COMING SOON TO THIS SITE:
Malaysian leaders are slowly waking up to the reality that the 'bed of roses' they expect of the economy had become a hot prickle of embarrassment for the government.
In my many past postings I have warned that the economic downturn would be worse than what the government had made it out to be and telling the people -- there would be no recession in Malaysia, an absurdity most compelling.
The blurring of the truth was to make the leaders look competent and capable when they were not.
If the situation is not serious why the need for a second stimulus package? Depending on the size of the package it could be another drop in the ocean.
Most developed countries have braced themselves for the sharp contraction in the economy and have warned their citizens to expect tough times ahead.Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he did not foresee the coming of the recession which took his government by surprise.Britons have started tightening their belts.They have started cutting down on their energy consumption resulting in the decline in sales of power generation companies.
Only in the Third World countries where state control over daily life is pervasive and wide-ranging and where leaders are more concerned with shoring up their own finances and wealth, the economy of the country takes a back seat and economic recession is not in their dictionary, because there is no economy to talk about in the first place, most survived on foreign aids.
Malaysia is on the verge of becoming a developed nation and already had in existence the infrastructures of a developed nation, developed over the past few decades by the foresight of our past leaders.
Only continued effort and foresight can propel the nation to join the august club.Are the present crop of leaders cut from the same cloth as past leaders or mired in third world mentality?
Can the present administration preserve what we already have and continue to bring this nation to greater heights?
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Gong Xi Fa Cai
WISHING ALL MY READERS AND ALL MALAYSIANS A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS CHINESE NEW YEAR
The Year of the Ox
1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997
People born in the Year of the Ox are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. They tend, however, to be eccentric, and bigoted, and they anger easily. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. Ox people are mentally and physically alert. Generally easy-going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Exterminators
Hantu Laut
Police brutality existed everywhere.There is often a racial or ethnic component to police abuses.In the US many cases of police brutality were results of racial profiling.In New York 78% of complaints against the police came from African-Americans and Latinos.The police force is almost 70% white.
In Malaysia the Indians seem to carry the brunt of police brutality, even less than that of the illegal immigrants.
Whatever the ethnicity or back ground of the victim is immaterial, police brutality should not be tolerated and must be fully investigated to bring to book those involved.Besides the police own investigation, there should be a parallel independent investigation team to ensure that there wouldn't be any cover up.
It makes one wonder what kind of training our policemen get that had made so many of them to act more like thugs and goons rather than policemen.Haris Ibrahim's of the The People's Parliament has the story and photos here. Susan Loone has her story here.Malaysian Insider has the story here.It is not a pretty sight and can make one very sick in the stomach and angry that such violent physical abuse can be inflicted on a handcuffed person.They have become tormentors and exterminators.A disgrace to the nation.These 'no school' idiots might not know that a suspect is not guilty until he is charged and taken to court for the court to decide, guilty or not guilty.
As there have been many cases of detainees dying in police lock up, someone in the police force should take responsibility and resign from the force.If you can't control your men than there is no point to stay on and disgrace yourself as an incompetent.
More story here and here.
Police brutality existed everywhere.There is often a racial or ethnic component to police abuses.In the US many cases of police brutality were results of racial profiling.In New York 78% of complaints against the police came from African-Americans and Latinos.The police force is almost 70% white.
In Malaysia the Indians seem to carry the brunt of police brutality, even less than that of the illegal immigrants.
Whatever the ethnicity or back ground of the victim is immaterial, police brutality should not be tolerated and must be fully investigated to bring to book those involved.Besides the police own investigation, there should be a parallel independent investigation team to ensure that there wouldn't be any cover up.
It makes one wonder what kind of training our policemen get that had made so many of them to act more like thugs and goons rather than policemen.Haris Ibrahim's of the The People's Parliament has the story and photos here. Susan Loone has her story here.Malaysian Insider has the story here.It is not a pretty sight and can make one very sick in the stomach and angry that such violent physical abuse can be inflicted on a handcuffed person.They have become tormentors and exterminators.A disgrace to the nation.These 'no school' idiots might not know that a suspect is not guilty until he is charged and taken to court for the court to decide, guilty or not guilty.
As there have been many cases of detainees dying in police lock up, someone in the police force should take responsibility and resign from the force.If you can't control your men than there is no point to stay on and disgrace yourself as an incompetent.
More story here and here.
Friday, January 23, 2009
We Want The Real McCoy, Sir!
Hantu Laut
The engines of reform are going full speed ahead to show the nation that the main ruling party is dead serious about making change.Suddenly, there is an all out war against corruption. A senior supreme council member of UMNO is going to be charged for corruptions and money politics. They have not named him yet but was said to have come from Pahang. For those familiar with the internal politics of UMNO it would not be too difficult to narrow down the names to know who the person is.
Taking a no nonsense approach in tackling corruptions it must clean up its house first and bring to book those caught in the net. Seems like a lot of ikan bilis (anchovies) and maybe one or two sharks.Is there some kind of witch-hunt going on?
True to UMNO style, some complained of selective persecution and one official said "If they really want to clean up, they must be fair to every one and that would mean all of us would be going behind bars and the party left only with the rank and file".Also true to UMNO style, selective persecution has always been there to keep the overly ambitious ones in line.
It is a well known fact that almost every one at the top of the party hierarchy have got skeletons in the closet. Only the degree varied, some took more than others, some are smarter and wouldn't be caught so easily and some are arrogantly bodoh (stupid) and get caught.Corruption is corruption, big or small, those caught must face the music. Those living beyond their means must also be investigated.
From where should they start the cleaning process, top to bottom or bottom to top ? What they are doing now seems to be more bottom than top.
Can UMNO afford to carry on cleaning up the party when it is already in such a precarious situation? That answer is better left to PM-designate Najib Tun Razak.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said “The law of the country is the law of the country. No one can escape from it,”commenting on the arrests of 12 individuals in Pahang.Those arrested were reportedly to have received RM300 to RM500 to help a senior politician to secure a supreme council seat in the March 2009 party elections.
Is the general public interested or impressed with the catching of these ikan bilis. I think not, and it is not going to change the public perception. The Malaysian public wanted action against those that raped this country of hundreds of million in kickbacks, commissions and abandoned/sub-standard projects where millions of taxpayers money went to waste or went to the wrong pockets.They want the real McCoy, not those receiving paltry sums.Otherwise, the MACC would be made a mockery of and a lame duck.
UMNO can clean up its own house but must not forget that the MACC should be independent and should act accordingly if there were suspicions of corrupt practices, without waiting for someone to report it. It should , from time to time, look into the lifestyle of any leader, politician, civil servant and their families to determine whether they are living beyond their means.The MACC must have its own initiative to conduct investigations on their own even against the PM if there were report of wrongdoings and justification to initiate an investigation.
Give us the real McCoy.
The engines of reform are going full speed ahead to show the nation that the main ruling party is dead serious about making change.Suddenly, there is an all out war against corruption. A senior supreme council member of UMNO is going to be charged for corruptions and money politics. They have not named him yet but was said to have come from Pahang. For those familiar with the internal politics of UMNO it would not be too difficult to narrow down the names to know who the person is.
Taking a no nonsense approach in tackling corruptions it must clean up its house first and bring to book those caught in the net. Seems like a lot of ikan bilis (anchovies) and maybe one or two sharks.Is there some kind of witch-hunt going on?
True to UMNO style, some complained of selective persecution and one official said "If they really want to clean up, they must be fair to every one and that would mean all of us would be going behind bars and the party left only with the rank and file".Also true to UMNO style, selective persecution has always been there to keep the overly ambitious ones in line.
It is a well known fact that almost every one at the top of the party hierarchy have got skeletons in the closet. Only the degree varied, some took more than others, some are smarter and wouldn't be caught so easily and some are arrogantly bodoh (stupid) and get caught.Corruption is corruption, big or small, those caught must face the music. Those living beyond their means must also be investigated.
From where should they start the cleaning process, top to bottom or bottom to top ? What they are doing now seems to be more bottom than top.
Can UMNO afford to carry on cleaning up the party when it is already in such a precarious situation? That answer is better left to PM-designate Najib Tun Razak.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said “The law of the country is the law of the country. No one can escape from it,”commenting on the arrests of 12 individuals in Pahang.Those arrested were reportedly to have received RM300 to RM500 to help a senior politician to secure a supreme council seat in the March 2009 party elections.
Is the general public interested or impressed with the catching of these ikan bilis. I think not, and it is not going to change the public perception. The Malaysian public wanted action against those that raped this country of hundreds of million in kickbacks, commissions and abandoned/sub-standard projects where millions of taxpayers money went to waste or went to the wrong pockets.They want the real McCoy, not those receiving paltry sums.Otherwise, the MACC would be made a mockery of and a lame duck.
UMNO can clean up its own house but must not forget that the MACC should be independent and should act accordingly if there were suspicions of corrupt practices, without waiting for someone to report it. It should , from time to time, look into the lifestyle of any leader, politician, civil servant and their families to determine whether they are living beyond their means.The MACC must have its own initiative to conduct investigations on their own even against the PM if there were report of wrongdoings and justification to initiate an investigation.
Give us the real McCoy.
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