Losing Faith: Khalid Ibrahim

Hantu Laut

The truth hurts.The response even more ridiculous.Khalid Ibrahim ran out of sensibility responding to Najib's remark that the people have lost faith in PKR.

Khalid Ibrahim couldn't find better words to express his annoyance with Najib, obtusely asking Najib not to come to Hulu Selangor.This is, probably, what the Malay called 'bodoh sombong'. I am not sure what 's the English equivalent, literally translated it could mean 'proudly stupid', but than in English the many words to describe the varying degree of stupidity can range from the very mild to the very extreme.Being called stupid is probably the mildest form and the most common.

Below are some of derogatory remarks you can use on people you don't like or those that offended you.A word of caution, though,don't overuse, you may end up a dead meat.

If you want to impugn someone's intelligence, the options are almost limitless.
You can call the person stupid, a term that implies a sluggish, slow-witted lack of intelligence.
Asinine is a harsher word, implying asslike or foolish behavior rather than slow-wittedness (: a woman her age looked asinine in a miniskirt).
Calling someone dumb is risky, because it is not only an informal word (: you dumb bunny!), but because it also means mute and is associated with the offensive expression “deaf and dumb,” used to describe people who cannot hear or speak.
Dense implies an inability to understand even simple facts or instructions (: too dense to get the joke), while dull suggests a sluggishness of mind unrelieved by any hint of quickness, brightness, or liveliness (: a dull stare).
Slow also implies a lack of quickness in comprehension or reaction and is often used as a euphemistic substitute for stupid (: he was a little slow intellectually).
Obtuse is a more formal word for slow-wittedness, but with a strong undercurrent of scorn (: it almost seemed as though he were being deliberately obtuse).
You can't go wrong with a word like unintelligent, which is probably the most objective term for low mental ability and the least likely to provoke an angry response (: unintelligent answers to the teacher's questions).E.Dictionary.

To be fair to Khalid, I should say he gave an unintelligent response to Najib's remarks.What Najib stated in his speech were facts.If Khalid feels the heat and felt slighted than he should go to the ground and find out the truth.Is PKR losing ground and why? The fact that some of its lawmakers left the party clearly indicates loss of confidence in the leadership.Bad leadership, would, sooner or later translates to bigger loss.

Khalid said “If they (the voters) are losing faith (in us), then why should he come here?

They are losing faith in Khalid, not Najib.

Najib was right.PKR, is suffering serious leadership and credibility crisis.As a citizen and apex leader of this nation Najib has every right to visit any place in this country.

Najib Stalls on his New Economic Policy

By whose count? The NEM hasn't started yet, how could it stalled?

ASIA SENTINEL

Written by Our Correspondent

Thursday, 01 April 2010

As expected, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak unveiled his New Economic Model in an 8,000 word speech on March 30 to a national investor conference in Kuala Lumpur. And, as expected, despite the hype and favorable news stories in the international press, it contained virtually nothing of substance. The speech can be found here.

Najib remains caught between the need to eliminate costly subsidies enshrined in 40 years of economic policy that benefit ethnic Malays and the fact that eliminating them would alienate a major part of his United Malays Political Organization political base.

His pledge in the speech to eliminate rent-seeking is fraught with political danger, since UMNO has largely been built on party cadres who have made fortunes on government contracts or other arrangements. As Lim Kit Siang, the leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party, pointed out to Asia Sentinel, Najib's promise to end rent-seeking was almost an exact echo of speeches by his predecessor, former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was unable to make any progress whatsoever in the face of implacable opposition from UMNO cronies.

The premier has been trying to walk the line between economic liberalization and enraging his base virtually since he took office a year ago, offering to unveil policies and then delaying. The details now have been delayed until the release of the 10th Malaysia plan, probably in June. Some, including veteran UMNO politician-turned-reformer Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, whose speech appeared on March 24 in Asia Sentinel, have questioned whether it is possible to split the difference.

Last year, Najib quickly stoked ethnic Malay anger by removing a long-standing requirement mandating ethnic Malay participation in 27 economic sub-sectors as well as removing a requirement that 30 percent of shares in IPOs go to ethnic Malays. That,along with rising irritation in other ethnic parties, led to rallies across the country put on by the Malay Consultative Council, an umbrella group of 50 ethnic Malay non-government organizations, and its most active voice, an NGO called Perkasa.

While there has been no open break between Najib and the splenetic former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Mahathir has appeared several times at rallies to defend so-called ketuanan Melayu, or Malay superiority. Some of the rallies have turned into near riots and have been likened to the Tea Party rallies in the United States that have roiled American politics. Mahathir is also close to Ibrahim Ali, a former UMNO wheel-horse who is a major force in Perkasa, leading some to believe Ibrahim is Mahathir's spear-carrier.
As Asia Sentinel reported on March 8, the widening gap between what Najib wants to do and what a major portion of his United Malays National Organization constituency wants is putting in jeopardy his so-called RM20 million 1Malaysia campaign, designed to bring the country's alienated and fractious ethnic groups together, and torebuild the Barisan Nasional, the ruling national coalition of ethnic political parties.

In his speech, Najib said the country could no longer rely on a few sectors like oil palm plantations and crude oil sales to drive growth. He called for the country to diversify and provide incentives in new strategic industries. The education system – which critics say now gives ethnic Malays virtually blanket passes with little academic rigor -- must be revaluated and improved, he said, to reward excellence and nurture talented graduates who excel in strategic and creative thinking, and entrepreneurial and leadership skills that will drive success in the decades ahead.

On Tuesday, the Malaysian Insider, an increasingly influential website, reported that the Malay Consultative Council is split over Najib's plans, with the council taking an unofficial stand to support them on condition that affirmative action features contained in the New Economic Policy, put in place after bloody ethnic riots in 1969, remain in place. Given that Najib's economic plans would remove many of those perks, it remains to be seen how he can convince the rank and file of their value.

Najib does have an improving economy working in his behalf. As he told the Invest Malaysia conference Monday, fourth-quarter 2009 Gross domestic product grew by a higher-than-expected 4.5 percent, that exports have rebounded, and foreign direct investment is picking up. The Industrial Production Index, he said, rebounded to 12.7 percent growth in January with exports, which traditionally have comprised more than 100 percent of GDP, exports rose 37 percent to RM52 billion and imports increased by 31 percent to RM40 billion. His decision last year to inject RM67 billion of stimulus funding provided a much-needed boost to the economy.

The government, he said, "can no longer tolerate practices that support the behavior of rent-seeking and patronage, which have long tarnished the altruistic aims of the New Economic Policy. Inclusiveness, where all Malaysians contribute and benefit from economic growth - must be a fundamental element of any new economic approach."

However, there is no better example of how closely tied to Najib's own coat-tails are to rent-seekng than a contract to provide services and coordination for two Amaris submarines purchased for US$1 billion from DCNS, a French defense contractor, when Najib was defense minister. Najib and one of his closest friends, Abdul Razak Baginda, were intimately involved with the purchase of the submarines. Although many critics characterized the €114.96 million payment to a company called Perimekar, partly owned by Razak Baginda, as a bribe, Malaysia's defense ministry defended it in Parliament as a support services contract.
Perimekar was partly owned by the Armed Forces Superannuation Fund Board (the military retirement fund), Boustead Holdings Bhd, and KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd. Ombak Laut was in turn owned by Razak Baginda, who was tried for the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu and found not guilty in a controversial trial that saw two of Najib's own bodyguards convicted of the crime. Altantuya had served as a translator in France on part of the submarine transaction and was demanding US$500,000 from Razak, her former lover in what she herself called blackmail in a letter found after her death.

Yet there is another service contract as well. The submarines became controversial again in February when it was reported that the first one to be delivered had problems with its ballast system and couldn't submerge. Although that turned out to be a relatively minor problem, it brought to light questions over an additional service agreement between the government and a well-connected firm called Boustead DCNS, a joint venture between BHIC Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of publicly-listed Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd, and the France-based DCNS SA, which built the subs. Originally Boustead told the Malaysian Stock Exchange that the service contract was for RM600 million (US$184.1 million) for six years, or US$30.68 million annually. However, the contract later ballooned to RM270 million per year. Boustead Holdings is partly owned by the government and has close connections with UMNO.Read more.

'Dr M regretted bringing Umno to Sabah' and Sabah folks enjoying development under Najib

Who is the schizophrenic liar?

'Dr M regretted bringing Umno to Sabah'

Kota Kinabalu: Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan claimed Tuesday that former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammed expressed regret in bringing Umno to Sabah, especially after seeing how its leaders actually only cared about themselves than the party.

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Vice President said Dr Mahathir had expressed this to him when he met the latter after his release from Internal Security Act (ISA) detention.

"After I was released from detention, I went to his (Dr Mahathir was then also Home Minister) office. During our conversations, he (Dr Mahathir) told me he actually regretted bringing Umno to Sabah, saying this is because the other leaders involved only cared about themselves and not the party," he said.

Dr Jeffrey further claimed he then asked Dr Mahathir why he did not take Umno out of Sabah and to this Dr Mahathir said he cannot do so "because of maruah (pride)É"

"So since Dr Mahathir cannot bring Umno back to Semenanjung, let the people in Sabah send Umno back," said Dr Jeffrey, who is also the party's Steering Committee Chairman for Sabah and Sarawak

He said this when officiating at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Kota Kinabalu Division's AGM at its office in Jalan Sang Kancil, Karamunsing, here.

Sabah PKR Liaison Chairman Ahmad Thamrin and Deputy Chairperson-cum-PKR Kota Kinabalu Chief Christina Liew, among others, were also present.

Dr Jeffrey said the people of Sabah should give the next five-year mandate to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and help change the fate of all the rakyat in the State.

"Because after so many years and until today, even after Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) rejoined the Barisan Nasional (BN) nothing has changed," he said.

He said when he met his brother (Deputy Chief Minister and Parti Bersatu Sabah President Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan) he told him to join them in going back into Barisan Nasional (BN) as then "it would be easier for us to solve all problems like illegal immigrants, economic-related and so on.

"He told me this. And so sudah berapa tahun durang masuk balik BN (its been many years already after they rejoined the BN), more than 10 years, but what has happened now...have they solved the poverty problem?

"No, instead the poverty problem has become biggerÉSabah is now the second poorest state in the country with the largest poorest population in the whole country," he said.

"Recently there was a report quoting the State Deputy Chief Minister as saying the poverty rate in Sabah has dropped by seven per cent, but do you believe thisÉ?"

"If all the prices of goods have increased, tapi gaji tidak naik (salary remains), meaning we are actually becoming poorerÉit means the poverty rate has increased, there are more poor people in Sabah now than the last two years," said Dr Jeffrey.

As for the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah, he said, today even after there were so many operations to nab the illegals nothing has actually changed and the problem remained unsolved.

On the development side, Dr Jeffrey said the development allocation from the Federal Government to Sabah was increased from RM2.7billion under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to RM20billion.

"But what has been achieved from this RM20billion? What can we see from it? mana ada (nothing)Éyang ada adalah sana sini sikit sikit (what we can see are a little here and there), so the question is where did the money go?" he asked.

He said it is fortunate that there are opposition parties watching over them "because if not I believe all the development allocation would go into the pockets of the Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders."

Daily Express

Sabah folks enjoying development under Najib

KOTA KINABALU, April 1 — In less than one year after Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over the leadership mantle, the people in Sabah were already enjoying the development transformation championed by the prime minister.

There are various changes visible all over the state — regardless at village or town.

At the north coast of Sabah, the people of the “cowboy town” known as Kota Belud have every reason to smile as they are enjoying upgraded roads in the villages and schools in the outskirts.

According to the Kota Belud district chief, OKK Tungking alias Amirshah Kantiong, the upgrading project worth RM30 million was started less than a year after Najib became the prime minister.

The same goes to the agricultural project to eradicate poverty, generate economic activities for farmers through the rice bowl programme for Kota Belud and the rural electricity supply project.

“In advocating development for the people, the Prime Minister has mobilised all the elected representatives and community leaders to identify the problems at the grassroot level,” said Tungkin.

The fishermen in the east coast too have every reason to rejoice as people like Hamis Mingkilan, 65, from the fishing village of Kampung Indrasabah Tawau, finally got to see metal roads in their village after waiting for decades.

The metal roads for the fishing villages help the villagers to market their produce — fishes, anchovies and dried fishes — or to ferry agricultural produce like the oil palm to the factories to be processed.

In those days, said Hamis, many of the vehicles plying the route end up getting stuck in the mud especially when it rains. The 12-kilometer laterite route was opened by his grandmother after the Japanese Occupation.

“My own car had ended in the mud many times especially when I returned with my wife from the town at night. I have to leave the car there and return the next day to free the car from the mud,” he told Bernama.

The village was named Indrasabah after his grandmother, Saadullah from the Suluk ethnicity and her friend Indal from the Tidung ethnicity.

Hamis hoped that his village which now enjoys facilities like electricity, mosque and many others, would also see clean water supply as the people there depend on rain water.

Another villager Jamal Abdul Sani, 20, noted that before the road was surfaced those travelling up and down to the town had to bear with the dust, especially during the dry season.

“In those days, to reach the town, it took almost an hour from the Balung town roundabout. Now it only takes less than 20 minutes,” he added.

Najib’s approach in getting to the ground serves as the core principle in serving the people and has boosted the spirit of Sabah’s leaders and the elected representatives.

Meanwhile, the fishermen in several villages in the Batu Sapi Parliamentary constituency in Sandakan are enjoying solar powered lights that make it easy for them to return at night other than providing safety to the villagers who use the jetty in the dark.

This is due to the initiative taken by the Batu Sapi Parliament Member Datuk Edmund Chong Ket who had allocated RM200,000 to finance the solar light system in 15 jetties.

So far, the solar powered lights have been installed at five of the jetties and when the installation is completed in all the 15 jetties, about 1,000 fishermen will benefit from it.

Jamil Ismail, a fishermen in Pulau Tronglit, noted that the lights would help the fishermen there to land their catch at night unlike previously where they had to do it in the dark.

A housewife Suraya Otoh, 26, noted that the solar powered lights were also installed at several homes near the jetty and they no longer need to use the generator.

A private sector employee, Francis Junior Chu from Penampang felt that the government led by Najib have taken into consideration many of the issues relating to Sabah and Sarawak.

“Maybe because Sabah and Sarawak have helped Barisan Nasional(BN) to secure its victory during the last general election...So Najib wants to see these states develop on par with the other states in Peninsula,” he said.

The United Sabah Bajau Organisation (Usbo) President Datuk Seri Salleh Tun Said Keruak said Najib’s first year at the helm witnessed many success and has placed the nation’s economy on a more stable position.

“Within the context of Sabah, the effort and approach taken by the federal government like the Sabah Development Corridor(SDC) will bring a paradigm shift for the people,” he added. — Bernama

For a state that saved UMNO from oblivion in the last GE (General Elections) can we have former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammad's response to this rather strange and invidious disclosure.

Malaysia's New Growth Policy

Malaysia Outlines New Growth Strategy

By LIZ GOOCH

Published: March 30, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia will promote greater private- sector investment and revise a controversial affirmative action policy to focus on need instead of race as the nation strives to become a high-income economy, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Tuesday.

The proposed New Economic Model, unveiled by the prime minister, outlined a variety of economic reforms designed to help Malaysia’s gross domestic product grow by an average of 6.5 percent a year from 2011 to 2020 to allow it to reach its goal of becoming a “developed” nation.

The economy shrank by 1.7 percent last year but posted better-than-expected growth of 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter as exports began to recover. Malaysia’s central bank last week forecast that the economy would grow between 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent this year.

Mr. Najib said Malaysia wanted to make a “quantum leap” from the current $7,000 per capita annual income to $15,000 by 2020. The World Bank defines a high-income nation as one where gross national income per capita amounts to $11,906 or more.

The government will now seek feedback from stakeholders on the New Economic Model, which was developed by the National Economic Advisory Council, before the policy is finalized.

Business analysts welcomed the plan, which focuses on expanding private-sector growth with measures such as boosting the quality of the workforce through improving the education system, encouraging Malaysians working abroad to return home, and increasing privatization.

“There’s a clear recognition in the NEM that the private sector needs to sit in the driver’s seat and the role of the government will be changed from an orchestrator to a facilitator,” said the World Bank’s Malaysia economist, Philip Schellekens.

“Malaysia also wants to introduce creative competition in the economy and I think that’s critical. These are all positive developments that should create opportunities both for foreign investors and domestic investors.”

Mr. Najib said Malaysia could no longer rely on only a few sectors to drive the economy. Economists say that the country depends too heavily on the oil and gas industries and on low-skilled jobs in the manufacturing sector.

While Mr. Najib highlighted the strengths of several sectors including manufacturing and services, agriculture, electrical and electronics, Islamic finance and tourism, he said that the government would not dictate which industries should drive growth.

The government wants to gradually reduce public sector involvement in activities that compete directly with the private sector.Read more..