Are we a sovereign nation ?
Or just a pawn for USD50 billion.
What ails patriotism ? There is none in Malaysia, it is as corrupt as it gets and for the sake of the nation, I pray this is a mere urban legend cum hoax
http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/corridors.php?itemid=1859
"On 15 June 2006, Reezal Merican Naina Merican wrote a letter to Datuk Zamani Abdul Ghani, the Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. The letter is about an amount of USD50 billion required by Malaysia to fund its national development. In case you may have forgotten, Malaysia recently launched its Ninth Malaysia Plan or Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan (RMK9). The RMK9, which runs from 2006 to 2010, is going to cost the nation RM200 billion. What many do not know, however, is that Malaysia does not actually have the money to finance the RM200 billion RMK9."
"The USD50 billion is being procured from 25 prime banks but will be channelled through a private limited company, Asasatu Technology Sdn Bhd. The name Ir. Hj Zubir bin Hj Ahmad is mentioned in that letter as the Managing Director of the company. It appears that the USD50 billion will be channelled through a private limited company and not directly to the Malaysian government. This would mean, officially, Malaysia is not borrowing any money. The money is being borrowed by a private limited company."
"What is even more interesting is that the agent who will arrange the financing is named in that letter as Union Financial Services Corporation of Sydney, Australia, and the address is listed as PO Box A2286. So there is no way of confirming whether this company is just a ‘PO Box’ company or a legitimate fund manager. Considering that we are talking about Malaysia’s funding requirement for the five years until 2010, this makes it very dicey indeed. In a way, this USD50 billion is going to be Malaysia’s lifeline and the whole matter is being handled through a PO Box in Australia and a private limited company in Malaysia in the process of being wound up. Two weeks earlier to that 15 June 2006 letter, on 30 May 2006, Asasatu Technology Sdn Bhd had written Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a letter offering the USD50 billion and mentioning in that letter that their partner is Union Financial Services Corporation. The letter was signed by Ir. Hj Zubir bin Hj Ahmad. A person by the name of Roland Bleyer is also mentioned as the President of Union Financial Services Corporation. Reezal Merican’s 15 June 2006 letter is in response to this letter of 30 May 2006. "
"Reading the three letters together, it is clear that Bank Negara has agreed that a private limited company currently in the process of being wound up is to be used as a front to borrow USD50 billion and that this company will act as a front for the Malaysian government so that it will not be seen that Malaysia is borrowing USD50 billion from overseas. Secondly, the whole package was brokered by a Singapore outfit, but so as not to reveal that Singapore is involved, lest fingers start pointing to the prime Minister’s son-in-law, they shall put the whole thing through an Australian PO Box that will front as the ‘partner’ for the Malaysian outfit."
Finally, it is clear that when the Malaysian government announced the RM200 billion RMK9 in Parliament, they did not have the money to finance it. However, not wanting it to appear like the country is borrowing interest-bearing US Dollars, plus is subject to currency fluctuations, to finance its development plans, they used a small private limited company as a front which again used an Australian PO Box company which in turn is backed by Singapore. In short, through many layers or levels of front companies and PO Box companies, Singapore is funding Malaysia’s development proudly touted as the Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan or RMK9.
Monday, January 15, 2007
The floods, the human toll, time for the awakening
The Floods, The Awakening.
I like Axinar's post on the flood situation.
Please allow me to use pictures to relay my message.
From USAToday (December 21, 2006)
From Malaysia Star (Dated January 15,2007)
From DAP's (Democratic Action Party) Website. Malaysia's leading opposition party, with any semblance of any check and balance mechanism
Note - I have to make a notation to the situation. Barbershop owner needs help to have an army rescue boat to come to his shop to rescue his customers and bring food to his customers.
And this is what he got.
From a Malaysia-Today.net blog writer
Thursday, January 11, 2007
People Power
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is the case in Malaysia. From afar, I feel for them, the trodden ones. The people's patience has finally reached tipping point. These pictures are almost surreal - the usually non confrontational Malaysian has finally opened up to stand up against injustice, corruption and government inefficiencies. A Picture paints a thousand words. This is indeed a proud moment for all Malaysians.
Reposted from : http://www.lensamalaysia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3558&page=3
Reposted from : http://www.lensamalaysia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3558&page=3
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Little Napoleons Again, this time the Immigration Department
Reposted from
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/61853
Two-day ordeal at immigration dept
I absolutely agree with RKG’s letter that the immigration department in Malaysia is ruining the government’s effort to attract tourists as well as to popularise the Malaysia, My Second Home programme.
My French husband, who was then my fiance, and I had a similar experience at the Putrajaya immigration department a few months ago. We had gone there voluntarily to inform the immigration department of my husband’s expired visa and to apply for an extension. The fact is, as a French citizen, my husband is usually granted a three-month social visit pass upon arrival in Malaysia. It was his third visit to Malaysia then and we were both working abroad.
However, due to a mistake by an immigration officer at the KLIA airport, he was only given a one-month social visit pass. Undeniably, it was our own mistake for overlooking the fallibility of the officer and only noticed the mistake a few weeks after the visa expired. Upon this, we immediately went to the immigration department in Putrajaya to rectify the matter.
We were told that we would need to pay a fine of RM2,000 for overstaying to which we agreed, since we accepted our responsibility of overlooking the mistake. What could have been settled in a few hours turned out to be two full days spent at the immigration department! On the first day, we were told to wait despite the fact that we took a number and those who came later were attended to before us.
At the end of the day, we were told to come back the next day and that we had to submit a letter of explanation. We were not given any further explanation or direction as to why it was taking so long and we were reluctant to ask since most of the officers looked unfriendly and unhappy. We even saw and heard an officer screaming at one person at the counter. I felt embarrassed that my husband had to witness this.
When we came back the next day, we were told that we had been waiting at the wrong floor! We just could not understand why we were not told the day before. We couldn’t help but feel that we had been pushed around by the officers who didn’t seem to care or bother about our time.
When we finally met the appropriate officers for the matter, we had a private interview in an enclosed room. We went through the normal procedure of submitting a report to an officer who took down the statement while I acted as the translator since there was no appointed official translator there. Again, we told the officers that we agreed to pay for the fine and I would need to withdraw the money from an ATM machine in another building. My husband had to remain in their custody until the fine was to be paid.
I had to take quite a long walk to the ATM machine and by the time I returned, I was panting as I was walking briskly to get back as fast as I could. Then one of the officers asked me why I had rushed? Was I afraid that they would beat up my husband? Although it was a joke, we didn’t appreciate it since the gesture could easily be misinterpreted as something else. Funnily enough, we were then told that we could go and have lunch despite not having paid the fine. So we couldn’t understand what ‘game’ was being played by the officers.
After lunch, we were told to wait again at the common waiting room. The officer who took down my husband’s statement came to us in private and gave us his private mobile number and told us that if we needed any help, we should contact him only. He told us that he could help us to get our fine reduced. We were skeptical towards his kind gesture because we found it odd that an officer would provide us with his private number and asked us to contact him alone and help us get the fine reduced, despite us agreeing to pay for the RM2,000 fine. So we both agreed to ignore the officer’s offer because we were not willing to consider bribery as an option.
Of course, we then ended up having to wait for another full day and in the meantime, we were both summoned many times to answer some questions with several more officers, which we couldn’t understand since an official written statement had been taken. Since my husband couldn’t understand Bahasa Malaysia, I was asked many times why my husband had visited Malaysia so often. In my mind, I wanted to tell the officers that my husband loved Malaysia and was it against the law to visit the country? Instead, I told the officer that we were engaged and my husband usually accompanies me to Malaysia when I visit my family here. I tried my best to be patient and polite since I didn’t want to jeopardise my husband’s visa application. Then, I was asked to present official evidence that we were engaged!
I just couldn’t believe it and I told the officer that there is no paper to prove our engagement. I was literally asked this question many times by different officers. My husband came up with a theory that the officers were testing our patience so that we might just break and pay them a bribe to expedite the process. At the end of the day, we were finally told that we would pay RM100 only for a special pass to allow my husband to stay one more day in order for him to repatriate from the country. This was told to us by a senior officer who also took the opportunity to lecture us in public. Although we were grateful that we ended up paying much less, we believed that we were indeed just pushed and played around with. Whenever my husband is asked whether he likes Malaysia or not, he would always be reminded of his two-day ordeal at the immigration department. The truth is, he did like Malaysia which explains why he had decided to move to Malaysia to live with me. However, when he was treated like an illegal immigrant or a criminal, especially when he had voluntarily submitted himself to the immigration department, he can no longer imagine this country to be his second home.
------
Note - One wonders about rules and procedure that the Department should follow. Firstly, French nationals are granted social visits Visas upon arrival. One would think a simple fine then an extension would suffice for him to cross the border and come back in again (he has automatic Visa upon arrival anyway).
But no, we need little Napoleons to play mind games with you and ensure their ego is boosted.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/61853
Two-day ordeal at immigration dept
I absolutely agree with RKG’s letter that the immigration department in Malaysia is ruining the government’s effort to attract tourists as well as to popularise the Malaysia, My Second Home programme.
My French husband, who was then my fiance, and I had a similar experience at the Putrajaya immigration department a few months ago. We had gone there voluntarily to inform the immigration department of my husband’s expired visa and to apply for an extension. The fact is, as a French citizen, my husband is usually granted a three-month social visit pass upon arrival in Malaysia. It was his third visit to Malaysia then and we were both working abroad.
However, due to a mistake by an immigration officer at the KLIA airport, he was only given a one-month social visit pass. Undeniably, it was our own mistake for overlooking the fallibility of the officer and only noticed the mistake a few weeks after the visa expired. Upon this, we immediately went to the immigration department in Putrajaya to rectify the matter.
We were told that we would need to pay a fine of RM2,000 for overstaying to which we agreed, since we accepted our responsibility of overlooking the mistake. What could have been settled in a few hours turned out to be two full days spent at the immigration department! On the first day, we were told to wait despite the fact that we took a number and those who came later were attended to before us.
At the end of the day, we were told to come back the next day and that we had to submit a letter of explanation. We were not given any further explanation or direction as to why it was taking so long and we were reluctant to ask since most of the officers looked unfriendly and unhappy. We even saw and heard an officer screaming at one person at the counter. I felt embarrassed that my husband had to witness this.
When we came back the next day, we were told that we had been waiting at the wrong floor! We just could not understand why we were not told the day before. We couldn’t help but feel that we had been pushed around by the officers who didn’t seem to care or bother about our time.
When we finally met the appropriate officers for the matter, we had a private interview in an enclosed room. We went through the normal procedure of submitting a report to an officer who took down the statement while I acted as the translator since there was no appointed official translator there. Again, we told the officers that we agreed to pay for the fine and I would need to withdraw the money from an ATM machine in another building. My husband had to remain in their custody until the fine was to be paid.
I had to take quite a long walk to the ATM machine and by the time I returned, I was panting as I was walking briskly to get back as fast as I could. Then one of the officers asked me why I had rushed? Was I afraid that they would beat up my husband? Although it was a joke, we didn’t appreciate it since the gesture could easily be misinterpreted as something else. Funnily enough, we were then told that we could go and have lunch despite not having paid the fine. So we couldn’t understand what ‘game’ was being played by the officers.
After lunch, we were told to wait again at the common waiting room. The officer who took down my husband’s statement came to us in private and gave us his private mobile number and told us that if we needed any help, we should contact him only. He told us that he could help us to get our fine reduced. We were skeptical towards his kind gesture because we found it odd that an officer would provide us with his private number and asked us to contact him alone and help us get the fine reduced, despite us agreeing to pay for the RM2,000 fine. So we both agreed to ignore the officer’s offer because we were not willing to consider bribery as an option.
Of course, we then ended up having to wait for another full day and in the meantime, we were both summoned many times to answer some questions with several more officers, which we couldn’t understand since an official written statement had been taken. Since my husband couldn’t understand Bahasa Malaysia, I was asked many times why my husband had visited Malaysia so often. In my mind, I wanted to tell the officers that my husband loved Malaysia and was it against the law to visit the country? Instead, I told the officer that we were engaged and my husband usually accompanies me to Malaysia when I visit my family here. I tried my best to be patient and polite since I didn’t want to jeopardise my husband’s visa application. Then, I was asked to present official evidence that we were engaged!
I just couldn’t believe it and I told the officer that there is no paper to prove our engagement. I was literally asked this question many times by different officers. My husband came up with a theory that the officers were testing our patience so that we might just break and pay them a bribe to expedite the process. At the end of the day, we were finally told that we would pay RM100 only for a special pass to allow my husband to stay one more day in order for him to repatriate from the country. This was told to us by a senior officer who also took the opportunity to lecture us in public. Although we were grateful that we ended up paying much less, we believed that we were indeed just pushed and played around with. Whenever my husband is asked whether he likes Malaysia or not, he would always be reminded of his two-day ordeal at the immigration department. The truth is, he did like Malaysia which explains why he had decided to move to Malaysia to live with me. However, when he was treated like an illegal immigrant or a criminal, especially when he had voluntarily submitted himself to the immigration department, he can no longer imagine this country to be his second home.
------
Note - One wonders about rules and procedure that the Department should follow. Firstly, French nationals are granted social visits Visas upon arrival. One would think a simple fine then an extension would suffice for him to cross the border and come back in again (he has automatic Visa upon arrival anyway).
But no, we need little Napoleons to play mind games with you and ensure their ego is boosted.
Monday, January 8, 2007
First hand harassment
Many have seen this, but for our non-initiated readers, this is the ugly side of a Malaysian University.
Can't expect much when 60% of those that got in - in my opinion, are academically undeserving and intellectually empty.
Can't expect much when 60% of those that got in - in my opinion, are academically undeserving and intellectually empty.
Islamisation of national schools - a parent’s view
Reposted from Malaysiakini.com
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/61811
Islamisation of national schools - a parent’s view
Not that this is unknown or new. However, as a parent, I found it quite disturbing that this has reached an alarming state. Allow me to give you a first-hand insight. We had enrolled our daughter at a national school in Bandar Sri Damansara for Primary 1. What was supposed to be an eagerly anticipated 'graduation' into formal schooling turned out to be a worrying scenario that has caused us to rethink our future in this country as well as our plans for our kids. We had, of course, heard of the instances of the growing Islamic influence in national schools and some horror stories to go along with it.
But perhaps we underestimated the level of abuse that was occurring. Orientation was conducted on Jan 2 and the very first horror story to greet us was that all children were required to attend Arab language classes. Don't get me wrong. I am of the opinion that learning a foreign language is beneficial. However, in this case, rather than it coming across as knowledge, it smells of propaganda and a subtle attempt to reinforce Islamic principles on us - Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We insisted that our children be exempt from the class. What perplexed us the most was the lack of options presented for non-Muslim students. When we inquired, the response was that there were no teachers for other languages, namely Mandarin or Tamil. Also, it was told to us that the children need not worry about the Arab classes as it was purely language and there were no elements of religion in it - something that we came to discover was not true.
This became apparent when this morning one of the parents chanced upon the Arab language teacher in class. Prior to starting the lesson, the teacher made all the students rise and lift their hands to recite the ‘Bismillah’ prayer and other chants. There was no attempt to inform the non-Muslim students that they did not need to do so. Just imagine, these were impressionable seven-year-olds who have just come out of kindergarten. The fact that there was no regard for the rights of the non- Muslim kids by these teachers was just unbelievable! One would easily be tempted to think that this was part of a bigger plan to influence non-Muslim children into embracing Islamic way of life. This should not be happening in national schools. There was more to come. Not only was it necessary for the children (Muslims) to start off the assembly with a prayer (Islamic, of course), the teachers also made it a point to enforce this before and after recess. The students would be ushered out of the classrooms and be made to line up prior to visiting the canteen.
But just before that, the ‘Bismillah’ prayer is recited (there were attempts to inform the non-Muslims that they were not required to do so) and once recess is over, the Muslim students are again required to recite another prayer. All this is done together with the non-Muslim students. Would this not confuse a child that is eager to learn and yet be constantly reminded that they should not do this and that? There's a lot more but I just wanted to highlight the crux of the matter. I just cannot comprehend the need for all this when, at the heart of the matter, is sound education and growth of the children that matters. The religious needs are already met by the Agama/Moral studies, so why the need for Arab classes? What is the objective of these programmes? Why is there no proper alternative for those who do not practice Islam? What scares me the most is that this is being practiced or implemented at the national level. If this is the case, then why talk of national integration and a new education blueprint? How can you achieve this with so many divisive policies?
To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I just hope that common sense will prevail - but as they say, common sense is not so common after all. The school later did accede to our request to have the children segregated during Arab classes, but after having one too many encounters with the lackadaisical attitude of the teachers, we are not convinced.
----------
My Notes - Why Arabic ? Arabic has no place in Malaysia as a sovereign nation. If there's any semblance of a concerted effort to benefit the nation it would be languages that are spoken by their fellow citizens, English, Chinese, Tamil, or a language of economic importance and potential. But why Arabic ?
This is a secular nation, why are prayers recited in school.
It seems that the school administrator has no intention to be accountable, they have a 'take it or leave' attitude.
Where does one air his grievances on this issue ? How does one ensure that one's inalienable rights of religion is protected. This again is the constant and gradual erosion of basic rights and forced Islamisation of against their personal wishes.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/61811
Islamisation of national schools - a parent’s view
Not that this is unknown or new. However, as a parent, I found it quite disturbing that this has reached an alarming state. Allow me to give you a first-hand insight. We had enrolled our daughter at a national school in Bandar Sri Damansara for Primary 1. What was supposed to be an eagerly anticipated 'graduation' into formal schooling turned out to be a worrying scenario that has caused us to rethink our future in this country as well as our plans for our kids. We had, of course, heard of the instances of the growing Islamic influence in national schools and some horror stories to go along with it.
But perhaps we underestimated the level of abuse that was occurring. Orientation was conducted on Jan 2 and the very first horror story to greet us was that all children were required to attend Arab language classes. Don't get me wrong. I am of the opinion that learning a foreign language is beneficial. However, in this case, rather than it coming across as knowledge, it smells of propaganda and a subtle attempt to reinforce Islamic principles on us - Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We insisted that our children be exempt from the class. What perplexed us the most was the lack of options presented for non-Muslim students. When we inquired, the response was that there were no teachers for other languages, namely Mandarin or Tamil. Also, it was told to us that the children need not worry about the Arab classes as it was purely language and there were no elements of religion in it - something that we came to discover was not true.
This became apparent when this morning one of the parents chanced upon the Arab language teacher in class. Prior to starting the lesson, the teacher made all the students rise and lift their hands to recite the ‘Bismillah’ prayer and other chants. There was no attempt to inform the non-Muslim students that they did not need to do so. Just imagine, these were impressionable seven-year-olds who have just come out of kindergarten. The fact that there was no regard for the rights of the non- Muslim kids by these teachers was just unbelievable! One would easily be tempted to think that this was part of a bigger plan to influence non-Muslim children into embracing Islamic way of life. This should not be happening in national schools. There was more to come. Not only was it necessary for the children (Muslims) to start off the assembly with a prayer (Islamic, of course), the teachers also made it a point to enforce this before and after recess. The students would be ushered out of the classrooms and be made to line up prior to visiting the canteen.
But just before that, the ‘Bismillah’ prayer is recited (there were attempts to inform the non-Muslims that they were not required to do so) and once recess is over, the Muslim students are again required to recite another prayer. All this is done together with the non-Muslim students. Would this not confuse a child that is eager to learn and yet be constantly reminded that they should not do this and that? There's a lot more but I just wanted to highlight the crux of the matter. I just cannot comprehend the need for all this when, at the heart of the matter, is sound education and growth of the children that matters. The religious needs are already met by the Agama/Moral studies, so why the need for Arab classes? What is the objective of these programmes? Why is there no proper alternative for those who do not practice Islam? What scares me the most is that this is being practiced or implemented at the national level. If this is the case, then why talk of national integration and a new education blueprint? How can you achieve this with so many divisive policies?
To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I just hope that common sense will prevail - but as they say, common sense is not so common after all. The school later did accede to our request to have the children segregated during Arab classes, but after having one too many encounters with the lackadaisical attitude of the teachers, we are not convinced.
----------
My Notes - Why Arabic ? Arabic has no place in Malaysia as a sovereign nation. If there's any semblance of a concerted effort to benefit the nation it would be languages that are spoken by their fellow citizens, English, Chinese, Tamil, or a language of economic importance and potential. But why Arabic ?
This is a secular nation, why are prayers recited in school.
It seems that the school administrator has no intention to be accountable, they have a 'take it or leave' attitude.
Where does one air his grievances on this issue ? How does one ensure that one's inalienable rights of religion is protected. This again is the constant and gradual erosion of basic rights and forced Islamisation of against their personal wishes.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Do I have an axe to grind ?
I have only known one place called home, and it's this little strip of land mass which forms a small conduit between the East and the West.
A trading post, a melting pot of cultures, and a nation destined for great heights.
Malaysia.
Benefactor of the English Westminster-styled system of Government, British administered Civil Service and a series of English-modeled public schools that dotted the West coast. Hardworking population, blessed with an abundance of natural resources, the tropical sunlight, fertile and arable land, warm seas
How does one ruin it all in 2 generations ?
1. Provide a system of political patronage for everything in society. From getting a street peddler license to lucrative government contracts for heavy steel industries
2. Encourage political patronage to fester with 'yes-men' and reward them with lucrative state contracts
3. At the same time, stomp out creative, industrious, intelligent, economically efficient community as these individuals/communities do not succumb to political patronage.
4. Continue to implement point (3) incessantly.
5. Continue to build your base of mindless zombies and parrots and encourage them to repeat point (3) and (4) down the food chain.
6. Imprison those who question anything on point (3) and (4)
7. Do everything you can to selfishly enrich yourselves, while keeping your zombies (5) lucidly oblivious.
It is said that officials during Mao's leadership were so terrified of persecution that they spent more time drafting praises for Mao's leadership and drumming up success stories.
"Due to the Chairman's brilliant policy, we have such an abundant harvest that even the rats that scrimp from the grain stores are as fat as pigs"
The rest is history as tens of millions of Chinese starved to death during the Cultural Revolution.
I don't have an axe to grind - where Malaysia is headed is morally wrong, decadent and history has served us the consequences of such policies.
Millions may die because of this, pray I do not wish to bury my loved ones before their time.
A trading post, a melting pot of cultures, and a nation destined for great heights.
Malaysia.
Benefactor of the English Westminster-styled system of Government, British administered Civil Service and a series of English-modeled public schools that dotted the West coast. Hardworking population, blessed with an abundance of natural resources, the tropical sunlight, fertile and arable land, warm seas
How does one ruin it all in 2 generations ?
1. Provide a system of political patronage for everything in society. From getting a street peddler license to lucrative government contracts for heavy steel industries
2. Encourage political patronage to fester with 'yes-men' and reward them with lucrative state contracts
3. At the same time, stomp out creative, industrious, intelligent, economically efficient community as these individuals/communities do not succumb to political patronage.
4. Continue to implement point (3) incessantly.
5. Continue to build your base of mindless zombies and parrots and encourage them to repeat point (3) and (4) down the food chain.
6. Imprison those who question anything on point (3) and (4)
7. Do everything you can to selfishly enrich yourselves, while keeping your zombies (5) lucidly oblivious.
It is said that officials during Mao's leadership were so terrified of persecution that they spent more time drafting praises for Mao's leadership and drumming up success stories.
"Due to the Chairman's brilliant policy, we have such an abundant harvest that even the rats that scrimp from the grain stores are as fat as pigs"
The rest is history as tens of millions of Chinese starved to death during the Cultural Revolution.
I don't have an axe to grind - where Malaysia is headed is morally wrong, decadent and history has served us the consequences of such policies.
Millions may die because of this, pray I do not wish to bury my loved ones before their time.
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