SHOULD WE CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT ?

HANTU LAUT

Should we change the government? According to our democratic system and our Constitution we can change the government, anytime, through the electoral process.

This country have only seen the same political parties running the government since independence, the same dominant overlord, UMNO and with other smaller components in orchestral harmony in so-called sharing of power, a show of Malay magnanimity towards the other races. It certainly has worked well.

Have we weathered the storms to reach nationhood?

Malaysia, is probably one of the most fortunate country in the world not to have suffered any natural or man-made calamities. Except for the May 13th tragedy we have not had tumultuous time.We have no civil disobedience, no ethnic clashes, no famine, no natural calamities and no epidemics. Will we continue to be blessed by the good fortune or will we sink into the abyss, like so many, that have gone into insolvency, abject poverty and lawlessness brought by the sins of their leaders ? Even in this modern days we still witnessed atrocities and genocides committed by human on their poor and defenceless brethren. These are failed states.These are states plundered by every successive government and governed by morally rotten and corrupt leaders.

Corruption poses a danger and obstacle to the development and advancement of a nation.Corruption in public administration erodes the institutional capacity of government, corruption in the judiciary compromises the rule of law, corruption in the police brings breakdown of law and order and corruption as a whole will eventually break down the moral fabric of society and destroy whole nation. The demise of many civilisations have been due to corruption and bad governance. Many African and South American countries have gone to the dogs due to wholesale corruption and abuse of power by tyrannical leaders.The genocides and atrocities in Rwanda and now in Sudan,Chad and Central African Republic are testimonies of what corruption can do to a nation. Somalia, another country fleeced by every government that came along is now a complete wreck, lawless and ungovernable.

Are we moving in that direction? Inevitably, we would be if we don't arrest the problems now.

Of late we hear of many unpleasant and worrying news about corruption in high places. Allegations of corruption against the IGP, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Director of ACA(Anti Corruption Agency) exposed in a very popular blog in great details should not be taken lightly. All have been cleared by the Attorney General. Another very senior police officer formerly based in Sabah is reportedly to be worth RM25 million.These are people who are responsible to protect the law and fight corruption. These are people we expect not to be on the fiddle. If they are corrupted as alleged than this country is in serious trouble.Even the integrity of the judiciary have been questioned.

Half a century ago Argentina was the seventh wealthiest country in the world. The country once had the largest middle class compared to other Latin American countries. Due to succession of economic crisis this segment of the population has been decimated.The government piled up huge public debt and created runaway inflation.The economy crumbled and finally collapsed in 2001.By 2002 it had defaulted on its debt, GDP shrunk,unemployment rose more than 25% and the peso depreciated by 75%. The economy has improved the last few years but has not recovered back to its former glory.

In the sixties Philippines was a model of economic success.It was more developed and way ahead of Malaysia. Today, Malaysia has overtaken it economically by leaps and bounds.In 2006 the Philippines with a population of 91 million has GDP of US$449 billion while Malaysia with a population of about 25 million has GDP of US$313 billion. After two decades of plundering by Marcos and his cronies and successive corrupt regimes the country has not been able to recover. In the eighties it was called the 'sick man of Asean'. Corruption and bad governance had plunged some part of the country in the south into restive provinces due to neglect by the central government to bring development to the poverty stricken areas. Armed insurgencies are getting stronger by each passing day and instead of bringing more development to appease the people the government responded with firepower.

It can take less than half a generation to destroy a country. It takes just one bad leader to destroy everything the forefathers built over their lifetime.Malaysia, has grown from a tropical backwater to an economic success story due to the ethnic composition of its population. The hard working and enterprising Chinese, the benevolent Malay and basically a disciplined society. Good leadership and good administration has also been the recipe of its success.At the same time it has also built up greater degree of corruption, abused of fiduciary duties and a society becoming less religiously and racially tolerance of each other.

What I am going to say here may not go down well with some of our leaders and some may even be angry and refute the reality of my statement. Some may even pull the keris and show his displeasure by shouting childish and churlish diatribe and I really don't give a damn as I am sick of the charade of some of our leaders and their rhetoric's.Talked about honesty and morality when they have none. Stealing from the nation's coffer has become their privilege and preserve.

It's high time the government tone down the NEP and educate the Malays to be more competitive and not to be too dependent on government handouts. The award of contract to cronies, relatives, families and party supporters are the reasons why so many contracts failed. Corruption,dishonesty and greed have resulted in massive loss of public funds and expensive bail-outs of failed government companies.

The Port Klang project is probably the biggest daylight robbery this country have seen so far.It is a case of corruption, dishonesty and greed.How would the government explain the rationale of paying 150% higher than the market price and 100 times more than the original purchase price of the land in spite of advice from government valuer to acquire the land using the Land Acquisition Act.

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to office" A quote from Aesop.

Malaysia is never short of wolves in sheep clothing. How many time have the government bailed out sick companies plundered by the trustees and none have been prosecuted and thrown in jail.Haven't we had enough of bail-outs? Is it fair to use the people's money to pay for the follies of corrupt and dishonest civil servants,politicians and businessmen?Is anyone going to jail for this? The government must get to the bottom of this and make sure those involved are severely punished.

I know of a big corruption case that is still in court and the person concerned shamelessly throw a big wedding party for her daughter in a leading hotel and even more shameful, the wedding was well attended by friends, senior civil servants and political dignitaries. Has corruption become a way of life in this country? Are there no sense of shame for those who indulged in it?

In this country if you don't know how to make money through politicians they called you stupid. This is what a friend of mine who is a crony to a politician told me. He follows politicians where ever they go and I can see he is handsomely rewarded with government contracts. The 'machais' culture is well and alive in this country.

Do you still want to change the government? By right we should, but do we have a better choice? The next one could be worse.

Many of you may not agree but changing the whole government may not be the right thing to do. What we need is a stronger opposition to keep the check and balance, to ensure the government do not abuse their fiduciary duties.This can only be achieved if the government is denied of two thirths majority.

The government should not rest on its laurels and think things are not going to change.Unless they stop the excesses, change may come in the most unexpected ways.

HE WHO PAYS THE PIPER CALL THE TUNE ???

HANTU LAUT

Johor crime lord under restricted residence

KUALA LUMPUR: A crime lord from Johor has been placed under restricted residence in Jeli, Kelantan.

This came to light yesterday following his lawyer’s withdrawal of a habeas corpus application seeking his release from the Sungai Buloh Prison, where he has been held since his arrest on Aug 1.

The 55-year-old man, described as the head of one of the most powerful syndicates in the country and once regarded as “untouchable”, had been arrested by a special team of officers from Bukit Aman’s commercial crime department over his alleged involvement in illegal lottery activities in the Johor Baru district since March 2005.

The above was reported in the Star newspaper on 11th Aug 2007.

The question is should such powerful criminal be sent to restricted residence instead of prison?

There have been many cases where drug traffickers and organised crime bosses were given this ridiculous form of punishment which in the true sense is not a punishment at all. It is only an inconvenience. He can still carry on his criminal activities from the comfort of his so-called restricted residence and with today's modern technology his presence is not necessary as the goons and hatchet men can do the work for him and his underworld empire will continue to flourish unhindered.

It is difficult to comprehend how the ISA can be invoked on political opponents and detained in prison and can't be used on crime bosses who are a danger to society and risk to national security. As usual the police will always say they didn't have sufficient evidence to charge them in court or, was it a case of not doing enough, to find the evidence. If such is the case, why not use the ISA ? Maybe we should ask the Minister of Home Affairs and the IGP why such criminal, in the absence of solid evidence, are not charged under the ISA.

This particular crime boss from Johor was sent to Jeli in Kelantan.A small town where most things can be bought for a price. Criminal of this calibre will gain respectability in a small town very quickly and can influence those he needs to do his dirty job. One have to read Lynn Pan's Old Shanghai (Gangsters in Paradise) to understand how powerful and influential crime bosses can be.

Du Yuesheng also known as "Jung Sai"(Boss of the Underworld) was China's most notorious secret society chief. He was so powerful and influential, he amassed more wealth and an empire bigger than that of the American gangster, Al Capone.His underworld empire controlled gambling, prostitution, protection racket and opium trade. His influence extend to government ,mainstream society and the military .Even Chiang Kai-Shek used him and his Green gang to execute pro-communists in Shanghai.As a reward for his service Chiang appointed him to the 'Board of Opium Suppression Bureau'. Du also supported the Nationalist government with funding and they allowed him to continue with his criminal activities without any intervention.After a while Du got disillusioned with Chiang and switched allegiance and worked with the Communists. When he realized the time will come when the Communist will eventually kill him for what he did to their supporters in the past, he escaped to Hongkong and later die there.

How far is Jeli from Johor? Would you consider this as a punishment for someone who probably had committed every single type of crime under the sun? If he can't leave Jeli to attend to his business in Johor I am sure his henchmen can come to Jeli and report to him personally. He will eventually, after paying his way through, be able to return to Johor for short undetected visits.If Abdullah Ng can leave Pudu Prison in a chauffeur-driven car during his confinement this one......you better believe it..is no sweat!

If the police really want to seriously inconvenient him why can't he be sent across the South China Sea to a small town in the interior of Sabah or Sarawak which would give him a bit more logistic problem.

What the police are doing and they don't seem bothered at all are giving credence to the allegations in Raja Petra's Malaysia Today. It looks like Raja Petra is a better policeman than the police.

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.

HANTU LAUT

The Sabah State Government is toying with the idea of allowing only day trips to the islands around Sabah as a mean of ensuring their pristine beauty, State Tourism Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun said.

From the sublime to the ridiculous.

Can't our Minister look at the bigger picture on how to further develop our tourism industry instead of coming up with such ridiculous ideas that could have negative impact on the tourism industry. How would closing the islands at night help to contribute to the pristine beauty ? Maybe the Minister should expand further how he arrived at this rather unusual conclusion.

It is common knowledge that most of our coral reefs around our islands are destroyed due to the lackadaisical attitude of enforcement by the relevant authorities. Little had been done to police the areas.Fish bombing and indiscriminate trawling are the two biggest culprits to the destruction of our once pristine coral reefs. There is no will and determination coming from the government to arrest this menace other than the occasional lip service coming from our leaders whenever they need to refresh their image. The moment they stepped off the podium every word in their prepared speech vanished into thin air.

"Our island is beautiful.Tourists like to go to the islands.They will continue to come so long as the islands remain as they are" he said. Not true. Tourists will only come if you have proper and clean facilities on the island. Look at the few islands around Tungku Abdul Rahman Park can you honestly call them proper and clean. Forget about your dear tourists, what about me, I am a tax paying citizen of this country who deserved better, don't you think I deserved a clean environment too.I am equally ashamed to see the filthy conditions of the buildings and even filthier conditions of the toilets. All facilities are managed by the Ministry through Sabah Parks. The park wardens and workers are not trained properly on how to look after the island and to make visitors more comfortable . From the ridiculous to the unthinkable can happen on any of the islands under Sabah Parks.

I was once a regular visitor to one island, Memutik which was the most private of them all, less tourists. One Sunday, I was on the island with some friends. I just couldn't believe whether it was sheer stupidity or a show of some kind by the dim-witted worker. He was mowing the lawn on a Sunday morning when the island was crowded with people. Why can't it be done from Monday to Friday?Call them by any other name if you wish and dim-witted is certainly one of them.

I would like to invite the Minister one day to come on my boat and take him on a journey around the islands and the whole stretch of Sunken Shoal from Mengalum to Mentanani and to North Furious and he can see for himself the amount of fish bombing and destruction to our coral reefs taking place every day without any intervention from the authorities.

Malaysia is a democratic country and the government is not at liberty to stop its citizen the freedom of movement within the country and to its islands, with the exception of highly sensitive security areas.

It's not the visitors that causing the problem to the pristine beauty of the islands.It's the poor management and lack of enforcement.It's the 'tidak apa' attitude of our civil servants and our leaders entrusted to do the job.

So, my Dear Minister 'DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT'

IS HE MAD ?

HANTU LAUT

Malaysia has many political clowns but nothing can beat this short little kampong boy who claimed to be a graduate from Harvard. He made an astounding revelation in Malaysia Today in an article written by 'Deep Throat' of Sabah about his fifty percent equity in Innoprise, a wholly own subsidiary of Yayasan Sabah.

Below are excrepts of some of his testimony in Bahasa Melayu;

Jeffrey membayangkan akan menyaman Musa Khan kerana mendedahkan rahsia kerajaan dan telah gagal memaklumkan kepadanya kedudukan anak syarikat Yayasan Sabah, iaitu Innoprise Corporation Sdn.Bhd. ”Saya adalah pemegang saham asal syarikat berkenaan bersama Damianus Bianus Aludah iaitu masing-masing satu unit. Mengikut Memorandum of Articles, saya dan Damianus menjadi pemegang saham dan pengarah syarikat berkenaan seumur hidup, tetapi kenapa saya tidak dimaklumkan sebarang perubahan atau keuntungan syarikat berkenaan, ” ujar Jeffrey yang meminta Musa Khan lebih bertanggungjawab dan mengurangkan politik dalam pentadbiran. Tegas Jeffrey, walaupun kedudukan terkini kewangan ekonomi Innoprise Corporation Sdn.Bhd. adalah kukuh iaitu mempunyai surplus RM1.646 bilion bagi tahun kewangan berakhir 2004, namun oleh kerana statusnya sebagai pemegang 50 peratus ekuiti asal, maka beliau berhak menuntut keuntungan syarikat berkenaan. ”Saya mungkin akan ambil injuksi untuk menghalang Musa dan kuncu-kuncunya daripada mencampuri urusan syarikat ini yang menjadi tunjang kepada Yayasan Sabah demi menjaga kredibiliti syarikat ini dan 38 anak syarikatnya yang saya dan Lembaga Pemegang Amanah ada kepentingan,” ujar Jeffrey lagi. Berdasarkan senario ini, tepatlah kata Jeffrey, Musa adalah Hero yang dicipta oleh Umno manakala Kedudukan Kewangan Negeri Kerajaan Negeri Sabah dalam keadaan Zero!

For the sake of my English readers the translated version wound be as follows.

Jeffrey is contemplating legal action against Musa Khan for disclosing state secrets and failure to inform him the position of Yayasan Sabah subsidiary, Innoprise Corporation Sdn.Bhd

"I am the original shareholder together with Damianus Mianus Aluda holding one unit share each respectively.According to the Memorandum and Articles of Association , I and Damianus are shareholders and directors of the company for life, why haven't I been informed of any changes and financial position of the company" said Jeffrey urging Musa to be more responsible and to stop using politic in the administration.

"Even though the financial position of Innoprise Corporation Sdn.Bhd is strong and has a surplus of RM1.646 billion for the financial year end 2004, I, Jeffrey Kitingan as 50% equity shareholder in the company have the right to demand share of the profit of the company" lamented Jeffery.

"I may take a court injuction to stop Musa and his cronies from the administration of the company, a lifeline for Yayasan Sabah and to protect the credibility of its 38 subsidiaries, where I and the Board of Trustees have personal interest" said Jeffery.

With the present scenario, said Jeffery, Musa is a Hero invented by UMNO and the current financial position of Sabah Government is Zero.

Is he really a product of Harvard University or a clown? Is this the man that the KDM(KadazanDusunMurut) going to make their next Huguan Siou(Paramount Chief) ? Is this the man Anwar Ibrahim put all his bets on to help him form the next state government?

The rumor is, he would be taking on his brother, Joseph Pairin Kitingan in the next election and with the help of Keadilan, he would be the new Huguan Siou and Chief Minister.He also predicted the demise of all other KDM political parties. Bon voyage to Joseph Pairin, Bernard Dompok and Joseph Kurup.

It is a known fact and a Yayasan Sabah enactment that the Board of Trustees are nominated by the government of the day.

I will not elaborate on the absurdity and foolishness of his statement. I believe my readers are intelligent enough to make their own judgement.

Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest American Presidents once said.

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time"

Take heed, Jeffrey.