Bangsar land swap: The hidden party

 Accountability, Development issues, Health care, Malaysian finance/business  18 Responses »
Jan 212011
 
Bangsar land swap: The hidden party

The land swop deal involving S P Setia and the government has raised several issues of public interest.  This is another of those fancy so-called ‘public-private partnerships’; but there is also a third – and hidden – party involved. Who is it? Under the land swop: Part A: S P Setia will receive 40 acres of super-prime land on Federal Hill (opposite KL Sentral), currently used by the Health Ministry, from the government. Part B: In exchange, S P Setia will build a 1M1H health complex (at a cost of around RM700 million) for the government on 55 acres of Setia Alam land (valued at RM60psf). View Larger Map

US proposes cut in water fluoride level

 Europe, Health care, United States  11 Responses »
Jan 082011
 

The US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Environmental Protection Agency have proposed that the fluoride level in drinking water be reduced to prevent dental fluorosis, a form of tooth decay. But there has been no mention of the other “more serious (non-dental) health concerns” about fluoride ingestion, noted the international campaign group Fluoride Action Network. The Network added that “the chemicals used to fluoridate drinking water in the US are hazardous waste byproducts of the phosphate fertiliser industry”. The proposed cut bucks a trend of promoting fluoride that began in the 1940s. The Health and Human Services Dept has now proposed cutting the level to 0.7 milligrams per litre of water, from the current standard of 0.7 – 1.2 mg/litre, according to an AP report. The American Dental Association has welcomed the move, reports the AOL Health website. Last year, a research paper published in the [Read more]

GM crops: Wikileaks exposes US push

 Agrobusiness/GM food, Corporate agenda, Europe, Health care, United States  8 Responses »
Dec 262010
 

Cables released by Wikileaks have exposed United State diplomatic efforts to strongly back the corporate push for GM crops to be accepted in Europe and elsewhere. Not only that, the US diplomats under the Bush administration recommended retaliatory action against a list of ‘targets’ in Europe for failing to embrace GMOs. In a leaked cable, US Ambassador to France Craig Stapleton wrote: Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory.

Should Pakatan emulate the BN?

 Development issues, Economy, Education and students' rights, Health care  22 Responses »
Dec 152010
 
Should Pakatan emulate the BN?

Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi, in announcing hefty pay increases for the armed forces, made a claim that the Constitution stated that salaries in the armed forces should be higher than in any other government service. See the NST report here. I asked a couple of experienced lawyers about this reference to the Constitution and they said they were not aware of such a provision. I looked up the Constitution and I couldn’t spot the provision either. Can anyone point me to the specific provision in the Constitution to that effect? Meanwhile Najib was reported (in The Star here) as saying that it is impossible for the Opposition to take over the Barisan Nasional’s role in leading the country. “From the days of the Alliance until the Barisan leadership, we have proven that we keep to our promises…. Barisan brought the nation independence and we will be the one to steer [Read more]

4 out of 10 cigarette packs illicit: Study

 Accountability, Health care, Malaysian finance/business  6 Responses »
Nov 202010
 

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) and Japan Tobacco International Bhd in KL have both cited a report that suggests four out of 10 packs of cigarettes are illicit. In a press releases dated 20 October and 11 November 2010 respectively, the two cigarette firms cited an Illicit Cigarettes Study, commissioned by the Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers, which revealed that the incidence of illicit cigarettes rose to 39.7 per cent during March-May 2010.

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