Welcome 2007!

Happy New Year, Malaysia! Wish 2007 will be a better year for every Malaysians.

When the lunatics run the asylum

The message which the following story conveys is very similar to one of my previous entries ( http://asimplemalaysian.blogspot.com/2006/10/who-is-more-convincing-epu-or-asli.html) Anyway,enjoy...:=)) > > "Hidup China! Hidup China! Hidup China!" > > > > "Hey, Wong! What the hell are you trying to do ah?" > > > > "I'm rehearsing my speech for the Annual General > > Assembly lah Ali." > > > > "But what's with this `hidup China' thing?" > > > > "That's how I will close my speech. I will shout > > `hidup China' three > > times." > > > > "That's so ridiculous. Can you just imagine a Malay > > standing on > > stage and screaming `hidup Melayu' at the end of his > > speech? Would > > he not look downright stupid? I'm sure he would also > > be considered a > > racist. And isn't brandishing that Kung Fu sword > > above your head > > very provocative as well? I mean, how would you like > > it if a Malay > > starts waving a keris and threatens to bathe it in > > blood or > > something like that? I am sure you will get upset." > > > > "Hmm..you're right. Maybe I will drop the Kung Fu > > sword bit. But > > what's wrong with shouting `hidup China'? After all, > > we are a > > Chinese political party." > > > > "I know. But Malaysia is not a 100% Chinese country. > > It is 60% > > Malays and 40% non-Malays, or roughly something like > > that. I also > > don't know the real figure because there are so many > > Indonesians who > > have been given identity cards that we really don't > > know how many > > there really are anymore. So would it not be > > insensitive of a Malay > > if he were to stand on stage and start screaming > > `hidup Melayu'?" > > > > "I suppose you're right. Maybe I should cut out the > > `hidup China' > > part from my speech as well." > > > > "Right! You must be more sensitive to the feelings > > of the other > > races. Before you say something you must stop and > > ask yourself > > whether what you are going to say will hurt the > > feelings of the > > other races or not. Just like no Malay leader, > > especially someone of > > the level of Prime Minister, would ever stand on > > stage and > > scream `hidup Melayu', you also should not go around > > > > screaming `hidup China'. What if the Malays > > retaliate by also > > shouting `hidup Melayu'? How would you feel?" > > > > "Yes, you are right. I did not think of it that way. > > I think that is > > good advice." > > > > "We Malays may form 60% of the country's population, > > but we are > > always concerned and conscious of the minority > > pendatang's feelings. > > We always consider the feelings of immigrants like > > you." > > > > "I appreciate that." > > > > "My grandfather emigrated from Indonesia soon after > > it obtained > > Merdeka because that country was in a mess. Malaya > > then was still > > under the British but it was a peaceful and stable > > country, even > > though still a colony of Britain. My father was born > > in this country > > so we regard ourselves as Malaysian Malays and not > > as Indonesians > > anymore. So we must think as Malaysians. I am sure > > you are the same." > > > > "Yes, my ancestors came to Malaya around 1400 and > > none of our family > > has ever gone back to China, not even to visit it as > > tourists. We > > don't even know who our relatives in China are or > > where they live." > > > > "I go back to Indonesia once in awhile. I still > > visit some of my > > relatives there but they're very poor. Life's very > > hard in > > Indonesia. We are more fortunate in Malaysia. Life's > > easier here, > > especially for Malays like me." > > > > "You're very lucky. You still have family members in > > Indonesia. It's > > like having two countries as your home. We Chinese > > only have > > Malaysia. China will not accept us back even if we > > want to go back. > > But what's there to go back to anyway? There's > > nothing there for us > > anymore." > > > > "But Malaysia's not so bad. At least you Chinese can > > earn a good > > living here. If you can't find work you can always > > do business. We > > Malays need to work for the government. If not then > > we can't earn a > > living." > > > > "Chinese can never work for the government. The > > government will not > > take us. So we have no choice but to do business, > > even if it is just > > selling pirated VCDs. Our unemployment rate for > > university graduates > > went up 50% this year compared to last year. Did you > > know that?" > > > > "Wah! So high?" > > > > "Yes. Last year two Chinese graduates were > > unemployed throughout > > Malaysia. This year, three Chinese graduates are > > unemployed, an > > increase of 50%?" > > > > "That's terrible. For Malays it's not so bad. Last > > year it was about > > 60,000 unemployed graduates. This year it's 66,000. > > So ours went up > > only 10%, not so bad." > > > > "See, Malays are more fortunate. The government > > absorbs the > > graduates. You can also join the police or army. We > > Chinese, where > > we want to go?" > > > > "I suppose you're right. But it's all the fault of > > your political > > leaders. We have Umno that takes care of the > > interest of the Malays. > > You have MCA and Gerakan, but they do not take care > > of the Chinese. > > You Chinese are neglected and have to fend for > > yourselves. You have > > to work hard to become rich. It must be very tough > > for you Chinese." > > > > "Tough, very tough. You think it's easy to become > > rich? Very > > difficult. You cannot become a millionaire > > overnight. You need at > > least two or three years. We have to open shops. You > > can go see at > > any shopping centre in Malaysia, almost 100% of the > > shops are owned > > by Chinese, even in places like Kota Bharu. Malays > > don't have to do > > this. We have to work the whole day long, even on > > Sundays. The only > > holiday we get is during Chinese New Year. You > > Malays work five days > > a week and every public holiday you can rest at > > home. You Malays > > work only 34 hours a week. We Chinese have to work > > almost 100 hours > > a week, three times more than you Malays have to > > work. We have no > > time to even go shopping. That's why you see at the > > shopping centres > > or places like Giant, almost all the customers are > > Malays. We > > Chinese where got time to go shopping? We are too > > busy working." > > > > "Yes, I have noticed that." > > > > "Actually, sometimes I wish we Chinese have a > > political party like > > Umno. At least then we can relax a bit and not work > > so hard and let > > the party look after our interest. This MCA and > > Gerakan are useless. > > They will never help the Chinese. So we have to help > > ourselves. If > > not, who will help us?" > > > > "That's why. You Chinese should be more political > > minded like we > > Malays. I tell you, if not because of politics, we > > Malays will also > > be nowhere like you Chinese. Luckily we have Umno. > > If not we Malays > > would also be suffering like you Chinese. Imagine if > > I have to work > > 100 hours a week and sit in my shop from morning to > > night, every day > > of the week with no rest. Aiyah! I just cannot > > imagine that."

Using English As Medium Of Teaching Fails Miserably

Malaysia Minister of EducationDatuk Seri Hishamuddin said the policy to use English as medium for teaching science and mathematics in primary schools will be reviewed in the year 2008 to decide whether to scrap it or improve on it. Why wait for 2008? Do something about it quick now. I was looking at the maths test papers of a primary-2 boy the other day and was shocked at what I read. He got only 20% for that test, I was not shocked at his marks but at the way the questions were presented. Below is one of the questions: "John has 349 cards. After giving 154 cards to his sister, how many cards has he left?" Now compare to what the boy is learning currently in his English class by referring to his text book: "Puan Fatimah is a teacher" "I am reading a story book" "Ali is drawing on the black boar" Notice the vast difference between the level of standards of the English use for the maths test papers and what he has learned in the language class? He is only begainning to learn simple present tense while the teacher is using present perfect tense (has he left) already. The teacher also introduced the use of passive verb (After giving) in the same question. Just to find out what is his understanding of the English language, I went over the question with him word by word. He could only make out these words : has, to his sister, how, he, left. He reads "has" as "have", when asked the meaning of "left", he showed me his left hand! His answer to the meaning of "giving" is a person! What?! Oh..he thought "giving" is "Kivin", a mis-spelt version of the name "Kevin" ! Obviously he is very poor at English, but the test papers in question is about maths subject and not about the langauge, don't get that mixed up, man. Please mister Minister, teach maths in a maths class, teach English in an English class lah. So simple also need people to tell you one!!!

Happy Depavali

Happy Depavali!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Wishing all Muslim friends in Malaysia : SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI!

Who is more convincing, EPU or ASLI ?

The Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) claims in its recent report that Bumiputeras (Malays and other indegenous races) hold 45% of the share equity in Malaysia. But the Economy Planning Unit (EPU) rebutes it and claims instead the real figure should be 18.9%. Please note the insersion of the decimal point by the EPU in order to emphasy the accuracy of its findings. Who is lying and who is telling the truth? But who cares? Figures like these really tell nothing as far as us ordinary folks are concerned, we are not trained to grasp the implications behind. What we can readily understand are the number of retail outlets lining the streets, in shopping complexes and supermalls or the workshops and factories in industrial estates. We can count the number of saloon, kedai kopi (including those 24 hours types), tailors,etc, etc...... If anyone were to conduct a survey as I mentioned just now, the truth will be shocking and sad -- majority of the owners of those outlets are indeed non-bumiputras. Ahh..the bumiputra politicians will be quick to say, "The economy of Malaysia is controlled by non-bumiputras!" But is it true? It can't be further from the truth, is the whole of Malaysia's economy made up of retail business solely? What about the big bucks sectors like petrolium, banking, automobile, airlines, insurance,energy, communications etc ? They are in the hands of the bumiputra, it is open secrets, no denial about it please. The non bumiputras are squeezed out from joining the job force within government departments orchestra by the Public Services Department, also they can not lay their hands on big-bucks business. Where else can they go? Simple, they join the private sector, learn the trade and start on their own when the time is ripe. Why can't the young bumiputras do the same? Ah, I don't want to go into that again (I had explained why in one of my old posts). Our wise leaders should know what to do, provide they got the guts to face the truth and do the right thnig and not constantly harp on racial issues instead.

Tun Dr Mahathir Not Elected As Delegate

In the Kubang PasuUMNO division election on Sunday, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir failed in his bid to be elected as one of 7 delegates to the party's nation wide annual assembly in November. There were 15 candidates competing for 7 seats, Tun Mahathir got 9th place while his son was in the 5th place, therefore will be one of elected delegates. Politics is cruel. By right, Tun Mahathir will be accorded a seat, a VIP seat at that, without having to go through such humilations. But now.....

Moves To Curb Handbags Snatch Thieves

It was learned that the Cabinet of Malaysia is planning to increase the sentence for handbags snatch thefts from 7 years maximum to 14 years maximum or death sentence if the offence resulted in death. I hope this will be tabled in the Parliament and become a bill soon before more snatch thefts victims are hurt. I also hope that there won't be any hypocrites who might jump out and criticize the bill, for they do not know how crazy this kind of theft is and how harmful it is. In the past, petty robbery like this was normal done without causing harm to the victims. The victims were always threatened with a knife or gun (very rarely) to surrender their valuables, which the victims most of the time would obliged and escaped being harmed. But in the current scenario, the robbers do not give the victims any choice. They will snatch the handbags without warning the victims, and the force of the sudden jerk will cause the victims to fall to the ground usually flat on their backs, sometimes resulting in head injuries. Worst still if the victims were riding on motor-cycles, they will lost control of their bikes and end in serious accidents. This is no small matter, some victims become human vegetables and some even lost their lives as a result. Hope the Ministers will not go back on their words and see it through.

Old Song Remixed By Khairy Jamaluddin

Former Prime Minister of Malaysia (Tun Dr Mahathir) is driving the son-in-law of current Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), Khairy Jamaluddin, to the wall recently. Khairy who is also the deputy chairman of the youth wing of United Malays National Organisation(UMNO), in a bid to maneuver the focal point away from himself, warned the members of UMNO about the danger of a weakened UMNO will give rise to opportunity for other component parties within the National Front Coalition(BN), especially the Chinese-based parties to demand for more rights and benefits. The BN will be strong only if UMNO is strong. Sure enough this draws outcry from leaders of Gerakan and MCA(Malaya Chinese Association),especially the younger ones. The strongest protest came from Ling Hing Leong, vice president of the MCA youth. Incidentally, Ling is the son of former MCA president Datuk Seri Ling Liong Sik. He demanded an explanation from Khairy for belittling the Chinese parties and for forgetting their contributions towards nation building in the past. The two subsequently met behind closed doors, but it was clear that Khairy still maintains his stand and no explanation was given for his remarks.Ironically, what Khairy said is basically right. All other component parties of BN benifited from the strenght of UMNO. Everybody knows it and admits it since day-one of the formation of the BN alliance. I still remember the opposition parties used this fact extensively to attack the Chinese-based parties during election rallies in the 60s (when public rallies were still legal).The speakers on opposition stages would always yell, "What is MCA anyway? They are but some opportunists hiding under the protection of the Malays' sarongs!" Remarks like this would always receive thunderous applauds from The audience.But with the banning on all public rallies, this kind of remarks slowly die off, and the Chinese have begun to accept MCA as their reprsentative in the government alliance since. The fact remains that UMNO is still the backbone of the BN coalition. But should some one go and dig it up after it has been buried there for so long? Let's give a crude analogy here : Everyone knows very well that sex is part and parcel of a marriage, but must we go round telling others about this fact? People will feel offended even what you tell them is right and is a fact. It is just not proper to do so. Khairy did what he did shows not only he is cracking under the pressure of attacks from Tun Dr Mahathir, but also his lack of creativity and originality. What he should have said is that a weakened UMNO will give rise to the opportunity for the opposition coalition of PAS and Keadilan, probably DAP, to over throw the ruling party. Won't it be better? Stirring up racial sentiments is a stale and worn out method used by many extremist politicians before him, yet he still chooses to apply it. How sad!

Will it be safe to leave the house any more?

The senseless killing of a year 1 student of UniTAR by 2 heartless robbers jolted the whole Malaysian nation up. A smart, deligent boy lost his life just because of a hand phone and some cash, (being a student I don't think he would have a lot with him). While we all were disturbed by the long list of unsolved rape-cum-murder cases, and the snatching handbags injuries (some were fatal) were almost daily news, but this one really shakes everyone. We finally realize it is no longer safe to allow our children to walk Malayisan streets without adult companions. And again, a year 1 uni boy is almost an adult already, right? Yet this tragedy tells us that it is still not safe for a person at that age to go out alone nowadays. Will somebody do some thing to make it safe for our children to walk on the streets again, please? Not long ago, the Senior Minister of Singapore Mr Lee Kuan Yew criticised that Malaysia is not a safe place to live in. We were so furious at his remarks, saying unkind words towards him, even calling him names. But if he were to repeat his words are we still so indignant about it all? Aren't what he said proven true, now?

Tun Mahathir Peppered By Kelataneses

Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir, after months of letting go barrages of attacks at his successor, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi Ahmad, does not show signs of calming down. Instead he chose to go round the country to voice his grievances. And the first destination he chose to start his campaign, of all places, is to Kelantan a state controlled by his arch rival the PAS! In fact Tun Mahathir is smart, he knows very well that Kelantaneses hate UMNO, and now he is attacking UMNO they will take him as a "dear friend". But he miscalculated the risks on this score obviously. Somebody threw a can of pepper powder (some media reported it was a gear gas canister, whatever la) the moment he got down from his car to start a speech. He was almost choked by coughing severely. What a way to welcome a friend, you Kelatanese. The saying goes, "the most dangerous place is the safest place", it does not seem to hold true this time leh!

Controversial Ethnic Relations Guidebook Withdrawn

The Star siad,"The controversial Ethnic Relations module taught at Universiti Putra Malaysia has been withdrawn, and will be replaced with a new one. ......" Well, another example of the "Look East" national policy backfires. We Malaysians did not learn from the Japanese their hard working ways towards life, but learn to alter historical events instead. When will we learn to pick the goods from the bads? Read more...

Build and Sell Housing

The Malaysian government is considering to introduce the "build and sell" concept to housing developers in the country. They are thinking of ways to encourage the developers to adopt this concept. Why do we have to wait for so long to introduce this concept? The current "book and pay progressively" method is in fact a scam, but it is bewildering the Malaysian government has allowed it to go on for so many years. Imagine one can simply register a company and pose as a housing developer and starts to advertise to sell non existent house lots, all he has to show is an impressive billboard along the highway claiming how the completed units would look like. When more and more of the public fall into his trap he will have more money to make his scheme look more impressive by renting cozy air-cond office and beautiful sexy staff to receive visitors, with the buyers' money! He may even con some poor kampung folks into a deal whereby they allow their lands to be used as proof of his project's site. More people are hence lured into booking lots from this "developer". When the "developer" has collected even money he will just disappear. The victims will complaint to the government, the government will then take "stern action", that is to cancel his licence...HAHAAHAHAHA!!! He will simply apply for another licence, what is the big deal? Those victims who had only paid for the deposits are lucky, because that is what they will lose and no more. I know of a guy who was not so lucky, he not only paid the deposit but also signed the charge agreement with the bank to release bridging financing to the developer. His nightmare began when the "developer" absconded with the deposits, the financing bank kept chasing him for payment which he obliged initially. But when he discovered that the abandoned project showed no hope of revival, he stopped paying the progress payment. And the bank kept sending him reminder after reminder urging him to pay up. He went to the bank and explained that the project was abadoned, he lost so much money so it would be inhuman to ask him to carry on paying for a non existent house. You know what the bank oficer replied? He said, "I can't help you, that's between you and the developer. Since you had signed the charge agreement you have to pay!" My friend refused to pay. So the bank put his house up for auction and sent him a letter informing him of the action through a lawyer. The economy reccession had already set in by then, and there was no bid of the auction. The auctioneer's fees and legal fees were then added to the buyer's account. The bank repeated the proceedure every month, each time the reserved price was lowered but still no bidder. Interests on the amount were also grwing fast. My friend's account outstanding amount snow-balled up to more than 3 times of the original loan amount! Talk about "Ah Loong"! He pleaded with the bank's manager not to put his house for auction so frequently, as it was reccession time. Moreover, the Local Housing and Development Ministry refused to issue the "Occupancy Certificate or Certificate Of Fitness, whatever" for various reasons. It was unlikely that anyone will bid for it. But the bank manager refused to listen to the buyer's plea. This dragged on for more than 10 years, during which time he spent every cent of his life savings trying to salvage his dream house, often falling prey to con men who claimed to have "jalan" to help. Finally he spent his last sen and still no house to call his own. The house was eventually auctioned off at about 1/4 of his debt amount and he is still paying the balance today and renting a house. This is a real story, it happens in Malaysia. It happened to my friend, and it can happen to you! By the way, where is the developer who ran away with the depoeits, is he still around? Of course he is. He is very respected, owns a string of properties and resorts and fast food business. Eat your heart out man!

Pak Lah VS Tun Dr Mahathir

Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohd is criricising harshly his hand-picked successor, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The current PM has shelfed a few of Tun Dr Mahathir's mega projects which were expected to be completed by Datuk Abdullah. Some of the said projects are :

• The upgrading of the nation's railway system
• Selling off of the Agusta Motorcycle factory
• Shelfing of the Scenic Bridge which was to replace the Johor-Singapore Causeway

These are mega-mega projects requiring tons and tons of budget to complete. This is not to Datuk Abdullah's likings. When Tun Dr Mahathir announced his decision to step down and his preferred successor was Datuk Seri Adbullah, everybody was surprised not only by the sudden announcement but also by his choice of successor. Tun Dr Mahathir was a high profile, glory seeking and glamourous person, while Datuk Seri Abdullah is a low profile person. Tun Mahathir should be aware that Datuk Abdullah might not have stomach for his super mega projects, now that they are shelfed, why is he so surprised?

Many people wonder, "Tun Dr Mahathir has cross over to the opposition already?"

Land Slide Tragedy At Hulu Klang

At Last, the two missing persons in the Kg Pasir, Hulu Kelang land slide tragedy were found buried under 4-foot of mud after days of digging by the rescue crew members. The victims were a 32-year old Malay woman and her 4-year old daughter. Mother and daughter were found dead embracing each other. This brings the total casualty to 4. The place where the tragedy occured was not far from the scene of a far more tragic land slide many years ago, the High Land Towers Condominium, where a 40-storey high apartments collasped like a match box when its foundation shifted due to land slide. Many occupants lost their lives, including the son of former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Musa Hitam. Two adjecent blocks of apartments were subsequently declared unsafe, and they still remain vacant until today. The High Land Towers tragedy was reported widely by international news media because Malaysian government had sought help from experienced rescue teams from foreign nations like Germany, Sweden, France and Japan to save those trapped under the rubbles. This tragedy was a rude awakening for the relevant authorities. The Malaysian Parliament subsequently passed bills and acts hoping to prevent a reccurence. Unfortunately these steps taken by the government failed to prevent another life-snatching land slide, on top of that, in the same proximity as the previous tragedy. It is about time somebody from the local authority and the Department Of Environment (DOE)own up to the responsibility and resign from their positions. The Director of DOE recently claimed that they are under staffed when was criricised for failing to take action against a company which has violeted environmental regulations for the past 10 years. But we have so many unemployed graduates at the same time, where is the logic? Why can't we produce useful graduates, in environmetal study for instant? Then they can quickly fill the vacancies in the DOE and be employed.

Pak Lah, You Are A Huge Disappointment

The Member of Parliament (MP) of Jasin, Mohd Said Yusof admits that he is the sole proprietor of the forwarding agency, Binyu Sof Enterprise, which transported the consignment of imported sawn timber seized by the Malacca Customs. This gives a new twist to the controversy surrounding the dramatic resignation of Datuk Shahrir Samad as the chairman of the Backbenchers' Club in the parliament of Malaysia. It all started as a story carried on the Malaysia's English dairy, The New Straits Times, reporting that a MP was interfering with the operations of the Customs Office by telling the Director of Customs to "close one eye". Seeing the opportunity, the Leader of Opposition, Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), brought the matter to the Parliament and moved that the said report carried in the NST to be referred to the Rights and Previllages Committee. On normal day this story will usually end here, the National Front (BN) MPs will simply vote it out treating it as just another of the gimicks by the Opposition to attract attentions, and will not even be reported in the news. But not this time, because Datuk Shahrir saw the real issue and its moral seriousness and supported the motion. He urged his comrades to do the same. But the BN MPs did not vote with their clear conscience and opposed Lim's motion. In a fit, Datuk Shahrir resigned from his position as chairman of the Backbenchers' Club, and drew sharp criticism from his collegues, notablily the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Nasri. The matter was widely reported in the media, now this time the BN MPs draws sharp criticism from the public, they cried, "why close only one, better close both eyes!". Malaysia Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was out of the country at that time and everyone was waiting for him to return and sort this out. On his return, Datuk Badawi announced that all BN MPs should follow party rules a nd vote only for BN MP's motion! (Blindly huh?) This means Datuk Badawi who portrays himself as the champion of anti-corruption in Malaysia has given himself a tight slap on his own mouth. It means that he condorns the action of the BN MPs' action of blocking a motion to investigate corrupt practice of a MP. He is willing to sacrisfy the efforts to curb corruption in favour of political gains. MP of Jasin, Mohd Said Yusof declared, "I admit I'm a businessman, but what's wrong with a MP becoming a businessman?" Nothing wrong, absolutely nothing wrong YB. But using your position as a YB and start to ask enforcement officers to "close one eye" is defenitely wrong. If every YB starts to do the same, what will become of Malaysia?

Chairman Of Parliament Back Benchers Resigned

Datuk Sharir Samad, the chairman of the Backbenchers' Club in Malaysia Parliament, resigned. He did so after supporting the Opposition Leader, Lim Kiat Siang who moved to eradicate corruptions in Malaysia. But the back benchers did not follow his example, and voted against the motion instead. Datuk Sharir felt that he no longer command the respect of his fellow backbenchers and does not find any reason to stay as leader of the backbenchers club. He does not want to play the role of a rubber stamp in the Parliament, he wants all Members of Parliament to uphold their dignities and have own rights of decision. I tip my hat to a politician who lives up to his principals here.

Singapore Having Their General Election Soon

The nearest

(note I didn't use the word closest) neighbour of Malaysia, Singapore will be having their general election in a few days' time. This time the ruling party did not win the election on nomination day itself. Suprise, surprise! Actually, why should they bother to hold any election at all? The Singaporeans won't dare to elect any opposition candidate anyway. They are all conditioned to listen to the ruling party since the day they were born. Supposing any of the opposition candidates was elected, he will be quickly disqualified due to the fact that he being a bankrupt. How come? Don't you know that he will be sued by the leaders of the ruling party for libel because he criticised them during the election campaign. They will definitely win and the poor chap will have to declare himself bankrupt because he will never be able to pay for the ridiculously high damage amount awarded by the court. It happened before, just go and check the reords. Malaysian government has a powerful weapon against the opposition candidates - the "ISA", but Singaporean government has "ISA" and on top of that they have a much much more lethal weapon - "Sure Win Libel Suits".

Contracts Which Fail To Meet Deadline Will Be Terminated

Malaysia's Minister Of Works, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu, warned contractors in the country that they should not delay to commence works once the contracts are awarded to them. They also must meet the deadline as stipulated in the contracts. In the 9MP period, the Works Ministry of Malaysia will monitor all contracts awarded closely. Investigations will be carried out if any project is found to be falling behind schedules, stern warning will be given to the contractors concerned, and they will be given another chance to rectify the problems. If they still fail to meet the deadlines, the delayed contracts will be terminated and be reawarded to new contractors. If the new contract sum is higher than the original contract sum, the difference shall be borne by the original contractors. In the past, such a difference was borne by the government. Will this measure be effective? Yes and no. If the contracting companies only are held responsible for the delay, the owners of these companies will simply disband the companies and form new ones, then the above measures will be useless against them. On the other hand, if the owners of these companies themselves are held responsible, then they got no way to run, these measures will be effective....to certain extent at least. Any way, this post is not meant to criticise the Works Minister, but its main purpose is to record the words spoken by the Works Minister. We shall check back after a few years or months to see how much he has lived up to his words. I will do this more often in future, for all prominent people in Malaysia, so that we have a record to trace how fast and how often they change their faces and tunes.

A Great Stateman Has Passed Away

Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, died of heart, lung and kidney complications at 7.34am yesterday at the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Jalan Ampang. He was 81 years old. Tun Abd Ghafar Baba was no ordinary politician, he was a great statemen, who was from the grassroot, for the grassroot and with the grassroot till the day he died. He worked evry hard for national unity, eradication of poverty and corruptions all his life. Tun Ghafar was not a slew and cunning politician, he was one who "shoots straight", otherwise he would have become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Unfortunately he was betrayed by those who pretended to be loyal to him but quietly manupilated to unseat him in the party election in 1993. During the peak of his political life Tun Ghafar refused to accept any titles bestowed upon him, he preferred to be addressed as "Encik Ghafar" officially. He only accepted any title when he was no longer in the manistream of politics. What a simple but great man! Tun Ghafar's passing away will be missed by everyone who believes in good and straight ways.

The Scenic Bridge Plan is Scrapped

Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the construction of the controversal "Scenic Bridge" which were to replace the 82 year-old Johor Causeway linking Malaysia to Singapore will be stopped permanently, to everyone's surprise. The idea of building this bridge was mooted in 2003 by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir who reasoned that the Causeway was built without giving due environmental considerations to the Strait of Johor. He claimed that the Causeway was blocking the free flow of the water of Johor Strait and eventually turning it into a pond of dead water. Whereas a bridge will allow the sea water to flow freely below it. But his proposal was met with strong protests from the Singapore government, whatever for, I really don't understand. Maybe Singaporeans love dead waters. When Tun Dr Mahathir retired and Datuk Abd Badawi took over as PM, he continued to pursue the idea of replacing the old causeway with a new bridge, he even went as far as designing a curved bridge calling it the "Scenic Bridge" on the Malaysian half of the bridge. His idea was to build our portion of the bridge first while the negotiation between Malaysia and Singapore was underway. When the two countries come to an agreement finally, we would have completed our part already. And this is also to beat the ever rising costs of construction materials. On seeing this, the Singaporean government demanded unreasonable bargains like allowing their fighter jets to fly over Malaysian air space freely and allow them to dig the Johor Strait for sand, an action which will erode the Johor shore lines as well as poluting the sea water. This brought about outcries from Malaysian public, demanding the government to scrap the idea of building that new bridge. Being an elected government of a democratic country, Datuk Badawi has to listen to the people and stopped the project. The effects and implications of this decision is yet to be seen, but it is done for the best of the people's interests. I can not understand the rationale of Singapore's objections to building the bridge because I did not follow this issue over the years. I did not bother myself about this issue because I won't be using it often, I go to Singapore maybe once in 5 years. I thought there is much to be gained on both sides if the conggestion at the causeway is eased as a result of the building of this new bridge, not only Malaysia will benefit, right? From the commercial angle, it is better for Johor Port and Port Kelang's business if the conggestions situations at the causeway worsen bacause the lorries delayed there will caused great loss to the businessmen who prefered using Singaporean port instead of our own ports. When they realised this, they will switch to using Port Kelang or Johor Port. Why should the Malaysian government be so eager to improve the traffic conditions at the causeway since both Malaysians and Singaporeans are using the same causeway? Maybe the Malaysian public dare to criticise the government while the Singaporeans dare not, and also they are dumb as pointed out by the renownTaiwan author, Lee Au（李敖) recently. Therefore the Malaysian government will feel the pressure of public criticism while the Singaporean government will relax and watch because there will be no critism from Sinpagore public against their own government.

Ombudsman panel to check public services

Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in Prime Minister Department, disclosed that a body to watch over the enforcement agencies is being drafted. The body will be named Ombudsman, any complaints from the public against the enforcement agencies like police, custom, immigration, road transport, land and survey and others even the ministers can be directed to it. He said the government will push hard to make it pass through the parliament. The idea is very good in theory, but will it wotk in practice? I doubt it very much. The reason is very simple, who dare to face the consequences by stepping forward to lodge a complaint against one of the above mentioned enforcement agencies? Will they be protected from being harassed after doing so? please be real .

Pak Lah's warning to all heads of departments

Malaysia prime minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned all heads of government departments to buckle up and see that the implementation of the 9th Malaysia Plan is smooth and on target. They should ensure that everyone under their charge to perform, if anyone is found not complying with the 9th Malaysia Plan should be suspended or even terminated permanently. This also applies to the departmental heads themselves. There will be no room for sympathy for individuals in this case, because the inept performance of one person can affect the welfare of many. The PM sounds very serious this time, hope it will not fall on deal ears.

The 9th Malaysia Plan

The prime minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had unveiled the much aniticipated 5-year 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP) yesterday. Here's the Ninth Malaysia Plan at a glance :

• 9MP to cost RM220 billions
• ECONOMY to expand by 6.0 % per annum
• RURAL Dvelopment RM10.9 billions, Finance RM9.8 billions, Transport RM9.5 billions
• POPULATION to grow to to 28.96 millions
• BUMI corporate equity share to reach 30%
• INDIAN share of corporate equity to attain 3.0%
• RM9.1 billions for agriculture
• PRIVATE FINANCE initiative for RM20 billions of projects
• PM's DEPT gets lion's share of RM29.68 billions or 13.5%
• EDUCATION RM23.19 billions or 10.5%, works Ministry RM18.9 billions
• HIGHER education RM17.6 billions, Defence RM15.75 billions
• ENERGY, Water & Communications RM12.12, Health 11.00 billions
• BUMI CONTRACTS to make up 60% of all works in civil works.

Although the proposed allocation for 9MP is quite handsome, but the plan is an anti climax. There is nothing new in the content of the plan, it still harps on old tune like 30% share for Bumi, bridging the income disparity between the Bumi and non Bumi, eradicate poverty,the 2020 Vision, etc etc. The PM even coins the new phrase for this plan - THE FIVE KEY THRUSTS OF THE 9TH MALAYSIA PLAN.

The wording part of the 9MP is excellent, only thing is that the implementation part is not. I will give it a 20%-30% success rate.

I predict more than 80% of the allocated RM220 billions will be sucked up by the small group of elite rich Malays (Cronies as the opposition called them) like a huge sponge, maybe a trickle will filter through to the hardcore poor Malays at the rural areas. The remainder will be divided among the middle-class Malays, the Chinese, The Indians and foreign investors. How to close the gap between the urban and rural areas this way? The Malays already own more 70% of the economy in monetary terms but falls far behind the 30% mark in head-count terms, because the distribution of wealth is too concentrated in a handful of elite Malays.

The Malays youths will be ushered into local universities or other institutes of higher learning, and then to a good secured job in the civil service. But over the years the giant civil service's oversized body can take in all of them no more. Some of the Malays graduates are unemployed in the end. This is a pitiful lot, much worse off than the Chinese and Indian youths.

The non Bumi youths kowing very well that getting a place in the local universities and then onto a secured job in the civil service is next to impossible for them, they will either go overseas (depending on family ability) to further their studies and do not return to Malaysia, or will take the plunge into the working place as non-graduates and learn a vocational skill. They will work and gain enough experience after some time and start their own business, so the non Bumi business community will grow bigger and bigger. Surprised, aren't you? Well, you should not be, this is a vicious circle, and the Malaysian government is not trying to put in a sincere effort to correct it.

At the mean while what happen to the unemployed Malays graduates? Well, they stay at home, grumbling, whinning and waiting for openings like the 9MP to come along. They loathe the idea of learning up the skills to do business. How do you expect them to take over the business control of the country?

Slotting 60% of all civil works to Bumi contractors will help to produce more Bumi entrepreneurs? You can allocate 100% of the contracts to them, all the contracts will be carried out by the non Bumi contractors in the end, the Bumi contractors will just sit back and enjoy the commissions. The legend of "Ali Bapa" will live on! Will they ever learn any thing? Of course they will, they will learn to drive expensive cars, learn to search out the most expensive holidays spots, learn to politics with money and eventually learn to file for bankrupcy.

The award of tenders of civil works are always seen as the pay off by political leaders to their supporters. We should not expect any different this time around. We live in a real world.

Penang, home state of the PM and Sabah which is lagging behind other Malaysian states economically are the two happiest states this time. They will both receive larger allocation of funds during the 9MP.

Tudung for all policewomen

The Inspector General of Police of Malaysia sent out a directive that all female police personnel in Malaysia have to wear the head scarf (tudung) for all march-pass, passing out ceremonies and the national parade. This was met with very unfavourable response from the non muslim community, the loudest protests are from the oppositions, as usual. Then the IGP quickly clarified that it is only compulsory for muslim female police personnel, it is optional for non muslims. Then the Prime Minister said that if tudung is part of the police uniform, then all policewomen should wear it regardless of religion backgrond. So on the recent 199th police day parade we saw almost all the policewomen wore the scarves, except for a few non muslim policewomen. It will be interesting to see what will be the fate of these few who did not comply. The question of whether should female workers who deal with the public, especially with foreign visitors wear the tudung while on duty is not a new one. Those in the service industries like hotels, tour operators, restaurants, entertainment sector as well as the media are against it for fear that the label of Malaysia being a radical muslim nation will stick. Those who are for it will argue that muslim women should be allowed to wear tudung in the workplace, otherwise it will be considered harassment of individual's religion. But in the case of the policewomen wearing tudung in official parades has taken a new twist to the issue. What would the real radical muslims inMalaysia react when they learn that non muslim women are wearing the tudung which they consider the utmost suci (holy) n the public? They will certainly take this as a very big insult to their religion. My statement is not wihout any grounds. Remember not very long ago some non muslims trying to show their friendliness to their muslim colleagues by greeting them with the muslim phrase,"Assala maliakum", and the friends took offend thinking that the non muslim guys are mocking them. And this became a big issue. They insisted that only muslims are authorised to say such phrase. Only words itself created so much troubles, what more with the holy scarf ? There is another point I wish to raise here. The Chinese youth have being accused by the government,the police department and UMNO politicians in the past that they are not patriotic because very few of them like to join the police force. And they are only interested in making money. Those who said this ought to have their brains checked or to be put through an IQ test designed specially for primary school students. Please be informed that NOT all Chinese youth are from rich families, don't look so surprised, it is an undeniable fact. They will gladly join the police force to enjoy the steady job with many not tracable side-incomes, if only you don't make it difficult for them to join and also not to create any deep unease like the case of tudung. Come on, Chinese are human too, they also do not like religion harassment. So the best way is to stay out, keep clear of all these unease. Tell me honestly, do you think more Chinese youth will wish to join the police force after reading the IGP's new directive in the news?

Dong Zhong and NFCSH End Dispute

The dispute between the two major groups of Chinese educationists in Malaysia, the Dong Zhong (United Chinese School Committees Association) and The National Federation of Chinese School Headmasters was put to an end with the help of the Jiao Zhong(United Chinese School Teachers Committees Association) in a meeting between the three groups in the presence of other concerned parties. The three groups quickly came to an agreement to end the dispute and to reconcile for the good of Chinese education development in Malaysia, after one hour and a half of discussions. They will adhere to the following four general understandings :

• To highlight to the government the importantce of the Dong Zhong in the running of Chinese medium schools in the country
• The award of tenders to canteen operators in Chinese schools should remain the provocative of the Dong Zhong
• The setting up of a committee to oversee the running of all fee-collecting matters in the Chinese schools
• The Dong Zhong should be kept informed about matters that involve fee-collection.

The above agreements seem reasonable, it is what it should be in the first place. The handling of matters involving money will be more transparent and nobody will run the risk of being wrongly accused in the future.

We are fortunate that our educationists finally come to their senses and decided to talk things over instead of exposing all the ugly matters in the media. And there is still hope for Chinese education development in the country at the end.

Dong Zhong Vs The Headmasters

While my attetion was grabbed by tensions build-up between Taiwan and China the past few days, tensions are also building up between factions of the Chinese community in my own country! Chineses are good fighters - amongst themselves,that is. The National Federation of Chinese School Headmasters is at war with Dong Zhong (United Chinese School Committees association). Traditionally all headmasters of Chinese primary schools are appointed by Dong Zhong's affiliate members, that is the school committees of individual Chinese schools. But this power of Dong Zhong has gradually but surely being eroded by the government, and the Chinese school headmasters consider themselves more as government servants than employees of the Dong Zhong nowadays. So there is not much respect left for the Dong Zhong as far as the headmasters are concern. This is not surprising to see the current dispute between the two to grow into this scale oblivious to the concerns of the Chinese community in Malaysia. And there is no sign that either side will be eager to bring this to an early stop. Apparently this dispute was started by a committee member of a School's Parents-Teachers Association in Petaling Jaya by accusing that some headmasters in Chinese primary schools are receiving hefty kickbacks from suppliers of text-books, excersie books, stationeries and computers. As a result these suppliers enjoy monopoly over the supply of these items, and parents are not allowed to source from else where. This were echoed by several parents in the press. One businessman (reported to be a member of a school committee) put up a RM50,000.00 reward for information related to any corrupted headmaster in Chinese school. To make matter worse,there are actually 40+ responses to it. The response from the furious headmasters was dramatic. The placed advertisements in the newspaper threatening to disband The National Federation of Chinese School Headmasters and also will stop conducting all tuitions (extra classes) for Bahasa Malaysia,English Language and computers beginning second half of 2006. And they will only supply text-books recommended by the Education Department, and parents will have to look for reference books for their children on their own. Wow this is quite a bomb for the parents! I don't know about other parents, I personally welcome the NFCS announcement, I would feel much relieved. I have two schooling kids, the amount they have to pay is ridiculous. And they keep changing the texk books every year, the younger child can not just reuse the books handed down from the elder one. I think something is fishy there, is there a need to change it every year? Good news is Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussien announced that less emphasis will be placed on examinations in the new education system. Text-books, reference books and tuition classes will not play such an important role then. As an after thought why can't the two sides sit down and talk, is there a third party preventing this to take place? In the case of Taiwan and China, USA is the obvious culprit; but in our case, who?

IGP Warns OCPDs

Inspector General Of Police Tan Sri Bakri Omar reminded 145 district police chiefs (Officer in Charge of Police Distrct,OCPD) that they should be more sensitive when dealing with the public, especially regarding matters that may give rise to the issue of human rights. The IGP was speaking to these OCPDs attending a 3- day human rights seminar. He reiterated these officers were being taught human rights all the times, this seminar was also conducted to reinforce their understanding of the subject. If need be,this seminar can be extended to acheive the objective. If there were officers still can not understand, then they are advised to change jobs, "We don't want stupid officers..." he said. The IGP was frustrated after a series of incidents bringing the police force into disrepute recently. Bravo, well put,Tan Sri !

Malaysia's First Online Grocery Shopping Portal

eGrocries.com.my - the first online gorcery shopping mall in Malaysia was launched by the Wah Kong group and MnEBay Technologies Sdn Bhd. They expect the portal will generate RM6 million turnover in the first year of operation. Aren't they a bit over optismatic? The general Malaysian public is still not tuned to online purchase just yet and a vast majority feel insecured revealing their credit card details online. To over come this fear eGroceries provide door-door delivery and accept credit cards at the door. Then again this will limit their coverage, and defating the purpose of being "on the net" in the first place. Their door-to-door delivery is limited to Klang Valley areas only, and to enjoy this service the minimum purchase is RM100.00 in one receipt. Also they do not make deliveries on the following holidays: New Years Day, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Hari Raya Haji, Labor Day, Wesak Day, Agong's Birthday, Sultan Selangor birthday, Independence Day and Christmas Day. Orders will be delivered the next working day in the above cases. Not much an online experience, right?

Full List Of Malayia Cabinet 2006

Following is the full list of Cabinet Ministers and members of administration of Prime Minister of Malaysia :

Ministry	Minister
Prime Minister	Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Deputy Prime Minister	Datuk Seri Najib Tun Hussein
Prime Minister's Department
1. Minister	Tan Sri Bernard Dompok
2. Minister	Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz
3. Minister	Datuk Seri Mohd Effendi Norwawi
4. Minister	Prof Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin
5. Minister	Datuk Dr Maximus Ongklili
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk M. Kayveas
2. Deputy Minister	Joseph Entulu
3. Deputy Minister	Datuk Abdul Rahman Sulaiman
Parliamentary Secretary	Datuk Dr Masitah Ibrahim
Finance
Minister	Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Second Minister	Tan Sri Nor Mohamed YakcopMinister
1. Deputy Minister	Datukl Dr Ng Yen Yen
2. Deputy Minister	Datuk Dr Awang Adek
Parliamentary Secretary	Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya
Internal Security
Minister	Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum
2. Deputy Minister	Datuk Fu Ah Kiow
Home
Minister	Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad
Deputy Minister	Datuk Tan Chai Ho
Parliamentary Secretary	Datuk Paduka Abdul Rahman Ibrahim
Defence
Minister	Datuk Seri Najib Tun Hussein
Deputy Minister	Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin
Housing & Local Government
Minister	Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun
2. Deputy Minister	Robert Lau Hoi Chew
Parliamentary Secretary	Dr S. Subramaniam
Energy,Water & Communications
Minister	Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik
Deputy Minister	Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor
Information
Minister	Datuk Zainuddin Maidin
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
2. Deputy Minister	Chia Kwang Chye
Parliamentary Secretary	Noriah Kasnon
Works
Minister	Datuk Seri Samy Vellu
Deputy Minister	Datuk Mohd Zain Mohamad
Parliamentary Secretary	Datuk Yong Khoon Seng
Natural Resources & Environment
Minister	Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid
Deputy Minister	Datuk S. Sothinathan
Parliamentary Secretary	Datuk Sazmi Miah
Agriculture & agro-based Industry
Minister	Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk Seri Mohd Shariff Omar
2. Deputy Minister	Datuk Mah Siew Keong
Parliamentary Secretary	Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim
Foreign
Minister	Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar
Deputy Minister	Datuk Joseph Satang
Parliamentary Secretary	Ahmad Shabery
Transport
Minister	Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk Seri Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar
2. Deputy Minister	Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas
Human Resources
Minister	Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn
Deputy Minister	Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar
Science,Technology & Innovation
Minister	Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarlis
Deputy Minister	Kong Chu Ha
Parliamentary Secretary	Prof Datuk DrMohd Ruddin Abdul Ghani
Culture,Arts & Heritage
Minister	Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim
Deputy Minister	Datuk Wong Kam HoongMinister
Women,Family & Community Development
Minister	Datuk Seri Shahri zat Abdul Jalil
Deputy Minister	Datuk G. Palanivel
Parliamentary Secretary	Chew Mei Fun
Rural & Regioanl Development
Minister	Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman
2. Deputy Minister	Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe
Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs
Minister	Datuk Mohamed Shafie Apdal
Deputy Minister	Datuk S. Veerasingam
Parliamentary Secretary	Hoo Seong Chang
Plantation Industries & Commodities
Minister	Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui
Deputy Minister	Datuk Anifah Aman
Parliamentary Secretary	Datuk Dr S. Vijayaratnam
Youth & Sports
Minister	Datuk Azalina Othman Said
Deputy Minister	Datuk Liow Tiong Lai
Parliamentary Secretary	M. S. Vigneswaran
Health
Minister	Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek
Deputy Minister	Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff ahmad
Parliamentary Secretary	Lee Kah Choon
Tourism
Minister	Datuk Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor
Deputy Minister	Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai
Federal Territories
Minister	Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique
Deputy Minister	Datuk Wira Abu SemanYusop
Entrepreneur Development & C0-operative
Minister	Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin
Deputy Minister	Datuk Khamsiyah Yeop
Parliamentary Secretary	Samsu Baharun Abdul Rahman
Internationa Trade & Industry
Minister	Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk Ahmad Husni
2. Deputy Minister	Ng Lip Yong
Education
Minister	Datuk Seri Hishammudin Tun Hussien
1. Deputy Minister	Datuk Hon Choon KimMinister
2. Deputy Minister	Datuk Noh Omar
Parliamentary Secretary	P. Komala Devi
Higher Education
Minister	Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
Deputy Minister	Datuk Ong Tee KeatMinister
Parliamentary Secretary	Datuk Dr Adham Baba
Last Updated On :	28 February 2006

Complaint From A Foreign Tourist

Immediately after taking up their new offices, the Minister in the Tourism Ministry of Malaysia and his deputies vowed in front of the press that they will give all they have to promote and improve the tourism industry in the country. Hope they meant what they said. I am very disappointed when a foreign tourist (judging from his comment,he is most probably a German) comments in an old post of my blog recently (21 Dec 2005). He was blasting away at me, a Malaysian, for being cheated by a Malaysian tour operator, who has no connection with me whatsover. The tour destination is in Indonesia, if I understand him correctly. I guess the complaint was not directed at me personally, maybe he could not find any proper channel to voice his complaints and he simply keyed in the search enginees the word "Malaysian" and found my blog which happens to rank high for that keyword! The Tourism minister please instruct your men to provide a channel for collecting feedback from visitors to Malaysia.

A Major Reshuffle In Malaysia Cabinet

Finally, Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has slected a team to his own liking! He had kept the original cabinet since he took over from Tuan Dr Mahatir with only minor adjustments. Everyone seems to be pleased with the new line up, praises from all quarters, except the Oppositions, of course. There were a few surprises, like those who lost in their bids for positions in their own parties are retained in contrary of predictions by political analysts. And there is Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz who was in the center of the recent "AP" controversy, was widely believed to be dropped. And to everyone's surprise she retains her profolio of Minister of International Trade and Industry. In spite of the great numbers of persons involved in the reshuffle, the key positions remained unchanged. These are:

• Internal Security
• Foreign Affairs
• Home Affairs
• Defense
• Works
• Water and Communications
• International Trade and Industry
• Education.

They are all headed by the original ministers. Hence it is quite safe to say that the core policy of Malaysia ruling coalition will be pretty the same except with Datuk Seri Badawi's personal touch added.

This demonstrates that the criteria are based on ability and experience and not on political power and popularity.

Sarawak Tribune Suspended

The English news paper Sarawak Tribune in Sarawak, the East Malaysia state, has its publishing permit revoked by the Federal Government yesterday. The order was given by Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi personally. He is also the Internal Security Minister of Malaysia. No indication of when will this suspension be lifted was given. The Sarawak Tribune republished the publication of 12 Muhammad cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last September, which sparked off a series of violent protests from Muslims (especially radicals) all over the world. Everybody, including those in western countries where religion tolerance is unheard of, should have learned that these cartoons are meant to radicule Prophet Muhammad in particular and the Muslims in general by now. Yet the Sarawak Tribune, a news paper in Malaysia where religion tolerance is a way of life, chose to republish them really stunned all Malaysians. Really, another case of insentive minds at work.

Malaysia Police Department facing leadership crisis

Seven top ranking officers in the Malaysia Police Department will be due for retirement before end of year 2006. It is reported in the news that the police department may face a problem in finding suitable candidates to fill their positions. All 7 are holding the rank of Commissioner of Police (CP), while the highest ranking officer amongst the younger remaining officers is Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). Some of the younger officers have to be promoted soon in order to fill the gap.

Hope the reshuffling at the top of the police force will not affect the performance of the men in the field due to lack of proper supervisions.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

I wish all Malaysian Chinese a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year!

For all those who balik kampung for the long week-end,Chinese and non-Chinese alike, please drive with caution and patience. Remember your mission is to go home and spend a happy holidays with your loved ones and then back to work safely. Don't let this mission fail half way home.

Pandu cermat jiwa selamat!

GONG XI FA CAI

Suspects of rape murder acquitted

Just as I am afraid of, the 6 suspects arrested recently over the rape murder of factory executive Chee Gaik Yap was acquitted. The reason : DNA tests failed to link them to the case. Fortunately, they are remanded under a different clause for further investigation. We are not asking the police to simply find some scapegoats, but there must be somebody responsible for the girl's death. If they are not, then who is? The police have not made any arrest beside these group of people. What is the explaination to the stains of sperms and blood found on their vehicle,with which they were arrested? It is high time the police department upgarde their investigation skills, laboratory facilities/analysis and their level of commitment. Is it going to be just ANOTHER unsolved case?