda Berhad Joint Venture, primarily to mitigate the recurring floods in the city of Kuala Lumpur, the financial, business and commercial hub of Malaysia. However, at the design stage of SMART, the dual purpose concept was born from the ingenuity of the project proponents and the motorway tunnel was integrated into the system to relieve traffic congestion at the main Southern Gateway to the city centre.

The motorway tunnel will provide an alternative route for motorists from the Southern Gateway, i.e. KL-Seremban Highway, Federal Highway, Besraya and East-West Link entering and exiting the city centre. This will reduce traffic congestion at the Southern Gateway leading to the city centre. The travel time will be reduced
significantly. For example from the Jalan Istana Interchange-Kampung Pandan the expected travel time is a mere four minutes compared to ten to fifteen minutes using the existing roads.

That's nice. But we haven't exactly solved the traffic problem and our flash floods are outdoing themselves.

From The Star:

THE Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel will not be able to put an end to the flash floods problem faced by many KLites, on its own.

While the Smart tunnel would help ease traffic congestion at the southern main gateway to the city centre near Sungei Besi and provide a storm water management system to mitigate flooding problems in Kuala Lumpur, it is only one of the two components needed to solve flash floods in the Klang Valley.

The other component includes the construction of some 200 dams and flood retention ponds.

The Smart tunnels and the ponds are supposed to complement each other and only then would the problem be solved.

This was what Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia director-general Datuk Paduka Keizrul Abdullah told reporters recently in an attempt to clarify and address issues that were raised by the public following last week's flash floods.

This SMART tunnel barely plays its part. I have travelled through this tunnel more times than I can count since it's on my way to work and back and have actually been caught in a jam a couple of times.

Inside the tunnel. Not very pleasant if you ask me. Not much of a view and the radio reception is horrible.

So they build this fancy little tunnel.. oh pardon me. Not all that little. It is the longest stormwater tunnel in South East Asia and second longest in Asia.

Is this a genuine project or another of our Bolehland icons?