A proposed coal plant in Malaysia is provoking an international outcry.

Why the Fight for the Gulf is Also in Borneo

A proposed coal plant in Malaysia is provoking an international outcry.

Document Actions

by Jamie Henn

posted Jul 29, 2010

Photo by Helen Brunt.

In Borneo, south of the power plant's proposed site, coastal communities depend on good fishing waters for their livelihood.

I’ve had a hard time wrenching my eyes away from the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon began spewing poison just over 100 days ago. Google Maps tells me that Grand Isle, Louisiana is 2,316 miles away from my office here in Oakland, CA and yet it feels like that oil is washing right up on my doorstep.

What makes the devastation in the Gulf feel so personal?

For me, it’s the stories of families that have lost everything, shrimpers and fisherman whose livelihoods may never recover. It’s the photos of oil-drenched pelicans, the same birds I remember seeing down in Florida as a kid. It’s watching our political system unable to muster the proper response to the crisis: a full out clean energy mobilization that could finally break our addiction to fossil fuels.

I’ve wanted to know what makes the Gulf disaster tear up our hearts because there are other environmental fights out there that need to feel just as personal.

For the last two months, I’ve been emailing and Skype-ing with Cynthia Ong, one of the leaders of Green SURF, a coalition of organizations in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. Cynthia and her allies are working to stop a coal fired power plant that could have a devastating effect on the environment and community of the island.

The people of Borneo need the support of the international community to stop the plant. With most of the paperwork already approved and construction ready to begin this August, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, is one of the few people left with enough power to still pull the plug.

If Najib feels enough international pressure, there’s a good chance he will scrap the plant. But without a global response, the project will undoubtedly move forward.

This coal plant needs to start feeling just as close as Grand Isle and the Gulf coast.

Borneo is over 8,000 miles away from Oakland, yet this coal plant needs to start feeling just as close as Grand Isle and the Gulf coast.

Because if we can’t stop a coal plant in a famous place like Borneo, how will we ever stop the hundreds more being planned for less iconic places across the planet? And how will we begin to take on the even more difficult problem of the climate crisis—which is already hammering vulnerable communities but still feels distant and invisible for many of us?

The Internet has provided us with a powerful tool in this struggle. Not so long ago, we’d be reaching for an encyclopedia to look up where exactly Borneo is. Now it’s just a click away.

Images of the pristine beaches that will be ravaged by the coal plant or video of the coastal communities that may be forced off their land can be beamed directly to our laptops. Studies about how Borneo could generate its electricity needs from clean and renewable sources are freely available.

Perhaps most importantly, though, politicians like Prime Minister Najib can hear our voices—even if they’re 8,000 miles away. Green SURF is encouraging people to write on Najib’s Facebook page or send him an online postcard expressing opposition to the plant.

The global response to the coal plant generated by Cynthia and many others (she’ll be the first to credit the incredible work of many activists and community groups on the ground) is already beginning to have an effect.

Earlier this month, The Star, a leading English-language paper in Malaysia, ran a story about the global pressure building on Najib. Just last week, Roz Savage, international activist and distance rower, was in Borneo to shine a spotlight on the issue with some creative actions that got the attention of the press. And throughout the summer, Green SURF and their allies have worked to submit hundreds upon hundreds of public comments criticizing the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) of the coal plant, a key hurdle it must clear in order to be built.

They seem to have been heard: On July 29, Free Malaysia Today reported that the DEIA was “laced with fraud, incompetence or plain negligence.”

Now, it’s crucial to continue to build opposition to the plant. At this point, spreading the story, photos, and videos of what’s happening in Borneo is the most important step that citizens around the world can take. Petitions, like the one up now at Change.org, are also circulating. Joining the SOS Borneo Facebook group can help you stay up to date with the latest developments.

Personally, I look forward to the day when we can look up and see solutions instead of disasters, whether they’re just around the corner or halfway around the world (showing those solutions is one of the goals of 350.org’s 10/10/10 Global Work Party this October).

For now, though, it’s important to look directly at the challenges we face, take a deep breath, and try once again to make a difference.

---

Jamie Henn wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Jamie is a co-coordinator of 350.org. In 2007, he co-organized Step It Up, a campaign that pulled together over 2,000 climate rallies across the United States to push for strong climate action at the federal level.

Source:Yes Magazine

Millionire At 20,Billionaire At 28?. Is He Really That Hot?

Hantu Laut

Millionaire when he was barely 20. Set up an investment fund called Wyndon Group now worth in excess of US$1 billion.No tweet? Fine.No website? Strange.Right place,right time, right people.....ouch! my foot!

Yes! right people with most disgustingly wasteful habit.

An international investment company with portfolio of US$1 billion may not be big worldwide but big enough for Malaysia.It has no website which means it is not interested in expanding or canvassing its business from the general public.From portfolio investment switched to private equity.

Smart!.Private equity is much more difficult to check as against listed portfolio investment which is much more transparent.

There is absolutely nothing on the Wyndon Group on the Internet except the interview with the Star newspaper.

Low states that his Wyndon Group is registered and headquartered in the British Virgin Island (BVI).On checking with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (BVIFSC), a regulatory body responsible for regulating all financial services business operating in and from within the BVI, no such company can be found under all categories of financial services.Wyndon does not exist on their registry. Maybe, Low should be more specific and give more details of his company's registration and under which British Virgin Island's authority it was registered.

While many other tax havens have bad reputation of being used by unsavoury characters to cheat and launder money, the BVI has managed to keep a clean slate and weeded out the crooks.It would issue advisory warning if any company falsely claimed to be under their jurisdiction like the few examples below.

	VIP BANK, INC. - Advisory Warning No. 3 of 2010 121 Views :: Advisory Warnings
The Commission wishes to inform the public that VIP BANK, INC., is not incorporated or registered in the British Virgin Islands or licensed to carry on financial services business in or from within the Territory.

Golden Gate Education Ltd., Golden Gate Ltd., FinancerzWorld - Advisory Warning No. 24 of 2009
5496 Views :: Advisory Warnings

The FSC wishes to inform the public that Golden Gate Education Ltd., also operating as Golden Gate Ltd. and FinancerzWorld, is not licensed to carry on financial services business in or from within the Territory. Members of the public are therefore advised to exercise extreme caution in conducting any transactions with Golden Gate Education Ltd., also operating as Golden Gate Ltd. and FinancerzWorld.

BVI is a tax haven and one do not need substantive local presence to conduct business from there as long as you are legally registered.If you are a company providing financial services than you have to be registered and authorised by BVIFSC to conduct your business in or from within BVI.

There are two Virgin Islands, one under the British and the other under US jurisdiction.Low definitely confirmed his company was registered and domicile in BVI.

It makes one wonder if the Star reporter that interviewed him asked him for a copy of his company's prospectus just for curiosity sake or bothered to check whether such company actually exists before going to print.Can't say much about the standard of journalism in this country. Just print anything without doing background check. Sorry! I forgot there is a difference between a reporter and a journalist, or is there? Well, journalists sound more glorified than reporters although they do exactly the same job, reporting.

Low is also good at dodging questions.Since the Star reporter is hardly a "Hard Talk" stuff the answer below is what he gets to his question.

Q: What were the best stocks you invested in?

A: The funny thing is, when I was in university, I wrote a couple of articles for the Wharton journal. Some recommendations turned out well, some were terrible. Wharton educates you to look at a diverse portfolio. At the end of the day, it was about returns and diversification.

Any one who understand English would easily conclude that is not exactly the answer to the question.Do I need to go to Wharton to know about returns and diversification?

What about his stock recommendations, the good and the terrible ones? I don't know about the good ones but I know this one was a disaster.Those who bought big on his recommendation would have lost their pants.Maybe, Low can point us to the good ones where he and his customers made tons of money.

Would you give your money to a person who mixes with people who blow their money like there is no tomorrow? Would you ?

A picture paints a thousand words.The picture tells a different story.

"For me, we all work very hard. Of course, we have a disadvantage where at our age, people may perceive it differently. At the end of the day, I run my investors’ money prudently. I generate returns for them. I am not an excessive person but I do have my breaks for relaxation with friends."

Q: All this publicity, has it helped or hindered you?

A: A lot of people have talked to me about it and if it will affect my business because some of my investors are from Islamic countries. Firstly, an important key point is trust. If you don’t trust me, you won’t trust me to invest in me. Second, it is a gross exaggeration of facts. Third, with the amount media attention, although it has been very challenging on me, it is through this rising above from challenges that we learn to better ourselves, so I decided that it was an opportune time to come out and state the facts.

Good try my friend.Very profound indeed.

All those money you and your friends burned on the wild champagne parties were provided by Muslims from Islamic countries.That's why they need you as the front man, the fall guy.

More Wild Parties, Down The Champagne With The Pussies

Hantu Laut




















More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, 300 million are children.














These children live in the worst imaginable conditions - in overcrowded shacks with dirt floors and no running water or electricity. They play in alleyways covered with sewage and trash. Their parents are often too poor or too ill to keep them fed.



















There is no money for food and rarely a chance for these children to see a doctor when they are sick. Something as simple as an ear infection can cause deafness; a cold can lead to pneumonia... and even death.



















A child dies every three seconds from AIDS and extreme poverty, often before their fifth birthday.



















Entire villages and communities are being wiped out by diseases that are living in dirty water.



















Children are dying in huge numbers.These numbers are so big that they cannot begin to comprehend them - they are just statistics !




















While million of children have no food to eat and no roof over their heads in poor stricken countries in Africa and Asia million of dollars are wasted on splashing expensive champagne in one night of orgy of fun and sex.

Money that came out of mother earth's womb deep beneath the earth's surface.Money that is so easy to get it has lost its intrinsic value.Money that gave the crooked and the corrupted absolute power.

A story from one poor African

“I know poverty because poverty was there before I was born and it has become part of life like the blood through my veins. Poverty is not going empty for a single day and getting something to eat the next day. Poverty is going empty with no hope for the future. Poverty is getting nobody to feel your pain and poverty is when your dreams go in vain because nobody is there to help you. Poverty is watching your mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters die in pain and in sorrow just because they couldn't get something to eat. Poverty is hearing your grandmothers and grandfathers cry out to death to come take them because they are tired of this world. Poverty is watching your own children and grandchildren die in your arms but there is nothing you can do. Poverty is watching your children and grandchildren share tears in their deepest sleep. Poverty is suffering from HIV/AIDS and dying a shameful death but nobody seems to care". " Poverty is when you hide your face and wish nobody could see you just because you feel less than a human being. Poverty is when you dream of bread and fish you never see in the day light. Poverty is when people accuse you and prosecute you for no fault of yours but who is there to say some for you? Poverty is when the hopes of your fathers and grandfathers just vanish within a blink of an eye. I know poverty and I know poverty just like I know my father's name. Poverty never sleeps. Poverty works all day and night. Poverty never takes a holiday" (One Poor African)

God must be blind!

What I wrote

Mr Big Spender's Duel in "Who Is Richer", Spending Other People's Money

Now, from the horses's mouth here.

Aru You Kidding Me? Minister!

Hantu Laut

Are you kidding me?

Big drop in FDI, cause we are getting quality not quantity investments says Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapha Mohammed here.

“We are beginning to attract quality investments,” he said.

“It doesn’t mean that if it’s RM1 billion investment you generate lots of benefit for the country.

Sorry! Minister! Couldn't agree with you, not if you care about the macroeconomic of this country.We need both, but quantity more.

“It could be only RM10 million but, in terms of job opportunities, there are more job opportunities that pay higher wages.” he said.

Are we going for more labour intensive industries? How could labour intensive be paying higher wages?

Wow! I wonder which book of economic tells him small investments can provide bigger employment, pay higher wages and generate lots of benefit for the country.If that is the case why don't we just stick to growing more oil palm and set up more garment factories.

He gave the example of a “quality” local company worth RM200 million employing 1,500 graduates with a starting pay of RM4,000 per month.

That translates into a staggering RM6,000,000 monthly salaries just for the graduate employees alone.Surely, there must be other category of employees like clerks,office boys,drivers,coffee lady and so on.He did not mention what the company's business is.If it is a manufacturing concern than there must be factory workers on the floor.They need to be paid too, unless those graduates are the factory workers.

The graduates total payroll in a year would come to RM72 million excluding other benefits and salaries of other employees.What about other recurring expenses?

Need I go any further to tell you why our FDI and economy are in trouble.

When you have minister like this going round the world telling foreign investors we want quality not quantity investments and himself can't even do simple arithmetic let alone understand the intricacies of economic terms, what would you expect to get in return? A runaway success to woo foreign investors or a botched mission because our minister sounds unconvincing.?

Maybe, Najib should recall Rafidah Aziz. The lady would have done a far better job than our 'quality man.'

The example he gave is subjective.At the end of the day what is most important is the value added product, the bottom line.Size of investment does play a major part to the kind of quality and quantity of the products or services.

There again, we are talking about the drop in total FDI value which means there is lack of confidence by foreign investors putting their money here.It's simple economic.The more money you put in the greater would be the economic output, unless the minister has found a new economic theory that says otherwise.

In 2009 our FDI plunged 81 per cent.Not only new FDI avoided us like a leper, existing foreign investments in the country are not expanding their businesses.

If thing can go wrong it will go wrong, most unfortunate, when it should not be so, even domestic investments are moving at snail pace.

MITI must not count the eggs in its basket but ask whether the eggs can hatch to produce more chicks.Not all approved investments get to the ground.They look good on papers but failed to turn into economic generators.

The measure of FDI is confidence.It is confidence in the political stability and fiscal policies of the nation that draws foreign investors to any country.These two top foreign investor's wish list before other considerations like the availability of suitable labour force, infrastructures and other logistics are taken into account.

Obviously, Malaysia is suffering from lack of confidence in its political stability and unflattering fiscal policies.

We have three serious headaches, political instability, a siege fiscal policy and brain drain.

Prime Minister Najib was not able to implement his New Economic Model (NEM) due to strong opposition from the rent seekers in UMNO and Perkasa under the pretext of..... Malays still need help.

The government have had the NEP close to 40 years, one should ask how come there are still many poor Malays.Isn't that telling how much the NEP had been abused.If the Malays can't progress in the past 40 years what makes the clouts think they can in the next 40 years if the mentality do not change.

As Malays I think we should be self-critical and self examine ourselves where we have gone wrong instead of putting the blame on other races for our misfortunes.Likewise, the non-Malays should not question what's enshrined in the constitution, there is always room for fine tuning the fine print by constitutional means.Spurting racist remarks are not going to help but would only worsen the problem.

We certainly don't want to be called 'land of the blind'.We are losing our best brains to other parts of the world because they can't see what best for them in this country.

We produced graduates by the thousands but the private sector shied away from employing them.Why? We, probably know the answer to that.Many end up joining the civil service, that has ballooned the civil service to over a million employees, probably, making it the biggest in the world and a huge burden on the budget.

The economic indicators looked grim and would continue to slide if the government do nothing to arrest the negative perceptions and start innovating a strong investment climate.

Our foreign exchange reserves felled by 25 per cent in 2009 which means we incurred huge forex losses and exodus of money in 2009.The human and capital flight will have long term effect on the nation's progress.

When the best of money and the best of brain abandoned the country than there must be something seriously wrong.You will not see the effect immediately but a gradual decline as more and more leave for greener pastures and the safe havens.In the first eight months of 2009 over 200,000 Malaysians migrated.

This is an English proverb that says "you might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb"

Najib's NEM can only succeed if he subscribes to the meaning of this proverb.It means since you have gone some of the way you might as well go all the way, the punishment is the same.

As I have said many times before, Najib needs a major cabinet reshuffle.Too many dead woods and non-performers in his administration.

Unfortunately, adding insult to injury, many of his ministers are not talking sense.