Vwaishhnnavi, 6, released: Living in a topsy-turvy world

 Accountability, Democracy, Human rights  26 Responses »
Oct 242008
 

P Vwaishhnnavi, the six-year-old niece of detained Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar, and her mother K Shanti were released today But should they even have been held in the first place? They were held until late last night. (But both didn’t want to leave their comrades after they were allowed to go, reported Malaysiakini.) For what? Reading out a memo, sending a greeting card and appealing for the release of ISA detainees ahead of Diwali? And why were the other 10 arrested and now taken to court? To faciliate investigations, apparently. The KL police chief is reported in today’s Sun as saying they were detained for representing or acting for an outlawed organisation or group under Section 48 of the Societies Act.

From leasehold to freehold: The controversy simmers

 Accountability, Development issues  4 Responses »
Oct 242008
 

The controversy over the conversion of foreshore land from leasehold and freehold land has not completely subsided. While it may now be too late for the State to do anything about previous projects such as Queensbay, there may be current projects where applications have been submitted for conversion (from leasehold to freehold), which could now be awaiting approval. Defending the conversion in the Queensbay case, the Penang Chief Minister was reported in theSun (16 October) as saying that he had been advised by lawyers and consultants with the PDC and the state legal advisor that the conversion was legal. But is the opinion of the PDC – which had an interest in the project – independent and objective, asks conveyancing lawyer Agatha Foo.

The Star: Lie or genuine error on press freedom ranking?

 Democracy, Media  13 Responses »
Oct 242008
 

I hope this is a genuine error and not gross deception by The Star. Thanks to blog reader Forest for pointing it out. Most surfers will know that the RSF press freedom ranking for Malaysia has plunged eight spots from 124th last year to 132nd this year – but not The Star, which is on a different planet. It reports that Malaysia’s press freedom ranking has climbed 10 spots! This is what happens when you try to spin the reality. This is the excerpt from The Star report: Press freedom index up 10 spots

Valuecap should reveal accounts before getting RM5b

 Accountability, Malaysian finance/business  17 Responses »
Oct 232008
 

The government wants to inject RM5 billion into Valuecap Sdn Bhd to “invest” in the stock market. This money is supposed to be borrowed from the EPF (your retirement money). This is the same EPF that has lent RM3 billion to the Bakun Dam developer. Before the RM5 billion is channelled to Valuecap, let’s make public Valuecap’s detailed financial statements and look at how it has performed relative to the KLCI index since 2003, when it began operations. Since it is supposed to be in the black, there should not be any objections to this. Show us which counters it has invested in. That would only be fair – if they want to use our money. Without transparency, how can we hope to inspire confidence? Valuecap is a fund management firm established in 2002 to invest in the stock market. It has been described as “the brainchild of Second Finance [Read more]

Abdullah’s legacy: From 104th to 132nd in press freedom

 Democracy, Human rights, Media  15 Responses »
Oct 222008
 
Abdullah's legacy: From 104th to 132nd in press freedom

Not surprisingly, Malaysia has dropped from 124th last year to 132nd place in 2008 in the RSF press freedom ranking. Among ten South-East Asian nations, Malaysian remains in 5th place while Timor-Leste, which has the freest press in the region, showed the biggest improvement in the global rankings, shooting up 29 places to 65th. Thailand climbed 11 places to finish above Malaysia at 124th place. Singapore, Laos, Vietnam and Burma prop up the regional table with the least press freedom – unchanged from last year. For all the talk of reforms under Abdullah Badawi, Malaysia’s press freedom ranking has actually dropped from 104th place in 2003, the year Abdullah took over, to 132nd place now. That’s a plunge of 28 places. It wasn’t always sliding under Abdullah. His brightest year was in 2006, when Malaysia’s press freedom ranking actually climbed to a high of 92nd, making it the second freest [Read more]

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