Many Agencies but Economy is Moribund

A Kadir Jasin

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THE Kedai Kopi Assembly (KKA) continues to sit at various locations and with different groups of members throughout the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The economy was a big issue. The members were unanimous that the opposition parties do not have to work very hard to garner the support of the Malays. Being poor, they suffer the most when prices of goods and services increase. The RM500 BR1M is chicken feed compared to the quantum of price rises. In the last May 5 GE, these were the people who saved the BN from defeat.

Apart from highlighting their successes in Penang and Selangor since taking over the rich states in 2008, they need only to continue to accuse the BN of corruption, abuse of power and extravagance to gain support.

He pointed out the example of a recent statement by the new Selangor DAP chairman, Gobind Singh Deo. The Puchong MP was confident that more Malays, who are opposed to corruption, will join the DAP or vote for the Pakatan Rakyat, which was the subject of my most recent posting.

The KKA noted that the deafening silence of the Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak on corruption is not the only the issue that is disheartening and driving away the Malays from Umno and the BN. The KKA acknowledge some talks by the new leadership of the MCA about fighting corruption.

If the Chinese and Indians are unhappy with the so-called pro-Bumiputera policies, the Malays are unhappy with the lack of seriousness in implementation of these policies.

Judging from past programmes, the KKA members doubt that anything significant will come out of the Pemerkasaan Ekonomi Bumiputera (Bumiputera Economic Empowerment) announced by Mohd Najib on last Sept 14. Of course in Mohd Najib’s style of doing things, there will be commission and consultants appointed to handle it.

They noted that the government had created so many agencies in the past to help Bumiputeras. Some we have been forgotten. Yet government wants to create more. This is how yearly budget for salaries goes up.

There are (or were) the SEDCs, MARA, Bank Bumiputra, DARA, PERDA, KEDA, FELDA, RISDA, FELCRA,  KETENGAH, KEJORA, PNB, PEMANDU, PRIMA1,  SPNB,  AIM, PERNAS, TERAJU, EQUINAS, PUNB, SME Bank, AGRO Bank, EXIM Bank, Bank Rakyat.

A KKA kaki lawak, interjected: “Hopefully UMNO does not think that these agencies belong to it since Najib recently said that UMNO is a party for rakyat.”

Government employs 1.5 million civil servants and pay them bonuses. Another 10,000 will be recruited this year. Then it created Pemandu and spent billions of ringgit engaging consultants because civil servants are not good enough. No wonder civil servants are upset and some are secretly sabotaging the government.

New Measurement for  Success

TO many Umno leaders, the measure of the party’s success is big cars, big houses and expensive watches whose names they can’t even mention.

During the time that my late father was a delegate to the Umno general assembly in the 1960’s and 1970’s, outstation delegates stayed at friends house, cheap hotels around Batu Road or at public halls. They travelled by train and stage buses. Now they came by air and expensive cars, and stayed at 5-star hotels.

They do not bother about corruption, wastage of public funds and extravagance. They pay lips service to the suffering of the people due to high cost of living, unaffordable housing and a slew of price increases. The houses are getting smaller, the buildings are getting taller and the density higher.

Not every Umno leader is doing well. But most are. The ones who follow the straight and narrow are viewed with disdain - little wonder that the rakyat feel that Umno leaders are doing well financially and are out of touch with the reality of the rakyat’s everyday life.

Because of their extravagant lifestyle, these leaders do not question why government had to spend RM180 million on executive jets. They see nothing wrong to it. They don’t even care that the PM was away from the country during the New Year two years in a row.

Do they know that even the Queen (of England) uses train and charters planes when travelling overseas? They should because many like the PM studied in the UK. Air transport for the British Royal Family and the government of the UK is provided, depending on circumstances and availability, by a variety of military and civilian operators. But most often they fly using scheduled commercial flights, normally the British Airways.

Here in Malaysia, people with no formal appointments and duties are known to use government on pretext of serving the country. But when Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim leased a private jet to travel to East Malaysia, the BN-controlled mainstream media condemned him as extravagant.

But the KKA noted that one or two young ministers were known to have voluntarily “downgraded” themselves from first to business class on long flights to save cost. Kudos.

We pride ourselves with being an example to the developing countries. Our development model is copied by them. But we should be truthful by also telling them that our national debt has risen by over 100% since Mohd Najib took over from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi less than 5 years ago.

The kaki lawak interjected: “But Pak Lah was sleeping and Najib is not. Pak Lah is now the advisor to MAS. It is not a big thing if he is not aware of losses MAS is making. Of course the Umno General Assembly made no mention of MAS. They were not bothered to complain about loss-making GLCs. They are only interested in profitable ones.”

President Defending the Wrong Things

 THE President defended his wife in the assembly? Delegates were shocked. The journalists who had to praise Mohd Najib were even more shocked.

We are not complaining about the good things his wife does. Many wives of VIPs, including the royal families, are also doing good things.

We are complaining about the wrong things he is doing in accommodating the wishes of his wife. We are asking the government to be accountable. The PM should answer these allegations. The way he bragged about his wife in public, he was in fact saying that his wife has more influence than him with foreign leaders.

Umno's way of getting support is to give cash. The joker butted in: “Some people gave private jets to keep the wives happy.” Mohd Najib’s way of making people happy is giving money. First there was the BR1M. Now cash is given to flood victims.  Yes we can give cash but when the rakyat’s houses are inundated, they need food, water, blankets etc. Use the money to buy things victims need and to repair their houses later.

The KKA doubts that the condemnation against the Selangor PR government for raising State Assembly Member’s salaries and against Lim Guan Eng for buying a new Mercedes was serious and would last long. Ministers and MPs too are longing for salary increases and new cars.

To keep the people happy, another BR1M and announced austerity drive that is too little and too late. The KKA noted that the poor small time Bumiputera suppliers, contractors and caterers who will bear the brunt of the spending cuts.

He mentioned Mandela at the Umno Assembly, but he did not attend his funeral. Obama, Clinton, Bush and other world leaders went. Does he not know how close South Africa is to Malaysia? Fortunately he had the sense to designate Tun Dr Mahathir as his personal representative.

What did the Umno Assembly achieve? To the outsiders, they see the same old things – praises and standing ovations for the el presidente. But some Wanita Umno delegates noticed that the President’s future son-in-law was seated in the area meant exclusively for women and they didn’t like it. 

The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the open acknowledgement that Umno could not expect help from MCA and Gerakan. Chinese voters will take the money and the goodies, but will not give the votes to the BN.

KKA’s Unplanned Sessions

MY apologies to those who have requested to join the KKA, but have not been invited to one yet. Several had, however, joined me in unplanned sessions when they saw me at the coffee shops. All are welcome to join if my face is not buried in the computer.

One delegate noted that the rakyat might have been spared the burden of higher toll rates had Mohd Najib agreed to a private sector proposal some years ago to buy all toll highways in the country for RM50 billion and not raising rates ever again. The proposal was submitted soon after Mohd Najib became PM in 2009, but was not entertained.

Another “bidan terjun” delegate (from Kelantan) asked me when would the Malays be united. I said maybe when the DAP rule the country.

DAP Sets Sight on Malay Voters

A Kadir Jasin

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SEVERAL debaters feel that I am concentrating too much on the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and that I should also comment more often on the opposition parties.

It seems to me that as much as Mohd Najib Abdul Razak craved for the non-Malay votes during last May general elections, the DAP on the other hand is longing for the Malay votes.

The non-Malays, in particular the Chinese, gave a thumbs down to the BN but many Malays gave the benefit of the doubt to the DAP either directly or via its Pakatan Rakyat partners – Pas and PKR.

As much as the BN could not do without the support of the minority non-Malays, the DAP knows it could not flourish without the support the majority Malays.

It is on this basis that I see the recent statement by newly elected Selangor DAP deputy chairman, Gobind Singh Deo, who is the Member of Parliament for Puchong, Selangor and the son of the DAP national chairman, Karpal Singh.

Gobind Singh: Gunning after Malay voters

He was reported as saying that the Selangor DAP is confident that more Malays will join its rank and file.

The reason, according to him, is because the party has displayed solid work, walked the talk and stood for good governance in the states where it was part of the government. 

With the Malays and other Bumiputeras forming 61.4% of the population and growing, their importance in determining the future of politics is obvious. The Chinese population has shrunk from the peak of 45% in 1957 to 22.9%, and Indians account for 7.1%.

Gobind Singh said the party had in the past championed anti-corruption, wastage of public funds and abuse of power to win public support.

"Over the last five years, Selangor and Penang having been practising good governance and this is a point we want to sell to Malays to join us for a better Malaysia," he told The Malaysian Insider.

Starting Early on Malay Voters

Gobind Singh’s statement is important on two counts. One, after having succeeded in fielding a handful of Malay candidates in the last GE, the party is starting early to coax the Malays for the next general polls.

Two, the fact that it was the most successful of the three main Pakatan Rakyat parties at the last GE is not lost on the DAP leaders.

They knew that a significant number of urban Malay voters sided with the DAP. Many of them were members of neither Pas nor the PKR. These are Malays who believe that a strong opposition is essential to good governance.

In the 2013 GE, after a long absence, the DAP successfully put Malay representatives back in Dewan Rakyat and State Legislative Assembly. Mohd Arif Sabri won the Raub parliamentary seat, Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji captured the Mentakab state seat, both in Pahang, and the former political secretary to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Zairil Khir Johari, was also elected the Bukit Bendera MP.

Mohd Ariff Sabri: DAP MP for Raub

The next natural step for the DAP is to get more Malays to join its ranks. But that won’t be easy. The Malays may be willing to vote for DAP candidates but to be active members of the party is a different matter altogether.

Tengku Zulpuri Shah: DAP State Assemblyman for Mentakab

The younger DAP leaders, led by its Secretary General Lim Guan Eng, have to prove to the Malays that the party can serve them as well or better than Umno, PAS and the Malay-dominated PKR. It’s a tough call.
 
Time is Running Out

In a sense, time is running out for the DAP. The number of Malays who knew the history of the party and recognised it as a multi-racial party is getting smaller.

Even in the best of times the DAP never really had a strong Malay representation.

The younger generations of Malays and even some non-Malays are not aware that DAP started off as a multi-racial party and used to have Malay representation in the Central Executive Committee. A founding Malay CEC member was Mohamed Nor Jetty. He was one of the party’s national vice-chairmen.

What the younger Malays now know about the DAP is what is being drummed up by its detractors that it is an offshoot of the People’s Action Party (PAP) of Singapore.

That indeed was the case way back in the 1960’s when some Malaysian members of the PAP, including Devan Nair (the PAP MP for Bangsar and later the President of Singapore), decided “to continue the party” in Malaysia after the 1965 separation by forming the DAP in the same year.

Unhappy Experience with Malay Members

The Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim’s bitter departure from the party in 2012 and the outcomes of controversial CEC election the same year, when not a single Malay candidate out of eight was elected, damaged the party’s reputation. Its detractors had a field accusing it of racial chauvinism.

In alluding to the importance of Malay support, Gobind Singh had clearly used a very subtle tactic when he said the DAP in the past championed anti-corruption, wastage of public funds and abuse of power.

The flip side of that statement is to suggest that the Malays who are against corruption, wastage of public funds and abuse of power should be fighting along side the DAP and the PR.

Whereas those who do fight on the side of the DAP are seen as tolerating corruption, wastage of public funds and abuse of power. Such an approach may find currency among the younger and more educated Malay voters.

Still winning Malay membership and votes is an uphill battle for the Chinese-dominated DAP.

Demonstrate, But Don't Be Like Siam

A Kadir Jasin

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I AM not against people demonstrating. Even if I do, there’s little that I can do about it. Our Constitution guarantees peaceful assembly.

It is the fundamental constitutional rights of the people to gather in a peaceful assembly for legitimate purposes.

Therefore, I shall neither honour nor humour the people who are planning all kinds of demonstrations to bid farewell to 2013 and welcome the New Year 2014.

Even the term welcome is subject to interpretation. For many, with the prospects of higher living cost looming, the New Year is neither a happy nor a welcome one.

It is always difficult to maintain peace in a demonstration attended by a large group of people especially when the purpose is a strident one.

My two cents worth of unsolicited advice is, be calm and follow the rules. This applies to everybody – the demonstrators, the policemen and the City Hall enforcement officers.

The protestors will most certainly be young. So are the policemen. Even the IGP was young when the bloody Memali incident took place in 1985.

I remember that well because I attended a series of press conferences and briefings at the Home Minstry in the days that followed.

When it took place, the then PM, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was abroad and Tun Musa Hitam was made Acting PM. He was also Home Minister.

The Law of the Jungle in Siam

We have our share of demonstrations. But do ask: Do we want to be like Siam?

PM Not Here to Hear

WHILE the protestors, be they for or against the government, may be demanding this and that, they should know that the man who could make things happen, i.e the Prime Minister, Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, is not here to hear their demands firsthand.

He will be abroad for the New Year celebrations. Despite an earlier denial by a member of his Communication Advisory Group (CAG), the PM is indeed abroad.

A Kedai Kopi Assembly (KKA) regular said he left soon after Christmas celebrations in Penang and is not due back until Jan. 5.

Some readers and commentators may consider this article a gossip and “fitnah” (libel/slander) or even sacrilegious. But the following is the sequence of event to drive home my point.

1. In the posting entitled “Wanita Chief and the Grandmaster” on Dec. 11, a debater going by the name of Zainol, had, among other things, commented: “…Dia kata Najib akan pergi cuti di LA dengan Isteri…Mereka terbang dari LA ka Sydney nak tengok matahari naik di Sydney. Jam itu kita masih tidor di Malaysia. Lepas itu mereka akan terbang dari Sydney pergi ka Les vagas untok tengok kalimkedua matahari naik. sebab Amerika satu hari lambat dari Australia.”

2. I asked a member of the CAG via SMS if this is true. The response: “NO!!!..” which I duly posted in the comment section of the posting entitled “Suspending Newspapers May Not Be The Answer.”

3. I then made the following notation: “Jadi, kalau ikut penasihat CAG itu, berita/dakwaan PM akan bercuti di luar negara pada tahun baru tidak betul. Tetapi tahun baru masih 7 hari lagi.”

4. Today, on the advise of the CAG member (one who denied the PM was going abroad) I sent the following SMS to the PM’s Press Secretary, Tengku Sharifuddin Tengku Ahmad: “Salam Tengku. This is akj. I have published a denial that the PM and wife are going to sydney and las vegas on the new year’s eve. The source asked me to confirm with you. Tq.”

5. He replied “Dato.. PM is on leave and overseas.” (So the CAG member was wrong!)

6. Just to be absolutely sure and not be accused of gossiping, libelling and slandering, I sent another SMS to Tengku Sharifuddin: “Sorry, I assume he will not be around for the new year. Tq.”

7. His response: “Overseas on leave. Dpm will be around.”

(Good luck Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin. Tired or not our well being is in your hand for the next few days.)  

8. Just to be super sure that I wasn’t missing anything, I asked two very senior newspaper editors, one of whom is also a member of the CAG, via SMS: “Sdr, akj here. Was there official announcement that the PM is on leave abroad? For my blog. Help appreciated. Tq.”

9. One responded: “No. I don’t think so. Don’t quote me plse.”

10. My response to him; “…May I say, a newspaper editor said no official media statement to that effect? Tq.”

11. He replied: “Ok.”

12. To be fair to all, I shot another SMS to Tengku Sharifuddin: “So the allegation that he might be in sydney and las vegas to see the sunrise on the new year could possibly be true. Someone from the CAG said pm wasn’t going abroad. I have to clarify in my blog. Anything u would like to add? Tq.”

The PM was also away at this time last year. But he is not alone. Many other ministers are also out of the country.

So if this is a gossip, a libel and a slander ( as I have alleged), I am willing to have debaters and visitors departing this blog in droves and not ever again commit sins by debating here as many a pious Muslim has been warning us lately.

Kesian Tun Abdul Razak

A Kadir Jasin

[KOMEN anonymous DAN KESAT tidak akan disiarkan. Sila guna Google Account, OpenID atau Name/URL untuk mengulas. Boleh guna nama samaran.]

MUTAKHIR, Jan 5 - A film company run by Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, the son Rosmah Mansor from her previous marriage, has threatened to sue veteran British journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown over the latter's article on the source of the 37-year-old's wealth.

New York-based entertainment website Buzzfeed.com reports that lawyers for Red Granite Pictures had sent Brown a five page letter demanding that she retracts the article and compel other media outlets who wrote about her piece to do the same.  (More here).

MUTAKHIR, 30 Dis - Kepada pembahas dan pelawat yang berasa blog kita ini tidak lagi sesuai dibaca kerana penuh dengan gossip dan fitnah, sila ambil maklum nasihat dan peringatan pembahas OKJ seperti berikut:

" OKJ said...

Salam DAKJ

Bagi sayalah Sdr Dr langitbiru Penang, saya cukup bersetuju dgn pendapat Sdr Kampungman yg menasihati Dato’ Kadir supaya kurangkan gossip yg mengarah kepada fitnah, dan Sdr. Mustapha Ong serta Professor Dr Muhaya tentang rasional kenaikan harga barang. Begitulah contoh cara org-org beriman kepada Allah dan dianugerahi otak yg bergeliga berfikir.
Jadinya, saya berasa cukup KESIAN bila standard artikel Dato’ Kadir sekarang hampir menyamai standard Din Melaka. Kalau tulisan Din Melaka penuh dgn sampah dan fitnah, saya mengharapkan Dato’ lebih bertanggung jawab di atas artikel Dato’ di dunia dan akhirat. Akhir kata, saya menasihati Dato’ supaya mengikut nasihat dari Sdr Kampungman. W/pun blog ini Dato’ yg punya. apa salahnya kita sama-sama berpesan kearah kebaikan. Sekian TQ."

POSTING ASAL

KESIAN Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak. Tidak pasal-pasal namanya dikaitkan dengan penerbit filem Hollywood yang tidak ada talian darah dengan beliau.

Penerbit filem itu namanya Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz. Selain daripada dia anak tiri kepada anak Tun Abdul Razak iaitu Mohd Najib, dia tak ada apa-apa pun pertalian dengan Tun Abdul Razak.

Mengikut cerita media Amerika dan media atas talian Malaysia, Riza Shahriz ini adalah anak isteri Mohd Najib, Rosmah Mansor dengan suami pertamanya yang dikenali sebagai Abdul Aziz bin Nong Chik.

Selain Riza Shahriz menjadi penerbit filem Hollywood yang sedang meningkat naik, dia juga menjadi bahan berita di Amerika kerana dikatakan telah membeli sebuah apartmen berharga AS$33.5 juta (kira-kira RM110 juta) di Central Park, New York.

Tun Abdul Razak diseret ke dalam cerita sensasi ini semata-mata kerana dia bapa Mohd Najib. Orang putih keliru dengan sistem pengenalan kita.

Dalam sistem mereka, ada surname dan given name. Surnama adalah nama keluarga/keturunan. Given name ada nama sebenar seseorang. Misalnya George Walker Bush. Bush adalah nama keluarga/keturunan. George Walker adalah given name. Dalam given name itu pula ada middle nama. Dalam nama George Walker Bush, Walter ada middle nama atau nama tengah.

Jadi, bila wartawan America buat carian Internet nama Mohd Najib, dalam Wikipedia misalnya, mereka jumpa Dato’ Seri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak. Jadi mereka petik nama Tun Abdul Razak sebab pada anggapan mereka itulah surname Perdana Menteri Malaysia.

Saya pun bila ke luar negara, terpaksa guna nama Jasin Abdul Kadir bagi memudahkan kefahaman. Kalau tidak, terpaksa habiskan masa bagi penerangan kepada pegawai imigresen yang memang tak faham sistem identiti kita. Silap-silap kita dituduh pengganas.

Kalau ada orang Malaysia yang ada banyak duit sampai boleh kerjasama dengan pengarah tersohor Hollywood macam Martin Scorsese dan boleh beli apartmen AS$33.5 juta, saya tabik spring lah.

Pengarah Tersohor Hollywood Scorsese

 

Filem Yang Katanya Dibiayai Riza Shahriz

 Seorang lagi Melayu yang direstui Hang Tuah – Melayu yang tak hilang di dunia.

Sesiapa yang berminat mengenai dunia perfileman Hollywood dan mengenai kehidupan mewah – highlife – boleh baca di sini.

Government Decisions Burden the People, says Dr M

A Kadir Jasin 

NO anonymous comments please!

TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been silent about the government for a while. He must have his reasons.

Today he posted an article in his blog saying, among other things, that lately Malaysian individuals and businesses have to come up with more money because of the many increases in cost due to Government policy decisions.

We must accept that the Government needs more money with the passage of time, he said.

"But should the increase be as big as the Government says?"

"Should the taxes and rates come all at the same time?" he asked.

Read more here.

Our Sportsmanship Continues to Shame

A Kadir Jasin

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SINCE the Kedai Kopi Assembly (KKA) is still in the pause mode in as far as criticising and advising the Prime Minister, let me once again touch on Malaysian sports.

Logically, Malaysia should be the one sending athletes to the Sochi Winter Olympic in Russia and not Tonga. Malaysia has a population of 28 million and Tonga 106, 146 in 2011.

 We may not have snow but we have several ice skating rinks and artificial snowfields. Also thousands of Malaysians go on winter holidays each year and many take up ice sports.

Alas, we are defeated yet again in the world of sports, and this time by the tiny Tonga. The island kingdom in the South Pacific is sending an athlete to the game to compete in luge.

A luge racer in action

The French news agency AFP reported from Wellington, New Zeland, that Tonga's Bruno Banani aka Fuahea Semi has qualified as the Pacific nation's first ever winter Olympian - an achievement every bit as remarkable as Jamaica's famous bobsled team.

The report says, Banani, who hails from a tropical archipelago famed for its sunshine and white sandy beaches, will head for the frigid Russian resort next year after finishing 28th out of 42 starters at a World Cup meet in Park City, Utah, comfortably making the top 38 cut-off needed to qualify, the FIL said. (Read more here).

Banani of Tonga Makes History

Then again why should we care about an obscure game like luge when we continue to do badly in games that we are supposed to be good at like sepak takraw, badminton and hocky.

But I am sure our creative and innovative sport officials will try to muzzle their way to Sochi if they can get some poor suckers to pay for it.

By the way, I was told by a senior member of the PMO’s Communication Advisory Group (CAG) that the PM is not going to Sydney or Las Vegas on the new year’s day as rumoured. That’s what she said. We have to wait and see.

And for all of us on this blog, let us start the New Year by being more magnanimous, less partisan, more bipartisan, less personal and most importantly no swear words.

Suspending Newspapers May Not Be the Answer

A Kadir Jasin

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FURTHER UPDATE, DEC. 23 - The Star, a Wall Street Journal report, said The Heat violated provisions of its printing permit. 

The Heat now claimed that it responded to the show cause letters and the Ministry agreed to its request to change from an economic journal to current affairs. (Read here).

So who is not telling the truth?

UPDATE, Dec. 23 - Weekly newspaper The Heat was suspended because it had violated provisions mandated under its printing permit, said the Home Ministry.

A ministry spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that the suspension was not linked to a recent story the newspaper ran on expenditures incurred by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

"Any accusations to the contrary are without merit," he said - The Star.

ORIGINAL POST


THE weekly newspaper, The Heat was unknown to most Malaysians until its was suspended indefinitely by the Home Ministry on Dec 19.

Its offence was unclear. According to media reports, the ministry did not say and the newspaper appeared reluctant to talk about it.

Media reports suggest that it was being punished for a front-page story alleging big spending by the Prime Minister.

I have also been advised (and warned) by some delegates to the Kedai Kopi Assembly (KKA) and commentators of this blog to be more careful and circumspect when commenting on the government.

They advised me to go easy on the Prime Minister and lay off his wife. I told them that since we are the rakyat then there must be a government. The rakyat elected the government and pay the taxes. So it is our right and privileges to let the government know what we feel.

In any case, it was the PM who once said that the era of the governing knowing all was over.

Banning Not the Answer

Banning or suspending newspapers and other forms of publication is not new in Malaysia. And not every newspaper banned or suspended in the past disappeared.

Some made a comeback with a vengeance. They might not come back as a crusader or an irritation that they formally were. But a few like The Star and Sin Chew Daily went on to become a huge commercial success.

The two papers had their publishing permits suspended in the aftermath of the Operasi Lalang in1987. But the smaller and financially weak Malay weekly, Watan that was also suspended went out publication. Attempts to revive it failed.

Today, The Star is the largest paid English newspaper and the Sin Chew is the largest Chinese language newspaper. They are beaten only by the sensational Malay tabloids, Harian Metro and Kosmo.

For The Star and the Sin Chew, the 1987 suspension raised their profile and improved their sales when they resumed publication although they became more pliant towards the government.

In the post May 5 general elections, when its controlling shareholder – the MCA – did badly, The Star appears to be more open and impartial.

So suspending a newspaper is not always a productive thing to do, more so when strong reasons are not given or worse still when the reasons for such a tough action are frivolous.

PM’s Pledges Contradicted

In ordering the suspension of The Heat, the Home Ministry might have forgotten (or not known) that the PM had made a strong pledge to support freedom and liberty.

This is what he said in his official 1Malaysia website.

"Since I took office back in 2009 I have been clear in my vision for Malaysia as a modern, progressive and forward-looking democracy in which the people’s fundamental rights and freedoms are protected.

To that end, I have implemented the most far-reaching package of political reforms since Malaysia’s independence: the State of Emergency ordinance has been ended; the colonial-era Internal Security Act, which permitted indefinite detention without trial, has been repealed; restrictions on newspaper publishing licenses have been scrapped; the ban on students joining political parties has been lifted and I have pledged to review the Sedition Act. I have also introduced the Government Transformation Programme to make Malaysia’s public services more efficient and responsive to people’s needs, as well as clamping down on corruption.

These are truly far-reaching reforms that will benefit the Malaysian people, will see our country take its place among the world’s high income nations and will secure our reputation as a rising Asian powerhouse where political liberties flourish alongside economic growth.” (To read more).

Politicians and their officials appear to have not learned a lesson from their mishandling of the blogs under a decade ago. It was that mistake that promoted and propelled the success of the otherwise little known medium.

Ministers called bloggers “goblok’ (Javanese for a stupid person) and “penembak curi” (sniper) while Khairy Jamaluddin, then an Abdullah aide, called them monkeys.

Their attacks against bloggers were widely reported by the mainstream media. This had resulted in making the public curiosity about the blogs and they soon started to surf the internet to find what the commotion was all about. Many went on to become ardent followers of blogs.

Repeating Same Old Mistake

They are doing it all over again and even this blog is not spared.

Several debaters, delegates to the KKA and people I met along the byway, had eluded to the complicity of senior Umno politicians like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tun Daim and Tan Sri Sanusi Junid in our debate on the governmentlately.

I should be honoured if that’s the case. Unfortunately, it was not.

Why should Dr Mahathir want to use this blog when he has an even bigger blog to his name. And Tun Daim? Why should he wants to get his hand dirty here when he is known to have written nasty letters directly to past and present Prime Ministers?

Those accusing this blog of being the mouthpiece of Daim should ask the Prime Minister how many letters of advice he had received from Daim.

I believed people like Dr Mahathir, Daim and Sanusi had said as much or more directly to the Prime Minister than we dare say in this blog.

People who are alleging Dr Mahathir’s, Daim’s and Sanusi’s involvement in this blog should perhaps direct their energy to respond to this blog in defence of the PM and the government.

To my understanding, the PMO has many individuals and groups monitoring the media for him, including the high-powered Communication Action Group (CAG). Instead of pointing fingers at past leaders, these people and groups should take on this blog head on.

Kalau anak jantan apa nak takut?

Empower the Bumiputera, Everyody Gains

A Kadir Jasin

[NO anonymous comments. Please use Google Account, OpenID or Name/URL. Pseudonym accepted. Thank you]

THE Kedai Kopi Assembly (KKA), unlike the UGA or the annual general meetings of other political parties, is a multi-racial gathering.

Naturally some members asked why only Bumiputera Economic Empowerment. Why only Malays and Bumiputeras? They asked. No one is poor among non-Bumiputeras? What has happened to 1Malaysia (people first) and New Economic Model (inclusiveness)? Even the Malay members asked the same questions.

Nobody objects fighting poverty and inequality. Even Pope Francis had declared: "We have to say, ‘thou shall not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality."

I Heaar - Empowering Bumiputera Economy

The KKA noted that the government failed to meet target for Malays and other Bumiputeras after 42 years. Why not the government get together 10 or 20 best economists and successful Bumiputeras to help chart a new policy for the government to implement.

Stop employing foreign consultants. If civil servants are not capable as one minister said, why not use the expertise of local economists and the successful Bumiputeras?

What has happened to Uda, Bernas, Finas, Fama, Mampu and all other agencies that are supposed to assist the government in creating the Bumiputera business and industrial community? Some had been privatised to individuals. What are these individuals doing to help their bangsa?

What good is transformation, KPI and NKRA when things don’t improve and the people don’t believe?  Then we had the report card systems and things progressed. Now things got worse. The 2008 results were bad and the 2013 result were worse. If the government is serious about the KPI, the grandmaster must go down to Padang, visit all Umno branches, pray at the suraus and talk to the petty traders. Show leadership by example.

Tengku took leave officially to visit all divisions. Even when he was on the way out he continued to meet the rakyat. If anak raja could do that, why can’t the son of a former Prime Minister? Don’t just think of holidaying in Monaco, Sydney and Las Vegas.

If the wives are good at networking as being regularly claimed by some ministers, bring them along to meet the rakyat. They can also network with the rakyat. Enough of holidaying di London, New York, Monte Carlo for shopping and attending fashion shows.

A kaki lawak suggested that new constituency, preferably a shopping mall, be created for the hardworking PM’s spouse to contest. She may win unopposed and then, like I say a zillion times, make her Minister.  It may be a jenaka by some, but I am committed to the idea of legitimising the position of the PM’s wife so that all of us can be above board, transparent and accountable.

Only Umno invites people from all over the world for its annual assembly. Who pays for their trips? It is very lavish compared even to Chinese Communist Party. Party portrays government. If the party is lavish, do not expect government to be thrifty and careful with taxpayers’ money. If the KPI is genuine, some minister would have been sacked. The non-performing ministers stay and the grandmaster instead appoints advisors with ministerial rank. Who runs the country – the PM, the ministers or the advisors?

So at assembly literally nobody talked abuse of power, corruption, wastage of funds and other hot topics that are widely discussed outside like the 1MDB, the ringgit depreciating and the KLIA2 cost overrun (from RM2billion to RM4billion). Not just KLIA2, literally every construction project eventually costs much more than the awarded price. Nobody talked about personal debt which is one of the highest in the world. What about NPL? Any attack on IMDB or Khazanah  is seen as an attack on PM.

Launching Imported Blue Ocean Strategy

 Is the role of the GLCs to produce UMNO millionaires? Some debaters made it to sound as if joining UMNO is about making money and the GLCs must now make UMNO members rich. How to do it, they did not say. The grandmaster said he would himself monitor GLCs. What was he doing before this? Has he not always been the Khazanah chairman? Or was he relying solely on deputy chairman and chairman of Khazanah Exco, Nor Mohamed Yackop who lost over RM30 billion of Bank Negara’s money.

Nor Mohamed was MOF II during Pak Lah’s sleeping era and later under Mohd Najib’s 1Malaysia. During that period national debt rose to over RM500 billion.

Of course Umno supports Bumiputera economic empowerment. It’ was a capital for the recent party election. The non-Bumiputeras were initially upset, but they are less unhappy now because in implementing the pemerkasaan, the Chinese as usual will get the most. They have money and they know money talks with many Umno politicians. They have experienced many similar policies since 1971 and they always come out better.

During the recent general elections, many Chinese tycoons played double game. In the open they supported the BN. Behind the scene they gave tens of millions to the Pakatan Rakyat.

If Mohd Najib has guts, he should assemble these Tan Sris and Datuks and told them he knows who gave what to the PR. He should tell that unfortunately the PR did not win and he is still the PM, and they better not play ball with him. But he would not do that.

If he is serious about Bumiputera economic empowerment, he should have a team outside hid office to chart out this policy. The PMO people and his foreign consultants have failed. They could not even get him a good result at the election. Even his political secretaries and special assistants lost.

Now that he is chairing it himself. He should be doing economic planning for country. But his ministers said our civil servants are not up to the standard, so Mohd Najib paid billions to employ foreign consultants. During the election, his foreign consultants proposed the slogan "I love PM". Lucky, he won narrowly in 3 sets.  The next time round, it’s not too sure that he can still win in 3 sets. Tun M won all five general elections in straight sets.

Next: More agencies, but Bumiputera economy is getting worse.

Pemuda No Longer A Pressure Group

A Kadir Jasin

NO anonymous comments. Please use Google Account, OpenID or Name/URL. Pseudonym accepted. Thank you]

UPDATE, Dec. 16 – THE KKA, now in session in Damansara Utama, takes note of the explanation by the wife of the Prime Minister, (Datin Seri) Rosmah Mansor, on her using government’s executive jets. (Read here).

ORIGINAL POST

 

Mandela aka Madiba (1918-2013). At The Datai, Langkawi 1998

 

Sunrise in Sydney, Australia

THE Kedai Kopi Assembly (KKA) was almost unanimous that between Wanita and Pemuda, under the current leadership, the Pemuda holds a better hope.

The Wanita members have become so pliant that they are not likely to want other than Shahrizat as their Ketua. And Shahrizat knows there isn’t anybody in the movement that can beat her in a contest.

So the KKA’s debate on the Pemuda was more extensive and exhaustive. The general view is that Pemuda is no longer a pressure group. To be more visible and effective, its Ketua, Khairy Jamaluddin, has to take the movement back to the days when it was a pressure group respected by friends and foes. 

Many Questions for Khairy to Answer

Khairy and his team have to answer the following questions: 1. Did Pemuda deliver at the last GE? 2. Did it do the post mortem and what were the findings? 3. They can talk about winning over young voters, but what are their plans? 4. Does Pemuda know what young voters want?

5. What is Pemuda’s stand and stance on corruption, abuse of power, wastages of government funds, inflation, cost of houses and rentals and unemployment among graduates?

Ok for Pemuda to do the grandstanding by attacking the TNB on the new electricity tariff. But the tariff was approved by Cabinet and Pemuda Chief is a member and he is touted as the future PM.

Did he oppose the tariff increase in the Cabinet?

Sounds like Anwar. In the Cabinet agreed. Outside the Cabinet was another stroty.

At the end of the UGA, the grandmaster aka the Prime Minister had to explain to the press that the TNB needed the increase. Will Khairy continue to criticise so that the raise is abandoned or reduced? Or is he merely seeking cheap publicity?

(I personally have high hopes for Khairy although I damned him for his excesses during his father-in-law’s era. He has to make amend. But the majority of the KKA delegates were less forgiving. They still crave for his blood.)

There were many more issues for the Pemuda to address - drug addiction, poor communication skills among local graduates and low income of young workers.

Why on the power tariff only? What about sugar, fuel and just a few days ago the LRT fares? So can we blame the people if they say BN stands for “barang naik”?

Does he know that many street corner Malay traders and kueh sellers have ceased doing business because they can’t cope with inflation?

For all the uproar over the Selangor Assembly members’ salary, the Cabinet gaji also goes up!

Khairy is beginning to sound like Anwar. In the Cabinet agreed, outside he told supporters he disagreed.

Khairy and Malaysian Sports

DID he not say that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) “buta” (blind)? Maybe “rabun” (poor vision) is more accurate because many of its office bearers are senior citizens.

The KKA is dissatisfied with the FAM too. But to be “biadab” is another thing. The KKA applauded Siti Nurhaliza for criticising the Youth and Sports Minister. As a young Melayu minister born, raised and educated abroad, he has to learn to be polite especially to those older than him.

A kaki lawak of the KKA, reminded the meeting of the story of a custody case when the mother given custody of her child. But the boy refused. When asked by the judge, he said she beat him. He was then placed in the custody of his grandmother. He said she too beat him. “Then where do you want to go?” the exasperated judge asked. “The FAM,” said the boy. The judge was bewildered. “For what good reason, young sir?” the curious English-trained judge asked. “Because the FAM never beat anybody,” said the boy. The football crazy judge concurred and the boy was handed over to the FAM. (Laughter).

If we want to raise the standard of our football, don’t ape the BPL or England. Learn from South Korea and Japan who are now in the World Cup league. These are teams we used to beat in the 1960’s.

Why just football and FAM? What about badminton and squash, and other games? How long more can we depend on Lee Chong Wei and Nicole David to bring glory to our country. If he is to worth his salt as a sports enthusiast, Khairy has to lay the foundation for the rejuvenation of our sporting prowess.

This is Khairy’s last term at Pemuda chief. He has given notice that at the next Umno election, his sight is set on the elected Vice President post.

The KKA is unanimous that Khairy is still the man in a hurry like Anwar was in the 1990’s. After all, as a brilliant undergraduate in the early 1990’s, he was mentored, among others, by Anwar under the programme Students for Vision 2020.

He is 37 and may not get to become Prime Minister at 40 as he told friends when he first ventured into politics. But he is as ambitious as ever. So watch out the Vice Presidents and take notice Yang Amat Berhormat Presiden and YAB Timbalan Presiden!

Puteri Needs Training and Acceptance

The KKA holds a high hope for Puteri. They are young,  beautiful faces learning politics. Apart from bringing young Malay women into Umno, the party hopes that the movement will challenge and attract young male voters to choose UMNO.

To do that they have to be trained and, most crucially, the Wanita must accept them as a bona fide wing of UMNO and not a rival in beauty and substance. Otherwise, their role is just to add colour to Assembly.