Book Launching

Malaysiakini reports, here, that "Dr M fears corruption in general election".

Eh? Welcome to the club.

The 82 year old former premier also lashed the present government as "weak" and said he feared that vote-buying would be deployed to stem its losses in upcoming general elections. He said this in an interview with foreign news wires to mark the launch of his latest book yesterday.

I was invited to the Perdana Leadership Foundation building in Putrajaya this morning for the official launching of the former PM's book "Dr. Mahathir's Selected letters to World Leaders", published by Marshall Cavendish Editions. The book is a collection of 71 letters compiled and contain editorial comments by Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad a.k.a. Dollah Kok Lanas (DKL), a fellow MCKK old boy, former special envoy to the UN and ex-head of the New Straits Times Group.

DKL concedes that the book is not a 'fun' read but insists that it surely must be required reading for students of Malaysian politics and international relations. The book has been on sale at bookstores since two weeks ago.

Read fellow blogger Big Dog's take on the book launch and PC, here.

(Above photo taken at the launch with former minister and Kedah MB Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, another MCKK old boy I haven't met for more than 40 years).

No Buy, No Lies

The People’s Parliament committee for Hartal-MSM, of which I am a member, held a press conference (PC) at the Blog House in Damansara this morning to launch a civil society initiative to boycott the mainstream media (MSM). It was well attended by the MSM, other print media and well-wishers. (Read reports of the PC by Malaysiakini , here, and Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored, here).

This initiative was born out of a genuine concern in society over how news reported by the MSM did not always tally with facts. For a start, we are advocating a 'Newspaper Free Tuesday'. (For more details on the PC and the media statement, go to the People's Parliament website, here.)

Watch the Malaysiakini.tv video recording of the PC here: http://www.malaysiakini.tv/video/15422.html

Hartal-MSM has also started a ‘Boycott the Newspapers!’ online petition. The petition can be accessed and signed online at: http://www.petitiononline.com/hartal/petition.html

Strange Bedfellows

(Er ... looks like me ... looks like him ..)

Well, the occasion was last night's 23rd anniversary gala dinner of the Institut Kelautan Malaysia (IKMAL) at the Vintage Ballroom of the Subang Holiday Villa, where transport minister Chan Kong Choy was made an Honorary Fellow of the Institute. The award was supposedly in recognition of his so-called "outstanding contributions" to the Malaysian maritime industry.

Suffice it to say that I wasn't exactly thrilled to bits about this either.

Buek habih boreh ajo ...

Mindful Mariner

My friend and fellow retired old sea dog, Capt. Abdul Karim Stuart Russell, may just prove to be another Robert Burns in the making. Always at the fore with his very insightful and often humorous comments in my blog, he has just started his very own: Mindful Mariner. (Go visit, here).

We can all now look forward to many an interesting local mat salleh's perspective of the Malaysian socio-political scene.

(After a few wee drams he can also be useful as a "BBC reporter", eh Zorro?)

Ceud mile fàilte to the blogosphere, or whatever they call it, Stu.

Apparently, the front fell off !

"A wave hit the ship!"

"Is that unusual?"

"Oh yeah! At sea? Chance in a million!"

My friend and fellow mariner Capt. Abdul Ghani Ishak, now in London, sent this hilarious 'TV interview' spoof of an Australian politician doing doublespeak on environmental issues, explaining a tanker loss and oil spill at sea.

"I don't remember"

(Source: the Star)

His 'mad' or 'drunk' lawyer had access to state secrets and when asked about events which took place only a few years ago, our former prime minister chose to do a Ronald Reagan: I don't remember.

How bloody convenient.

And when asked about his holiday jaunt in New Zealand with the same lawyer he has identified only as an 'acquaintance', a former Chief Justice also had the same stock answer: I don't remember.

One gets to wonder whether this "selective amnesia" business is set to become a national affliction. But hopefully, justice will yet prevail. Who would have thought that a seemingly innocent video taping by a client of a dinner meeting at his lawyer's home a few years ago would bring this whole stinking episode to light? Heck, he could have made a lot of money out of the tape. So this must be divine intervention. There's no two ways about it and you'd better believe it.

Lakes Rehab

In conjunction with the second phase of our lakes rehabilitation project through community participation, Friends of Kelana Jaya Park, one of the NGO's of which I am now very much involved with, is conducting a Lake Community Monitoring Programme to train the local community on its role in keeping the lakes clean. This program has the support of Global Environment Centre (GEC), Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) and Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI).

Interested Kelana Jaya residents are cordially invited to participate.

Date: Saturday, 26 January 2008.
Time: 8.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
Venue: Sri Anjung Room, MBPJ Landscape Department, Kelana Jaya Park.

Admission is free and seats are limited. Refreshments and lunch will be provided. Please confirm attendance before or on 19 January 2008, or direct inquiries to:

Mr. Jack Lim,
E-mail : twintrees1@gmail.com
H/P : 019 257 2405
Tel/Fax : 03 7803 1118

Treachery, unlimited

During my early morning brisk walk yesterday, I bumped into the MP from Kepong who is also the vice chairman of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC). I asked him when will PAC get the Attorney General to explain why the Klang Port Authority ignored his (the AG's) recommendations regarding the purchase of land for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ). The YB told me that he now has a sneaking suspicion that chairman Shahrir Samad never really had any intention to summon the AG, despite his seeming bravado and posturing in the past, perhaps just to toe the party line.

Now that the general elections is around the corner and what with the intense lobbying and backstabbing amongst the hopefuls and the incumbents, I suppose a lot of these 'sensitive' matters will now be swept under the carpet. Yesterday's the Star weekly maritime supplement, for example, highlighted and glossed over the current developments in PKFZ (read about it, here). But the question that I have been frothing at the mouth asking all this while still remains unanswered: Whatever happened to all the money? I hear rentals and leases are now going as low as 15 sen per sq foot per month which I believe will not even be enough to pay salaries, let alone to pay back a RM4.6 billion 'soft' loan.

Our mainly God fearing rakyat must be told that it is a major sin to return corrupt politicians to power, somewhat akin to bersubahat or becoming accessories after the fact. But perhaps there is still hope yet, maybe a divine intervention, as cracks begin to appear in the solid Barisan Nasional wall. (Someone tells me even Sammy Vellu is now in India to mantram and pray for his own political survival.) Hopefully more young politicians will now have the balls to break ranks and speak up with their conscience without fear or favour. Surely they who thrive on treachery and conspiracy must reap what they sow.

When honesty may not have been the best policy

(Source: the Star)

Poor Dr. Chua Soi Lek. He gambled and lost. Instead of waiting for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to determine the authenticity of the DVDs of his sexual indiscretions, the former Minister of Health quickly owned up and vowed to carry on as usual. But he didnt reckon with the Malaysian public playing the high moral ground or having a 'holier-than-thou attitude' and was forced to resign barely 24 hours later. Sheeesh.

I laughed aloud when I saw the seemingly innocent faces of the Malaysian Chinese Association's (MCA) 'all the president's men' in above photo from yesterday's MCA owned Star newspaper, which had gone to town with the story. Although they had all condemned 'the DVD culprits', it is pretty easy enough for anyone to conclude that any one or more of them could have have plotted Chua's downfall. It couldn't have been the KGB or New York mafia.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang in his blog yesterday (read here) has again picked on transport minister Chan Kong Choy whom he said must emulate Chua and resign over the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, the largest financial scandal in the four-year Pak Lah administration and even bigger than the RM2.5 billion Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal in the early eighties. Lim has also repeated his call for another Royal Commission of Inquiry, but I fear this may just fall on deaf ears. Both Chan and his immediate predecessor Ling Liong Sik must have been emboldened by the fact that a 'big brother' who was also very much involved in the fiasco and have been playing dumb all this while, is solidly behind them: UMNO.

The rakyat will be paying heavily for these 'indiscretions'. We are being screwed big time and we are not even all consenting adults either.

New Year Greeting

(My old 'Dufferin' buddy Sudheer Chand sent me this message which I would like to share with everybody)

I wanted to send a season's greeting to you all. I must confess though, that taking such action worries me a little. It is in fact somewhat difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without potentially causing offense specially in this sensitive forum spreading over a few generations. Therefore I had to seek lawyers advice and here is what I feel comfortable to say to everybody:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, non denominational, non political celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated in recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make my country great and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of their wishes.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms.

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed directly in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were selectively rearranged.

Season's Greetings

Well, 'tis that time of the year again ...

PKFZ - Abuse of Power

PKFZ (Click on chart to enlarge)

Malaysiakini reports that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday revealed at a press conference that two transport ministers - Chan Kong Choy and his predecessor Ling Liong Sik - had abused their powers by sending letters of support committing the government as guarantor for any financial liabilities of the Port Klang Authority (PKA) for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project. He said both Ling and Chan wrote four letters expressing the government’s undertaking to subsidiary companies of the PKFZ’s turnkey contractor, Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB).

The four subsidiary companies are Special Port Vehicle Bhd., Transshipment Megahub Bhd., Valid Ventures Bhd. and Free Zone Capital Bhd. Developer KDSB had raised funds for the RM4.6 billion PKFZ project through the issuance of bonds purported through such a guarantee.

Anwar, a former finance minister, said that such an undertaking can only come from the Finance Ministry or the cabinet. (Read his blog entry, here.)

I have said this before and I will say it again that the whole thing smacks of corruption and gross abuse of power. A full and independent investigative audit should be carried out to determine the extent of the Government’s liability, pinpoint existing weaknesses in the system of financial and accounting controls, and ascertain whether there is evidence of financial improprieties. Perhaps a Royal Commission of Inquiry should also be set up to get to the truth. To date, I believe the Attorney General has not yet been called by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer questions pertaining to the dubious land sale which led to the huge cost overruns thus requiring a bail-out for the PKA.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha

Muslims in Malaysia celebrate Aidil Adha or Hari Raya Haji tomorrow the 20th of December, a day later than in some parts of the world where it is also known as Eid ul Dzuha or Bakri Id, to mark the end of the Haj season in Mecca.

Here's wishing Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all Muslims and happy holidays to all. May the new year bring peace and prosperity to our beloved country.

Fatwa on ISA

Well, we saw this coming.

A government bankrupt of ideas have finally grabbed the 5 leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) under the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for detention without trial for a 2 year term in the interest of so called 'public order'. Sheeesh.

Nothing really justifies this draconian law as a 'necessary evil'. Government apologists will forever argue that the 'silent majority' of the rakyat gave tacit approval by returning the same government again and again. But people, this a baaad 'preventive' law. It may have served its purpose during its time but its now no longer necessary. There are other punitive laws in place so lets charge the 5 in a court of law, eh? Whats the matter, no credible evidences to make them stick? Come on, even the seemingly harsh Syariah Laws require credible evidences and witnesses before punishment can be meted out.

The Mufti of Sabah recently willy nilly issued a fatwa (religious decree) that declared all Buddhist statues haram (forbidden) in the state. This, I believe, is more dangerous to public order and threatens the very fabric of our multi racial and multi religious society. On 18th August 2004, a group of 22 ISA detainees challenged the Malaysian Council of Muftis to make a fatwa on the ISA, which ex detainee Saari Sungib argued, violates “principles of human rights and the rule of law enshrined in the Scriptures”. But somehow this was kept out of the mainstream media and nothing came out of it. No prizes for guessing why.

Perhaps its about time all the state Muftis, or even one of them to have the balls to sort this matter out once and for all.

Walking the Talk

(Source: Petpositive)

Fellow mariner Capt. Abdul Karim Stuart Russell, a regular commenter in my blog, is a man who likes to walk the talk. Although retired, he is still active as adviser to the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive) and Secretary for the Support Group Society for the Blind of Malaysia or Supporteam.

In recent letters to Malaysiakini and the NST, Capt. Karim wrote: "The International Day of Disabled Persons on Dec 3 was yet another wonderful opportunity to promote understanding and increase public awareness of disability issues, and to promulgate the importance of integration and the well-being of people with disabilities." However, he expressed disappointment that little is still being done to help them access facilities, transport, etc.

"Half-hearted action, lip service, discrimination and marginalisation will not help disabled persons in Malaysia live an independent, integrated, dignified, equitable, productive, and happy lives during which they can raise a family and contribute to the well-being of their family and the nation. Effective, well-thought out and wide-ranging legislation and strict enforcement outlawing the discrimination of persons with disabilities will be a concrete step forward," he added. "Malaysia," Capt. Karim asserts,"needs a comprehensive Disability Discrimination Act."

Way to go, Stu.

The Battle Lines are Drawn

(Photo courtesy Tony Yew)

About a year ago, former PM Tun Dr. Mahathir claimed that Malaysia is a 'police state', a charge vehemently denied by the Inspector-General of Police himself. But on Sunday, it took about 500 men-in-blue to police about 100 marchers celebrating UN World Human Rights Day in KL. The peaceful morning march was stopped and several lawyers and human rights activists were arrested. Malaysia not a police state? Then why the overkill?

The battle lines have now indeed been drawn. It is quite clear to all and sundry that the Pak Lah government have begun a crackdown on dissent. Charges are being framed against organisers of protests and demonstrations that have rocked the country in recent weeks and they include some leaders of the opposition parties. There is also the dark threat of the ISA. Obviously, this is a move to cow the general populace in a run up to general elections expected to be called anytime soon in the next few months.

Malaysiakini has quoted the prime minister as saying that he will not "shirk his sense of accountability to the greater public, especially in the face of 'police intelligence' about planned violence by the rally organisers." Police 'intelligence'? Thats a classic oxymoron* for sure.

* This doesn't mean 'stupid cow' either ...

Book Signing

(Photo courtesy Mat Salo)

I must confess that I have this morbid distaste for blogs with a black background and small white fonts and have been avoiding them like the plague. A bit hard on me tired old sailor's eyes, you see. So I have been quite guilty of not faithfully following Awang Goneng's blog Kecek-Kecek but was very glad to have met him at the Kinokuniya book store in KLCC yesterday and got him to autograph my copy of his book Growing Up in Trengganu. The book is essentially a collection of his blogs or a 'blook' (?). (Read Elviza's review, here.)

(The pretty cashier at the book store had rolled her eyes when I asked for a 'senior citizens' discount. Sheeesh.)

The occasion was a get-together of a few bloggers to fête our fellow blogger cum now published author and his wife Kak Teh of Choc-a-Blog, hosted by an old friend Jaflam of Jaff Point. It was also the couple's 28th wedding anniversary. Also present were Mat Salo, Zawi, Zabs, Elviza and her little boy Luqman, Dr. Bubbles, Akmal et al.

A Nation of Retards

A couple of weeks ago, I told off a rude commenter in my blog who had accused others of behaving like retards, that he obviously was a product of the system which is now consistently making us all look like retards on the international scene. Perhaps I was not very far off with my assessment.

Recent reports of the intended appointment of Tan Sri Zaki Azmi as President of the Court of Appeal and therefore next in line for the post of Chief Justice is not really surprising. I have no problems if ex UMNO lawyer Zaki, who was 'helicoptered' into the system by the executive, is not the most senior or haven't done real time on the bench or have spent too much time in the corporate world. It is his private life which is seriously in question.(Read about it, here).

The judiciary should be a bastion of integrity, honesty, forthrightness and true independence. At the moment I believe judicial morale is also at a very low ebb. We need to sort out the judiciary and restore the full confidence of the rakyat. The powers-that-be should not be allowed to continue to opt for self serving political expediency and damn the consequences.

Fellow blogger Haris Ibrahim of The People's Parliament have started a petition to the Agong (read here), to try and stop the rot. Lets all give him our support. E-mail your full name and IC number to: savethejudiciary@gmail.com

Lets not become a nation of retards. We will only have ourselves to blame.

How to start each day with a positive outlook

Someone e-mailed me this little snippet which I thought was rather funny:

1. Open a 'new file' in your computer.

2. Name it, 'Pak Lah.'

3. Now delete it and send it to the 'trash' or 'recycle bin'.

4. Empty the 'trash.'

5. Your computer will ask you, 'Are you sure you want to get rid of 'Pak Lah?'

6. Firmly, click 'Yes.'

7. Feel better?

Next week we'll do Sammy Vellu ...

Happy days are here again?

(Source: The Star)

Yesterday's the Star reports (read here) that the worst is over for Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ). At the launching of PKFZ new logo on Thursday, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy (photo, right) said,"Investors, including big multinational names, are bringing in millions of ringgit and job opportunities are expected to increase by a hefty 2,252% by the end of next year."

Oh yeah? Job opportunities for whom? Who are these big multinationals?

"Although the Government is expected to provide Port Klang Authority with a soft loan amounting to RM4.6bil to develop the PKFZ, every sen of the loan would be repaid," Chan said."The life span of PKFZ is more than 50 years. It is long enough for repayment. Once the loan is settled, PKFZ will be a good income generator."

Hello, haven't you been listening? The issue here is how did a project which should only cost between RM1.8 to RM2 billion ballooned to RM4.6 billion? What happened to the RM2.6 billion? If the project was deemed very viable at the outset, why the need for a government soft loan, or to put it bluntly, a bailout?

I hear that to make it look good, rentals and leases are now being offered at very low rates. How to pay back the taxpayers money? Full repayment in 50 years? How is this price cutting affecting the local business market?

(Above photo also shows my former boss, a very happy Tan Sri Gnanalingam of Westport (center) who had pleaded poverty and paid me peanuts, but is now listed by Forbes as one of the 40 richest men in the country. Sheeesh.)