Hantu Laut
Below is part of what I wrote in January 2008 when Chua Soi Lek was caught with his pants down having illicit sex with a woman and caught on video planted by his enemies.
"I can't recalled of any other Malaysian politician that had the guts to own up for his or her misdemeanour. Many have gone unpunished for much bigger crime.We don't seem to have a standard in dealing with errant politicians holding public office, it's kind of different strokes for different folks, the less influential and less needed, would be sacrificed.The case of a Chief Minister having sexual liaison with an underage girl was one case that didn't shook the government or prompted it to investigate, instead it sent a member of the opposition to jail for bringing the case into public domain.The then Prime Minister refused to delve any further into the case, which could have ended in statutory rape, if it was proven true.If I remember well, it was the girl that was taken to court, and sent for rehabilitation.
What Chua did was wrong from moral point of view, but it didn't bring any physical harm or injustice to the general population as much as corruption and abuse of power would have.The only person emotionally hurt would be his wife. She has, for being a devoted husband and good provider, forgiven him.
My premise on this case would not be a pleonasm of disagreement with the sentences agreed upon by his comrades in MCA and the Prime Minister.I think the man was given too many lashes, more than he deserves. The penalty was bigger than the crime.He should just have to resign his ministerial position and be allowed to keep his party position and the elected seat.
Now that Chua's political career is over, would the prime minister leave no stone unturned to get the culprits who illegally made and distributed the video?
It is obvious that in this country 'honesty is not the best policy'.Hypocrisy can save you but honesty will definitely kill you. "
I would rather have people like him in government rather than those hypocrites who indulged in bigger misconduct and dishonesty and got away with it.
He won the MCA Deputy President because of his honesty and had the balls to admit his sexual indiscretion publicly putting his relationship at risk with his wife and family.
How many men in high places, if we should call them men, would not be coward enough to admit their mistakes ?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Longest Murder Trial In History ?
Hantu Laut
It could go down in the Guiness's Book Of World Records as the longest murder trial in the world.
After 18 months of court proceedings the case have not gotten any where nearer to conclusion.Except for a few diehard bloggers, highly motivated by politics, rather than a deep sense of seeking justice, the Malaysian public seem to have lost interest in the case.The snail's pace trial of the case and the constant hooded faces of the two accused begets more questions than answers.
The most vociferous in the blogging fraternity was Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the editor and owner of the most popular blog in the country Malaysia Today, a blog that have good following of Malaysians who are hungry for hot gossips and news not normally carried in the main stream media. A vast majority of his readers took his masterpieces against the government and the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as Gospel's truth.Although there might have been some truth to the many misdeeds of government reported in his blog, some appears to be politically motivated.The most controversial was his Statutory Declaration alleging the involvement of Najib and his wife in the crime based on hearsay from a third party which even the most hardened critic like America's Michael Moore would stay away from.Raja Petra is now languishing in jail under the ISA(Internal Security Act) and have other charges under the Seditious Act slapped on him.
Raja Petra's expos'e of corruptions in government have some merits and he would have made an excellent watchdog and critic if he had been independent and not aligned to any political party or politicians.It would give impartiality and plausibility to his stories.Giving over-zealous support to the oppositions and highly visible political bias against the government have made the accuracy and truthfulness of some of his stories questionable.
Statutory Declaration(SD) does not give guarantee or confirmation of the truth.Anyone can, truth or otherwise, signed a SD and swears that he/she is telling the truth.
In Sabah, SD have become instruments used by illegal immigrants to prove right of birth to get citizenships.In cahoot with ketuas kampong and native chiefs who took bribes from the illegal immigrants, these unpatriotic Malaysians would lie through their teeth and attest their signatures to the SD to confirm that MR So and So was born in the village at certain time and date and to certain parents.
Najib had denied any of the allegations against him and said it was politically motivated to smear his name.
The murder trail of Altantuya had certainly dragged on too long and the judiciary and government have certainly to blame for creating doubts in the mind of the people.
This could go down as the longest murder trail in history.
Also read:Jed Yoong's "A Malaysian Murder Trial to Nowhere."
It could go down in the Guiness's Book Of World Records as the longest murder trial in the world.
After 18 months of court proceedings the case have not gotten any where nearer to conclusion.Except for a few diehard bloggers, highly motivated by politics, rather than a deep sense of seeking justice, the Malaysian public seem to have lost interest in the case.The snail's pace trial of the case and the constant hooded faces of the two accused begets more questions than answers.
The most vociferous in the blogging fraternity was Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the editor and owner of the most popular blog in the country Malaysia Today, a blog that have good following of Malaysians who are hungry for hot gossips and news not normally carried in the main stream media. A vast majority of his readers took his masterpieces against the government and the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as Gospel's truth.Although there might have been some truth to the many misdeeds of government reported in his blog, some appears to be politically motivated.The most controversial was his Statutory Declaration alleging the involvement of Najib and his wife in the crime based on hearsay from a third party which even the most hardened critic like America's Michael Moore would stay away from.Raja Petra is now languishing in jail under the ISA(Internal Security Act) and have other charges under the Seditious Act slapped on him.
Raja Petra's expos'e of corruptions in government have some merits and he would have made an excellent watchdog and critic if he had been independent and not aligned to any political party or politicians.It would give impartiality and plausibility to his stories.Giving over-zealous support to the oppositions and highly visible political bias against the government have made the accuracy and truthfulness of some of his stories questionable.
Statutory Declaration(SD) does not give guarantee or confirmation of the truth.Anyone can, truth or otherwise, signed a SD and swears that he/she is telling the truth.
In Sabah, SD have become instruments used by illegal immigrants to prove right of birth to get citizenships.In cahoot with ketuas kampong and native chiefs who took bribes from the illegal immigrants, these unpatriotic Malaysians would lie through their teeth and attest their signatures to the SD to confirm that MR So and So was born in the village at certain time and date and to certain parents.
Najib had denied any of the allegations against him and said it was politically motivated to smear his name.
The murder trail of Altantuya had certainly dragged on too long and the judiciary and government have certainly to blame for creating doubts in the mind of the people.
This could go down as the longest murder trail in history.
Also read:Jed Yoong's "A Malaysian Murder Trial to Nowhere."
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Ugly Extortionists
Hantu Laut
Got back my Streamyx yesterday after one week of screaming obscenities at TmNet's talking machines.They have gone completely futuristic, you talk to a machine that talk endlessly about the company but can't understand your plea for help.This company is helmed by a bunch of jackasses.A typical trademark of government-linked companies.
On 11 October I wrote on the expected price decline of crude oil due to declining demand in global consumption brought about by the global recession.
In my article "Where Crude Oil Heading For" I predicted that price would fall below the US$50 per barrel before the end of the year.OPEC is now taking steps to cut down production to stabilise prices.
Many OPEC members were over-spending their windfall for the past 18 months on the assumption that oil price would stay at high level.The spending spree in some OPEC countries have been unashamedly financed by other consuming countries forced to pay ridiculously high price for one of the most essential commodities in the modern world without which it can bring untold human miseries and paralyse the world's industry.The high price have to certain degree played an important part in the global economic chaos.
OPEC accounts for 40% of global oil supply and can influence or control prices in a stable economic situation by cutting or increasing production output.In a severe economic downturn the law of supply and demand would decide the idle price the global market should pay.The picture is increasingly moving in that direction and OPEC are now trying to stop the price free fall with cut in production, which they will find increasingly difficult to control as the recession moves into high gear in other industrialised countries.There would be major decline in industrial output in India and China starting in the 1st quarter of 2009.
OPEC countries have benefited and compensated by the strengthening of the US Dollars the past few weeks.Price is now steadying at US$67 a barrel and would dip further as more bad news come out of the global economy.
Below is what I wrote in my earlier article:
Got back my Streamyx yesterday after one week of screaming obscenities at TmNet's talking machines.They have gone completely futuristic, you talk to a machine that talk endlessly about the company but can't understand your plea for help.This company is helmed by a bunch of jackasses.A typical trademark of government-linked companies.
On 11 October I wrote on the expected price decline of crude oil due to declining demand in global consumption brought about by the global recession.
In my article "Where Crude Oil Heading For" I predicted that price would fall below the US$50 per barrel before the end of the year.OPEC is now taking steps to cut down production to stabilise prices.
Many OPEC members were over-spending their windfall for the past 18 months on the assumption that oil price would stay at high level.The spending spree in some OPEC countries have been unashamedly financed by other consuming countries forced to pay ridiculously high price for one of the most essential commodities in the modern world without which it can bring untold human miseries and paralyse the world's industry.The high price have to certain degree played an important part in the global economic chaos.
OPEC accounts for 40% of global oil supply and can influence or control prices in a stable economic situation by cutting or increasing production output.In a severe economic downturn the law of supply and demand would decide the idle price the global market should pay.The picture is increasingly moving in that direction and OPEC are now trying to stop the price free fall with cut in production, which they will find increasingly difficult to control as the recession moves into high gear in other industrialised countries.There would be major decline in industrial output in India and China starting in the 1st quarter of 2009.
OPEC countries have benefited and compensated by the strengthening of the US Dollars the past few weeks.Price is now steadying at US$67 a barrel and would dip further as more bad news come out of the global economy.
Below is what I wrote in my earlier article:
"With increasingly high unemployment in the developed economies, industrial outputs are going to plummet to a low level and consumption of energy would likewise follow.
As more people lose their jobs, businesses going into bankruptcies and reduction in global industrial outputs the demand for oil would show a sharp decline.Consumption would continue to decline as long as the global economy continue to shrink which is expected to continue well into 2009.With reduced global demand prices are expected to fall below US$50 a barrel before the year ended.
If the global recession become hard-headed and carry on without any sign of recovery than prices may even drop below US$30 per barrel by the first-half of 2009."
The oil-producing countries have had it too good and have been totally inconsiderate to poorer countries by demanding ridiculous price for their oil.
I believe crude price should stay around the US$50 per barrel, a reasonable threshold for both oil-producers and the rest of the world.
Anything more is extortion.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
A Word Of Caution For The New Finance Minister
Hantu Laut
The government proposal to borrow from EPF to prop up the bearish KLSE may not be a good idea in view of the global economic uncertainty.Trading on the KLSE should be left to market forces.If the economy is as strong as the government have said umpteen times than its plan to intervene in the stocks market contradicts what it has been saying all this while.
Puting more money to help what it called laggard blue-chips stocks could end up good money chasing bad money.Such exercise will only invite the vultures to come back for the final killing.
If the government think RM5 billion is enough to prop the market and makes it look attractive to investors it would be in for a big shock when the the combined forces of the hedge funds decide to descend on the KLSE and raid the market , unless the government intend to lock up the shares bought by Valuecap, which would defeat the very purpose it was for, to create a bullish market. It would be back to square one, a lacklustre KLSE or money down the drain.
How the government wish to borrow from the EPF and on what terms, the Finance Minister had not made clear.The Board of EPF should not agree to giving loan to the government on private basis.The Board of Directors are trustees of the members of EPF and should work in the interest of the owners of the funds.
The most appropriate thing to do would be for the government to issue short-term bonds to EPF at higher yield than those of its normal bonds.The government should pay according to the rate of dividend currently paid to EPF holders.To pay anything less is unfair to EPF holders as the designated amount would have lost its opportunity cost.
Saving banks are one thing, saving a bad stocks market with the people's pension funds is not exactly prudent financial planning and not only does not make any economic sense, it does not make any sense at all.
Just a word of caution to the new Finance Minister to think over the negative side of the proposal. It is not too late to ditch the idea.
The government proposal to borrow from EPF to prop up the bearish KLSE may not be a good idea in view of the global economic uncertainty.Trading on the KLSE should be left to market forces.If the economy is as strong as the government have said umpteen times than its plan to intervene in the stocks market contradicts what it has been saying all this while.
Puting more money to help what it called laggard blue-chips stocks could end up good money chasing bad money.Such exercise will only invite the vultures to come back for the final killing.
If the government think RM5 billion is enough to prop the market and makes it look attractive to investors it would be in for a big shock when the the combined forces of the hedge funds decide to descend on the KLSE and raid the market , unless the government intend to lock up the shares bought by Valuecap, which would defeat the very purpose it was for, to create a bullish market. It would be back to square one, a lacklustre KLSE or money down the drain.
How the government wish to borrow from the EPF and on what terms, the Finance Minister had not made clear.The Board of EPF should not agree to giving loan to the government on private basis.The Board of Directors are trustees of the members of EPF and should work in the interest of the owners of the funds.
The most appropriate thing to do would be for the government to issue short-term bonds to EPF at higher yield than those of its normal bonds.The government should pay according to the rate of dividend currently paid to EPF holders.To pay anything less is unfair to EPF holders as the designated amount would have lost its opportunity cost.
Saving banks are one thing, saving a bad stocks market with the people's pension funds is not exactly prudent financial planning and not only does not make any economic sense, it does not make any sense at all.
Just a word of caution to the new Finance Minister to think over the negative side of the proposal. It is not too late to ditch the idea.
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