SNAPSHOTS


Power is too sweet to let go, I will take it along to my coffin Plenty of choices amongst the many past political personalities’ bid to comeback to MCA at this time. No mention of quality of the rest of the 1 million MCA members though, so far…. ...Readmore


Another day on the farm The Islamists in UMNO (and certainly in PAS) still hold the trump card, so watch what they do and not what they say. There is no spin more damning than the one that says Bumiputra ‘rights’ will not disadvantage other races. ...Readmore


I weep for Malaysia Do not attempt to justify your weakness by pointing fingers at others; instead prove your mettle as a leader by actions compatible with such an acknowledgment...Rest assured that should you do what is right; the rakyat will be with you. But, if you prefer to opt for what is “popular”, than the reverse will surely occur. ...Readmore


Hydrofuel, betulkah jimat? Oleh itu kita dapat jimat RM 72 setahun… alahai… sikitnya. Tapi itu untuk tahun pertama penggunaannya sahaja, tetapi untuk tahun yang seterusnya memang jimat lebih kurang RM 1,228 setahun. ...Readmore


Idealism The Malaysia we have today is ripe for dreaming and harvesting those dreams. A tremendous opportunity awaits those who have ideas and want to execute them... to transform their surroundings into places they can articulate, debate, philosophise and critically examine political structures, theories, practices, and policies together. ...Readmore


MCA, Can you hear us? The Chinese people are watching and MCA must demonstrate that they are able to exert their rights within Barisan National...  they must prove that they are brave and strong enough to confront the wrongs and will unfailingly do their utmost to put the wrongs into right. ...Readmore


Betrayal, forgiveness and politics My contention is that, what message are we trying to send to party members by asking the former MIC leader, who had gone out of his way to tarnish the party image and more importantly image of the president, to sit at the VIP table. ...Readmore


Apakah akhirnya PAS bersama UMNO, BN? Kepada PAS, berhati-hatilah. Aku bukan penyokong PAS tetapi aku menganggap PAS sebagai satu-satunya parti pembangkang yang paling komited untuk memperbaiki negara. Atau lebih tepat PAS telah membuktikan yang mereka sebuah parti yang yang berjaya sebagai pembangkang. Sebagai pemerintah?.. itu aku tak boleh nak jawab. ...Readmore


A big mess The only problem is – do the members realize that this is the time for them to choose how they want UMNO to be? The choice is not only at the top, but at the roots of the tall, strong, tree known as UMNO. ...Readmore


On UMNO party constitution and the Fuel Debate I mean, according to the party constitution, only UMNO division can nominate anyone for anything. Don’t they know the constitution of their own party? Or are those some kind of hint (read instruction) to the UMNO Divisions to do the same. ...Readmore


Malaysia-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), stop negotiations immediately! The US Government is in transition, even if President Bush signs the Malaysia-US FTA, this does not bind the Congress or any future US president. Each member of Congress could make further demands from Malaysia in order to pass it and Malaysia would not be in a position to make demands in return.  ...Readmore


A repeat of 1998? Anwar arrested today! Arrest warrant for Raja Petra as well! We are having one group the current government and the next one the government in waiting, well sad to say both also behaves like children, we need another stronger group that will protect the Malaysians, irregardless of race, identity or culture. ...Readmore


People’s response after watching Shabery Cheek vs Anwar Ibrahim debate But today, I must congratulate Datuk Shabery Cheek for daring to stand up and defend the government's position against a very well greased politician and debater DS Anwar. I must also congratulate DS Anwar for the great job in the debate. ...Readmore


Road blocking BN’s popularity Hope the Barisan Nasional and the police will learn the "dont's" if they want to reclaim their dented image. See the pictures of “inconvenience” that Syed Hamid was referring to in The Star and The Sun here. ...Readmore


Boh Boh Cha Cha, Ong Ong Chua Chua Blogger fishtail suggested an interesting variant of a popular tongsui for MCA’s upcoming party election… ...Readmore


Is newly elected MP Jeff Ooi throwing in the towel? A blogger is much concerned after reading a post in YB Jeff Ooi’s blog. Is the MP for Penang Jelutong seat Jeff Ooi throwing in the towel after four months? ...Readmore


MCA at crossroads? In 1969 it was confronted with a major crossroad; today in 2008 it has arrived at another, where its decision will be scrutinised by a more discerning community. ...Readmore


An economic agenda to consider Be that as it may, the Malaysian government's approach, whether BN or PR, to economic development and wealth management must be drastically revamped. Here are some possible policy approaches. ...Readmore


Does Sarawak’s future lie with Malaysia? I have my reservations on the suggestion of ‘Sarawak Independence’.  We are fast to blame West Malaysians and Malaysian government on the shortcomings in Sarawak, as the writer put it ‘untold misery and frustration with its poor leadership and poor planning accorded to Sarawak’. ...Readmore


Najib said Chinese will not be left out in 9th Malaysia Plan A blogger finds it hard to believe when Najib said that Chinese will not be left out in strategies to eradicate socio-economic inequalities in the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the Ninth Malaysia Plan. ...Readmore


PM Abdullah clips Najib’s wings? The word is, is Najib were to break away from Abdullah and to challenge him, by having Muhyiddin as No.2, some 100 of the 191 Umno divisions would agree with that. As things stand: Abdullah 1, Najib 0. And it's just 3 minutes into the game..... ...Readmore


PAS man dialogue with Catholic Christian Church PAS has never taken a stand against the use of mother tongues, except that there must be a common lingua franca for practical purposes of communication, and this should not be used as a tool of racial chauvinism.  PAS has no problem with Christian processions, e.g. the Stations of the Cross. ...Readmore


38 per cent of households struggling to make ends meet We need to be looking at development policies that truly benefit the people - people-centred development - instead of being so obsessed with the ethnic breakdown of equity ownership and policies that only benefit Big Business. ...Readmore


Cybercafes, sex games and enforcement In one cybercafé, there were 40 computers which were all being used at one time. Out of the 40 customers, only one was an adult. The rest were all children in school uniforms. The customers of the café, which also consisted of schoolchildren, were smoking, and drinking beer sold in cans, such as Tiger Beer and Heineken. ...Readmore


Check the North-South Expressway, Minister of Transport! Since the opening of the highway’s three-lane stretches I had seen cars skidding in front me or in the opposite direction. I am highlighting this in hope that a thorough investigation could be carried out immediately to find out how or what causes vehicles to skid along these stretches of the highway. ...Readmore


Why the new media a reminder for mainstream media It needs to be said here that solely criticising the unfairness in the new media, although pertinent in itself, does not redress the equally unfair treatment practised within the mainstream press. Indeed, this should be a wake-up call for the MSM, their owners and the powers-that-be. ...Readmore


Protes flip flop A blogger shares the experience at Protes event on Sunday and thought that PAS and MCA are more professional in events management than Keadilan. ...Readmore


10 news portals to get OK from government The Information Ministry will soon issue its accreditation passes to ten news portals to enable them ‘to work in Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Department and government buildings’. ‘Bloggers, however, will not be given accreditation even if they report socio-political news as their sites are considered personal in nature,’ the report added. ...Readmore


Memo untuk MP, FAJAR dari Rembau kelirukan Menteri Pengangkutan “Adakah menteri pengangkutan terberi maklumat yang usang di Parlimen berkenaan syarikat yang telah diberi tawaran membina Lapangan Terbang LCCT yang baru bernilai RM123.9 juta?” pertanyaan dari YB Datuk Paduka Husam Musa kepada rakan-rakan MP. ...Readmore


Just deliver the leadership! To make matters worse, the latest allegation against Anwar Ibrahim is a classic case in contention where instead of allowing the rule of law to take its course and every politician refraining from comment, we have ministers, local politicos, politically-active journalists and editors, political opportunists and crossover candidates continuing to take a ‘wild herd approach’ of making co ...Readmore


When I am the Prime Minister i will appoint reliable and capable Malaysians of any hue, any discipline, any political party, any gender (in short, anyone i know who can do the job) to form the cabinet as long as they are not corrupt, racist, cronyistic and nepotistic. ...Readmore


RM2.9bil That's What it Cost for FLAWED Highway Agreements "Plus received RM2 billion, Litrak RM630 million, Kesas RM150 million and MTD RM98 million". I'm not sure about the other companies but the last time I checked, PLUS is still making good profits each year and able to pay out tax-exempt dividends. ...Readmore


Public inquiry into allegation of excessive use of force at Bandar Mahkota Cheras on 27 May 2008 The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia hereby announced that it will conduct a public inquiry into the allegation of excessive use of force during the incident at Bandar Mahkota Cheras on 27th May 2008. The public inquiry will be conducted by a panel of three Commissioners comprising Datin Paduka Zaitoon Dato’ Othman (Chairperson), Datuk Dr. Chiam Heng Keng and Dato’ Khalid Ibrahim. ...Readmore


Let students run their own coffee joints instead The Higher Education Ministry should take into consideration the views of university students and society, as the permission to allow franchise cafés to operate in local universities only hinders efforts towards a healthier and globally competent younger generation. The efforts to introduce franchise cafés would also fail the government in forming qualified graduates in the field o ...Readmore


Anwar announces new statutory declaration with more information in Altantuya case Anwar Ibrahim releases news that Mr. P. Balasubramaniam, who was engaged by Abdul Razak Baginda as a private investigator, and one of the witnesses in the Altantuya trial approached PKR with detailed information of events connected to her disappearance and murder. ...Readmore


Multiracial Jekylls and Hydes Where or where are those Malaysians who are born righteous, patriotic, selfless, caring, fair, loving, intelligent, kind, understanding, with principles and beliefs, tolerant, colourless, and  humane and serve us with just a simple thought of making us Malaysians proud to call them our leaders to serve us ...Readmore


Just what is the government and politicians doing? I'm more interested in what PKR or the government is doing with my money/school system etc. Saya tidak puas hati. Mereka tidak melaksanakan amanah yang diberikan oleh rakyat kepada mereka. Wakil rakyat kita makan gaji buta!! ...Readmore


GERAK sedia pantau pemilihan Umno GERAK sebuah badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang menentang rasuah yang ditubuhkan oleh Ezam Mohd Nor, telah menyuarakan komitmennya untuk menjadi badan bebas untuk memantau pemilihan UMNO bagi memastikan ia bebas dari rasuah politik. ...Readmore


A very big storm in a very small espresso cup An irrelevant evidence is also not admissible in Court. I may say that I believe Altantuya killed herself. I can swear 4 Statutory Declaration to that effect. But my opinion or belief is not relevant. Because they don't matter. The same goes with Raja Petra's belief. It is not relevant and therefore not admissible. ...Readmore


MCA President Dato Seri Ong Ka Ting explains his decision not to seek re-election I have always emphasises the need for a healthy political culture in the MCA. Over the past six years, many young and talented MCA leaders have emerged and certainly, these party leaders must be given the opportunity to serve the country, community and party in a more effective way. ...Readmore


Turban legends on the road, Reactions to article in The Star isu serban ini tidak sepatutnya dibangkitkan. Bukankah pemakaian serban itu tidak wajib dan sekadar merupakan sunnah baginda yang dicintai. Pemakaian helmet bagi saya lebih penting ketika menunggang motosikal memandangkan ia sedikit sebanyak boleh mengelakkan mudharat. Saya tidak faham, mengapa orang yang belajar agama boleh hendak memperbesarkan isu ini. Seperti yang saya katakan tadi, NYAWA lebi ...Readmore


Pelajaran dari kes Selangor dan Pulau Pinang Persoalan yang timbul dalam kes Selangor dan Pulau Pinang ialah, jikalau Menteri Besar terpaksa merujuk kepada parti politiknya dalam hal pengurusan pegawai atau negeri, apakah tuntutan parti politik tersebut mungkin mengongkong kewajibannya untuk membuat keputusan yang terbaik untuk kesejahteraan rakyatnya? ...Readmore


The Curse Of Oil ...oil is actually a curse rather than a blessing. It actually promotes indulgences of every sort, misallocation of resources, complacency, poor governance, abuse of executive power, corruption and all sorts of other social and political ills.  We need someone to answer all the above strange phenomena, or is this simply what Mr Friedman described as The Curse Of Oil? ...Readmore


RM 30,000 for an advertisement? Is this necessary? My question is, should the state governments (unless the advertisement were paid for by some well wishes) be spending this kind of money when the federal government has been urging the people to tighten their belts? ...Readmore


The collapse of complex societies- Leaders eventually suffer diminishing returns Eventually, a society may reach the point where trying to solve a new problem is not worth the cost. From then on, it becomes vulnerable. The next crisis or serious problem that comes along may be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and the civilization collapses. Tainter emphasised on the importance of energy supplies seems eerily familiar when we look at today's world, where oil is becomin ...Readmore


Why Petronas should not report to Parliament Under the existing framework of the Petroleum Development Act 1974, Petronas reports directly to the prime minister. Parliament, in its role as a check and balance against the executive, is empowered to ask the government about any of its activities. Through the prime minister, Petronas is obliged to answer any and all parliamentary questions. ...Readmore


Who are the 6 ‘Option Holders’ of Petronas? The other shocking revelation that had came to my knowledge is that 80% of the oil produced by Petronas is not sold directly to the world market but is channelled through six 'option holders' who obtain the supply from Petronas at below market prices. These option holder agents are the ones reaping the benefits in the oil price hikes. Who are these people? ...Readmore


Demahacracy the warped democracy Tun Dr. Mahathir has left UMNO altogether and he failed to get any supports except from his wife and one of his sons. Even his own son, Mukhriz, defies him. And now he  tries blogging. From the comments he is getting, we all could conclude that he is rather loved by his readers. In fact, "love" is a understatement. "Idolise" is more like it. And guess what, he is also on F ...Readmore


PETRONAS The Inside Story In 1974, when PETRONAS was set up, the Government gave PETRONAS RM10 million (peanuts, right?) as seed capital. From 1974 to 2007, PETRONAS made RM570 billion in accumulated profits, and returned to the Government a total of RM335.7 billion. That is about 65% of the profits. That means for every RM1 that PETRONAS makes, 65 sen goes back to the Government. ...Readmore


Why Fuel Hike Protest is wrong? So, what is the point of oppositions and NGOs hope to achieve with doing a massive street protest on the fuel price hike? Other than creating awareness (something that ordinary Malaysians have already know about it), what else the organizers hope to achieve? Able to pressure Pak Lah to reduce the recently increased fuel price? Unless of course if the Government wants to do a populist move, ...Readmore


RPK's No Holds Barred latest 'Rosmah at the scene' On 21 June, RPK wrote in his article entitled 'Rosmah at the scene' in No Holds Barred column on his website Malaysia Today, that, "My informer states that Acting Colonel Aziz Buyong was the person who placed the C4 on various parts of Alantuya's body while being witnessed by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Norhayati." Reactions from Najib's aide was "At the moment, we are look ...Readmore


Malaysian blogs didn't lead to opposition votes? "After making the cross matching, we found that there was no strong evidence that supports the notion that the Internet content had moved people to vote for the opposition," Professor Madya Baharuddin Aziz told Bernama. Instead, the study showed that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which were thrashed at the election, failed to adequately address issues raised online. ...Readmore


Don't ask Petronas how its profits are used, ask your government A great portion of the oil income windfall goes into government’s coffers in the forms of taxes and royalties. The way our politicians (especially those from the government) distort the issue to make it seem that Petronas executives have a say in how the government distributes its oil windfall resources (the RTM interview with the Petronas CEO refers) is an insult to the intelligence of all ...Readmore


Beginning of the End? BN Supreme Council Meeting Point of No Return or the beginning of the end for SAPP's alliance with Barisan Nasional...? Is Yong working with his former colleagues to try to repeat the feat which resulted in then PM Dr Mahathir suffering an electoral setback. But hold on to your horses first……. that was some 20 years ago and the scenario has since changed. ...Readmore


Surely Not the Way to Lead a Party to Greatness? Somehow Najib Tun Razak's explanation come across as being quite feeble and lacking conviction, except that he wants to lead the party his father helped to found. ...Readmore


Bolehkah dinafi pertalian Khairy dan Ezam? memandangkan Perlembagaan UMNO artikel 20.10 begitu jelas ahli UMNO yang keluar dan bertanding melawan UMNO tidak boleh diterima balik seumor hidup. Kata-kata nesta Ezam dan tindak tanduknya semasa diluar seolah-olah tiada langsung batasan. Bagaimana Khairy begitu mudah boleh menyokong, jika Khairy tidak ada "agenda tersembunyinya"? ...Readmore


Summary of BN’s Wastages That Rakyat Have to Pay For Whatever amount, you bet it is COLLOSSAL! In Time Asia magazine issue on March 15 2004, South East Asian economist at Morgan Stanley in Singapore Daniel Lian, figures “that the country may have lost as much as U$$100 billion (RM320 billion) since the early 1980s to corruption.” Mind you, this is only corruption and it does not include wastages and mismanagements which could be hig ...Readmore


Excuse Me but What about the Views of 10 Million Other Malaysians? The post of Prime Minister is the most important function in the government although some of us have serious doubts about this role, given the numerous complaints about various policies and the perceived weakness in so many areas of the government. Perhaps there is a major flaw in the method by which the PM is selected and it seems the decision is made by the outgoing PM who annoints his succ ...Readmore


Is Malaysia Doomed? However tired, I must be ready to go for the appointment in Shah Alam. I am contemplating of going there in a Kancil, to save petrol, of course. Like all others, I used to impress my clients as a successful businessman, albeit I am a small timer – dressing up smartly, blah, blah, blah, and driving a good car. Isn’t it funny now that I have to abandon all my normal lifestyle becaus ...Readmore


Role of opposition - rhetorical or responsible? ...In western countries, if opposition leaders talk cock, they would be laughed at, and the political outcome would be as bad as if they didn’t say anything. The voters are very discerning. In Malaysia, an opposition can promise any damn thing, even impossible ones to achieve, and still they would be supported, or worse, even believed! And it’s not just promises that opposition lea ...Readmore


Goodies are coming, Sarawak To interested foreigners and outsiders, the post-March 8,2008 General Elections period till today has been characterised by continuing a political crisis and  ensuing from  a state of political instability and uncertainties in the country  is bad for Malaysians and investors. A common consensus is that the state of affairs must be brought to an end otherwise the consequences wil ...Readmore


A High Court judge’s ‘damning’ disclosure’ of executive interference and boot camps A High Court judge revealed that a former prime minister had threatened judges. Justice Datuk Ian H.C. Chin also said he and selected judges were sent to a boot camp to ensure they got the message. Justice Chin said this before hearing an election petition challenging the results of the Sarikei parliamentary seat which was won by a Barisan Nasional candidate by just 51 votes. ...Readmore


Fuel Hikes: Somnambulism and Insolence …The point here is that by introducing populist measures like the APM, Malaysians are offered an addictive drug. This has made the entire country uncompetitive. It is a crutch that was foisted upon us to ensure the popularity of the political party in power. This type of molly-coddling policy affects the cost of goods and, affects the efficiency of the process of producing goods and se ...Readmore


Non Political The name they chose Malaysian Chinese Association Club UK. Well, still might be apolitical. Coz its just chinese ethnic from Malaysia, associating together in a club. And the logo simply coincidently same with the political party of MCA in Malaysia... But the ultimatum, the whole list of top central committee members of MCA Malaysia, coincide with this non-political association club's advisors ...Readmore


The 'Save-My-Ass' Complex I was reading Che Det's opinions on the racism-card and as always, damn-it, I'm bloody impressed. That man, the dear Tun has his way with words and the fact that he's nearing his 90s makes it all the more fantastic. My feelings and opinion of the man who was Prime Minister of my country for almost my entire life fluctuate between love and hate all the time, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I ...Readmore


Malaysia scholarship Yes, S-C-H-O-L-O-R-S-H-I-P-S ! yEAH, baby yeah! You’re probably as excited as i am now. To all those who are having a tough time to look for scholarships, you’re in luck the site i’m going to show you here is so going to make your day =) But before that a quick rant! I’m a FAMA student, who thinks that ppl with loan or scholarships have higher motivation than me. It&rsqu ...Readmore


Enter UMNO's Brutus in the making 1. What new themes are these ex-PKR boys bringing into Pemuda UMNO besides enhancing and linking up to PM’s proposed populist reforms? The slant of religious favor is quiet evident in the prelimeney statements of the ex-PKR chaps.Will they be “Liberal” Islam Hadhari zealots like the type favored and propogated by the US Administration and western powers similar to the ideals ...Readmore


Obama for Malaysia? Obama for President or Obama for America or Obama for USA! These slogans or battle cry or tagline must have been heard over and over again in the United States lately, especially after Barack Obama overtook Hilary Clinton in the battle to win the nomination as the Democrates' candidate for the Presidency. But Obama for Malaysia? Is he one of the candidates for the March 8 election in Malaysia ...Readmore


Chor Chee Heung, as you pass go, don't stop to collect. Just go! I just read the report from Malaysiakini and can’t believe how irresponsible our ministers can be. I am trying to find his address or his email to write to convey some of my thoughts to him.  First, he said that “the police initially did not interfere with the scuffle between Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents and alleged thugs because they were waiting for back-up.” => I ...Readmore


Petrol can be $4/lt at market price Its time for everybody to downgrade to a Kancil or a Honda cub now! Store your big petrol guzzler car in the house - only use it to show off when you go to wedding/association/clan dinners/functions. According to the latest in Malaysiakini.com: “If petrol is to be sold at full market prices, it could be as high as almost RM4 a litre - about 100% above current levels.” Aiya, Malaysiaki ...Readmore


Just Who’s Actually in Control One is really tired thus pondering this issue is basically the icing to compliment it even worse. Again let us sit back and see what’s going on. First let’s take a good look at the master minds or main actors. Firstly one apologizes for the not placing titles to the actors of concern. (It’ll just take up space) The main characters which  undeniable is of course, our cur ...Readmore


Unity of Malaysia.. Is it being questioned? Racial tension have been rising as of lately. Well to be honest not us Malaysian citizen that is causing it. I feel it is the politician, the racial active bloggers and press stirring things up. Yes there are still racist people (which are a small portion) in Malaysia even we live in a diverse culture. As we know the majority of races are Malay, Chinese and Indian. The question is why is tens ...Readmore


No two ways - deport all Sabah illegals I refer to the Malaysiakini report Kit Siang challenges speaker's ruling on Sabah motion. It appears that we have identified the common enemy of the people of Sabah: its leaders (state leaders, federal government leaders and MPs). We have been seriously duped into believing that these leaders are genuinely fighting for the cause of Sabahans. Recently, a motion to set up a royal commission of ...Readmore


Part 1: Enigma and Eclipse When a prime minister is sworn in, he or she had made a contract just like any other civil servant to provide the best service for the country. To bring out the best of their wit, brawn, strength and for the well-being of the country. To assist and ensure that the daily running of administration went as smooth as it can possibly be . They were summoned to give undivided attention towards the ...Readmore


Privilege Cards For MIC Club Members In its re branding initiative to win back the people's trust and support Samy Vellu & MIC have come up with yet another magnificent idea...discount cards! The Malaysian Insider reported today that MIC will be issuing privilege cards to its 630,000 members as part of the party's re branding exercise to create a corporate image besides rewarding members. This was apparently announced by Sam ...Readmore


Insider’s View on MPPK - Who are the mahasiswa? Why should the society bother? Majlis Perundingan Pelajar Kebangsaan or known more or less as the National Students Consultative Council was held on the 29th of May 2008 this year at the Marriot Putrajaya Hotel. The objective of this council was primarily to voice out the issues of concern by the Malaysians Students directly towards the government officials. This year, the council is chaired by the YAB Dato Seri Mohd Najib ...Readmore


Should Pakatan Wait? I think Not! A lot has been said about the possibility of Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament hopping over to Pakatan Rakyat so that there is a change in government. Every argument from a righteous standpoint is indeed valid and the concern that PK needs to work towards consolidating itself before taking on the onerous task of governing the country is just as valid. ...Readmore


Disease lurking in our house It is estimated that there are around 1.5 million legal workers in this country. Only God knows the number of illegal workers. Figure tossed around was above 800, 000. The medical examination of foreign workers in the country of origin is a contentious issue especially from Indonesia. Strictly speaking, patient will be rejected if unfit in country of origin. However, they can easily change th ...Readmore