Ignorant? Stupid? Or agent provocateur?My late brother underwent a brain surgery in Sydney four years ago this month because the congenital condition called arteriovenous malformation was the largest any neurosurgeon had ever seen here. I was there for about two weeks to encourage his post-surgery progress.
One morning as I walked from the hotel across the street to the hospital I saw a man, evidently recovering from a keyhole prostate surgery standing outside the hospital building smoking a cigarette. He was from Ireland and was in Sydney for a holiday when he had to undergo an immediate surgery.
He asked me what I was doing there and where am I from. When he heard the name Malaysia his eyes widened and said, “Good God! I would have gone to Malaysia for this surgery if I could. It costs a bomb here. My sister met an accident in Malaysia and was in a government hospital to undergo corrective surgeries and it was dirt cheap and good too!”
It costs RM1.00 for a person seeking outpatient treatment to see a doctor, and RM5.00 to see a specialist. The medicines are given for free. Surgeries would cost a bit more. My daughter underwent an appendectomy and that cost me less than RM100.00. No doubt she had to be in an open Class 3 ward but the pre and post surgery care was better than in most of the private hospitals I have been admitted to.
A foreigner would have to pay a lot more. Even then it would still be cheaper than seeking treatment at a private hospital in Malaysia. My former maid fell and broke her forearm and I was forewarned that it would cost me a lot to send her for treatment at a government hospital. It cost me about RM1,200 if my memory serves me right to have her undergo surgery to have her broken bone screwed into place.
The Full Paying Patient is a program that allows someone who could afford such luxury, or has a good medical insurance scheme, to obtain virtually personal medical care at a government hospital at a very competitive price. Not only that, if you or those close to you suffer from cancer, there is a National Cancer Institute that provides treatment at very affordable price.
I am also baffled by complaints by fellow veteran servicemen about the lifetime allowances given to athletes who excelled during the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro recently. What the veterans never realise is that apart from the monthly pension that they receive (for those who served until pensionable age) the 85,000 veterans receive free medical care for the rest of their life and that definitely costs more than the RM3,000 that is given to less than twenty athletes. Imagine the cost the government has to fork out as a token of appreciation for services rendered.
In the latest 2017 Budget announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak today the government continues to put importance to health of the veteran servicemen and the rakyat‘s. RM55 million have also been allocated to help veterans handicapped during the counter-insurgency periods. RM25 billion have been allocated for the upgrading of hospitals and government clinics, provision of equipment for cardiology treatment, and the operation of Klinik 1Malaysia, mobile Klinik 1Malaysia, government clinics and also rural government clinics.
On top of that RM110 million have been allocated to open up private haemodialysis centres and to assist almost 10,000 people who cannot afford medical care.
Now who says that the government does not care for the well-being of the rakyat? A certain nonagenaric has-been politician even said the government has no money to help the rakyat. Probably due to his age he has forgotten that his medical bills for the repeated treatments at the National Heart Institute is all paid for by the government of Malaysia led by Najib Razak.
As the Malay saying goes: “Kufur Nikmat.” Which is why I often laugh at him nowadays.
Indian seamen being rescued from a sinking vessel. This has nothing to do with this article but it shows the desperation
Every time I read Mahathir’s postings on his blog, I would imagine him writing it himself and then pass it to probably his trusted aide, Sufi, to do some research and fill in the blanks before passing it back to him for the final touch before the article is posted at chedet.cc. The URL used to be chedet.com if I am not mistaken but due to some dispute with the previous administrators the URL is now the current one. The administrators, while working for him, displayed their support for another contender for the Ketua Pemuda UMNO post instead of for Mahathir’s son, Mukhriz. Anyhow, the contender they supported lost the race, and so did Mukhriz. Mahathir was furious when he found out that they did not support his son and as the story goes, the two quit without ever disclosing the password for chedet.com.
I have never worked for Mahathir or for any other politician for that matter. I just write whatever I feel like writing. But I don’t have the same privilege that is someone to do the research for me. So when I read his latest post The 2017 Budget I felt disappointed that the research done was just as good as mine if not worse.
Mahathir wrote:
5. Why will the Government not have the money? It is because Government money is not used for good governance, for the development of the country and the well-being of the people.
This is like shooting blanks. The East Coast Highway began construction in 2001. The project was first announced in 1994 for a new highway that would stretch from Karak to Kuala Terengganu but construction was delayed due to the Asian Financial Crisis. When construction commenced, the highway was shortened to only Kuantan as a lesson by Mahathir to the people of Terengganu whom had voted PAS instead in 1999. You should remember what I wrote in a previous article on how vindictive Mahathir was towards the people of Kelantan and Terengganu for their support for PAS then. So, Mahathir too never spent money for the well-being of the people. Only his cronies prospered whenever projects are implemented.
The 11th Malaysia Plan has lined up many projects that would benefit the youth, the handicapped, the minorities and those who live in traditional villages. Three pilot projects will be implemented for the youths under the 1Malaysia Youth City program in the Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak. For children between the age of 13 and 18 residing in welfare institutions they would be given the opportunity to undergo the Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) to provide them with skill sets for them to face the world when they become independent. A micro-credit scheme would be introduced to the Chinese community under the Chinese New Villages Special Loan Scheme program while a blueprint for the betterment of the Indian community will be prepared.
Six new hospitals will be built while three hospitals namely the Tawau, Kota Marudu and Miri Hospitals would be upgraded. As it is, the Sri Aman Hospital would be completed as soon as possible. On top of that, 165 new Klinik 1Malaysia will be built nationwide to provide basic medical care for those in the rural areas.
Unlike under Mahathir, the Pan-Borneo highway that has begun construction will be toll free. Mahathir had had to make the people pay for the construction of highways despite claiming that the government had much more money under his administration and we in KL especially are still paying for the sins of Mahathir in the form of extended toll concessions to his cronies. And for 22 years the people of Sabah and Sarawak had to endure endless ferry rides to get from one place to another while bridges have been and are being built under Najib’s administration despite not having any money as claimed by Mahathir. AND NO TOLL EITHER!
More Mass Rail Transit and proper extension of the Light Rail Transit to benefit the people in the Klang Valley have and are being constructed as compared to the time under Mahathir’s 22 years when the government seemingly had more money. Double-tracking rail project, High-Speed Rail project and most recent was the announcement on the new East Coast Rail Link that would benefit the people of the very region Mahathir hated very much.
So where was your good governance or your concern for the well-being of the people back then?
Mahathir Wrote:
7. For this the Prime Minister has created sinecure jobs for a lot of loyalists. There are now nine Ministers, three Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department.
8. There are now 51 divisions in the Prime Minister’s Department. The budget allocation for the Prime Minister’s Department has risen from RM5.2 billion in 2000 to RM20 billion in 2016, a four folds rise. It is 13 per cent of the 2016 budget of RM267 billion. It was less than four per cent between 2000 and 2008.
The Prime Minister’s Department is being run by the Chief Secretary to the Government. It now includes agencies that were not there during Mahathir’s time such as the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA/APMM) whose jurisdiction goes beyond the 12-nautical mile statutory limit of most of our Acts, enforces the EEZ but is not under the Ministry of Defence as it is not a military force. So who is to look after the development and the legislative requirements of the agency if not a Minister? The same goes for the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) which looks after the security of Sabah’s east coast from intrusion by foreign paramilitary units. The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) also falls under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department and that has to be headed by a Minister as given by the Act. The Istana Negara, the Parliament, the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission, the Elections Commission, the Economic Planing Unit, they all come under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department. Not forgetting Mahathir’s own Secretariat Office for the Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad which did not exist prior to his resignation as the Prime Minister. So is he complaining about the budget that the Prime Minister’s Department is giving his people so they can write lies and bite the hand that feeds them? Maybe Mahathir’s cook needs to be pulled out. I don’t know what has the cook been feeding the old man that his mind has gone from that of a statesman to that of an estate’s man.
Mahathir Wrote:
10. Under BR1M, 7 million people got initially RM500 each. Now they are promised RM1,000. There will be more increases next year.
11. At RM500 it will cost the Government RM3.5 billion. At RM1,000 it will cost RM7 billion.
12. Perhaps the very poor would benefit but for most of the recipients RM500 for a year is meaningless. The better thing to do is to give the really needy, the hard core poor sufficient monthly allowances to support their lives. For the rest create jobs and train them. But the Government is not encouraging job creation. Local industries are not supported. But imports are encouraged.
RM7 billion it would cost the government to give out BR1M.
BR1M would be chicken-feed for Mahathir. His cronies spend RM1,000 at Chawan in front of Bangsar Village or at the Bangsar Shopping Centre to feed his bloggers.
It may be a one-off thing but that means a staggering amount of RM7 billion gets circulated in the economy. Being a layman my understanding of that would be that when there is more money in circulation, jobs are being created as people have more spending power. At RM500 or RM1,000 per person it may not seem much, but by having that extra money to spend encourages spending. Purchases will be made, demand is created, production needs to be increased, more business opportunities for new industrial players, and therefore more jobs are created.
It may not matter to Mahathir that it increases the disposable income of the lower income groups; it boosts consumer sentiments as it increases domestic consumption – the higher the amount of BR1M, the higher the domestic spending. With subsidy cuts and spending more on BR1M Malaysia’s deficit has been reduced with a much larger chunk of the economic wealth going to those who need it the most.
And under the 11th Malaysia Plan the government is committed towards having 11,000 physically-challenged individuals to work for the government while in the five economic corridors in the Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak alone 470,000 jobs will be created.
Mahathir Wrote:
19. The level of borrowings by the Government has reached record levels. Future generations will have to pay these loans.
20. All these will not show up in the budget. But the people will know as they struggle to make ends meet.
Singapore has a US$1.76 Trillion external debt with a Debt to GDP ratio of 106%. Our debt stands at RM630.5 billion (US$150.6 billion) while our GDP is at RM1.157 Trillion (US$276 billion) making our Debt to GDP ration 54.5%. If Singapore is not panicking then why should we?
In fact, if we compare the first seven years of Mahathir’s administration against Najib’s we can see that we should have gone bankrupt (in the words of Mahathir’s lackey Kadir Jasin) when our Debt to GDP ratio was well over 100% for two years in a row!
Mahathir’s First Seven Years (1981-1987) with Hussein Onn’s Debt to GDP ratio in 1980 at 44% only
We could see that not only debt had increased during Mahathir’s first seven years, GDP also fluctuated and was at its highest point in 1987 yet debt was much higher!
Compare that to Najib’s first seven years and we can see
Najib’s First Seven Years despite the slump in oil prices in 2014 has seen an increase in GDP
As a matter of fact, the bad performance of Debt to GDP ratio during the 1986-1987 period under Mahathir was not the only time when the economy was in a critical situation going by Kadir Jasin’s definition, the country’s GDP was at negative 7% when Mahathir carried the country through the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998 – which was worse than when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ran the country during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 which was at negative 1.5%!
So is Malaysia on the verge of bankruptcy? “Although we were faced with the drastic fall in global crude oil prices in 2015/2016, which caused the government to lose more than RM30 billion in revenue, the country still recorded a positive economic growth which was 6% in 2014, 5% in 2015 and 4.1% in 2016 (6 months),” said Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.
And despite losing that much revenue, the government could still finance its projects – thank you in large to the implementation of the GST which has allowed the government to have an alternative source of income and reduce the dependency on the the price of oil. To add the strawberry on top of that cake is that the inflation rate of 3.43% upon the implementation of the GST program has been reduced to less than 2% this year.
Perhaps Mahathir ought to fire whoever it was who helped research for that article of his. Such a waste of allocation from the Prime Minister’s Department. Seriously!
Small in numbers, about 5% of the total Mamak population but rather loud and “glaring”. Though mostly from the 3rd Graded colony, they have graduated well and have an ability of a Chameleon (or think they can) with the Malays. Some examples of these low dignity Melayu Celups are Ahmad Rizal Naina Merican, Sheik Hussein Mydin and Zambry Kadir carrying the Mamak trade mark glaringly. But if they are lucky they will look like the controversial Sharifah Zobra or Mahathir Mohamed. Let me give you a secret, any names that ends with Naina, Kadir, Mydin, Merican, Pakir, Jabeen, Shaik, Mubarakh, Mohammad (no reference to the Prophet Mohamed S.A.W.) are downright, flat out, no doubt, true blue Mamak Tongkang or the immediate descendant’s.
Daulat Tuanku – Sultan Muhammad V has been elected as the 15th Yang DiPertuan Agong
Sultan Muhammad V, the 29th Sultan of Kelantan, has been elected to become the 15th Yang DiPertuan Agong by the Council of Rulers today. His Royal Highness shall be replacing Tuanku Al-Haj Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, the Sultan of Kedah whose tenure will end on the 12th December 2016.
For months whispers have been flying around that HRH Sultan Muhammad V would not be eligible be elected as the YDP Agong as he is not married. However, there are only three reasons for a nominated Sultan to be disqualified;
He is not an adult,
He has made known to the Council of Rulers that he wishes not to be nominated, or,
Five of the Rulers vote against his nomination for reasons such as being mentally or physically challenged, or for some other reason.
The second and third reasons were used during the discussion to elect the First Yang DiPertuan Agong where Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang was the most senior Ruler after Sultan Sir Ibrahim of Johor who had declined the nomination due to old age (Sultan Sir Ibrahim passed away on the 8th May 1959). He became the Sultan of Pahang on the 24th June 1932. However, Sultan Abu Bakar’s nomination was rejected FIVE TIMES by the Rulers because he was a controversial figure – he had financial difficulties and had wanted to marry a perempuan ronggeng (Abdullah Ahmad, 2016 p.141). Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was then the Chief Minister of Malaya advised Sultan Abu Bakar against marrying this woman named Hathifah binte Abdul Rashid if he wanted to become the Yang DiPertuan Agong. Sultan Abu Bakar agreed.
However, Sultan Abu Bakar married Hathifah anyway and Tunku only discovered so when they were honeymooning in Hong Kong (Straits Times, 21st April 1957).
Early this morning, the infamous portal Malaysiakini and the Malaysiakini-wanna-be Malay Mail Online both reported that the Sultan of Johor had declined the offer to become the next Yang DiPertuan Agong, quoting a Facebook page and not official sources.
It has been a norm that the Raja or Sultan with the most seniority would be considered as the candidate for the post of the Yang DiPertuan Agong. All the nine states have since provided a Yang DiPertuan Agong and the list of seniority is as follows:
The Yam DiPertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan,
The Sultan of Selangor,
The Raja of Perlis,
The Sultan of Terengganu,
The Sultan of Kedah,
The Sultan of Kelantan,
The Sultan of Pahang,
The Sultan of Johor,
The Sultan of Perak.
With the ascension of the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, as the ninth Yang DiPertuan Agong, a new official list was made based on the seniority of the states that have provided a Yang DiPertuan Agong previously. Whether or not Johor was offered is not known but such offer could only be made had the Sultans of Kelantan and Pahang declined the nomination. It would seem impossible for the Sultan of Kelantan to reject such offer only to accept it later when the one that should have been offered next is the Sultan of Perak.
Such is the uniqueness of the office of the Yang DiPertuan Agong that was institutionalised on the 31st August 1957. It was first to be called the Yang DiPertuan Besar but was rejected by the Rulers Council in favour of Yang DiPertuan Agong. Every five years the Rulers would meet to elect the next Yang DiPertuan Agong and the Timbalan Yang DiPertuan Agong. Although some say that this is similar to that practised in the United Arab Emirates, the office of the President of the UAE is a hereditary office of absolute monarchies. They are the government whereas in Malaysia the government is elected by the people and is dismissed by the people through general elections. And unlike in the UAE, the Rulers council cannot dismiss a Prime Minister or anyone else without the advise of the Prime Minister. Therefore, a recent attempt by Parti Pribumi member named Mahathir to get the Rulers Council to intervene and dismiss the Prime Minister is just a futile and cheap attempt to lie to the people of Malaysia. Of course, there would be those mentally-challenged people who would believe that he is right.
With the election of Sultan Muhammad V as the 15th Yang DiPertuan Agong it is hoped that this would bring about a much better cooperation between the PAS-led Kelantan state government and the Barisan Nasional-led Federal government. Such cooperation would be very beneficial to not only the development and people of the state of Kelantan, but also to the Malays and Islam in Malaysia that are coming under constant attacks by Malay liberalistas, evangelists and chauvinistic politicians opposed to Malay unity and the position of Islam as the Religion of the Federation.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej meets a well-wisherHe was born on the 5th December 1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and his name was written only as ‘Baby Songkla‘ on his US birth certificate as his parents had to await for an auspicious name from King Rajadhipok (Rama VII). Eventually, a name was given – Strength of the Land, Incomparable Power (Bhumibol Adulyadej).
King Bhumibol became the world’s longest serving monarch by chance. King Rajadhipok abdicated in 1935 making Bhumibol’s brother Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) the King of Thailand at the age of nine. The throne was thrusted upon him when Ananda was found dead with a gunshot wound in the Grand Palace in 1946.
Under military rule, Bhumibol was nothing more than just a constitutional monarch with very little role to play. That changed in August 1957 when Sarit Thanarat and the Royalists seized power from Plaek Phibunsongkhram. From then on, Bhumibol strived to make the Royal family relevant to the people of Thailand once again and Sarit assisted in making Bhumibol the ‘Development King‘. Bhumibol embarked in rural development projects especially in areas then controlled by the Thai Communist Party. He was always seen with his second daughter, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn who would help take down notes during visits to the rural areas.
Although his subjects are required to not stand or walk any taller than the King, even prostrating at official occasions, Bhumibol would always sit on the same level with the peasants he visited – a gesture that allowed his subjects to open up to him about their problems. It is such gesture that not only made him most revered by the Thais, but made the Royal institution relevant in the eyes of the people too.
In later years, Bhumibol’s role would slowly be taken over by Princess Sirindhorn making her the more favourable heir to the Chakri throne than her elder brother, Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Vajiralongkorn may well be succeeding Bhumibol but whether he would have the same touch as his father had with the subjects remains to be seen. He must now shine on his own and not be overshadowed by the legacy created by his father and sister Sirindhorn. The Thais would now be looking up to him as Rama 10.
And for the Thais, they have lost the only King they have ever known in their lifetime, and an excellent one too – a gift from God, they say.
Rest well, King Bhumipol Adulyadej. Rao rak Nai Luang.
The Opposition (DAP, BERSIH, Pribumi) is just recycling old issues. No matter if the issue raised had been clarified or debunked countless times before. I did not include PAN in the parentheses because it would be ridiculous in my opinion to even consider it a political party given the cartoon characters that fills its ranks. Not even BERSIH’s convoy in Penang could garner more than 50 supporters to join its convoy in that staunch Opposition state! A sign of times, perhaps? Issues like 1MDB is being played over and over again, especially by Mahathir’s Das Schwarze Korps but hardly gained any traction as people are bored of the same story being played repeatedly with goalposts changed to suit the message they try to send.
So, what should they do next?
Enter His Majesty Yang DiPertuan Agong.
Mahathir’s Das Schwarze Korps creating a perception that the YDP Agong has the power to dismiss the Prime Minister
Before the independence of Malaya in August 1957, there were three parties to the discussion on the subject of the independence. They were the Malay Rulers of the Federated and Unfederated Malay States; the British who, by virtue of treaties signed with the Malay Rulers, helped administer their respective state; and the Alliance party (UMNO, MCA and MIC) who, by virtue of winning all but one seat in the 1955 General Elections was the de facto voice of the people of Malaya. Save for Pulau Pinang and Melaka, the rest of the states in Malaya were NOT colonies of Great Britain. Therefore, the discussion was about the transfer of administrative powers from the representatives of the Malay Rulers (the British) to a government formed through the elections by the people of Malaya. 31st August 1957 was an independence from feudalism, not colonialism. (Read SeaDemon: The Road to Merdeka – Whom Did the British Prefer?, 17 September 2011)
You must understand that while the Rulers retain some of their functions, the government is run by those elected by the rakyat. This was done to ensure that democracy in then-Malaya was not to do away with the Malay Rulers. Therefore, Mahathir’s attempt to get the Rulers Institution to dismiss Najib Razak for someone else as the Prime Minister, there is nothing that any of the Rulers could democratically do. The Rulers, although above the law, are not above the Federal Constitution. Like with the British advisors, there is virtually nothing that the Rulers could do without the advise of the Prime Minister or the Menteris Besar to affect the state or Federal administration except in a few circumstances.
Article 43(2) of the Federal Constitution states that:
2) The Cabinet shall be appointed as follows, that is to say:
(a) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister) to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House; and
(b) He shall on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint other Menteri (Ministers) from among the members of either House of Parliament
What it says here is in order to have a functioning government, the Yang DiPertuan Agong would have to first appoint a Prime Minister who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat members. The term ‘who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House‘ here is critically important and we shall visit this aspect later. This term and Article must be read together with Article 40(2) of the Federal Constitution that says:
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may act in his discretion in the performance of the following functions, that is to say:
(a) the appointment of a Prime Minister;
(b) the withholding of consent to a request for the dissolution of Parliament;
What it means according to Article 40(2) of the Federal Constitution is that the Yang DiPertuan Agong has the discretionary power to appoint the Prime Minister subject to his own discretion but limited to the ambit of Article 43(2) of the same. In Article 43(5) states that only Ministers can be dismissed by the Yang DiPertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister:
Subject to Clause (4), Ministers other than the Prime Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, unless the appointment of any Minister shall have been revoked by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister but any Minister may resign his office.
In Teh Chang Poh vs PP (1979 – 1 MLJ 50) William John Kenneth Diplock (Lord Diplock) opined the following:
Although this, like other powers under the Constitution, is conferred nominally upon the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by virtue of his office as the Supreme Head of the Federation and is expressed to be exercisable if he is satisfied of a particular matter, his functions are those of a constitutional monarch and except on matters that do not concern the instant appeal, he does not exercise any of his functions under the Constitution on his own initiative but is required by Article 40(1) to act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet. So when one finds in the Constitution itself or in a Federal law powers conferred upon the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that are expressed to be exercisable if he is of opinion or is satisfied that a particular state of affair exists or that particular action is necessary, the reference to his opinion or satisfaction is in reality a reference to the collective opinion or satisfaction of the members of the Cabinet, or the opinion or satisfaction of a particular Minister to whom the Cabinet have delegated their authority to give advice upon the matter in question.
Therefore, Constitutionally-speaking, the Prime Minister can only be replaced in only two circumstances:
when the Prime Minister loses the majority of support of the members of the Dewan Rakyat (therefore the appointment of a new one would have to be based on the judgment of His Majesty the Yang DiPertuan Agong that has the most majority support of the Dewan, or,
A General Election causes the Prime Minister to lose his parliamentary seat, and His Majesty would have to appoint one before appointing a Cabinet as prescribed in Article 43(2)(a).
The Yang DiPertuan Agong therefore cannot act ultra vires.
So, why is Mahathir’s Schwarze Korps so eager in pushing the idea of the Rulers Institution being able to remove a Prime Minister?
The answer is: propaganda that only zombies would accept at face value.
I guess Mahathir’s interest in ousting Najib Razak is just so one of his Pribumis could be appointed as the Prime Minister. For that reason he is trying to make a pact with Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR. He knows that his lie about the powers of the Agong to remove Najib Razak will soon be debunked, and that it is just noise – no substance. Therefore, he would need to work with PKR, DAP and jumpers from the BN to oust Najib Razak in accordance with Article 43(2)(a).
However, despite declaring that Muhyiddin would become the Prime Minister if the Opposition wins, we all know that the protem President of Parti Pribumi would never make it as the Prime Minister. Muhyiddin has far too many baggages that would be easy to pick on. His son Mukhriz is the favourite contender. He said so HERE.
Mahathir’s confession that he wants his son Mukhriz to become the PM instead of Muhyiddin
I still remember reading the above article when I was doing a search on water woes almost four years ago. 53 years after the formation of Malaysia we still have places that have no regular treated water supply. Hence, I find it disgusting that RM114 million in cash was found stashed in a house in Sabah by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission recently which does not include the ones that are still stashed in five vaults that are yet to be opened.
According to this portal called Anti-Fitnah Sabah the latest bust by the MACC is related to the Sabah water project that commenced in 2010 costing the Federal Government RM3.3 billion under the purview of the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (Kementerian Kemajuan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah or KKLW).
The project was executed and implemented by the KKLW with very minimal participation of the Sabah Water Department (Jabatan Air Sabah or JAS) whose role was to prepare through a limited tender process 10 local companies to carry out the project.
These companies are controlled by the Director and Deputy Director of the JAS. They are Ag Mohd Tahir bin Mohd Talib and Ir Teo Chee Kong respectively. Ag Mohd Tahir IS NOT the Treasurer for UMNO Bahagian Kimanis as claimed by a certain disgruntled menopausal whining auntie in Perak. That would be Datuk Rizal @ Raymond Godfrey Abdullah, whom I seriously hope would sue the auntie.
Although the Sabah State Government had requested for the funds that is channeled through the KKLW to be channeled through the State Treasury, the request was never approved.
Now how many water projects under the KKLW has there been? Although I’ve taken the liberty to post some screenshots of the projects here, thanks to a world wide web friend but you can also see the documents on a public domain.
Now, that is a lot of projects and they go back as far as 2011. Who was the Minister for KKLW then? Shafie Apdal. He was minister from 10th April 2009 until his removal in the 29th July 2015. Is he involved? I don’t know. Let us see the outcome of the MACC investigation but the Anti-Fitnah Sabah blog surely allows us an insight into the goings-on in Sabah.
RM114 million is a lot of money. You could finance at least 20 candidates in a general election.
Despite lesser budget, the annual joint exercise between the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) dubbed ANGSA (short for ANGkasaraya and SAmudra) for 2017 will be executed as planned. Asked at the closing ceremony of Exercise ANGSA 11/16, Chief of the RMAF General Tan Sri Roslan bin Saad TUDM said that there is no necessity for the joint exercise to be put on hold.
“Both the Air Force and the Navy who will become the host for next year’s exercise will ensure that the budget will meet the requirements of the objectives of the exercise,” he told reporters at the No.18 Squadron’s auditorium. “It is important that the Malaysian Armed Forces grasps its interoperability requirements especially when such need arises.”
On the question of the replacement of the medium-range surface-to-air missile for the RMN’s Laksamana-class corvettes, Vice-Admiral Dato’ Anuwi bin Hassan TLDM said the RMN Commanders Committee Meeting shall discuss the replacement of the ASPIDE system.
Exercise ANGSA 11/16 involved a Command Post Exercise and for the first time sees the involvement of elements of the Malaysian Army.
Dato Sri Najib Razak flanked by Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong at the press conference in Germany at 1500UTC (11pm Malaysian time) on the 28th September 2016Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 3-day visit to Germany has been a success. Starting with a dialogue session with German Business Leaders made up of 24 German renowned companies and four Malaysian companies that have invested in Germany, together with various trade and industrial associations that have operations and investments in Malaysia. This dialogue session focused on the manufacturing sector as Germany is a renowned high-technology industrial nation that is highly innovative especially in the automotive, machineries, electrical and the electronics sectors.
The objective of this dialogue session was not only to inform the German business community about the two-way trade and investments between the two nations, but also to obtain feedbacks and views from German investors. With Germany being the largest trading partner from the European Union, with investments in the manufacturing sector reaching USD11.4 billion, it is apt for Malaysia to propose itself to become the host for the 16th German Asia-Pacific Business Conference. The last time Malaysia played host to this conference was in 2000.
Najib Razak also witnessed and attended MoU signing ceremonies and trade discussions with companies that are involved in the pipeline, semiconductor, aviation, automotive as well as the shipping industries with one company committing to a second wave of investment to set up three competence centers.
The Prime Minister also held a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel discussing international terrorism, the refugee situation as well as the South China Sea disputes.
In another development, Najib Razak says that Malaysia wants to see those involved in the crime of the downing of Flight MH17 to be brought to justice, and would like to see nations involved to hold a discussion to identify the ways forward to fulfill promises made to the victims’ next-of-kin.
It is unfortunate that Mahathir thinks that Malaysia has slid into the abyss of failed states when she continues to enjoy the confidence of foreign businesses and investors and continue to prosper under the stewardship of Najib Razak.
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi delivering his speech at the 71st UNGA in New York – photo courtesy of BERNAMA
I admit I cringed when Zahid Hamidi delivered his speech at the 71st UNGA in New York yesterday. My wife and cousins were in fits. This wasn’t the first time that I cringed when a Malaysian stood in front of an international audience delivering a speech or presentation with a poor command of the English language. The first was the late Tun Ghafar Baba who also delivered a speech on behalf of the government also at the UNGA 27 years ago next month talking about the Antarctic Treaty System. In various oil and gas meetings and conferences, I had to endure speeches delivered by Malaysians and cringed everytime they burst out in a self-made English-sounding slang to accompany their already poor command of the English language. Definitely Zahid et al need to brush up their command of the English language. However, there have been meetings and conferences that I have attended where even non-Malaysian speakers struggle with their English-language presentations and discussions. It is not just Malaysians who have this problem.
Most of those who criticise Zahid are those who still use ‘CONGRATES’ and/or ‘STUCKED.’ And many cannot even converse in Bahasa Malaysia despite having Malaysian birth certificate and identity card. Zahid could of course speak in Bahasa Malaysia, Javanese, a Chinese dialect (his foster father is a Chinese) and as we know now, some English. My only complain is of the quality of some of the English language teachers that we have. I still see some English teachers on social media
Grammar?
We have had two reports on the importance of Bahasa Melayu becoming the National Language published prior to the 13th May tragedy (Razak Report, 1956 and Rahman Talib Report, 1960). The Mahathir Mohamad Cabinet Report (1985) emphasised the importance of Bahasa Melayu as the unifying language for all races in Malaysia. In fact, Article 152 of the Federal Constitution and the National Language Act 1963/1967 have uphold Bahasa Melayu as the National Language. The Razak Report pointed out not only should the medium of teaching in schools be in Bahasa Melayu, but also for a uniformed curriculum to be taught at all schools. However, this was not thoroughly implemented. Children still went to schools with different medium of language. Different languages instill different values; and the use of Bahasa Melayu as a medium of teaching became a serious issue (Abdullah Hassan, 1996: 265).
As an outcome of the 13th May tragedy, political leaders got together and agreed that a single language as a medium of teaching is the way to foster unity amongst the different races of Malaysia. Tun Datuk Patinggi Hj Abdul Rahman Bin Ya’kub, the Education Minister in 1970 instructed all English-medium schools to use Bahasa Melayu in stages. Only a few Chinese schools continued to teach lessons in Mandarin (Abdullah Hassan, 1996: 266).
The rift is getting worse now. We have chauvinistic organisations championing the right to teach subjects in the vernacular to their students, while the National Language becomes just one of the subjects. Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Myanmarese now have better command of the National Language than many of the people’s representatives. Who are we to blame? So, stop complaining about Zahid. If he can improve his command of the English language, can you improve your Bahasa Malaysia too?
General Tan Sri Roslan bin Saad TUDM, Chief of the RMAF
“We would like to see at least a 20 percent participation of the non-Bumis in the RMAF,” said the Chief of RMAF, General Tan Sri Roslan bin Saad TUDM to reporters after witnessing the Farewell Parade for Major General Dato Ahmad Tarmizi bin Elias TUDM, the outgoing Chief of Staff (Administration) at the Air Force Training Institute in Ipoh.
“Right now, they number between 5 percent to 10 percent in a force of about 15,000,” he added. “We need all the expertise that we can get as we have aircraft with high technology, electronics, computers where they can contribute their skills and expertise in the defence of the nation.”
“20 percent is not the ceiling but that is the minimum level of non-Bumi participation that we would like to see in the RMAF.”
Low pay is the excuse given for not joining the Air Force which is not the case. Diploma holders could earn a basic pay of between RM2,300 to RM3,000, while degree holders start at RM3,600. On top of that there are allowances that they can be eligible for depending on the trade they are in. This does not include other perks such as free medical and dental treatment at the various Armed Forces Medical Centres as well as housing. Even a recruit could earn up to RM1,200 inclusive of service and special service allowances upon completion of training.
The RMAF used to have about three non-Bumi generals (from the rank of Brigadier General) out of a total of 10 back in the 1980s. In the current line up there are only three out of about 40. The non-Bumis have to realise that they have as much responsibility as the Bumis do in defending this nation. Among the youngsters we could see how non-Bumi children partake in physical games such as paintball, or electronic war games on computers but this however does not translate into their participation in the Armed Forces in general. To say that the military (and the police) are Bumi organisations is not true at all – the large number of Bumis in these services only reflect the unwillingness of the non-Bumis to serve their nation.
On the issue of cross-border encroachment, on the part of the RMAF, General Roslan reiterates that the RMAF is and will continue to support enforcement operations in the ESSZONE together with other agencies that make up the ESSCOM. ESSCOM is not just about the RMAF but encompasses all border protection agencies such as the Army, Navy, Police, the MMEA, Customs and the Immigration department.
General Roslan hopes that the media could play a bigger role in making the Armed Forces attractive to the general mass and hope to see better participation of the non-Bumis in each of the services.
SeaDemon Says 
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