Who needs the Leaning Tower of Pisa when we have the Leaning Arch of Penang!
To find out once and for all whether one of the two arches there is really leaning, ‘someone’ set up two plumb lines last night at the arch.
He found that not only is the arch tilting dangerously, it has worsened since the use of the theodolite in early May. It was then five inches off the vertical, but is now 15 inches. Bruised last year, Keshwinder ‘sees the light’
Another one bites the dust – or rather leaps across the political divide. This time from the DAP, showing that the party-hopping syndrome is not confined to the PKR.
In the video clip, at 6:07, a man in dark attire, with an audio device on his ear, steps forward to remove what looks like the prepared statement from the table in front of Keshwinder. Another blog reader watching Bernama news over Astro at 6.00pm noticed that the three men-in-black with Keshvinder appeared to be ‘in control’ of the press conference. Mkini reported that they were ‘bodyguards’, one of whom revealed that they work for a ‘Hamidah’.
What makes Keshwinder Singh’s hopping over to Zambry all the more intriguing is that it was just over nine months ago that the Malim Nawar Adun suffered a hard knock on the head when he was among Pakatan reps who tried to attend a Perak State Assembly sitting on 2 September 2009.
Going bananas in Zimbabwe
I cannot for the life of me imagine why any businessman would want to invest in Zimbabwe.
Look what happened to one such business venture, a Malaysian-Dutch firm Matanuska, which had its banana plantation seized by a retired army general-turned-Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Tanzania.
Perhaps Matanuska thought its interests would be protected by Zimbabwe’s Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (Bippa) with Malaysia. Under this agreement, the firm was reportedly offered land but not title to the land. Or maybe they thought Malaysia enjoyed a special relationship with Zimbabwe!
Mahathir, radioactive waste and Papan
While Malaysia has big plans to go into nuclear energy, it is still grappling with radioactive waste from the Asian Rare Earth facility in Papan more than 20 years ago.
The Sunday Star carried an excellent write-up on Papan here. (Too bad it was not a cover story but instead appeared deep in its inside pages.) Aliran also carried a story here. In both pieces, Mahathir’s claims on the real situation there have been exposed. During his administration, folks were arrested under the ISA for standing up to protect their area from radioactive waste. It is only in recent years that action is being taken to reduce the danger. Now, the real story emerges. What has Mahathir got to say to those folks who were unjustly detained under the ISA and the rest of the Papan residents who were put at risk?
BN leaders with short memories are now talking about going into nuclear energy.
Alert: Wild swing in Botanic arches poll result
UPDATE: Polling closed at 5.30pm sharp on 15 June 2010.
Just before it closed, it was 9,608 (about 66 per cent) saying No to the arches and 4,981 (about 34 per cent) saying Yes.
URGENT ALERT: The percentage of those saying No to the arches in Penang Botanic Garden has inexplicably plunged in a poll hosted on the Tourism Ministry’s website.
Caught in the act: See how the poll results appear to be manipulated
From 91 per cent who said ‘No’ to the arches a few days ago, it is now only 54 50 48 per saying ‘No’. That is an unbelievably sharp drop in the percentage opposing the arches in just a matter of days. When observed, in the space of an hour on a Sunday afternoon (today), over 200 more “Yes-es” were recorded in favour of the arches. And that’s just in an hour.
The poll may close anytime soon and then the government might use the final result to justify its decision on whether the arches should stay or go. So make sure you vote now before it’s too late.
Here’s your chance to tell the government whether those large arches at the Penang Botanic Garden – one of which is believed to be tilting – should be removed.
The Tourism Ministry is carrying out a poll on its website. But be careful, you are asked whether those arches should remain.
The Tourism Ministry is carrying out a poll on its website. But be careful, you are asked whether those arches should remain. Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-13
- Urgent alert: From 91% against the Botanic Garden arches a few days ago, it is now only 47% saying No. Vote now… http://fb.me/zlMr5WZD #
- Urgent alert: From 91% against the Botanic Garden arches a few days ago, it is now only 47% saying No. Vote now http://bit.ly/a6Uqx0 #
- Urgent: Wild swing in Tourism Ministry poll on Botanic Garden arches. Quick, have you voted? Pass the word around http://bit.ly/9TMPGa #
- Yeah right! RT @tianchua: Donald Lim: Govt hasn't issued licence, Ascot only rcvd approval letter; he said this letter not same as licence. #
- RT @limkitsiang: Great news ! Sedition charge agnst DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh dismissed by KL High Court… http://fb.me/yjdBVIeO #
- RT @limkitsiang: Great news! Sedition charge agnst DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh dismissed by KL High Court – no defence called. #
- Yes, that's going full-steam ahead for obvious reasons! RT @alleviatealex: @anilnetto it is still a HOT item for SCORE in Sarawak #
- Btw, you don't hear much about economic 'corridors' these days, do you? Same fate as MSC? #
- Grand 10MP ideas: So how much is the "leakage" for all this going to be? #
- Aren't all universities supposed to be doing lots of research? RT @Khairykj: UTM announced as research university. #10MP #
- Parks Dept officers have taken away the 2 caged monkeys at Dewan Sri Pinang. They are to be transferred to Malacca Zoo. #
- Merdeka Centre says Najib's "approval rating" rose from 69% in April to 72% now. Someone forgot to tell Sibu voters. http://fb.me/AivCBiRb #
- Roundtable on Indian scholarship distrbtn at Senators Lounge, Parliament disrupted earlier by xchange of words, ruckus between BN/PR reps. #
- Like sports betting. 1st say already decided, now still mulling RT @mpoobalan: @anilnetto new p'ment cost Rm800 mil. Cabinet still mulling. #
- RMM800m! gulp RT @TriciaYeoh: Oh but wait. Nazri says … preserve the current one as a heritage building. New one costs RM800 million. #
- Can you do something about this? RT @Khairykj: Parliament .. extensive refurbishment couple of years back. doesn't require relocation. #
- So how many million/billion will the new Parliament cost? And which company will get the job? #
- Just who decides on these fancy schemes to relocate Parliament at a time like this? After sports betting, now this! #
- Well said, Khairy! but will they listen? RT @Khairykj: disagrees w/ building a new Parliament in Putrajaya…Money can be better spent .. #
- Saiful – The chronology (updated). Quite fascinating. http://bit.ly/9wkQ9K #
- Another big construction job for the boys? I thought govt got no money? RT @TriciaYeoh: Parliament confirmed to be built in Putrajaya. #
- Should Penang Botanic Garden arches be removed?: Vote now on poll on Tourism Ministry website http://bit.ly/a6Uqx0 #
- RT @tianchua: Fin.Min. now say Vincent Tan has not recvd the greenlight to start sport betting. This morning, Home Ministr said othrwise. #
- Renewed fears of double-dip recession; disappointing US jobs data released on Friday http://bit.ly/aIMLQP #
- U know & I know who's benefited most. RT @Khairykj: @anilnetto Redistribution programs have to be overhauled. Proper means-test introduced. #
- Ok why is our gini coefficient, debt so high? Where's all the $ gone? @Khairykj: @anilnetto Sure. I will gladly discuss income disparity. #
- Let's talk about Gini coefficient and income disparity RT @Khairykj: @anilnetto This is about Facebook accounts lah. Out of topic. #
- Yes, but who's getting all the wealth? RT @Khairykj: Per capita we're up there. #yo … RT @gen Fastest Growing Asian Countries … #
- Heard that bright green hoarding put up all around Bambusetam in Penang Botanic Garden. No consultation. What's happening? #
- Govt promoting nuclear energy RT @tianchua: PeterChin: Nuke is safe, 3Mile Island was old military tech … Nuke generator is cheaper. #
- WHO scientists linked to vaccine makers. No wonder they declared H1N1 'pandemic'. What a scam! http://bit.ly/cu5C97 #
Proton: A subsidy by any other name…
Lately, officials have been stretching the definition of ‘subsidies’ and playing around with words – which is why Idris Jala’s figure for total ‘subsidies’ last year (RM74 billion) is vastly different from the Treasury’s (RM18.8 billion).
We are now told that a lot of the regular government spending on essential services for the people (which is the responsibility of any decent government and funded by taxpayers’ money) are ‘subsidies’ which distort the market, blah-blah-blah.
Okay, you want to talk about subsidies, let’s talk about subsidies…
10MP: What about 40% emissions cut pledge?
This morning, the frontpage of the newspaper was all about Najib’s unveiling of the Tenth Malaysia Plan – but what about that all-important emissions cut pledge in Copenhagen?
Let’s see now – 52 “high-impact projects” including:
- seven highway projects (think lucrative toll concessions and the promotion of private vehicle ownership),
- massive property development all over the place,
- coal-fired plants (including the controversial one in Sabah?), and
- two aluminium smelters (to justify all those unnecessary dams?).
Will subsidy cuts hurt the poor?
Apart from worrying about the effects of cuts in subsidies, the lower-income group and even the middle-class are feeling the effects of a sharp rise in fruit and vegetable prices, especially over the last quarter.
While Najib waxes eloquent about the New Economic Model, low-income Malaysians are struggling to balance their budgets. Fruit and vegetables that used to cost RM60 a few months ago now cost around RM90. If you paid RM25 for a basket of vegetables a few months ago, you probably would have to fork out around RM45 now.
Of course, Cabinet Ministers won’t feel the pinch from higher food prices and cuts in subsidies. But ordinary workers will, as their wages struggle to keep pace with the rising cost of living. (As an aside, we desperately need a move towards organic agriculture to make us more self-sufficient in healthy pesticide-free natural food.)
Here’s something I wrote for IPS:
The government’s proposal to remove and rationalise subsidies on essential goods and services continues to provoke a storm of criticism from ordinary Malaysians.
Parliament-to-Putrajaya flip-flop?
Is the relocation of Parliament to Putrajaya going to be another case of flip-flop, after the sports betting fiasco?
In his written parliamentary reply to Sim Tong Him (DAP-Kota Melaka), Nazri said the relocation was decided by the cabinet recently.
But according to Malaysiakini, Nazri later clarified to the press that the matter was still being mulled over by Cabinet. “It’s not decided yet… We will bring it to the Cabinet to be discussed,” he said.
Not again! Flip-flop – or testing the waters?
Even Khairy disagrees with the RM800 million plan.
Saiful – The chronology (updated)
Updated to include dates of Anwar taking refuge in the Turkish embassy, his arrest and forced medical checks in Hospital KL and the Permatang Pauh by-election. All very fascinating.
I was getting a bit confused and mixed up with all the dates and times and the sequence of events in the Anwar trial.
So I thought it would be best to come up with a chronology of events gleaned from publicly available information especially news reports of the witness testimony at the trial, Saiful’s blog, etc.
Dec 2007/Jan 2008
Saiful, a former student leader at Uniten, meets Najib’s special officer at Najib’s office to get a letter of support for training as a pilot.
Berjaya told Bursa licence approved…
… “upon certain terms and conditions”. The government is now saying that it has not yet decided on the sports betting licence for Ascot.
Berjaya Corp made an announcement to Bursa on 12 May 2010. Look at Item 2.2 under background to Ascot: “The Minister of Finance has given its approval for the re-issuance to Ascot of the licence to carry out sports betting operations upon certain terms and conditions.”
But under item 8, “approvals required”, it states: The Proposals are conditional upon approvals being obtained from the following:
d) The Minister of Finance for the re-issuance of the sports betting license and the changes in shareholders and directors in Ascot, if required;…
There’s also item 2.5 (a) “TSVT’s guarantee of the profit after tax of Ascot that it shall be at least RM375.0 million in aggregate for the three (3) financial years ending 30 April 2011 to 30 April 2013. This translates into an average profit after tax of RM125.0 million per annum;…”
Berjaya Corp’s full announcement to Bursa on 12 May 2010:
BERJAYA CORPORATION BERHAD (“BCORPORATION” OR “COMPANY”) (A) PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF 70% EQUITY INTEREST IN ASCOT SPORTS SDN BHD (“ASCOT”) FOR A TOTAL CASH CONSIDERATION OF RM525 MILLION (“PROPOSED ACQUISITION”); AND
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-06
- Photo slideshow of launch of Tanjung Bunga Coastal Park http://bit.ly/c31sIu #
- Who was Rachel Corrie (1979-2003)? http://youtu.be/O3JI-axaRF4 Rachel’s 5th grade dream http://youtu.be/fUGjzxG5r9Q #mygaza #rachelcorrie #
- BBC uses the term “pro-Palestinian activists” – but US leaders not called “pro-Israeli”. Why? http://bit.ly/9xNdY7 #RachelCorrie #mygaza #
- I am not in Ipoh though, just sources informing me. #
- Quite a few juicy revelations in Ipoh tonight! #
- Nizar has also revealed what Raja Nazrin told him at the Perak State Assembly sitting in May last year. #
- Let’s just say Nizar’s allegations, if true, would be sensational – though few would be really surprised. #
- Nizar is making a couple of startling allegations about who was behind the BN takeover of Perak and their attempts on Selangor. #
- They have just played Najib’s “you help me, I help you” video at the DAP ceramah in Ipoh. #
- A standing ovation for Ibrahim Singgeh who pased away at Monday aged 92. He was the DAP Adun for Tapah Road (now Air Kuning) in 1969. #
- Some 4,000 people are at the “From Sibu to Putrajaya” ceramah in Ipoh. Chin Woo is full to the brim. #
- Former US Ambassador Edward Peck says flotilla activists were defending themselves:… http://fb.me/zYx4I6gH #
- MV Rachel Corrie is now less then 150 miles from Gaza and should be approaching the exclusion zone at 8am… http://fb.me/BKzQocDf #
- About to write an article on the govt’s plan to remove subsidies. Any thoughts to share? #
- Eat only those foods that your great grandma would recognise http://bit.ly/9YQHIE #
- Robert Fisk: Western leaders are too cowardly to help save lives http://bit.ly/concIa #
- Update: Pas Adun for Meru Dr Rani Osman is safe in Dubai #
- Dr Rani is in Dubai RT @elizabethwong: False alarm: Dr Rani is not on the #flotilla but his colleague is on it. #
- What is APCO’s response going to be on the Israeli attack on the Gaza aid ship? #
- Condemn the Israeli attack on ship bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Up to 16 killed. Two Malaysian media personnel on board. #
RM525m donation is chicken-feed…
Vincent Tan’s RM525 million donation to the Better Malaysia Foundation is chicken-feed compared to the enormous potential market for sports betting.
The donation is actually a small ‘investment’ compared to what is at stake.
Berjaya Corporation paid RM525 million for Tan’s 70 per cent stake in Ascot, which was controversially awarded a sports betting licence recently.
Tan’s donation of the proceeds comes in the wake of growing disquiet about the impact of sports betting especially among low-income workers and their families.
Some random thoughts come to mind:
Updates – In solidarity with MV Rachel Corrie
The MV Rachel Corrie is expected to approach Gaza sometime tomorrow. The world holds its breath as the spirit of Rachel Corrie returns to Palestine.
Live – Gaza protests
The latest on the protests at the Israeli attack on the Gaza humanitarian aid flotilla.
Live – Anwar trial
Another day in the trial of Anwar Ibrahim.
Beyond elections: The struggle for change
Elections are important but they should be seen in the context of a much larger struggle for reforms and change played out over decades.
This is something I wrote before the Sibu by-election, but it still holds true any time.
Live – Anwar trial continues
The cross-examination of Saiful continues with the defence also producing Dr David Wells, a forensics expert from Australia.
While they talk about removing subsidies…
Life could get harder for more people once subsidies are removed.
Spotted this comment posted on the Aliran website. Mahasiswa marhaen reflects on the tough life faced by some university students as they struggle to make ends meet:
Saya baru sahaja menamatkan pengajian di kampus … dan akan bergraduasi tidak lama lagi. Baru saja tadi saya ingin menyemak keputusan peperiksaan, keputusan peperiksaan digantung. Alasan? Saya masih berhutang dengan universiti sebanyak RM360.90. Padahal saya telah menjelaskan pembayaran pada awal sesi pengajian.