Posts

Posted on

Malaysia: Unite The Diverse

My wife and friends celebrating the nation
My wife and friends celebrating the nation

52 years it has been since the time when four parts of this region joined together to form the Federation of Malaysia (although two years later Singapore was expelled). We have seen the nation go through some ups and downs, but we always pull through together. Lately, we only see the constant superfluous jeremiad coming from all sorts of people and I wonder if we have all become a bunch of whiners who prefer to do nothing but expect everything in return?

Up until the early 1980s there were still areas especially in the Peninsular that either did not have running water and electricity, or had electricity for only 12 hours in a day.  Those days no one complained about having to fetch a pail or two of water to be used for cooking or to wash clothes.  Then came the supply of treated water and life became much easier.  Then when there is a disruption on supply, they blame the government for not providing them with water.

We whine about everything – especially about other races.  The Malays would blame the Chinese for their woes; the Chinese blame the Malays for the privileges that the latter get; the Indians would blame everyone else for their misfortunes.  I don’t remember us being this divided even five years after the 13th May tragedy.

I went to a Christian missionary primary school, now a National  school (Sekolah Kebangsaan).  In my class then we had almost the same number of Malay and Chinese students, and several from the Indian diaspora.  We learned together, ate together, played together, got punished together.  What is more important is that we grew up together.

Now, we have National schools that are predominantly Malay, while the Chinese and Indians prefer to send their kids to vernacular schools.  When kids don’t grow up together, they don’t learn about each other. When they don’t learn about each other, that is when they grow up not understanding each other. Then we will always have the Yellow shirts and the Red shirts doing rallies, opposing each other.

This is why I am for the abolishing of vernacular schools. Some were quick to jump on me saying that I am against diversity.

Far from it!

I said, schools. And it is not about diversity, but division!

All schools should be National-type schools. Where children regardless of race and religion grow up together and learn things together.  These schools should start at 8am daily and finish at 6pm.  They study together from 8am until lunch at 1pm. Then they attend vernacular classes or religious classes in the afternoon until 6pm.  They should not grow up separately.

That is all I wish for, unity in diversity, as far as education is concerned.  The beneficiaries of such a change would be my grandchildren and yours.  Only then could we truly be Malaysian.

As long as we are not willing to let our children grow up together, we will continue to remain divided.

 

Posted on

Bila Yang Tak Sedar Diri Bercakap

I am opposed to any form of rally in open public places but it was freedom of speech and assembly and within the constitutional rights guaranteed to each citizen when BERSIH 4, the supposedly DAP-defined apolitical movement called for a 34-hour rally to last until the stroke of midnight on the 31st Augusr 2015, on Malaysia’s independence celebration day.

The rally was made up by 90 percent Chinese participants when PAS refused to participate. But it was held where very few, if any, Chinese businesses are run.

When a rally by an opposing party was organised by a largely Malay group, to be held on Malaysia Day in largely Chinese business area, this was what Lim Guan Eng, co-driver of BERSIH 4, had to say:

Posted on

Loose Talks Sink Ships

  

A friend wrote this to me:

“I disagree with Sanusi Junid that Najib is the person that made UMNO weak.
Mahathir is the root cause of UMNO weakening. But he did make UMNO strong once during the past 16 years.
Statistics don’t lie.
1999 GE, Mahathir made UMNO lose a staggering 24% of their seas – down 22 seats from 93.
2004.- Mahathir made UMNO strong by retiring from politics, no longer contesting and keeping quiet and letting his replacement do his work. 
Immediately, UMNO won 53% more seats and jumped from 71 seats to 109 – in the best results ever for UMNO and BN.
2008: Mahathir made UMNO weak again by continuously attacking and treasonously attacking his own party over years – which made UMNO weak again by losing 38% seats.
In 2013, Najib won 9 more seats for UMNO – hence strengthening UMNO.. Mahathir was also relatively quiet this period.
Najib inherited an UMNO that already has partners that have been rendered weak. UMNO with the remnants of supporters of its partners not only have to fend off attacks from the Opposition but also now from those who cling onto Mahathir for meagre amount of morsels to remain relevant in their dreams. It is these attacks that further divided UMNO into the circus it is now. Lest we forget the younger and opportunistic vultures who help pick the flesh off others.

Thus, this is indisputable proof where we can draw two conclusions:
1) Mahathir is the main cause of UMNO weakening. 
2) If you want UMNO to be strong, ask Mahathir to shut-up.”

I have said this again and again. STFU and let the authorities do their work. The more you feed fuel to fire, the bigger it will burn.

But not everyone has the brain power to understand simple logic such as that.

If you go back to the early 1980s, it was Mahathir who prodded Sulaiman Palestine to mount a challenge against Tun Hussein Onn. Then urged Ku Li to take on Musa Hitam. Those in their 30s wouldn’t remember how UMNO split into Team A and Team B after Ku Li in turn challenged Mahathir and UMNO was declared illegal soon after. And because of the Team A and Team B spat, Mahathir changed the UMNO constitution into the form it is now and changed how an UMNO President is elected. Oh! How can we forget that because of the Team A and Team B thing Mahathir fired several ministers as well – Pak Lah, the late Ajib Ahmad and a few others.

Then Mahathir also lost Kelantan in 1990 to PAS. That was the biggest blow to BN that time, only to be outdone again during his time in 1999. Who remembers the Wan Mokhtar-Yusuf Noor spat and why it happened?

Musa was too smart for Mahathir. Everyone knew this. The MM (Mahathir-Musa) partnership was more a “don’t step on my toes and I don’t step on yours” relationship. In the end, Mahathir used the mishandling of the Memali incident to oust Musa Hitam. He did not stop at that. He had Ghafar Baba as his deputy, but his real sight was on Anwar.

Ghafar was that pleasant and docile deputy everyone would have loved to have, but not as a successor. Anwar had a lot of following especially from his former organisation, ABIM. Mahathir used the late Rahim King’s organisation, Kelab Bekas Komando Malaysia, to pave the way for Anwar’s rise and to remove any opposition to Anwar. In the end, Ghafar, a true UMNO loyalist, was dropped in a disgraceful manner helped by hidden hands.

UMNO was weak. Members were tired of Mahathir who had by then overstayed his welcome. The onybreason they were still supporting him was because of his choice for deputy – Anwar Ibrahim. Finally, UMNO had found a young and energetic character to be able to replace Mahathir and everyone waited for that day.

Of course, unbeknownst to both Mahathir and the Special Branch then, Anwar was engaging in unhealthy activities that the DAP had known since 1984 but brought it to the surface in 1997 by the late Karpal Singh, and subsequently given the title “Sheikh al-Anwar al-Juburi” by some people’s new hope: Mat Sabu.

Naturally when Mahathir fired Anwar and sacked the latter from UMNO, the party weakened even further. In the 1999 elections even Sanusi fell victim to the people’s wrath against Mahathir. Members of the Actors Studio were seen taking to the streets in support of the “Reformasi” movement giving ad hoc interviews to Maria Ressa from CNN then saying “We are tired of Mahathir! He must go!”

Mahathir’s move against Najib has also gained support from the member of a certain state’s royal family. The irony is in 1983 it was this royal family member’s late grandfather whom Mahathir was trying to prevent from becoming the Yang DiPertuan Agong. Almost weekly a Nuri helicopter would fly the then-Prime Minister to Kuala Kangsar to convince the late Sultan Idris, who also happened to be the maternal grandfather to this member of the Royal family, to become the Yang DiPertuan Agong instead. Fate had it that Sultan Idris passed on in early 1984 and Sultan Iskandar ascended the throne of the Yang DiPertuan Agong in April of 1984.

It was during this seemingly invisible interference by Mahathir that had caused a constitutional crisis that almost saw the civilian government being overthrown by the military. The only problem the military had was its lack of contact with the general population and needed a bridge in the form of the police. Although the police supported the idea but they thought it was not the right time for a coup and it failed. The constitutional crisis did not rear its head again until 1993 when the powers of the Rulers Institution was greatly reduced.

So, UMNO gets blamed for everything when it was all done by Mahathir for himself, or for those close to him. And as mentioned, Pak Lah inherited a weak UMNO from Mahathir. All the previous UMNO proxies were not allowed to help finance BN after Mahathir stepped down. Mahathir left taking all the UMNO proxies with him. UMNO was left not only weak, it was also left poor, save for whatever was handed to Pak Lah.

The government now has Revenue Recovery Committee to recover lost government revenue, it is time that UMNO has one too.

As confidence in Malaysia continues to weaken helped by with no thanks to Mahathir and his hanger-ons who keep burning the party on the pretext of saving it, both UMNO and PAS now suffers from trust deficit and the likely winner in all this would be DAP and the Gerakan Harapan Baru.

And by Mahathir’s logic, only Najib should shoulder the blame when it is his loose talks that helped sink the ship.

Posted on

The Zombie Apocalypse 

I’m sharing the item below because it is very relevant to those who fear the decline of the Ringgit versus the Greenback. This fear is further underscored by zombies who think the world is going to end tomorrow.

Malay Mail Online) – Today, the Ringgit breached RM4.00 for a dollar.
When I logged in to my Facebook and Twitter accounts, 9 out of 10 posts that appeared on my timeline were slamming the Government on the Ringgit.
To sum them up, youths who dominate social media today were posting comments as though tomorrow spells the end for Malaysia.
And in just the past month, I saw how Malaysians transform from being constitutional experts, to aviation analysts and now economics.
Some even went as far as pushing the blame on Umno and Najib. There’s this group called Suara Rakyat who likes to say “other countries are doing better because Umno is not there in their country”.
Of course, when you have a narrow, myopic view, you will tend to miss out the fact that over the 5 year period,
• Russian Roubles lost 114per cent against USD
• Indonesian Rupiah lost 51per cent against USD
• Indian Rupees lost 38per cent against USD
• Norwegian Krone lost 37per cent against USD
• Australian Dollars lost 24per cent against USD
• Euro lost 20per cent against USD
• Thai Baht lost 10per cent against USD
Do I need to go on?
One of the contributing factors faced by these countries is the drop in oil prices. Crude oil was trading at US$70-80/bbl few years ago and today it has fallen below US$ 50 per bbl. 
Also, US is not our only trading partner and the performance of our Ringgit is not measured against US dollars alone.
When we look at the Ringgit, 
• we strengthened against Canadian Dollars (2per cent)
• we strengthened against Indian Rupees (10 per cent)
• we strengthened against Japanese Yen (14 per cent)
• we strengthened against Indonesian Rupiah (18 per cent) 
I don’t need to name more currencies, do I?
Do you know that the value of our trade with India, Japan and Indonesia is close to 20per cent?
Understandably, we are quick to feed on negative news and quick to comment like an expert on our Facebook and Twitter. That’s how things work these days.
Of course, none of you made reference to 1998. 
No one remembered the time when the Ringgit crashed to as low as RM4.725 for a dollar on 7 January 1998 (BNM selling rate, over the counter was more than RM4.80).
All of you, who were quick to comment about the state of our economy on your Facebook, were still in school.
So none of you knew, none of you remembered, none of you experienced what happened in 1998 when Anwar Ibrahim was Finance Minister.
Back then
a) People were losing jobs or had difficulty in getting jobs
b) Households were squeezed
b) average lending rate was 12.16 per cent
c) Inflation was close to 3 per cent without subsidy removals. 
If any of you doubt the 2-3 per cent inflation numbers today and felt it is way higher, apply the same thought to 1998-1999.
And yes, average lending rate was over 12 per cent. Those were the days.
You may say it is history and you may continue to slam the Prime Minister, the Central Bank and the Government for today’s numbers.
But the next time before you give you get upset and share your anger on Facebook or Twitter, ask yourself whether or not the Ringgit — Dollar exchange rate affects you, and how.
1. Do you shop online from US websites? 
2. Are you planning to fly over to US for a holiday?
3. Are you a Malaysian studying in the US?
4. Do you import goods to be resold in Malaysia?
5. Do you buy necessities and food from the US to use here?
6. Do you at all use the US dollar in your daily life?
Because my dear, only if you answer yes to the above, you are affected. Otherwise, what are you shouting and so worried about?
Your salary is still denominated in Ringgit and you don’t buy necessities with US dollars. 
Sure, no one can deny that it has some impact to some segments especially imports and our plans to travel to US, UK etc. I am also of the opinion that there are many things Najib can do (which he isn’t at all now) and I will share more soon.
And guys, the international ratings agencies — Fitch, Moody’s and S&P — have all maintained Malaysia’s outlook as stable.
There are no economists out there who are saying that Malaysia’s economy will collapse, only politicians are saying this.

Posted on

Gone Over The Edge

  
I love the way people reacted to my previous post. I made no mention of who’s who at the meetings, and I was merely writing about what I was told. The reactions, or over-reactions have been priceless. It wasn’t me who stalked them. They should be more aware of their surroundings. Furthermore not one of the above are a leader of any of the opposition-held states. Unless, as the Malays would say: PERASAN.

The police should also investigate the alledged Pemuda UMNO Whatsapp messages that went flying around recently. Messages can be deleted, but the Whatsapp server still stores them. All that is needed is a number or two, and the whole trail of messages can be retrieved.

All attempts or conspiracies to remove the Prime Minister should be investigated. Not because I am protecting Najib Razak, but the institution of the Prime Minister. The last thing Malaysia needs is a vicious cycle of removals and appointments of Prime Ministers that would totally erode the confidence others still have in this country.

On the economic fundamentals of this country, this is what Abdul Wahid Omar had to say:

Back in 1997/98, Malaysia had international reserves below USD30b sufficient to cover 3.2mths of retained imports. We had trade deficit & corporates were highly geared with many borrowing in USD when their income/assets were in MYR. Now even after the recent outflows, our international reserves is more than 3 times larger at USD96.7b as at 31 July 2015 sufficient to cover 7.6 mths of retained imports. 

Our trade surplus reached RM41b for 1st half 2015 notwithstanding the lower oil & commodity prices. And corporates’ balance sheets are much healthier. Our labour market conditions are stable with low unemployment rate of 3%. 

Our banks are well capitalised with core Tier1 capital ratios of 12.5%, liquid & with good asset quality where net impaired loans ratio is at a low of 1.2%. Banks & financial system are well regulated & supervised by BNM. Our fiscal position continues to improve with budget deficit reducing from 3.4% of GDP in 2014 to a target of 3.2% in 2015. We are still on track to achieve GDP growth of between 4.5% to 5.5% this year. That’s what I meant by strong economic fundamentals. 

Rgds. AWO.

Posted on

Living On The Edge

I don’t talk much about who I am. Only BigDog actually sent me a private message on Twitter about four years ago asking if I am who he thought I am. I just said yes. Being who I am also means I do not have to rely on The Edge to know of some things. On that same note even Rahman Dahlan could dig up more information on things, better than a certain person who had to rely on The Edge ever did. 

Being who I am also means I still have strong links with my father’s former contemporaries. These once junior officers are now very senior ranking officers, and loyal to their profession and to the institution of the force.  I had dinner with a couple of them tonight and of course the discussion that ensued ranged from the old days to the current political circus. Much was revealed about the things that have been happening in the background.

And what a revelation it was.

It seems that a certain former senior minister had met up with the head of an opposition-led state government with thirty other MPs to discuss the formation of a coalition government to replace the current one.  Of course PAS was not invited, not the incumbents of course. There was also another similar meeting held at the KLGCC where around fifteen people attended. When the lead “guest” arrived, they changed the venue to a larger meeting room.

This seems to tally with the recent raids by the police on the MACC. Of course The Edge would not tell you that the raid is about leaking information pertaining to the investigation so everyone could be led on to believe that this is all a conspiracy to cover up. And this coming from the same people who complain about criminals going scott free due to leaks.

And being the person I am also means I know three other things: first, that the recent meeting with the Sultan of Johor by the former Deputy Prime Minister was not at the request of His Highness. Rather, it was arranged by a certain businessman who did not get to execute a project when Pak Lah was the Prime Minister. Second, that the former Attorney-General has to go for three dialysis sessions per week that takes up a whole work day each session. Third, the MACC head has been hospitalised to remove a growth near his spine. It is operable but has to be done quickly, and the good Tan Sri will be out of action for about a month.

Of course, you would not be able to read the above on The Edge. Therefore I felt that I’d have to pre-empt any talk of conspiracies.

Anyway, yesterday too there was a “guerrilla movement” (as described by the message originator) by a group of UMNO people, inviting non-UMNO party of the BN coalition members to join them in pressuring the Prime Minister to step down. When I asked my dinner companions, they just smiled and said, “Wait for it. We know.”

And know they do, as do I.

And we never knew this from The Edge.

Posted on

So DAP Is Opposed To Regulating Political Funding

From Miss Lim Sian See at https://www.facebook.com/lim.siansee/posts/1704208903131230

Terence Gomez of Transparency International confirms what Najib and Rahman Dahlan said as he was part of the team to regulate political funding.

Yes, Terence confirms that DAP and opposition were the ones who objected to full transparency of political funding.
This means that Lim Guan Eng was telling a white lie again by saying PM never approached DAP to ask them about regulating political funding. 
Lim Guan Eng conveniently forgot to mention that it was the Transparency International team that led this initiative which they rejected and not PM Najib.
Tokong or Tokong… always telling little white lies.

—

In his letter, published in Malaysia’s leading newspapers on 1 August 2015, Rahman, a minister in Najib’s cabinet – offering his views in his capacity as the BN’s Director of Strategic Communication – drew attention to a meeting held between Transparency International (TI) and members of the opposition parties in Parliament on 1 December 2010.

TI had initiated a project to review the financing of politics and to prepare relevant recommendations to eradicate processes that were hindering the conduct of fair elections. I had been appointed by TI to help implement this project. 
At that time, the president of TI was Paul Low, now a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. Abdul Rahman disclosed, at this meeting with TI, that opposition parliamentarians were not in favour of mandatory full disclosure of all funding sources as this would deter their contributors from financing their parties.
The views held by the opposition, as outlined by Abdul Rahman in his letter, are in my recollection accurate. 
Only one person showed up for this meeting: Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, in his capacity as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
At this meeting, Nazri acknowledged that Malaysia’s general elections were free but not fair as political parties did not have equal access to funds. He asserted that donors to Umno were registered, but some of them preferred to remain anonymous. 
Nazri agreed with some of TI’s recommendations, including direct state funding of parties to reduce, even halt, the latter’s dependence on business for money to run their campaigns; to prohibit ownership of the media by parties; and to institute full disclosure of political donations.
However, Nazri did not agree to all of TI’s recommendations. Nazri’s primary concern was TI’s recommendation that power be devolved to oversight agencies such as the Election Commission (EC), as well as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Attorney General’s Chambers – but this one is a completely different subject and not related to disclosure of political funding.

—-

http://www.kinibiz.com/story/opinions/181475/changing-the-way-politics-is-funded.html?utm_source=applet_mkinicom&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=mkinicom

Posted on

Selling Malaysia For RM6,000 Only

Thai police: Justo met with Msian opposition leader, media tycoon 16 JULY 2015 @ 4:46 PM BY ADRIAN

BANGKOK: Thai police today confirmed that Swiss citizen Xavier Andre Justo met with a very important person from a Malaysian opposition party before selling classified information belonging to Saudi oil company PetroSaudi International. Royal Thai Police Commissioner of Officer of Information and Communication Technology Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri told the New Straits Times here that Justo, a former PetroSaudi director, admitted to meeting the opposition leader at a hotel in Singapore. He however declined to name the individual. Under Thai law, a person cannot be named prior to a warrant of arrest. “He (Justo) met a very important person from a certain country, in Singapore. He then negotiated the selling price of the documents and later sold them to the buyer.” Prawut later disclosed that the individual was from an opposition party in Malaysia. He also said Justo admitted that he met with a media tycoon at the same location in Singapore. He declined to name the media tycoon. “We have confiscated Justo’s personal computer and we have managed to find documents and information pertaining to their meeting at a hotel in Singapore. “Most of these information was found from Justo’s email correspondence and WhatsApp chat records.” He said immigration and hotel records gathered by Thai police corroborated Justo’s account of the meeting. He said Justo had also admitted to blackmailing his former employer, PetroSaudi International, and will be charged under Thai law for extortion and blackmail. Prawut however said Justo denied having tampered with documents that were eventually sold to a certain news outlet in Europe. “He didn’t make any changes to the documents and sent the original documents (to the buyer) as digital copies.” When asked if he had sold the documents to London-based whistleblower website Sarawak report, Prawut declined to elaborate. “Everyone knows which news organisation I am talking about,” he said. Justo has been under Thai police custody since his arrest late last month after he allegedly stole thousands of emails and documents from Petro Saudio, and tried to blackmail his former employer. He moved to Thailand after he was terminated from the company. Thai police are investigating how, after leaving the company, Justo issued a series of blackmail demands for 2.5 million Swiss francs (approximately RM9.9 million). PetroSaudi did not meet Justo’s demand. Then in February this year, doctored and tampered versions of the emails suddenly started to appear on Sarawak Report, sparking a political row implicating 1Malaysa Development Bhd (1MDB) and Malaysian leaders.

Selanjutnya di : http://www.nst.com.my/node/92328
The above is the report filed by the New Straits Times on the Justo-1MDB saga that has all but paralysed the Najib administration. That report coupled with Lester Melanyi’s confession as reported by Rocky Bru shows how pathetic some people could get just so they could satisfy their sick agenda.

I was also alarmed by the following tweet by a journalist:

   
He tweeted that in response to a police report that was filed and made public that revealed how much a person was paid just to write slanderous stuff to tarnish the image of the Prime Minister:

    
Clare Rewcastle Brown is never a name you could trust as evident in this blog post by Winifred Poh. With a negative track record that is surpassed only by Paul Joseph Goebbels’s, Brown’s Sarawak Report has only produced nothing short of pure cow dung for lack of a better description. Yet, Mahathir chose to believe her and continued to use her to fulfill his thirst for rule-by-proxy. Apparently 34 years of being in power isn’t enough for him.

Najib’s administration isn’t without fault. The deafening silence at the point whence this whole saga began helped fed the negative perception the public now has and is reluctant to let go of. Damaging would be an understatement. It is understandable that not much could be said about the deals the 1MDB is or was involved in considering the Financial Services Act as well as the various Non-Disclosure Agreements it is party to, but some formof communication to the public would have helped allay some fears regarding the issue.

To make matters worse, some Cabinet members even publicly declared their ignorance of the issue – a lame effort to try distance themselves from Najib should the latter fall. What is more disgusting is the act by some of the younger members of UMNO who were said to have helped make viral of some videos online and even discussed on what steps were to be taken to help speed up Najib’s downfall. This is the quality of the loyalty of people we now have, not just in UMNO, but in Malaysian politics in general. Values have been traded off for the power to fill up their pockets.

There has also been “power breakfasts” and “power lunches” organised by people close to Mahathir that invited bloggers and key UMNO office holders to entice them to call for Najib’s resignation. I have seen Facebook photos of “friends” attending these events. The revelation made by the Deputy UMNO Petaling Jaya Utara Chief, Mohamad Azli Mohemed Saad, on TV not too long ago on being invited to such events reinforced the fact that these events are or were real. Whatever happened to democracy within UMNO? Why resort to such tactics? These events must be investigated further by the police and the MACC in case of bribes bejng given for such support, and also for undermining the government and wanting to remove a government through undemocratic means. This include the politicians mentioned in the above police report. Tony Pua has got no excuse to further remain as part of the PAC.

The authorities should also investigate the various bloggers and socmed practitioners who helped amplified and conjure more false “facts” that had helped paint a bleak picture of Malaysia, of Najib’s administration so much so that Malaysia’s economy has been affected. Imagine foreign government officials asking our diplomats  if it was safe for potential investors to invest in Malaysia – and all these for just RM6,000 a month? Id I am allowed to coin a term for such people I would call them “economic terrorists” and not just saboteurs. I implore to the authorities to haul in these people and charge them the maximum for their despicable acts.

I hope the Thai authorities will also issue arrest warrants to the ten individuals they have discovered in the article above.

As I have said before, let the audit and investigation teams do their work without any pressure or influence from any party. Members of the special task force whom had leaked investigation information must be expelled from the service. The rakyat should not be made to pay the wages of thise who cannot keep the trust put to them.

As for members of the general public, the interim report issued by the Auditor-General has shown that 1MDB had not digressed from guidelines and other legal requirements. In mmy opinion, this is a good enough reason for us all to move on until the final report comes out later in the year to comment on the governance of the 1MDB deals.

The whole of Ramadhan was tarnished by the lies put forth by unscrupulous people. Let us use this Syawal to reflect upon our deeds that have caused all of us Malaysians to suffer – and all for just RM6,000 a month which is a bigger value for some than the price of the nation.

Posted on

Remembering MH17

When you spend your Hari Raya, don’t forget that a year ago tomorrow 298 souls including 43 of our brethren were on board the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam bound for KL. The 43 also included fathers, mothers, sister, brothers, grandmothers, sons, daughters, grandchildren who were looking forward to spending Aidil Fitri with their loved ones.

Alas, God loves them more. They never made it home alive. The flight was brought down, as I have  maintained from the fateful day itself, by a BUK surface-to-air missile.

Many a days were spent on trying to bring them back home and to retrieve the Black Boxes through normal channels but none of the channels worked. Not even the powerful western powers nor members of NATO could do anything while the 298 lie on the hard ground near Donetsk, Ukraine.

Lest we forget the man who spent sleepless nights trying to secure the bodies of the 298 as well as the Black Boxes using unorthodox methods:

 

 YAB PM Najib Razak :-
16 July 2015 
“It was a year ago, on 17 July 2014, that MH17 was shot down over Ukraine. We will never forget the 298 lives that were lost that day, including 43 of our fellow citizens. They were fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters… Some were students travelling abroad to continue their education. Others were returning after a holiday spent with their families. All were innocent. All were taken from us far too early.
It is hard to capture words to describe the shock and disbelief I felt on being told that there had been another Malaysian airplane tragedy, coming so soon after MH370 – which we were still in the process of mourning. Any sentiments I felt on a personal level had to be placed to the side, as we sought to comfort the families of those on board.

At that time, our foremost priority was ensuring the swift return of the bodies of those onboard to their families. It was crucial that this be done in a dignified manner that allowed the families to grieve properly.
The situation was complicated by the fact that the plane had been shot down over territory that was in the throes of a civil war, and controlled by non-government forces. Engaging with them was necessary in order to ensure the swift return of the bodies.

In those early days, we encountered criticism from various quarters, with segments of the foreign media calling on us to follow standard modus operandi. However, extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures, and we ignored those disruptive noises – standing our ground and doing it our way.

We cast aside standard protocol and, within days, had sent representatives from the National Security Council to meet the rebels and negotiate for a safe passage, ensure the return of the passengers’ remains, as well as access to the wreckage and flight recorders that would help us get to the truth of what happened on that fateful day.

Ultimately, Malaysia’s strong stance and decisive but consultative and unorthodox approach got the job done.

A year on, the battle for truth and justice is far from over, and we continue to provide our full cooperation to – and work closely with – the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) looking into this tragedy. They now have a clearer picture regarding the possible cause of the tragedy, and are expected to continue their investigation into all possible scenarios until the end of 2015.
The end goal is clear – to bring the perpetrators to justice, and ensure they pay for this unforgivable crime, which claimed hundreds of innocent lives.

By early October this year, Insya-Allah, the report by the Dutch Safety Board will be published. At the same time, we will continue to push for the establishment of a full, thorough and independent international tribunal into the incident – for the sake of the families and friends of those who perished in the tragedy.
The victims of MH17 were casualties of a conflict that was not theirs.
To their loved ones – There are no words I can offer to ease your pain, but know that your pain and sorrow are shared amongst all of us. Malaysia wept for your loss, which was our loss too, and we will never let those who died be forgotten. Take comfort in knowing that MH17 brought the country together in an act of unity that would make anyone proud to call themselves Malaysians. May that unity be the legacy of those we lost.
I remember vividly the shock and anger I felt upon receiving that phone call, and the experience of leading our country through the tragedies of MH370 and MH17, in the space of mere months, are still fresh in my mind. I hope that neither our nation, nor any other nation, has to endure such tragedies again.

Above all, I pray for the families of those who perished to stay strong in these trying times. Remember that all of Malaysia stands in unity beside you, and we will continue to stand beside you – for as long as it takes – as we work tirelessly in search of truth and justice for your loved ones
Al-Fatihah”

Selamat Hari Raya to all my blog readers and Al-Fatihah for those who were on board the MH17.

Posted on

Is Selangor No Longer Attractive Economically Or Is The State Government All Talk Cock?

  
It is a Ramadan and a bleak Syawal for the former workers of JVC Kenwood at Section 22 Shah Alam as the factory ceases its operations as reported by The Rakyat Post above.  I am sure the decision to cease operations must have been made much earlier than just a few months or a year ago as any plant closure affects production as well as support services.

Many were too quick to blame the Federal Government as according to them investments come under the purview of the Federal Government. Many however forget that investments in a state comes under the purview of the respective states’ economic development council or committee. 

Does the seemingly bleak economy (despite the A- rating by Fitch) have any role in the closure of the plant? Let us examine:

  
Now it seems that TASCO had come into a sales and purchase agreement with JVC Manufacturing Malaysia Sdm Bhd for the purchase of the said property in 2009. This is a year after Pakatan Rakyat took over the state from Barisan Nasional. Six years on, it seems as if the Selangor SEDC had done nothing to persuade JVC to maintain a plant in Selangor. Why so?

It is easy to put the blame on the Federal Government. However, JVC has been cutting back its workforce not just in Malaysia but worldwide.

“They told us that the factory operations were moving to Thailand,” said a worker.

It was reported last year that JVC had cut its workforce globally by 14% to just under 20,000 people and about 90% of production now took place mostly in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Checks on jobstreet.com have shown that JVC is still hiring staff for its Tampoi plant in Johor.

Similarly, a few metres away from the JVC plant, Ansell Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s operations have also ceased and its workers were retrenched yesterday. The Australian company made healthcare protective gear.

A worker on site said: “They are moving their operations to Melaka. They have already told us about this six months ago and compensation was also paid out.”

Therefore, we are seeing a move out of Selangor not just by JVC but also by other foreign companies as well, unless Melaka and Johor are not in Malaysia, or that these states are not affected by the “slowdown” in the Malaysian economy. 

Maybe it is the hard work that Johor’s and Melaka’s SEDC have put in to ensure that foreign companies do not divest, unlike Selangor’s that was not able to or did not talk to JVC when the sales and purchase agreement was made six years ago.

Maybe Selangor has lost the edge it once had when it was still governed by Barisan Nasional.