Before We Blame God....

It is quite usual for people to blame God for mishaps and the recent floods in Johor have already been attributed to unusual weather with heavy rain that has not been seen for the last 100 odd years.

Already the government has engaged a consultant to come up with reasons why the floods have been so severe.

We have a weather bureau so why do we need another consultant to state the obvious?

Mankind has been the most destructive of nature's animals, yeah some of us are real beasts and we have changed the whole scheme of things so that many species have already become extinct.

A few weeks ago it was reported that a massive ice island has broken off the Alaska coast signalling further the irreversible change of global warming. Earth of course is subject to the forces in the cosmos and we are just one speck in the universe so we cannot really be sure if man will really destroy planet earth or we will be wiped out by a blast from outer space.

But coming back to the floods - before we point a finger upwards to blame God we should examine the following:

• Was there illegal logging around the affected areas?

• Were the river beds properly maintained to remove silting so that capacity is not reduced?

• Was housing development built according to approved plans with adequate green areas?

• Were the drainage systems properly maintained?

• Were the river capacities adequate to channel water flows as more areas were developed?

• Is there a master plan for drainage management for the areas affected by the floods?

It is interesting to note that Singapore with also a flat terrain only had flooding in a few places and the flood subsided after hours although they too had to release water from MacRitchie Reservoir.

Perhaps the main reason why flooding was not so severe there is they made the strategic decision to collect the maximum rainwater for their reservoirs and to do this all public drians have been properly maintained.

To check how we compare just go out your home and do a survey of the main drain outside your home. Our modus operandi for drain cleaning is that the cleaner scoops up the rubbish and it is just left there until the next downpour washes it down again.

In a way we should be glad the rain has only affected Johor. If the Klang Valley had that kind of continuous rain the death toll would have been catastrophic as we can see that the authorities have really little clue on how to manage disasters.

Flood Pictures near Kota Tinggi

My brother is involved with an outreach program to help the Orang Asli by the human development arm of the Catholic Church POHD and they have distributed aid to flood victims in Johor.



Boats waiting to transport aid outside Kota Tinggi. Sightseers are charged but those with relief aid could get a free service from some boats.




The road to Desaru required a 10-minute boat ride. They saw a few logs floating by.


Looking back to the cut off section of road.




A major development scheme may need further thought on their designs. Perhaps houses build with a void deck below.

Why Has an Emergency Not Been Declared?

The news on the floods is most devastating - TV3 announced at midnight that more than 100000 people are being given shelter in relief centres.

I drove to KL on Saturday morning and it rained all the way to near Air Keroh and in some places we could see land and buildings that was covered with water.

I drove back on Sunday afternoon and the situation had become worse. Although there was little rain en route in one particular area just south of the Pagoh rest stop the bridge is under threat and this will mean the closure of the highway here if the raging waters continue.

There were some PLUS officials at the site at about 6pm but looking at what had been prepared against the torrents I do not place much hope on them being able to save this bridge.

There seems to be a cavalier air about how the national leaders have handled the flood crisis. Both the PM and DPM were out of the country and it appears there is a lack of positive direction.

The leadership shown has been disappointing to most of the flood victims.
There have already been reports of looting and rescuers asking money from the victims.

It is not necessary to declare a national emergency but surely an emergency is necessary for the most affected areas like Batu Pahat and Kota Tinggi.

An emergency will allow the authorities to control the situation better and all unauthorised persons will not be allowed to exploit the situation. Any resident who wants to return home may be allowed subject to stringent controls.

The other aspect that is worrying is that appeals of aid have been made and some firms and individuals have donated generously to the victims. What measures are being taken to ensure that the aid actually goes to the victims?

Salary Revision for Civil Servants Can be Good for Malaysia

It is a good time for the government to review the whole structure of the civil service especially since operating costs and also pension costs have been increasing as Malaysians now live longer.

Broadly speaking I would revise the entire structure based on the following guidelines:

• Pensions will be abolished for all new employees who will contribute to the EPF scheme.

• Remove all medical benefits for family after retirement but the government will provide a transferable medical insurance coverage for retirement years on a shared premium payment with the government paying 60% of the costs.

• A thorough review through work study and job analysis to remove all surplus government employees who have been made redundant with advances in ICT and simplified work practices.

• Remove the “job for life” concept by replacing 5% of the worst employees each year so that civil servants will know that performing well is necessary to remain in employment. This will also inject new blood annually.

Instead of the blanket salary demands by the unions of up to 40% for the lower grades, I would suggest we adjust salaries on the following basis:

• 20% is a basic adjustment for the lowest grades
• 10% is a special Cost of Living Allowance for expensive cities like KL and JB with other places getting 1% to 9% based on studies
• 5% is an extra given to the best 10% of all employees.

This other story seems to suggest that the civil service has become a mine-field for foreign investors and this could be a major cause for Malaysia’s loss of competitiveness.

On a political note the unions have timed their demands well. You will expect most of their demands will be met just before the next elections.

photo: Thanks to http://www.dw-world.de/image/0,,1669073_1,00.jpg

Now if All the OCPDs Can Offer This Service...

Just as criminals are getting bolder and more agressive, we need police officers who can assure the public that the Police is a force for law and integrity.

Even if some have opposed the IPCMC, it is good to note that a few senior officers are prepared to entertain calls for help from the general public.

However the police is an organisation and I would offer the suggestion that if the public do have to call him personally, he should also check out why the system of reporting is not functioning adequately.

It is important for the OCPD to devise a good system so that he does not have to put out too many fires himself.

Getting Boys to Do the Jobs of Men

Perhaps this is one scenario that is holding up our nation’s progress, from selecting our top leaders to even simple tasks like rubbish collection and repairing roads.

I guess that the contractor who did this bum job is probably one who has some experience doing minor road repairs and decided his skills were adequate to do a resurfacing job for the airport.

Perhaps no one mentioned that the forces generated when a Jumbo jet takes off and land is many times more than when a container lorry brakes or accelerates. Besides no local authority bothers when defects are found in a resurfacing contract.

Doing a runway must have been a profitable venture as the airport must have budgeted more than for a similar road near your house.

The story didn’t mention how much rectification works was done but I suspect the entire runway would need repairs soon as we are not told if the contractor used the proper equipment under strict supervision.

Maybe all that also comes under the Official Secrets Act?

Teaching Men to Fish

It is important for any government not only to create jobs but also to ensure that those with jobs know how to sustain their livelihood unless all of us can depend on the authorities for cosy contracts like the few chosen ones.

This story about fishermen not wanting to follow regulations that were passed in 1985 shows how both parties were not smart to work out a proper schedule of how to meet those regulations with proper education, improved methods and a defined schedule.

Now we have a difficult schedule of enforcing the rules and making people change with drastic enforcement.

It shows how inept people in the government and the fishing industry have not been able to produce viable plans to achieve goals.

• Considering this law to change the mesh size from 20mm to 38.8mm is really quite drastic and the law should have included the following features:

• Studies to show how incomes are affected and how to create other sources of income.

• Increasing the mesh size by 5mm every two years or other reasonable time such as the life-span of the net whichever is earlier. Old nets can be used for fresh water ponds? If a properly agreed timetable had been set, the rules should have been achieved after 8 years.

• Educating the fishermen that leaving the shrimp to develop will actually increase income over the longer term and also over-fishing will destroy their future.

I watched a program on Discovery Channel about the fishing season for king crabs off Alaska. The boats are only licensed to catch crabs only for a few days and they strictly enforce the minimum size ruling. That program would be a good documentary for the local fishermen to watch.

photo: Thanks to The Star

Amazing Grace for ALL Malaysians

This was a great song used by the blacks in the USA when protests were necessary to gain their equal rights.

I suggest we can use such a song as we strive to make Malaysia a better country for all citizens, irrespective of race or religion.

Of Toll Agreements and Stupid Cabinets

The former Prime Minister is now trying to make excuses for the unfair agreements the government has signed with toll operators that gives them such a lucrative business model but is usually reserved for favoured operators.

It all harkens back to the first major highway project, the North-South Highway that was given to UMNO-related parties. At the time the highway had been largely completed from Penang to near Air Keroh with a few stretches in Perak incomplete.

The main job was to link up to Johor Bahru, about another 200km south.

Looking at the latest toll agreements, it seems that some operators have honed the art of squeezing poor road users to a fine art.

Any commercial project like tolled roads must be based on:

Expected revenue
Acceptable risk
Public good
Reasonable cost

The Litrak project is a good example where road users have been given a poor deal as “the government did not read the fine print” when they signed the agreement.
What balderdash!!

The Cabinet may not be familiar with all the project details but they must design proper policies so that those implementing the projects must ensure that the basic principles are adhered to. Furthermore this is not the first toll project so one can only wonder what changes were made or what principles were ignored.

The buck must stop somewhere and it is definitely not at the office boy.

This is a very rational proposal from the DAP on how the government can extricate itself from the toll predicament.

The business magazine The Edge Daily has some very interesting articles on Litrak and other companies. If you use their search feature and enter “Litrak” many article are available for your research.

This particular article gives me a few interesting thoughts:

I have rounded the numbers to make reckoning simpler:

40% of company equals 200m shares
so 100% of company equals 500m shares

Market price is about RM3

The government can therefore takeover this company for RM1.5b with finance from the EPF and other funds. After all the EPF does have problems finding good companies to invest in.

After the takeover, the company’s profits at the previous toll rate can be channelled into a special fund that will be used to buy back the toll companies so that all these companies will charge reasonable or reduced rates in future.

One of the articles also shows why that 30% magical equity stake cannot be maintained.

The toll agreements are perceived to be contrived schemes to enrich the few cronies with unjust toll agreements that have been shrouded with great secrecy.

It is time for the government to come clean now and not just blame the civil servants who cannot reply to criticism by the public or the leaders.

Flood Relief Plans-Only 6% Think Plans Have Been Good

I am posting this from Singapore as somehow the Internet here seems to work much faster than the one in JB.

MALAYSIAWATCH POLL 20 asked the question, "What is Your Feeling about the Response to the Latest Floods?"

Here are the following results:
There were 50 replies, possibly on account of Christmas hangover, the floods in Johor or the slow Internet speeds.

94% or 47 voters felt the government did not do a good job as follows:

18 voters or 36% chose "Ordinary citizens have been let down badly and some have been killed through negligence"
17 voters or 34% picked "What Plans? The Authorities have been caught with their pants down as usual"
11 voters or 22% chose "The Minister or person in charge of National Disasters should be sacked"
1 voter or 2% chose "The Plans could have been better implemented"

The 3 voters or 6% who think the plans were good chose "The Government has been well prepared"

Take the First MALAYSIAWATCH POLL of 2007

The recent news about the conference for academicians seems to suggest that the government is trying to allocate some blame for its failures on different or the breakdown in the process from policies to plans to implementation.

Take the poll to record what you think of such an exercise.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

Our justice system needs a major overhaul so that justice can be more speedily administered.

The latest case wherein the accused is to be held for at least one year before the trial means the following occurs:

• An innocent party may be jailed just because he or she is accused of a crime

• The government incurs the costs of holding and feeding detainees. If we take RM20 per day as total costs per detainee inclusive of food, shelter and admin costs, each detainee costs the government RM7300 per annum. If we remand 10,000 persons for one year on average that costs the nation RM73,000,000 per annum.

I suggest the following:

• Electronic tagging for remand prisoners unless that person is a serious danger to society such as armed robbers or serial rapists.

• Establishing night courts in all the major cities like KL, Ipoh, Penang, Malacca, JB, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu to speedily dispose of traffic and other minor cases.

• Establish a procedure whereby those pleading “guilty” can be heard by one court in quick succession so that valuable court can be optimised.

Malaysia’s Bloopers?

I just wonder how a newspaper like the NST can describe the failure of the civil service to execute the plans of the Prime Minister as “being held up by bloopers” which is a term used in newspapers and TV when a mistake is made.

We are already in the fourth year of his stewardship and the failure of plans are definitely not “bloopers” that are rectified post haste so that the program or article will function according to plan.

So can we also call the latest NS bus fiasco a “blooper”? Is the near fraud on or by the EPF with the dubious company another “blooper”?

If you are in charge of a country and have made plans that “are excellent and practical” you do not wait three years to organise a group of academicians to lay the blame on policy makers and the executers who may have not bought into those plans.

A captain of a ship cannot just set out the course and not check if the crew is following the plan until the ship hits an iceberg.

No doubt people find it difficult to change but a proper plan will incorporate steps to reduce opposition to change.

Just like the latest move by the Education Minister to “revolutionise” the education system, have the relevant parties like teachers, parents and MOE officers been part of the consultation process?

Any plan that does not address all the relevant issues is going to fail.

Civil servants who resist government policies should be asked to resign. In fact if they sabotage policies and plans they should be sacked.

This conference has been ill-conceived as it shows that the leadership really does not know the meaning of “leadership, authority, responsibility and accountability.”

Perhaps Malaysians committed the biggest blooper when they gave the BN victory in the last elections.

Muddled Thinking at the JPJ

The recent move by the JPJ to reduce road tax may seem thoughtful of the government given that they have already charged you an arm and a leg with higher fuel prices and never-ending tolls.

However if you study the mechanism by which motorists have to claim a refund you cannot help but think , "There should be a more efficient way to operate a refund scheme."

Maybe the JPJ is really overstaffed and the authorities need to record on the timesheet all the unnecessary work that this refund will create.

If we estimate that 80% of all cars are below 1200cc and these motorists will only receive a refund of RM10 to RM25 it looks that this exercise will only create big jams at JPJ offices.

I would suggest that the JPJ provide the option that a refund is optional for cars below 1200cc and the extra paid will be credited in next year's road tax automatically for all those who do not apply for the refund.

It is patently stupid to drive 10km to the JPJ office, pay RM3 tolls and queue up for 2 hours to claim RM10.

I wonder if JPJ stands for Just Playing Jokes

Graphics: thanks to New Straits Times

EPF for Easy Payments Front

If you have an account with the EPF this story
should make you worry about the future.

How could the EPF part with any monies, refundable or otherwise when all the important checks were not completed?

This important story is not complete as the following elements are missing:

• What action has been taken against the manager who approved payment for such a dubious company?

• Who is the MD who offered to sell the EPF a lemon?

• What action is being taken against the MD who should be sued for intent to cheat?

• How is the EPF organised such that this type of deals are encouraged?

The EPF does not hold any money of mine anymore so I leave it to account members to demand a proper accounting of their funds.

Graphics: thanks to http://www.freephoto1.com/photo/photo-money-5.jpg

Malaysia Tak Boleh!

This is a rather pathetic state of affairs as far as our Super Corridor etc is concerned when the Internet service can be so severely disrupted.

I was in Singapore before the New Year and was able to access the Net with no problems from 31st December to 2nd January.

So what gives with our MCMC asking corporate clients to restrict usage of the Net. It would be more appopriate for them to explain how the tiny red dot south of JB has been able to respond more speedily.

No need to go to the USA for another study tour - just get to Singapore to learn how things should work.
It's too embarrasing to talk of our broadband speed - it says 100Mbps but I think the delivery rate is more like 2Mbps.

Maybe NS Stands for “National Slumber”

My regular readers will know that in principle I have been against the national service scheme as it is trying to solve the national integration problem years too late.

My opinion is that there should be a more concerted effort by all parties to get at least 80% of all Malaysian children studying together for at least 10 years from primary school right up to the SPM exams just like it used to be until the 70s.

We have had the current NS program for at least 2 years now and it seems the authorities cannot even get this program operating without major hitches.

One worries about the calibre of the people in charge of planning and logistics when even simple registration procedures and transport arrangements can go awry.

Parents cannot help but fear for their children’s welfare when buses without insurance are used to transport trainees. The MB can afford to settle the summons but what happens if these buses get involved in an accident? Who will compensate the loss of life and limb?

Why are such compromises on safety tolerated by the NS officials?
There is no need to jeopardise lives when they could have postponed the start of the camp especially if many officers were away on leave or affected by the recent floods.
Losing a few days in camp will not diminish any benefits the trainees will acquire during the 3-month long program.

After all the Outward Bound School operates a regular 25-day course that also develops teamwork and leadership skills.

Pardon my saying so but I have the feeling that in Malaysia NS actually means “National Slumber”



photo:Thanks to The Star

A Wish for Malaysians for 2007

I am writing this from my wife's flat in Singapore and Surprise Surprise the network speed is many times faster than that in JB.

Guess we must be linked to a slower part of the Internet?

Today is the last day of 2006 and as the year ends it is interesting to note the passing of 2 world leaders recently:

Former US President Gerald Ford is being honoured with a state funeral while ex-Iraqi President Sadam Hussein was hanged for crimes against humanity.

As Malaysians usher in 2007 amid the calamity of floods, let us all examine critically how to make Malaysia a better place for all its citizens regardless of race or religion.

The floods may be a grim reminder that perhaps natural disasters are going to be part of our routine with changing weather patterns and we should ensure that the authorities do their jobs with a higher competency level.

Happy New Year!

TNB - Your Plan is Not Good Enough

Following the widespread floods in Johor it was reported that TNB will require months to restore power to affected areas.

This appears to be a very long recovery project as one would expect that repairing a damaged substation should not take longer than a week if the job is well coordinated and proper replacement parts are sourced speedily and not wait for the local manufacturer to schedule replacements in their own sweet time.

For a start the Customs could remove all duties for such electrical items provided they meet Malaysian standards.

I just heard on the radio that Taiwan engineers estimate that repairs to the Internet undersea network will take a few weeks.

Now if we compare the scope of works of repairing a cable that is miles under the sea and a TNB substation, it becomes quite apparent that TNB should be able to deliver a faster resolution to getting back the electricity to the tens of thousands of consumers.

Some people say the floods would not have occurred if local authorities had taken adequate steps to prevent illegal logging, river silting or clogged drainage but since the floods have become a reality, we need a more definitive response from TNB to restore supply.

Here is a weather report from 2004 and shows how easy it is for Johor to be hit by severe floods in future years. All we need is a wind shift and a low pressure area over Johor to create floods.

For the longer term TNB should consider siting the substation on a platform at least 3 meters above the general surroundings. The estimated cost for such an extra feature would be about RM40,000 per substation.

The lower portion of the building could be used to store rescue boats or other spares in watertight packing. It could be rented out to other government agencies.

Maybe in 2007 we could see the heavy rains visiting Malaysia again.


Photo: thanks to NST

Saving For a Rainy Day

They used to teach this proverb in school many years ago.

Today as we witness the prolonged wet weather that has disrupted tens of thousands of lives and damage that will run into millions of ringgit, that proverb is true for it explains the need to save for unknown mishaps and other bad things that happen to us in the course of our lives.

The authorities have promised aid but let us remember that the government coffers have recently been opened or should I say emptied to help thousands of Class F contractors who have been deprived of projects in the economic slowdown as major projects have been cut back.

Our economy has been kept artificially high in previous years with the so-called “pump priming” that unfortunately does not sustain growth if the projects are not viable but simply a wanton wastage of public funds.

It also creates a pool of hungry contractors who may get a plum job or two, upgrade their lifestyle and then find themselves in a quagmire of debt and subsequent bankruptcy. Just observe your neighbours who seem to have struck the 4-D lottery. They renovate their homes, buy an upscale car and seem to have a bonanza of wealth. Within a few years it may all be gone.

I support the authorities’ plan to cut the budget deficit as we cannot afford to be like the USA that has operated on deficit budgets for many years supported by inflows of foreign funds as the US dollar has been a sort of global reserve currency. That seems to be changing slowly as more countries adopt the Euro as an alternative.

For the ordinary man in the street, worrying about the US dollar means little if you are barely making ends meet but you need to have a savings plan for a rainy day as in the current flood situation many jobs will also be lost for a few months and some insurance policies do not cover floods that is deemed “an act of God”.

I suggest everyone should have a emergency savings plan based on some criteria like the following:

Monthly pay ........ Save per month
RM500 and below ........RM10
RM500 to RM1000 ........RM30
RM1000 to RM2000 ........RM50
Above RM2000 ........5%
Above RM3000 ........10%

The actual amount saved is not that critical but developing the habit of not spending all the money you earn in a month is vital if you are not going to end up the victim of loan sharks.

In the old days we used to have security guards who used to sleep on their stringed beds in the building usually a bank. Most of these were Indians who had families back in India and they lived rather frugally. I have heard stories that many of them retired and went home to large parcels of land they saved for. Of course some of them also operated as money lenders.

It is also good to teach your children the value of money as they will learn important lessons that will last a lifetime.

Photo: thanks to malaysiakini

What Do You Think of the Authorities' Response to the Floods?

Lives have been lost and the damage could run into millions of ringgit.

It seems that the plans for the flood have been like Hurricane Katrina where the USA had used up too much monies on the war in Iraq. So what are the excuses we are being offered?

The latest MalaysiaWatch poll is to let the authorities know what you feel about the plans(?) that were implemented after the floods struck.

We need people who are accountable to the citizens in government and the civil service.
The poll colour is selected to reflect the murky flood waters.

Driving Safely Through Flood Waters

We have had people drowning days ago after trying to drive through flooded sections of roads in Johor and so please read this if you must drive through a flooded section.

The most important point to remember is if the water level is above your exhaust outlet for normal cars you will most likely flood the engine and stall. Then you could become a flood victim.

When you approach a flooded section observe the cars that have passed safely through. If the other car is smaller than your own car you will probably be able to get through.

Do not follow another car into the flood water for if it stalls you will have to slow down and stop - not a very good idea as you will then need to keep your revs up to prevent water being sucked into the exhaust.

Be patient and wait for the car ahead to clear the section before you start.
Keep an even speed and do not accelerate or drive too fast that it creates waves. Try not to be in the flooded section if a large vehicle like a lorry or bus is moving in the opposite direction as the waves may swamp your car.

Once you clear the flooded section, drive slowly for about one kilometer and use your brakes a few times to dry them out or you will not be able to stop when you need them.

Even if you are familiar with the route and a setion is flooded, do not attempt to cross unless you check the above items.

Once you have entered the section, reversing back is extremely difficult.
Be safe always and better late than never.

photo: thanks to http://www.mercy.org.my/images/kedah_flood_relief_2005_003website.jpg

Home for the Holidays

My two children are back from the UK while a third daughter will be having a white Christmas in Canada - she will be back in January.

My wife's clan will be gathering in Singapore and it is going to be a few days of eating and jawing. Catching up with relatives' stories and seeing how big the younger ones have grown.

There is a tinge of worry though as my second grand-daughter Zoe has been diagnosed with a hole in her tiny heart and I ask you for some prayers and good thoughts for her so she may have a successful operation when she is older.

As we celebrate Christmas the coming of Jesus to save mankind, let us also spare some thought on how mankind should also do more to mitigate flood problems with proper maintenance of drainage systems and curbing excessive development.

I may be away from blogging for a few days and I would like to wish all my readers "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! "

graphics:thanks to http://www.lonestar.simshost.com/images/vicky/XmasTree2.gif

Major Flooding in Johor Baru

The rain has been falling for more than 24 hours and I expect Wednesday's papers to carry articles on major flooding in JB.

I have never experienced such prolonged drenching rain here since we moved from KL in 1987.

I live in the town area about 50m from the Tebrau Highway and that road has been jammed up to the Batu Bakar junction. It seems that there is a major area affected near the Pandan area. A squatter area that is quite low-lying near the Ponderosa Club area would also be flooded.

Every few minutes I can hear sirens of ambulances or other rescue vehicles. It is as if a major calamity has occurred.

A friend who lives in Taman Daya is worried about getting home from the town area as it seems even the Pasir Gudang Highway is flooded in places. Traffic in Permas Jaya is also reported to be trapped in areas.

Even now the rain is still pouring and I am not sure what the next hours will bring.
My house is located next to a drain reserve but so far the water level appears very safe as the house is located about 6 meters above the stream level and the capacity of the reserve is large and wide.

But the rain has been incessant and I am sure thousands of homes will be affected this flood season.

Malaysian Highway Robbery

Someone should do a study on the toll system in the Klang Valley for I suspect that the residents here must be undergoing great stress with the recent hike in tolls.

I am guessing that people here must be the most tolled residents in the world and this is the direct result of Machiavellian planning.

It all began with the quest to produce the made-in Malaysia car, the project that is now the subject of bail-out and foreign takeover. Never mind that the window motors barely last a few months or that this “baby” needs protection after more than 25 years of “weaning” via import duties on foreign cars.

Since we have the national car, we need to produce steel and that gave birth to Perwaja another project that sucked up billions of reserves and produced unsatisfactory results.

After Perwaja was approved we needed more electricity and that required loads of electricity generation. So Bakun was created even though the cost of transporting the energy would be prohibitive. Never mind that as some people got to clear thousands of hectares of virgin forest. What’s the big deal about a few animal and plant life becoming extinct? And we get to force the Orang Asli to embrace civilisation or they will forever thwart our efforts to attain developed nation status.

So far so good. Everyone starts to believe that the car is a basic necessity to enjoy the good life. Never mind if people start cramming six or eight persons into a Kancil and decide to buy a home away from the city. So travelling 10 or 20 km to one’s workplace became common practice.

With more cars on the roads it only becomes a matter of time before city roads are congested as no steps were taken to improve public transport until the late 90 with the KL mass transit systems.

Now if we look at the way the 3 operators were selected and the manner the 3 systems were implemented it would provide a good idea of how the EPU operates. First of all it is not a seamless system as you needed to buy separate tickets and proper interchanges were few and far between. You normally need to exit a station, walk perhaps 600m and then enter the station of the next system.

The stage is now set for the tolls all over for the Klang residents as they are a captive population.

I guess the usual toll operator promotes his deal to the authorities with the following modus operandi:

• There is no open tender for any project.

• Traffic studies are supplied by the government with guaranteed minimum figures or compensation.

• The contract to build operate and transfer is awarded.

This is the reason why Klang motorists now have to bear so much with so many tolls.

The first stage of “no open tender” creates the high cost upfront as some promoters are in it for quick money with little effort.

The second stage of government traffic projections can be abused via dubious means. The traffic can be uplifted so that future earnings are pegged at a higher level and the project costs can be elevated to get more loans. You figure out who are the likely beneficiaries.

Once the project is completed it is only a question of time before the project proves unviable but no sweat as the government is always ready to bail you out.

Time for another round to discuss your next project?

Graphics: thanks to http://www.melanierawn.com/books/images/Highwaymen.jpg

Tolls Tolls All the Way

I wrote the original sometime in the 80s when the Slim River toll had not been removed long past the due date.

Here is a newer version.
Sing to the tune of "Home on the Range"

1.Oh place not a toll
Wherever my wheels roam
Where the pot-holes and cave-ins are found
Where never is built on stabilised ground
And the jams will get you nowhere.


Chorus:
Tolls tolls all the way
All through the night and day
Why must we keep paying for the roads
They keep laying
With the taxes we pay all year

2.Oh give me a road
That’s been built for the load
With the taxes we pay all year
Where the road is so clear
Of traffic cops so dear
Be sure our future’s to be tolled

3.Where is Samy Vellu
With his statements so true
You must pay and pay some more
We must support their cronies
Give them all your monies
We know we can squeeze you dry

Mum's the Word for Government Toll Charges

We seem to be operating in some kind of Orwellian fantasy world when the government has to brief news editors on how to "soften" the bad news of imminent toll increases of between 10 to 50%.

Are the authorities hoping that the taxpayers are stupid and wil not realise that tolls have indeed gone up when they experience more money being sucked out from their wallets on a daily basis?

The authorities need to come clean and let the public know what is in those gilt-lined toll agreements that are top secret like the water supply agreement in Selangor that allowed the favoured company to increase rates by 15%.

It should start with the agreement for the North-South Highway as that is the mother of all crony contracts which is still a mill-stone round the neck of Malaysians and was the harbinger of all subsequent crony deals.

Maybe they will never allow such deals to be made public - not in a million years as long as the BN remains in power. They must all be forever clouded like the water supplied from the tap in Selangor.

Maybe there is some secret chemical in that drinking water that causes people to become delusional - some people can proclaim the state to have attained fully developed status and the population can accept that the present government can act in their best interest.

So bring on the toll increases. The way the public has been squeezed with price increases this year is a major reality check that all is NOT well with the economic management of the nation.

Photo: Murky dealings indeed!

“Damage Done to BN” Claim 39% of the Voters for MALAYSIAWATCH POLL 19

There were 123 voters for the poll and the results are shown below:

48 voters or 39% felt “The damage has been done. I will not support any BN party anymore”

47 voters or 38% chose “The extremist speakers should be charged in court”

17 voters or 14% chose “I will help the opposition party in my area”

Only 10 voters or 8% felt “I think the top leaders should have been more assertive to reprimand the extreme speakers”

Only 1 voter or 1% believed “I think the top leaders managed to calm things down”

Zero response for “The Assembly should not be telecast live”

We Need an Alternative BN Government to Rescue Malaysia

Our PM has lamented that race relations in Malaysia is somewhat “brittle” and “may break”.

That is hardly surprising when we have the annual rounds of race bashing talks in all the racist parties that make up the BN government. Sad to say these parties have been in power since Merdeka and these parties are UMNO, MCA and the MIC.

Every year without fail Malaysians are subject to varying degrees of aggressive posturing that seems to be getting worse especially with the display of a lethal weapon like the keris and calls to bathe in blood.

Of course some may argue that the keris is hardly a weapon of mass destruction and no one mentioned human blood so one speaker may have been referring to a probable outbreak of bird flu with tens of thousands of chickens having to be culled.

Yet there is much disquiet in the country when parties based on race try to score points with their more extreme members.

There will always be some racists in each group and the sad part is that these dangerous elements always hijack the good intentions of the saner more moderate people.

So what is this piece all about?
Given that the BN has basically ruled Malaysia since independence many voters are reluctant to overthrow them at the polls and yet it seems that the opposition is gaining strength based on many scandals that have still not been resolved.

The latest one seems to be the “top secret” agreement for water supply in Selangor. I just wonder how any government with an ounce of integrity can simply brush off requests from consumer bodies for details of the agreement that has now increased water bills by 15%.

So what is the solution?

I am suggesting to the political parties in the BN that they should consider contesting the next elections as perhaps 40% BN NP(new party) and 60% without change.

This way the more moderate politicians can opt to stand as a BN NP candidate and this will allow voters to decide if they want such a change in our political direction.

It is akin to the proposed merger of the plantation giants ala Synergy Merge and the reasons are even more compelling.

For one it will move us from the brink of self-destruction and chaos that the racist policies will ultimately bring.

Secondly it will allow a more moderate political entity to emerge from the main racist parties.

Thirdly it will allow Malaysia to develop with fairer policies free from racist bias.

Perhaps this is one agenda that the BN Youth may consider evaluating.
It will take perhaps 12 months for a detailed study of how the BN NP(new party) will position itself for elections.

Some people will claim that no way the BN will lose in any elections. I believe the Congress Party in India and the Kuomintang in Taiwan also felt that way until it happened.

This BN NP will also give all Malaysians to give a good feedback on how they feel about race based politics.

In the elections there can be the following scheme:

• BN NP contests 30% of seats

• Other BN components contest 40% of seats

• The balance of 30% will be contested by both BN NP and BN Components

Whoever wins in the last section will provide a good indication of how Malaysians want their politicians to progress.

For example if BN NP wins more than 65% of the seats also contested by other BN Components it will show that Malaysians really want non-racist politics.

With this scheme it will be possible for BN to retain power if all three sections obtain reasonable support from the electorate.

Having the BN NP will allow moderate politicians to make a stand for non-racist policies and remove the major obstacle to peace and harmony.

Maybe I should not be suggesting to the BN on how to get out of their self-inflicted predicament but as a concerned Malaysian who wants to see Malaysia become a more progressive nation, I hope this idea will be food for thought.

If we take this BN concept further, it may be possible to reduce all the horse trading that occurs in the succession of leader scenario.

We all know that not the best qualified persons are holding positions of succession and there is great rivalry within the individual components.

Instead of concentrating so much jealousies within component BN parties, it may be better to have the two major camps go their separate ways into two BN New Parties and these will then vie for control at the General Elections.

I am sure many Malaysians are waiting for a two or three party system in Malaysia.

For one thing it will surely reduce the time the PM and his entourage spends in the 20 odd BN parties’ assemblies.

What do you think of my proposals?

Let’s Not Mix Up IPCMC and Bar Elections Issues

These are two different kettles of fish and we should not try to confuse the issues.

The Royal Inquiry on the Police was set up by the government to find out what is wrong with the police after several serious incidents occurred and the Commission came up with the IPCMC that addressed various issues that would help the police to become a “world class” security organisation.

Sadly we have already had a change of the IGP and the IPCMC is now past its second birthday if it had been allowed to exist six months after the Report was tabled.

Now we have the problem of fake ballots in the Bar Council elections.
The Bar Council has been quite vocal recently on various human rights issues like the IPCMC and can be considered “a thorn” in the flesh of the authorities.

Now if you like conspiracy theories of which there are many surrounding the death of the Mongolian woman and highly trained police who get rid of evidence, it is not difficult to speculate that those fake ballots could have been planted by persons unknown to disrupt the Bar Council activities.

It seems the proper remedy would be for the Bar Council to get non-lawyers like an accounting firm to handle the ballots that are in dispute.

So far about 50 fake ballots have been found and the Bar Council should be given the authority to sort out this matter.

If fake ballots make up less than 20% of the total votes they should simply be recorded as such and the results should stand.

Can you imagine if this principle of fake ballots is applied to the general elections we will never be able to have election results accepted.

Let’s not mix up the two kettles of fish. One stinks more than the other.

Graphics: Thanks to http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/la/it/ipmnotes/video/kettle-of-fish.jpg

Changing Mindset is More Critical than Reinventing Policies

Sometimes we really get confusing messages from our top leaders.

Civil servants really should not be asked to reinvent policies but they can be required to suggest better ways to implement policies.

Policies should come from the top down unless our top leaders do not do any serious thinking anymore.

Can you just imagine the havoc if civil servants are allowed to keep reinventing policies at their own whim and fancy? Each month will have a different flavour similar to the one enacted by the Negri Sembilan Education Department that effectively created education apartheid in the school but fortunately saner minds prevailed at the Education Ministry.

Still on the education front there must have been a sea change in policies that has created the situation in Malaysia where thousands of new graduates cannot write even a simple paragraph in English.

We cannot blame civil servants for that but their political masters. Official letters from the government used to end with something like “Your obedient servant” but nowadays the tone is more like “Or else!”

Care to share your experience with our civil servants?

Photo: thanks to http://www.zftr.com/uploaded_images/Thinking%20monkey-771567.jpg

Another RM300,000 Down the Drain

So the authorities spent RM300k on a study to see how London could be used as a sports center for Malaysian athletes.

That seems to be a lot of bucks on an idea that most Malaysians find unreasonable and lacking proper justification. There was earlier talk that a multimillion ringgit sports complex was in the offing but the actual cost has not been confirmed following the public uproar.

The Minister for Sports should be asked to provide details of how this RM300,000 was incurred.

It would be interesting to get the following information:

Air-fares to London

Hotels in London

Entertainment claims

Sundry expenses

Consultancy hours

Is that a reasonable request for information?

An Easy Problem for the Education Ministry?

The government did a good thing by abolishing examination fees for this helps poorer Malaysians who may otherwise drop out of school earlier.

I remember during my school days my family had to apply for school fees exemption and that concession helped all my four brothers stay in school for as long as they wanted.

The problem of students wanting to take extra papers can be viewed from a few angles:

It seems that getting an A is too easy nowadays and maybe the standard should be raised so that not more than 10 to 15% of students achieve this result.

If seven subjects are the requirements for any exam, the students should be asked to pay exam fees for any extra paper as resources are needed to cater for these students. Perhaps RM25 per extra subject would be a reasonable amount.

The MOE can also designate ECAs as being more valuable for scholarships than the extra papers and if we tighten standards on granting “As” it should be possible to select outstanding pupils based on 5 subjects.

We should not encourage schools to cater for exotic subjects so that some mugger can score 15As and become a celebrity but we should encourage our students to spend more time in sports and other healthy activities so that inter-racial harmony can be enhanced.

Instead of having to build extra classrooms for the extra subjects the money would be better spent on renting sports fields and other games facilities. Those who want to take subjects not taught in schools will have to take private lessons.

I was thinking….maybe our Education Minister can make his point more succinctly at a meeting of education officials and parents by displaying that infamous symbol of his?

We Should Treat New Doctors with Basic Decency

Becoming a doctor is a tough career path – the course is long and arduous and rather expensive and after graduation comes the dreaded housemanship where the new doctor is required to work long hours that can only result in exhaustion.

Being on call with no proper rest period for up to 34 hours can only result in flawed judgement calls and possibly cause deaths in hospitals.

Older doctors may claim that they all went through the regime and survived but does that mean that the system cannot be improved?

We have laws on public transport drivers where there must be a relief driver on long distance trips and maximum overtime for drivers as it is considered dangerous to the public when the driver operates a vehicle in a state of exhaustion but can we not also look at our young doctors miserable working conditions?

I suggest an exhausted doctor can cause more deaths than a driver as the authorities may not be willing to disclose deaths caused by a flawed system.

Looking at the long hours worked, let us make some estimate of the potential victims that may lose their lives.

Assume a doctor operates in the exhaustion stage once every 2 days, that will give us 365 days divided by 2 or 182 times in a year.

Suppose he makes a fatal judgement call 10% of the time in those 182 exhaustion periods, that would give us 18 deaths per doctor per annum.

If we have 1000 new doctors each year, that will result in 18000 deaths per annum caused by a flawed system.

No doubt having in work to the point of exhaustion can provide a steep learning curve but the public should be asked if they want to be the test material.

photo: Daughter's convocation 2006 Dalhousie medical graduates.

Give Us More Time? I Don’t Think So

I think Malaysians are fed up with the PM’s continuing request for more time. After 3 years at the helm with a so-called overwhelming victory at the polls he appears to be unable to get out of the “give me more time” rut.

Time is a precious commodity we cannot squander for it is priceless. Malaysia cannot afford to dither with ineffective leaders who want to achieve grand goals but cannot share their plans and invigorate their followers with their passion.
(And I don’t mean passion of the bedroom kind)

I believe the nation spent about nine months deliberating on the Royal Commission on the police and even today after about 18 months after the report was published; we still are waiting for the IPCMC to be set up. If the periods are not exact it is a long time ago.

So give me more time? I don’t think so.

We have just witnessed the UMNO Assembly where speakers were allowed to deliver speeches that would have been quite appropriate 30 years ago at an apartheid rally in South Africa or the Ku Klux Klan in the deep south.

After 49 years of nationhood give us more time to inculcate the proper racial values? I don’t think so.

Already other countries in Asean are fast developing and I estimate even Indonesia has become a more progressive nation during the past decade than Malaysia has in the past 50 years.
Give us more time to restore local elections? I don’t think so.

The NEP was for a fixed schedule and now some people want to perpetuate this crony capitalism tool to enjoy the benefits of easy money in the equity pipeline. Give us more time to enjoy the leakages? I don’t think so.

We now have this great economic thingamajig called the 9MP that is a step towards achieving Vision2020.

Has anyone seen how all this is going to be achieved?
The saying “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” applies to our vision of a progressive nation.

In order to achieve great goals there must be definite signposts to mark progress so that we can make alterations in the direction or even discard practices that are not helping towards that goal.

Just take education for starters.
Do we have targets like:

25% of all Malaysians in national schools by 2010

50% of all Malaysians in national schools by 2015

75% of all Malaysians in national schools by 2020

This should be applied to all ministries and then it will make any request for time to be justified. I hope the PM will not come out with a request for a second term if the present “give us more time” mantra continues with no discernible results.

What Do You Think is a Viable Plan to Deny BN its Two-thirds Majority?

That was the question posed for MALAYSIAWATCH POLL 18 and 73 votes were received.

The breakdown is as follows:

92% or 69 readers felt that some form of cooperation was important for the opposition parties to do better.

This was in the form of

Opposition Parties Ensuring No 3-corner contests 48% or 36 respondents

DAP cooperating with PKR only 28% or 21 readers

DAP cooperating with PKR and PAS 16% or 12 readers


Some think BN will still win with a big majority
No Way. BN is going to win a massive landslide 8% or 6 readers

No one selected the following options.
DAP cooperating with PAS only
PKR cooperating with PAS only

What Do You Think of the Recent UMNO General Assembly?

That is your question for MALAYSIAWATCH POLL 19.

Does UMNO behave like the Ku Klax Klan or the mainstream party that can fulfil all the goals to make Malaysia a developed nation?

Milton Friedman and the NEP

What has the great economist got to do with the NEP?

Nothing really but if Friedman had studied how we implemented the NEP he would probably be turning in his grave. But perhaps not as he be having a smug smile at how the Malaysian authorities have proved his theories correct.

Friedman’s basic philosophy was that government is bad and inefficient in most business ventures.

His documentary “Free to Choose” was an interesting film on how government involvement in business is wasteful and should be strictly avoided unless there were compelling reasons for government to be involved such as foreign affairs or defence matters.

So after more than 35 years of NEP policies we are still short of the 30% equity target that was set to be some defining yardstick. Now we have the great debate on whether the target has been achieved with conflicting reports from the EPU, ASLI and MU.

The debate is really irrelevant as the more pertinent question should be,
“Why has the 30% target not been achieved when the government has been in control all these years and why no corrective actions have been taken?”

Milton Friedman could provide the answer via the following example:

Suppose the government granted a favourite crony say a million shares in some IPO and that boosted the Bumi equity by 0.5% and within a month the shares rose by RM3 and that crony decided he wanted cash instead of paper he could sell the shares, make RM3 million and buy a BMW 5 Series to impress his next wife.

The government will then say they are just implementing the NEP policy and the Bumi will say he is just exercising his basic rights.

The end result is that someone gets a RM3 million windfall and the 30% equity target is back to square one. All this has been going on for many years and some people have become accustomed to such generous gifts and these can be in the form of thousands of APs that generate millions of ringgit but do nothing to raise the 30% stake.

It is time for the government to discard this NEP target that will never be realised as the leakage is simply too uncontrolled and those receiving the gifts are not really developing long term capabilities.

Our PM mentioned that no Malaysian will be left behind. What better way than to ensure that all our young citizens be provided with appropriate training and skills so that they can be employed in the many jobs that are available.

We have already wasted so much time and talents on a flawed NEP policy and leaders should be brave enough to change direction before our country ends up at the bottom of the waterfall amidst global competition.

Those who control the country are also in a quandary as it appears the policies have enabled them to remain in power and some believe that without the crony policies those in power will lose the next elections.

Already the signs are ominous and I can hear the roar of the falls.

photo: Niagara Falls, Canadian side

Not All Mergers are Made in Heaven

In the spirit of Malaysia Boleh there is now a plan to merge three large plantation GLCs i.e. Golden Hope, Sime Darby and Guthrie into a mega company.

These three companies are steeped in history and played a major role in the development of Malaysia. I worked in one of them for about 11 years; seven of which were in an associate company in Batu Caves.

Even today plantation crops make an important contribution to the economy.

It seems that PNB is forcing all the companies together as it is the major shareholder and it would be interesting to see how the minority stockowners will be treated or will they simply be brushed aside with all kinds of exemptions provided by the SC?

Before you break out the champagne bottle, such a mega company may be less profitable than 3 separate companies as there will be no more competition among the senior managers and perhaps the end result will be yields moving towards the lower end of the 3 groups.

There will also be loss of perhaps 25% of senior Malaysian managers posts and these people will find it tough to adjust to life outside the plantations.

It would be interesting to see all the relevant documents to justify this plan and what is going to be offered to minority shareholders.

I imagine that the merged company will be a convenient way to provide cheap shares to some special crony under the NEP equity giveaway.

One thing is sure. The bank handling this exercise will make a nice bundle.

graphics: http://www.ma-strasbourg.justice.fr/images/balance.gif

Another Grand-daughter!

My eldest daughter Jean gave birth to her second daughter Zoe on Monday 18th November.
Both parents and baby are doing well.

It so happens that my computer was in the repair shop since Friday and so no updates.


However I received an email from a Muslim lawyer who is involved with human rights. I have not met him but I believe he is a true Malaysian who is willing to stand up for the human rights of all Malaysians.

Please visit his site called “The Truth of the Matter” and you can also pass it on to other Malaysians. No protests, no demos – just do something basic that may help to preserve our freedom as a secular nation.

After watching all the extremist speeches at the UMNO Assembly don't you think you NEED to take some action as a responsible citizen NOW?

If you have not registered as a voter, please resolve to do so within the next week. It will take no more than 15 minutes of your time.

Beware the Straits Pirates! They Have Come Ashore.

In recent years the Straits of Malacca was known for its frequent pirate attacks on the thousands of ships that use it every year.

However with the cooperation of the littoral states and even foreign nations like Australia, the pirates have been kept at bay and attacks have decreased.

However Malaysians have to be more careful these days as there are many pirates living in our midst.

They prey on the weak and some victims have even died after being attacked.
Snatch thieves appear to be lying low in most town areas as the police have clamped down on their activities.

Hold on. The moment the situation gets under control another problem crops up.
What’s this they are demanding at the UMNO General Assembly?

I hear the chant .
“NEP forever and beyond 30%”

Some people now claim that the NEP is part of the social contract.
Others even proclaim that “UMNO is willing to bathe in blood”.

If UMNO leaders allow their members to utter such threatening remarks against rivals, is UMNO becoming the largest pirate group in Malaysia?

The NEP was never part of the social contract to achieve independence for Malaya. It was a specific program that was to last for a fixed number of years so that the government could execute policies to bring the perceived weaker members of societies to a higher level.

However many of the policies were “piratised” so that some cronies now travel on a different level than us in their private jets and helicopters.

Of course many tens thousands were left behind and are still struggling to survive.
My question is,
“If after 35 years of affirmative action policies by the same government and they admit that the 30% target has not been achieved, should not the government be held responsible and accountable for the massive failure that has been paid for by the blood, sweat and tears of the millions of marginalized Malaysians?”

As for that person wanting to bathe in blood, some one should lodge a police report for such remarks that can promote racial conflicts.

Or are the antics of UMNO members during their assembly beyond the scope of the police? Freedom of expression is good but one would have expected a more civilized approach than making definite threats.

But then again what can you expect from UMNO members when their leaders use the same racist approach?

graphics: courtesy of http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol5/no3/pirates.jpg

Time to Say Goodbye

I've added one of my favourite songs by Sarah Brightman.

Isn't it time to say goodbye to all the racist posturing we are seeing everyday now on national TV?

Say Goodbye to money politics, religious bullying and let all Malaysians live in peace and harmony.

If the government can just provide good security and a just system for all Malaysians we will all go further and faster in our development as a Bangsa Malaysia where a person is valued not by the colour of his skin or the brand of his religion but by his earnest efforts to fulfill his dreams.

God help us all.

Look into the Mirror First

It is that time of the year again when we hear silly politicians expounding the same message we have all heard for the past 50 odd years.

Strangely enough the record appears to have good stuck in the groove of “race supremacy”, “religious fervour” and “keep us in power and we will safeguard your interests”.

I am of course referring to the UMNO Annual General Assembly where most ministers stop work to attend the long meetings. I wonder if they apply for annual leave or is the rallying and rousing function part of their official duties?

Never mind that the EPU equity results have been put into another black box and come out with a different sets of results that will garner more support for the ruling party as that would surely translate into more crony contracts.

This was taken in an extract from a speech by the DPM.
“Whatever is required for Malay development, we will push for it so that it will be immediately implemented, immediately constructed. What is important is that this great trust that we hold is never manipulated, never leaked and never abandoned.”

The first sentence sounds like a preparation for Maggi mee with the idea that changing mind-sets can be done like instant noodles – just open a packet and you immediately can have your satisfaction.

The second sentence is like Maggi mee that has been cooked for 50 years. It is tasteless and unpalatable and no one will buy it anymore as the government has lost all credibility with the following recent events:

• Failure to implement the IPCMC
• Soft pedaling on corruption issues in local councils
• EPU Flip/flops.
• Law Minister’s stand that UMNO corruption is outside ACA’s scope.

There is one thing strange about change. Everyone always wants someone else to change.
If UMNO wants the Malays to change their mindset they should first look into the mirror. Better still if they have a serious private discussion with the other BN parties.

Graphics: courtesy of http://welcometotheplanet.blogs.com/welcometotheplanet/mirror.jpg

Time to Introduce Safety Speak….

Reading some of the comments made by people in high places we should make it compulsory for all senior officials to attend a special course on Safety Speak.

What is Safety Speak?
It is a special course tailored for incompetent leaders when they have to meet the press. Too often they make some stupid remarks and then later claim they were misquoted or quoted out of context.

Over the past few weeks, the newspapers had various reports where senior people made remarks that could have been avoided they had they attended a basic course in Safety Speak.

Examples:

• The MB of Johor wanted the Malays to be the “pivotal” race in Malaysia and also started a campaign to get rid of meritocracy as it hampered progress.

• The Municipal President of Penang city explains that all the city officials would not be able to resist looking up a reporter’s skirt as she was dressed “sexily”.

What would the basic course in Safety Speak contain?
Seeing that incompetents are largely in charge of town councils a one-hour course should be enough to that they can memorise the following safe sentences.

“That incident was unfortunate and unforeseen. Let me check the full details and get back to you.”

One month later.

“We have now concluded our investigations. The person responsible has (been transferred)/(resigned) and we will ensure this does not happen again.”

Two months later after a repeat of similar incident.

“We apologise to the public for this incident. The person responsible has (been transferred)/(resigned) and we will take more stringent measures to ensure this does not happen again”.

And so it goes on.
The story will never end until we are given back our rights to elect local city officials.

Can you think of any sentence that could be included in the basic course for Safety Speak?

photo:courtesy of http://www.southport.gb.com/clowns2002/Clowns_21Sept2002_0014_small.jpg

The Most Popular Choice...

This was selected in response to the question
"What Do You Think of Nazri’s Remark that He Drafted the ACA Laws to Exclude Political Parties for Corrupt Practices?"

The Results for MALAYSIAWATCH POLL 17:

31 readers or 45% picked "This is What Happens When We Put Monkeys in Charge of Bananas"

27 or 39% felt that "I Think Nazri Should Be Sacked for Drafting Such a Useless Act"

8 or 12% wanted "The Law on ACA Must Be Amended to Include Money Politics"

2 or 3% chose "The Bar Association Should Dissociate Itself from Such a Lawyer"

1 or 1% believed "Our MPs Must Have Been Sleeping When the Bill Was Passed"

No one picked "I Agree With the Minister’s Views 100%"

A total of 69 readers took the poll.

What is Your Advice for the Opposition Parties?

Many people feel we will have a General Election in 2007.

The question in MALAYSIAWATCH POLL 18 is

"What Do You Think is a Viable Plan to Deny BN its Two-thirds Majority?"

Have You Heard of the Enrichment of Privileged Undertakers?

EPU could be the brand name of another magical snake oil that can cure all ailments.

This could be marketed in two formulae:

• Standard EPU18.9% at RM30 per 100ml bottle or

• Premium EPU36.8% at RM45 per 150ml bottle.

Consumer: What’s that? The unit ml price is exactly the same. We pay 50% more and get 50% more product.

Marketing company (MC): But that’s our marketing strategy. Most people will not bother to question us and will just buy whichever product they prefer. In both cases we still sell our products.

Consumer: What exactly does EPU stand for?

MC: Not exactly sure. Let me get back to you.

One month later.

MC: We are pleased to inform our clients that EPU stands for Enrichment of Privileged Undertakers.

Consumer body investigator (CB): That is a strange name. How did the word “undertaker” get included?

MC: We cannot reveal all our company secrets but many people believed our products so much they decided to use it for every ailment despite our warning.

CB: What is that?

MC: We warned people that is product has a lifespan of 25 years but some people want to use it much longer and now we are making a formula that will last 50 years.

CB: Were there any fatalities?

MC: No one has actually died from any EPU ingestion but according to the latest WHO report, many Malaysians are addicted to our EPU products.

CB: What does WHO stand for? Is it the World Health Organisation?

MC: No, that’s not right. It is the Wealthy Humans Oligarchy.

CB: We did a survey on the population and 98.9% of the survey thought WHO stood for the prestigious world body.

MC: That’s what we know too.

CB: Don’t you think EPU shares will plunge if we publish all our findings?

MC: Most people are gullible and still believe us after all these years. But be warned that if you reveal too much about our methods we know how to fix the problem.

CB: What do you mean?

MC: Well we had someone disappear when she came from a remote country and started to pry into how we were able to fool so many people all these years.
That is why we are known as EPU. We are privileged to send you to the undertaker if you become a threat to our operations.

CB: Holy cow – no shit!

MC: I have to end our interview. These two gentlemen will escort you out.

CB: What are you doing? Put that away!!. NO, NO. ARRGHH!

Slavery without the Chains

This is a modern day non-fiction.

Suppose you had a field to plant and you toiled hard and long to produce a good harvest and the government taxes you a portion like 15% of the harvest to provide essential services like roads, water and electricity.

Suddenly there is a plague and part of the land in the country is blighted and cannot be used for 25 years - the time it will take to rejuvenate the soil.

The government asks your assistance and you agree to help by providing extra 30% of your harvest above the usual rate of 15% for the next 25 years.

Instead of using the 30% extracted to improve the condition of the blighted lands, the government uses the resources to build huge monuments, meaningless structures and other useless projects.

Some people became lazy and even forget their basic survival skills like fishing and hunting as the government has lulled them into a sense of complacency with the easy money.

On the 24th year, the government reveals that the 30% extra tax has not achieved the desired results and they want to extend the program by another 20 years.

Meanwhile as the people who have been busy enjoying themselves have been procreating on an unprecedented scale. People from afar were also attracted by the generous handouts and their numbers increased.

Some members in the government now propose that a more suitable target would be 60% extra taxes on the productive farmer.

If you are that productive farmer, what would you do?


http://sunderlandco-op.on.ca/media/crops_field_02.jpg

Death in High Places

The Squatgate episode showed how prisoners could be subject to police abuse but the latest incident where a foreign woman was allegedly shot and blown to bits to prevent her from blackmailing an important person shows how vital it is for all our MPs to demand that the Attorney-General get off his back-side and submit his proposals for the IPCMC NOW.

If the police officers who are supposed to protect us and uphold the law can be induced to commit murder we should all be afraid of the police as some of them can really do evil.

If indeed the poor woman was trying to extract money for her baby it is an even more dastardly act for the police officers to help the man get rid of the problem.

This is the first big test for the IPG to prove that he is really serious about improving the police force.

I have noted police on the beat and it does give a better sense of security until this explosive murder.

A few days ago, I passed by two FRU men at a bus-stop. When I returned about 20 minutes later they were still there. Looks as though walking is a no-no for the two guys.

On a similar note it looks as if our prison wardens are all going to get obesity problems.


Photo: the Star

99% of Voters Are Not Happy with the EPU’s Study

The Poll Question for MALAYSIAWATCH POLL 16 was “How Do You Feel About the ASLI Debacle?”
There were 123 voters as follows:

59 voters or 48% chose “I Do Not Trust the Government’s Analysis”

28 voters or 23% felt “The Government Should Disclose Fully their Research Methodologies”

19 voters or 15% picked “The Government Acts Like a Big Bully”

10 voters or 8% wanted “Will the EPU Sell Me Shares at Par Value?”

6 voters or 5% chose “The EPU and ASLI Should Have Trashed Out Their Differences”

1 voter or 1% picked “I Trust the Government’s Findings 100%”

In general it seems that most people do not have much faith in the EPU Report.

Sure You Don’t Have Foreign Blood?

There is some loose talk about Bangsa Malaysia and foreigners tainting the Malaysian bloodlines.

As a Eurasian with a few drops of Scottish blood, I feel a little qualified to write about the subject.

If one makes even a cursory look at the history of Malaya, one cannot help notice that the country has experienced an influx of migrants from many places. Some moved on but many remained and established roots here.

The main groups were from Java, Sumatra, India, China, English, Dutch and Portuguese in the past as Malaya lies at the crossroads of vital trade routes and were colonized by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English.

I remember the State Education Head of Perak in the sixties, a Mr Campbell. He was a first generation Eurasian, the offspring of an Englishman and a Malay woman and he was also a Roman Catholic. I guess in those days people were freer to choose their religion.

Today the pace of mixed marriages is even more pronounced with thousands of our children studying overseas.

There is really nothing wrong with foreigners and many have contributed much to make Malaysia a more vibrant place with a colorful culture that is the envy of many. Our gastronomical delights also provide a feast for the taste-buds.

There is a fear that Bangsa Melayu may become diluted with the concept of Bangsa Malaysia. This misguided thinking should be examined on a scientific basis and not political rhetoric.

Consider the following:

A Malay marries an English woman and has a son who is brought up as a Muslim but hardly practises his faith.

The son marries an English girl and also produces a son who is also a Muslim but does not practice the religion.

This last generation is classified a Malay in Malaysia and able to enjoy all the NEP benefits even though racially he is 75% English.

Most probably he will be able to take advantage of the NEP policies more effectively than some Bumis in the remote areas of Sabah and Sarawak.

Will all the pure Malays in Malaysia please stand up to be counted?

Photo: http://www.oakhursttearoom.com/assets/images/Weddings.jpg

Goodbye Meritocracy Hello Mediocrity

Perhaps the hullabaloo in the Klang Council has wakened some sleeping leaders that if the whole country adopts the concept of “no meritocracy”, there will be more chances of half-past six leaders rising to national levels.

Thus the start for the “no meritocracy” policy is at the university level as that will immediately solve the annual hand wringing exercise as to why our prestigious universities are 200 places below the universities of Singapore. It will definitely fall out of the world’s top 5000 universities and we will all be in a class of our own.

There will be no contests and ranking and we will all sleep peaceably until the golden era of Vision2020. Why should Malaysia be bothered with such trite rankings as after all it could be a “Jewish conspiracy?”

We will pass new laws so that at birth, citizens will be designated as doctors, lawyers and engineers once they reach the age of 21 years and after completing their National Service training.

Of course more people will want to join the civil service as the extra perks in the Registration Department could be substantial as parents will want to avoid the classification of “Cleaner” for their son or daughter.

Don’t you think life will simply be more exciting if we just got rid of the meritocracy burden? Why students in universities will have more free time to indulge in life’s pleasures of watching blue movies and experimenting with casual sex. Yeah we need to provide free condoms to them to avoid unnecessary pregnancies.

And when these kids start operating their clinics or practices, the clients will need to become savvier. When your new doctor prescribes some treatment like a lobotomy you will need to double check the treatment or you could end up spewing nonsensical comments.

Here’s a simple guideline to evaluate this proposal.

When you visit your doctor, do you check to see from where the doctor got his or her degree and do you also consider when the doctor graduated?

If you are a university student, don’t you feel threatened by such a comment to end meritocracy?

Let’s Start at the Very Beginning….

You all know the Doremi song from the Sound of Music and it seems the Gerakan leader is beginning to see the light on how Malaysia can find a way out of the boondocks.

Recently there has really been a plethora of problems with government matters such as the following:


• The public spat between the PM and TDM over how the country is governed

• The EPU/ASLI share equity debate that is still unresolved

• Ministers refusing to settle outstanding traffic fines for years

• The Klang Municipality fiasco

• IPCMC still pending after 18 months

• The manner AP privileges are abused with cloned certificates

It all shows a lack of integrity of many people in government that is compounded by a lack of credibility and most problems are countered with a “don’t play with fire” answer by some political leaders.

That always seems to be the fall-back position even after 49 years of independence.

The statement that Gerakan elected reps will no longer be appointed as council members is a step in the right direction as it will reduce conflict of interest problems though that does not seem to raise issues with some politicians as it is all considered “within the family”.

However it is unfortunate that Gerakan did not start at the very basic tenet of a democratic society. The majority of fair-minded Malaysians would have saluted them if they had supported the return of local elections.

That would be a definite building block of a vibrant democratic society and local councilmen who perform well can be recruited by the various parties to contest as state assemblymen and on to higher office at national level.

Even Gerakan admits that local councils are a good place to test party members before a higher office so why not let taxpayers elect local officials?

PS. It’s my 59th birthday today so I decided to do this extra article.

photo: Sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia, USA. Tomorrow the sun will rise on a new chapter for Malaysia.

No Need to Go to Kelantan for Wayang Kulit

Question: When is an Appointment Not an Appointment?

Answer: When You Have Not Signed and Returned the Offer Letter.

Anyone who has had a job offer knows that just receiving a letter offering you a job knows that the letter is only valid when you have signed and returned that letter within a certain date.

Now we have the case of two Klang councilors who supposedly resigned as they breached the very rules they were sworn to uphold in the Klang Municipality Council.

Building plans may be considered a minor function but the trust in public officials has been long compromised as city halls seem to operate on a family affair basis.

Now according to our esteemed Law Minister corruption cannot occur within a family and the politicians, one big happy family, also fall in that incorruptible category.

So why do we have such a grand show about people resigning when they were not sworn in?

It seems to be a case of public appeasement and also trying to fool the general population.
If they resign from an office they did not hold, they lose nothing but the common folks think they have been punished enough and will not clamor for a more meaningful punishment like having to resign as an elected assemblyman.

Welcome to Selangor, the new wayang kulit centre of Malaysia.
Or as some prefer it’s all “smoke and mirrors” my friend “smoke and mirrors.”

I hope the people in Klang will know how to dispense justice come the next general elections especially since the ruling party behaves as if it is above and beyond the law.

Don't you feel as if you've been taken for a ride?

http://arliquido.blogs.sapo.pt/arquivo/wayang%20kulit.jpg

What Do You Think of Nazri’s Remark that He Drafted the ACA Laws to Exclude Political Parties for Corrupt Practices?

This is your question to ponder on the latest statement by the Law Minister.

Please let us know your views.

We Approved an Anti-Corruption Act Without Meaning..

This seems to be an excuse for the ACA not to take action against money politics and corruption within political parties on the weak excuse that it does not concern the public.

Either the Minister is a bad lawyer or has no morals as he tabled the Anti-Corruption Act in Parliament or everyone decided that corruption is so widespread in political parties that they needed an exclusion clause.

If the ACA cannot probe political parties as “It does not affect the public in the sense that it does not involve public projects or public funds” then I suggest members of the public must not be allowed to join political parties and these should be restricted to only members of a family and relatives as according to the minister, corruption cannot be committed within a family.

It looks as if we have a bad anti-corruption law that has excluded probably 70% of all corruption cases and allowed the monster of corruption to breed without any effective control.

The actions of political parties can impinge more on society than any other body as they can form the government and the ACA must be empowered to take action.

photo: courtesy of the Star.All honest men of integrity?