This Christmas, give them hope…

 Christianity, Education and students' rights, Poverty  9 Responses »
Dec 242009
 
This Christmas, give them hope...

If you are wondering how you can make the year-end extra meaningful, why not think of the Monfort Youth Centre in Malacca. The students of the Monfort Youth Centre Help the Centre give hope to the young: An artist’s impression of the proposed double-storey building – Images courtesy of Monfort Youth Centre First of all, I want to say thank you for your support this year with this blog. Some of the discussions and debates we have had here have been priceless. We have witnessed many things together in the struggle for justice and freedom – sometimes “live” as news breaks. At other times, we have been aghast at the environmental and human price some of us have paid for unsustainable development. And if we start to talk about corruption, oppression and exploitation, we could be here all day… The year end is also a time for us to reflect [Read more]

The RM1.20 tomato

 Agrobusiness/GM food, Development issues, Economy, Poverty  74 Responses »
Dec 222009
 

Friend of mine bought a tomato for RM1.20 at the Tanjung Bunga market. Now you would think a RM1.20 tomato would have to be pretty special. No, this was just a little tomato, not even big and juicy. Unlike ordinary tomatoes that would rot in a few days if left in the open, this one could keep for a while. Makes you wonder. If a tomato could cost RM1.20, imagine the prices of other fruit and vegetables. The question is, how are the lower-income group coping? As food prices soar, as real wages remain stagnant and as overtime pay is slashed, many among the working class are struggling to put food on the table for their families – while some of our leaders squander our nation’s resources and their spouses go on shopping sprees abroad.

Let them know what you think of GST

 Economy, Poverty  55 Responses »
Dec 162009
 

A Goods and Services Tax Bill has been tabled in Parliament today. The GST is a tax on your consumption/expenditure – though it may be mitigated by tax credits and a range of exemptions on essential items. Proponents say it will broaden the tax base and ensure that the rich too will pay taxes – especially on luxury items – instead of escaping due to loop-holes in the tax system. Critics argue that it is a regressive tax that will widen income disparities and result in the poor paying taxes for the first time (whereas under the present income tax system, they are exempted). Unlike in the developed nations, the majority of Malaysians do not pay income tax because of their low income; thus, they cannot receive a tax credit to reimburse them for the GST they would incur on a basic level of expenditure. Critics say it would make [Read more]

Spotlight on Sarawak electricity

 Development issues, Energy resources, Malaysian finance/business, Poverty  10 Responses »
Dec 112009
 

The federal government reimburses the Sarawak power supply corporation about RM1.4 million a month so that about 70,000 households in Sarawak can enjoy free power supply, reports the Borneo Post. Sounds good? Let’s take a closer look at Sarawak Energy Bhd, which is 65 per cent owned by the State Financial Secretary Sarawak (which falls under the finance minister, who is Chief Minister Taib Mahmud) and 4 per cent by EPF: Financial year ended 31 Dec 2008 Turnover RM1.3 billion Profit before tax RM293m (RM401m in 2007) Directors’ fees, etc RM3.8m (RM2.3m in 2007) Now, let’s compare that with Tenaga Nasional Bhd, which was 38 per cent owned by Khazanah and 14 per cent by the EPF:

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