GM mosquitoes plan squashed for now
The plan to introduce GM mosquitoes in Malaysia will not be implemented “at the moment”.
“Seemingly it is quite an interesting (solution) to deal with such a problem but I think… not until and unless every aspect of research being carried out is clinically tested and… environmental issues have been addressed,” AFP reported Muhyiddin as saying.
That is of course welcome news; good sense has prevailed. Now can we look into eliminating the breeding sites of the aedes mosquito? It was shocking to hear that a spot check for dengue breeding grounds by the authorities found the Penang Hospital compound teeming with aedes mosquitoes and larvae, as reported in theSun.
Your mission: Do the impossible
Are progressive reforms – real change – and social justice possible in Malaysia? Who says ‘No’? Your mission: Achieve the impossible.
That’s Korean acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Sungha Jung.
Khairy says min wage “a moral obligation”
Along with Nazri’s straight talking to Utusan comes another pleasant surprise: Khairy Jamaluddin has called on the government to implement a minimum wage.
- Image via Wikipedia
In an opinion piece in The Edge (20 September), the Umno Youth leader said a minimum wage has become a moral obligation that the government must fulfil immediately.
Khairy rightly pointed out that a third of the workers in the country earn less than RM700 a month – which is below the poverty line. And the average annual increase in wages was only 2.6 per cent over the last decade – below the global average of 3.2 per cent.
Nazri takes on Utusan and Awang Selamat
Nazri’s criticism of Umno-owned Utusan over its support for Perkasa reflects growing unease – even within Umno circles – of the paper’s leanings and a growing realisation that the right-wing group is going to cost BN plenty of votes.
Nazri has asked Utusan if its wants Mahathir to replace Najib. His outburst can be found here.
He has also taken on the Utusan columnist who goes by the pseudonym Awang Selamat and challenged him to reveal his identity: “I hope he can be a man like me and prove that he is not scared of criticism by coming out in the open and not hiding behind the pseudonym that he uses.”
Live – Interpreter used Google Translate
The inquest into Teoh Beng Hock’s sudden death resumes at 9.30am. The investigating officer is expected to take the stand. The ‘suicide note’ may make an appearance as well.
Number of VIPs per capita
Someone should carry out a global survey to rank countries by the number of ‘VIPs’ per capita. This is one survey we might rank right up there along with the most status-conscious countries.
In Malaysia, apart from all those with official honorifics (and there are quite a few of them), there are those wannabe VIPs who are actually willing to pay good money to acquire instant ‘titles’.
Why is it that many Malaysians crave for titles? Perhaps they think an honorific would draw fawning attention at various public events, denote status, and offer privileges (like at airports, whether local or foreign).
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-09-19
- London's new buses using hybrid electric technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11336395 #
- Read this: http://www.news.com.au/technology/brain-surgeon-dr-charlie-teo-warns-against-mobiles-home-appliances/story-e6frfro0-1225791947213 #
- Mega project 'a gift from god'? I wonder which 'god' though! http://bit.ly/cNJocy #
School still without a principal?
From what I hear, the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Putra Secondary School in Johor has been without a principal on duty for over a month.
School principal Siti Inshah Mansor has been away since 16 August after she was alleged to have uttered racist remarks to pupils.
Machas and michos, it will be okay
Feeling depressed about Malaysia’s future? They say the youth are the hope for the future. Well, if these young people are any indication, the country could be a hip and multiracial place to be – never mind that grumpy macha at the end of the video. 😉
Who is behind Sarawak Plantation?
Sarawak Plantation Bhd, one of the major plantation players in Sarawak, has a reported landbank of 52,071ha as of 31 December 2008.
Of this, 18,406ha is vacant land, which includes 10,786ha managed under the Native Customary Rights scheme (under which Sarawak Plantation holds a 60 per cent interest in the plots), according to a research house, as reported in The Edge Financial Daily. The native landowners hold 30 per cent stakes in these plots and the state, 10 per cent.
Who is behind Sarawak Plantation? Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s cousin Abdul Hamed Sepawi figures prominently.
Boustead: Deal not yet stitched
Boustead Holdings Bhd has announced that it has not yet struck a deal with the Penang state government on the terms of the compensation for the scaled-down Royale Bintang Hotel project in George Town’s world heritage site core zone.
The firm said the compensation may include BHB being allowed to reclaim land on Penang island.
The question to ask is, should the local government compensate or fully compensate a firm for loss of future profits or gross development value arising from something that is beyond the government’s control – in this case, a Unesco heritage listing, with its attendant zoning requirements?
Boustead made the announcement in response to an article in The Edge.
MPPP won’t take back occupied burial plots
Responding to concerns expressed, the MPPP has come out to say that occupied burial plots at the Western Road Christian cemetery will not be repossessed.
Yesterday, a Penangite wrote a letter published in Malaysiakini expressing concern that the MPPP’s ad in the press could even raise the dead(!).
See the MPPP’s clarification in theSun here.
Boustead reclamation deal: Please explain
Could someone please explain this deal with facts and figures. The circumstances surrounding earlier land reclamation deals were too hazy; that is why complete transparency and accountability are important.
Boustead was claiming RM60 million in compensation for scaling down its project in the world heritage zone in George Town.
In return for giving up that claim, it is now reportedly allocated land/reclamation area “very much less” than 100 acres in the southeast of Penang Island. How much less than 100 acres and how much is the gross development value of this land/reclamation area? (The Edge estimates that the entire 97-acre site could fetch RM870 million.)
Could someone please provide precise figures.
Concern over Western Road burial plots ad
They may worship in separate churches belonging to different denominations, but in death they share the same cemetery in Western Road in Penang. Now, an ad inserted in the local press requiring those with burial rights and relatives of the deceased to register with the MPPP has raised consternation among segments of the local Christian community.
It was the bit about the one-month deadline to register “failing which MPPP would take necessary actions to repossess the burial plots for use” that created something of a stir. See theSun report here and a letter from a concerned reader here who asked, “I am of the opinion that MPPP only has the right to ask descendants, family members and their appointed personal representatives to re-affirm ownership of burial plots. But that is the most that they can legally do. MPPP does not have any legal right to seize old burial plots even if nobody comes forward to re-register claim.”
I got in touch with a couple of MPPP councillors to find out what was going on. Here’s what I learned:
It was the bit about the one-month deadline to register “failing which MPPP would take necessary actions to repossess the burial plots for use” that created something of a stir. See theSun report here and a letter from a concerned reader here who asked, “I am of the opinion that MPPP only has the right to ask descendants, family members and their appointed personal representatives to re-affirm ownership of burial plots. But that is the most that they can legally do. MPPP does not have any legal right to seize old burial plots even if nobody comes forward to re-register claim.”
I got in touch with a couple of MPPP councillors to find out what was going on. Here’s what I learned: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-09-12
- Male fish now exhibiting female traits due to toxic chemicals and pharma runoff http://bit.ly/dA0CIG #
- Ohio church reaches out to Muslims http://bit.ly/byyQym #
- Pa. Mosque Opens Peacefully Near Synagogue, Church http://n.pr/afySz8 #
- Look who's pleading for subsidies now! http://bit.ly/bJUc2o #
- DO you feel like quitting life's race? He raises you up http://youtu.be/VYv1NFAgHR8 #
Almost zero production after RM22b spent
They invested RM22 billion in the hope of hitting a ‘gold mine’. And now they have almost zero production.
That’s the fate of the Malaysian biodiesel industry players, which have an installed capacity of 2.6 million tonnes. Read The Star report here.
And now, guess what, they are asking the government for subsidies. How do you like that? Didn’t they factor in the various risks? I still remember a business weekly gushing about the prospects of the biofuel industry and the big moves planned by the various players.
Raya memories
As with other festive occasions in Malaysia, Raya is a time when memories of times long past come flooding back at the most unexpected moments. The holiday break may also conjure a sense of nostalgia, perhaps a yearning for a world that has somehow slipped from our grasp, almost unnoticed.
- Image via Wikipedia
Here’s one such moment, recalled by an up-and-coming young journalist who is fast making a name for himself. Those who have experienced a family member with Alzheimer’s may also relate to his recollection.
Share with us your own Raya memories.
Remembering the postmaster By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal September 11, 2010 No. 7 Gedung Lalang Satu… my grandfather’s house in Seremban. SEREMBAN, Sept 11 — The best thing about forgetting something is that once you remember it, chances are you won’t ever forget it again. Hari Raya in No.77, Jalan Gedung Lalang Satu is synonymous with the burnt Raya morning air — courtesy of a night of firecrackers piercing the dark skies amid the sounds of takbir from the nearby surau.
GM mozzies … now, GM fish? What’s next?
Genetically modified salmon could be next on your menu.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is soon going to decide whether to approve GM salmon as food. See the story on Natural News here. (We have already seen the so-called ‘genetically improved’ fish tilapia. See WorldFish Centre website here.)
A GM goat and GM pig could be next on the cards. See the Telegraph story here.
At the end of the day, it’s all about business interests and profits. Notice that one of the main concerns in GM salmon centres on the supposed sterility of the male:
- Aedes Aegypti – Image via Wikipedia
Malaysia Today down after major exposes
Raja Petra’s Malaysia Today site has gone down after a few exposes were posted on the site outlining cases of alleged corruption.
Asia Sentinel has the story here.
Selamat Hari Raya to all Muslim readers and happy holidays to everyone else. Let us rededicate ourselves to the struggle for justice and democracy.
Shun the bigots and work together
Like many other Christians elsewhere in the world, I condemn the plan by a pastor in Florida to burn copies of the Qur’an.
That is nothing but a hate crime and has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity or the values of love, compassion and forgiveness that Jesus promoted.
Similarly, I don’t see anything wrong behind plans for an Islamic centre that is open to inter-religious dialogue in New York. (Lest we forget, Muslims too died at the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001.)