BN could lose more seats in snap polls, says report

A report by The Economist has predicted that Barisan Nasional (BN) could lose more seats in the next general election — widely expected speculated by the first quarter of next year — due to declining support among the young, moderate Malay electorate.

The Economist Intelligence Unit country report highlighted the Malay youths’ growing disillusionment with Umno’s “strong promotion” of Islamic values and the mounting number of political scandals.

“The most likely outcome of the next general election is that the BN will suffer a further loss of seats as younger, moderate Malay voters, disillusioned by political scandals and Umno’s strong promotion of Islamic values, decline to give their support to the ruling coalition,” said the magazine’s Intelligence Report on Malaysia for December.

Yesterday, former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo was charged with land fraud involving his Balinese-style mansion in Shah Alam.

The Sungai Besar Umno division leader was accused of knowingly purchasing two land lots and a bungalow for RM3.5 million in Section 7, Shah Alam, from Ditamas Sdn Bhd in 2007 despite the company buying the property for RM6.5 million on December 23, 2004.

Recently, BN leaders have conceded that they would likely fail again to regain its two-thirds parliamentary majority in the 13th general election, but were confident of wresting a few states back from Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Last month, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had also said that BN was capable of taking one or two states from PR because, he said, the opposition was in disarray. However, he added that BN would likely fail to regain its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

The Economist Intelligence Unit report also pointed out that liberal middle-class Malays have swung from the biggest Malay party to the federal opposition.

“Although voters in the rural heartland of peninsular Malaysia continue to support Umno, a significant number of better-educated, liberal middle-class Malays have deserted the ruling party in favour of the opposition,” the report said.

The Economist Intelligence Unit report noted, however, that PR would likely fail to capture Putrajaya despite making further gains.

“The PR will make gains, notwithstanding internal difficulties in the aftermath of Anwar’s likely removal from the political scene, but the opposition alliance is unlikely to garner enough parliamentary seats to be able to form a government,” said the report.

The report predicted that Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would be convicted on his second sodomy charge that could subsequently tear apart the opposition coalition.

“The leader of the PR, Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister, is likely to be convicted on a charge of sodomy in the coming months. Without him, the ties that hold together the disparate parties making up PR — the reformist, multicultural PKR, the conservative, Islamist PAS and the predominantly ethnic-Chinese, left of-centre DAP — are likely to fray,” said the report.

Anwar is currently standing trial for his second sodomy trial.

The PR leader has denied the sodomy charge and described it as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power”.

The former deputy minister was charged with sodomy and corruption in 1998 after he was sacked from the Cabinet and was later convicted and jailed for both offences.

In Election 2008, Anwar led the loose opposition pact of PKR, DAP and PAS to a historic sweep of four more states and 82 federal states, denying BN its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Despite intense speculation that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will call for snap polls by March 2011, the Economist Intelligence Unit report maintained he would likely fix the date for the next general election only after the Sarawak state elections that must be held by July 2011.

“We still believe that Najib will set a general election date after the Sarawak state election. The results of the Sarawak election will provide a good indication of the level of public support for the government and its reform plans,” said the report.

“The results of the two by-elections in November point to a slight shift in non-Malay sentiment in favour of the BN, suggesting that the government’s plans to reform policies that currently favour the Bumiputera has increased its appeal among ethnic minorities,” it added, referring to BN’s victory in the Galas and Batu Sapi by-elections.

Last Friday, Najib unveiled his highly-anticipated New Economic Model 2 report, but analysts believe that it would fail to impress today’s more discerning electorate who are determined to see the PM’s commitment to promoting inclusivity, reform affirmative action to be more efficient and market-friendly and to steer clear away from the culture of patronage and rent-seeking that has been plaguing the economy for decades.

In his promises, Najib has pledged to reform an economy whose investment rates have not recovered from the 1998 Asian financial crisis and where foreign direct investment has fallen off a cliff from the heady days of the early 1990s.

Missing from the report, however, were concrete measures to reform the New Economic Policy (NEP), which affords the country’s majority ethnic Malays preferential quotas including for businesses, although it did pledge to target aid at the poorest 40 per cent of Malaysians regardless of race.

Investors have also complained that abuse of the four-decade-old NEP policy had spawned a patronage-ridden economy and eroded Malaysia’s competitiveness compared to faster reforming neighbours including Indonesia.


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Let the rakyat drive the last nail into BN-UMNO's coffin.

Enough is enough. We want our country back. Malaysia does not belong to BN-UMNO. We want credible leaders to take Malaysia into a better future.

We do not have good opposition leaders with strategic minds.

Most are old dinasaurs using dinosaurous methods which do not always work. That's why it took 53 years of frustrations. Tough guys like YB Lim Kit Siang was easily played up to the anti Malay for example and he did not even try to overcome that while everyday shout Malaysian Malaysia.

It took the stupidity of BN arrogance especially those massive jams to unseat BN not because of anything PR did.

PR gained because of people's disillusionment, not because of their shouts and yelling around in Parliament.

Even a monkeys will get elected if guys do not understand the frustrations of the rakyat seeing so many damaging policies that make Malaysia in such a poor state.

Well we do not have choice. We still have to elect even monkeys so that there is a two party system. The future for Malaysia is a two party system. Choose the one that works for the people and not themselves.

Khir Toyo to submit quit letter tomorrow

Former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo who relinquished his post as state Opposition Leader with immediate effect yesterday, is expected to submit his quit letter tomorrow.

Khir Toyo said he would leave it to the state Umno Liaison to pick the most suitable candidate to fill the post, including his deputy Datuk Mohd Satim Diman.

“I will submit my letter to the Selangor Umno Liaison tomorrow,” he told Bernama here today.

Yesterday, the former Menteri Besar had through his blog www.drkhir.com announced his decision to step down as the opposition leader with immediate effect.

He was charged in the Sessions Court here Monday with graft over two plots of land in Section 7 here and pleaded not guilty.

Khir Toyo (picture) has been charged with accepting two plots of land for RM3.5mil when the said lots were bought by Ditamas Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Shamsuddin Haryoni for RM6.5mil.

Apart from Khir Toyo, 45, Ditamas Sdn Bhd managing director Shamsuddin, 52, is also charged with abetting in the deal of the property on May 29, 2007.

According to the charge sheet, Khir Toyo is alleged to have obtained for himself and his wife Datin Seri Zahrah Kechik the two plots of land and a house at No 8 & 10, Jalan Suasa 7/1 L, Shah Alam, from Ditamas through Ditamas director Shamsuddin at the price of RM3.5mil when in fact the lots were bought by Ditamas on Dec 23, 2004 at the price of RM6.5mil.

The charge under Section 165 of the Penal Code carries a two-year jail term, fine or both.

Khir Toyo who is Sungai Panjang assemblyman said his decision to quit was for the good of the party and to avoid any speculatio



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Why summit the letter to UMNO? Shouldn't it be to the State Legislative Assembly? Unless I'm mistaken, the post of Opposition Leader is legally recognized within the Assembly. Another prime example of political meddling.

Perhaps hoping rakyat will forget the whole episode by playing with time. And who knows, this bum was given all the time in the world to tamper his case. This is how Bolehland acts on their cronies. If this bum is from the opposition, he will be dead standing, literally.

I bet my last cent, with the present bunch of "learned judiciary", this arrogant, corrupted and racialistic "pendatang" will be found innocent eventually. As usual, not enough evidence, he did not break any Bolehland laws etc etc..

Home Ministry denies discrepancy in Anwar’s ‘black-eye’ case

The Home Ministry today brushed aside claims of discrepancies in the investigation of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s infamous 1998 “black-eye incident”, despite the Cabinet’s directive last month to query Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail on his alleged involvement in the case.

In a letter to DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang dated December 2, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told the Ipoh Timor MP that the police would not reopen investigations into the case, despite claims by the former investigating officer in the incident of new information that implicated Abdul Gani and former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

Hishammuddin added that the Royal Malaysian Police had completed its checks on the 12-year-old investigation and had found no reason to suggest that false evidence had been given.

“There were no explanations given to show that false testimony had been made during the investigation.

“The prosecution of (former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri) Rahim Noor for inflicting injury on Anwar Ibrahim was based on proof that was uncovered during the investigation.

“He was charged in court under Section 323 of the Penal Code and he had pleaded guilty to the charge,” Hishammuddin wrote in his letter.

The minister was writing in response to Lim’s questions during debates for his ministry’s 2011 budget, which he had failed to address during his winding up in the House recently.

Lim had raised the issue of former KL CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, the investigating officer in Anwar’s assault case, who had revealed in an open letter to the new IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar on October 8 that he had new information on the “black-eye incident” which implicated Abdul Gani, the current Attorney-General.

Following Mat Zain’s revelations, the Najib administration had instructed two Cabinet ministers — Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and Datuk Seri Utama Rais Yatim — to question Abdul Gani on the matter.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insider two weeks ago, Nazri confirmed this, adding that the Cabinet wanted to hear Abdul Gani’s explanation before taking any action.

But in his letter to Lim last week, Hishammuddin insisted that there was no need to reopen investigations on the case.

He claimed that despite Mat Zain’s allegations, his letter had not contained any elements of incitement, defamation, criminal intimidation and was not vulgar as to trigger any police investigation.

Hishammuddin also said that the country’s criminal justice system had not gone “topsy-turvy” as a result of the “black-eye incident”, as claimed by the veteran politician.

“The principle of separation of powers allows the police to carry out its duty to investigate crime while the A-G’s Chambers is responsible to prosecute criminals and the court’s function is to provide a space to hear and discuss these trials,” he said.

Hishammuddin claimed that all three arms of the government played their respective roles to ensure there were no disruptions in the country’s justice system.

The Sembrong MP also pointed out to Lim that, to date, no police reports have been lodged on Mat Zain’s open letter, which has been distributed across the Internet.

In his letter, Mat Zain had claimed that an independent panel that cleared Abdul Gani and Musa of fabricating evidence in the incident was unconstitutional and accused the country’s top lawyer of deceiving the Cabinet over the independent panel.

He said there was no need for any royal commission of inquiry on the matter as the police were capable of resolving the case themselves.

Mat Zain also revealed that there had been an agreement between former IGP Rahim, former Deputy IGP Tan Sri Norian Mai as well as Mat Zain on October 8, 1998, at 2.30pm that there would be “complete closure” to the black-eye case.

“It is important that I note that Rahim Noor was ready to take full responsibility in the black-eye incident, and his decision was made of his own accord,” said Mat Zain. “The closure of the case had been agreed to be done professionally, above board.”

Mat Zain said that Rahim was prepared to step down after the closure of the black-eye incident.

“But I found out that about 5pm to 5.30pm on the same day, Allahyarham (the late) Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, along with the then Datuk Abdul Gani Patail (now Tan Sri), had met with Rahim Noor at his office. At 6pm, I was then told by Tan Sri Norian to ‘continue investigations like normal’.

“I then understood that the agreement that we had reached mere hours ago had been cancelled. I was shocked and upset, but who was I to say anything at the time,” said Mat Zain.

The former policeman also accused Abdul Gani of falsifying testimonies relating to the black-eye incident.

He said the longer the case remained unresolved, the longer innocent officers would be accused of being involved in a cover-up of the case.

In July 2008, Anwar filed a police report accusing Abdul Gani, Mat Zain, Musa (then a senior investigation officer in 1998) and Dr Abdul Rahman Yusof of falsifying a medical report on his black-eye case.

Rahim, the IGP in 1998, had admitted he assaulted Anwar following a royal commission of inquiry probe in 1999.

He has since been convicted of the crime and sentenced to two-months imprisonment with a fine of RM2,000. Rahim has completed his sentence.


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Well did anyone expect anything else? A reputable, former police officer had alleged that gani had lied during the enquiry and home minister dismisses it offhand. the cabinet pretended that it was going to investigate and now Hish says no. Shouldn't it be for the law minister to decide whether to investigate the AG?

Hishammuddin is a coward. He is trying to cover Gani. What is so difficult to investigate what the former investigator revealed? With all the magic show that happened during the trial, I'll be totally surpeise if there is no shenanigans going on. Look at the stain mattress and look at the people that were involved and were promoted. There is quid pro quo going on there.

BN runs the government like a kerajaan of yore, not a pemerintahan demokrasi ... what it says goes. If it says black is white, then black is white. Ministers do not hold themselves accountable to the people. Instead, they hold the people accountable to them, even though many lies made by them have been exposed.

Shahidan wants Facebook banned, cites national security

Allegedly offensive content on a Facebook page has moved Shahidan to call for the service to be barred. — Reuters pic

Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim today called for the blocking of the Facebook social networking website if its contents continue to pose a threat to national security.

He said a Facebook account holder was found to have taken advantage of the technology to insult Islam and leaders of Malaysia.

“If the website content poses a threat to national security and insults Islam, then it is unnecessary to have Facebook,” he told reporters after accompanying Perlis Facebook Association committee members to lodge a report at the Kangar police station on the insults hurled at Prime Minister Seri Najib Razak and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on a Facebook page.

The report was lodged by the association’s deputy president, Mohd Faizuddin Ismail, at about 5.30 pm.

Shahidan said a report would also be lodged at the State Islamic Religious Department as the holder of the Facebook account had also insulted Islam, and added that the insults hurled at Najib and Mahathir were discovered by a member of the association on November 29.

Shahidan, who is Tambun Tulang assemblyman, said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Malaysian Islamic Development Department and the National Fatwa Council should act against the holder of the Facebook account.



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Maybe we should ban politicians who speak without using his brain, who totally ignore the rights of the people's freedom.
Banning Facebook ? You should start with Perkasa . THAT is the threat against national security. Until then, what you just said is just for political mileage, and without weight whatsoever

A better place for their children, not Malaysia

First-class education system, a corruption-free government, zero tolerance on racism and the basic skill to communicate properly are all on one Malaysian’s mind when he chooses to work in Australia.

Anthony Leong, 30, an application support programmer, said he is considering giving up his Malaysian citizenship and live in Australia permanently, for the sake of his future family.

He said he had become frustrated at the corrupted system, the quality of local university graduates and the red tape he had to go through to apply for welfare support for his 70-year-old disabled aunt, among other things.

He is now a permanent resident in Australia, working for the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, and is considering applying to be an Australian citizen once he has convinced his father and sister to move with him.

Low purchasing power, racism, political instability, low income, race-based policies, crime rates and non-dual citizenship laws are seen as some of the reasons that have kept a lot of Malaysian talents anywhere but here, 300,000 annually to be exact.

Another Malaysian who had also chosen to be Down Under felt unappreciated in Malaysia.

“I am a Malaysian who loves my country but I do not feel loved. Why then should I stay?” Wesley Wong, 25, a software developer in Australia, told The Malaysian Insider.

His deep sense of frustration was echoed by many who are working abroad.

“The country should learn that all Malaysians love their country. Any Malaysian who does not feel appreciated in their own country will definitely find elsewhere to go because they realise that their future is bleak,” he said in an e-mail interview.

Leigh Howard, South Asia director for Talent2 International Limited, told The Malaysian Insider that approximately 300,000 Malaysians leave the country for better education, work and business prospects, quoting figures released by the government.

“That would compare with a figure of 80,000 for a country such as Australia which has a similar size population and workforce,” he said.

He added that Malaysia is lacking talents in the services sector, technology, banking, as well as in oil and gas.

Brian Fernandez, 40, a headhunter for senior and middle management positions for the last decade at Talent Search International, said those talents are lost to Singapore, all over Europe and the Middle East.

“Setting up Talent Corp is a nice blah blah but it’s not real,” he said, dismissing the initiative launched yesterday.

The prime minister announced at its launch yesterday that foreigners and Malaysians living abroad can soon apply for a new resident pass that will allow them to live and work in Malaysia for up to 10 years at a time.

Although he had earlier said that Talent Corporation, which was established under the Prime Minister’s Department, will spearhead initiatives to attract the estimated 700,000 skilled Malaysians currently working abroad, the prime minister did not mention the ambitious figure at the launch.

Instead, Najib announced a new policy to retain and attract talent to Malaysia.

He said the resident pass will be made available to highly-skilled expatriates seeking to continue working and living in Malaysia as well as Malaysians residing overseas.

Unlike an employment pass, he said the resident pass has the advantage of not being tied to an employer and it can be issued for a longer period.

Najib, also the finance minister, said the pass will also be available to those originally from Malaysia as well as their offspring who no longer hold Malaysian citizenship.

Following the announcements, however, he did not specify how the new body will reach out to those “highly-skilled talents”.

Fernandez was sceptical about how the new initiative will pan out, even before the launch yesterday.

“Malaysia is very good with plans, but when it comes to execution, it’s a different story,” he said.

The Malaysian Insider had reported that Singapore had trumped Malaysia in the brain gain stakes, according to a recent Gallup poll which saw the island-state beat some 150 countries to come out as the most favoured destination in the world for educated migrants.

Fernandez cited his family as “a classic case” as one of his sisters is working for the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and another in Singapore.

Fernandez, who has a university degree and a small child, had also left for Singapore in his late 30s, said that he was “one of thousands who had left Malaysia in the last two years.”

He said Malaysia had lost a lot of talents in technology because the skill is very transferable and that “Singapore is a good example of a vacuum cleaner, sucking talents out of Malaysia.”

He added that Malaysians in the banking and financial industry, especially accountants, are being offered better salaries and benefits abroad, whom he said, usually stay on in the country and do not return.

Fernandez used the biotech industry in Malaysia as an example of the many sectors which need to improve, to gain talents.

“Singapore went through that as well. They had a 10-year plan, bought global talents from the UK, the US, there were a lot of PhD students. They grew the talent pool and now they have more than 1,000 PhD holders,” he said.

He credited the government for its efforts and said that at least Malaysia is headed in the right direction as he noticed that talents are being paid better in recent years and that senior management salaries had gone up in government agencies as well as government-linked companies.

SOLUTIONS FOR THE PHENOMENON

Howard said that even though there is an incentive package for repatriating Malaysians which includes tax exemption for importing a car and leeway for their children to enter international schools, “however more could be done.”

Under the Human Resources Ministry’s “Return of Experts Programme”, an approved returnee is entitled to bring back two cars tax-free, as well as the applicant’s accumulated income, also tax-free.

However, this is hardly an incentive as in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries which do not have approved permits (AP) or prohibitive taxes on imported cars.

Howard said the solution to this brain drain phenomenon is twofold.

“In a broader sense, the same types of economic and social conditions which attract quality immigration will assist with repatriation, (for example) there needs to be material improvements in education, career and working life.

“At the same time, there are some very specific initiatives that would target and attract Malaysians to return home. All of them involve a considerably more detailed and proactive approach,” he said.

He suggested the government follow the footsteps of large multinational companies in the private sector that invest heavily in their employee value proposition (EVP) and review specifically at this target group.

He also said the level of outreach needs to be highly proactive as policies and standard incentive programmes can only go so far.

“(The government) needs to adopt a less passive and highly rigorous approach to identification, communication, and interaction with this pool of people. It’s not impossible to map out and identify Malaysians living overseas, it just involves work. Following up from this, the type of engagement programme needs to be sophisticated enough to have a long-term impact on repatriation numbers. Whether it’s accelerated resettlement, incentive programmes or fundamental changes to the Malaysian economy ... will also play a role,” he said.

“It may not come as a surprise that the private sector is already undertaking its own efforts to identify and repatriate Malaysians into mission critical roles within their organisations,” he said.

Fernandez said some of the ways to stop Malaysian talents from leaving are to have better physical security, better policing and opportunities, adding that “it’s not always about the money”.

“A trickle will be a flood. If there are opportunities, people will come back,” he said optimistically.

Currently, he said there is a net outflow rather than inflow of talents and warned that it will get worse next year.

However, Fernandez said that losing Malaysians might not be the end of the prime minister’s vision for the country to be a high-income and a developed nation by 2020.

“If we are losing Malaysians and can’t get them back, then hire foreigners. It’s not easy for a foreigner to get work permit here and that’s a mistake. It should be more difficult for unskilled workers,” he said.

In the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) report on the New Economic Model (NEM), it says that the numbers of expatriates have fallen from nearly 90,000 in 2000 to nearly half of that by 2008.

The net result is a “shortage of dynamic talent to push Malaysia into higher added value activities”.

“We are competing globally, so we need to look globally. It’s not a zero-sum game, it is not that if you bring in a foreigner, it’s at the expense of a local,” he said, adding that bringing in international talents can spur more job opportunities.

MALAYSIA IS NOT ALONE

Howard was quick to add that Malaysia is not alone in the brain drain phenomenon, and that every country experiences immigration and emigration flows, which constantly affects the calibre of the workforce.

“What you need to do is examine is the brain exchange, (for example) that you ensure the skills entering the country are at least the same or ideally superior than those exiting. Malaysia’s challenge is that our emigrants are more skilled than our immigrants (and our general population),” he said.

Howard stressed that the government should improve on the selection, settlement and integration of skilled immigrants to help boost the quality of the workforce in Malaysia. He said that not only do skilled immigrants provide a higher calibre workforce through their own efforts, but they also indirectly improve the skills and knowledge of those around them.

The report by the NEAC on the NEM laments that “we are not developing talent and what we do have are leaving”.

December 2008 file photo of tourists resting in the shade in front of a reflection of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia. Malaysians are not only visiting Australia as tourists, but more and more are making the country their home for various reasons. — Reuters pic
The report says that currently, some 350,000 Malaysians are working abroad, with over half of them having tertiary education.

This leaves more than 80 per cent of the workforce with SPM-level qualification, and their wages are being continually suppressed by the vast availability of foreign workers and other barriers like subsidies and price controls.

According to the World Bank, Malaysians residing overseas numbered only 9,576 in 1960 while the world’s total registered migration was 382,912 per nation. By 2005, the world’s registered migration increased to an average of 919,302 per nation, an increase of 2.4 times. However, Malaysia’s emigration numbers rose to 1,489,168, an almost 100-fold increase over the 45-year period.

Many first world countries have schemes to attract talents from all over the world. The closest example is Singapore, which has employer-sponsored (Scheme 1) working visas, which are issued within three working days on receipt of application. And under its Scheme 4, top-notch professionals are “purposely” sought from all over the world and attracted to reside in Singapore.

Jonathan Monteiro, 28, a headhunter, described this phenomenon as a chicken or egg situation, where because of the lack of talents in Malaysia in certain industries, investors hesitate to invest, hence the limited pool of Malaysian talents will opt to leave the country for better opportunities, mostly to where the said companies invested in.

Monteiro said most Malaysians are tempted to work abroad because salaries offered are more attractive.

For example, he said, certain jobs in Qatar pay Malaysians about 85 per cent more than what they do here. Monteiro said he is considering moving to Qatar next year to be in the human resources industry.

“When you come back, you’ll definitely need to take a salary cut,” he said, adding that no one he knows was working in a company in Malaysia that could match their salaries abroad.

He said, however, that some of them will eventually return to Malaysia, “simply because it is home.”

RETAIN AND RECRUIT TALENTS

Lyvian Loh, 27, a market analyst in the US, said among other things, health insurance is very affordable, there is freedom of speech and it has a less stressful lifestyle.

She said there is also “lesser expectations of entertaining your superiors to get a better positions or to get promoted”, the pay is relevant to your degree or ability, and that the purchasing power is higher there than in Malaysia.

“It is definitely a problem for the country but is a benefit for the particular individual. If a country doesn’t appreciate the talents and qualifications in their own country, the individual may as well go to a better place where people appreciate them while giving them a better life,” she said of the brain drain phenomenon.

Jesse Lee, 30, a senior accountant in the US, said following completion of her degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, she had only wanted to stay on for a few years to learn the culture and the working lifestyle there, but had since changed her mind.

“Gradually, I fell in love with the people, environment and the surroundings here. Not only there’s the higher salary, you get the freedom you don’t have back home. You know, here’s just like what Alicia Keys described in her song — if you can make it here, you can make it everywhere, concrete jungle is where the dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do.

“It gives you hope. You know as long as you work hard, you will achieve what you dreamed of. But there’s a huge trade off for working abroad. You don’t get to see your families and friends often,” she said.

Asked what the solutions might be, she said the government should “walk the talk.”

“1 Malaysia isn’t just a slogan. The government should really put in effort to unite the people and create a ‘home’ for us. Fix the corruption and reduce crimes,” she said.

Wong had similar initial plans as Lee and had also changed his course.

“I had wanted to return to Malaysia to help my family business when I was studying for my bachelor’s but some time in 2007/2008 but I changed my mind and decided to stay in Australia. This was because I saw no future in Malaysia with the current system in place. My parents had advised me to stay in Australia as well,” he said.

Wong called for open tenders for projects, lower crime rates and that the government should do away with race-based policies and emphasise on meritocracy instead.

“The brain drain phenomenon has been a problem since many years ago. Many Malaysians have realised that you will never get anywhere if you don’t pull the right strings. This has spurred many Malaysians to leave the country in search of greener pastures where they can be appreciated. Malaysia has been stuck in the middle-income trap for many years and will still be for many years to come because the level of education there is appalling.

“Malaysia can’t continue on with its manufacturing sectors because many other countries can do the same thing for a cheaper price but yet Malaysia continues to churn out many sub-par graduates with poor language skills. As it goes, Malaysia won’t move on to the next stage after manufacturing, which is to start designing and inventing products because of the lack of talent in the country,” he said.

Among other things that Malaysians working abroad complain about are the rampant racism which they felt is more tolerated in Malaysia compared to where they are, having to choose only one citizenship and oppressive laws such as the Internal Security Act.



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The truth of the matter is everybody knows this, even the people in the government. The more racial ones (which seems include more and more ministers/leaders) will simply call all of them traitors (easier to do that then to explain how talent can only flourish when all citizens are given equal treatment and opportunities). Right now it's pride,hubris and vested interests that are preventing Malaysia from ever becoming a developed nation. The only way to overcome this is radical changes to the way Malaysian view themselves and can only be done with strong leadership.

Najib has unfortunately is not, and if you look at the 'possible' successors in the UMNO waiting rooms you will have a hard time finding anybody with the integrity and power to implement what is needed. We will continue to flounder our way through, riding on the coattails of the success of other regional neighbours.

Dr Chua proposes words like ‘Pendatang’, ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ to be considered taboo in BN

Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, the president of MIC is proposing five phrases and words which should be considered to be ‘taboo’ in the BN (Barisan Nasional) and that they should not be used as it would incite negative perception and create unhappiness among the members. The five phrases are 'pendatang' (immigrants), 'penumpang' (passengers), terhutang budi (feeling of indebtedness), 'kurang patriotic' (not patriotic) and 'ketuanan Melayu' (Malay sovereignty).

He said "Youngsters do not like to hear such remarks which are not only distasteful but considered outrageously derogatory. Leaders must also be reminded that they are expected to not only say the right thing but also in do the right thing. When it comes to organising BN events or functions, it must reflect that we are working as a team in the state and federal level. The March 2008 election has sent a clear signal that BN must change and revamp itself for it to win votes and public support to stay in government. It cannot be business as usual for BN as we have to change to reflect the 1Malaysia agenda which is inclusive, multiracial and people first.

There should not be any big brother or small brother within the coalition. We are all working towards the same cause and purpose. We are all equal partners. BN must pursue the middle path of moderation and at the same time, we need to strengthen the public delivery system, which is a sore point by the voters. We have to accept the reality and weaknesses in our system and act accordingly so as to improve on it. We can no longer be living in a denial mode. It must be accountable with what it preaches and not allow promises to turn out to be rhetoric. BN must not be seen as merely collaborating during the elections but must be genuine in power sharing at all times."



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What - Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, the president of MIC??

Now thats what Samy calls MIC's rebranding!

What does it matter - same shit - different man, mah - all bloody UMNO running dogs

Govt bullying the poor with latest price hikes

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hit out at the latest price hikes of fuel and sugar accusing the federal government for bullying the poor and empowering its ‘cronies’ as the federal administration could not impose cuts on their ‘subsidy monsters’ like the IPPs (Independent Power Producers). The government announced the removal of more subsidies on fuel, LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) and sugar where Anwar claims that they are practicing ‘double standards’.

He said “The hikes only served to cancel out Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s ambitious promises of economic reforms in his just-unveiled New Economic Model 2 (NEM) yesterday. While BN claims the quantum of these price hikes is too small to have an impact on the public, the policy direction that is taking place cannot be mistaken. BN, through Pemandu has outlined a subsidy removal plan to impose a six-monthly price hike on RON95 fuel and the announcement last night confirms that similar price hikes will take place in the future and perhaps at an even bigger quantum. In the original plan, the proposed quantum of price hike was at 10 sen per hike for every six months, leading to the reasonable assumption that prices would likely soar again by mid next year. Amazingly, the only hikes implemented so far are on those items that hit directly on the people’s purses and not the cronies’,”


He added that “The government, through Petronas, currently subsidises IPPs and industries a whopping RM19 billion annually as the subsidised gas price of RM10.70 per mmbtu (for IPPs) was significantly lower than the average market price of imported gas of RM38 per mmbtu. Additionally, a Pemandu estimate that the government could save at least RM1.12 billion in 2010 if subsidies to IPPs and the non-power sector were to be reduced. This can be achieved if gas price to IPPs and non-power sector is increased by RM4.65 per mmbtu and RM2.52 per mmbtu respectively. Therefore, the Prime Minister and his government must answer why it is hell-bent on pushing for subsidy removal on fuel, sugar and LPG that will undoubtedly increase the burden of the lower income group, when similar zeal is not shown vis-a-vis the rich corporate giants. BN talks about the necessity to reduce subsidy in order to cut the nation’s deficit as a result of its carefree spending in the last decade. It chases the small change in the form of subsidy removal on household items most widely used by the people, yet it procrastinates on confronting the real subsidy monsters (IPPs). In the end, the RM126 million saved from the July cuts on sugar is not even enough to pay for Pemandu’s exorbitant cost,”



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Who is subsidize the Rakyat or The Rakyat is subsidize BN......and who get rich from those subsidize????

BN lied - they increased the price of RON95 petrol
The Malaysian UMNO-led BN government told Malaysians to shift from RON97 to RON95, with the assurance that the government will continue to subsidize RON95 but not RON97 - and many did despite the damage that may arise by the changing of petrol type/grade... and now, the again rise the price of RON95 - the government lied....

PUTRAJAYA: The prices for RON95 petrol and diesel will increase by 5sen per litre at midnight (12.01am Dec 4) while the prices of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and sugar will be up by 5sen and 20sen per kg respectively.

RON95 would be raised to RM1.90 per litre from the current RM1.85 while price of diesel would be retailed at RM1.80 per litre. LPG and sugar will cost RM1.90 and RM2.10 per kg respectively.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala Idris said the price hike was the second wave of the subsidy rationalisation programme.

Prices of RON95 and diesel went up by 5sen per litre while sugar and LPG were raised by 25sen and RM10 on July 16 for the first wave of the programme.

That resulted in total savings of RM779mil. This time around, Idris said the savings is expected to be RM1.18bil.

Idris said the savings would be channelled towards improving urban transportation network, rural basic infrastructure and roads, education and efforts to combat crime.

He added that the increase was very minimal and should not hurt the people.

“I think it is fair to the rakyat. I believe people will be able to accept it,” he told a media briefing on the second wave of subsidy rationalisation here Friday.

Idris said the Consumer Price Index could be contained in view of the low increase and declined to disclose the amount of subsidy the government would have to pay for the items.

Ibrahim Ali slams Anwar over ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ issue

The president of Malay rights group Perkasa, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, in his first public statement ever since undergoing after a heart ailment treatment has hit out at Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader, his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the president of PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) for their rejection of the Malay Supremacy notion recently.

He said “Ketuanan Melayu was not just plucked out from the heavenly sky...it is a right that is enshrined in our constitution. During the time of the Malay Sultanate, the laws (then) strengthened the ‘right ‘ that the Malays and the Bumiputra are the ‘Tuan’ of their Tanah Melayu. Unfortunately , the slogan is [now mis-]understood by some as ‘Tuan and servant’ relationship. We should not be apologetic in propagating the slogan of Ketuanan Melayu nor should it be taken as a sign of Malay weaknesses . We must prescribe the notion and the spirit of ‘Ketuanan Melayu ‘ for us to move forward for the order of change and achieving progress with dignity in all arenas. We have a cause and our cause is justified because it is our Tanah Melayu. Denouncing ‘ ketuanan Melayu ‘ is a crime and politicizing it , is a human crime to the Bangsa Melayu and its existence throughout the evolution of our Malay history and good values of Islam,”

He added that “Our forefathers knew that the Malays should not be like the native Indians of America. The natives Indians were alienated by the white Americans colonialists . As the result of the political and military power of the Whites , the natives lost their territories and culture . Today the native Indians ended living in a small-arid constructed reservation land reserved by the White government. Unlike them, the importance of Malay rights prevails under Article 153, 153 which strengthens the Malay position. Besides that, the rights of others are rightly respected and guarded due to our tolerance and acceptance,”


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Katak is back, now interpretations of Ketuanan Melayu between Nazir and him are like blind showing direction to another blind. Aiyah, go read properly and talk lah. Don't just talk cock.

Ibrahim Ali talks as ugly as he looks. The difference between the RED INDIANS of the USA and the Malays of Malaysia is that in the USA there are 389 million Americans and fucking just 450,000 RED INDIANS. In Malaysia there are 22 million Malays and only 5 million fucking Chinese. Only an ugly dumb arsehole like you arsehole Ibrahim Ali can have the kind of idiotic logic to think that it is possible for the Chginese of 18% voter base to FUCKING CAPTURE GOVERNMENT IN MALAYSIA WITH 80% MALAYS.

No need to be lenghty because Ibrahim Ali can't really undertand ENGLISH. I ask some fucking Chinese brothers or Sisters to write what I just a wrote IN FUCKING BAHASA; that is more Ibrahim Ali's SPEED !

Najib hits out at Pakatan as ‘evil’ and ‘anti national’ in BN Convention

The prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak spoke at the BN (Barisan Nasional)’s convention where he seemed to have kick started the campaign by the ruling coalition in working towards the next general election by hitting out at their rivals, the PR (Pakatan Rakyat) where he said that they are ‘anti national’ and ‘evil’. He said “Be wary all, beware all, they are very dangerous. They are willing to sell just about anything, including discrediting Malaysia’s name abroad. I would like to explain here that they are anti-national. We must fight them to the end and make sure that this country will not be destroyed by their evil activities,”

He added that “The party (PKR) was attempting to imitate Umno. We understand that perhaps they are following the saying in English that ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’. PKR’s integrity and credibility was doubted by its own members, pointing out that this was reflected in how members had rampaged to show their dissatisfaction and disappointment, rebelled, and caused commotions like throwing chairs during the party polls. Additionally, as we know and as reported in the papers, many of their top party leaders themselves have abandoned PKR including their former deputy president, vice-president, secretary-general, youth chief, deputy youth chief, information chief, state chairman, division chairman, including from the Permatang Pauh division, former deputy chief minister, five assemblymen and five MPs,”

“In recent days, PKR is looking too desperate in attempting to plead for the people’s sympathy to a point that its own president claimed that the de facto leader is ‘God-sent’. Oh yes, we understand the loyalty and awe felt by a wife towards her husband, oh, the ‘ke... he... ba... tan’ (greatness) of her husband. Is this some kind of new teaching or, more accurately, is this some kind of deviant teaching? Enough of these twisted dramas. I hope the people will not be so easily swayed with this nonsense. It is important to remember that it is not the people’s duty to bear the burdens of its leaders but vice-versa and that is the stark difference between BN and PR. More accurately, they are a pact of two families, with the third one merely a follower. It is hilarious when they are brave enough to accuse us of practising nepotism. I would like to ask here, who are the real [practitioners] of nepotism? In the words of legal maxim — justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. Moreover, it must not only be proper, it must also be seen to be proper,”



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this najis ar...... really got balls to continue to talk rubbish as the world looks at him as a clown... a biggot... a murderer.... corrupt leader to the core... having a corrupt spouse that emulate the corrupt practice as her husband.... bla bla bla....

Anwar: Why no subsidy cuts for corporate giants?

De facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has lambasted the government for the price hikes on fuel and sugar announced yesterday evening going after “small change” from the lower income group “when similar zeal is not shown vis-a-vis the rich corporate giants”.

He said a similar phased removal of subsidies for “wealthy independent power producers (IPPs) owned by business elites and cronies of Barisan Nasional” was part of Pemandu's plan.

“Amazingly, the only hikes implemented so far are on those items that hit directly on the people's purse; not the cronies,” said Anwar (right).

According to the opposition leader, Pemandu has estimated that RM1.12 billion could be saved in 2010 if subsidies on gas price to IPPs and non-power sectors are reduced.

This could have been achieved if gas price to IPP and the non-power sector is increased by RM4.65 per mmbtu and RM2.52 per mmbtu respectively, he explained.

He revealed that the government through Petronas currently subsidises the IPPs and industries to the tune of RM19 billion annually, as the subsidised gas price of RM10.70 per mmbtu (for IPPs) is remarkably lower than the average market price of imported gas of RM38 per mmbtu (should the country need to import the gas to meet the demand against a shortfall in production).

Anwar called for Prime Minister Najib Razakb (left) to explain why he was targetting the subsidy cuts at the rakyat rather than the industry.

“This is more so when nothing has been done so far (despite promises after promises) to reform the subsidy allocation system.

“This is pivotal to ensure that the lower income group will continue to benefit from state assistance to counter the rising cost of living.

“Pemandu seems to be extremely efficient at pushing for the subsidy removal; yet extremely slow at coming out with a solution to redistribute the subsidies that are meant for the poor,” said Anwar.

“It chases the small change in the form of subsidy removal on household items most widely used by the people, yet it procrastinates on confronting the real subsidy monsters (in the form of the IPPs).”

Paying for BN's 'carefree spending'

He also blamed the BN government for it's “carefree spending in the last decade” having contributed to the necessity for subsidy cuts to ease the national deficit.

“In the end, the RM126 million saved from the 16 July's 20 sen hike on sugar is not even enough to pay for Pemandu's own exorbitant cost as reported by Malaysiakini,” said Anwar.

“Where is the moral authority of a government that takes RM126 million from the poor to pay RM66 million to consultants for the set up of a government unit and another RM65 million for its whole operation in 2010?

“Hence, I take the recent announcement on NEM with a pinch of salt,” he said, adding that the BN “will continue to hoodwink the public” on the so-called transformation of the public sector when it was really just paying the “new breed of civil servants in Pemandu top of the range salaries that will easily beat the private sector”.

He also rubbished the NEM's promotion of liberalisation and deregulation as lacking in “honesty” of execution, citing how YTL was allegedly awarded the 700 MHz TV spectrum broadcasting band without an open tender.

“This is not surprising as the whole machination of this administration is based on the perpetuation of a public image crafted by firms of public relations that are paid by the taxpayers' money – with the sole intention of buying Barisan Nasional additional time before the people cast their judgement,” he said.

He warned that further price hikes can be expected as “the originally proposed quantum of price hike was at 10 sen per price hike for every 6 months.”

Adding that if the BN administration was not checked, “...we are definitely en route to paying a fuel price at RM2.10 litre within a year's time.”