Month: June 2013
“Blogs,Books and Dogs”
4 YEARS ON and today 30th JUNE 2013 we reblog this which was written on April 26th 2009.
Anything Changed for you?
Sure,you have grown Older,Mature but we don’t know whether you are making more dollars and cents?
ARE YOU PROGRESSING?
The article written in 2009
“Blogs,Books and Dogs”.One or the other missing from todays daily living seems incomplete. One would argue that “Wine,Women and Song” is more appropriate in so far as how one would see a complete fulfillment of the taste of life.
Humankind have a zest for all good things and one wonders whether it is always material needs that pushes us,one step ahead of the others. But today being Sunday I was on a relax mode and woke up to a great ‘Sunshine”day. I will come to “Sunshine” later.
One wonders what would have been if not for watching a most amazing comeback on the television set in the game between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs. 2-0 down and…
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Sarawak Trilogy~Road to 22nd Floor-(Part 2).”The Chair.”
In Part 2 of the Sarawak trilogy our Emeritus Professor said to audie61 ” the dayaks are moving silently but in togetherness and hoping that one of their very own will have the Coveted “Chair”. He said if you still have any doubts call this particular opposition leader and to reconfirm with him.
We called YB See Chee How the PKR assemblyman of N11 Batu Lintang and he reaffirmed,” BN has won the mandate of the people and they will rule for the next 4 half years until the next State elections. Whoever sits as Chief Minister it is very much in the hands of the BN coalition. Yea,the people have spoken for now.”
We asked if he has any preferences as enquired by Emeritus Professor and he said of course and you know lah. I don’t need to spell it out and that we will see if it materialises sooner rather than later. We are all fighting for our chair but once we…
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Sarawak Trilogy ~ Road to 22nd Floor (Part 1) : Dayaks..?
The successor to Taibs Mahmuds chair in the 22nd floor is the talk of the town in the last few days. The passing of two Sarawak Patriots-James Wong and Tra Zehnder has even overshadowed the bullet train tragedy in China in which over 36 lives were losts. Why 22nd Floor..?? {We have the US”Oval Office” UK ” No.10 Downing street” and nearer home Malaysia”Putrajaya.“}
This is the floor where the State administration of the Chief Ministers Office is and where many decisions have been thought of and are made by the CM in office. Our Emeritus professor questioned audie61,”Who will the Dayaks accept assuming he names his successor.?”
There are 3 A’s being mentioned while another “A” watches from the wings. The Sarawak bookmakers have closed their ‘bets” on these three frontrunners. The 3 A Batteries which are still flickering despite been promised so much since 1995 when the CM…
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17 to 15 Still In Terengganu..!!
It will be 16 to 16 when the final result will be known in Terengganu. Sorry statistics and figures don’t lie. No way close if one was to read the following analysis below. Moreover the might of both BN and PR would be tested to the fullest. You can say back to us,”Bro this is a by election and anything can happen”
Well, at the end of the day its your own opinion but the reality is such.
Read below the extracted article:-
The death of the UMNO State Assemblyman for Kuala Besut Dr Abdul Rahman Mokhtar this morning at the age of 55, has suddenly woken up the political pundits who had gone off on holiday after the May 5 GE13.
That is simply because Barisan Nasional won the State Government with a wafer-thin two-seat majority. With Abdul Rahman’s death, it is now Barisan Nasional’s 16 seats vs Pakatan Rakyat’s 15.
Assuming that Pakatan Rakyat wins the by-election, it will be a hung State Assembly of 16 vs 16 which could force a State election to be called.
Former politician Lee Hwa Beng was quick to realise that and he tweeted, “The death of the BN ADUN would put the Trengganu Assembly 16BN:15PR.This By-election would be interesting.”
A few others said it could be a 16 vs 16 situation.
But let’s not get too excited. Check the numbers and the history, and you will realise that many of the so-called political pundits are too presumptuous.
Kuala Besut is one of the four State seats in the Besut Parliamentary constituency.
In 2008, the Besut Parliamentary seat was won by Abdullah Md Zin (BN – UMNO) who polled 29,376 votes and the majority was 10,590. His opponent was Hussin Awang (PAS) who polled 18,786 votes.
The Kuala Besut State seat was won by (the late) Abdul Rahman Mokhtar (BN – UMNO) who polled 7,123 votes and won with a majority of 2,631 against Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (PAS) who polled 4,492 votes.
The Kota Putera State seat was won by Muhammad Pehimi Yusof (BN – UMNO) who polled 8,090 votes and won with a majority of 3,332. His opponent was Mohd Md Amin (PKR) who polled 4,758 votes.
The Jertih State seat was won by Idris Jusoh (BN – UMNO) who polled 7,912 and the majority was 3,046. His opponent was Mohd Hassan Salleh (PAS) who polled 4,866 votes.
The Hulu Besut State seat was won by Nawi Mohamad (BN – UMNO) who polled 6,740 and the majority was 2,453. His opponent was Mohd Zain Hassan (PAS) who polled 4,287 votes.
In the 13th General Elections this year, the Besut Parliamentary seat was won by Idris Jusoh (BN-UMNO) who polled 35,232 votes and the majority was 8,342. His opponent was Riduan Mohamad Nor (PAS) who polled 26,890 votes.
The Kuala Besut State seat was again won by (the late) Abdul Rahman Mokhtar who polled 8,809 votes and the majority was 2,434 votes. His opponent was Napisah Ismail (PAS) who polled 6,375 votes.
The Kota Putera State seat was won by Mohd Mahdi Musa (BN-UMNO) who polled 9,084 votes and the majority was 1,412. His opponents were Adam Mat Said (PAS) who polled 7,672 votes and Mohamed Abdul Ghani Haji Ibrahim (PKR) who polled only 60 votes.
The Jertih State seat was won by Muhammad Pehimi Yusof (BN-UMNO) who polled 8,396 votes and the majority was 930. His opponent was Wan Azhar Wan Ahmad (PAS) who polled 7,466 votes.
The Hulu Besut State seat was won by Nawi Mohamad (BN-UMNO) who polled 7,884 votes and the majority was 1,570. His opponent w s Shalahhudin Jaafar (PAS) who polled 6,314 votes.
Thus it is quite obvious that the Besut Parliamentary seat and the four State seats are Barisan Nasional strongholds. It was only in the Jertih State seat that BN’s margin of victory dropped drastically – from 3,046 in 2008 to 930 in 2013.
In the Kuala Besut State seat, BN’s margin of victory dropped a little from 2,631 in 2008 to 2,434 in 2013.
Though it can be argued that in the by-elections held since the 2008 General Elections, Pakatan Rakyat had emerged victors more often than BN, I think in Kuala Besut’s case, it can be surmised that it is a pretty safe BN seat.
So, to disappoint those who are hoping for a 16 vs 16 hung Terengganu State Assembly, my view is that it will be status quo – 17 vs 15 after the by-election is held.
Malaysia “Gloom and Bleak …No! Read Further..”
If Malaysia is all Gloom and Doom many of us who can afford (the middle income bracket and qualified to earn a living somewhere else) would have just pack our bags and leave the country. Whats the point in protesting and telling the world that Malaysia is not a place call “Home” anymore.?
WE HAVE A CHOICE AND WE CAN CHOOSE WHAT WE WANT AND BY READING THIS YOU HAVE MADE THAT CHOICE TO STAY AND MAKE MALAYSIA YOUR HOME AND A BETTER PLACE FOR ALL GENERATIONS TO COME.
Of course, we were born here and we have the rights (enshrined in the Federal Constitution)to grieve and speak our minds within reason not harmful to the security of Malaysia. Nobody’s stopping you but you know you will need to face the consequences if you get out of line.
DONT LET US STOP YOU THOUGH..
GE13 has come and gone and now we leave it to the 222 lawmakers to slug it out in Parliament and to ensure the country moves forward for the benefit of ONLY Malaysians. The others can wait and apply later….
This article which was in the Star and reproduced is worth to have a glanced through and there are good points for us to reflect on. Malaysians should be PROUD of their country and this land is ours and no one else’s.
The article
RECENTLY, I had a robust conversation with a Malaysian. He was very angry. He had so much to complain about everything in our country. To him, nothing is right in Malaysia.
I reproduce my responses to his complaints, in the hope that it might shed some light and provide some hope to those who feel our country is in a hopeless decline.
To maintain his anonymity and privacy, I simply call him “Angry Malaysian”:
Angry Malaysian (AM): I think Malaysia is the most corrupt country in the world. If the Government is not corrupt, we will solve all the problems in this country. There will be no poverty and everyone in Malaysia will be prosperous and happy.
Idris: That’s not true. Last year, Malaysia improved in Transparency International (TI)’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI). Malaysia’s 2012 score improved compared to 2011 to 49 out of 100 from 4.3 out of 10 (TI’s new scoring methodology changed in 2012 from assigning a score between 1 to 10 in 2011 to 1 to 100 in 2012) . Also Malaysia’s ranking improved from 60 in 2011 to 54 in 2012.
It is equally wrong to say that the only solution to poverty, prosperity and happiness is government corruption.
Almost all the countries that are ahead of Malaysia in the world corruption ranking still have absolute and relative poverty.
For instance, not everyone in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany or Singapore is rich.
Crime still exists in these countries.
Whilst there is hardly any corruption in many rural villages in Malaysia or anywhere else in the world, yet the people are still poor.
When I grew up in Bario, in the Borneo highlands we were almost isolated from the rest of the world and there was no corruption in the village.
Yet, we were poor.
We should stop looking at corruption as something that leads to other peoples’ problem – the poor, the marginalised and expect only the Government to tackle the issue.
It is true that corruption must be eradicated in the interest of creating a level-playing field and enhancing standards of living.
The Government is serious about implementing this through various initiatives.
Whilst we deploy policy measures to arrest corruption, there is also a responsibility upon every Malaysian to ensure they do not engage in or encourage corrupt practices.
As long as there is giving, there will be taking – it is a vicious cycle. Eradicating corruption is not the job of the Government alone, it is a shared responsibility.
AM: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said at a rally before GE13, that Malaysia’s illicit capital outflow over 10 years of RM873bil, as reported by Global Financial Integrity, is proof that corruption is the scourge of Malaysia.
According to him, if we stop this corruption by the Government and its cronies, there is enough money for Malaysia.
Idris: Bank Negara has refuted this claim.
It has clarified that 80% of illicit capital outflow is trade mispricing or transfer pricing.
This means private companies produce receipts or invoices which differ from the actual amount of money transacted, usually to pay lower taxes to the Government.
This is not government corruption.
Bank Negara established that the remaining 20% of illicit capital outflows is due to “errors and omissions”, which includes small residual amounts due to illegal business and corrupt practices.
Based on the Bank Negara report released in March, it is totally wrong to say that RM873bil of “illicit capital” outflow is due to government corruption.
AM: Twenty years ago, Malaysia was on par with South Korea in many ways for example GNI (gross national income) per capita. Even in soccer, we used to beat them. I believe Malaysia lost its competitiveness because of the New Economic Policy (NEP).
If we remove the NEP, then Malaysia will immediately improve its competitiveness and catch up with South Korea.
Idris: It is true that South Korea has made a lot more progress compared to us.
However, I do not agree that as soon as we abolish NEP, Malaysia will be on the road to catching up with them.
The South Koreans did it because they did not complain incessantly about not getting government contracts. They did not incessantly complain about everything that was not perfect around them.
They simply focused on innovating their products to be the best in the world and trained their sights on marketing and selling them in the world market.
AM: A lot of people, particularly non-bumiputras, are leaving Malaysia in droves because of unfair policies such as the NEP. Many of them migrate to Singapore where there is no NEP and it is a fair society.
Idris: That’s not true. A Mindshare survey of 2,000 Singaporeans carried out last year showed that over half of them (56%) wanted to migrate, although there is no NEP in Singapore.
According to the World Bank, Singapore had 300,000 migrants in 2010, nearly 10% of Singapore citizens. Reasons for migration are complex and varied and cannot be just pinpointed to the NEP.
AM: The Government collects lots of taxes from all of us. So many of us work hard only to pay so much in taxes. The Government wastes the tax revenue through corrupt practices and cronyism.
Idris: I don’t agree that Malaysia is taxing everybody and also over-taxing the people. First, Malaysia has a population of 29 million people.
Last year, our working population was 12.5 million people. Out of this, only 1.5 million people were registered taxpayers but only 1.2 million paid taxes.
Second, most of the government tax revenue comes from Petronas and the oil and gas companies, followed by other corporate taxes and then by the 1.2 million taxpayers.
Third, it is not true that Malaysia is over-taxing. Its corporate and personal income tax is competitive when compared with all other countries worldwide.
Fourth, Malaysia is one of the few countries that has not implemented the Goods and Services Tax (GST). More than 140 countries have already implemented GST.
Fifth, since Malaysia wants to keep income taxes at reasonable rates, and since the Government continues to pay huge sums of money on subsidies for the rakyat, our tax revenue is insufficient to pay all our operating and developing expenditure.
So Malaysia has a fiscal deficit. Under the leadership of our prime minister, we have been steadily reducing our fiscal deficit from 6.6% in 2009 to 4.5% last year.
AM: I hear that the Government will be introducing GST. This will hurt the poor people and the middle-income group in this country. GST will bring untold suffering to our people and Malaysia’s economy will collapse.
Idris: No decision has been made by the government to implement GST.
More than 140 countries worldwide have implemented GST and this includes many developed and developing countries eg the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Singapore, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Indonesia and many more.
Under GST, many items that are typically consumed by the poor and the middle-income group are exempted from GST. Some items are “zero rated”, which also reduces the impact of GST. This is why the implementation of GST was done in many developing and poor countries. I don’t agree with you that GST will bring “untold suffering to our people”, nor will our economy collapse. Let’s be clear, these problems did not happen in the 140 countries which implemented GST.
AM: Crime is happening everywhere in Malaysia.
Everyday, I read in the newspapers about street crime and violent crimes. The police are not doing anything. The Government doesn’t care about the safety and security of its people.
Idris: The Government considers crime as one of the top national priorities to address. It is indeed one of the National Key Results Areas (NKRA) under the Government Transformation Programme (GTP).
The Deputy Prime Minister, Home Minister, IGP and the police are all working hard to implement initiatives to fight crime. As a result of our collective efforts, crime has dropped from 575 cases per day in 2009 to 407 cases per day in the first five months of 2013, which is an improvement of over 29%.
But that does not mean crime does not occur. It still does, but the rate has reduced. Whilst we take note of this, we continue to address problem areas and ensure we continue to make our streets, villages, towns and cities safe. This is a priority. It is pertinent for us to look into UK’s experience in 1998, when ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair launched an intense nation-wide program to fight crime.
Significant amount of resources were provided to strengthen UK’s police force to fight crime. This program succeeded in turning around crime trend.
However, while the crime rates have started to drop in 1998, the general UK public perception was the exact opposite – believing that crime rate continued to increase.
It was only six years later, in 2004, that the UK public perception of crime finally started to turnaround. This was how long it took for the UK public to catch on with their country’s improving crime situation.
Malaysia is experiencing this same syndrome, called the “Crime Perception Lag”.
We are in the third year of the Crime NKRA program – half-way into the perception lag period experienced by the UK.
I believe we need to redouble our efforts to fight crime – by strengthening police presence in our streets, improving investigation and prosecution outcomes, engaging the larger community to fight crime via to be United Against Crime, and incorporating Safe City elements in the development of our cities and townships.
Well, that was the gist of my conversation with the AM.
Yes, things are not perfect in this country of ours. Where is it perfect? But we have a lot going for us and it is up to us – each and every one of us – to grasp the opportunities available to progress and help our country and ourselves to become developed.
Things are never as bad as they seem.
Datuk Seri Idris Jala is CEO of Pemandu and also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. All fair and reasonable comments are most welcome at
Fire Breaks Out Near School..?
The Dry Spell plus the overall “haze conditions’ and its negative effects is affecting most parts of Malaysia. Muar in Johore recorded a high API reading of 746 today 23/6/13 but the highest recorded in Malaysian History was way back in 1997 in Kuching which stood as 839 .
The Picture below shows Bush Fire which was put out before it could reach the school premises.
Fire in Sibu Kampung Hilir to Kampung Dato
More than 50 houses have been razed in this afternoons Fire in Sibu, Sarawak. See Pictures below
GE13 “Cyber-warfare..??
It’s aboutSOUL and PASSION says a Sarawak YB and a very close aide to Sarawak CM to audie61 which determines whether the blogger is of any value or not. If your heart and mind is not focus in your work the simple and precise message will not be delivered.
Of course one needs to be well taken care of as “half empty stomach will not generate fruitful political articles” interjected a former DCM of Sarawak. He says if its not ‘fair and free elections in Sarawak” I would not have losts in the lasts State elections. The opposition can harp all they want ” BERSIH” but at the end of the day even I was defeated. I am a living witness and don”t tell me the people dont know who I am. They want change. Mirians voted me out and no I am not angry but disappointed. Life has to go on and as President for…
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Effendy Norwawi..”I Have Never Been Away..!!”
If you look at Effendy Norwawi in the eyes you will know he is saying to you”I Have never been away. He doesn’t need to say that “his heart and soul is with Sarawak through and through” as his Broad Smile and Body Mannerisms is enough to convince you SOMETHING STILL LACKS IN HIS BOOK HE IS WRITING.
WE wrote on March 11 2009 https://audie61.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/hes-backready-for-sarawak/ and also in the trilogy August 5 2011 https://audie61.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/sarawak-trilogyroad-to-22nd-floor-finalwhose-my-boy/
In the past couple of weeks the rumour mills are in overdrive that there are indications that Effendy will be ready to take his rightful place as and when the present CM Taib decides to hand over. Obviously the Leo Toyad article was more than a RED HERRING and moreover together with the conspiracy and “denials of http://www.sarawakreport.org/2013/01/the-plot-to-dump-taib-exclusive/ .
The heir to the Chair on the 22nd Floor will be known within the next 6 months as the PLANS and LAST JIGSAWS will be in place after Sarawaks 50th Anniversary,the UMNO and PBB ELECTIONS.
Within the inner circles of Taib there are already Plans in place if and when the “sword falls”. Effendy will not and would not want his “mentor’ to suffer the humiliation of many”world past leaders”and Taib himself also knows.
Taib knows his ‘loyalists” will eventually also be at someones mercy and will also have to distant themselves from him. Taib will need without question to put it in place or they say “CALL FOR STATE ELECTIONS DUE FOR 2016 SOONER OR EARLIER THAN EXPECTED IN 2014 FOR A FRESH MANDATE TO CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER 5 YEARS WHICH WILL TAKE TAIB PAST 80 years”
GE13 Effendy was more or less put in an position to counter balance the simmering rift between State and Federal leaders. It worked for Najib and BN eventhough it left a very distasteful “air of distrusts” within the component parties. The swirl will not stop and it will take its natural course and UMNO will not rock the boat just yet. Its not for the faint hearted.
WILL EFFENDY BE TAIBS ACE CARD?
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