Sabah Boleh Bah?

Hantu Laut

Usually I don't post on this kind of subject but since it involved a politician from my home state I must have the courtesy to congratulate our Yang Berhormat on his outstanding achievement and excellent choice.

Is this the 1 Malaysia the Prime Minister has in mind? Bridging the gap between West and East Malaysia.Take a bride from the West or vice versa or better still get a trophy wife.

EXOTIC MEAT... Policemen showing some of the pangolins that were seized in a raid at a cemetery in Lebuh Raya Tun Razak, Kuantan.

Dec 20, 2009 2:55 pm

KUCHING'S SNOW SCENE: Sarawak's capital has come up with a 10-metre-tall Christmas tree amid snow-covered scenery. The elaborate display at Jalan Bukit Mata Kucing is courtesy of Celcom Malaysia. - Picture by NADIM BOKHARI

Dec 20, 2009 11:32 am

Congratulations! Bung. First denied it.Next day married.

Sabah boleh bah!

Now, we are at par with Sarawak.

Should They Be Charged With High Treason?

Hantu Laut

Are we becoming a nation of crooks? Read this.

From crooked politicians repatriating their ill-gotten gains overseas using the illegal hawala system to selling part of the country's defence system.Malaysia is not short of this kind of talents.We become famous for all the wrong reasons.

This is supposed to be high security areas and a jet engine is not that easy to move about without detection.Tip of the iceberg? What else have been stolen and sold without the authority knowing it? Many years ago, if I am not mistaken, there were reports of fake spare parts supplied to the Air Force.

The government should view this very seriously as missiles and bombs could have gone missing without their knowledge and such weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists.If such thing happened Malaysia could become a pariah state in the eyes of the international community.

So, how did they do it?

Should those involved be charged with high treason?

High treason is considered a serious offense, and carries the death penalty in some countries.

'Fixed Deposit' My Foot! Sabah In Dire Straits

Hantu Laut

Prime Minister Najib calling Sabah 'fixed deposit' for the BN may end soon if he doesn't do something to those saboteurs in SESB.This bunch of incompetent officers sent over here by Tenaga spent more times going to conferences than doing their job insuring uninterrupted power supply to the state.Some of these men trying very hard to destroy his 1 Malaysia concept.A government that doesn't live up to its promise is likely to face the gallows.

The frequent power disruptions and load shedding that affected the east coast for many years have now hit the west coast and the state capital in a big way.The frequent power disruptions are effecting businesses and creating chaos in the state capital as most major traffic lights ceased to function causing massive traffic jams and mayhem on the roads and streets of Kota Kinabalu.

The constant power disruptions have plagued Sabah for many years and the Federal government since taking over the Sabah Electricity Board had made the situation worse.The negligence to resolve this and other problems affecting the daily lives of Sabahans will have serious repercussions at the next general elections.Sabahans, are basically fed up with the arrogant attitude of these West Malaysian officers and Sabah leaders who had failed to look after the basic needs of the people.

While it is always bright and sunny in West Malaysia clouds of uncertainty hang over Sabah.Frequent power disruptions, inadequate water supply, poor health care, poor road system and the poorest state in Malaysia.

This state had become worse than some third world countries.If shame is the word befitting Sabah leaders than they should be ashamed of themselves for their couldn't care less attitude and inaction.Yesterday, two kampongs in Weston reported to be without water supply for over a month affecting 300 households with over 5000 residents.Reason given by the water department was that their water treatment plant had broken down.The story here.

This is the most outrageous excuse ever.Water is the most essential commodity to sustain lives and Sabah has plentiful.The head of the department should be sacked or moved to a cooler environment where he can spend time sitting on his ass,sucking his thumb and do fuck all.

What do Sabahans want from their members of parliament? They are supposed to look after Sabah's interests at the federal level and act as lobbyists and not as monkeys in Parliament. Here's one Sabah MP who feels he is not handsome enough to deserve the attention of an actress but going ahead anyway to marry her.She loves him for his uncouth and uncultured Mr Bocor image and maybe his fat wallet.Here, the well-known politician(for his controversial menstrual 'bocor') and the popular actress (?, never heard of her before) had dinner with her family to get to know each other better while 5,000 Sabahans here who voted for him and the BN had no water supply for over one month.

Last month I spent three weeks in Phnom Penh and not a single day had been without power.This visibly poor country, if you still want to call it poor to self-console yourself that Malaysia is a better place, are showing remarkable improvement and progress since the fall of the Khmer Rogue.At least most of its streetlights are functioning and important historical monuments are lit at night compared to Kota Kinabalu where many parts of the city are in darkness and major roads unlit.Broken streetlights never get repaired for years.The mayor seems to be busier planting trees,shrubs, flowers and putting up monstrous looking billboards all over the city but ignored the fundamental needs of the city dwellers.The needs to live in a functional city and get the amenities that they have paid for.

While the rest of the world are trying their best to reduce greenhouse effect the Federal government insisted on a coal-fired power plant putting the guns to Sabahan heads that if they don't accept coal than they might as well wither on the vine.

With so much natural gas lying so near offshore common sense tells you that a gas-fired power station makes more sense than that cheap and dirty coal. A project of dubious background.Maybe, the MACC should look into the purchases of Tenaga just to ensure probity and compliance.

If they can run undersea power cable over 700 km for the Bakun project to bring more electrical power to West Malaysia would you believe running 50 km undersea gas pipeline is too expensive and not feasible? The Bakun project would be more expensive to run because it will suffer between 20 to 30 percent power transmission loss over the long distance delivery.

Logic, tells you that the people in Tenaga consider Sabah unworthy of attention, giving Sabahans crappy old machines, pollutants emitting monsters and lots of bullshit stories.These morons forgot that Sabahans are more environmentally conscious than their counterparts in West Malaysia.That's why there were strong objections to the proposal.That's why there were no coal-fired greenhouse gases monsters here.

Just because West Malaysians accepted coal-fired stations doesn't mean Sabahans must do the same and close their eyes to the dangerous long-term side effects to the environment and their health.We have already killed our natural heritage by cutting huge chunk of our forests for oil palm plantations.The harmful effects are now being felt by our rivers and seas.

Unless, Prime Minister Najib takes personal interests in the perennial power disruptions and other problems facing Sabahans his 'fixed deposit' might just evanescent into the abysmal abyss.

Is Sovereign Debt the New Subprime?

Is Sovereign Debt the New Subprime?

Posted Dec 16, 2009 08:30am EST by Aaron Task in Investing, Recession, Banking

That’s a question many on Wall Street are asking as 2009 comes to a close. Just as many subprime borrowers were unable to make their mortgage payments in 2007 and 2008, investors now fear certain nations will be unable to pay their debts in the year ahead.

Rising mortgage defaults and credit card delinquencies put many banks on the brink of bankruptcy in 2008, sending the global economy into a tailspin. But sovereign debt defaults are potentially even more catastrophic as they can lead to geopolitical instability, societal unrest and even war. And there will also be economic ramifications for investors worldwide, putting America’s (and the globe’s) fragile recovery at great risk.

To varying degrees, Greece, Spain, Ukraine, Austria, Latvia, Mexico are just a handful of the nations viewed at risk of defaulting. Meanwhile, Dubai only just avoided a similar fate thanks to a $10 billion bailout from their oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi.

So, who else out there could rattle our constantly more interconnected world? Here's a look at where the trouble spots could be:

• Greece: Fitch Ratings last week joined two other ratings agencies in expressing concern about the country’s health. “Greece faces the risk of sinking under its debt,” Prime Minister George Papandreou said Monday in a speech where he pledged to slash the nation’s budget deficit by overhauling the nation’s tax system and cutting government spending.

• Ecuador, which defaulted in December 2008 when President Rafael Correa said the nation wouldn't make an interest payment of more than $30 million on a $510 million bond issue, carries a CCC+ rating at S&P. They define the debt issuers in the CCC category as "[c]urrently vulnerable and dependent on favorable business, financial and economic conditions to meet financial commitments." Translation: Probably in for hard times.

• Argentina, Grenada, Lebanon, Pakistan and Bolivia are judged to be a little better off, but they're saddled with still dubious B- ratings. The single-B classification at S&P means these nations are "[m]ore vulnerable to adverse business, financial and economic conditions but currently [have] the capacity to meet financial commitments." Translation: Not good, and needs some things to go right, preferably soon.

• Mexico: This week, S&P cut some of its ratings on America’s southern neighbor, but said the outlook is stable. Why the move? Because the agency believes Mexico's attempts to raise money through sources other than oil revenue and to make the economy more efficient "will likely be insufficient to compensate for the weakening of its fiscal profile." Put it on your watch list.Read more.