Hantu Laut
On 17 Sept the Federal Court upheld a decision by the High Court in Kuantan which on 25 May 2007 ordered the Government of Pahang to pay Seruan Gemilang Makmur Sdn.Bhd the sum of RM60 million for damages for breach of contract.
The company was given the right to log 4,000 hectares of forest concession by the Pahang State Government.The government subsequently allowed a third party to enter part of the area to carry out logging activities.The company sued the government for RM60 million and was awarded damages by the High Court.The government appealled to the Federal Court but lost the case.
The Pahang Government have not paid the company in spite of court order given by the Federal Court, the highest court in the country.The company have now applied for an order of mandamus to compel the government to pay.
What should be done if leaders of government have no respect of the law and the nation's highest court? Not respecting the court order is contempt of court and the court if it so wishes can send the person concerned for custodial sentence.
There are four elements that construe contempt.These are:
existence of a lawful order.
the contemnor's knowledge of the order.
the contemnor's ability to comply.
the contemnor's failure to comply.
If the Menteri Besar of Pahang has all of the above than the court should take serious view of his action and deal with him in accordance with the letter of the law.
There may be a law against seizure of government assets which gave the company no other choice but to apply for the 'order of mandamus' to compel the Menteri Besar to pay up.
If government can enforce its claims against its citizens for breach of contract, it has no right to be more equal than others.
I hope the court will take serious view of the disrespect for the court.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Malaysia Fast Asleep
Hantu Laut
"Yesterday the Dow went up 11% and every where other markets soared.The Nikkei went up 12% in a day.Will the trend continue or was it a flash in the pan before the big dive to the abyss of economic disaster." Hantu Laut, Wednesday 14 Oct.
That what I said when the world's stock exchanges made dramatic recovery 3 days ago on a false sense of emboldened euphoria.The good feelings have now manifested into stark reality that the world might have to face the inevitable adversity of its own making.What happened to the world's economy today is not adventitious but the result of human folly.
As citizens I think we have the right to know what actions the government has in store to lessen the burden on the people in the event we go into a recession.High unemployment and business failures are two most imminent things in a recession.
The Nikkei was down 11.41% at today's closing, Hong Kong about 7% and Seoul 9.44%.The European markets which had just opened declined with the London FTSE down 5.17%.Most of the gains on Tuesday's rally have either been completely wiped out or are in bigger negative territory.
Bad news bear no significant in Malaysia where politics is still the master of the day.The sky might come down on Malaysia and if pigs have wings we would still be as strong as ever and no conundrum is beyond our ability to overcome.Both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have full confidence in our economy to being able to withstand the onslaught of the global recession.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Tun Razak visited Kota Kinabalu yesterday to officially launch the Sabah International Expo 2008 and said "We Won't Fare Badly" and that the Malaysian economy is resilient and can withstood the global financial meltdown and recession.
I expect the KLCI to drop at least between 3 to 4% at today's closing.The ball will start rolling down hill from now on with small rebounds every now and then before the finale.
"The whole world is in financial turmoil.Malaysia is still in a slumber.More concerned with politics than state of the economy.The KLSE is the only exchange that is not in sync with the other markets.Are we fundamentally strong or are we living in a state of denial.Watch the market next week." Hantu Laut, Friday Oct 10
Malaysian leaders need to wake up to reality.Even our neighbour down south, Singapore has officially announced they are going into a recession and here, they are still playing politics and telling the people not to worry as we can overcome the crisis.
Can we ?
"Yesterday the Dow went up 11% and every where other markets soared.The Nikkei went up 12% in a day.Will the trend continue or was it a flash in the pan before the big dive to the abyss of economic disaster." Hantu Laut, Wednesday 14 Oct.
That what I said when the world's stock exchanges made dramatic recovery 3 days ago on a false sense of emboldened euphoria.The good feelings have now manifested into stark reality that the world might have to face the inevitable adversity of its own making.What happened to the world's economy today is not adventitious but the result of human folly.
As citizens I think we have the right to know what actions the government has in store to lessen the burden on the people in the event we go into a recession.High unemployment and business failures are two most imminent things in a recession.
The Nikkei was down 11.41% at today's closing, Hong Kong about 7% and Seoul 9.44%.The European markets which had just opened declined with the London FTSE down 5.17%.Most of the gains on Tuesday's rally have either been completely wiped out or are in bigger negative territory.
Bad news bear no significant in Malaysia where politics is still the master of the day.The sky might come down on Malaysia and if pigs have wings we would still be as strong as ever and no conundrum is beyond our ability to overcome.Both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have full confidence in our economy to being able to withstand the onslaught of the global recession.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Tun Razak visited Kota Kinabalu yesterday to officially launch the Sabah International Expo 2008 and said "We Won't Fare Badly" and that the Malaysian economy is resilient and can withstood the global financial meltdown and recession.
I expect the KLCI to drop at least between 3 to 4% at today's closing.The ball will start rolling down hill from now on with small rebounds every now and then before the finale.
"The whole world is in financial turmoil.Malaysia is still in a slumber.More concerned with politics than state of the economy.The KLSE is the only exchange that is not in sync with the other markets.Are we fundamentally strong or are we living in a state of denial.Watch the market next week." Hantu Laut, Friday Oct 10
Malaysian leaders need to wake up to reality.Even our neighbour down south, Singapore has officially announced they are going into a recession and here, they are still playing politics and telling the people not to worry as we can overcome the crisis.
Can we ?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Who Put The Skeletons In Najib's Closet ?
Hantu Laut
There is concerted effort to discredit Najib as much as possible before he ascends to the premiership.As the saying goes 'throw mud enough, some will stick'
The recent article in "Abuse Of Power By The Deputy Prime Minister" that appeared in Malaysia Today where the writer claimed abuse of power by the DPM and gave a list of unsubstantiated SMS communications between Najib and lawyer Shafee Abdullah initially assigned to defend Razak Beginda who was charged with abetting in the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.Razak Beginda is a close friend and adviser to Najib.
The reason I called it unsubstantiated is because it would have been more plausible if he had given a photocopy of the print out from the server.Surprisingly, some popular blogs including newsportal Malaysiakini carried the story on their websites.
It makes one wonder how a person can compile a complete list of SMSs for 24 days from the 8 November to 2 December 2006 with such dexterous result.It would be interesting to find out if this person is in possession of the original print out from the server of the telecom company concerned and who in the company gave him the information, if what was published is true and not fabricated.It is amazing how a private communication between two persons can end up in the hand of another person.Is everything for sale in this country? With million of messages going through those servers every day how long are they kept in the server before they are discarded?
Some time ago Raja Petra published the same transcriptions in Malaysia Today.Whether it is the same one I haven't the faintest idea.Raja Petra seems to have the canny ability to get privy to information that most ordinary people wouldn't be able to get.He does better police work than the police.
It is not impalpable that when someone close to you is in trouble you have a natural instinct to help to the best of your ability.If your close friend or your brother is accused of murder which is a capital crime, wouldn't you be concerned and try your best to save him within the confine of the law? Has Najib broken the law by showing concern and trying to help his friend until he found the case was hopeless and withdrew because of his position in government? If Najib is guilty of a crime would he be so stupid to incriminate himself by using SMSs to communicate with a criminal lawyer who happened to be one of the best in the country.Wouldn't the lawyer knew better than to leave their footprints all over the place if he thinks Najib is involved.Only guilty people will always want to cover their tracks.
If one care to read properly the exchanges of conversation in the SMSs it is clear that they are open to interpretation at one's whim and fancy. Were there any wording to show Najib intend to commit abuse of power in those communications?The last conversation was the most telling when Shafee SMS him as follows.
Saturday 2/12/2006
--> Dato Seri, Got some info that are troubling.Quite serious.Are you in Taman Duta?Can we meet? Salam, Shafee
After the last message I believe Shafee withdrew from the case.I suspect he must have found something sinister that makes it untenable for him to carry on with the defence.How and why the writer concluded that Najib abused his position as DPM is beyond me.
Did Najib tried to stop the investigation and stop the case from going to court? Did the next of kin of the murdered girl lodged a police report that Najib interfered or attempted to interfere in the case? Did the police complain that the DPM tried to interfere in police work?
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has called on the police to investigate the matter?Don't you think it is absurd that the police have to waste their time to investigate every dubious story about politicians carried on the blogs on the Internets.The story didn't even carry the name of the writer. I find it is also absurd that a learned person like Anwar can give credence to a story that has no basis for official investigation.Read some of the comments from pro-Anwar blogs here and here and here .
It is foregone conclusion that we already knew the answer in the event of a police investigation Malaysian Today will refuse to divulge its source.
I don't see any abuse of power in the SMS messages other than a concern for a dear friend.Of course the oppositions will take every opportunity to make a mountain out of a molehill and accused him of abuse of power.
I have always been a sceptic and always give people the benefit of the doubt and would give Najib this one.I strongly feel there is something wrong somewhere, as the whole story just don't seem to fit together.
With Najib in such powerful position he could have killed the case at the early stage of police investigation and it would have never reached the court and the ears of the public.Everything will be hushed-up and the founding of Altantuya remains would never be known.
I am sure the police would have informed Najib about his friend involvement before the case went public.This happened not only in Malaysia.Even in developed countries in the West if a close associate of the President or Prime Minister is involved in serious crime they would be inform first as a matter of courtesy before the case goes public.
If your very close friend or brother was found guilty of murder would you be guilty by association? Sometimes, you don't even know what your own brother is up to, let alone your friends.A drowning man will clutch at a straw.Sometimes, those in distress would go down alone but there are some who want to bring the whole world down with them.Human aren't all that perfect.Some are liars,some are saints.
The oppositions and those with devious agenda have not ceased the mud-slinging and more is expected to come from now on and it wouldn't be, impertinent on my part, to say that much of the seedy sauces came from someone that have vested interest in taking over the helm.
Some time ago at the early stages of the Altantuya court proceedings there was a big hullabaloo about a photograph of Najib having dinner together with the late Altantuya and Beginda in a posh restaurant in Paris.None of those witnesses who said to have seen the photograph have delivered them to the court.The opposition in their desperate attempt to implicate Najib did the unthinkable.They doctored a photograph and posted it on the Internet showing the three having a cosy dinner in a not very elegant looking restaurant.With hundreds of million ringgit in commission collected Beginda must be a pathetically stingy man to bring his darling mistress to such hovel.An empty restaurant and a table meant for two but sat three people.Some people simply have no taste.
Till today not a single photograph of Najib and her had been found which seemed very odd if they have been out together there sure to be some photographs taken by her.Most young girls would like to show off their famous paramour to their friends.An outgoing girl and extrovert like the late Altantuya would be more than willing to show-off her secret lover to her friends.Don't tell me Rosmah has bought all the photographs and destroyed them.Amazingly, even her parents did not have such photographs and Mr Shaariibuu have not made any hint or allegation that her daughter knew Najib.
The photo was the handiwork of Tian Chua of PKR.Now, it makes one wonder whose handiwork was the SMS transcriptions published in Malaysia Today.
Raja Petra's Statutory Declaration implicating Najib and his wife in the murder of the Mongolian girl was investigated by the police.When asked for the source of his information he refused to give it to the police citing protection of his source material.
Raja Petra had taken the same stand as Judith Miller of the New York Times who was sent to jail for contempt of court by refusing to divulge the name of her confidential source of information in a case involving the CIA.Before taken into custody Miller told the judge "If journalists cannot be trusted to guarantee confidentiality,then journalists cannot function and there cannot be a free press."
Miller, who conducted interviews but never wrote an article about the C.I.A. operative, joins a line of journalists who have accepted jail time rather than betray their sources' confidences. That tradition, according to Judge Hogan, does not deserve respect.
But than Miller is a journalist whose bread and butter depended on her profession and the integrity of her keeping her promise.Raja Petra run a personal blog that have become popular for its sensationalism and creative writing.
Both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister had taken what most Western leaders would have taken against disparaging articles on the Internet, ignore them.
It is not worthwhile to go down to their detractors level to answer to dubious allegations.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Badawi's State Of Euphoria II
Hantu Laut
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is confident that Malaysia will not have a recession and will not be affected by the contagion of the global financial meltdown.He said we have a strong reserves, strong surpluses,high savings and a stable currency.These are all true and there is no doubt that Malaysia can ride over the global upheaval provided the government took measures to pump the economy and keep investors' confidence alive.
In this particular exercise keeping the banking system liquid and no tightening of credit would help keep normal businesses to function and confidence in the economy for new investments.However, GDP growth may be affected by declining industrial output due to declining demands from overseas markets.This will not give us any choice or flexibility.
Malaysia is a major exporting nation and most of our manufactured products are exported overseas.The US is the biggest market for Malaysian products.To say we will not suffer the effect of the contagion may not be all that true.With less demand there would be decline in our industrial output and that would mean rising unemployment due to retrenchment of workers,reduced GDP growth and less spending.With less economic activity there would be less consumer's spending which is an essential element in a thriving economy.
With less economic activities and falling prices of crude oil the government would have less revenue in the form of reduction of income taxes,other taxes and less oil revenue.
Government debt is expected to rise substantially to meet the shortfall by the issuance of government bonds.A strong reserve is one thing.It is money to back liabilities and currency, not spending money, unless the government is thinking of drawing on the reserve.A currency is only as good as the confidence it has in the foreign exchange market and this confidence can evaporate very quickly if there were erosion of confidence in the economy.
A recent example of how fast a currency can depreciate is the Australian Dollar that was trading against the ringgit at its highest of 3.15 in June/July this year is now around 2.20 and against the US Dollar at o.98 and now 0.65.
For some unknown reason there always seems to be a time lag of 6 to 12 months before we catch the flu.Past recessions had shown that this region did not get the immediate effect of recession in the West but only suffered the consequence much later.
Although the global economy is more resilient now and many lessons have been learned from past upheavals, the recent meltdown that caused failure of the financial system were human greed compounded by government failure to regulate the financial markets.
Yesterday the Dow went up 11% and every where other markets soared.The Nikkei went up 12% in a day.Will the trend continue or was it a flash in the pan before the big dive to the abyss of economic disaster.
I believe the markets would stay good as long as the leaders of the world continue to support the bailouts of the troubled global economy.Any slackening of this support would spell disaster.
In the 1930s Depression 744 US banks failed in the first 10 months of 1930 and a total of 9,000 banks failed throughout the period.With almost everything including food production on downward spiral there were widespread hardship and starvation and it was the worse depression in modern history.Its recovery culminated with the 2nd World War.
The world leaders had probably learned from it and took immediate action to intervene in the present financial meltdown before it went out of control.
The government should not listen to Anwar Ibrahim asking for review of the budget.Any cut in development expenditure would dull economic activities and bring about economic downturn, which was exactly what he wanted to happen just to discredit the government and gave him opportunity to take over.What the government need to do is to trim operating expenditure and downsize the civil service.A chance I believe the government wouldn't dare take.
However, it would be imperative for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his successor Najib Tun Razak to ensure that money are wisely spent and ensure less wastage through corruption,nepotism and cronyism.
Majority of Malaysians are fed up with the excesses of those in power.Now is the time to show the people that the government is capable of change.
Read also:
Badawi's State Of Euphoria
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is confident that Malaysia will not have a recession and will not be affected by the contagion of the global financial meltdown.He said we have a strong reserves, strong surpluses,high savings and a stable currency.These are all true and there is no doubt that Malaysia can ride over the global upheaval provided the government took measures to pump the economy and keep investors' confidence alive.
In this particular exercise keeping the banking system liquid and no tightening of credit would help keep normal businesses to function and confidence in the economy for new investments.However, GDP growth may be affected by declining industrial output due to declining demands from overseas markets.This will not give us any choice or flexibility.
Malaysia is a major exporting nation and most of our manufactured products are exported overseas.The US is the biggest market for Malaysian products.To say we will not suffer the effect of the contagion may not be all that true.With less demand there would be decline in our industrial output and that would mean rising unemployment due to retrenchment of workers,reduced GDP growth and less spending.With less economic activity there would be less consumer's spending which is an essential element in a thriving economy.
With less economic activities and falling prices of crude oil the government would have less revenue in the form of reduction of income taxes,other taxes and less oil revenue.
Government debt is expected to rise substantially to meet the shortfall by the issuance of government bonds.A strong reserve is one thing.It is money to back liabilities and currency, not spending money, unless the government is thinking of drawing on the reserve.A currency is only as good as the confidence it has in the foreign exchange market and this confidence can evaporate very quickly if there were erosion of confidence in the economy.
A recent example of how fast a currency can depreciate is the Australian Dollar that was trading against the ringgit at its highest of 3.15 in June/July this year is now around 2.20 and against the US Dollar at o.98 and now 0.65.
For some unknown reason there always seems to be a time lag of 6 to 12 months before we catch the flu.Past recessions had shown that this region did not get the immediate effect of recession in the West but only suffered the consequence much later.
Although the global economy is more resilient now and many lessons have been learned from past upheavals, the recent meltdown that caused failure of the financial system were human greed compounded by government failure to regulate the financial markets.
Yesterday the Dow went up 11% and every where other markets soared.The Nikkei went up 12% in a day.Will the trend continue or was it a flash in the pan before the big dive to the abyss of economic disaster.
I believe the markets would stay good as long as the leaders of the world continue to support the bailouts of the troubled global economy.Any slackening of this support would spell disaster.
In the 1930s Depression 744 US banks failed in the first 10 months of 1930 and a total of 9,000 banks failed throughout the period.With almost everything including food production on downward spiral there were widespread hardship and starvation and it was the worse depression in modern history.Its recovery culminated with the 2nd World War.
The world leaders had probably learned from it and took immediate action to intervene in the present financial meltdown before it went out of control.
The government should not listen to Anwar Ibrahim asking for review of the budget.Any cut in development expenditure would dull economic activities and bring about economic downturn, which was exactly what he wanted to happen just to discredit the government and gave him opportunity to take over.What the government need to do is to trim operating expenditure and downsize the civil service.A chance I believe the government wouldn't dare take.
However, it would be imperative for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his successor Najib Tun Razak to ensure that money are wisely spent and ensure less wastage through corruption,nepotism and cronyism.
Majority of Malaysians are fed up with the excesses of those in power.Now is the time to show the people that the government is capable of change.
Read also:
Badawi's State Of Euphoria
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)