Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Should PAC Not Be Dancing With The Wolves?

A Kadir Jasin

[APOLOGIES, comments may not be moderated as regularly. I am on the move somewhere in the Middle Earth visiting my orang putih emak and bapa angkat of 1971. Thank You.]

[No anonymous comments will be posted. Please use your real name or a suitable pseudonym. Please avoid seditious and defamatory statements. And, if possible, don’t call anybody bodoh (stupid). ]

EITHER the people at Bernama had misreported or the people at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament had fallen off their rockers.

The national news agency, on Feb. 26, reported that the PAC had called on the government “to set up a Cabinet committee to monitor decisions taken by government-linked companies (GLCs), including Khazanah Nasional.”

This would enable the government to "oversee" the running of these firms, said committee chairman Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad.The Johor Baru Barisan Nasaional MP said there was now a dire need for setting up such a committee as it could not only monitor the performance of these GLCs, but also define their role in nation building.

My question to the multi-party PAC is: Isn’t monitoring the decisions taken by government-linked companies (GLCs), including Khazanah Nasional, part and parcel of the responsibility of the Cabinet?

Is PAC saying that the Cabinet, which is the highest executive body in the land, has not been monitoring the decisions of the GLCs?

If the latter is the case, does it not amount to the Cabinet failing in its responsibility to the people?

Isn’t the GLCs decisions in their finality are also the decisions of the Cabinet? More so when they are major decisions like the sale of government assets.

Is Shahrir suggesting that in the specific case of the merger between the privately-owned ECM Libra Berhad and the government-owned Avenue Capital Resources Berhad the Cabinet was not involved?

Why is the usually outspoken Shahrir so coy when explaining the controversial merger or has Bernama misrepresented facts.

According to the national news agency, the following is Shahrir’s explanation of the issue, which was supposed to be the key item on the committee’s agenda:

He said on the merger between ECM Libra and Avenue Capital, the Finance Minister had explained that there was nothing unusual about the deal since it had obtained clearance from the Securities Commission (SC).

"To say we are satisfied (with the explanation given) is not right since the PAC consists of representatives of various political parties. We all have a different degree of satisfaction. The government feels that since the SC had no objection and the majority of shareholders of the two companies wanted to merge, then the merger should take place without any interference," Shahrir added.

To be specific, it was not the Finance Minister who appeared before the committee to explain the merger but the Second Finance Minister, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

Has Shahrir changed? Is he, like the majority of elected representatives these days, is dancing around the mulberry bush and leading us up the garden path instead of seeking the truth?

Has the case of the smaller privately-owned ECM Libra buying the larger Government-owned Avenue Capital “cheaply” ceased to be a questionable deal because “the Finance Minister had explained that there was nothing unusual about the deal since it had obtained clearance from the Securities Commission (SC)?”

Does it mean that everything is fine or should be fine about the deal simply because the SC has no objection? Could it not have erred in its decision to allow the merger to go through?

It had erred. And in the case of the sale of Pantai Holdings Berhad to Singapore-based Parkway Holdings Limited in 2005 it erred badly.

That oversight forced Khazanah Nasional to fork out RM394 million to re-acquire the Pantai Holdings’ privatized assets (Fomema and Pantai Medivest) when Parkway paid only RM312 million to become controlling shareholder of the hospital company.

And is Shahrir and his PAC colleagues aware that on Jan. 17 the SC had also stated that it had no objection to the plan by Kuok Group to transfer the domicile of its plantation company, PPB Group Berhad, from Malaysia to Singapore?

The question is do we need another Cabinet committee? Is it not the duty of the Cabinet, and more specifically the Ministry of Finance, to scrutinize such a matter as the ECM-Avenue merger since it involved government assets?

What about Bank Negara? What was its opinion on the merger? Or is Bank Negara so free and its leadership so independent that no mention was made of its role in the merger?

Or is Shahrir, like a lot of pembesar (dignitaries) these days, has to thread carefully when dealing with matters that affect the favoured and the powerful like those involved in the ECM-Avenue merger?

It is disappointing that Shahrir and his committee should divert public attention away from the core issue by telling the Cabinet what it should and should not do.

What Shahrir’s audience would like to hear is not his lecturing of the Cabinet. What they want to hear is the PAC ruling on the merger between ECM and Avenue.

Could it be that Shahrir and his PAC colleagues have not been keeping pace with Cabinet affairs?

Are they not aware that there are today more than 30 Cabinet Committees? How many more such committees do we need?

What are our 30-odd ministers doing that so many committees have to be set up?

Could this administration by committees be the real reason for the deterioration of the public delivery system? Too much bureaucracy and passing the buck. So in the ECM-Avenue case, blame it on the SC.

With vast parliamentary powers given to them, Shahrir and his PAC colleagues should be dancing with the wolves instead of dancing around the mulberry bush and leading the people up the garden path.

The people want answers and not more excuses.

Addendum

Following are members of PAC and their party affiliation

Chairman: Dato' Shahrir bin Abdul Samad (BN)
Vice-Chairman: Dr. Tan Seng Giaw (DAP)
Tan Sri K.S Nijhar (BN)
Dato' Hj. Mohd. Sarit bin Yusoh (BN)
Dato' Dr. Tan Kee Kwong (BN)
Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau (BN)
Jimmy Donald (BN)
Dato' Lim Bee Kau (BN)
Datuk Ir. Hasni bin Haji Mohammad (BN)
Dato' Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob (BN)
Wong Nai Chee (BN)
M. Kula Segaran (DAP)
Dato' Kamarudin bin Jaffar (PAS)
Datin Seri Dr. Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail (PKR)

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

...and in the end they all lived happily ever after...what do you expect from an MP who sacrificed his constituents to safeguard his own position, power and personal interest...today JB is in total mess!

Anonymous said...

Salam.

Saya amat-amat kecewa dgn apa uh datuk shahrir katakan. Surat khabar hanya bercerita tentang masalah pembinaan kapal peronda...PAC sanggup bertegang leher dgn dato samy velu..tetapi kenapa dalam kes ECM datuk shahrir tak berani pun usik sedikit pun menantu paklah dan kawan-kawannya.

Kes ECM terlalu banyak persoalan. Saya tak bersetuju dgn datuk shahrir juka kononnya tak mahu ada kaitan politik dalam isu ini. Apa yg berlaku adalah jelas salah dari segi undang2 hatta etika sekalipun. Terlalu banyak persoalan dari segi fact and figure yg tidak terjawab. Kita tak mahu pun PAC masuk cerita politik..kita nak tahu dari segi fakta dan nombor.....

Adakah dgn kenyataan "SC kata tak ada masalah dan lulus" boleh dipegang untuk melepaskan tanggungjawab datuk shahrir kpd rakyat?. Kalau begitu..kenapa kita perlu adakan SUHAKAM menyiasat sesuatu aduan contohnya salah laku polis sekiranya polis sendiri berkata "tiada kes".

Dulu orang kata datuk shshrir tak sehaluan dgn Tun M kononnya atas dasar prinsip..tapi semakin lama semakin saya tak nampak apa itu definasi "berpegang pada prinsip".

Apa yg saya nampak..(ada rakan forumer berkata)PAC dan laporan media digunakan sebagai air tanah untuk menyamak khinzir supaya nampak suci...tapi kalau dah haram khinzir (benda yg salah) tu..guna selaut air tanah pun ianya tetap haram..

Anonymous said...

Dear Datuk

I totally agree with what you said. There are plenty of questions left unanswered. It seems that this guy is standing in the middle and undecisive on the issue. Cakap terlampau berlapik sampai maksud sebenar pun susah nak digarap. Mungkin dia sudah hilang belang?

Another thing, all the committee forming actions is just another way of delaying decisions to be made. Always refer to committee until nobody knows who should be responsible. In the end, the issue will die after the media not making any noise about it anymore.

Pembesar or not, all should be treated equal. Nobody should take advantage of their position to legalise things that are not right be it merger etc. If they make mistake, they must pay and not to be covered up because they know somebody powerful or have family ties with them. Nobody is above the law.

As for the Pantai case, we never learn many times from our previous deals with Singapore. Banyak kali kita dah kena. How our people conduct government business is left to be desired. The bad thing is, once mistake is made, the nation is made to pay. They can afford to gamble because it's not their money. It's the rakyat's money. If they forked out hundreds of millions, will they do such a thing? I don't think so.

The cabinet has failed us, the rakyat. Somebody has to pay for it. Will PM be able to make the unpopular decisions or give another lame excuse?

I do hope bloggers in Malaysia will be able to open the eyes of the rakyat on issues like this where the mainstream media is too 'chicken' to publish it.

Thank you Datuk

Anak Malaysia

lamandau said...

Saya sudah jangka keputusan PAC tu. Today's deliberation is only to whitewash the unprecedented merger "ular lidi telan naga!". Knowing Shahrir, he will kow-tow both SIL [son-in-law] and the holy father-in-law!

Ianya dilihat sebagai menghalalkan yang haram. Amat senang PAC membuat keputusan, SC telah tiada halangan, maka semuanya di kira dibuat 'above board'.

Bagaimana dengan report yang dikemukakan kepada SC mengenai isu penggabungan dan 'insider trading'? Hanya tinggal laporan? Kalau PDRM tak jalankan siasatan, heboh seluruh dunia. SC ada exemption ke?

Sia-sia postings yang dibuat oleh Ibnu Hakeem dan komentar yang begitu detail oleh muftimurtad2007 yang terdapat dalam Malaysia Today.

Mungkin Shahrir tak baca blog ini. Mungkin juga Yang Berhormat lain yang menganggotai PAC pun tak membacanya. Kalau baca komentar yang saya maksudkan itu, sudah pasti Nor Yakcub terduduk kerana tak boleh jawab. Adakah ahli PAC yang terdiri dari parti Pembakang pun kena 'silenced'?

Kalau beginilah gayanya cara governance yang ada, maka PIN tak perlu diwujudkan! Kalau PAC sendiri tidak mempunyai integriti untuk mempersoalkan cara belanja wang kerajaan sehingga tergamak mengsyorkan penubuhan jawatankuasa kabinet memantaunya, maka PAC tak perlu diwujudkan. Memadai serah bulat-bulat kepada kabinet.

Ingat PAC memantau dan menentukan kewangan kita dibelanja dengan betul. Banyak jentera yang boleh membantu PAC. Laporan-laporan Tahunan Akauntan/Audit Negara dan BPR boleh membantu.

Sebelum ini Pengerusi PAC begitu gah mengaum dengan memperlihatkan taringnya. Akhir-akhirnya terkulai dek usapan 'the people on the corridors of power’?

Kalau nak harapkan JK Kabinet untuk memantau, tak payahlah. Khazanah Nasional siapa pengerusinya? Kepala kabinet! Takkan JK Kabinet nak over rule keputusan bos!!

Saya difahamkan banyak keputusan yang dibuat oleh GLC memang dilapor kepada kabinet. Jadi, nak tubuh JK kabinet apa lagi?

Mungkin Tanggapan saya ini meleset. Tetapi, inilah stand saya.Salam Datuk –

Unknown said...

perihalku...himpunan terhimpun

Salam sejahtera wahai bangsaku..
Tiap penggal akan bergema suara bangsaku bertempik sorak
Bertepuk tangan tersenyum gembira
Orang diatas melantang bersuara
Orang dibawah mulut ternganga..
Fahamkah mereka apa yang dikata
Mengangguk kepala mengikut sahaja
Himpunan terhimpun dihimpun bersama
Datang bagaikan gerombongan berpesta disana..
Semangat melayu jatidiri dibawa
Ingin melangkau maju bersama
Berapa keratkah daripada mereka..
Yang sungguh memahami isi bicara..

Dari utara ke selatan di tengah berjumpa..
Dari timur ke barat bersatu belaka..
Hari pertama hingga ketiga duduk sahaja
Sampai masa cukuplah sudah segala dilupa
Salam sejahtera wahai pembawa berita
Adakah berita kami dapat disuara..
Dikampung masih berlaku kepincangan segala
Dikota terus terjadi mala petaka..
Suara yang dilontar sungguh mengegarkan
Semua yang mendengar terpaku seketika
Pantun syair seloka diselit bersama
Fahamkah mereka bentangan disuara..

Salam sejahtera wahai pemimpin semua
Bangunlah dari tempat yang empuk disana..
Lihatlah bangsamu sekelian yang ada
Ramai pengampu menyanjung mengangguk gembira..
Aku bersuara dari dunia luarmu
Nampak yang zahir bercorak kelabu
Ramai yang mengaku pandai belaka..
Bila melaku hancur segala..

Takkan melayu hilang didunia..
Dunia apakah yang dimaksudkan..
Dunia sindiran budaya kita
Faham-faham sajalah
Apa yang dikata…

Anonymous said...

Thank you Dato' for again pointing out the obvious problems that the tax-paying citizens are asking: How many more Committees do the Cabinet need? Why is the PAC not doing the job it is chartered to do? What has hapenned to Dato' Shahrir?

A Cabinet committee is formed whenever a recurring problem failed to be resolved. Such a situation just point that someone has failed to execute. Therefore that someone has to be managed. And that someone should face the consequences of his failure to earn his keep. The minister responsible for the failed public servant must take the blame for the failure of his ministry. And YAB Prime Minister and the Cabinet must ensure that every minister is accountable in protecting citizen interest.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Dato' for again pointing out the obvious problems that the tax-paying citizens are asking: How many more Committees do the Cabinet need? Why is the PAC not doing the job it is chartered to do? What has hapenned to Dato' Shahrir?

A Cabinet committee is formed whenever a recurring problem failed to be resolved. Such a situation just point that someone has failed to execute. Therefore that someone has to be managed. And that someone should face the consequences of his failure to earn his keep. The minister responsible for the failed public servant must take the blame for the failure of his ministry. And YAB Prime Minister and the Cabinet must ensure that every minister is accountable in protecting citizen interest.

In the caseof the GLC decisions that is questionable, can a PAC member who is not satisfied with Finance Minister's answer take the case to the courts? Can the courts not be the saviour of the ordinary citizen when the PAC collectively fails? Obviously the UMNO, MCA, MIC and PAS/DAP in PAC have all failed us!

A Voice said...

I believe Shahrir's remark relating to SC as the final decision is fair. SC's decision legitimise the whole deal.

As they say in the movie "All the President's Men", follow the money. Time to scrutinise SC.

SC approves the valuation of both PLCs.
SC approves the structure of teh deal.
SC approves the advise by advisers.
SC approve the procedures for EGM.

I wonder if the presentations by MOF and SC is available for the public to see.

penganggurpaksa said...

Datuk,

Yang dapat diperhatikan KABINET yang ada sekarang sudah menjadi seperti DISPLAY CABINET sahaja.

Tidak memainkan apa2 peranan penting tetapi sekadar untuk pameran demi mengaburi mata rakyat dan meyimpan rahsia tuan rumah!

Isu GLC sudah menjadi rebutan semua KABINET termasuklah RAK2 KASUT dan KABINET DAPUR yang tidak seglamer KABINET diruang tamu. Jadi mereka hanya berdiam diri kerana KETUA segala KABINET tidak tahu apa2 dan hanya duduk tidur didalam bilik tidur sahaja!

Alamatnya terpaksalah kita sebagai rakyat yang prihatin dan berfikir ini membakar semua KABINET2 yang ada supaya satu KAMPUNG TERJAGA!

Isu GLC satu hal..
Isu Makanan Ringan satu hal...

Macam2 pula halnya bila seorang Ketua Kerajaan membenarkan sesiapa sahaja membuat keputusan kecuali beliau!

bacardi said...

datuk,

these are questions to which we demand answers.
but, i believe we will not get them.
The fatc is, we know the answers. We just want someone with authority to give them.
Datuk, the implications of exposing the ECM Libra-Avenue Capital deal are too far-reaching. Even Shahrir knows that.
Have you not wondered why even feisty opposition leaders have not pursued the issue?
It's not that they do not know.I guarantee you they know every detail and why the deal was illegal. Yes, illegal and unlawful.
They cannot say so.
It is not even about heads rolling.
Datuk, try as we all want, we will not get the answers from those who are in the position or power to give them.
The point is, we know the details, we know what happened, we can tell everyone why the deal was one that should not have been because it breached clear procedures and regulations. We know why it was approved. We know this and we know that.
But there is nothing we can do to expose the wrongdoing unless someone in Parliament or the government has the balls to expose the deal.

Salam.

Anonymous said...

Dato', semalam minum teh tarik di kedai mamak. Orang pencen pun bercerita pasal benda ni. Nampaknya, mereka lebih tahu pasal isu penggabungan ini. Depa kata isu tu buat semak (bukan check buku) tapi semak maksudnya crowded) fikiran je. Tak ada orang nak percaya apa yang depa kata. Walalahuallam bissawab.

syed syahrul zarizi b syed abdullah said...

Dato

Shahrir, yang kita sangkakan masih ada sedikit keberanian antara pembesar-pembesar yang lain pun nampaknya sudah berubah. Mengikut politik arus perdana. Tidak lagi menongkah arah mencari kebenaran.

Moto beliau, "Yang Terbaik Di Kalangan Kita" perlu ditukar. cermin-cerminlah diri.

Anonymous said...

Datuk

I am a JB folk and has been following YB Shahrir career since his Kunci days. I supported him then as I believed he represents the good against Dr Mahathir uncompromising leadership. Since then up to now I regret to observe that he has degraded from being walk the talk man to just talk the talk man.

Its so obvious that the Chairman of PAC is in cahoot with the powers that be. So obvious that he is toeing the line in the case of ECM libra-Avenue merger it makes my stomach turn.

The Shahril I knew during the Kunci days would have resigned in the first instance instead of clearing the dirty merger on the feeble explanation of the 2nd Finance Minister.

Maybe Dr Mahathir's assessment of YB Shahril is right all along. Its so sad and pathetic that the PAC has degenerated under Shahrir's Chairmanship.

Anonymous said...

Saya teringat satu masa dahulu, Shahrir pernah ‘berbalah’ dengan arwah Sudirman Hj. Arshad.

Pada masa itu Shahrir adalah menteri yang menjaga fasal kebudayaan. Sementara Sudirman pula adalah salah seorang orang kuat Seniman ataupun Papita, saya tidak ingat.

Dalam satu upacara besar, siMenteri telah membawa masuk artis-artis dari Hong Kong untuk kempen mengutip derma.

Tindakan ini tidak disenangi oleh Sudirman. Beliau mempersoalkan kenapa artis tempatan tidak digunakan.

Disini saya rasa, saya lebih respek kepada Sudirman.

Alfatihah untuk arwahnya.

PakChak

Anonymous said...

Quotable quotes:

antibelit04 said...

Apa yg saya nampak..(ada rakan forumer berkata)PAC dan laporan media digunakan sebagai air tanah untuk menyamak khinzir supaya nampak suci...tapi kalau dah haram khinzir (benda yg salah) tu..guna selaut air tanah pun ianya tetap haram..

lamandau said...

Adakah ahli PAC yang terdiri dari parti Pembakang pun kena 'silenced'?

Mereka ialah Wan Azizah, Kamaruddin Jaafar, Tan Seng Giaw. Siapa bisukan mereka?

Mengapa mereka membisu selepas Shahrir bisu dan dibisukan di dalam, seperti kata anak malaysia, cakap terlampau berlapik sampai maksud sebenar pun susah nak digarap.

penganggurpaksa said...

Macam2 pula halnya bila seorang Ketua Kerajaan membenarkan sesiapa sahaja membuat keputusan kecuali beliau!

Anonymous said...

Malaysia government need to give priority to malaysian to get get job ahead of foreign worker.
I cannot understand why is there so many foreign worker in Malaysia? We cannot depend on cheap labour anymore, we need to pay more to get better services. and please do not just resort to bringing in more foreign labour to solve our labour problem.
READ THIS:
New Straits Times
28 Feb 2007
Freeze on recruiting for third party

KUALA LUMPUR: Licences for companies to recruit foreign labour for third parties have been frozen.

The temporary freeze is to allow the Home Ministry to fine-tune the scheme, which was first launched in 2005.

Home Affairs secretary-general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat said the ministry had received many applications but no new licences would be issued until teething problems were sorted out.

To date, 212 companies are licensed to bring in foreign workers.

"A total of 143 companies have already started operations and they outsourced 31,493 workers to various industries in the country."

Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general G. Rajasekaran had expressed concern over the government’s decision to allow so many companies to bring in foreign labour and later supply the workers to other companies.

"They are not only flooding the market with foreign labour but also abusing the system," he added.

Director-general of Labour Datuk Ismail Abd Rahim said the outsourcing companies approved to supply labour were being monitored.

"I know of industries which have retrenched their local workers or given the voluntary separation scheme just to take in foreign workers and pay them cheap wages.

"The Human Resources Ministry’s stand is that priority should be given to locals and only if vacancies cannot be filled by them should they be offered to foreign workers. That too, after getting the green light from the ministry."

Rajasekaran also said the repatriation of money by foreign workers had a huge impact on the economy.

Thus, he said, companies should employ more locals to ensure that the money remains in the country.

Anonymous said...

Datuk,

I beg to digress. Before February ends, please allow me to wish you "Happy belated 1st blogging anniversary."

You started The Scribe A Kadir Jasin on the 24th of February a year ago. You have, since then, make a different in the blogging arena.

Tulisan Datuk yang bernas, terperinci dan penuh fakta bukan sahaja membuka mata ramai orang tetapi juga menambah ilmu kepada mereka yang tidak memahami dan mengetahui. Tulisan Datuk keras tetapi dizahirkan dalam penuh kelembutan. Tulisan Datuk tajam tetapi disampaikan dalam penuh sopan santun. Jenaka Datuk adalah sindiran yang pedas. Kemunculan Datuk mengangkat martabat dunia bloging. Namun perbezaan blog Datuk dengan blog orang muda nyata ketara. Manakala kebanyakan bloggers politik lain menyiarkan segala bentuk komen, Datuk menolak sama sekali ulasan daripada mereka yang tidak bernama dan yang memaki hamun. Demikianlah seorang wartawan agung, yang luas pengetahuan dan pengalamannya, tidak bertindak mengikut perasaan tetapi akal fikiran; yang sering melihat sesuatu itu dari perspektif berbeza.
Semoga Datuk memperoleh rahmat dan berkat Yang Maha ESa serta dikurniakan Allah SWT badan yang cergas dan akal yang cerdas supaya dapat terus berbloging.

SELAMAT MAJU JAYA DATUK!

Berita dari gunung said...

Pilihanraya akan diadakan tidak lama lagi. Shahrir adalah ahli parlimen. Shahrir pun tahu apa yang perlu ditonjolkan bagi memastikan beliau dicalonkan semula. "Berpegang pada prinsip" bukan boleh sewenang-wenangnya.., mesti kena pada tempatnya. Rasa saya la.

spycatcher03 said...

May I suggest Datuk, let us all make a suprise visit to Shahrir's blog and pen down what we feel about PAC headed by him. By doing this , I hope he'll get the messege !! The only snag is that his last updating of the blog was sometime jun 2006?!!

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr Spycather03 said:

"May I suggest Datuk, let us all make a suprise visit to Shahrir's blog and pen down what we feel about PAC headed by him. By doing this , I hope he'll get the messege !! The only snag is that his last updating of the blog was sometime jun 2006?!!"

I think Shahrir is more that aware about the feeling of the masses. But he would rather take chances with the masses than messing around with THE POWER.

But you are free to transfer my article and the comments to his blog.

May be he knows about what people are saying that he "stopped" moderating/updating bis blog/website.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Salam.

Sakit perut ketawa baca kes zulkefli. Petang tadi musa hasssan kata tak ada pun report baru yg dibuat selepas 1997...tapi akan buka semula berdasarkan laporan blogers di internet...apa nie datuk?

Bukankah paklah kata blogers nie iblis?

Bukankah kalau ikut cara shahrir samad....bila dah kata tak da kes...so tak adalah unusual nya?..kenapa nak siasat?

Tajuk media..siasat ke akar umbi..Berita Harian..yg peliknya..kes ECM depan mata boleh buat buta pula. Takkan nak tungu 20 tahun lagi baru nak buka balik kes ECM macam kes zulkefli nie?

Saya kesian..rakyat ada yang percaya...!!!

Anonymous said...

Shalom Datuk Kadir,

Maybe a little bit off topic, but still on the same question of transparency, dubious transactions, insider trading, manipulation, political interference and arm-twisting, deal done far, far away from homeland, questionable decision and what have u.

I am talking about the "breaking news" in bernama which runs paralelly as famous -- the so-called questionable appointments of higher-ups in the news agency and its subsidiary and the expose by blogger kudaranggi of a "heinous scam" in the very same agency and its subsidiary.

Gosh!! If these allegations are true, then bernama is damned, period. You were a bernama reporter before and if i am not mistaken you were made the agency's chairman much, much later. Like a cub-reporter would ask on a given subject: "Dato', any comment?"

Hebrew-speaking Malaysian

Anonymous said...

PM dan TPM tidak peduli berkaitan itu, negara pun tidak,
Sorang ke hujung asia barat sini
sorang lagi ke hujung asia barat sana.
dan menteri kanan semua mengekor.
tiada siapa yang memerintah negara ini sekarang.

kat amerika pun,
kalau dick chaney pi mana mana, bush duduk amerika diam diam, kalau bush keluar, dick duduk diam diam kat amerika.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Moderating from an airport somewhere in middle earth.

Hebrew-Speaking Malaysian in part said:

"Gosh!! If these allegations are true, then bernama is damned, period. You were a bernama reporter before and if i am not mistaken you were made the agency's chairman much, much later. Like a cub-reporter would ask on a given subject: "Dato', any comment?"

Sdr Syed Imran, in his Kuda Rangi wrote:

"Bukan Melayu memang mempunyai tempat dalam Bernama

Saya amat tertarik dengan reaksi beberapa orang pemimpin politik bukan Melayu dan pemimpin NGO Cina yang menyambut baik perlantikan Yong Soo Heong (Buyong) sebagai Ketua Pengarang Bernama.

Benar, Buyong adalah KP bukan Melayu yang pertama, tetapi, sebelum ini beberapa orang wartawan bukan Melayu telahpun diberi kepercayaan mengetuai jabatan atau bahagian yang penting.

Dalam sejarah penubuhan Bernama, dua orang Editor Eksekutif telah dilantik untuk merintis perjalanan agensi berita nasional. Mereka adalah Chen Yen Foo dan Wahab Majid. Oleh itu, Chen adalah rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina yang pertama berjawatan tinggi dalam Bernama. Pada waktu itu, jawatan Ketua Pengarang belum wujud. Apabila Tan Sri Mazlan Nordin dilantik sebagai Ketua Pengarang pertama, Chen dilantik sebagai Pengarang Urusan, juga satu jawatan tinggi.

Selain itu, beberapa orang wartawan keturunan Cina pernah memegang jawatan Ketua Penyunting antaranya K.C. Chan dan Tan Tock Saik selain K.C. Leong yang berjawatan Editor Eksekutif dan Tan Jooi Long.

Jadi, perlantikan Buyong bukanlah sesuatu yang baru dalam sejarah Bernama. Yang membezakannya hanyalah nama jawatan. Bagaimanapun, ia boleh dianggap satu sejarah.

Yong, atau Buyong, adalah anak Pulau Pinang. Bila pulang ke Penang, jangan lupa singgah di Gurney Drive, chiak bay liau."

Briefly non-Malays have always had place in Bernama. Late Mr Cheng was my teacher. A terror but a great teacher. Non-Malays also have place in NSTP. But the same may not apply to many Malaysian media companies. There are places where Malays are few and far apart.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

what is this?
im sorry for being blur..
but even tan sri yaakob was sent all over till to china as matter direction from fourth floor!

PAC cant do anything.
too subjective for normal human not to know the real deal.

MOF is like i said in earlier post, hides a lot of truth. a lott.. it is not like it is in everyones touch. but even the best brain couldnt stand with the current situation.

so to say ecm, im sorry for shahir.. i repeat a question from MOF topman.. "do you want to save the country?". n he smile.

suduplastik said...

salam..
oklah tu, at least PAC dah bnyk suarakan kpntign rkyt dlm isu-isu lain-MRR2,jlnrya d sbh,kpl tldm..kes ECM ni kira dh tutup buku la..bnyk lg krj lain nk buat dpd bgkit isu2 yg dh lps..

alrawa said...

The good Datuk asked,"Has Shahrir changed?".
Yes, so do other people when former DPM Anwar Ibrahim was clobbered and dismissed.
They were MP Husni, MP Zahid Hamidi,most of the then Chief Ministers......just to name a few.
these people 'changed' to Mahathirisma.
The question Datuk should rather be,"WHY has Shahrir changed?".
Datuk, I am sure you have the experience to answer that question.

lutfy said...

Assalamualaikum Dato'

Saya telah mengalami kemalangan pada 27 Februari 2007 yang lalu.

Sekiranya Dato' sudi berkongsi tentang apa yang boleh dilakukan oleh seorang rakyat "marhaen" seperti saya untuk pembelaan.

Untuk pengetahuan Dato', kemalangan tersebut melibatkan 4 buah kereta, dan kereta saya adalah yang ke-2 dari hadapan. Punca utama kemalangan adalah kecuaian pihak polis yang telah menutup laluan kenderaan semata-mata seorang "pembesar" ingin lalu.

Tidak ingin saya persoalkan tentang hak pihak polis terhadap halangan tersebut, tetapi jika melihat 1. struktur jalan pada tempat tersebut, pasti ramai berpendapat yang tidak patut laluan tersebut ditutup, pasti mengundang bahaya.

2.Jika tiada cara lain dan perlu ditutup, adakah rasional kesemua 3 lorong sekali perlu ditutup ?

Kecuaian tersebut telah menyebabkan kemalangan, mujur tiada kematian!

3. Apakah saluran yang boleh saya gunakan untuk meluahkan rasa tidak puas hati saya ini, sekurang-kurangnya semua pihak boleh mengambil iktibar.

Sekian Dato',
lutfy.2007@yahoo.com

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr Suduplastik berkata:
"oklah tu, at least PAC dah bnyk suarakan kpntign rkyt dlm isu-isu lain-MRR2,jlnrya d sbh,kpl tldm..kes ECM ni kira dh tutup buku la..bnyk lg krj lain nk buat dpd bgkit isu2 yg dh lps.."

Kita hargai tindakan baik PAC. Tetapi kalau kita berkata PAC boleh tutup kes ECM-Avenue, kita membenarkan semula amalan "selective prosecution" yang kita sendiri kutuk.

Sdr Lutfy menulis:

"Untuk pengetahuan Dato', kemalangan tersebut melibatkan 4 buah kereta, dan kereta saya adalah yang ke-2 dari hadapan. Punca utama kemalangan adalah kecuaian pihak polis yang telah menutup laluan kenderaan semata-mata seorang "pembesar" ingin lalu."

Di negara kita pembesar sentiasa diberi keutamaan. Tetapi di akhir-akhir ini semakin banyak pembesar yang berasa keselesaan mereka lebih utama walaupun mereka bercakap mengenai pembelaan nasib rakyat. Polis pun jadi serba salah sehingga melakukan kesilapan bila mengawal para pembesar.

Sepatutnya negara kita menjadi lebih egalitarian dan sama rata apabila kita semakin maju dan hadhari. Malangnya kita menjadi semakin feudalistik. Banyak orang politik yang mahu
n dilayan macam orang istana.

Sdr Alrawa, mestikah pembesar macam Shahril berubah mengikut siapa menjadi PM, atau mengikut aspirasi rakyat jelata?

Namun saya akui bahawa Shahrir lebih berani dan ikhlas daripada banyak pembesar yang segenerasi dengannya.

We need more and better Shahrirs around if we want our beloved country to be a hadhari country.

Terima Kasih.

lutfy said...

Dato',
terima kasih di atas balasan!

Anonymous said...

HAVE A GREAT TIME AND HAVE FUN, Datuk! (though middle earth sounds very much like alam kubur)

How the weather there? Anything to be thankful for?

Nothing? Might as well slapen gaan, he.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr MungkarNangkir (what a choice of pseudonym!) berkata:

" HAVE A GREAT TIME AND HAVE FUN, Datuk! (though middle earth sounds very much like alam kubur)

How the weather there? Anything to be thankful for?"

Middle Earth as in the Lord of The Ring Trilogy. It was in this country that the movie was shot.

The weather is great. The people are friendly to a fault. The food is fresh. The sheep and the cows outnumber the humans.

Yes, I am thankful that we still have a great country called Malaysia.

Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri, lebih baik di negeri sendiri.

I am already missing teh si kosong and roti bakar kurang kaya at my favourite kopitian in Uptown Damansara. Of course Raju's roti canai.

Anonymous said...

Salam YBhg Datuk,

..Sssyyyyyahrir...masih kah kau ingat?(kopratasa)..kunci dah hilang kot!Tq

SHAHRIRSAMAD said...

My new blog http://shahrirsamad.blogspot.com
Dato' Shahrir Samad

About Me

My photo
I was born in 1947 in Kedah. I came from a rice farming family. I have been a journalist since 1969. I am the Editor-in-Chief of magazine publishing company, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd. I was Group Editor NST Sdn Bhd and Group Editor-in-Chief of NSTP Bhd between 1988 and 2000. I write fortnightly column “Other Thots” in the Malaysian Business magazine, Kunta Kinte Original in Berita Harian and A Kadir Jasin Bercerita in Dewan Masyarakat. Books: Biar Putih Tulang (1998), Other Thots – Opinions & Observations 1992-2001 (2001), The Wings of an Eagle (2003), Mencari Dugalia Huso (2006), Damned That Thots (2006), Blogger (2006), PRU 2008-Rakyat Sahut Cabaran (2008), Komedi & Tragedi-Latest in Contemporary Malaysian Politics (2009) and Membangun Bangsa dengan Pena (2009).