Hantu Laut
He is as blunt as a kick in the shin.
Former premier Mahathir Mohammad never munches his words, he does not know how.Those who dislike him called him racist.
No prime minister of this nation can afford to be a racist. Mahathir is just one man who shoot straight from the hip, he has no niceties, no political correctitude.A racist but he is not.
His statement here would be very upsetting to non-Malays particularly the Chinese.Literally, Chinese do not need political power, they were already rich.Certainly, the Chinese per capita is much better than the Malays.It's not a wild guess, it's a statement of fact.The Chinese should be proud of it.
Mahathir himself, while he was in power, did not push the Malay agenda as aggressively as he is doing now.Why? Does he feel the Malays are losing their grips on political power.
Mahathir said the Malays have not attained the desired equity proportion after almost 40 years of NEP and out of which he helmed the nation for 22 years and had the best opportunity to correct the imbalance.
The greatest chance of the NEP being made successful should have been under his regime.UMNO politicians shrivelled in fear at the prospect of falling out with him.He could have hard-nosed the NEP then.Why, didn't he?
Should Mahathir shoulder greater part of the blame for failure of the NEP or are the bumiputras to blame for their indifference and lamentable attitude toward hard work that smothered the government's efforts to turn them into shrewed businessmen and corporate leaders.
We have seen how GLCs handed over to selected bumiputras had gotten into trouble because of bad management.They are not small entities but big corporations, some, have existed since colonial days.Over the years billion of ringgit of taxpayer's money have been lost to corruptions and bad management of such companies led by manufactured entrepreneurs.
GLCs under bumiputra's management have also suffered the same fate.The recent debacles in Sime Darby and Felda are big embarrassment to bumiputras and the government.
The question is why have the Malays not grown better in business? What are they lacking in? Lack of business skill and acumen may be one of them but than skill can be learned. We are either taught or learned it empirically.If Malays can become doctors,engineers, lawyers,architects and many other professions, why can't they be good businessmen?
If I remember well Mahathir was of the view that all he needs to do was to make few Malays rich who in turn will make many more Malays rich.
Obviously, Mahathir's principle of multiplier effect was a failure.There was no quantum jump in bumiputra's equity. His dreams of Malays helping Malays in the business and the corporate world did not happen. The rich Malays stay rich and the poor Malays stay poor.
The nouveu riche Malays become a class of their own, leading flatulent lifestyle with horrid distaste for the proletariat.They ride on their high horses ignoring the fact that the millions they have were not the fruits of hard labour but were the windfalls of political connections.
I have no doubt there are many hard-working honest Malays but they are the forgotten lot.
In this country it is 'who you know not what you know' and a policy with fatal consequence.The good brains left the country where their talents would be better appreciated.
Mahathir's policy of helping only few selected Malays have not brought the desired result and one that led him to coin the phrase "Melayu mudah lupa", a reflection of his frustration with failure of the Malays to achieve higher economic success.
It is simple logic which Mahathir overlooked.
If you have RM100 to distribute and you divided it into RM10 each and give it to 10 people you would have made 10 Malays happy and maybe 5 out of the 10 would have used the money wisely and succeed.If you give the RM100 only to one or two than you only make one or two Malays happy and this one failure mean total failure.
During his time Mahathir did not push the NEP as aggressively because he knew without active participation of the Chinese the country could never attain the higher growth rate that would help push his vision 2020 to reality. The Chinese are the economic engines and their big contribution to the economy is undeniable.They also hold bigger slice of the economic cake due to hard work and business prudence.Mahathir had openly admitted the Chinese larger contribution to the economy by the amount of taxes they pay.
The Chinese are mostly urban and semi-urban dwellers.Most real estates in urban and semi-urban areas are owned by Chinese and over 90 percent of retail trade and most of service industry are done by them. This is one area where the government seems to lack the will to encourage bumiputras to be actively involved in.If there are some, it is negligible.
Most wholesale and retail businesses are dominated by the Chinese. Other than the typical restaurant business that bumiputras seem to prefer they shunned other type of business in this category instead preferring the easier option, chase government contracts where the money is bigger, faster and easier to make.More often than not such contracts go back to the Chinese where Ali sat on his ass and Baba joyfully working hard to make lots more money.
Even in the remotest areas deep in the interior, where I observed during my time as a logger, it is likely to be a Chinese family running the village shop and does everything as seller, buyer and financier.
Other than selling the essential commodities the Chinese towkay would also buy local produces and gives financial aids (advances) to reliable natives to secure the products which he than export to the bigger towns and cities to another Chinese middleman.In another word the Chinese is not just mere shopkeeper but also the banker in the village.
Retail,whole selling and contracting are tedious and competitive business and these are the places where most Chinese business had its early existence before making it big.It does not make your rich overnight but it teaches you hard work and the art of doing business, of being competitive and of being able to survive the cruel business environment.This is the school of hard knocks.
Are the bumiputras willing to take up the challenge or continue to rely on their leaders for government handouts.
It is not that the Malays or bumiputras can't become good business people and are at fault, it is the Malay leaders that spoiled them, Mahathir included, resorting to quick fix solution and politics of political patronage.
As the English say "Take care of the penny and the pound will take care of itself"
A business built purely on political connections would eventually fall.
The next time you hear Ibrahim Ali cry wolf, take it with a pinch of salt.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sarawak's White-Haired Rajah
| Written by The Sarawak Report | |
| TUESDAY, 10 AUGUST 2010 | |
 Photo: Malaysiakini The Sarawak Report, an NGO based in the east Malaysian state, has uncovered exhaustive evidence that the chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, has looted Sarawak of hundreds of millions of US dollars and hidden the wealth in Canada, the UK, Australia and the United States. Asia Sentinel is pleased to print the latest of the Sarawak Report’s examinations of the Taib family’s wealth. The Sarawak Report has uncovered additional documents that lay bare a system of private deals that enabled Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud to conceal his true ownership of the properties. This was presumably in order to hide the extent of his enormous wealth, for which he has yet to provide any legitimate explanation. Under the system, while it is Taib‟s relatives who are publicly registered as the official shareholders and directors of the companies owning the properties, a separate, private agreement ensures that the shares are actually held in trust for him. Download PDF. Documentary evidence of elaborate concealment Among documents in its possession Sarawak Report has a copy of one such private agreement relating to the shares in Sakti International, a company that owns buildings in San Francisco. Sakti is part of a web of companies started in North America by the Taibs, which includes Sakto, a major Ottawa property company, and Wallysons, which owns the Abraham Lincoln Building in Seattle, housing a top secret anti-terrorist facility for the FBI. The five official shareholders of Sakti International, which is registered in California, are Taib's brothers, Onn Mahmud and Arip Mahmud, along with three of his children, Sulaiman Taib, Mahmud Taib and Jamilah Taib. However, as the document which we have obtained shows, a resolution made soon after the formation of the company has privately ruled that half those shares, a commanding majority, are held in trust for the Chief Minister. The value of these shares amounts to US$40 million for Sakti alone, according to the company‟s documents. Tip of the iceberg? However, Sakti International, estimated to be worth US$80 million, accounts for just a small proportion of the Taib family wealth. Our previous exposes have revealed a vast portfolio of further international property assets owned by members of Taib Mahmud‟s immediate family. For example, Taib's own children are the shareholders and directors of numerous companies controlling residential and commercial buildings in Canada, Australia, Britain and the United States together worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Yet many of these assets came into their possession when they were in their early 20s and still college students with no visible access to legitimate resources to invest. The inevitable question for Taib Mahmud, therefore, is whether, as in the case of Sakti International, they are also secretly holding these other properties in trust for him? If not, what explanation can there be for these investments? A number of reports have been made to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) regarding the recent disclosures of the Taib family wealth. These new revelations proving the direct link to the Chief Minister will increase the pressure on the MACC to respond with a proper investigation. Further Fingerprints The Sakti International documents in our possession, released as part of the disclosure in a recent court case, provide further extensive evidence of Taib Mahmud‟s involvement in the company, despite his denials of any business connections. Indeed one of the company‟s earliest official documents, signed in 1987, lists him as one of the Directors of Sakti International. Chief Minister's name in black and white, listed as a Director Of Sakti International The document in question is a Domestic Stock Corporation Statement for Sakti International, which is required annually by the State of California. In 1987, the year the company was set up, its inaugural statement clearly registered Taib Mahmud, along with his brothers Onn Mahmud and Arip Mahmud, as a director of the company. The only officer of the company is listed as Mahmud Taib, the Chief Minister's eldest son. It is well-known that in subsequent Taib family enterprises the Chief Minister has always scrupulously avoided including his own name in any documentation. This early mistake will undermine his constant claims that, in keeping with his role as Chief Minister, he has no direct business interests. It is clear that he in fact set up Sakti International, using the address of his own house in San Francisco. Download PDF Cover Up Subsequently, records show that the structure of the company was altered to make Onn, Arip and Mahmud Taib the three Directors, while Rahman became the only officer of the company. But, as we are now able to exclusively report, Taib Mahmud secretly retained his control through a resolution by the company directors dated April 8th 1988. This resolution (see top) placed 500 of the 1,000 shares issued by the company in trust for him. The Godfather The Sakti documents give insight into the methods used by Taib Mahmud to control his family members, who are supposedly the earners and "businessmen" who have generated the Taibs' legendary wealth. The five relatives who were selected to own shares in Sakti International were each given a different number of shares. Each then surrendered differing proportions of these shares to be held in trust for the Chief Minister. Brother Onn Mahmud gets 400 shares, but of them 200 are held for the Chief Minister, whereas brother Arip gets just 200 shares, 100 of which are in trust for Taib. Mahmud Taib has the same arrangement as Arip. However younger brother, Sulaiman Rahman Taib, who was later made sole director of Sakti, only gets 100 shares under the agreement and they are all in fact held in trust for his father. Daughter Jamilah also only gets 100 shares, but she gets to hold them all herself. The system ensures that Taib Mahmud has half of all the shares held in trust for himself, whereas none of the others hold more than 200 shares. In this way he clearly keeps a commanding control over the company he pretends not to own.Read more. |
Sarawak 'running a high fever'
KUCHING: The primary healthcare infrastructure in Sarawak is in poor shape, with many clinics unable to accommodate the large influx of patients. Sarawak PKR today said overcrowding in these clinics has reached an intolerable level and called on the government to rebuild the infrastructure at major centres of population growth.
Its head of health and welfare bureau, Dr Francis Ngu, said: “Many patients have told us that overcrowding in many polyclinics is getting worse.
“Patients have to wait long hours, and it is very difficult to get the queue numbers. Worst still, the consultation rooms are always crammed,” he said.
For instance, he said that at a polyclinic in Mosque Road here up to 12 or more patients are squeezed into the room; at Tanah Puteh, Pending, four have to wait inside the room; and at Merbau, Miri, up to eight persons are packed into the small space.
Similar cases are also reported in other towns like Sibu and Bintulu.
“Under these conditions, medical staff and patients suffer great stress. Moreover, privacy and confidentiality are compromised.
“It becomes awkward when doctors and nurses have to ask sensitive questions about the patient's medical history in the presence of so many patients. In cases where a proper physical examination is required, patients may have to expose parts of their bodies."
Ngu claimed that the state and the federal governments had been ignoring the healthcare needs of the people of Sarawak.
Even the setting up of a heart and cancer hospital at the Sarawak International Medical Centre (SIMC) brought little cheer. Ngu said PKR had repeatedly suggested that the failed SIMC be converted into a second hospital to complement the Sarawak General Hospital.
Bread-and-butter issue
The RM400-million SIMC located on a 100-acre site, if converted into a second general hospital, can provide about 200 beds.
“We have been asking the government to convert the SIMC into a second hospital to complement the Sarawak General Hospital and the overcrowded specialist clinics,” Ngu said.
But the people’s request for a second hospital have been ignored, he added. Instead, the SIMC is being converted into a heart and cancer hospital.
However, he acknowledged that the heart and cancer hospital was needed to upgrade cardiac and cancer treatment and rehabilitation services in Sarawak.
“But both state and federal governments should be aware that the healthcare needs of the people at the 'bread-and-butter' level are not met. Read more.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Do You Want To Be A Millionaire?
Hantu Laut
It takes all kind to make the world go round and this conman takes the top hat for being the most stupid Nigerian conman ever.
You can sniff out a Nigerian conman a million mile away without even having to see him.
What amazes me is the inventiveness of these crooks. Before they only use email to send their trick of the trade and mind you some idiots do fall for their sob story and all out of greed themselves and such morons deserved to be cheated.
You hear it all the time some of our girls being cheated by some foreigners from overseas when the crook may be living in the same neighbourhood as her and knew her movement all the times and used this modern technology to cheat her.
Than there are those who fall prey to sweet talking foreign young man to become his lover and than a willing drug mule knowingly or unknowingly.As they say love can be blind or was it just a good fucking sex that blinded her.
Now the crooks and even the porn star have found a new vehicle to perpetuate their trades.....in my case, I received the pathetic letter of appeal for help below through my Skype.It baffled me how he gets his message through as the idiot is not even on my list of contacts.
The letter below:
View earlier messages: 1 Day | 1 Week | 2 Weeks | 1 Month | 3 Months | 6 Months | 1 Year | All
Mr.Kofi Ayew
4:31 PM
DEAR BELOVED,
MY NAME IS MR.KOFI AYEW FROM SUDAN; ALTHOUGH THIS PROPOSAL MIGHT COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE I AM SENDING THIS MAIL TO YOU IN A GOOD FAITH BY THE GRACE OF GOD TO BUILD AN UTMOST CONFIDENCE IN YOU.
MY LATE FATHER DR. THOMSON AYEW (OF HIS BLESSED MEMORY) WAS THE CHIEF ACCOUNTANT TO THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE IN THE PAST POLITICAL REGIME IN SUDAN.
DURING HIS VIBRANT DAYS OF SERVICES, HE DEPOSITED; 200 KILOGRAM OF UNREFINED GOLD DUST, IN A SECURITY COMPANY AS A FAMILY TREASURE FOR SECURITY REASONS HERE IN ACCRA GHANA WHICH IS THE NEAREST COUNTRY TO SUDAN.
I AM THEREFORE SOLICITING FOR A HELP. I WANT YOU TO HELP US IN SHIPPING OUT THIS CONSIGNMENT TO OVERSEAS FOR PROPER SELLING. MY LATE FATHER SIGNED A CONTRACT BOND WITH THE SECURITY COMPANY, STATED THAT HE WILL CLAIM THESE BOXES WITH HIS FOREIGN PARTNER ABROAD BUT UNFORTUNATELY; WE LOST HIM AFTER A BRIEF ILLNESS, MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE.
I NEED YOUR HELP NOW BECAUSE OUR PROPOSED PARTNER IS DEAD AND THE COMPANY HAS GIVEN US THE AUTHORITY TO APPOINT SOMEONE WHO WILL STAND AND RECEIVE THE BOXES, ALL THE DEPOSITED DOCUMENTS WHICH MY LATE FATHER USED TO DEPOSIT THIS BOXES IN THE SECURITY COMPANY IS WITH US HERE IN GHANA. I PROMISED TO OFFER YOU 35% FOR YOUR HELP AND ANY EXPENSES INCURED. (BOTH AS MISCELLANEOUS AND ACCRUED EXPENSES).
I PRAY THAT THE GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY THROUGH HIS INFINITE MERCY WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU MORE ABUNDANTLY. PLEASE DO REPLY ME IF YOU ACCEPT MY PROPOSAL, I WILL BE WAITING TO BE HEARING FROM YOU SOONEST.
BEST REGARDS.
MR.KOFI AYEW
REPLY TO MY PRIVATE MAIL ADDRESS BELOW:
(mr.koffiayew@gmail.com)
Some of you might have struck windfall of million of pounds of British Lottery not once but a dozen or more times.How lucky.It also shows how stupid these black bastards from the Dark continent are.
Thank you, Mr Kofi Ayew, you can keep your boxes.I am already a rich man, I don't need your money.
It takes all kind to make the world go round and this conman takes the top hat for being the most stupid Nigerian conman ever.
You can sniff out a Nigerian conman a million mile away without even having to see him.
What amazes me is the inventiveness of these crooks. Before they only use email to send their trick of the trade and mind you some idiots do fall for their sob story and all out of greed themselves and such morons deserved to be cheated.
You hear it all the time some of our girls being cheated by some foreigners from overseas when the crook may be living in the same neighbourhood as her and knew her movement all the times and used this modern technology to cheat her.
Than there are those who fall prey to sweet talking foreign young man to become his lover and than a willing drug mule knowingly or unknowingly.As they say love can be blind or was it just a good fucking sex that blinded her.
Now the crooks and even the porn star have found a new vehicle to perpetuate their trades.....in my case, I received the pathetic letter of appeal for help below through my Skype.It baffled me how he gets his message through as the idiot is not even on my list of contacts.
The letter below:
View earlier messages: 1 Day | 1 Week | 2 Weeks | 1 Month | 3 Months | 6 Months | 1 Year | All
Mr.Kofi Ayew
4:31 PM
DEAR BELOVED,
MY NAME IS MR.KOFI AYEW FROM SUDAN; ALTHOUGH THIS PROPOSAL MIGHT COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE I AM SENDING THIS MAIL TO YOU IN A GOOD FAITH BY THE GRACE OF GOD TO BUILD AN UTMOST CONFIDENCE IN YOU.
MY LATE FATHER DR. THOMSON AYEW (OF HIS BLESSED MEMORY) WAS THE CHIEF ACCOUNTANT TO THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE IN THE PAST POLITICAL REGIME IN SUDAN.
DURING HIS VIBRANT DAYS OF SERVICES, HE DEPOSITED; 200 KILOGRAM OF UNREFINED GOLD DUST, IN A SECURITY COMPANY AS A FAMILY TREASURE FOR SECURITY REASONS HERE IN ACCRA GHANA WHICH IS THE NEAREST COUNTRY TO SUDAN.
I AM THEREFORE SOLICITING FOR A HELP. I WANT YOU TO HELP US IN SHIPPING OUT THIS CONSIGNMENT TO OVERSEAS FOR PROPER SELLING. MY LATE FATHER SIGNED A CONTRACT BOND WITH THE SECURITY COMPANY, STATED THAT HE WILL CLAIM THESE BOXES WITH HIS FOREIGN PARTNER ABROAD BUT UNFORTUNATELY; WE LOST HIM AFTER A BRIEF ILLNESS, MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE.
I NEED YOUR HELP NOW BECAUSE OUR PROPOSED PARTNER IS DEAD AND THE COMPANY HAS GIVEN US THE AUTHORITY TO APPOINT SOMEONE WHO WILL STAND AND RECEIVE THE BOXES, ALL THE DEPOSITED DOCUMENTS WHICH MY LATE FATHER USED TO DEPOSIT THIS BOXES IN THE SECURITY COMPANY IS WITH US HERE IN GHANA. I PROMISED TO OFFER YOU 35% FOR YOUR HELP AND ANY EXPENSES INCURED. (BOTH AS MISCELLANEOUS AND ACCRUED EXPENSES).
I PRAY THAT THE GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY THROUGH HIS INFINITE MERCY WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU MORE ABUNDANTLY. PLEASE DO REPLY ME IF YOU ACCEPT MY PROPOSAL, I WILL BE WAITING TO BE HEARING FROM YOU SOONEST.
BEST REGARDS.
MR.KOFI AYEW
REPLY TO MY PRIVATE MAIL ADDRESS BELOW:
(mr.koffiayew@gmail.com)
Some of you might have struck windfall of million of pounds of British Lottery not once but a dozen or more times.How lucky.It also shows how stupid these black bastards from the Dark continent are.
Thank you, Mr Kofi Ayew, you can keep your boxes.I am already a rich man, I don't need your money.
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