Who’s The Boss?
5 January 2009 | 62 Views | View blog reactionsMan, this is right out of a Tamil movie:
Malaysian Indian political leaders from both sides of the country’s political divide are heading to Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu in India this week to attend a conference which is likely to be an explosive affair.
Malaysian Indian political leaders from the MIC, DAP and PKR are heading for the southern Indian city to attend the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, better known as the Indian Diaspora Conference, starting Wednesday at the Chennai Trade Centre.
The event will also be attended by representatives of the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
… MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu will lead a 150-member delegation comprising top brass and divisional leaders of the Barisan Nasional component party.
… The DAP would send a 20-member delegation, led by Penang Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy.
… PKR, meanwhile, would be sending a 40-member delegation. [The Star]
Sure gaduh besar punya.
Headcount-wise, Samy wins.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that he will emerge victorious at the end of the day:
… Malaysia would have four speakers: Samy Vellu, Ramasamy, Malaysian Human Rights (Suhakam) Commissioner Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria and Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, who is also the MIC secretary general.
After each speaker has delivered his address, the floor would be given at least 15 minutes to seek explanations from the speaker, and this is where trouble is expected.
This could easily get out of hand.
Maybe they should get Rajinikanth to moderate the Q&A.
Francis Yeoh Wants More
5 January 2009 | 184 Views | View blog reactionsSerious power play here:
YTL Power International Bhd has submitted proposals to grow its business in a move that would test the government’s resolve over an important policy.
… YTL Power wants to extend its power purchase agreement (PPA) with TNB by another five years to match the useful life of its power plants.
It also wants a licence to build a new plant that will double its total capacity in the country.
YTL Power also proposed for the new plant to use subsidised gas from Petroliam Nasional Bhd. [Business Times]
Why does our dear Tan Sri want all this?
Well, basically:
For YTL Power, having new plants allows it to expand in a lucrative business. YTL Power makes up about 70 per cent of the YTL group’s profits.
It is also important because its existing contracts to sell power to TNB are expiring.
YTL Power’s concession, for instance, will expire in 2015.
“70 per cent of the the YTL group’s profits”.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is how you amass obscene riches.
Build a power plant that uses heavily subsidised gas to generate power that TNB must buy — all of it — at exorbitant rates.
I hope the Government tells YTL exactly what I would, with regards to what the company should do with its proposal.
I hope energy, communications and multimedia minister Shaziman Mansor, who by the way is KJ’s relative, does the right thing.
It is, after all, only the rakyat’s money we’re talking about here.
I HAVE to say, Umnoputras need not necessarily be Malays.
Others have also benefited from the much-touted “power-sharing” arrangement that UMNO so loves to talk about.
Racy Blog
2 January 2009 | 219 Views | View blog reactionsI didn’t notice that Dr Mahathir’s blog had moved to a new domain. It’s now at www.chedet.cc.
That’s not the only thing new at Malaysia’s #1 blog — you can now buy advertising space there.
When I first saw “Advertising Spaces Available” on the blog, I’s going, “Wait a minute, the Old Man can’t be hard-pressed for money”.
After all, he’s got his pension and a kedai roti to tide him over.
(And shouldn’t it be “Advertising Space”, instead of “Advertising Spaces”?)
The banner ad under the blog masthead is an ad for the rental of industrial-strength safe deposit boxes.
Maybe Dr M is suggesting that we shouldn’t trust the banks with our money in times like these. I’s just joking … heh heh heh (nervous laugh).
I was thinking of taking out an ad on the blog but the rates are beyond me. The top banner position costs RM1,000 a day. And smaller ad space on the sidebar goes for RM400 a day.
That’s pretty good shit, if you ask me.
Anyway, the people marketing the ad space is a company called Mutual Digital Sdn Bhd.
The chairman and director of Mutual Digital is one Dato’ Wan Lokman bin Dato’ Paduka Wan Ibrahim.
Wan Lokman is on the record has having been (I don’t know whether he still is) the executive director of First Cartel (M) Sdn Bhd.
First Cartel used to organise the Tour of Langkawi … you know, the bike race.
In 2006:
… the government bailed out First Cartel after they ran into financial losses in the organisation of the previous Tours.
The government had forked out RM3.4mil (RM2.3mil from the Youth and Sports Ministry and RM1.1mil from the Tourism Ministry) to First Cartel to settle their debts with the International Cycling Federation (UCI) so as to ensure Malaysia got the right to continue staging the Tour. [The Star]
Dr M doesn’t need the extra money. Maybe he’s just helping out a good friend.
And why not? It’s his blog. He can do whatever he likes with it.
Party Pooper
30 December 2008 | 202 Views | View blog reactionsThis is hilarious:
The proposed “mega sex party” here [Johor Baru] to usher in the new year is seen as nothing more than a “mega con”.
The authorities feel that the only place where such a party could be held is at the sandfly-infested mangrove swamp which is hardly a conducive setting for G-string clad women and nude men. [New Straits Times]
I can think of worse places to have sex.
… Apparently, the party organisers required all males to attend the function without their underwear while the females had to go in g-strings and be prepared to take it all off when the clock struck midnight. [The Star]
Apparently, you won’t need to be entirely naked — attendees will be allowed to to leave their wristwatches on.
… “A sex party is against our culture and religion and if it went on, it would damage the country’s reputation worldwide,” she [Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman] stressed. [New Straits Times]
Somehow, I don’t think it would damage the country’s reputation. We might even see an increase in tourists from the Middle East.
… The [Johor Religious] department believed that the matter was simply a scam by culprits to make quick money.
“Nevertheless, we are looking at coastal stretches along the east coast in Kota Tinggi and Mersing,” he [a religious department official] said.
“The possibility of such a party taking place is remote but we are not leaving anything to chance. [New Straits Times]
That’s a long stretch, Kota Tinggi to Mersing. They will need volunteers to patrol the beaches.
Those interested, please show up either without underwear or in g-string, preferably before midnight. The dress code is to enable the patrol squad to blend in and work “under cover”, if they were to stumble upon such a sex party.
Those not dressed in the proper attire — males in g-strings, for example, regardless of their willingness to take it all off, before or after midnight — can and will be arrested for tarnishing the country’s reputation.
Datuk Seri Azalina will personally vet the applicants.
Flying Under The Radar
30 December 2008 | 276 Views | View blog reactionsHave any of you read AirAsia tycoon Tony Fernandes’ message posted on Rocky’s Bru?
The much-maligned man says:
Hi, All readers of Rocky’s Bru especially the anonymous ones.
… It’s a shame that the majority of you would like us to fail despite us carrying 60 million people who never flew before and us giving employment to 6,000 people.
It is tiring trying to defend ourselves, we have done so much for the country and only recently after 7 years are we beginning to finally get a level playing field .
… I am not hiding and am willing to answer any questions. Negativity will be the end of Malaysia. I have said it in my blog and I say it again. We all have to change, we have to work together, change what is wrong and make Malaysia a better place. When you see a company that has obviously made Malaysia a better place and some of the comments I read it saddens me.
… Rocky, as mentioned to you, I’m free anytime to do an interview and your readers can pose all the questions. But be brave Malaysians and don’t hide under anonymous.
Tony’s tired of bloggers and blog commenters taking pot-shots at him and his company behind the cover of anonymity.
I’ve never criticised the good man or his company, but I suppose some of the people that I have criticised probably feel just as frustrated and angry as he is.
Tony wants us to “be brave Malaysians and don’t hide under anonymous.”
Many Malaysians are brave, Tony.
And many would like to speak their minds and have people know that they are the ones saying it.
It’s just that some really powerful people in this really wonderful country of ours mind very much when we Malaysians do speak our minds, and these powerful people can do some really mindless things to impress upon us the error of our ways.
You know it, Tony.
So you need to separate those who use anonymity for this reason, from those who use it for more devious purposes.
But still, it’s good advice. Advice that maybe, you and your company should also take to heart:
1. AirAsia’s budget fares will go even lower with at least a 15% reduction in prices when the airline’s proposed low-cost terminal opens in Labu, Negri Sembilan, in February 2011.
A senior AirAsia official said the airline’s plan was always to look for a cheaper venue to lower costs as it was paying about RM100mil in airport fees yearly to Malaysia Airports Bhd. [The Star]
2. Also present was an AirAsia official who said both Sime Darby and AirAsia have not yet received the official letter for the project from the Economic Planning Unit, but expect to get it in the next few days.
On the management of the new LCCT, he said the carrier may appoint a sub-manager.
“But we will be very involved in the construction of the new LCCT. Where we don’t have the expertise, we will bring in that expertise,” he added. [Business Times]
Who are these people, Tony … this “senior AirAsia official” and that “AirAsia official?
The articles I mention above were not the only times that “officials” of your company were quoted by the media; there have been other times.
That’s not to mention the “sources” that sometimes pop up to tell the media of positive developments involving AirAsia.
I’m sure these people, these officials of your company, are the brave Malaysians you are urging us to be.
It’s ok. I understand. There were probably circumstances that did not permit them to be “officially” (pardon the pun) quoted.
What I want to know is — did they (you?) “prefer” to remain anonymous because of the threat of some personal discomfort?
You know, like if I was found out, I would probably get visited by some “friendly” people who wish only to give me some “friendly” advice, lose my job — that kinda thing?
Or was anonymity used to test the waters, prepare the way and effect some benefit for you and your company?
Happy New Year, Tony.
Say What?
23 December 2008 | 377 Views | View blog reactionsNow this is interesting.
The recent debate between Husam Musa of PAS and Khairy Jamaluddin of The Emperor’s New Clothes, which involved an exchange on Hudud laws, was reported on by The Star on Dec 21 as thus:
Khairy launched another attack on Husam when he asked whether hudud law would be implemented if Pakatan Rakyat had taken over the Government on Sept 16.
Husam gave an assurance that hudud law would be implemented if they had taken over.
Associate Prof Mohd Agus added fuel to the already hot topic and asked Khairy if he would push for hudud law if he became the Umno Youth chief.
Khairy smilingly replied that he would, which resulted in shouts among PAS supporters in the hall. [The Star]
But The Malaysian Insider now tells of a twist with regards to The Star’s report:
Speaking to The Malaysian Insider earlier, Khairy denied he had backed the implementation of hudud during his debate with Husam.
Khairy, who has in recent weeks been campaigning on a more inclusive agenda in the race for the top job in his party’s Youth wing, was quoted by The Star as saying he supported the implementation of hudud, in what would have certainly damaged his reputation among more moderate Muslims and non-Muslims.
The Star later retracted the report. [The Malaysian Insider]
First of all, the report is still available online.
And The Star’s take on what happened might not be inaccurate after all, if this report by Suara Keadilan is to be considered:
Both Umno Youth Chief aspirant Khairy Jamaluddin and PAS vice president Husam Musa said they would push for the introduction of hudud - Islamic law that regulates the bounds of acceptable behaviour and the punishments for serious crimes - once they come into power.
… The hudud remarks were made during a forum-cum-debate entitled Malaysian Political Reformation.
“I give the guarantee that we will carry it out,” said Husam. “Why must hudud laws be the agenda of PAS when all Muslims must be responsible for them?”
… Husam’s forthrightness led Associate Prof Mohd Agus - also participating in the forum - to ask Khairy point-blankly if he would push for hudud law if he became Umno Youth chief.
Khairy, the 32-year old son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said he would.
Many in the audience were taken aback by his answer.
“It contrasted against his earlier remarks about multi-racialism and how important it was for Malaysians to shift to a new paradigm. With Husam, well, PAS and DAP have never been hypocritical about their opposing stands,” said a spectator who declined to be identified. [Suara Keadilan]
The Suara Keadilian report was written by Wong Choon Mei, an experienced and respected journalist who resigned from Malaysiakini recently to take responsibility for an unsubstantiated story.
Is The Star standing by its story?
What about Suara Keadilan’s report?
Did Khairy say what he was reported to have said?
Who is lying; who is not?
Merry Christmas
23 December 2008 | 124 Views | View blog reactionsAaah, this is nice:
The Employees Provident Fund could end up owning three of the best pieces of real estate in the Klang Valley — and in the process boost government coffers by several billion ringgit.
Government sources told The Malaysian Insider that an EPF-led consortium is a cusp away from snaring the 204 acres in Jalan Cochrane while the EPF with its unmatched financial muscle is the clear favourite to buy a tract of land at the sought-after Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia in Sungai Buloh and Jalan Ampang.
In November, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the government would be monetising some of its assets, including pieces of valuable real estate. For a start, government-owned land in Jalan Cochrane, Sungai Buloh and Jalan Ampang would be placed on the market. [The Malaysian Insider]
Well folks, it looks like the working class will soon be proud owners of prime land in the Klang Valley.
Now, this will not be a simple case of EPF buying the land and selling it off at a profit.
There will be a development aspect to these deals, whereby property developers will be involved.
Money will be made via the selling and/or leasing out of the property to be developed.
But I suspect it is EPF which will fork out the bulk, if not all, of the money to buy the land.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as EPF gets reasonable returns from the investment.
Oh, we also have to make sure that after EPF buys the land, it is not then “persuaded” to relinquish ownership of the assets at a price that is less than reasonable, or worse, lower than what it initially paid for.
THIS IS an early Christmas present for the Government and maybe, assorted other interested parties.
Who said Santa Claus doesn’t exist? We just got the location of his residence wrong.
Santa doesn’t live at the North Pole. He lives near the equator.
Fitting My Square Foot Into A Round Hole
22 December 2008 | 182 Views | View blog reactionsIt cost the Government a total of RM1.088 billion, or RM25 per square foot, for a 404-hectare piece of land and infrastructure work comprising “land filling works, building drains, roads, bridges, pipes and providing water supply” .
The sellers of the parcel of land, Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), had bought it for RM3 per square foot, or a total of about RM130.46 million.
Sans infrastructure, the “barren land” would have cost the Government RM10.16 per square foot, or a total of about RM441.82 million, we are told.
That means the cost of the infrastructure concerned amounted to about RM646.18 million.
Oh, this is Port Klang Free Zone, by the way.
Now, the new low cost carrier terminal to be built in Negeri Sembilan will cost RM1.6 billion.
The terminal will be built on a 2,800-hectare site, and will include a 7km branch road to link it with the North-South Expressway, a 3km spur line from the railway station in Labu, and a 7km Express Rail Link connection with KLIA.
I’m sure that construction will not only involve the building of the terminal itself and the transport links mentioned, but also “land filling works, … drains, roads, bridges, pipes and … water supply”.
At RM1.6 billion, the total cost is equivalent to about RM5.30 per square foot.
Let’s assume the figure excludes the cost of land acquisition (although I doubt it), and throw in say, another RM1.6 billion for the site. Heck, for argument’s sake, let’s also throw in RM1.6 billion for the road and rail links.
That’s still only RM15.90 per square foot in total. In 2008/09 prices.
Ten years ago, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, with a total area of 10,000 hectares, was completed at a total cost of about RM10 billion — or equivalent to about RM10 per square foot.
That was in 1998, just a year before KDSB made it’s initial RM28 per square foot offer.
So RM25 per square foot is reasonable, eh?
Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat said the Government initially felt the price of RM25 per square foot was too high, and wanted the land to be acquired at a more reasonable price via the Land Acquisition Act.
But the Selangor state government at the time said it was not possible, as a development order had already been issued to KDSB in 1997.
The Government settled on RM25 per square foot in 2002, three years after KDSB had made its first offer of RM28 per square foot in 1999.
Ong said yesterday that RM25 per square foot was a reasonable price, not only because it includes “infrastructure” costs, but also in comparison to the price of land in surrounding areas, which “is about RM21 per square foot”.
Now when was it RM21 per square foot — today or in 1999?
I doubt it was RM21 per square foot back in 1999, as several years before that, KDSB purchased the land that was to become the site for PKFZ for only RM3 per square foot.
And in 1999, we were still feeling the impact of the Asian Financial Crisis, remember?
Whatever.
I think RM25 per square foot is an unreasonably high price to pay because it seems to me that RM646.18 million is too much for the job of “land filling works, building drains, roads, bridges, pipes and providing water supply”.
But what do I know.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the internal auditors, is to issue a report on all this, according to Ong.
We’ll see. Or maybe we won’t.
Back To Square Zero
21 December 2008 | 296 Views | View blog reactionsPAS vice president Husam Musa says the party will push for Hudud laws if the Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election.
He said the “burden” of implementing such laws did not fall only on PAS’s shoulders, but is also the responsibility of all Muslim leaders.
I think we should settle this Hudud issue once and for all.
It is a bit rich for PAS to keep on harping on its “vision” of an Islamic state — which but of course, includes Hudud — knowing full well that it will not be able to get enough votes to be in the position to actually put in place such a state.
In other words, PAS needs to, on its own, garner enough support to form the Federal Government before the party can implement it.
I suspect that pigs will discover Bernoulli’s principle and take to the air before that happens.
In the way is UMNO, PKR, DAP, MCA, MIC, and assorted other political objectors, not to mention a sizeable number of voters.
So to suggest that something is imminent when in fact it dun have a chance in hell of coming to fruition, is kinda hypocritical.
Now, some PAS leaders might argue that the religion requires the implemention of Hudud to at least be a goal of every Muslim political leader.
I say that you don’t need Hudud to have an Islamic state, certainly not in a country where you have a very large non-Muslim minority.
Can anyone show me an example of a state that implemented and executed all the rules and regulations of Islam, at all times?
Medina, during the time of the Prophet?
It would be wise for PAS leaders to remind themselves that the non-Muslims there and then voluntarily agreed to be bound by the rule and dictate of the Prophet.
Key phrase: Voluntarily agreed to.
In this day and age, in a country that practices democracy (sort of) and with a diverse population like ours, such a voluntary agreement is by and large wishful thinking.
So, lets not be held back by what is basically angan-angan and confuse it with realistic expectations.
Let’s focus on an Islamic state that emphasises universal ideals and principles, a state that most, if not all Malaysians, can agree to, and one that is utterly attainable.
The sooner that PAS snaps out of its dogmatic political approach, the better it will be for everyone.
I CHALLENGE the leaders of the party, my party, to put their money where their mouth is and demonstrate their “commitment” to Hudud law by withdrawing from Pakatan Rakyat, going back to having an ultra-conservative, Hudud-laden Islamic state as their primary and sole political platform, and contesting in every Muslim majority Parliamentary constituency in the next general election.
Go ahead and walk the talk, dudes. After all, isn’t God on our side?
No Parking
16 December 2008 | 373 Views | View blog reactionsWe’re gonna provide a RM500 million loan for a bleeding Legoland theme park:
The government is likely to be tapped for a loan to kick-start the development of the proposed Legoland theme park in south Johor in view of the current credit crunch which has made funding tougher and more expensive to obtain.
A senior government official told BT that the joint venture behind Legoland Malaysia was expected to approach the federal government for a loan not exceeding RM500 million.
“It is difficult to get loans now, so it will have to be Malaysian government sponsored,” he said of the park which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013.
Should the government agree to a loan of RM500 million, it would provide two-thirds of the project funding — a point critics could conceivably latch on to as evidence that the theme park might not be otherwise commercially feasible. [Singapore Business Times via The Malaysian Insider]
Don’t get me wrong. I love Lego. And I would love to take my kids to the Legoland theme park in Iskandar once it’s open for business.
It’s just that I can’t afford the pricey toys.
But it now seems I (and you, dear taxpayer) will get a chance to pay for some Lego brickhouses, whether I agree to it or not.
RM500 million is a lot of money. And I would rather the government spend it on some real housing for the poor.
The article above also said “although Legoland Parks managing director John Jakobsen has projected a million visitors annually to the park, some remain sceptical of the theme park’s future given Malaysia’s hot and humid climate.”
True. But the point here is that if Legoland Parks is confident of getting that many visitors, why is it difficult to get funding for the project from more traditional sources?
Wait a minute. I forgot. This is Malaysia. Taxpayer funding of projects with questionable commercial viability is a tradition.
THAT SAID, the article is from the Singapore Business Times.
The Singaporeans are shit-stirring here, knowing full well that Malaysia, the land of the free and the home of the brave, is going through some pretty interesting times, and that people like me would be outraged to find out taxpayer money is to be spent on building a theme park.
Just a few paragraphs after the article calls into question whether Legoland Malaysia would be able to attract visitors due to Malaysia’s “hot and humid climate”, it lets on that “Singapore’s upcoming Universal Studios in Sentosa could also prove challenging despite the contentions of Legoland backers that both attractions would be “complementary””.
Dudes, last time I checked, Singapore also has a frickin hot and humid climate. And therefore it’s gonna be frickin hot and humid in Sentosa.
Maybe Singapore’s legendary cleanliness somehow makes it feel cooler. Or the city’s sidewalks reflect heat better because they’re bubblegum-free. Whatever.
Sejuklah Singapura.
