Khir Toyo acts tough with 3 local authority officers

Three local authority officers are in hot soup for not acting against an errant developer in Selayang.

Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said: “We will act against two or three officers who have been weak in implementing the law by not acting against these developers.”

We are facing a lot of problems with many developers – three in Selayang alone- because they are not complying with regulations, he said.

Source: The Sun

Read:

Was the land alienation to Zizah in good faith and in the best interest of the people ?

Khir Toyo clamouring to repair public image

Selangor under Khir – sad state of affairs

Khir’s new tune: law-breakers not fit to be councillor, now says there is crisis

Khir dragging his feet re Zakaria scandal, Sultan deeply disappointed

Khir:I don’t know, I am still waiting for report

Dismantle NEP

A new affirmative policy should benefit the poor of all races in Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in an interview on Al Jazeera. 

He said the New Economic Policy (NEP) had only benefited a few rich Malays when it was meant for poor Malays. 

“The Government should dismantle the NEP and replace it with a policy to benefit the poor of all races. A policy to correct the imbalance of the marginalised should be implemented. 

“The Government must introduce a policy without any racial lines to benefit all races,” he said in an interview on the channel’s Riz Khan talk show, in Washington.  

Source: The Star

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Musa: Drop race quota to help woo foreign investors to South Johor

These people don’t want to work, they don’t want to learn

National policy should include all races

NEP benefits Umnoputras

What the world think of Malaysia’s affirmative action

Wealth distribution should not benefit only a privileged few

Najib concedes that next general election will be tough

Malaysia’s ruling coalition faces a tough task trying to keep its large parliamentary majority in the next general election, a news report quoted the country’s deputy leader as saying, amid speculation that polls could come within a year.

The National Front coalition, led by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, won 198 out of 219 parliamentary seats during the 2004 national polls. It was one of the coalition’s best electoral performances since it began governing the Southeast Asian nation in 1957.

The coalition’s 2004 election performance was widely attributed to Abdullah’s campaign promises to curb corruption, improve government efficiency and promote moderate Islamic practices in the Muslim-majority country. However, critics say Abdullah’s anti-corruption campaign and other efforts have since lost steam.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Malaysian Model Murder Gets Stickier for UMNO leader

Anwar calls for wider probe (reported in Qatar)

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar alleges corruption in military aircraft deal

Najib’s mettle

Najib is no Anwar

Najib-led committee issues more APs

RM800,000 spent, but no sign of sports centre works

Is the Najib’s UK High Performance Sports a waste of tax money ?

Najib changes tune, UK High Performance Training Center needs RM69 million to refurbish

Najib says, ‘From Research Center to High Performance Training Center without cost’

Najib denies approving RM490m UK sports center, shifts responsibility to Ministry of Youth and Sports

Najib approved UK sports center concept only

who approved the UK sports center

No Free-Trade agreement

The U.S. government has ruled out securing a free-trade agreement with Malaysia before President George W. Bush loses his “fast-track” trade promotion authority in three months. “We made clear to the Malaysian government the requirements of our Trade Promotion Authority and that, at this point, submission of a U.S.-Malaysia FTA . . . is not possible,” Steve Norton, spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, said in a statement.

The Malaysia pact got bogged down within the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, in particular, over Malaysia’s affirmative action policy that provides special privileges to indigenous ethnic Malay-owned firms.

Source: Vancouver Sun

Read:

Musa: Drop race quota to help woo foreign investors to South Johor

These people don’t want to work, they don’t want to learn

National policy should include all races

NEP benefits Umnoputras

What the world think of Malaysia’s affirmative action

Wealth distribution should not benefit only a privileged few

Hishammuddin defends Putera UMNO north pole skydiving expedition

Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein today advised the 10 Putera Umno members who will skydive over the North Pole next month to concentrate on their training and ignore criticisms against their venture.
In defending the expedition, Hishammuddin said the 10 skydivers comprising Putera Umno members of between 19 and 24 years should succeed in their venture to silence the sceptics.

“We are not seeking their assistance, so why are they kicking up a fuss?” he said when hitting out at the critics who had claimed that the expedition was being undertaken with public funds.

The expedition is aimed at changing the people’s perception of the capability of youths, that they too can change and achieve something positive when given the opportunity.

Source: Bernama

RM 68 million down the drain

It was billed as the nation’s premier eco-tourism attraction when it was opened in 2001. However, today, the Paya Indah Wetlands is a testimony to the wastage of millions in taxpayers’ money.

Now, amid the government’s move to pump in an additional RM20 million to revive the park, accusations are flying between the park’s consultants and the Malaysian Wetlands Foundation (MWF)  on why Paya Indah Wetlands cost taxpayers RM68 million with nothing to show, other than a dossier of unpaid bills, lawsuits, irregular financial procedures and the lack of transparency.

MWF’s former chief executive officer Muralee Menon was the sole signatory to some of the cheques, which although not illegal, was not a prudent practice, said financial experts.

Menon, who now advises the Cabinet Committee on Sports headed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, declined to be interviewed for this report. When contacted, he retorted: “They can say what they want.”

While the government cited manpower restructuring, high maintenance costs and failure to recoup losses when the park abruptly closed on Feb 1, 2005, those involved in the project claimed that ill-construed ideas and poor management led to its closure.

Source: The Sun

Tourism Minister is a dimwit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MALAYSIA’S tourism minister has sparked a controversy among the local Internet community by reportedly describing bloggers as ‘liars’ and ‘mostly jobless women’.
The Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh quoted Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor as saying last week: ‘All bloggers are liars. They cheat people using all kinds of methods.
‘From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women.’

Source: Malaysia’s Tourism Minister is a “dimwit”, Malaysia Today

Najib is no Anwar

‘Najib tidak mempunyai perwatakan peribadi dan politik seperti Anwar. Apa pun yang dikatakan mengenai Anwar, dia adalah seorang aktivis politik yang gigih, berani dan karismatik.’

Najib does not have the personal and political strength of Anwar. Anwar is a determined, courageous and charismatic political activist

‘Kalau Anwar membina landasan politiknya melalui revolusi, Najib memilih jalan evolusi. Perjalanannya dipermudahkan oleh Almarhum Tun Hussein Onn yang berupa bapa saudaranya (melalui perkahwinan) dan oleh Dr Mahathir yang terhutang budi kepada bapanya.’

Anwar built his political platform through revolution, Najib chose the evolutionary path. His path was made easy by Almarhum Tun Hussein Onn, his uncle (through marriage) and by Dr Mahathir who was indebted to his father.

Tetapi tidak seperti Anwar, Najib tidak mempunyai penyokong dan pengikut yang fanatik.

Unlike Anwar, Najib does not have passionate supporters and followers.

Source: The Scribe

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Najib’s mettle

Musa: Drop race quota to help woo foreign investors to South Johor

Former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam says the government should exempt the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in South Johor from policies that favour the bumiputras to help attract foreign investors to the huge growth area.

Musa, who sits in an advisory panel for the project, said policies that gave the bumiputras privileged access to government contracts and guarantee a minimum presence in the workplace may deter foreign companies interested in investing in the IDR.

According to a Bloomberg report based on an interview with the former DPM, Musa said contract awards “will have to be on merit”.

“The Malays will have to face competition,” he said.

Bloomberg also interviewed Manu Bhaskaran, a Singapore-based partner at economic research company Centennial Group, who said: “It would be an exit route, politically. Johor (the IDR) is an extremely important project. The affirmative action programme and all the related problems do turn off foreign investors.”

Reaching the project’s targets, without the programme, would allow the government to remove the policy in other areas, he added. “It shows that at the top ranks of the system, there are people who are thinking well.”

Source: The Sun, Bloomberg

Read:

These people don’t want to work, they don’t want to learn

National policy should include all races

NEP benefits Umnoputras

What the world think of Malaysia’s affirmative action

Wealth distribution should not benefit only a privileged few

Varsity intake process will be fair

The intake process for universities will be fair and efficient, the the Higher Education Ministry has assured students. 

The university admissions management unit (BPKP) – established in 1971 and known previously as the university admission unit (UPU) – has proven to be efficient for more than 35 years and its system has been accepted as good, Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said. 

Source: The Star