Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim has effectively showcased himself to be the best qualified leader to lead Malaysia out of this economic and political quagmire.
I have reached this conclusion after witnessing how he has triumphed over numerous challenges and obstacles put before him in 2008. Anwar is clearly gifted. He possesses great vision, inspirational leadership, high intelligence and tenacity. I do not see any other Malaysian leader in this day and age that can match him.
So, I would like to issue a clarion call to all our MPs who are still undecided - strengthen your resolve, summon up the courage and cross over. Your sacrifice for a new Malaysia will earn you a place in history. Just as the voters of Permatang Pauh has.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The road to Putrajaya is wide open
They threw everything they had at Anwar - Saiful, Ezam, Nalla, American agent, Jewish Agent, Mr. Double Face, Sellout to the Malays. He did not waver.
They threw everything they had at the voters of Permatang Pauh-election on working day, hyperactive media propaganda machine, goodies, petrol price reductions etc. They did not waver.
They threw everything they had at the Pakatan Rakyat party workers –roadblocks, intimidation, hostile govt. dept support machinery, phantom voters, uncooperative EC etc. They did not waver.
They did not waver because they know that the rakyat is with them .They did not waver because the hopes of ordinary Malaysians and future of Malaysia rests heavy on their shoulders. They did not waver because they are Nationalists and consider themselves as patriots
Now they have won a strong psychological victory over UMNO and they are relishing every moment of it.History was made on 26th August 2008!
One man absorbed the entire UMNO onslaught and came out victorious. Not only did Anwar and Pakatan did not waver. They have come out of this fight even stronger and the road to Putrajaya is now wide open.
For UMNO and its BN’s sidekick, the writing is on the wall. As Pakatan Raykat march on to Putrajaya, each of their MPs will have to decide whether to join the victors or face oblivion.
They threw everything they had at the voters of Permatang Pauh-election on working day, hyperactive media propaganda machine, goodies, petrol price reductions etc. They did not waver.
They threw everything they had at the Pakatan Rakyat party workers –roadblocks, intimidation, hostile govt. dept support machinery, phantom voters, uncooperative EC etc. They did not waver.
They did not waver because they know that the rakyat is with them .They did not waver because the hopes of ordinary Malaysians and future of Malaysia rests heavy on their shoulders. They did not waver because they are Nationalists and consider themselves as patriots
Now they have won a strong psychological victory over UMNO and they are relishing every moment of it.History was made on 26th August 2008!
One man absorbed the entire UMNO onslaught and came out victorious. Not only did Anwar and Pakatan did not waver. They have come out of this fight even stronger and the road to Putrajaya is now wide open.
For UMNO and its BN’s sidekick, the writing is on the wall. As Pakatan Raykat march on to Putrajaya, each of their MPs will have to decide whether to join the victors or face oblivion.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Use indelible ink for Permatang Pauh By-election
Since the by election for the Permatang Pauh will be held soon, I would like to take this opportunity to resurrect the issue of the indelible ink once again.
SPR purchased the ink costing RM 2.4 million of the taxpayers’ money. Rather than letting it go to waste, we might as well use it for this by election. It would be most fitting that this election, which will most likely propel DSAI back into Parliament, will make history as the most transparent ever.
I would like Pakatan Rakyat to raise this issue in Parliament on behalf of the rakyat.
The rakyat would also like to know what action will be taken against the SPR Chairman, the Attorney-general and the National Chief of Police for misleading the public in a live TV telecast, into believing that there was credible evidence of sabotage, which prompted SPR to cancel its use. Being civil servants, their partisan action should not go unpunished.
SPR purchased the ink costing RM 2.4 million of the taxpayers’ money. Rather than letting it go to waste, we might as well use it for this by election. It would be most fitting that this election, which will most likely propel DSAI back into Parliament, will make history as the most transparent ever.
I would like Pakatan Rakyat to raise this issue in Parliament on behalf of the rakyat.
The rakyat would also like to know what action will be taken against the SPR Chairman, the Attorney-general and the National Chief of Police for misleading the public in a live TV telecast, into believing that there was credible evidence of sabotage, which prompted SPR to cancel its use. Being civil servants, their partisan action should not go unpunished.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The rakyat is ready to give BN the boot
Given the sentiment on the ground, BN will be swept out of power if elections are held today.
With the price increases for fuel, food, utilities and services, the ordinary Malaysian is hard pressed to make ends meet.In such a foul mood, Malaysians are scrutinising every single sen that the BN federal government spends of the rakyat’s money.
How could the rakyat have kept BN in power for 51 years is something beyond words. Having awoken from their slumber, the rakyat can’t wait to dump BN into the dustbin of the past.
The talk these days is so long as the BN brand is voted out, any other brand will be acceptable to the rakyat. But wait, there is a problem...
The BN government is legally elected for the next five years but the rakyat has become increasingly impatient and can’t wait that long. How to do it?
Legally, this can only be done with BN parliamentarians crossing over to the opposition or parliament passing a vote of no confidence on the PM.
Can we count on our wakil rakyat to stand up and effect a change in government?
With the price increases for fuel, food, utilities and services, the ordinary Malaysian is hard pressed to make ends meet.In such a foul mood, Malaysians are scrutinising every single sen that the BN federal government spends of the rakyat’s money.
How could the rakyat have kept BN in power for 51 years is something beyond words. Having awoken from their slumber, the rakyat can’t wait to dump BN into the dustbin of the past.
The talk these days is so long as the BN brand is voted out, any other brand will be acceptable to the rakyat. But wait, there is a problem...
The BN government is legally elected for the next five years but the rakyat has become increasingly impatient and can’t wait that long. How to do it?
Legally, this can only be done with BN parliamentarians crossing over to the opposition or parliament passing a vote of no confidence on the PM.
Can we count on our wakil rakyat to stand up and effect a change in government?
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Joke Corner
A horse, a cow and a donkey were having an argument about who had most contributed to the war effort.
The horse said he had done the most - ‘Without me, the soldiers wouldn't have been able to ride off to war’.
The cow said she was the one - ‘Without me, there would have been no one to feed the civilian
population’.
The donkey, not to be outdone, said, ‘True....but I was the head of government. Without me, there would have been no war!’
Well done donkey , reward yourself with a kick in the ass!
The horse said he had done the most - ‘Without me, the soldiers wouldn't have been able to ride off to war’.
The cow said she was the one - ‘Without me, there would have been no one to feed the civilian
population’.
The donkey, not to be outdone, said, ‘True....but I was the head of government. Without me, there would have been no war!’
Well done donkey , reward yourself with a kick in the ass!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Why the petrol price hike at this time?
The BN govt. knows that the petrol price hike would result in a backlash against the Govt. but it went ahead regardless. Why? This is the RM13.7b question.
Only Pak Lah has the answer and the ordinary rakyat can only speculate. The coffee shop talk is full of rage against the BN govt.
The official version is that with petrol prices skyrocketing, the govt. cannot afford to maintain the existing subsidy system.True to some extent but 40.6% ? Thats really being insensitive!.So, why did the govt. do it?.
Some say that the country needs the RM 13.7b savings to finance projects with the intention of wooing back the rakyat. The BN states will receive extra allocation .The Opposition States will not get the allocation as punishment for voting against the BN.
Another favorite is that the money is to fund all the Corridor rayas that the govt. has announced
Others say that this is a diversionary tactic designed to get BN to focus and unite on the bigger economic challenges instead of the ongoing internal political fighting.
Yet others say that having failed in using the race card, the BN govt. is now using the economic card to create unrest to justify using the emergency laws to shackle its enemies
One fact though is that the BN govt. promised just before the 2008-March elections, that the price of petrol will not be increased.
The consensus from the raykat is that if an election is held any time soon, BN will surely be swept out of power. Time for Pakatan Rakyat to show Malaysians what they can do.
Only Pak Lah has the answer and the ordinary rakyat can only speculate. The coffee shop talk is full of rage against the BN govt.
The official version is that with petrol prices skyrocketing, the govt. cannot afford to maintain the existing subsidy system.True to some extent but 40.6% ? Thats really being insensitive!.So, why did the govt. do it?.
Some say that the country needs the RM 13.7b savings to finance projects with the intention of wooing back the rakyat. The BN states will receive extra allocation .The Opposition States will not get the allocation as punishment for voting against the BN.
Another favorite is that the money is to fund all the Corridor rayas that the govt. has announced
Others say that this is a diversionary tactic designed to get BN to focus and unite on the bigger economic challenges instead of the ongoing internal political fighting.
Yet others say that having failed in using the race card, the BN govt. is now using the economic card to create unrest to justify using the emergency laws to shackle its enemies
One fact though is that the BN govt. promised just before the 2008-March elections, that the price of petrol will not be increased.
The consensus from the raykat is that if an election is held any time soon, BN will surely be swept out of power. Time for Pakatan Rakyat to show Malaysians what they can do.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Joke Corner: Ask the donkey
The class was discussing the issue of motivation.The lecturer illustrated the carrot and stick approach used on the donkey.
He told them that the carrot was dangled in front of the donkey to motivate it to walk .Sometimes, the stick was used to hit the donkey to walk.
He then turned to the class and asked them which approach is better.
Instead of giving his views, a smart ass student replied, "Why are you asking us Sir ? Logically, you should ask the donkey .The donkey can tell you which method works best for him !?!
He told them that the carrot was dangled in front of the donkey to motivate it to walk .Sometimes, the stick was used to hit the donkey to walk.
He then turned to the class and asked them which approach is better.
Instead of giving his views, a smart ass student replied, "Why are you asking us Sir ? Logically, you should ask the donkey .The donkey can tell you which method works best for him !?!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Datukship for Nicol David?
I would like to suggest to the Penang State Govt to award Nicol David with a Datukship.
It boggles my mind that Malaysia’s best achiever and world class sporting personality has not been given the due recognition that she truly deserves. I have read of lesser mortals who have been conferred Datukship for some some obscure reason or silly feats ,so it does beg the question of why we missed this opportunity?
Can the Penang govt. live up to its motto of “Penang Leads” and give the daughter of Desmond David her due?
This would be the right thing to do and Penangnites will be thankful to the Pakatan State Govt.
It boggles my mind that Malaysia’s best achiever and world class sporting personality has not been given the due recognition that she truly deserves. I have read of lesser mortals who have been conferred Datukship for some some obscure reason or silly feats ,so it does beg the question of why we missed this opportunity?
Can the Penang govt. live up to its motto of “Penang Leads” and give the daughter of Desmond David her due?
This would be the right thing to do and Penangnites will be thankful to the Pakatan State Govt.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Response to Mahathir's letter to the Sun Newspaper
Mahathir’s letter to The Sun newspaper published today , May 9th ,is not a surprise given his well known penchant for selective memory.
Undoubtedly, Mahathir does have an impact in Malaysian politics. BN’s major victory in 2004 was in part due to his exit after 22 years and Pak Lah’s promise of a better Malaysia, in a post Mahathir era.
The ‘Melayu Mudah Lupa’ ex Premier needs to be reminded that it was not just his
UMNOputra supporters who voted against the BN in the last elections.
To be exact, 51 % of Peninsular Malaysians of all races, religions and creed voted against the BN. They are UMNOputras, BN members, Opposition members and non party members.
Why did the Rakyat vote against BN? After 2 months of reflection, I believe most Malaysians know why. The dissatisfaction ranges from economic pressures, govt. abuses & misdeeds, broken promises as well as leadership failure.
One clear outcome of the 12th PRU is that ordinary Malaysians now realize that the real power is in their hands. If they unite, they can unleash a potent tsunami that can flush the corrupt, arrogant and mean into history.
Undoubtedly, Mahathir does have an impact in Malaysian politics. BN’s major victory in 2004 was in part due to his exit after 22 years and Pak Lah’s promise of a better Malaysia, in a post Mahathir era.
The ‘Melayu Mudah Lupa’ ex Premier needs to be reminded that it was not just his
UMNOputra supporters who voted against the BN in the last elections.
To be exact, 51 % of Peninsular Malaysians of all races, religions and creed voted against the BN. They are UMNOputras, BN members, Opposition members and non party members.
Why did the Rakyat vote against BN? After 2 months of reflection, I believe most Malaysians know why. The dissatisfaction ranges from economic pressures, govt. abuses & misdeeds, broken promises as well as leadership failure.
One clear outcome of the 12th PRU is that ordinary Malaysians now realize that the real power is in their hands. If they unite, they can unleash a potent tsunami that can flush the corrupt, arrogant and mean into history.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Joke Corner : Professional Fisherman Will Always Mark Their Spot X
Two friends rented a boat and fished in a lake every day.One of those days they caught an amazing 50 fishes.
So one of the guys said to his friend, “Mark this spot so that we can come back here again tomorrow.”
The next day, when they were driving to rent the boat, the same guy asked his friend, “Did you mark that spot?”His friend replied, “Yeah, I put a big ‘X’ on the bottom of the boat.”
The first guy said, “You stupid fool! What if we don’t get that same boat today!?!?”
So one of the guys said to his friend, “Mark this spot so that we can come back here again tomorrow.”
The next day, when they were driving to rent the boat, the same guy asked his friend, “Did you mark that spot?”His friend replied, “Yeah, I put a big ‘X’ on the bottom of the boat.”
The first guy said, “You stupid fool! What if we don’t get that same boat today!?!?”
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Message to the YAB Menteri Besars & Chief Minister of Pakatan Rakyat
Dear YABs,
The 2008 political tsunami was a clear demonstration of the rakyat’s hunger for change and a resounding rejection of the status quo.
The rakyat that voted you in does not expect you to give them contracts, crony status or other preferential treatment. For the most part, what they want is a better quality of life, and what better way than to start with the 6 states (incl. KL) that Pakatan Rakyat now controls.
Although some matters are under the Federal govt., there are other matters within the purview of the State govt., which can help to improve the quality of life and environment.
In my opinion, the YABs should focus their energies in the following areas within the control of the State Govt:
1. Make the neighborhood clean and livable. Ensure that the garbage are collected, reinforce the anti litter campaign and fine litter bugs. How about regulating painting of buildings? Some buildings are eyesores.
2. Ensure that eating outlets are clean and strictly supervised. Prices of food at govt. built eating outlets should be controlled and in return, rental should be nominal.
3. Rather than build new Parks, spend money to ensure that current parks are in tip top condition. Do park maintenance work on weekdays and during non peak period.
4. Provide at least one playing field in each neighborhood and maintain them properly.
5. Organize functions such as gotong royong, mass aerobics and family day etc to foster better relationship within the neighborhood.
6. Provide sufficient parking areas and slap heavy fines on inconsiderate drivers. Lower parking fees or no parking fees on off days, would help to reduce the burden of the rakyat.
7. Abolish the toilet fee. Make building owners responsible for maintenance of clean toilets. Public toilets should be adopted by private sector sponsors.
8. Do roads work only on Weekends or at night. We don’t want road jams and accidents caused by improperly planned road works.
9. Make State Agencies more efficient and user friendly. 1st on my list would be the Local Councils. 2nd on my list would be the Land Office. These two depts. are notoriously slow, giving rise to “coffee money” or “cable pulling” to speed up the process.
10. Make our neighborhood safer. Although, the Police Dept. comes under Federal responsibility, I believe that there are some things we can do at the State level to improve safety .We can incorporate security & safety features into the building design, adding Guard post, security cameras & fencing. Building owners should be made responsible for security and safety of their buildings.
These little things does not cost that much money but the rakyat will love you more for making Malaysia a better place to live in. And this love will translate into even more votes at the next general elections.
The 2008 political tsunami was a clear demonstration of the rakyat’s hunger for change and a resounding rejection of the status quo.
The rakyat that voted you in does not expect you to give them contracts, crony status or other preferential treatment. For the most part, what they want is a better quality of life, and what better way than to start with the 6 states (incl. KL) that Pakatan Rakyat now controls.
Although some matters are under the Federal govt., there are other matters within the purview of the State govt., which can help to improve the quality of life and environment.
In my opinion, the YABs should focus their energies in the following areas within the control of the State Govt:
1. Make the neighborhood clean and livable. Ensure that the garbage are collected, reinforce the anti litter campaign and fine litter bugs. How about regulating painting of buildings? Some buildings are eyesores.
2. Ensure that eating outlets are clean and strictly supervised. Prices of food at govt. built eating outlets should be controlled and in return, rental should be nominal.
3. Rather than build new Parks, spend money to ensure that current parks are in tip top condition. Do park maintenance work on weekdays and during non peak period.
4. Provide at least one playing field in each neighborhood and maintain them properly.
5. Organize functions such as gotong royong, mass aerobics and family day etc to foster better relationship within the neighborhood.
6. Provide sufficient parking areas and slap heavy fines on inconsiderate drivers. Lower parking fees or no parking fees on off days, would help to reduce the burden of the rakyat.
7. Abolish the toilet fee. Make building owners responsible for maintenance of clean toilets. Public toilets should be adopted by private sector sponsors.
8. Do roads work only on Weekends or at night. We don’t want road jams and accidents caused by improperly planned road works.
9. Make State Agencies more efficient and user friendly. 1st on my list would be the Local Councils. 2nd on my list would be the Land Office. These two depts. are notoriously slow, giving rise to “coffee money” or “cable pulling” to speed up the process.
10. Make our neighborhood safer. Although, the Police Dept. comes under Federal responsibility, I believe that there are some things we can do at the State level to improve safety .We can incorporate security & safety features into the building design, adding Guard post, security cameras & fencing. Building owners should be made responsible for security and safety of their buildings.
These little things does not cost that much money but the rakyat will love you more for making Malaysia a better place to live in. And this love will translate into even more votes at the next general elections.
TDM: 22 “fiascos” in 22 years in power ?
Without Prejudice
Many of those who worshipped TDM cannot understand why Malaysians blame TDM for the woes of the country.
I have compiled excerpts of articles which were published in the media in past years to refresh the memories of Malaysians, as to why many Malaysians feel that TDM did more bad than good for the country in his 22 years.
These 22 “fiascos” were published in the form of questions directed to TDM:
1) On clean government
You came to power in 1981 and introduced the slogan bersih, cekap dan amanah (clean, efficient and trustworthy). What did you do to further that? Did you make the Anti-Corruption Agency more independent and effective? Did you ensure that the police and judiciary did their jobs properly and reduce corruption in their ranks? Did you ensure that ministers and chief ministers not have income beyond their legal means? How many big guns were prosecuted for corruption offences during your tenure? What happened to bersih, cekap dan amanah?
2) Press freedom
Your criticism of the government got plenty of coverage in the local media whereas, during your time, criticisms against you by two former prime ministers were muted in the mainstream newspapers. Editors in Umno-linked newspapers too were removed for not toeing the line. What did you do to advance the cause of responsible press freedom?
3) Proton
You went ahead with the national car project in 1983 despite a number of experts disagreeing with you, especially with respect to the lack of economies of scale. Isn’t it true that Proton’s profits over the past 20 years came from the vastly higher prices that the Malaysian public have had to pay to subsidies Proton, resulting in considerable hardship for Malaysians who need cars because of the poor public transport system? Why was it necessary for Proton to buy a stake in a failed Italian motorcycle manufacturer when it could not even produce cars competitively?
4) Heavy industries
Why did you push into heavy industries such as steel and cement in the 1980s, ignoring studies which suggested developing natural resource-based industries instead? They caused major problems and billions of ringgit in losses.
5) Immigration
Why did you allow hordes of people to emigrate, mainly from Indonesia, in such an unregulated way that there are as many or more illegal immigrants than legal ones now, accounting for some two million or more people? Did you not realize that this would cause serious social problems?
6) Operasi Lalang
Why did you have to resort to this move in October 1987, when you used the Internal Security Act to detain over 100 people, close down four newspapers and cause a wave of fear throughout the country? Was it to consolidate your tenuous hold on power then by using an oppressive law?
7) Judiciary
What was your motive to take action in 1988 to remove the then lord president and several Supreme Court judges from their positions under allegations of judicial misconduct, a move which was heavily criticized by the Bar Council and other bodies? Was it because you needed more compliant judges whose rulings would not threaten your position of power in a number of cases in court? Was this the first step in dismantling the judiciary’s role as a system of checks and balances against the legislature and the executive? What have you to say to repeated assertions by many, including prominent ex-chief justices, who maintain that this led to the erosion of judicial independence?
8) Education
Why did you allow our national school system, which is the ideal place to develop ties among young Malaysians, to become so divisive? Why is it that our local Universities, once the preferred choice of tertiary education, have deteriorated to a level that even students who gained admission prefer to enroll into local private Universities.
9) Malaysian Airlines System
Why did your government sell MAS (private sale) to Tajuddin Ramli who had no knowledge whatsoever about running an airline? Why did your government then later bail out Tajuddin by paying RM8 per share when the shares were trading at only RM3.60 in the open market, costing close to RM 1 billion of the rakyat’s money.
10) Privatization
Why did you allow privatization to take place in such a manner that the most profitable parts of government operations were sold away like Telekom Malaysia,Pos Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional? Toll roads had guaranteed toll increases and compensations in the event traffic projections were not met. Independent power producers had contracts that guaranteed them profits at the expense of Tenaga Nasional .What was the justification of privatizing the government medical stores to Southern Task Sdn Bhd, and the resulting increase of prices of medicines?
11) Putrajaya
What is the justification for spending RM20 billion on a grandiose government city at a time when office space was available in Kuala Lumpur? Could the money not have been put to better use, such as improving educational resources?
12) Indah Water Konsortium
What was the basis of granting Indah Water Konsortium a concession to manage the national sewerage system? Could you explain the RM1.4 billion soft loan to IWK which is clearly has irrecoverable losses?
13) Konsortium Perkapalan Berhad
Why did you rescue Konsortium Perkapalan Berhad (then owned by Mirzan) and which had debts of RM1.7 billion using funds from Petronas? Was it not your administration which forced Malaysian International Shipping Company (MISC) to acquire the assets of Konsortium Perkapalan Nasional?
14) Time Dotcom Bhd.
Why did your administration bail out Time Dotcom Bhd which was saddled with a RM5 billion debt? Why did your government use RM904 million from Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen to buy up 273.9 million of unwanted Time Dotcom shares incurring an instant loss of RM280 million?
Did you not force the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to buy 81.6 million unsubscribed public portion of the initial public offering (IPO) of Time Dotcom Bhd at RM3.30 per share when the shares were trading at only between RM1.95 and RM2.10 and in the process incurring an instant loss of RM100 million?
15) LRT
Why did you bail out the light rail transit operators Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik Sdn Bhd (Putra), which belonged to Renong, and Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn Bhd (Star) using almost RM600 million from EPF, which still resulted in EPF having to write off RM135 million with a share loss of RM96 million?
16) North South Expressway
Why did your administration award North South Expressway concession to UEM (who then formed Plus) and then provide them with a loan of RM1.6 billion which was half of the tender price of RM3.2 billion. What was the justification for your administration to grant Plus such over generous terms, which included annual increment of toll rates and guaranteed traffic volumes?
17) PSC Industries Berhad
Why did your administration in 1998 award a RM24.3 billion contract to PSC Industries Berhad, together with an advance of more than RM2.5 billion to build naval patrol boats? Why were they also given exclusive rights to service the Malaysian navy’s entire fleet? Could you confirm that the first two ships built by PSCI could not even pass pre-delivery trials? How would you answer to the Public Accounts Committee’s revelation that it will cost the government another RM120 million just to salvage the first two vessels nearing completion after seven years?
18) Bakun Dam
Why did you award Ekran Bhd the contract to build the Bakun Hydroelectric Dam in Sarawak? Why did your administration take over the construction of the dam by bailing out Ekran by almost RM200 million for ‘work done’?
19) InventQjaya
What was the basis of inviting Libyan-American Sadeq Mustaffa to Malaysia to set up InventQjaya Sdn Bhd and to also give him a grant of RM440 million? What was the benefit for Malaysia and how has Malaysia benefited? What happened to InventQjaya now?
20) Forex Losses
Why did your administration dabble in speculation of the money market which ultimately cost Bank Negara almost RM9.3 billion in losses?
21) Bank Bumiputra
Why did you allow the mismanagement of Bank Bumiputra, to the extent that it had to be bailed out 3 times, costing the country a total of RM 3 billion? Again, dipping into Petronas’s funds?
22) Perwaja Steel
Why did your administration allow Perwaja Steel to be mismanaged resulting in RM 2.9 million of the rakyat’s money being squandered?
Many of those who worshipped TDM cannot understand why Malaysians blame TDM for the woes of the country.
I have compiled excerpts of articles which were published in the media in past years to refresh the memories of Malaysians, as to why many Malaysians feel that TDM did more bad than good for the country in his 22 years.
These 22 “fiascos” were published in the form of questions directed to TDM:
1) On clean government
You came to power in 1981 and introduced the slogan bersih, cekap dan amanah (clean, efficient and trustworthy). What did you do to further that? Did you make the Anti-Corruption Agency more independent and effective? Did you ensure that the police and judiciary did their jobs properly and reduce corruption in their ranks? Did you ensure that ministers and chief ministers not have income beyond their legal means? How many big guns were prosecuted for corruption offences during your tenure? What happened to bersih, cekap dan amanah?
2) Press freedom
Your criticism of the government got plenty of coverage in the local media whereas, during your time, criticisms against you by two former prime ministers were muted in the mainstream newspapers. Editors in Umno-linked newspapers too were removed for not toeing the line. What did you do to advance the cause of responsible press freedom?
3) Proton
You went ahead with the national car project in 1983 despite a number of experts disagreeing with you, especially with respect to the lack of economies of scale. Isn’t it true that Proton’s profits over the past 20 years came from the vastly higher prices that the Malaysian public have had to pay to subsidies Proton, resulting in considerable hardship for Malaysians who need cars because of the poor public transport system? Why was it necessary for Proton to buy a stake in a failed Italian motorcycle manufacturer when it could not even produce cars competitively?
4) Heavy industries
Why did you push into heavy industries such as steel and cement in the 1980s, ignoring studies which suggested developing natural resource-based industries instead? They caused major problems and billions of ringgit in losses.
5) Immigration
Why did you allow hordes of people to emigrate, mainly from Indonesia, in such an unregulated way that there are as many or more illegal immigrants than legal ones now, accounting for some two million or more people? Did you not realize that this would cause serious social problems?
6) Operasi Lalang
Why did you have to resort to this move in October 1987, when you used the Internal Security Act to detain over 100 people, close down four newspapers and cause a wave of fear throughout the country? Was it to consolidate your tenuous hold on power then by using an oppressive law?
7) Judiciary
What was your motive to take action in 1988 to remove the then lord president and several Supreme Court judges from their positions under allegations of judicial misconduct, a move which was heavily criticized by the Bar Council and other bodies? Was it because you needed more compliant judges whose rulings would not threaten your position of power in a number of cases in court? Was this the first step in dismantling the judiciary’s role as a system of checks and balances against the legislature and the executive? What have you to say to repeated assertions by many, including prominent ex-chief justices, who maintain that this led to the erosion of judicial independence?
8) Education
Why did you allow our national school system, which is the ideal place to develop ties among young Malaysians, to become so divisive? Why is it that our local Universities, once the preferred choice of tertiary education, have deteriorated to a level that even students who gained admission prefer to enroll into local private Universities.
9) Malaysian Airlines System
Why did your government sell MAS (private sale) to Tajuddin Ramli who had no knowledge whatsoever about running an airline? Why did your government then later bail out Tajuddin by paying RM8 per share when the shares were trading at only RM3.60 in the open market, costing close to RM 1 billion of the rakyat’s money.
10) Privatization
Why did you allow privatization to take place in such a manner that the most profitable parts of government operations were sold away like Telekom Malaysia,Pos Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional? Toll roads had guaranteed toll increases and compensations in the event traffic projections were not met. Independent power producers had contracts that guaranteed them profits at the expense of Tenaga Nasional .What was the justification of privatizing the government medical stores to Southern Task Sdn Bhd, and the resulting increase of prices of medicines?
11) Putrajaya
What is the justification for spending RM20 billion on a grandiose government city at a time when office space was available in Kuala Lumpur? Could the money not have been put to better use, such as improving educational resources?
12) Indah Water Konsortium
What was the basis of granting Indah Water Konsortium a concession to manage the national sewerage system? Could you explain the RM1.4 billion soft loan to IWK which is clearly has irrecoverable losses?
13) Konsortium Perkapalan Berhad
Why did you rescue Konsortium Perkapalan Berhad (then owned by Mirzan) and which had debts of RM1.7 billion using funds from Petronas? Was it not your administration which forced Malaysian International Shipping Company (MISC) to acquire the assets of Konsortium Perkapalan Nasional?
14) Time Dotcom Bhd.
Why did your administration bail out Time Dotcom Bhd which was saddled with a RM5 billion debt? Why did your government use RM904 million from Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen to buy up 273.9 million of unwanted Time Dotcom shares incurring an instant loss of RM280 million?
Did you not force the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to buy 81.6 million unsubscribed public portion of the initial public offering (IPO) of Time Dotcom Bhd at RM3.30 per share when the shares were trading at only between RM1.95 and RM2.10 and in the process incurring an instant loss of RM100 million?
15) LRT
Why did you bail out the light rail transit operators Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik Sdn Bhd (Putra), which belonged to Renong, and Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn Bhd (Star) using almost RM600 million from EPF, which still resulted in EPF having to write off RM135 million with a share loss of RM96 million?
16) North South Expressway
Why did your administration award North South Expressway concession to UEM (who then formed Plus) and then provide them with a loan of RM1.6 billion which was half of the tender price of RM3.2 billion. What was the justification for your administration to grant Plus such over generous terms, which included annual increment of toll rates and guaranteed traffic volumes?
17) PSC Industries Berhad
Why did your administration in 1998 award a RM24.3 billion contract to PSC Industries Berhad, together with an advance of more than RM2.5 billion to build naval patrol boats? Why were they also given exclusive rights to service the Malaysian navy’s entire fleet? Could you confirm that the first two ships built by PSCI could not even pass pre-delivery trials? How would you answer to the Public Accounts Committee’s revelation that it will cost the government another RM120 million just to salvage the first two vessels nearing completion after seven years?
18) Bakun Dam
Why did you award Ekran Bhd the contract to build the Bakun Hydroelectric Dam in Sarawak? Why did your administration take over the construction of the dam by bailing out Ekran by almost RM200 million for ‘work done’?
19) InventQjaya
What was the basis of inviting Libyan-American Sadeq Mustaffa to Malaysia to set up InventQjaya Sdn Bhd and to also give him a grant of RM440 million? What was the benefit for Malaysia and how has Malaysia benefited? What happened to InventQjaya now?
20) Forex Losses
Why did your administration dabble in speculation of the money market which ultimately cost Bank Negara almost RM9.3 billion in losses?
21) Bank Bumiputra
Why did you allow the mismanagement of Bank Bumiputra, to the extent that it had to be bailed out 3 times, costing the country a total of RM 3 billion? Again, dipping into Petronas’s funds?
22) Perwaja Steel
Why did your administration allow Perwaja Steel to be mismanaged resulting in RM 2.9 million of the rakyat’s money being squandered?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Lingam-gate tapes
In a week where the KLSE is going south, I must thank Lingam & his cronies for putting a smile on my face.
I picture Lingam looking at the mirror and saying, " It looks like me ,it sounds like me but are you sure it is me ?" Going fast forward, I can see Lingam saying the same thing to his reflection in the mirror at Tanjung Rambutan.
It also tickles me that some enterprising Malaysian ,in the spirit of Malaysia Boleh, has cashed in on Lingam's popularity to come up with "Lingam spoke to me" T-shirts.
As for the former PM's ," Melayu mudah lupa", a "Dr.M mudah lupa" is such a fitting response.
I picture Lingam looking at the mirror and saying, " It looks like me ,it sounds like me but are you sure it is me ?" Going fast forward, I can see Lingam saying the same thing to his reflection in the mirror at Tanjung Rambutan.
It also tickles me that some enterprising Malaysian ,in the spirit of Malaysia Boleh, has cashed in on Lingam's popularity to come up with "Lingam spoke to me" T-shirts.
As for the former PM's ," Melayu mudah lupa", a "Dr.M mudah lupa" is such a fitting response.
The explanation of Tun Eusoff is another joke.Luckily for Malaysia,he has retired from the bench but unluckily for Tun , the circus magician failed to make the little bird disappear from the hat.
With the circus in town, Malaysians can look forward to another week of top rated comedy. Look out for the next episode of the Lingam-gate show! Meantime, could someone get Lingam to speak to me pleasseeee.............
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