Daily Whatevers – Page 29

December 1, 2016

UMNO 70 – Weary Or Youthful?

UMNO is 70 this year.

Whether we like it or not, communal politics shall remain the main feature of Malaysian politics. Although the Federal Constitution places Bahasa Malaysia as the official language and medium of instruction, MCA, MIC and other communal parties including the self-proclaimed multiracial party DAP will continue to fight for the existence of the vernacular schools which is among the reasons this country continues to produce an ever divisive society.

And although the Federal Constitution places Islam as the religion of this blessed nation and although the Federal Constitution also gives the right to for each religion to manage its own affairs, we get BN component parties questioning the Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act amendments which does not affect them and claims that it would lead to double jeopardy – a claim so ludicrous that it makes me wonder how these lawmakers even made it to Parliament not knowing that Article 121(1)(1A) of the Federal Constitution stated clearly that neither the High Court of Malaya and the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak have any jurisdiction in any matters that are within the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court.

And DAP as well as its puppets (PAN, Pribumi, PKR, BERSIH) will hitch a ride on this communal collision course to ensure that the wagon cannot be steered to safety.

The basic question that was raised during the Pemuda and Puteri meetings revolved around the rising cost of living. Ridzuan Ahmad (Pemuda UMNO) from Negeri Sembilan quoted a makcik selling pisang goreng who lamented the rise of fuel prices as well as the smuggling of cooking oil to foreign countries that has caused the removal of subsidies. Norsarfinaz Mohd Azman (Puteri UMNO) of Pahang told the government not to sugar-coat the economic situation from the public.

While the questions above are valid questions, what has the Pemuda as well as Puteri UMNO delegates done to understand and explain things to the masses?

As a layman and a non-UMNO person, I can proudly say I have explained this better to the masses. Therefore, I find it odd that even with a strong Information Machinery, Pemuda UMNO finds it difficult to explain to the masses about the benefits of the withdrawal of subsidies. On the question of hoarding and smuggling of cooking oil, it is not an easy task to prevent smuggling. Nevertheless, one cannot expect the government agencies to achieve success if the public does not cooperate in reporting such activities to them.

I don’t think the government has sugar-coated anything. In his Budget 2017 speech, Najib Razak spoke about the drastic reduction in earnings from the oil and gas industry. This has been made up by the introduction of the GST which saw an increase in the number of businesses having to pay taxes to the government as opposed to them collecting tax from their customers but under-declare earnings to the government previously. Furthermore, household essentials are mostly zero-rated items under the GST scheme thus there is no tax on most food items nor should it affect households.

If it does, then again it becomes the responsibility of the masses to assist government agencies by reporting such occurrence to them. Has this been conveyed to the voters?

We can all whine about the cost of living but what have we, especially those in UMNO done, to actually come up with solutions to accompany the problems that they put forth to the party management? Is it fair that the party management is given the burden to think of solutions but the whole party bathe in all the glory when a solution works without the participation of the grassroots?

Even the non-Malay and non-UMNO Miss Lim Sian See could explain things better than most!

Perhaps, in this final stretch before the 14th General Elections, party wings organise workshops on improving the standards of living rather than go on trips or exclusive makan-makan events.

However, on my Facebook this morning I received a message from a friend asking is the Ringgit really bad and are the rakyat truly suffering? This was the message:

UMNO party members should be more selfless. I watched the commentary by one of the panelists on RTM1 just before Najib Razak delivered his speech and it was an interesting piece when he said the Opposition is more on the ground and stand on the a level platform as do the people in the rural areas, while UMNO members spend more time at high-end coffee places and surround themselves with ‘loyalists.’

Najib Razak also touched on this in his speech:

“Bercakap tentang tanda hormat, acknowledgement and respect terhadap Wanita ini, saya berasa begitu sayu dan tersentuh apabila mendengar cerita tentang wirawati-wirawati Wanita UMNO yang tidak didendang, namun telah berkorban jiwa dan raga demi kepentingan parti.

Kisah tauladan yang saya maksudkan, adalah tentang Puan Saridah binti Ibrahim, Nombor Ahli UMNO 01441342, Ketua Wanita Cawangan Bandar Baru Selayang, juga merangkap Ketua Penerangan Wanita Bahagian Selayang.

Beliau terlibat dalam kemalangan jalanraya sewaktu pulang dari berkempen untuk Barisan Nasional, semasa Pilihanraya Kecil DUN Kajang pada tahun 2014.

Sesungguhnya, saya berasa sungguh sebak dan terharu, melihat keadaan Puan Saridah kini… yang penuh semangat, walaupun dalam keadaan yang uzur, beliau sanggup hadir bersama kita.”

Such is one of the selfless acts that UMNO members should emulate. Najib Razak rightfully gave respect to Wanita UMNO which forms the backbone of UMNO – with 1.3 million members from a total of 3.5 million members nationwide. Pemuda UMNO has about 600,000 while Puteri UMNO has close to 400,000.

However, questioning the race of a GLC boss by a Wanita UMNO member, was not something smart. Arul Kanda is not a Malay although he is a Muslim, but it is his expertise that is sought to handle GLCs in the manner that they should be. We cannot just appoint someone just because he is a Malay and expect things to be rosy. Look at FGV, for instance. I shan’t say more.

Najib Razak also pointed out on how the government has provided medical treatment to its people for next to free. Transformation Centres that run daily until 10pm. And for the benefit of Ridzuan Ahmad and Norsarfinaz, the government provides RM200 in assistance per person for the 400,000 small-scale farmers and rubber tappers during the monsoon season. On top of that, the 60,000 fishermen in Malaysia are being given a special allowance of between RM200 to RM300 per month for the whole year. For padi farmers, RM1.3 billion is provided to subsidise the purchase of seedlings, fertilisers and price of rice to make them more competitive.

Yet, people still call the government zalim not knowing what the word really means.

The zalim are the ones who, when in office, make solemn oaths proclaiming Wallahi Watallahi Wabillahi which all literally mean ‘and by Allah.’ When they are sworn into office, in Parliament as cabinet members, they took an oath Wallahi Wabtallahi Wabillahi to protect government secrets and not disclose them to anyone under whatever circumstance; then as party leaders they swore Wallahi Watallahi Wabillahi to protect the sanctity of Islam as the religion of the Federation, and uphold the Malay rights as leaders of UMNO, yet when they fail to fulfil their self-interests, they leave the party and take sides with those who actually attack Islam and the Malay rights.

Those, as Najib Razak mentioned in his speech, are munafiks (hypocrites).

At 70, UMNO is still young. It shall remain youthful for as long as it is able to draw the support of the younger generation and continues to not only listen to grouses but able to provide solutions as well as explain well to the masses. It is those weary ones, who from the start never align their aspirations with that of UMNO’s (putting self-interest forward) who will cause UMNO to feel weary.

These are the people who would just dump everything, leave, and then attack UMNO out of frustration.

As Najib Razak quoted of the national literary figure Usman Awang and the Melayu-Riau literary figure Tenas Affendy at the beginning of his speech:

Melayu itu orang yang bijaksana,

Budi bahasanya tidak terkira,

Kurang ajarnya masih beralas dan bersantun,

Kalau berkelahi biarlah cara Melayu,

Kalau menikam pula, pun dengan berpantun,

Walau menyanggah dikuntum senyum.

Kalau merayu dan meminta,

Hendaklah pada yang kasih dan sudi memberi.

Mencontoh biarlah pada yang senonoh,

Berteladan pada yang sepadan.

Adil menjadi hakim,

Amanah dalam bersumpah,

Sekalipun begitu,… walau watak Melayu menolak permusuhan, setia dan sabar tiada sempadan,…

biar berkecai tulang,… hatta hancurnya badan,…

pantang pendekar, meninggalkan gelanggang!!!

November 21, 2016November 21, 2016

The Pleb Versus The Noblemen

Whoever is familiar with the study of the Constitution would know Walter Bagehot, an editor, economist and political analyst who also wrote a book called ‘The English Constitution.’ There is one apposite quote of his that I thought befits the current situation and that is:

“Nothing is more unpleasant that a virtuous person with a mean mind.”

The above quote refers to that man who claims to be virtuous but really is the epitome of evil; so evil that Pharaohs would have sought help from God’s Prophets to free them from this person – Mahathir Mohammad.

We have had noblemen leading this country, shining a light upon the path in which this nation walks even through its darkest hour. Tunku Abdul Rahman was the son of the 25th Sultan of Kedah, Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid. Tun Abdul Razak was the son of the 9th Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar of Pahang, Dato Hussein bin Mohd Taib. Tun Hussein Onn was the son of UMNO founder, Dato Onn Jaafar who was the Menteri Besar of Johor.

I was priveleged some time back to a chat with Professor Anthony Milner, a researcher from the Australian National University, an Emeritus Professor, School of Culture, History & Language of the ANU, on the topic of the Malays. We were discussing the origin of the Malays and the ‘Rajas Melayu.’ Interesting to note that our paths converged when we both agreed that the Malays refer to a collection of people of the Nusantara spanning from the borders of Polynesia and Melanesia to Sumatra, who pledged allegiance to the Rajas whose respective dominions were all that they could survey. It was only when political boundaries were defined in a clearer manner that the Malays were defined according to the nation that they lived in.

The antonym of a nobleman would be a commoner. The fourth Prime Minister was not born into the aristocracy like his predecessors, or a prominent religious family like his successor. In short, I would term him a pleb: a low-born, uncultured, coarse, rude, undistinguished – and a personal favourite: scum. His grandfather, Iskander Kutty hailed from the southern Indian state of Kerala. His father was from Pulau Pinang, a school principal.

Mahathir had nothing to show. He had nothing compared to his predecessors. This probably shaped the way he managed this country: through the rule of iron fist, autocratic, dictatorial, enriching cronies and nipotes to prepare him for the end of days. A man who has nothing has nothing to lose. Therefore, it was always his way, or the highway. He had this habit of making enemies everywhere, including the members of the royal households. And as James A Baldwin once said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.”

One would have thought that this nonagenarian would spend the twilight moments of his miserable life repenting for the wrongs he had done, alas no! His perfervid hatred for the man who stands in between him and his undying ambition to ensure that his family would be remembered as an aristocratic bunch rather than the descendants of the evil-smelling Kutty whom had just gotten out of the stowage of a slave ship, has caused him to make a reciprocal turn on all his words, often filled with delusional tales to cloud the minds of those too young to remember anything bad about him. He has nothing to lose.

In 1867, Bagehot asserted in ‘The English Constitution‘ that the Constitution needed two parts: the dignified – to excite and preserve the reverence of the population’ and the other, the efficient – to ‘employ that homage in the work of government’. The monarch was the prime example of dignity in this sense and the Prime Minister and his cabinet of efficiency. Therefore, the monarch, while lacking executive power, had an important constitutional role.

But in 1993, Mahathir, being a pleb and an undignified one too, decided to encroach into the realm of the dignified. Mahathir amended the Federal Constitution with the aim of removing legal immunity of the royalty.The amendments were made at a time when the Malaysian monarchy witnessed a deteriorating relationship with the government (specifically Mahathir). Before the amendments were made, the Constitution granted rulers who have violated the law not to be prosecuted by the criminal court unless he voluntarily wishes to surrender his legal immunity.

This laid the royalty bare and are now subjected to public scrutiny, bringing the royalty and monarchy close to becoming irrelevant. As a result, members of the royalty have been seen to assiduously court public opinion after prolonged years of subservience to Mahathir’s rule (Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, Muhamad Takiyuddin Ismail (2013)).

Mahathir had nothing to lose. These were the Rajas Melayu. He need not show any allegiance to anything Malay as he is not truly one. UMNO was just a vehicle for him to have power in order to make riches. When UMNO went against him he had UMNO declared illegal in 1988. Then he created a new UMNO where playing fields were no longer level and he had automatic nominations as the President of UMNO. What is UMNO to him but just another Malay institution where he, the soupçon Malay felt no allegiance to.

Finally, the Sultan of Johor told Mahathir to shut up. Not once, but twice.

And Mahathir is never concerned about the people of Malaysia. Politics, to him, is what serves only him. Therefore, his call for the people to overthrow the government is a total reciprocal from his way of dealing with demonstrations against him during his premiership. And how was it during his time?

During his time, when people demonstrated against him, he appealed to the participants to use the ballot box to bring about their desired reform. What is his stand now? He incites people to force change undemocratically!

You can watch a video to see how Mahathir had Anwar Ibrahim arrested and the way he had the police to handle those who demonstrated against him when he was the Prime Minister.

As Lord Acton wrote in his letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton on the 5th April 1887:

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”

And in the case of Mahathir he is not just a bad man, but a pleb and a scum.

November 16, 2016November 16, 2016

When God Is Not Lord

Oh! Here goes a Muslim trying to teach Christians about Christianity. I don’t see the wrong in doing so when I see Christians in the form of DAP politicians quoting the Quran teaching Muslims what ‘true Islam’ is. They even do so within mosques and suraus.
I was reading the Malaysia Outlook’s article on a Catholic activist telling Catholics to stay away from the BERSIH gathering on the 19th November 2016. The activist, Joseph Sta Maria has irked fellow Catholics by asking them to refrain from participating in Saturday’s gathering. Among the condemnations against Joseph include the following:

I find it amusing that some people think that Catholicism was borne out of politics. It wasn’t. Catholicism is the earliest form of Christianity that predates the First Council of Nicaea by 325 years! Followers of Jesus of Nazareth believes that Jesus is the son of God which is part if the Trinity concept. After Jesus was crucified and rose from the date, he appointed Peter as the leader, hence the very first Pope.

Joseph Sta Maria is the head of the Melaka Portuguese Community and was appointed as a representative of minority ethnic communities under the state Barisan Nasional’s social service unit (Pembela), an effort by Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron to address the needs, and include the views, of minority communities.

Mixing religion with politics started when Anthony Bernard Paul, the Bishop for Melaka and Johor, openly made a statement in support of BERSIH.

The call by Bernard Paul for Christians to participate in the BERSIH rally invited the criticism by Parti Cinta Malaysia’s Vice President Huan Cheng Guan.

As a Bishop, said Huan, Bernard should focus more on church matters rather than meddling into political matters that were irrelevant to religion.

“Don’t bring religion into politics. It’s unwarranted. I think this is a half past six Bishop. Why urge the people to participate in Bersih rally?”
“A religious figure like him should not encourage the public to go for demonstration or rally. A highly respected religious figure, but he talks like an idiot,” blasted Huan.
I personally find Bernard Paul’s calling as an invitation to anarchy. He gave his reasons for his support of BERSIH which goes along the thinking of Christian supporters if gun rights in the US and Christians might wrongly twist these into excuses for disrespect and disobedience to authorities which is forbidden by God as given in the Bible.

“Every person is to be in the subjection of the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those in exist are eatablished by God.” (Romans 13:1)

The commandment is addressed to all mankind, without exception. Every person is included in this instruction—both believers and unbelievers. Every person is required to be in subjection to the governing authorities. Subjection certainly includes obedience, but it implies even more. Subjection focuses on the spirit or attitude of the individual, which leads to obedience. It recognizes an authority over us to which we are obliged to give not only our obedience but our respect. Whether democratic or autocratic, heathen or God-fearing, every government which has the power to rule over its people has been granted that power and authority by God.

Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

Of course there would still be thise Christians who would believe in Bernard Paul’s calling to the BERSIH rally more than God’s Bible. Given that Christians like Tony Pua, Hannah Yeoh and a few others who continue to lie despite calling themselves Christians, how many Christians actually believe in the Bible?

And how many would remember 2Corinthians 11:14?

“And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

November 13, 2016

Cooking Oil In Numbers

I still see people whine about having to spend 71 Sen to 73 Sen per day on cooking oil. They write this on social media using their recently-purchased iPhone7.

The Malaysian government gives RM1.05 billion in subsidies to 23 cooking oil manufacturers to produce 1.02 billion tonnes of cooking oil per year (85,000 tonnes per month).

Every month, Malaysians use only 45,000 tonnes of cooking oil while 40,000 tonnes go missing and almost always end up in neighbouring countries. That is more than RM494 million in subsidies that should be enjoyed by Malaysians that are being enjoyed by people in other countries.
Don’t you think it is only fair that subsidies remain only for the 45,000 tonnes that we all use while the remaining oil produced go unsubsidised? The 45,000 tonnes are mostly made up of the 1kg polybags while the 40,000 tonnes are mostly in bottle packaging.
The RM494 million should be redistributed in the form of BR1M and other uses where it benefits the target groups as well as other Malaysians in general.
Let us all be pragmatic and realistic about the situation, and more importantly – be mature in our thinking. Let us make sure only WE benefit from whatever assistance the government gives us.

November 9, 2016November 9, 2016

Trumped

Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States of America

A few hours before Hillary Clinton conceded defeat, signs were everywhere that she was heading down the abyss. On Twitter people were talking about moving to Canada while the Canadian Immigration website crashed for reasons not yet known to us. Hillary finally conceded defeat making Trump the President-elect. The next four years of his Presidency is going to be worth watching.

I can understand how the supporters of the Democrats feel right now, my home state of Selangor fell to what was the Barisan Alternatif in 2008 and the first 24 hours was filled with uncertainties. In the end, it was business as usual albeit having to sufer the occasional water outtages as well as incompetent solid wastes collection contractors. Other than that the state runs on autopilot while the politicians in charge of the state are busy giving ceramahs non-stop.

Trump has promised to make America great again. To make America great again America’s military would also be made great. It also means that America’s businesses will be given priority over foreign-owned ones.

How does this augur for Malaysia?

Firstly, the Republican-heavy Congress would not pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement as Trump sees the TPPA as a vehicle that would allow Asian businesses to take over the American economy. If it were to go ahead a major tweaking of the TPPA needs to be done – tariffs would be raised to favour the American economy and that would not go down well with the other potential TPPA partners. Anyhow, with the TPPA still not ratified, Trump is likely to hold to his pledge to withdraw the United States from the free-trade agreement. The good thing from that would be Malaysia’s continued hold on its protectionist policies aimed at preserving the Bumiputra rights as well as the protection for local industries.

Malaysia’s manufactured exports to the US saw an increase by 13 percent recently. With Trump favouring the great American economy, this would be greatly affected since Malaysia’s economy is 90 percent reliant on exports. Nomura Holdings in early July 2016 in a report titled ‘Trumping Asia’ bluntly said that if Trump wins, Asia loses. The Philippines would be the country in the South East Asian region that would be most affected by Trump’s Presidency while Malaysia is fourth after Indonesia.

Chart image from Boomberg with source from Nomura

It is not surprising then to see Prayuth Chan-O-Cha of Thailand, Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Duterte of the Philippines and Najib Razak of Malaysia visit China in May, September, mid October and end October respectively to strengthen economic ties and increase trade with China. These leaders must have predicted that the Democrats would lose to the GOP and knew that if trade is not increased with the largest Asian economic power these nations would stand to lose. Purchasing the Chinese corvettes was definitely a good decision now given that any purchase from the Western powers would come with lots of strings attached.

China is not without danger because of Trump’s Presidency. With levels breaching the USD 600 billion level, China is the US’s largest trading partner, and as President, Trump could impose punitive duties that includes a 15 percent tariff on China for a maximum of 150 days without having to go to Congress for approval.

Militarily, Trump had made a statement on China’s expansion in the South China Sea. “We have rebuilt China, and yet they will go in the South China Sea and build a military fortress the likes of which perhaps the world has not seen,” Trump said. “Amazing, actually. They do that, and they do that at will because they have no respect for our president and they have no respect for our country.”

I am of the opinion that the term “We have rebuilt China” used by Trump is the large balance of payments deficit that the US has with China. If the US could ‘prove’ that China is a currency manipulator, which the US Treasury could easily declare without needing the approval of the Congress, it could trigger a range of trade restrictions against China – a form of pressure for China to ‘respect’ the US as required by Trump to make America great again. Which is why the visit by Najib Razak to China recently was not an act of ‘kow-towing‘ to a Big Brother, but rather saying “Malaysia is a friend, how can you (China) help us so we can help you?” China now needs its South East Asian neighbours as well as Russia as its allies.

We have stepped into an era that will be filled with surprises and not less scarily challenging. The only consolation is that George Soros who finances both the Hillary campaign machinery as well as the Opposition and pro-Opposition organisations in Malaysia will find it hard to thrive. Perhaps as a gesture of goodwill Trump should look into the affairs of the Open Society Institute and how its financing of the Arab Spring has given rise to the terrorist activities in North Africa, the Middle East as well as in South East Asia and take criminal action against the OSI.

As Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister said early this year, “We are all discovering Donald Trump, as he is himself: there is a stream of consciousness approach to policy pronouncements. One can only hope that it evolves towards addressing the strategic interests of the United States in the world.”

There may be a side to Donald Trump that we have not yet seen. Others with better insight into things would probably have a better read of his character. Of course, I am not talking about the Pribumi supremo. He never has anything good to say.

Trump would also need friends as China does, and he would look at nations with leaders who are level-headed as they are smart. I was about to end this post when I saw this Tweet on my timeline:

A tweet by Jonathan Head, BBC's Southeast Asia correspondent — A tweet by Jonathan Head, BBC’s Southeast Asia correspondent

Apparently, not only is Najib Razak a golf buddy of Barack Obama. He is also Trump’s favourite Prime Minister, as signed on a photograph taken of the two of them. As I said, leaders have to have foresight and know what is best for the country he leads. And a line in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII that reminds me exactly of this situation:

Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.

Najib Razak's looking forward to meeting Trump...again — Najib Razak’s looking forward to meeting Trump…again

I call that a masterstroke from a great Statesman.

November 8, 2016

He Is Human? Right!

Of late, I am often spoilt for choice of political comedians. For example, there are several memes of Ahmad Maslan – the ‘Bingung‘ one was particularly funny. Then we have the riddle – What is a Takoyaki without balls? The answer to that one is Sotong.

Then you have Marina Mahathir who today claimed that George Soros cares for human rights.

I am sure George Soros is philanthropic as well as humane. Therefore, I would agree to a certain point with Marina that Soros indeed cares for human rights.

In 1997-98, Soros the human rights defender went on a full frontal assault against the Malaysian Ringgit. Even Marina’s father agreed explicitly to this.

What Soros did was to try bring down old Mahathir whom during his premiership incarcerated his opponents without trial. In a Human Rights Watch reported dated some time in 2001, Mahathir was reported to have detained thousands without trial, and at the time of writing there were 105 ISA detainees in the Kamunting Detention Centre.

Soros is a very generous person. Through his Open Society Institute he had given generously to both the colour revolution in Eastern Europe as well as the Arab Springs of North Africa and the Middle East. Since then 65,000 people have been killed in Syria; 435,000 are internally displaced in Libya while 2.5 million have left the country through migration or by becoming refugees; about 2,000 died in Egypt. Soros has also been funding the Opposition and Opposition-friendly organisations such as BERSIH and Malaysiakini (where a director is also a former Soros employee) – perhaps for a Malaysia-spring.

I did not make those figures up the way Rafizi, Tony Pua and Syed Saddiq would. You can see them for yourselves HERE .

Therefore, you must also remember when Soros attacked the Asian financial systems in 1997 and 1998 he also caused the deaths of thousands in Asia – all died in misery after wallowing in mental pain and total despair.

So Marina, Soros is NOT a champion for human rights. He is just interested to see the world spins the way he wants it to – much like your father, only on a global scale. They both have their caprices.

I hope you will find a better joke the next time, Marina. It has been a delightful afternoon. If you can’t find a better joke then just remain as one.

Oh! If only you could now see my face all lit up with impish glee!

November 7, 2016

Shut Up, Sotong!

Shut up, says the person who has lost court cases for not stating facts and lie to the people

“Shut up if you don’t have the facts,” said PKR’s Rafizi Ramli to Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki on the latter’s claim that Tabung Haji (TH) has initiated a suit against him (Rafizi). In his Facebook Dr Asyraf has refused to debate with Rafizi on an issue involving TH saying that it isnow a legal issue between TH and Rafizi.

Rafizi, however, is most famous for getting sued for making false allegations and getting his ‘facts’ wrong, and lose in court.

In 2012, he made allegations that funds from a government defence contractor was used to purchase 80 percent stake in Astacanggih Sdn Bhd. The then Defence Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, promptly filed a suit against Rafizi. Rafizi told portal The Malaysian Insider in the 26th January 2013 that he would stand by his allegations and fight Zahid in court.

“Yes, I will face the suit. I will go through this issue with my lawyer. If he (Zahid) sues me, good. We will subpoena all the documents,” he said to The Malaysian Insider.

However, on the 9th April 2013, Rafizi applied for the High Court to reject the writ of summons filed by Zahid! In his statement of defence Rafizi on the 5th April 2013 Rafizi denied defaming Zahid and in the end removed all the allegations against Zahid from his blog post.

The above is a fact.

On the 24th November 2014, Rafizi defamed Rosmah Mansor, wife of Najib Razak, at a forum in Bandar Tun Razak claiming that the rising fuel prices was to allow Rosmah to buy diamond rings. In his defence when sued by both Najib and Rosmah, Rafizi said that he was only joking!

The above is also a fact.

Just a week ago Rafizi was ordered by the High Court to pay RM200,000 (approximately USD47,733) to National Feedlot Company’s Chairman Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail and also to the Company for defaming them.

In the suit filed on 3rd June, 2013, Mohamad Salleh and NFCorp, claimed that on 7th March, 2012, Rafizi had made a defamatory statement at a media conference at the PKR Office on the purchase of KL Eco City properties and was published by Malaysiakini on the same day.

He said the suit was filed because of losses incurred due to the lies, misleading information, disclosure of confidential banking information and slander made by the defendant.

The above is another fact.

Therefore, it is Rafizi in my opinion who should just shut up as it is an established fact that he is nothing more than a habitual liar.

Let us hope Strike Four will bury him deep.

November 5, 2016

The Black Plague

For those who claim that they are Malaysian yet cannot speak the language, let me translate to you what His Royal Highness The Sultan of Johor said above:

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me remind you of a sickness that has come to Johor, that is caused by a deadly virus.

This virus is worse than the Zika virus because it has no known cure. If a heart attack could cause immediate death, this virus could cause a lifetime of suffering.

This virus that I am talking about is called disunity.

This virus is carried by a new political party and is spread by its members. This virus is deadly because there it is difficult to cure. When society is infected, it destroys the people’s lives and also the nation’s prosperity.

Therefore I hope that my rakyat will stay away from this virus. Use your wisdom and don’t regret later.

The carrier of this virus will bash the government and incite the people to hate the leaders on a daily basis, and then turn a blind eye on the benefits that the government has brought them. When their agenda is not achieved they will just leave society to suffer.

I speak as an elder or as a father who loves unity and wish to see my rakyat live in peace and tranquility. I do not want to see my rakyat in disunity and I loathe certain individuals. They have personal agenda and incite the people to quarrel among themselves.

When there is discord the rakyat will live in misery and when that happens don’t turn to me (for help).”

There is one party that was recently formed that has come to Johor and fit that description. The illness that is bring could only be called the ‘Black Plague‘. It seems to be the term closest to the description of the carriers mentioned by HRH The Sultan of Johor.

Which party do you think is being referred to? Would you care to hazard a guess?

November 4, 2016November 4, 2016

In Hot Oil

Bottled cooking oil - subsidised by the government but sold outside the country — Bottled cooking oil – subsidised by the government but sold outside the country

As soon as the government announced the removal of cooking oil subsidy for all types of cooking oil except those in the 1kg packs, all hell broke loose. Housewives got into the panic buying mode while unscrupulous traders went on a cooking oil hoarding campaign. Any store you go to you would either be allowed to buy just one or skg of cooking oil and nothing more. Some stores have even ‘run out‘ of cooking oil.

But have they really run out of cooking oil?

Every day now we would get news of stores, vacant houses being raided and tonnes of cooking oil discovered by the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism officers. It is obvious that store owners are hoarding to profit from the increase in cooking oil prices. That is causing the ‘shortage’ we are seeing now.

So, why remove cooking oil subsidy?

Every month, the government subsidises 23 cooking oil producers to produce 85,000 tonnes of cooking oil per month. Studies show that Malaysians only use 45,000 tonnes of cooking oil per month. Approximately 40,000 tonnes are accounted for and are believed to have been smuggled to other countries. These producers/companise that smuggle out these cooking oil double their profits through the subsidies received from the government, and also for selling the oil at a higher price abroad!

It is the bottled type of cooking oil that have been found to be smuggled abroad because they have better mobility than those in the 1kg packets. 1kg packet-cooking oil are used mainly by those from the lower income bracket. This is why the government is maintaining subsidies only for the 1kg packets while the bottled ones have theirs removed. This way, the subsidy reaches the intended group, while the subsidies removed from bottled cooking oil could be put to better use to assist those in need through some other means.

I am all for the removal of subsidy and the chanelling of subsidies removed to address the needs of the lower and lower-middle income groups. Why should I complain about it? The 5kg bottled oil that will cost me RM15.25 this month can last my 10-member household three weeks. So that comes to about 71 sen per day! You people spend more on cigarettes yet you complain about cooking oil!

Get a life!

October 27, 2016October 27, 2016

Investigating The Hospital Sultanah Aminah Tragedy – Part 2

There is a huge possibility that the culprit of the tragedy is electrical fire. In a previous article I discovered that out of the five fire incidents prior to the tragedy, three were electrical fires, the last incident bekng on the 15th October 2016. What I discovered next is alarming:

A Harian Metro headline of a scoop that was first exposed by TV9’s daring and no-nonsense senior broadcast journalist Zulhazri Abu Bakar

We wonder if fire prevention and electrical safety audits took place at the Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) at all. The Minister of Health, in a briefing to the members of the Dewan Rakyat assured us that it has been done.

Impressive! Electrical maintenance is being done every quarter, half yearly and annually.

But look at how messy the wiring is, and this photo was taken after the second electrical fire incident that occurred in the Operating Theatre on the First Level. Let us take a closer look:

The above does not resemble The quality of electrical work done by a person certified by the Energy Commission to carry out such works. And by the look of it, this has definitely gone through several annual electrical inspection and maintenance schedules but obviously no corrective action has been taken. My question is, were the scheduled audits and maintenance mere paper exercises? Or in the words of safety practitioners – tick the boxes exercise?

According to the JBPM statistics collected between 1990 and 2002, electrical fire is the largest contributor of fire incidents. Regulation 67 of the Electricity Supply (Regulation) Act, 1990 requires a minimum of one inspection per month by a competent person of electrical installations not exceeding 600 Volts!

For larger voltage installations it is obvious that the frequency has to be increased! All these regulations are in place to provide the guidelines for building owners to perform routine inspections and maintenance to minimise incidents of electrical fires!

Obviously the concessionaire tasked with ensuring that everything is in good order, Medivest Sdn Bhd (formerly known as both Tongkah Medivest and then Pantai Medivest) had not done its job as required! The Energy Commission’s Regional Director Idris Jamaludin was spotted heading a nine-men team of electrical and gas experts into the HSA and we anxiously await their findings.

The Minister continues:

The HSA had requested last month for a fire drill to be conducted. This request I was told, was turned down by the Fire and Rescue Services Department (JBPM) because the HSA was not equipped with a fire-fighting systems control panel and nor were there the respective floor plans included in its fire safety plan!

How could fire drills be conducted if the fire safety plan is not complete? Which begs a question from me – when was the last Fire Certificate issued to the HSA?

Word has it that between 2014 and 2016, no fire and evacuation drill nor fire-fighting training was ever conducted. The last drill and training that was recorded was in 2009! Therefore it is safe to say that the last Fire Certificate was obtained then! How is it possible that Medivest Sdn Bhd, a company that was given the 30-year concession to maintain the operational safety of our hospitals be allowed to do things against whatever safety laws and regulations that are there to protect lives and government properties? Are they not suppose to conduct at least one training per annum as briefed to the Dewan by the Minister?

This is by no means a witch hunt. This is borne out of frustration and the utter disbelief that such complacency and incompetence are allowed to flourishby especially the state health department and the top management of Medivest Sdn Bhd.

Lives have been lost! Dozens more affected by their loss and injury! Millions of Ringgits worth of government properties have been lost because some people do not do their job as expected!

Heads therefore must roll!